I'm back, peeps! Oh, it's good to be back. (quoting Iron Man/Robert Downey Jr. here ;) )
So yeah, Mel is getting worse, as I said before. I still won't say whether it will be the end, that is for you to decide. I also hate it that everybody is losing their fun and youthful side. But that's just how the circumstances are.
Also, I'm again apologizing for being inactive. I'm not doing it on purpose. I just have too much in my life going on at the moment. So stories are on hold. Don't worry, I am going to finish this story. I'm still a Transformers fan, even though it has been a year. I say 'still', because usually whatever I am interested in only last for a year or so, and then I find a new hobby.
But I got too many stories in plan to just let this go. There are still people in this world who enjoy creativity, originality and reading about what they love, so why let them down? Why stop creating? That's what I say and that's what I live up to. So stories will come around, no matter the time spent in pauses.
Other than my 200 word rant, I'm glad to present to you the 66th chapter of this story. I'm so proud of myself that I got this far. Remember, the goal is still 100 chapters, so I'll try to reach that goal. 34 chapters to go! :D
Neon: I've never listened to their songs before.
3rd person POV
Her fall to the ground didn't go unnoticed. Only when her limp body crashed onto the hard gravel did everyone react.
In mere seconds, everyone rushed to their feet, some transforming, some struggling to keep themselves on the ground from the speed they were running at.
She lied lifelessly on the ground, not breathing.
As if by God's grace, Ratchet came. He was called some hours ago, and he finally arrived now.
"Mel! Mel, get up!" Will yelled from the bottom of his voice, crashing onto the gravel with his knees first. Unfazed by the action and ignoring the pain that emitted from his knees, he picked up the upper part of her body, straddling her into his arms.
Where her head was placed on the gravel, a small ring of blood was stained. She was bleeding and, very possibly, not just from one place.
Ratchet summoned his holoform immediately. "Get her inside, quickly! Nicole, set the bed! Sarah, get wet towels and heat the room!"
Ironhide quickly transformed and summoned his holoform as well, helping Will pick her up and carry her safely into the bedroom. Another bleeding spot was found, on her left forearm.
Everybody ran in different directions, each obeying Ratchet's orders. It seemed like everyone knew what to do, when in real life, they didn't know what they were doing. They were looking up to Ratchet, and Ratchet, even though he didn't show it, didn't know how to save her.
Getting inside quickly, Will and Ironhide set Melissa on the bed. Will shook her, trying to get her back to life, but she wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing at all.
"Ratchet!" Will yelled for him, shaking Mel's lifeless body on the couch. "Mel, don't you dare give up now!"
"Ratchet, get over here NOW!" Ironhide roared through the house as Ratchet's holoform ran up to them.
"Move!" Ratchet pushed the two of them away, pressing his ear onto her chest. His face turned into a grimace as he touched her neck to find a pulse. There wasn't any. "Don't you dare, Melissa." He scolded as he formed his hands and pressed them onto her chest, trying to get her heart moving.
"Did the heart clog?!" Will raged.
Ratchet ignored as he kept trying to bring her back to life. He pressed her chest, massaging her heart.
"I'm giving her mouth to mouth." Ratchet glanced at Ironhide, who nodded hesitantly. Ratchet blew air into Melissa's mouth, trying to get air into her lungs.
She wasn't reacting.
And Ratchet just stopped. Just like that. And suddenly, his holoform disappeared.
Ironhide immediately opened the comlink, "What the frag are you doing?!"
"Saving her life!" Ratchet replied just as quickly, transforming and taking out from his shoulder compartment a purplish substance, alien in nature. He threw it on the ground where his holoform caught it. His holoform ran back into the house, with a needle in its pocket.
"What is that?" Will asked quickly, knowing it must've been something special.
"Diluted energon. Hopefully it will help. If not…" The sentence needn't be finished. If this didn't help her now, then nothing would.
He quickly pressed the needle into the bottle, extracting the substance. He took out the needle, and tried to find a vein in Melissa's arm. Luckily, he found it quickly and injected the diluted energon.
After injecting everything from the bottle into the needle and into her vein, they waited.
The room was heated. Wet towels arrived as Ratchet pressed them onto her forehead and insides of her wrists.
"Now what?" Nicole asked, looking at her best friend lying on the couch, watching the whole needle scenario along with everyone else in the household.
