tpf. Jasper, Nevada and Autobot Outpost Omega One. Catching up with Wesson. part 2 of 2

[dens_extra_pups]

Continued from here



About twenty minutes later


Maria: *pulling up to Johnny's house. Quiet shock at seeing the state of her vegetable garden and the fact that the curtains on the house are drawn. Then she's parking the truck and moving to check on Red Bull*

Red Bull: *standing patiently by his water trough. To judge from the bindweed growing on the gate of his stall, he hasn't been put to bed for awhile* *sees Maria and goes "mmmmmmmm" hopefully*

Maria: *soothing sounds, moves to fill the water trough*

water tank: *empty*

Maria: ... The *beeeeep*?!

Billy: *is a swoosh of wind and a tweak at her hair*

Maria: *looking for some of the prickly pears that she and Wesson first fed Red Bull when he arrived* Hey, Billy, where's Johnny?

prickly pears: *stomped and chewed to heck*

Billy: *goes to perch on the porch railing, alarm calling loudly*

Maria: ... *calling Optimus and letting her know what's going on, even as she moves to approach the porch*

Billy: *fluffs her feathers and cries again, then takes off and flaps skyward* *she NEVER gets agitated*

Optimus: //He's not there?//

Maria: I don't know... Billy, the hawk he rehabilitated, is freaking out, so something's definitely wrong.

Optimus: //What are you going to do?//

Maria: I've gotta check on Johnny, 'n see if there's something I can use ta get Red Bull somethin' ta drink.

Optimus: //Please be careful.//

Maria: I will be. *moving to check the door*

door that's always open: *locked*

Maria: ...The door's locked. *very worried now*

Optimus: //Is that unusual?//

Maria: It's never locked.

Optimus: //Can you get in?//

Maria: I've got a key. *will try that and then look inside* Johnny?

house: *dark, dusty, and utterly silent*

Maria: *very quietly* Optimus, something's really wrong here... *just a bit scared now*

Wesson: *rasping sound from where the table's been converted to couch*

Optimus: *concern in that deep alto* //Do you want backup?//

Maria: *bites her lower lip* Yes. Send Ratchet, too?

Wesson: *rasps again and seems to start breathing* No.

Ratchet: //I'm on my way, Maria. What's the address?//

Maria: *as she cautiously moves toward the sound of Wesson's voice* The house doesn't really have an address...

Optimus: //Track her phone, Ratchet. And stop worrying so hard.//

Wesson: *pale under his dark complexion. Big man is laying there on the narrow space looking like an emaciated puppet with its strings cut*

Ratchet: //I'm not worrying.//

Maria: Yes you were. *moving to put a hand on Wesson's forehead*

Wesson: *skin is dry, leathery, and cool. Flinches at her touch* No...

Maria: *gently* Doc's on his way, Johnny. You'll be okay.

Wesson: *rasps, and sounds a little staticky* No... bots. No...

Maria: Johnny, please. They can help you. *trying not to let her worry creep into her voice*

Wesson: *seems to struggle for a moment, and then manages to get his eyes open* No. Gonna... die... anyway. Not... be... executed... *beep*... Autobots.

Maria: *confused* But they wouldn't hurt you.

Wesson: Will... *eyes droop shut again*

Ratchet: //Incoming.// *and there's the sound of the ground bridge outside*

Wesson: *stiffens slightly, as though that's all he's capable of doing. Jaw is clenched now* No... No!

Ratchet: -Optimus, the water supply for this location is completely depleted...- *worried. Will send his drone to investigate the house*

Wesson: *seems to have some sort of seizure and stops talking*

Maria: Johnny! *checking his pulse*

dRatchet: *hurrying inside*

Wesson: *no pulse discernible at either wrist or neck*

Maria: *scared now* Ratchet, he's dying!

dRatchet: *moving to scan Maria's friend* Let me see what's going on.

Wesson: *vital signs are not present, other than faint brain waves, and the very faint beating of the spark fragment within the spider-like mass of metal and circuits lodged within his chest*

dRatchet: *boggling*

Ratchet: *accidentally transmits his shock at this discovery*

Maria: *very scared and worried now*

Optimus: -Ouch!- //Ratchet, who is that?//

dRatchet: I'm not sure... I'd have to scan him with the equipment in the infirmary. But whoever he is, he's not in good shape.

