//------------------------------// // Endgame (3) // Story: We Need A Medic // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Endgame (3) As Ratchet’s processor came back online and his optics opened once more, the full realization of how bad things were at the moment hadn’t fully dawned on him yet. The multiple blows to his head might have been responsible for his failure to grasp the severity of the situation or it just might have been him not wanting to believe how wrong for the Autobot’s things had gotten. But as he pulled himself back up to his feet, he knew one thing to be true. Fluttershy was a part of Ultracon. That thought woke Ratchet back up and he sprinted out of the room, following the faint traces of her magic as best he could. He didn’t know why or how Fluttershy and Ultracon had managed to combine, but what he did know was that she was going to be killed. Which gave him all the more incentive to run faster. He slammed shoulder first into a wall when he tried to take a corner, revealing to him just how badly damaged he actually was. Doing a system check revealed that Ratchet’s right arm was barely functioning, most of his weapons were damaged beyond the point of being useable and that he was running low on energon reserves. He was in no shape to take on a rookie Con, let alone their leader. Yet he remembered that Ultracon had bragged to Ratchet about how Ultracon was finally powerful enough to kill a Prime, telling Ratchet all he needed to know about where Ultracon had gotten to. But as Ratchet ran into the hallway where he had last seen Prime, he instantly realized how bad things had gotten while he had been out. A giant hole had been ripped open in the center of the floor, leading down into the depths of the true Deceptacon base. Down below Ratchet could see the power core that ran energon to the entire base, with its hundreds of tubes that was filled with the life-giving fuel. However, it wasn’t the core of the Cons base that drew Ratchet’s optics, it was the two bots battling it out nearby. Ultracon had managed to combine with the very same armor that Ratchet had remembered walking towards him and Prime, bringing the Deceptacon leader onto Prime’s level. And to make matters worse, Ratchet’s sensors could detect all six of the girl’s magic coming from within the suit of armor, telling Ratchet where Fluttershy’s friends had gotten to. And with that much magic, Ratchet knew that there was no bot alive that could challenge him now. Optimus looked like he had been through a blender. His armor was ripped and full of gashes and holes, most of which were leaking energon at an alarming rate to Ratchet’s medical optics. His double-sided axe was now a single sided one and the one side that was left was cracked on one side. His Cannon of the Prime, a weapon gifted to him by the spirits of the Primes themselves, was sliced clean in two at the barrel, leaving it a shell of its former glory. Yet all of the damage done to Optimus’s weapons and chassis was nothing compared to the damage that Optimus had suffered to his confidence. All Ratchet had to do was look into Optimus’s eyes to see that the leader of the Autobot’s was at the end of his rope. Ratchet knew Optimus better than any bot and from the way that the armor that Ultracon wore seemed to barely have a scratch on it, he knew that Optimus wasn’t fighting back. He was trying to avoid hurting the girls. Even if it cost him his life. “This is the great Optimus Prime?” Ultracon laughed from within the armor, smirking at the Autobot leader who was using most of his strength just to remain vertical. “The Autobot who lead his soldiers against the onslaught of Megatron? The Autobot who saved the entire Autobot army from being decimated in the final days of Cybertron? You are the great warrior who slayed Megatron? Pathetic.” To cement his point Ultracon lunged towards Optimus and drove a fist into the side of his head, launching Optimus across the room and to the floor. A weak groan of pain escaped from Optimus as he slowly began to push himself up once more, leaving Ultracon plenty of time to stalk towards him. “Everyone always says how Megatron was the greatest Deceptacon of all time. But if I slay you, it will prove to them all that he was nothing more than a brute. For once I slay you, I will be hailed as the greatest Con of them all!” Ultracon said with mirth as he reached Optimus, who had fought back up to one knee. “And I will have beaten you without taking a scratch.” “Ultracon, you know full well that the only reason you still function is because I would not dare to risk the lives of the seven girls you have kidnapped,” Optimus said in a cold tone to Ultracon. “For if you did not have them shielding you and your cowardice, I would have ended this battle long ago. You have not beaten me. I have allowed myself to be beaten to protect them.” “A noble reason, I’m sure, but the end result is still the same,” Ultracon replied as his arm transformed into an ion cannon, one which he pointed right between Prime’s eyes. “You will be dead and I will be hailed as the greatest Con of all. And if Megatron was as smart as others said he was, he would have used far more human hostages when he fought you all those cycles ago. Goodbye, Prime.” “NO!” A blast caught Ultracon in the arm and angled his shot away from Prime, causing the Con to blast a massive hole in the floor next to where Prime was kneeling. The moment the shot caught the armor, however, Pinkie cried out in pain and grabbed at her right arm. “Ratchet, hold your fire!” Optimus roared at the Autobot, who landed on Optimus’s level a moment later. “The