AN: Surprise! Another chapter!

Chapter 33:

"Vega? Vega!" I was hearing a new voice. "Thank God, you're alive!" I opened my eyes a little.

My vision was coming back. I felt cold, again. It seems I was back to reality, now. Sirius was kneeling over me. It was pretty dark. I couldn't make out where I was or what was around me. There was a faint bit of light coming from some streetlights nearby, but that was about it. We were in an alleyway, I think. My head was pounding. I felt like I had been hit by a truck.

I tried sitting up, but I was too weak. I kept trying, but suddenly, I felt a horrific pain spike through my left arm. It came out of nowhere and scared the hell out of me. I let out a loud whimper and I fell back to the ground. Sirius was quick to help me up. I was fighting back tears, my arm hurt so bad.

"God..." I whined. I clutched my arm for a moment before looking at it. My wrist was badly swollen.

Sirius didn't say anything. He looked frightened. Then, I noticed something behind him. It was a brightly colored form and it was very massive. It was so odd. I had to squint my eyes a little, I couldn't quite make out what it was, initially. I wasn't really in my right mind, either. I felt as if I was having a stroke or something.

Then it shifted, and I jumped about five-feet out my skin. It snapped me out of my dazed state.

"Ratchet?" I called out.

The lime-green bot was kneeling, and he jumped just the same way I had when I shouted his name.

"Vega-!"

"What are you doing here, still? It's not safe for you, here,"

"I know, but-"

"Vega, how bad are you hurt?" Sirius interrupted.

I glanced down at my wrist, again.

"It's bad," I mumbled.

Sirius shook his head. He reached out his hands and carefully took my wrist into them.

"I guess this could've been way worse," He said. He noticed the swelling. "Does it hurt when you put pressure on it?"

Before I could respond, Sirius had turned my wrist slightly and I felt a pain like I had never felt before. I cried out loudly. That fucking hurt. He frantically apologized.

"Sorry, Vega, sorry!" He shouted.

"What do you mean it could've been worse?" I asked, "What happened?"

"Er…"

"It's not important, right now," Ratchet said under his breath. "Let me see your injury."

Sirius moved out of the way a little, and Ratchet leaned in to get a better look. He lifted his arm and I saw the glimmer of red light come from some device on his wrist. It looked almost like a laser pointer. A red stream of light flashed from it and landed over my arm. I flinched, expecting it to hurt or something. It felt really hot, though, but it only lasted for a few seconds. It reminded me of that powerglove-looking thing Sirius had, earlier.

It even had a screen on it, too. It lit up once the beam faded.

"It's… badly fractured," Ratchet said. "What is that all over your body, by the way?"

I was stilled splattered in that blue life fluid. I completely forgot. I froze up, unable to speak.

"Well, what do we do?" Sirius inquired.

Ratchet tilted his head a little.

"You're a medic, aren't you?"

"I've never treated a human, before,"

This isn't good. I whimpered again and Ratchet slumped over a little.

Sirius sighed. "Vega, we'll just go back to the airfield and-"

"How are we going to get back?" I gasped. "Where's Lockdown?"

Where is Lockdown? When I took off running, he didn't even come after me. I was running for quite a while, too. Surely, he'd have to be looking for us.

"We need to take her to a doctor, then," Ratchet said.

"The hospital is pretty far from here," Sirius replied. "I don't think we can risk bringing you with us."

Oh, God. That's right. I almost forgot Ratchet was in serious danger, right now.

"Ratchet, you need to get out of here!" I blurted. This seemed to have taken the two aback. "Sideswipe was just killed by Lockdown!"

This surprised both of them. Maybe I shouldn't have said it like that, but I was beginning to panic, again.

I took a deep breath. "We were on top of a building and the two of them began to fight" I let that breath out. "Lockdown fired a canon and the whole thing came down," I stopped. Being on top of that building while it was collapsing… I don't think I had ever been more terrified in my life. I felt the overwhelming urge to cry. Before I could even really stop myself, it just… happened.

"When we got the ground, we saw him and Lockdown killed him, and I ran off." I choked out.

"Vega…-" Sirius began.

