Okay, I have no real excuse why this chapter took me so freaking long to finish. I've been sitting on it for a while and I finally think it's ready for reading. Sorry for the long wait. I'll try to never do that again. I'm too invested in this story to ever quit. I mean, I've been going since the first movie, you think I would really give up on it now? No way! Anyway, thank you to the fans that have stuck with me in my stupid laziness. If anyone finds and errors, just let me know so I can edit further. The eyes can fool a writer sometimes. Enjoy!
Title: The Inside Story.
"Ella? Are you here, Ellie Girl?" Sam called as he opened the front door. The sun was barely cracking the horizon when he received the emergency call from Ratchet. The Autobot hadn't gone into much detail, but Sam could tell by the tone of voice that something was very wrong. After letting his dear wife, Mikaela, know what was going on and giving their newborn son a kiss goodbye, he set off into the early morning hours to figure out why he was needed. The sun was hovering just above the stretched out land as he reached the home of the new graduate and her guardian. He was surprised to find the door was already unlocked.
"We're in here, Samuel." Ratchets' voice carried through the hallway. It was calmer than the phone call, but still had the sense of urgency in it.
Sam followed the sound of the voice, entering Ellas' room at the end of the hall. He wasn't at all surprised by the holoform standing by the bed. He was, however, shocked to find Ella lying there, her face covered in a ghastly shade of white. Her breathing was shallow, as if she were only in a deep sleep. She barely looked alive.
"Holy crap," Sam knelt by the bed, pulling Ellas' hand into his. "What happened to her?"
Ratchets' holoform reached down, pushing a bit of hair away from the face of his charge. Her skin was burning up with fever. "I do not know the method in which this has occurred, but I have run enough scans to know she has been infected with a virus." As he withdrew his hand, his arm passed through Sams'. His system didn't recognize Sam as a fellow Autobot.
"A virus? That's it?" The young man tried to hold back a scoff, but his sleepless nights caused by an infant had erased his common decency. "Why don't you just inject her with something and kill it? What do you need me here for?"
Ratchet chose to ignore the rudeness of his old friend. "It's not that kind of virus. It can't be killed by conventional means."
Sam paused, his mind deep in thought. Slowly, the realization dawned on him and his eyes grew wide. "Wait, you're not saying she's infected with a machine virus? You can't be because it's not even possible."
"I am sorry, Sam, but it is very much true. A virus meant for Cybertronians has infected a human for the first time. It has the crafting marks of the Decepticons." The medic motioned to the still figure of Ella.
Sam squeezed the girls' hand. He knew why she hadn't woken up when he called out for her. She wasn't sleeping, she was in a coma. "The 'Cons just won't give up, will they? Why do they keep coming after her? I'm the one that destroyed their leader. Why go for someone that's completely innocent in all of this?"
"You speak as if you wish they would attack you." Ratchet said, running another scan over his charge. No change.
"That's not what I meant. I just don't understand why they keep attacking her. How did they even get to her this time? There would've been an announcement if her school was attacked during the party."
"I cannot give you an answer that question until I know for a fact the circumstances." The medic ran a diagnostic over Ellas' robotic prosthetics. "From what I gather, the virus is only centered in her eye. Her other parts have not yet been affected. As for your other question, she is seen as an abomination in their ranks. They loath the human race, so a human that was saved by Cybertronian parts is a death sentence to those that possess them. She is nothing more than a disgusting sin to them that must be taken offline."
Sam ran a hand over his eyes, sleep deprivation still toying with him. "Great. You tried to help her and ended up cursing her with big baddies coming after her. If that's not a double edged sword, I don't know what is." He turned and looked at the holoform once more. "What's all this got to do with me?"
Ratchet crossed the room, staring out the window at his real self. "Back on Cybertron, there were many different ways to rid an infected of a virus. One way was to inject the infected with a dose of nanobots to help boost the firewall. In human terms, this was not much different than being given an immunization."
"Let me guess," Sam rolled his eyes, "that's not going to work on a human since she doesn't have a firewall."
"I am afraid you are wrong. Ella does have her own version of a firewall in each of her parts. They are there to protect her from smaller glitches that may have still been in place at the time on implantation. The reason the nanobots will not work on her is because they might see her human systems as a threat. If that were to happen, there would be no stopping the internal damage."
