A/N: Hey everyone, I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but things here have not been the best, the second wave of COVID has hit our area really hard and it is just a scary and stressful time for me right now. I don't know when I'll next update, but I am telling you now these stories are not dead. Just need to prioritize some stuff. It's also why this chapter is so short since I haven't had the brain energy to write for some time now. But I do hope you enjoy it, I hope you are all safe and healthy and I wish you the best of days ahead in this uncertain time!

Chapter 23-Merciful Remembering

Cenotaph's POV

I groaned as I felt the dreamless void fade away and my sentience return. When I say everything hurts, I mean it. I've only used the Wish spell once and I had truly forgotten how much of a toll it takes on the body, it's one thing to think and talk about, it's another to experience it. I slowly opened my optics, happy to be greeted by dim light.

I tried moving my body, but it felt like a ton of bricks, so I settled for only turning my helm.

It seemed I was laying on my plush berth in my private chambers in the lab, the room was extravagant, with drapes and tapestries hanging off the walls, so that none of the rock showed of the underground lab. The floor was also covered in soft drapes and animal furs, I had my own personal washrack connected here, and a closet of different types of clothing and as well, cloaks.

Low lit candles were strewn in the room, giving off a dim and welcoming light, I was covered in a thick blanket of cloth, furs, and metal mesh. I had a table and chairs in one corner, but one of the chairs was strangely missing.

I turned my head back and finally found where it had gone, which was next to the berth, and sitting on it, his helm laying on the berth beside me, was Ratchet. His helm was turned away, so I couldn't see his face, but the rest of him did look normal, which was a relief. But I worried about his optic, it looked horrid when I saw it last, and I wanted to see if this misery I put myself through, was worth it in the end.

Struggling, I swallowed hard and rasped out, "R-Ratch...et…"

Nothing, not a stir, he must've been in a deep recharge, so I tried again.

"R...R-Ratchet...wake...up…" I called out, my voice coarse but slowly getting louder.

He stirred, slightly, then he jolted up venting heavily, he seemed to be in a dazed state, as of just coming out of a nightmare. In that brief moment of him being unaware of where he was, I got a good look at his face. I felt my spark sing as indeed, both blue optics were restored, but...I could see something I didn't see before. One crack remained, black and voidness coming off the bottom of his optic, it was a little slice, barely off his optic, but it was still there.

He blinked and shook his helm, venting heavily at the realization that whatever had frightened him was no more. Then his optics landed on me and he froze, I didn't know what to say as I just stared at the cut in his optic.

It was him that sliced through the tense silence, "Cenotaph...you're finally awake!" He smiled brightly, filled with hope.

That broke my trance as I fixed onto his bright blue optics, I smiled weakly yet softly, "I-I...could say the same for you as well…"

Then he became a little more serious, going into medic mode, "How are you feeling, anything hurt?"

I frowned, "Just...exhausted, and my voice...is a little rough. But I'll be...fine."

"I'm going to scan you anyways," He said, standing and activating the scanner within his arm, "I was really worried about you, you've been out cold for most of the week."

"A...week!?" My cry of horror and surprise was rather soft and course due to my voice, but Ratchet seemed to pick up on my urgency.

"Don't worry, the meeting isn't until Saturday, today is Thursday, you are fine." He said with a playful smile, I visible sank into the berth again, the tension leaving making me feel even heavier.

Then a thought crossed my mind.

"Wait...what about the Autobot's? If I've been here this long wouldn't they…?" I asked, genuinely concerned about our cover being blown.

He sighed, "Yes, it's fine, I simply told them that you were currently exploring Earth in search of special ingredients for a spell that you were crafting. I also told them that I didn't know when you'd get back, so you have all the time in the world as of this moment."

"But, what about you?" I asked frowning, "You can't be here all the time…"

I found myself hating the idea of him not being at my side, which was...odd.

