Ratchet was startled awake by the sound of someone screaming.
It took him a moment to regain any amount of consciousness, and even longer to remember where he was. He didn't know when it was, whether Orbital or even Solar Cycles since he had been taken, though he highly doubted the latter. His thoughts were being processed much slower than they should have been, but that was to be expected from a lack of Energon.
But, he did register a scream. A scream filled with pain, and so much sorrow, as if someone had just experienced something that was killing them inside. The scream faded away, and was replaced with the sound of static filled intakes and shuddering outtakes of breath. They lasted for a while, and didn't seem to leave for the longest time.
Ratchet groaned lightly, slowly pushing himself to his knees. He reeled, almost keeling over, and began coughing harshly. By the time he stopped, small drops of Energon were leaking from his mouth. Ratchet had been hit hard enough to damage his internals, and medic or not, he was completely unable to tell how bad the injuries were. He could only tell that they needed to be repaired by hand, but without being fully aware or having any tool around that he could rely on, there was nothing that could be done to fix him.
He angrily noted that he should have gotten surgical tools installed into his arms. He would never had lost them again, and they would have been there when he needed them. Ratchet knew that it was too late to think about that, so he just huffed and let it go. He just had to try to keep himself from being damaged even worse.
He didn't even attempt to stand. The chains around his arms and legs may have been loosened, but that only meant they were heavier than before. Heavy enough to hold him down, and because he felt so weak, they seemed to carry much more weight then they actually did.
Ratchet could hear heavy footsteps coming from somewhere outside of the room. They were evenly paced, and getting louder by the Klik. Soon, Tanker walked into the chamber, looking so very tired. His optics were flickering lightly, and streaks of lubricant were visible trailing down his faceplate. Ratchet blinked, eyeing Tanker with confusion.
Had he been crying?
Tanker stopped in the middle of the room, just standing there without making a sound. Ratchet welcomed the silence, though he would rather hear the sound of laughter as he heard in his quarters, when stories were told.
"All the time," Tanker said suddenly, just loud enough for Ratchet to hear. He began to shake. "I see it happen all the time."
Ratchet didn't have the strength to reply, so he could only look at Tanker with confusion.
"I watch her die," Tanker continued, louder as anger took hold. "Every night, I watch her die, and it's all your fault."
Die? Someone had died? Ratchet tried to think of a time where anyone Tanker could have been talking about had perished. It was hard to think. He kept thinking back, his mind traveling far. Spark. Explosion. Mines. Blue.
Black and white.
Tanker just scowled. He knew it was pointless to talk to the medic. It just... He just...
It hurt.
Tanker shook his head. He felt so stupid. Talking to the one who had committed the heinous act. He turned around, and began to leave.
"... You ...Were..." Ratchet struggled to speak, pausing for a Klik to find his voice. "You were there."
Tanker stopped. turning around and watching Ratchet with an optic ridge raised, the corners of his mouth twitching downwards. "What?"
"You were there. At the medical center," Ratchet explained, growing slightly louder. "There was a mine collapse, and you were with a femme..."
Tanker's voice was soft, faceplate blank, yet his expression understanding. "You remember, don't you?"
Ratchet took a shaky breath, then nodded. "Yes."
Tanker only nodded, then let out an amused breath, as if he had been sharing tales with an old friend. He remembered. He finally remembered. Relief almost swept across Tanker's frame. There was someone else who knew.
"I'm sorry."
Tanker returned to the present at the almost inaudible mumble that came from the exhausted medic. Tanker stared, almost straight through him. "What?"
Ratchet never wanted to admit it. He didn't want anyone to know. It had only been known by few, none of them told by himself, and he wanted to keep it that way, but he knew that he no longer had a choice. The situation was not unusual, but it still made him feel like he failed at something else. Ratchet let out a breath as his resolve set in, and he told. "I was placed as Rooter's assistant because I wasn't ready to help anyone on my own. The Guilds of Cybertron had attempted to train me to be a medical officer, but I was unable to complete the tasks they assigned."
