I OWN NOTHING

okay this came to mind from something a reviewer said (thank you Stitchar lol) but I asked a round to see if it would be a good idea and was positively reinforced so I started it as soon as I got a new Word Doc. So I've started it...its Brother in Arms (Breaking Bonds) is still in the works as well but I have realized I've put so much into that story but only given hints and beat around the bush of Ironhide/Ratchet/Bumblebee...so I have started the Prequel so it will fill in the gaps...this story isn't planned to be SUPER long maybe only 7-10 Chapters (give or take some) so here it is.

Tail Wind IS BUMBLEBEE he looks different before G1 due to an accident later on described so don't freak. ^.^

Pairings: Bumblebee(Tail Wind)/Ratchet/Ironhide, (hints of Orion/Bumblebee,) Doubledealer/Bumblebee, Skywarp/Bumblebee

WARNING! this story will have, violence, rape/nonconsensual, abuse, mech/mech, Dugs, Fluff, Dark, Yaoi, some gore? its my usual list ya know?

CLUE: if you didn't know this is a PREQUEL as in BEFORE, it's Brother story Breaking bonds is the MAIN plot this is just a filler to help readers know how things came to be in that story. I hope you enjoy it

Chapter 1

(A/N: Tail Wind is a muscle car, but if you had to know what he looked like imagine him looking like a Cybertronian version of a 2015, Porsche 915 Spyder {look it up it's a beautiful car} he's still yellow but his bipedal mode looks like the Transformers Prime Bumblebee okay? So he's taller, slim, and has door wings.)

Tail Wing was exhausted, his bright yellow armor was covered in mud and grime; it had been raining off and on for the last orn. Flooding had become a huge problem in the lower levels of the city and every day mechs and femmes were begged to spare time and come down to help set up barricades. Tail Wind had gladly forfeited his time to help; as a matter of fact the lean speedster had dedicated every cycle of his waking moments to helping those who needed it. The rewards were great when the others smiled and he had made many new acquaintances but…. afterwards he was left weak, tired, and filthy.

Tailwind groaned as his wings twitched and rotated and he could feel the grit scrape irritatingly in the joints. "Awe, mech." The young yellow said in aggravation. As he turned away from the last loaded barricade bag, he stopped and groaned when he noticed more bags where arriving for the unload. He looked about and judged how much help was present…not many, only as few as 27 bots were present trying to save the rundown part of the city, and most looked like resident of the run down area.

Most bots didn't care if the down town was flooded only the poor bots living there did and as Tail Wind knew from experience nobot cared what happens to them. He did, Tail Wind cared greatly some of his best friends lived in the run down area, he himself still did.

He was exhausted the recommended time to spare was only meant to be a cycle or two but already he was 29 cycles in. He slowly staggered to the large carrier who dumped his load of barricade bags and left to retrieve more. Just as Tail Wind was handed a bag he had turned around and he felt sick and weak suddenly the bag slipped from his hold and fell to the ground. The large bag was dropped onto red pedes and a mech cursed as he hopped on one pede and with a few hisses and grunts glared at the yellow mech. "I-I'm so terriberbly zarry-" his vocals frits and slowed down giving him a slurred sound as he spoke and he staggered backwards before stumbling and falling.

Strong red arms encircled his slender frame tenderly keeping him from hitting the unforgivable ground. The red mech before him went from frustrated to concerned immediately looking the speedster up and down with critical optics. "You are the mech Tail Wind from earlier right?" the red and blue spoke soothingly.

The smaller yellow mech looked up at the red and blue mech with dazed and dim optics. He tried to place a designation to the mech but nothing came to his exhausted CPU. The larger red mech approached the others side. Tail Wind didn't respond but kept looking between the mechs as if processing a little slower than your average mech.

"Ironhide, is there a medical team on sight?" he asked his friend.

The red mech shook his helm. "No Orion, the closest we have here is Ratch, I'll go get 'im." The mech quickly walked away in search of their friend.

Orion looked down smiling softly at the dazed youngling in his arms….well the mech might just BARELY be out of his youngling frame but he was still very dainty. It was obvious by his build he was meant for speed. "Tail Wind, Ironhide has gone to get Ratchet. You met him earlier okay? He'll help you." The red and blue said kindly still cradling the smaller mech.

Tail Wind tried to get up but his joints creaked and screamed in protest before giving out forcing him to slump back into the archivists' arms. "Easy little one, you look in bad shap-"

Before the mech could finish an angry looking Ratchet was on the approach with an intimidated Ironhide hot on his pedes. "What the frag happened here?!" he exclaimed as he knelt beside his friend and the younger mech.

