Transformers Rescue Bots - The Present

32: PTSD - S

After being mind controlled by phones, Chase is suffering, and Boulder is being a good friend.
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All the bots knew how Chase felt after he snapped out of that terrible phone trance, after all, he hated being controlled so wrongly.

The police bot was very much reminded of Madame Ruby and her awful lessons, the harsh words, the way all of it led him to such violence of picking up a broken datapad and infecting his hands with the fear the Femme forced into him. Sure, none of the others really understood what Ruby really did, and Chase never talked about it since he could never seem to word it well.

He was able to act like he was fine until they all got back to the firehouse, but he was being a little more quiet than he normally tends to be. No one was really suspicious of it though, but that was because Chase really knows how to hide how he feels.

It was a habit, one which was indeed something Ruby put into him too. She always told him emotion was weak, and tended to make matters worse even if he did dare to cry, be angry, or even show happiness. It was his childhood trauma, something he couldn't seem to just break away from.

He slowly found himself doing better after the event of the phones, he didn't even think that there would be anything to really trigger him more that day. That was the case, until something happened in the bunker.

Cody was just talking with Boulder, sort of explaining all that went down while the phones were in control. It was more for reassurance since they were all wondering what they missed out on that day for emergencies. Cody held a glass in his hand, water filled at the quarter mark at this point.

Then he accidentally dropped it.

The glass broke onto the floor with ease, each piece varying in their sizes. Cody was quick to make sure he was alright before finding a broom and dustpan to clean it all up while grabbing a towel for the mess of water. Chase only stared at the mess though, completely quiet.

Part of him urged, pushing him to touch the broken pieces like he did ever so long ago with that datapad. Ruby's words echoed like a pure drum, teasing him with annoyance to just get him to pick up the glass on the ground. He felt the need to do it, to clean it up before someone was caught, before the world would shatter before him.

He wasn't even sure of what was around him anymore, because all he could see was those broken pieces in his line of sight. No part of him could move away from what he was looking at, it was like looking at an artwork, but that artwork was that of Chase's true misery.

"Chase?" Boulder noticed how the bot was hunched, then saw exactly what was truly wrong in the scenario. "CHASE, NO!"

Boulder had been quick to knock that piece of glass out of Chase's one servo, knowing as to what the bot was trying to do without noticing it at all. The police bot looked extremely lost, not really noticing Boulder's presence in front of him as he tried to grab the piece that was lost from the tips of his large fingers. The green bot was quick to step in front of Chase, gripping the Mech's shoulders as an attempt to keep him still.

"Chase, that is not what you think it is." He says, hoping Chase will actually snap out of whatever his thoughts are urging him to do. "All of that is not true."

He was trying to fight the bot, trying to get himself towards the glass again, but Boulder had kept his place and continued to keep Chase away from what he shouldn't be touching.

He was now shaking within the grasp, Chase finding himself extremely out of control as he didn't know what to do anymore. He was slowly backing up from the glass instead, muttering quietly to the point that no words could be identified. Chase felt like he had shots blasting his body, his mind filled with memories he left to be forgotten. He didn't even realize he backed himself into a corner, slumping down out of pure fear while his vents choked.

Boulder was quick to act on this, knowing there was a big chance that the bot wouldn't want to discuss this if some human found him at the state he was in at the moment. He moved some of the crates to block the bot from being seen from anyone who descended down the level, he also commlinked Blades to go and sit with Chase just to keep the bot from being alone.

Cody did end up returning, to which he had no questions regarding anything since he hadn't heard any of what went on earlier. He cleaned up the mess properly with the information his father gave him, and before long, he went back upstairs to put everything away and to have dinner (because all of them forgot to eat).

Boulder went back to check up with Chase, to which he found the bot still shaking a little but also rocking back and forth while Blades simply waited until Chase was ready to talk about it. The green bot decided to join them since he had nothing better to do, keeping himself at a certain distance to provide Chase with some space.

"He's calmed down a bit." Blades mentions, seeing how slowly the bot is just rocking himself. "Thank goodness you were in the room when it happened."

"Yeah." Boulder says, knowing it could've been possibly worse. "At least Cody didn't see it."

"Cody didn't see what?" Heatwave suddenly appeared out of nowhere, noticing the little huddle party going on. "Oh."

Heatwave joined the little huddle behind the crates, leading to some nice small talk between three of the bots as Chase slowly came back to his senses. Yet, when the bots were found by one of the humans, all they found were all of the four of them recharging peacefully.