1) Yeah. Sorry, guys. i currently have no life. Been really sick today and yesterday, so my mind isn't exactly functioning right now. So all the fluff I was planning? Yup, didn't really happen. Maybe next chapter. Positive stuff? I'm out of school, and I will officially graduate high school this Saturday (yay!)
2) Don't you hate it when you find super amazing fics that stop updating in, like, 2009? Found about six of them. Wanted to cry. :'(
3) Didn't find Killer, but I'm planning on buying a new one. A puppy.
4) Saw Hunger Games... I don't really understand why everyone's obsessing.
5) I've had a bit of writer's block lately, too. I say that it's due to fatigue, but who really knows? I've been working on my new fic, which should be up pretty soon. The updates on that one won't be as frequent as the ones for this, but...yeah. :) For those of you who don't remember, it's a Sunstreaker/OC/Jazz. :) My first real love triangle. :D We'll see how that works out.
6) Sorry for the short chapter, especially after a couple of weeks of unannounced haitus. Sorry.
Chapter 36
Sick and Tired
3,562 words
Ratchet sighed as he finally finished his work. It had taken a whole lunar cycle and a half to repair her, but Moonstrike was still alive. She was laid out on the berth before him, her frame riddled with new weld marks that had been used to repair the many small cuts she had. Her left arm was still missing; though, Thundercracker claimed that another mech had found it and was bringing it to the clinic. Both sides of her face were dented at the cheek plating, and he had had to go in manually to replace a frayed optic cable. Her right shoulder was injured, yet again, and he had to completely replace the joint. One of the joints in her tail still had to be replaced, but Ratchet didn't have the parts for it. That would be left to Soundwave, as would the bent rotary blade. Her leg strut had been broken just above her ankle, meaning she wouldn't be allowed to walk for at least six solar cycles, and her venting systems had been completely clogged, meaning he needed to get her into a wash rack. That would have to wait, though, seeing as his receptionist had complained about Prime, yet again. He needed to deal with Optimus first.
With an exhausted sigh, Ratchet strode to the door of the examination room. It hissed open to allow him entry, and Ratchet optics immediately zeroed in on the form of Optimus Prime pacing anxiously. The larger mech's frame was tense, and his movements were jerky. As he was turning in his circuit, Prime's optics landed on the medic, and he swiftly moved to his side.
"How is she?" he asked briskly. Ratchet sighed.
"Right now, she's fine. She'll be in pain when she wakes up, though." Optimus frowned at this, but Ratchet kept speaking. "I was able to repair everything except for her blade and her tail. Due to her foot injury, she won't be walking for at least six solar cycles, and once I repair her arm, she won't be allowed to lift anything with that arm for at least four solar cycles. I replaced the joint in her right shoulder, so her shoulder will be sore."
"But she's fine? She can't feel anything? How's Megatron? Is he still with her?"
"One question at a time, Prime. Yes, she's fine, but I need to keep her here for a few solar cycles to check her injuries. As for Megatron…" Ratchet trailed off as he allowed his chest plates to open, a grimace covering his face. He reached into his hold and pulled out a squirming black bundle of wires and metal. Megatron kicked and squeaked angrily as he was held in the air in front of Ratchet by his scruff bar. "The second I pulled him out of Moonstrike's hold, he started acting like this. Kept saying 'danni' and 'mine.' He's a possessive little mech. Protective, too. It appears that a lot of his traits are still the same from when he first lived." Ratchet finished his explanation as he handed the sparkling over to the Prime. Megatron immediately stilled once he was settled in Prime's grasp, and the second he was held against that broad chassis, he curled up and started bawling.
"Shhh, my sparkling," Prime cooed as he cuddled Megatron close, sending love and comfort over the bond. "You are safe now."
"Daaaannnnniiii!" Megatron wailed. "My dan—ni!" Prime grimaced at the hitch in his voice. The little mech was quite worked up.
