Transformers Prime AU (Book 1) (Wattys 2017)

Chapter Forty Five

Later that night Ratchet stumbled into his cell room. Cody held on to him which helped him not fall over. The doctor saw Ironhide laying on the floor with his back against the wall. He furrowed his brow and walked over to him.

"Did they beat on you?" He asked seriously and knelt by him. The cop slowly opened his eyes and winced.

"No... I tried to get up..." he rasped weakly. Ratchet frowned and looked him over as he thought about what to do.

"Doc...." he rasped. "You need.... to get the kid... out of here..." he said seriously.

"We're all getting out of here together." He said just as serious and narrowed his eyes.

"I'll... slow you... down." He muttered and closed his eyes as he winced. He weakly reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a ring. His breathing was labored as he set it in his hand.

"Tell.... Chromia... I love her... and I'm sorry." He rasped as a tear fell down his face. He shakily closed the doctors hand and relaxed against the floor.

"No. I'm not..." he trailed off and hung his head. He knew the man was dying and he couldn't help him. He'd done everything he could already. He did something he never did his entire career. He made a promise.

"You're going to make it. I'm not going to let you die in this horrible place. I'm going to get you out of here alive." He said seriously. Ironhide weakly opened his eyes and stared at him.

"You... can't make... promises.... Doc." He rasped. "Just... save... the kid." He pleaded. He reached into another pocket and pulled out a flash drive. He gave him a serious look and put it in his hand.

"No." Ratchet muttered knowing what this meant. "You hold on to both these things and deliver them." He said seriously. Ironhide closed his hand over the ring and flash drive. He closed his eyes and laid back down.

"Thanks... for trying... Doc." He rasped weakly and coughed before going silent. They sat there quietly as they watched the man.

"Is... he..." Cody whispered quietly and looked at the doctor. He didn't respond and led him to the other side of the room.

"Try to get some sleep. I'm getting you out of here tomorrow." He barely whispered and put the items somewhere safe. Cody looked at him then towards Ironhide before laying down. Ratchet put his jacket over the boy to keep him warm, and devised a plan.

~

In the morning, at least that's what Ratchet assumed when breakfast was set in. He made sure Cody ate then forced Ironhide to eat some. The doctor realized after the man finished, that he wasn't going to make it. He split his meal amongst the two then left when the men came for him.

A few hours passed and Ratchet realized the project was almost complete. He glanced at the boy who was under the desk again. He thought for a few minutes on what to do when the power suddenly went out. The room was silent except for Shockwave who was looking for the problem. Ratchet crouched down and felt the boy hold on to him.

"Cody...." he whispered quietly and looked around a little. "I need you to do something. Can you keep Shockwave distracted for a few minutes?" He barely whispered. The boy tightened his grip and shook his head.

"If I'm going to get you out of here, I need your help." He muttered so only he could hear. The boy shook with fear then nodded slowly. Ratchet straightened up and felt the boy stand up by him. Cody held on to him tightly and jumped as Shockwave turned on a flashlight.

"It is illogical that our project has caused this outage. Perhaps Starscream didn't follow my instructions exactly." He said as he walked to the door.