"Can we get out of here, now?" I sobbed. "You need to get out of the city, Ratchet, I don't want you to die!"

Something about Ratchet's optics at that moment frightened me. I could see a sense of dread and remorse. Anger, too. Anger towards me? Perhaps. I couldn't help but break down even more. I tried to save Sideswipe. I tried my best- I really did. But I failed. It was my fault he was gone.

These bots could feel, and I can't figure out why people don't understand that. They can feel happy. They can make friends. They can be scared and fearful for their lives. They want to feel safe and secure just like any of us do. No one seems to think like that, though. I felt so distraught and so angry all at the same time. Angry at the people who rip their lives away. Angry at Cemetery Wind. Angry at Lockdown. He of all people should know this. I'm sure he does know, but he chooses not to care.

"Vega," Ratchet's voice was soft. I wiped my eyes and looked up at him. "Thank you for everything,-"

"No!" I shouted. "Your friends were murdered because of me!"

"Vega, listen to me,-" Ratchet said firmly. "When you found me, you could've told someone- but you didn't."

I didn't say anything.

"Sirius told me you freed The Wreckers,"

"Not all of them..." I wiped my eyes again.

"When we began moving around, all of us were aware of the danger. We were aware some of us wouldn't be making it out alive,"

"It's the grim reality, I guess," Sirius added.

"I don't think any of us would have survived, without your interference. Lockdown would've had us," He continued. "You can't give up, just yet, Vega, you need to keep going on for the future. For the Wreckers, for Sideswipe,"

Ratchet rose to his feet.

"None of us will forget everything you did," He held up a hand and gave a half-hearted wave. "I hope I'll get to see you again, someday; same to you, Sirius."

"Good luck," I said. "Be careful."

The bot stepped out of the alleyway. He was careful to take in his surroundings before he transformed and left. I'll miss him. I hope he gets far away from here, soon. He'll be safe, once again. I knew I'd be worried about him for the rest of the night. Maybe for the rest of my life. I don't think I'll ever truly know if he's safe. Just then, Sirius stood up and he helped me to my feet.

"We need to get you to the hospital," He said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I gave him a nod in reply. Just as we were making our way out of the alley, I watched a few snowflakes float to the ground. Just a couple of them. Fluttering through the air before silently landing the pavement. There was no wind or anything. Quiet, once more.

"Snowing again," I said with a sigh.

"Looks like it," Sirius replied. "I like this time of year."

"Don't think I've ever met anyone over the age of eighteen who likes snow…"

"You know, I hear that a lot, almost like its unspoken rule of growing up; hating snow and all,"

"I just really hate the cold,"

"Well, I do too; but have you ever stood inside and watched the snowfall?" He chuckled. "Stay inside, make some coffee, and just watch the snow come down…"

"Maybe we should try that sometime," I mumbled. I said that without even thinking.

He chuckled again. "That sounds like fun," I'm surprised he even heard me.

The snow kept falling and the wind picked up, eventually. The walk to the hospital was long. The cold air was becoming painful. My arm was throbbing and so was my head. My face was still tear-stained. Hospitals scare the shit out of me, but for once I was glad to be in one.

As we walked into the entrance, the warm air felt like an embrace from an old friend. Hospital air always has such a distinct smell to it.

Then, I thought of something. "Sirius…" I leaned in and whispered. "What do you want me to tell them?"

His face dropped. "What do you mean?" He whispered back.

"I mean..." I scratched my head with my good hand. "Why is my arm broken?" I still had no idea how this happened.

He smacked his forehead with his palm. "Shit," He growled through his teeth. "I can't tell you that, right now."

I tilted my head.

"Listen," He grabbed my shoulder and halted me. "Well, you were downtown when that building collapsed,-"

"Ah," I understood where he was going.

"Just tell them some debris fell on top of you,"

That could definitely work. It seemed plausible, I guess. I was a little beat up after the fall. I had a few bruises and a few scratches on my face. As I was walking up to the front desk, I turned around to say something. Sirius was gone. I looked around and spotted him in the waiting area. I guess he was already making himself comfortable. He was already sat down in a chair. He was slouching with his leg crossed over his knee and he was leaning into his palm. He gave me a quick nod. I could never get that comfortable in a hospital waiting room. Good for him, I guess.

