Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I’m literally going to cry, I swear it. My eyes sting from my unshed tears. Not even 10 minutes ago I was walking my dog, enjoying the sweet breeze and fresh air and now I’m freaking trapped on a giant warship with homicidal giant robots from freaking space. Is this place underwater? is this the freakin ocean? I didn't even eat breakfast today. Today, why today? I work 5 days a week and have school on top of it! I'm so tired of literally everything at this point.

“There is no god, if there is a god he is a bad god or doesn't exist.” my throat is still hoarse from all the screaming I did when they kidnapped me.

 Why would Giant robots kidnap me? I'm not even worth anything! Are they mad cause I enjoy Pacific Rim? Speaking of Pacific Rim I have the soundtrack on my phone. MY PHONE! Where is it? where is it?! I pat myself down, It's not in my pockets, not in my jeans, not in my shirt pocket. wait...I bring my hands down to my boots. I feel around for a bit, my fingers clumsily fumble with the long laces. In haste, I undo the laces, and to my sweet relief, my phone is tucked into my sock on the inner part of my calf. My faith in God has been restored!!! I hope I can call for help or at the very least watch some Netflix.

I slowly rub the sides of my face and stare at the walls confining me to my prison. The walls are all smooth and look the same except for one. The wall furthest from me looks like it has a mirror embedded into it. Why would giants need a mirror? wait, maybe it's a two-sided mirror similar to the ones on cop shows. Someone or something must be watching me! Bad time to pull out the phone, as slowly and as covertly as I am able to I tuck it back into my sock and lace my boots back up.

“Heh, big ass mirror for some dumbass’s big ass forehead.”

"Hehe" My eyes go wide and I just stare at the mirror.
Jesus Christ! Why do robots have to watch me sleep? Dude...not cool, so not cool, that is something I'm not into. I hate this, I hate them, I want to got home, I want to go home...I need to go home.

I close my eyes and concentrate on slowing my breathing, the horrible feeling of my stomach doing somersaults just makes me feel worse...God, I’m so bored. The weird flying blue giant took my dog, The red annoying one almost freaking dropped me...twice. And the purple one is a jerk. Not to mention they all look kind of like Doritos. I would do anything for food at this point; I'm so hungry. I maneuver myself into a comfortable position and lay down on my back and look at the ceiling. Even the ceiling is the same shade of purple as the walls...purple used to be my favorite color now I hate it. I take a deep breath and drag out a long sigh.

“If you’re gonna use me as bait or for a ransom I think I should get a piece of whatever you're trying to get, you know what I’m sayin?”

Sounds similar to muffled laughter permeate from behind the giant mirror. If they think that this is funny I’m gonna be pissed. This is my only day off this week and I wanted to enjoy it with my dog and maybe a frozen burrito or two. But NO...I had to get kidnapped by stupid giants and be held for ransom, God, I hope that I'm being held for ransom and nothing else. The door to my cell opens and in walks...an iron giant looking wannabe. This dude looks strong and scary...scary and perhaps a little stupid. Yep, I can totally work with this.

He opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off with the best English accent I can muster

“Oh god, I can’t believe you’ve done this”.

I hear a snicker from behind the mirror, oh they like that huh? well good thing for them that I don't care about my personal safety. Next time he talks imma cut him off again, I smirk.

“I am Lord Megatron Leader of th-”

  “This is why mom doesn't fucking love you!” He goes silent, his optics solely on me... shit I think I broke him. He just glares at me while I’m still on the floor, on my back, not giving a shit, what’s this MegaFrog gonna do about that? “Human, I advise you to choose your words carefully, any more disrespect from you and you will get squished beneath my ped.” without skipping a beat I say “do it”.

I lay back down and spread my arms out and close my eyes, If I listen really carefully there is full-blown laughter from behind the mirror now, at least someone will think I’m amusing in my final moments. I hear loud steps heading my way, the vibration through the floor is intense. The only thought that goes through my mind is that ‘This dude is massive.’ Giant hands roughly lift me up, and soon we are eye to eye or optic to eye. I'm scared, I made mistakes before but I think this is the worst one yet. He staysoddly calm and silent. He turns and walks out of the room...with me still in his hand. To his right, there is a giant blue daft punk looking dude. Now is definitely the time to stay silent. Damn, these ceilings are high, slowly my gaze wanders down to the ground....damn I'm high up. I snap my head up and keep my gaze straight forward. I may be stupid but at least I’m smart enough to stay silent through the whole trip.

I’m brought back from my mental wondering but the sudden force of Megatron stopping. I look up at him but he doesn't pay me any mind. “Soundwave get prime on the line”. The daft punk wannabe walks to the nearest what looks to be a computer desk station thing and starts pressing buttons. Suddenly the screen at the front of the room bursts into static before clearing up and to my horror...more robots.

“What do you want Megatron?” Woah this guy's voice is liquid gold! I could listen to him ramble for hours, I bet he does ASMR stuff or at least I hope he does...he could get big bucks for doing that.

“Why prime, I thought you would be happy to know that since you’ve decided to keep human pets I’ve decided to get one of my own.”

First of all: I'm not a pet, second of all: Megatron’s voice reminds me of sandpaper, it's gross.

"Hey, can I get my dog back?" The robot on the screen looks down at me and I do my best-kicked puppy dog eyes that I can possibly do. Megatron squeezes me a little tighter, he's probably threatening me to stay quiet. LOL not happening bub. "what da dog doin?" Because Megatron is squeezing me, my voice came out a little more wheezy than I would have liked.

“Let them go Megatron, they must be terrified. What of their family and friends?” I snort, “what friends,” I say quietly.

Megatron shakes me forward and I let out a strangled yelp.

“Stay silent flesh creature” I roll my eyes “sure mom” I answer back with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

Which now that I think about it, is probably was a bad thing because the next thing I know He’s tightening his grip. I'm panicking “hah, okay, okay okay okay you proved your point! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I won't do it again I swear!” Black dots dance in my vision, from my position I can see Megatron smirk; fear fills my whole being. My body feels heavy and light at the same time. I can hear the concerned voice of the robot-Prime I think his name was, talking in the background. 'He sounds oddly concerned' I think? and with that last thought, a resounding TWANG rang out through the room, my head thumped forward against Megatron's thumb and I give in to the darkness.

Chapter Text

My head hurts, my legs hurt, my everything hurts, uuuugghh…wait pain means I’m alive, thank God. This is either a good thing or a bad thing. I blink my eyes open; the bright lights burn and the stale air fills my lungs with each shaky breath I take. Did I pass out? In front of robots? I passed out in front of giant robots…I must have looked so stupid. I rub my eyes and slowly stretch my limbs. I’m so sore…. that Megatron fellow has a strong grip. Slowly as to not hurt myself I wiggle my toes, legs, hands, arms, and neck. Yep, no pain I’m alive. GREAT

I maneuver myself to a sitting cross-legged position and look around.

