New Life, Old Memories

Chapter 7

Cold.
That's all she could feel.
Her fuel lines had started to freeze over, not that they actually did much at this point, seeing how little energon she had left in her system.
Her optics were both shuttered and frosted over. Even if she wanted to she couldn't open them, it would likely take too much of her already limited energy.
Her delusional processor had shut down just about all her systems in a measly effort to save enough energy to stay conscious.
Her joints were covered in thick layers of ice making it nearly impossible to move. But even to her best effort, she couldn't move, she couldn't even lift a single digit.
She felt pathetic and useless.
What good was a soldier who couldn't even survive a ... how long had she been here? It felt like she had been stranded in this ice cave system for several stellar cycles, but the little part of her that was still somewhat in touch with reality told her that there was no possible way she could survive that long in such cold temperatures.
'Forced Statis Lock in: one mega-cycle. Please seek medical assistance immediately." the red warning flashed in front of her optics and echoed in her audials.
'No. No! NO!' her subconscious attempted to fight her programming.
With all the fight that was left in her, she braced her arm against the ground, trying to push herself up into a sitting position at least.
Her helm swayed from side to side, every part of her protesting the feeling of ice cracking and breaking off of her armor. Her spark beat picked up as her vision periodically flashed red.
'Forced Stasis Lock in: five kliks. Please seek medical assistance immediately.'
NO!NO!NO!
'Forced Stasis Lock in: four klicks. Please seek medical assistance immediately.'
STAY AWAKE! YOU HAVE TO STAY AWAKE!
'Forced Stasis Lock in: three klicks. Please seek medical assistance immediately.'
HAVE TO... HAVE To stay awake...
'Forced Stasis Lock in: two klicks. Please seek medical assistance immediately.'
awake...

'Forced Stasis Lock in: one klick. Please seek medical assistance immediately.'

...Jacks...
'Forced Statis Lock: ENGAGED.'

...

Andy woke with a jolt. Her whole body was covered in a sheen of cold sweat, her hair sticking to her face. Her thick grey blanket was tangled around her legs, her pillows on the other side of the room.

On instinct she reached out to her sparkmate, only to hit an invisible barrier.
It felt like her spark dropped through the floor and to the earth's core.
When she first felt this...
She hadn't realized how she reacted until she was pulled up into a sitting position, with someone's arms wrapped around her. She was sobbing hysterically, her chest heaving and snot running from her nose. She had curled into a fetal position and wrapped her arms around her legs, screaming in pure, unsolicited terror.
A feminine voice shushed her, but she didn't care.
She pounded against the barrier, pressing her consciousness against it, trying to find a crack, a fracture, ANYTHING just so she can seek the comfort and affection of her sparkmate. Just to know that she hadn't died on that ice plant, just to know that Jacks was okay too, that they made it. They were fine, they were together and fine and nothing will ever tear them apart again.
Yet here she was, bawling her eyes because she couldn't. She couldn't do any of those things. She couldn't tell Jackie that she loved him. She can never do that again. She was stuck on the other side of an impenetrable barrier, so close yet so far, left alone to suffer forever.
It hit her then.
She was all alone again.
There was nothing she feared more than being left alone, abandoned by all those she loved. She knew Jacks didn't want this either, she knew that but that didn't help. It only made things worse, actually.
She knew what it was like to be alone, with no one to tell you that you are loved. And if there ever was a being that did not deserve to be told how loved and needed and appreciated he was, it was her Wheeljack.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. It was like Gelida all over again. Except, this time she had no hope. No hope of getting back to the Jackhammer to call for help. No hope of stumbling upon Jacks in the vast cave system. No hope of ever seeing anyone she loved ever again.
A strangled cry slipped past her lips, despite her best attempts to stop it, "Wheeljack."

The Lennox family stared at the shaking mess of a teen in Sarah's arms. The residence of the house had woken to the blood cruddling scream that resonated all the way to their cores.

Will had approached Andy's room with a shotgun in hand, fearing that someone had broken in. He wasn't sure if the sight of his adopted daughter a state of complete horror and grief was better or worse than a Decepticon coming to their house to kidnap her and Annabelle.
His wife had been close behind, armed with a baseball bat, though what damage that would have done to a fifteen-foot tall robot, Will wasn't sure, but his guess was not much. As soon as she saw Andy curled up on her bed, sobbing her eyes out, she was next to her and pulling the younger female into a protective embrace, baseball bat long forgotten. Her only goal was to comfort the girl she was coming to call a daughter.
Annabelle had sleepily stumbled into the bizarre scene of her father standing awkwardly to the side with a gun in his hand, her mother sitting on her older sister's bed with said older sister cuddled close to her side, rubbing circles on her back and smoothing her hair out of her face. Her older sister was making strange sounds and shaking like a leaf in the arms of their mother.
No questions asked, Annabelle climbed onto the bed on the other side of her sister and wrapped her small arms around her as best as she could. She buried her face in her sister's side, squeezing as tightly as she dared, afraid that Andy might fall apart at the slightest harsh touch.
Ron was the last to arrive, materializing slightly down the hall in order to make sure he didn't raise any suspicion. He strode into the room with a purpose. Beat up whatever had caused one of the fleshie younglings to scream like she did. Even if he had spent a very short time with the Lennoxes, he knew they were good people by fleshling standards and it was in his basic programming to protect any beings that qualified to be sparklings or younglings. What he saw was not what he had expected.
The Lennox women with their arms wrapped around each other, the brunette held from either side by the sparkling and her carrier. The brunette was shaking and sobbing, and most likely leaking fluids everywhere. Ironhide shifted from side to side, unsure what to do. He had helped grieving mechs and femmes before and had his fair share of comforting talks with Chromia and Rachet. But then, he was on earth now, and he was dealing with HUMANS and he barely knew anything about them and their customs and he knew for a fact that Cybertronian and human cultures differed drastically. Any slip up could cost him his cover and enough humans knew about his existence already, he didn't need - or want to - explain it all to another human.
So he opted for a gesture that was appropriate to both cultures and rested a servo on Andy's shoulder. Her shoulder shook under his servo and he could practically feel the sadness and fear roll off her in waves. His holoform's dermas twisted into a frown. What had been able to scare her this much? More importantly, why was she grieving so much? Who had hurt this innocent youngling so much?

Will quickly set his shotgun down on the mahogany dresser he had been standing next to and climbed behind his wife and daughters on the bed. He wrapped his arms around each of them, rocking them all back and forth. It broke his heart to see Andy so ... broken. So unlike the confident young woman who had stood up to the headmistress of the adoption center.
He had kept his promise.
The old hag was just getting started on the extensive process of preparing for health care inspector and child service visits she will be receiving in the near future, court hearings and very likely being put in prison. He felt he owed those kids that much at least. They didn't deserve to be treated the way they had been. Was it that hag's fault that Andy had broken down in the middle of the night and was crying hysterical, unable to offer them any explanation?
Hide seemed to have come to the same conclusion, his eyes flaring with blue fire. He knew enough about the weapons specialty that he knew that whoever messed with anyone Ironhide considered would pay a hefty price. Will wouldn't let him physically harm the hag, but he would recruit the mech if and when he went after the hag to make her life harder.
Will kissed the top of all of their heads, pulling them closer and whispering sweet nothings to them.

The Lennox family was strong and united, anyone who messed with one of them would pay the price of all their wraths.

No one will harm any of them without paying the price of all their wrath.

And Andy was part of their family now.

Nothing in this world or any other ever will change that.