Ratchet awoke with a start, almost yelping through his near worn out vocaliser, and sat up with wide panicked optics. He looked around to discover Optimus was indeed stood nearby at the monitors working on a couple of scans and it only made him tremble that little bit more. The Prime slowly turned and smiled at Ratchet pleasantly.

"Ratchet, it is good to see you well again." He said calmly, soon frowning at Ratchet's evident twitchiness and even fear. "Ratchet? Is everything alright?" Optimus asked in total concern, walking over before Ratchet jumped up and nodded quickly, disconnecting himself from the numerous bits and pieces of medical equipment.

"I'm fine, Optimus. Just fine. Now if you'll please excuse me…. I need a lie down…." Ratchet muttered, walking off quickly and avoiding any kind of contact with any of the other Autobots. Optimus frowned deeply and shared a look with June, raising an optic ridge.

"I don't believe for a second that he's okay…" June said, crossing her arms as Optimus nodded.

"While Ratchet has been excellent at hiding his own emotions, he can be rather stubborn and obvious about them. And since he is so stubborn, there isn't any point in chasing him up about it if he's like… that." Optimus stated slowly, sighing a little as he went back to monitor duty.

Ratchet was growing more and more paranoid as he practically camped in his quarters deep within the Autobot base, twitching every so often at every little noise that happened around him before he forced himself to calm.

"You're being ridiculous now, Ratchet. Just think about this logically, you aft." He hissed to himself, pacing back and forth. "There is no way on Cybertron that Optimus nor any of the others would try to harm you, you're being irrational." He tutted and stopped in his tracks.

"But that dream felt all too real."

A beat. Silence.

"Nope it was a dream, I'm being daft and it's most likely the after-effects of that daft Synthetic Energon you foolishly took and went on a rampage with. Yes. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less." He reasoned, nodding as he sighed and checked his internal chronometer. Half past midnight.

"Scrap." He muttered, locking his quarters' door and retiring to bed with another growl at himself. However it wasn't long before he was 'dreaming' again.


He was on top of a cliff, looking across the Nevada desert where their base was hidden away from the public eye. Although he'd never admit it aloud, Ratchet had always admired the way the sun cast beautiful shadows across the rock piles and slight cliffs around them that the others never really noticed. Another thing he admired was how golden the sun blazed in the sky and cast the clouds a brilliant blazing burnt amber across the town of Jasper that wasn't really that far away. Right now it wasn't any different as he stood, alone, on top the cliff and suspiciously close to the huge drop below him. A soft sigh left his lips and he relaxed a little, more than grateful to have a moment of absolute peace to himself for once as his sky-blue optics scanned across the desert at their own luxurious pace. For a while, Ratchet was completely convinced he was alone and at peace before he heard the unmistakable footsteps of Optimus. He sighed a little and turned, smiling slightly at his leader.

"Is there something I can assist with, Optimus?" he answered calmly, the Prime nodding.

"In fact, there is something Ratchet." Optimus replied, battle mask up and over his face which, for whatever reason, Ratchet didn't think all that odd. Ratchet nodded and walked over to Optimus, barely putting two and two together with the battle mask until it was too late. Optimus swung for him and caught him directly in the face, knocking Ratchet back a good few strides with a yell of pain.

"Optimus?! What the scrap is wrong with you?!" Ratchet shouted, optics wide as he held his slightly bleeding cheek. Optimus merely cracked his digits and walked closer still, driving Ratchet step by step backwards to the edge of the cliff he was on.

"Penance." Was the short answer from the Prime, making Ratchet's spark clench in fear as Optimus' ion blaster activated on his left arm and his Energon sword on his right.

"Optimus, wait-!" Ratchet started, ducking out of the way of the ion blaster before the sword was driven through his lower chassis on his left side and forced the medic to his knees in agonising pain. Optimus barely batted an optic as he stared down emptily at Ratchet's shaking and panic-driven form below him, pede raising and kicking Ratchet in the face with a force hard enough to daze him severely.

