Chapter Seven
"This way" Redempt whispered as she led Firestorm toward the exit, "it's not far now"
Firestorm gasped and clutched his tank when an immense pain ran through it, a small cry of pain left his voicebox and he doubled over. Redempt quickly caught him and steadied him.
"What's wrong?!" she whispered, urgently.
"I-I don't know" the small mech whimpered and tried to curl up, "my tank hurts"
A trickle of liquid ran down his legs and he winced, "I-I think they're coming, my Sparklings"
Redempts optics widened and she quickly began moving with the other in tow.
"We have to get out of here, if you're going into labor than that is bad news, hold on a little bit longer okay"
"Wh-why?"
"The Cybertronians here are cannibals, but they only eat Sparklings" Redempt responded, "and they can smell when someone is ready to give birth"
Firestorm whimpered and moved faster. Soon the two were out the door and that's when they heard laughter and saw the cannibalistic Cybertronians heading their way.
Redempt shifted her grip and picked the mechling up bridal-style before running, the Cybertronians behind her.
Another contraction ran through the mechs frame and he gasped.
"Re-Redempt" Firestorm gasped out, "they-they want out, let me give them life"
"HOLD ON!" Redempt ordered, knowing that giving birth now will be extremely dangerous, "We're almost to the nearest city"
Firestorm cried in pain when another contraction hit.
The femme ran into the city and continued to run until she got to the closest hospital, she entered and yelled for a doctor. A white and red-orange medic raced over with a gurney, he took the young Decepticon from the femme and asked her questions as he rolled the mechling to a room.
Redempt was asked to wait in the waiting room.
-Autobot HQ-
It had been a week since Miko had safely discharged the Data Cylinder's data out of Bulkhead and into the sky.
Right now, Ratchet was getting ready to test a canister of Synthetic Energon when Raf walked over.
"Hey Ratchet, is that Synthetic Energon?" the small boy asked.
"Well, yes" the Autobot medic responded, surprised by the boy's interest, "in fact, I'm preparing to test the sample"
Ratchet noticed Raf seemed to want to stay.
"I see you've come with protective goggles" the medic joked and was glad that he did when he saw the young charges face.
"I can watch?!" The boy beamed with excitement and glee.
Ratchet chuckled, "we just add some of this to the test engine"
The testing machine powered up once the Synthesized Energon was added. Raf smiled brightly.
"It Works!" the boy turned and called for his Guardian, "BEE!"
Ratchet quickly stopped the small genius.
"This iteration of the formula requires further trial before we can even think about using it for fuel, ammunition, or first aid, which is rather unfortunate, since our own Energon reserves are at an all-time low" the medic murmured, flashing back to some events of the past with a soft sigh, "Our severely outnumbered warriors have been rapidly burning through our stockpile of late as the Decepticon army continues to run us ragged and grind us down. Natural Energon is in such short supply on your planet, and Megatron seems to have his oily claws buried deep in all the earth's deposits. But if we can successfully produce a synthetic form, we can manufacture all the energy we'll ever need."
Raf gave the bot a sad look and they turned to the computer when the screen began flashing.
"More Energon on the move" Arcee reported.
"Again?" Bulkhead complained.
"Their recent activity suggests a familiar pattern." Optimus began, "The Decepticons are desperately scouting for new deposits to mine. Autobots!"
Ratchet walked in front of his leader and cut him off, "Optimus, if one of you comes back wounded... well, our Energon supplies are almost depleted"
"Understood, activate the Groundbridge" the Prime commanded before turning back to the warriors, "Autobots, Roll Out!"
Ratchet watched the warriors leave with great sadness and looked down with a soft sigh, "sometimes, I wish I could do more"
An idea struck the med-bot and he walked over to his Synth-En supply. He grabbed a canister, put into an injector and injected it into his arm.
The feeling of being overwhelmed filled Ratchets senses and he groaned, stumbled back and fell.
"RATCHET!" Rafael's voice sounded as if it was screaming at him, "WAKE UP!"
The Autobot medic groaned and onlined his optics, a small headache was present.
Raf slid off the bots chasis as he sat up.
"Ugh, how is it that such small being can be so loud" Ratchet wondered out loud as he stood up.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! YOU FELL!"
