"Now that you have created the fire, control it. Don't allow it to burn the trees around us. Keep the flame cool." Optimus smiled as he watched his daughter. They had left the base thirty minutes ago to do some training, and it would definitely stand to reason that the crystal has given Azura the aid needed to use her abilities easier. But now he was ensuring she could focus and control it even better. Right now, she had a stream of fire hovering from the ground and she was controlling it and keeping it from the trees. "That's it, Azura. You are doing a marvellous job."

Azura was smiling as she listened to him. She kept her optics on the fire that as she moved the flame around the trees, keeping control over it so the flame would not spread onto the wood and create a fire. She was happy she had an easier time with her abilities, but Optimus was also right that she still needed to learn to control them. Having an easier aid didn't make her an instant expert. She would be foolish to think that, and it could get her into big trouble if she did not listen to Optimus's wisdom. He knew more about having power than her.

Azura managed to get the flame around the trees without burning anything and smouldered it on a boulder with a sigh. "I managed to do it." She looked at Optimus with a smile. "Do you think I did it?"

Optimus nodded. "It would have been good if you kept going to longer than you were just doing, Azura. You only managed to control it for a short time. Short victories are good, but you must keep working to get better, Azura. Do it again."

Azura nodded and concentrated, holding her hands out and created another low heat flame in her hands. She moved her hands to begin moving the fire around like she did before. She was very happy with what she was achieving already. Azura just didn't want to admit that she actually was feeling tired. It seems that using her abilities was draining her energy more, and Azura did not know if that was due to the crystal or it was just her.

Regardless, she didn't want to disappoint Optimus either. She wanted to work as much as she could, but she also knew she might not be able to do another hour of it. She didn't want to blame her grief of losing some fish on wanting to finish sooner than anticipated, especially as it would be a lie if she did say that. But if she did get more tired, Optimus would certainly take notice. Especially when she might start having trouble keeping her optics open.

It's silly since I've only been awake for a short time too. It must be the crystal.

Azura huffed and concentrated moving the flame around without causing an uncontrolled burn among the trees. It did feel good that she was able to control the fire this way though, as it meant she wouldn't hurt anyone. She did wonder what would happen in a stressful situation though. She knew she would panic, but she hoped it wouldn't be too bad. For the moment, she moved the flame between the trees and smiling as she watched the flame move between the trees.

Once she returned it to the rock however, Azura sighed as the flame disappeared in a puff and she placed her hands on her thighs while she took deep intakes. Optimus was immediately concerned, and he stepped closer to her. "Azura, are you okay?" She shrugged a little as she took deep intakes. "Were you feeling your energy draining faster than normal?"

She nodded. "Yeah…I wanted to say that before…"

"You should have said something, Azura." She knew that, and she turned to face him, only to stumble over her own feet and almost fell back onto the boulder. Optimus caught her and picked her up gently. "Hmm…I guess it might be due to your system getting used to the crystal engaging directly with your body. It could be the reason why you are feeling more tired than you had before."

Azura placed her hand on her crystal, and she shrugged. "It could be. Sorry, daddy." She looked at him with a guilty expression. "I feel bad that I couldn't train for more than thirty minutes. I wanted to, and I am going to do well…"

"But exerting your energy to the point you will get so exhausted and lose control is not beneficial. It seems we overlooked the possibility of your body needing time to adjust to the new addition to the body. You and I both know that crystal is no ordinary Cybertronian crystal." Optimus stood up as he cradled her against his chassis. "While it is indeed a Cybertronian crystal with power from the Matrix within it, I also believe that the power of the dragon may also be present in the crystal. I should have realized that when it connected directly to your system, it needs time to adjust."

"It isn't your fault either, daddy. I have not felt much different since it is only when I started to use my abilities, I would feel like my strength is being drained." Azura smiled at him before she sighed. "I'll be honest…I already want to recharge."

Optimus definitely felt worried if Azura already felt tired enough to fall into recharge. That normally was a sign she could be sick. But her body didn't feel warm, and she wasn't showing signs of illness, but that didn't mean she couldn't be becoming sick. "Hmm…I am going to have Ratchet check your system when we get back."

Azura groaned a little as she didn't want to go to the med bay. "Really? Couldn't I just recharge without being poked and prodded?"

Optimus smiled at her, amused by her small complaint. "Azura, you know that is not going to happen. He will scan your body to identify the issue that might be causing your energy to drain faster than it should. If something is happening, we need to know." He gently kissed her forehead, and she rests her cheek on his shoulder. "But if you wish to be in recharge before Ratchet checks your system, you can. Do you want me to place you inside my chassis?"

