Transformers Prime: Fractured Futures (#3)

Epilogue: Part 2

The battlefield was silent, save for the distant thunder that seemed to echo the turmoil within me. I could still feel the energy of the explosion resonating through my frame, each pulse a reminder of the chaos we’d just endured. But all that vanished the moment I caught sight of Erin lying on the ground, her body still and lifeless, drenched in rain.

No… no, she couldn’t be…

Evan was already scrambling to his feet, staggering toward her with panic in his eyes. My own circuits were sparking in alarm, my mind blanking in disbelief. Evan's voice broke the silence, the sound of his screams tearing through the air. “ERIN!” He threw himself down beside her, his knees sinking into the mud as he lifted her, cradling her head. His voice shook with desperation, with hope that somehow, she’d respond. But she didn’t.

I couldn’t move. Every joint, every wire felt like it had turned to lead. Erin… my partner, my friend, the one person who never let me down, was lying there, eyes open but vacant, her gaze fixed on nothing. It was wrong, all wrong. How could this be real? She had been so full of life just moments ago, fighting alongside us. She had to be okay. She *had* to be.

Evan was begging her to wake up, his cries growing more frantic, and I could feel something breaking inside me with each word he spoke. I wanted to tell him she was fine, that she’d just been knocked out, that any second now she’d open her eyes, smile up at us, and laugh about the close call. But… looking at her, I felt a chill that I’d never felt before. Her body was still, so still, her face too pale, too peaceful. And for the first time, I was afraid to move closer, afraid of what I already knew to be true.

I managed to take a shaky step forward, just as Ratchet approached, his usual calm expression replaced by something raw, something broken. He activated his scanner, and I waited, holding my breath as though that could somehow change the result. Ratchet shook his head, slamming his scanner in frustration, but when he looked up, his optics were filled with sorrow.

"There’s… no pulse,” he said quietly, his voice cracking.

I felt my spark shatter. No… no, this wasn’t happening. Not Erin. She was supposed to be safe. I was supposed to protect her. I knelt beside her, reaching out, my hands hovering over her small, fragile frame, too afraid to touch her, as if my touch could confirm the nightmare.

My voice came out in a whisper, trembling as I tried to reach her, even though I knew it was too late. “Come on, Erin… wake up, please. You can’t leave like this. You’re supposed to stay with me. We’re supposed to do this together…”

But she didn’t respond. Her body lay there, motionless, and I felt a wave of helplessness that I couldn’t shake. I’d faced countless enemies, fought battles that felt impossible, but this… this was a battle I couldn’t win. A cold realization swept over me: I was powerless here. All my strength, all my training, and it was useless. I couldn’t save her.

Evan was holding her, his tears mingling with the rain, and I could see the raw grief tearing him apart. Miko, Raf, Jack—they were all crying, their voices breaking as they tried to wake her, each of them reaching out, desperate to pull her back. She was family to them, to all of us. I wanted to scream, to shake her awake, to tell her she wasn’t allowed to leave us. But I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed, trapped in the reality that Erin was gone, and nothing I did could change that.

Jack’s voice cut through the rain. “Today was supposed to be her 17th birthday. We should’ve been celebrating, not…” His voice trailed off, choked with grief.

She'd never get the future she deserved. All of it—gone, ripped away from her because she’d chosen to fight with us, to save us. I wanted to scream at the injustice of it, to rail against the universe for taking her from us. She had saved our world, saved Cybertron, and this was her reward?