Thanks to my beta reader Jazzilynn Hall
Thanks to all of followers and for the favourites.
Thanks to those who reviewed which were: Bee4ever, RougeReaper, xVentressx.
Let me know what you think.
My mind works fast to determine my course of action. Now again would be the perfect time to escape. I certainly don't want to hear Ironhide blame me for Lennox's death, saying I should of protected him or something. I rather not have a cannon to my face as well. But Lennox is more use to me alive than dead. The others may stop working with me to find the machine if they think I didn't try to prevent his death. I debate within myself, weighing the pros and cons before finally coming to my conclusion.
"Damnit…" I mutter in Spanish.
If this doesn't turn out okay than I'm screwed. I run towards Lennox seeing his team mates surround him.
"Out of the way," I demand shoving away a few of his team mates.
"Give him room," I continue, making a few back up.
"Get back to shooting the Decepticons," I bark out as I look at Lennox.
He's leaning against what's left of some sort of building, groaning in pain.
"What are you going to do?" asks one of the soldiers.
"For once, help," I state simply, examine the bullet wound.
"Are you even qualified?" questions the same soldier.
"Qualified? No. But I'm your best shot. I never went to med school but I've had to deal with my own bullet wounds and healthcare since I was a child," I answer keeping my focus on Lennox whose growing in pain.
"That's good enough. The bullet went straight through his bulletproof vest," comments Epps his hands on the wound, slowing down the blood.
"Yeah. This is Decepticon weaponry. Different elements here. But it's stopped in his lower chest near his ribs on the right side. Lennox, can you hear me?" I ask loudly.
"Yes. Urgh…" answers Lennox through the pain.
He clenches his fists, holding onto the dirt below on the ground trying to block out the pain.
"How bad is it?" questions Lennox, though his voice is steady I can hear the fear behind it.
"It's a gunshot wound. You can walk it off," I say simply, trying to think of the best course of action.
"Has anyone contacted Ratchet? He'll be much more effective than any human doctor," I ask.
"Yes, they're still not here but they have nearly reached the base," answers a nearby soldier.
"Okay, Lennox. You're going to have to lie down completely flat but you can keep your knees up if you want. Try to relax the best that you can. Breathe normally or else you'll lose more blood," I advise before I nod to Epps who is holding a canister of water.
As Lennox has a few sips from the canister with Epps help, I rip off his clothes so I can have a better look. I start getting what little medical supplies I have out.
"I might be able to get the bullet out but it will hurt. I got alcohol to clean the wound and I got a needle to stitch it back up after. But it's a blunt one," I say showing him, my voice empty.
I see him pale even more than he already is and his eyes widen.
"Why the hell do you have a blunt one?" asks Epps horrified.
"Do you have anything better?" I reply in turn making him be quiet.
"Do it," says Lennox determined.
"Are you sure? It will be incredibly painful," I state bluntly, making sure he understands.
"Just get it over with already," grounds out Lennox through gritted teeth.
I nod in turn. He's definitely brave, my respect for him has just gone up.
"Put something in his mouth so he doesn't bite his tongue off," I say to Epps devoid of emotion.
He puts something in his mouth and I work immediately. I pour some alcohol in, cleaning the wound. He shouts a little, his knees moving and his fists clenching. I get my tweezers out.
"You're going to have to restrain him," I say ignoring the cries of pain.
Epps nods and signals another soldier over. I straddle Lennox to help keep him still as Epps and the other soldier holds him still.
"Do you have any painkillers?" asks Epps worried as I put my hand on Lennox's chest above the wound to concentrate.
"No," I say casually before I look up and nod to both of them to signal them to that I'm about to pull it out.
I steady my fingers and put the tweezers in. As soon as I know I have a firm grip I pull it out carefully, but Lennox moves underneath even with the people holding him down. I decide to pull it out quickly, getting it over with. But suddenly more blood pours out and his back arches. Damnit! Damnit! It's deeper than I thought. I hold both hands over the wound to slow down the bleeding.
"What happened?! What have you done?!" shouts Epps panicking as Lennox thrashes about screaming.
