I do not own Transformers.
"Wheeljack!"
Dawn's scream did nothing to stop the tough wrecker from getting flung into the deep gorge by a gnarling Insecticon. She could see the freshly drawn energon glowing in the beast's claws.
Wheeljack's.
She stopped paying attention to the intense battle raging between the Autobots and the bug like creatures and sprinted towards the gorge and the waiting Insecticon. It turned towards her and roared a challenge, ready to tear her apart.
Dawn couldn't have cared less.
With fury and ruthlessness that could've impressed even Megatron had he been there to witness it, she used her powers to take control of the Insecticon's arm and forced it to rip out its own throat with one, swift motion. The hulking creature staggered for a moment before falling into a heap of lifeless metal.
Dawn skidded to a stop at the edge of the shadowy gorge, distantly hearing Optimus' voice over the constant blasts and buzzing of metal wings, calling for someone to cover her. She could see Wheeljack lying motionless on the bottom of the steep and narrow gorge, a long way down. Her stomach twisted in fear.
Looking back to see if anyone could help her, Dawn realized quickly no one would be able to leave the battle field. The Autobots were already being pushed back as it was. And with Ratchet back in base and the gorge too narrow for a groundbridge, she was the one who needed to think something and fast. Not that she really stopped to think.
In a fleeting thought, Dawn considered using her powers to lift the wrecker up, and as soon as the thought had manifested, she discarded it. She wasn't absolutely sure she had enough energy left to lift the heavy Autobot such a long way, and in any case it would make her a sitting duck. One slip up in her concentration and she would end up dropping him.
She needed to get down herself.
The only solution coming to Dawn in her haste wasn't a pleasant one, but her options were very limited, as was Wheeljack's time. She turned her attention to the dead Insecticon and gave a curt wave with her hand. A sizeable piece of dark plating gave a metallic screech and tore loose from the creature's back. Dawn set it down close to the edge and stepped on the slightly curving piece, kneeling down on it before carefully spreading her fingers over the still warm surface.
The piece of metal rose to hover in the air, carrying Dawn with it. She made sure it was balanced, and fought back the vertigo the long drop in front of her threatened to invoke. She could do it. Absolutely. She just... wished she hadn't looked down at all.
Glancing back again Dawn could see the battle had receded further from the gorge and the Insecticons were all still focused on fighting the remaining Autobots. Either her friends had successfully lured the enemy away from her, or the Insecticons didn't dare to approach her after seeing what she had done to one of them. Whatever the case, she now had a good chance to rescue the injured wrecker.
Dawn moved the piece over the edge, taking deep breaths to stay calm, and slowly started to lower herself down. As soon as she got below the level where the sun cast its rays, the temperature dropped drastically. Gnawing worry for Wheeljack almost made Dawn defy her fear of falling and look down, but she forced herself to focus. She needed to get down safely first. The sounds of the battle became more of a distant rumble the further she descended, creating a pocket of false serenity to the bottom of the gorge.
"Wheeljack!" she yelled, but received no answer other than her own echoing voice.
Thinking she had to be close already, Dawn finally allowed herself to take a peek at the bottom. She had been right, but what she saw did nothing to alleviate her fears. She let herself fall faster the rest of the way, bumping into a shallow stream that flowed through the rocky gorge. In front of her, Wheeljack lay sprawled on his back, looking like he had hugged the rock face on his way down.
Mere dents and scratches Dawn could've fixed easily. What made her heart pound in desperation were the ugly, ragged gashes that were bleeding energon in a steady flow. The front of Wheeljack's chassis was a complete and frightening mess.
Dawn rushed to the wrecker's side. She could feel her legs shaking, and couldn't tell if it was because she had overused her powers or because of the gripping fear affecting them. This was unlike any situation she had faced before. She hadn't hesitated when she had set out to help Wheeljack, but what was she to do now? She was no Ratchet. She couldn't treat wounds that bad.
A wave of despair almost overwhelming her, she climbed up on the wrecker's arm.
"Wheeljack!" she called and banged her hand on the metal, hoping to see some sign that the wounded mech would regain consciousness. "You're missing one hell of a fight while you're taking a nap here. Open those optics and tell me what to do to get you back to your feet!"
Nothing. Not even the slightest twitch.
Dawn pushed herself up on the scratched and dirty chassis, kneeling down just below the horrible wounds. Her eyes widened at the sight of the energon-stained machinery that revealed itself through the gaping holes. She couldn't even see it properly, not that she would've known what every component did. All she knew was that every second Wheeljack was losing precious energon and despite all the power she possessed, she didn't know what to do.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Dawn slammed her hands down, gritting her teeth to keep from crying. She had to help. She couldn't freeze now.
The crisis hadn't gone anywhere, but closing her eyes helped her calm down a little. She became aware of the metal under her hands in a different way, remembering that her eyes weren't the only sense she used to see things.
