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Jetfire had been instructed to head to medbay to address his injuries. A fight with the Decepticons went a little out of hand, leaving Jetfire with a nasty gash on his arm.
Apparently, they had a medic now, though he never checked to see who it was. He didn’t even know the medbay was still operational.
He opened the door to find two guards, several bots scattered about and one red bot treating another bot.
“Hello?”
The red bot turned his head. “Grab a seat, I gotta finish this up.”
Jetfire nodded and went to a free bed, hopping on it. A few moments later, the red bot came over to Jetfire, and his vents stalled.
The medic had an Autobot symbol on his chassis.
“Can I assume the gash on your arm is why you’re here?”
“Uh…ya…”
The medic grabbed a patch and welder, and got to work.
“Do you need energon?”
“No, I didn’t lose a lot.”
The medic nodded and continued working.
Jetfire had so many questions; why was there an Autobot medic here? Why was he okay with doing this? Did he switch sides?
“Did you…switch sides?”
The medic looked up. “Sorry?”
“You have an Autobot symbol. Did you change sides, and haven’t been able to paint over it, or…”
One of the bots nearby laughed. “Medbay’s so bad that they couldn’t get a Decepticon medic!”
Jetfire raised an optic ridge. “Were you hired?”
The medic deadpanned. “No, I was taken prisoner.”
Oh.
“Sorry, Red Alert, we appreciate you!”
The medic, called ‘Red Alert,’ gave a thumbs up to the bot as he worked on the patch. A little bit later, the patch was all welded up.
“You’re good to go. Come back in a few weeks so I can check the wound. If I’m still here.”
Jetfire’s spark sank slightly. He knew that prisoners weren’t kept well, and Red Alert was likely being forced to do this… if he resisted…
He shook that thought away. He stood up from the bed, and walked towards the door. Before he left, he turned to look at the medbay fully.
Despite a medic being here, the patients looked awful, like they hadn’t gotten physically better at all. The only sort of supplies that Jetfire could see were old tools on a cart with a few rations of medgrade energon.
Not nearly enough for a medbay.
Red Alert was barely running on anything.
*
A week later, Red Alert saw the shuttle again. He was tending to another bot, giving them some of the dwindling supply of medgrade, when the shuttle returned again.
“Has it already been a few weeks?” He asked the shuttle. He really couldn’t tell how long he was here for, it very well could’ve been a few weeks since he saw the shuttle.
“Uh, no…I came to give you something.” The shuttle reached into his subspace and gave Red Alert a small box.
“Thoraxal nodes?”
“I’ve heard they can be useful.”
Red Alert looked over them, checking their state. All things considered, the shuttle did get these in very good condition. Whether he bought them from someone, or actually found these…
“They’ll help a few bots out. Though, anything is better than nothing.” Red Alert placed the box on the cart, and continued to work on the other bot. “…thanks.”
The shuttle nodded and walked out of the medbay, not saying another word.
*
It was actually time for Jetfire to go back to medbay to check up on his wound again. It didn’t hurt as much as when he first went, so something right must be happening.
He found Red Alert in the corner of the medbay, working on the audials of another bot, a bot that…Jetfire recognized as a Seeker. He hadn’t seen them since a horrible accident months ago. One hand fixing up the audial, the other holding the bot’s hand.
“Red Alert?”
“Hm?”
“It’s been a few weeks.”
“…oh! Ya, I’m a little preoccupied, so you might be here for a bit. Or you may have to come back tomorrow, if this takes too long.”
Jetfire nodded and sat up on a nearby bed.
Come back tomorrow if this takes too long?
He saw some movement in the conjoined hands. A small squeeze from the Seeker, and then it turned into them signing into each other’s hand. Jetfire only knew a few signs, not enough to hold a conversation-
“What’s your name?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Your name. He’s wondering. He can feel your field.”
“Jetfire.”
Red Alert pressed something, presumably his name. Something on the Seeker’s face changed, and he pressed something again.
“He says he’s sorry.”
“Sorry? What for?”
Red Alert asked the Seeker, and a few more words were exchanged.
“The accident, he says.”
“…can I say something to him?”
