"And I was positive that, unless I got myself together, I would watch me fall apart, and I can't let that happen again, 'cause then you'll see my heart in the saddest state it's ever been."

~~~

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Time: 12:16 PM

Date: The 28th solar cycle of quartex 5

Status:

Team Prime is slowly returning to normal. We've taken care of recent Decepticon activity, but no sign of Megatron, or the Matrix. Arcee seems to have assumed role as leader after Optimus' demise.

Ratchet's digits shook slightly as he typed out those words. For everyone's sake, he had to at least look as if he'd accepted it. But in reality he was far from ever doing so. How did you move on when you lost someone you had cared-still cared-about so much?

The Decepticons seem to keep to low activity. The civilians are adjusting, though slowly. As are we all.

You already mentioned that.

Ratchet sighed, mulling over his thoughts.

All is quiet. A little too quiet.

He dismissed the screen with a touch of a button on his keyboard, venting out quietly. He needed to know what Megatron was planning. What he was going to do with the matrix. It drove him mad, the constant paranoia that Megatron would shoot down their base any second.

So do something about it.

The thought never left his processor. He planned on doing exactly something about it, but what that was, he wasn't sure. He vented out slowly and pinched the area where a nose would be. His processor throbbed slightly. He couldn't get his thoughts to calm for a few seconds. They never could. They always bothered him of thoughts of one person. One Autobot. One leader.

One friend.

He shook his helm. It was almost hard to believe that the data clerk he met in the Iacon Hall of Records became so much more than that. A lot more.

He had stayed out of the area they had placed Optimus' body in since he was first put in there. He couldn't see him like that.

To make matters worse, Optimus' last words were a warning, to him.

"You were right...Megatronus...be careful of him."

Ratchet shook his helm and gripped the sides of his console. Optimus was continuing the conversation they had a long time ago about his wariness of Megatron, though Megatronus at the time.

"He wasn't even Optimus," Ratchet hissed to no one in particular. Optimus had died when the matrix was forcibly removed from his chest chassis. It just left the broken Orion Pax Ratchet had become such close friends with.

He could still remember the small amount of relief he saw in Optimus' optics when they found him. He had looked directly at him, given him his warning, and his spark stopped.

This wasn't the first time Ratchet wondered if Optimus only held on long enough to see him again, and to tell him that.

***

"Excuse me, I believe you dropped this."

Those seven words changed everything.

Ratchet held out the fallen datapad to a red and blue bot carrying about a dozen and a half more. The 'bot turned to look at him, optics barely peeking out over the top of the pile.

"Thank you," he replied. His voice was deeper than Ratchet would have expected, but didn't comment on it.

"If you could set it back on the stack..."

"Why don't I help you carry half? I'm sure that would be more efficient."

Ratchet wasn't sure where his offer had suddenly come from, but he wasn't going to suddenly change his mind.

"Alright," the other 'bot replied, giving him a small grateful smile, and Ratchet took away half.

"Where are you taking these, anyway?"

"Back to the Hall of Records," the other 'bot answered, almost too casually.

"Back?"

"Yes. I wanted to do some reading."

Ratchet craned his neck to look at the top datapad on his pile, the one the other 'bot had dropped. It was a detailed history of the origin of Iacon and other various higher-caste cities. Taking a quick peek at the other stack in the other 'bot's arms, it was the classification of lower castes and cities. He assumed he didn't only just read about castes, but about government and politics.

"I see," he replied after a few seconds. "I hope it was...entertaining for you."

"Quite, actually," the other replied truthfully. They walked toward the massive building of records, where the doors slid open once the two were detected. Eventually the 'bot stopped at a certain area, and gently set his stack of datapads down.

"Thank you for your help." he smiled a little. "I will take it from here. I have some studying I'd like to do with them."

Ratchet only nodded and set his stack down next to the other, before extending a servo.

"It was my pleasure, and a pleasure to meet you..." he trailed off as he realized he never learned his designation. The other 'bot smiled and shook his servo.

"Orion Pax."

"Ratchet."

"Thank you again for your help, Ratchet."

Ratchet had left Orion there after that, but would still see him around, mostly with a datapad in possession. The two would exchange hellos when they saw each other and discussed some things, but never small talk. Neither seemed adept with it, nor did they really like it. Ratchet soon found that Orion had worked in the Hall of Records, and Orion soon learned that Ratchet was training in the Iacon medical center to be a doctor. They ended up meeting each other more often and eventually it came to a point where Orion visited Ratchet at his workplace during a break. It just continued from there, and turned into a strong friendship that Ratchet cherished, and lasted through Orion's transition to Prime, and the war itself.

"Ratchet..." Optimus whispered. The two were in a triage facility, talking quietly with each other.

"How am I supposed to lead? I did not want this, not for anyone."

"Or-Optimus, I know you care deeply about our planet. I know you don't think you can do this. But I believe you were meant to lead us, and that you can. Primus himself noticed something great within you. It will emerge eventually, and you will become the great leader you were meant to become."

***

Ratchet gripped his console harder. Optimus had led them through that mission and many more with a newfound confidence. He shook his helm. He never regretted meeting Orion or staying by Optimus Prime's side during the war, but the past loved to loom over him and remind him of such painful memories, and he hated it. He hated Megatron for what he did. He hated the Decepticons. He hated the war.

A quiet sob escaped from his vocalizer, and he let go of the console to cover his faceplate with his servos. His shoulder plate shook with silent sobs as the image of an energon-covered Optimus hanging by chains and a sadistic Megatron greedily ripping out the matrix remained in his processor.

You were too late.

You didn't save him.

He felt himself fall to his knee plates.

You left Optimus at Megatron's mercy.

You allowed Optimus to die.

Another quiet wail escaped his vocalizer. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't just sit here and let Megatron do Primus knows what with the Matrix of Leadership.

Like how you couldn't let Megatron outlive Optimus?

Ratchet yelled in frustration and grabbed the first throwable thing he could and hurled it angrily across the room. The wrench bounced off the wall and fell on the floor with a metallic clink, leaving the room in silence, save for Ratchet's vents, which hummed softly as they tried to cool his core temperature back to its normality. He stared at the wrench as he thought, and knew he had to do something. He had to make a stand. He had to figure out what Megatron intended to do. His optics narrowed, and he pushed himself up to a standing position again. Leaving the wrench, he turned back to his console. He was grateful that Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee were out picking up their human charges from their school. He set his digits on the keypad lightly, hesitating for a few seconds before a look of determination crossed his faceplate.

And he started typing.

~~~

No undertale puns or jokes about the second-to-last sentence. I'm bone-weary of them, and I could already see the five comments dedicated solely to it. They're only humerus for so long. *wink wink*

Now, the puns are amazing, as I have a skele-ton more where they came from.

Okay I'm done, I apologize.

I know it seemed like I gave up on this book but no, I didn't. School has just been...doing things.

Don't be a junior guys, it sucks.

Anyway, I think Ratchet needs a hug. I'm sorry for him.

Also his idea isn't that great. Ratchet, get off your console. You'll kill us all.

Hopefully you were emotionally twisted and depressed as much as I was writing about Ratchet remembering Optimus/Orion.

He really needs a hug.

But I hope you guys enjoyed nonetheless. :>