Tanker watched Ratchet, clearly unimpressed with what he had to say. While that didn't make Ratchet feel any better about the situation, he pressed on.
"I wasn't good enough for the High Council to keep working with me, so they ordered Rooter to mentor me," Ratchet explained, voicebox growing stronger with each word. "When the collapse occurred, I wasn't ready to help with something that serious, but the other medics couldn't keep up with all of the injuries. They allowed me to assist, and I accepted, thinking I could help, but I was wrong, and I'm sorry."
Tanker said nothing for a long time. Then, his faceplate shifted into a slightly amused expression.
"You think an apology will make up for everything you've done?" Tanker said with a dry laugh before anger took over. "You killed her! You killed Skylight!"
"When the mine collapsed, her processor had been crushed and her spark had been impaled."
Ratchet's words made Tanker stop in place. Tanker blinked slowly, having trouble processing what had just been said. The image that formed in his head was enough to make every single one of his systems halt.
"She offlined immediately. There was nothing I could do," Ratchet continued, looking down at the floor. "I tried to save her, Tanker. I tried to revive her, but there was nothing I could do."
The room went unbearably silent. Tanker was swaying on his feet slightly, a deadpan look on his faceplate. Ratchet wondered if Tanker's processor had crashed, but before he could do anything about it, Tanker spoke.
"No. There was something you could have done." Tanker's voice was almost completely monotone, static seeping in more and more with each word. His expression darkened, and he began walking up to the chained medic. "You could have died in the explosion. You could have offlined right there, and Orion's spark would have been extinguished then and there, too, and he wouldn't have to be hurt."
Tanker grabbed the end of the chains, and pulled, lifting Ratchet up into a standing position. Ratchet was left hanging from his arms, feet barely touching the floor. Tanker smirked, securing the chains before turning to leave.
"What was it like, Ratchet? What was it like to see an unborn spark resting in your dead friend's hands?" Tanker asked, and just before he stepped out of the room, he added one last thing. "Because of you?"
With one final sneer, Tanker left the medic alone. Alone with his thoughts. Ratchet's spark was filled with dread.
He was going to die.
He was going to die, and it scared him.
Not because he was going to be offlined, but because if he did die he would be leaving Orion behind, within Tanker's grasp, while no one would know what the miner had done, and what the miner could do to his charge. Tanker could kill Orion, and Ratchet would be helpless to stop him, helpless to save him. There would be nothing he could do, and that was what scared him.
He remembered. He remembered. But he was not remembering what Tanker had wanted him to. He remembered Orion, his sparkling. He remembered all of the good moments, where nothing bad was happening, and he was actually happy. He could feel himself getting lost in his memories. If even for a moment, Ratchet would allow himself to fade away in them. It hurt less than how he felt inside.
When his little sparkling was found after getting lost.
Ratchet stood, the sparkling still held against him. Orion began shaking involuntarily, a whine escaping his throat, head buried into Ratchet's chest. As Ratchet walked, he caressed Orion's back, trying to calm him down. He found himself whispering soothing words to the sparkling, that everything was alright.
When Orion survived.
Orion smiled weakly at his caretaker, relieved that he was there.
Ratchet's processor traveled deeper into the past, when his sparkling was still young and innocent, before the world began to hurt him.
The first time he saw him.
The Guild member shifted the position of their arms slightly, and slowly revealed the small, delicate form of a newborn sparkling.
When Orion took his first steps.
Orion stumbled slightly, and Ratchet moved forward to catch him, but Orion quickly steadied himself. Orion took another step, then he finally reached Ratchet's leg, practically hugging it as he smiled up at his caretaker. Ratchet watched Orion for a moment, then a small smile appeared on his faceplate as well.
The sparkling even showed how much he cared without words.
Orion said something that sounded like complete gibberish, hands raised up towards Ratchet's arms. Ratchet knelt down, picking the sparkling up before he stood again. Orion shifted into a comfortable position as he was cradled in his caretaker's arms, cooing as he cuddled into Ratchet's chest.