Sam bit his lip. "Okay, onto plan b."
"The second method is to manually go in an extract the virus from her system. This way is far more evasive, but works under a controlled environment." Ratchet explained, going over the plan again in his processor.
"Okay, let's go with that one. If it works, I'm all for it." Sam gave Ellas' hand one last squeeze before standing to face the holoform.
"Samuel, I do not even know if it will work. It involves sending my own conscience into the infected patient. It is the only way I can place a patch within the firewall without risking damage. The stronger the virus, the more specific the patch must be placed." Ratchet continued.
Sams' confusion reflected on his face. "So you're actually going inside of her eye? You do realize how close to her brain that is, right?"
Ratchet gave the man a blank expression. "It is her brain that I am most concerned about. According to my scans, her optic implant has come with an unforeseen side effect. It seems the mechanics have branched out further into her brain. I do not know what kinds of effects have happened to her, but I am sure the procedure will tell me everything I need to know."
The medic turned back to the window. With a soft click, a small panel on his vehicular mode opened. From it, a small cable began to snake its way across the grass and up the side of the house. Within a minute, Ratchet was grasping it with his holoform.
"I guess you need me here in case something goes wrong." Sam said, eyeing the tiny cable. It looked similar to a jack for a set of headphones.
"Precisely. You are going to be my eyes and ears on the outside." Ratchet pointed to a light on the cable. "This is a monitor for both Ella and me. It works much like a heart monitor. It will let off a beeping sound if anything starts to go wrong. If you hear it and see that the light is blinking slowing, you must remove it."
"Don't you think this is something Bumblebee might be better at?" There was a nervous flutter in the young mans' stomach.
"I trust you with this task, Samuel. I needed an assistant that I had faith in, as well as one that is more familiar with the human body. Bumblebee might be intelligent, but you are far more advanced when it comes to knowing when something is not right with the human body. Experience cannot come from a download. It only comes with everyday living."
A shy smirk blossomed on Sams' face. "That made no sense, but I'm here for the long run. Let's do this." He knelt beside the girl once again.
Approaching the bed, Ratchet opened Ellas' eye with one hand. With a quick motion, He removed the protective contact lens, allowing it to be seen in all of its glowing glory. He deposited the covering onto the night stand, continuing his delicate work. Bringing the cable to the outer corner of her eye, he gently tapped on the center of the optic. He could hear Sam gasp as the public moved away, leaving a small opening just big enough for the jack.
"Remember, pay attention to the monitor." Ratchet looked at the man from the corner of his eyes.
"You can count on me." Sam nodded.
Without a second thought, Ratchet plugged the jack into Ellas' eye. The holoform vanished and the monitor began to beep steadily.
For the first time since arriving, Sam felt like he was breathing again. This was a lot for him to take in. He was the one trusted with saving two lives in case something went wrong with the procedure. A procedure, he might add, that had never been done before. All of this was happening too fast.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Ratch." He murmured as he glanced out the window. He turned his attention back to Ella.
He didn't like what he saw.
From the inner corner of each eye, a trickle of blood had begun to travel down the girls' face. With a quick search of the room, Sam found a box of Kleenexes and scooped them up. With a gentle hand, he dabbed the bloody tears away, leaving behind rose colored marks on Ellas' face. It was a disgusting contrast against the paleness of her face.
"Please," Sam begged as he continued to wipe away the tears," please get this over with quickly." He knew that the tears were just the tip of the iceberg.
How far had this progressed?
X
Every sensation Ratchet felt after plugging was new, confusing, and disorienting. He had done this procedure many times over the course of his long life, but it never felt anything close to this. Everything felt jumbled. He couldn't gather his thoughts properly. Essentially, he was flying blind.
Suddenly, it all froze.
Ratchet instantly could see again. He could see that he was in a room, but he couldn't control where he was looking. Try as he might, he couldn't get himself to look around. No matter what, he had to find the terminal. This would be the key in getting the patch to Ella, getting her the cure to kill the virus. All viruses had terminals that allowed them to be shut down. This was their fatal flaw.
He was moving now.
"Celine, I'm up!" This was very odd. Ratchet felt his mouth moving, but it wasn't his words or his voice that came out. What was going on here?
