[VERY OLD]The Valkyrie (Tfp Ratchet x Femme!Reader)

-3: Past Hauntings-

"Starscream, what in Primus are you doing here?" I growled, the blade of my halberd pressed against his throat pipes.

"Temperamental as always Y/D. Although I do not mind being in this position again. Oh to hear you moan my name again." I growled at him in frustration, grabbing him by the wing and chucking him into a large boulder. He let out his signature yelp as he hit it, grunting and sliding down. I towered over him with anger in my optics.

"Listen here, you vermin! You are the reason the Valkyrie had to scatter! You are the reason I lost everything I ever cared about!" I slammed my halberd towards him, Starscream rolling out of the way. "You are the reason my sisters are dead!" I charged at him, rage taking over my senses. I slashed at Starscream's wing, leaving a deep gash. "You broke my spark! Now I am going to BREAK YOU!" Starscream attempted to run off, but I had him cornered. Just as I was about to deliver a fatal blow, I felt a shock of pain hit my wings. Whipping around, I came face to face with the last bot I thought I would ever encounter.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You sure are a tricky one to keep in chains." Swindle sneered, his violet optics fixed on me. "Yet I believe that in this quite delectable frame, you would make an excellent pleasure bot. For the right price, of course."

"The frag are you doing here, you glitch?" I snapped, my halberd still pressed against Starscream's chassis.

"I've been tracking you down ever since you escaped. I figured the lack of a T-cog would have made you easier to contain. Guess you really are a wild spark."

"Swindle if you don't get your Cosmic Rust riddled face out of my sight, I will tear you apart." I growled viciously.

"I wouldn't test him Y/D, or should I say, 'Ghostwalker'." Starscream sneered. I whipped my helm back to him with a bloodthirsty glare.

"I should have known you were the pest that was driving me out of business." Swindle said in a snarky tone.

"Shut it! Both of you!" I barked, Swindle taking another shot at me. This one sent me to the ground face first. I quickly got up and charged at Swindle, the black market merchant and I battling it out like I was back in the Pit. I then felt another sharp pain to my back and fell to the ground once again.

"Valkyrie!" I heard Optimus call out. He and the other Autobots charging the two. Like the cowards they were, they both took off running through a ground bridge.

"Fragging sons of glitches." I groaned, pushing myself up from the ground.

"Who’s crazy eyes?" Bulkhead asked.

"Swindle, thought the fragger fell with Cybertron." I muttered, shakily standing and wincing in pain. I looked to see my wings were pretty banged up, and I had several blaster wounds. Nothing fatal but definitely painful.

"You know him?" Optimus asked.

"Fragger is the one who took my T-cog and sold me as a slave to the Pits." I snarled.

"Take it easy Val." Bumblebee chirped, letting me lean on him. "Let's get back to base."
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When we returned to the base I was gently laid down onto the medical berth. I was tired, in pain, and seething in anger.

"What happened out there?" Ratchet asked Optimus as he began to patch me up.

"Starscream ordered a sneak assault on us. Apparently, Swindle was a part of the assault." Optimus said.

"Swindle? That slime ball of a mech is still online?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately." I grumbled, my digits balling into fists. "Son of a glitch had to get in the way of me evening the odds with Starscream."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. What's this about you and Starscream?" Bulkhead asked. I let out a long sigh, shaking my helm.

"Well, you guys were going to figure it out one day, might as well tell you." I said, looking down at the floor. "Starscream and I were... a thing before the war."

"You and screamer?" Bulkhead exclaimed almost in amused disbelief. I shifted nervously at his statement.

"Bulkhead, don't be insensitive." Ratchet scolded, noticing my discomfort.

"I'm sorry, Ratchet. It's just that Valkyrie is well, her, and Starscream is just -"

"Starscream wasn't always a backstabbing coward." I said, my spark hurting. "Believe it or not, he was kind and frankly a big goofball. Clumsy as all slag, too. Then... h-he changed. I don't know why he did or if it was actually all a facade he had.” I took in a shaky vent, holding back tears. “He tore me apart, both metaphorically and literally." I looked down at the floor more intensely, a tear leaving my optics. "The mech I knew and loved was gone."

"And your history with Swindle?" Optimus asked. I took in another shaky vent before responding.

"He was the one who took my T-cog and sold me as a slave to the Pits. Fragger wanted to sell me as a pleasure bot during our battle."  I felt Ratchet place a gentle servo on my shoulder, his beautiful optics filled with sadness.

"I am sorry you went through all that." Optimus said. I then looked up at him with a small smile.

"I'm not." The others looked at me with confusion and surprise.

"Wait, why?" Bumblebee chirped.

"Because it brought me down a path I never thought I would walk. Here I am, among warriors on a distant organic planet, battling Decepticons. I guard the Valkyrie's most valued relic and fight alongside those who seek to protect life. It has given me a purpose I never thought I'd find." I said with a small smile. "We have a philosophy, that our hardships do not determine who we are. They are merely tests of Primus and the Allspark to strengthen our resolve. And it is okay if we fail some of those tests."

"A wise philosophy. I admire your strength." Optimus said.

"I just hope that strength doesn't falter the next time I come face to face with my life's monsters." I grumbled. "And I hope I can show restraint."
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Edited 28/4/23