There was a chair in front of the desk and I sat down. There was a clock on the wall. It was nearing nine-o-clock. The nurse at the desk seemed pretty tired. She was still friendly, however. She greeted me and asked me what was going on. I came up with a story that while I was downtown when the building fell and I ended up getting hit with some rubble. She gave me a concerned look. It almost scared me at first.

"How long were you trapped?" She asked.

"Uh," I looked at the clock again. "I guess maybe two hours or so?"

"The rescue team didn't find you?!"

"I-I guess not…"

"What's all over you, by the way? That blue paint?"

"It's... nothing,"

After this, she took my ID, and surprisingly enough, with a bit of digging, I was able to find my health insurance card. I could've sworn I left it back home. It made things a hell of a lot easier. Then, she gave me a hospital bracelet. She put it over my good wrist, of course. I really do hate those things, they're impossible to get off if you don't have scissors lying around- and I don't.

I guess that's a bridge I'll cross when I get there. I took a seat next to Sirius in the waiting area. It was weirdly colder in this room. It was painfully bright, lit with white fluorescent lights. The tan tiles of the floor were spotless. It was clean, and I like that, but hospitals always give me such a weird feeling. The perfect neatness is just so off-putting to me. I don't know why I'm like this. Shouldn't hospitals be a good thing? A place where I can get better? It's not like I've ever had any really bad experiences at a hospital. Besides the bees, of course.

It was totally quiet. There were TVs in every corner. They were all on, just muted. Some weird infomercial was playing across all of them. Something about a blender that turns on when you flips upside down after you screw the cup in. The woman seemed way too enthusiastic about it like it was the best fucking thing she had ever seen in her life. For all I know, it just may be. I readjusted in my chair, a little. The chairs were all wooden with padding on them. They looked like mini-couches, almost. They were so damn stiff, though. Sirius didn't seem to mind. When I glanced over at him, he was looking quite comfortable. He was intently watching the screen overhead, almost like he was interested or something.

I nudged his shoulder. "Don't these chairs hurt?" I felt the need to whisper, not wanting to break the silence.

"In the military, I learned to get comfortable anywhere," He replied at a similar volume.

"Ah,"

"God, I'm fuckin' hungry," Sirius mumbled this out of nowhere.

Now that I think of it, I was starting to get hungry, too. I haven't eaten a damn thing all day. Before I could say anything, I heard my name being called. I stood up.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Sirius asked.

"It's up to you," I replied.

"Something about these commercials without sound are really hooking me..."

"A-are you serious?"

"Of course not," He uncrossed his leg and stood up.

How funny. Another nurse guided us to another room, where they took my height and weight and all. One of the things I hate about hospital visits is all the questions they ask. After that, they took me to another room, and we ended up waiting for quite some time. The thing I hate a little more than the questions. I guess it could always be worse.

The doctor eventually came in, and he informed me they were going to take x-rays, first. They took me to another room for that. The room they took me too was kind of dark. On the wall, there was a lift with an arm that had a bulky machine at the end of it. In the corner, there was a door that leads to the control room. They had me lay my arm on a table and it took maybe only a few minutes for them to get done.

Seeing my bones is cool and all, but I tell you what, my wrist was pretty broken. It was legitimately disgusting to look at. My poor arm was going to be out of commission for a long time. My left hand is my good hand; the hand I throw with, the hand I eat with.

I've never broken a bone, before. I would've never imagined it would hurt so much, either. I felt a little nervous about getting a cast. On the bright side, I could pick out whatever color I wanted it to be. Right off the bat, I asked for pink. I heard Sirius snicker like a bitch in the corner of the room.

"What's funny?" I sneered.

"It's just that you were so fast," He chuckled. The doctor laughed too.

It didn't take long for the doctor to cast me up. A nurse came in and handed me a cup with a pill. A painkiller. Without hesitation, I popped the pill into my mouth, and she handed me a cup of water to wash it down with. The pain would be gone soon, and with it, any sense I had.