And the first time he had said his name, Ratchet had at first thought Orion was shivering.
"Rrrr-"
He could hear the voice so clearly. It was almost as if Orion was right there with him.
"Ratchet."
"Ratchet!"
"Ratchet!"
Ratchet's head snapped up at the sound of his name, the rush momentarily making the room around him seem like it was spinning. He closed his optics until the dizziness subsided, then reopened them to look around, optics resting on a familiar figure.
Ratchet stared at who was in front of him, not completely believing that he was really there. "Orion?"
Orion ran up to Ratchet, hugging his caretaker's leg in utter relief. Ratchet was alright. The sparkling inside of him was trying to break through, but Orion knew that he couldn't let himself get too upset. Not while Ratchet was in danger. He had to stay strong to make sure his caretaker would be safe.
Ratchet sputtered, unsure of what he could say. It took almost a full Klik before he could form a sentence. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to find you, Ratchet," Orion answered, looking up with a smile. "I missed you."
Ratchet found that his voice left him again. He felt so conflicted. Orion was safe. Orion was alright. His little sparkling was alive. Ratchet let out a shuddering breath. He had been so worried that Orion had been taken. Orion didn't look as if he had been harmed, only as if he had exhausted himself. Ratchet wished that he could hold him, but his arms were chained and kept him from giving his sparkling any kind of comfort.
But as long as Orion stayed there, he wasn't safe.
"Orion?" Ratchet whispered, trying not to alert Tanker of the sparkling's presence. Said sparkling tilted his head. "Orion, please, you need to get out of here."
The smile slowly faded from Orion's faceplate. "What?"
"Tanker will be back, and if he sees you, he will..." Ratchet couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence, though he wasn't sure for whom.
Orion shook his head. "No. I'm not leaving you."
Ratchet watched his sparkling sadly. "Orion, please."
"No, Ratchet!" Orion protested, trying not to yell. "I've been trying to find you! I'm not going to abandon you!"
Ratchet quickly tried to shush Orion, whose breathing was beginning to become labored as emotion was taking over. Ratchet would give anything just to tell Orion that everything was alright, but he couldn't lie. Orion needed to get out of there.
He heard footsteps.
Ratchet took a sharp breath, then hissed. "Run."
Orion slowly pulled his hands back, watching Ratchet with worry. If he ran, he would be leaving his caretaker's side. He would be leaving Ratchet and he would be all alone again. Ratchet would be hurt. He didn't want Ratchet to hurt.
He didn't want to be alone.
Orion hurried behind Ratchet's leg, hiding behind him. Ratchet stiffened in shock, and would have told Orion again to run if he Tanker hadn't walked in.
"Are you awake?" Tanker asked. The lubricant was dried upon his faceplate, not having been wiped away. After getting a good look at Ratchet, he chuckled. "Good, good. There's still something we need to discuss."
Tanker strolled casually up to Ratchet, standing a few steps away. Ratchet moved his leg slightly to obstruct Tanker's view, just so he wouldn't see Orion. Tanker let out an exasperated breath, as if he was finally going to voice a thought he had kept inside for too long.
"Your sparkling, Orion? He's the reason I took you," Tanker admitted with a shrug as if he was having a normal conversation. "He'll look for you. That's just what happens. He'll look for you, just like I looked for Sky."
Ratchet was only half listening to what had been said. He was too busy trying to make sure that Orion wasn't seen. It was only a Klik later that Ratchet realized what Tanker had told him. Tanker knew that Orion was going to look for him?
"I left out a trap," Tanker said with a cruel smirk. "I'm sure he'll find it. It looks like a glitch, but it isn't. It's the truth."
Tanker moved slightly to the left, and Ratchet moved his leg accordingly to stop Tanker from seeing the sparkling behind him.
