Refresher at the end of the chapter to clarify a few things.
"Arcee?" he repeated slowly, taking a step closer.
His nearness made her shrink into herself as though protecting her most vulnerable parts from some inevitable blow. She clutched her helm, optics closing as she shook.
'It's not real. None of this... is real. This is just another sick ruse!'
His servo was firm but gentle as it gripped the underside of her arm, hoping the contact would serve as an anchor and not startle her even more. "It's alright, Arcee. You're here with us now."
The soothing cadence of his voice and the grounding sensation of his touch helped pull her back from the manic spiral she'd slipped into, and the two wheeler slowly pulled herself from her defensive position to look at him... really look. He looked real... sounded just like he had before.
Primus... it was Ratchet.
The orange medic was caught off guard by the force with which she launched herself fully into him, but recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around her shaking frame as she gripped at him like a lifeline. It was almost as though she thought he might vanish if she didn't hold on tight enough. His spark broke at the thought of what could have reduced her to this.
'Now isn't the time for such thoughts,' he reminded himself. Glancing up at his startled compatriot, he smiled reassuringly. "It's alright, Ironhide. I can take it from here."
The battle hardened mech nodded, glancing one last time at the small blue femme before moving to give the two some clearly needed space.
"You're safe now," Ratchet whispered to her, which only seemed to make the trembling worse. She had yet to speak a word, or even make a sound. The image of a savaged Bumblebee flashed through his processor, intake sheared open, voicebox torn from its housing. The vision lingered for a fraction of a nano-klik before he forced it away. Hopefully the cause was something far less... permanent. Her weapons, he imagined, had also been restricted, along with most other transformative functions. They would need to remedy that. Perhaps once she had use of her weapons again, and regained her voice, she would feel more at ease.
He was about to tell her they needed to put her under to inspect her vitals when he caught sight of her profile. Her optics were wide, unblinking, staring at nothing at all. The vibrant blue of them reflected dimly off his chestplate. She looked... terrified, and lost. He decided not to say anything at all, and pulled her more firmly into his embrace, rocking minutely in what he hoped was a comforting way. She seemed to like that, relaxing minutely. In no time at all she had slipped into recharge, her slight weight going slack.
His dear friend... what had they done to her?
…...
How dare she. How. DARE. She leave?! Clearly he hadn't been as thorough in his training as he needed to be. His servos clenched so tightly the sharp points of his claws drew energon, which slipped down through his fist and pattered softly on the floor.
Trying to still the wild beating of his spark, Starscream cleared his vocalizer. The slight noise was enough to get the warlord's attention, and the full force of his violet gaze pinned the seeker to the spot. Megatron was already furious... why did he have to deliver the news?!
"M-my Lord... we've taken full stock of the damages and inventory."
The colossal mech did not speak, he simply continued to stare, scowl deepening.
Taking that as his cue, Starscream went on, "As you already know, surveillance systems were compromised; Soundwave is working to get them online as quickly as possible. There was extensive damage to the storage facility at ground level – all of the energon there was lost to the explosion. We... believe that may have been the Autobots' initial point of entry."
The tyrants optics were getting wider and decidedly more murderous as he went on, the slender mech shrinking in on himself as his master seemed to swell in size.
"How?!"
Wincing at the volume of the demand, Satscream hastily replied, "They used the ground bridge we opened to transport a new shipment from one of our mining operations. We searched the location and discovered several monitoring devices, along with a homing beacon. We believe the one responsible for the plant was that young Autobot we captured only recently!"
Megatron turned away from the cowering seeker before him, denta gritting. Clever... very clever. Planting surveillance within enemy lines to allow them an unfettered view of their operations. And visibility to their shipping schedules... he had underestimated them.
"And... there's one more thing..."
Venting hard to control the mounting urge to throttle his second in command, the towering mech glanced back over one spiked pauldron, brow ridge raised.
Starsceam wished he could be anywhere else in the universe at that moment. "They... took the phase shifter."
"WHAT?!"
Wheeling around, Megatron grabbed hold of the slim bot by his neck, lifting him from the ground as he bellowed, "Increase security on the exterior of the stronghold immediately! Pull all personnel from recharge and await my command!"
With that he was dropped unceremoniously onto his aft. Scrambling up, he called out, "Yes, my Lord!" while simultaneously turning and fleeing down the corridor.
The seething warlord let our a bellow of rage, frightening away every bot in the vicinity. His surveillance was offline. They had compromised one of his mining operations YET AGAIN, and destroyed a portion of his energon stores. And... they had the phase shifter. They had Arcee. She would give them whatever information she had... which meant now, more than ever, they had all the tools they needed for a secondary attack.