"Danni's fine, my mechlet. Can't you feel her peace?" Prime asked gently. Megatron quieted for a few kliks as he searched his bond. He sniffled a bit when his coolant tears moved past his nose plating, but he didn't start crying again. "See, my spark? She is having a good dream." Of course, Optimus wasn't really sure of this. He couldn't only catch snippets of Moonstrike's emotions via her bond with Megatron.
"Danni," Megatron mumbled in a rather protective voice. He curled up and pressed his left audio receptor against the broad chassis, finding comfort in the sound of Optimus's strong spark. Optimus smiled down at the mechlet before focusing on Ratchet, who had a gentle look that Prime hadn't seen for a long time. Then again, it wasn't a secret that Ratchet was a sucker for sparklings and younglings. But honestly, who wasn't?
"Prime, we must speak, and it's not something you will like," Ratchet began. Prime frowned when Ratchet gestured to his office.
"Moonstrike's arm—" he began
"Will be repaired once Soundwave gets here," Ratchet interrupted. "You need to know this."
"Very well," Prime murmured as he followed after the medic. The doors hissed open to reveal Ratchet and Jolt's office. It was rather large for an office and held two desks that were perpendicular to the wall that held the door and faced each other. The one to the right was a complete mess. Datapads were stacked up high, there were two half-filled cubes of high-grade, and three wrenches had been dropped haphazardly near the front of the desk. The other was completely clean. There were three perfectly stacked piles of four datapads that were placed right next to each other, a single compressed energon cube that was no doubt about to be sanitized, and a medical datapad sat right in front of the chair. Both desks had a single chair in front and another behind them. Ratchet moved to the messy desk and took a seat behind it. Optimus fought back the urge to laugh as he sat down in front of it.
"So… what is this all about?" Optimus asked.
"Moonstrike and Shockwave," Ratchet replied. He didn't miss the way Optimus tensed up, or how his optics grew brighter when that designation was spoken. "Had you stayed after Megatron was first introduced, then you would know what Shockwave was after." Prime frowned.
"He's after the slave data, is he not?"
"At this point, we can't really be sure, but… I don't think that's what he's after. When I spoke to Chemical, he said that when last Moonstrike was in his lab, he altered her programming to believe that she was his youngling and protégé."
"What?" Optimus questioned, worried and confused.
"Apparently, Shockwave got tired of working with drones and wanted to be able to work with something that actually had a personality for a change. Apparently, his goal was to raise her as his own. However, he never youngling-proofed his lab, so he had to return her to normal, but not without giving himself a guarantee that he could get her back."
"What do you mean?" Prime asked with a spark filled with dread.
"Apparently, Moonstrike has been working for Shockwave in his hidden lab for the last vorn. He 'bumped into' her on Main Street Iacon and offered her job. We don't know how he did it without being recognized, but the fact remains that due to her desire to get away from her parents, she accepted. Arcee and Springer had been smothering her ever since her first kidnap, which she didn't even completely remember. She wanted to have just one little victory against them and just one place that could be considered a haven. She didn't even think twice before accepting Shockwave's proposal, and I think it's because she still has some of that youngling programming activated."
There was a beat of silence as Optimus processed this. The first time he saw her once she left the clinic… when he visited her house and invited her to use his library… she had said she was going to work at the labs. Did she not remember that Shockwave was a Decepticon, a torture specialist to be specific? Then again, Chemical had been a torture specialist, and he was one of the more noble mechs he had ever met. So Shockwave had been dealing with her since the end of the war. Prime gave an irritated vent. Apparently the war never ended. Not if Shockwave has been keeping track of one of the Autobot POWs.
"So what does this mean? What should I do?" Prime asked. Ratchet gave a heavy sigh, completely accustomed to the Prime asking for his advice when it came to his patients. Sadly, though, this circumstance was completely new and unheard of. The Decepticons had killed off as many femmes, sparklings, and younglings as possible, so having the most emotionless Decepticon taking in a femme and programming her as a youngling was completely illogical.