"If he doesn't know, his spark will lead him where he needs to go," Tanker continued with a pleased look in his optics, as if he was proud. "My spark led me to Sky, but it stopped leading me once she was... offlined. Like it didn't want me to make everything right. I cared about her, so my spark led me to her, but it won't lead me to get her revenge."
Tanker moved again, to the right, and Ratchet moved his leg again, but Tanker noticed. Tanker watched the medic strangely before staring behind him. A grin quickly formed on his faceplate.
"Well, then," Tanker whispered, voice growing louder with what he said next. "What do we have here?!"
Tanker reached forward rapidly and grabbed Orion by the neck, holding him into the air. Orion tried to gasp, but he couldn't, instead beginning to choke. His main ventilation systems were being covered, and they were already beginning to overheat. He tried to pull Tanker's hand away, but it was futile, the young sparkling too weak to escape.
Ratchet thrashed against the chains holding him back. "No!"
Tanker's grip loosened for a brief moment and his smile faltered, before returning at full force. "'No'?"
"Please, just..." Ratchet said, vocalizer weak, but his voice was clearly full of worry, and fear. "Don't hurt him. Please."
Tanker watched Ratchet with an optic ridge raised, glancing back to Orion, whose grip on the mech's arm was beginning to slip. Tanker seemed to debate internally about something before he frowned lightly, reluctantly loosening his grip, enough to keep a hold on Orion while still giving the sparkling a chance to gasp harshly, trying to ventilate his systems. After a moment, Tanker's smirk returned.
"Do you know how easy it was to lead you here?" Tanker chuckled darkly at Orion, who tried to shift away as far as he could within the mech's grasp. "Those files I downloaded onto the datapad were supposed to make Ratchet remember how he murdered Skylight, but I had to think ahead. I'll admit, I didn't believe that you'd get away, but I knew I needed a backup plan."
Ratchet stared at Tanker in shock, rage starting to boil inside of him. How dare Tanker do that to Orion. Tricking the sparkling into coming into danger, Ratchet ground his teethplates together in anger. He would deal with Tanker harming him, but not Orion. Ratchet would never let Orion get hurt like that.
But he had already failed that, hadn't he?
"Anchor's rounds were from Protihex to Kaon. He was doing his job one day, and he got lost in Iacon. I directed him into a Rust Storm, knowing that he knew what I looked like, and that he'd be able to show you part of the way," Tanker explained, speaking as if he was reciting a fond memory. "I tricked Fireblast into thinking I was a Gladiator in training, and he taught me how to shoot with extreme precision. Useful to kill the Medical Center's Energon sorter."
Ratchet stared in alarm, for both Orion and what he had just been told. Before Tanker had captured him, he had seen a form leaning against the refueling station wall. Had that been the sorter? Considering Tanker's proud claim, Ratchet could only assume that it was. Tanker continued, static trailing the edge of his voice.
"Bumper Crest. Now what happened to him wasn't my fault, but he was getting suspicious of me. He had seen me many times, and would no doubt share that fact with whoever asked," Tanker grinned. "And Chipset. I learned how to disable spark monitors from him."
Disable spark monitors.
That was why...
"Orion could have died," Ratchet growled his thoughts out loud. His spark began to ache at the memory of his charge's lifeless frame. He had almost lost him. He had almost lost his charge. The memory still hurt. It hurt so much.
"Well, it was either then or now, and apparently it's now," Tanker replied. "I didn't think you'd take it too hard. I had to access your most recent Medical File. Your firewalls were difficult, but not too hard to break through. Your updated file said that you didn't work well with others."
Ratchet frowned. Tanker shouldn't have known so much. How could he have gotten so much information?
The datapad. The names. The firewall. The Medical Files.
Everything.
Tanker had already known.
Tanker's arm suddenly shifted, forming into a gun. The gun that spilt so much Energon. The sorter. All of the Cybertronians that perished in the refueling station. Oiltrack. Rooter.
"You didn't think I was stupid, did you?" Tanker said with a crazed laugh, flailing the weapon into the air. "I've had millions of Solar Cycles to plan this out!"
