A/N: This is kinda late. Somebody requested this fic from me, but I haven't found any time to write it since I've been drawing so much fanart lately. I'm also going to update soon "In the land of Ice and Snow" because bunnies want me to do so. There'll be at least one more chapter to this fic, so look forward to it. Also thanks for Oly Chic for betaing this thing for me. I hope you enjoy reading this :)
It was supposed to be a normal supply run. They were supposed to go to Earth and bring some energon from there back to Cyberton. Yes, they were supposed to. Things had been easier for the Autobots lately; they didn't have to be on constant vigil over the Decepticons all the time. Maybe that was the reason why they were in this situation right now. Decepticons had suddenly invaded their ship engaging them in very unfair fight. Not even Prowl's mastermind had been able to predict the events that were currently happening.
Ratchet saw in the border of his vision how said mastermind was shot. His instincts told him to go and help his fallen comrade, but he couldn't since he was in danger of being shot himself. The medic had learned how to fight rather effectively over the course of time. He had had to learn or else he would have been finished a long time ago already, but currently those skills weren't helping him at all. So much good that did to him him. Ratchet cursed himself when he felt something piercing his armor.
The medic could see his life flashing through his mind, but all he could think about was how he had failed his comrades. He couldn't fight the enemies off nor he could help the injured. Ratchet was still alive, but he knew that without proper medic he was as good as dead. He tried to stop doing self diagnostics but had very bad success. Being a medic was so hard wired in his circuitry that even in the verge of death he still cling to his old habits.
Suddenly he could feel pain coming through the bond he shared with Ironhide. He knew instantly that the warrior was down. Time seemed to stop entirely at that moment. Shouts and explosions echoed dully while everything moved in slow motion. The medic felt like a few tons of led was dropped on him suffocating him with the horrible pressure it caused on his internals.
Ratchet moved his head to see if there was anyone up anymore, but all he could see were the feet of the Decepticons. He could swear that the Cons were laughing at them, but he wasn't sure since his hearing was slurred. 'They managed to damage my audios,' Ratchet thought to himself, amused that he was still doing self diagnostics even though there obviously was no hope for him. He caught a glimpse of something white and black between the feets of the Decepticons. There was smoke rising up from the SIC's chassis and the position the tactician layed looked painful. Ratchet turned his optics off not wanting to see their great second in command in that way. He wanted to escape the reality for a minute.
Life was so cruel. Just when the tactician decided to loosen up a bit from his work and do something selfish this happened. Ratchet knew Prowl was going to bond with Jazz soon. It took more than a millenia for the tactician and saboteur to work their relationship to that point, but what for? For Primus to take away the most brilliant military strategist cybertron had ever seen leaving his soon-to-be-bonded alone? Ratchet had known Prowl for a really long time and he knew that for the tactician Jazz was the love of his life. The SIC had never had any one night stands as far as he was concerned, always so dedicated to his job. Turning his optics back on Ratchet caught a glimpse of the tactician yet again.
Ratchet's train of thought travelled to another doorwinged mech. Bluestreak would be spark broken when he learned that Prowl was gone. Prowl had taken the mech under his wing after the events of Praxus which was something nobody expected from the seemingly emotionless tactician. Ratchet instantly regretted yelling at the young gunner several times after Bluestreak had been babbling in his medbay. Medbay was his kingdom afterall and he couldn't help his temper. Now it would be up to First Aid and Wheeljack to take care of welding together the unfortunate bots who had slagged themselves in battles or sometimes in quarrels with the twins.
First Aid wasn't even a full fledged medic yet. Ratchet would never have the chance promote him as a proper medic now. Wheeljack didn't have the qualifications for that. The happy-go-lucky inventor was an engineer and not a medic even though he knew probably more about healing than First Aid. Ratchet cursed himself for not teaching First Aid enough about medicine. Wheeljack would have to fill that role for him – unless the inventor managed to blow himself apart for good.
Teaching First Aid was just one thing among others he still wanted to accomplish. Even though he had lived fairly good life and was one of the few bonded mechs to survive the war this far, he still wanted to see it until the end. They gained many friends in the process and the mechs in the Ark become like family to them. Ratchet knew Ironhide felt the same. Mechs who had been merely out of their youngling years when joining the army were now respected officers, war heroes and part of the great system that was the Autobots. They saw them grow up and they taught many of them things neccessary to survive the war, but also how to survive the life. Ratchet knew he was merely a part of the system and there would be somebody to replace him and Ironhide. Still didn't make it any easier to know it was their turn to vanish and be replaced.