"It was deeper than expected, now shut up and pass rip off a bit of your clothes so I can use it," I order Epps.
He does so and I hold the clothes on top of the wound, trying to slow it down but then Lennox suddenly goes limp, his eyes closing.
Slag!
"Lennox! Can you hear me? Lennox!" I shout before putting my fingers to his neck.
"Lennox! Yo! Get up! Open your eyes, man!" calls Epps in fear watching his best friend dying.
No pulse.
"Epps put your hand on his wound," I order.
He does immediately as instructed but he keeps shouting at Lennox.
I immediately start CPR. 30 chest compressions and 2 breathes.
"Come on Lennox. Don't do this. Come on," I mumble under my breath as I push.
"Any defibrillators nearby?" asks Epps but they're probably destroyed among the wreckage.
I focus on what I'm doing and Lennox. I breathe in his mouth.
1….2…..
No response. I get back to doing chest compressions, mentally counting.
"Lennox! Get up, soldier! Ironhide is going to kill me if you die!" I shout trying to get through to him.
Thump… Thump…. Thump… Thump… Thump…
"What about Sarah, huh? Are you just going to leave her behind? To raise a child on her own with a broken heart?!" I shout getting louder and louder.
Come on Lennox. I'll have to let you go if you don't wake up.
Thump…. Thump…..Thump…Thump…..Thump….
"And Annabelle? Are you just going to let her grow up without a father?! Damnit Lennox! You can't do that to her! You can't leave her! She needs her father! Wake up!" I yell giving my all in this one last compression.
Lennox's eyes shoots open and he gives a gasp, with widen eyes. Yes. He's alive. I only get one second to comprehend that before something grabs me roughly.
"What the pit are you doing to Lennox, femme?!" shouts a voice as I try to get my breathe back as the world blurs.
"Ironhide! It's okay! She was saving Lennox! Not hurting him!" calls Epps as my vision comes back to me.
Ironhide has me in a strong grip with his cannon pointing at me.
"She was pushing his chest into a third of his body!" replies Ironhide feeling justified.
"I was performing CPR, you bucket head!" I shout, hitting his hand.
"CPR is used to restart the vital organ: the heart, and help oxygen reach the brain and heart," advises Ratchet.
"Exactly, so put me down, you bucket of bolts!" I order.
It's really starting to hurt my ribs and I'm having difficulty breathing. Ironhide grumbles before putting me down.
"Ratchet. Lennox has a bullet wound. I've pulled it out but it was deeper than I thought. He needs to be stitched back up. He's not out of the woods yet," I explain.
Ratchet scans Lennox quickly before transforming in vehicle mode.
"Get him in," orders Ratchet clearly, his back doors opens.
"I'll leave it to you guys," I nod to Epps.
"What will you do?" asks Epps.
"Do what I do best," I answer before turning around darkly as they focus on Lennox.
I walk to the fallen Decepticon that's in emergency shutdown mode. Status lock. I climb up and stand on top of the Decepticon. There's a gap below the chest plate and I use it to my advantage. I cut through his wires, energon going everywhere inside. I get a grenade and pull the pin before dropping it in there. I move off him quickly while everyone is distracted. That is until the Decepticon explodes, the leaking energon making the explosions bigger. Michael Bay would like that. Everyone's attention falls on the Decepticon as flames starts to consume it's chest. Ironhide's optics focuses on me as I walk away from everyone being careful not to let any falling pieces land on me.
"You killed him," states Ironhide.
I don't bother to reply to him. I put my dagger back in its place in my belt, not turning to face them.
"He was in status lock. He couldn't even defend himself. That was not honorable," says Ironhide stiffly.
"There is nothing honorable about death. He's lucky he was already in status lock. His death would of been more painful if he was conscious," I reply in turn.
"You can't-" starts Ironhide but I cut him off swiftly.
"Tell me if that was Megatron or Starscream or Soundwave, would you have not killed him? Take the opportunity?" I question as I dust off my hands.
"I would of at least given them an opportunity to defend themselves," replies Ironhide angrily.
