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The snow was cold, Pharma told himself. He attempted to grab onto something, but it fell through. Slipping past the hanging wires. He opted out of transforming. Just letting his frame smash against the cold ground with a kind thunk. He’s sure Ratchet and Drift heard it from above. He knows they did. His frame hit several sharp edged rocks before hitting the plush snow.
The snow around him was soaked in pink energon. Seeping deep into his exposed wires. As his body was falling and hitting various sharp ledges, he felt every cut and tear, every rip. Everything. Even as he laid here, feeling his inner wiring give in to the cold beneath it. It took everything in him to even move an inch. Spilling energon everywhere, basically spilling his guts everywhere too.
One of the rocks he hit had split his cockpit glass wide open, revealing the wires below to the frigid air. He winced, letting out a verbal click. He must have hit his vocalizer too. He wasn’t sure what he hadn’t hit on the way down, as his HUD field was taken up by various warnings. All painted red with a big fat warning symbol across each word. The warnings did nothing to conceal the pain, even as his body told him it was rerouting the energon somewhere else.
Pharma was broken beyond repair. He could have transformed and gave himself into the plague he created. But as he was falling, his processor replayed a song. He was having a hard time remembering the tune to it, but he could hear the deep rich hum of it. As if he was listening to it as he fell to his doom. But there was no music box around him, and he figured his internal audio would be fried. So what exactly was that humming?
His optics flared online, a dark crack crossed his vision. Making it hard to see where he was. Not like he knew anyways, even if he could see. He’s at the bottom of Delphi, but surrounded by pure snow and vast openness. Nothing distinguishable. The only recognizable thing was the spilling energon below him. Painting the snow in a vibrant array of pink and blue.
His audials were still fizzing to life. All he heard was the hum of the tune in his processor, but also an overbearing loud ringing noise as his frame tried to reboot. He tried crawling, assuming his pedes were useless and broken, even if he lacked the warning on his HUD. He used the stubs on his wrist to crawl away from the base of Delphi, hoping to get away from it. It was almost like he was crawling, but in a more horrific way. His wings laid crooked on his shoulder armour.
His turbine was dented and penetrated. Everything in him screamed to transform and make his death quick and easy. But he still refused. Letting his body drag across the cold snow. Leaving a pink energon trail beneath. It was like a scene from one of those organic films. A dead body being dragged away by the killer. But instead it’s the killer dragging his own body away. Leaving a long thick trail of blood in his wake.
His audio was still fizzing online as footsteps approached. Heavy and would be familiar. The single clink of a loose ankle joint would have sent Pharma into brief panic. But he couldn’t hear anything, just continued to drag himself further away. Not even realising that he hadn’t gone far at all. Leaving a puddle of energon below him. His internal wires on his stomach were soaked in his energon, inner energon specifically leaked through broken pumps and opened seams.
The footsteps paused, hovering over Pharma. The medic stopped. The shadow covering his frame wasn’t Ratchet, nor Drift. The figure wasn’t coming to finish the job, but instead confused and disgruntled by the scene before it. Pharmas optics still had the dark scar across them. It almost blocked out the shape of the figure entirely. But he knew who it was. Even without having a fully functional frame and inner system.
He groaned and gave up. Turning on his back. His optics widened as before him was indeed Tarn. The large grey and purple mech, looking down. The tip of his cannon barely grazed Pharmas wing. The one that laid limp next to him. Pharma shivered, it was from the cold. His internal wiring was now exposed to open air again. And to open optics. Red ones specifically. A contrast to the blue ones that nearly killed him a moment ago.
“Pharma?” A deep and rich voice asked. The accent was as prestigious and flow filled as Pharmas own. Signifying that they came from cities within close proximity. The two cities; Tarn and Vos. What a funny contradiction. Nevertheless, Pharma quirked a smile up at Tarn. His vocalizer clicked as he opened his mouth to speak. Surprised by his own body's reaction. The clicking continued, before drawing to a faint hiss.
“What happened..?” Tarn asked. There was nothing snarky about the comment, not even a little bit of Tarns usual sarcasm. It was a genuine question. One that Pharma hadn’t expected. He opened his mouth slowly this time, hoping not to click the vocal box again. His voice was slow and the accent was fading. “Autobots.. happened.” Was his basic reply. Not wanting anymore strain on his voice.
Tarn kneeled down. His knee joints were directly next to Pharma. But one of his servos laid on the other side of Pharmas shoulder fans. Tarn hovered over the medic completely this time, before taking the smaller frame in his arms. Making the medic yelp. Unable to grasp onto Tarn, the large tank secured Pharma close to him. Pharma could hear a rapid spark beat through the chest plate he was pressed against.
If any mech were to compare this hold to anything. They’d say it’s like a mech taking home his freshly new conjunx’d femme. A bridal carry. Minus the carry part, as Tarn is just kneeling in the snow. Keeping Pharma pressed on top of his thighs. The medic couldn’t hold on, Tarn noticed that. Keeping a firm grip on the waist below his servos.
