Half Moon

I am gnawing at my fingernails, watching Nightshade. If the people who got him weren't bounty hunters, who were they? Nightshade's breathing is steady now, only his nostrils and chest moving. And the occasional tail flick.

"Moon." Ratchet says, beckoning me over with a flick of his head.

I trot over, wanting to get this done as soon as possible so I can go back to Nightshade.

I hop on the gurney, and Ratchet adjusts the casts, tightening them in some places.

"Ow!" I screech as he pinches my feathers by accident.

"Sorry." He says without looking up.

When he is finished tightening my casts, I hop off, but he stops me with a "Im not finished."

I huff and get back on the gurney.

Nightshade started to whinny a little, so I jump up and check if he's okay. He was having a nightmare. His breathing was fast and unsteady.

I kneel down next to his head and start stroking his neck. "Easy. Shh... Calm down... Im right here... Shh.." Eventually, he falls back asleep.

Before I leave I plant a light kiss on his nose. He nuzzles up to me, and I want to stay. But Ratchet was waiting for me.

I get up and go back to the gurney, shaking. I feel like I need to be there for him.

"Sorry." I apologise as I hop on the gurney again, forcing myself to not look at Nightshade.

"Do you know what your bones are made of?" Ratchet asks, leaning on the console.

I felt foolish for a second. Did a medic seriously ask me what bones are made of?

"Bone?" I reply, feeling stupid.

Ratchet nods, like he expected the answer.

"Look at this." He says, pulling up a diagram of my body scan.

He puts down his hand and I step on it, where he lifts me up and puts me down again on the console.

I look at my bones, but they don't look like normal bones. They look grey, and not so angelic.

"This was today to look over your cracked ribs." Ratchet said, but I didnt see any cracks at all.

He pulls up a different body scan. "This was last night, when I first scanned you." I saw multiple fractures and chips, some parts completely broken off.

"Do you see this line?" Ratchet says, pointing to a miniscule thread in between the bone.

I nod.

"That line emits a magnetic field. I believe it attracts any broken bone fractures to thier proper place. And I did a different scan for metals-" He paused, pulling up yet another body scan.

All my bones were magnets. Every bone was clearly shown, and the rest of my body was faded.

"Your bones are made of magnetic metal. They attract fractured bone, return it to it's proper place and seal them where they belong." Ratchet said, closing all my body scans except the scan he took today and pulling up his own skeletal scan.

I look at it while and notice many similarities at our bone structures. The hands, the ribs, the skull, almost everything matched his skeletal structure.

He looks at me. "I think you may be part Cybertronian. I have no idea how, but I have to run a few more tests to be positive."

"If all my bomes are metal, why aren't my wings healed yet?" I ask, picking out a feather that still hadn't fallen out. I tucked it in my pocket so it didn't create a mess.

"They are made of metal. I just want to see if the casts disrupt the magnetic field. If not, they will have to stay on for at least a month."

Great. A whole month being Grounded.

"And if it doesn't?"

"We'll wait and see." Ratchet says as he scoops me back up and gently sets me down again.

It's generally not a good thing when a doctor tells you 'We'll wait and see.'

Knowing it'll do me no good sulking, so I start pacing. I have to vet all this confusion out of me somehow.

I want to get out. I need to get out. To feel the wind in my feathers. To keep my feet off the ground.

"Come on." Bee says, gesturing towards the entrance.

I open my mouth to ask Ratchet if I can go, but he cuts me off and says I can.

I feel my cheeks widen. Finally an excuse to get out of here. And I was supervised, so Optimus couldn't object.

Bee transforms, turning into a car.

It was the same car I was following before I got hurt. But I never saw it up close.

He opened up the door, but I had no idea how to get in. I couldnt with my wings out. And my hair would be a attention magnet for sure.

I change into human form, and clamber in. Even when I was a human I never went in a car. My home was in the woods, and all we had were horses and carts.

Bee tells me where to buckle, which is not very comfortable on my neck.

But I decide not to complain, because I know it is illegal to ride in a car without seatbelts.

"Thanks. I was dying to get out of there." I say, opening a window. I saw cars in the movies, some cars extremely slow, and others blazing fast.

I had a feeling Bee was the second choice.

There's a loud hum, going as Bee drove. It got louder when he sped up, and quieter when he slowed down.

"Stop." I say, not expecting the sudden jolt backwards. "Did you hear that? It stopped when you braked." I strain my ears, listening.

"You heard my engine. You hear it when I drive." Bee says, continuing.

I hit my forehead with my palm. I heard about engine noise from the books and movies. "I am an idiot."

I actaully felt like the dumbest angel out there, not knowing the difference between a car engine and a jet engine.

I distract myself with the passing clouds. I want to be up there, my feathers riding the breeze. I miss the wind in my hair. I miss the cold air filling my lungs. I miss hiding in the clouds with my friends.

I miss everything about it.

"You miss it, huh?" Bee asks, me not even realizing how long I was spacing out.

"You have no idea how much flying meant to me." I say, looking away. The last few moments I had flying were my face being slammed into the ground.

I heard an engine, the same kind as Starscream.

I remember everything he did to me. I can't let him get to me again.

I unbuckle, and I don't care if it's illegal right now. I slumped to the floor and covered my hands over my head.

I don't care if I look weak. I don't care. I can't let Starcream hurt me that bad again. If I let him, he could take away everything from me. My wings, my family, everything.

I don't care.

"It's okay. It's not Starscream." Bee says, which I believe him. I can trust him.

I crawl back to the seat and buckle. But Bee cant make me look up from my knees in my face.

I don't want to remember. But it's all I can do. I remember the pain, the anger in his eyes. He would have killed me, for information that I didn't know.

"Want to head back?" Bee asks, braking. I was just getting used to the purr of his engines.

I nod. Anything to get the memories out of my head.

He turns, and we head back.

"Im starting to think being inside at this time is a good idea." I say, curling up tighter and hiding my tears.

I hate showing I cry. It makes me feel weak. And I am already weak, which just makes me feel worse.

"Hey, it's alright." Bee comforts me, his engine purring softly.

I feel rage boil inside me. He doesnt know what I went through. He doesnt know the pain that I went through. All the losses.

"No, it isn't! I find out I can't fly for more than a month, I'm trapped inside the whole time, and now Nightshade is hurt! And I wasn't there to protect him!" I snap, instantly regretting it.

I turn away, knowing that I revealed too much about myself. But a lingering thought occurred in the back of my head: Who am I? What am I?

I apologise, about to cry again. I swallow all the hate and anger, but I can't get rid of the lingering fear.

Bee accepts my apology, but I shpuld have never snapped at him like that in the first place.

I get out, and go to Nightshade. I cant leave him any longer.

He lifts his wing. He wants to cuddle.

"I can't. That's the side thats hurt. Just fall asleep. I promise I won't lwave again." I whisper, stroking his head.

He falls asleep, but I still see the half-healed burn. I did the best I could to heal it.

But I am too weak to heal a flesh wound. Hot tears roll down my cheeks, but I rub them off hastily with my sleeve.

I can't even protect Nightshade. How can I protect my home?

The answer is, I can't.