"Yea . . . we had the good life," sighed Ratchet casting his optics down in sadness. "Me, Arcee . . . and Ariel."
The way he spoke of Ariel was so bittersweet. Like something happened to her, but the Autobots weren't for sure unless Ratchet finished. He looked up and spoke saying—
"But none of us—ever expected what happened next," sighed Ratchet.
Ariel and Orion became the nest of friends meeting each other on the playground ever day after daycare. Soon though Ariel's sixth millieniuth birthday came and she entered protoform school where she encountered another little femme her age with the same name as her. Although she told her parents she didn't look like seeing how she was mostly yellow. Orion went to school as well with her and the two just grew more attached.
Sure they had their own other friends as well but they enjoyed being in each other's company a lot. Especially on the playground. Ratchet and Arcee loved hearing their little femme's laughter as she pushed Orion on the swings and ran around playing tag. They couldn't ask for more than this.
Ariel was perfect in everything and in every way. All envied her creators and it made them a bit proud. She always did as she was told and respected everyone. She even went to berth on time like she was told.
"Now you get to recharge Ariel," said Arcee kissing her daughter upon the head and then turning off the light.
"Yes mommy," she said with a smile as she shut her beautiful optics off.
As soon as Arcee let Ratchet smiled at her with his arms crossed.
"She go berth like you told her to?" asked Ratchet.
"Mhm," said Arcee shaking her head and hugging her bonded. "She's a good femme."
"Just like her mother," said Ratchet touching the side of her face and kissing her a tender kiss.
Arcee wrapped her arms around Ratchet's neck as his hands came caressing her back. The kiss only deepened as Arcee did this. She then moved her kisses to his neck and then chest before Ratchet took her hands in his and said—
"Arcee—Ariel's sleeping."
"I know," said Arcee with a hint of a smirk.
"If we're really quiet she won't wake up this time," said Ratchet almost in a whisper.
"Okay," said Arcee as Ratchet led her to their berthroom.
But . . . they were anything but quiet. Before they even got through their door Arcee lunged and connected herself to Ratchet passionately kissing him. Ratchet couldn't help but return the passion. He kicked open the door and it had hit the wall pretty hard, so hard it flung back shutting itself as the two sweetsparks fell on top of each other onto the berth to bond to their desire.
The next day Ratchet had to explain what the noises were coming from his room. He didn't tell Ariel the truth he just said that Arcee was having a bad dream and was hitting daddy. Ariel was too young to understand bonding yet. When she was older he'd tell her, but . . . not now.
Arcee only laughed at it seeing Ratchet's face turn color as their daughter asked about some strange noises she heard coming from their room last night. She went on her way and pretty much forgot about it. She went to school and came back to the playground to play with Orion. Every now and then Omega Supreme would visit and Ariel loved him.
She called him 'Uncle Omega'. He loved her to death. He called her Ary, since she called him uncle. He would often take her out to places sometimes even bringing her little friend Orion seeing how the two didn't want to miss any chance of play together.
He brung them back safe and sound to their creators. They were glad for friends as nice and as kind as these. Ratchet didn't take them for granite one bit. He loved every moment of it . . . even . . . when it was cut short.
Ariel and Orion were playing on the playground as their mother spoke amongst one another. They were playing tag and everything was fine.
"And then I told him, look I'm your bonded I have a right to know about these things too," laughed Orion's mother. "Hey I created Orion with you, be grateful."
"Well that's typical mechs," chuckled Arcee.
"MOMMY!!" cried Orion running up to his mother scared to death.
"Orion, what is wrong?!" asked his mother seeing him panting in fear.
"I-it's Ariel—she—she fell down and won't get up!" he cried.
And so they ran to find Ariel and once they did Arcee covered her mouth as she threw herself next to her sparkling.
"Oh my Primus, ARIEL!!" cried Arcee seeing her daughter have some sort of attack from a problem inside her.
And so they rushed her to the hospital and when Ratchet heard he came immediately. Once he did the doctor informed them of the news . . . and it wasn't good.
"She's dying," he said with a heavy sigh.
"W-what?!" gasped Arcee as Ratchet held her close. "Why?!"
"I was wrong about her abnormal sparkbeat. It's causing complications," said the doctor.
