~

Will gasps harshly, sitting up.

"h-huh..?" he murmurs, rubbing his chest with a wince. Ironhide whips around, looking confused, in his usual form instead of his holoform.

"Will...?" Ironhide ask.

"Hide? whats going on?" Will ask.

"I don't know, you called me in here. I've been in here a while... been looking for you. couldn't find you in the house so I thought you'd be out here. you like the corn field." Ironhide murmurs.

"I didn't call you in here, I just woke up here. like you usually do." Will murmurs. "you called me in here." Will says confused.

"no I didn't." Ironhide frowns.

"what happened?" Will ask.

"I don't know... my spark started hurting and the room started spinning and... I just... I think I offlined." Ironhide says.

"what? you can't be offlined!" Will shouts.

"no, I think I'm alive now, but that I did offline, briefly..." Ironhide says, looking confused. "if you didn't call me here and I didn't call you here, why are we on the farm?" Ironhide asks, scooping him up gently. immediately there a bright light surrounding them.

"do not be alarmed you two. its just us. we figured it was better to get you both here."

"Primes? wha... huh?" Ironhide asks, looking confused.

"whats going on? what are we doing here?" Will asks.

"its okay. we just wanted to check on you two."

"especially since you did briefly offline Ironhide. it took you friends a while to get you stable little one."

Ironhide looks more confused.

"why did I offline?" Ironhide ask.

"you guys promised Ironhide was going to be okay you said if I-" Wills voice suddenly goes silent, despite him still talking. the Primes would keep him from revealing anything.

"easy now, both of you. thats why we're here. the best way to describe it to you, human, would be like... heartbreak I believe. Ratchet hurt you, even if you don't want to admit it Ironhide, he did hurt you. more than you realize. you've got to let this go, you are hurting yourself."

"if you keep holding the resentment towards Ratchet, you could offline. it is not your time."

"you must relax. you do not have to forgive and forget, but you need to stop hurting yourself."

"what...? the photo album is what this is about?" Will asks. "but, I thought you bought a new book, Hide we talked about this. just-" Will starts.

"its not the book! its Ratchet!" Ironhide snaps angrily. Will jumps, confused. "that stupid fragging medic has had the nerve to call himself my brother for many millennia, the he has the nerve to threaten to shoot your photo album! when I don't let that happen he... he almost destroyed it!" Ironhide growls angrily. Will frowns, silently wishing he could hug Ironhide. he forgets the Primes are there and can grant his wish without him even saying it.

he's not expecting to suddenly start falling, failing in the air. Ironhide had vanished...?

"Ironhide!" Will shouts. he yelps landing in someones arms. he looks over and panting and sighs. the Primes had reduced Ironhide to his holoform, meaning he'd been falling because Ironhide wasn't under him anymore. it was alright though, since Ironhide had caught him. Ironhide lets out a sigh, clutching him carefully.

"sorry. you know I wouldn't drop you." Ironhide mutters.

"we wouldn't have let you get hurt in here."

Ironhide gently puts him down, but doesn't let him go. Will hugs his middle as tightly as he can, head on the bigger mans chest. Ironhide gently wraps his arms around Will.

"so you're saying that Ironhides anger at Ratchet it whats hurting his spark?" Will ask, pulling back some and turning to look at the Primes.

"indeed. Ironhide must find a way to move on or he will offline."

the Prime turns to look Ironhide in the eye.

"you wouldn't want to leave Reflect would you? you offlining would not stop him from living."

its a gentle warning to Ironhide, that if he dies, Reflect will not, meaning he would lose Will again.

"right. I know." Ironhide mumbles, holding tighter to Will.

"you can still be upset about it Hide, just... don't think about Ratchet." Will murmurs.

"I got it." Ironhide assures him gently, grabbing the back of his head and pulling gently until Wills face was firmly against his chest. "I can't die yet. promised Reflect." Ironhide mumbles. Will chuckles softly, pulling away from him completely. he stands beside Ironhide to look at the Primes.

"if he's careful, he'll be alright?" Will asks. the Primes nod.

"if he can move past this, Ironhide will live a very long, very happy life."

the Prime assures, sending Ironhide a pointed look. the weapons specialist nods at him, just missing the pointed look sent to Will by another Prime. Will smiles at him a little.