“Sure.” Red Alert told the Seeker something, and let go of their hand, allowing Jetfire to take it.
Forgive.
Sorry. Not strong.
Strong. Forgive.
He pressed something that Jetfire didn’t know. He turned towards Red Alert.
“I, uh…don’t speak a lot of hand.”
“Thank you.”
Jetfire nodded.
You are welcome.
*
Jetfire was guiding another Seeker, Slipstream, to the medbay. Her wing had been shot, leaving a mess of energon, wires and plating behind.
“Didn’t know we had a medic…”
“Uh…sorta…”
“What do you mean sorta?”
“He…may have been taken prisoner…”
“…he’s an Autobot.”
“Yes.”
“Treating Decepticons.”
“Not by choice.”
Slipstream was silent for a moment, trying to process it.
“It’s either get treated by an Autobot, or die from energon loss,” he gestured towards her wing.
“…get treated by an Autobot…” she muttered as they continued down the hall.
The doors to the medbay opened, nothing changed in the medbay, still the grimy, dirty medbay as before. Red Alert was filling up a small pouch of energon for another bot.
“Red Alert? Slipstream needs to have her wing repaired.”
“Find a seat, Slipstream.”
Slipstream looked around, optics falling on the Seeker in the corner.
“Acid Storm…?” She muttered.
“C’mon,” Jetfire guided her to a nearby bed.
“Is that Acid Storm? Is he alive?”
Red Alert spoke up. “Yes, he’s alive. He can’t see or hear you, though. If you know hand…”
“Uh…a little, ya…”
Jetfire watched as Red Alert poured some energon into the pouch. The energon…wasn’t medgrade energon. In fact, looking at the cart, they barely had any medgrade left.
It was an energon ration.
If Jetfire had to guess, Red Alert must’ve been taking his own rations and stockpiling them…somewhere, so he could ensure the patients had some energon.
But that could mean that Red Alert wasn’t refuelling properly…
*
It took a bit, but with a lot of walking and back tracking, Jetfire finally found the cell where Red Alert was being held.
He peered inside, finding Red Alert on the cell bed, in recharge. Or, he was before his optics opened upon hearing Jetfire’s pedes.
”Jetfire…?” He mumbled.
“Hi. Sorry. I brought you energon.” He reached into his subspace, and pulled out a ration.
Red Alert raised an optic ridge. “Uh…I already had my ration today…”
“Um…I saw the energon you were pouring into the pouch today is rationed energon. Not medgrade.”
Red Alert’s optics widened in fear.
“I’m not going to tell. Just…this is for you. To refuel.” Jetfire’s hands went through the electric bars. Red Alert got off the bed, and grabbed the ration.
“Thanks. You don’t have to get me things.”
Jetfire shrugged. “Just…trying to help.”
Red Alert chuckled. “You could help me by getting me out of here.”
Jetfire’s spark sank. “…I don’t think…”
Red Alert waved his hand. “I know. It was a joke. A bad joke.” He peered around the corner. “You should leave before someone sees you.”
Jetfire nodded. “I don’t know if I can get you more rations without causing suspicion.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”
Jetfire left the cell, moving quickly, hoping not to be caught by any guards.
*
*
*
*
Red Alert really only recharged now.
Occasionally, if he was on the threat of passing out, would he refuel, but other than that, he did nothing.
There was no more medbay, and none of the Decepticons had talked to him, only to give him energon, which was getting rarer and rarer.
He was in a light recharge when he heard someone come in. He immediately opened his optics, and went on the defense-
“Red Alert?”
The bot was Jetfire.
“Jetfire?”
“Ya, it’s me.”
Red Alert looked over Jetfire, noticing a new symbol on his chassis.
“Autobot, now?”
Jetfire looked down. “Uh, ya…I swear, I was planning to get you out…I mean, I'm a prisoner now, but I did want to help get you and everyone from medbay out of here…”
“I wasn’t expecting you to rescue me.”
“…oh.”
“Sorry.”
Jetfire walked over to a wall, and leaned against it.
“When did you join the Autobots?”
“Hm…about a month now?”
“Good job.”
Jetfire smiled. “Thanks. How has medbay been?”
