Day Four/Five, Midnight
Beautiful Lie
Okay, this may be thee LONGEST chapter so far, haven't posted in AGES so you guys deserve this, so enjoy
Oh and the name of three songs that are gonna be in this chapter (it's kinda like a music fic towards the end)
Sorry by Daughtry
Louder than Thunder by The Devil Wears Prada
2-1 by Imogen Heap(remix sounds more robotic)
I own nothing. All rights reserved.
Darkness surrounded him, and then there was light.
Light and sound enveloped him, thrusting him into chaos. Fire scorched his frame as he gripped his helm in pain as the sudden sounds of explosions nearly shattered his audios.
No…not just explosions, Screams…
The sight before him stunned him. He was on Cybertron. But it wasn't his Cybertron. It took him a moment to realize he was standing. This is impossible…
The last thing he remembered doing was falling asleep, moments before he was thrust into this chaos. Distant screams and explosions echoed in his audios. He only knew one thing; this was a war zone.
And he was right in the middle of it.
He started running; he knew it must be a dream. But it wasn't his. Cybertron didn't look like this, at least not anymore. If this wasn't his dream, whose was it?
As he ran through the chaos, only one thing went through his processor,
What is happening?
Smoke filled the air and the heat of a nearby explosion burned his frame and knocked him off his feet. He coughed to expel the smoke in his intakes. This dream…felt too real. Was it even a dream or all just a lie?
He had no idea what to believe.
Suddenly a tall black and silver femme ran past him, nearly running into him as she ran past. She paid no heed to him nor seemed to notice that he was on the ground.
He did a double take. She was nearly twice the size of a normal femme, but maybe it was just his optics playing tricks on him. But that wasn't all that caught his attention. In her arms were what looked like to be two sparklings. Both seemed dwarthed in size compaired to the femme, the smallest seemed it could be able to fit in one of her servos easily.
For a moment their optics met and he recognized those royal blue optics.
Orion?
Suddenly the landscape changed and he was in what appeared to be some kind of workshop, which appeared to have been ransacked. Various tools and what appeared to be weapons (or at least what was left of them) were scattered among the floor.
"They're always around when you don't want them to but never around when you actually need them!" the black and silver femme growled in frustration before kicking a piece of scrap metal on the floor.
She suddenly tensed as the atmosphere in the room seemed to change drastically.
He watched as she quickly placed the two sparklings into what appeared to be left of a ventilation shaft when a voice behind him echoed in the silence.
"Ratchet!" a familiar voice cried out in shock and confusion.
Ratchet spun around, startled to see Orion, the real Orion, standing behind him with horrified optics.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded in what sounded like anger, panic, and confusion, his tone, startling the medic. Ratchet honestly had no idea what was going on or how he had gotten here.
"Orion, I-" Ratchet said, but he never finished his sentence.
A blood curdling scream suddenly ripped through the air. Both Ratchet and Orion turned in sync and witnessed as a mech, who had appeared out of nowhere, ripped out the femme's spark.
Ratchet could hear screaming, but he knew it wasn't coming from the femme or even the younglings hidden in the vent. The screams were coming from Orion.
"Orion!" Ratchet yelled before kneeling down to the mech, who was gripping his spark chamber in agony, almost as if he could….
Feel her pain.
Ratchet thought in realization. But, that was impossible. This was only a dream, wasn't it?
As Orion screams slowly began to die down, the scene melted away into nothingness and was replaced with a barren landscape filled with raging winds. Ratchet suddenly realized they were not alone. He turned and saw the mech who had killed the black and silver femme was still standing there. He stared at them with crimson optics that burned like fire. And he wasn't staring at them, Ratchet realized, he was staring at Orion.
Ratchet stared at the giant skeleton like mech. His frame appearing far more ancient, similar but not quite exact to the femme he had just murdered. He began to walk towards them, towards Orion.
"Stay away from him!" Ratchet yelled as he stood up, prepared to defend Orion from whoever the mech was. But the he didn't even appear to notice him. He simply walked through him.
Ratchet's optics widen as he turned around to the mech, who slowly made his way to Orion's still form. He attempted to attack the large mech from behind, but every punch simply phased through him.
"What?" Ratchet said in confusion as he stared down at his servos, only to realize that they were transparent. How was this possible? It took Ratchet a moment to register what was going on.
He wasn't there.
It's not a dream; it's a nightmare or perhaps something worse.
Whatever this was, it was Orion's.
Ratchet watched as the mech was feet away from Orion. Fear filled his processor. This was Orion's nightmare. Ratchet may not be harmed by the mech, but Orion could be. Instincts took over as Ratchet ran to Orion and knelt down beside him.
"Orion, get up!" he ordered as he tried to shake him awake. Panic filled him as his servos went right through his frame as well. Scrap! "Orion!" Ratchet hissed.
Orion groaned as his optics flickered online. Just as his optics met with that of the skeleton mech's, Orion was suddenly lifted into the air by an unseen force.
"Orion!" Ratchet cried out. The skeleton mech suddenly turned to him, his optics locking with his. Perhaps he wasn't as imperceptible as he originally believed.
"You do not belong here, be gone!" the mech growled, sweeping his clawed servo into the darkness.
Ratchet was suddenly thrown back several yards away.
"R-ratchet!" Orion cried out as he gripped his neck, his voice capacitor straining against the pressure all around him. He watched as Ratchet came to a stop several feet away and was surrounded by shadows.
This hadn't happened before. This wasn't a part of the nightmare. Ratchet was never supposed to be here. This never happened before. What was going on?
Orion watched as the skeleton mech turned back to him. He bit back a groan as he felt as if his voice capacitor were about to be crushed.
'Who are you?' Orion thought, not expecting an answer.
The mech suddenly began to speak to Orion in a different language. To his surprise, he could understand everything he was saying.
'So lost you are youngling…' he said in mock sympathy.