With that, the gun whirred furiously, and was placed against the side of Orion's helm. Ratchet wanted to lash out, to get Orion away from the insane mech, to just grab him and run and hide and just get his sparkling somewhere he would be safe. But he was frozen. He couldn't move, no matter how badly he wished he could.
"I'm going to kill him, Ratchet," Tanker laughed sadistically. His grip on Orion's neck tightened, making his vents unable to circulate. "I'm going to kill him right now, where you can watch as he dies knowing that this was all your fault!"
The gun whirred to life, glowing as it prepared to fire.
Ratchet yelled.
The gun suddenly quieted down.
Tanker smirked.
"Actually," Tanker whispered, just loud enough to be heard. "I have a better idea."
He moved the gun away from Orion's helm, but before Ratchet could feel relieved, the weapon was swiftly pointed towards him.
"I'll let him watch as I kill you," Tanker spoke slowly, chuckling lightly as he trailed a finger along Orion's cheek. "This little sparkling is going to watch his caretaker get torn apart, and as soon as I'm done with you, Ratchet, after he sees your offline frame, the light in your optics fading away as you choke on your own Energon, I'm going to kill him, too. And he'll die knowing that you failed to save him."
"Ratchet!" Orion screamed, trying to reach out to his caretaker and help him.
Tanker's weapon was suddenly kicked upwards, blasting into the roof. Before Tanker could even realize what had happened, a blur of yellow flew right in front of him as something punched him directly in the faceplate, knocking him back and making him release the grip he had on the sparkling, sending Orion to his knees on the floor, gasping.
Ratchet squinted into the darkness, his optics failing him. A mech had run into the room, and had begun attacking Tanker with everything he had. The mech looked familiar. Ratchet knew that he had seen the mech before, but his mind was barely processing anything, it was taking him so long so realize who was there.
Voltlock?
Tanker regained his senses, blocking Voltlock's next punch. Voltlock continued pressing forward, proceeding to kick Tanker in the leg and knocking him down. Tanker grunted as he hit the floor, then he pointed his gun blindly and fired. He missed, but the blast did make Voltlock freeze and give Tanker enough time to jump back up and roundhouse kick Voltlock against the floor.
Voltlock stood up, using a wall for support, before he felt metal being pressed against the side of his helm. He looked out of the corner of his optic, and saw the barrel of Tanker's gun.
"You may have been able to restrain me in the Medical Center," Tanker cackled. "But now I have nothing left to lose."
"Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I did this," Voltlock countered before spinning around and slamming Tanker's faceplate into the wall.
Orion slowly stood up while the two mechs were occupied, running over to where Ratchet was chained, though he was still having trouble breathing. Ratchet shook his head. "No, Orion, please. Just run."
Orion merely shook his head as he jumped up, grabbing one of the chains holding Ratchet hostage and pulling on it, trying to loosen the restraints. Ratchet could feel the chains on his right arm weaken slightly, but he could tell by how much. Orion watched Ratchet with soft optics. "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise."
And it was a promise he had to keep.
One loud slam made both Orion and Ratchet stare at the battle happening in front of them.
Tanker growled, and he threw his leg back to kick. Voltlock dodged, but realized too late that the move had been a distraction. Tanker thrust the edge of the weapon down against Voltlock's helm, knocking him to the ground and leaving him motionless, optics closed.
"Voltlock?" Orion whispered worriedly, accidentally attracting Tanker's attention to him. The miner ran in front of Ratchet, grabbing Orion by the throat again and lifting him into the air.
Tanker pointed the gun at Orion's head once again, looking towards Ratchet with a crazed grin. "Tell your sparkling goodbye."
Ratchet used all of his strength to break his right arm free from the chains, shattering them as his fist flew forward and smacked Tanker directly in the neck. Tanker choked, the force of the punch making him throw Orion to the side, sending him flying into a nearby wall. Orion went limp as he fell to the floor, and began coughing, his systems sending warnings all through his frame.