The Autobot could now tell he was in Ellas' house. His body moved into the bathroom, a place he had rarely seen in his time spent with the Brass girl. This was a private room and he honored this by keeping his scanners away from the area.
Once inside this forbidden zone, his body turned toward the mirror. If he could have uttered a sound, he would have gasped. The face staring back at him was Ellas'. He was seeing the world through her eyes. How could this be?
Something wasn't right about the girl in the mirror. This wasn't the Ella he had left behind. This one was younger, an Ella of the past.
A memory.
'A memory file? Humans shouldn't have memory files.' Ratchet thought to himself as the girl looked herself over in the mirror. This was the 14 year old version of the Ella he knew so well. He was merely an audience as she looked at her face in disgust, but he could feel her emotions. It was truly fascinating. He could feel her fatigue from just waking up, the boredom with her own looks, and the annoyance of having to go to school.
"Please let Ratchet drive me today." Ella whispered to the mirror. A new emotion blossomed. It was so subtle that Ratchet had almost missed it. What could it be? Fear? No, it couldn't be that. He had the ability to pick up fear. Pain? He couldn't be sure. It was too slight.
She turned away from the mirror, taking a deep breath. "No, I can do this." She turned back to the mirror, picking up a whiteboard marker from the counter. She bit the cap off, holding it between her teeth as she wrote.
"That's better." She said looking at the words she left behind. On the mirror, she had written 'I will not hide behind my best friend.' Such an odd way of leaving yourself a reminder, but it appeared to work for the girl. Her tension and fear began to diminish even further.
As Ella turned away from the mirror, the image faded away. The memory file was complete.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Ratchet asked himself. He felt like he was continuing on, but the location escaped him. This was all so different than a standard Autobot. At least his fellow soldiers were easy to navigate. This place was like a road with too many paths and no global positioning system. He didn't know how he was going to find the terminal without even knowing where he was going to end up.
He was now standing within the Autobot base. He had taken the girl there many times, so it wasn't too surprising to find a memory file. He watched as she made her way through the hallways, curiosity washing over him. He always wondered where she went when she explored the base.
Ella entered a large room holding several of their spare wires and gears. She looked up at the high shelves of miscellaneous objects.
"Whoa." She whispered. Her voice echoed off the walls. Ratchet could feel her amusement rising.
"Hello Cleveland!" She shouted, letting her voice come back to her many times. She began to laugh, making odd noises to quench her thirst for entertainment.
Ratchet didn't quite know what to make of this scene. It was so lighthearted compared to the last file.
"Do you remember the 21st night of September?" She began to sing, laughing the whole way through. Her movements became jerky, telling Ratchet she was dancing. The heels of her tennis shoes let out little clicks as she moved to the beat in her own head. In her mind, she could hear the roaring of the crowd. They all loved everything she was doing.
"What a strange little being." He said to no one.
"Ba de ya! Say that you remember! Ba de ya! Dancing in September! Ba de ya! Never was a cloudy day!" Her voice grew louder as she sang the chorus to an invisible audience. Her hair hit her face as she spun around. With her back to her adoring crowd, she performed a perfect backhand spring. Her feet hit the ground with an enormous thud.
Ratchet could feel the joy overtaking him. These were the moments he had never would have known about outside this experience. These were the moments when Ellas' personality came out in full force. He knew she would be very embarrassed if she knew he had seen her little song and dance act. He was very glad to be experiencing it.
"Ella? Where are you?" Ratchet heard his own voice coming from the hallway. It was a bit strange to hear his voice as Ella heard it. He wondered if he always sounded that low pitched.
Ella stopped dancing and looked to the door. "Coming!" She turned back to the rest of the room. "Thank you; you've been a beautiful audience."
The image disappeared as Ella ran for the door. Ratchet felt glad he was able to access that memory. He enjoyed seeing her so happy for no true reason. Humans were funny like that.
"Optimus, are you guys sure you're never going to leave Earth?" Another memory faded into view. This time, Ratchet was looking up at his respected leader. From this perspective, he realized how massive their kind must seem to humans. Optimus was enormous.
"Our home is to far beyond repair for us to return. I thought you learned this fact long ago from your guardian." Optimus sounded curious at the girls' question.
Ratchet felt the embarrassment overwhelm him. It was a very different sensation through the eyes of another.
