Chapter Twenty
Arcee activates the Groundbridge for Nurse Darby to drive through. Sky is on Ratchet's work top in a hospital bed. We have relived her of her wet clothes and Agent Fowler's jacket is draped over her, along with one of Miko's heavy duty blankets. Her heart rate is currently at 36 beats per minute. I hover nervously over her, watching as Ratchet and June work on her. She is shivering, her skin almost a blue colour. Nurse Darby takes the scarf that she is wearing and wraps it gently around Sky's neck and head. Her hair is sticky with blood and bruises are already beginning to form on her tiny body. Ratchet covers her with another blanket and also places a pillow under her head and his finger lingers gently on her cheek.
'We need to increase her core body temperature as soon as possible, she's hypothermic. Optimus, massage her arms and legs, gently. We need to stimulate the blood flow.' I immediately set to work on her tiny arms. Even to my own metal skin, they are cold to the touch. Normally she is so soft and warm, but right now she feels like a block of ice. Nurse Darby sets up a cannula in her left arm and administers rehydration fluid through the intravenous tube. I rub her arms gently between my finger and thumb, sending heat to my fingers to try and increase her temperature, degree by degree. Nurse Darby is fumbling with something under the blankets and I look down at her quizzically.
'Nurse Darby, do you require assistance with anything?' Nurse Darby is in full medic mode, and has none of her usual shyness when she addresses me.
'I need to take off her clothes; they are wet and are slowing up the re-heating process.' I nod wordlessly and slip my fingers under the blankets that are covering Sky. 'Optimus, you can leave her underwear on if you want…it won't really make a difference either way.' I nod again and feel for the fragile fabric of her dress between my fingers. In one quick tug it is ripped and I pull it gently off over her legs. Next come her tights. Her skin is almost a pale blue colour, and her ribs have the most horrendous looking bruises on them. She is full of lacerations; and as I see these injuries I feel the anger rising within me. How dare they hurt my little one! Nurse Darby is on hand to receive the clothes from me and also has some woollen pyjamas; the traditional blue and white striped ones. 'Optimus, can you gently sit her up?' I slip one hand behind Sky and gently manipulate her into a sitting position. She is still unconscious as Nurse Darby deftly puts the pyjama top on her and buttons it up. I put the trousers on myself, pulling them up quickly so her skin isn't bare for any longer than is necessary. I wrap her burrito style in the two blankets and push her hair gently off of her face. Nurse Darby is attending to her head wound and dressing it. Ratchet starts a diagnostic scan and I wordlessly watch as it reveals her injuries; a hairline fracture in her skull, three broken ribs and her left wrist is broken again. Nurse Darby finishes dressing her head wound and sets up yet another cannula, this time for a morphine drip. She sees my worried expression and reassures me gently. 'It will kick in soon Optimus, probably before she even regains consciousness. She won't be in unbearable pain; she will just feel a little achy and uncomfortable.'
Suddenly, her body starts to quiver and shake. I look up at Ratchet in alarm, but he shows no reason to fear.
'It's normal Optimus; it is her body's physiological functions attempting to increase her core body temperature; she just needed a little help.' Nurse Darby steps back and appraises Sky with her practised nurses' eye.
'Ratchet, I think our work here is done. She'll need to have hourly observations and be monitored whilst she's on the morphine. She needs to be kept dry and warm, but right now the best thing for her is to rest. Don't worry Optimus, she will regain consciousness when she is ready.' Ratchet nods in agreement and offers his hand to Nurse Darby and she steps on shyly. He lowers her to the floor where she then gathers up her handbag. 'Optimus, if it is okay I will sleep on the sofa bed in your quarters; I'd like to be nearby in case Sky needs any immediate medical attention. I will just go and freshen up and then I'll meet you in your quarters.' I nod again, the power of speech seeming to have deserted me. Ratchet gently picks up Sky's bed off of his worktop and hands it to me, along with the poles that the rehydration fluid and morphine drip are attached to.
Once we are back in my quarters, I place her on the platform beside my berth and kiss her gently on the cheek. Her temperature is slowly increasing and is no longer critical. Her breathing is steady and her heart beat strong. I feel my Spark relax for the first time in three days and let the air out of my vents in belated relief. My little one is home, and I will never let them touch her again.
Sky POV
Unconscious – Conversation with Alpha Trion
'Sky. How are you feeling?' I once more heard Alpha Trion's regal voice echoing around me and I gently lowered myself into a sitting position on his hand.
'Rough Alpha Trion. I feel very rough.' He chuckled gently and appraised me with his optics.
'Well done for disabling The Nemesis, that took a lot of control to use the right amount of energy.' I was tired, and I wanted the one person who I hadn't yet seen.
'Alpha Trion, please. Where am I? Am I back at Autobot headquarters? Where is Optimus?'
