KatieMae77, who owns Katie, and Julien Caeg asked for this one. Here you go, Amigos! Enjoy! :)
Transformers G1 belongs to Hasbro. I only own Rachel. Also, KatieMae77 helped me out with this story, so she gets part of the credit too. :)
Never To Blame
Rachel and Katie had been dropped off at the ARK by their uncle, who smiled as he let them out. "Alright, you girls be good and I'll see you later," he said.
"We will, Uncle. Thank you," seven-year-old Rachel said with a smile.
"Thank you," seven-year-old Katie echoed her sister before the two ran into the Autobot base, keeping their eyes open for any intruders, but mostly watching for the other Autobots.
Rachel gasped at spying Bluestreak up ahead. "Bluestreak!" She called out, running up to him.
Katie turned and gasped at seeing him too. "Blue!" She called out his nickname and ran up to the bot she considered to be one of her big brothers.
Smiling, Bluestreak turned on his holoform and caught the girls as they glomped him and wrapped their small arms around his neck. Chuckling, he lifted them both up into his arms. "Hello, sweetsparks," he said with a smile.
Prowl smiled as he saw the girls too. "Did you girls just get here?" He asked.
They nodded. "Our uncle dropped us off," Rachel said.
Katie looked around, but didn't see the others. Bluestreak smiled. "The Protectobots are on patrol with the Aerialbots," he said. "But the Dinobots are here."
It was as if he said the magic words. The two sisters loved the Dinobots, who had proven that while they were the muscle of the Autobots and could blow any Decepticon out of the water, they were also gentle giants and very protective of the girls, especially Katie.
Ratchet, Blaster, and Optimus came out and smiled at seeing the girls, who lit up and ran to them when Bluestreak set them back down on their feet. Even Blaster's cassettes came out to join in on the hugs.
Soon, a familiar stomping sound echoed through the base and the girls turned to find the Dinobots coming towards them. "Me Grimlock hear familiar giggles," Grimlock said before glancing down and seeing the two sisters. His visor brightened and he turned on his holoform, to which both girls ran to and hugged him. He wrapped his holoform arms around them, being careful not to squeeze them too much as they were essentially sparklings to him.
Snarl, Slag, Sludge, and Swoop also came forward and the girls hugged them happily.
Just then, Teletraan-1 called out an alert. "Decepticons attacking the mines!" He called out.
"Those miners could get trapped if the 'Cons are there!" Bumblebee said urgently.
"Then let's get going!" Ironhide said, his thick drawl having a note of anger to it.
"Autobots! Transform and roll out!" Optimus said. "Rachel, Katie. You both ride with Jazz. Jazz, keep them safe."
"Yes, sir," Jazz said, transforming and opening his door for the girls, who quickly climbed in and buckled up.
"Optimus! Us Dinobots help too!" Swoop said.
"We'll definitely need you if the miners are trapped," Optimus said. "Come along, Dinobots."
He opened his trailer and the five went inside, surprisingly able to fit inside the trailer comfortably and still have room to move. Katie and Rachel were in awe when they saw that. "Wow," Rachel said.
Jazz chuckled. "Optimus' trailer is a lot bigger than it looks, kiddos," he said before following after the others.
The mines looked to be in trouble for sure as the 'Cons were trying to collect Energon and the miners were trying to escape, but some had gotten trapped in the mine after Rumble created a rockslide. "Those miners need our help!" Jazz said, letting the girls out and transforming. The two stuck close to him though, until one of the Constructicons took a shot at Jazz. "Girls, run!" He said as he returned fire.
Rachel took Katie's hand and they ran as fast as they could, trying to avoid the battle, but then the Earth shook, making them loose their grip on each other's hand. "Rachel!" Katie cried out in fear. She suddenly spotted a gem nearby and realized that was what the 'Cons were after and she ran for it.
"Katie!" Rachel cried out, getting up and running over to her, but she screamed when she saw Megatron coming. Katie screamed too.
Grimlock, hearing their screams, turned. "Dinobots! Help get miners! Me Grimlock got to save Katie and Rachel!" He said, transforming to his T-Rex form and moving towards the girls.
Starscream took aim at Grimlock. "You're first," he said cruelly.
"No!" Rachel screamed in horror.
"Grimlock, look out!" Katie called out in warning at seeing Grimlock coming.
What happened next was all a blur. Rachel heard Katie shout something else and saw her throw something at Starscream. It broke and both he and Megatron looked very angry. Megatron fired up his fusion cannon and released a blast just as Starscream released a null ray blast. Seeing the two were headed for the girls, Grimlock transformed to his bot form and ran, jumping in front of the girls. The null ray blast hit him hard and paralyzed him, leaving him unable to stop the other blast that hit him even harder.
The girls gasped as they watched this unfold before their eyes. "GRIMLOCK!" Katie shouted, horrified as the Dinobot leader fell down to the ground after taking the hit from Megatron's fusion cannon. She stood up and ran over to him and climbed on his chest. "Grimlock! Please, wake up! You gotta get up, Grimmy! Please get up!" The honey-haired girl shouted, trying to wake him up.
