Transformers Short Story

Rapids

The water rushed over Rose's head as she dived back under. The topspin of the waves was dragging the XO further down into the depths of the ocean and he was struggling to stay upright. Rose opened her eyes, ignoring the sting of the salt as she looked for movement under the crashing waves. She saw a flash of green as Lennox pumped his arms in an attempt to break the surface. Rose pushed up, her lungs screaming for air as another wave drowned over her. She flailed for a second before finding her footing and pushed up again, breaking the surface to gasp in the air. She lost sight of Lennox as another wave pushed him further away, making her bitter with frustration. Rose looked up at the sky, watching the darkening clouds threaten to rain down on them, adding to the already full ocean. The water was cold, infiltrating her uniform and making her boots heavy dead weight, no doubt Lennox was feeling the same. All of her soldiers were, though they had made it safely to shore before Rose had spotted her XO in the undertow. The waves sloshed against her again, black water pulling her further out to sea. She shook the water from her eyes, yelling above the crashes of thunder and lightning dancing in the sky, "Lennox!" Her XO offered up no reply and cold fear shivered down Rose's spine as she surveyed the sloping landscape. A larger wave approached from her right and she dived into the swell, rising back up to escape the dangerous reef it would crash her into. She trod the water for a while, franticly searching each direction in hopes of seeing her companion but she saw nothing. Seconds dragged into minutes as Rose lost track of time as she pushed through the dark liquid, trying her best to watch out for the XO as she swam. She'd lost her sense of direction, all around her were swirling waves of green/blue water and the darkening sky was blurring any shoreline in the distance. Rose swallowed past the lump in her throat and pushed forward, noting the spread of waves as she distanced herself from the undertow. Her teeth grated uselessly against each other as she shivered, forcing herself to keep pumping her arms to keep above the beckoning depths. She sucked in a few more breaths before diving under, scanning the surprisingly clear waters for any sign of her XO. After a few minutes, she popped back up, blinking to see across the surface, "Lenn-!" Her call was cut off as a smaller wave flooded her senses and she floundered under the water, twirling and twisting backward. She pushed strongly to the top and coughed up the water she'd swallowed, staining her mouth with the salty taste. A shout echoed across the water and Rose stilled breathlessly, turning quickly to view the direction it'd come from before responding, "Lennox! Answer me!" Another shout followed quickly after her own and she sighed with relief at her soldier's call, "Rose? Do you hear me!?" Rose's mouth formed a simple line as tried to pinpoint his location, "I hear you! Keep talking to me so I can find you!" Lennox answered back after a few seconds, his voice sounded weirdly distorted to Rose's waterlogged ears, "I'm on some sort of rock...I see you, keep swimming towards me!" She forced herself to swim faster toward his voice, looking for any signs of the rock or her XO. Lennox shouted out something, his voice painfully close but Rose saw nothing up ahead. Another wave slept over her and she felt herself being pulled down further. She pushed up again but another current swept her to her right, crashing her painfully into a rock face that broke the surface up above. Rose surged up, sputtering madly as she tried to get the barrings of her surroundings. A hand pulled at her arm, tugging her firmly up onto the rock face. Rose winced, glancing down to see the scraps torn into her green undershirt where her skin was peeping through; only battered thankfully. She felt hands on either shoulder and Lennox was staring at her tiredly, shaking her softly, "Are you okay?" Rose nodded, eyeing the soldier in front of her. He was shaking, drenched head to toe and a nasty cut above his eyebrow was leaving a smear of red down the left of his face. Rose reached forward to dab at the cut, cleaning most of the blood away before it dripped down his face again. Lennox muttered a curse under his breath before leaning back into the rock. The rock face breached the water's surface a good distance, allowing them both to be free of the water below but it was slick and sharp, leaving no room for comfort. Rose eyed the water from all sides, calculating the rough distance she'd swam from the shoreline to their rest stop; 1 mile. Not far but she couldn't see anything to indicate there was land nearby. Rose turned back to her XO, eyeing his shivering form before nudging him, "Take your shirt off, your belt, and your boots/ socks...wring them out and try and dry off a bit." She demonstrated by shrugging out of her own items, laying them haphazardly over the rocks so she could dry off her body. Lennox cast his eyes away respectfully before doing the same, hugging himself tightly to the rock face when he was done. Rose smushed herself next to him, trying her best to shield him from the constant spray of droplets from the water against the rock. Lennox clung to her warmth, smiling wearily at their situation, "This is going to be one hell of a story to tell." Rose shushed him, pressing her damp shirt to his cut, trying to stop the bleeding. Lennox stilled before picking up his own and tucking it under his head for comfort. The two sat in silence for a long time, eyeing the restless waters distastefully as hours ticked away. Soon the water died down and Rose was able to gain a bit more visibility through the storm though she still saw nothing. Lennox stirred next to her, testing his clothes with a hopeful look. He smiled