armor is linked directly to Pinkie. If you hit the armor in any way that causes pain she will be the one to feel it.” “I can’t just stand by and watch him kill you!” Ratchet snarled in reply, but weak as he was Prime was still able to give Ratchet a glare that silenced any further arguments. “Until Pinkie and the others have been freed from that armor, standing by while doing nothing is exactly what we shall be doing,” Optimus ordered. “Which makes it all the easier to do this.” A blast of energon caught Ratchet in the leg and sent him sprawling before Ultracon turned on Prime and blasted him right in the center of his chest. Prime let out one last cry of pain before his eyes went dark and he slumped over without another sound. For a moment Ultracon waited to see if Prime would get back up, but when he didn’t the Con began to laugh. “I’ve done it. I’ve actually done it! Optimus Prime, the bane of the Deceptacon army, is finally dead!” Ultracon laughed with victory. Ratchet, who turned his scanner onto Optimus, knew the truth that Optimus wasn’t dead, but was on the verge of death. If he didn’t get medical aid and quickly, the legendary Prime would be dead. But Ratchet also knew that there was no way to treat Prime with Ultracon still there. Yet every blow thrown against Ultracon would be felt by one of the girls, meaning Ratchet couldn’t try to kill him even if he was able to. ‘There has to be something I can do,’ Ratchet thought as he strained to get back to his feet, turning Ultracon’s attention towards him. ‘Even at one hundred percent I’m not sure I could beat him and I’m nowhere close to that. And that armor of his prevents anyone from getting to where they could hurt him, even if they had no qualms about hurting the girls. Is there really no way to get past this?’ And then it dawned on Ratchet. There was someone who could get past the armor, get past the fact that every blow that landed upon the armor would be felt by the girls. Because she was already past it. She was right next to Ultracon’s spark. And she knew exactly how to dismantle a Transformer from the inside. “Fluttershy, can you hear me?” Ratchet said to both the approaching Deceptacon and the communicator that kept him connected to Fluttershy. “If you can hear me, it is up to you. Prime is down, I’m not looking much better and Ultracon is too strong. You’re the only one that can.” “What’s this? You’re putting the fate of the Autobot’s, and yourself, in the hands of a human girl that can’t do anything but watch? That is rich,” Ultracon said to Ratchet before he grabbed the bot by the head and lifted him up, summoning his energon blade once more. “Go ahead, bot. Call out for your little friend. Call out and beg for her to save you. But she won’t. Because all of her power is now mine. She would kill herself trying to break free from me and we both know you won’t allow that. But go ahead, ask for little Fluttershy to save you.” “Fluttershy, Ultracon is an infiltrator, class seven transformer. You know what that means,” Ratchet muttered weakly into the communicator, each of his words causing Ultracons smile to widen. “It has to be you. I wish I could take this burden upon myself, but anything I try will result in hurting your friends. You have to do this. I know you can.” “Really? You truly believe that weak human has what it takes to beat me?” Ultracon asked. “She is far stronger than you ever will be,” Ratchet spat back. Ultracon narrowed his eyes and brought back his blade, aiming right for where Ratchet’s spark would be. “Well, it’s too bad that she couldn’t hear you,” Ultracon said with one last smile at Ratchet. “But as a consolation prize, I’ll let her watch as I strike you down before her very eyes!” Ultracon then plunged the blade clean through Ratchet’s spark. Or at least, that’s what he wanted to do, but when it came time for his body to carry out his minds orders his arm remained locked in place. Ultracon snarled as he tried once more to drive his blade through Ratchet’s spark, but both his blade and his arm remained stubbornly rooted in place. “What…is happening?” Ultracon asked. Unbeknownst to Ultracon, Fluttershy had heard every word that Ratchet had said to her. She heard how Optimus had fallen, how Ratchet was beaten and how her friends were in grave danger. How it all fell to her. So even with Ultracon syphoning all of her magical power to be used for his own goals, even with the waves of agonizing pain that washed over her, she began to fight. She forced herself to strain against the metallic bonds that held her. She also forced the magic that Ultracon had taken to work for her. It might not have been in her body anymore, but it was still her magic and it still obeyed her without question. And with that magic flowing through every vein in Ultracon’s body, Flutershy quickly discovered that she could use her pull over Ultracon’s body to stop anything he tried. When he tried to impale Ratchet, she held his arm back. When he tried to clench his fingers and crush Ratchet’s head, she reversed the grip and freed Ratchet. But she knew that it wouldn’t be enough. She had to stop him. She had to save the Autobot’s and her friends. No matter the cost. With a roar of will and fury one would expect only to hear from Megatron himself, Fluttershy channeled every last bit of her remaining magic into her veins, drawing forth on her internal power to fight. Despite the metal being from an advanced alien species and how drained she was, the metal began to groan as she tore herself free. After a moment she managed to rip free her right arm, slicing it apart on the shredded metal as she did