"No respect."

Optimus would have chuckled if his spark didn't feel like an offline weight in his chamber. "I went through the same thing with Bumblebee."

Weapons clashing, guns firing, offlined shells of those who used to be littered the ground.

Sadly, this was not uncommon to the big mech.

Optimus was once again pitted against his brother, Megatron, as war waged around them. They were almost evenly matched- as always. Optimus could sense that Megatron was getting worn down; the bullet Optimus put in his shoulder probably was the main cause of that. Just when Optimus thought that he was about to get the upper hand, a bright blur of yellow streaked past on a seeker, causing him to falter.

Suddenly, he was on his stomach on the ground, a sword right behind his neck. "You always did have a soft spot in your spark for your sparkling, didn't you?" Megatron hissed. "Maybe once I'm done with you, I'll give the nephew a visit!"

Optimus strained to get up- no one would touch Bumblebee. Not if it was in his power to stop them.

"Say hello to your fallen brothers for me, Prime!"

Optimus sent a burst of love and apology to both Elita and Bumblebee. May Primus protect their sparks...

And suddenly, the sword was no longer pressed against him. Optimus rose immediately to see Megatron on the ground, wounded, with Bumblebee standing nearby, cannon smoking.

"Decepticons, retreat!" the war lord cried as he got up to one knee joint. He glowered at Bumblebee. "We will meet again...and the next time, I will not be so easy on you." He transformed roughly and took off into the sky.

Looking back, Optimus should have heeded that warning. Bumblebee's vocal cords would pay the price at the next battle.

"Opiluck!- I mean, uh, Prime, sir," Bumblebee stuttered as he rushed over to Optimus. "Are you alright?"

Prime felt rage. At his brother or at himself, he did not know. "Bumblebee, I gave an order! You were not to come near Megatron!"

Bumblebee's face fell. Opi never talked to him like this before. Sure, things were different now that he was in the Autobot army, but things weren't...that different, right? "Opi, I-" he stopped, hanging his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but you were down, and I couldn't just-" his voice cut off. "I couldn't let you offline, Opi."

Optimus closed his optics and took in a deep cycle. He put a servo on his little mech's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bumblebee. I'm not mad at you...I was angry at Megatron...and with myself. I thank you for what you did. It was very brave," Optimus smiled when he saw that Bumblebee did. "If I give an order, though, that's an order. I know you wanted to save me, but one day...you might not be able to. And you'll have to go on without me and take care of Elita for me. Do you understand?"

Bumblebee, who had looked down trying to hide his tears, now looked up at nodded. "I understand, sir."

Optimus smiled even more. "That's 'Opi' to you, cadet." Bumblebee smiled happily. "Now tell me, what were you doing harrassing that seeker?"

Optimus almost let a chuckle slip, looking up and seeing Bumblebee talking animatedly with Drift. He'd gotten better at taking orders since then...somewhat.

"I gave an order!" Optimus shouted as he saw Bumblebee drive up with the humans. He knew what Lockdown was capable of...and he knew that Lockdown would not hesitate to kill either one of them. Elita would never forgive him if something happened to their little mech...or rather, he would never forgive himself. He should have listened to Ratchet and Ironhide before it was too late...

"PRIME!"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Optimus looked up from his datapad and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You may enter."

The door slammed open to show Ratchet covered in energon and an amused Ironhide behind him holding a recharging Bumblebee. "I have had enough of your miscreant!" Ratchet fumed, stomping into the office up to the Prime's desk. "I tried to give him his energon, but he insists on not taking it unless you are around!"

Optimus raised an optic ridge and let a small smile form on his face. "Are you insinuating that this is somehow my fault?"

"That's exactly what I'm insinuating!" Ratchet huffed. Ironhide now stepped forward and transferred Bumblebee from his arms to Optimus' arms, still looking rather amused.

"Sparklin' messed with the wires in my pistol, too. Should be an easy fix, but you might wanna warn him that it's not safe just in case," Ironhide mentioned as he tickled Bumblebee's wings.

Ratchet scoffed. "Sure- let him off easy! You both are such soft sparks." He then turned serious, calming down and lowering his voice. "Prime, eventually he's going to have to learn to take orders. On a battlefield-" he stopped. None of them ever wanted to imagine the precious sparkling on the battlefield, but they all knew that one day...

Optimus' optics dimmed, but he nodded. "I know, Ratchet. I apologize, to both of you, for his behavior." Ratchet nodded and walked out.

Ironhide heaved a sigh, staring sadly at the sparkling. Such a happy, light-sparked little one. Always smiling and laughing. Curious about weapons, which of course pleased the trigger happy mech. "Optimus...Ratchet's right. You can't always let him get away with things...we both know that one day he's gonna grow up and be out there on the field with us."