"We wait." Ratchet sighed. "Pray this works."
"Mommy, what's going on?" a cute, young voice asked, as everybody turned around and looked at Annabelle standing on the staircase, watching everything. "Why is Mel like that?" she innocently asked, pointing a finger at her.
After a few moments of silence, everybody started acting, pretending. "We're playin' a lil' game, Belle." Jazz, who was along with the rest of the humans and Autobots in the living room, created a diversion for her. "Do you want to play with us?"
"Yeah!" she excitedly said. "What are you playing?"
He continued without missing a beat. "Plank game."
"Jazz…" Sarah started as she shook her head, "I'll take care of her."
"Nah, it's fine, I'll go play with her." He winked and went upstairs. "Notify me of any changes."
"So how do you play this game?" Their voices could still be heard as they climbed on the stairs.
"Well, first thing ya gotta do is to find somewhere to lie down. Your bed? And act like a plank."
It caused chuckles downstairs, but as Jazz's and Belle's voice faded to nothing, so did their small smiles.
"Ratchet." Ironhide started. "She is alive, right?" he looked at him, hoping, praying, that somehow she would be okay.
Ratchet walked towards Mel, feeling her pulse on the neck. He stood motionless for a couple of moments.
The air was filled with tense atmosphere. "Ratchet, just answer us!" Will yelled again.
"She is…" he stood silent. He found a pulse. "She is alive."
Everyone let huffs of air out of their lungs, relieved because of the good news.
Melissa's POV
Nothing. I felt nothing. I saw nothing and felt nothing.
I was in a neutral place, somewhere I couldn't explain. I could see and couldn't see. Hear and couldn't hear and feel and couldn't feel, all at the same time.
But something was off. Where I was now, was not reality. It was some sort of Limbo.
I felt something pulling me into something else. As if luring me. Confusing me and asking me to let go.
I was scared. Where was I?
A dim light was coming from somewhere, luring me into it. I could hear laughter coming from it. I could feel joy, happiness, trust and love coming from there. I could see faces.
I could see my parents.
My eyes widened as I took a step towards them.
"Mel, it's been so long." My mother's voice rang.
"Mom…" I stared at her, my mouth hanging agape. She was standing right beside dad. The light was calling me, luring me into the world of peace and heaven.
Was this heaven?
But that would mean… I'm dead?
It didn't make sense. How?
"Mom, how do I…?"
"Come to us, sweetheart. We've been waiting for you."
I shook my head. Something was off. "What am I doing here?"
My father offered me a hand, as I was standing in front of a sort of portal, that would take me to a heavenly place. "Come with us, and we'll answer all your questions honey."
"Answer them now, dad." This didn't feel right. I loved my parents and if this really was heaven, or hell or Limbo, or whatever, my dad would always be up for a compromise. I missed them a lot, seeing them this alive was incredible, but the gut feeling was telling me something wasn't quite right.
"We are so glad you're here, baby." My mom's sweet voice was luring me, trying to get me to join them and go behind the portal that was filled with light and grace.
"I want to know what I'm doing here." I took a stance. I ain't going anywhere.
A sudden question popped in my head.
Where's Ironhide?
"Sweety, you left that world." As if the both of them could read my mind and answer my question, "You are with us now. Join us, honey." My parents talked. This was them, or their bodies at least.
Why is everything so confusing? Too many questions and not one answer.
I took a step back from them. "No."
"Just come, Mel."
"No." I walked backwards. "I'm going back."
"There is no 'back' to go to, sweety. There is only one way. To us, to heaven."
So I was dead.
I blinked and shook my head. "But how? How did I get here? How-" Sudden images burst into my mind.
I was falling, blackness surrounding me. I fell to the ground, but I didn't feel any pain.
Just as the images appeared, they had disappeared. "Do you see now?" Dad said. "You belong with us, dear." he smiled. His hand was offered to me once more. "Shall we go now?"
Tempting. "What about Ironhide? I can't just leave him."
"Your time has come. He will move on."
The words didn't sound good. "I can't. He's gonna find a way to bring me back. I can't be dead."
"Sweety, you are." They talked as if this wasn't anything serious.
"Just come with us. We're your parents, Mel, you trust us." Dad said again, as if following mom's lead.