Orion growled. He never liked being called a youngling.
'I should have killed you when I had the chance, but my dear sister had to be taken care of first,'
'What are you taking about?'
'Such a shame what my brothers did to the two of you. They separate you then deny you the right of knowing your true identity,'
Orion's optics widened. What was he talking about? What brother? Realization suddenly stuck. He had seen this mech before, a long time ago while he had been working in the archives when he had stumbled across information about the traitorous fallen Prime.
"The… Fallen…"
The mech seemed to smirk, though it was hard to tell with all the moving pieces on his faceplates. As Orion stared into the Fallen's lava red optics in hopes of finding answers, he didn't notice the clawed digit hovering inches from his faceplates.
It wasn't until he felt the pain did he notice. Orion hissed softly as the mech swiped his clawed servo over his faceplate, narrowly missing his left optic.
Orion could feel energon drip out of the gash under his optic, almost appearing like tears.
'What do you want?' Orion growled.
The Fallen didn't answer. Orion gasped in pain as the mech dug his claws into his left side, directly over the dent was.
"Orion!" he heard a voice cry out. Ratchet?
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Orion suddenly felt gravity take over as he collapsed on the ground. That voice was not Ratchet. Orion gripped his wound, which had begun to bleed a darker energon. He slowly got to his hands and knees, the sight before him stunned him. Wind roared in his audios and pummeled his frame, threatening to knock him over.
As Ratchet ran to Orion, he froze in his tracks. In Orion's place was a different mech, a younger, more ancient looking mech with strange markings and glyphs all over his frame. But with one look in his royal blue optics, he knew it was Orion. Noticing the energon seeping from the crevices of his digits, Ratchet quickly made his way to Orion.
As he got closer, the markings all over Orion's frame became clearer. Ratchet had seen these markings before, but it was impossible. Orion couldn't be. A sudden realization struck Ratchet. Those symbols, they were the same that covered the Fallen. His ancient appearance, his nightmare,
"It couldn't be…"
Orion didn't seem to notice Ratchet speak, his optics locked on what was happening before them. Something was attacking the mech who had been after Orion. Not just something, some one.
A large orb of light seemed to envelope the Fallen and separated into several different beings, all of them attacking the Fallen at once.
One being stopped and turned back to them.
"Go!" the being screamed over the wind, sounding exactly like the black and silver femme that had been viciously murdered.
This can't be real, Ratchet thought, but he did what he was told.
"C'mon!" he said to Orion, as the younger bot got to his feet.
Orion began to follow Ratchet farther into the darkness. Where could they run? They were trapped in nothingness. As Orion risked a glance behind him, he could see the light begin to overpower the Fallen or was it the other way around? He only knew one thing, anywhere was better than there.
Once a good distance away, Orion and Ratchet both came to a halt as everything around them began to disintegrate, the strong winds carrying dust and debris all around them and toward the clashing beings.
"What's going on?" Ratchet yelled, though it seemed clear that Orion knew just as much as he did.
Orion placed a hand over his faceplates with his free servo as his helm began to throb painfully. When he pulled it away, energon stained his servo from the cut under his optic. Voices began to fill his processor as the wind only grew louder and louder.
Ratchet noticed Orion's discomfort. "We have to keep moving, Orion."
"Where?" Orion snapped. "We're trapped in spark knows where by the Fallen if you haven't noticed!"
Ratchet was about to say something when he noticed off in the distance the Fallen had broken free from the light beings and was aiming an enormous and peculiar looking gun straight at them. Somehow despite the distance and the roaring wind, Ratchet could hear the trigger being pulled. Acting out on pure instincts, Ratchet put himself in the line of fire.
Orion was suddenly thrown to the ground and looked up in time to see a bolt of pure energy surge over him; he could feel every particle in the atmosphere around him separate. Ratchet was still standing and took the brunt of the blast.
His entire frame was engulfed by the discharge of the weapon. Ratchet couldn't even scream. He was just there. He couldn't say time seemed to stop, it just wasn't there.
He did not know what to feel, where he was, and for a terrifying moment, who he was.
Images began to flash in Ratchet's optics, memories, but not his own. Suddenly a noble voice echoed in his processor.
'You were brought here for a reason as he was hidden for his own safety.'
Ratchet wasn't sure what to make of it all as memories continued to flash in his processor.
He must never know who he truly is.' The voice said 'Should he know before his time, it shall be the death of him.'
Ratchet felt himself fading away, he couldn't see Orion, but he could hear him.
For a moment he was there, and then he was gone.
Pain.
It came like a bolt of lightning, even worse than before, and then came crashing in waves. Orion could hear screaming as his processor throbbed painfully, and it wasn't just his own. Ratchet…Ratchet! He was screaming, why was he screaming? Then it all came rushing back, the nightmare, the Fallen, his past, and for one moment, everything came back. And then it was gone.
All of it.
Orion could feel someone shaking him. Anger suddenly filled Orion as his optics shot open. His fist connected with a jaw and was stunned to see Ironhide reeling back before landing on his flat on back. Just as Orion as about to apologize to his friend, his optics locked on an object lying on the ground, not too far away from him.
The Cortical Physic patch.
He stared at it for a moment before looking to Ratchet, who had finally calmed down. Arcee, was by his side. The others surrounded him and Ratchet; every one of them bore similar stunned expressions.
It was clear that they're screams had startled everyone, but Orion paid no mind to anyone, his optics locked on the makeshift piece of scrap.
"You used it again didn't you…" Orion said his voice unnervingly calm.
For a moment everyone stared at him, but Orion kept his eccentrically cold optics locked on Ratchet.
"What are you talking abou-" Override said, only to be cut off by Orion.
"The physic patch!" he hissed, "You used it again, didn't you."