“Oh joy, another cell…with…no see-through mirrors”. I lean back on my arms and stare at the ground in front of my legs. i'm sure there must be a hidden camera somewhere. I'm just too awesome to be left unattended. Should I try calling for help? would I even get cell reception here? I glance down at my boots. Better to try than die without doing anything. but, if I'm caught they might take my phone away or worse...I let out a heavy sigh./p>

I want my dog, I want to go home, I want to eat some food…food. My stomach rumbles loudly “Fuuuuuuuaaaaaaaa……can I have some food please?!”

how long have I been asleep? “Hey!” silence…” Hey!” more silence….” I’m hungry, humans don’t live long without food…if you guys are gonna use me for ransom, I should be kept alive.”

Yea I don’t think anyone is listening to me at this point. Wait. No one is listening to me at this point…this is great. I can say anything I want and I wouldn’t get judged. “heh” fun.
The sound of the cell door opening distracted me from my thoughts.

“Here’s your sustenance human” a gravelly voice spoke.
I look over and see the stupid, mean purple flying dude. I slowly look him up and down. Well, he’s not leaving, he’s just standing by the door. Does he think I'm gonna try to escape? I'm pretty sure I'm in no condition to even try jogging much less running.

“Thanks for the…food?” whatever he dropped in front of me is definitely not food. Or it’s really gross-looking food.

“Hey, Robo Cop…have you seen my dog?”

“Gross four-legged thing? Yea, TC loves him.”
What now? Who now?
“Who’s TC? Will I get my dog back anytime soon? What’s your name if it’s not Robo-Cop?” I reach for the food and bring it up to my nose to smell it. Not bad…not good either.

“Your dog belongs to my trine-mate now, you will never see your ‘dog’ again, and if you’re lucky you’ll end up dead within a few breems anyway.” WHAT?! What? Dead? About time honestly. I take a bite into the ‘food’ and gag a bit. "M'Names Skywarp, now shut up and eat."

Honestly, if I’m rescued, I’ll be happy, and to be completely honest, if I die, I’ll be happy as well. This TC person seems to like dogs so I guess my poor sweet boy will be okay. I sigh and bite into the 'food'.

“Not gonna lie Sir, this food sucks.” He rolls his optics.

Okay, fine two can play at this game. I know many things that in my 19 years of existence seem too much for me to bear. I remember living through 2020, The Great Toilet Paper crisis, The Karens, The Quarantine, and especially the raid on area 51...hehehe I can make this poor, poor sucker beg for mercy, this is gonna be so much fun…and if I die in the process…oh well, I’m gonna die anyway. I wish I made a will earlier...

“Hey, Boomer!” Purple dude snaps his head up.

“The frag is a boomer Pipsqueak.”

“You’re a Boomer, Boomer. It don’t need no explaining.”

“Shut up squishy!” what? Now? I’m on a roll.

“Well, no, now I-HEY” Giant hands grab me, and I’m lifted up and carried out of my cell. Along the way I spot a mechanical dog...it's just walking a little way behind us now. I hope that it's a dog. If giant robots are real, and if aliens are real, is it possible for dogs to talk? I take a deep breath and as loudly as I can without shouting I say "What da dog doin?". The dog? thing? keeps on walking. Its pace doesn't even falter, however, The giant-Skywarp pauses for maybe a split second or two then keeps on walking. We pass other cell doors and make our way down a hallway, which to my “great” surprise has what seems to be infinitely more hallways.
After what seems to be around five minutes of walking, we finally get to what I think is the main room. Oh, hey there’s Megatron and Daft punk guy and the red flying man who kidnapped me.

“Sup.”

“Silence flesh creature.” Megatron looks pissed.

I dart my eyes to the far left of the room, there’s the big red-orange flying dude. DAMN! This guy has drip, he’s lookin mighty fine. Time to charm my way into some poor bastard’s heart, I bite my lip and squint at him “Hey baby” and finish with a wink.
The red flying jerk just gives me a disgusted look. Fine, yea, I was expecting that.

“Lord Megatron! Did you not hear what the flesh bag said? Kill it! It’s disgusting! My reputation will be tarnished!”
I take everything back, this guy has a voice that sounds like someone dragging their nails across a very, very, very long chalkboard. Ew…

“Silence Starscream! And you flesh creature! One more word out of either of you and you both will be swimming with the fishes!” His booming voice leaves no room for an argument.

“Get me on call with the Ark”

The robot with the visor walks over to the screen and starts pressing buttons. Soon the screen at the front of the room fills with static then a face appears. Not the same face as the other robot…must be a different guy then. Looks a lot more red, and he has a cute little red fin thing on the top of his head.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Megatron.” OOHHHH! He has a Texan accent…cool.

“Cut the pleasantries autoboot, where is Prime?”

“He’s a...bit busy right now, could ah take a message?”

“Oh, so the great Prime is too busy to discuss the fate of a little flesh creature? I Am surprised.” Megatron could win a Grammy with the way he’s acting now, way too over the top bleh.

Before anyone could say anything else I see a flash of red and blue in the far right corner the lights shut off and a shot rings out. Oh shit-oh shit, shit. The hell was that? Who shot what? There is loud screaming and cursing filling the silence, without warning the hands holding me suddenly yeet me across the room.
“YEEE!” I roughly hit the wall *CRUNCH* and then I feel my body plop into another bot’s hands? servos? My body feels broken... Oh no! please not Megatron please don't let Megatron be holding me! Suddenly we’re moving fast, like very fast. So fast that my body falls back with the amount of force that's pushing against us.

The sound of heavy rapid footsteps rings out in the darkness. The hands holding me shift so suddenly that instead of being trapped in cold hands I’m now trapped in a cab of a truck? More kidnapping? My head hurts, what about my dog? Oh, my poor sweet baby is stuck with a blue flying Dorito. The guy? He? It? The Truck? the truck picks up speed, bright lights in their base turn on momentarily blinding me. Shit! man, these lights hurt like a bitch, geezus! I close my eyes and wave my arms around until I find a seatbelt and strap myself in as securely as I can.

