Chapter Text
Elena was dying.
She didn’t know how many days had passed, her body hanging from the cavern wall, but she knew humans couldn’t last long without water.
She was ashamed to remember how she had begged Tarantulas for water, multiple times. The one time he did he had dumped salt water on her head like a plant.
Feeling the salt water pass her chapped lips, it was like it sapped all the energy she had left. Her body was limp, her chin poking into her breast bone. She was in and out of consciousness she was pretty sure. Tarantulas, who had been too absorbed in his new abilities to focus on his prisoner, suddenly let out a furious snarl and left the room. Elena couldn’t muster up any sense to wonder what had happened.
This was really how she was going to go? Not slipping quietly away in her bed at age one hundred (preferred), or being blown up in the middle of an alien battle over earth (expected). She tried to be angry about it, but her dry throat was too distracting. It felt like she had swallowed the entire desert. Her stomach twisted desperately at the thought of the word ‘swallow’.
Elena closed her eyes, trying to picture herself somewhere else, anywhere else. Her last defiant thought; this wasn’t the place she wanted to die…
Something touched her shoulder.
Elena’s eyes peeled open, and a bolt of fright sent her heart pumping. Two metallic hands, the size of her head, slipped out of the cave wall behind her. They were on either side of her head, one grabbing her shoulder. The owner of the hands must’ve thought she would scream (she would have if it didn’t feel like her throat would start bleeding), because it came over her mouth to muffle any potential sound.
The warm press of metal against her skin did made her try and move her body, a last bit of adrenaline, a last bit of fight in her.
Then a voice spoke in her ear, “Relax, Els, it’s just me.”
RATTRAP!?
Elena stared as his robotic face popped into her line of sight. He was halfway out of the solid wall like he was Casper the Friendly Ghost. And Elena would’ve started crying if she had any water left in her.
She was starting to hallucinate.
Despite knowing that she let the mirage of Rattrap bite off the strands of web holding her in place. Her legs were beyond numb and she was immediately rushing to the floor. Ratrap’s arm was quick to wrap around her waist, saving her from smacking into the floor and waking up from this fever dream.
He felt unnervingly solid as he held her up to his chest. “I didn’t get to practice this with a human yet,” he murmured against her tangled hair. “But how different are people from rocks, when you really think about it.”
A crazy sentence, but one she expected when she was hallucinating. However she hadn’t expected her dehydrated mind to go as far as to have Ratrap carry her into the cave wall.
Despite knowing it was all a dream she clung tightly to Rattrap and closed her eyes against the blackness that surrounded them. It was such a weird and unnerving sensation, she felt the prick of stone across the entirety of her body, as if she moved just a hair she would feel the press of the rock around her. She felt nauseous, but luckily for Rattrap she had nothing to yak up.
A few moments later and white light burst against her eyelids. It took Elena a long time to manage to open her eyes to the sunlight. She hadn’t seen the sun and sky for so long.
Rattrap was still walking, and Elena looked over to see where he was going-and was given undeniable proof this was all a cruel dream.
Elena broke into a dry sob and buried her face into Rattrap’s neck. She couldn’t bear to see the femme bot standing before them, looking like the first time she had saw her.
Airazor.
.
Earlier…
“What are you thinking?” Charlie breathed, sitting next to Noah.
He almost didn’t want to say it, a desperate clinging of hope hung on his ribs. He worried if he spoke his idea it would fall off and vanish.
Yet the words came out anyway; “Could it bring her back?”
The two humans were still crouching next to Airazor’s body, Noah’s fingers wrapped around the transmetal. He was pretty sure he was shaking a bit.
His question was directed to Rattrap, who was sitting on the other side of Charlie. The Maximal’s optics widened slightly, as if he hadn’t considered the possibility. “I…I don’t know.”
Noah glanced behind him, the rest of the bots were still huddled together, still planning the next move. All except for Dinobot, who was a few feet away. He couldn’t hear their whispers but he was warily watching them nonetheless.
And before Noah could think better of it, he placed the transmetal against Airazor’s neck. He thought the words: “come back to us” as hard as if he was praying.
Nothing happened.
There was a heavy, almost suffocating silence…
The body twitched.
Airazor’s eyes popped open the millisecond her entire body jolted upward.
Rattrap slammed into Noah and Charlie, knocking them out of reach of the Maximal’s massive wings. He kept his body over them, shielding them. And a moment later Dinobot was there, standing over both the humans and Rattrap, fangs bared at Airazor.