"He's waiting for me. I can't go. I love him. I cannot leave him alone." I shook my head and walked back again. There has to be a way for me to get back to him. This doesn't seem right.
As if by God's grace, I felt like being pulled into something, again. Like awakening. Like I was finally going out of this mess.
I took one last glance at my parents. "We'll see each other again, hon." Mom smiled and blew me a kiss. Dad waved at me as they disappeared from my eyesight.
I was in total blackness again.
And a second later, I was starting to wake up. I was starting to feel me coming back to life.
I woke up, being a little shaken into reality.
XxXxXxXxX
"Mel, come on, wake up." Will shook her.
"Gently, gently." Ratchet said. "We still don't know how she is reacting to this."
"She is alive, Ratchet, that's all that matters right now." Will answered.
Ratchet kept quiet as everybody could see Mel coming back to life. Everybody was relieved once more, taking a step closer to her. "You okay there, Mel?" Bumblebee asked cautiously. Only mere minutes ago did he see her normal and mere moments ago, she was lifeless. Circumstances could change rapidly, and everybody had to be extra careful around her. Nobody knew when she could possibly fall and never get back up again.
"She's waking up." Ratchet said, kneeling by the couch, by her side. He put a bandage around her head quickly and another bandage around her left forearm. The bleeding would cease eventually.
She started opening her eyes, with difficulty. No wonder, the heart needed to process the diluted energon, to keep her body running on something. There was still a question of what was her body running on at the moment. Was it blood, energon, the mixed blood with energon or the diluted energon? Or perhaps on something in between?
Whatever it was running on, it had better kept running, otherwise, Mel's light would have died out by now.
As she was regaining herself, it was clear that she was losing her battle. Purplish circles under her eyes indicated she was very sick. No wonder, she'd been fighting too long. It has taken its toll on her body.
"Mel, are you okay?" her uncle asked, walking and stopping right next to Ratchet. He crouched down and took her hand in his, squeezing it lightly.
Ironhide resisted the strong urge to be the first to hold her, to touch her. It hadn't been easy for him at all. To look at her weak and slowly dying out body and not being able to be the first one to hold her close, and never let her go.
All these years he was keeping her like a drop of water on a palm. A drop so easy to drop…
Mel was awake. She was alive and she was awake. But something was wrong.
Ratchet, who was still by her side, neared her. "Are you feeling alright? Do you feel any pain which I should neutralize?"
She blinked.
Everybody looked at her.
"Nod for affirmative pain. Nod twice for no pain."
She blinked twice.
The atmosphere grew tense, filling the air with fear and concern.
"What's with her? I know she can't talk, but why isn't she moving?" Sideswipe inquired, taking a couple of steps towards her, but standing at the same distance apart from her, as Ironhide was; which was, right behind Will and Ratchet.
Dead silence struck the room. Ratchet checked for her pulse on her neck. It was there, she was alive. "Her pulse is normal. I don't understand…" Ratchet said, backing away and looking at her.
"Then why isn't she moving?" Will kept his voice tight and as calm as possible, not letting himself rage because of the fact his only niece was dying. It wouldn't just affect him.
He death would affect everybody.
She was only blinking. She wasn't doing anything. Her eyes widened in fear. She realized she couldn't move at all.
"Mel, it's alright, it will pass, do not go into a state of panic." Ratchet soother immediately, being the only doctor and the first one to notice she was afraid.
Ironhide couldn't take it anymore, to just be standing aside, he moved forward and cupped her face. "I'm here." After a silence, he added, "We all are. We will find a way to get you through this with minimal damage." He tried reassuring her.
Ratchet pressed his fingers onto her neck, shaking his head and huffing air, looking at Ironhide, almost pleading. "We need slow down her heartbeat or she will have a heart attack."
Ironhide looked at Ratchet and then looked back at Mel. "I need you to calm down. Just calm down. Think about," he stopped for a moment. He couldn't tell her to think about the two of them kissing and hugging and whatnot, especially in front of everybody present in the room. "The meadow."
Their eyes were connected by an invisible line again. She understood what he was saying. She was desperately trying to find shelter in his eyes. In his touch.
And as if the answer to her prayers, his hands went to hers, which were lying on the sides of her body. He put them on her stomach, gently running circles into the back of her palm with his fingers. "Just listen to my voice."