Tail Wind grinned at Ratchet causing his intakes to halt. He was used to mechs and femmes wincing, cowering, and even getting snippy with him when he was in 'the mood' as it had been titled in class but a fond and apologetic smile was never a response. Slowly Ratchet cleared his CPU and tried to get down to business. "What happened youngling? How do you feel?"

Tail Wind frowned and off lined his optics. "I am not a youngling!" he quickly said before groaning as his CPU felt like it was going to crash with his raised voice. "Forgive me please, It must be due to me having skipping my morning rations, sometimes I get a little rattily when I do so." Tail Wind amended himself.

The red and white glared at the insolent slim framed mech. "You can tell me all you want that you didn't have breakfast, but my scanners picking up on very low recharge and-" Ratchet halted in his assessment when he got the reading depicting how long the mechs yellow body had been online and active without rest or a meal. Ratchet didn't know what possessed him but he –quick as lightning- unsubspaced a wrench and smacked the dirty golden helm. "you glitch! What were you processing?! Your readings are terrible!" he exclaimed and Orion and Ironhide both looked on in shocked surprise as the wrench was waved in the air dangerously. They had never known Ratchet to HIT a bot before, especially when he was aiding them…

"Ratchet, is hittin' tha kid really necessary?" Ironhide asked looking at the writhing mech as he gripped at his helm weakly with whimpers.

Ratchet turned around and raised the wrench up threateningly and Ironhide quickly backed down with raised servos. Ratchet turned back to the whimpering mech in the larger arms of Orion. "you are young but should be old enough to know how to maintain yourself better than this!" Ratchet chided. Looking to the still worried faceplates of his friends he sighed, he looked back to the yellow speedster. "You just need recharge and some Energon and you'll be fine, Ironhide, please help Orion get him to the tent over there." Ratchet said as he glanced around to notice that others had stopped working and were looking at them curiously. Turning Ratchet raised the wrench still in no mood to take anything from anybot. "What are you slaggers looking at?!" he demanded and every bot scurried away and back to work. Ratchet subspaced the wrench and trotted after his friends and his 'patient'.

5 cycles earlier at the Archive and Ministry Hall

"Orion, please they are sorely hurting for help. I'm going 'cause I can use it on my resume for my Medics License; after all, only a couple more decacycles and I'll be a true medic! " the red and white mech said pleading with the slightly larger mech.

Orion sighed and looked his youngling friend over, VORNS they had been friends and yet still the pleading optics got to him. "Alright, but I cannot stay too long I have an early shift in the morning." Ratchet nodded triumphantly and shifted, his larger friend doing the same.

When they arrived at the small work site, mechs and femmes worked like little glitch bees as they tried to build up a dike. A Large red mech that was taller than Ratchet and shorter than Orion met them with a thankful grin. "Orion! Ratchet! Glad ya could make it!" Ironhide exclaimed going up to their side.

Orion looked at his smaller friend while smirking. "Ratchet, you never said this was a mechs night out?" he said lightly while shaking the large red mechs hand before bringing him into a strong embrace.

Ratchet shrugged grinning. "What can I say? I thought we needed to hang out." Ratchet was cut off when he looked over Ironhide's shoulder… "what the-?" he trailed off taking in the show.

A Young muscle car was looking abashedly at the ground while a much larger seeker towered over him talking at him and not to him. Then he could hear the yelling. "A pit spawned glitch like you doesn't even deserve to try and help you'll just frag everything up!" the flier screeched at the yellow mech. The yellow bot not looking scared, but defiantly looking upset.

"Please I said I was sorry, I just couldn't see you bent over, the barricade bag was in the way, please i-" the yellow mech looked exhausted and completely ruined and barely on his pedes, yet he still picked up his barricade bag even as the other mech cursed and degraded him.

"You worthless no good grounder! I bet your only here trying to save your home huh? You're a no good street freak, huh is that it? I bet you're an orphan, not even your Carrier wanted you-"

"That's quite enough Skywarp." The large Red mech growled as he approached the debacle. Skyward whirled around and was met with three disapproving pair of optics. Feeling outnumbered Skywarp snarled but backed down his turbine whirring angrily.

Ironhide let a small rev come from his engine. "mech, why on Cybertron would you let tha' no good seeker talk down to ya like that? Aren't ya angry at 'im? " Ironhide asked looking on at the tired mech who merely shifted the large sack full in his arms still smiling tiredly.

