The Warrior's Heart Chapter 4 "Doctors' visit"

~Okay, the title isn't a typo. Ratchet sees a certain human, while Scalpel (aka "Doctor") sees our female victim. Some people were wondering about the Cons' holoforms. Megatron: Silas (TF Prime) or as Anasazi Darkmoon pointed out, Colonel Quaritch from "Avatar". (Don't remember the movie? Think of the tall aliens with the freaky pony tails.) Starscream: Second-in-command Vaako from Chronicles of Riddick. Soundwave: my own evil creation with some inspiration from DA. Credits for songs will be after the chapter. ~

Search for the answers I knew all along.

I lost myself, we all fall down.

Never the wiser of what I've become.

Alone I stand a broken man.

Memories of the blast still shook him to his very core. That unstoppable piece of machinery destroyed every living thing at Qatar, well, except for him. Derek never understood why God spared him while the others died when the attack happened. He was a copilot in one of the cargo planes, one of which was destroyed when the machine blasted each of them with his powerful concussion blast. When Derek was found under the rubble, he had a gaping hole in his head and the lower portion of his leg was missing. Even with psychiatric help, the nightmares never stopped. His wife stayed by his side through everything. She held him until the tears stopped. She turned the other cheek when he would accidentally hit her during the night while he was fighting his invisible demons. When he saw his children's worried faces, he did everything he could do to stop him from going under. He didn't want them to cry over his coffin. He was not going to be another number in the PTSD suicide rates.

All I have is one last chance.

I won't turn my back on you.

Take my hand, drag me down.

If you fall them I will too.

And I can't save what's left of you.

Theresa has been gone for a day and already, the US government has thrown the hope of her coming back. Alive, at least. Derek knew there was a chance that she'd escape, but it was a very slim one at that. Just like the chance that his son will recover. He looked down at Cedric with his darkened eyes. He glared at the bandages that held his ribs in place. Realistically, they should be shards, but the smaller robot held back. Who knows if he would have done if Lennox or Derek didn't arrive there on time? The young teenager was comatose and knocking on death's door. Three times. Three times Doctor Ratchet had to revive him. Each time left another stab in the parents' hearts. The older doctor had silver, thick hair and metallic blue eyes with gray swirls mixed in the irises. He had a certain gruff exterior about him, but he was very caring of his patient. In fact, he was the one to throw a wrench at Director Theodore Galloway when he shoved a "confidential agreement" in Derek's face. Galloway didn't say that the machines were aliens, but Derek knew they weren't exactly some advanced Japanese toy. The larger one wasn't exactly lively, but it had a feel of sentience and that unworldly aura surrounding it. The smaller ones were more agile and less calculating like some flying drone. If Derek wouldn't have known better, they were enjoying the fight and beating his son. That really enraged Derek to keep firing. He was so blinded by the rage that he followed after the larger one while Lennox was trying to keep up with the smaller "drones". He has never seen his daughter scream like that in her life. True, she cried when she was a baby, but this was sheer terror of what's coming next. She wanted her "daddy", but he couldn't save her.

Say something new.

I have nothing left.

I can't fast the darkness without you.

There's nothing left to lose.

The fight never ends.

I can't face the darkness without you.

Derek looked around the small medical room. Steel plated cabinets are bolted on the wall on both sides of the door leading to the hallways. On the right side of the door is a sink with a dispenser for gloves and masks. On the adjacent wall, another gray metal door is marked as the entrance to the bathroom. The back wall is covered with state-of-the-art monitors that shows the vitals as well as the plastic containers, storing IV fluid and numerous medications. Believe it or not, the military didn't take the boy to the hospital nearby due to the "special circumstances." The medic stabilized him on site then airlifted him and the rest of the family (on a separate helicopter) to Diego Garcia, an island military base in the Pacific Ocean. The bunker the boy was rushed off had a very large elevator leading to the secret base below. The elevator opened to reveal large labyrinth hallways. It was surprising how the soldiers there could maneuver in it. In fact, the walls were very tall, possibly 30 feet tall and roughly 20 feet across. "So, how long will it take, doc?" He asked.

The older male turned away from his young apprentice, who rubbed his black hair before walking back over to the sink to retrieve some more gauze. "For someone with less damaged ribs, a month. For Cedric, about two months. This boy has gone through a traumatic and almost fatal attack. It's amazing this boy is even alive." He said, beckoning "Jolt" (a call sign, the doctor explained) over to the bed.