Optimus: //I'm opening the ground bridge.// *transmits a flinch as an excited Billy bites Ratchet's antennae*

Ratchet: *startled horn honk*

Maria: *squeak!*

Optimus: //Maria, call Billy off. She's chewing on your father.//

Maria: *bites her lower lip, moves to do so very reluctantly*

dRatchet: *trying to make sure Johnny is comfortable, is clicking softly*

Billy: *is up in the air again. That horn honk scared her into making a mess!*

Maria: ... Okay then. *back in the house*

dRatchet: *moving to carefully lift Johnny* *to Maria* Are there any blankets? *thinking that the comfort items will help*

Maria: *goes to get the blankets, is quietly fretting in Portuguese*

Wesson: *broken, rasping whisper* No...

dRatchet: *gently* Easy, you're safe.

Wesson: [No...] *that was in Decepticon*

dRatchet: ...

Ratchet: -Maria's friend knows Decepticon...- *so very surprised*

Optimus: *bit of worry comes over the bond* //You don't recognize him?//

Ratchet: -The spark shard is very weak, and almost out...-

ground bridge: *flares open immediately, causing Billy to nearly hit the front window as she shrieks with indignant surprise and flaps skyward*

Maria: *startled by that, hurries back down the ladder to Johnny and dRatchet with the blankets*

dRatchet: Maria, will your bull follow you if lead?

Maria: I think so...

dRatchet: Go get him, and see if he'll follow your truck. *moving to bring Johnny to where his main body is parked*

Red Bull: *is not by his trough anymore. Is not in his stall either*

Maria: ... *scrambling to find the bull* Red Bull!

Red Bull: *answers her call. From the direction of her truck*

Maria: *hurries to her truck*

Red Bull: *kneeling comfortably in the truck, where he saw his rope and halter and one of his brushes* *travelled in Wesson's truck like this to the pet show. However, Wesson's got a bigger truck. And a tailgate*

Ratchet: //Maria's bull is in the bed of her truck.//

Optimus: //He hardly fits.//

Torque: //No problem!//

Optimus: //...When did he get back?//

dRatchet: *moving to get Johnny secured*

Ratchet: //We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to get Johnny back to base.//

Maria: *trying to get Red Bull secured, is fussing and fretting*

Torque: *comes roaring up and fishtails to present his wide and inviting truck bed*

Ratchet: *sirens going as he drives through the ground bridge*

Torque: *will follow shortly thereafter, Red Bull secure in the bed of his alt mode*

Maria: *bringing up the rear in her truck, has Red Bull's water trough in the bed*

Red Bull: *is sure he's in the right place, because he has his halter and rope on, and he can see his brush. This obviously makes where he is a bull stall*

Alana: *waiting to meet Ratchet, her face saying things that her mouth isn't yet*

Ratchet: *alt mode doors open the moment he's clear of the bridge*

Alana: *hurries to pull the gurney out, her first look at the patient adding supplemental verbal commentary to what her face was already saying*

Optimus: *frowning and hovering at an out of the way distance as Megatron stands at her shoulder and looks worried*

dRatchet: *moving to get equipment going, even as his main body does likewise after transforming*

Alana: Why'd I bring bot stuff, Ratchet? *scowls up at him questioningly, but then looks down as the patient whispers* Huh?

Optimus: *down on one knee and offering her hands to Maria as she watches what's going on*

Maria: *headshake, moves to where she can be close to Johnny without being in the doctors' way*

Ratchet: Because this man has a spark fragment, and pieces of Cybertronian tech in his body.

Megatron: *quiet certainty* That's Soundwave.

Wesson: *closes his eyes with relief at seeing his leader here and unharmed* [Megatron.]

Maria: ...

Optimus: *shock, dismay, and compassion*

Ratchet: *moving to scan Johnny with the scanning equipment* *quietly* Maria, the blankets, please. *can tell now that there's nothing that can be done*

Optimus: *softly* I'm sorry, Maria.

Megatron: *big kid has a big sad*

Maria: *doing her best not to cry. Moves to hold Johnny's hand*

Optimus: *kneels nearby and says what Ratchet's too choked up to* John's systems are already mostly shut down. And Soundwave is too weak and too fragmentary to stay alight much longer, even with life support.

Maria: *quietly* I'm not leaving him.

Alana: *gently, to Maria* Come on. Let's get him to the infirmary.

Ratchet: *will carefully lift Johnny, clicking softly all the while*

Alana: *helps Maria onto Ratchet's hands beside WessonWave, and then scrambles up onto her fellow physician's arm*

Ratchet: *careful as he walks toward the infirmary*

Maria: *settles for the ride, still holding WessonWave's hand*

Wesson: *eyes open and search even as his breathing falters and stops again*

Ratchet: *pings Megatron's comm and requests that the youngster come to the infirmary as well*

Megatron: *quietly refuses*

Wesson: *finds Maria, and his eyes show grief when he sees her expression* Sorry... never... meant... to... *seems to struggle for a moment*

Maria: *wibble, gives WessonWave's hand a gentle squeeze*

Wesson: *winces as his spark flickers and dims further* Never meant... to hurt you.