in triumph at the simple dryness of the fabrics before slipping them on, sighing in relief as the items hugged his skin. He left his boots but pulled his socks back on, trying to wring out his pants as he worked. Rose smiled softly, copying Lennox's methods, "The storm's dying out which means they'll send out rescue boats soon, we can't be too far out from the shore." Lennox pursed his lips, shaking out his hair, "I'm not so sure, I can't see any kind of land from where we're at...do you think your Dad's coming out?" Rose hummed, leaning back into the solider, "He will be, no one knows these waters better...Hightide's searching too, we'll get an earful from him if he finds us first." Lennox snorted, "More you than me, I didn't need any help drowning but you decided to jump back in." Rose shrugged against him, "I'm a better swimmer and you didn't know what you were doing." Her XO went quiet, closing his eyes as he sighed, "Is everyone else okay?" Rose hummed her confirmation, watching as Lennox struggled to stay awake; he was tired to the bone, "You should try and get some sleep, I'll wake you if anyone gets here." Lennox leaned his head against her shoulder, bending into her warmth with a content sigh before drifting off quickly. Rose pulled a hand down her face, measuring the ocean with a mean look as it lapped obediently below as if it didn't just try and drown her a few hours ago. She thought back to her childhood when the ocean was constantly involved; racing toy boats in the pools, swimming in the summer, lounging on the beach with her family; she could go on for hours. That was the one thing she missed about being landlocked now; no ocean's like this one and she barely had any time to swim as she used to. The sun peaked through the dark clouds, showering both of them in weak light. Rose watched the sky for a few moments before a thought popped into her head, making her extremely mad at her own forgetfulness; she had a bond. Rose chuckled to herself before opening it up, surprised to see that her creators had flooded the link with urgent messages for the past hours. She took her time going through each one but they all had the same gist; where are you? Are you okay? We're coming to look for you. Rose pinged both of them with a message, "Ratchet, Optimus...you there?" She was immediately flooded with worry and fear as they both hastened to respond. Ratchet drowned out Optimus's steady tone, "Are you hurt? Where are you?" Rose blinked, "I'm fine, we're both fine...I've got Lennox here too- we're on a rock maybe about a mile out from the shore? I'm not sure, I've lost my sense of direction." Optimus soothed Rose with a relief-filled ping, "You aren't far...we have turned in your direction, stay where you are." Rose snorted humouredly, "Like I was going anywhere?" Ratchet didn't seem to share her humor, "Of all the scrap-brained ideas you've had this one was certainly the worst! What kind of fragging thought ran through your processor, huh? Do you know how incredibly dangerous that was? Forgot the ongoing storm; hypothermia, drowning, whiplash, rust...slag, did you even stop to think about what you were doing?" Rose's smile slipped into a frown, "Like I was going to let him drown?" Ratchet seemed to puff up with anger, "No, but instead of losing one soldier we could have lost two...there were better ways than just jumping in after him." Rose felt herself beginning to get defensive, "I did what I thought was best...you know what? I'm not listening to this!" She shut them both out, flopping back in the rock with a roll of her eyes. She knew he was relieved to see her alive but it always manifested its way into a lecture; leaving Rose gutted and exhausted. Optimus sent a soft ping to her bond, a small comfort as Ratchet clambered hauntingly at the edges of their link. Rose sighed, watching the horizon for any boats headed their way. After a few minutes, Rose heard the rumble of a fog horn as a large boat came into view. Rose nudged Lennox awake, smiling up at the familiar model of Hightide's large alt-mode as it powered toward them. Lennox eyed the large vessel with a smirk, pulling his soggy boots on quickly before leaping up to wave at the boat with a cheer, "Hightide! Over here!" Rose smashed her boots on, neglecting to lace them in her haste as the boat drew near. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her XO as the boat turned slightly, stilling before dropping a large anchor off the deck with a splash, docking the vessel. Rose saw the rest of her soldiers and almost the entire Autobot team rush to the side facing them, calling to them from where they stood. The steering center flashed before something plunged into the water below the boat, roaring noisily to the surface and racing towards them in the next second. Hightide's smaller alt skimmed the water, circling them once before pulling in close to the rock, just scrapping the side. The top of the boat shifted back and Hightide's warm and dry cabin welcomed them. Lennox climbed in first, helping Rose navigate the rock face as she jumped in beside him. Once they were both safely tucked inside Hightide swung right sharply and sped off towards the larger of the two, diving under the water to propel himself to his loading dock. The glass tunnel filled down and Hightide slowly backed in, securing the air-tight hatch with a beep. He opened his top, letting both soldiers climb out before transforming into his bot mode, shaking the seawater from his frame, "Ya sea slugs alright?" Lennox smiled up at him, slight awe in his voice, "All good here, thanks for picking us up!" Hightide ex-vented harshly, water steaming with the heat of his frame, "Next time be more careful, I don't want to save your sorry afts again." Lennox playfully saluted the mech, "No promises Cap." Rose rolled her eyes at her XO's