Red Alert felt a pang of sorrow. ”I haven’t been to medbay in a long time.”
“…what? Did everyone get better? I know you were trying to fix up Acid Storm’s audials, did you get those fixed?”
Red Alert shook his head. “I don’t know what happened. Slowly, bots started to disappear from the medbay, even when they were still in no condition to get back out, and they kept shrinking, and shrinking,
And Acid Storm was the first to leave, I hadn’t fixed his audials or his sight, he was just gone, and so was everyone else soon after…” Red Alert had this pent up for so long, he just needed it out.
“They took me to a room, and started asking me about any Autobot locations…they shocked me, I’ve…oh Primus, I don’t why, I told them about the Ark, they said the Ark was gone, I don’t even know what that means, I don’t know if they’re alive or not-“
Red Alert was hugging himself tightly now, desperate for some sort of comfort, hyperventilating as he tried to deal with his emotions.
“Do you…do you want a hug?”
Red Alert looked over at Jetfire, who had started to crawl over. “What?”
“I’m sorry, I saw you hug the patients to comfort them, and…do you want a hug?”
Red Alert nodded. “Please. Please, please, please…please.”
Jetfire crawled over to Red Alert, and wrapped his arms around Red, pulling him into his lap.
Red snuggled close to Jetfire, wrapping his arms the best he could. He felt tears going down his optics as Jetfire rubbed his back.
When Red Alert hugged the patients, every time, he felt a sense of safety coming from their fields. The hugs were safe to them, a source of comfort from their pain.
When Jetfire hugged him, Red Alert felt that safety that the patients had been desperate for. The past while had been tortuous to him, and for once, he felt like he would actually be okay. That he was safe.
Jetfire was safe.
No, this was stupid. Jetfire was the one who was just captured, he left his faction, joined a new one and returned as a prisoner. Red Alert should be comforting Jetfire, not the other way around.
But being wrapped in his arms, Jetfire rocking them both slightly, leaning down to his audial and whispering soothing words…
How could he hate this? How long since he felt truly safe, that he felt like he could be vulnerable, and wouldn’t be killed?
Jetfire projected comfort into his field, making a sort of another hug as Red Alert cried into his chassis, releasing the build up of emotions that had been brewing for Primus knows how long.
After what seemed like forever, Red Alert's crying began dying down, and Jetfire slowed down his rocking.
“Do you…want to recharge?”
Red Alert nodded slowly. Jetfire waited for a moment, probably expecting Red to leave his lap.
“Red Alert?”
“Hm?”
“I thought you wanted to recharge.”
“I do.” Red Alert nuzzled Jetfire’s chassis, and tightened his arms around him.
“Um…do you want me to keep holding you?”
Red Alert nodded again. He didn't want to let go, he loved feeling safe, he loved this.
Jetfire stood up and walked to the cell bed, cramming himself on there, holding Red Alert close to his chassis.
“I'm sorry…” Red Alert mumbled.
“Why?”
“You just got captured…and yet you're comforting me.”
Jetfire started rubbing Red's back again. “Don’t worry. You've been here a long time…and it looks like you need some comfort…”
Red Alert just snuggled in closer, relishing in the comforting arms around him.
“Jetfire?”
“Yes?”
“What are…left of the Autobots?”
“Um…Chromia and Elita.”
Red Alert was silent for a moment, expecting more of an answer.
“That’s…it?”
“Unfortunately.”
Everyone…was gone?
“I…I…couldn't even say goodbye…Primus, I don’t even know how long I've been gone…”
Jetfire sighed. “I told Elita about your whereabouts. She said you've been gone a little over a year.”
Red's breath hitched. A…year? He's been here for a year?
How…it didn’t feel like a year. It just felt like he was doing the same thing, over and over again, with no way to keep track of time other than bots coming in after a certain amount of time…
He must've started crying again, as Jetfire started rocking them both again, his hand rubbing his back.
“Primus…dear Primus, why…”
“You didn't deserve this.”
“Those…those bots needed help…Primus, they grabbed the first medic they found, and…I couldn't even…help them…”
Jetfire leaned down to his audial again. “Shh…you did what you could…I think everyone in there appreciated you…”
Red Alert said nothing more.