**OFFICIALLY REVAMPED CHAPTER**
This has been revamped, but I left the same intro/end note.
Okays! Chapter 6 is finally here! I added another scene here that I thought would be cool, but wasn't originally in my idea, to make up for the fact that it took me so long to write it. So enjoy the wonderful length of this chapter!
Review please! Pleeeeaaaase!
^_^ That reminds me. I want to thank all of my reviewers so far, as of 7/15/09, really early in the morning:
JillianandIronhide
num1Ironhidefan
twilightgatelover
TFSTARFIRE
Nakka-sama
The Elemental Alchemist Reyna
Liliesshadow
ebonygrayqueen
TransformersFreak01
Ironhide FLY
Nitrogirl
ODD CANDY
Thank you all so much! I really flailed in happiness every time I read a review. ^_^
And now, without further ado...Chapter Six!
Ratchet stayed in recharge for over 24 hours. During that time, Optimus had stayed in the room watching over the three unconscious beings, only leaving to go find Bumblebee. He had been in battles before, and had lost comrades before, but this was much more than just that.
"Bumblebee, are you alright?" Optimus asked, kneeling down in front of his door. The door slid open, revealing Bumblebee on the other side.
"I think so, Optimus. It was just so much to take in, I couldn't handle it then," he replied, looking down. He was obviously still shaken by everything. But then again, everyone was.
"How is everyone?"
"Ratchet did an amazing job at helping all three of them. They're still critical, and Artemis is in deep stasis, but they're fighters. They won't give up easily."
"Wait…all three?"
"Ah, that's right. Bumblebee doesn't know yet." Optimus sighed and told Bumblebee everything that happened since he left the medbay.
"Can I go see them?" Bumblebee asked when he finished talking.
Optimus stood up. "This way."
The next few days were slightly better. Ratchet said that Artemis was no longer in critical condition, and once she got out of her deep stasis she would be well on her way to recovery. Ironhide's and Jazz's Sparks had even started to stabilize, though they were still a long way off from total stability. But they clung to any sign of hope they could get.
Optimus was often found in the hallway because he was too big to fit inside the room when Ratchet was working. Bumblebee would wander in sometimes, and Ratchet even used his help on repairs. It was a sign of how tough it really was. Ratchet never used to let Bumblebee help.
"They're improving well," he thought. "Especially Artemis. No normal human girl should be recovering this fast. Or even survive such injuries! There's something else about her…"
Ratchet dismissed this thought for the moment as he grabbed the finished robotic arm for her. "Time to see how well this works."
"Ugh…wow. That was some fight," Artemis said, sitting up and squinting. "And why is it so frikin bright in here?"
Everything was pristine white. She looked down. "At least my clothes aren't white," she said, relieved. Then she realized that she didn't feel any pain. She had no injuries.
Was she dead? Where was she? And that overwhelming whiteness…
She didn't like it one bit.
She got up and started walking. Artemis didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. She felt the need to move.
After what seemed like hours to her, she saw something. No, two somethings. They were moving. And they weren't white!
She ran towards the figures, and the closer she got, the more familiar they looked.
"Wait…hey! Its Ironhide! And Jazz!" she said to herself. Then she yelled, "Ironhide! Jazz! Over here!"
The two mechs were startled by the noise. "Was that…Artemis?" Jazz asked, looking around. Sure enough, she caught up with them.
"Artemis! What…what are you doing here?" Ironhide asked, confused.
"I have no idea. Really. I just woke up here and started walking."
Ironhide shared a small concerned look with Jazz.
"You shouldn't be here, Artemis. You need to go back."
"Go back? Go back where?"
"Back home," Jazz said, pointing to a window. Huh, weird. That window wasn't there before.
Jazz and Ironhide sat down while Artemis walked up to the window, and gasped. She was looking down at herself and Ironhide, Ratchet running around frantically between them.
"What's going on?" Artemis asked, getting a little more freaked out.
"This is where the souls of some Sparks go, Artemis," Jazz said quietly. "It's the Matrix. You shouldn't be here. You need to go back."
"But…but what about you? Why are you even here?"
