We wish we had more time.
We wish we had got another chance.
But in the end, nothing is left to us. For we do not deserve existence, and what does not exist must return to the nothingness.
Primus, Father of all, forgive your children for having created the monsters we are. Forgive us for being the weakest of your spawn. Our kin is the first to go, yet we do not join you when our frame becomes devoid of life.
Primus, Father of all, forgive us for being scared. We who are lacking a spark cannot become one with all. We who are walking without light have nowhere to go.
We appear, we walk, then we disappear.
Primus, Father of all but us, forgive us for clutching to this life we did not ask for.
Primus, Father of all but us, we beg you to give us more time, before we go back to nothing.
Primus, dear Creator, please lend an ear to the nobodies’ plea.
Never before had Bumblebee seen Raf so distressed. The young boy was yelling for help, on the verge of tears, holding the much larger servo of a lifeless Vehicon.
“Save them! Please, they saved me, save them too, please!”
The Scout was taken aback by his friend’s words. How could a Vehicon produce such a reaction from the human? He was snapped out of his thoughts when Optimus Prime kneeled then gently took the drone in his arms. The words he pronounced surprised everyone.
“Ratchet, open the groundbridge.”
“Are you sure, Optimus?” Arcee asked. “It’s an enemy. A mere drone! Bringing it to the base could be dangerous.”
“But they protected me!” Raf exclaimed. “They got injured in the process, please, their visor went dark, I don’t want them to die!”
The groundbridge appeared.
“Then it is a risk I am willing to take. Arcee, Bulkhead, start collecting the energon from the mine. Bumblebee, Rafael, come with me.”
To say that the medic was less than thrilled was an understatement. Ratchet was irate, grumbling that the world really turned upside down if he was now supposed to fix a fragging Decepticon. But then Rafael explained the whole story, and he felt a bit less furious and more annoyed than anything.
“Rafael, stop being in my way,” the ambulance said, gently pushing the child aside.
“The ‘Con is going to be fine, if this is what is concerning you. Now, the more space you will give me to work, the quicker it will heal.”
So the young boy was now sitting at the edge of one of the catwalks, forehead pressed against the railing, watching the medic from afar. Seeing his friend being so worried for a mere Vehicon, Bumblebee wanted to feel jealous… but he just could not. How dare he, to think so bad of a person who almost died in order to keep Rafael out of harm’s way? Moreover, a little part of him could not help but feel grateful that the Vehicon had had the kindness and the patience to teach the binary to Rafael – thanks to a Decepticon, the yellow bot was able to communicate with someone who had become one of his closest friends. How ironic…
Finally Ratchet stepped out of the medibay, wiping his hands in a rag.
“I replaced its missing leg with a prosthesis. It’s not the best I can do, with the few items available here, but at least it’ll be able to walk. However, it –”
“Stop calling them by ‘it’, Ratchet,” Raf raised his voice defensively, “they’re alive and they’ve got a name!”
The white and orange mech narrowed his optics.
“I would really appreciate if you would not interrupt me, kid.”
“You said they have a name?” Optimus asked, curious. Usually Vehicons did not have a designation…
“Actually it was me who gave it to them,” Raf confessed, “and they seemed to like it, so… I called them Agathos.”
“Agathos… It is a nice name.”
Ratchet reset his vocaliser, getting the attention of the two.
“As I was saying, ‘they’ will be able to walk. But they’ve lost a lot of energon, so they will need a deep recharge in order to get some forces. I think they will wake up tomorrow at least, not before. However, there are other issues about bringing a Decepticon here…”
“I know that you do not like this decision, old friend, and I understand. Yes, they might be a threat, but right now, they are helpless. Moreover, because they were healed here, if it reaches Megatron’s audios, it is highly probable that they will be considered as a traitor, and thus executed. For now the best we can do is waiting for them to wake up, and ask them what they intend to do next. If you fear that they might do something during the night, I will watch over them.”
Ratchet didn’t look convinced, but he sighed in defeat.
“Fine, Optimus. But tomorrow you will have to recharge or else I will chain you to your berth until you do so.”
A little amused smile stretched the Prime’s lips, and he agreed.
And so the night went by, with the leader of the Autobots sitting next to the medical berth where the Vehicon – Agathos – laid motionless. For precaution their blaster had been deactivated, but the rest of their frame had been left untouched.
Optimus thought it would be an uneventful night, but several hours later Agathos mumbled something in their sleep. The Prime hesitated, then began to listen.
It sounded like a prayer. But never had Optimus heard someone pray with such despair. The pessimistic and sad words made his spark clench. Was this “nobodies’ plea” a common thing among all the Vehicons? How could anyone think so low of themselves? He had never thought the Vehicons considered themselves unable to join the AllSpark. He had never thought the drones were conscious of their condition of disposable, or that they were so… so… resigned. They lived from day to day – it seemed to be the only thing they truly had.
Agathos’ frame began to shake lightly, as if they were remembering something painful in their recharge. Optimus saw it, but this time didn’t hesitate: as gently as possible he took the Vehicon’s right servo in his own, softly stroking it with the other one. Agathos stirred in their sleep but did not wake up – they slowly stopped trembling instead, until their frame became peacefully still.
Optimus did not let go of their servo until the sunrise.