For the good part of the war they had been hiding their relationship because they didn't want to become targets, but lately they had been able to stop hiding. For the first time in ages they could spend time together, thanks to things calming down because of their staying on Earth. But they still wanted permanent peace, where they didn't have to fear for the lives of their own or their comrades. Ironhide once promised him when they were on a mission together that after everything was over they would go somewhere and live peacefully. They would catch up all that time they had lost due to the war. They would have sparklings of their own while enjoying the life of a normal couple. Ironhide would go back to being an enforcer and Ratchet would start working as a surgeon in some small medical center. That would now be impossible.
Ratchet felt how the power was slowly leaving his body while his vision was blurring. He decided it wouldn't matter anymore and opened up his end of the bond completely. He didn't even have to look, but he could feel how Ironhide reacted to it instantly. The warrior opened up his end of the bond as well flooding Ratchet's mind with various feelings. None of the feelings was fear. Ratchet didn't fear either. There was no reason to be scared of the inevitable. They knew this was going to happen sooner or later and in the war nothing was permanent.
Every mech was eventually going to die. They both learned that a long time ago when Ratchet's creators had died. It had stung of course, but they learned to cope and accepted the facts. More recently they saw more than enough death in the battlefields and in Ratchet's medbay where the medic tried to save sparks with all his might. The loss of even one patient was hard for Ratchet, but he had realized that as much as he grieved the life would go on without that one mech. It was something he learned just to accept, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He remembered every mech he had lost. Their images were burned to his processor eternally. He hoped that there was someone that would remember him and Ironhide after they were gone. It would mean that they had not been battling for nothing. Ratchet didn't want a hero's treatment and he knew Ironhide didn't need that either, but he didn't want to be forgotten.
Ironhide filled the bond with love and reassurance. Ratchet knew that instant his mate was up to something. Ironhide was loyal to the Autobot cause, so was Ratchet, but his mate was one of the most dedicated mechs he had ever seen. Ironhide would try to stop Megatron even while dying and having no hope of even scratching the tyrant's paintjob. Ironhide could never leave things halfway. He was stubborn and it was something Ratchet loved in the other mech. Ratchet panicked, but was returned with comforting nudge over the bond and words: 'Don't ya worry, Ratch.'
It was so Ironhide-like that Ratchet almost burst to laugh. Well he would have laughed if he wasn't hurting so badly. Instead a smile crept on his face plates and he knew that Ironhide would have loved it. The warrior loved when he was able to make his medic smile; it was a very old thing already, just like their relationship. Despite what most of the bots believed Ratchet definitely was able to smile, but he just didn't show that side of him very often. There was rarely any good reason for him to be happy. It was the part of a battlefield medic. Scolding and throwing tantrums was his way to show that he cared, but also an old habit whenever he felt cornered. He was not good with dealing with emotions in the way they should be dealt with, but neither was Ironhide.
He turned his head slightly to the direction of where Ironhide was. He couldn't focus his optics on anything anymore, but he could detect Ironhide's distinctive red paintjob and the gray metal that was most probably Megatron. The red blurr that was Ironhide moved and attached itself to the gray. Some words were exchanged, but Ratchet couldn't figure out what it was since his audios weren't working as they should.
Then an explosion sounded through his audios followed by flash of light. Even though he couldn't quite make out what it was, Ratchet knew it was Megatron's fusion cannon. He had heard the sound of it and seen it fired so many times by now that he didn't even need the whole picture. Images of the bots he had repaired after being shot with the infamous cannon run through his CPU. He knew this was the end.
Warnings flashed through his CPU. 'System shut down inevitable. Shutting down primary systems.' Pain stroke through the bond between them making Ratchet let out strangled cry filled with static. His vocaliser was shutting down. Slowly his optics booted down along with his audios. He felt enormous pain everywhere. His spark hurted and turned even weaker than what it already was. His body was starting to feel distant and numb. Finally everything went black. CMO Ratchet ceased to exist.