Note: This one was difficult! I landed on it and just thought "Oh,… shit." Luckily for me, I was watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen this morning and, hanging on Ratchet's every word (like the crazed fangirl I am,) I was thinking about a few things toward the end, in the Optimus-is-revived scene. Thoughts included;
(1) I don't know Jolt's character at all, except he's young. I also know that he's some kind of apprentice to Ratchet. Portraying Ratchet as I normally do (which may or may not be out of character,) it was pretty easy to fit Jolt in. He's young, so he's probably naïve and maybe slightly eager to get things done, he works under Ratchet… And that electricity stuff looks like hard fragging work.
(2) Why the hell don't the Autobots just beat the (s)crap out of that tiny, anorexic-looking Decepticon (The Fallen.) Oh yeah… he throws tanks. Huh.
Anyway, moving on.
Musical Meme
Chapter XIV
Song:
'I'll be at Your Side' – The Corrs
Lyrical inspiration:
When the daylight's gone, and you're on your own
I'll pull you through, I will understand
And you know that
I'll be at your side
There's no need to worry
Together, we'll survive
Through the haste and hurry
I'll be at your side, if you feel like you're alone
I'll be at your side.
Jolt stood, with the rest of the Autobot faction, and looked on in absolute shock as the boy reactivated their leader. A sense of hope rekindled itself in the blue Autobot's spark as Optimus rose from the ground, beaten and dirty, but alive. That hope was almost immediately snuffed out as The Fallen swept over them, knocking them all to the ground and pounced on Optimus, forcing him back down.
"My Matrix," The Fallen rasped, before disappearing in a burst of magnetic energy.
Jolt was surprised to find himself on his back. Looking over at Ratchet, who was also hauling himself out of the sand, he wondered how they had been overpowered so easily.
"Get up, get up, get up!" He heard Sam shouting to the fallen Optimus.
"Get up Prime," Jetfire pushed. "Oh, no."
"He's going to the machine, you gotta stop him!" Sam yelled in terror. "OPTIMUS!"
Jolt looked over at Ratchet with questioning optics.
"What's the deal?" he said in disbelief. "He's puny. Can't we just-,"
"Do not underestimate the power of The Fallen," Ratchet admonished quietly in a tone of voice that Jolt was unfamiliar with. "He is a telepath."
Jolt stared at him, not comprehending. He was battle ready, he didn't want to just sit here and watch as the whole planet was destroyed. He revved his engines a bit, directing his sight in the direction of the pyramid and that vile machine. He heard Robert Epps activate his radio.
"Enemy target, top of pyramid. Engage, engage, engage!"
Maybe that meant them, too. He had started forward when Ratchet's arm shot out to block his path. Offering his instructor an annoyed look, he nearly missed what happened next. He followed Ratchet's line of sight back to the pyramid, where The Fallen had raised his arms. Jolt was horrified when all of the humans, along with all of the vehicles, tanks and launchers that they had been using to assault him were lifted from the ground by an invisible force, sucked to the top of the pyramid as if by a tide and dropped at the apex like toys. Jolt jerked in shock as several tons of metal and human beings made impact with the huge stones of the pyramid and rolled down slowly, being destroyed and compacted.
Out of the corner of his optics he saw Ratchet tense.
"All my Decepticon life, I never did a thing worth doing until now," Jetfire was saying desperately. "Optimus, take my parts. Then you will have a power you've never known. Fulfill your destiny."
Jolt stared on in astonishment as the Seeker ripped his own spark from his chassis, offering a small groan as he smashed to the sand in a sparking heap. Ratchet moved to spring into action quickly.
"Jolt," he shouted, "Electrify! Transplant those afterburners!"
Jolt felt the power course from his spark in waves as he activated his electric lines. He glanced nervously at Ratchet, and the CMO gave him a reassuring nod. Under his mentor's instructions, he attached them to Optimus and began the process of moving parts from the fallen mech to his commander. As the electric currents coursed through him, he felt Ratchet's watchful optics on him the whole time, guiding him through his work. The successful transplant took all of ten seconds, but as Optimus regained his feet and activated his new engines, Jolt felt drained. He watched proudly as Optimus took flight toward the pyramid and destroyed the machine, dragging The Fallen down to the sand below and into the ruins where he could no longer see them. His processor ached and everything burned as he sunk to his knees in the sand. He felt his mentor's presence slide up behind him and Ratchet laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.
"You did very well, Jolt," Ratchet praised him, and Jolt basked in the rareness of such words from the CMO. "Very well indeed."