Ironhide answered her question. "Because I couldn't let Jazz go. I took his Spark into my own body. And that's what led us here," he said. "Our souls couldn't take the enormous amount of pain, so they…we…escaped here. As a last resort."
"Are you dead?" Artemis asked, alarmed.
"Not yet. Just stuck here, waiting," Ironhide replied.
"Waiting for what?"
"To see if we can go back."
"Our Sparks can't stabilize until our souls return to them. And Ratchet can't do much of anything unless our Sparks stabilize," Jazz added.
"But what if you can't go back?" Artemis asked.
Ironhide sighed. "Then we will die."
"NO!" she yelled, running to Ironhide and hugging him. "You can't die! You both can't die!"
Jazz watched as Ironhide put a gentle hand around the crying girl with a surprised look. She never hugged him before, and Ironhide didn't think she liked him that much. He was proven wrong when she started crying, clinging to his waist like her life depended on it. But she still had to leave.
"Artemis," Ironhide said quietly. "You need to leave. You can leave any time that you want. You aren't even supposed to be here."
"But I don't want to leave! Not without you!" She sniffed. Looking up, she added, "How do you know when you get to go back?"
"We don't know," Jazz admitted.
"It is up to Primus if we do or don't. It isn't our choice."
"Well that's too bad, because I'm bringing you back with me," Artemis said, determined.
"Artemis…"
"It won't work…"
But she ignored their words, got up, and grabbed each of their fingers.
"We're going home. Now," she said fiercely.
Everything went black.
The next thing they heard was beeping. Lots of beeping.
"What the…" Ratchet said, looking around. All his machines started beeping at once. But…that could only mean…
"Optimus! Bumblebee! I need your help!"
"Okay, this will be very, very tricky," Ratchet said. He had Ironhide and Jazz side by side, both of their Spark chambers open. "Bumblebee, turn on the power supply for Jazz. Make sure it doesn't surge!"
Bumblebee obeyed, turning on the machine that was hooked up to Jazz and keeping a careful optic on both the machine and the lieutenant's body. The device would temporarily power Jazz's body for preparation for the return of his Spark, making it easier for it to take over his body functions.
"Okay, Optimus. I need you to hold Ironhide down while I grab Jazz's Spark."
Optimus reinforced the restraints he had on Ironhide, and placed both his hands on his Weapons Specialist's shoulders for extra help.
Ratchet took a deep breath. He steadied his shaking hands, and prepared to take Jazz's Spark…the one that just expelled his personality. He gently grabbed it and pulled.
Ironhide's entire body shook violently. "Keep him as still as possible!" Ratchet yelled, slowly pulling the Spark out more and more. He finally succeeded, but only just. Ironhide's jerking had almost caused him to drop Jazz's Spark. And that would have been disastrous.
"Bumblebee, now!"
Bumblebee slowly turned the power all the way down on the machine connected to Jazz while Ratchet carefully replaced his Spark in his body. Once it was in place, Ratchet closed his Spark chamber and anxiously waited to see if it worked.
"Come on…come on, Jazz. You can do this…" Ratchet said, worried.
Then his systems started working, pumping energon through his lines, and his body jerked back to life while his optics flashed. Relieved, Ratchet ran a full scan over both Ironhide and Jazz. Both had vitals that were stabilizing. Thank Primus.
Optimus and Bumblebee shared relieved looks as Ratchet collapsed on the medbay floor, for the millionth time that month. "I'm going to rip them apart when they come back online!" He yelled, exhausted.
Artemis opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was pain. Her head felt like a lead weight pulsating pain whenever it wanted to, her arm tingled uncomfortably, and her abdomen burned when she tried to sit up. That, she could've lived without. But then she noticed color. Oh, color, glorious color! No more overwhelming brightness!
"How did I get back here?" she wondered. The last thing she remembered, she was in the Matrix, yelling that she would bring Ironhide and Jazz back with her. And now she's back. How did she do it? But Artemis soon dismissed this thought, as it hurt to think about it.
Then she remembered Ironhide and Jazz. She immediately tried to sit up but laid back down because of the pain, so she slowly turned her head to look around instead, wincing. She really could have lived without this whole pain thing. But she did spot them, with Ratchet. Both of them. Jazz was laughing while Ratchet was yelling at a bemused Ironhide.
