Ratchet was rudely awoken by Bulkhead, who was standing over him with Miko sitting on his shoulder. The medic rubbed his optics and turned his head to look over at the olive green bot. "Yes, Bulkhead?" he asked, wanting to know why the former Wrecker was in his room. Bulkhead, however, refused to answer; he merely shook his head and walked over to the door, beckoning for Ratchet to follow as he left.
Ratchet waited for the door to close before he threw the blanket off of himself and Alice, exposing the sleeping human to the cold. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, looking around in shock and cold. "What's going on?!" she hissed, panicked, but Ratchet quickly shushed her with a finger to her face.
"I don't know," he admitted as he picked Alice up and placed her on his berth before sitting up. "Wait here." He stood and walked out, soon finding himself in the main plaza of the base with the other Autobots and the other human children waiting for him. He glanced around, confused, never letting his optics linger on any of them for too long. He took particular notice of the fact that both Optimus and Arcee had their arms crossed over their chasses, expressions unreadable. Ratchet began to panic, and he silently questioned if anybody had heard him talking to – and making out with – Alice the night before.
"Ratchet," Optimus said, his voice both kindly and strict, "You chastise me for staying up late." He shook his head. "Why were you up so late?" Optimus' sudden question startled Ratchet, who had absolutely no idea how to respond. He knew that he couldn't tell them the truth. The only one who even remotely knew of Ratchet's feelings towards Alice was Optimus, who had raised an eyebrow at Ratchet's hesitation. "Answer, old friend," he said, snapping Ratchet from his racing thoughts. "Why were you up so late?"
"I… had stuff on my mind. It prevented me from sleeping," Ratchet lied, keeping his voice monotone. The others all shared a look before turning their attention back to the field medic.
"And where is Alice?" Bulkhead questioned, causing Ratchet's spark to stop. He definitely did not know how to answer that without telling them what he had done with her.
"I'm right here, guys, don't worry about me," the human in question suddenly piped up, and everyone turned to face her. She had the biggest grin on her face, and her white hair was neatly tied back into its ponytail. Ratchet nervously gritted his teeth, hoping that nobody enquired as to where she'd been last night.
His hopes deflated when Arcee asked, "Where were you last night?"
Alice grinned. "Well," she said, "I got lost in the base and only managed to find my way back here just now so I was awake all night!"
Optimus and Arcee shared a confused look at the girl's enthusiasm, but they both decided to leave it at that. "Well then," Optimus said, diverting everyone's attention away from Ratchet and Alice, "We have to get to work." He gestured at one of the monitors. "I have located another energon mine, and this one is swarming with Decepticons." Everyone nodded, including Ratchet, who got the shock of his life when Optimus turned to him and said, "I am afraid that you will be the one who has to handle this one."
"Can I go too?!" Alice suddenly exclaimed cheerfully, which caused Ratchet to look at Optimus, who in turn was regarding him curiously. It was Ratchet who always prevented the humans going with the bots – the risk to their lives was too great – but this time, Ratchet relented with a nod, no words of argument, and a heaving sigh.
This was good enough for Optimus. "Alright, you may go with Ratchet," he stated, then frowned and said, "But be careful."
"Sweet!" Alice said, ignoring Optimus' warning. "Let's go whoop some Decepticon aft then!" she yelled as she clambered up his leg and onto his shoulder. The medic rolled his eyes as Optimus opened the Ground Bridge, and the two of them walked in and soon found themselves at the mine. As the Ground Bridge closed behind them, Ratchet spotted the Decepticons and quickly ducked behind a boulder.
"What do we do?" Alice hissed, peering out from their hiding place. "They're everywhere!" She looked up at Ratchet, who grimaced and shook his head.
"I don't particularly want to do this," he muttered, looking down at the human. "Not with you here."
Alice regarded him with a curious look before an idea popped into her head. "If you don't want to kick Decepticon aft," she said, a cheeky smile appearing on her face, "What do you want to do?" Her tone was sly, her voice but a hiss.
Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Don't tempt me," was all he said in reply, but it was enough to make the girl giggle softly. Ratchet smiled, hearing the giggle, but his smile soon fell as he realised that Alice's laugh had attracted unwanted attention, in the form of the Decepticon Soundwave. As Soundwave silently ordered the Vehicons with him to fire, Ratchet grabbed Alice and hissed, "SCRAP!" as he rolled away from the rock, then watched as it blew up seconds later.
