Vesper woke to an incredible pain in her shoulder, and she whimpered before she realised that she was on an operating table. There was, however, nobody around except for Ratchet, who was quietly working on something nearby. She did not want to trouble him, so she sat up as quietly as she could, although a hiss of pain escaped her lips, which drew the doctor's attention. He turned to look at her, and his blue optics regarded her with silence monotony. Immediately Vesper stiffened, then looked away, feeling ashamed for some reason.

"Vesper," Ratchet said, his voice quiet and calm. She looked over at him, a feeling of dread blooming in her spark. He strode over, placing his servo on her shoulder, and said, "Are you feeling well?"

Vesper looked up at him, shocked. "Am I feeling well?" she repeated, and Ratchet nodded. She sat, gaping, before closing her mouth and nodding briskly. "I am feeling fine. Thank you for your concern, Doctor, but," she said as she slowly stood and walked past the medic, "I think that it would best if I left you and your companions."

"Is that what you think?" Ratchet said quietly, stopping her in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder and looked at the medic, who was shaking his head in disapproval. His eyes had become as steely as the material all Cybertronians were made out of, and he strode over and stood in front of the femme, crossing his arms over his chassis. "Now you turn around, look at me, and listen closely," he said, his voice sounding very cross. For a few brief moments, Vesper considered disobeying the orders of the doctor, but then she sighed and turned around painfully slowly. Ratchet sighed and shook his head. "Arcee wants to talk to you. She says that something is troubling Optimus, and that you," he said, looking pointedly into her eyes, "Are the most likely cause."

Vesper was about to argue, but then something made her close her mouth and look away. She realised that the assumption that Arcee had told Ratchet about was most likely correct. She knew that Primes were supposed to be calm and collected, not strained and tense. She also knew – from the body language of Ratchet – that Optimus Prime was not acting completely normal. His words had just confirmed what she'd been seeing.

She rubbed her shoulder and sighed. "Fine. Where is Arcee? I will speak to her before I leave." She turned to go, but Ratchet stepped forward and grabbed her arm in his servo. She looked back at him. "It is obvious to me that I have caused many a problem for you Autobots, problems that you do not need." She sighed and looked down at the ground. "You have many problems, and I only make them worse… as well as cause more."

Ratchet sighed. "Arcee is located in the town that is just down the road from the base," he said. Then he frowned and looked Vesper up and down, who was still sporting her Cybertronian design rather than an Earth-based design. "But you certainly can't go there looking like that!"

Vesper looked at her body. "Do I need an Earth-based alternate mode?" she asked. Ratchet nodded, pleased that the femme had caught on so quickly. Vesper sighed and nodded. "Where may I scan one?" she asked, her tone quiet.

Ratchet looked over just as Miko and Bulkhead walked in, talking animatedly to each other. Both of them, however, fell completely silent when Ratchet focused on them. They shared a worried look, then Miko stepped forward and asked, "Why are you looking at us like that?"

Bulkhead frowned, then looked up at Vesper. "Is she going to meet Arcee soon?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yes, she is. However, she needs you two," he said, pointedly looking at both the human girl and the Wrecker, "To help her pick a suitable alternate mode for her."

Miko looked between Ratchet and Vesper, then sighed and crossed her arms. "Okay, fine. We'll help." She looked at Vesper, who sighed and looked at her damaged shoulder. Miko's face softened as she walked up to the scarlet-coloured femme. "Hey, it's okay Vesper. We'll find you a suitable alternate mode," she said cheerfully. Then her eyes narrowed as she scrutinised the femme. Vesper felt cold underneath Miko's gaze, but then the girl grinned and said, "Your alternate mode is a car!"

This resulted in a facepalm from both Bulkhead and Ratchet, and a small smile from Vesper. "Yes. I have never been one for two wheeled alternate modes," she said, then frowned. "No offence to Arcee, of course."