"you can do it Hide, I know you can." Will murmurs.

"I don't really seem to have a choice. forgive Ratchet or die." Ironhide grumbles.

"I mean... technically thats a choice." Will teases. Ironhide glares at him.

"it's time for you to wake up. both of you."

~

Ironhide sits up with a shout, looking around wildly, holding his chest. he winces. Reflect sits up screaming. it makes both Wheeljack and Ratchet jump.

"Primus you two." Wheeljack mutters, pulling away from Ratchets face. he'd been working on fixing the scratch marks on Ratchets face from where Reflect had smacked him. he hadn't held back on the medic either. he'd learned from Wheeljack and Ironhide both. he'd smacked the medic as hard as he could, twice. "you two okay?" Wheeljack asks, frowning.

"I fragging died! of course I'm not okay!" Ironhide snaps, rubbing his head. "how long was I out?" Ironhide grumbles.

"almost two weeks." Ratchet frowns. Ironhide winces and rubs his head a little.

"hmm." he grumbles.

"are you alright?" Wheeljack asks, scooping Reflect up. he's looking at Ironhide to make sure he's okay.

"what happened?" Ironhide grumbles.

"not sure. your spark had a melt down." Ratchet frowns. Ironhide gets up and stumbles, Ratchets quick to catch him. "sit back down. you've been out a while." Ratchet mumbles.

"hows the sparkling...?" Ironhide mumbles.

"he's alright. been clinging to you the entire time you've been out." Wheeljack murmurs.

"we've been waiting for you to wake up so we could wake the others." Ratchet says.

"others...?" Ironhide asks, looking a little confused.

"remember the Ark?" Wheeljack ask. Ironhide shakes his head a little.

"no..." Ironhide mumbles.

"whats the last thing you remember?" Ratchet asks. Ironhide frowns in thought.

"going to the craft store to buy a new photo album." Ironhide mumbles.

"you lost a lot then..." Wheeljack frowns.

"Optimus and I went to the Earth moon and found the Ark crash sight. we rescued five of our friends." Ratchet murmurs. Ironhide looks confused.

"who?" Ironhide ask.

"Hot Rod, Perceptor, Inferno, Red Alert, and Sentinel Prime." Wheeljack says. Ironhide nods a little.

"and you haven't onlined them yet?" Ironhide asks.

"no, we were waiting for you to wake up." Wheeljack says. "we're going to wake them one at a time, get them acclimated and then wake the next bot." Wheeljack adds. Ironhide nods, getting up.

"then lets get waking." Ironhide mumbles. Reflect immediately reaches for him, "okay come on." Ironhide murmurs, taking him gently.

"mine." Reflect mumbles, hugging his neck. Ironhide pats his back gently.

"yeah yeah." Ironhide assures gently.

"Ironhide, you're really not ready to walk that far to the hanger." Wheeljack murmurs.

"its not that far. I can make it." Ironhide assures.

"okay." Wheeljack shrugs a little.

"I don't like it." Ratchet frowns, following him.

"who bring live first?" Reflect asks.

"not sure. whoever Optimus think will react the best." Ratchet says.

"why only one at a time?" Ironhide ask.

"because, its easier to fix one bot at a time instead of five." Ratchet explains. Ironhide nods a little.

he doesn't stop when anyone tries to talk to him, he just keeps heading to the hanger. Optimus is already waiting for them.

"nice to see you awake." Optimus smiles. Ironhide sighs at him, looking a little tired.

"who are you waking up?" he asks.

"Perceptor should be. he had awful rust on him, we need to wake him first." Ratchet frowns.

"I agree with him." Wheeljack says.

"we're going to wake Inferno first. then Perceptor, then Hot Rod, and we'll wake Red Alert before Sentinel. Red Alert would do better with Inferno, so he needs to be the first bot." Optimus says. Ironhide nods.

"alright Prime, I'm ready whenever you are." Ratchet says. Optimus nods.

"its time to wake up now old friend." Optimus murmurs. Reflect turns in Ironhides arms as theres a loud gasp behind them.

"DECEPTICONS! SENTINEL! WE'RE-" Inferno starts, jerking up. his words catch in his throat, looking around confused.

"easy easy. its okay." Ratchet assures gently.

