Optimus had his arms crossed over his chassis as Arcee sat in front of him, her expression stony and filled with anger. The others were all standing around, frowns on their faces. Vesper was standing behind Optimus. Ratchet was standing near his medical table with Alice sitting on his shoulder. Bumblebee and Raf were standing near Ratchet. Bulkhead, Miko and Wheeljack were all standing near the Ground Bridge. Jack was standing near Arcee, although he wasn't saying anything to her; he was on the phone to his mother – who had departed before the others had gone to Arcee's location – about something. Ultra Magnus was standing beside Optimus, and was just keeping a watchful eye on the two-wheeler sitting before him.
"You allowed your judgement to be clouded," Optimus said, and Arcee looked up at him. His optics were disapproving, as was his tone, but Arcee could tell that he was only disappointed in her and not truly angry. "This is not the first time this has happened, either," he mused, tapping his fingers on his arm. "I cannot allow this to continue."
"Optimus, Airachnid is—" Arcee started, but was cut off when Optimus slowly shook his head.
"I know, Arcee. Airachnid is the one who extinguished Tailgate's spark," he said, his voice filled with understanding. "But, as Autobots, we do not kill unless we have no other option." He sighed as his arms dropped to his side.
Arcee shook her head. "I know, you don't need to tell me," she hissed, looking away, and Optimus frowned, not liking the tone underlying her words. And he had good reason to dislike her tone, for he felt as if it were – somehow – a personal stab at him. "But she's dangerous! She must be killed!"
Optimus shook his head. "Arcee, I am afraid that—"
"My judgement, Optimus, is not clouded," Arcee growled angrily as she stood, and Optimus flinched as the femme's eyes flashed. Ultra Magnus' face became even more wary, and the others stiffened. Each and every one of them waited for what Arcee was going to say or do next. And even if they didn't know what she was going to do, they all knew that it was going to be bad. "If anyone's judgement is clouded it's yours!" she suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the Prime, and Optimus felt the energon in his veins go cold. "You're soft and weak, Optimus! You believe that everyone can be redeemed, but some can't! Megatron, Soundwave, Airachnid!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing. "They're all examples of people who can't be redeemed for what they've done." Her voice was low as she spoke. "Yet you just can't seem to see that, and it's because of you that our problems keep going!"
"Arcee!" Ratchet claimed, shocked, as he stepped forward and grabbed Arcee's thin arm in his right servo. "That's enough!"
But the damage was done. Optimus looked down, his servos clenching into fists, before turning on his heel and storming away. Miko went to jump off of Bulkhead's shoulder and chase after the Prime, but the olive green vehicle stopped her and shook his head slowly. "Leave him alone," he advised, his voice soft.
Vesper bit her lip as she watched Optimus leave the main foyer of the base. She was tempted to go after him, but she knew that it was probably best to leave him alone. She turned to look at the others as Arcee yanked her arm out of Ratchet's grip. Vesper noticed that all the others – humans and bots alike – seemed stunned by Arcee's outburst. Ultra Magnus, however, was doing the best at hiding his surprise. Bumblebee was chirping and beeping softly to Raf, who was nodding in agreement. Alice was now whispering in Ratchet's audio receptor, and his optics were trained on the one armed human. Jack had shut his phone and was now silently standing near Arcee, and Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Miko were all having a quiet conversation. Not a single one of them were regarding Vesper, so she found it a simple matter to slip away quietly. She did not, however, pursue Optimus; she was too deep in thought.
What Arcee had said about some people being unable to be redeemed had made her feel hollow. As a former Decepticon herself, she had sought redemption, and had been given it by Alpha Trion. But now she was not so sure if his redemption had been enough… and if she was one of the few who could not be redeemed. She could hope to Primus that she was not, but her spark believed that – no matter how much she tried – she could not remove the Decepticon stain from her records.
As she walked past Optimus' door, she heard a soft sobbing, and she stopped dead in her tracks. She hated that noise, coming from Optimus, and she immediately changed her plan. Walking over to the door, she opened it to find Optimus sitting on the edge of his berth, his face buried in his servos and his shoulders being wracked by his sobs. The door closed behind her as she stepped into the room, but the Prime didn't look up, and it did not appear that he'd noticed Vesper's intrusion. He did, however, notice her presence when she sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Please do not cry," Vesper whimpered softly, her own spark beating painfully within her metallic breast. "I am sure that she did not mean it."
