A Trip to the Vet
Déjà vu 7
A Transformers Prime Fanfic
The bot they called Hunter carried them into a room of chaos. The first thing Jack noticed was the smell. Strange odors drifted through the spaces in Hunter's fingers as he clutched the two boys to his chestplate. Jack had been half asleep when they entered the building and he hadn't seen what had caused the red and blue bot's protective reaction. But his curiosity was soon overwhelmed by a fit of gagging. Only the fact that his stomach was completely empty saved him from vomiting. Beside him Rafael was in a similar state. Jack calmed himself enough to stroke Raf's back reassuringly and mutter,
"You okay?"
The smaller boy just gave him a miserable look and leaned into the comforting warmth of Hunter's chest plate. If they didn't get some water soon they would both be in bad shape. Jack pushed on one of the fingers holding them and Hunter reluctantly eased his hand open.
Jack stared around in shock. The bots all spoke of Cybertron before the war as a paradise. He could not believe there was a place this miserable in the capital city of Iacon. He glanced up at Hunter, and from the look of shock and horror on his faceplates, the bot couldn't believe it either. A massive warehouse space stretched out around them. Stacked, like boxcars at a train yard, were cage like containers with glowing bars. The cages contained creatures of every size and shape; organic, mechinoid, cyborg, and some Jack couldn't begin to identify. Despite the apparent chaos the human thought he saw a pattern. On one side were creatures that were injured; some lay with wounds held together by glowing webs, some oozed foul smelling puss, some let off sparks from ruptured circuitry, some simply lay lethargically as if they were waiting to die. On the other side, separated by some kind of shimmering forcefield were healthy animals. They tended to have more mechanical parts, as if organic/mechanical hybridization were a big part of the treatment here. Several questionable looking Cybertronians held massive fanged monstrosities on chains.
Hunter slowly turned around, giving Jack a full sweep of the scene. The red and blue bot finally walked over to a scrawny jet black bot behind a counter and said something. The black bot replied without looking up and waved over to where several Cybertronians were holding an assortment of organic creatures about the same size as the two humans. Hunter tried to protest, but the receptionist bot only looked up at him and snarled something. The red and blue bot seemed mildly shocked but tried again to say something. The black bot gave a forceful, three servo gesture with one hand and went back to ignoring them.
Hunter walked over to the indicated section cautiously. An oily blue Cybertronian held three slouching bipeds on chains. They had scaly green skin and fierce fangs. A smallish green Cybertronian held onto a scrap of cable with what appeared to be a giant shag carpet on one end. A slim red fembot clutched what appeared to be a writhing mass of purple foliage to her chestplates nervously.
All three Cybertronians eyed Hunter as he carried his two charges into their circle. The way the blue bot eyed the human made Jack glad that Raf was still safely tucked away in Hunter's hand. Smiling nervously the red fembot appeared to introduce herself. Hunter responded with his warm smile and she relaxed visibly. There was a shuffling and a grunt and the shag carpet resolved itself into a massive brown furred beast beside its green master. The bot waved cheerfully at Hunter and reached down to stroke his growling pet. Jack could see a gash on the side of the furry beast.
The two Cybertronians struck up a conversation immediately. Raf slowly peeked his head out from behind Hunter's fingers and murmured to Jack,
"They just introduced themselves and the green bot is giving pet care advice to Hunter."
Jack looked at his friend and felt his stomach tighten. Raf's eyes were sunken into his head, his lips were cracked and dry, and there were dark circles under his eyes. The older boy glanced up at the bot holding them and opened his mouth. He stopped and shook his head. Even if he could make himself understood, Hunter was already doing everything he could for the humans. All they could do now was wait. Jack's attention was drawn back to Raf as the smaller boy started coughing. Hunter stopped talking with the green bot and cradled his hands together to let Jack closer to Raf. Without even a glass of water to give the smaller boy Jack could only rub his back and assure him they were going to be fine.
It wasn't until Hunter set them down on a nearby crate that Jack realized that the bot was conversing with the green Cybertronian again. Jack held onto the still coughing Raf and watched nervously as the green bot patted the crate top. With surprising agility for a creature so large, and injured, the shag carpet leapt up on the crate across from the boys. Jack let out a shout and lunged in front of Raf as the creature charged at them. Remembering the training he'd received about bears, Jack tried to make himself as large as possible and shouted at the animal. For a split second his only thought was that the beast was much larger up close, and then it slammed into him.