Miko nodded. "Cool. Now, let's go!" she said. Bulkhead rolled his eyes, but took both Miko and Vesper to a rocky outcrop, one that overlooked a freeway. A few cars drove here and there, including one that Vesper took a fancy to. Her eyes immediately took in every detail of the car, and once she was satisfied with her choice, she turned to Bulkhead and Miko.

"Thank you for assisting me in finding a suitable alternate mode for Earth," she said as they left the outcrop. As soon as they reached the road to Jasper, Vesper transformed into a scarlet 2006 WM Holden Caprice and, after thanking Miko and Bulkhead once again for their assistance, was about to drive off when Miko stopped her. "Is something wrong?" Vesper asked, feeling a little bit nervous. "Is there another Earth custom that must be observed in order for me to fit in during my stay on this planet?"

"Yeah… road rules," Bulkhead said, confusing Vesper, who transformed back into robot mode.

"Road rules?" she asked, looking between the Cybertronian and the Earthling.

Miko nodded. "Yeah. Every driver needs to learn them in order to be safe on the roads."

"That means," Bulkhead cut in, "That we need to learn them in order to fit in and not harm anyone." He sighed and shook his head. "Look, I'll—"

Vesper smiled. "Please just give me a run through of the basic ones I will need to know in order to get to the meeting spot safely," she said, and Bulkhead nodded before telling her which side of the road to stay on, what to do at traffic lights depending what colour they were, and so forth. When she was finally briefed, Vesper retransformed and headed towards Jasper, Nevada, not realising that she was being watched by more than just Bulkhead and Miko.

Optimus stood on the very top of the missile silo that served as the Autobot base. He watched as Vesper drove towards Jasper, and he sighed as he leaned against the wall. Then he squeezed his optics shut. He couldn't believe that he'd been acting odd to the point where the others were suspecting something, but to hear that Arcee believed that it was Vesper's fault? That pushed it over the line. While it was true to a point – Vesper was most definitely the reason for his odd behaviour – he didn't really want to tell anyone until he figured out what he was actually going through.

"I need to speak to Ratchet about this," Optimus declared to himself as he walked back over to the lift that would take him back down to the interior of the base. As soon as he was inside he went to find Ratchet and he soon found him, typing away on one of the many monitors that were inside the base. "Ratchet, old friend," he said, his voice just loud enough to catch Ratchet's attention. The medic turned and looked Optimus up and down, smiling just a little as Optimus approached.

"Hello, Optimus," the doctor said, then frowned. "Is… something bothering you?" he asked, looking Optimus up and down. The Prime hesitated for a few seconds, then forced himself to nod. This confused Ratchet, who told him to take a seat on the medical table. Optimus sighed as he obliged, but told Ratchet that there was nothing physically wrong with him. This confused the medic, who asked, "Then if it's not physical… are you emotionally or mentally troubled?"

"I… You must have heard me yell last night," Optimus said, his voice strained and his optics trained on the floor. "Arcee, Bumblebee and Rafael… they tried to talk to me, and they asked me what was wrong…" He looked up at the medic tentatively. "But… I do not know."

Ratchet frowned. "You don't know… what?" he asked.

Optimus slowly shook his head. "I do not know what is wrong with me."

Ratchet seemed a little taken aback by this. "E-Excuse me?" he gaped as he strode over and put his servo on the Prime's shoulder. "Optimus, why didn't you—"

"I'm confused, Ratchet," Optimus said, his voice even more strained and choked. "Every time I look at… at her… my spark seems to skip a beat…" He looked down at the floor again, his servos clenching. This caused Ratchet to sigh as he sat down next to the Prime. "Yesterday… when she was attacked… I felt anger. Rage, even… more so than I feel when any of my friends are harmed… I have never felt this way before."

"Optimus, I—" Ratchet was cut off when an alarm started to blare, and both Optimus and the medic got to their feet and walked hastily over to the monitor. Ratchet immediately opened communications only to get a frantic distress call from Arcee.

