Chapter Fourteen
Disclaimer: Transformers Prime and its respective canon characters belong to Hasbro and the Hub. We only own our OCs. Blondie-moyashi owns Skye Shelsher and Dream'sRealm owns Darkstorm, Skybreak, Drift, Shiv, and Jolt.
Everyone turned their heads at the scraping sound as Wheeljack and Miko returned. The Wrecker was favoring one leg and holding one arm to his chassis while the girl looked . . . uncharacteristically sad. No, that wasn't the right one, more like depressed. The duo had no doubt done something rash, but everyone was just glad they came back in one piece.
Skye dropped the stunner and welder, abandoning her temporary work station in the main area with everyone else to join the other humans. The look on the girl's face, like her soul had been shattered, almost broke Skye's heart. She took a few long strides to close the distance between them, wrapping Miko in a hug. "He'll be okay, Miko."
"Make no mistake, Bulkhead has a lot of recovery ahead of him." Ratchet sounded grim. "But given proper therapy and time, I believe he may recover as much as can be expected after exposure to raw Tox-En."
Miko smiled weakly at Skye before walking towards Bulkhead, climbing onto his chassis with some assistance from Darkstorm. The room fell silent as she sat, brought her knees to her chest, and began weeping. "I promise I will never leave you again."
Wheeljack stared at his friend before venting. "I'm not sure I want to see Bulk right now. Not like this." The Wrecker transformed, though the transition sounded painful, and sped out of the base.
Everyone went back to their previous tasks, albeit a bit sadly. The medics returned their attention to Bulkhead, Optimus continued to decode the Iacon database, and Skye decided to continue tinkering. It may not help him directly, but she hoped that the modifications she made would prevent everyone from getting hurt again. Assuming they worked properly.
She welded the cover onto the stunner, tapping on it with a knuckle to make sure it was solid. With the amount of power that would be pumping through it now, the last thing she needed was for it to backfire. She'd kept the original setting designed to incapacitate humans, but the second setting was still something of a prototype. The power flow was increased, hopefully making it more efficient against Cybertronians-the Decepticons, rather-but without doing any permanent damage. Flip side of that was the danger it posed to humans.
But in times of war, one does what must be done. Especially to protect their family.
After several more hours of continuing to stabilize the Wrecker, Darkstorm turned to Miko. "Miko?" she asked softly. The girl remained frozen before she hesitantly lifted up her head to meet the Seeker's gaze. Darkstorm spark ached for her as she saw the utter sorrow in her eyes.
"Yeah?" she replied, her voice hoarse from her weeping.
"Would you mind if I place you away from the berth? We must turn Bulkhead over in order to check on his injury."
What surprised Darkstorm was that she made no move to protest. The Miko she knew would have stayed with the Wrecker and clung to his chassis while yelling that no one could make her leave. "Sure. . ."
Darkstorm half smiled encouragingly as she helped Miko onto the floor. Miko bit her lip to prevent herself from crying once more as she saw the immense damage to her guardian's back as Darkstorm and Ratchet gently turned him over. She winced and turned away before trudging over to the roof of the base.
Skye followed the girl. If asked to leave she would, but sometimes being left to one's own mind didn't help as much as one would think. Dark thoughts and an emotional mind distorting things never helped.
She settled down next to Miko, looking off at the horizon and pretending not to notice her crying. Things like this were always hard . . .
"You know, it could be a lot worse." Skye sighed before looking at Miko. "He could be conscious. As hard as it sounds, sometimes being unaware of the pain is better than having to fight through it. As is, he won't know the worst of it when he wakes up."
Miko sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I guess. . ."
"You know . . . when I was in the accident that took my leg, I was awake until they sedated me at the hospital. I've never felt such pain before, nor would I wish it upon anyone. There's nothing so horrible as having to wait for relief, when each minute feels like an hour and a month feels like an eternity." Skye instinctively looked at her leg. "This is rough, but Bulkhead has someone who cares for him more than anyone else can, and she'll be a key part in helping him get back on his feet."
"I wouldn't have to get him back on his feet if I had been there. . . I wasn't there for him and look what happened. He could have. . . died, because of me."
"Miko, you can focus on the past, try to lay blame, fix how it should have gone in your mind . . . But looking back isn't going to help anyone, especially Bulkhead. If you work on today, and look forward to tomorrow, that will save you a lot of heartache, and it will more than make up for any wrongs already done."