"Yeah, he did. It, well, it's just that I get worried sometimes. He told me about your world a long time ago, but I worry about it. What happens to us if you leave us behind? I know Sam and Mikaela would be upset, but they have each other to lean on. What happens to me? Ratchet is all I have." There was something clouding Ellas' vision, making it difficult to bring her surroundings into focus.
"You aren't alone. You have your mothers' sister to look after you." The Autobot leader was trying to make her feel better.
"She wouldn't understand. I can't even tell anybody about you guys, so how could she know how to comfort me if you guys left? That's the hard part about keeping this all a secret." Ella scoffed to herself. "Even if she did, I doubt she'd even care."
Ratchet had never heard of this conversation. Why Optimus had never brought this memory up with the medic was a mystery. Was this a moment Ella never thought Ratchet would find out about?
"I know she loves me, but she has no idea what the heck she's doing." A hand came up, blocking vision in one eye. Ella was wiping a tear. "She acts like she's nothing more than a babysitter. She never wanted this life and she's let me know it. She tries to be nice to me, but I know she resents this."
The leader looked down at the girl with sympathy in his optics. "And you have never discussed with Ratchet?"
The world moved back and forth swiftly before coming back to the same position. "He thinks being with Celine is the best place for me. He doesn't think it would be healthy for me not to live with a human of the same bloodline. If it were up to me, it'd just be me and him. He hates it when I say this, but he's a better parent than Celine. At least he doesn't forget to pick me up after school when I have guitar practice."
"Oh?" Optimus was listening intently.
"5 times, Optimus. She forgot about me 5 times in 3 months. Each time, Ratchet had to come and get me before it got too dark. Celine always has an excuse. I don't actually think she has to work late all that much. I think she just goes out after work and forgets I exist."
Ratchet could feel the sadness wash over him as Ellas' memory continued on. It felt so empty. So dark. She had always told him that it was planned for Celine not to pick her up on the nights in question. If he had known the truth, he would have done something about it. He would have talked to Celine in his holoform, maybe spammed her cell phone with messages about retrieving the young girl. If only he had known.
"Sorry for dumping this on you, but I didn't know who to talk to. Sometimes a diary just doesn't cut it for the heavy stuff." The conversation started once more.
"I understand, Eleanor. You needed a release. I am humbled that you chose me." Optimus nodded his head.
"I couldn't talk to Bumblebee, he tells Sam everything. He's such a blabbermouth. After all that time with no voice, you'd think he'd learn when to keep quiet." A chuckle broke the serious mood. "Please don't tell Ratchet I said anything."
Optimus gave another nod. "Your secret will be safe. Know this, Eleanor; you are in no risk of losing your guardian anytime soon. Earth is our home now. We have come to terms with this fact and we do not plan on changing it in the near future. You two have chosen to remain together. He has attached himself to you in order to keep you safe. I can tell that your loyalty remains strong."
A calm relief fell over Ratchet. Ella was finally at ease.
"Thanks, Optimus."
The memory faded, leaving Ratchet in the blackness once more. How many more of these memories were left until he could find the terminal? A memory recorder could hold an infinite amount. With so much to weed through, it could take an eternity to get to where he needed to be.
"Focus, you have to find it." The medic fell through the lines of code, looking everywhere for the imperfection. He would have to worry about what he had encountered later.
"Ratchet?" A soft voice was calling to him.
"Ella? Where are you?" Ratchet called back. How could she know he was here? Then again, nothing about this experience was by the book anymore.
The blackness cleared away. This time, things didn't seem quite right. The world through the eyes of the young girl was distorted. It looked more like an oil painting than the real world. The sky appeared to be clear, but everything has a yellowish hue to it. What kind of memory could this be?
Her footsteps brought her to an enormous black figure lying in the grass. As she walked around it, Ratchet could make out Ironhides' broken face. His spark had been extinguished.
"Ironhide? Oh no." She placed a hand on the dead bots face. Ratchet could feel the sympathy Ella was giving off. Even if she and Ironhide were enemies, he had always known that the girl wasn't heartless toward the weapons expert. Her heart ached for Ironhide and his charges. She wondered how the Lennoxs would react.
"Anybody!" She called out. She looked around the massive black body. The instant freeze in her body chilled her to the bone.
"No." Ratchet found himself gasping.