"This Decepticon nearly killed Lennox. If he woke up and activated his weapon, even if he online his weapon to defend himself you would of offlined him. I only did it before he could wake up and squish one of us. Murder is murder whether that person could defend themselves or not," I explain coldly, my Spanish accent bleeding through.
"No. There's murder, self defense, and justice," adds in Epps.
"No, there's not. At the end of the day, that person is dead. Self defense? Justice? There just excuses to hide behind. You thought you guys would of figured that out already," I add coldly.
"You're wrong," states Ironhide however I don't say anything to that.
There's no use trying to convince them otherwise. They just don't understand. They believe and see what they want to. I walk away from them, not looking back once to even try to explain. After all no one likes the truth.
—
After traveling through the battle field a bit I notice something. Something weird is going on. The Decepticons are pulling back. Though that could be because Optimus Prime and the other Autobots are kicking their butts. But why come and not finish what they started? Unless they couldn't get what they wanted. The Allspark shard. That's the information which was stolen. They did move it, didn't they? After the information was compromised.
"They're retreating! Yes! Don't come back you scrapheads!" shouts Epps behind me as we watch the Decepticons start to retreat.
"That's what happens when you mess with us!" I hear Sideswipe nearby.
"The Decepticons are retreating," calls Epps on the com link smiling.
"We need to shoot down any slaggers still around," comments Ironhide firing a cannon in the sky at a Decepticon.
He catches its wing making them crash somewhere outside the base. We see it transform in bi-pedal mode and run, it's wing smoking. It's too far for any of us to reach it so we leave it.
"We have a non friendly Cybertronian at our position, requesting back up," calls Mia on the radio.
I start to run towards her position as she says it. Ironhide transforms as well as Sideswipe in the distance. Epps gets into nearby truck and drives near me. I jump on as he drives past.
"Last Decepticons, mechs!" calls Sideswipe before taunting, "Who's going to catch him first?"
Ironhide's engine revs in response as they speed along. I start to see it in the distance getting bigger and bigger. It's hard to see whose going to get the Decepticon first. The Decepticon's cannon starts to charge up facing Mia as Sam and Mikaela are behind. She fires shots but she needs high explosive rounds as a bare minimum.
"This is for Lord Megatron," growls the Decepticon.
I hear a different engine to the others and then I see Sunstreaker coming for the Decepticon. He transforms and slices his sword through the Decepticon.
"This is for me!" announces Sunstreaker as the blade meets metal.
"Aw Sunny… I wanted the kill," complains Sideswipe transforming, Ironhide following. We slow down as we approach their position.
Ratchet follows behind.
"Everyone okay?" asks Epps examining everyone with his eyes. as he steps out of the truck
"Yes sir," says Mia saluting.
"We're fine. Are they gone?" questions Sam nervously.
"Yep. That was the last of them," answers Sideswipe.
"Where's the Allspark?" questions Sam.
Smart kid. He knows where the attention should be at.
"It's safe. We moved it to a secure location once we knew the information of the location was given to the Decepticons," answers Lennox from behind.
I turn around surprised that Lennox is up and standing, although he is holding his bandage side.
"Lennox, you shouldn't even be awake," says Epps as Lennox stands by Ratchet's doors.
"That's an alien medic for you. Works twice as fast," jokes Lennox but he grimaces as I see fresh bandage wrapped around his wound.
"You still need plenty of rest though," adds Ratchet who stays in alt mode.
"I needed to see what was going on," insists Lennox still holding onto to Ratchet's back doors.
I step off the back of the truck, my heart rate starting to slow down now that I know that the Decepticons are gone. I walk around the back of the truck and around our area keeping my eyes out for anything suspicious. I walk behind Sam, Mikaela and Mia, keeping an eye out. My guard still not completely lowered.
"You! You're suppose to be dead!" exclaims Mia, eyes widen in shock before narrowing in anger, confusing everyone, including me.
"What?" I ask as I start to turn around to face her.
Before I can blink she shoots me faster than my reflexes can catch up. She takes a clumsy shot however getting my left leg. I fall immediately though, pain searing through me. I grit my teeth though refusing to shout out.
"Mia! What are you doing?!" shouts Lennox getting his gun and pointing it towards her.
