"By the AllSpark! What happened?!" Ratchet yelled as the bridge opened. The bots ran through as an explosion could be heard behind them. They were dented and scorched from the fire.

"The cons surprised us." Smokescreen said as he ran to close the bridge. The medic did a quick helm count and furrowed his optic ridges.

"Wait weres Optimus?" He said as looked around frantically. "Don't close the portal!" He yelled angrily.

"The cons will come through!" Smokescreen shouted back.

"Not until-"

"Ratchet!" The medic looked to the others and Smokescreen closed the portal. Bulkhead and Bumblebee looked at the floor as the medic stepped closer.

"What. Happened. To. Optimus?" He seethed angrily through gritted teeth. The two mechs looked at each other and stepped aside. Arcee walked forward with a sparkling in her arms. Optimus.

"By the... AllSpark..." Ratchet gasped and took a few stumbling steps back. "H-How...?" He asked quietly and shook his helm in disbelief.

"Don't freak out." Smokescreen said as he put his hands up defensively. Bumblebee face servod.

::You're supposed to say that BEFORE you give the news.:: he beeped in annoyance.

"We're not exactly sure. All we know is he was fighting Megatron.... we got separated from him for a while... and... Shockwave was there. When we found them again they were trying to pull him out of hiding to kill him." Arcee muttered as she looked at the little one in her arms. Optimus was shaking and holding on to her for dear life. They all stared at him.

"Well.... if science did this... I can undo it... hopefully..." Ratchet muttered and walked over to her. "Bring him to the medical area." He mumbled and walked away. The kids watched and looked at the little Prime. He stared at them with his big blue optics.

"Aaw! He's so cute." Miko said as she made a pouty face. Ratchet sputtered and looked at her.

"He is not cute. He's still Optimus Prime and a respectable mech. Don't forget that and don't-"

"Aaw little Opie is tired." Miko said as he yawned.

"Give him nicknames...." the medic muttered and pinched the bridge of an imaginary nose. "Miko I'm warning you. If you make a big deal out of this and humiliate our leader. I swear no one will find your body." He growled angrily. They all stared at him blankly.

"Gee someone's grumpy." Smokescreen muttered and folded his arms. Ratchet threw a wrench at him and hit his helm. The noise startled the sparkling and he buried his face in femme as he whimpered in fear.

"Ratchet you're scaring him." Arcee hissed angrily and rocked him gently. The medic stared at him and sighed quietly before putting the other wrench back.

"Bring him here." He muttered and she walked over. The medic did a few scans and found that the Prime was old enough to walk and would be able to communicate, even if it was a little. He also found whatever was done to him didn't completely effect his processor.

"This is fascinating." He muttered. "Optimus will occasionally fade from his sparkling mind, to his regular one." He mumbled and looked at them. Arcee gently set the Prime on the console and he sat there as he stared at them.

"What mind set is he in now?" Bulkhead asked hesitantly. Optimus looked at him seriously then at Ratchet.

"Did that answer your question?" Smokescreen asked as he smirked.

"Maybe when Optimus... is himself he can somehow help us know what to do." Arcee muttered as she thought for a moment.

"Until then we should take extra care around the base and make sure he doesn't get hurt." Ratchet said seriously. They nodded in agreement and set out to make the base safe for the little Prime.

"We'll figure this out." The medic muttered as he looked at his friend. Optimus didn't respond as he stared at his little servos. He wasn't sure how he would be able to help his team now, or go against Megatron. He looked at his peds and played with them as he slipped back into his sparkling mind.

Ratchet looked at him sadly then started to do a few things. After a few minutes he carefully took the sparklings arm and drew some energon to test a few things.

Optimus looked at him with his big blue optics and started to cry. The medic blinked a couple times in surprise.

"It didn't hurt." He muttered and started testing it. Bumblebee ran over when he heard him cry.

::What did you do?:: he beeped quietly and picked up the little Prime. ::There there, it's okay.:: he chirped and held him close to his spark. Optimus sniffed sadly and held on to the young scout.