Tail Wind shrugged and canted his helm to the side. "I am not angry, I do not get angry when somebot makes statements about me or opinions, I do however get upset when they lie to me. But every statement is true, I do live in the rundown subs of this city, I was orphaned by my carrier, and this is my home." He looked up happily, like he was without a care that his life already was so terrible. How could somebot ever look so happy about a history like that?

Orion smiled fondly at the mech and extended his servo. "it's nice to meet you, my designation is Orion Pax. "

Tail Wind jerked in response before dropping his bag onto the ground and offered his own servo. The bag fell onto Ironhide's pede and the red bot pulled his pede from under the bag with a hiss and grunt, favoring his pede. Tail Wind looked at the mech just as his servo met the other mechs in a firm shake. The yellow mech gasped as he slowly computed what he had just done.

"Oh Primus! I am so sorry I wasn't thinking! Please I am sincerely sorry sir!" Tail Wind said while he struggled hefting the bag back up and onto this shoulder his door wings flattening against his back with a kind of lag in their functions that was testament to how truly tired he was.

Ratchet smirked at Ironhide as he went around Orion to stand next to himself just to get away from the clumsy mech. Ratchet offered his servo next. "Designation Ratchet, you were? I didn't catch yours?"

Tail Wind offered him a spark shattering smile. With both servos Tail Wind clasped the red servo firmly. "My designation's Tail Wind, I'm a racer…usually."

He almost chirped as the bag lost balance and slipped off his shoulder landing to the ground again and on a red pede. "Slag! By Primus kid! You're a walking accident!" he hissed leaning on Ratchet and pulling his pede up to be cradled in his servo.

Tail Wind reset his optic and his face flushed. "I am so sorry! I-I just seem to be processing a little slower please I didn't even mean-"

Ironhide watched with almost a comical expression as the yellow speedster became almost scared and flustered. "Calm down kid, I'm only givin' ya a hard time." He said gently the younger mech nearly melting in relief. Dropping his pede he offered his servo. "Designations Ironhide, it's a pleasure." Tail Wind hadn't looked up to see the mech had extended his servo just as the yellow mech bent to pick the bag back up. Ironhide quickly cut in. "Actually kid, you should leave that one to me, it likes my pedes enough I think I'll get it!" He quickly said stepping on the barricade bag and forcing Tail Wind to look up in confusion.

Standing Tail Wind looked at the bag then nodded gently taking the still offered servo. "Pleasure." He said in agreement. "whelp I better get back to work we are sorely lacking in help, and we still have so much left to do and the water isn't stopping for us." Tail Wind said looking up into the sky as it began to rain harder his servos extended in a 'are you serious' manner. He turned to leave but Ratchet spoke up.

"Actually you look three astroseconds away from collapse. Maybe you should join most of the others and leave? " Ratchet pointed his thumb in the direction of 4 retreating back plates.

Tail Wind wanted to moan but kept it in but his faceplate scrunched up in slight irritation. "No, even if I wanted to I can't, we are hurting for help. Please excuse me." Tail Wind gave a soft smile and jogged/staggered away to grab another Barricade bag.

Orion watched as a familiar mech trotted over to Tail Wind and gently grasped his servos to keep him from picking up another bag. Walking up he smiled. "Doubledealer? I did not realize you knew Tail Wind here?"

The mechs turned and Doubledealer grinned widely. "Oh! Orion! I am surprised to see that you do have a life outside of the Archives." The mech teased giving his friends servo a firm shake.

"You know him?" Tail Wind asked curiously. His optic ridge barely able to raise up enough to show he was actually curious.

Doubledealer nodded firmly. "I don't just know him, I work with him." He amended his friend. "I have mentioned him once or twice to you Tails." The mech said with a hint of affection in his words. Tail Wind shook his helm as if sorry for being so forgetful. "So what brings you and your friends here?"

Orion pointed to the white and red bot next to him. "Simply moral support, Doubledealer." He said with a hint of a smile. All mechs turned to look at Ironhide as he cursed loudly.

The red mech had gone to pick up the bag by the corners but just as he was about to throw it over his shoulder it slipped from his fingers due to mud and landed hard on his other pede. Frustrated and sore the red mech kicked the bag then wished he had kicked himself as he hobbled on both pedes unsure which one hurt more now. "I fraggin' give up!" he cursed.

Turning back to the mechs before him with a sigh Orion bid farewell to his friends and went to save the bag from the angry firearms loving mech before he pulled out his carry arms and shot it.