Azura immediately nodded and her smile widened immediately. "Yes please, daddy!"

Optimus hummed in amusement at the sparkling and opened his chassis before placing her inside. She immediately snuggled against the seats and he could see she was indeed very tired. She stretched her limbs with a groan and she yawned. Optimus was worried she was getting sick, and he knew that when sparklings get sick, it can be bad. Their systems weren't strong enough to deal with an infection or virus, and Azura's system was weak due to the fact will need a special procedure soon.

Optimus realized he was going to have to discuss this with Ratchet seriously. He needed a date and time for when Ratchet planned on it, as there has only been talks about it. And if Azura was starting to get sick, he worried that would weaken her and not be able to go through with it. Ratchet has stated Azura needed to be bigger and stronger to go through with the procedure, but now Optimus was questioning that judgement.

Optimus paced quietly for a while to think about it, while also giving Azura the time she needed to fall into a deep recharge. He thought back to all he had learned about regarding the dragon, even though there was more information about the planet the dragon actually came from. He does not recall any illnesses, but that was another concern. Dragon DNA was woven with Azura's CNA, that was a fact. And that too could also bring illnesses that they were not familiar with.

Optimus wished there was more information regarding the dragons as that would be a massive help. And now that the crystal had become a part of Azura's system, he did not know what changes that might occur for her in the near future. He intakes heavily as he realized that while he knew a lot about caring for a sparkling, he still had to learn new things in order to care for his daughter. Especially since she was different to him.

He placed his hand on his chassis, smiling as he knew he would never want to change anything about her, despite the challenges that were being presented. He was at least very happy she never fell into the hands of the decepticons. He would hate to think what would happen to Azura if she had ended up in Starscream's clutches. That would be horrendous for the girl. Especially as she would be a very dark, violent environment that could twist her mind.

"Ratchet, I require a ground bridge. Azura and I will be returning to base," Optimus informed after he opened his com link.

"Already?" Ratchet was surprised that Optimus reached out to him this soon. "It has only been a little over thirty minutes since you left. Did Azura get distracted by the loss of her fish already?"

"No, she did not. Something else has occurred that has resulted in her energy getting drained quicker than usual." Optimus turned his head as he heard the vortex opening beside him. "It is something we overlooked."

He walked into the vortex where he was met with a confused Ratchet on the other side. The medic glanced around when he noticed Optimus was not holding Azura, but quickly guessed that the sparkling was contained within his chassis. "What do you mean it is something we overlooked? She shouldn't be losing energy this quickly."

"It could be because of the crystal." That made sense to Ratchet almost immediately. He had not thought to check on the crystal after a few days, as checking it a few days ago there was not anything that seemed to be wrong. "I know it seemed fine a few days ago…"

"I understand." Ratchet tapped his foot with a frown. "But I am not sure, since a sparkling getting so quickly could also indicate an illness." Optimus nodded in agreement. "Hmmph! Alright, let's bring her to the med bay. I am going to guess she is hiding in your chassis?"

"She's in recharge."

"Recharge?" The made Ratchet's frown deepen in concern. "She's only been awake for several hours, and she's already exhausted. That is not good. If it is the crystal, then it is affecting the system. But, as you know, sparklings are vulnerable to illness. Plus, I have no knowledge of dragon illnesses, which will make it harder to treat most likely."

"I know. That is why I am now concerned. I did not notice her energy was draining until she struggled to keep a flame going for longer than she could get it." Optimus kept his hand on his chassis. He glanced at the other autobots as he they followed out of concern and curiosity for what might be happening. "I dare say that it could be a start of an illness."

"Which can be good, since we can nip it in the tail pipe early." Ratchet was thinking deeply about the possibilities of what might be causing Azura to lose energy faster. "I might recommend putting training off for some time until we can figure out what is going on with her." He glanced at Optimus curiously. He noticed Prime had a worried expression and he knew why. "Don't worry, Optimus. She will be in good hands."

"I also wish to discuss something else with you." That made the medic slightly worried as the tone of Optimus's voice was filled with concern. "The procedure." Ratchet widened his optics slightly. "I think it is time you provide a time for when it must happen. I know you said you wanted Azura's body to get stronger, but I worry you might wait until it is too late."

"Procedure?" Arcee frowned as none of the other autobots know much about it. "What procedure?"