“WHAT HAPPENED!?” one of the bots yelled, the sound of stomping footsteps. “WHY IS AIRAZOR-”
The voices came to a halt as Airazor’s body started to twist and contort, to transform. Replacing the hawk was a tall, slender frame that was similar to Arcee’s. She was on her long, shaking legs for maybe two seconds before she fell back down.
Airazor, now in robot form, stared off into the distance, seemingly collecting herself. Cheetor took a small, hesitant step forward. Both he and Rhinox looked like they were too scared to believe what they were looking at.
“Airazor…?” Cheetor’s voice was small, sounding like a child’s.
The femme’s head snapped around to look at them, and everyone flinched at the sudden moment. She looked at each face, taking the group in…her optics narrowed. “Cheetor? Rhinox? …What happened? Where’s Prime-”
She was cut off as both Cheetor and Rhinox rushed at her, throwing their arms around her in a conjoined embrace.
“You’re alive!” Rhinox sounded close to tears. “You’re back!”
“Back?” Airazor echoed, but had returned their embrace just as fiercely. “What happened to me? Last I remember was finding you two and Primal…with the Autobots.”
“Airazor!” Rattrap left the others to squeeze in into the group hug. Cheetor immediately pulled away, as if touching Rattrap would burn him. But the femme bot didn’t notice, staring down at Rattrap as he snuggled into her chest. “Rattrap…you were alive as well? What is going on-” she caught sight of Dinobot, and her entire body stiffened. The raptor immediately lowered his head, trying to make himself look small.
Her expression morphed into further confusion, and she looked back and forth at the group that surrounded her. “How-how long have I been gone?”
.
Elena flinched as she felt Airazor’s beat nudge her back. She had remind herself this wasn’t real, it was a cruel dream that would follow her into the afterlife.
“She’s in bad shape,” Rattrap said the obvious, his voice edged with worry.
“We need to get her back to the others,” Airazor’s voice made Elena sob again. “Both of you, on my back now.”
Elena opened her eyes when Rattrap placed her on top of Airazor’s back, the metallic feathers oddly soft.
“Hold on to me, Elena,” Airazor spoke softly, as if the human was a frightened fawn.
“You’re not real,” she murmured, clutching the feathers. Rattrap sat behind her, a secure arm around her waist. “Neither of you are real. I’m dreaming.”
“I know you got a lot to catch up on, doll, but we’re real,” Rattrap reassured her.
“You’re safe now,” Airazor assured, then she took flight.
Elena’s body jolted as the Maximal took flight. The girl looked over Airazor’s neck to see a mountain below, that was where Tarantulas’ lair is. And for some reason-the sight of the mountain was what made Elena realize she was not hallucinating. This wasn’t a dream. She had escaped. Rattrap had got her out. Airazor was alive.
And Elena really, really hated heights.
With a yelp she smothered her face into Airazor’s feathers. She thought she heard Rattrap chuckle, but the wind was too loud for her to know for sure.
She once again wanted to weep, but was still as dry as a bone. She was safe, she had finally been rescued, and by a friend she thought she’d never see again. At the moment, Elena didn’t even care for the details of how Airazor was back. She was just happy she was.
They were leaving the mountain behind, Airazor thankfully getting closer to the ground. Rattrap suddenly nudged her, “Look who else is here.”
Swallowing past her acrophobia she pulled herself up to look to the ground-and let out a shrill cry of joy.
Cheetor.
He looked different, she could tell even from up here, there was more colors on him, but she felt those same eyes on her. She waved down at him, only for Rattrap to pull her back when she started to slip.
When Airazor landed it was among the forestry, hidden from the view of the mountain.
Cheetor was faster than last Elena saw him, and he had reached them just as Airazor landed. He transformed into robot mode immediately, and was still moved when he reached his arms out for her. Elena was ready, jumping into his arms, and the two ended up sprawling across the ground.
Cheetor hugged her so tight to her chest Elena thought her chest would burst. Or maybe that was just the joy and relief that was overwhelming her and having her throw her arms around his neck. Without thinking about it she kissed at his face, every inch of it but his lips.
He was talking, so fast she could barely make out the words. But she knew he had missed her, had worried for her constantly, was so, so, so happy she was back in his arms.
Elena was doing her dry sobbing again, struggling to get the words out of her sandpaper throat.
“I’m sorry,” she managed at last. “I’m so sorry!”
“Sorry,” Cheetor was making a purring noise, his closed mouth moving along her neck and chest. “Sorry for what?”
“I should have answered when I had the chance-I should have realized!” she snuggled deep into his neck, and just let herself exist for that moment-for him. “I love you too, Cheetor.”