My heart hurts! I’m breathing way too fast, am I bleeding? I don’t feel good, I think I'm bleeding! I can’t...I can’t, oh no. “Hey, um-I don’t feel so good…imma take a nap, kay.” I lean my head back and I try to take a few breaths, my eyes are watery and heavy, my limbs are heavy. My lungs hurt, I hurt...A nap won’t hurt. Yea… a nap won’t hurt. I shut my eyes welcome the comfort that the darkness brings.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3
I’m comfortable, at least I think I am. The darkness that surrounds me embraces my form like an old lover. I can feel pain or echoes of pain, but I can’t tell what part of me is hurting. I feel like I’m lying on silk sheets, but the smell of sterilization and metal gradually pushes me to fatigued alertness. Loud sounds echo around me, sometime growing faint, sometimes growing so loud I can’t stand it. I hear talking, I can hear two people talking. Are they talking to me? About me? Was I drugged? Are the robots real? Bright lights dance painfully across my heavily closed eyelids. I want more sleep; can I have more sleep?

“Hey easy now, the loud noises and the lights might bother their eyes.” Who said that? I agree with them, dim the lights and shut up, that be great.

“Yea, yea, no big deal just turn down the lights and be quiet, no problem” This one sounds young, youngish?

A tired-sounding voice coming from my left grabs my attention. “What do you think the cons wanted with them? From the sound of it, it seems that they’ve been with the cons for little over a week.”
The person lets out a dejected sigh “The things that this young person has gone through- I can’t even imagine.”

“Do you think they’re going to be okay?” I hope I’m going to be okay. I better be okay! Am I at the hospital? Mom is going to be so upset I told her that I would be back soon…just thinking about her worrying about me makes me sad, a pang of guilt stabs deep into my heart. She’s all alone without me. a voice pulls me from my thoughts

“Humans are resilient creatures; I have no doubt in my processor that this one will pull through” what? Yea…humans are resilient…does this doc have a god complex or what?

“And by the look of these readings here it seems that our little mystery guest is awake.” The room goes silent, I can feel what seems to be dozens of eyes on me, it makes my skin crawl. Maybe they’ll leave me alone if I lay still and pretend to be sleeping.

“Hey there,” I can feel a long dark shadow loom over me.

“I know you’re awake.” I’m just gonna continue to lie still.

I can feel whatever is casting a shadow on me move even closer “I know you’re pretending to be asleep.”

Well, this is painfully awkward. I can’t stop a small smirk from spreading across my face, I take a slow deep inhale and slowly exhale. I flutter my eyes open and bring my hands to rub the sleepiness away. Whatever was leaning over me leans back to give me room to stretch, that’s good…I think. Slowly my eyes get into focus… “fuck.”
Whatever he-it is just widens its optics in surprise, otherwise it says nothing. I’m still tired but the adrenaline that I’m feeling right now is coursing through my veins, where’s the doctor? Where’s the young sounding guy? What the hell is going on?

“I understand that you must be confused, and afraid, I can assure you that no one here will bring you harm.”
He lowers himself into a giant chair about three dozen feet away from me, which is no small distance but at the same time, it couldn’t be far enough. I look down at my body, I’m all bandaged up and have an IV in my arm…that explains the stiffness in my arm. But my legs, they hurt so bad. I look to my right and leaning against the wall near what I can only assume is the exit; there is another giant robot staring straight at me. I slowly break eye contact with him and look down at my feet. The cold air dances across my exposed flesh. Without thinking I remove the IV from my arm and I try to maneuver myself off the comically small bed which happens to be on top of what appears to be a larger giant-sized bed, slab, thing.

“Hey now! You just woke up! “The giant that was sitting in the chair gets to his feet and moves with lighting speed makes a mad dash for me.

“No thank you!” my shrill voice greatly contrasts to his tired tenor.

I drag myself halfway across the giant-sized bed before servos wrap around me.

“No! No! Please!!! God! Fuck! No! Leggo!” I try to squirm around in his hold as much as I am able to in hope of finding a way out.

“Human! Calm down, no one here will hurt you. I’m a doctor, it’s my job to help people not hurt people.”
I am wheezing at this point, sweat drips down my face and I can feel my eyes well with tears.

“Please, please…I just want to go home.” I say barely above a whisper, he nods his head in understanding and gently lowers me onto the bed, and moves around to my left side to get ahold of the hastily discarded IV.

“My name is Ratchet, my friend in the corner over there is named Cliffjumper”

I sniff pitifully and bring my sore knees as close to my chest as possible.

“Could you tell us your name?”

I bring my arms or arm seeing as my left arm has an IV in it, over my head and bury my head into my knees and chest.

“Hey, you took quite the beating. I haven’t seen a human as strong-willed as you before.” The bot in the corner moves closer and takes up the empty chair on my right. Now I’m effectively stuck between two robots with no escape in sight.

The bot on my left sighs and straightens up.

“Let’s start again, my name is Ratchet and this is my friend Cliffjumper. If you are okay with it, we would like to know your name.”
I slowly lift my head up and stare at the bot named Ratchet then I drag my gaze to Cliffjumper. I rub the material of the hospital gown between my fingers other than that I make no move to acknowledge anything they said. This gown looks like something the hospitals in the 80’s used. I hold back a chuckle and smile a bit. Ratchet seems to have noticed and leans closer to me.

“What’s on your mind?” It’s almost funny how interested he looks.

“I just think its funny how this gown looks like its from the 80’s” my soft voice breaks the silence.

Cliffjumper leans back in only what I can assume surprise before he’s on his feet.
“Kid, what do you mean the 80’s? Its 1985”

“Bitch you lie!” I glare daggers him. “This is a sick joke.”
I huff and lean back onto propped pillows. I look left and Ratchet is staring at me with his chin resting in his hands.

“I have heard of some cases of amnesia, but never one this odd.” He leans in closer almost too close “Whatever the deceptions did to you I can assure you that you are in good hands.”

I’ve had enough of this joke “Listen here you damn toaster oven! I can prove that this is not the 80’s! Do you have my belongings?!”

“No, now YOU listen here. I am a doctor, as of right now I’m currently YOUR doctor. I would like to be treated with respect and addressed by my name.”

My eyes go wide, this dude is scary, really scary, is this a threat? This is worse than the cons. My usual bravado that I had when with the cons is gone. I just want to go home.

“Damn, you salty” I say quietly.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing at all. I’m sorry, I’m sorry Ratchet. I didn’t mean to offend you, I…I’m just-I am very confused; and I just want my dog back, I-I want to go home.” My voice cracks at the end of my sentence, my breathes are shaky. I’ll be damned if I cry now in front of these guys.

“You are safe, you’re on the Ark, which is an autoboot ship that’s currently on the outskirts of Portland Oregon. It’s Tuesday, May 5th, 1985.”

Hehehe… no. Not today. Not now, not ever. “May I have my belongings please?!”