"Ratch," he heard Alice groan, "I… think I'm… gonna hurl…" He ignored her, however, more concerned about her protection rather than her vomiting all over his servo. His free servo transformed into a blade on his command, and he held it up just in time to parry Soundwave's attack, holding the long, thin fingers of the Decepticon mere inches away from his face.
"OPTIMUS!" Ratchet roared into his comm, praying to the Allspark that Optimus could hear him, "I NEED AN ASSIST!" Unfortunately, all he received in reply was static, and it was enough to make him yell, "SCRAP!" as he jumped backwards, avoiding yet another attack by Soundwave. Looking down at his hand for the briefest of moments, he noticed that Alice was unconscious, and he grimaced as he looked back up at Soundwave and the numerous Vehicons. He realised in horror that he was terribly outnumbered… and trying to protect the one he loved the most.
As Soundwave pointed at Ratchet – a silent command for the Vehicons to attack – he leapt back, desperate to avoid their blows. Unfortunately, one managed to strike his face, and another stabbed Alice, although Ratchet believed that he had managed to protect her from harm.
"ANY TIME NOW!" Ratchet yelled into his comm, hoping that someone could hear him. He was met by more statis… but amidst that static was a distorted but recognisable voice.
"We… are… coming Ratchet! Maintain… your pos…ition!" the Prime yelled before the comm system cut off. Optimus had absolutely no idea if the medic had even heard him, but he still opened the Ground Bridge and yelled, "Autobots, roll out!" before turning on his heel and leading the others into the bridge, leaving the human children alone. Each Autobot knew that Ratchet was working on a remote control for the Ground Bridge, but it had never been tested in the field.
When the medic finally saw the bridge open, he initially believed it to be a Decepticon bridge, so he was quite relieved when the Autobots came charging out of it, weapons active. Their arrival quickly changed the tide of the battle to their advantage, and the Decepticons had no choice but to flee, Soundwave among them.
When the dust settled, the Autobots looked around. Ratchet had laid Alice on the ground and was now leaning over her, alarms ringing in his head as he noticed the blood smeared on his servo. Optimus made his way over, although he did make sure to comm the kids and tell them to keep the Ground Bridge open, and was closely followed by Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee.
"Is… Ratchet okay?" Arcee breathed, choosing her words carefully.
Optimus shook his head. "I do not know," he admitted, "For I have never seen him in this way before."
"Alice…," Ratchet whimpered, gently nudging the human with the tip of his finger. "Alice…? Please… Please wake up…" Nobody else heard him, because they had wisely stopped a comfortable distance away. Unfortunately, Ratchet had no idea how to treat the wounds of a human; his Cybertronian pride had prevented him from learning anything about human anatomy… and now, he was paying dearly for it.
He thought back to when the Vehicon had stabbed Alice, although he had been absolutely certain that he'd protected her. Now, he was not so sure, and cursed his incompetence. This caused him to punch the ground in anguish, drawing the attention of Team Prime. Raising his hand in order to tell the others not to follow, Optimus walked over and placed his servo on Ratchet's shoulder. "Do not fear, my friend," he said quietly. "I am sure that Nurse Darby will be able to save her."
Ratchet shook his head sadly. "I failed to protect her…," he whispered. Optimus looked over to notice that Arcee had disobeyed her order and had followed, but she was standing a short distance away. Still, she had heard, and she gave Optimus a grave look.
"I would feel the same way if I lost my partner," she stated, loud enough for the others to hear. Both Bulkhead and Bumblebee nodded in agreement as Ratchet suddenly stood, gingerly scooping Alice up, then looking back at Team Prime.
"Let's go, she needs a hospital," he said, his voice monotone and even. Optimus, however, detected the slight waver in his voice, and each Autobot knew that Ratchet was hurting where it hurt most: the spark.
When they returned to the base, Ratchet handed Alice to Optimus, and the Prime carefully took her before Ratchet turned into his altmode – an ambulance – and opened the back of the vehicle. Optimus carefully and gently placed the girl inside, then Miko, Jack and Raf jumped in on Optimus' request, in order to stay with the injured Alice. Then Ratchet closed the back door and sped off towards the nearest town – Jasper, Nevada – leaving Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Arcee alone at base.
