Last Edited : June 16, 2019

Hope

"May I ask what you are doing?" Optimus asked curiously as I took the scissors Raf let me borrow into my hands. The base was empty, other than Optimus, me, and Ratchet. I smiled up at the large robot and held up the dress that I had bought earlier that day.

"I'm cutting holes into my clothes, so my wings can come out," I explained as I made a large cut on the right side of my white dress. Optimus nodded in understanding.

"But won't other humans notice the hole?" Optimus asked.

"That's why I have this blue jean jacket." I held up my new favorite jacket and then wrinkled my nose as I looked down at my dirty arms and legs. I hadn't really noticed how filthy I was. "Do you have a shower here?" I asked.

"Yes," Optimus said, much to my surprise. "It is down the hall and to the right. I'll show you. It is right next to your berthroom."

"Berthroom?" I asked.

"Bedroom." Ratchet said from his spot across the room.

"Oh. Wait, you guys made me a bedroom?" Optimus smiled down at me as he lowered his hand for me to step on. I climbed into it, making sure I had my clothes needed for a shower.

"We installed them for our human friends right after we met them. Miko often has sleepovers." I laughed at the thought as Optimus walked down the hallway, stopping at a small door near the end.

Placing his hand down, he added as I hoped off, "I still do not understand the point of the ritual."

With a giggle, I shook my head. "Neither do I."

After thanking him, I opened the door and gasped. The room was huge. It was clear Miko decorated it because the walls were all a blood red color with a few Slash Monkey posters. I chuckled as I opened the door to my bathroom.

I climbed into the shower after locking the door and taking off my dirty clothes. The hot water felt amazing on my skin. Sighing, I squirted some shampoo onto my dirtied hair. Looking down, I spotted the familiar scar on my stomach from the time Macen had gotten his hands on a knife. I shuddered, all of the fear and pain coming back to me in a wave. Sighing, I placed my head against the wall of the shower.

I just couldn't get Macen out of my head. No matter what I did, or who I was with, I still had permanent damage that pulled my deepest, darkest memories back towards the surface.

My wings grew heavy from the water, and I groaned as the muscles in my back tried to keep them up. Nearly half an hour later I finally stepped out, shaking my wings out and taking my time with drying them. Wheeljack wanted to surprise me with something and left, saying he might take a while getting back.

I was in no rush getting dressed. The white dress slipped onto my small body with ease, and I fit my wings through the newly cut holes to make sure they fit correctly. Satisfied, I put my blue jean jacket on and then slipped my converses on.

"Are you done now?" The voice startled me so much that I jumped and let out a small scream.

Ratchet chuckled as he shifted on my bed. "I just wanted to give you a scan to see if everything is healing correctly. If what you say about your healing is true, then your wing should have healed by now." I clutched my chest, breathing heavily.

"Don't do that to me!" I whispered. Ratchet shook his head and grumbled something under his breath about 'humans' before huffing.

"Am I allowed to turn around now?" he muttered.

With a dark blush on my cheeks, I nodded. "Y-yes. I am dressed now."

Without a sound, he twisted around to face me before motioning me over to the bed. He gave me a quick scan and ordered me to extend my wings. He examined them but growled quietly in frustration as I attempted to shake the water off of it. "Sit still. I can't make an accurate examination if you keep fidgeting."

I froze upon his words and immediately stilled in fear. Had I made him upset? Would he hurt me now?

"Im s-sorry." I whispered brokenly. Ratchet paused and glanced down at me. The room was completely silent as he stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.

"You shouldn't be afraid of me, Hope. Or any Autobot for that matter. Why are you so tense?"

"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered, then felt my face grow red in embarrassment.

"What you have been through all of your life is truly dispicable. But you are among friends now. You shouldn't be afraid of us."

"I know, but I-I can't help it, Ratchet. Every time I do something I'm not used to, I'm afraid I'll get in trouble and get..." I trailed off and Ratchet stood slowly.

"Beaten?" he finished my thought for me. I nodded.

"Yes," I replied softly. Ratchet made a small smile before holding out his hand towards me. I took it and let him help me up.