Ratchet stared at Orion incomprehensively. What was he talking about? Does he not remember what occurred in his…nightmare? Ratchet couldn't even fully comprehend what had happened. He, by some unknown means, had gotten into Orion's mind without the cortical physic patch, but how? Before Ratchet could dwell on this any further, Orion drew him out of his thoughts.
"Answer me, Ratchet." he said, his tone once again unnaturally calm.
"Orion, I-"
"Don't lie to me!" he snarled, "You used it again when I told you not to!"
Ratchet stared at Orion before stealing a glance at the physic patch that remains coiled up on the floor a few meters away, just barely with in reach from where Ratchet sat, where it had remained since their first and last trial using the device.
"Kid," Ironhide said, having gotten up from where Orion had punched him, "That thing has been there ever since you last used it."
"Don't call me that!" Orion hissed, the rage in his voice startling the others.
Ironhide blinked in surprise.
"What's gotten into you?"
Orion ignored the weapon specialist and turned to the crippled medic lying on the ground.
"He couldn't have used the patch, he can't even reach it!" argued Sideswipe.
"All Ratchet's ever done is help you, Orion. And now you're attacking him for no reason!" said Arcee, "What's wrong with you?"
"Everything, it seems."
"What are you taking about?" said Override, but Orion wasn't listening. "What happened? Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
"You want to know what happened? I remembered everything," Orion hissed, "for one moment I remembered everything and then it was gone!" he said as he turned to the crippled medic.
"What…" Ratchet began as he stared at the mech incomprehensively, then suddenly remembered his experience within Orion's nightmare. For a moment he had seen Orion's entire life, had felt every emotion he experienced in his life, every moment and had lived every memory that was locked away in Orion's mind.
"I remember everything that happened the first time you were in my mind, everything." Orion said, dimming his optics. "I told you I didn't want to use it again, why would you betray me like this?"
"Orion, I didn't betray you!" Ratchet argued, pausing when he noticed the feral anger within Orion's royal blue optics. "I don't know how I ended up in your mind!"
"Am I some kind of lab rat to you?" Orion growled, "Why did you even stay with me all those vorns when everyone else said I was a lost cause? Did you even care? Or was all this some kind of experiment to you?" Orion demanded.
"I have never treated you like a lab rat, Orion!" Ratchet said in an attempt to calm the angered mech. "I have always treated you fairly, even when you didn't. I've always cared for your well being, Orion!"
Orion paused for a moment, he wanted to stop but his mind had other ideas.
"You're lying!" Orion roared, Stop talking. Orion told himself, Stop before things get out of hand. Why was he so angry? Why had all the rage that had formed deep within his spark suddenly want to come out? Since when has he ever felt this kind of rage?
Orion could see Ratchet talking, but could understand no word that came out of the medic's mouth.
"Has everything I've ever known simply been a lie?" Orion demanded as he turned away, gripping his helm as he did so. Don't lose control, don't lose control. Calm down, damn it!
Ratchet stared at the young mech and was certain that he was not the only one Orion was directing the question to. He knew what the young mech meant. He had said the same thing a long time ago, while he had been in recovery, as Orion's mind locked itself away to protect itself, Orion had believed that everything that had happened to him had been a lie. He had believed that nothing around him nor what had happened to him was real. And as the young mech began to break down before him, Ratchet knew this was much worse than before.
"Orion! Calm down!" the medic yelled.
Rage boiled within Orion's spark, pumping his entire frame with anger, clouding his thoughts and judgement. His energon seemed to mix with lava as he collasped on his knees. He gritted his denta as every bad memory of his life came rushing back to him with a venegance. He could hear voices all around him, but could hear no words.
His entire frame felt as if it were consumed by flames. He was aware of nothing but the fire burning within his spark, seeming to take away all his pain and agony, leaving him a hollow shell as anger and hatred filled his spark.
He could hear gasps of surprise and shouting all around him, but he could not hear anything above the roaring in his audios. He closed his optics as the air around him seemed to ignite as well.
The flames grew bigger, threatening to consume everything in sight. Through all the flames, he could see a small blur of black and yellow. Screams echoed in his processor as Orion slowly slipped into darkness...
"ORION!"
A familiar cry brought Orion out of the darkness, pulling him out of the abyss and extingushing the flames around him. Orion's optics onlined as his surroundings slowly came into view. Bumblebee sat on the floor several feet away, gripping his arm to his chest as tears slide down his face plates from his terrified optics.
Arcee sat beside him, arms wrapped protectively around him and next to her sat a shell shocked Ratchet. Watching them cautiously in the train cart was Sideswipe and no doubt Sunstreaker and Barricade had been listening to what was happening.
And standing several feet in front of Orion were Ironhide, Jazz, Blaster, and Override, seperating him from them, all of them bearing similar looks of shock. It was only then did Orion realize the flames had been real.
Realization suddenly struck the young mech like lightening. The flames had been real. They had been real. They had come from him and he had hurt Bumblebee. Orion shakingly rose to his pedes and stumbled slightly. The others reacted like lightening, immidiately positioning themselves in defensive stances the moment he moved.
Orion's optics locked with Bumblebee's terrified ones.
"B-Bumblebee, I-" Orion began, only to whince as the youngling whimpered in pain, his optics locked on the burns on his arms while he glanced down at his own frame. There was no evidence of the flames having scorched his chasis, but everything else around him hadn't been so lucky.
Orion rose his helm. Silence filled the tunnel for what seemed like an eternity. The only other sound emminated from Blaster's stereo, which was somehow still playing dispite the minor scorch marks.
(What ever happened here)
(Never meant to hurt you)
(How could I cause you so much pain?)
What had he just done? Orion didn't even know. Orion backed away, stumbling slightly as he did so. He stared down at his arms, fearing they would ignite once again. What had he just done?
(When I say I'm sorry)
(Will you believe me?)
He couldn't even apologize. He didn't even know how.
(All the words that I come up with)
(They're like gasoline on flames)
Why had he even lost control in the first place?