Ratchet stills contemplating my request; then nods to Cliffjumper, before I can say ‘Who’s that Pokemon!’ Cliffjumper gets up and leaves the room. So now that leaves me and Ratchet, Ratchet and me. GREAT. We sit in silence for what seems hours. I can feel his cautious curious gaze linger on me. Alright, whatever I do, do NOT make eye contact. No eye contact whatsoever, easy. I look back at Ratchet and happen to accidentlly lock eyes …Great this is fan-fucking-tastic… he smiles softly and goes to say something only to be interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

“Hey, kid, I got your stuff, here” Cliffjumper walks over to me and gently sets my clothes and boots at the foot of my bed.

I look to Ratchet then to Cliffjumper before going absolute ham looking through my clothes and boots. After searching through the pile for around 5 seconds I finally grasp what my greedy fingers have been searching for…my phone! Sweet relief!

“Oh, hell yea! This is lit!” I can’t help smiling wide at my good fortune.

“What’s lit? there is nothing alight, the med bay’s lights are quite dim.” Ratchet’s voice cuts through my good vibes like a knife.

“Sir, this is the best thing to happen to humankind since the VR headset.”

“Wha-“

“THIS-this is a phone…not just any phone, it’s the iPhone 8.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ratchet my friend, this means that I can look up anything, anywhere at any time I could even Watch the Bee Movie right now.”
They Both look at me deadass, blank expressions…

“I guess you guys are not Bee Movie fans huh?”

I press the button on the side of my phone and wait for it to start up, which is not long at all. The screen lights up brightly, I can feel my eyes water from the brightness and the fact that I have the love of my life resting in the palm of my hand. I put in my password and get the Bee Movie up and running.

“Fam, you about to get educated”

They move to the foot of my bed and crouch down. They both seem to be mesmerized by the tiny screen. I can’t help but smile a bit as they react to the opening scene. I pause the movie and in the steadiest voice I can manage; with much gusto, I declare “No cap, this film was made in 2007, AND I am from the year 2021.”
They stare. The room is silent…

“What’s no cap?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

I didn’t even have time to show them the whole bee movie before I was moved to a different room. One that was a little smaller and more quiet. It’s a pretty nice room, the lights are dim and the sounds from the hallway are muffled by the walls. The air seems to be fresher in this room; I take a deep inhale and a long exhale…oh yea this is the stuff. During my room transfer, Ratchet has kept me company, we talk a bit about goings-on relevant to the present '80s while I try my best to get him to understand some sayings…it’s not going well, but I have faith in this one.

“Alright Ratchet, when I say Let’s get this bread it means what?...”

“It means you want…bread?”

T
his sad poor man, I’m doing my best but I don’t think he can fully grasp the lingo.

“Ah, not quite. Good guess though.”

We’ve been at this for a while. Another bot sometimes sits with us for about fifteen minutes then leaves only to come back and stay for another fifteen minutes. He has yet to introduce himself; Ratchet has made no indication of acknowledging his presence so I just do a little nod to him then focus back on the medic.

“
So how bout this one, what do I mean when I say ‘Wow this song is a bop’?

I wait a little as he contorts his faceplates in thought.

“I don’t know, what does it mean?”

A cough interrupts our conversation. I look over to the doorway and see the bot that comes every fifteen minutes standing stiffly at the border of the room.

“Prime want to have a word with our guest”

I look at the bot then to Ratchet, then back at the bot.

“Sir I don’t even know your name and now you’re gonna take me to see someone I don’t even know? That’s kinda sus.”

He raises an optical ridge at my grammar but otherwise says nothing.

“Ratchet, can you come with me…please? I would really appreciate it.”

“No, just you kid I have strict orders from Pri-”

“Of course, kid, this is a lot to take in; but I’ll only do this once…from here on out you need to learn to trust and rely on us. Even sticks in the mud like Prowl here will be happy to help you.”

“This dude’s name is Prowl? Did your mom hate you or something? That’s rough.”

“I chose this name for myself and I am quite proud of it.” He deadpans.

My eyes widen, well I certainly have a way with words. No wonder the Decepticons hated me, I am certainly a nuisance. A nuisance with drip.
Ratchet wordlessly scoops me up gently into his giant palms and carries me out of the room. Luckily I have just enough time to grab a blanket and my phone. No way am I losing my precious phone, I lost my dog, my chance of having some decent food, and my normal life. All I have left is my phone; my sole connection to my time.
I look around, the hallways here are brighter and filled with other bots walking past us. Some stop and stare at us while others politely nod their heads and continue on their way. There are so many different-looking beings. I can’t help but oooh and ahh and stare at each one of them as we pass them by. There’s one with bright yellow paint that looks like Cliffjumper, there’s another one that looks like they have a barrel of a tank on their chest.

“WOAHHH! You look awesome!”

“Hah, thanks kid!” the tank man walks past us then does a full 180-degree turn then waltzes right next to Ratchet.

“Hey, squirt. Heard you were roughed up a bit! How are you?”
I’m too stunned to speak, this tank dude is amazing!!! First, he’s a total stranger in a hallway and now we are pretty much besties and NOW he’s joining us on our way to see this ‘Prime’ guy. This is the best second worst day in my life.

“Don’t look so worried kid, Prime is a good leader and a great friend. If anyone knows how to get you home it’s him….and maybe quite possibly Wheeljack. He always has crazy stuff going on in his lab.”

“Who’s Wheeljack?”

Ratchet shifts me from one side of his body to the other

“Stay away from him, for now, kid, he means well but his experiments always end up exploding one way or another.”

I hum to myself in understanding; I really want to meet this Wheeljack guy he sounds like fun.
The tank dude stills “Here we are kid, this is where I leave you, trust me you are safe with these two here, and Prime; he’s the safest guy I know.”
And with that, the tank man leaves…funny that I didn’t catch his name…oh well.
Ratchet stops behind Prowl as he types in the password for the door. After a couple of seconds, the door slides open and we make our way inside the largest office I’ve ever seen in my life. At the end of the room, I can see the largest desk like ever in the history of desks. And behind that desk there sits the most regal-looking bot I’ve ever seen…wait…this is the dude that Megatron has BEEF with? No wonder Megatron hates him, he’s so powerful and noble looking! Megs got nothing on Prime.

“Hello there, I’m glad to see that you’re doing well. When you passed out in my cab you gave me quite the scare.”

“I passed out in your cab? You look a bit too big to fit in a cab no offense.”

From behind his mask Prime’s optics squint in a smile, his chuckles reverberate around the room.
“Hahaha yes, I would be much too big to fit into earth’s cabs. I’m afraid you may be a little confused.”
He motions Ratchet to bring me closer, I’m set gently down on the desk, suddenly my leg flares in sharp hot pain. With a muted pained grunt, I carefully sit down and stare up at Prime.

"We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron. Also known as Autobots. As means of protecting ourselves and others, we transform into earth vehicles.”

I shoot my eyebrows up in surprise.

“So, I was inside you? Like inside you? Consider my wig snatched.”