"Do not worry about that sort of thing here." His bright blue eyes stared into my own and I couldn't help but smile. Ratchet's holoform was older. Maybe in his mid-fifties. His hair was grey, though none of it was missing.

He was shorter than the other holoforms I had seen. Maybe only six foot one. He was toned, too, for an older looking man, with no wrinkles and a broad smile, when he decided to show it. Ratchet gently pat me on the shoulder.

"We are here to protect humans. And although Optimus's policy is not to kill a human, I would love to meet this Macen and pound some dents into him!"

He would do that for me? I smiled again. I couldn't help but realize he reminded me of an overprotective grandfather. Ratchet cleared his throat, his face getting all serious again. "You can fly again, but take it easy. I don't want you to pop that wing out of place again."

"Okay, Doc."

Ratchet turned towards me again with the scanner in his hand, waving it about. "Don't let Wheeljack rub off on you, or I will throw a wrench at you." he threatened. I would have been scared if I hadn't seen the glint of amusement in his eyes. Clearing his throat again, he turned away from me.

"Wheeljack is waiting for you. I'm supposed to bridge you out when you get out there," he stated as he began to fizzle out.

"Wait! Do you know what he wants to do?" I asked. I absolutely hated surprises. The anxiety that came from not knowing was like acids slowly eating my insides.

"As if he would tell me anything." Ratchet shrugged. "Let's just hope the wrecker doesn't get you hurt. Just because I'm a medic doesn't mean I enjoy seeing my friends in the med bay every day." He winked before his body fizzled out of existence.

Terrific.

That was making me even more nervous. What did he have planned? I knew I could trust the Autobot but waiting for the unknown to happen was making me a nervous wreck. So as quickly as I could, I grabbed a brush from the bathroom and threw my hair up into a quick sloppy bun and grabbed another dry towel before hurrying out of my room.

Bulkhead was in deep conversation with Wheeljack, who slapped the other bot hard on the back, laughing. Arcee, Bumblebee, Raf, and Jack were still out of sight. Miko sat curled up and asleep on Bulkheads shoulder. I couldn't help but notice she was wearing her new Slash Monkey shirt she had bought earlier.

Wheeljack laughed at something Bulkhead again before giving the wrecker another hard slap on the back. Miko jerked awake and growled, "Hey, ya' wreckers! Trying to get my beauty rest here!" Bulkhead rolled his eyes and snorted. I cleared my throat, making all three of them look down on me. I turned to Wheeljack.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, taking the dry towel and doing my best to dry my wings off. I winced as a feather was plucked out harshly before falling to the floor. When I wanted to get something done, gentle wasn't my thing.

"Oh! I want to help!" Miko squealed. Next thing I knew, she was hoping off of Bulkhead's hand and running over to me.

"I-I can do it, Miko."

"Please? I love them so much!" She ignored what I had said as she took the towel from me and continued what I had started seconds before. "I wish I had wings." she grumbled. "If I wasn't scared of heights."

"How can you stand on me then?" Bulkhead asked, his eyebrow raised. He was nearly forty feet tall. Miko stuck one hip out with a clenched fist on it, her eyes narrowed.

"Because I feel safe with you. I know you won't drop me," she replied before continuing to dry off my wings. Wheeljack chuckled, taking out his katana and running his finger over the blade casually.

"I wouldn't trust him one hundred percent on that. You know how klutzy Bulk is." He said, jerking his thumb towards Bulkhead. I couldn't hold back my laugh as Bulkhead threw his friend a dirty look before looking down at Miko.

"Don't worry, Miko. I wouldn't drop ya'. Though there have been a few times I've wanted to." he trailed off. Miko growled as she twirled the towel and stomped over to Bulkheads foot. She pulled back and released, making a small dink as it made contact with his metal foot.

Bulkhead raised an eyebrow as he bent down and picked Miko up by the back of her shirt. "Was that supposed to hurt?" He asked honestly.

"Oh, just wait until I find a big one for the other bots to hit ya' with," Miko muttered. Then her eyes trailed over to me, and a look of concern crossed her face.

"Hope? You okay?"