"Decepticons attacked… took us by surprise… Soundwave was with them… they have Vesper!" she said, then the comm line abruptly shut off. Ratchet and Optimus, frozen to the spot, only managed to turn their heads to look at each other.

"Optimus, go," Ratchet said suddenly, walking over to the Ground Bridge's control system and opening a Bridge to the location of the others. "If you're feeling what I think you are… then you will do anything to find her and save her. You're the best chance Vesper has."

Optimus nodded before transforming into his alternate mode – a custom-painted red and blue semi-truck – and drove into the Ground Bridge, soon finding himself with Arcee, who had been the only one with Vesper at the time of the attack. The other Autobots and even the human children showed up soon after, after he'd transformed back into robot mode, and while he was getting details about the attack from the injured femme.

"I didn't even know that there were Decepticons around… it was like they expected us to be here…," she breathed, and Optimus nodded as he stood. Then he turned to the others and instructed them to head back to base, only for Miko to object and say that she wanted to go with him (which, in turn, resulted in her getting a chastisement from Bulkhead).

"I want to go, though!" Miko complained, but Bulkhead shook his head.

"I cannot allow you to be in harm's way," Optimus said, his voice kindly when he spoke. He never even wanted humans to get involved, but now that they were, he had vowed to do everything in his power to protect them… which was a little difficult when all Miko wanted to do was come along into danger every time.

"Don't forget, Optimus," Jack said, walking over to the robot, "We've been on the Decepticon vessel before."

Optimus nodded. "I am aware of that, Jack," he said. "But nobody is coming with me." He immediately opened a comm line to Ratchet and said, "Open a Ground Bridge back to base."

As soon as one did, Bumblebee picked Arcee up, who was semi-conscious, and Optimus' companions entered the Bridge. Then the Prime waited until the Bridge was closed before he turned back into truck form and drove off, having received coordinates of the Nemesis, the Decepticon vessel that the Decepticon leader, Megatron, currently commanded. It was landed at the moment, allowing Optimus to sneak on board… provided he got there fast enough.

When he reached the vessel, he saw that it was still on the ground, and he thanked the Allspark for it. Vehicons – Decepticon troopers – were patrolling the area, but Optimus still somehow managed to sneak on board and through the hallways.

"Lord Megatron, she won't give us the access code," Optimus heard a voice say, and a scowl appeared on his face, as he neared a door. It was the exact same Decepticon that Optimus had thrown out of the crashed Decepticon vessel that Vesper had been found near. "She's impossible to crack."

"Then," Megatron's anger-filled voice rang through the corridor, "You are not trying hard enough!" Optimus shook his head, not wanting to listen anymore, and hurried away. He opened many doors, checked inside of them, but couldn't find Vesper no matter how much he tried. The only doors he'd not tried were the one to the control bridge and the one that lead to the room where Megatron and the other Decepticon had been talking. Grimacing, he snuck back towards the room where Megatron and the other Decepticon had been, only to hear Megatron say, "Knockout, we need that access code! I don't care if you have to rip her processor out to get it!"

Optimus' eyes widened in horror at Megatron's cruel words, but that horror was soon replaced with a burning rage that was even more intense than the one he'd felt at the crashed Decepticon cargo ship. He clenched his servos, trying to gain control of his anger; it would do him no good to foolishly run into the room and attempt to take down two Decepticons on his own.

The door opened suddenly, and Optimus quickly hid as Megatron and Knockout walked out, both still talking about Vesper. When they'd passed and were out of earshot, Optimus quickly dashed into the door, and his thoughts were immediately confirmed about the two being in the same room as Vesper.

She was hanging from the roof by chains, and it was clear that she had been brutally tortured. There were open wounds that dripped energon, and her eyes were dull, although it was clear that she was still somewhat conscious. Optimus felt his spark stop beating, and he felt as if he were in physical pain as he walked over and reached out. His fingers gently touched her cheek, and his turquoise optics took in every single dent and gash on her.

