Sorry for the delay, here's a chapter for you...

"You're not a Prime! You can't defeat me!" Megatron roared, slamming his fist into Ironhide's face. The black mech went flying into the building, debris showering the street below. It took more will than Optimus thought he possessed to keep from screaming. His guardian was going to die.

He ran out from his hiding place and ignored the soldiers that tried to call him back. They couldn't stop him. They couldn't do anything to him. But in less than a second he realized his mistake in not listening; Ironhide crashed to the ground almost on top of him and couldn't control where he was falling. Optimus took hold of his guardian's arm and looked up without fear at his sire.

"Don't hurt him!" he shouted. Megatron froze, his cruel optics landing on his offspring. Charging his weapon, he pointed at his son.

"You are not an Autobot. You are a Decepticon. You belong to me!"

A blast knocked Optimus to the ground. His chest burned, his optics hurt. Pain tore through his chassis and he shrieked. Cold air swept over the hole the shot had left and while it soothed the heat, his spark constricted and panic raced through him. He was going to die.

Suddenly he was moving, being lifted off the ground. He caught a glimpse of shiny silver before the mech holding him took off away from Megatron.

"Hold on, Prime," Jazz said. His words were distorted, irregular, garbled. Optimus couldn't understand him. He heard someone cry 'Primus!' then he was moving again, this time to rest against a yellow green chest. It was the last thing he saw before the pain grew too much and he fell into statis lock.

Optims thrashed. He screamed and kicked and punched and tried hard to get out of the grip of whoever was holding him down. Remembered pain made him wail in misery and push at the servo that was pinning his chassis. He was aware of a voice calling his designation and it was familar, though he couldn't think of who it belonged to. After a minute more, he could hear words.

"Optimus! Optimus, calm down! It's alright!"

Ratchet. That's who was talking. Once it dawned on him that it was just Ratchet, Optimus' frame grew still. He could feel Ratchet's large servo on his abdomen, the other pinning his legs. Jazz stood on the other side of the berth, slowly retracting his servos from their positions holding Optimus' arms still. All of a sudden, he desperately wished Ironhide was there.

"It's okay, Prime, you're safe. You're just in Medbay with me an' Hatchet."

"It was only a memory file your processor was going over while you were recharging. Whatever you saw was the past," Ratchet told him, straightening up. He wasn't surprised when the youngling whimpered.

"I want Ironhide..."

"He's at a meeting," Jazz said with sympathy. He stroked the young mech's helm. "After Ratch' is finished taking care of you, I'll take you to training then we'll go straight to 'Hide. He won't want to be bothered while he's planning."

"I just need to finish my scans now that you're awake. I don't want to distress you again." Ratchet moved away to get his scanner from where he'd put it down. When the youngling only whined, Jazz pulled him into his arms and held him while the medic ran his scans. "Skip training. Our leader needs to take care of his charge."

"Got it, doc," the silver mech replied. He shifted his grip on Optimus and headed out into the hallway.