Ella ran to the still forms of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Both looked torn to pieces by battle. The younger bots legs were missing, while the leader was missing an arm. Both held the telltale grey eyes.
"Wake up! Please wake up!" Her voice was rising in pitch. The fear was overwhelming. She pushed with all of her weight against one body, and then moved onto the other. It was all in vain. She couldn't take it seeing her friends dead. She ran from their forms.
"Ratchet, answer me!" The call was becoming more demanding and frantic. Panic was rising.
Ratchet couldn't think of a time anything this event had happened.
"Ratchet, please answer! Please an," Ellas' words were sharply cut off.
Ratchet couldn't believe what he was seeing.
There, in the field that looked to be the one next to the country house, was Ratchet. His form was beaten and broken. An arm lay a couple yards away from his left side. It had been severed by an object that couldn't have been very sharp. There was a massive hole in the middle of his chest, smoke still rising from the injury. The medic could see into his own eyes from the perspective of the girl. They were gray, empty, and gone.
He was dead.
"No. God, no!" Ella screamed as she ran beside the body. "Ratchet!" Her screams of sorrow filled the air. Her fists pounded the ground next to the still form.
Ratchet was stunned. This wasn't a memory, yet it felt strong enough to be one. The file had recorded such a horrendous thing and it wasn't even real. How it had done this, Ratchet needed to study more.
The image fell still.
"You're not supposed to be in here." A familiar voice came from behind. Ratchet turned before he realized he had regained control once more. The images of the field dropped away, leaving nothing but the yellow light surrounding them. The emptiness went on towards the horizon.
"You must be the terminal I'm looking for." The CMO growled, backing away from the new figure.
"Me? Wow, now that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." This being had taken the form of the very much deceased Jazz. He approached the medic, but Ratchet took a step back.
"What is your code? What are you?" Ratchet asked in a forceful tone. The programs to get rid of the virus were powering up quickly, in case this awful event tried to make its' way to Ratchet via the cable.
The yellowish light gleamed off of Jazzs' visor, a playful smile displayed across his faceplates. "I'm an experimental program known as Project S. I was placed into the Autobot known as Jazz to keep sensitive materials from being used by the Decepticons if off lining was to occur and the pieces used to gain valuable information about Autobot technology."
Ratchet didn't back down. "I never installed such a program."
"I'm a product of Wheeljack and Perceptor. No others knew about this experiment. I was programmed to wreak havoc within a Decepticons' systems if they ever tried to install Jazzs' parts into their own. Imagine the surprise when I realized that I had been installed into a human. I don't think those scientists ever saw that coming." Jazz spoke as if this was nothing more than a chat about the weather. "I can tell you're wondering what in the pit is going on."
"Why should I believe you?" The code was ready. He could destroy this thing in a second.
"Because I can take you to the terminal. I've been here long enough to know how to navigate all of the memory and dream files. Those recordings were an unforeseen side effect of the optic implant. If I would have been programmed to stop it, I would have."
Dream file. That must have been what Ratchet witnessed.
"You need to come with me, Ratchet. If you don't stop it now, this virus is going to kill her. It's trying to shut down not only her robotic parts, but her organic self." Jazz held out a hand to the medic. "I can feel her slipping away. We have to hurry."
Ratchet looked down at the hand and back to the face of the program. He had known Wheeljack and Perceptor well enough to know that their experiments could be highly volatile. This thing could have been corrupted by the virus.
"Do I have a choice?" Ratchet was far from trusting.
'Not really." Jazz grabbed Ratchet by the arm.
Everything around the two seemed to rush by at lightning speed. Every now and then a word would come through, only to be forgotten a second later. So many files in such a short life. It was impossible to know when the recording had begun.
Within seconds, the two were standing on top of a building. It took Ratchet two seconds to recognize Mission City. All of the damage the battle with the Decepticons had been washed away years before. Looking to the center of the building, Ratchet saw what Jazz wanted him to see.
"Ella!" She had been strapped into a seat resembling an electric chair. Wires trailed from her arms, while a large cable held her head in place. Her wide open eyes were white.
"She's attached to the terminal." Jazz said, kneeling beside the girl. "I tried to pull them out, but she's keeping me away. I think she knows I might become infected since I'm part of her system."
Ratchet moved to the box all of the wires were hooked up to. "She knows what is going on?" He began punching in codes.