It was then I realized that I wasn't getting any air. The room was spinning. I tried to find the words to reply, but my mind was already pulling me down into the darkest parts of my memories. Suddenly I wasn't with my friends anymore, and fear traveled up my spine as a memory flashed through my mind.

"That didn't hurt." My younger self-muttered. Macen had twirled up a towel and hit me across the back with it. Not as hard as he could have, but my ignorant nine year-old self wanted to let him know it didn't scare me.

Macen turned back towards me. "What did you say?" he asked. I froze, realizing my mistake.

"Uh-"

"Because I can make it hurt if that's what you really want. Don't you get tired of my beatings? You should know by now to treat me with respect you piece of garbage!" He growled. Twisting the towel up again and jerking his arm back, he let it loose on me. A lot harder than the last time.

I clenched my teeth at the sting. Sure, my school friends had done it to me before, and I ended up needing a small Band-Aid and a sucker for good behavior. But with a grown man, the brute force was enough to knock me backward.

I cried out in pain and he smirked. "Did that hurt Hopeless?" he questioned, wringing the towel up again. He hit me on the side of the face, hitting me slightly on the eye. I pushed myself up, trying to support myself on the kitchen table.

The whole reason this began in the first place was because Macen just couldn't stand there being a mess everywhere. Towels and clothes, which were his, may I add, were just lying about everywhere. I felt tears sting my eyes as he hit me again, and I felt a trickle of blood go down my arm.

That's all I was good for. A slave.

Macen had pulled back again and kept hitting me again over and over until I just didn't try and fight anymore. My arms and legs were bloodied, as well as my face and the back of my neck. My wings ached from the blows to my back, and I was glad he hadn't lifted my shirt up.

Laying on the ground in defeat, I cursed myself for having such a big mouth. Why hadn't I just stayed quiet? I held back my sobs as Macen laughed and grabbed a cup, filling it with ice cold water and walking over to me.

Along the way, he also grabbed the salt dispenser. I cried out as he poured the ice cold water down my body and then opened the salt container, dumping all of its contents down my cuts, making sure he didn't miss any.

The sting was so overwhelming, I let out a pained scream and tried to get up. Macen pushed me down, one boot to my back. Grabbing a strand of twine he always kept handy in his pocket, he tied my hands to the leg of the kitchen table and left me there, taking a swig of his beer along the way and laughing.

I lay there for hours, staring at the bloodied towel and wondering what I had done to make him hate me so much.

"Hope?"

The voice suddenly brought me crashing back down to reality, and I shook my head violently, trying to shake the past memories away. Ratchet's holoform was in front of me. I jumped in alarm at how close he was, then realized that I was curled up into a ball on the floor. My erratic breathing started to slow down as I tried to gulp in air.

"Are you okay now?" Miko asked me. I nodded and moved a hand up to my face, suddenly realizing that there were fresh tears there. Wheeljack and Bulkhead looked down on me in concern.

"Flashback," Ratchet said as he observed me for a second. "You had an anxiety attack, in case you were wondering. A short one at that, but still dangerous."

With a small wince, I pushed myself off the floor and climbed to my knees. Wheelajck stared at me with concern and worry as I gained my balance to stand.

"You still up for going out?" Wheeljack asked me. I smiled up at him and nodded. He seemed to really be looking forward to it. There was no way I would dampen his mood with my problems.

Ratchet's holoform disappeared, and suddenly the Autobot was walking over to a machine sitting not so far away.

With the flick of a switch, the groundbridge appeared. "Well, you two had better get going then. I'll comm Arcee and Bumblebee to remind them to let their charges return home. It is nearly night." Ratchet said. Wheeljack nodded and smiled down at me.

"Ready to roll, kid?"

I nodded and he began walking towards the vortex. Guess he's walking. I placed a hand on my wing before nodding, satisfied with how dry they were. Wheeljack gave a surprised look as I flew and landed on his shoulder. I then tucked my wings back in and put my jacket back on.

"See ya' Doc!" Wheeljack called out to the old medic as he saluted him and the others.

He ran into the vortex before the wrench could hit him.