2. Charge (A TFP Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

As soon as I felt myself begin to regain consciousness, I knew something was wrong. The first thing that appeared in my head was the scene before I had blacked out, and the scent of chemicals wafting off of the seeker that had captured us. The words of Starscream rang in my head, and as I struggled to move, I realized with a sinking heart that it was true. 

I was back in the hands of MECH.

Tears formed under my shut eyes as I struggled against the bonds I could feel at my wrists and ankles. I was gagged; this meant that we were either close enough for people to hear, or they had gotten tired of my previous screams and decided to do better this time. Probably the latter. I could feel wetness along my arms, legs, and chest, and knew that these monsters had opened me up again. A familiar taste was in my mouth, and despite being previously knocked out and strapped to a table, I felt very replenished. My chest feeling crushed, I figured that they had loaded me with Energon again. I knew I needed it, but coming from the hands of these people, I felt like it was poison. 

The memory of Ratchet, wounded and fading fast, filled my head again and I squeezed my eyes tighter in terror. What had Starscream done with him? Take him to MECH as well? Why had Starscream helped them anyway? I would have thought he was done with them after what they took from him...

Then another terrible thought filled my head.

What if Starscream killed Ratchet?

I was fully aware now, and swung my head up with a muffled scream, my eyes flying open. I was alone in the room, thank Primus, but it was still eerie and smelled awful. Growing panicked for my life and guardian's, I writhed my body harsher, desperate to escape, even though I knew that it was almost impossible. I needed to know if he was alright, or it would drive me to the brink. Grunting under the gag, I swung my whole body back and forth, pulling at the bonds and arching my back. It hurt, it hurt so much, but it didn't matter at the time. Stopping to ease the pain wasn't going to help me now.

I felt a rush of Energon flow through my veins, and my eyes widened. Slowly, an idea formed into my head. I relaxed my muscles despite my panic and closed my eyes, trying to breath more evenly. Willingly, I transformed my left hand into the blade MECH themselves had given me. I opened my eyes and stared at them gratefully. I knew the next part was going to hurt, but it would be worth it. Taking another deep breath through my nose, I pulled on the bond over my left arm. My wrist screamed in agony as I tugged hard and I felt more tears of pain fill into my eyes, but I didn't stop. I held back moans and cries of pain, remaining absolutely silent. The blade finally reached the bond and it began to tear. With a quiet shrip they broke, and as my arm flew out I let out a sharp groan of relief. Breathing hard and doing my best to ignore the purple forming all over my wrist, I turned my body and used the blade to cut my other bond off of my arm. Once that was free, I sat up quickly, ignoring the rush of a headache, and sliced off the bonds at my ankles. When I finished, I turned my blade back into my normal hand. I stared at it as I continued to take deep, pained breaths, trying to shove the spots out of my vision.

Why does it hurt to transform? I never noticed it the first time...

Sucking in one last gasp, I swung my legs over the table and slowly slid off. Thankfully, MECH had been smart enough to leave the cast on my leg, so walking wasn't much of a pain. Now I just needed to find my way around this place. I glanced left and right, surprised that no one was occupying this huge room besides myself. My body immediately went into motion when I eyed a door that would lead to a separate part of the building. I couldn't leave yet; I had to find Ratchet first. There was no way I was leaving without him, absolutely no way.

The corridor was long and small, with several more doors along the way. Some of them had windows, some of them did not. The ones with them I would peek into, only to either find empty, full of nasty supplies, or occupied with people, so I would quickly dash away. I was too frightened to open the doors of the other ones without windows, but what if Ratchet was in one of them? Breathing shakily, I hurried down more and more, my heart racing as I continued. I eventually reached the end, and the last door I knew was the way out.

Frustrated, I turned back around with a frown. So, he probably was in one of the private doors. 

If he isn't dead, a voice whispered. I shook the thought away. Something caught my eye for a split second, but when I tried to focus on it, there was nothing there. Growing even more nervous, I tiptoed back down the thin hallway. I took a deep breath as I peeked open the doors and looked in. So far, my luck was good. No person was in any them as I went through. It was growing suspicious, how no one was here. I was close to having a panic attack as I went through the last few doors.

And then pure relief and hope flung itself into my heart as I gazed directly at my guardian. Gasping, I immediately rushed through the door, not bothering to even close it, and raced over to where my guardian lay. He was chained to the ground by the wrists, pedes, and much to my horror, his neck cables as well. I noticed his optics were closed when I reached him; the wounds he had received from the annoying seeker had not been mended, and were stained with dried Energon. He also seemed to have more gashes and dents than when I had last saw him. That, or I was just so worried that I was seeing injuries that weren't really there. 

He stirred under my touch as I grazed my hands along his arm, but didn't wake. Growing increasingly worried, I thudded on the metal with my fist, the one that wasn't currently throbbing anyway. When he didn't reply, tears started to form into my eyes again, this time spilling over my cheeks. I wanted to call his name, but I was afraid of being heard. Instead, I crawled up his arm and chest chassis, sitting on top of him. His helm was tilted to the left slightly, his expression rough in his unconsciousness. I tapped his chest chassis over and over, and by tapped I mean thumped my fist down on him again and again.

"You made a smart choice, going back for your friend."

My heart jumped into my throat when the feminine voice filled my ears. I swerved to the right, seeing a figure standing in the shadows. Shivers convulsed my body as she stepped out, several men in arms behind her. She wore a hoodie, a black one that fit perfectly in the shadows, so I couldn't see her features. I did recognize, however, the men in suits behind her. Obvious people of MECH, holding guns and aiming them at either me or the unresponsive medic. The tears in my eyes began to overflow, and my vision grew blurry.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked shakily, crouching and placing both of my hands on Ratchet's chest chassis. 

She snapped, and the men put their guns away like robots. "Silas wanted to test you. You passed," she answered simply, placing her hands behind her back and standing straight. 

"What test?"

"Your reward for that," she said, dodging the question, "is that we allow you to remain with your friend there for as long as you like, as long as neither of you makes any attempt to escape."

I didn't reply, choking back sobs and watching her as she waved the men away. They saluted and began single filing out, guns at their hips. I rubbed my eyes just as she began to turn to follow them out. My breath caught when her head turned back to look at me. One of them was a stunning purple, while the other flashed red in the dim light. For a moment, I saw her brow etch upward in pity and apology.

"Don't do anything stupid," she said, before quickly turning and following them out.

 I stared after her, watching her go with a sinking heart and shaky body. I looked back down at my guardian, my lip trembling just before the sobs I had been holding back erupted from my chest. I bent over and laid on his chest chassis, curling my hands and legs as I rested my cheek on the warm metal. The tears ran down my face and onto his chest chassis.

"What are we going to do..."

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Aw, so sad at the end. Anyone guess where Silas is?

Anyway, that girl (I have yet to reveal her name) is NOT my character!! She is the OC of my wonderful friend @Infinitywriter2000 !! Thank you for allowing me to use her, friendo! I hope you like how the story turns out with her in it.

Also, thank you @multifandom-doctor for all your awesome comments and making my sister's covers for her books! We are both very happy to have you as our friend. You, too, @Infinitywriter2000 your encouragement and laughs together is always just what I need.

Enjoy you guys!

*waves*