"It's no use, you little brat," Starscream said coldly. "Your precious Dinobot of a brother is dead...because of you.
"You're lying!" Katie shouted angry.
"Shut up, Starstupid!" Rachel said, also angry at him.
"Oh really? If you would've moved out of the way, he'll still be standing now...would he?" Starscream said coldly. "Grimlock is dead...because of you."
"Yes, dead because he tried to protect such worthless creatures," Megatron snarled.
Starscream laughed and the Decepticons retreated. Little Katie started crying as the Autobots arrived. Red Alert and Jazz grabbed Katie with their holoform arms and pulled her away from Grimlock as Ratchet and Wheeljack looked him over, but the honey-haired girl struggled in her brothers' hold, wanting to be with Grimlock. "Jazz! Red! Let me go!" She shouted, tears running down her face.
"Katie, it's okay," Jazz said soothingly, trying to calm her down.
Rachel turned to them, running up to Red Alert. "Starstupid told Katie it was her fault that Grimlock is hurt!" She said in a rush, tears falling down her face. "It's not! It's not her fault!"
Seeing Prowl come up and that Jazz had Katie in his arms, Red Alert turned to Rachel and picked her up. "Shh," he soothed. "No, it's not Katie's fault and it's not your fault either, little one."
"Yes, it is!" Katie cried out, her tears falling harder now.
Prowl kneeled down and gently cupped Katie's face to make her look at him in his holoform eyes. "Katie, listen. Ratchet and Wheeljack are going to take good care of Grimlock. Don't listen to what Starscream and Megatron said. It's not your fault," he said as he brought her into a hug with Jazz and Red Alert, who had come back over with Rachel and the blonde-haired girl got in on the hug too.
It was a somber drive back to the ARK and the girls were quiet in Jazz's back seat as nothing the sabetour said could cheer them up. "Jazz, promise Grimlock will be okay?" Rachel asked.
"He's in good hands, Rach. He'll make it," Jazz said reassuringly. "Don't you girls go worrying your pretty little heads over it, okay?"
But that was easier said than done, especially as the girls waited outside the medbay, not allowed inside as Ratchet and Wheeljack worked to save Grimlock. The other Autobots, including the other four Dinobots waited outside, hoping for good news soon.
A beeping sounded out shrilly and suddenly. "Scrap! Grimlock is going into shock!" Katie heard Ratchet say and the words that Starscream and Megatron had said came back to her head. Whimpering, she ran back into her room as fast as she could, ignoring the Autobots and her sister who called out to her. She ran inside of her room, locked the door, quickly jumped on her bed and started crying her eyes out. "Gr-Grimlock...I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! M-Megatron and St-Starscream are right! It's all my fault!" Katie cried as she cried herself to sleep.
Outside the medbay, Rachel was trying not to cry but it was hard. She knew what her little sister was thinking. She felt someone pick her up and saw Perceptor was the one to lift her up into his arms. She hugged him tightly. "K-Katie thinks it's her fault," she said. "M-Megatron and S-Starscream told her it was her fault."
The scientist shook his head. "It wasn't and nor was it yours, Rachel," he said soothingly.
"Can you tell us what happened, kiddo?" Ironhide asked.
The blonde-haired girl nodded, managing to stop her tears for the moment. "Jazz was protecting us," she said. "And a Constructicon took aim at him. He told us to run."
She took a shuddering breath and coughed a little before looking up at them. "The ground shook and Katie and I couldn't hold each other's hand and we fell down," she continued. "I tried to get to her so that we could keep running when Starscream came up and...and aimed his weapon at us."
A lump came into her throat, making it a bit hard for her to talk. "We screamed and suddenly...Grimlock was in front of us. He...He took the shots for us."
She broke down, tears running down her face as she clung to Perceptor, who let her cry as he rocked her to try and held her calm down.
Four days later...
The Autobots were concerned about Katie as she hadn't come out of her room since hearing that Grimlock had gone into shock. Even Rachel was worried and finally she, Optimus, and Prowl went to find the younger girl.
Arriving at their destination, Optimus gently knocked on Katie's door. "Katie, please open the door, sweetie. We want to talk to you," he said gently.
"Kate, you've been in there for four days, we're very worried about you," Prowl said gently.
"Sis, please let us in," Rachel begged.
A few moments later, they heard the door unlock and when it opened to reveal Katie, Optimus and Prowl gasped at the sight of her and Rachel's eyes widened. Katie was a mess. Her honey-colored hair was in a tangly mess, her skin was a little pale, her eyes were red, and she looked skinny.
"Oh Katie, come here, baby," Optimus said as he picked up his adopted daughter. The little girl whimpered and buried her face in his holoform chest.
After a moment, he set her down. "Rachel, will you help your sister?" He asked. "And then come with us?"
The blonde-haired girl nodded and helped Katie get dressed, wash her face, and fix her hair. Katie was silent the whole time and when they went to the medbay, she ran to where Grimlock's holoform was resting on a nearby berth while his real form rested on a larger berth nearby, but saw that he was not moving and she broke down, crying harshly.