"What the hell?!" shouts Epps grabbing his own gun.
However she gets Sam and pulls him towards her, a gun to his head.
"What the pit are you doing?!" questions Sideswipe just as shocked as he and the other Autobots get their own weapons out facing towards her.
That slimy little-
"What are you doing, soldier?" questions Lennox sternly as he comes closer slowly.
"Not any closer," orders Mia shoving the gun closer to Samuel's head.
"Geeze… Oh wow…. please don't do that….. uncomfortable here," rambles Sam as Mikaela is pulled away by Epps but he still trains a gun on Mia.
"Explain now," demands Lennox firmly as he stands still along with everyone else.
"I'm getting rid of the filth," growls Mia, her eyes like fire, trained on them and away from me.
She thinks I'm down for good.
"You just killed a citizen," comments Epps.
"No! I didn't! You don't know! You don't know what's she done! You just accepted her in. Made her part of the team!" shouts Mia frantic as she moves back with Sam, her grip tightening.
"Easy now," says Lennox softly.
"Can we shoot?" asks Ironhide quietly
"No. We can't harm humans," says Ratchet just as quiet.
"You let her in so easily. That monster! She was no citizen. She's not even human! They said they would kill her. That we would make it look like she betrayed you and you would deal with her. But then you let her walk free. Even when we made it look like she gave that Decepticon the location of the Allspark. When you didn't do anything we had to step it up. They had to kill her and make it look like she wasn't the target," rants Mia.
That crazy backstabbing… She's the one who set me up?! I knew I didn't like her for a reason!
"You're the one who gave the location away?" asks Sunstreaker lowly.
"I had to. I had to make you guys see. But you never did. You were so blind," continues Mia desperately.
"People died because of you!" shouts Lennox angrily.
"No. People died because of her!" protests Mia, hate shining in her eyes.
My eyes narrow in suspicion. How does she know that? Something definitely isn't right here. What does she know of me?
"What are you going to do with me?" asks the Witwicky kid afraid, sweat pouring off of him.
"You're my safe ticket out of here. I'll hand you over to the Decepticons if they try anything outside the base. I have the co-ordinates for the new base as well, all I have to do is press this and they'll come get me out of here," says Mia getting out her phone with her spare hand.
"Don't do it," warns Lennox as her thumb comes closer to the send button.
"I have to. I have no choice. I'll be court martial. Because you don't see it," replies Mia manically.
I slowly reach for my dagger, keeping to the ground. I have to aim this right. Or else I'll kill the kid too.
"Tell us then. What don't we understand?" asks Lennox.
"Her. You've accepted her in without though," says Mia, her hands shaking.
"That's not true. You know we did a usual interrogation process and background check," says Lennox trying to appear calm.
"Background check. You don't know her background! She's from a different universe! How would you know?!" shouts Mia angrily.
"You seem like you know. How?" asks Epps.
"That doesn't matter! It matters what she did!" screams Mia tears in her eyes.
"Then tell us! What has she done?!" ask Lennox desperate to calm her down.
"She'll kill you all. I did what was right. I did what was right. I did what was right," repeats Mia over and over insanely as her fingers shakes even more, her thumb going closer to send.
"Don't," threats Lennox, his finger on the trigger as he watches her thumb.
She's not even thinking clearly. She's going to press it.
"She's done horrible things. She's the one wh-"
Her words are cut short as she freezes. My dagger in her back. she stumbles forward letting go of Samuel before she drops dead. Everyone watches in horror as her body slumps to the ground. I get up and limp over pulling the dagger out, everyone's eyes on me in shock.
"You may of sworn never to harm a human, but I sure as hell didn't," I announce, my eyes steel cold.
—-
The past can never be changed. The path you took to get where you are can never change. The road through mud can only get you dirty. Sometimes you get stuck and you have to push your way out. You have to struggle. You have to dirty your hands and it stains. It's stains you and your clothes. A constant reminder of what you've done. But sometimes it's the only way to move forward.
Don't worry this isn't an OCxLennox thing. It's just that no one does CPR where there is no romantic interest, you know just friends. Let me know what you think.