Unforgettable

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The concern in Peripheral's face was poorly hidden as he furrowed his optical ridges. He winced with pain, but it didn't do much to mask the fact that he was clearly a little worried.

"If... If you're sure." He panted hard, his wings twisted and damaged. Suddenly he straightened up quickly, before letting out a horrible pained cry and falling to the ground. Still, he looked up at Pharma from his hands and knees, his left optic wide and attentive.

"That's it! That's where I was supposed to be!" He sputtered excitedly, his vents opening as wide as they could. "Delphi was the name of the place I was headed to. I don't remember who sent me there or why but I know that's where I was headed!"

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Pharma winced nervously when he saw the pain in Peripheral's features. It tore at his spark like little mental scalpels. He had to be the one to save this one. He HAD to.

"I'm s--" When he saw Peripheral drop, he scrambled to reach for him. "L-let me help y--"

His spark seemed to freeze for a moment. Delphi. Thank Primus this one had been spared the hell that was Delphi. He tried to pull Peripheral close carefully. "Thankfully, you ended up the opposite of there. I say 'thankfully' for a good reason." He then vented shakily. "Take it from the former Chief Medical Officer of Delphi Medical Center. It...it was a lost cause. A lost cause of rust plague, sorrow, and traces of the Decepticon Justice Division. Let me get you to the Autobot Outpost on Earth. I promise...I promise I'll teach you."

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"Oh, I... I didn't know. I'm sorry, Pharma." He pressed against the older mech and shut his left optic, shaking his helm slightly. "But I'll go with you. Anywhere else on this planet is better than here. I've been immobile here for a while now and I'm... yeah. It might be a while before I can fly again."

His shoulders slumped slightly at that. He was almost certain that the salt air and the sea spray had rusted some of his more delicate and vulnerable joints-- he could feel stiffness in his elbows and knees, for one.

"I'd like that. I'd like to have a chance to learn from you."

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"D-don't be sorry, Peripheral. You deserve to know that you came to a better place."

He would tap into his comms to call for a groundbridge, a green swirling portal appearing nearby. "Let's walk you slowly. I know it hurts...I know it does. But I won't force you to move too fast for yourself without good reason, and even then I'd...willingly strain myself to carry anyone."

He himself tried not to flinch at realizing that for now, Peripheral couldn't fly. He himself wasn't quite feeling that he could safely fly. Sure, he could still transform but he felt DRAINED.

"Then I'll take you in. I will."

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"I'll be okay. I've been in a worse state before." Actually, that wasn't true, not completely. Sure, Peripheral had vague memories of having been hurt worse, but flightless? Unable to transform? That was a new experience for him and he was sure he didn't like it. "Please don't strain yourself for my sake. I want to walk as far as I can, even if I need help... and I'd feel just horrible if you hurt yourself because of me."

Each step toward the groundbridge felt excruciating and slow, and Peripheral winced with each one, knee joints screeching awfully. Still, he nodded, pleased despite everything that Pharma was willing to teach him.

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"Still." His optics were saddened. "I really feel like it's worth my effort." He vented softly, then glanced up. "I will walk with you though. I just feel you deserve help."

Hearing the screech and scraping of the knee joints, his wings tensed. He swallowed deeply. "You sure you don't need help walking? I can switch sides and you keep as much weight off one leg as possible. It's no trouble to me."

He then swallowed. "If it's too much, please tell me."

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At first, Peripheral said nothing. However, his weight shifted slightly so that he was pressing against Pharma, his shoulders relaxing a little. "A know-nothing nobody like me... you really feel like I'm worth the effort?" He didn't argue, though, and it was clear that he very much appreciated the help.

"I'm alright with you on this side. This one's worse than the other, take a look. With a twitch of his helm he motioned to the leg that was closest to Pharma-- the one he wasn't putting weight on. Unlike the other, some kind of fluid seemed to be seeping out of the joints on this leg, and he limped sharply every time he put it down. "I think it was weakened in the crash and the environment corroded something inside."

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Pharma vented with a soft smile. "Well of course. You know why? 'Cause you're not one of the five not worth my help. But...I don't think you'd want to talk about those monsters..." He didn't know why he'd brought that up. Stupid, stupid, STUPID.

He vented and yelped with concern at the realization. "More than likely, yes." He gave a tiny smile and tried to keep himself calm. "I'm sorry if I seem a little less...composed than normal. My emotions have been running pretty high..."

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Peripheral bit his lip. Something happened recently to Pharma, something traumatic that involved them. He could see it in the older mech's optics. "It's not me... but you don't have to if you don't want to."

Leaning slightly into Pharma in an attempt to keep him calm, Peripheral gave a small half-smile, trying himself to be reassuring through the pain and discomfort he was feeling. "It's alright, Pharma. Seems like you've a rough time too." Holding tightly onto Pharma, he stepped into the groundbridge with him, finally feeling, for the first time since he'd left Iacon, that he'd found someone who cared about him and he cared about in return.