Pharma didn’t know what to do. He just let his guts hang free. The internal wires touching the melting snow below them both. The heat from Tarns frame was warm enough to melt some of the ice frosting over Pharmas exposed joints and wires. He shifted his frame closer to Pharmas, warming it up even more. Tarn brought Pharmas knees closer to his frame. Holding him almost like a sparkling, huddling the areal mech close to any warmth he could radiate.
“It didn’t work.” Pharma said, his voice fizzing back to life fully. He hadn’t realised how much damage had been done to his faceplate, until he felt Tarns servos rub his exposed mesh. The platting under his white armour shivered to life. “Your face..” Tarn mumbled, rubbing his thumb over the exposed grey. Even over the cracked optic. Pharma looked as if he’d been beaten to death then thrown out, which in some way he was.
Pharmas processor spun to life, a brief click before he jolted. “You have to- you have to..” Pharma panicked, trying to get away from Tarns grip. His fluids splattered all over Tarns' platting. Rusting colours clashing with purple and black armour. “What.. What is this?” Tarn asked, holding Pharma tighter. He didn’t get an answer, just a splatter of reddish brown across his plates. It made his spark jump before a low hum filled the panic.
“I spread a virus, I’m infected.” Pharma hurriedly replied, still trying to fight against the hold. Part of his processor almost shouted at him, saying things such as; ‘yes, this is perfect’ but he denied it all. Not wanting the mech holding him to die. “Are you going to be okay?” Tarn asked, less worried about himself and more for Pharma. Pharma rapidly shook his head. “Activated… by.. transforming.” Pharma breathed out, his frame convulsed briefly. Trying to reboot.
Tarn held a servo out in front of them both, holding revealing wires. Pharmas stomach was leaking with energon and exposed wires. It made Tarn twinge with disgust briefly. As much as Pharma was a pain in the aft, he didn’t want him dead. Let alone suffering like this. “Primus, Pharma.. how many rocks did you hit on the way down?” Tarn asked, he looked up. His optics zoomed in on various rocks covered in familiar energon.
“A lot.” Pharma jokes. His pain began dialling down as his consciousness wavered. Blue optics flickered once more, the freezing cold covering them in a white blur. Tarn must’ve missed the damage done, or didn’t realise that the exposure was making the frosting easier to spread. “I don’t want to die.” The medic whimpered, his arms began locking up as the exposed wires touched cold metal. Tarns frame was no longer radiating heat, as the giant mech above him had also grown cold.
Tarn made a rash choice and reached up, dropping the stomach wires and reaching for his mask. Keeping one servo on Pharmas waist to keep steady, as he unlatched the pins. His mask fell into his servo, revealing his scarred face for a medic who had never seen it before. Pharma knew Tarn wasn’t disgusting under the mask, part of him always knew Tarn was conveniently attractive. Pharma felt a gentle weight on his faceplates. Tarn had placed his warm mask overtop of the cold and exposed mesh.
Suddenly a small leak escaped Tarns optic. The red optics tainted brown. That’s when Pharma panicked again, this time unable to move and his entire inner wiring locked up. Tarn reached up, wiping the rust off his face. “Do you still know how to undo this?” Tarn assumed the smart medic knew how to reverse this. An antidote. Though, another part of Tarn also knew the medic wasn’t of any use to make another one.
Pharma smiled, his shaky stub reached to open a small opening. Pointing out a tiny Vial. Tarn reached in and grabbed it gently, letting Pharmas' wrist fall again. The other mech was gushing energon like crazy. Tarn looked between Pharma and the vial, the green reflected off the exposed grey mesh on Tarns faceplate.
The tank made a rash choice and leaned the vial over the slit in the mask, over Pharmas opened in-take. Watching as the medic looked at him with wide optics under the mask. “No, no.” Pharma panicked, feeling the liquid glide down his throat. Tarn looked down at the exposed tubing, watching the brief green slide down before disappearing behind the remaining frame and wiring. The medic could feel the effects disperse within his inner workings. But the remaining pain came from the damage done.
Tarn however was getting worse. The rust was showing. “Once you’re healed, you can fix me.” The mech stood up, causing Pharma to whimper. Tarn held him close, oh so close. Pharma could hardly move. “I won’t transform.” He promised. Pharma just leaned his cheek against cold metal. Sleep overtaking him. He couldn’t hear the panicked cry from the mech beneath him. Nor the startled jolt.
-
Pharma hadn’t seen such worry in his lifetime until he opened his new optics. Surprised to see Tarn standing above him. The other mech looked better than Pharma remembered. “There was a small bit left in the vial.” Tarn informed, sitting back with a heavy sigh. Pharma couldn’t move. He was attached to various tubing and wires. Some of his frame had clearly been moulded together with spares.
“You’ll be okay, Doctor.”
Pharma nodded. Feeling a heavy weight in his newly built servos.
“You’ll be okay…”