Prime tilts his head in confusion.

“Oh, sorry... um, what I mean is that I’m impressed…transforming sounds cool.”

Prime brings his hands next to my body and I as carefully as I can maneuver myself into his palms.

“From what Ratchet and Cliffjumper have told me, and by what we have seen and studied from it, we have deemed the device you carry to be sufficient proof of your claims that you’re from the future. However, the phone as you call it could prove to be a weapon should it fall into the wrong hands.”

I stare at Prime. Wait …is he saying that he’s gonna destroy my phone!? The only connection I have left of my home?

“Sir, Prime, please. Please Sir don’t destroy my phone! Please! That’s the only thing that I have left. Please…They took me away from my home, they took my dog, took me away from my family…please sir, I beg you, please.” I sniffle and wipe my eyes with my forearms and blanket.

“Please don’t take away my phone.”

I lower my head and cry bitterly into the blanket. I can feel Prime’s giant finger rub soothing circles into my back. He gently cradles me in his hands and brings me to rest against his massive chest.
“Please, please, please; don’t take my phone away from me.” My pitiful sobs wrack my chest, my lungs burn.

He sighs and gently pats my back.
“The future is supposed to remain uncertain; I can sympathize with you about being so far from home. We will allow you to keep your phone on the condition that you must never tell anyone about the events of the future, whether good or bad. You will have to remove some information from it, in case it makes its way into the enemies servos.”

I smile and wipe the snot and tears from my face. On impulse, I raise my arms to Prime’s face and beckon him to lean his head closer. As he moves to do so I hug his mouth guard and thank him over and over. I’m so happy, a tired satisfied giggle leaves my throat.

“Thank you so much, thank you, thank you” I cough to clear my throat.

No matter how many times I wipe my eyes and nose I can still feel some tears gathering in my eyes and remnants of some snot running down my chin, I must look so gross now.

“Um… Prime, Sir? by any chance is your full name Amazon Prime? Cause that would be funny…Like really funny, you guys wouldn’t get it but I would.”

Prime sets me back down on his desk and carefully pats my head.

“My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots”

I smile and bow then do a little curtsey because it’s fun.

“It’s nice to meet you Optimus Prime, I’m sure that as long as I’m around it’ll never be boring.”

I let out a hearty laugh and eventually, he does the same. I’m pretty sure he’s laughing cause I’m laughing but I’m laughing cause now I can introduce these guys to memes. I have a new purpose in life and by God I’m excited. I can’t wait to see what the future brings.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

I remember thinking to myself that I can’t wait to see what the future brings….that was a mistake. The food here sucks, it’s better than what the cons fed me but its still gross. Where is the saturated fats? The sugars? STARCH??! Where is the goddamn junk food? When I normally think of the 80’s I picture it having massive amounts of junk food, well? Where the hell is it?! I look to my phone for some answers only for it to alert me that it needs to be charged…..great. where the hell did I put my charger? My stomach rumbles.

“Hey, Ratchet? What the hell is this?” I motion to the green thing on my plate. It looks like lettuce and broccoli combined.

“It’s kale, you need to eat it if you want to leave the medbay sometime this week.”

“The fuck? Kale? Come on man, it’s literally a single piece of kale on a plate…it’s not even in salad form!”

“It’s healthy and you will eat it”

“Can I have some tomatoes and spinach with it to make it taste more like a salad then? Those are healthy foods”

“Alright, as long as you eat everything that’s on your plate. I’ll comm Jazz and ask him to bring some more vegetables for you.”

I sigh in relief and sit in comfortable silence, that is until I hear and feel my stomach rumble loudly. The medbay is definitely not the best place to eat nor is it the best place to try parkour. My earlier stunt of trying to walk/run was not the best course of action on my part. I look down at my plate and gaze forlornly at the sad piece of kale.

“Can I have salad dressing?”

“We don’t have any and you don’t need it.”

“I need it”

“No you don’t-“ “I NEED it”

Ratchet turns to look at me, he’s on the opposite side of the room going over different medical files.

“Really kid? You want to do this now?”
I
raise my eyebrows as high as they can go.

“Sir, with all due respect spinach, kale and tomatoes taste horrible without salad dressing.”

“Well then, I guess you’re going to have to deal with consuming a gross salad for today” He finishes smugly and turns back to his work.

“Wait..you did tell Jazz to pick up salad dressing…right?”

My question was met with silence but I could tell that Ratchet was smiling to himself. Sure, I’m a weak human out of my time suffering from malnourishment and quite possibly a concussion, but come on! This guy is taking my personal health a little too seriously…I huff and slouch in on myself. At this point, the kale is looking pretty appetizing but the promise of tomatoes and spinach is enough to keep me waiting a few more minutes. I’m brought out from my blank staring by the sound of the medbay doors sliding open.

“Well, hey now, I heard that some old bot was starving a poor defenseless kid in here?”

I stare at the newcomer but my gaze immediately falls to the basket of food that he’s carrying in his hands. I can feel myself salivating, this new person is now my new favorite. He walks over to me and places the basket of food down next to me. With a grateful expression, I open the basket and pull out the spinach and tomatoes and…chocolate? I look up at my savior with teary eyes…is this love? Nope, it’s pure hunger.

I quickly stuffed the chocolate in my hospital gown and set the tomatoes and spinach on my plate. The new bot doesn’t make a sound as I’m shuffling the food around on my plate. As I’m about to will myself to eat this pathetic excuse of a salad the bot waves his hand in front of my face. I look at him in confusion until he brings out from his subspace a small bottle. I squint…what the literal hell is that? Wait…I smile widely and look back to Ratchet to check if he’s watching us, he’s not. The newcomer pours a generous amount of the dressing on the veggies and I have to work hard to stay silent. Looks so good!!!

I dig in ravenously, the salad dressing helped a lot but the odd texture of the kale and the whole tomatoes just threw me off. But I guess food is food. I eat my food so fast that I almost choke several times. I start coughing to try to dislodge the piece of kale that’s stuck. I have tears in my eyes and my coughs are getting painful, the new bot tries patting my back. Ratchet at this point has shoved the other bot away and started patting me more roughly.

“Gah, ugh, okay-okay! Ratchet I’m auugh-bleh”

Ratchet continues patting my back till my airway is cleared out, his patting soon turns to gentle rubbing. I lean my head on his other hand that’s keeping me upright. The other bot passes me a bottle of water from the corner of the room where a small human sized fridge is kept.

“Thanks guys, I really appreciate it….you wouldn’t happen to have a phone charger here by any chance would you?”

“No phone charger here kid, sorry. Maybe I can see if Wheeljack can whip something up for ya.”
Ratchet glares at the other bot as if daring him to say more.

