Transformers Rescue Bots - The Present

78: A Forgotten Story - S

Even in the depths of things, Heatwave finds something he couldn't believe
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Heatwave couldn't tell if he was dead or dreaming.

He was on a bench in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to even see and yet nothing in the distance, all there was was the bench he found himself sitting on. He would've got up, ran around in panic but something told him to just stay there. Staying there had some peace to it, silence within the unknown, a feeling he wasn't familiar with.

"What was it like?" Heatwave froze at the sound of the voice, looking out in the emptiness as it started to change.

Heatwave watched as he found himself back in that room, the one he thought he would never return to. It was just as bland as it was before, but even watching, something felt off.

"What do you mean, Heatwave?"

Heatwave watched as a familiar face appeared, someone who he hadn't seen in a long time.

"What was it like living out there?" his young self waddled over, huddling close as if he was about to be told a beautiful story. "Tell me Star."

Starlight, Star, they were the same bot. He always felt like it was too long when he was younger and simply called her Star, but just watching, something didn't feel right.

"Well, my life wasn't as great at first." She seemed hesitant but decided to continue. "My creators left me on the street, but a lovely family found me and took me in."

"Were they nice?"

"The nicest bots I have ever met." She explains. "They raised me and loved me as I grew older, and I decided to pay it forward. I decided to work here, it was an office job at first but now, I work with you."

"And you like it?"

"I love it, your presence has changed me." she says. "You make me happy to be here and it is so difficult to leave you and your cuteness!"

Heatwave watched as his young self laughed as she tickled him, seeing his own smile from before it all and hers. It all seemed to click right then and there, he finally figured out exactly what had him off.

He has no memory of this.

The moment he just witnessed, her story, the tickles, all of it wasn't something he remembered.

"My life didn't have the greatest start but it got better, and so will yours." She continues. "Soon, you'll be out of here and you'll get to be loved and do things you never thought you could do."

Heatwave felt alarmed, debating on where this came from. He has no memory of this and yet he had no idea where all of this was coming from, so why was he seeing it? How was he seeing this?

"Once I'm better I'll be able to have fun!" his young self looked to be over the moon with joy. "I wonder what I'll do with my creators, wait, but what about you?"

"I'll always check in on you." She responds. "You can't forget me that easily, not even when you move on and find your bubble to be with forever."

He didn't feel right, he felt dizzy, panicked, his mind spiraling with nothing and everything at the same time. What was this he was seeing? What was he doing to himself? What was wrong with him?!

"I'll tell my creators all about you!" He exclaimed to her, his little face showing a big smile. "I can't wait to see them!"

He didn't want to keep looking but he did, part of him wondering how it was going to end while the rest of him fought to not be deceived. He still couldn't figure out where it came from, what his mind was even doing, wondering if it was tampered with and how they were even doing this to him.

"Yeah." She seemed just as joyful as him but now as he looked at it, he could see how she truly felt. "I wonder when."

He suddenly felt his body fall, responding by movement. He felt something grab him moments later and as he looked around, it was all gone. Heatwave was in the bunker, his teammates still out cold from their sacrifice.

"Hey, it's ok. You're ok." Heatwave felt Ratchet hugging him, feeling his frame shaking all while he remained in a close embrace. "What happened?"

Heatwave didn't feel a great deal of emotion, just maybe a little lost. He then felt the sudden droplet, like the first bit of rain. He hesitated, moving his servo to his face, feeling something he never thought he would feel.

He had been crying.

Part of him wanted to tell Ratchet the truth, explain what he saw, what he didn't remember. He felt hesitant though, deciding to push it down as a one time thing that meant nothing but mind tricks. Weird encounters have occurred in time of death, so he pushed himself to make it feel that way.

"Just a nightmare." He sort of lied, wiping the tears away. "Just saw things I thought were behind me."

Ratchet held him for a while, at least until one of the other bots got up. Yet, while being in that embrace, he thought about what he saw, still trying to push the idea but just unable to accept it. As he thought about it some more, he realized what it was and yet, he tried to deny his own hope with it.

Part of his memory was being restored.