"under... attack... h-huh...?" Inferno asks. "Optimus... Optimus Prime...? is that you?" Inferno asks.

"yes its me old friend." Optimus smiles a little.

"what... what happened? the last thing I remember the Decepticons-" Infero starts.

"just relax." Ratchet says. "we'll explain everything Inferno. just relax." he assures gently. Inferno looks around.

"is that... a sparkling?" Inferno asks.

"yeah it is." Ironhide says, watching him carefully. he shifts Reflect a little, the sparkling is quiet looking this new bot up and down before curling up.

"Ironhide you had a sparkling?" Infero asks, confused.

"no." Ironhide frowns.

"he's mine and Wheeljacks. we found him on a battlefield. can you stand?" Ratchet asks. Inferno nods slightly, carefully pushing himself up. Ratchet offers him a servo to help him up, but Inferno pushes it away.

"where's Red?" Inferno asks, looking around.

"don't panic, Reds okay." Wheeljack assures.

"we haven't brought him back online yet, but he is here." Ratchet assures, motioning to the stasis locked mech on another berth. Inferno looks over.

"is he okay?" Inferno asks.

"he will be. just needs a few more repairs before we bring him online." Ratchet says. Inferno nods hesitantly.

Reflects staring quietly at him when Inferno finally makes optic contact with him. the sparkling tenses, gripping tightly to Ironhides armor.

"hey little one." Inferno murmurs. Reflect turns away immediately, whining. Ironhide squeezes him gently.

"its alright Reflect, its okay." Ironhide murmurs gently.

"I didn't mean to upset him." Inferno frowns.

"he's a sensitive little fragger." Wheeljack chuckles.

"yeah he takes after Wheeljack." Ratchet mutters. the inventor pouts at him.

"thats not fair." Wheeljack mumbles.

"you're proving my point Jack." Ratchet snorts.

"he don't like new bots. it'll take a few days, but he'll warm up to you." Ironhide grumbles, heading back towards the base. "welcome to Earth." he adds.

he carries the sparkling back to the base, wincing a little.

"Hide okay?" Reflect asks.

"yeah squirt. m'good." he assures. "is that the bot you don't like?" Ironhide ask.

"no... just scary." Reflect says.

"all new bots are scary to you." Ironhide says, rolling his optics.

"are scary!" Reflect pouts, pulling back to look up at him.

"they are?" Ironhide chuckles softly.

"yeah. scary." Reflect mumbles, cuddling to him.

"okay, scary." Ironhide murmurs.

"cube?" Reflect asks.

"yeah, lets go get one. I could use one too squirt." Ironhide murmurs. he carries the sparkling into the rec room, but immediately pauses. the entire room looks up to stare at him.

"Ironhide! you're okay!" Bumblebee shouts, jumping up and running over. he slams against Ironhide, hugging him tightly.

"watch it! watch it! I have the sparkling watch it!" Ironhide growls, but does wrap an arm around Bumblebee gently.

"you're awake." Bumblebee mumbles.

"yes scout I'm fine." Ironhide assures, patting the smallers head. "I'm not the only one awake. grab a cube and take it to the hanger for Inferno." Ironhide murmurs.

"okay!" Bumblebee grins, letting go and running off.

"hey grump." Sideswipe smiles, walking over. he fist bumps the confused bigger mech and keeps walking.

"glad to see you're okay." Sunstreaker grumbles.

"what the frag is going on?" Ironhide ask. "Bumblebee was normal, but you and Sides? nah." Ironhide frowns. Sunstreaker scoffs, looking away and refusing to look back at Ironhide.

"look alright, you're an ass. you're grumpy, rude, you can be pretty shitty, but we need you. this war needs you and you're our friend. you're a bastard and a fragger, but y'know, we're glad to know you're okay. Ratchet told us you died, so we're glad you're not dead." Sunstreaker mumbles, storming off.

"hmph." Ironhide grunts, walking over to grab him a cube. he settles with a cube for both him and Reflect. he settles them both down in a seat. Reflects not even paying attention anymore, sucking his cube down happily. Ironhide sips his and looks around, before looking at Reflect. "alright squirt, so which bot that we brought in is the one you don't like?" Ironhide ask.

"monster." Reflect says.