“Kid, what prompted you to eat so fast?”

I warily eye Ratchet and then my plate and the remnants of what once my salad all over the blanket and hospital gown. I look back up at Ratchet with a ‘are you shitting me right now look’. Surely this guy can see that Jazz snuck me some salad dressing, I’ll be dammed if I ever admit it though, judging by the glare he’s giving the other bot he probably already knows.

“I was just hungry and I ate too fast” I take another generous swig from the water bottle.

“Really? Is that what happened?” His voice is dripping with sarcasm, I’m in for it now.

“Yep, that’s what happened. I have someone to vouch for me as well” I motion to the other bot-Jazz I think his name is.

“Yep, that’s wha happened Ratch! The Kid was hungry so they ate too much too fast.”

Ratchet eyes me incredulously.

“Well now then, I better be off; gonna be late for a meeting with Prowler” Jazz quickly makes his way to the medbay doors, but before he leaves, he gives me a little wave and a thumbs up.

“Alright kid, hand it over.”

“wat?”

“The chocolate, hand it over.”

My eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. Did he see everything? Maybe if I play my cards right I can keep my chocolate.

“I’m stuck in a medbay with someone I literally met yesterday and now you have the audacity to demand what was so rightfully bestowed upon me?! For shame sir, for shame.”

“Kid, it’s not healthy for you. You are still in recovery and as your doctor it’s my duty to make sure you’re on the mend, not making yourself worse. Now then, the chocolate please.”

He reaches out his hand and looks at me expectantly.

“mmmmmmm…no”

“One…”

Wait, is he…oh no, no no no I’m not a child! I will not be intimidated by this. “Can we talk this out?”

“Two…”

Before he even says three, I push the blanket off me and make a move similar to stop drop and roll. Except I flail my limbs awkwardly and fall off the bed. With as much speed as I can muster, which is not enough; I scramble away from Ratchet with my precious tucked safely into my arms. In my adrenaline fueled haze I manage to drop down from the cybertronian sized berth and run to the medbay doors. I can hear Ratchet muttering under his breathe as he runs after me. The doors open and I make my way down the hallway, the sound of my barefeet hitting the floor accompanied by heavy pedfalls rings out loudly against the Ark’s comfortable silence.

“Get back here before you hurt yourself!”

“Never!”

I blindly turn a corner and go through another set of doors and duck under a nearby cybertronian sized table. Well, at least now I can eat my chocolate in peace. I smile and chuckle to myself.

“My how the turned tables have turned their last tables” I sigh, yep; I have no regrets and chocolate…and I haven’t been found by Ratchet yet….hell yea.

So far this is turning out to be a somewhat decent day, it really doesn’t take much to make me happy. The sound of Ratchet running into the room at high speeds snap me back to reality. He ran in so fast he was practically a red and white blur. A very ticked off red and white blur judging by the sound of his use of language.

“Alright, nobot move! There is a small human patient on the loose! They are injured and in possession of sustenance that they cannot eat at this present moment! Has anyone seen them?!”

The lively sounds of the rec room die down and the bots present turn to stare at Ratchet.

“Hey Ratch, maybe the lil human ran away because you wanted to take their food. I know that if you took my food before a medical prodecure I’d run away too.” The loud sound of metal hitting metal followed by a yelp of pain was enough to get the other bots I the room to mind their own business.

“Owww Ratch that’ll leave a nasty mark on my paintjob!”

Another bot walks over to the one that I assume Ratchet hit….why do these two bots look almost the same?! Can robots be twins? How is that possible? How can robots look the same…how?!?? How do these guys reproduce? I warily stare at my chocolate and make my way further back under the table. Aside from the four bots sitting at it, I really think I’ll be safe here; their big feet hide me from view perfectly. Heh, you know what they say about big feet…I shake my head to clear my thoughts and make myself as comfortable as I can at the present. Well, I think it’s about time that I finally get to eat my rightfully earned chocolate!

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

The chocolate is like manna from heaven! Pure and utter bliss! The rich smooth sweetness perfectly balanced with hints of bitterness from the dark chocolate mixed in with the milk chocolate is beautiful. This is literally the best thing I’ve eaten since I left home. The wrapper isn’t really crinkly as other wrappers are so it’s far much quieter. Which, in this situation is a good thing. From my cross-legged position on the floor if I angle my head just right I can see Ratchet questioning other bots for my whereabouts. I snort, yea he’s never gonna find me as long as I stay quiet and hopefully noone moves their legs….Kinda sus…the talking from the bots sitting at the table sound like hushed betting. But I can’t really tell what their betting about. I focus right back on eating my chocolate, I want to simultaneously devour this whole while taking little bites out of it to savor the flavor for as long as I can. From the corner of my eye I see movement, sharp movement.

“Hey, you wouldn’t mind if I take a peek under this table, would you?”

My heart stops…. This cheeky motherfucker probably knows I’m under here. What is this guy? Freaking batman?!? A voice from above gives me a few precious seconds for me to make my escape. I slowly shuffle as quietly as I can towards the chair furthest from Ratchet. My eyes are solely focused on Ratchet’s form slowly moving to peer under the table. I can feel my heartbeat in my chest so fast that it hurts. The feeling of cold shape fear mixed with adrenaline makes my ears ring and my limbs jittery. Unexpectedly a foot moves close to me and hits the table with a loud bang. My hands fly to my mouth. Why the hell did he do that? What is this dude trying to pull? Kinda sus… Before I know it I feel a large hand grab me, in a panic I hold my breath and curl into a ball and close my eyes.

“Hey Trailbreaker, are you feeling well?”

The rumbling voice of the bot holding me responds curtly.

“Oh don’t worry about me Ratchet, I’m fine but, it sounds like your little patient needs more help than me. I hope you find them soon.”

And with that Trailbreaker and his buddies leave the room with me safely tucked into his large hands. As we exit the rec room, I breathe a sigh in relief. My limbs grow relaxed and I look up to Trailbreaker’s face. His smiling face plates grin down at me, I match his grin and pat his thumb in thanks. I look to the other three bots walking around us. There’s Trailbreaker the one who’s holding me, short green and yellow dude who looks like Shrek, a dude who has the number 38 on his back wing things, and a red and yellow guy who has small horns on his head. Soon we enter another smaller room which happens to look like a smaller version of the rec room. There are is a great number of other bots in here, how? How do so many of them fit in such a small room? There’s a group of five in one corner then a group of 3 in the other and just a bunch of others sitting down enjoying the sounds of others talking about their jobs and personal lives.

“Alright squirt, now that we’ve saved you from the old doc bot, how about you tell us why you were hiding from him?”

I look up at Trailbreaker and shrug my shoulders.

“What? Too scared to talk to lil old me?"