Jazz shook his head. "I don't think so. This place feels different when she's lucid. She probably thinks all of this is a really bad dream she can't wake from."
Ratchet continued typing in codes, trying to find the one that would work on the young adult. So far, success hadn't been found. "In a way, that might be a good thing. I would rather her not remember what has happened."
Jazz looked up from Ella. "Don't worry. She doesn't know you're really here. The virus keeps playing old, horrible memories for her. Any invasion of privacy can be kept a secret."
Ratchet kept typing, but his spark sunk. This virus was treating the human much differently than any of the bots he cured. He had never heard of a virus playing back memories as a form of torture. This had to have been specially made for this girl. "I think I may have it."
"Have you?" A voice can from the far edge of the building. Both Autobots looked up to see a femme standing on the wall of the building. Her silver body glinted off of the sunlight, her claws clicked at she flexed them, and her red eyes followed their every move.
"Oh slag." Jazz said standing and moving next to Ratchet.
"Who in the name of Cybertron is that?" The CMO paused in his task.
"Really, Ratchet? You can't recognize your favorite little fleshbag when you see her? I'm hurt." The femme sarcastically held a claw to her chest.
"That's Ellas' Decepticon form. She accidentally came up with it years ago." Jazz answered, transforming his arm into his blaster.
The evil femme jumped down from her position. Her claws scrapped the wall as she smiled at her foes. "I have my brothers to thank for setting me free. Once I'm done with her, they'll take any information I have and use it to bring down the likes of all Autobots and humans." She had the air of bragging in her voice.
Jazz leaped in front of Ratchet. "She's part of the virus! Keep working, I'll hold her off." He charged forward, guns blazing. The femme dodged each blast before any came close to hitting her, her body flipping through the air before she landed on her feet.
"Like that, Ratchet? You taught me that technique." She sneered, returning fire. Her blasts practically brushed the CMO, but were more aimed at the fast moving saboteur. He fired off a rapid round, a few of the blasts coming into contact with the fast moving 'Con.
"I got her!" Jazz yelled out with smile. It soon fell when the femme stood back up like nothing happened.
"Well, that burned a bit." She chuckled before firing off more rounds.
Ratchet couldn't listen to her. This wasn't Ella talking, just the virus he needed to kill off. As fast as his finger could work, he typed in code after code. He looked up to see Jazz avoiding strikes from the femme.
"Anytime now, Ratch!" Jazz called, trying not to be touched by the virus being. It was unknown if the femme could infect him as well. It was tough to stay away from her claws when she kept coming close enough to strike him.
Ratchet entered in another line of code, only for the terminal to let out a loud beep. He'd found the right one!
"Got it!" He called to the ghost of his old friend. He punched in the final line and hit enter.
As the lines of code flooded the terminal, the wires connecting Ella to the machine began to fall away. Each one hit the ground, fading upon contact with the concrete.
The Decepticon femme turned her attention away from Jazz, growling at the events unfolding. "You'll never save her. She belongs to the Decepticon cause!" The femme roared as she charged at the girl.
"Ratchet!" Jazz called.
He didn't need to say anything further. The CMO grabbed the final wire; the one connected to Ellas' head, and pulled it out. The girls' head stayed upright, but she didn't move.
"Come on, Ella. You need to wake up."
It was too late. The femme attacked, bringing her claws forward to tear at the human as she sat unarmed.
The femmes' final blow never came.
With Jazz and Ratchet looking on, Ella stood up from the chair. With the grace of a fighter, she parried to the right.
"How dare you." Ella said. She threw her arms out, her eyes never moving from the form of the evil being. In front of everyone, her form began to change. Starting at her fingertips and tops, pink and blue metal moved toward the center of the girls' body. She began to gain height and her hair became covered by what looked like a helmet. When she opened her eyes, they glowed bright blue. In this form, she resembled the Decepticon virus, but still held characteristics of an Autobot. The two could have been twins.
"It's Stargazer. That's her Autobot form." Jazzs' words were difficult to make out over the sound of shifting metal.
"This is my domain. You don't belong here." Ella, now Stargazer, let three blades come out of her arm. She swiped at her enemy with grace and force.
"We can't let her do this alone." Ratchet said, allowing his own blades to taste the air. He lunged forward, kicking the evil femme down to the ground.
