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He could tell the very moment his needles pierced the cables in Tailgate's neck that something was wrong. A terrible wooziness flushed through him like a wave, loosening his knee joints and almost sending him stumbling into Tailgate's medical berth. He made a clipped sound of discomfort.
"Alright?" Velocity asked. She had an eye on his complexion, scrutinizing him head to foot. "You're a little dull..."
Chromedome glanced towards Rodimus, who stood solemnly between the med berth and the door.
"Fine," Chromedome replied shortly. "It's just... been a while."
He readjusted himself, putting a little more of his weight against the berth to keep balance. The dizzy feeling subsided now that he was fully interfaced with the minibot, and in its place came the surge of memories. Chromedome offlined his optics for a moment. He stood silently, sifting, wading, balancing keywords, phrases, and conversations on the tips of each pronged finger as he surfed through days of memories in an instant. The sensation was almost calming. It was a weightless rush; it was powerful; it was familiar. The sensation of the dive after so long with his head above water almost got him off-track. He focused in.
Megatron. Tailgate. Mnemo needles. Conjunx Ritus.
"So?" Rodimus prodded, pulling Chromedome back to the medibay. He sounded impatient. "What's the verdict?"
"One more second." Chromedome's visor brightened and with a click of finality, he withdrew his needles. They stung within his plating.
"It's Getaway," he said, taking a step away from the med berth. "All of it. He set Tailgate up."
Velocity covered her mouth. "That little-"
Rodimus was already out the door. There were more details Chromedome would have liked to add, but he felt... very heavy, all of the sudden - waterlogged, vision wavering like hot air. He couldn't move his limbs.
Another bout of dizziness crawled up him from his immobile legs and sent the medibay spinning. His fingers burned. He looked down at them, glimpsed the teal of Velocity's plating at his side.
She said something.
He collapsed.
Rewind should have stopped him. He should have grabbed Chromedome's arm the second he'd gotten that call from Rodimus, should have told him to stay. Demanded he stay. Rewind should have marched down to the medibay in his place and given Rodimus a real reason to be there. Surely Tailgate would appreciate a roommate.
But he didn't.
Chromedome said, "I'll be right back" and Rewind let him go. Reluctantly, but he did. He knew what was going to happen down there — Rodimus rarely called Chromedome for anything else. And Rewind still let him go.
Velocity had commed him no more than half an hour after Chromedome had left, letting him know what had happened. That something went wrong. That Chromedome collapsed.
"He's up now, just woozy," she had told him. "I'm having Bluestreak walk him back to your hab suite."
'Walk him back' hardly gave enough credit — Bluestreak was practically carrying Chromedome by the time the two made it to the habitation corridor. Rewind all but scrambled to his conjunx, helping as best he could to get him the rest of the way home. Rewind thanked Bluestreak, brought Chromedome inside, and promptly directed the mech to the recharge slab. Chromedome didn't object.
And now, standing at Chromedome's berthside, both hands clasping one of Chromedome's own, Rewind felt the overwhelming urge to kick himself.
"You can't keep letting him use you like that, Domey," Rewind said. "He doesn't care what it does to you. You shouldn't care about him or anything he tells you to do."
"I care about Tailgate," Chromedome protested weakly. He stared straight up at the ceiling, refusing to meet Rewind's visor. "I had to. It wasn't for Rodimus."
"You didn't have to! Rodimus could've waited until Tailgate woke up, or–"
"Oh, and give Getaway time to- to get away? Who knows how long Tailgate's going to be down! It was the only–"
"Don't say it," Rewind snapped. "I don't want to hear it, you shouldn't even think it. I can hear you thinking it."
"It's the truth. You–" Chromedome sighed, visor dimming with exhaustion. "Can we... do this later? I'm sorry, I just... I really don't feel up to the fight."
Rewind fell silent. He stared down at his hands on his conjunx's. Chromedome's hand was limp. It twitched on occasion, as if to give the illusion of reciprocation. He just wasn't strong enough to hold on.
"You need to stop," Rewind finally said. It was nearly a whisper. He gently caressed Chromedome's hand with his thumbs. "You're going to die, Domey. And I can't..."
His vocalizer caught as a stab of desperation ripped through him. His grip on Chromedome tightened.
"I know," Chromedome murmured. "Just this last time."
That's what you always say, Rewind thought bitterly, but no words escaped him. There was no time for them to, anyways. Chromedome's visor blinked out into recharge, and Rewind dropped his head onto the bigger mech's chest. It was warm.
Rewind prayed it'd stay that way.