Been a while since I've updated my Transformers fics huh. Well here's an update, I'm going to be working on my TF fanfics. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Chapter 4

Lockdown and Nanosec

Two weeks after the incident with the Dinobots, Optimus and Ratchet were out on the town with Bumblebee, trying to get the old medic to have some more fun. It was a bit of a hassle, since Ratchet doesn't like to go out much, and he hadn't been feeling well lately, it was around the time he'd feel bad before something would happen.

Ratchet was looking in the window of a car supply shop, flabbergasted at all he free spare parts. Optimus wasn't too surprised; he'd look up some info on Earth's internet, and found out that most of the earth vehicles and other electronic devices needed repair of new parts often.

"Criminal, it's just criminal," Ratchet muttered with his face against the glass window.

"It's pretty common here Ratchet," Optimus replied.

"But spare parts on the open market? It's just barbaric," the old medic replied.

"Maybe back home Ratchet, but here all their machines are just drones, that need spare parts more easily accessible to repair them." Optimus explained. He soon sighed however when their young scout came out of the auto shop with a few new upgrades. A new horn, a pair of fuzzy dice, an air freshener, (this made him laugh internally as Bumblebee didn't know what it was), and sadly an attitude towards Ratchet.

"Knock it of kid, we're heading home now," Ratchet stated.

"Whoa, what crawled up your tail pipe? The night is still young, unlike some bots I know." Bumblebee retorted.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Bumblebee is right Ratchet, you need to get out more, if not to have a good time. Then just to learn more about earth and find something you like about the planet." Optimus suggested to the old war vet.

"I've just got a funny feeling about tonight is all, old war wounds acting up, usually means trouble is coming." Ratchet told his leader.

"You must've seen a lot of action during the great wars, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen." Optimus offered, knowing what it's like to carry a lot of memories on your back struts from long ago.

"Yes I did, and no I don't want to talk about it." Ratchet grouched out at the red and blue Autobot.

"That's what I'm saying, forget the past, and enjoy the bright light and the big city." Bumblebee said with his arms extended out in emphasis, when suddenly the lights of the city went out. "Okay, enjoy the big city."

Suddenly a red glow from headlights lit up Bumblebee's side, causing him and the other three Autobots to stare at the large green and black muscle car that shot straight at them. They jumped in time to avoid being hit, however Optimus was trembling gently in anger at seeing that particular vehicle.

Giving the order, he and Bumblebee went after the muscle car, Optimus only having one thought on his mind. To capture and kill that particular Cybertronian; as he and Bumblebee chased after the car, it turned around and nearly ran over a couple who were crossing the street.

Optimus was able to keep them safe, and yet for some reason that surprised the Autobot leader was that Ratchet has frozen up beneath the Cybertronian in what appeared to be fear. Bumblebee was able to get him out of the way in time, but that didn't mean Optimus wasn't concerned about the old war medic.

"You two alright," Optimus asked.

"We're fine," Ratchet shouted while shoving Bumblebee off him.

"Fine," Bumblebee said incredulously. "You froze up like a crank case in December."

"I did not freeze up," Ratchet retorted before going to rub his old war wounds again. "Must've been a glitch in my systems."

"What happened out there Ratchet? I've never seen you freeze up like that before," Optimus asked the medic.

"I said I'm fine, I'll do a self-diagnostic when we get back," Ratchet said.

"Speaking of glitches, what was up with the dude in the muscle car?" Bumblebee asked them.

Neither answered his question, but from the look in Optimus' optics he knew that muscle car and he wanted him gone. "For now let's head back to base and figure out where he's gone off to." Optimus told his team, before transforming and started back towards their temporary home.

TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA

Once home, Megatron had been watching Prowl and the others look up information about the mysterious 'muscle car.' When he noticed the medic was doing his twentieth self-diagnostic in a row, and his nephew was about to speak to the old medic, moving the tiny pocket bot, or spy bot, towards them to hear the conversation more clearly.

"How many self-diagnostics are you going to run Ratchet?" Optimus asked.

"As many as it takes," the medic replied gruffly.

"You know Ratchet; you can tell me what happened. It's never a good idea to bottle up emotional memories for so long." Optimus said, rubbing his right arm gently. "I'm always here to listen, if you ever want to talk about what happened."

"Are you done yet?" The medic asked.

"Apparently I am," Optimus stated. As he walked away, he did whisper one last thing to the medic. "You're not the only one that muscle car has hurt Ratchet. Only I don't plan on letting him hurt anyone I care about again."