(There's no excuse)
(No explaination)
Orion backed away until he was at the edge of the darkness. No one made a move as they kept their optics locked on the young mech.
(Believe me)
Above everything else clouding Orion's mind, three words kept repeating in his mind.
(If I could I'd undo what I did wrong)
(I'd give away all that I own)
"W-what am I?" Orion finally said, not waiting for an answer he turn and ran into the darkness. If anyone had tried to stop him, Orion couldn't hear them over the pounding in his audios.
He kept running, keeping his helm down, leaping over the corpses of fallen warriors as he did so. Why bother running? Part of him thought. He had nowhere to go. I don't care. Orion thought. He had to get away from everything and everyone. He kept going, knowing that the tunnel would end eventually. Everything always did, that was the only promise in life; everything, no matter how big or small, strong or weak, pure or corrupt, it would all inevitably come to an end.
(What would it take,)
(For things to be quiet,)
(Quiet like the snow?)
What he said to them, what he did…
Orion tried to shake the memory out of his processor as he slid to a halt as the tunnel came to an end, gazing up at the wall of rock and debris. His gaze drifted to the floor as the image of Bumblebee's pain expression filled his processor, his screams of agony echoing in his audios. The pain and fear in his ice blue optics…
Orion dimmed his optics and slid to the ground, keeping his still scorching servos as far as he could from his frame. He slammed his fist into the wall, the heat from his servos softening the metal in the wall, but not quite melting it. Orion growled in frustration and struck the wall harder, the impact echoed in the darkness, creating an allusion of emptiness, much like how his spark felt at that moment.
(And I know, this isn't much,)
(But I know, I could , I could be better!)
Empty.
(I don't think I deserve this)
Whatever flame that had been burning within him was gone now. Orion didn't care. He punched the wall again, causing rubble from higher up in the wall rained down on him but he paid no mind to it. He just didn't care anymore.
(Selflessness)
He had hurt Bumblebee and there was nothing he could do to fix that. No matter what he said, no matter what he did, he knew Bumblebee would still be afraid of him. He would never forgive himself for hurting Bumblebee. He had scared him and everyone else. Primus, he even scared himself. Orion wouldn't blame him or any of the others if they thought he was some kind of monster. He probably was, considering what he had just done.
(Find your way into my heart,)
(All the stars could be brighter)
(All hearts could be warmer)
Not only had just pushed away the only one who had kept him sane these past few days, he had pushed everyone he cared about away, all because he lost control. Why was he such an idiot?
(What would it take,)
(For things to be quiet,)
(Quiet like the snow?)
Orion struck the wall again and couldn't help but laugh, but instead a dry, strangled noise escaped his voice capacitor. He always seemed to have that effect on everyone; treating everything and everyone around him as if they didn't exist just so it could all disappear and he could finally be alone. His usual placid composure was all an act, hiding how he truly felt deep down inside. In reality he was a ticking time bomb, waiting to snap, willing to push everything and everyone away, just to be alone. And isn't that what he always wanted?
To be alone?
No.
He offlined his optics and leaned against the wall. He stared at his servos as they began to cool in the cold, fidget air of the tunnel. A humorless smirk spread across Orion's faceplates. Being alone, that was impossible. No matter where he went or what he did, there would always be someone watching out for him, with or without his knowledge. Even from what little he could remember from his past, he had always been watched over by Alpha Trion, and those around him.
(Are we meant to be empty handed?)
(I know, I could )
Orion could never complain, he was always raised not to, but that didn't stop him. Every youngling complained about everything. Memory from his past only caused anger to flare deep within his spark once again, burning like a kindled flame. He would not allow the flame to burn. He had his entire past within his reach, just for a moment, and then it was all gone. And Orion had blame Ratchet for it. He knew it wasn't Ratchet fault; none of this was in his (Orion's) control. Then whose was it? He wondered, his smirk fading.
(I could be better!)
The universe? Primus? Unicron? Fate?
Whoever or whatever was in control of things, Orion knew one thing; Fate was cruel, he learned that the hard way. Anger continued to burn deep within Orion's spark. He would not allow himself to lose control ever again. He sat up and breathed in a tank full of oxygen and slowly released it from his intakes. He repeated the action several times. Slowly the flame burned out, sputtering into nothingness before finally dying down. But he knew it was still there, waiting to ignite and burn everything in its path.
Orion can't do this on his own. He can never forgive himself for what he did nor could he forget. He would never allow himself to go out of control like that again. He vowed this with his very spark.
Orion couldn't be alone, even if he wanted to.
(I don't think I deserve it, selflessness)
And as if on que, footsteps began to echo in the darkness. Orion's frame suddenly tenses. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there. By the heavy foot falls along with what sounded like a slight limp, Orion could tell it was Ironhide before he could see him, his dark armor camouflaging him in the darkness. Orion had been spending too much time with Override, though Ironhide was never really the stealthy type, you could always hear him coming. Orion was in no mood to speak to him or anyone at the moment.
(Find your way, into my heart)
He was tempted to tell him leave him alone, but decided against it. Orion didn't want to be alone anymore, but he didn't want to talk either.
Orion didn't look up as Ironhide came to a stop several yards away from him. He was about to ask the weapon specialist what he wanted, instead he found himself asking;
"How is he?" Orion said, surprising himself.
(All star could be brighter)
"Ratchet says he'll be fine."
Ironhide stood where he was and watched him, as if nothing was wrong, which only irritated Orion. He kept his gaze on the floor, aware of Ironhide's deep azure optics staring down at him.
(All hearts could be warmer)
"He's doesn't hate you if that's what you're wondering."
(What would it take)
(For things to be quiet,)
(Quiet like the snow?)
Nothing.
(Quiet…into my heart, What would it take, what would it take?)
"He's just a bit shaken is all." Ironhide continued. Orion still said nothing. After a few moments of silence, he opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, moments before Ironhide cut him off.
