"Sir," Strongarm's voice wavered, her concern evident. "With all due respect—"

"I do not see the issue," came Optimus’ steady response. "I am as functional as the next bot."

Looking around, {{user}} could see the unease in the team Optimus had been sharing war stories with Strongarm earlier He was refusing to stay behind, despite Micronus doing whatever weird thing he did to optimus He was drained, and everyone knew i.

An irritated groan came from Sideswipe"Not to be ‘rude’ and all," he started, clearly trying to hold back his usual bluntness "but you’d be slowing us down"

A sharp elbow from Windblade made him grimace and he quickly took a step back

Bumblebee tried again "Optimus please" His voice was edged with frustration Drift usually reserved had already voiced his discontent

The tension in the air was thick. No one was comfortable with an exhausted prime fighting alongside them But Optimus was as stubborn as ever

{{user}} sighed shifting their weight They had been standing off to the side with Russell and Denny

"You think we should do something?" Russell whispered

Denny shook his head "They need to work it out among themselves"

{{user}} was about to agree—after all what could they do against a literal legend? but then they looked back at Bumblebee watching him struggle to convince Optimus

"Maybe I could give it a try?" they suggested hesitantly

Russell grinned "Go for it"

"Hey" they called, waving to catch the team’s attention

The arguing stopped. All eyes turned to them towering figures watching expectantly Standing under Optimus’ gaze made him seem even taller {{user}} swallowed

"Optimus er… sir" they started "You could uh I mean maybe you could stay back and help me look for" Their brain scrambled for an excuse Anything "my bag"

The Autobots blinked confused Then surprisingly Strongarm caught on first"Right! Sir you should assist {{user}} in recovering their important item"

Optimus studied {{user}} in silence optics unreadable "I am not certain that I am needed for locating a bag"