"Vesper," he whispered, his voice soft. A part of him hoped that she would hear him, but she barely responded. If he could cry, Optimus knew that tears would be welling up in his eyes right now. "I'm so sorry, Vesper," he breathed. "I should have gotten here sooner…"

"How touching," he heard someone say, and Optimus whipped around to see Megatron standing there, an evil smile on his face. Megatron's Fusion Cannon was pointed right at the Prime, who'd not even heard the door open. "She must hold a special place in your spark for you to come here all alone," Megatron hissed, his tone mocking as he spoke.

"What have you done to her?" Optimus said angrily, his tone making Megatron flinch and falter for the briefest of moments, as he transformed his servos into his blasters. "TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER!" he roared as his faceplate slid over his mouth, and he leapt at Megatron, who tried to combat Optimus as he changed his blasters to blades, but Optimus still managed to almost slice Megatron's Fusion Cannon off. He landed on the ground and turned again, then leapt at Megatron before the Decepticon lord had any time to respond. This resulted in Megatron having one of Optimus' blades directly through his chest, dangerously close to his spark chamber. Energon dripped off of the end of Optimus' weapon, and his turquoise eyes were hard and dangerous as he pulled the blade out, letting Megatron drop to the floor and gasp in pain. But that wasn't the end of it. Optimus knelt down near Megatron and stabbed his shoulder, pinning him to the ground, before leaning close to the Decepticon's face. "Tell me what you did to her," he repeated, this time his voice low and cold.

Optimus swore that he saw the smallest sliver of fear flash in Megatron's eyes before the Decepticon warlord shook his head and snarled at the Prime. "Never."

Optimus' eyes went colder than they already were, but instead of killing Megatron there and then, the Prime simply grabbed an energon prodder from nearby and jabbed Megatron with it, knocking the Decepticon out. Then he pulled his blade from Megatron's shoulder and replaced it with his servo before walking over to Vesper, who was still limp and unmoving.

"Ratchet," he said over a communication line once he'd managed to get Vesper down, "I have Vesper in my care."

"Good work Optimus! But we still have an issue," the medic said, and Optimus frowned as he walked out of the room, hugging Vesper to his chest. "There's a very powerful weapon on board the Nemesis, and it's the reason the Decepticons needed Vesper so much."

"I will retrieve the weapon?" Optimus asked.

"No," Ratchet said. "That weapon is far too destructive… and far too large for any Cybertronian to carry."

"So my only option is to destroy it?" he asked.

"Correct! However, you need to get Vesper back here. I will send the others to destroy the weapon," he said, and Optimus nodded. "All you need to do now is get out of the ship."

Optimus nodded as his faceplate disappeared, but said nothing more as he snuck back out of the vessel, making sure that Vesper was safe. As soon as he was out of eyeshot from the Nemesis, a Ground Bridge opened up, and he strode in. It remained open once he stepped into the safety of the base, and he watched silently as the other Autobots gave him calm, assured looks before heading into the very Ground Bridge he'd just emerged from. The human kids looked at Optimus as he laid Vesper on Ratchet's medical table, then stepped back as the medic checked her over. Then Optimus stepped back as Ratchet immediately began scanning the unconscious femme.

Suddenly the comm system began to beep, but Optimus decided that it would be too troublesome for Ratchet to answer, so he answered instead only to see that it was Special Agent William Fowler, their military support. "Prime!" he shouted, his face furious, "If Bumblebee gets spotted on the internet again, I'm going to get my behind kicked by Uncle Sam!"

Optimus sighed and nodded. "I will see to it that the issue is taken care of," he said, looking out of his peripheral vision to notice that Raf was already working on it. When the reported image had been removed, Optimus looked back at Agent Fowler and said, "The image has been removed, and I will speak to Bumblebee as soon as he gets back from his mission."