She sighed heavily. "It's just so hard. . . Wheeljack and I. . . We scrapped Hardshell. I should be feeling better instead of worse. And I'm scared. I'm scared that Bulkhead may never get better."
Skye nodded. "That is more than understandable. But I have faith that he is in great hands, both those we can see and those we cannot."
Miko became silent. She gazed out at the desert landscape for what seemed like eternity until she decided to voice the question that had been nagging her at the back of her mind. "Do you. . . Do you think that if He wanted to. . . that God could heal Bulkhead?" She sighed and shook her head. "I know it sounds silly and I've never really thought about it before but. . . I've heard 'Storm talk about Him. She said that He healed her when Megatron shot her and she was in that coma. . . Do you think He would the same for Bulk'?"
Skye smiled. "Absolutely. He works miracles for a living, and He knows Bulkhead still has a lot of work to do. He gave Bulkhead a strong body, a stronger spark, and I have faith that if Bulk needs any help in waking up, God will give him the nudge he needs." Her smiled softened. "People claim horrible accidents and natural disasters and the pain in one's family to be punishment for some unknown reason, but I believe He's benevolent and takes care of us in this messed up world. So yes, I believe with all my heart God will pull Bulkhead through this."
Miko weakly smiled. "Well, if He did it for 'Storm, then I guess He can do it for Bulk' too."
"I can't imagine a reason why He wouldn't."
Miko nodded, her smile broadening slightly, before she turned back to gaze at the desert. Silence reigned between the two until Miko spoke up again. "You won't tell Optimus or Darkstorm, will you?"
"Of course not. But what is it exactly I'm not telling them?"
"That I went with Wheeljack to scrap Hardshell," Miko shook her helm. "I know Optimus would just lecture me and Wheeljack and Darkstorm would go all apepoo. And. . . I couldn't take that right now."
Skye nodded as she smiled softly. "Of course."
"Thanks," she smiled. "You know, you're pretty alright, Skye."
The girl laughed. "Yeah, you're not too bad yourself." She shrugged. "I mean, if I can put up with Skybreak, I think I can tolerate you." She smiled teasingly, looking at Miko out of the corner of her eye.
Miko huffed and punched Skye in the shoulder playfully. "I am so not as bad as him."
Skye considered the comment. "Yeah, I think I'll give ya that." Skye's smile slowly dropped. "He's alright, too. Just takes some getting used to."
"He's okay for a 'Con. . . I guess it does take some getting used to. I mean, I still remember when 'Storm came back from the 'Con warship and she got those scars in between her wings. . . It's hard to accept that he's cool now after all that happened."
"I guess I never heard about that." Skye paused. "But that makes sense. Even so, now he's a great help, and is obviously doing everything to protect Darkstorm. If my guardian trusts him, that's reason enough for me to."
Miko withheld herself from biting back another comment about 'Cons. She knew Darkstorm wasn't really a 'Con. She was so nice and understanding to everyone from the first day she showed up at the base. Even the Vehicon and miners were alright in her book. But Skybreak? The bot that shot his own sister in the back, literally, and who wanted to talk to her all because of a stupid relic? And the bot who attacked Jackie all because he was giving a 'Con what he deserved? He would have to take some getting used to because, quite frankly, Miko still didn't trust him.
"Then again," Skye shrugged. "He did save my bacon back at that MECH base, so I guess I owe him one."
"Yeah, I heard about that. Bulk' said he saved both you and Agent Stuffy and then blew up the base. . . At least, he did something right."
"Yeah . . ." Skye's focus wasn't on the conversation, but back at that night. The feel of the gun against her head . . . it still made her shudder.
"You okay?" Miko turned to Skye.
"Hhmm?" Skye looked wide-eyed at Miko, surprised. "Oh, yeah. Just . . . ya know . . ."
"Yeah. . . I know," Miko nodded.
"The truth is that if Skybreak hadn't been there, Fowler and I wouldn't be here now." She smiled slightly. "Even so, there's nowhere on Earth I'd rather be."
"Ditto," she smiled. "Life with the 'Bots. . ." Her smile faltered slightly. "Life with Bulk', is just awesome, you know?"