There was a connection between them. They knew it was there. And Mel knew he could feel it too. It was like they could talk without words needed to be said. She could almost feel his words calm her. His unsaid words calm her. Their incredible connection made this happen.
Her eyes weren't as wide anymore. They were going back to normal. Ratchet checked for her pulse once more. "She's calm now, Ironhide." It was sign that Ironhide should go away so that Ratchet can poke her body and gain information, to help her more.
But Ironhide wouldn't dare let go now. Not when he almost lost her again. So many times there were such close calls… They'd need a miracle to get her normal again. A big miracle.
Since Ironhide wasn't moving away from Melissa, and Ratchet didn't want to embarrass him when everybody was watching him, he sent him a message via the communication link.
"Ironhide, step aside, I need to check what is with her. It's crucial. Primus knows what she's thinking now."
"She isn't afraid anymore, Ratchet. We need to get everyone out of the house, or at least out of the room. She doesn't want the crowd."
"How would you know?"
"I feel it."
Ratchet sighed. "I need everybody out of this room. Except Ironhide."
"What?" Will asked suddenly.
"Melissa should not be in a crowd at this moment. She needs to be in a calm environment."
"You're saying we're not calm?" Will repeated with a hint of aggressiveness in his tone.
"I'm saying you're not needed." Ratchet was nothing if not brutal. "It's her life in danger, Major Lennox."
It has been quite a while since anyone in the house called him by his military status, but it was serious. Oh it was dead serious.
"Understood." Will answered as he stood up and backed away. "Sarah and I are gonna check on Jazz and Annabelle. Try that 'plank' game or whatever. Just keep her safe, both of you. I trust you."
The words hung in the air, filling hope, but also filling fear. In case something happened to her, Ironhide's and Ratchet's trust with Will would have been broken.
"We'll do our best." Ironhide simply answered as Will and Sarah went upstairs. "You two, you're not needed either." Ironhide stated to the twins.
"Maybe she-"
"Out." Ratchet covered Ironhide.
Their holoforms fizzed out, the twins obedient for once, as Nicole and Bee were the only ones left here, along with Ratchet and Hide.
"I need you two away, as well." Ratchet answered.
"She's my best friend, Ratchet. I don't want to leave her." Nicole said in a soft, but firm tone as she reached out to touch Mel's hands. "I'm here, Mel."
"I'm sorry, Nicole. " Ratchet shook his head. "There is nothing you can do here, not even reassure. I need Ironhide here alone with her. Not you or Bumblebee, or anybody else."
She stood silent for a moment, before answering. "I understand."
Ironhide and Ratchet waited for them to leave. When they did, their conversation started.
"Mel, are you in any pain?" Ratchet asked, "Blink once for yes, twice for no."
She blinked twice.
"This is good." Hide said, but Mel shot him a look that clearly said, 'what part of this is good?'. "Sorry." He quickly apologized.
"Mel, try moving your arm." Ratchet said and expected her to move her arm. She didn't.
She couldn't.
"Ratchet?" Hide asked, "What the frag is with her? Why can't she move her limbs?"
Ratchet's voice dropped as he looked at her, but seemed as if he was looking through her. At a spot behind her. Something in the distance. His voice was distant, too. "I feared this would happen."
"What happened?" He wanted that damn answer right now.
He sighed sadly, his shoulders dropping low. "She lost her motor abilities. She will never move again."
Yes, I am aware you hate me. A lot. Which is gonna make the story spectacular!
By the way peeps, when Mel is talking to her parents in 'Limbo' or heaven, it doesn't matter, she doesn't remember the conversation when she wakes up, even though everything happens consecutively in the story. So just go with it, please. And yes, this is Mel's 2nd time facing death. This is the second time she got away with it. Will her lucky streak go on? She is quite ill for another encounter.
Apart from that, we got another chapter covered, the story keeps on going and I still haven't got to the part of why I started this story. It's never been in any story before, I can guarantee it. When the time comes for that part to be written, posted and read, you will tell me if you read it somewhere else.
But for now, read and review? How are you liking this story so far? :-) Apart me being a sadist and apart from the team drastically changing, but that couldn't be avoided. Times change and not all changes are good.
But this isn't the end, my people. There is always hope.
R+R, my amazing readers! :-)