"At this point, I don't know. What I do know is that Moonstrike is not safe with the Wreckers. It's the first place Shockwave would look." Ratchet glanced down at Megatron when the sparkling squeaked. "We don't want them getting their claws on him either. My suggestion would be to take her somewhere unexpected. Take her somewhere unexpected and get the best of the best to protect her. If necessary, call in more Autobots. Anything to keep her away from that monster."
"I concur. I put together the arrangements as soon as I can," Optimus stated as he rose to his pedes. Ratchet nodded before he suddenly went stiff. His face went blank for a second before his optics focused on Prime again.
"Soundwave has arrived with spare parts, and Thundercracker has returned with Moonstrike's arm. I would suggest you get in contact with Prowl and Jazz and start arranging what you can." Optimus nodded as he placed Megatron in his hold and without another word, left the office.
Optimus scowled as he paced in front of the clinic, Thundercracker watching his movements with amusement. Skywarp, having gotten too restless, was pacing right beside Prime, in perfect step with him. It was almost comical watching both tall mechs walking back and forth with both hands behind their backs and optics glaring at the floor before them.
"You know, walking won't solve anything," Thundercracker suddenly stated. Skywarp scowled at him, while Prime simply paused in his steps and looked at him. Well, past him.
"Yes, it will! Sitting and waiting is so slaggin' boring," Skywarp whined. Thundercracker rolled his optics before focusing them on the current Prime.
"I wasn't talking to you, Skywarp, and what's your problem, Prime? Your femme's gonna be just fine. She's got that crazy Autobot medic and Soundwave working on her," Thundercracker called out. Optimus's optics focused on him.
"Shockwave wants her, and he's starting a war over having her," Optimus stated flatly. Thundercracker considered this.
"Then put her in a base with your Autobot soldiers, put the soldiers on high alert, then find a way to kill Shockwave," Thundercracker said with a shrug.
"I'm already working on that," Optimus stated. "Prowl, Jazz, and Ironhide are in the process of reinstating the Autobot Head Base in Iacon as we speak. It should be completed in a joor at the most."
"Then what are you worried about? You slaggers managed to fight off Megatron for thousands of vorns. So unless your little army has lost its touch, you should be able to fight off Shockwave for at least a vorn while we search him out and offline him."
"Shockwave is a bit different than Megatron, but we will not allow Moonstrike to be injured again." Prime fixed Thundercracker with a look. "And I can count on your assistance?"
"'Course. We hate that computer on legs just as much as you do," Skywarp interjected with a scowl. Optimus grinned at the Seeker's reply.
"Very good," he said.
::Prime, we have security up, and the medbay is stocked, so you can bring Moonstrike over.:: -Prowl
::Acknowledged. I will be arriving with Moonstrike in no longer than eight breems:: -Optimus Prime
::Very well. Will be will prepared for your arrival:: -Prowl
"I must leave. I want to be able to talk with Moonstrike when she wakes up," Prime said aloud. Thundercracker nodded, and the two Seekers watched as the Prime left.
"He's boring," Skywarp stated, and he returned to his pacing.
I groaned heavily as my systems struggled back online. Everything hurt. My left leg felt like it had been ripped apart, and my tail felt like it had been stepped on. My right rotary blade felt like it was wrapped in layers of metal, and both my shoulders felt like they had been torn off. The pain made my sensors want to glitch, and the processor-ache really wasn't helping things. The pain clouded my processors, along with the large dose of sedatives and painkillers my frame had apparently just finished working through.
My audio receptors were the first to come completely online, as well as my equilibrium center. Apparently, I was lying on my stomach, moving forward at a rather quick pace. From this information, I concluded that I was likely in a medical transport vehicle. However, that didn't explain the soft, instrumental music that surrounded me. It was a strange sound, one that I hadn't heard in a long time and had only been given snippets of by a certain saboteur. If I was correct, the designation of this specific genre of Earth music was the same as Jazz's. The only way I knew that, though, was because of how much the silver mech had bragged on some sort of Earth music being named after him while we were on our way back from Protihex. The smooth music flowed around me easily, making my systems slow and relax. A low buzz left my throat as my vocal processor hummed to life.
