Ch. 61

Breakdown groaned as his optics blearily flickered on. The world around him was fuzzy and bright, and as he tried to focus he heard a familiar voice softly address him.

"Breakdown?" it asked, "Can you hear me?"

The blue mech nodded and groaned again, his helm feeling as though it were spinning, "Yeah... what's going on? Where... am I?"

The voice was still gentle and it sighed, "You're safe. Can you look at me? Breakdown?"

Breakdown growled in frustration, "I'm trying... The room is spinning too much..."

There was another voice off in the distance that the mech couldn't distinguish but slowly he could make out Starscream's facial structure; the seeker nodded, "Good, you're doing fine."

Breakdown struggled to move his arms and legs and whined when he couldn't, "I-I can't move-!"

Starscream gently hushed him, "I know. You're all right. It's just a precaution so you don't harm yourself or anyone else..."

The blue mech grumbled as the bright and fuzzy world around him slowly began to focus, "Where are we?"

The seeker smiled, "Right now, that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're feeling better."

Breakdown looked down to see a medical tool in the silver mech's servo and he yelped, "Whoa! This is Knockout's fantasy, not mine!"

Starscream flinched back, "What?"

The blue mech shuttered and cycled his optics, trying to remove the blur and brightness from his vision; his mouth curled in surprise as the room focused and Starscream became more visible, "... Your optics are blue."

The seeker scowled, handing the tool he was holding to Ratchet, "And you and Knockout need to stop using medical supplies for recreational use!"

Breakdown frowned, "I'm not confirming or denying anything without the doc here to back me up... wherever here is."

Starscream hummed and looked to Ratchet, "What do you think?"

The medic shrugged, "His vitals look good. I'm not surprised he's having optical relay displacement. He lost a lot of energon in the attack," he glared when Breakdown tugged at his bindings, "Op, bop, bop, don't do that. I don't do cosmetic work; anymore paint damage you receive you're stuck with."

The blue mech did his best to look around, his bulk preventing him from sitting up, "Scream, you got the Autobots to patch me up? Where's Knockout? What happened?"

Starscream sat on the side of the berth, "I couldn't very well take you back to the Nemesis. I had no choice but to bring you here. I'm not going to apologize for that, but if you want to get up, you have to promise to behave."

Breakdown shrugged, "Do I have a choice?"

Ratchet went to his side and frowned, "I know our last encounter was handled amicably due to our shared interests, but if you so much as look or touch anything with intent, I'll perform what I like to call 'surprise spinal reconstruction'. Are we clear?"

The blue mech frowned and looked at Starscream, "Autobot base."

The seeker nodded, "Yep."

Breakdown sighed, "... Let me up, I need to see for myself."

Ratchet didn't move at first, then slowly removed the wrist cuffs, allowing the mech to sit up. Breakdown glared when he saw Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead a few feet in front of him, the green mech glaring back with blasters ready to fire.

"Huh, I guess this is the Autobot base," the blue mech sneered.

Starscream scoffed, "Behave. You're lucky to be alive. What you did was stupid!"

"What I did was take a chance," Breakdown answered gruffly, "She's out of control, I had to try."

The seeker's wings flared, "KNOWING what I warned you about before?! KNOWING that you were more likely to die than survive?!"

The blue mech smirked, "Soon as you showed up I knew I'd be fine. And you came out of it alive, what are you complaining about?"

Starscream's optics widened and he stuttered, "I- well you just-" he growled, "You weren't supposed to save me! I- WE would have been fine if you hadn't thrown me out of the way!"

Breakdown laughed, "That's what you're upset about? That I pushed you out of the way?"

The seeker hissed, "We would have been fine."

The blue mech rubbed his wrists gently, "Sure, sure, it's not like her spider limbs were coming down in an aim to skewer you."

Starscream whined angrily, "Just don't do it again! I was supposed to prevent something from happening to you-"

"And I had you worried sick, didn't I?"

The seeker glared, "I hate you."

Breakdown smirked, "The warm, fuzzy feelings are mutual."

Ratchet sighed, waving Starscream away, "Alright, enough of this, I need to look him over and see if anything needs to be adjusted."

The medic carefully used a light to check the blue mech's yellow optics, then felt his servos and digits to test the movement, "How's your feeling?"

Breakdown grumbled, "Fine. Need me to do a walk around?"

Bulkhead's blasters charged in preparation and Arcee and Bumblebee transformed their weapons out in response, watching carefully.

The blue mech smirked, "Or will I be shot before my peds touch the floor?"

Starscream sneered, "Say 'boo' and see if they jump. They're just being cautious. We've had a rough few days..."

Ratchet removed Breakdown's ankle clamps and helped him to stand, the mech stretching his legs slowly, "So, are we official then?"

The medic laughed, "HA! Hardly! But as Starscream relayed to us earlier, our interests in preservation and survival are not dissimilar. So long as you keep from harming any of us or humanity, we don't mind what you do."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Breakdown huffed, taking a few steps with a sigh, "Scrap, it feels like she severed through more than just a few layers of plating."

"She did," Arcee frowned, "I don't think I've seen damage like that in a while."

Ratchet followed Breakdown as he walked around the room slowly, "Arcee helped with your surgery, and I have to agree. The damage was far more extensive than it initially appeared. You owe your life to Starscream's quick act in bringing you here."

Breakdown smiled gently as he looked to the seeker, "Guess I still owe you then."

The silver mech sighed, shaking his helm, "Right now, I don't want to think about it."

The blue mech rotated his shoulders to test them, "Don't worry, I won't die and I won't let you die. I think I can handle that much right now..."

"You better," Starscream murmured, looking up when he saw Miko's face peek around the corner, "No! You stay back; go play your TV and video games! Scram!"

The girl laughed, "Are you kidding? No way! We got a new bot on the team, I have to say 'hello'!"

Breakdown leaned down to look at her, not even flinching when Bulkhead's ped came between him and Miko, "This is a better welcome committee."

Bulkhead growled, "You try anything and I'll make you regret it."

The blue mech stood up straighter, the two chest plate to chest plate, "Don't tell me you're still sore, Bulk. It's only been a few eons."

The green mech scowled, but said nothing, so Breakdown pulled away to sit back on the med berth, "I think you did a good job, doc. Everything feels in place."

"My name isn't 'doc', it's 'Ratchet'," Ratchet huffed, "And good. I'm still going to keep you confined to this area of the base in case something does come over you, but when Optimus returns he can address you and decide if you are allowed the same free range as Starscream."

The seeker smirked and Breakdown sneered back at him, "Free range? Can't wait."

Starscream chuckled, "You haven't seen the whole place! It's stationary, it's constructed by humans, and you'll never have enough space to lose yourself or anyone else in here."

The blue mech laughed, "Feels like home already!"

Miko popped up from behind Bulkhead's ped, avoiding the green mech's servos when he tried to stop her, "Welcome to the team, Breakie! We're happy to have you!"