'Patience young one. Now, I am going to aid you in regaining consciousness. One, two, and three…'
My eyes opened slowly, black spots dancing around in my field of vision. The first thing I set my gaze upon was Optimus's face. I felt a strange sort of warmth flow through me and I weakly raised up my arms to him. His gaze was full of relief and he wore his gentle smile. He came right down close; his optics misting over slightly. He nuzzled me softly with his helm, his metal lips brushing over every inch of my face. I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my side and arm my arm.
'Easy little one, easy. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere.' It was such a relief to hear his voice again, and I didn't bother to try and stop the tears from flowing. I touched his face, resting my hands on his cheek as best I could with all the tubes that were stuck into my left arm. I noticed that my left wrist had been dressed in a hard blue cast, much neater than the first one I had had, that felt so long ago.
'I love you Optimus.'
'Oh my darling girl. I love you too Sky, I always have and I always will. I am so, so sorry.' That made me pull back.
'Optimus, why are you sorry?'
'Had I been there to protect you; this might not have happened. Agent Fowler wouldn't have concussion, you wouldn't be broken before me and Lucy…Lucy would still be with us.' Despite the sombre mood, I tried to fix him with my most disapproving stare.
'Don't you DARE blame yourself; nobody could have seen this coming. Not even Alpha Trion-'. At these words, his head snapped up.
'Did you say 'Alpha Trion'?' I was about to answer when his optics widened and his mouth formed a perfect 'o'.
'What? What is it?' My voice was panicky, and I reached out for him once more.
'Sky, your eyes. They have changed colour!' Of all the things I expected him to say, it certainly wasn't that. At my confused expression, he proceeded to snap off his own wing mirror and handed it to me. The face that stared back at me was swollen and discoloured with multiple bruises. I didn't notice the big white bandage on my head, or the split in my left eyebrow. The thing that was most prominent, were my eyes. A stranger's eyes stared back at me. They were a blue-green colour. At the pupil they were the same colour as Optimus's optics, before darkening to a greener colour at the edges. No longer could I see the chocolate brown eyes I had had since childhood. They had been replaced by these beautiful, alien coloured eyes. I looked up at Optimus, wide eyed and panicked. He studied me for a few seconds, then shook his head as if confused. I pushed myself slightly up in bed with my good arm, my movement restricted slightly by the various tubes that were sticking out of me. At that moment, Ratchet came in, carrying June in his left hand. He placed June upon the platform beside Optimus's berth that I was currently on and she made her way over to me in full nurse mode. She shined a light in my eyes and it was a little too bright, making my eyes well up with reflexive tears.
'Easy Sky. Can you tell me what day it is?' I screwed up my face in concentration as I thought about her question.
'Umm...Friday?' June laughed quietly and turned her light off.
'Good try Sky, it is Monday today. You've been unconscious for fifteen hours.' I felt my mouth form into a large 'o'.
'Fifteen hours?!' I sat up rapidly and immediately regretted that decision; my blood pounding loudly in my ears. June pushed me back gently so that I was laying down again.
'Relax; it was a drug assisted unconsciousness. You would have been in too much pain to be fully conscious. Your morphine drip will sort out any pain you are in. The morphine will make you feel very drowsy and you may have some mild hallucinations.' I nodded and absent-mindedly scratched the back of my left hand where the cannula had been inserted.
'Is there any way that I can become addicted to the morphine? I don't want to become dependent on it.' June chuckled quietly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my right ear.
'No sweetie. The dosage is a fixed one and cannot be exceeded for a certain amount of time.'
'Okay. Am I allowed a drink? I am so thirsty.' June nodded and handed me a small glass of water. I swigged it appreciatively and set the empty glass on the bed-side table.
'Right. I think you are okay Sky. Your reflexes are a little sluggish, and you have concussion, but Ratchet is more than capable of meeting your medical needs. Are you okay if I go home for the night? If you need me for anything, just call me.' I nodded.
'Thank you so much June, I really appreciate it.' She leaned down and gave me a hug, careful not to squeeze my ribs too tightly and planted a kiss on the top of my head.
'Oh it's not a problem sweetie; you know I think of you as my own.' I smiled at her as she stepped on to Optimus's proffered palm.
'I second that thanks Nurse Darby; you and Ratchet saved my little one's life.'
'Oh Optimus. Please call me June! You know I would do anything for a member of my family.' She said, winking at us both. Optimus slowly lowered her to the floor and she made her way briskly out of his quarters. Ratchet approached me then, touching a finger lightly to my forehead. I saw his optics widen when my eyes looked up to his face, and his head snapped up to look at Optimus; who looked back at him with an equally quizzical expression written upon his face.
'Optimus, Ratchet. I need to tell you both something. I think it would be best if you both sat down.' Ratchet scoffed to himself.