The apprentice slowly turned the boy onto his side. Even though his back was cushioned with many pillows, in fear that his ribs might get damaged even more, they were still cautious when handling him. The boy occasionally whimpered and Derek would look over to see if he'd wake up, but it was still too soon. "Why don't you go down to mess hall, Mr. and Mrs. Butler? You look like you need some nourishment." Doctor Ratchet said, nodding over to the door heading out to the hallway. That was another unusual thing about him: he didn't talk casual, but always serious. He didn't say they looked hungry, but they needed "nourishment". I guess that's just his doctor talk. Derek kept telling himself.

"I rather stay here." Wendy said with a trembling voice. Derek went over to his wife and wrapped his muscular arms around her shoulders. "Let's go, Wendy. I'm sure there's a pot of coffee with your name on it." He said with a small smile.

Derek walked to the door with his wife close to his side. The reason why she hasn't collapsed from exhaustion was the strong, but comforting grip around her waist. He turned the knob and two soldiers were casually talking, but straightened up when they came through. They weren't exactly soldier-esque. Both of them had roughed up hair like some boys do at high school. One of them was a brunette and his hair was draped behind his ear. The hair in the back wasn't visible, but Derek figured it was cut pretty short and close to the scalp. His eyes had a mischievous tinge to it. Again, they were blue like the two medical personnel in the other room. Unlike the older male, both of them had a more of a darker, but youthful blue color. The other one had his arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He clearly didn't want to be here. His face read like an open book. His slight scowl was see-through. Either he didn't like the family being here or he wanted to go after whoever attacked Cedric. This one had a more unruffled hairstyle unlike his brother. Gel was clearly used, but not too much. The blonde sat up. "We're to escort you down to the mess hall, Mr. Butler." The brunette said with a cheerful smile.

"Just Derek. They sent two greenhorns to escort us? I'd expected you two to be more…mature. Come on, boys. You need to lose the model hair. Have you ever heard of a buzzcut?" Derek chuckled, looking over at the blonde.

The blonde haired boy growled at the father. "You did NOT just insult me, sq-"The brother elbowed him.

Wendy and Derek were taken back how the soldier reacted. There was something definitely going on at the base that Derek wasn't figuring out. Maybe it's his "old war wounds" acting up, but he had a feeling he and his family were being watched by something. If he only knew that he was right. Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, had been listening in on the conversation. If the couple had went down the hallway leading to the main one and turned left, they would have seen his robotic mode. Thanks to the reinforced floor, his foots steps were muffled.

:Major Lennox, I believe that the façade cannot be hidden for long. We may have to introduce them to us.:

Lennox sighed. :Hey, I agree with you, Optimus. I really do, but we have to limit civilians learning about you guys.:

:Major, I have located Derek Butler's military file. He was at Qatar base the one you were at as well. He tried to escape Blackout's attack, but he was found injured. He knows about us already.:

:Yeah, I know, but I just don't like it, Optimus. You told us that the Decepticons really don't do things at random. What do they want with this girl, Theresa?:

Silence was on the line of the shared comlink. Optimus didn't really know either. : Optimus! You need ta get down here. NOW!: Ironhide blared over Optimus' comlink. : They just made contact.:

The ammonia, fecal matter, and even crued oil were mixed into a cesspool of stench that was known as Scapel's lab. Poor organic and inorganic species were tortured and eventually killed by this miniscule Decepticon medic. True, he was the size of a toddler, but he had other comrades in his profession. Theresa had been tossed into the room by Starscream. Before she could snap at him for being rough, the door slammed shut, locking in place. There was no going back. If it wasn't the stench that freaked her out, it was the rows upon rows of cages lining the back wall. Whimpers and other animal noises were heard from within some. The lab was the size of a football field and roughly 40 feet high. The lighting was normally lit, but the lab was completely gray. The only color that Theresa saw from her angle was from the purple glowing bars that locked the animals in.

She didn't know that Megatron was in the next room, which was basically a showroom for him and his men. He was smiling and snickering at how Theresa was reacting to this horror-filled room. He touched one of the buttons on the miniature keypad on his right chair arm. A security camera was lowered out of the raptures and aimed at the mirror, which was a two-way mirror. " I will enjoy this." His eyes burned brightly.

You put my back against the wall.

Watching, waiting.

You never thought I'd get that far

Beneath your skin.

The demented medic was presently inspecting one of his experiments: a Siberian Husky with cyberhound blood transfused into his blood. The canine was suppose to be more wild because of the alien DNA, but the animal was actually more sentient. He didn't talk, but he was fully aware what was going on. He was called the "problem experiment" because he could always figured to get out of the medbay, which should have been impossible. Twice, he had tore off a panel with his newly evolved metallic claws and fangs. His eyes were still icy blue, but it too had changed. Closely looking into the eye, one can see the small gears churning like an optic.

I watched you swim with all your lies.

They pulled you under.