"I still have duties and appearances to keep up, but when I can, I'll be here. Besides, I think you'll be fine on your own for a little while." He said with a reassuring smile, but it didn't help, it wasn't me that I was worried about at the end of it all.

I sighed though, in acceptance, "Fine, fine, alright. I guess it's fine, but as for now, you are helping me get into the oil bath because I feel...so...gross…" I shivered, it felt like my hair-like cords were dirty and some tangled and my protoform uncomfortable.

Ratchet paused, he blinked owlishly, "...did I hear that correctly?" He squeaked out.

I stared at him with a dead expression, "Oh come on, it's not that big of a deal." Even as I said those words, I could feel my spark contradicting the statement.

He stumbled his words, a tint glowing faintly on his face, "W-We...I-I...b-but…!"

"Ratchet, I don't want to lay here filthy, now don't be such a virgin and help me up!" I said with all the authority I could muster, it was strange, even though I wanted this, something deep within was warring with this desire to be cleaned. It made my spark hammer wildly and I did everything within my willpower to not stammer or blush.

He froze, blinking dumbly, then he grumbled something, before saying, "How is this going to work? You are two times my size, getting you here was a challenge all of its own."

That was true, I was Prime-sized.

"How did you get me here then?" I asked, curious.

He groaned, "You don't want to know, and I am not doing it again, end of story."

I sighed, "I can't cast any spells while in this state, which means either you physically drag me there, or you cast a spell."

"Me!?" He gasped, "B-But...what happened last time I-"

"-Wasn't around." I cut him off, "But I am here now, get your staff out."

Ratchet relented but muttered, "It's not just a staff…" He brought out the black metal and lava-like veins of the staff, the two orange snakes coiled at the top with the floating sun crystal in between the snakes.

I smirked, "Wait...did you name it?"

He sighed, "Yes...I named it…" He trailed off, mumbling to himself.

I giggled, amused "I named mine Hekatee's Iniquity...after an old friend of mine." A little encouragement for him.

Which seemed to work, as he gained more confidence.

"It's named Aetnaeus's Mercy." He huffed to himself with a small smile, "I suppose we had the same idea about naming it after an old friend...though the word friend is the wrong term in my case."

"Tell me about it, after I get in the bath." I said with a pleased smile, "Now, I am going to teach you a spell."

He looked at me puzzled, "Don't I need my spellbook for that?"

"Not every spell is needed for a spellbook and wielding it in battle would be too cumbersome. You need to memorize the spells and for more ritualistic spells, yes, then you need the book. But not now." I paused for a moment, and I could tell he was intently listening which was good. I didn't want a repeat of events and I think the same could be said about him. "Alright, what I want you to do, is hold Aetnaeus's Mercy out in front of you, the end of it pointing at me."

He did as instructed, holding the staff towards me, his optics closed in concentration. There was a slight tremble in his arm, so with all the strength I could muster, I raised my arm and reached out and gently took his servo.

"Don't worry, there is no chance of hurting me." I said reassuringly, he smiled slightly in relief and I went on, "Now, imagine a glyph that resembles a bird, its large wings outstretched, and outline it in the air with your staff as best as you can…"

He paused for a moment, frowning harder before I let go and he started moving the staff. Slowly, shakily, the orange line appeared, first the circle, then the lines that connected to each side, and then emerging from the tangle of lines within the circle came the picture, a glyph, of a bird.

Gently, I instructed him, "Good, good, now focus on that glyph and put all of your will into it, let it build, then make that glyph move towards me, releasing its energy, then the spell will take effect…"

He shifted slightly, his grip tightening around his staff as it hummed with magical power, I could see and feel the magical energy build up slowly. He was still hesitant, most likely from his basically first use of magic from before, as the build-up for a trained wizard usually only took but a micro-second, but I was patient, letting him go on his terms. But, it was something to work on in the future.

The glyph grew brighter and brighter, and he seemed almost afraid of it.