Maria: *quietly* I know. I forgive you.

Wesson: *ghost of a whisper* Love you. *more strongly* Wait. *eyes close, and the machine he's hooked to starts to shrill*

Alana: *reaches over and turns it off, then turns away*

Maria: *breath hitches*

Ratchet: *silently noting the time of death for the autopsy report* *quietly, over comms to Megatron* //Soundwave has passed.//

Megatron: *voice strong but quivering very slightly* //I know.//

Ratchet: *has his drone give Megatron's leg a hug*

Megatron: *hunkers down and puts his hand on the drone's back to return the hug. Has shrugged away from Optimus and is over behind the platform where no one can see him cry*

Blaster: *soft funeral music from where he'd been waiting by the door of the infirmary*

Ratchet: -If only we'd known sooner...- *comforting Maria*

Optimus: -How did he wind up like that, Ratchet? And why didn't we ever go back to check on him after the boys stuffed him into that rock?- *guilt and sadness mixed with strong compassion and pity*

Ratchet: -I'm not sure... Maria never said much about him, either.- *scanning WessonWave now, to try and figure out how the mech and man became one entity* *sudden surprise* -He has a scar on his chest... and it looks like his neck was broken at one point, but was reinforced.-

Optimus: *shaky sadness* -How is Maria?-

Ratchet: *softly* -She is grieving, though far less openly than I would have expected.- *will bring his passengers into the infirmary*

Alana: *turns back to Maria as Ratchet's hands lower over the table in the private room that he brought them into* *softly* Hey, you have to let go for a minute so Ratchet can put everyone down.

Maria: *small nod, does so, albeit reluctantly*

Alana: *gently helps the taller woman down*

Maria: *kind of hugging herself now*

Ratchet: *soft clicking as he scans and studies WessonWave's body*

Alana: *offers hug*

Maria: *will accept the offered hug

Alana: *gives her a good squish, then looks downward* *softly* Here comes your sister.

Denver: The guys've set up a pen fer yer bull, Maria.

Ratchet: *as Maria nods, his attention's going to Optimus' drone, which is climbing the ladder to join Maria*

dOptimus: *swats his hand* Go hover somewhere else, Ratchet. -She'll feel better without you here, love.-

Ratchet: *quiet rumble* -Alright. I'll go over the data I've scanned.- *moves to head to the control room*

Alana: *quiet report for dOptimus as the blonde reaches the top of the table, then checks the ladder for Denver before starting to climb down*

dOptimus: *nods, and then comes to hunker next to Maria much as her main body hunkers to talk to humans* *softly* Maria?

Maria: *quietly* I just wish I'd've known...

dOptimus: *slight catch in her simulated breathing* So do I.

Maria: We could've helped him...

dOptimus: *nods, biting her lip as she looks at the still form beneath the carefully worked blankets* *blue eyes are sheened with unshed tears*

Maria: *quieter* If he'd'a let us.

dOptimus: *softly* We have ways of persuading the reluctant.

Bad: *braprap!*

dOptimus: *soft, broken snerk* And there are two of them.

Maria: *soft sigh* Yeah...

dOptimus: *hesitantly offers an arm of comfort. She really feels that Soundwave's suffering is her fault and that Maria would be right to be angry at her*

Maria: *will hide her face on you now, Optimus*

dOptimus: *hugs and rocks as the tears finally escape to run down her cheeks* *softly* I'm sorry. We should have gone back and checked on him the day Megatron died.

Maria: *quietly* He prolly wouldn't have gone with you... *sadly* He always seemed uneasy when I had ta come back here...

dOptimus: He was embedded in a rock. He wouldn't have been able to do much about it. *shaky breath*

Maria: He'd tried talking me into staying away...

dOptimus: *wibble* I'm sorry.

Maria: *soft sigh, won't say anything else... Do you has hugs?*

dOptimus: *has lots of hugs. But then she stiffens as she sees Poe swoop in and sit by the body* *does NOT want Maria to hear the Raven's favourite phrase right now* Shoo, Poe!

Poe: *looks at her with one eye, and then the other. Then clicks his beak and gently tweaks the top blanket before spreading his wings* Don't be late. Gorp. Don't be late. *flies away*

Maria: *more soft sigh*

dOptimus: *staring with shock after the bird, but remembers herself after a moment and pings Jazz* //Jazz, send Blaster to the Well and tell him to wait for further orders.// *gets her friend's acknowledgement and then settles down to pray and comfort her grieving child*


((Written with random_xtras))