(For things to be quiet? …Quiet…)
"Don't even think about telling me to leave." Ironhide hissed threateningly, "Cuz like you said, I'm stuck with you."
(Find your way…What would it take?)
Orion's optics widened slightly moments before he was thrown back into the past.
(For things to be quiet…?)
Several Vorns ago…
"How is he?" Ironhide asked the green and white medic.
"Physically he's stable. Mentally…" Ratchet said, trailing off. He didn't need to tell him, he already knew how his mental state was; Ironhide was the one who found him after all.
"He's requested to see you." Ratchet suddenly said.
"What for?" Ironhide asked, somewhat interested.
"He didn't say. When I told him you weren't available he tried to leave the med bay."
"I can only imagine how that turned out." muttered Ironhide, earning a halfhearted glare from Ratchet. Dark circles under the medic's optics that Ironhide hadn't noticed before had suddenly become noticeable.
"You should listen to that team of yours and get a few hours of recharge."
"No, I'm perfectly fine." Ratchet insisted as he resisted the urge to rub the fatigue out of his optics. The dark smudges suddenly becoming more evident in the dimly lit hallway, causing the medic to appear much older than he actually was.
"Uh huh," Ironhide said, clearly not convinced. "I'll keep an optic on the kid. You worry about yourself for once."
Ratchet stared at the weapon specialist with tired optics. With all the recent attacks, several med bays all over Iacon have become overflowed with the injured and dying. Ratchet's med bay was one of those, which is the reason why he had to move Orion to one of the private room in the back of the med bay.
The idea of even getting an hour of recharge was tempting to the over worked medic.
"Red and First Aid can handle themselves in the med bay, Ratchet."
Ratchet considered his options; continue working in the med bay and help those who are dying or be selfish and recharge. Just then a warning sign flashed across his optics.
WARNING: less than 50% of energy remaining
Recommend: Shut d-
Ratchet overrode it. If he didn't go into recharge soon, he wouldn't be much help to anyone.
"Fine," the medic sighed in defeat. "If anything happens while I'm gone-"
"I'll inform First Aid that you're taking a break, now get." Ironhide said, earning another glare from the medic.
"Humph…" Ratchet muttered before heading to the barracks.
Ironhide watched him for a few moments. The medic had been working in the med bay around the clock, to keep an optic on the Orion, whether it's preventing a suicide attempt, and to care for the soldiers that came in every orn from battle wounds. Dealing with him along with all the wounded has done a number on the medic.
Ironhide stared at the door of the med bay. He sighed softly before entering the med bay and was immediately greeted by the sounds of death. The med bay was indeed filled with the wounded and dying. No one noticed as Ironhide entered, either occupied with work or moaning in pain.
Ironhide kept his optics forward, stealing several glances at the room around him as he attempted to make his way through the med bay. He passed several medical berths with the already faded bodies of fallen Autobots. Death wasn't new to Ironhide, though he preferred it when it occurred on the battle field rather than in a med bay.
As he moved on, he couldn't help but notice how young the soldiers were. A barely audible sigh escaped the weapon specialist's intakes. War had stolen the lives of these bots. The same thing had happened to many others. Some had taken it harder than others. Ironhide thought with a pang of sadness in his cold, war torn spark.
Before he knew it, Ironhide stood before the door that led into quarantine, which had once housed hundreds of Autobots who had been infected with cosmic rust eons ago, was now currently served as a temporary residence for Orion Pax. Only a handful of bots officially knew of Orion's presence in Iacon, but Ironhide knew that with Orion's recent outbursts, rumors had spread all throughout Iacon.
Ironhide sighed softly as he walked through the door and into a dimly lit hallway, the mech had lost a lot, and at such a young age. But when it came to war, it wasn't uncommon. The weapon specialist hadn't seen the war torn mech in nearly half a vorn. With the war still raging on and him needed on the battle field, as well as Orion occupied with his 'rehabilitation' with Ratchet and his team, Ironhide could never find the time to visit the young mech.
He lifted his gaze. Orion's room was around the corner, at the end of the hallway of the maze like confinement. Ironhide had the distinct feeling that whoever constructed this sector had done this for a reason. Just, a low but audible crash brought him out of his thoughts. With a low huff, Ironhide ran to the living chamber, unsure of what he might find.
As he opened the door, dim light from the hallway flooded into the dark room. There was no point in finding a light switch, the room was always kept dimly lit. Ratchet had kept insisting Orion to get some rest so that he could recover from his external wounds. Orion would always ignore the medic's orders, only until either his systems or a medic forced him into recharge. Ironhide's optics scanned the dark room. Orion was no where in sight.
The only thing visible in the room was the recharging berth in the corner of the room, but nothing else.
Ironhide backed out of the room and back into the hallway. Knowing the way he had come was the only way out of quarantine, Orion couldn't have gotten past him. Ironhide's gaze shifted to the end of the hall. The hallway was a dead end and the rest of the doors were locked.
Except…
Ironhide continued down the hall to discover one door slightly ajar, having been damaged from one of Orion's outbursts orns ago and with low supplies, the door had yet to be repaired. Ironhide pried the door open with some difficulty.
And there he was, standing in the in front of the medical supply story unit with his back to him. In one servo flashed a piece of metal. Ironhide stared at the young mech before him, who seemed oblivious to his presence. But Ironhide knew better. He recalled Ratchet having mentioned removing all sharp and potentially dangerous objects out of quarantine. Seems like he missed some.
"If you're planning to kill yourself, I figured you would have done that a long time ago." said Ironhide, eyeing the surgical knife held loosely in Orion's servo.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." the mech said calmly, keeping his back to him.
"Ratchet said you wanted to see me."
Orion simply nodded, "I've had a lot of time to think, being trapped in quarantine all this time."