Ratchet winced at the loudness of the boy's voice.
'Can he keep it down?'
"I'm fine" Ratchet decided to say instead, "I'm *he rotated his shoulder and frowned* more than fine"
The mech checked his settings and let out a surprised laugh.
"Energy efficiency up 30 percent, motor functions optimal?!" The medic gaped before recovering.
"Has the others reported in?"
Raf shook his head, mouth slightly open in confusion.
Ratchet took a deep intake before releasing it and he headed to the computer.
: Ratchet, Lock Onto Moonlasher's and Arcee's Coordinates And Prepare An Emergency Groundbridge :
Ratchet did as he was told, the femme was going extremely fast.
"I'm locked on" Ratchet confirmed, "Moonlasher, Arcee, decelerate and prepare to return to base"
"Save It" Moonlasher growled.
"We're Too Close!" Arcee yelled.
"Don't be fools" Ratchet snapped, his eyes flashing magenta for a split second before returning to emerald green.
The sound of metal scrapping against stone vibrated through the speakers and Ratchet grew worried when he heard a soft groan.
"They're hurt" the bot whispered, he activated the Groundbridge and ran through.
The bridge opened several feet above the ground and Ratchet jumped from it. Surgical swords activated and he crashed into two Vehicons.
The medic stood to his full height and began fighting the cons. He fought until none of them were standing.
Moonlasher stared at the medic in surprise, shock, horror, worry, and most of all, anger.
Arcee stared with wonder and surprise.
Dark Shadow quickly raced over to his niece once he was over the rock wall and helped her stand. Bumblebee did the same with Arcee.
"Are you alright?" the disguised Decepticon asked in worry.
"Yeah" the femme whispered.
A Seeker tried to sneak up on the medic but was heard and punched.
"What happened?" Raf asked once the Autobots entered via the Groundbridge.
"I only saw the gory aftermath, but I hear that the doc was a one-bot wrecking machine" Bulkhead answered, casting Ratchet a curious look.
The medic smiled and picked Rafael up.
"Hey there, little fella" Ratchet greeted before placing the boy back on the cat-walk.
"All right, what's your secret?" Arcee demanded.
"No secret" Ratchet replied, walking over the where he stored the Synthetic Energon canisters, "just a little something I like to call Synth-En" he tossed it to Dark Shadow.
"From the data Bulkhead transcribed?" Dark Shadow asked, handing it to Arcee.
"I thought the formula was-"
"Incomplete?" Ratchet cut the femme off, "not anymore"
Arcee passed it to Bulkhead.
"So, Ratchet makes a better 'tough guy' than I do a 'smart guy'?" Bulkhead questioned.
Moonlasher shuttered and leaned closer to Dark Shadow.
"Ratchet, I question the wisdom of using yourself as a test subject" Optimus said when he got the canister from Bumblebee.
"Optimus-"
"You didn't see him out there, he was on overdrive. We should all try this stuff" Arcee cut Moonlasher off.
"Or give Ratchet more so we can take a vacation" Bulkhead chipped in.
"I agree that the initial results seem promising, but I recommend that further testing be confined to machines, not Autobots" Optimus said and placed a servo on his medic's shoulder "outnumbered though we may be, old friend, we need a warrior in the laboratory right now more than we need another in the field."
Ratchet sighed and looked down.
Ratchet opened the cabinet with his secret stash of Synthetic Energon (after showing how strong he had become and hoping the Wrecker could convince Optimus to let him out on the field again). He grabbed the canister and looked at it, the logical part of his processor told him to put it back while the part infected by the drug told him he needed more to help the team.
Can you guess which one won?
"I need to be at the top of my game" the medic injected himself with the entire thing, "our survival depends upon it"
He put the canister and injector back and headed to the main section, a strange feeling rushed around him and everything disappeared.
"...secret weapon?"
"... additional firepower... Bumblebee... Groundbridge"
"...time?"
"...rush?"
"Where is Megatron?"
Screaming.
"...What are you doing?!"
"Getting Results!"
"...Protocol...Servant Class..."
"...Just the Medic?"
"Autobots do not inflict harm... other options have been exhausted... separates us from the Decepticons"
"...Really... time for... lecture, Optimus? You... happen to discover Megatron's... location... Well, I did!... do you... know where... stockpile of raw... for the taking? I do!"