Optimus shook his head. Whatever calmness he'd possessed when he'd departed from the others was gone, and Vesper could see that the Prime was at his most vulnerable. "I… I… I feel as if Arcee was right," he sobbed, looking away from the femme that he loved. Vesper frowned before wrapping her arms around Optimus' torso, ducking underneath his arm. Optimus hesitated for a few seconds, then turned and hugged her tightly around the shoulders as he started to sob even more violently. The femme sighed, before reaching up with a servo and gently rubbing the Prime's back.
"Shh," she murmured. "It is alright." She sat there, letting the Prime cry, and just murmuring soothing things whenever he managed to choke something – doubts, thoughts, feelings, everything – out. There was very little she could actually say to calm him and make him feel better about himself, but she still tried as much as she could.
Optimus, after about three quarters of an hour, finally stopped crying, although it was clear that he was still very miserable. He and Vesper sat in silence, wrapped in the other's arms, drawing comfort from the fact that they were just sitting together. They had each other, and that was enough for them both.
Arcee, on the other hand, had isolated herself. Sitting on top of the base, she looked at the sunset and tried to make sense of what she had done. She cursed herself for lashing out at Optimus; he had only been trying to prevent her from doing something irrational. She also presumed that Optimus had not known about Airachnid's injury, and he knew full well how dangerous the Decepticon femme was when she was at full strength.
"Arcee?" a voice suddenly said, and Arcee looked behind her to see Jack striding over, although he stopped a few metres away to give the two-wheeler some space. "You okay?"
Arcee sighed and nodded. "Just… I guess I shouldn't have snapped at him like that," she said, her optics glancing at a nearby grave, her tone remorseful. "He's… He's got a lot on his mind… and much weighs on his spark." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have called him weak. In reality, he's the strongest of us all."
Jack sighed. "You… You were angry. I mean, you had the chance to take your revenge once and for all." He shook his head. "But Optimus didn't let you."
Arcee nodded. "And I call him weak for doing what he believes is right…," she mused, looking back at the setting sun. "I shouldn't have said what I did. Killing – for revenge and in cold blood – is not the Autobot way." Jack nodded, but said nothing as Arcee stood and walked back over to the lift. Jack followed her, and the two soon found themselves back in the base's main foyer. Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus were in the throes of an argument that Ratchet was trying to stop, but it wasn't working. Arcee cleared her throat then, and everyone looked over at her and Jack as she looked at Ultra Magnus and said, "I'm taking Jack home, sir," before transforming into her motorcycle form.
"Safe travels," was all Ultra Magnus said as Jack got on Arcee and drove off, leaving the other Autobots alone.
Bulkhead sighed before looking at Miko. "I guess I better take Miko home, too," he admitted, and Miko groaned before climbing down his shoulder and, as he transformed into an olive green armoured car, she got inside and he departed. Bumblebee beeped – his way of saying that he needed to take Raf home – and soon enough both he and his small human companion were gone as well. That left Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Ratchet and Alice in the main foyer, while Optimus and Vesper were sitting in Optimus' room.
"And what of you?" Ultra Magnus asked, turning to face Alice, who was beginning to nod off.
"I'm an adult, I don't need to go home if I don't want to," she yawned, then leaned against Ratchet's neck and was almost instantly snoring softly. Ratchet smiled lightly before plucking the white haired human from his shoulder and laying her gently on the medical table, pulling a small blanket from the nearby couch and laying it over her.
Then the medic turned to Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus and crossed his arms over his chassis. "I'll have to assign you rooms, then?" he asked.
Ultra Magnus shook his head. "I will go retrieve my ship, bring it here and hide it, then sleep there," he said, his voice steely. Ratchet was about to disagree, but he decided that it would be pointless to tell the warrior otherwise and nodded. Ultra Magnus then transformed into his altmode – still Cybertronian in design, which Ratchet knew would need fixing – and drove away.
Wheeljack had a similar idea, so Ratchet let him go too before turning his attention to Alice. Then he smiled tenderly at her before scooping her up and taking her to his room. He laid her down on the headrest of the berth before laying down himself and closing his optics, placing himself in recharge mode.