The anger in his lines was quickly paired with the slick heat of anticipation. He would be ready for them. And when they returned to pilfer more of his supplies and artifacts, thinking to deal him another blow, he would crush them. All of them. He would rend them to pieces with his bare servos, discover the location of their newest base, and wipe them out for good.
He would reclaim all that had been taken from him, and he would make her watch as he burned them all to molten scrap.
...
When she regained wakefulness her first feeling was one of anxiety. When had she passed out?! She didn't recognize this place! Where was she?!
"Steady now, don't move around so fast."
The voice was soft, but unfamiliar, and she moved sharply away from the sound of it. A kind, smiling face greeted her terrified optics, a bot she didn't recognize. But behind him... stood Ratchet.
Relieved, she recalled the events that had lead her here... she had escaped.
"How do you feel?" the red and white bot asked her.
She replied without thinking. "Tired."
The sound of her own voice startled her, and she lifted a servo to her lip components.
Ratchet glanced at the other medic, expression thankful. "Could you give us a moment?"
Nodding in understanding, he stepped aside, informing his newest patient, "I'll be back to check on you in a little bit. Take it easy."
Arcee watched him go before glancing down at her lap, servos clasping together. She had no idea what to say to him. After everything she'd done, what could she say?
"Fixit is one of the best medical minds to ever grace the Autobot cause," Ratchet clarified while moving slowly to sit beside her. "He made sure everything is exactly as it should be."
As it should be? The words immediately made her glance at her chassis, and she stared blankly at the space where the Decepticon insignia had once been branded. It was gone... so why did she still feel so heavy? Perhaps it was because she knew that no amount of pretending would erase the past. While the physical mark was removed, it would be branded into every fibre of her being for as long as she stayed online... and they had seen it... they knew. They had inspected her and had found all of the ways she had been compromised, reduced to nothing. She couldn't even meet his gaze she was so ashamed.
"Arcee... do you know how long were you held captive?"
She paused, but only for a moment before whispering, "Nearly eight orbital cycles."
Ratched winced at the thought. Primus... so long... yet he didn't make a point to say so. He imagined surviving was not something she was overly proud of at the moment. He had seen the kinds of things that happened to Autobots who were cursed with Decepticon favor when they fell into captivity. A shudder wracked his frame.
"I'm glad you're alive, Arcee. I know things will be hard for awhile... but take it one solar cycle at a time, and know that I am here for you should you need anything. You don't... have to tell us anything you don't want to. Just know that none of us fault you for any of the things that happened while you were-"
Her bitter laughter cut him off. "While I was what? Playing lapdog to our enemy? Simpering and trailing along behind him like the pathetic little traitor that I am?"
"Arcee! You-"
"It's true!" she shouted in frustration, looking up into his face, her expression twisted with anguish. "You can't say you don't blame me when you don't know the depth of my crimes!"
"You've committed no crimes," the orange medic responded as gently as he was able, holding his servos up in a non threatening manner. He reached for her, trying to settle her more comfortably into the berth. She was moving far too much.
She wormed away from his touch. "You wouldn't feel that way if you knew... if you'd seen me! Ratchet, I-"
Knowing he had to deescalate her before she hurt herself he stood and very firmly took hold of her rotator cups and forced her to face him.
"None of that matters!" he insisted, his volume raised and stern. "What matters is that you're here now, and you are safe. You're right where you belong; with Bumblebee and Bulkhead and I!"
She wanted to argue with him, but those names gave her pause... Faces from her past slid to the forefront of her processor, and she marvelled, "They're... alive?"
He gave a gusty 'hmph' and rolled his optics. "Alive and well, and driving me screwy with their incessant requests to see you. Patience is neither of their strong suits."
How long had it been since she'd given up hope that she would ever see any of them again? This was all so surreal. Ratchet... now Bee, and Bulkhead... the original gang was all here...
Wait...
"Ratchet! I need to-"
"You NEED to stop getting all worked up! It's not good for your current condition," he reminded her, trying to still her wiggling. Then she said something that brought his entire world to a screaming halt.
"Optimus is alive."
The blustery medic immediately quieted, his expression shifting rapidly as he processed the statement. "That... that isn't possible. We saw him..."
The two wheeler shook her helm, reaching up and taking hold of the strong edge of his jaw. "I saw him, Ratchet. I touched him. Optimus is in DarkMount... and he's alive."
A little refresher and additional notes...
Orbital cycle: month
Solar cycle: day
Nano-klik: second
Rotator cup: like rotator cuff, but they're robot aliens so it's a rounded portion of their framework in the shoulder that fits around the joint there
This Fixit is the G1 Equivalent, not the RID version where he is considerably smaller.