The three remaining mechs let a short silence fall over them. Ratchet looked at Doubledealer for a moment then at Tail Wind. "Mech, you look exhausted. Why not go home and take a rest? I'm sure others can pick up the slack of ONE more bot." Tail Wind grunted as he picked up another bag shaking his helm and with a smile went back to work.

"He's ALWAYS been a mech never to go off and leave something half done, especially if the outcome saves and helps somebot else." Doubledealer whispered softly looking longingly at the retreating, yellow back plates. "Ever since the youth centers he's been that way even going as far as sharing his Energon with others, as long as it made them happy he did it no matter the repercussions for him." Ratchet looked at the mech but the look in the others optics was too deep for him to read into.

"Alright well if you need me I will be over here at the tent setting up snacks and fluids."

Little did Ratchet know that he would be called for nearly 3 hours later when a mech had collapsed. It was the same mech that had refused to leave in favor of helping the others earlier. Doubledealer himself had long since left, too tired to remain by his friends and fellow workmates side.

This mech was the first person Ratchet had ever struck because they had failed to maintain proper health maintenance on themselves as well. So by fault this mech was something special in himself…and the beginning of a historic tradition of the title 'The Hatchet'.

4 months later

Ratchet sighed in exhaustion his shift at the medical center for injured bots was a disaster. What was meant to spend a few groons and that had turned into a several cycle shift. Rubbing at his Face plate he stood from the break room and passed through the waiting room to get to the medical bay, when something yellow caught his optics. It was a scratched, heavily dented, and even worse still bleeding mech. His door wing looked fractured and even one optic was broken but the new Medic was watching as the slim built framed mechs' leg bounced in nervous anticipation his arms crossed over his chassis as he cradled something small to his chest. The yellow mech looked like he was about to cry.

Just then a registry nurse walked by and Ratchet grabbed the nurses servo in his, halting her. "Excuse me, who is that?" he asked pointing at the mech.

The femme looked over her shoulder and rolled her optics. "That's a bot without insurance he'll have to wait for attention till the ensured bots are repaired, you should know the drill doctor." The femme said as if it was obvious.

Ratchet struggled to contain himself, just because he wasn't insured meant he had to wait? What if the bot was slowly bleeding out and died, all because he wasn't insured? "So, because he hasn't the credits to pay a medical bill he is forced to wait?" the nurse nodded before quickly calling out a designation and another perfectly unscathed looking mech walked up the femme complaining about a scratched rim and demanding it be replaced…a scratched rim was far too light for a medical center to take in! That was easily buffed out at a buffing shop! Ratchet wanted to screech, but judging by the lacquer on the mech he was well off and may even live up in the towers…this angered the medic, especially when he was told he would be next to receive treatment.

Ratchet made a B-line for the injured yellow mech and was surprised that when his optics locked on the one operation optic of the other that it was a familiar bot. "It's you! From back at the building sight." Ratchet gasped surprised. The yellow mech stood on one good leg, relief flooding him even as he favored the other, it was then that Ratchet looked down as something was gently passed into his servos. The medic wanted to gasp in horror.

In his servos laid a beaten and starved looking Cyber Hound, it was small for its kind as it looked like a small cyber wolf instead of a hound. "What the pit happened, to you and why is this-"

"Please help him? The MediVet won't take him, because I have no credits! The medical center was his only hope but everybot here knows I have no insurance, please he needs help! Can you-" the yellow mech was cut off with a hiss from his vocals; he cleared them and tried again in a quieter tone. "He was thrown out a moving Alt mode, when I went to retrieve him before he was struck I was hit as well but they didn't stop, I tried to take the brunt of the impact but….he hasn't mov-"

"Follow me." Ratchet clipped out cradling the small hound to his chassis and he tugged the wounded mech along with him. He was stopped by the same nurse as he had asked earlier what the yellow mech's deal was.

"Sir? We still have other patients before him!" she snapped out.

"No." Ratchet unsubspaced a tool and turned around and threw it at the mech from earlier who screeched in pain, grasping at a huge dent in his helm. "Now you have more patients! This one's mine!" Ratchet snarled at the femme while dragging the mech and hound with him. Once in a private room Ratchet pulled a sheet out of a drawer and laid it on the ground, setting the hound on top.

Turning around he washed his servos and went to the yellow mechs side. The mech looked only a megacycle or two younger than him, but about three megacycles younger than Orion, and Ironhide.