"Oh believe me, I know. I used to spend my days holed up in my room and tinkering. Now . . ." Skye shook her head. "We have a life so many can only imagine."
"Back when I lived with my parents in Japan. . . life was just so. . . boring. I went to a school full of sticks in the mud and I had to wear this totally lame uniforms. . . And it was like. . . I had to live up to what my parents wanted me to be. But with Bulk', I can actually be myself," Miko confided. "And no matter what I do, how crazy I can get. . . he still cares about me."
"I hear you. My parents and I never really had the 'typical' parent-child relationship. In England, we kinda just ignored each other. After my accident, my mum started smothering me and my father still couldn't care less. There are times I think he only stuck around for the money. But now I have a real family, as do you." Skye smiled and tilted her head at Miko.
Miko laughed softly. "Certainly beats hanging around my real and host parents, that's for sure."
"Yup, we've got the life." Skye interlaced her fingers and rested them of the back of her head. "You know, when Bulkhead wakes up, you'll have to take me . . . oh what's the word here, dune-bashing?"
Miko brightened. "Of course! Oh, man, you'll love it, Skye. Bulk's an animal when we go dune-bashing! Add some Slash Monkey and then it's totally awesome!"
Skye laughed. "Sounds great! Certainly better than going alone. I may have to show you some of my favorite spots in New York. The trails can get pretty exciting."
"Really? We've never been to New York before, just trials here in Nevada or California. But those sound pretty beast," she grinned.
"Oh, they are. Most people think of New York as the Big Apple, but there are some mountains and lakes. Not quite like in England, but still better than being surrounded by ten million people."
"I can imagine," Miko replied. "Try spending fourteen years of your life in Tokyo. . . It makes you want to get away."
"To a small, boring town in the middle of the desert. Go figure."
"It was still America," Miko shrugged before grinning. "Besides, this small, boring town in the middle of the desert has wicked giant robot aliens. What more could you ask for?"
Skye nodded. "Touche."
"Well. . . I'd better get back. When Bulk' wakes up, I want to be there," Miko stood up and brushed off her shorts before turning to Skye with a smile. "Thanks, Skye. For everything."
She smiled. "Don't mention it."
Skye looked out at the horizon again as Miko went back inside. Even though her dreams of late had been less . . . nightmarish, Skye still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was coming. Like . . . really bad. And really soon. It couldn't . . . no, Bulkhead was going to be fine. But there was something eating away at her thoughts, and she didn't like what it implied. And what was under that clearing?
She sighed and hung her head. What was it she'd told Darkstorm, worrying didn't help? Did that count when there wasn't anything Skye could do to help regardless of what was going through her mind?
Well, better get back inside before they think I fell off or something. She stood and walked toward the entrance to the base. Before the others saw her she sighed, forcing those thoughts back to a dark corner of her mind.
Darkstorm, sensing her charge approaching, looked over and smiled warmly. "Are you alright, Ski'ri?"
Skye nodded. "All's well." She smiled. "It's just been a crazy few days."
"That is certain," she vented. "Crazy. . . and unexpected." Darkstorm smiled slightly. "Let us hope that there are no more surprises."
Skye ran her fingers through her hair as she smiled. "You got that right. But something tells me things are going to get a bit more exciting, just because you said it."
And, things were, indeed, about to get exciting.
A/N: Hey there everyone! Man, it's been a busy week but luckily, I wrote this chapter ahead of schedule so I am able to post it on time. So… we hope you enjoy all teh feels that we have to offer!
As always, we continually thank all those lovely individuals who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story and we hope that this chapter has met your expectations. And may God bless all of you!
To Savvy Orion: I definitely agree with you there. I almost cry every time I write the sad chappies with Dreads and 'Storm. *sniffs* And Bulk… Poor Miko. And yes, I have heard of those songs and now that I think about it, they totally do remind me of them! And we will most certainly try to keep up the good work. Thank you for all the lovely reviews!
2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
A/N: Moyashi here~ so feels. Lots of feels here~ and craziness indeed o.o little does our little group know just what craziness is to come mwahahahahahaaaa! Sorry I can't think of many intelligent things to say at the moment, I went to the dentist today and I still can't taste anything, which is equal parts distracting and distressing. But yes, thank you for the love, as always, aaaand Avengers popsicles for all this time~~
Theme Song: This is the Time by Superchick