"Such as?" asked Ratchet fearing he knew.
"Spark failure," said the doctor.
"NO!" cried Arcee. "NOOOO!! Not my sparkling. Not my Ariel!! PLEASE!!"
"I'm sorry," said the doctor his shoulders dropping. "There is nothing I can do."
"Please don't take my sparkling from me!!" cried Arcee into Ratchet.
Ratchet bowed his head and wept inside. His beautiful Ariel, his pride and joy was going to die and there was nothing they or anyone could do. All were spark broken. Ariel wasn't even online for the last days of her life.
She was too young to be taken like this, too young. Arcee and Ratchet stayed by her side and held her hand till the end. Once the time came Arcee broke. Her only sparkling was taken from her and she didn't know why.
Why? How could this happen? Why t them when they did nothing wrong but love and raise this child to grow and do the same. She was only six millenniums. Such a short life to cut.
"To this day I still ask why," said Ratchet grief written all over his face. "But . . . I guess I'll never know . . . just like I'll never get to see my Ariel again."
The day she went offline was sparkbreaking. All loved little Ariel and found it unfair how Primus could take such a short life and cut it. She didn't know when the end came. She was in stasis lock till she died.
It broke her creators' sparks . . . not knowing if she even heard their last 'I love you's' or felt them holding onto her tiny innocent hands making sure she wasn't scared. They hoped she wasn't scared, but now they'd never know. Oh Primus their little femme had been taken from them on the eve of her life. It wasn't fair to do so it just wasn't—not Ariel . . . anyone—but Ariel.
Her funeral was the most saddest. Arcee couldn't bare it. She stayed crying over Ratchet the whole time. Most of the town came to see it.
Little Orion didn't understand why she was still in recharge. Every day he still went to the playground to look for her so they could play . . . but she was never there. He kept asking where she was which only broke Arcee's spark more. Soon enough his mother resided in taking him to the playground even though he wanted to go for he wanted 'to play with his best friend Ariel'.
Omega couldn't believe she was gone. Every now and he could hear her young laughter. Arcee heard it too and only broke. Ratchet tried his hardest to cheer her up, but the death of their only sparkling seemed to do the most damage than any EMP could do.
"Arcee, how are you doing?" asked Ratchet with a still heavy sigh from his daughter's death.
"How do you think?" she asked not even looking at him. "It feels so empty without her Ratchet. This home, this family . . . is not the same without her."
"I know—I miss her too," said Ratchet looking around still hoping to see her come running around a corner to give her daddy a hug and kiss. "If you want Arcee we can have another."
At that Arcee broke again, but Ratchet hadn't expected how angry she'd get over that. She turned to him with fire in her optics and said—
"What?! So you think we can just lose one and have another to REPLACE HER?!"
"No, never that," said Ratchet. "It's just we always talked about having more, many more and I had hoped we could move on an—"
"FORGET HER?!" shouted Arcee almost screeching at him.
"That is NOT what I was going to say," said Ratchet pointing at her. "Now Arcee you know how much I loved our daughter and I know nothing on Cybertron can EVER replace her, but I do want more sparklings with you Arcee."
"That's it!" cried Arcee turning from him. "You want to forger her. You want . . . to forget my Ariel."
Ratchet sighed and dropped his shoulders as she came up to Arcee and touched hers saying—
"Never forget, but to always keep in our sparks and the sparks of her future siblings."
"But I can't," said Arcee walking away from him. "I can't have any more."
"You can't or you won't?" asked Ratchet crossing his arms.
"I will not," said Arcee turning to him and shaking her head. "I won't do it Ratchet. My spark is too weak to get broken again."
"I see," said Ratchet getting angered that his sparkmate didn't want anymore sparklings. "Well . . . since I'm not needed here I'll be leaving back to the war."
"Fine," said Arcee asting her optics down.
"I'll be there . . . if you need me," sighed Ratchet wishing his bonded wouldn't be like so, but she was.
As he left her there to wallow in grief he hoped this wasn't the trauma to make her forget again. Perhaps she did—so did he, but he could never. Not their Ariel.
Hot Shot's girl: Oh my goodness! I was listening to sad music while writing this like 'Lilium' and it's just . . . SO SAD! If you want to listen to it and reread it beware :(