"monster? Reflect, they're Autobots, like us, they're not monsters." Ironhide murmrus softly. Reflect looks down at his cube then looks back up at Ironhide.

"anyone hurt Ironhide is monster." Reflect mumbles, before curling up under Ironhides chin. Ironhide gives a small smile and hugs him gently.

"and anyone who hurts you is dead." Ironhide assures.

"Primus! Infero! hey!" Jazz shouts, running over to him. Ironhide shifts to look up. Ratchet and Wheeljack have just helped Inferno into the room. he looks lost, before his optics land on Epps and Sam not far away. they'd been heading towards Ironhide to welcome him back.

"what... what are those?" Infero asks.

"hmm?" Wheeljack asks. Infero points at Sam and Epps.

"they're humans. natural inhabitants of this planet. don't worry Infero, just settle down. we'll throw you in the room they were building for Reflect for now, until we get you one built. Prowl will have a datapad of information on this planet made up for you." Ratchet assures. Prowl nods at him, walking over.

"we'll get you all settled in Inferno, please come with me. I'll get you settled into your temporary room with a datapad and a cube." Prowl assures.

"he's getting a trip to the medbay first." Ratchet says.

"I'll follow you then, since his room is that way." Prowl nods. Ratchet and Wheeljack nod, helping Inferno Reflect looks up at Iornhide with a quiet whine.

"yeah go on." Ironhide murmurs, putting him down gently. Reflect, holding his cube as tightly as he can, runs after his caregivers.

"Powl!!" Reflect squeals. Prowl pauses and turns to look behind him, before offering a servo to the sparkling.

"come on." Prowl frowns. Reflect shifts his cube into his arm and reaches for Prowls servo.

"no leave Reflect. I go too!" Reflect pouts.

"I stopped and waited for you didn't I?" Prowl chuckles.

he walks the sparkling to the medbay, pushing the doors open carefully. Inferos sitting on a berth, Ratchet looking him over.

"Jack!" Reflect pouts.

"oh hey little one, I thought you were with Ironhide?" Wheeljack chuckles.

"well now Reflect with Powl. want Jack." Reflect pouts.

"okay." Wheeljack smiles.

"where Hide?" Reflect asks as the inventor picks him up. Wheeljack frowns.

"your toy?" Wheeljack ask. Reflect nods. "uhh..." Wheeljack trails, looking at Ratchet. Ratchet doesn't look up.

"remember how you got sick on him?" Ratchet ask.

"yeah... with Opmis." Reflect says.

"well, he had to be sent on a special trip to get cleaned up." Ratchet says.

"he gone?" Reflect asks, whimpering.

"oh don't start crying. its okay." Wheeljack murmurs. "he'll come back." Wheeljack assures.

"he'll be back in a few days Reflect. its okay." Ratchet assures.

"here drink your cube. I'll see if I can find the others." Wheeljack assures.

"no!" Reflect screams, pushing the cube away. some spills, but Wheeljack manages to catch it before it hits the ground a shatters.

"don't you dare start screaming Reflect. remember, your voice box is still healing, you'll go mute again." Ratchet frowns. Reflect curls up,watching Ratchet.

"don't be so hard on him Ratchet." Infero frowns.

"relax, we've been rasing him for while." Wheeljack assures. "one Stellar cycle and four Deca-cycles." Wheeljack says.

"doesn't even seem like its been that long." Ratchet murmurs.

"only because we're going by Earth time now." Wheeljack murmurs.

"Earth time Inferno, thats a year and eught months." Prowl explains. Infero nods a little, looking confused.

"okay..." Inferno mumbles.

"in other words, don't tell me how to raise my sparkling." Ratchet glares, stepping away from him. he walks away from Inferno, taking Reflect when the sparkling reaches for him. Reflect cuddles to him, looking over at Inferno warily.

"who that?" Reflect ask.

"m'Inferno." Inferno murmurs, smiling at him.

"we'll get you an alt form in a bit, alright?" Wheeljack ask. Inferno nods a little, wincing, but smiles at Reflect again.

"Red'll love you squirt." Inferno murmurs.

"oh no, Reflect will be Red Alerts worst nightmare." Ratchet snorts.