"Optimus…?" I wheezed. There was a minute hitch in the music before it continued on as if nothing had happened. The air around me grew a bit warmer.
"Good joor, my love," Optimus greeted. His velvety voice seemed to surround me, coming from every direction. I smiled at how wonderful it sounded in my audios.
"Hi," I breathed. I focused on my optics and grimaced when they came online. My left optic was a bit fuzzy, but my right optic was working perfectly. The walls around me were much too close for the vehicle to be of the medical origin. Medical vehicles were wider so that they could accommodate mechs and femmes much larger than I. "Optimus…where…am I?" I asked weakly.
"You are in my trailer. It was a gift from the humans when we left their planet. Ratchet and Wheeljack upgraded it to have Cybertronian speed and maneuverability," Optimus answered immediately.
"Oh…what…happened?"
"The Wreckers were attacked by Shockwave's spies. Many were injured, four were captured, and two are still missing. We believe Shockwave was looking for you."
Just like that, the lunar cycle before flashed through my helm.
Fear for my sparkling. Fear for my pack. Anger at the sheer audacity of another pack invading my territory. A fight. The other mech never stood a chance. His optics went dim, and his spark was crushed. A scream. Anger and protectiveness. Three more attacked. Two dead, sparks crushed. Third one escaping. A chase and revenge. A deep voice. Red optics, angry optics. A challenge. A graceful fight, a deadly dance. Lost arm. Spat threats. Betrayal. Betrayal. Betrayal. It was my fault. It was all my fault.
"My… fault…" I murmured, tears gathering in my optics.
"No," Optimus rebuked firmly. "None of this was your fault."
"He…betrayed. My…fault."
"Betrayed? Moonstrike, did someone betray us?" Optimus asked, a frown in his voice. I nodded weakly before breaking into weak sobs. "Slag. Moon, sweetspark, calm down," he ordered gently. My vents hitched harshly, unable to bring in cool air to my overheating frame due to the clogged vents.
"My fault," I muttered pitifully. If I hadn't let him walk away, he wouldn't have gone to Shockwave. If I had simply asked him to stay, my clan wouldn't have injured or missing bots.
"Moonstrike, no. You can't have foreseen this, and you should not blame yourself for something you could not foresee."
"I ran…him…away. My…fault!"
"Moonstrike, bad things happen. People betray other people. It is a fact of life. You could not change some other bot's frame of mind without reprogramming. It simply isn't possible," Optimus stated. I nodded miserably, logically knowing he was right. It didn't make the situation any better, but at least I had that.
"Shockwave…wants…me…'gain?" I murmured hazily.
"Yes," Optimus said grimly after a bit of a pause.
"Plans…?"
"We are taking you to the most fortified Autobot base still standing, and I am calling in some old friends to help guard the base. You will not be injured again."
"What… what if… he… finds me…?"
"He will not. Trust me, my love, you will remain safe and out of his reaches," Optimus promised. I smiled as my spark picked up its pace a bit. "Approaching base."
We lapsed into silence, the only noise coming from the sound of the road underneath the tires and my weak sobs. I could feel Prime decelerating before he finally rolled to a stop. The doors by my feet opened, sending in the moonbeams that lit up the night sky. The floor walls on either side of me slowly lowered before sliding into the bottom slab that I lay on. I could barely make out the four shadowed figured, all made blurry by my fuzzy optic. One of the blurry figures moved to my right side, and I felt the tell-tale tingles of a scan. The sound of a transformation rang in my audios, and a fifth figure joined the others.
"How is she doing?" Optimus's voice asked, radiating from the fifth figure.