Dawn focused harder than she had ever done before, letting her ability to sense metal draw a mental map of the wrecker's inner workings. All of her surroundings faded away as her mind traced the small tubes, wires, and in the absence of a better word, other thingamajigs that ran under the thick plating. It took time to make sense of it all, the sense of urgency plaguing Dawn constantly in the back of her head, but eventually she had located three bigger "veins", that had been cut open by the Insecticon's claws.
Dawn moved her hands to the closest gash, targeting one such vein in an attempt to mold and make it whole again. She worked very carefully in fear of accidentally damaging something. Slowly, the tubular-shaped pieces of metal stretched and straightened from their broken edges, reaching closer to each other and melting back together.
Until the metal suddenly gave in and crumbled.
Dawn's eyes flew open in shock. The metal couldn't take being stretched so thin. It would only break again if she tried. The energon kept flowing still, staining Dawn's shaking hands and absorbing into the legs of her trousers. She couldn't bear to see it.
Changing her tactic, Dawn channeled her power into making the ruptured vein close on itself and stop the flow altogether. It was a temporary solution and didn't make her feel much better, but at least there wasn't as much energon gushing out of the unconscious Autobot anymore. It bought them more time.
Dawn closed the other two ruptures too and stopped to think. Her heart was still racing and she would have given anything to have Ratchet there with them. Why had she never paid any attention to what the skilled medic was doing? All she remembered was him complaining how he never had the equipment he would've needed. Not unlike her now. She could've tried to patch the energon veins, but unless she was ready to remove Wheeljack's finger or something and use it as a transfer...
Wait...! She did have other material she could use.
Dawn turned to look back at the piece of the Insecticon's plating. Raising her hand and making a fist, she broke off a smaller piece and flew it into her waiting hand. She closed her eyes again, preferring not to be distracted by the gory sight.
With painstaking care, she worked the piece until she had three small tubes, roughly matching the size of the broken ones. By the time she started fitting them in place and joining the pieces together, her forehead was speckled with cold sweat. When everything was in place, she opened the blocked veins.
Dawn couldn't sense the energon inside, but knew it should've flowed on its natural course again. She turned her attention to the other machinery she sensed beside the tubes. There were more scratch marks she could've tried to fix, but they were in more complicated components she knew nothing about, including Wheeljack's spark chamber that resided somewhere close. She was afraid she would only make matters worse if she tried anything.
Suddenly her head felt like spinning and Dawn had to open her eyes and lean against the Autobot's chassis to steady herself.
"Careful there, bumping into the rocks is no fun, trust me."
The gruff voice made Dawn's dizzy head jerk up. She found Wheeljack's blue optics examining her calmly, a small smirk twisting the side of his mouth.
"You're... you're actually awake", she couldn't help stating the obvious, feeling like laughing and crying at the same time, yet too tired to do either.
"Yep", the wrecker lifted his head carefully to inspect the damage to his chassis. "That no-good Insecticon scum got in a lucky hit. Can't wait to return the favor next time."
"There's no next time", Dawn averted her eyes as the memory of what she had done came back. "I took care of that."
She didn't see the look of surprise on Wheeljack's face, but felt the heavy fingertips that rose to pat her back. "Atta girl."
"I hate myself for doing what I did."
"I know, I know..." Wheeljack lowered his hand and rolled his optics. "You'd prefer we all frolic under the moonlight with Megatron, instead of being the violent brutes that tear each other apart in an age old war."
Dawn gave the wrecker a reproaching frown, which Wheeljack shrugged casually off. "Just kidding, I don't know what you did just now, but you did good. I wasn't sure I'd be coming back online after that fall."
"That makes two of us", Dawn sighed and finally let herself lose the tension she had felt the whole time. "I've never felt so helpless."
Wheeljack pushed himself slowly up on one arm, catching Dawn in his hand before she would fall, and sat up with a pained groan. "Don't worry. Ratchet's going to be happy to get something new to complain about."
Wheeljack stood up, staggering noticeably, and turned his optics to the clear patch of sky far above them.
"What's going on up there?"
Dawn tried to grasp the feel of metal outside the gorge, but it came into her mind distorted like bad static on TV, and only made her feel nauseous. She clung tighter to the wrecker's hand. "I can't tell... I think I may have used too much energy on one go."
Wheeljack took one look at her suddenly shivering form and nodded. "Then we'll find a way out and go see for ourselves. Hopefully there's still some action left."
"Wheeljack", Dawn took a serious tone. "Promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't get hurt like that again."
Wheeljack raised an optic ridge, but before he could question the absurdity of her request, Dawn continued.
"At least not before I've had the chance to learn from Ratchet."
Realization dawned on the wrecker's scarred face, turning into an amused smirk. "Do you think Ratchet will take you as an apprentice?"
"He will have to", Dawn stated, eyes flashing with determination despite her exhaustion. "I never want to feel that helpless again."
Wheeljack gave an approving nod and started along the narrow gorge. "Alright, softy. I'll do the serious fender bending for you and you do the fixing for me. Sounds like a good deal."