"though if Red Alert keeps his alt theme, Reflect will probably like him. he likes flashing lights." Wheeljack smiles, turning to the sparkling. he grins as his head panels flash. Reflect immediately squeals, reaching for him quickly. Inferno chuckles softly. Wheeljack scoops him up and smiles.

"so how'd you two end up with a sparkling?" Inferno asks.

"he's Allsparked. found him on a battle field." Wheeljack murmurs.

"so the war still rages...?" Inferno frowns.

"unfortunately." Ratchet sighs.

"whose winning?" Inferno ask. the three bigger bots stare back grimly. "I see. well, at least I'm still on the better team." Inferno teases. "so anything important I need to know?" Inferno asks.

"everything you need to know is on these six tablets. yes six is a lot, I'm working on it. hopefully by the time we wake some of the others it'll be condensed into two or three. only one of them has information on the war, the rest is about Earth. I have Sam, the Autobot Liaison, helping me pick the important things, mostly things that are hard to find on the internet." Prowl explains, holding up the tablets. Inferno frowns a little.

"most stuff you can just download off during stasis, but not everything on there is correct." Wheeljack says. Inferno nods a little.

"alright. sounds pretty good." Inferno nods a little. he wants to look around, but his optics keep coming back to the sparkling, who is sitting on Wheeljacks hip playing with the inventors headfins.

"don't chew on those." Wheeljack laughs, trying to pull the sparkling down.

"Jack!" Reflect squeals, grabbing hold of Wheeljacks face and squishing it between his servos with a giggle.

"what has gotten into you today?" Wheeljack chuckles softly. the sparkling immediately squeals at the distorted voice, kicking his feet and giggling. Wheeljack snorts, carefully holding the sparkling up.

"he's got pent up energy. he's been doing nothing but sleeping since Ironhide was out." Ratchet chuckles. "take him out and run him around." Ratchet smiles. the sparkling giggles, headbutting Wheeljack, like he'd seen the inventor playfully do to Ratchet. Wheeljack immediately laughs, turning his head away.

"take it easy little one." Wheeljack snorts. "gonna be a fraggin' wrecker when you get bigger." Wheeljack grins.

"he better fragging not be." Ratchet snaps, whiping around to glare at Wheeljack.

"oh come on Ratch, relax." Wheeljack murmurs, struggling to hold onto the sparkling when he squeals and flings himself backwards.

"JACK!" Ratchet snaps. Wheeljack rolls his optics, grip firm on the sparkling hanging upside down in his grip.

"oh relax Ratchet. he hasn't gotten banged up since he got his armor. he's a sparkling let him have fun." Wheeljack snorts.

"if you dislocate his hip joints holding him up by his legs like that, its going to be you that has to hold him out and listens to him screaming." Ratchet warns. Reflect squeals, still hanging upside down, and makes grabbing motions towards Ratchet. all of the older bots that had grown up with Ratchet and Wheeljack knew about Nitro, so the medics behavior with the sparkling was generally overlooked as him just being paranoid. Inferno doesn't even bring it up.

"Ratch!" Reflect squeals. Ratchet frowns at him.

"and why the hell would I want you climbing all over me like some kind of human sparkling jungle gym the way you're doing Wheeljack?" Ratchet asks, taking the sparkling.

"Ratch love Reflect!" Reflect giggles, hugging his neck tightly. Ratchet rolls his optics but theres a small smile on his faceplates. the sparkling squeals excitedly, making the medic wince and pull away.

"thats my fragging audio receptor Reflect." Ratchet mutters. Reflect laughs and grabs hold of the medics face, blowing a raspberry. Ratchet heaves a small sigh, looking unamused, and shakes his head. "go back with Wheeljack. you're so full of energy." Ratchet mutters, trying to push him away.

"no! Reflect want Ratchet!" Reflect giggles.

"more like, wants to bug Ratchet." Inferno chuckles, watching the sparkling.

"yes! want bug." Reflect giggles, pushing himself up to stand on Ratchets side, attempting to reach over the medic and grab part of the armor on his back.

"hey knock that off. if I drop you, you're going to spend the next hour sobbing." Ratchet grumbles.

"Ratchet no drop Reflect!" Reflect giggles. the medic pries the sparkling off and puts him down.

