Transformers Fan Fiction ❯ Fragments of Allspark ❯ Hear no Evil, See no Evil, and Speak no Evil ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 6: Hear no Evil, See no Evil, and Speak no Evil
 
The miles seemed to stretch longer and longer as the three Autobots raced towards the source of the explosion. Not a word was uttered, and Optimus Prime was glad. These humans had helped them, even befriended them. It was his fault this happened. He should have been more aggressive in hunting down the Decepticons until he was sure they all had died. A ball of fury was wrenching inside of Prime, and he almost pitied the first obstacle they came across- almost. Suddenly a flash of light and the residual shock wave washed over them. Ratchet swerved and careened wildly, accidentally smashing into Ironhide. The blast picked up Prime's fender and sent him tumbling over backwards; he had to transform chaotically to keep from completely wrecking.
 
Sitting with his legs splayed, Prime rubbed his head and looked for the other two. Both were slowly transforming, groaning from the dents they had sustained.
“What in the hell was that!?” Ironhide barked. The Autobots picked up on Earth's lingo fast.
Optimus Prime gestured and was about to speak as a second blast, a third and finally a fourth rocked over the three. The consecutive flashes of light cut into Prime's oculars, and one was completely shattered by the blast. Ironhide was on his stomach, shielding his head and Ratchet was caught getting halfway up. He severely damaged an arm as the blasts knocked him over. When it was over, all three stayed silent, as if breaking it would cause another rocking explosion.
 
Finally Prime groaned. It was not intended to be a groan, it was meant to be words of reassurance. But groaning was all that he could seem to do at the moment. Ironhide stood slowly and tottered a few unsteady steps over to Ratchet. A look towards Prime and back to Ratchet confirmed that Ironhide escaped with the least injuries; his armor-plated back was painfully scratched. He helped the medic to his feet and shook his head at the dangling arm.
“Those explosions couldn't have been more than five or six miles ahead! Are you alright? How is your arm?”
“It's useless, Ironhide, I'll need to completely reconstruct it.” Ratchet said in a weak voice. Another groan brought their attention to Prime. They ran over to him and Ratchet knelt at Prime's side. He leaned over to assess his leader's injuries and let out a short roar of frustration as his broken arm clunked into Prime's side.
“Ironhide, tie this thing back.”
“Right!” Ironhide snapped to attention and grabbed a cord from his trunk and, as gently as possible, tied the useless appendage to Ratchet's side. “There you go, soldier, good as new.” He ignored Ratchet's huff. “How is Prime?”
“Not good,” replied the medic, “his ocular is blown, and I think his other one is light-blind.” His remaining hand deftly examined and took vitals. “We need to get him on his feet, his equilibrium is completely off.” Ratchet finally determined.
 
Ironhide complied and sat Prime up, grasped him in a bear hug and lifted the Autobot to his feet. Prime's hands shot out and grasped Ironhide's shoulders in panic.
“Uhnnn..can't see…” His groans were becoming understandable.
“It's all right, Optimus, just stand still for a moment and catch your balance.” Ratchet said, with a touch of gentleness. Prime's panic only increased; Ratchet rarely used his first name. This could only be bad.
“…H-hardly stand.” He forced out as evenly as possible.
“That will get better once you get used to not seeing. Optimus, both of your oculars are damaged. The left one is beyond repair. We need to get back to base.”
“No.” Prime silenced Ratchet, and continued in a now-steady voice. “We need to go and see if Sam and Mikaela are still alive. How long until I can see out of my other ocular?”
“Not long, perhaps twenty minutes.” Prime shook his head, letting go of Ironhide's shoulders.
“No. We move out now. Ironhide can guide me and my sight will return on the way towards the lake resort. It's less than 70 miles away now.”
“But-!”
“Autobots, that is a direct order. Move out!”
“Yes sir!” The response came in unison. They all transformed and Ironhide kept Prime at his rear wheel. Ratchet's transformation wasn't completely perfect because of his arm, but he was able to keep up. The three rolled down the highway, none speaking again. If no one wanted to speculate about the blast before, it was out of the question now. `What if's' were useless.
 
 
They soon began to roll through the area where the latest four blasts had originated from. The beginning was punctuated by the end of the highway. Prime could see from his right ocular again, but it was a washed out vision. It would have to do. Ironhide tried to ignore the splashes of blood and the acrid smell of burning flesh as they moved slowly through the dead city. The rough terrain of the upturned earth jarred their bodies and finally Prime called a halt. This seemed to be the epicenter, as there was little left but rubble.
“How can we ever know if they were here at all?” Ratchet asked throatily.
“We search.” came the gruff reply. Perhaps if he said as little as possibly, Prime might keep the devastation out of his voice. The other two nodded without speaking, and began to comb through the piles of debris. They retreated to their thoughts. Ironhide thought- This is obviously hopeless, why should we listen to Prime? He is too emotional to make rash calls. Ratchet pondered nervously- Where was the thing, or things, that did this? We could not live through an attack if they come back! And Prime thought simply, a heavy sadness slumping his proud shoulders- How could anyone survive this?