Ratchet froze at hearing that, and so did Megatron. Moving the camera out of the way, the warlord though, 'If Lockdown was hired to attack my brother. Then Orion remembers who attacked them. Who had nearly killed my brother and his mate? Then that means a nice and personal chat with the bounty hunter once my brother arrives.' Megatron thought; missing his nephew's speech, about going out to hunt for the bounty hunter whom was causing trouble throughout the city of Detroit.

TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA

As Optimus and his team chased after the bounty hunter, the 'young' Prime was seething with rage. He'd waited millions of stellar cycles for this day, and nothing was going to stop him. As he and his team chased the 'Decepticon' Optimus was getting closer and closer. He wasn't going to let him go, not this time around.

Ratchet had stopped, lost in memoires once more when he and the others lost track of the bounty hunter. Optimus ignored them, knowing that he had to protect his family and his home. "There he is," Optimus shouted.

Soon landing in front of his enemy, "Now that you've finally stopped, it's time to face the music. I'm not letting you get away with killing more innocent Bots, Lockdown." Optimus growled, his voice getting deeper the more he spoke.

Lockdown laughed as he transformed. "I didn't think a third rate Autobot even knew my name."

Optimus snarled, his voice now sounding at its natural pitch. "I never forget the face of an enemy."

"And how am I your enemy?" He asked tauntingly.

"The Massacre of Ion, ring a bell?" Optimus demanded, sending a mental override to the codes that blocked his true weapons.

Lockdown's smirk melted away into something akin to shock. "Impossible," he whispered.

"No so," Optimus grinned. His arm transforming into a blaster and fired it at point blank range. Nailing Lockdown right in the chest, causing the mech to groan in pain, "Hurts doesn't it, that's how I felt when you took them away from me."

"I-I didn't know that they would be there. I-I had my orders to get some Decepticon intelligence bot." Lockdown tried to reason with the angry mech through his pain.

Optimus snarled, "It's because of you I lost my creators. And now I will ensure you never harm another innocent again." Optimus shifted his blaster into a double edge sword ready to shove it into the bounty hunters spark chamber.

Lockdown dove out of the way in time to avoid the sword. Getting back up, he dodged another swing of the deadly blade, and attempted to fire his EMP generator. He couldn't get a shot in, Prime kept jumping out of the way each time. This dance went on for a few minutes, before Lockdown got a lucky shot in. He knocked Optimus out, but not before Ratchet heard and saw everything that had happened.

'Optimus, who are you?' Ratchet though, before everything went dark and Lockdown disappeared with Optimus.

TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA

Optimus groaned as he awoke in Lockdown's spaceship. Snarling, the Autobot commander looked around for the bounty hunter. He was strapped down on a steel slab, most likely to keep him in place as they traveled.

"Now, now can't have you wandering my ship as we travel." Lockdown stated from the shadows.

Optimus snarled wordlessly. "By the way nice Axe, too bad I can't take your blaster or sword. Can't take encoded weapons. Especially weapons that have been banded since the Great Wars," Lockdown smirked.

Lockdown waved the energy axe soon in Optimus' face, but was shot back by the grappler mods in his arms. Slicing through the cables, Optimus changed his arms to blasters and fired at the bounty hunter. Or he would have, hadn't he been hit by another low level EMP pulse.

"Hmm those grapples of yours are nice as well; guess I'll take them and the axe." Lockdown smirked, turning his red arm into a saw and sliced out the grappler mods.

Shortly after getting his next trophies, he called up his employers, Lugnut and Blitzwing. It took a moment, but soon enough the triple changed answered his call. "I have the Autobot known as Optimus Prime."

"You have Optimus Prime?" Hothead personality asked/demanded. "Hand him over at once, dat Autobot will pay for vhat he did to our leader." Optimus woke up at hearing the voice of one of his old uncles.

"Yeah, speaking of payment, I'm gonna need mine first." Lockdown stated.

"Patience my bounty hunting friend, ju vill not be disappointed vith your upgrades." Icy personality stated coolly. "Provided I am not disappointed vith your results."

"Ooh, ooh, I vant to see him turn into a fire truck, can I? Can I," Random laughingly asked.

Causing Optimus to chuckle in his normal voice, "Some things truly don't change do they Uncle Blitz?"

The triple changer froze on the screen, as if he'd just heard a ghost. "Vho said that?" Hothead demanded.

"I did," Optimus spoke again in his normal deep baritone voice.

"Impossible," the Decepticon whispered. Before he could speak again to the sparkling they had to give away. Lockdown ended the communication by stating, "I'll be bringing Optimus Prime to you within the next solar cycle, be ready with my payment by then."

Going out to deal with Prime's team, the bounty hunter smirked at his captive. "Who would've thought I'd stumble upon the biggest pay day of my entire career." Walking out, Optimus soon grew worried that he wasn't going to be sent to his Decepticon family, but to the hands of the true enemy.

TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA

Shortly after Ratchet freed Optimus from Lockdown's clutches and everyone was repaired. Optimus went into the Medbay. Ratchet had just finished patching up Wheeljack, whom had lost one arm during his fight with Lockdown, but he was going to be fine now.

Walking in, Optimus sat on the berth, and kept his optics to the ground. Not wanting to see the gaze of the old war medic just yet. Ratchet worked silently as he reattached Optimus' grapple mods, and once he was done and the devices were tested.

Ratchet asked, "How ya feeling?"

"Emotionally or physically," Optimus asked his voice sounding the same as what Ratchet knows.

"Both," he replied.

"Physically fine, emotionally is another story. I should've finished him sooner; I shouldn't have let him get the best of me." Optimus muttered, his voice slipping back to that of what it should be.

"How do you know Lockdown, and more importantly why does your voice always deepen when you speak of him?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus said nothing for a moment, before asking his own question. "Will you tell me a part of your past, if I tell you a part of mine?"

Ratchet was quiet for a moment, before nodding. "Sounds fair enough, where do I begin?"

"Why don't you start at how you ran into Lockdown?" Optimus asked.

As Ratchet told his tale from the great war, how he met the intelligence office Arcee. They ran into Lockdown who was after her at the time, and he had to wipe Arcee's memory core. It was the only way to keep the secrets she kept safe and out of Decepticon hands. "So that's how I know Lockdown, and how I got this," Ratchet explained, showing the damage that had been done to his helm. "So, where do you know Lockdown from, and well what about your voice."

Optimus smiled gently. "My voice I will explain another solar cycle, Lockdown however." Optimus soon frowned, "What do you know of the Massacre of Ion?"

Ratchet gasped, "I-impossible, no one survived, there's a reason they called it a massacre."

"It wasn't just a massacre, it was a slaughter, all the refugees there killed. All because the Autobots wanted one Decepticon, Lockdown was there, he killed several of the refugees. Several other bounty hunters attacked as well, attempting to find just one Decepticon who wanted peace." Optimus glared at the ground, small Energon tears falling down his face.

"I was an older sparkling at the time, my parents stayed back to protect the rest of the refugees who were still alive. My carrier told me to run, and hide. I didn't want to, but then the fire started and I knew I had to run, it might've been a war zone outside, but it seemed safer than the slaughter that had been going on inside." More tears were streaking down Optimus' face and his voice was getting deeper and deeper the more he spoke about his past.

"As I ran, I heard the screams of my creators, I wanted to turn around, but I couldn't. I just kept running and running, until finally someone found me. My uncle, my sire's younger brother, he found me amidst some rubble on the battle field. After that, it's too personal to talk about." Optimus finished, Energon tears staining his blue cheeks.

Ratchet was speechless; he assumed that whatever happened between Optimus and Lockdown wouldn't be pretty. But to imagine that the bot before him was the lone survivor of the Massacre of Ion was shocking to say the least. Yet as the Medic bot looked over his leader he couldn't help but feel what he went through, doesn't compare to what happened to Optimus. Reaching out, he placed a calming hand on Optimus' shoulder, trying to sooth the mech's pain.

Optimus was still for a moment, before he soon let out a shuddery sigh, and whispered. "Thank you, Ratchet."

Both smiled gently at the other, before going to bed for now. Optimus' patrol would be during midafternoon the next day, and Ratchet's was the graveyard shift.

TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA

The next three days were horrible to say the least for Optimus. It was easier to use his normal voice around his team, they were curious, but soon began to write it off. Thinking that maybe he is a young bot and his voice is only now changing. However that was the only positive, everything else was negative. Prowl kept distancing himself from most of them, not really bonding with the others.

Bulkhead was having trouble trying to not destroy stuff, but he was trying. Ratchet was a bit more open about some of the things that happened during the war, but not a lot. Wheeljack was blowing himself up constantly, so they had to quadruple reinforce his lab so they don't have to repair it all the time.

Bumblebee, oh Primus, Optimus had the worst processor aches given to him by that mech. However Bumblebee did use his boosters well when they were fighting against Nanosec. That was one of the only positives the little mech did for him. However his punishment was three days straight of graveyard monitor duty along with no Sari for three days.

Optimus sighed as he lay upon his berth. "Sometimes I really hate being a leader." He muttered before closing his optics to take a nice long recharge.

TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA-TFA

As Optimus slept, he didn't know that a familiar face from his Autobot past would soon be coming to Earth. Along with a very loyal Decepticon who would be very eager to see him again.

Well that's it for this chapter, please review everyone.