It took the boy several seconds to register that he wasn't being messily torn limb from limb as he'd expected. Two huge paws rested half on either side of his chest and a warm moist snout was alternately sniffing his face and licking it with a rough, wet tong. The pain across his back was severe from the burns pressing into the hard metal of the crate, but the rough paws were remarkably gentle. He heard laughter and realized that at some point Raf had stopped coughing.
"Hey, get off of him boy. No! Hee, ha, no, don't lick me. Come on get off Jack." Raf was trying to move the creature. Finally Jack felt the pressure life off his chest and he rolled into a kneeling position. Now he got a good look at the beast. It was easily three times the size of a grizzly bear with fangs that would put any saber toothed cat to shame. Its brown fur floated around round black eyes like a cloud. Right now it was studiously trying to clean Raf's face with a long purple tong. Hunter looked on with a nervous smile while the green bot smiled down proudly as they talked. Jack staggered up and walked cautiously over to the beast. It turned to him and went down into a crouch. Jack tensed but Raf came up to him smiling.
"He just wants to play," the smaller boy explained. "The green bot, his name is Gasket by the way, told Hunter that he could cheer us up while we waited our turn. Isn't he neat?"
Jack wasn't sure whether Raf meant the Cybertronian or his pet but he nodded anyway and forced a smile. The creature was sniffing him up and down now. The boy tentatively reached up and scratched behind the animal's huge ear. It let out a grunt of pure pleasure and threw itself at his feet. Jack smiled and put both hands to the task while Raf took the other side. The shaggy beast was soon thumping its back foot ecstatically and letting out a series of grunts and grumblings.
The red fembot had already disappeared, Jack noticed once the beast had settled down. The slinky blue bot was no longer holding the green skinned organics, but was watching Jack with some interest. Jack felt the hair on the back of his neck rise at that. Just then a tall, scrawny grey Cybertronian walked up and addressed Gasket. The bot looked down at the boys playing with his pet and then up at Hunter. He shook his head and pointed at the red and blue bot while saying something. The grey bot glanced at Hunter with a question on its faceplates. Hunter started to say something but Gasket scooped up the boys and placed them in his hands. Then the green bot gave Hunter a shove in the grey bot's direction.
It took a few seconds for Jack to right himself in Hunter's hands. When he did he caught one last glimpse of Gasket with the friendly beast sitting by his side. Then Hunter rounded a corner and the human lost sight of the pair. Jack turned and blinked. Plain white room, flat table at waist height, various medical instruments spread about neatly, it was all so normal and veterinary like Jack was shocked. Then it occurred to him that maybe his definition of 'normal' had been stretched a bit too far recently. Hunter gently placed the boys on the table and turned as a sturdy white Cybertronian walked into the room.
Despite being only slightly shorter, and much wider, than Hunter this bot was defiantly feminine. She strolled up to the boys and gave them a quick once over. Hunter was trying to talk to her, but she only grunted in reply and reached into a nearby container. She pulled our two red pellets and set them in a space in the wall. She tapped out a command into the adjacent control panel and the delicious sound of running water filled the room. Both boys watched fascinated as a cascade of water fell over the pellets and they began to swell. They scooted closer to the edge of the table nearest the water and stared fixedly at it. After what seemed like an eternity to the boys the white fembot turned off the water and carried the pellets over to the humans. She set the things down in front of the eager boys and stepped back.
Jack hefted one of the red containers. In the bot's hand it had looked small, but it held at least a gallon of water. Jack couldn't figure out how they were supposed to get it out though. He glanced up at the Cybertronians who were talking now, and then over at Raf. The smaller boy was sitting cross-legged on the table with the container on his lap, face buried in one end. He lifted his head long enough to wipe his mouth on his sleeve and say to Jack,
"It's pure distilled water. I know the taste. It's okay."
"Yeah, but how do I get at it?" Jack asked in confusion.
