A World Beyond Our Own | TFP AU

04 || Decepticons

"Who was that guy? And why did he hurt you?" Taylor asked worriedly, crawling out from the log once Starscream had disappeared. A soft yelp escaped her as Ratchet gently lifted her by her shirt with his teeth.

Ratchet winced at the pain that flared up in his belly as he started trotting through the undergrowth. He was trying his best not to jostle Taylor around too much in his haste to get back to camp.

"I'll explain later." He muttered through his teeth, his pale blue eyes scanning around for more danger. The camp was a good distance away from his current position, but he didn't want to risk leading anyone straight to it if there were more Decepticons following him.

Taylor wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't want to aggravate the medic further. She curled into a ball to make herself easier to carry and listened to the medic's labored breathing worriedly. Would he be okay? She hoped he would.

After a few minutes of steering clear of the camp, Ratchet finally decided that no other Decepticons were on his trail. The medic slowed his pace once he reached the entrance. Bumblebee and Smokescreen were playing nearby, but jumped to their paws excitedly when they saw him enter the camp.

"Ratchet's back!" Bumblebee shouted, bounding over to the older dragon and pressing against his leg. Though, his excitement immediately turned into horror when he noticed a thick red liquid oozing from the medic's belly. "What happened?!"

Taylor looked down at Bumblebee and Smokescreen, her expression taut with worry. "Another dragon attacked him while we were out in the forest!" She didn't get to say much more before Ratchet started walking again, heading towards the medicine den.

The commotion had gotten the attention of Optimus, who was laying in the shade of a nearby tree. He rose to his paws and followed Ratchet into the den, a look of concern crossing his face. The medic had already set Taylor down on a bed of moss and had gone to work treating himself.

"What happened, old friend?" He asked while tilting his head, sitting back on his haunches a few feet away to give the medic some space. The long gashes that sliced through the medic's underbelly made him wince and he looked elsewhere.

Ratchet huffed through his clenched teeth, a pain-filled scowl on his face as he pressed a yellow poultice against the wounds. He was in obvious pain, but didn't show too much of it to Taylor or the Autobot leader.

"Starscream attacked me while I was watching Taylor." He muttered.

Taylor shrunk back upon hearing those words, pulling his legs close to her chest. She felt guilty. If Ratchet didn't have to watch her, then he wouldn't have been caught by surprise and injured. She shamefully looked away from him, focusing on Optimus's brilliant blue and red scales instead. At least the Prime didn't seem to be upset with her...

"It is unlike him to venture that far into our territory." Optimus said, curling his tail around his paws. He cast a glance at Taylor, his gaze soft upon the silver-haired girl until it returned to Ratchet. "I have no doubts that he returned to Megatron with news of this attack."

"And with news about Taylor." Ratchet added gravely, his scowl deepening. "Now the Decepticons will know of her presence within our camp. That will only fuel their efforts to find and destroy us." A heavy sigh escaped him and he continued to treat his wounds for a moment. "Optimus, we have to protect her."

The Prime nodded, his massive head bobbing up and down. "And we will. Do not worry, Ratchet. She is in good paws." He said, offering the medic a reassuring smile. After a few moments, the great Prime rose to his paws once more. "I shall speak with Ultra Magnus about this. In the meantime, you need to rest."

Ratchet allowed a slight chuckle to escape him. There was the tiniest hint of a smile on his face as he looked up at Optimus. "I'm not made of glass, Optimus. I'll be alright." He snorted in amusement, flicking his tail.

Optimus chuckled as well. "I know." With that, he turned and left the den.

That left Ratchet alone with Taylor.

An awkward silence now held the air between them. Taylor had not said a word during the entire conversation and even now, Ratchet hadn't heard a single peep from her. It caused him to worry, but he assumed she was okay. Just rattled from the attack, he supposed.

After he finished dressing his wounds, Ratchet laid down on the moss bed near Taylor. It took him a moment to get comfortable without messing up the cobwebs on his underbelly. When he was finally settled, he laid his head between his paws and let a soft sigh filter through his nostrils.

"...Ratchet?" Taylor suddenly spoke, lifting her head up from behind her knees to look at the medic.

"Yes, Taylor?" Ratchet replied.

Taylor hugged her legs closer and fiddled with a loose string on her jeans. She could no longer hide her shame from him. "It's my fault you got attacked..." She mumbled, biting her lip as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What?"

"If.. If you didn't have to watch me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt! It's my fault you're hurt!"

Ratchet flinched when Taylor burst into tears, blinking a few times. He wasn't aware that humans were this emotional and didn't quite know how to handle it. She probably felt terrible and he had no idea how to help her.

"Taylor..." He tried to begin, but trailed off. Sighing heavily, he reached out with his paw and carefully pulled the silver-haired girl closer to him. "Taylor, it wasn't your fault. I should've been more aware of my surroundings." He murmured, looking down at her worriedly. "I don't know how to protect such a fragile creature like you... there's so many things that could go wrong."

Taylor sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeves. She looked up at Ratchet, seeing the look of concern in his eyes. "B-But you did protect me.. You brought me to safety."

"I... suppose I did."

"See? You're already learning."

Ratchet glanced away, his eyes narrowing. He wasn't sure what to say to that, but he wanted to be nice. "Don't feel guilty that you have to be protected. The forest is a dangerous place for a human, especially with the Decepticons hanging around."

"Was the dragon that attacked you a Decepticon?" Taylor asked.

Ratchet nodded. "Yes. His name is Starscream. He is part of a group called the Decepticons that want to destroy us."

Taylor leaned against Ratchet's thick foreleg as she took in this information, running her fingertips along his hard, white scales. "So you guys are the Autobots, then?"

"Correct."

"Why do you hide yourselves from humans when we don't even know you exist?"

"It's a long story, one that I will tell you later. Right now, I think we both require rest."

"Okay. Thank you, Ratchet."

"....You're welcome."