"...calm...down"
"Calm is the... need! Calm is what lost us Cybertron! The 'cons have a... an army. All this Energon scouting, you think Megatron isn't gearing up for something big? We're... resources chasing... crumbs when we really need to be hitting him hard and hitting him now, precisely where... Hurts!"
"...direct assault... Decepticons... provoke retaliation and lead to incalculable losses... will not endanger innocent human lives."
"...you... no problem endangering ours... ask Cliffjumper... Forgot... He couldn't be here today!... know... problem... a big, strong bot... Soft... didn't pound Megatron into scrap when you had the chance- many in fact."
"I'm afraid... Synthetic Energon... impaired... judgment... confining you to base... bridge us back."
"Fine"
"Fearsome... Optimus... medic"
"Megatron...Doctor of Doom... FOR CYBERTRO-"
Pain flared up and Ratchet regained his surroundings. He stared at Megatron before looking down at his side. He looked back up at Megatron before he was thrown to the ground.
"There's your laboratory sample, doctor." Megatron leered and began walking off "Find out. If a chemical can do this for Optimus Prime's lap dog, imagine what it could do for our troops."
Knockout knelt down and began getting a sample from the Autobot medic.
Ratchet watched the Decepticon leader leave and he closed his optics in shame.
"I'm sorry" the medic whispered.
Once the Decepticon finished getting the sample he grinned down at the Autobot.
"Doctor to doctor, I must say, your contribution to the Decepticon cause is very much appreciated. I'll be sure to boast of your accomplishment when you're gone" Knockout activated his saw and brought it to Ratchet's neck cables, "which will happen in three... two... one-"
The sounds of battle halted the younger mech and he looked at the cave entrance.
"Scrap!" the mech hissed.
Hope flared in Ratchet and he grabbed Knockout's arm and kicked the other away. The older medic stood up before he was pushed and pinned to the rock wall.
He held the doctors face back as the saw came closer and closer.
The saw nicked the Carliblast and Ratchet quickly headbutted him before dodging the saw. Knockout got trapped by the wall and Ratchet stumbled to the half-full canister.
Knockout laughed when Ratchet picked it up.
"What are you going to do, drink it?" the Decepticon doctor mocked.
Ratchet placed his left servo over his gaping wound and shook his head.
"No" he stood up and turned, "I'm going to destroy it"
He threw the canister, breaking it against a wall.
"You Idiot!" Knockout yelled and freed himself, "Megatron Will Have My Head!"
Ratchet blinked and stumbled back before falling. The green Energon already creating a large puddle around him.
The Autobots raced in.
Ratchet slowly onlined and groaned as he tried to sit up. His side flared up in pain and his helm hurt like scrap.
"Easy old friend" Optimus said, putting a servo on the medic's shoulder to stop the other from sitting up, "you've lost a lot of Energon, good and bad"
Ratchet looked away in shame, "I-I didn't mean to hurt anyone... I just wanted so badly to-"
"Help us, we know" Optimus comforted, "But you nearly caused the loss of something irreplaceable, our medic and a most trusted friend."
Ratchet smiled up at the Prime.
"You did lead us to a much needed Energon supply. And for that, we should all be thankful" Optimus changed the subject.
"The synthetic Energon formula clearly needs refining before it can be tested again. On machines, not Autobots" Ratchet declared, Optimus looked at him approvingly.
"Let us take comfort in the fact that you were able to dispose of the quantity that remained."
"BETRAYAL!" Megatron roared as he stalked into his berthroom.
Arachnid looked up from the datapad and frowned in concern.
"HE DARES LOOK AT ME WITH BETRAYAL!"
"Who?"
"THE AUTOBOT MEDIC!" the Decepticon leader snarled, "AFTER WHAT HE'S DONE TO US!"
Megatron punched the wall, creating a large dent in it.
"HE TOOK OUR SON AND HE LOOKS AT US IN BETRAYAL!"
Arachnid stood up and put a gentle servo on her mate's arm.
"Soon, my liege" she whispered, "soon we can take our revenge, soon Firestorm will be avenged and soon this planet will be ours"