"This is your penance for your sins. I don't know why I selected you as my medic, Ratchet." Optimus said gravely, "It was evidently a grand mistake on my part. As for your 'expertise' in the field of medicinal practises, you were wrong to even apply to that school in the first place. You deserved no place there and you certainly don't deserve a place now as any kind of medic. You are undeserving of my kindness, of my presence even." Optimus all but snarled down at the wounded medic. "You'd be better off dead." He said sharply, kicking Ratchet in the frame again and watching him scramble to his pedes in panic and backing away before his footing gave way beneath him at the very edge of the clifftop. Suddenly he was falling, having slipped, and screaming soundlessly as he plummeted to the rocky desert below.


Once more, Ratchet awoke with a yell of fear as he rolled off the berth and landed on his back on the floor of his quarters. It took him a moment to truly realise what just happened before a meek groan left his vocaliser.

"Not again..." he moaned, hand raising to his optics and rubbing them slowly as he took in his surroundings and the time. Two o'clock in the morning and he was still in his darkened room, not a soul in sight and no sign of him having fallen to his certain death from the clifftop. A slight sigh of relief passed his lips and he slowly sat up, rubbing his dazed helm before climbing to his pedes again and stretching a little. Ratchet grumbled and left his quarters, knowing full well there was no way on this planet nor Cybertron that he'd be able to get back into recharge again any time soon unless he was forced into it. The medic soon was working at the monitors calmly, easing a little at the peace and quiet of the base around him; no one there to disturb him at this hour.

'Finally…' he thought with a slight smile, 'Quiet…'

Oh, how much he missed it. It was ten o'clock now and everyone was up and about, fetching their morning Energon before Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Arcee went out to retrieve their charges for the day. Fantastic. Even Optimus was almost unusually chirpy this morning, greeting his Autobots with a little more smile than normal as he sipped at his Energon as he wandered over to Ratchet.

"Any Decepticon activity, Ratchet?" he asked calmly, Ratchet almost jumping sky-high as he twitched and flinched away in paranoia and at being reminded of his Pit-awful nightmares from the previous nights.

"None, Prime." He answered quietly, typing away before leaving Smokescreen to do monitor duty that morning and shutting himself away in his Medbay to fix some broken tools Bulkhead had, well, broken. Optimus raised an optic ridge, sharing a look with Smokescreen who merely shrugged and went back to his duty.

"There is something off with Ratchet." Optimus frowned, finishing his Energon before knocking on the Medbay doors. "Ratchet? May I come in?"

"No. I'm busy and I'm certain you don't want a weld spark in the optic with what I'm fixing right now." He said icily, making Optimus worry more.

"Ratchet, I'm coming in." he said anyway, Ratchet starting to complain as he put down his welding tools and crossed his arms.

"Was that really necessary? To intrude in the only place where I am unlikely to be interrupted given how dangerous it can be in here?" he grouched, huffing as he went back to welding again after receiving a look from Optimus to watch his glossa.

"Ratchet, what is wrong? You've been acting strange since the incident with the SynthEn." Optimus stated bluntly, approaching Ratchet before the medic made a noise.

"Ah buh buh buh!" Ratchet growled, gesturing to the bright yellow tape that ran along the floor. "THAT side is the safe zone, THIS side is where you are NOT allowed to come." He huffed, Optimus staring at him.

"Very well, I will respect your attempt for some privacy." He replied nonchalantly. "Now tell me what is wrong."

"There isn't anything wrong. Don't you have something else to do? I'm trying to repair some of my tools here."

"Ratchet."

"What."

"Ratchet, old friend, there is most certainly something amiss with you. Why won't you tell me?"

"Because there is nothing wrong!" Ratchet growled, temper spiking as he whipped his helm around and fixed Optimus with a death glare only he was allowed to get away with. Optimus sensed his anger spike and raised his hands in a form of surrender, turning on his heel and walking out. "Sensible option." Ratchet hissed after him, slamming the door behind him before curling up in the corner and sighing miserably. It wasn't fair, why did it have to be him that got all these nightmares now? It certainly hadn't been the SynthEn that caused it, that much was for certain. The old medic sighed again and sat down, welding tools out and ready to go as he started his repairs again.