After the doctor left, the nurse came back shortly to discharge me. She handed me a prescription for the painkillers. Nice. Sirius and I were about to exit the hospital, and that's when my head started spinning. We spent about three hours in the hospital, and I was pretty happy to be out. It was nearing midnight. The snow was still coming down. Neither of us knew what to do.

"How are we gonna get home?" I asked.

"Hold on," Sirius reached for my bag. He opened it up and pulled out the transmitter. "Let's see if we can get a signal."

Good thinking on his part. I completely forgot we had the thing. He pressed the bottom button, and we waited.

"Oh!" Sirius exclaimed. He had a revelation of some sort. He dug into his pocket for a moment and pulled something out. I couldn't tell what it was, at first. I squinted my eyes. It was my necklace. "I almost forgot to give this back to you." He said.

"Oh shit," I replied. "Uh, my hands are kind of full."

"Here," He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around before draping the necklace across my chest and fastening it behind my neck. He spun me facing forward, again. He gave me a thumbs up and I laughed.

"Vega!" I heard a voice coming from the transmitter. I jumped and yelped slightly.

"L-Lockdown?" I replied.

"Vega, where have you been?!" Lockdown practically shouted.

"We're at the hospital,"

"What happened?"

"My arm broke…"

He was silent for a moment. Confused, maybe?

"I'll be there, soon,"

With that, he hung up. He showed up not long after. With that, we headed back to the airfield. The thing is, the painkillers were setting in and I didn't remember the ride home. All I remember is having a short conversation with Lockdown. He was speeding down the highway, but I don't remember how fast, exactly. The Sgt. and all of his people had already left the city hours ago. Lockdown was the last one left, and he spent hours looking for the two of us.

"I couldn't find your signal anywhere," The disgruntled bot grumbled. His voice was coming from the radio up front. "Looking for you is like chasing down a bug,"

"The hospital was kind of far, but I really needed to get my arm looked at, though," I replied. "I didn't have time to look for you."

"How does a human break, anyway?"

Sirius snickered. I hushed him.

"People have bones, Lockdown," I replied. "They break, sometimes."

"You seemed fine, earlier," Lockdown said.

"I thought I was too, I looked down and it was just… broken,"

I don't remember what else we said, after that. Before I knew it, we were coming up to the airfield. I was really out of it, now. Lockdown pulled up to the buildings by the airstrip and suddenly, Sirius and I were flung out of him. We both hit the pavement. He transformed back into his humanoid form and stared at us, wallowing pathetically on the ground, before looking away, suddenly.

"Where the fuck is the Col.?" He asked.

"Should we know?" Sirius retorted as he was standing up.

Lockdown shot him a nasty glare. "It was rhetorical, dumbass," He snapped.

Sirius backed off, after that.

The airfield was practically dead. I guess everyone was inside, dealing with everything that happened, tonight. The Col. did turn up, eventually, I wasn't sure from where he came from, I wasn't paying attention. Lockdown seemed to be acting more coldly to him than usual.

"The threat has been extracted from the city," He said dryly.

"I've heard," The Col. replied, just as dry. "Some casualties occurred as well, I've heard."

"The target was unstable, there was nothing I could've done to prevent it,"

I held my tongue.

The Col. looked down at the pavement and shook his head. He sighed. He then looked up at me.

"You're extremely fortunate, you know that, right?"

I scratched my head.

"We thought we lost you, for a while, there," He said with another sigh.

Sirius and I exchanged glances. I just really wanted to go to bed. I think both of them could tell. The last thing I remember from that night was The Col. telling Sirius to take me to the barracks, and I'd be interviewed in the morning. He pulled me up to my feet and guided me. The place was empty. He walked me over to one of the beds, and I climbed in. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I started zoning out. I clutched the blanket to my face, trying to warm myself up. The scent of it was familiar. It smelled a little bit like gunpowder, too.

As Sirius was exiting, I heard someone else enter the room.

"What are you doing here?" I think it may have been the Sgt. speaking. "There's no time to rest."

"Vega's a little fucked up on painkillers, right now," Sirius replied.

"She's alive?!" I could hear footsteps coming closer to me.

Slowly, the voices became intangible as I was drifting off.