To Heal a Mockingbird (TFA Ratchet x Mech! reader)

Chapter 3: A Switch

"What do you mean you can't?" Ratchet asked.

"I mean, I can't tell you anything."

"Can't or won't?" Ultra Magnus asked coldly.

"Can't." I growled before sighing slightly. "Look, Megatron keeps a lot of secrets, and I'm nowhere high enough on the food chain to tell you anything. But... I can tell you where to look."

"And where would that be?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"That I won't tell you. Not without knowing you aren't going to stab me in the back."

"Puh, you're lucky the Magnus is even giving you the courtesy of speaking face to face." Pharma huffed as he entered the room and leaned against a wall with arms crossed.

"What took you so long?" Ratchet grumbled.

"I don't make time for Decepticons." Pharma spat.

"Pharma, that's enough." Ultra Magnus said before returning his focus to me. "Y/D, I can guarantee that there is no trickery here."

"I'll believe it when I see it." I growled before wincing with a hiss. "Nnngh, f-frag."

"What's wrong?" Ratchet asked.

"M-my wings and chassis... they hurt." I grunted. Ratchet gently guided me back to a laying position on the medical berth. He ran a scan over my frame and furrowed his optic ridges at the results.

"Try and get some rest Y/D. We can talk more later." Ratchet said as he motioned for both Pharma and Ultra Magnus to follow him. The pair complied and left me alone in the room, their voices just barely audible to me

"What's his status?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"The stress from being interrogated has caused his levels to drop significantly." Ratchet said. "He's too vulnerable right now to be under any sort of stress."

"Or maybe," pharma said coldly. "We can use this as a way to force him to talk."

"Are you out of your circuits?" Ratchet snarled.

"Look, we need to know what Megatron is planning, and he currently can give us the information we need." Pharma argued.

"He's in no condition to give it currently, and as his medic, I strongly urge -"

CRASH!

"FRAGGING DAMMIT!" The trio heard me curse following the sound of falling metal. Ratchet quickly rushed back into the room and saw me on my servos and knees. The energon line and monitor had been disconnected, and I was slightly shaking from the pain.

"Oh no, you dont!" Pharma barked as he and Ultra Magnus ran back into the room. Pharma shoved Ratchet aside and quickly slapped a pair of stasis cuffs onto my wrists. I felt my frame stiffen as the cuffs paralyzed me, my denta gripping so tight from the pain and paralysis that I thought they'd shatter. "And just where do you think you are going, huh? Are you going to run off back to the Decepticons?"

"Get these off of me right now!" I snapped.

"Pharma! Don't be an idiot!" Ratchet protested.

"We are not about to let our only link to finding out what Megatron's up to run away!" Pharma barked. He then forced me to a stand and shoved me back onto the medical berth. The next thing I knew, I felt a blaster pressed against the side of my helm. "Now, you're going to tell us EXACTLY what we need to know. Right here. Right now."

"Pharma!" Ratchet protested before looking over to the Magnus with a silent plea.

"Well?" Pharma snarled to me. The only response he got was a quiet chuckle. "What's so funny?!"

"You don't have the bearings to pull that trigger." I said with a cold smirk. "And even if you did, you'd be giving me a gift." I slowly and stiffly turned my helm, so I was staring down the barrel of the blaster. I then pressed my forehelm directly against it and looked up at Pharma with a knowing gaze. "Why not pull it, hm? I know you've been itching to kill me since the start. After all, aren't you Autobots just like us Decepticons in that regard?"

My words were cold as ice and my gaze unbreakable. The combination of the two was enough to cause Pharma to hesitate and shudder slightly. I knew I had him exactly where I wanted him.

"I'm not afraid of death, Autobot. Your methods are not going to work on me."

"Don't tempt me, Decepti-scum!"

"Oh please, come up with something more creative than that." I scoffed.

"Tell us what we want to know! Now!"

"Sir, please!" Ratchet begged the Magnus in a hushed voice. "You can't let this continue!"

"Don't worry about me." I said to the medic. "I know this coward can't pull that trigger. Not unless your Magnus wants what I know. After all, nothing comes for free."

"I've offered you your freedom and for all charges to be dropped." Ultra Magnus said. "What else do you want?"

"I'll tell you if you get your trigger happy lap mutt to back off and get these cuffs off of me."

"It's a trap!" Pharma argued. "As soon as I do that, he's going to try and run again!"

"Idiot, I wasn't trying to run the first time." I barked. "I was TRYING to sit up."

"What?" Pharma asked in pure disbelief.

"Look, a seekers wings aren't just for flying, you know." I scoffed. "They are key for balance and coordination. When I tried to scoot up, I couldn't sense how far I was and fell. Maybe if you actually took a moment to analyze the situation rather than getting whiplash from jumping to conclusions, you'd actually see that I'm not as much of a threat as you think."

Pharma was completely dumbfounded by my words and looked over to the Magnus for answers.

"Stand down, Pharma." Ultra Magnus said. Pharma reluctantly obeyed and returned the blaster to its rightful place. He then removed the stasis cuffs and backed off with a bit of a sulk.

"And I thought Blitzwing was more prone to outbursts." I grumbled as I massaged my wrists with annoyance.

"You okay, Y/D?" Ratchet asked.

"Just annoyed." I muttered before turning my attention back to the Magnus. "But, now that that's out of the way. What I want is something only you can allow."

"And what would that be?" Ultra Magnus asked suspiciously.

"I want to join the Autobots."

"WHAT?!" Pharma exclaimed in absolute disbelief.

"My terms for the information you seek are my freedom and allowing me to side with the Autobots." I said coldly. "Are these acceptable to you, Ultra Magnus?"

"Sir! I have to object!" Pharma exclaimed. "He's a Decepticon! A-a murderer!"

"And are you not one yourself?" I growled. "Or do you forget that the Autobots have as much guilt in this war as the Decepticons?" The room grew tense and silent at my words, the trio staring at me with disbelief and bewilderment. "No one is innocent here, not you, not me, no one." I lowered my gaze, and an expression of saddening exhaustion crossed my face. "I've seen too much death from both Autobots and Decepticons. Both sides are guilty of taking life." I then looked up and made direct optic contact with the Magnus. "But with the threat of the Allspark being taken and misused, I am willing to side with those who seek to protect it from harm. Even if it means breaking my oath to serve Megatron. So, do we have a deal?"

Ultra Magnus paused as he pondered my words, the gears of his processor clearly working based on his expression.

Then he finally answered me.

"These terms are acceptable Y/D." He said.

"Then I'll tell you everything I know."