Chapter Text
"Today is my day to be the rescuer."
Blades rose up on the platform, leaving a concerned Cody below. He quickly went to run through the door and transform, since the elevator would take too long for his liking. But he noticed the other three sitting there, helpless. He remembered hearing Cody and Kade argue. Cody was sure the others could hear them. Kade had lost hope of that. Blades wasn't sure what to believe. They couldn't move or respond. They couldn't even be manually operated. The clear and green substance spread over their bodies a little more and Blades felt cold terror hit him like lightning.
Similar to the terror of when they first started feeling sick. Hearing Boulder scream and then convulse and transform. Seeing Heatwave struggle and cry out as he was pulled into his own vehicle form. Hearing Chase give a warning before he went down as well. And suddenly Blades was holding the wall all on his own. He felt like he might be crushed at any moment. He feared he'd suddenly transform and the rubble would hit the nieghborhood below. But he hadn't. Blades was just stuck under the wall until Bumblebee could help.
Standing there seemed like the longest few minutes of Blades's life. He felt a literal mountain trying to shove him down. He didn't have the support of his team. Dani, Kade, and Gram were trying to help him. But it was worthless. They wouldn't make a difference. Blades felt two kinds of pressure on his back right then. If he faltered, the other bots and civilians would be crushed. He wanted so badly for them to help him. He wanted them to just transform and help him like they always did.
Then he was safe. The wall was up and they could head back. But as they began to head back to the firehouse, the others were stuck. They were reliant on their partners. Blades was so embarrassed by Bumblebee having to save him again, he didn't even notice as they all went under. Not until Kade came over the intercom, panicking about Heatwave going silent. Chase was trying to reach out but his voice strained out so fast. Boulder tried to ask them a question. All he got out was "Chase, Heatwave, are-" before his voice cut out. Blades had been trying desperately to get a word out of them before they got back to the firehouse. He almost thought it was a joke. Heatwave's jokes were mean like that. If he was joking, Blades wouldn't have even been mad. He would have been relieved. But Chase wouldn't play along. Boulder wouldn't let it upset Blades. When none of them budged after he begged for a response, he was terrified.
They called Optimus. Blades needed some sense of leadership. He was told how he could help them. Medicine. Blades knew that. This was his strong point. He could save them if he was fast. He would give anything to go. He couldn't risk his team mates lives. But he hadn't been allowed to come along. So instead he was here, with his paralyzed friends. He felt trapped here. But he knew they had it worse.
He couldn't imagine being trapped that way. He didn't like the idea of being stuck in his helicopter form for even a second. He'd learned to put up with it. But at least he knew he had the choice. They didn't anymore. They had no control over their lives anymore. Chase had been confused, even a little concerned when they found they had to be manually driven. Heatwave was irritated but willing to figure out what was going on. Boulder was optimistic about an opportunity to do things differently. He was always optimistic.
Blades could really use something optimistic right now. But it was hard to come up with anything. The Burns family was stuck on the boat. They were in danger. The bots were in danger. Could they die from this? Blades almost hoped so. It would be better than being trapped in their own minds, with no way to reach out at all. But he didn't want them to die. He didn't want anything to happen to them. They were the only familiarity of home that he had left. Sure, the Burnses were a fantastic team. He adored Dani. She was his best friend. And Cody would always be there to help him be comfortable in this place. But Heatwave, Boulder, and Chase were home.
They'd gone through countless things together. Being on patrol and rescuing others in space, they got to know each other quite closely. Chase and Heatwave always saw their relationship as being formal, for business. But Boulder saw companionship in them. Blades, he saw them as family. They landed on Earth and had to get themselves together. Together. They'd been together. They'd been together to mourn Cybertron. They'd been together to learn about their humans. They'd been together through numerous situations. This time was different.
Because Blades wasn't with them, truly. He was the only one not going through this with them. He was the only one not suffering. He didn't want to suffer. But he wanted to know what they were going through. Was this relaxing in any way? Were they in pain? He wanted to help. The idea of being left alone scared him. They'd survived so much together. Wasn't it only right they should fall together as well?
Blades couldn't imagine this planet without them. He couldn't imagine not having Heatwave as his leader. Heatwave was considerate, protective, and sure. When he called the shots, made a plan, or gave orders, Blades knew he was in good hands. When Chase made the effort to keep them together, to cheer them up, or to provide a sense of comfort, Blades knew they'd get through anything. When Boulder gave him reassurance, spoke of all Earth's wonders, or reached out to them, Blades knew this ordeal was well worth it. He couldn't imagine having to go through this journey as the only living Rescue Bot.
Sure, Bumblebee was here. Optimus was here. There were others. But they weren't his team. They weren't his friends. Bumblebee was incredible! Blades wanted to be incredible like him. But he was incredible to the others. No team could ever give him what these three did.
Blades turned back to the other three, glancing around as if the walls would give him a place to start. His eyes landed on Heatwave and he felt terror strike him again. What if this failed? What would happen to them? Blades almost thought he'd start crying. But it wasn't physically possible for bots.
"Guys," the word jumped out without warning. Blades didn't know what to do. But he decided he wanted to continue. "I'm sure you can't even hear me. But I hope you're all okay." He knelt next to them and tried to smile. They probably couldn't see him either. "I'm going out to help. We're going to get you medicine and make sure that thing never hurts anyone again. Okay?" He waited, hoping they might give him some response. But he was disappointed. He sighed. "Don't d- die or anything like that. I'd be pretty upset with you if you did. I can't do this without you." He waited a second before he stood up and started going over to the doors. Well... since they wouldn't hear anyways... "I love you all."
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Bonus:
Bumblebee had left. There were just four Autobots on Griffin Rock. And they were all in the bunker, talking about their experiences.
"It wasn't exactly painful," Chase recounted. "But the experience was rather disorienting."
Heatwave leaned back on a wall with crossed arms. "You mean it sucked?"
"I found it quite interesting. Gave me time to collect my thoughts," Boulder said. "And Blades? What about you? We found out you'd seized up but it couldn't have been for long."
"No, it wasn't," Blades assured them. His gaze wandered over the group. "I'd just barely had time to go mute before Dani gave me the antidote."
Boulder smiled. "Good, you weren't stuck long. I don't think you would have hated it. Cody was around to talk to us."
"Wait, you could hear him?" Blades asked. He hadn't thought about how much he could hear. He was so scared he wasn't paying much attention until he was cured. "Could you hear everything?"
Heatwave nodded with a smirk. "We could. Including Kade being wrong, as usual."
"Wait did you hear-"
"We did indeed hear everything. This includes your reassuring us before leaving to assist in the mission," Chase informed. "It was rather comforting. And it was bold of you to believe we would dare die when our services were still needed."
Blades' eyes widened. "Oh- Well- You see when I was- I thought that-"
"What was that about 'not being able to do this without us?'" Heatwave asked, a tease hanging from his voice. "Please. You can hold your own. You just did."
Blades whined in embarrassment and turned his head away. Why would he say that if he didn't want them to hear?! Well, he thought they couldn't. The next thing he heard made Blades sure he was capable of blushing.
Boulder chuckled softly and spoke warmly. "You know we love you too."