"He's fine Bumblebee, I promise. He has handled things that are harder before." Ratchet muttered as he worked. Bumblebee rolled his optics and walked over to him.

::Ratchet, he's a sparkling now. You need to be careful with him.:: he whirled and looked at the little one. Optimus slowly started to fall asleep as he listened to the scouts spark beat. The medic watched quietly and frowned.

"Don't get carried away with treating him like a sparkling. He's still our leader." He said seriously. Bumblebee nodded absentmindedly as he held him. Not really listening to the medic's warning.

::Bulkhead. Come hold Optimus, I need to find him a place to recharge safely.:: he chirped and handed the sparkling to the wrecker.

"Uh.... I don't think-" He stopped as he held him in his massive servos. He watched Bumblebee run off and the wrecker stared at the little Prime.

"Bulkhead!" Ratchet yelled. "If you drop him and cause processor damage, I'll have your helm." he growled angrily as he looked at him from over his shoulder plate.

The wrecker gulped and set his other servo behind the sparkling. Optimus looked up at him and hugged his digit. Smokescreen walked over and stared at them.

"Anyone else find it weird to see the big boss acting like this?" He asked. Bulkhead gave him a look and sat down.

"It's not his fault." He said seriously and tickled the sparkling making him giggle. He smiled and chuckled softly as he held him gently. Miko ran over with the other two and they watched quietly. Ratchet didn't approve but didn't say anything about it.

~

Later that night everyone had gone into stasis and the kids had gone home. Ratchet was quietly working as usual at the computer as he tried to figure out how to help his friend. A few minutes later he heard little peds walking towards him. He sighed forcefully and looked to the doorway of the hall. Optimus stared at him quietly as he peeked into the main room shyly. The medic stared at him then pointed back down the way he came. The sparkling shook his helm and looked at the floor.

"Monster..." he whispered quietly. Ratchet just stared at him blankly. He sighed and walked over to him.

"Show me this monster Optimus." He whispered trying not to sound annoyed. The little sparkling ran back to his berth room and pointed inside. He watched the medic go in and look around.

"There's nothing in here." He muttered and looked under the berth. Optimus watched him and hesitantly got back on the berth as he watched. Ratchet sighed forcefully and looked at him. The little Prime stared at him then got down and wandered out of the room.

"Optimus... I don't have time for this." He mumbled and followed him out to the main room.

He stopped at the doorway as he looked at him. The sparkling sat in the middle of the main room as he stared at the computer. Ratchet hesitantly walked over and crouched by him.

"Ratc... het..." he whispered quietly but didn't finish. He looked up at his friend with concern in his little optics. The medic sat down and thought for a moment.

"You're concerned about the team." He said. "You're always concerned about the team and not your own well being." He grumbled. Optimus looked at his tiny servos and stared for a moment. He felt himself fading again.

"How... am.... I..." he trailed off as he stared at the screen of the computer. The medic waited for a few minutes for him to finish. But he didn't.

"How are you what?" He asked quietly. He continued to stare at the screen and stared at the Cybertronian writing.

"I'm... tired.... sire." The sparkling said quietly. Ratchet furrowed his optic ridges and shook his helm.

"Optimus I'm not your..." he stopped as the little Prime looked at him. He sighed forcefully and rubbed his face plate tiredly. He was back to being an innocent sparkling. Bumblebee was right, he had to be careful with him.

"I'm... scared." He whispered and looked at the shadows as tears filled his optics. Ratchet carefully picked him up and held him hesitantly.

"I know you are." He muttered and held him close to his spark. Optimus shook with fear as he looked at the shadows.

"Don't be afraid. We're here to protect you from any harm." He said gently. The sparkling closed his optics and listened to the medic's spark beat. It seemed to calm him and he slipped into recharge.

"I won't let anyone hurt you Optimus. You're safe here." He whispered quietly and watched him for a moment. He hoped they could fix this.