(Please see all previous disclaimers)
As Optimus helped out and got to know his precious sparklings, Aquaformer suddenly snapped awake in her room, or so it seemed. She wasn't really awake, but sleep walking. She hadn't told anyone that she had these episodes as she hadn't had it happen since she turned into an adult. Little did she realize that her unknowingly being sparked again so soon after her last brood was messing with her systems. And her systems were telling her that something was wrong and she needed to leave wherever she was. Not realizing it wasn't real, she left her berth and then left her room.
Her systems, still out of whack, took her through little used hallways in the base, as if it knew she was in danger from something even though she was in no danger from the Autobots in the base. She kept going, her pathway leading her out of the base, with only one witness to her leaving – Chip. He didn't know her well, but he knew of her. Chip didn't think much of Aquaformer leaving the base, as nothing seemed off as she transformed into her aerial mode and blasted off. Chip continued to work on whatever he was doing, unaware that he was the only witness of Aquaformer's unusual departure.
Meanwhile, as Optimus was helping with his sparklings, he suddenly had a sinking feeling in his spark, like something wasn't right. He tried to shake it but it wouldn't go away. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was off or very wrong. Bee noticed that Optimus seemed off. "Is everything ok, Prime?" Bee asked, seeing the strange look on the Prime's faceplates.
"I…I'm not sure. Something feels off. I can't put my finger on it, but something is not right" Optimus answered, not sure what it was but feeling a need to go check on his mate.
Mirage noticed as well. "Why don't you go check it out, Prime, while we continue to watch your little ones?" Mirage offered, wanting to help but not exactly sure how.
"Ok" Optimus answered, handing over the little sparkling he had help feed and then the Prime headed out of the sitting quarters. Optimus then began to head towards his quarters, still having a bad feeling in his spark. He didn't want to pulse along the bond in case Optimus was just being paranoid and Aquaformer was still sleeping, but the closer Optimus got to his quarters, the stronger the feeling grew.
Optimus, upon reaching his and his mate's quarters, quickly entered the quarters and so far, found nothing amiss. Yes, the quarters were a bit messy, but that happened with sparklings. Optimus carefully moved around the toys and headed for his berthroom, expecting Aquaformer to be there, recharging. But when he reached the berth room, he didn't find Aquaformer. She was gone. Optimus then realized what his sinking feeling was – something was wrong with his sweet mate, Aquaformer. He tried to call out to her, but no response. This was not good and he knew. He knew Megatron was dead, but there were still rogue cons and other issues. Optimus headed out, hoping and praying he would find his missing mate.