"Right now? She's doing okay. Her systems are a bit taxed, and she still needs her vents cleaned out, but that can wait until the next solar cycle. For now, let's get her inside and shut down for the lunar cycles," Ratchet's voice said as the figure that had scanned me stepped back to allow Optimus to move forward. One arm snaked around my back, just underneath where my rotary blades met my shoulders, and another slid under my knees. I hissed in pain when I was lifted, eliciting a, "Be careful, fraggit!" from Ratchet.
"I'm okay. I'm…fine," I whispered.
"I'll be the judge of that. Prime, get her into the medbay," Ratchet snapped. Prime chuckled as he started moving forward.
"He's quite pushy, isn't he?" he asked with mirth. I hummed in agreement. "Are you tired? Any pain?" he asked quietly. I nodded slowly.
"Both," I whispered.
"I see. Do not worry. Ratchet has agreed to give you a large dose of sedatives and painkillers," Optimus stated gently as he moved through the large halls.
"Where... are we?" Optimus gave me a worried look.
"We're at an Autobot base. I told you that on the way here," he reminded me.
"Oh… Why... are we... here?" I mumbled, my optics dimming. Optimus gave me a gentle smile.
"Recharge, my spark," he breathed, his voice sounding like liquid velvet. My optics brightened a little when I felt myself placed on a berth. I gave Optimus a stern look, though my fatigue prevented it from making it look how I wanted to.
"No... bonding... right now…" I murmured to him. I really didn't want to sparkbond with him while I was so tired and hurt. I heard a snicker coming from behind Optimus, and Jazz's voice filtered into the room.
"'Ey, Prime. Wha' d' you two talk 'bout in ya free time tha' makes 'er think like tha'?" Jazz teased.
"Don't you have work to do?" Prime asked lightly. Jazz snickered as he left the room. Ratchet moved to stand on my other side, and I slowly turned my helm to gaze at him. A single finger transformed into a needle and pressed into my primary energon in my right arm.
"I must contact Mirage, Hound, and Sideswipe," Prime told Ratchet. "Take care of her."
"No, no!" I gasped, panic flowing into my systems. I grabbed at Prime's arm as he took a half-step away, but my hands didn't have enough strength to grip, so the ending effect was me pawing at him. "Don't leave me!"
"Sweetspark," Prime began, cupping my cheek with a hand as he turned back to me.
"No. You'll disappear. Bad things happen when you disappear," I whimpered. Somewhere in the back of my helm, this was illogical. Prime's presence didn't prevent attacks at all; however, right now, I wanted that to be true. Prime stared down at me with a pained look. I met his torn gaze with my own panicked one.
"Ratchet," Optimus finally said on a sigh, turning his gaze to the medic.
"Yes, you can stay. Just don't… do anything. These lines need to stay in her primaries and secondaries," Ratchet stated. I glanced down at my arm and found that he had, indeed, been inserting different intra-linear tubes into my primary and secondary energon lines. I looked back up at Optimus to see him giving Ratchet a withering look.
"I assure you, Ratchet, I will do nothing that will hinder her healing," he said flatly.
"Then pull up a berth and get comfortable. I'm inserting sedatives now," Ratchet stated. Just like that, my systems started slowing down. I looked at Prime worriedly.
"Rest, my love. I will be here when you wake up," Optimus promised gently. I nodded slowly before the fatigue completely took me over, and I fell into blissful recharge.
Amai Seishin-Hime: Lol. Well, I got an older sister out of it, so it's worth it. :) I'm glad you liked my Seeker OCs. They were fun to create and write. Glad you like the romance, as well. I'm a big Optimus/Elita supporter, so I was careful about putting her in it. :)
Annebellelennox: XD Yeah, her life kinda sucks, but things can't stay bad forever, can they?
Starscream's Prime: Moon'll be fine, 'specially with Ratchet the Hatchet watching over her.