“Hah!” my face heats up and I start to cackle “hahahahahahahahaha *wheeze* haHEHAhe”

I shake my head and hug my stomach; this guy is amazing! I am now 100 percent his stan and no one will judge me.

“Sir, if you think that you’re little I’m afraid that I have some bad news for you.”

Trailbreaker chuckles softly and sets me down on a nearby table. He and his friends all take seats around me and I plop down and relax like it’s nobody’s business. I own this table now. It’s my table and I shall do as I please.

“So kid, tell us what happened; did Ratchet scare you?”

The Shrek-looking dude leans back in his chair and regards me with kind eyes.

“No, Ratchet didn’t scare me…he just…” and I shrug.

The one with 38 on his wings leans over “He just what?”

I look away from his expectant face and mumble.

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“He wanted my chocolate.”

I’m met with blank expressions…

“Why would Ratchet want your chocolate? He knows that we can’t consume human foods.”

Loud guffaws echo around the table. Their laughter is loud and contagious, I can’t help but want to laugh as well. My eyes water and my stomach hurts from all the cackling I’m doing. The other bots in the room look over then resume their conversations.

“My names Brawn, cause I’m the strongest one here!”

I look at the Shrek guy, I feel like I should tell him that I basically see him as a walking meme but I keep my mouth shut.

“My name is Blaster and this here is Smokescreen.”

Blaster and Smokescreen huh? Pretty neat names, kinda dumb sounding but still…better than nothing. And certainly, better sounding than Starscream or Megatron.

“Sooooo….yall friends?”

“I’d say we are all friends here kid” Brawn holds out his hands and I let myself get placed into his hold

.
“So, kid; seriously why run from Ratchet? He’s a good guy, best doctor around.”

“He may be a good doctor and a great guy, but I don’t want him nagging me about my eating habits. I almost died from eating a salad earlier!!!”
I sigh and stifle a yawn. “Looks like someone is tired”

“Shut up Boomer, I’m not a kid anymore”

I rub my eyes trying to chase away sleep. My leg aches from my running adventure and now all I want is a nap and maybe some tea. I would kill for some tea.

“Hey! Respect your elders’ kid.”

I roll my eyes and lean back in a cross-legged position. With my back leaning against Brawn’s chest, I take a deep sigh and close my eyes. Yea, I’ve been running for a while…I deserve some sleep. Brawn’s chest provides a comfortable warmth, back at home I had to cuddle up with my dog to keep warm at night. The soft humming and whirs and clicks coming from beneath his chest plates remind me of the sounds of my old washing machine. Comforting sounds, warmth, and being surrounded by giants who seem to care about my wellbeing feels so familiar…yet very strange. I let out a small sigh of contentment. For robots, they are surprisingly warm, both literally and figuratively.

“Ahhh, yall, hide me from Ratchet while I’m sleepin, kay? Thanks”.

Chapter Text

My limbs felt heavy, whatever the heck I was resting on felt both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Whatever I was resting on was warm, like really warm. Almost as if I was resting on a sunbeam. It was nice. I inhaled softly before letting out a long exhale. The fresh air felt wonderful and crisp. A type of crisp that was usually associated with fresh dew on the lawn on a Sunday morning, or a rainy day. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and slowly moved into a slumped seated position. I can almost hear my mom now; screaming at me about my "horrible posture". With a sigh I bring my arms over my head and stretch my arms from the left to the right, not stopping till I hear a satisfying 'pop' from my tired joints. Damn, if this is what getting older is like, well...I don't like it. Whatever I was resting on let out a rumble and slowly moved me to the floor.

"Good morning," said a soft baritone voice.

I turned my head to look up at the person, almost straining my neck to do so. Wait, wasn't I with Brawn earlier? he must have asked this guy to watch me for a while. Honestly, it's better than him passing me over to Rachet. especially when I'm at my most vulnerable.

"Good morning...um, what's your name again?" I felt my face flush, this poor dude. I was sleeping on him and I didn't even know his name. Where are my manners?

"Ah, did recharge cloud your sensors?" The bot's optics twinkled in mirth. "My designation is Mirage."

Oh, ohhhhhhh, yikes. This is awkward, just a really awkward situation. It's morning and I already made a fool of myself.

"So, how was your recharge?"

My questioning gaze flickered from my hands to his face. Recharge? by recharge does he mean sleep?

"Um, yea. My recharge, um sleep went well...you're really warm. " I could feel my face flushing, I'd be lucky if he didn't notice how bright red my face looked.

"Um, so where do I get some grub?"

Mirage cocked his head to the side in the universal gesture of 'what?' I felt stupid, like really stupid. Mirage was silent for a few moments till he wordlessly picked me up and carried me down the Ark's hallway. His loud foot stomps echoed across the walls and seemed to amplify. Overall, looks to be like a typical quiet morning.

"You're not taking me to Ratchet are you?" It's way too dang early to be running from a medic who may or may not be mad at you. I could feel Mirage chuckle as he held me near his chest.

"No, no nothing like that, Spike and Sparkplug are here early today. They may be able to sneak you out for breakfast."

I felt myself smiling, this is great, this is really great. I finally get to spend some time away from the Ark and spend some time with people of my own size and species. After a while of staying amongst giant extraterrestrial robots, you get tired of having to look up all the time.

"Thank you Mirage, I owe you one." With an exaggerated wink, I lean back and let my head rest on one of his massive fingers. He a big boi.

"No problem, by the way; if Ratchet sees you on you're way out don't tell him I helped you. Okay?"

I bring my gaze away from Mirage's face and look out towards the entrance of the Ark. What kind of person is Ratchet anyway? I've seen firsthand how scary he can be but he has way too much power over these poor sods. Boomer has power. Well, he is the only medic on the ship, so I guess that makes him pretty important.

"Say, kid. What kind of earth food do you want to eat? I've seen all sorts of different foods that are brought in by Spike and Carly. But, you're human breakfasts always look to some degree the same.

I slowly nod my head to what Mirage is saying. Breakfast food is mostly the same across the states. Eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, toast waffles..... the list could go on and on.

"Well Mirage, today I'm not going to have a normal breakfast food. Today I will have.....hmmm. I want corn."

I can tell Mirage wasn't expecting that answer.

"I can't imagine a more beautiful thing."

Chapter Text

The meet-up with Spike was uneventful. The drive to the restaurant was uneventful. Everything seemed to be uneventful. Uneventful in a way that when Rachet eventually finds me missing, I’m basically a goner. I knew I wasn’t long for this world. Oh well, the promise of good food and a day out with my own species is definitely worth the wrath of Ratchet. The trees passed by us one after another, the morning birds began to sing their songs and I felt the urge to scarf down as much non-hospital food as I could.