When the Vehicon came back online, it was, however, another affair. Without doubt, any Decepticon would be panicking if the first thing they saw when they woke up was the enemy leader standing right next to them – and panicked the drone was.
Optimus slowly raised his hands, showing that he had no bad intentions.
“Do not be afraid, Agathos. No harm will come to you.”
The Vehicon was not able to express emotions with their mask, but surprise could be heard in their voice:
“How… How do you know this designation?”
“Rafael asked us to call you by the name he gave you.”
“The little one!” Agathos exclaimed, forgetting for one moment where exactly they were. “Is he alright? Is he safe? Er – what am I doing here?” they asked hesitantly, remembering to whom they were speaking.
“Rafael is perfectly fine. In fact, it is thanks to him that you have been brought here to be healed.”
They glanced at the prosthesis, where their leg used to be. Then looked back at Optimus.
“I should ask you why you did this, but if it happened thanks to the little one, I suppose he and I are quits.”
There was a hint of sadness in their voice, and Optimus wondered why. Agathos respectfully bowed their head to him.
“Thank you, sir, for accepting his request, even if you did not have to.”
“We could not let you die while you had saved a life. It is I who should thank you, for watching over our friend.”
There was a moment of silence, then Agathos’ vocaliser made a sound of static. Optimus realised they were sobbing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just…” static masked all the words as Agathos hugged themselves. “Nobody has ever th-thanked me or one of my fellow Vehicons before. Any Decepticon would have left me r-rusting on the ground of the mine, because they – they only bring back to the Nemesis those who are still conscious. And – and you, you decided to do otherwise, you have acc-accepted the little one’s request, even – even if I am unworthy and I – I just – I’m sorry I can’t…”
Agathos continued to sob while they could not make sense of their words anymore, their whole frame shaking. They felt a comforting servo on their shoulder and did not reject it. Unconsciously they leaned into the touch, making Optimus’ spark clench again. Poor thing…
In the main room of the base, everyone had heard the Vehicon’s outburst, and they were silent, unsure of what to think. Then the sound of an engine came closer – Bumblebee had arrived, and when the kids, who had finished school, stepped out, they too heard the strange noises. Raf immediately headed toward the medibay, and he was relieved to see Agathos awake, but also worried to see them ‘crying’.
Then the Vehicon noticed him.
::{Little one…}:: they beeped, their voice strained but, for the first time since they had woken up, with a hint of happiness.
“Hey Agathos,” the boy said with a smile, climbing next to them then sitting on their servo.
There was a short but comfortable silence, one Optimus did not dare to disturb. Then Rafael asked:
“Are you going back to the Nemesis?”
Agathos tensed, their free servo clenching into a fist.
::{I-I-I am not sure I want to, but I am made to obey orders. I was brought online to serve Megatron, and nothing else. There is – there is nothing I can do about it, I have to follow my programming, I have to go back even if it means I will be off-offlined for helping you.}::
::{You could stay here.}::
Everyone turned their head towards the entrance of the medibay, where Bumblebee was standing. The young bot was looking at the Vehicon with gentle optics.
::{Optimus, can they stay here? They will be safe at the base.}::
::{Do not say such things, Scout!}:: Agathos exclaimed with a panicked voice. ::{I will be nothing but a burden.}::
“We will be the ones to decide about it,” Optimus said calmly. “And everyone will have a say.”
And so the Autobots were gathered in the main hall, discussing about the Vehicon’s fate. Optimus and Bumblebee wanted to give Agathos a chance. Bulkhead felt conflicted, for he had always believed that all the ‘Cons were bad folks, but Agathos’ distress had shaken his convictions. As for Arcee and Ratchet, they clearly expressed their disagreement – they would never trust a ‘Con to wander freely around the base.
“And you, Agathos? What is your opinion on the matter?” Rafael asked from a catwalk. His demand made the Autobots stop talking, and they all waited for the Vehicon’s answer.
They looked silently at the human, then sighed.
::{Please, little one, do not give me false hopes. Neither here nor among my faction I will be welcome. I am not worthy of your trust… But if you really think I am, then I will not betray it. I will behave. I will follow every order you or your friends will give me. I won’t go anywhere until I am allowed to. I will accept any treatment.}::
It hurt, to hear them talking about them like this. Even Ratchet and Arcee could not help but feel uncomfortable.
So the femme tool several steps forward to stand in front of them, fists on the hips.
“I don’t trust you,” she said firmly, “but Raf does. And I will never, ever treat you like the ‘Cons would. Screw this up, and I will demolish you. But if you remain true to your words, then I guess we can give it a try.”
“I agree with Arcee,” Bulkhead said, and Ratchet nodded in approval.
Something in Agathos’ chassis was singing – and their visor brightened.
“It is settled then,” Optimus declared, and he gave them a warm smile. “Welcome among us, Agathos.”
“Thank you,” they whispered, still having a hard time to believe that all of this was true. They turned their head to face Rafael, their visor a few centimeters away from his body. ::{Thank you, little one.}::
The young boy smiled, then leant forward and fondly hugged their helm in response.
*Hey @primus-why, I did it! The Vehicons are a bunch of depressed bots, Optimus is a soft dad and Raf got a new buddy. Also Agathos is non-binary. Who found the line from MTMTE? ;D*