Stargazer was on top of the evil entity in a second. She tried to make contact with the beings neck, wanting to sever the head from the body. The silver female pushed her arms against Stargazers, trying to deflect the blow. Sparks flew as the blades kissed the armor on the evil ones' neck.
"No!" The 'Con virus screamed, bringing her peds up to kick the Autobot femme away. Ratchet was right there, firing a bullet at the evil being. The shot missed its' target.
The two femmes began a flurry of quick kicks and punches, trying to knock each other off balance. It was a display of grace and endurance, both displaying equal strengths and weaknesses. The evil one leaned back, dodging a high kick from Stargazer. It missed by mere inches. When challenged, Stargazer spun away with the true grace of a ballerina. It was a deadly dance, with neither giving much room for error. The sounds of clashing metal filled the air like obscene music.
In the background, Jazz could only watch the action. With the virus still alive, a mere graze could kill him for a final time. As much as he wanted to fight, he had to stay on the sidelines.
Using the momentum from the kick, the dark femme ran forward. She unleashed a vicious kick right into Stargazers chest, knocking her back. The Autobot femme performed a flip, bringing herself back to her feet.
Ratchet grabbed the being from behind, trying his best to keep her arms pinned. Kicking and screaming, he dragged the femme back to the opposite wall. She struggled against him, biting and scratching as his arm.
"The human is mine! You'll never save her!" Finding a weak spot, the dark femme reached in and pulled on Ratchets' wiring. He let out a shout of pain, letting his arms slack just for a split second. The 'Con virus quickly turned, aiming her gun straight into the medics' chest.
"Ratchet, look out!" Stargazer screamed.
In a blinding flash, the virus fired. Ratchet could feel the burning in his chest. Everything appeared to have slowed down considerably. He began to fall away, the backs of his knees buckling over the wall of the building. He was going to fall.
"Hang on!" He heard Jazz yelled from a distance. Ratchet kept looking into the eyes of the virus. She had the look of triumph painted all over her face. He couldn't let her win.
Reaching forward, he grabbed the virus around the wrist. It looked surprised as he pulled her along, his arm flinging her ahead of his own body. As she sailed through the air, he let go. Her screams echoed off the buildings as her form tumbled down. As he watched her, he grabbed the side of the building with his other hand. His entire body snapped as he hit the wall.
"Ratchet, can you hear me?" Stargazer called down. He felt her grasp his hand, trying to pull him back up. He looked up into her worried eyes.
"I am okay. Just a scorch mark." He answered. He tried to use his feet to help himself back up, finding himself stuck in front of a window. The glass was far too slick.
"Here, let me help." Jazz appeared beside the good femme, reaching down. Ratchet swung his other arm up, catching Jazzs' outstretched one. Together, the two pulled the medic back onto the roof.
"Where's the virus?" Stargazer asked, looking over the edge again.
"I let her go. If she could fly, she would have returned by now." Ratchet answered as he tried to brush the burn mark from his chest.
Jazz paused for a second. "I can't feel it anymore. It's been erased." He sounded extremely relieved.
Without warning, Stargazer wrapped her arms around Ratchets' neck. He was almost knocked back down by her, but managed to stay on his peds.
"It was horrible. That thing kept showing me images of your dead body. It wanted me to believe you were gone. I started to actually believe that you'd been killed and everything was hopeless." She buried her head into his neck.
Ratchet returned the hug, glad to have the moment with her. "I know. It would have never stopped until you had given up all hope."
She loosened her grip, looking him right in the eyes. "Now you can come back home with me. We can get one with life."
Jazz walked up to them, placing a hand on Stargazers arm. "I'm sorry, Star, but Ratchet needs to go back. He doesn't belong here."
The Autobot femme dropped away, looking back and forth from her two friends. "Go back? Of course he belongs here, where else would he need to be?" She let out an uncomfortable laugh.
"Stargazer. Ella. You know what this place is. You know he can't stay here. You'll see him very soon, though." Jazz said, trying his best to comfort the girl.
She squinted her eyes for a second. "Ella. I know that name."
Ratchet took her hand in his. "That is why you know I must leave here. I need to get back to your true form."
She looked apprehensive, but nodded in understand. "She's very sick. She needs your help to get better." She let go of Ratchets' hand, wrapping an arm around Jazzs'.