behavior, "Is everyone else still good?" Hightide turned his gaze onto the CO, his optics blazing fiercely, "Aye, though maybe the rock was a safer place than what you're about to get into." Rose grimaced as the tube thudded to a stop, opening the hatch to the top deck, "Thanks for the warning." Hightide snorted, "It won't help any blip." Rose shook her head, following behind her XO as he tested the deck first, smiling at the large group filling the boat. Hightide slipped off to the side, absent-mindedly petting Servo as he waited for the disaster to unfold. The human group rushed to them, smiling at them both in relief while shouting cheers loudly, much to the bot's amusement. Epps swung his arms over both Rose's and Lennox's shoulders with an easy grin, "These two thought they could escape us that easily?!" The soldiers laughed at his jest, teasing the two until they'd had their fun. Rose shrugged out of Epps's hold with a roll of her eyes, "Alright knock it off." Her soldiers brought it down a notch, still standing around the two protectively. The rest of the Autobots stayed to the sides wearily, watching the fuming medic with anticipation of a blowout but Ratchet stayed silent; glaring at the small group next to Optimus. Ironhide scooped up his partner (out of harm's way) with a discreet warning to the others to bug off, fusing over the XO with slight worry in his field. Lennox laughed off his concern, "I'm all good Hide, got all my limbs and didn't freeze so I'd say I came out of it perfect!" The weapons master snorted in disbelief, "Sarah is going to kill you when she finds out." Lennox stilled, crossing his arms in a pout, and corrected, "You mean if she finds out? Come on man give me a break, please?" Ironhide rolled his optics, ex-venting a hot puff on the soldier, "I suppose I will just use it as blackmail...for now." Lennox groaned, "Come on! She'll make me sleep in the garage for weeks." The group laughed at his exclamation but it soon faded awkwardly as everyone eyed the two creators who had yet to greet Rose. As if on cue Optimus stepped forward, kneeling to view Rose better, "I'm glad to see you are unharmed...are you cold?" Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, before watching Optimus's fleeting look to his mate, "Yeah a little, that water was...." She trailed off as Ratchet turned his glare to her before marching stonily into Hightide's inside cabin. Optimus let out a small sigh before smiling at her in reassurance, helping her onto his palm as he followed after his mate. Once inside he placed her down, giving the two distance as he waited patiently to intervene. Ratchet meet her eyes cooly and Rose winced internally; he had such a wicked stare. Rose clenched her fingers tightly into a fist as Ratchet continued to glare at her. She caught Optimus's optics out of the corner of her eye but Ratchet's growl stopped her from turning her head, "He's not going to help you." Rose turned back to face her Carrier, shying away from his piercing look, "I-well-...shit." Rose was cut off as Ratchet transformed into his alt-mode and his holo-form appeared in front of her. His eyes blazed as he stalked toward her and Rose held her breath as he stopped right before he invaded her personal space, "I don't think I have to repeat myself but-" "Ratchet." Optimus gave his mate an imploring look, which he ignored, "You aren't invincible you realize that right?" Rose sighed, exhaust flooding her body, "Ratchet-" "You think I like seeing you sacrifice yourself? If I had any say in anything you do you'd actually be careful-but why listen to me? You're too stubborn for your own good!" Rose chewed on her cheek, wishing Optimus would stop the assault she was getting but he remained silent in the corner, "Ratchet-" "No! You won't listen! I did not raise you to cough up half-afted plans or put yourself in harm's way! You are better than this!" Rose felt herself flinch at his words, glaring at him as he continued to berate her, "Did you learn absolutely nothing? The-" "STOP!" Rose snapped her mouth shut as soon as the words left her, turning her eyes away from Ratchet as silence echoed through the room. Rose seemed to shrink under Ratchet's scrutiny but she refused to meet his eyes, "Fuck! I'm not perfect but I'm safe aren't I? Please-just-look, sorry I couldn't meet your standards but I can't just sit on the sidelines and watch my men-good men-die!? Tell me you wouldn't do the same?" She lifted her eyes and glared at him but instantly regretted it. Ratchet was staring at her with a shameful look curling his mouth, watching as Rose reined her emotions back in. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Ratchet whispered, "I was worried-no...terrified that I wouldn't see you again. I'm-I'm sorry." Rose rubbed at her face tiredly, "It's fine...I get it, but you have to trust that I can handle myself." Ratchet breathed a sigh, "I'll try to remember." Rose glanced at Optimus but he only smiled, leaving her to refocus on her Carrier, "So...no more lectures?" Ratchet sniffed but agreed, "No more lectures." Rose awkwardly looked between the two before stating, "This has been-----fun, are we good?" Ratchet hummed, eyeing his mate who nodded slowly, "Yes-we're good." Rose nodded, unsure, "Alright well, I'm going to out on the deck...want to join me?" Optimus cleared his throat when Ratchet moved to agree, "Go ahead, we will join you shortly." Rose eyed the pair before blinking, turning, and walking out into the deck again before she could get pulled back in. Hightide grunted as she re-entered the deck, his face plates filled with mirth, "Not too bad eh? You're still in one piece." Rose shuffled slightly but agreed, "Not too bad no." Hightide snorted but let her return to the rest of the group littering the large ship as it powered toward the shoreline of Griffin Rock.