Ratchet grimaced and clenched his fists for a moment before he sighed. "Since you three aren't fully aware, I'll tell you. This has been something kept between myself, Azura and Optimus." He guessed Optimus wanted the others to know, which was why he said something to him while they were present. "Sometime after Azura had returned to the base, I had done a thorough check up on Azura to see if her systems were fully developed. Her essential systems have, and so have a few others, and they will keep her alive, but there are some systems that are present but are either unable to function or haven't developed properly. As you know, a sparkling's development within a carrier's body is a complex development. Parts from the carrier's body gets delivered to the sparkling. It's honestly a miracle that Azura has developed this far without Optimus."

Bumblebee widened his optics in surprise. "How is it even possible?"

"Honestly, as Azura has a direct connection with the Matrix in her CNA, I believe that is the reason for her system's development up until this point. But as she hasn't grown naturally within Optimus's body, there are systems missing from her, and it is also possible…" Ratchet paused as he thought about it. "It is possible that as she gets older, the systems will strain and overwork."

"Like they could be now?" Arcee asked him bluntly, and Ratchet did not respond. "So what exactly does this procedure entail, exactly? We don't exactly have parts to donate to her, and most of our systems are developed within our carrier."

Ratchet rubbed his neck as he was not sure how to respond, but he knew that he should say the truth. "Well…the procedure involves Azura getting her full system from Optimus. I know Optimus never had a gestational chamber. But in order for this to work, she needs this to happen with her carrier. The procedure is an old procedure, where it involves the carrier's system being tricked into reconnecting with the sparkling to complete their development. It is not a common procedure, but it is the only procedure that will ensure Azura is healthy."

Arcee was frowning as she listened to Ratchet. "So…Azura will be connected to Optimus by umbilical lines and his system will, essentially, be reprogrammed to get parts delivered to her body so that she may have a full system?" Optimus and Ratchet nod affirmatively. "How the frag will that work? I don't expect Optimus to be laying on a med berth with Azura like that for too long. We have too many things to be concerned about, and he is probably going to need to be on the field to do it."

"Well…I haven't revealed that part to Optimus yet either." Ratchet was feeling uncomfortable as he felt the optics of the autobots staring at him. "Look, Arcee, that piece of information will come out when the time comes…"

"I believe it should be said way before you go ahead with the procedure, Ratchet. As far as I am concerned, the only way for Azura to even go through with that procedure would require Optimus to…" Arcee paused for a moment as she thought about how the procedure would go before widening her optics. "Ooohhh…I think I figured it out."

"You figured it out?" Bulkhead frowned as he was curious about what Arcee had worked out. "What have you worked out?"

Arcee looked at Ratchet who looked away from her as he didn't care if she said it. "Hmm…I think Ratchet's right about being the one to say it to Optimus." Optimus hummed softly as he was listening, and he was a little irritated that the truth was not being said to him. "Don't worry, Optimus. I already know you would be okay with going through with it."

Optimus did not say anything. He had already worked out how the procedure was going to go, so he did not question it. He was more concerned about when it would take place. He worried that his daughter could weaken to the point where she could not go through with the procedure. He hoped this would not be the start of something that would distract him. They already had enough on their plate to begin with, but he knew it was not Azura's fault.

Walking into the med bay, Ratchet placed a blanket onto a med berth before Optimus opened his chassis to place her on it. The autobots watch as Azura shifted in her recharge and Optimus smirked as she placed her thumb in her mouth. He could never get out how adorable she was. He rubbed her forehead with his thumb gently as Ratchet began to scan the sparkling's body. He gazed at the golden strands that seemed to create a blanket around her head. It was unique to his daughter, and it made her stand out from the autobots.

"Ratchet, can you please tell me when we can proceed with the procedure?" Optimus asked the medic, looking at him with a frown. "I need to know. I fear that we might be waiting too long."

Ratchet sighed as he focused on the scan of the sparkling's body. "I had been hoping to go through with it in about four weeks from now." Optimus raised an eyebrow as he was not sure if he should believe him or not. "As Azura has been getting stronger, and I figured it would be fine." He frowned a little as he read the results on the scan. "But it seems you might be right. My scan is showing inflammation around the crystal, which is causing some of the energon veins to swell a little."

"Only a little inflammation?" Bulkhead asked curiously as Ratchet put the results up on screen. "It should be fine, right?"

"Bulkhead, you should know that a sparkling's system cannot handle inflammations well." Arcee shook her head and looked at the screen curiously. She widened her optics slightly. "It almost looks a bit like an infection or something."