"Oh, it's like a sponge, just chew on one end and the water comes up." Raf replied and demonstrated for his friend. Jack sat down and began chewing on to small protuberance at the end of the pellet. Delicious, life giving water began to seep into this mouth. It struck Jack that he had never really been thirsty before now. A green light flashed over them, from the white bot's scanner, Jack realized. He began squeezing the container and more came out. It came slowly. After a few minutes of gulping down the liquid the human realized that that was probably a design feature. He sat back and looked over at Raf.
"We should probably go easy on this for now," he said. "We haven't had anything to drink in a while and too much at once could upset our stomachs."
Raf nodded reluctantly. His water sponge had shrunk by at least a third. Jack stood up and stretched. The white bot and Hunter were still talking. She led him over to a cabinet and began pulling things out of it. Jack didn't recognize any of the items but by the time she was done Hunter had quite a pile. Then the vet bot turned and saw that the humans were done drinking. She selected two shallow containers from the pile and walked over to a dispenser set into the wall. A thick black ooze seeped out into the dishes. She handed them to Hunter who eagerly set them in front of the boys. The red and blue bot said something gently.
"Um, Jack I think that's our food," Raf said eyeing the mess.
"I was kind of afraid of that," Jack replied.
"I, don't think I'm that hungry yet," the smaller boy whispered edging away from what looked like crude oil. Jack firmly gripped the smaller boys shoulder and steered him towards the dishes.
"We need the nutrients Raf. It may look nasty, but this bot obviously has experience with organics. We have both lost weight already. We can't afford to lose more, every ounce we drop will be far more difficult to get back. Now come on, it doesn't smell bad." Jack was right, the goo gave off a strange but not unpleasant odor. He led by example and dipped a finger into the substance while Hunter looked on eagerly. The food tasted, well, pretty much the way Jack expected it too; a gritty mass of sterile organic matter, bark dust and candle wax maybe. The taste buds of an American teenager warred with the gnawing hunger in his gut for a moment, then the survival instinct kicked in and killed the gag reflex. He scooped a few double finger loads of the stuff into his mouth and smiled down at Raf.
"See? Not too bad."
Raf gingerly tried the concoction, and nearly gagged, but he gamely shoveled it down. With every swallow the goo got easier to take until finally Jack called a stop to the food as well, on the grounds that they needed to be gentle with their stomachs. Raf seemed much more eager to agree than over the water. They washed down the goop with a few mouthfuls of the water. Immediate needs satisfied Jack looked up at Hunter.
To his surprise the white bot was playing a blue scanning beam over the bot's chestplates, explaining as she did.
"She's helping Hunter reformat his cargo compartment to carry us more safely." Raf explained.
"Great," Jack said, "no more head bumps. By the way, did you get her name?"
"Ah, no. I don't think she told Hunter."
When she was done the white bot waved towards the boys and said something to Hunter. The red and blue bot nodded and held out a hand to the boys.
"She's going to give us a proper medical exam now." Raf said, a little nervously. "She wants Hunter to hold whichever one of us she's not working on so we don't make trouble."
"All right, I'll go first." Jack said as he gently pushed Raf towards Hunter. The smaller boy climbed into the bot's hand. This time Hunter reached over and carefully began stroking the boys back with one finger. Raf smiled up and the bot and leaned into the petting. It might be a little silly but any friendly gesture was welcome.
Jack had automatically taken off his shirt for the exam, to the surprised look of Hunter. Habits from dozens of doctors' visits were strong. But the white bot didn't seem to care. She ran several scan lights over the human, each of which left a projection of his internal organs on the wall. The white bot studied them for a moment then selected a long thin device from the counter. She lightly tapped one end against Jack's neck and he collapsed on the countertop. A strange tingle spread over his limbs. He could breathe and blink his eyes but that was about it. He heard Raf's worried cry, heard Hunter comforting the boy, vaguely felt something playing over his back and shoulders. Panic threatened to overwhelm him, but the human firmly told himself that it was only logical for the Cybertronian to use a general anesthetic for a medical procedure.
His perspective shifted as he was placed in Hunter's hand. The red and blue bot looked worriedly down at him and spoke soothingly. 'Wish I could understand him,' Jack thought idly. Whatever the white bot had used on him was affecting his ability to think. Finally the enforced relaxation faded into blissful sleep.