Optimus looked down at the recharging sparkling in his arms, who had now taken hold of one of his digits with one of his tiny servos. "I know, friend, I know...thank you." He nodded, and Ironhide took this as a dismissal.

The burdened leader sighed. One day...one day would come too soon. Optimus knew that he didn't have the spark to be harsh when he needed to. But what if one day, that costed his little mech's life?

Now, as he flew in the vast darkness of space, he thought back to when he first met his little mechling. After the bombing of Praxus...

"Prime! Prime!" Jazz shouted out.

Optimus turned to his TIC, concerned at his lack of an accent. "Yes, Jazz, what is it? What's wrong?" What a question to ask. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did go wrong these days.

Jazz broke into a smile. "What's wrong? More like what's right! Prowl and I found a sparklin' in tha rubble ova by the Cryst'l Gardens! He's ova in the med-bay righ' now!"

Optimus' optics widened in surprise. A sparkling? A sparkling that...survived? "Lead the way. He may trust you more than I because you found him."

Jazz walked in stride with the Prime. "Maybeh so, maybeh not. He migh' take ta Prowl, since they're both Praxian." Prime considered this. He knew that Prowl would not want to take care of a sparkling; even if the SIC wanted to, he was too busy.

They arrived in the medical bay to see Prowl holding an upset, bright yellow sparkling. Ratchet was trying- and failing- to calm the sparkling down. Once the Prime took a step into the room, the sparkling immediately ceased his crying and looked up at the big mech with his little baby blue optics. He stretched a servo out to the big mech, wanting to be held.

To the astonishment of every bot in the room, the Prime automatically stepped over and scooped the sparkling up into his arms. "There, there, little one," he said softly. "You are safe."

"Well I'll be slagged," Ratchet puffed, shaking his helm. "Here- he'll probably respond to you best, then," the medic said, handing the Prime a bottle of low grade energon.

The sparkling's optics lit up at the sight of the energon. "Here you go, little one," Optimus said as he gave the sparkling his energon. He drank it down as quickly as he could and fell into recharge almost immediately after. Optimus smiled softly as he observed the small sparkling in his arms. He opened up his bond with Elita.

Love...how fast do you think you can reach the medical bay?

In just a few clicks. Why?

It's a secret.

Silly mech, you don't keep secrets from your bonded.

Well then you'll have to come down to the medical bay to see, won't you?

I suppose I shall. Be there soon.

"Oh no...I've seen that look before," Ratchet groaned, pulling Optimus away from his conversation with Elita.

"Excuse me?" he asked curiously, not knowing what Ratchet was referring to.

"That," the medic said, motioning aimlessly toward Optimus' faceplates. "You want to keep him. Fine by me- just check with the bondmate and sign some datapads and you're all set," he drawled sarcastically. "Optimus, you know how busy you are? How on Cybertron are you going to add a sparkling to your schedule?!"

"Perhaps with the assistance of his bonded," Elita said smoothly as she stepped into the medical bay. She walked over and saw the tiny yellow sparkling in her mech's arms, nearly melting on the spot. "What will we call him, Love?"

Optimus looked up at Elita with a new kind of adoration that she had never seen before. "...Bumblebee," he decided.

Elita smiled, rubbing the sparkling's helm with her digits. "Bumblebee...I like it. It suits him." She and Optimus shared a smile before she turned to Ratchet. "Where are those datapads you were talking about earlier? I think now would be a good time to sign them."

Ratchet sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why me, Primus? Why me," he muttered as he walked off to get the datapads. Elita and Optimus chuckled.

Ratchet...poor, old Ratchet. May he be happy at last in the Well of Allsparks with Moonracer...and with Jazz, and Ironhide, and countless others...

Optimus sighed. This war never ended, it seemed. And it had only worsened when they arrived on Earth. When they arrived on Earth...

It seemed like eons ago...but he could still remember everything. Even the things he wished he could forget.

Optimus looked away as he heard Bumblebee crying out. He knew what he was trying to say with his limited vocal cords...

"Opi! Opi! OPI!"

Everything else was white noise.

"Optimus," Jazz suddenly appeared. "Are we just gonna stand here and do nothing?"

Optimus sighed and looked down, unable to look at his TIC. "There's no way to free Bumblebee without harming the humans."

"But it's not right! He-"

"Let them leave."

He sighed. He regretted leaving Bumblebee there more than anything. He regretted leaving Bumblebee back on Earth now, as well. Hopefully, he would be able to return soon. Hopefully.