"Have you seen the med bay?" Orion asked, almost randomly. Ironhide stared at the young mech incomprehensively . From what he knew of him, Orion was never random. "Red Alert told me about the recent attacks and about the over crowded med bays." Orion said, not waiting for an answer, "I was beginning to wonder why Ratchet and his team hadn't come by recently."
"What does this matter?" Ironhide asked, his deep optics locked with the back of Orion's helm.
"Though I am separated from the rest of Ratchet's patients, I can still hear their cries at night, their agony." Orion said, almost emotionlessly. "I can hear their pain and suffering and realize that for them, it can all end easily with death. But there are some things holding them back, keeping them alive. What do I have? Nothing."
Ironhide stepped closer to the mech, prepared to intervene should he do anything rash.
"Seems so easy, for you. With Ratchet and his medics busy, now would be the perfect time to kill yourself." stated Ironhide.
"True, I have the power to end it all within my servo. To end all my pain and suffering." Orion stared down at the long sharp object in his servo
"So why don't you?" Ironhide said, testing the young mech.
"Because that would be selfish." Orion stated bluntly.
"To who exactly?"
For a while, Orion said nothing before he turned to face the weapon specialist.
"I've been trapped in this med bay for nearly half a vorn, Ironhide. All I do is sit around in the dark and do nothing while everyday, bots put their lives on the line for Cybertron. Most of them never come back, and the ones that do either die from their wounds or are lucky enough to fight another day. And there are those who have become too disabled cannot go back into battle.
"Where are you going with this exactly?" Ironhide crossed his arms over his chest.
"Those who can't battle for Cybertron are either physically disabled, not of age, or neutral." Orion paused slightly, briefly remembering his previous home city, "Or was. I am none of those three."
Ironhide watched the mech before him, optics narrowed. "You want to be a part of something, don't ya, kid?"
"I want to be a part of something that matters. To actually be there for those who can't defend themselves." Orion faced the weapon specialist and looked him in the optics. For a moment, Ironhide could see something burn within his placid optics.
"You want to become an Autobot." Ironhide said bluntly, reading the mech before him like a data pad.
Orion said nothing and only stared at him, his response hidden within his optics..
"That's not my decision , kid."
"Do you not recruit and train new Autobots?"
"Part time and truth is, kid, with your mental instability and the reason behind it, I wouldn't even recommend even if you tried."
"Do you believe that I only wish to become an autobot out of revenge?" Orion clenched his servos. "Has it ever occurred to you that I don't want what happened to me to happen to someone else? If you think I care about nothing but revenge, you are wrong. You know nothing about me."
"And you know nothing about me" Ironhide shot back.
"That is true, I know nothing about you. All I know is that when you arrived to help me, you came too late." Orion said, masking himself behind a calm demeanor.
Ironhide glared at the younger mech, his war torn spark somewhat stung by his words.
"Yes, I came too late, and you know what? There was nothing I could have done either way, I wasn't a medic then, I'm not a medic now. And here's a little something about war; not everyone can be saved, kid. Everyday bots die and there's anyone can do, and there's nothing one mentally disabled mech can do about it." Ironhide hissed harshly.
Orion seemed unaffected by his words.
"You might be surprised what a mentally disabled mech is capable of." Orion muttered, his pale royal blue optics locked with Ironhide's. "Even in the our darkest hour, there is always light. Even when all hope seems lost, an Autobot would never give up. And yes, not everyone can be saved, but you can always try."
Ironhide stared Orion with sharp optics. This was not the mech he had found in the small devastated home in Tagon Heights nearly half a vorn ago. That Orion had died a long time ago.
"Whether you decide to except me or not, we're stuck with each other because the way I see it, I won't be leaving Iacon for a long time."
Present Time
"Well, we'll have to work on that." Orion said, mimicking Ironhide's gruff voice. A smirk suddenly spread across Ironhide's faceplates as he chuckled softly.
"Didn't think you still remembered that." said Ironhide.
"Hmm…" Orion said, nodding slightly. "You'd be surprised by what I remember." He muttered before looking away. "Wouldn't blame them if they never wanted to see me again, not after what happened." Orion said, tightly clenching his servos.
"Everyone has a rough day, kid." said Ironhide.
"Yeah, but not everyone nearly bursts into flames and burns-" Orion said, trailing off. "Maybe they're better off without me."
"Kid, we need you more than you'll ever know." said Ironhide.
Orion said nothing, still not convinced. Ironhide continued.
"Look, no one hates you for what you said or did. They're all just a bit…shocked. They know you didn't mean what you said."
"But I did mean it…" muttered Orion. "At some point in my life I believed every word I spoke. After Ariel died, before I was in quarantine, I believed that everything was a fraggin lie."
"Do you believe that everything is a lie now?" asked Ironhide. "Or do you think that I don't exist either? What about Bumblebee?"
Orion looked away, an image of Bumblebee's optics flashed across his optics. He knew that what Ironhide was saying was meant to hurt him and the reason he was there was to get him to get him back to his senses.
"I don't know what to believe anymore." Orion said truthfully. "But I do know that everything that's happened so far in this tunnel, it was all real."
"Unfortunately, yes." said Ironhide. "You have nothing to worry about, kid."
"Other than being trapped in a tunnel for nearly five orns with the lives of nine other bots in my servos, nothing to worry about."
"Was that sarcasm, kid?"
"Maybe. I'll tell you if we get out." said Orion. Not if we get out, Orion thought, when we get out.
Ironhide smirked and sat on the floor from where he was standing. "Now, you mind telling me the reason you and Ratchet nearly scared the living daylight out of us?"
"Yes, I mind."
"We'll work on that."
After a while Orion eventually told Ironhide of the events that happened in his nightmare. But the more he explained it; it seemed to be less and less like a nightmare. As Orion spoke, he was vaguely aware of the surprisingly soft music playing from Blaster's stereo on the other side of the tunnel.
