Optimus didn't realise he'd fallen into a deep slumber until he felt a light peck on his cheek, and he blearily opened his optics to see Vesper close to his cheek, a warm smile on her face. "Good morning," she said, her voice tender. Optimus returned her greeting with a kiss, and then yawned. This caused the femme to laugh. "You are still tired?" she asked, a warm smile on her face.

Optimus shook his head, then smiled and rested his head back on his femme's. "This is nice, waking up with you," he breathed, and Vesper nodded in agreement as she snuggled closer. Then she heard him sigh with disappointment. "It is a pity that it cannot happen more often."

Sighing in agreement, Vesper said, "Indeed. But there is no point in complaining." She looked up at Optimus and smiled warmly, tenderly. "After all, we are happy; that is all that matters." She frowned. "But for as long as this war rages…"

Optimus smiled sadly. "Our happiness is under threat." As they had fallen asleep in an embrace, he tightened his arms around her and nuzzled his head into her neck. "As are our lives."

Vesper smiled. "But we will survive this war, and we will see Cybertron light again." A determined gleam appeared in her eyes. "This is what I believe."

Optimus smiled as he looked back up at her, but he didn't get to say anything as his audio processor started to chime. Both he and Vesper shared a wide-eyed look; they had communications with someone. They didn't know who it was, but it was the first contact they'd had since they'd reached the island, and the sparkmates both knew that there was a chance…

Optimus sighed as he put his fingers to his audio processor and answered the communication. "Hello?"

Ratchet, on the other end, had possessed no hope of getting in contact with Optimus. So, when he heard the Prime's crackly voice on the other end of the comm line, he was overjoyed. "Optimus, by the Allspark, you're alright!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of the others. He grinned happily. "Is Vesper with you?"

"Yes, she is," the Prime confirmed, and Ratchet had to suppress a whoop of joy. Instead, he asked where the two were, only to get, "I have no idea, regrettably," as an answer. He sighed; he had been hoping that the two had possessed some indication of where they were. However, he also received this: "We are on an island in the middle of the ocean."

"How in the world did you end up there?" Ratchet exclaimed, before shaking his head. "Never mind that, actually." He sighed. "Just stay put. We'll find a way to come and get you."

"Very well, old friend," Optimus said, before cutting off the communication line. Ratchet sighed as his hand dropped, but then he grinned and turned to the others, who were regarding him with curious looks. He explained to them that he had managed to contact Optimus, and relayed the information regarding the Prime's whereabouts. Finding out that Optimus and Vesper were sitting on a small island in the middle of the ocean concerned all of them, especially Alice.

"Well," Alice huffed, leaning heavily against her crutch, "I don't know how we're gonna get to them." She looked over at June and the kids. "I mean, we can't just hire a cargo ship and sail out to them." Then she seemed to reconsider her words. "Can we?"

June shook her head. "That's just ridiculous," she said. She leaned against a nearby rock, then nervously looked over at the pile of Vehicons… and at the offline Airachnid. "Not as ridiculous as us remaining here, but still ridiculous." The woman was right; the Autobots had screwed up, remaining in the same place they'd been attacked in. They needed to get moving, but there was no way they could leave a pile of Cybertronians here for someone to discover.

Wheeljack and Bulkhead had taken care of most of the cleaning up, but both of them had refused to touch Airachnid, saying that she was creepy. The job of moving the 'Con femme, therefore, had fallen to Arcee, who was more than happy to pick her up and toss her on the ground as roughly as possible. Now, most of the members of Team Prime were sitting together, huddled around a small campfire. The fire was not for the bots, as they were pretty much immune to the cold, but for the humans, who didn't have the same intolerance.

Ultra Magnus was the only one who maintained distance. He didn't quite feel like being social with the others, especially because he could tell that he was unwelcome. Instead, he decided to practice with his electric-based powers, to avoid another mishap that resulted in a mass casualty rate. He practiced channelling them through his hammer – one of the few things that could actually stand the electric current – but ended up distracted when Alice hobbled over and kicked him lightly with her undamaged foot.

"Yes?" he said simply, looking down at her and frowning.

She had nothing but a smile for him in return. "You okay?"

He grimaced, but didn't bother to correct her; he got the feeling that it was his sternness that was one of the reasons he was disliked. "I am fine, but thank you for your concern," he said bluntly, before returning to his practice. A part of him hoped that Alice would go back over to Ratchet and leave him alone, but most of him just knew that that wasn't going to happen. When she didn't move an inch, Ultra Magnus sighed, looked back down at her, and said, "Is there anything you require?"

"Just for you to actually be honest and tell me what's up, sir," she said, smiling sweetly at the warrior.

He frowned at her. "Do I have to?" he asked.

Alice started to laugh. Then she became deadly serious and said, "Yes. Or I'll tase you in the optic."

That thought didn't particularly appeal to Ultra Magnus. Even though he had powers based in lightning, it still affected him; he couldn't count the number of times he'd electrocuted himself during his earlier years. He sighed and looked away from Alice, not really wanting to tell her anything, but he managed to force himself to choke out, "They… dislike me."

Alice frowned. "I don't."

He shook his head. "I assumed that you did," he admitted, then rubbed his arm. "I guess that it is not so much me, but my command style."

Alice sighed; she would have put her hand on his leg, provided she didn't only have one arm and was using her only hand to hold her crutch so she didn't fall on her face. "Look, Ultra Magnus, I know that you're really by-the-book, but you're a military commander," she said. "It's to be expected." She looked back at the others, who were all trying to devise plans on how to rescue Optimus and Vesper. Then she looked back at the others and said, "I mean, you've been commanding like that for years."

"But my way," Ultra Magnus said, his voice sullen, "Is causing unrest among Team Prime."

"Bullshit," Alice coughed, and the warrior looked down at her, confused at her profanity. "Look, sir," she said, kicking him lightly again, "They may dislike it, but you're not going to change easily." She looked back at them again. "They have to suck it up and deal."

Ultra Magnus felt a small smile bloom on his face at the human girl's words. However, he said nothing as Ratchet – finally noticing that Alice was actually with the hammer-wielding warrior – walked over and asked, "Are you two ready to go?"

Alice nodded. Ultra Magnus was a little more reluctant, but he nodded as well. "What about the Decepticons?" he asked, looking over at the pile. "We cannot leave them here."

Ratchet shook his head. "Taken care of." His tone indicated that there was no room for discussion or argument as he transformed and opened his door for Alice. "In," he gruffly said, and Alice – shooting a gentle smile in Magnus' direction – got in. June had decided to ride with Bulkhead, who was taking Jack as well as his own charge, and Arcee was going off ahead, utilising her human holomatter form in order to maintain cover. Wheeljack decided that he would remain behind to deal with the Decepticons (although he still maintained that Airachnid was creepy), which left everyone else to go ahead.

"Stay safe," Bulkhead worriedly said as they departed, and Wheeljack waved goodbye as he watched the other members of Team Prime leave. Then he turned to the pile of Decepticons, and wondered how he was going to get rid of them. An idea sprung to mind then, and while it wasn't the most inconspicuous of ideas, it was the best he had.

So, as he rested his servo on the grenade on his hip, a small smile appeared on his face.