'I hardly think that is necessary, we Autobots have flawless equilibrium circuits.' I didn't mention the time that Arcee said she was dizzy.
'I know Ratchet, but you are quite high up and it hurts my neck to look up all the time.' At my words, Optimus drew up two of the steel containers that littered the base and motioned for Ratchet to sit down as he sat on the one closest to me. Ratchet did so, a little begrudgingly. Once they were both sat down, I adjusted my cannula so it wouldn't tangle when I was talking – I was a hand talker and waved them quite vigorously when I was trying to explain something. 'Optimus already knows a little bit about this; so I will tell you Ratchet. It has to do with these 'bursts' that I have been experiencing.' Ratchet said nothing but looked at Optimus worriedly. Optimus looked at me kindly, encouraging me silently to continue. I took a deep breath before I began speaking again.
'This first time something to do with these energy bursts occurred was a few months ago. Optimus, do you remember when I had that nightmare?' Optimus nodded, his eyebrows coming down to form a little frown at the memory. Ratchet nodded too, looking strangely curious. 'The nightmare was a warning from someone. This someone said he had summoned me to him to speak with me from across the ages; he had to warn me of what was coming. I was instantly defensive, I wanted to know why he wanted to know so much about Optimus and me. He reassured me that he meant no harm, and then proceeded to show me an image or vision; whatever you want to call it. That vision was what made me wake up the way I did. I won't explain it in great detail…I'll get too upset, but basically it was Optimus telling me to run before he…' I paused and took another deep breath, breaking my gaze from both of their faces. 'Before he died. After that, the vision faded and the speaker told me that we would meet again soon. As the weeks went by, I forgot all about him and I pushed the vision to the back of my mind. The next energy burst I experienced was on the day of my father's hearing…just a few days ago…or weeks. I've lost track of the time for the moment. Anyway, this time it was in the form of a huge electric shock between Optimus and me. Optimus of course scanned me straight away and found nothing wrong other than a slightly elevated heart rate. Then I forgot about it until we got to the courtroom. Dad then smashed through the witness box and went straight for Optimus. All that was going through my head was the fact that I knew I had get to Optimus before my father did. As I made my way to him, this energy exploded from my body and lifted me off of the ground. I came face to face with the speaker again, though this time I was able to see him. I could see that he was definitely Cybertronian. He told me his name.' I stopped for a moment, looking at Optimus and Ratchet to try and gauge their reactions. I took what felt like was the millionth deep breath I had taken since I had regained consciousness. 'He told me his name was Alpha Trion.' Ratchet stood up when he heard this.
'ALPHA TRION!? THE CHIEF ARCHIVIST?' The monstrous volume of his voice made me jump a little, and Optimus shot Ratchet a stern look. 'Please forgive me, you just took me by surprise. You say you spoke to Alpha Trion?' I nodded.
'Yes. He said he was speaking to me from across the ages and that he had to tutor me in my abilities with the energy. He told me that the energy lives within me and it is akin to Spark energy, but it is not actually Spark energy. He said that it has been living within me for my whole life and meeting Optimus was the catalyst that was needed for the energy to manifest itself.' Here I stopped and looked at Optimus, who had a concerned expression on his face. I gave him a small smile to show him that I was okay and he rested his finger gently on my stomach and I latched on with both hands. 'He also said that this energy has the potential to kill me, so I must use it wisely. With time, I will be able to control it properly and yield it to my will. Alpha Trion said that you would be able to help me Optimus.'
'Of course little one, I will do all that I can to help you.' I smiled at him appreciatively and squeezed his finger tightly.
'I have to use the appropriate amount of energy so that it doesn't affect me too much. That's why I fainted in the courtroom; I used too much energy too quickly and my body needed time to recover. Alpha Trion also told me that he can only speak to me in my unconscious state of mind.'
'Sky, I understand all of what you have told us, but there is one thing I am still struggling to comprehend. What is the point of you having this 'energy' as you call it? Will it aid us in our struggles with the Decepticons?' I paused before I answered Ratchet's question.
'Alpha Trion told me that the energy's purpose is to…is to protect Optimus.' At this, Optimus' optics widened in surprise as did Ratchet's.
'I am not against that sentiment…but why would the energy need to protect Optimus?' Ratchet's tone of voice was confused and his optics were dilating, something that didn't happen often for Ratchet.
I sighed.
'Because…without Optimus…Cybertron can never be fully restored.'
A/N - Goodness me. I am sorry for the late update guys ^^;. Uni has been really busy for me but I finally got all my assignments finished and handed in. I have exams in January though :(.
Anyway, as always, please please comment and tell me what you think! :D I love reading your reviews; they are always so nice :).
Have a safe and Happy New Year, whatever you're doing .
No copyright infringement intended.
Transformers Prime and related characters © Hasbro, The Hub etc.
Sky, Lucy © Myself