(Things are not always, don't quite turn out always, how they seem)
"It seemed so real…I could feel everything. It's hard to explain, but I think it was the same for Ratchet…we could feel everything, and it wasn't a dream or even a nightmare, it seemed much worse, as if you could die there…" Orion said, "I think something was trying to kill me, but Ratchet didn't let that happen."
(Will we be ready? Will we be rrreeeeaaddddyyyy?)
"Ratchet is the kind of medic who won't let his patient die on him." Ironhide explained, having been listening intently to what Orion had told him without question. He knew the mech well enough that he couldn't be making any of this up.
"So, any idea how Ratchet ended up in this nightmare world of yours?"
Orion shook his helm then it dawned on him.
"The Cortical physic patch had connected our minds temporarily, what if it did something more?"
"Such as?"
"I'm not sure. Our minds are now somehow connected. "
"I still have no idea how you got that piece of scrap to work." Ironhide shook his helm.
"Neither do I…," Orion looked up at the weapon specialist, "I just…did."
For a while there was silence.
"I'm not a scientist, and unfortunately, none had gotten trapped down here with us." Ironhide huffed out.
Orion stared up at the wall of rock above him with placid optics.
"Perhaps we could find one buried under a rock?"
"Was that a joke?"
Orion shrugged, "Could be, I'll tell you when we get out of here."
"Ah, so it's when now," Ironhide smirked.
A half hearted smirk spread across Orion's faceplates before it slowly faded.
"Ironhide?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"Am I some sort of freak?" Orion muttered, keeping his gaze on the floor before locking optics with Ironhide.
"You're a lot of things kid, but a freak ain't one of 'em." Ironhide said firmly, his deep blue gaze burning into Orion's.
"Then what am I?" Orion asked as he stared down at his servos, almost as if expecting they would burst into flames once again, but no such thing happened.
"You're whatever you make yourself to be. If you wanna be a freak, be a freak. If you wanna be a hero, go for it. It's your decision, not mine. You got that, kid?"
Orion nodded slowly and stared up at the ceiling of the dim tunnel. Ironhide watched him with observant optics. This was definitely not the mech he had found vorns ago and Orion hadn't been that mech for a long time.
"Hey Ironhide?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"Stop calling me that." Orion said calmly. Ironhide could sense no hostility in his voice such as when he had first made this request. Ironhide smirked.
"I'll call you whatever I wanna call you, kid. Until you prove to me that you've grown up." Ironhide smirk widened when what appeared to be a pout formed on Orion's faceplates.
"Ironhide." Ironhide could detect a hint of confusion in his tone and something else.
"Hey, if you wanna be called something other than kid don't-"
"Ironhide," he said with more urgency, "Shut up,"
Touché much? Ironhide thought as he watched the younger mech pull himself off the ground and stare off into the darkness.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Ironhide thought as he stared past Orion. His audios could detect no sound anywhere within the tunnel. Odd, even within the silence of the cave, from this distance they would have been able to hear Blaster's stereo. A while ago he had been sure he heard it playing…
Silence...
"How long has the tunnel been silent?" Orion asked.
"I don't know," the weapon specialist said as realization dawned on him.
Blaster's stereo, the only thing keeping the driller at bay, wasn't playing. Just then a tremor tore through the tunnel. Orion took off into the darkness the moment the words escaped Ironhide's voice capacitor as instincts seemed to take over. Ironhide jumped to his pedes and with some difficultly, followed the younger mech.
As Orion vaulted himself over the bodies of the deceased, five words echoed in his processor.
Please, don't be too late.
The medic leaned against the train cart, as he had for the past several hours. Ratchet's optics remained closed but he had refused to allow himself to recharge for fear of both himself and Orion being sent back into the void that was Orion's mind. But from this distance, Ratchet could not feel the younger mech's mind lingering within his own.
Beside him layed Bumblebee, curled up in a ball ever since Ratchet had forced the youngling into stasis so his internal systems could repair his injuries. Sitting in the door of the train cart was Sideswipe while Arcee sat under his dangling pedes with Sadie on her lap.
As Ratchet dwelled upon his thoughts, one thing became clear; only he knew exactly what had happened to Orion during his outburst. And only he could know.
"Hey Ratch," Override muttered, her quiet voice piercing the silence of the tunnel, bringing the medic out of his thoughts. She sat on the other side of the tunnel with her back to the wall as she hugged her legs to her chest. With the silence of the tunnel, there was no need to raise her voice.
"Hmm," Ratchet uttered, keeping his optics dimmed.
"What did you do to Orion that made him..." Override said, trailing off.
"It was nothing that I did. It was what his past had done to him."
For a while the blind femme said nothing.
"And you know what the past did to him?"
Ratchet sighed softly and nodded.
"I know Orion more than he knows himself. But now I begin to question how well I actually know him." said Ratchet. "But what I do know is that Orion is a complicated mech and he didn't mean anything he did or said."
"You got that right." Jazz's voice drifted from the top of the train cart where he sat beside his brother, who sat with his optics dimmed. The music from his stereo barely audiable even in the silence.
"So then how in Pit did he nearly put the entire tunnel up in flames?" came Sunstreaker's voice from within said train cart.
"That..." Ratchet paused, breifly thinking about the voice that had spoken to him, "I do not know..." the tunnel fell silent again.
Override stared at the green and white medic with cold unseeing optics, not appearing entirely convinced.
"You're not telling us something, Ratch."
"You wouldn't believe me, even if I tried." Ratchet stated tiredly.
"Try m-" Override said moments before her optics widened with fear.
"Overrid-" Arcee said, moments before a tremor suddenly shook the tunnel, shaking the train cart violently, nearly throwing off Jazz and Blaster
"What was that?" Sideswipe yelped as he gripped the frame of the door.
Just then screams began to echo from the darkness.