"Don't you EVER do that to me again, Ironhide! I swear I will weld your aft to this floor and keep you there for eternity! You scared the living slag out of me and the others! I had to work nonstop to keep you as stable as possible from that idiotic stunt you pulled! What were you even thinking?!? Do you even USE your processors? Are you listening to me? Jazz! Stop laughing! This isn't funny! I spent days repairing you for the second time in under two weeks! Do you think that's something to laugh about??"
Ratchet was furiously pacing in front of the two mechs when he looked around and saw that Artemis was awake. His expression immediately relaxed, if only a little, as he walked over to her.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, scanning her at the same time. Vitals were stable and strengthening. Good.
"Like I could use another round of painkillers," she replied slowly, wincing. Even talking hurt. Why did everything have to hurt so much?
Ratchet obliged and returned with the requested meds. He couldn't bring himself to vent at her too, even if she did cause him so much worry and stress and even more recharge-deprivation than he was used to…he shook his head. He'd just yell at Ironhide and Jazz more instead. "And how does your new arm feel?"
"Wha…new arm?" She looked over to her left arm. "Oh…you mean this."
Artemis didn't even notice that her left arm was made of metal. Sure, it tingled, but it didn't scream out "I'm made of metal!" to her. It just felt so natural. "Hey, does this thing come with a cannon?" She asked, testing the joints.
Ironhide laughed as he walked over. "You know, 'Ratch, that might not be a bad idea."
"You don't get any input," Ratchet said, still fuming over what Ironhide did. "Anyway, you should still be sitting! You're not fully repaired yet!"
"Aw, come on 'Ratch! We're both alive anyway, and that's all that matters, right? You can't stay mad forever!" Jazz said happily, smacking the CMO on the shoulder.
"Watch me," Ratchet growled. "And you should definitely stay lying down. Ripped in two, welded back together, torn apart again, sent to the Matrix, and brought back again in such a short amount of time…I swear you do this just to tick me off."
Bumblebee and Optimus interrupted Ratchet and his fuming. "Nice to see you two again!" Optimus said cheerfully to Jazz and Ironhide. "How are you both feeling?"
"Still get a few pain spasms, but Ratchet says that'll fade soon," Ironhide answered, grinning slightly.
"About the same here for me too, Optimus. Except I'm still getting used to the new welds in my leg to keep it on," Jazz added. He was already back to his light-hearted self.
"You should be glad I even put your leg back on this time," Ratchet glowered. His anger was practically seeping out of his vents.
Optimus smiled. It was good to see his whole team being normal again. He glanced over at Artemis, who was knocked out from her pain medicine. He took this chance to bring up something Ratchet mentioned.
"You said she brought you back? From the Matrix?"
The entire mood in the room became more serious.
"Yeah Optimus…she just…did. Neither of us know how she did it," Jazz said.
Ratchet sat down, confused. "But she shouldn't have even been there! How did she get there in the first place? She doesn't have a Spark. I scanned her three times after you told me."
Silence met this question. Then Optimus spoke again. "Whatever the reason is, we do know one thing. Artemis is no ordinary girl. And she needs to be protected at all times now. Ironhide, I think you would be best to be her guardian."
Ironhide nodded. "Thank you, Prime. I won't leave her side," he said. And he meant it. He wanted to watch over this girl.
Optimus replaced his solemn demeanor with a happier one. "That's enough for now. We'll finish talking later. Now is a time for happiness!" he said, optics shining.
"Primus knows we've had very little to be happy about these past years."
Ironhide was true to his word, and didn't leave Artemis's bedside while she recovered. He made it a personal mission to make sure she was safe every minute of every hour of every day. When she asked about this a few days into his "mission," he pretended he was busy caring for his cannons so he couldn't hear her. After this happened for the third time Artemis just smiled to herself and let her "Big 'ol Metal Teddy Bear," as she nicknamed him, stay with her 24/7.
Jazz came by a few times to visit, after Ratchet had fixed up a few more of his components with a little more force than was necessary. Artemis liked his company a lot too. He could always make her laugh and his attitude was a contagious one.