When the mech realized the medic had turned to him he quickly backed away with raised servos. "Please, I… I know I don't have enough credits to do anything… and I'm a mess, but I will do anything for you if you can help him, I don't care about my damage it can wait till later."

Ratchet took a moment to realized what the mech was insinuating. His frame was trembling and he looked scared. It was a proposition, and had the mech been his previous chipper and 'healthy' self he might have actually welcomed the offer. Not like this though, not this tattered mess. "I do not know if I can help or save him, but I will try. I am a Medic not a MediVet." Ratchet turned to the hound as he tried to clean the cuts and wounds in the armor. "What was your Designation again?" he asked softy still not taking an optic of his patient.

"Tail Wind, somebots' call me Tails though so-"

The medic smiled softly. "Do you recall my designation?"

Tail Wind off lined his optic and thought hard and long for a moment and just when Ratchet was about to take mercy on the mech and tell him, Tail Wind beat him to it. "Ratchet, you were with Orion, and a red mech called Ironhide." He said softly, fidgeting with his servos.

It took nearly half a cycle to finish his patch job on the hound before looking at Tail Wind. "You must keep him calm and let the welds settle if he does online, now for you-" As he turned to look at the younger mech he stopped and noticed the mech had returned to his trembling. "Do not fear, I will put this on my pay, you will not receive one notice from this facility." He said hoping to calm the mech.

Tail Wind nodded but remained silent as he slowly sat on the berth as he had been directed to by the medic's servo. Tail Winds', trembling worsening to the point that Ratchet could not only see it, but hear him do so. 'poor mech…how many times has he offered his body to pay for things, surely if he is this uncomfortable it hasn't been many?' Ratchet mused to himself. "Calm yourself Tail Wind, I will not touch you in any way but clinical, alright?" The yellow mech looked surprised as he looked at the medic.

Ratchet worked his way around the mech going from most serious to less. By the time he got to the yellow mechs optic the poor youngling was so drugged up on neural buffers it was comical as he became much more loose lip plated.

"-and he waz like, 'C'mon whaz the wirst that coul' hap'n.' but I still said 'NO!' cause I wanna save my seals for the one. Seally DoubbleD." Tail Wind slurred whimsically causing Ratchet to halt his actions as he had just replaced the optics and had yet to activate the wires for functionality.

"Tail Wind? You're still sealed?" He asked almost not believing what he was hearing. Ratchet knew it was out of his scope to ask such a question but couldn't stop his curiosity.

Tail Wind chuckled drunkenly. "Er-yep…. But don' tale nobuddy tho-. " he slurred out conspiratorially.

Ratchet reset his optics in surprise and shook his head. "If you're sealed why did you offer yourself to me? Especially if you're saving yourself?"

Tail Wind seemed to somber up with a frown. "Hiz life waz fading, I could help 'im. My zealz are importtint…but a live is more so." He slurred solemnly.

Ratchet frowned looking down at the Unit at the berth's side. "Alright Tail Wind, I think you've had enough with the buffers, I'm giving you a neutralizer that should have you mostly coherent." The mech whined at the loss of his drunken haze the nano kliks depleting his high quickly. Ratchet bent down and retrieved the still offline hound. "Tail Wind, I did all I could… if he is not online by this coming solar cycle I fear he will not online at all." Ratchet spoke tenderly as he gently handed the unit over to its new handler.

Tail Wind slowly stood up and took the unit from the medic. "Thank you, for everything." He said somberly as he tried to smile kindly at the medic.

Something broke within Ratchet at the sight and he sighed heavily. "Tail Wind? My shift is long over, please allow me to walk you home?" Tail Wind shook his helm quickly about to make an excuse as to why he shouldn't walk the mech home but Ratchet interrupted. "Think of this as your consequences for my having to repair you out of my own subspace." He said and the other immediately shut his mouth with a slow nod.

So Ratchet did walk him home, all 11 miles home. Ratchet would have suggested transforming and driving but the mechs welds hadn't fully set yet, and there wasn't enough room for both the unit and the mech in his alt mode…so they walked. When Ratchet finally saw the condition of the complex the mech lived in, he curled his lip plate. "please tell me you do not truly reside here?" he questioned grotesquely and when the yellow nodded he was forced to exvent sharply. "Nope! You're coming home with me!" Tail Wind made to argue but Ratchet pulled out his wrench and smacked the yellow helm harshly. "you are still recovering from you wounds! You and your unit may reside with myself and my roommate Ironhide in our small residence uptown." Tail Wind couldn't argue, the medic wouldn't allow that, and so he was dragged away again.