"BLASTER!" was all Ratchet could hear moments before the entire tunnel erupted in chaos.
Within moments, all hell broke loose as the ground erupted from beneath Orion, he jumped out of the way, only barely avoiding the razor sharp tenticles as they shot out of the ground. The sounds of metal shreding tore at Orion's audios.
"BLASTER!" he yelled at the red and gold mech standing meters away in the center of the tunnel, having jumped from his spot on the train cart. The mech quickly got the message and was about to turn the volume up on his stereo, but before he could, a tenticle appeared behind him and swiftly stuck him in the back of the helm
Orion watched with wide optics as the mech flew back, his limp frame slamming into the opposite wall of the tunnel and slid to the ground in a crumpled heap. Instincts suddenly took over.
"Ironhide! Jazz!" Orion yelled over his comm link as he shot toward Blaster. "Get Ratchet and the others into the train cart! I got Blaster!" Orion didn't wait for a responce as he quickly evaded a tenticle and rolled to avoid a falling rock as he made his way to the unconcious mech.
Within moments he reached his target. Orion quickly unsteathed his axe, slicing a tenticle as it attempted to wrap itself around his frame. He quickly slung the unconcious mech over his shoulder as more tenticles shot towards him, only to be destroyed moments later by Ironhide.
"Move it kid!" the older mech ordered as he continued to shoot at the driller, making a clear path for the younger mech.
As Orion reached the stable train cart with an unconcious Blaster in tow, he glanced into the nearly filled train cart. Ironhide and Jazz had herded everyone into the train cart that held Sunstreaker and Barricade. Orion climbed inside, making sure everyone was on board as he handed Blaster to Jazz. As his optics scanned the train cart, one face in particular appeared to be missing.
"Where's-" Orion yelled, only to be cut off by a familiar scream ripping through his audios. Bumblebee. Without thinking, he bolted out of the train cart.
"What's he doing?" Override yelled as the rest of them watched the mech run back into the madness.
"Scrap!" Ironhide hissed as he reloaded his cannon, "Stay here." he ordered before following the younger mech back into the dust filled tunnel.
Orion ducked and slide across the uneven ground, the razor sharp tenticle flying over his helm just barely grazing his visor. He jumped over another and rolled to a stop, shooting as a tenticle flew towards him. He was vaguily aware of the weapon speicalist several feet behind him, but kept pushing on, calling out the youngling's name.
Ironhide turned back as an explosion of rock nearly sent him flying. He ducked and rolled, gracelessly stumbling to his feet. He turned and saw the head of the driller as it's tenticles dug into the ground near the train cart. He shot at the driller mercilessly. It let out an audio shattering screech as it dug itself back into the ground, into the wall just above the train cart. One of it's many tenticles stuck the weapon speicalist, throwing him into the opposite wall.
Ironhide groaned and onlined his optics in time to witness the ground under the traincart begin to crumple moments before the driller erupted from the ground.
"NO!" Ironhide cried out as the tiny train cart ceased to exist.
Orion could hear Ironhide's cry moments before he heard a loud explosion several meters away on the other side of the tunnel. The explosion nearly sent him flying, but he managed to stay on his feet. He shut his optics, knowing full well were the explosion came from. He opened his optics, he had to stay focused, Bumblebee was still out there somewhere in this chaos. He had to find him or die trying.
Orion ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding being struck by one of the many tentacles of the driller. His processor ached with the racket emanating from the driller as his intakes filled with smoke and dust. But instincts and determination pushed him on.
"Bumblebee!" he yelled over another explosion.
"ORION!" the youngling cried out.
Orion froze in his tracts as the cry seemed to echo in the dust filled tunnel.
"Bumblebee! Where are you?" Orion cried out, suddenly the dust began to settle, everything seemed to stop. Several feet in front of Orion, he could see a yellow and black figure standing.
Bumblebee.
The youngling turned and saw the older mech. Before Orion could even make a move, the ground beneath the youngling began to crumble. Orion could hear screaming, he wasn't sure whether it was from him or Bumblebee.
The ground beneath Bumblebee seemed to explode, sending a cloud of smoke and dust into the air. Orion found himself on the ground. Everything had suddenly become quite, too quite. He shakingly rose to his pedes. He could hear Ironhide's heavy footsteps coming up behind him.
"K-kid," he said as he limped up behind him, his deep blue optics dimmed. Orion said nothing as he stared at what remained of the tunnel. The train carts were gone, having either been destroyed by the driller or had fallen into the ground.
As the smoke and dust began to settle, two thing became clear to Orion, the driller was gone, and so was Bumblebee.
A/N: FINALLY FINISHED THIS DAMN CHAPTER! so yeah, a LOT of emotional termoil...ah...this chapter may be confusing, it was kinda rushed, sorry ^^;
Kay you kinda get a look into Orion's past, hmm hmm! Heheh I'll get more into that later.
Kay, just to ward off any confusion:
All of this (the nightmare) was not going on in Orion's head, the Fallen created a nightmare which separates Orion's mind from his processor and takes it to a pocket dimension, since Ratchet and Orion's minds are connected, same thing happened to Ratchet, when Ratchet is shot with the requiem blaster, his mind gets thrown back into his body, he wakes up screaming, feels himself being blasted, same thing happens to Orion (he didn't get the full blast, Ratchet did) but his mind momentarily being merged with Ratchet's processor, added with his mental instability and stasis depression, Orion goes berserk.
The Fallen tries to kill Orion in his dream, the Primes come and save him, Ratchet watches the whole thing and sees Orion's past after saving his life, had Orion been hit directly with the blast, he would have forgotten everything or worse, the past that had been locked away ever since he became Orion
OKAY! BIG CLIFFHANGER(S)! Seems like everyone's dead, Bee seems like he's as good as dead, hopefully I'll get chapter 10 started with soon, til then, PEACE!
PS- if you have any questions just comment and i'll help clear things up