"Yes. I know she will get well, but she may need even more help to do so. I must return to her side." Ratchet looked to Jazz.
"I already sent out a pulse for you. Sam should be unplugging you as we speak."
"Thank you, Jazz. It was good to see you one more time." The CMO nodded respectfully to the final image of his old friend.
"Likewise. I hope you don't have to visit anytime soon."
Ratchet didn't get to say anything more to the two. His surroundings fell black and his mind felt like it was floating away. He was returning to the real world not a second too soon.
X
Sam threw the cord to the floor as Ratchets' holoform reappeared next to him. The human jumped at the sight of the image standing there.
"What happened? The light starting going crazy before I pulled the plug from Ellas' eye." He displayed a look of worry mixed with disgust.
"Have no fear," Ratchet knelt by Ellas' bed, "She's safe now. The virus has been erased." He then looked suspiciously at the red trail streaking down Ellas' face. "What happened while I was away?"
Sam rubbed his forehead. "Her not so human eye started bleeding. It just stopped a couple minutes ago."
Ratchet nodded, performing a scan on the girls' body. "It must have been a side effect of the virus. It must have stopped when the virus was killed." There was nothing more to worry about. The virus wouldn't be coming back.
"Sure scared the crap out of me. I'm never going to like the sight of blood." Sam flopped down on the corner of the bed.
"You did very well, Samuel. I knew I could trust you with such a delicate task." Ratchet praised his human assistant.
Sam blushed a bit. "No problem. Anything to make sure a couple of friends lived the next day."
"If you wish to return to your wife and child, you may."
Sam looked at his watch. "Yeah, I better. Nick gets a little fussy around this time and Mikaela will probably want a little break." He stood up from his stop, making his way to the door. He turned back. "I knew you could do it. You're the best doctor this world has even seen. Wish everyone could know that."
Ratchet offered Sam a smile. "Thank you, Samuel. I wish that as well."
Sam walked out of the room, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Ratchet listened as the door opened and closed. Outside, a car started up and backed out of the driveway.
"Mmm, Ratchet?" Ella groaned.
The Autobot turned his attention back to his young charge. Her eyes fluttered until they opened. Her real eye was a bit bloodshot while the fake one glowed a bit.
"I have such a headache." She covered her eyes with her arm. "Oh no, did someone spike the punch last night?"
"No, you have no traces of alcohol in your system."
She uncovered her eyes, looking up at him. "Wait…you said something about me having a virus." She reached up to her fake eye, suddenly realizing the cover was gone.
So she could remember a few things. "Yes, you were infected with a virus. You have nothing to worry about now, I have eradicated it." He helped the girl sit up.
"Wow. Thank god I was asleep for that. Last time I had one of those, I threw up everywhere." She chuckled, leaning back against her pillow.
"How do you feel now?" Ratchet asked.
"I'm okay. My head hurts and I'm a little tired, but everything else feels fine." She flexed her fingers and wiggled her toes.
Ratchet smiled. "Good. That is very good news. All you require now is plenty of rest and fluids. You will be back to your normal self soon." The holoform patted her on the arm.
"Hey, Ratch?" She asked, her eyebrows dropping a bit. "I'm sorry I never told you about my talk with Optimus. I wanted to say something, but I just never thought it was the right time to bring it up."
The medic fought back a look of surprise. "So you did know I was watching."
"Yeah, a little bit. I don't know what else you saw in there, but I could feel you there when I was dreaming. I can't really say how I knew it was really you, but something told me you spying a little bit."
"If it brings you any comfort, I did not mean to see anything. The human mind is a very difficult thing to control." Ratchet felt bad for violating a kind of trust with her. He hadn't been granted permission to invade her memories.
"It's okay," She said, "I'm kind of glad you saw that. No more secrets, right?" She let him go.
"That is right. No more secrets."
She let out a large yawn. "I'm kind of tired."
Ratchet placed a hand on her shoulder. "You need your rest. Sleep now, I will stand guard in case any danger dares to come near us again."
Ella laughed as she laid back down, cuddling deeper into her covers. She didn't even care she was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. "I know you will. I trust you."
"Have a good sleep, Ella."
With a smile on her face, Ella drifted back to sleep. This time, there would be no need for her friend to come into her thoughts unless they were of her own creation.