Ratchet stared at Orion, tempted to run over to him and see if he was alright, but he had no time. Tanker threw a punch at him, which he barely dodged. Ratchet hit Tanker in the chest, sending the miner staggering back a few steps. Ratchet quickly used his free arm to break the rest of the chains holding him back. Tanker didn't even have time to recover before Ratchet hit him again.
Tanker growled ferociously, raising his gun and pointing it towards Ratchet. He fired, and it was only sheer luck that it managed to miss it's target. Ratchet's optics widened. Tanker was a very good shot.
Tanker fired again, and Ratchet gasped in pain as it hit his right arm. Ratchet placed his other hand over the wound, feeling Energon slip through his fingers. He tried to move his arm, but it caused too much pain, practically rendering the limb useless. Ratchet didn't have time to react before Tanker kicked him in the chest, very hard. Ratchet fell down onto the floor. Everything hurt. His systems were telling him he needed to shut down. If he shut down, he might fall into stasis lock. It he tried to stay conscious, he might never wake up again.
Ratchet look to the side, where Orion was still.
He had something to protect.
He felt so weak, but he made himself rise to his knees.
Ratchet coughed up Energon, which leaked onto the floor with a weak glow. He tried to stand, but he wasn't able to, both because he didn't have the strength to do so, and because Tanker walked up behind him and placed the gun against the back of his helm.
"I gave you a chance to say goodbye," Tanker said, venom lacing his static filled voice. "I never got that chance."
The gun buzzed, ready to fire. Were it still Solar Cycles before, Ratchet would have let it happen. But he had someone to protect. Ratchet spun around and grabbed Tanker's gun just as it was about to shoot, rapidly turning it around to face the miner's chest.
The weapon fired.
Tanker did nothing. He didn't seem to even react to being shot. Ratchet stood up, backing away from the miner who soon fell backwards onto the floor.
Tanker didn't move, he just stared up at the ceiling.
He was so tired. He didn't want to fight anymore.
As Tanker laid there in a pool of his own Energon, his vision began to disappear into white, and a soft voice that meant dearly to him could be heard.
Come home with me, darling.
For the first time in what seemed like forever to him, a sincere and true smile appeared on Tanker's faceplate, Energon dripping furiously from his mouth, the same with lubricant from his optics.With his last ounce of strength, Tanker reached towards the light, knowing it was safe, that he would find his bonded there, and he would finally be happy again. The color of his frame slowly drained away, spark ceiling it's glow, but the smile remained even after the light left his optics.
Even after he had one, Ratchet couldn't feel victorious. He felt strangely empty. He looked to the end of the chamber, where Orion lay, unmoving besides the shaking of his frame. Orion was alive.
Ratchet felt so relieved. He tried to walk towards his charge, but he fell to his knees before he could take a single step. His spark felt so weak, as if it was flickering, trying so hard to stay ignited and failing. But Orion was alive. Orion was alive. Tanker couldn't hurt him anymore. Being with Ratchet wouldn't hurt him anymore.
Ratchet fell to the floor, rolling onto his back as he blinked, optics slowly closing.
It was alright...
If he...
Did die...
Because Orion...
Was...
Alive.
On the other side of the room, Voltlock stirred with a groan. He slowly pushed himself up, hand on his helm at the feeling of a dull, throbbing pain. He blinked, optics blurily looking around the room as his processor caught up with what was going on.
Orion was curled up in a ball on the floor, gasping for a breath that he just couldn't catch. His illness, his defects, they were hitting him at full force. He felt a sudden pressure on his spark. The pressure grew until it began to hurt. Then, the pain left. Orion shuddered, feeling a sense of loss.
Orion shivered as he slowly sat up, the feeling of loss spreading throughout his entire frame. He opened his optics, glancing around the room in concern. His caretaker, where was he? Was he alright? Orion looked around frantically, before his optics settled on a body laying in the middle of the room.
Tanker.