"Feeling better today?" Jazz asked.
"Loads better," Artemis smiled. "The pain has gone down a ton and the swelling is almost gone. My face might look normal by next week!"
Jazz laughed and continued talking with her, while Ironhide listened. He knew that Jazz had a second motive for coming to visit so often. He was reminding him every time to tell Artemis about what happened. "Tell her," he urged through databursting. "You promised me you would!"
"I will, I just don't know how to bring it up," Ironhide replied to him. This was partly true, but the main reason was because he was still afraid of how she would react.
"Then let me help you out with that," Jazz replied to him, smirking. As he got up to leave, he said, "Hey, Artemis. I think Ironhide wants to talk to you about something!" and he sped out the door.
"You can thank me later, 'Hide."
"Don't count on it." Ironhide sighed. Now, if he could come up with a good excuse…
"What is it, Ironhide? Everything okay?" Artemis asked, concerned. She looked at him with her deep green eyes, and he immediately gave in. He had to tell her now.
"Its about our past," he began slowly, shuttering his optics.
"Our past? You mean like since I moved here?"
"No. You may not remember this, but…we've met before," Ironhide continued. Confusion was all over her face at first, trying to figure out what he meant. "I really don't think we have, Ironhide. Are you sure it was me?" She asked.
He put his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his hands, optics still shuttered. "Think back. Is there any time that you can't remember what happened?"
Artemis thought for a minute, then replied, "Um…yeah. The only time I can't remember was when my family…" her voice trailed off. Pieces were starting to come together.
"I was there that day, fighting a Decepticon. More importantly…" Ironhide had even started shaking a little with nervousness. This would be hard to get out. "More importantly…it was…my cannon blasts…that caused the explosion."
This information hit Artemis like a brick wall. The mech she had grown so attached to, who was her best friend and metallic big brother…was the one who killed her family? It didn't make sense to her at all.
Ironhide continued his story, averting his optics so he wouldn't have to look at Artemis, or the hurt and the tears in her eyes. "I fell into a trap Blackout set for me. He knew I was cocky, especially about my cannons. And he used that to trick me into shooting at him. And your family was right behind him when he dodged my attack." Ironhide paused again, trying to regain some composure. Still shaking slightly, he continued, "I saw you as you walked out unharmed. And then you looked at me…and I made a promise to you. I promised that if we ever met again, that I would protect you with my life. But I failed at that. Not that you'd want me protecting you now anyway…"
The memories from that day instantly came flooding back to Artemis. She remembered it…the explosion, the Autobots, and especially Ironhide. And she also understood that it wasn't his fault.
Ironhide was surprised to feel her wrap her arms around his chest, hugging him tightly. He was expecting her to hit him, not hug him.
"That's not true, Ironhide. You didn't fail. I'm still here! And I definitely still want you to be here for me. You are my Big 'ol Metal Teddy Bear, after all," she smiled through the tears. "Don't blame yourself for what happened. Because I don't."
"But…I'm the reason you don't have any family!"
"But if I hadn't moved into an apartment on my own, I never would have taken those walks at night. And I never would have met you or the others," she said, more tears falling down her cheeks. "And I'm really, really glad I met you all. It's fate, Ironhide. You can't change it. What happens, happens."
Ironhide finally looked down at the girl still hugging him. The sincerity in her eyes was obvious, and the stubborn mech found himself believing her. She wasn't mad at him. She didn't hate him. She wanted him to stay.
And he smiled.
He gently hugged her back, unable to hold in the relief he was feeling. It was like the weight of Cybertron was lifted from his shoulders.
"I love you, Ironhide."
"I love you too, Artemis."
A moment of comfortable silence, then…
"I told you that you'd thank me for it!" Jazz yelled from the doorway.
"Way to ruin the moment, Jazz," Ratchet said, smacking him in the head.
Yay, chapter six is finished!! ^_^
But I'm going to make one thing very clear right now.
THERE IS NO ROMANTIC CONNECTION BETWEEN IRONHIDE AND ARTEMIS AT ALL.
Thank you! :P
Oh, and please review!
You know...reviews will give me more incentive to update faster. *evil grin*