Vesper and Optimus were fast asleep. They'd lain down on Optimus' berth, and Vesper was snuggled to the Prime's chest while his arms were around her. Their faces were serene and calm, hiding the fact that a short time ago, Optimus had been an emotional wreck. Vesper had finally managed to get him to calm down completely, but he'd been drained afterwards and had begun to nod off. However, when she'd tried to leave – in order to go back to her own berth – the Prime had begged her to stay with him, and she had given him a tender smile and a quick kiss before laying down with him and placing her head on his chest. They'd fallen asleep minutes later, and weren't aware of the fact that the others had left to go do curb-side duty or had gone to sleep in a place other than the base.
It was a few hours before sunrise when Optimus opened his eyes and looked down at the femme sleeping peacefully against his chest. He smiled softly, deciding to stay still as to not interrupt her. Then he sighed as he recalled the events of the previous day, and he squeezed his optics shut, attempting to force himself to forget about them.
"Mmm…?" he heard Vesper mumble suddenly, and he slowly opened his turquoise optics to see Vesper's cyan ones regarding him drowsily. "Why are you awake… at this time?" the femme breathed, her optics closing as she drifted back off into sleep. Optimus chuckled quietly before gently leaning down and kissing Vesper's forehead. She stirred only to move closer to the Prime's body, her hands on his chassis.
A proximity sensor that abruptly blared startled everyone who was still in the base – Ratchet, Alice, Vesper and Optimus – awake, and Optimus sat up, removing his arms from around the femme who was keeping him company. Vesper sat up as well, a little slower than Optimus did, and the two stood – with Vesper stumbling a bit and Optimus catching her arm – before they walked out into the main foyer of the base. Ratchet and Alice joined the two a few minutes later just as Optimus declared that the proximity sensor was indeed indication Agent Fowler's presence, and Vesper whimpered.
"You've never met Agent Fowler, have you?" Ratchet questioned, and the femme shook her head.
"He… is a bit odd," Optimus said, smiling warmly at the femme, "But you will adjust." The small group turned as the lift door opened and the agent stepped out, regarding them all with his normal expression, which appeared to be slightly angry. His expression became a bit lighter when he saw Vesper, but he didn't really regard her. Instead, he informed the group of why he was here at such a ridiculous time: Decepticons had almost destroyed Uluru, an Australian landmark, in an attempt to get at a large energon deposit directly underneath it.
"That's bad," Ratchet mused, and Alice, still half-asleep, nodded in agreement. "But why would they make themselves known? They don't really regard human life, true," the doctor mused, gripping his chin, "But they do tend to keep hidden…" He shook his head and crossed his arms. "Not as well as we do, but still."
"They do not need the energon desperately, either," Vesper pointed out. "They have plenty of energon stored on their battleship. So it does not make sense on why they would openly try to destroy a well-known landmark."
Optimus frowned. "This merits investigation." He walked over to the Ground Bridge. "Ratchet, Alice, you two will stay here and monitor the Ground Bridge," he said, turning his head to look at them. Then he turned to Vesper. "Vesper, you shall be accompanying me." He was reluctant to say this – much preferring if the femme remained at the base for her own safety – but he knew that he would most likely need assistance, and with Alice's return, Optimus believed that Ratchet would like to have some alone time with her.
Vesper nodded, sensing Optimus' reluctance. "Very well," she said, stepping over to him as he opened the Ground Bridge for Uluru's coordinates. The bridge opened, and the two stepped inside, disappearing almost immediately. Agent Fowler decided to leave, satisfied that his task had been completed, which left Ratchet and Alice alone. Ratchet didn't say anything immediately to the girl, but after a while he sighed and looked at her.
"So," he said, his lack of people skills becoming obvious, "Are you adjusting well? Or are you finding it difficult?"
Alice smiled softly as she reached up and gently brushed the stump with her fingertips. "I'm… struggling, I guess." She sighed as tears welled up in her eyes, and she hastily wiped them away.
"It must be difficult, having to learn how to do everything again with only one arm," Ratchet said. Alice immediately smirked at him, and Ratchet became wary, wondering what sort of filth – he knew that she was going to say something dirty – was about to come out of her mouth.
"Trust me, I already know how to some things with one arm," she said slyly before winking at Ratchet, which only served to gain the girl a roll of the optics.
"Alice, for now, you should focus on adjusting," Ratchet said simply, and the girl rolled her eyes before jumping off of her guardian's shoulder and putting her hand on her hip. But neither of them got to say anything more, because the alarms of the base began to sound, and upon some investigation, Ratchet realised with some horror that it was an emergency beacon.
From the coordinates that Optimus had put in moments before he and Vesper had left the base.