"Aw, my new patient haz arrived!" Scapel said happily. Theresa looked at him with a confused look. He did have that gritty, robotic voice, but he also had some type of accent. She wasn't sure, but she thought it was Russian.

Theresa started to scramble away when the metallic shrimp jumped down from his perch and skittered over to her. "Get me out of here!" She screamed, pounding on the door.

Scapel let out an annoyed sigh. He transformed one of his pinchers into a small blade. He sliced at her ankles. Theresa cried out and fell to the ground. She turned over to her back and kicked at the medic. He flew back about 5 feet. If Theresa wasn't in so much pain, she would have laughed at how she punted him. He came back and pounced on her chest. She moved to throw him again, but he brought the blade to her throat. "Now, vill jou cooperate or do I have to bring Megatron in heya?" He asked.

Theresa glared at him. "Goot. Now, follow me!" Scalpel jumped off and skittered over to the massive tables.

Theresa could feel some of her blood soaking into her socks and down to skin on her feet. She gritted her teeth, but kept following after Scalpel. She looked up at the underside of the table. It had a large central support beam, but had smaller cylinder shaped bars branched out and welded to the underside. "Come, squishy!" Scalpel tapped his pincher onto the metal support beam.

Theresa froze when a hidden elevator door opened up. He must've pressed some keypad or something. Ugh, what does this guy want with me? She resumed walking and followed Scalpel into the elevator shaft. It closed when she entered it with the medic. The pressure sensors triggered the elevator to move upward. Theresa had to duck down because of how low the shaft was. The elevator stopped when it got to the top of the table. The walls shifted down and Theresa followed Scalpel out. When the shaft went back down, the two drawn back panels closed back.

"Now, take off yaw clothes." He ordered.

"Aw, heck now! I don't care if you bring out Megatron, I'm not doing crap!" Theresa mimicked his accent when she mentioned "Megatron". She glared and crossed her arms.

Scalpel cursed and clicked in his native tongue. Another hidden door on the adjacent wall opened up and a rusted, patchy robot stepped through the doorway. His eyes were pale blue, but at the center was tinted purple and red. He groaned flatly and marched over to his master. He didn't acknowledge Theresa. He just stared at the wall. "Pin her down!" Scalpel said with irritation.

Theresa squealed when the monster came alive and shoved her down with his three-fingered hand. She pushed at his hands and she could feel the corrosive burns, scratches, and gashes that marred his hand. Okay, this is getting freakin' old! She growled as she tried effortlessly to get his hand off of her. She could breath somewhat fine, but she wasn't going to relax just because "Igor" was pinning her down. Scalpel smiled and chuckled. "I warned jou to behave, but jou didn't listen." He bounced over to her feet happily. He had two shackles in his hand. He clamped one on to each ankle, which was still bleeding and irritated from his earlier attack. The shackles magnetized to each other with a loud clang.

I'm learning who you really are,

And nothing can save you.

I will fight until the end, get ready to collide.

And I will watch you fall again.

I'll bury you alive.

You tried to bring me to my knees.

You tried to take it all.

Now I will stand and watch you crawl.

Megatron snickered at Theresa's screams of rage. He narrowed his eyes. Your weak race imprisoned and took me apart for many years. Now, it's my turn to return the favor, fleshling. Megatron wasn't just doing this because he felt like getting a human as a recruit. He wanted revenge because of Sector Seven and humanity for his stasis lock. He also knew if he took something precious to Prime, the leader will be shaken to his core. He's too soft in Megatron's optics. True, he could fight, but he's too grounded by his emotions. He remembered when he captured Elita-1, Optimus' sparkmate. He can still hear her pleas to let her go. She was like Theresa at first, but he broke her just like the weakling she was. He would have finished her if it wasn't for the heroic rescue. This time, Megatron will beat Optimus with his spark.

Okay, sorry if this is very long or too long for you guys. LOL. I was planning on going to what Scalpel was going to do. I felt like I should get more emotion, not just "Megatron did this. Theresa did this." Don't ask me why I brought in the animal thing. I randomly thought of that while writing during one of my lunch breaks. Thank you for Anasazi Darkmoon for the accent tips. I was planning on writing more of him, but I decided to cut this chapter into two parts. Sorry if there isn't a lot of action in here. It's going to be darker in the next one so beware. Song credits time!

1) "Without You" by Breaking Benjamin ( I tried to find a song that sorta went along with how Derek was feeling. This song's apparently about some guy and his girlfriend or something, but you get the idea. LOL)

2) "Watch You Crawl" by RED (an awesome Christian rock band; this is more of Megatron's and Theresa's song "talking" to each other. Yeah, you can probably understand it if you listen to the song.

Well, there you have it! Sorry it took FOREVER! Blame evil college life and finals! Happy holidays! :D