Optimus picked Katie up from the medbay bed and sat down with her in his holoform lap as she cried in his chest. The little girl gripped part of his shirt. "D-Daddy...it's...it's all m-my fault!" She cried.
"Honey, this isn't your fault," Optimus said gently.
"But Daddy...it is! I...I was trying to get...the thing that the Decepticons wanted...but when I saw Starscream attacking Grimlock...I...I shouted at him and...I threw the thing at him and it broke...both him and Megatron were angry at me...Megatron was going to shoot me...but Grimlock jump right in front of me...," Katie could barely said anymore as she had a big meltdown. "Grimlock got hurt because of me! It's my fault! Starscream was right! What if Grimlock is already dead!?" She cried.
"Katie that's not true! It's not your fault that Grimlock got hurt!" Rachel said, her heart aching at seeing her sister so upset. "He protected us! Just like he promised he would."
"I...I wish...I was the one that got hurt by Megatron and not Grimlock!" Katie said then, breaking down more.
Optimus immediately grabbed both her shoulders and made her look at him. "Katie, DON'T SAY THAT!" He shouted at her, making both her, Rachel, and even Prowl gasp as they had never heard Optimus raise his voice like that.
Katie then noticed some tears welling up in her father's holoform eyes as he look at his adopted daughter. "Don't listen to what Starscream and Megatron said! Grimlock risked his own life to save you, and he did it because he loves you! We all love you, Katie! And we can't risk losing you!" He said as tears fell off his eyes and he pulled Katie close to him. "You're not the only one who's worried about him' we all are worried about him. The other Dinobots are mostly worried about him, and they're worried about you too. Everyone is...please, Katie...we all love you...and its not your fault...don't shut us out. Promise me, my daughter," he said.
Little Katie whimpered and hugged her father tight, not letting go. "I...I promise, Daddy. I'm so sorry," she whimpered.
Prowl cupped her face to make her look at him as he smiled softly. "There's no need for apologies, baby sister. We know you're upset and wanted to make things right. Everything will be fine, and Grimlock is going to make it. He doesn't want you to be upset, he wants you to be happy, will you do that for him...for all of us?" Prowl asked. The honey-haired girl sniffed and nodded.
"Katie, remember what our uncle said the other day? How we have to be brave for our loved ones?" Rachel asked. Seeing her sister nod, she continued. "If you're brave for Grimlock, then he'll make it. I know he will."
The other four Dinobots came up to them. "Katie," Swoop said softly, turning on his holoform. She reached for him and he accepted her from Optimus. "Katie no cry. Be brave."
"Brave like us Dinobots," Sludge said.
"Grimlock leader be okay," Slag said reassuringly.
"Decepticreeps wrong," Snarl said. "Dinobots protect Katie and Rachel any day, no matter what."
"Cause we Dinobots don't want to lose you," Swoop said.
"No blame Katie or Rachel," Slag said.
"Blame Decepticons," Sludge said. "Sludge and Dinobots beat Megatron and Starscream for this!"
"When Grimlock leader is better," Snarl said as they gathered around Katie and Rachel, hugging them and nuzzling them, making the girls laugh and begin to feel better.
Just then, the medbay door opened and Wheeljack came in. "Hey, guys, sorry to break up the party, but Ratchet and I need to check on Grimlock," he said gently.
"Is he going to be okay, Wheeljack?" Rachel asked.
"He's doing better," the inventor said. "It's just a waiting game until he wakes up."
They all headed out after that and were in the rec room when footsteps sounded in the hallway and in the doorway appeared not only Wheeljack, but a fully recovered Grimlock.
The room grew quiet and Katie grew extremely nervous and scared when Slag, who had been holding her, put her down in front of Grimlock. The little girl took a few steps, then started running towards him.
The big Dinobot holoform got down on his knees as Katie tackled him and cried on his shoulder with happy tears. "Gr-Grimlock...I...I was so worried about you! I...I thought...you was going...to die! I was...so scared! Please...don't do that...ever again!" Katie cried as Grimlock hugged her tight.
"Shh, Katie. Grimlock okay," he said soothingly. "Megatwerp and Starstupid were wrong. Me Grimlock love baby sister Katie and me Grimlock will always protect you. All Dinobots protect you."
Katie clung to him, so glad to have her big, goofy Dinobot brother back. The Dinobots roared in happiness and greeted Grimlock too, hugging both him and Katie.
Rachel smiled as she watched from Prowl's arms, a few tears in her eyes. Smiling, the Praxian gently wiped them away, making her look at him. "I'm glad Grimlock's okay," she said.
"So are we, Rachel," he said.
Wheeljack chuckled. "I bet Katie is going to want to stay with the Dinobots for a bit," he said.
"Yeah," Rachel said with a giggle.
It was true. Katie not only spent the rest of the day with the Dinobots, especially Grimlock, she refused to leave his side that night and he let her sleep beside him, stroking her honey-colored hair gently. "Love you, Grimmy," he heard her say sleepily.
"Me Grimlock love you too, Katie," he said as he placed a protective arm around her and watched her fall asleep. He also watched his brothers fall asleep too before also going to sleep, peace washing over them and their dreams.
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GoldGuardian2418