A Storm Without Rain (Transformers)

Chapter 5: Mentor

Ironhide

I woke up to strangled noises and gasps. I tiredly sit up, focusing my audio receptors on the noise. It sounded like someone was having a nightmare. I stand up, my joints and gears grinding, and I open my door, heading down the hall. Listening carefully, I could make out the same sounds.

"Perc-" The voice said. It sounded like a femme. It sounded like Delta. Heading down the hall, coming to stand in front of her door, I confirmed that this room was the source of the noise. I crack the door open, finding Delta on her berth, her head tossing and turning and her limbs twitching. I frown at the sight of her like this. Someone so young shouldn't have nightmares like this. She wasn't even part of the war for Cybertron. It made me wonder what her nightmare was about.

Walking into her room, I noticed that it was quiet bare, save for a datapad on one of the shelves. I saw that she was clenching her fists and I could now see her wet cheeks. I kneel next to her on the berth and I place a firm hand on her shoulder, shaking her a little. She stilled didn't wake up.

"Delta," I say, shaking her again. "It's just a nightmare," I whisper. She gasps sharply as she wakes up and it takes a second for her optics to focus and she looks at me with wide eyes.

"Ir-Ironhide?" She hiccupped. Her optics were glassy and she looked scared. I felt my spark clench seeing Delta, the normally chipper young femme, turned into a product of war. She had seen something horrible in her youth to cause this kind of rebound later in life.

"It was just a nightmare," I repeat. "Go back to sleep," I tell her softly. She nodded reluctantly, her optics filling with sadness.

"Okay," She sighed. I exhale sharply, standing up and turning toward the door. I look back to see her turning her back towards me and curling into a ball. I step out of the doorway and I tried to be as quiet as possible as I made my way back to my room.

Delta

I didn't know if I could sleep anymore. I thought I was done with these. I felt my spark shutter at the memories and I close my eyes, trying to forget, but instead I saw clouds of dust, destruction, and I could clearly hear his voice ring in my head.

"Go Delta! I'll find you,"

"I'm not leaving you," I whisper to him aloud.

"You must! You must live. Go to the airfield. Get off the planet. Run! I'll hold them off,"

Then I ran. I ran as hard as my little legs would carry me and I collapsed in the ashes of what used to be my home. Looking back, I could see the remainders of the science hall and somewhere, buried under there was my mentor and best friend. He was more of a father. Perceptor.

I snap my eyes open, not wanting to relive any of it. When I was alone for all those thousands of years, that memory remained clearer than all the others. I had dreamt of him every night, but this was the first night since I had arrived on Earth that I've had that dream. Why now?

I cherished the memories I had of him, but not the one of when I lost him. It reminds me of how alone I was for so long.

I didn't go to sleep again after that. I stayed up, tracing patterns on my berth and mulling over my thoughts. When I heard some others heavy footsteps outside my door, I decided that it was early enough to get up. Checking my internal chronometer, I found that the sun was probably only barely up at this point.

I headed out, not bothering to close my door. I walked out into the main hanger, seeing Optimus pacing and Ratchet working on some trinket. Optimus spotted me from across the hanger and I offer him a wave. He starts making his way over to me and I feel nervousness seep into my spark.