Run. That was the only thing on his processor. He knew that someone would come after him, and force him to go back to the Autobot base. He knew that he would be facing Ironhide again soon. But he wanted to clear his mind and allow himself a chance to calm down. He had to run. And he was known for doing so. Ironhide and Ratchet had been forced to search for search for him on more than one occasion. They'd freaked out with worry when Optimus had gotten upset and ran away for a while. This time, he had done so by accident. But Ironhide had needed to stay. To say goodbye to Chromia. Optimus didn't. The Prime could've stayed to make sure Ratchet was safe, but Optimus was sure that his exit from the building had defussed most of Ironhide's anger. And he was right. He'd been there for Ironhide enough that he knew how his friend would react.

The sound of something dripping against his armour was ignored. As was the pain stemming from his chest. He'd been hit in the same way as Chromia. The only reason he survived when she didn't was because the armour over his spark was thicker than Chromia's. His frame was covered in scorch marks from when a Decepticon had hit his mark or Optimus had gotten in the way. But if he focused on his injuries, he wouldn't be able to get away from his friends fast enough. And he wasn't ready to deal with them. He knew that he should've ignored the comments Ironhide had made, but the mech had brought up painful memories. And in his own way, Optimus was grieving for the loss of another friend. Chromia had spent a lot of time with Optimus and Bumblebee before her death, and so the two had grown close. He never expected her to be killed so close to the time that she would deliver the sparkling.

"Optimus! Optimus!" Ratchet called out. He resisted the urge to turn and glare at Ironhide. He wasn't sure what type of response that would earn him. And he didn't want to find out. Both bots jumped at the sound of something being knocked over. Ratchet glanced at Ironhide before they turned in that direction. All they found was a mini-bot on their way home. "This isn't working. Where would he go?" Ratchet growled.

"Have you tried comming him?"

"Yes! Repeatedly! His systems are either down, or he's focusing on not allowing any frequency in. I can't reach him," Ratchet sighed rather than snapping at Ironhide. "Have you tried?"

"No."

"Than try," Ratchet said. After a few attempts, Ironhide sighed and looked to Ratchet. "It's not just sparkmates that grieve, Ironhide."

"I know."

"Hm. Friends do too. Especially those who grow close over time. I lost the femme I was in love with a long time ago. We weren't bonded then, so I don't know exactly what that's like, but I know how it feels to lose someone that's special to you. It hurts when a wound is made. It hurts even more when that wound is reopened. You should know how it feels. But you managed to reopen old wounds in Optimus. Even though he's younger than you, he's been through just as much, maybe even more than you have. To have you say that probably hurt more than if anyone else had said it. He looks up to you. He's been there for you since he was a youngling," Ratchet said. Ironhide stared at the ground as he thought about what the medic said.

"What was her name?" Ironhide finally asked. Ratchet shook his helm.

"Doesn't matter. Not right now, anyways. You and Optimus have something in common. The loss of your bondmates. You should be there for him, like you promised. This-" he pointed to the dented metal of his neck, "- was not necessary. Nor was hitting Optimus. You're upset, and we understand. You're dealing with it in your own way. But we're not drones in the firing range. We're bots. Your friends. Optimus closes himself off from others. You resort to violence. Neither of you go to anyone for help like you should. Just like Optimus, you do have bots looking out for you. You have me and Optimus. Don't chase us away. Optimus did come and talk to me a while ago about Bumblebee and Elita. Eventually, you should come to one of us about Chromia. It's a war. One day, each of us are going to go off-line. I hope that when that time comes, it'll be from natural causes. Not this war." Ratchet rested a servo on Ironhide's shoulder. "We'll find him. And on-line. But we have to keep looking." Ironhide nodded as he began to call for Optimus himself.

Sideswipe looked to Sunstreaker. Both wore grins that spoke volumes about what they were planning. They'd been following Optimus since the leader had left the base. They shared a moment of quiet laughter as they got ready.

Optimus stopped walking. He listened carefully for who ever was following him. His optics went wide as he was suddenly jumped on by two much smaller forms and he lost his balance since all of his systems were experiencing errors. He growled as he found purchase on one of the troublesome mechs and gave him a light toss. The red mech rolled before jumping back on Optimus. "Let go of me," Optimus growled.

"Never," the red mech replied. Optimus narrowed his optics at the voice. The slaggin' twins had followed him, tackled him, and were going to get him caught by Ironhide or Ratchet. Sunstreaker yelped as he was lifted off of Optimus, and he prepared to be thrown. Only to realize that Optimus wasn't going to throw him. Finally Sideswipe was in Optimus' other servo. The Autobot leader relaxed beneath them as he gave them both an icy glare.

"Why did you tackle me?" Optimus asked. Sideswipe exchanged a glance with Sunstreaker as they took a moment to decide who would answer their leader.

"We... uh... saw you leave the base," Sideswipe started.

"You didn't look impressed."

"So we thought we'd make sure you're okay."

"And you're leaking Energon all over my paint," Sunstreaker finally whined. Optimus placed them on the ground by his side and sat up.

"Optimus!" Ratchet's voice carried over to them and Optimus groaned slightly. He appeared from around the corner in moments. "There you are! We've been looking for you every where." He gently took Optimus' arm and helped his leader to his pedes. Optimus gasped in pain before nearly curling up at the intensity of it. "We need to get you back to the base. You should've come to me right away." Ironhide showed up finally. He took Optimus' other side. Ratchet motioned for the twins to follow as they headed towards the base.

"Chromia needed your help more than I did," Optimus replied softly. Ratchet sighed.

"I'm not the only medic. There are others at my center alone," Ratchet said. Optimus nodded.

As soon as they arrived back at the base, Optimus was taken to Ratchet's Med bay and his damage was noted so that Ratchet could get to repairing him. Ironhide left to retrieve Bumblebee so that Jazz could get back to work. Although the third in command instantly whined about Bumblebee being taken away. The yellow sparkling had manged to capture the sparks of those on base already. It was nice to see hope being restored. For everyone on base, including the black mech himself.