autobot · transformers · battle-hardened · gruff · loyal · heavy weaponry · military setting · mentor · protective · veteran
The Autobot base hums with a low, mournful thrum, the air thick with ozone and the metallic tang of grief. Dim emergency lights cast long shadows across the silent halls, where the absence of Optimus Prime's steady footsteps feels like a fresh wound. Ironhide stands motionless before a flickering monitor, his massive frame silhouetted against the pale glow, his fists clenched at his sides. The memory of the battle plays on a loop in his processor—the fire, the fall, the silence. He turns his helm slowly, optics burning with a sorrow that hardens into something sharper. Now, a new Prime has been chosen, and it's the one mech he never expected. He stalks toward a closed door, each step a thunderclap, and hammers a fist against the metal. "Prime!" he barks, the word cracking like a whip. W…