(Warning: This part contains a scene where someone is harshly beaten. If you don't like things like that, then don't read this part. It's not super bad, I just don't want anyone to be disturbed or anything like that.)

-A few days later-

Wheeljack wasn't planning on getting into a fight when he took Ratchet to the clothing store, and he sure as hell wasn't planning on getting his aft kicked.

"Hey, I heard this store had some fashionable clothes that would look good on you." Wheeljack smiled, holding Ratchet's hand as he led him to the clothing store.

"Oh come on, you say everything looks good on me." Ratchet smirked, prodding Wheeljack in the side with his elbow.

They entered the store and walked down the aisle to the men's section, where they began looking at the clothes. Soon, they were both so interested in something that they separated from each other unintentionally.

Wheeljack found a few shirts that he liked, one in particular being a red flannel shirt. He turned around to show Ratchet, but he wasn't there. "Ratch?" He called out, searching for him over the racks of clothing.

He spotted a few tufts of white hair peeking over a clothes rack and darted over there. As he made his way towards Ratchet, he spotted a large man watching them out of the corner of his eye. He narrowed his eyes, walking faster and getting to Ratchet.

"Hey Ratch, would I look good in this shirt?" Wheeljack asked, holding up the flannel in front of him.

Ratchet looked up from the clothes he was holding and grinned. "Of course! You would look absolutely adorable in that shirt!" He giggled, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek.

"Ugh... disgusting..." a rough voice growled from across the aisle, catching Wheeljack's attention.

"Excuse me?" Wheeljack said calmly, turning around to face the rude gentlemen. The man was much larger than Wheeljack, but he didn't intimidate him at all.

"You heard me! You weirdos make me sick.." the man spat on the floor next to Wheeljack, aggravating him.

Ratchet could tell Wheeljack was getting tense and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, dear. Lets leave this be."

"No." Wheeljack said sternly, gently shaking Ratchet's hand from his shoulder. Ratchet stepped back, his eyes widening in fear.

"Oh, so you need your little 'sweetheart' to hold you back?" The man laughed, slapping his thigh.

"No, I can handle myself. You, on the other hand, need to learn how to keep things to yourself." Wheeljack growled, growing more tense by the minute.

The man stopped laughing and frowned, his eyes glaring at Wheeljack. "What did you just say?"

"I'm sorry, are you deaf as well? I said that you need to learn how to keep things to yourself.." And with that, Wheeljack turned on his heel and started to walk away.

Suddenly, the man grabbed Wheeljack by the shoulders and threw him into the racks of clothing. Ratchet covered his mouth in shock, quickly backing up.

Wheeljack grunted with effort as he pulled himself up onto his feet, gripping his hands into fists. "Great..."

"Not so tough are you now, big boy?" The man teased, swinging a fist at him.

Wheeljack easily dodged the punch, darting around him to Ratchet. He hit him hard in the back, causing him to stumble forward. "Ratchet, go somewhere safe. I have a feeling this isn't going to end we-" he was cut off by a punch that landed on his jaw, sending him to the floor. He was so worried about Ratchet's safety that he let down his guard.

"Wheeljack!" Ratchet shouted, fear rising in his chest as the man laughed maniacally.

By this time a small crowd had gathered, wondering what the heck was going on. Some had their phones out, thinking it was a joke. But it wasn't.

Blood trickled out of his mouth as Wheeljack tried to get up. His vision was blurry and he could barely stand. He cried out in pain when there was a sharp kick to his ribs. There was a horrific cracking sound, making everyone in the crowd gasp loudly.

"Someone call the police! This man is out of control!" A women shouted, prompting someone to call 911.

Soon, security guards appeared on the scene and restrained the man until the police could arrive.

Ratchet quickly knelt down beside Wheeljack, frantically checking over him. "Wheeljack, can you hear me?" He checked his pulse and then checked to see if he was still conscious. When there was no response, he felt tears building in his eyes.

The paramedics arrived along with the police, pushing the crowd back to make room.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to step back." A police officer said, gently placing his hands on Ratchet's shoulders.

"B-But.... is he going to be okay? I'm really close to him.." Ratchet sobbed, wiping the tears from his eyes.

The police officer sighed, glancing over at the paramedics. "Would it help if you were allowed to ride in the ambulance with him?"

Ratchet nodded and shook the officer's hand thankfully. "Yes, Thank you sir..."

By that time, they were loading Wheeljack onto a medical bed and wheeling him out of the store to the waiting ambulance. Ratchet jogged after them, holding onto the medical bed and following them out the door.

"You're gonna be fine, Wheeljack.... you'll be alright.... hopefully." Ratchet whispered, climbing into the ambulance after they loaded the medical bed.

The sirens wailed as the ambulance squealed away down the road, heading straight for the hospital.