1. Guardians (A TFP Fanfiction Story)

Chapter 23

Warning: This chapter may be a bit gory.

Taylor

My head ached as I opened my eyes slowly. I instantly remembered what had happened and sat up like lightning. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light as I found myself in a cave, dust everywhere. I looked down and realized I was sitting in Ratchet's limp servo. Horror flooded my chest as I remembered what I had done to my guardian. With a whimper, I turned around and saw him, laying up against the cave wall with his optics closed. His arm was sprawled out against the ground, his open servo holding me. The other was holding his abdomen, where I had stabbed and sliced him over and over. Energon was leaking tremendously from it, and I looked away with a sickening feeling in my stomach. I felt horrible for doing that to him, and not only that, but seeing the Energon left me with a strong craving for it.

I looked over to where the opening had been, my heart sinking when I saw it had been closed off. I shuddered, panic overflowing me. I stood up on Ratchet's servo, once again looking up to him with tears in my eyes. I wanted to curl up and cry, apologizing over and over, but deep down I knew that it would get me nowhere. I instead started climbing up his arm, carefully so not to hurt him more than I already had. I eventually reached his shoulder pad and slid down, landing next to his helm. He didn't move, which made me worry.

"Ratchet," I whispered, my voice cracking. I reached out and stroked his faceplate in hopes to wake him up. "Ratchet, please, wake up. We have to get out of here."

It had only been a week since the Synthetic Energon incident, and now this? I had done this to him. I was to blame. He was dying because of me. Tears fell down my cheeks as I continued to rub the warm metal.

"I'm so sorry. Please wake up, Ratchet," I pleaded, sobbing a little. "I need you.. come back."

Thankfully, his optics fluttered open, resting on me a moment later. He grunted in pain and tried to sit up straight. The movement jostled me, making me trip and stumble down. His servo flew up and caught me just before I landed on his wound, which was still leaking.

"Sorry," he rasped weakly, his vent shaky.

I shook my head as he held me to his chest chassis. "This is all my fault.."

"No, it isn't," he argued. "MECH did this. That wasn't you."

I wiped my eyes, wanting to believe him so badly, but I didn't know if I could ever stop blaming myself for this. "We need to contact the others. You need help!"

He shook his helm slightly, closing his optics again. "My commlink won't work down here... I won't be able to get in contact with them." He coughed, and I could hear the Energon in his throat.

I leaned on his chest chassis, shaking. "We're stuck here..?"

"The others should return to base soon," he assured me, his optics still closed. "When they see that I'm gone, they will probably pull up the GroundBridge log. Once they find out where I went, they should be able to find us."

"What about.. MECH?" I asked with a shudder, fear rushing into my chest as I thought of them.

He took another shaky vent. "If they know better, they will have left by now. They ought to know the risks." His optics opened again slightly, flickering down to me. "If you don't mind.. what did they do to you?"

I stiffened. Normally, I don't think I would have wanted to tell anyone. But now I wanted to let it all out, tell him everything, from beginning to end. I just wanted to let the overflow of pain and emotions out onto him.

"T-This has happened before," I sobbed, squeezing my eyes shut and burying my face in the metal.

"It has?" he questioned quietly, listening.

"Yes, three years ago. I was on my way home from school, and I saw these men dragging a body away.. I screamed and tried to run, but they caught me and took me to another lab.. I don't remember everything they did to me, but it hurt and I was so scared.. I got out and went to a nearby town, where the police helped locate my mom. I went home and told her everything... it went on the news later, cus I had to tell the police, too... no one ever got caught, but once word got out.. no one wanted to be around me anymore. Everyone at school hated me, calling me names.. my best friends decided to abandon me.. my boyfriend broke up with me and never spoke to me again. No one would ever talk to me, they would all avoid me. I had PTSD, remembering strange things in my sleep.. I would wake up screaming. Sometimes I would even see it in the day. I was so scared they would find me again. It wasn't a surprise no one would talk to me.. after everyone left I was too scared to speak to anyone else. My mom was the only person who ever loved me after that.. which is why it hurt so much when she was gone." I took a deep, shaky breath, tears still flowing down. "I didn't know anything about them.. I found out now that they turned me into a part machine.. they put Energon in me, Ratchet!"

He started slightly, his optics widening. "They gave you Energon? It's normally devastating to humans!"

I shook my head. "Not to me. They needed to fuel my machine parts.. that was the only thing that would sustain me.. oh, Ratchet, it was horrible!" I sobbed, squeezing my hands into fists. "The pictures were awful.. they opened me up, stitched me back together.. it was awful.. it hurt so much!" I cried, wanting to forget it all. It was horrible. Was I going to be alone again? Was I going to be sick, broken like before? What was I supposed to do?

Ratchet sighed, his vent still weak and shaky, and lifted me in his servo. He brought me agonizingly close to his faceplate, his half open optics staring into my face seriously.

"I am truly sorry about what they did to you," he said. "I wish there was something I could do..."

I leaned forward and nuzzled his faceplate. "Just tell me you won't leave me.. and don't die."

He chuckled slightly. "I won't leave you. And I'm not going to die." He pulled his servo back for a second, before putting me between his faceplate and shoulder pad.

"How long do you think it will take the others to find us?" I asked quietly, leaning on his helm.

He closed his optics, sighing. "Not long." He rested there for a little longer, before I saw his chassis go limp and I knew he had fallen unconscious again.

It was a painstaking quarter of an hour wait before the other Autobots finally found us. I was still leaning on my guardian's helm when I heard familiar voices outside, and saw the rocks moving. I watched hopefully as they started to give, and eventually the light of the moon shone it. Optimus leaned over and saw us, his optics widening. I smiled slightly when I saw him, relieved.

"Please," I begged, getting up. "Help him."

Optimus took me in his servo and put me down, letting me run out of the cave. I stayed close as they lifted the limp Ratchet and pulled him out. While Bumblebee and Optimus dragged him through the portal gently, Arcee offered a servo to me. I sighed and climbed on, grateful for the help.

"You need rest," Arcee said as we went through. "I'm going to put you to bed, okay?"

I wanted to protest and say I was staying with Ratchet, but I found myself to tired to do so. I didn't squirm as she laid me down and covered me up, her optics lined with worry and sorrow. I listened to her walk over to where they tending to my guardian, and heard the worry edged in each of their voices. I wanted to cry, but I had cried myself out earlier.

I was nearly in panic as I drifted off, so scared for Ratchet. I prayed as I fell asleep that he would make it. Thankfully, my sleep was dreamless, just darkness to allow me peace.

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This chapter made me cry... I love writing about emotions but it still makes me cry a little..

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. *Cough cough andihopeimnottheonlyonecrying cough cough.*

BYE!

*waves*