He'd been wandering in space now for too long. If his energon was low when he first started, it was beyond critically low now. He sent out yet another distress signal that would probably not be received. Primus heard his prayers, though.

::This is Autobot Prowl, Second in Command, Pilot of the Ark II. Identify yourself.::

::Prowl, old friend...it's been too long.::

::Optimus? What are you doing in deep space?::

::Reports can wait until later, friend. I am running critically low on energon. Come to my coordinates.::

::Yes sir. Ten clicks away.::

::Thank you. And is... Elita there?::

::Yes sir, she is. I'll alert her of your presence.::

::Thank you, Prowl.::

::You are most welcome, Optimus. Nine clicks.::

Optimus stopped his engines and let himself float in space to conserve energon. He closed his optics. His bonds felt so weak. His bond with Bumblebee was weak because of the distance between them. His bond with Elita was weak because the same reason, but they had been distant for far longer.

His HUD lit up bright red.

ENERGON LEVEL CRITICAL

OPERATION: STASIS LOCK

::Prowl! I am entering stasis! Once you retrieve me, set course for Earth! I repeat, set course for Earth and-::

Darkness.

Both bonds were there.

That's odd...it had been eons since that had occurred.

Optimus...wake up, Love.

Elita?

Yes. Bumblebee is here, too.

How did you find him?

We set course for Earth as you instructed, and we located their energon signals. We picked all of them up, excluding the Dinobots.

So...everybot is well and safe?

Yes, Love, they are. And they would like to see that their leader is, as well.

Optimus powered on his optics.

"Here- Brawn, help me sit him up."

"...First Aid?" Optimus questioned, his muddled processor slowly clearing up.

"Yes, sir," First Aid responded. "Still forgetting to mind your energon levels, I see. I'm sure that Ratchet reminded you of that, though clearly not enough."

Optimus hesitated. "Ratchet is...offline." First Aid's helm shot up, optics wide. "My deepest apologies. He was a wonderful mentor to you, I'm sure."

First Aid nodded numbly. "Yes...yes he was." Silence reigned for a moment. "If you're feeling alright, I'll let your visitors come in now." Optimus nodded his helm silently, wishing that he hadn't mentioned Ratchet.

First Aid opened the door and said something before he exited, helm hung in defeat. A petite rose colored servo caught the door and pushed it open all of the way to reveal it's owner. Elita-One stood at the door, a large smile on her face plates. And not too far behind her was Bumblebee.

She walked around to sit to the left of him on a chair, and Bumblebee stood at his right. "Hello," she said, optics shining. "You've been dearly missed by many...specifically one femme."

Optimus took her servo and kissed it. "And I have missed her as well." He turned to Bumblebee and patted the empty section of the large medical berth they had him on. Bumblebee immediately crawled up onto the berth and snuggled into Optimus.

Optimus turned to Elita and saw her smiling serenely at their little mechling. After everything they'd been through...he was glad that the two closest to his spark made it. Maybe not every other bot in their family had survived, but they would certainly not be forgotten.

Optimus stood in front of the last of the remaining Autobots, helm high. Prowl stood steadfastly to his left, and Elita stood regally to his right. She sent him love and comfort through the bond.

"Many of you, I'm sure, have heard of the loss of Ratchet, our friend and CMO," he started out calmly, gaging the reactions on bots' faceplates. "It is with great sadness that I say that he was not the only one lost. Jazz, Ironhide, Sideswipe," he heard a gasp in the crowd from Sunstreaker, and saw that the mech now had a servo over his spark, "Mirage, Wheeljack-" his voice cut off, and he took in a shaky cycle of air. "And countless others. My greatest condolences to every bot who lost a brother-in-arms, a sibling, a mentor...but more importantly, a friend. May they rest well with Primus." He allowed a moment of silence to reign over the crowd.

"However, we now have a new task, Autobots. All Decepticons that we know of are offline, excluding one- Galvatron. To keep things short, he is Megatron reincarnated," he heard some whispers in the crowd. "Galvatron's goal is to take the Seed- the reason that I was in deep space- and detonate it, cyberforming any world he chooses. Lockdown, who was the original owner of the Seed, also informed me that our 'creators' wish to see me. Well...if it's a visit they want, it's a visit they'll get, correct, Autobots?"

"Yes, sir!" rang out through the ship.

Optimus stood silently for a moment. "For the loved ones we lost, for the humans who have died for us," he paused, "...and for the home we've lost. We will end this war once and for all."

"Sir," Bumblebee stepped forward out of the crowd, using the voice that he rarely could anymore. "I believe that's an order I'll take."

Cheers erupted from the group of Autobots. Optimus smiled proudly.