Orion's breathing hitched and he crawled back before he came into contact with the wall. Tanker wasn't moving. He wasn't trying to hurt him anymore. Orion wanted to feel angry with the mech that had tried to take him away, but he couldn't bring himself to. Tanker felt exactly how Orion didn't want anyone to feel. Tanker was hurt and alone. He was hurt and alone, and he wanted to make Ratchet feel that way.
Orion's concern quickly returned and he looked around again, for any sign of his caretaker. Something past Tanker caught Orion's sight, and it made him freeze in alarm.
"Ratchet!" Orion yelled, scampering to his feet and running to his caretaker's side. He knelt down in the medic's Energon, but he didn't care.
It was already cold.
"Ratchet..." Orion whispered, placing a hand on the medic's arm in an attempt to rouse him. Ratchet didn't respond.
Orion watched his caretaker's faceplate, waiting for some kind of sign to show that he was alright, that he would wake up. He needed Ratchet to wake up.
Wake up!
"No..." Orion slowly shaking his head. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't. Orion gently pushed Ratchet's shoulder again, but there was still nothing. His voice wavered. "No!"
Maybe his spark was sick. Maybe, maybe he just needed to give it a cure. Yes. Orion let out a breath, looking to Ratchet's chest. He couldn't see anything wrong. If anything was wrong, what could he do? He didn't have a cure. He couldn't cure his caretaker's spark.
"You can't leave me, Ratchet!" Orion pleaded, giving his caretaker's arm one last shake before giving up on that entirely. "Ratchet, please, I love you!"
Orion choked out a sob, placing his hand where his caretaker's lay motionless. Lubricant began trailing down his faceplate, falling silently onto the floor.
"I love you!" He cried, burying his head into Ratchet's side. "Please! Don't leave me again!"
Orion completely broke down. He just couldn't be brave any longer. His caretaker was hurt. Ratchet was hurt. The only thing Orion wanted was for Ratchet to never be hurt again, and he had failed. The one he cared about, the only one who had ever truly cared about him, was gone. Orion was alone, and it hurt.
Voltlock stood slowly, trying not to make a sound. One he stood, he began walking towards the sparkling, putting all of his weight on his uninjured leg. He stopped a few steps away, taking in the sight before him with an expression of grief. The last thing he said to Ratchet was horrible and untrue, and he would never be able to say he was sorry. Sorry for doubting him, sorry for hating him, sorry for trying to take away the one thing that he cared about. Voltlock shook his head in self loathing.
But it wasn't about him.
"Orion?" Voltlock said quietly, holding out a hand. "Come here, kid."
"No," Orion's voice was muffled against his caretaker's frame.
Voltlock was about to say something else when he heard voices and loud footsteps coming from outside of the chamber. They grew louder and louder, until Voltlock thought they might around the corner. All of a sudden, a group of mechs and femmes hurried into the room. They held weapons in their hands, pointing them at every being in the room.
Members of the Guilds of Cybertron?
Weapons were pointed at Voltlock, until their holders deduced that he was not a threat. The weapons were let down, but were not deactivated, as the Guild members moved around the chamber.
Voltlock quickly grabbed Orion, holding him against his chest as he moved out of the Guild members' way. Orion struggled, clearly trying to get back to Ratchet in his grief. Once away from the crowd, Voltlock set Orion on the ground. Voltock knelt down, carefully placing his hands on the distraught sparkling's shoulders. "Orion, you need to calm down."
Orion covered his optics with his hands in an attempt to stop them from leaking, but he only managed to quiet his sobs.
Voltlock's spark pained at the sparkling's misery, but he forced himself to harden his spark and he continued. "Orion, I'm going to try and help Ratchet, but I need you to help me. Right now, Ratchet needs you. Can you be brave for him?"
Orion's cries died down slowly, as he turned back to face Ratchet, where the members of the Guilds were looking over him, scanning him with devices so ancient that they looked foreign. They began hoisting the medic up, preparing to take him out of the room. Orion glanced down at the ground, before looking back up at Voltlock.
"Yes."