so. But the girl didn’t have time to focus on the pain. Instead she coated her free arm in magic and grabbed hold of the other restraint, ripping it open and allowing herself to free her left arm. She summoned her magical blades around her hands and sliced free her legs, leaving her free to do whatever she wanted within Ultracon’s chest. “Ultracon, I know you can hear me!” Fluttershy roared before she sliced through one of the enegon tubes, cleaving it open and spilling energon all over herself. She heard Ultracon roar in pain and knew that she had his attention. “I’m free inside of you and I have full access to all of your vital areas. Listen and listen well, for if you don’t do exactly as I say, I’ll slice open each and every one of these tubes. Are we clear?!” “You wouldn’t dare,” Ultracon defied in reply. Fluttershy sliced open another tube in response to his dare. “Fine! Fine! Just stop!” “I want you to free my friends. Now,” Flutteshy demanded, before slicing a third tube open. “That was to show that I’m not going to wait long for you to do as I say. But if you listen to me without question, I promise that I’ll patch you up and let you walk out of this alive.” She heard mechanical whirring, followed by what sounded like glass sliding. She waited a moment before pressing a hand to her communicator so that she could speak to Ratchet. “Ratchet, did Ultracon do as I said?” “He did Fluttershy. I have your six friends right here. They’re safe.” “Good. Ratchet, I want you to take them and Optimus and get them to safety. They’re going to need your medical expertise if they all hope to make it out of this alive.” “What?! I’m not leaving you here alone!” “Don’t worry, I’ve got Ultracon’s body on lockdown. He can’t go anywhere, not with my magic running through his veins,” Fluttershy told Ratchet. “And even if he does manage to break free, I’m right next to his spark. His heart is literally in my hands,” she continued as she placed a hand on Ultracons green spark. “Fluttershy-“ “They will die without you, Ratchet. And neither of us will allow that to happen,” Fluttershy told Ratchet, who stayed silent in reply. “Remember how you kidnapped me when we first met? This is how you can pay me back for that. By trusting me to keep Ultracon in check.” “…I’ll get Optimus and your friends to the Autobot’s but them I’m coming right back for you,” Ratchet promised Fluttershy. “Thank you.” Ratchet transformed into his vehicle mode and placed the girls the front of himself, before he drove over to where Optimus was lying motionless on the floor. He attached a cable to Optimus and began to drag him towards the exit, while Fluttershy used her control over Ultracon to keep him from trying anything. “No…no no no no!” Ultracon roared as Ratchet reached the door leading out of the room. “I will not be like all the others! I will not come so close to killing Prime only to fail in the end!” With all of the control and force he could muster, Ultracon forced his gun arm to lift up and aim at where Ratchet was leaving with Optimus and the girls. Fluttershy had been waiting for him to try something, though, so she was ready and waiting. The moment he had his arm level she used her control over his body to whip his arm to the side so that he’d fire into the wall. But to her surprise she found that when she moved Ultracon’s arm he moved along with her, spinning his arm and body further than Fluttershy had planned. Which ended up with Ultracon’s gun aimed right at the power core for the facility. “No,” Fluttershy whispered right before Ultracon fired. The blast hit the side of the core and instantly caused detonation along it, sending out explosions of energon that shook the building. Realizing what he had done, Fluttershy drove her blades through the front of Ultracon’s chest and carved a small escape hole for herself, which she quickly wriggled out of. “Fluttershy!” Ratchet called out over the comm. “I’m coming! Don’t wait up!” she instructed him as more explosions rocked the base. The ceiling, weakened from Ultracon driving Prime through it, began to come down around her and Ultracon. Fluttershy summoned forth her wings and launched herself away from Ultracon, who raced after her as quickly as he could. Though she was severely weakened from having so much of her magic drained, a combination of adrenalin and fear was enough to push Fluttershy past her exhaustion. She flew across the room and reached the door where Ratchet was waiting for her, revving his engine in hopes that it would somehow make her go faster. She rocketed through the door, causing Ratchet to haul bumper after her. He activated his vehicles weapons mode and fired at the nearest wall, punching a hole in it that lead to the outside. “We’re going to make it!” Ratchet told her and Fluttershy nodded to agree, before something in the back of her mind caused her to look over her shoulder. She looked just in time to see Ultracon stumble and fall, before clutching at where his spark was. A spark that was damaged and flooding thanks to what Fluttershy had done. Ultracon wasn’t going to make it away from the explosion in time. For a brief moment she considered what she should do. But only for a moment. In the next moment she spun around and rocketed herself back towards Ultracon, catching Ratchet completely off guard. With the added weight of Optimus Prime as well as the speeds he was going at, Ratchet couldn’t stop in time until he had skidded outside of the Deceptacon base. He spun around just in time to see Fluttershy reach Ultracon, her magic beginning to envelope the both of them, before a colossal explosion knocked the bot out.