He needed that last push, "That's it, now, release it the energy forward like letting out a breath…"

Ratchet nodded, slowly edging closer to the final push, then with a final exhale, the glyph shot forward and dispersed across my prone form. Suddenly, I was lifted from the bed, weightlessness overcoming me, I smiled proudly at him, his optics still closed in fear of something that wasn't there.

"My dear thrall, open your optics…" I cooed softly at him, slowly his optics blinked open, regaining their bearings before staring at me wide and filled with wonder. "You did wonderfully, you performed the Levitate spell perfectly my dear. Now, since the magic only suspends me in the air, I cannot move horizontally, only vertically, so you need to pull me along."

He blinked owlishly, "I...did it?"

"Yes, you did," I said, it seemed he was still stunned from the spell. Ah well, his expression was quite amusing, even if I wasn't getting where I wanted to go.

A burst of nervous laughter bubbled up from him that slowly morphed into amazement.

"This is...so much different than before." He said, taking a hold of my arm, staring at me with amazement, my spark skipped a beat as he stared with those optics. "You are incredible."

His words were genuine, and I couldn't stop the blush of pink and purple that came with it. He tugged me towards him, wrapping me in a hug that was strange as I was too weak to reciprocate as well as still floating in the air from the spell.

He whispered, "Thank you, Cena."

I didn't know what he was thanking me for, nor did I care, my only thought was to lean into the embrace more as best as I could manage.

Bulletta's POV

It was stressful, to say the least when it came to the Autobots and tensions at the base. When Ratchet came to Optimus and the rest of us, telling us that Cenotaph would be absent for a while, I could literally feel the suspicion and anxiousness rolling off all of the cybertronians, all but Sunstreaker, who had a strangely and creepily frozen and expressionless stare. He seemed even more off than usual.

But I ignored that, in favor of focusing on aiding Rafael in completing the first prototype of the Comm system. It was hard work, but the prototype was coming along nicely, so far. It also benefited in keeping the Prime away, as it seemed like he was trying to corner me, which was not favorable, especially with Cenotaph being down for the count.

Honestly, I don't know what happened, when I asked Ratchet he simply said that there was a spell mishap and that it would take time for her to recover. That's all I got out of him, which seemed lacking, but I didn't press.

There were two days until the meeting and more or less, I felt prepared for it.

Though, something in my gut was telling me that things didn't go this smoothly for long.

"Bulletta," A voice caught my attention, Bulkhead, who sat next to me in the school parking lot, waiting for the kids, had called out my name through the comms. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" I asked, curious as to why he was talking to me, I rarely talked to the mech so this was interesting.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment but said, "I was wondering...do you miss your home?"

It was a strange question, but I answered honestly, "Well yes, I do. There are things I do miss, and friends, of course. But...I wouldn't change it for the world, after all, I met all of you."

He huffed, a light chuckle, "Guess that was kinda stupid question, huh?" He sighed, his words seemingly held back.

"Is something wrong? You seem...lost in thought." I frowned, even though I was in vehicle mode.

His tires swiveled and I read it strangely as a shrug, "I suppose that I've just been thinking back on some memories...the glory days if you will. I...I sometimes wonder if my old crew is up too, the Wreckers were my second family, and when I left...I don't know, guess I just miss them."

"Right, right, I get it...I wonder too...what happened to my friends and my home, you are lucky or unlucky I guess to know the fate of your home." I cringed as I saw flashes of destruction and horrors and fire. I shook it off quickly, tense from the memories.

He stayed silent, and it seemed like it'd be that way until he said, "Sometimes I wish I didn't know…"

I sighed, "I am sorry I brought that up, Bulkhead."

"No, no, no." He quickly said, "It's not you're fault, it's a consent reminder, a reminder to make sure it never happens to other worlds, like this one. It's good to remember...even if it hurts."

I smiled sadly, "Yeah...I suppose you do have a point...the past should never be forgotten."

Suddenly the school bell rang out, and humans poured out of the building in a steady raging river. We went silent, waiting for our charges, silently remember what we lost and what we would do to protect what we had now.