"how about you go play with Jazz or Bumblebee?" Ratchet asks. Reflect pauses and stares up at him.

"slagger!" Reflect glares, pulling back and kicking the medic, before running over to Wheeljack and throwing his arms up.

"hey! ow!" Ratchet glares at him.

"he really is your sparkling." Inferno teases. Ratchet frowns at him.

"watch it, I'll weld you to that fragging berth." Ratchet warns. Wheeljack picks the sparkling up smiling.

"Jack." Reflect says.

"Reflect." Wheeljack chuckles.

"Jack play?" Reflect asks.

"does Jack have to play?" Wheeljack asks, smiling a little. Reflect frowns a moment, thinking before nodding.

"yes Jack have to." Reflect says. Ratchet snorts.

"fine fine, I'll play with you." Wheeljack murmurs, putting the sparkling down. "you go hide and I'll count to 60 and I'll come find you." Wheeljack says. Reflect nods running off as fast as he can.

"you know you're screwed right?" Ratchet asks.

"hmm?" Inferno asks.

"Reflect is a mimic." Ratchet explains. Inferno chuckles.

"hey, thats okay. playing hide and seek is the best game to play. if the decepticons try to attack we can tell him to hide and they'll never find him. better so we don't fail another sparkling." Wheeljack murmurs. the temperature drops immediately when the medic stiffens at his bondeds words. there's an immediate sounds of Ratchets servo clenching, but he says nothing. he doesn't even look at Wheeljack, just watches the doors close behind the sparkling. "Ratch-" Wheeljack starts. the medic turns and heads for his office.

"you're good, get out of my medbay, come back if you have issues Inferno." Ratchet mutters, slamming the door to his office.

Reflect transforms and speeds down the hallway, giggling.

"where are you going squirt?" Hound snorts.

"hindnandpeek!" Reflect shouts.

"what?" Hound ask.

"hide'n'seek." Ironhide corrects. Hound nods a little still looking confused. "stay out of Jazz' office Reflect!" Ironhide snaps. Reflect giggles but doesn't stop.

Reflect speeds off to Optimus' office. he transforms once he gets in, Optimus looking up confused.

"uh, Reflect?" Optimus ask.

"hindnandpeek." Reflect says, running over to the Prime. Optimus raises an optic ridge, watching the sparkling squeeze under his desk.

"Reflect you can't hide there." Optimus frowns.

"why not?" Reflect asks.

"because I could step on you." Optimus frowns.

"then don't step on Reflect." Reflect says, giving Optimus one of Ratchets famous are you stupid? looks. Optimus frowns, looking unamused.

"it wouldn't be on purpose little one." Optimus frowns.

"Reflect not bother Opmis. promise. please?" Reflect asks, pouting. Optimus frowns and shakes his head.

"okay, just be careful, don't let me step on you." Optimus murmurs. Reflect grunts and nods, curling up happily.

"Opmis?" Reflect ask.

"yes little one?" Optimus asks.

"why Ironhide sleep so long?" Reflect ask.

"he was stasis locked little one. it happens sometimes, but he is awake now." Optimus assures, picking up his datapad.

"Opmis?" Reflect ask.

"yes?" Optimus asks, peeking down at the sparkling.

"Opmis trust Ferno?" Reflect asks.

"yes I trust Inferno, he's a good friend of mine." Optimus assures gently. Reflect nods and it goes quiet for a few minutes.

"Optmis?" Reflect ask.

"yes Reflect?" Optimus ask.

"why Ironhide not remember Opmis and Ratchet go moom?" Reflect ask.

"I... I don't know little one thats a question for Ratchet." Optimus says.

"oh." Reflect frowns. "Opmis?" Reflect ask.

"yes little one?" Optimus asks.

"what a moom?" Reflect ask.

"A very very large round object that circles the Earth, the planet that we are on. a planetary-mass object with a differentiated rocky body, that shines at night by reflecting light from the sun." Optimus says, pulling the simplest definition off the internet he can find.

"oh." Reflect frowns. it goes quiet again for a moment. "Opmis?" Reflect ask. the Prime frowns a little.

"yes Reflect what is it?" Optimus ask.

"why do Hydrogen peroxide explode with acetone?" Reflect ask. Optimus pauses, looking down at the sparkling.