Agent Fowler snorted, but then cut off communications without another word. Optimus sighed and looked down at Raf, who looked just as disappointed as he did, then looked up at Ratchet, who looked like he was almost finished with the repairs. However, Optimus knew that they were critically low on energon, and he also knew that Ratchet could no longer spare any for repairs such as this.

"Optimus," Ratchet said without turning to look at the Prime, "She's been beaten quite badly and has lost even more energon…" He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. "We have critically low stocks as it is, but she is in desperate need of a transfusion."

Optimus didn't know what to think. He shook his head and frowned, trying to think of what he could possibly do. Then a thought came to mind. "How about a transfusion from a donor?"

Ratchet turned to look at him. "Unfortunately, the amount of energon we need is too much. I'm afraid that a donation is not an option," he said, turning back to Vesper and getting back to work on her. Optimus sighed, feeling strangely like he'd failed Vesper. He turned and walked towards his room, but didn't actually manage to get there without finally breaking down. He roared and punched the wall, then slammed his head against it and started to tearlessly sob. He didn't even notice that Miko, Jack and Raf had approached until he felt a small hand touch his leg, and he looked down to notice the three human children looking up at him.

"Optimus…?" Miko tentatively asked, looking up at him with worried eyes. "Are you al—"

"No, I am not alright," Optimus said, a little too quickly. "I do not know what is going on and I just want to make sense of things!"

Miko, Jack and Raf shared a confused look before Raf looked back at the Autobot and said, "Maybe we can help."

Optimus was about to decline, but a part of him knew that the kids might have actually been able to help him. So he sighed and said, "It's about… Vesper."

Miko immediately blurted out, "You like her? Like, in a romantic way?" This was met by a blank stare from Optimus, a facepalm on Raf's end, and an eye roll from Jack. Miko rolled her eyes. "C'mon you gotta give me more than a blank stare."

"I… I… I am confused," Optimus admitted after a few more minutes of blank staring. He looked away sheepishly. "I am aware that my spark skips a beat or two every time I look at her, and—"

He was cut off by Ratchet shouting, "BULKHEAD, I NEEDED THAT!" in anger, and the four immediately ran out to find that Ratchet was now chastising Bulkhead. Arcee and Bumblebee were behind him, both looking like they didn't want to know the bulky Autobot, who was still standing on whatever of Ratchet's tools he'd just crushed. Both Arcee and Bumblebee looked at Optimus and the human kids as they approached, and Ratchet groaned as Bulkhead took his foot off of the tool.

"Uh… sorry," Bulkhead said nervously, and Ratchet picked up the tool and gazed at it sadly.

"Great. Now patching Vesper up will take even longer."

Alarms started to go off in Optimus' processor, but he said nothing as Ratchet shook his head, started to grumble unintelligibly, and returned to fixing up the unconscious femme.

Hours passed before Ratchet was finally done, and by that time the kids – as well as their respective guardians – had gone home for the night. Optimus was sitting near one of the monitors, reading something that was from the Earth's 'information highway', or what the Prime had heard Raf call 'the internet'.

"Optimus," Ratchet said, his voice quietly chastising, "You need to get some rest."

Optimus shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on whatever he was reading. "I am not tired." He turned to Ratchet. "I… could not sleep if I tried, anyway."

Ratchet sighed. "Look, Optimus, she will be fine. You won't be, unless you recharge." Optimus, however, stood his ground without a word, and eventually Ratchet caved in (due to being tired) and said, "Fine. Stay with her if you want," before he stalked off. Optimus gave his old friend a small smile before walking over and sitting next to the table that Vesper was lying on. He sat close so that, if he wanted to, he could reach over and touch her face with his servo.

He sighed and looked away. "Vesper," he said softly, admiring the way her name seemed to come so naturally to him. "I… I'm here for you, Vesper."