It's been three days since Raf received his new body, and in that time, he has learned the hard way not to anger Soundwave. During their first conversation, Raf discovered that Soundwave had placed a command code in his system, making him completely immobilized and unable to move until Soundwave allowed it. Despite his best efforts, Raf couldn't break free from the code's hold. Whenever he attempted a rebellion, Soundwave would cut the connection, causing pain to surge through his body. The pain was so intense that Raf was forced to plead with Soundwave to stop.

Feeling like a lifeless object, a prisoner in his own body, Raf longed for his life and his old body back. He yearned to see his friends and parents again. Although his mind screamed out in despair, not a single tear escaped from his eyes. His mind was slowly breaking, yet his body remained motionless. His only solace was the hope that his friends would notice his disappearance and mount a search for him, the thought of which helped him maintain his sanity.

But Raf didn't know how much longer he could endure the torment before he finally broke.

At the Autobot base, all of the members, including the humans, had serious expressions on their faces. Not even the lively Miko had a smile on her face. They were all worried about the missing of their friend Raf. No one had a single clue as to where he had gone. His parents had not seen him since three days ago and even after searching from his school to home, not even a hair of his had been found, as if he had vanished into thin air.

"It could be the Decepticons," Bulkhead said, voicing his opinion.

"Or M.E.C.H," Miko added, referring to a criminal organization known for their advanced technology.

"Or just any normal child kidnapper," Jack chimed in.

"I don't think so," he continued. "Raf has been missing for three days now. If it were a normal kidnapper, they would have called and made demands to the child's parents, but we haven't received any calls."

"So it's about a personal motive," Ratchet concluded. "Still, I can't think of anyone who would want to kidnap a kid like Raf."

Just then, an inorganic voice came from a yellow and black striped robot, "Bloop blip blop bleep!"

"I know that he can understand you and has promising skills in hacking, Bumblebee," Bulkhead told his yellow friend. "But the Decepticons already have Soundwave, so his skills will have no meaning to them."

"So that would leave only the M.E.C.H., then," Optimus concluded.

Jack shook his head. "Raf knows the location of this base, so they would really want to extract this information from him."

"And so would the M.E.C.H." Miko added.

"So we're back to square one, huh?" Ratchet said angrily. "Knowing nothing and trying to find a clue in this big, wide world."

Optimus tapped his friend's shoulder. "Easy, Ratchet. Everyone here is worried about Rafael, not just you, old friend."

"Boop Bleep Bleep Blop," Bumblebee communicated through his broken vocal cord.

"You can't search for Rafael alone, Bumblebee," Optimus turned to look at the yellow bot. "We can't risk one of us being ambushed in a situation like this, especially not with Rafael's safety in mind."

Bumblebee then transformed into his vehicle form.

"Wait, Bumblebee!" But Optimus was unable to reach the bot in time, and everyone watched as the yellow Urbana 500 drove out of the room.

"We can't stop him, Optimus," Jack said to the red and blue Autobot leader. "He's Rafael's guardian and must feel responsible for what happened to him. We should let him calm down first."

"But we can't let him go out there like this," Optimus seemed unhappy with the idea. "We should stick together and search for Rafael as a team to ensure everyone's safety."

"We're racing against time here, Optimus," Miko reasoned. "Every moment that passes increases the danger to Raf."

Optimus remained silent, but gave a nod to acknowledge their concerns. "I understand your worries, but we need to prioritize our search efforts. We can't split our resources to search two places simultaneously," he explained.

"Why not?" Bulkhead asked.

"Well, if something happens to one of us, the other team can quickly come to their aid," Miko pointed out.

"Exactly, that's why we need to decide which location to search first," Optimus added.

"I vote for the Decepticon base," Bulkhead said firmly.

"I have to disagree with you, big man. I think M.E.C.H. is more dangerous," Miko countered.

"I also choose the Decepticon base," Jack chimed in.

Everyone in the room turned their attention to Ratchet, the medic. "Umm... I think I'll go with... M.E.C.H," he said hesitantly.

"So, it's settled. We'll search M.E.C.H. first," Miko announced.

Jack nodded in agreement. "Then, we'll move on to the Decepticon base."

The group cheered and raised their hands in excitement, except for one orange and white robot who felt like he had made the wrong choice. He briefly considered that the Decepticons might have more reason to kidnap Raf than their base's location, but he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. The decision had been made, after all.

He had finally stopped crying….

….but his sadness still consumed him.

He was spiraling into a deep, dark pit in his mind, running away from his new, prison-like body, his captor, and his life. He had given up, his determination to escape shattered. He had locked himself away in his mind, no longer interested in the world around him. He simply existed, a shell of his former self.

However, suddenly, he felt a presence.

The presence seemed to appear from nowhere, but it radiated both an intimidating energy and a warmth that comforted Rafael's sadness. He didn't know what it was, but he was drawn to it like a fly to light. As he approached, he felt his sadness slowly melting away, as if he was being enveloped in a safe and familiar embrace. The presence exuded an aura of protection, providing him with a refuge from his emotions. He felt free and happier, his spirits lifting as he basked in the comfort of this mysterious entity.

As soon as Rafael's emotions returned to a state of normalcy, the presence disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Raf emerged from his mind, feeling refreshed and renewed.

What was that? Rafael wondered to himself, what could that presence be? He didn't know, but he was grateful for its help in bringing him back from the brink of losing himself completely. He silently expressed his gratitude, not expecting any response.

But then he felt a warm, comforting energy returning to him, causing his heart…spark to warm up. The presence had acknowledged his gratitude, before disappearing once again. Rafael searched his surroundings, looking for any signs of his savior, but saw only a Vehicon passing by and Soundwave still focused on decoding the Iacon. Could it be Soundwave? Rafael asked himself, then quickly dismissed the idea. Soundwave was the one who had put him in this situation in the first place. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't be. Or could he?

Rafael didn't receive any answers to his questions, whether from himself or from any other entity that might have overheard his thoughts. He had hoped for something, anything that would give him a clue or even a tiny hint about the mysterious presence. But nothing came after that, and he remained attached to Soundwave's chassis, as he had been for the past four days. The difference now was that his mind was clearer, no longer clouded by negative emotions. He was determined to find a way to escape this place, with or without the help of his friends. His fighting spirit had been reignited and he was resolved never to give up like that again. He was going to fight for his freedom and take back control of his life.