Bumblebee drove Spike, Sparkplug, and me to what Spike calls “the best breakfast joint in town”.

Sparkplug leaned over, “It also happened to be his favorite restaurant in town”

With a giggle, I step out of Bumblebee and into the crisp morning air. The sun decided to be extra bright today and stung my eyes, much more so than the artificial lights of the interior of the Ark.I turn to look at Bumblebee, he seems to know his way around town quite a bit. Bumblebee’s yellow plating seemed much more vibrant against the colors of the outside world.

“Well guys, this is it! Welcome to Breakfast Burger Kings” Spike was visibly excited, apparently, he hasn’t been here in quite a while.

“Yea, yea, hold on for the stragglers,” said Sparkplug.

I looked to Spike and then Sparkplug in a questioning manner. Stragglers? Us? Good ol Bumbles and Lil ol me? “Guys, chill. Give me a sec, I haven’t seen one of these restaurants before.”

Spike looked as if I grew another set of arms. “Do you mean that Breakfast Burger Kings don’t exist in the future?!”

I looked to the side. I don’t want to say anything to him if it’ll hurt his feelings, but at the same time, the idea of watching him be sad for a while does seem very promising. With a sigh, I look up to meet Spike’s gaze.

“Well, maybe I just haven’t seen one before..?”

Spike visibly deflates.

“That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist in the future,” I say hurriedly.

Spike says nothing but moves to go towards the entrance. Before he gets to the door a group of elderly people passes by him and Spike rushes to hold the door for them. It’s very sweet of him. Kudos to Sparkplug for raising a child with morals.

I side-eye Bumblebee and tap his forearm and motion to him to lean towards me. I feel an uncomfortable burn in my feet as I have to get up on my tiptoes to get close beside his helm. Even then, it’s not close enough. With a somewhat exaggerated whisper, I say.

“Look at all those chickens.” As I gesture to the pigeon that is cooing lazily on the sidewalk.

If I could describe Bee’s face It would be a mix of both visible confusion and concern. With an awkward and slightly forced smile, Bumblebee gently pats my back then straightens up and continues walking beside me as if nothing happened. That’s suspicious…that’s weird. It looks like Bumblebee just tried to comm someone. I’ve seen some bots do that back at the Ark… but, I can’t be too sure. I hope it’s nothing. Really, I hope it's nothing.

“Bee, you know that was a joke, right?”

If Cybertronians could blush he would be bright red. Maybe almost as red as Cliffjumper’s paint job. I can just see him now. If Bumblebee were painted the same as Cliff, then they would be nearly impossible to tell apart. I smile to myself, secret twins. It’s a bit of a struggle for Bumblebee to fit through the door, but once he does you can really tell how tall he is compared to the rest of the people in the restaurant. He is a literal freakin giant. The people in the restaurant pay little to no attention to Bumblebee. Maybe because Spike comes here so often the regulars are used to seeing Bee. The orange and blue color scheme of the restaurant really set the fact that I’m currently in the 80s in place. The peppy girl at the counter looks excited to see our little group.

“Hey there, long time no see Spike. How’ve you been?”

I’m so busy tuning them out that I almost skipped my introduction. The girl at the counter seems to notice my nervousness but pays it no mind.

By the time were done talking and getting our orders taken the sound of an ambulance siren rapidly approaching resounds throughout a three-block radius. I can only think of one thing it could be.

I shiver, no doubt that its Rachet coming to take me away. Someone back at the Ark must have snitched on me. I sure hope that it wasn’t Mirage…or Bee…did Bee comm Ratchet?! I look over to Spike, the Sparkplug, concern, and fear clearly written on my features.

“Guys, guys, It was nice knowing ya, really.”

Sparkplug chuckles and shakes his head with a slight smile.

“Take it, easy kid, maybe it’s just a normal ambulance.”

Bee stares at Sparkplug with incredulity. “An ambulance that just so happens to be coming closer to this location where the kid is?”

We all watched as the ambulance pulled up right in front of the restaurant. I can feel the temperature rising, and beads of sweat roll down my forehead. Is it hot in here? Maybe it’s me?

“It’s hot as hell in this fucky ass hot ass room I’m in.”

I can feel eyes on me; Spike stared, Sparkplug stared, Bumblebee stared; the ambulance transforms. Wait, wait…oh.no no-no.

“Is that the Grim reaper?!” I hit the deck, so to speak, and just start running. I speed out the door, almost running into another restaurant patron. Past the rows of parked cars and down the street. The sound of an ambulance siren blares in the background and is gradually increasing in volume. I can feel my chest constricting and my feet barely hitting the pavement as my fight or flight mode kicks in. Dang, it Bumblebee. I thought we were friends.

Apparently, Rachet is not alone in his endeavor, as up ahead there is the sound of another siren. A police siren. It must be Prowl. My short life flashes before my eyes.

“I JUST WANTED SOME DECENT FOOD!” I scream hysterically.

I stop before the cop car and lean forward with my hands on my shaky knees. My lungs burn, and I’m not getting enough oxygen. Before I know it Prowl transforms and is looking down at me with an unamused expression. I stare up at him as my pathetic wheezing seems to get louder.

“Before-Before you take me in, let me just say one thing.”

He raises an optic ridge but otherwise says nothing. I can tell that is tired of my shit.

I point accusingly to his feet, “What- what are those!?”

With a stifled sigh, he picks me up and gently sets me into the passenger seat of the Ambulance’s cab. Ratchet’s cab.

“what’s up doc?”

Chapter Text

The ride back to the base was relatively uneventful considering the circumstances. Yes, a scene was caused. No, I would not recommend it.

The trees and buildings zipped by. The ache in my lungs was still ever present.

"It was really good food."

The silence was deafening at this point. From the sound of it earlier it seems that Ratchet had the cybertronian equivalent of an aneurism when he noticed that I was gone. The heater flicked on and warmed my bones from the morning chill as well as melted the strain from my poor over-worked muscles. Running without stretching first is never a good thing. My old gym teacher would be disappointed if he knew what I did, oh well.

"From the sound of it kid, you seemed to have a great meal."

It seemed like I wasn't getting the silent treatment after all.

"But still rules are rules kid. I don't want to have to scrape you off the sidewalk if you hurt yourself."

I silently nodded in agreement. Sometimes, when I'm with the bots I notice how they act like family towards me. This is one of those times. The way that Rachet spoke reminded me of what my mother would say. With trembling hands, I reach out to touch the steering wheel.

"Thank you Rachet, I promise you that I will never to the best of my ability ever sneak out of the base again."

I could practically feel Ratchet roll his eyes/optics at my words.

"I'm doubting your ability to hold your promise" There was no bitterness in his tone. Just, a tired grateful edge that made him seem as old as he really was.