"Correct, Arcee. Her body appears to be reacting as though a virus has entered her system." Ratchet typed on the console to get a more detailed reading on what was going on. "It probably is due to the crystal, and her body is simply reacting." He rubbed his chin as he read through the results. "But at least it seems that it hasn't affected her system directly. Only one of her systems does not appear to be a normal Cybertronian, which could be closer to an organ from the dragon, and it seems to be responding a little, when it hasn't before."

"What do think that part is responsible for?" Bulkhead asked curiously.

"I am not sure. And there's absolutely no way to know without literally taking it out for a closer examination. And I will not do that." Ratchet shook his head as he was frustrated. "Ugh…and I was so hoping she would be well…" He tapped his fingers on the side of the console and turned to face Optimus. "With your permission, Optimus, I will need an energon sample from her to see if I can see the virus on a micro level to allow me to see if it is similar to any of our illnesses. I don't want to give her anything that might cause her body to react negatively."

Optimus nodded as he wanted her to be well. "Do what you have to, Ratchet. She fell into recharge before I came back for this reason. She did not want to be poked and prodded." Ratchet rolled his optics in amusement as he grabbed a syringe and walked over to the berth. "If Azura is still weak in four weeks, could we still proceed with the procedure?"

Ratchet did not answer Optimus straight away as he gently lifts Azura's arm to push the syringe into an energon vein to fill. The sparkling whimpered in her sleep, and he pulled the syringe out as she tried to pull her arm away. "I won't lie, Optimus. The procedure is taxing for both carrier and sparkling when I must start it. But by the end, you both will come out good." He looked at his leader with a sympathetic expression. "I will allow it, only if she is not terribly weakened by then. If she is too weak, we cannot proceed without…causing another loss."

Optimus looked at Azura with a worried expression. He hoped that Ratchet could ensure she did not get sick, or at least, the illness can be managed. He did not believe the crystal could cause her to perish, but he did not expect her to get sick from it. "I understand." Ratchet nodded and he turned to put the energon sample into a machine to take a closer look at it. "Could there also be something I can do for her?"

"Honestly, Optimus, the only thing you can do is comfort her. Just be aware that she might not want to ingest as much energon as before, only because she might not feel up to it. But don't force her." Ratchet did not know what else to tell him. "I expect her to recharge more often, and she should. Encourage rest, as she will need plenty of it."

Optimus understood. He picked her up gently and opened his chassis again to place her inside. He did not know if her being close to the Matrix would help or not, but being close to his spark would keep her calm. "Unfortunately, we do not possess knowledge about dragon illnesses. It would certainly help if we did."

"I agree, but it honestly could be a simple inflammation. We just need to watch her. And no more training sessions until after we proceed with the procedure. I do not think it's wise for her to exert any further energy than she already has." Ratchet looked at the autobots with a kind expression. "I know you and Bumblebee would have wanted some time with her like Bulkhead as well, Arcee. But that is going to have to be put on hold. She can be taken out for some fresh air, but it would be very rare for that to happen."

"I understand. There's no way that I want her to get sicker as well, Ratchet." Arcee thought on what she could do to help. "I wish I could do more. And we have several hours before we have to go back into town to pick up the kids."

"There's not much we can do, Arcee. We can only be there for her." Bumblebee thought on something for a moment before gasping. "Ah! I know! I can get her something that will make her smile. Especially since she loves stuffed toys."

"Doesn't she have enough?" Arcee asked with a smirk.

Optimus hummed in amusement as he walked towards the door with his hand on his chassis. "I think you will find that Azura believes that she does not have enough. She might already have nearly a hundred stuffed toys, but she will never say no to more."

"She has that many already?" Arcee had not realized the sparkling had so many. "Hmmph…well…never thought that would the case. I guess she is the type of sparkling that obsesses over a particular toy…at least they're easy to get." She looked at Bee as he walked out of the med bay quickly excitedly. "Just make sure that you don't do anything stupid to get the toy, Bee."

"Don't worry! I won't!"

Optimus himself was happy that the autobots were rallying around to help. And yet, that didn't necessarily make him feel better. He actually felt guilty that he took Azura out to train without realizing something might be wrong. But Azura didn't seem to be sick, she was upset that the fish had passed away and there was nothing else that seemed to be wrong. But that could have easily been because she did not exert her energy.

But if she had not, they might not have discovered she had an infection that could turn into an illness. He just hoped that Ratchet had something to help against it. It might be difficult, given she was different from all Cybertronians, but he trusted Ratchet. Optimus just felt helpless. He could only be there to help her through this. He only hoped that she would not fall deathly ill. He was hoping to Primus that she would be okay. And they could finally proceed with the procedure. He felt it was time, and Ratchet could not stop them anymore. Not while Optimus believed it was the right time.