Verdant gasped, optics flashing online and frame shooting upright. The world was brighter than it should have been one moment and then a stabbing pain grasped at her face. She cried out, standing up and grabbing at it. Her optic blew out and now energon streaked down her face.
Fire.
Explosions.
Death.
"No," Verdant choked out, stumbling to the side and leaning heavily on the wall. "It's just a dream. A twisted memory purge."
"Ugh," she opened her medical cabinet and searched around for a plug.
The plug was a large clay sealant, so she ripped it into a quarter of it's original size and pressed it against her optic. Ratchet probably had the tools to fix her optics, but this would stem the energon flow. Just because they had more energon didn't mean they could waste it.
She held it against her optic and tried to keep still as she left the ship. Now she only wished she would have gone to her berthroom. The mess with Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus could have been avoided, and then she'd be closer to Ratchet.
Verdant pushed open the door to the base, taking note of the silence. Was it really that late or... She stepped into the main section of the base and looked around. Everyone was present, excluding Ultra Magnus, Optimus, and Wheeljack, and they were all dead silent.
Not a good sign.
As quietly as possible, Verdant snuck over to Ratchet, trying to avoid detection.
"Ratch–"
*smack*
Verdant stumbled back and dropped her plug after his servo rammed into her face.
"Ratchet!" Arcee exclaimed from across the room.
"I'm so sorry," Ratchet looked genuinely horrified as he grabbed her elbow and helped her up. "You scared me, and I— I broke your optic!?"
"No," she assured him, cringing. "That was my fault."
Ratchet guided her out of the room. "You come to me for medical attention and I smack you. I'm a wonderful medic, aren't I?"
Verdant offered a pained smile. "I should've taken your reflexes into account."
"It's not your fault," Ratchet told her. "Don't blame yourself. I've been on edge."
The two of them walked into the med-bay and Verdant sat down.
"What happened to Wheeljack?" she asked.
Ratchet winced. "Ultra Magnus wasn't happy. Optimus was already talking to Wheeljack when the commander came in, and we all heard Ultra Magnus voice him complaints. Then Optimus wasn't happy. We all heard the Prime give Wheeljack an uncharacteristically stern talking-to."
"How did Wheeljack take it?"
"Surprisingly calmly," Ratchet informed her. "He didn't even argue. He just bowed his helm and apologized before leaving."
Verdant sighed. "Good."
"I don't think he's coming back though."
She looked up. "What?"
Ratchet used a magnifying glass to look into her optic hole and frowned. "I'm going to need to pull the fragments out. You should have commed me after you woke up so they wouldn't fall in when you moved."
Verdant frowned. "How did you know I woke up to this?"
"I've seen my fair share of injuries," Ratchet told her. "Now hold still as I pull these out."
YOU ARE READING
Going Green
Fanfiction"I'm not Soundwave." Ever since the destruction of her home, Verdant had spent her life as a loyal Autobot soldier. She was Ultra Magnus's third in command, and the most renowned intelligence officer in the Autobots. She was of the same frame-ty...