Animechick113: Yup. It would'a sucked if she died. :)
Just Watch Me: I love your username, BTW. And yeah. ^^'' I have no life right now. =_='' I'm better now, and we're looking into buying me my own dog, since Killer was mainly mine anyways. I'm saving up for a puppy. :)
Mrs. Knockout: XD I know, right! I love writing Optimus, now. So cute. And Jazz. Jazz is tons of fun to write.
AlexisOptimus: Neh. We're all like that. I'm the same way. Not only with writing friendship stories, but in reading them, too. I was reading one friendship story where the female oc was just friends with Jazz, and it drove me up the wall, cuz I wanted them to fall in love. -_-
As for Prime getting hurt, there's still quite a bit of plot that has to go by first, but he will get hurt. Fact of life: join the army, expect to get hurt. Prime's joining a war, so naturally, he'll get hurt. And the part where Prime continues talking… Well, that was just something I thought Prime would do. Plus it was terribly fluffy, and I knew the readers would love that. Glad you liked the chapter! :)
A Wiccan: Indeed.
Angel897: They'll find out pretty soon. Not this chapter, but probably the next one. :)
TheSpecTraitor: Glad you liked. :) Many thanks.
Luna Prime- Awesomeness: =) Glad you liked it. :D
Iceshadow911247: I'm sorry that my reply is so short, 'specially to such a long review. We've given up on Killer, but it's all good. We're moving on right now. Thanks for the review. :)
Kellie Witwicky: Lol. Definitely a Southern phrase, but we always have phrases like that. XD
Supergirlprime: XD Yep, yep! Moonstrike, the hardcore Wrecker! As for your questions, I can answer one of them. Ratchet would've simply disposed of the body. What do you do with a dead cat? Bury it. No reason to keep it.
Supreme Phoenix King: Thanks for the review. =)
Autobot-Bre: Back for a while. Hopefully, my life will slow down soon. -_- Don't worry, she'll be fine for a few chapters. :)
Jinxed just in Time: Yup. ^-^ And you'll see. It's gonna be a bit more dramatic than that, though.
Mercedes Wolfcry: Glad you liked it :)
Biocide: :D Glad you kept up with it. Hope you keep enjoying it. :)
Vivian Hale: Eh heh. My bad. It's BTW. ^^'' I forget not everyone knows our phrases. XD Yeah, it would suck if she died before he bonded with her. I wouldn't do that to the poor mech. :)
XLizardXQueenX: Aw! That review totally made my day when I read it, by the way. Glad you like it! Wow, I feel honored. I honestly do. I never thought myself to be a writer to give up sleep over (As I am a girl who very much loves her sleep). Thank you for the lovely review and kind compliments.
StarBlazer Luvs Sweets12: Lol. And I'm sorry, but I don't have time for checking and editing other stories right now. I am editing and advising three other stories at this time, and I haven't even touched theirs in at least three weeks. I'm sorry, but I simply don't have the time. :(
D-RockxIronhideForever: =D Hey, hey! Long review. :)
It's been two weeks for Killer, and we think he escaped into the fields by our house, which means he's not likely to find his way back. But it's okay. :) And Sarah thought your story was hilarious. She said that she's glad you didn't cut your finger off because her name's not worth a lost finger. :)
Neh. Technicalities, technicalities. And yep! It's interesting to see how many Christians are actually on this site. :) Kinda cool.
LOL. I love finding new words and using them. XD
As for Skyslice… I dunno if he's gonna show up. Maybe, maybe not. That depends on what my muse decides. :)
Ampdi: Lol. It's only on the chapters that I don't mean to put a cliff that people think there's one. XD
Linariel: So I sat here for, like, ten minutes wondering where I recognized your username from. Then I realized where I had seen it. I love your Transformers fics. You need to update on "Sparked Partnership". I'm really curious as to who ends up with Optimus. And "Interfaced" is fascinating as well. :) Hope to see more updates soon. Big fan, here ^-^ Your review definitely made my day. I'm glad you like this fic. I'm really big on originality, and I can't stand reading fics that are remotely like other fics, so as you can guess, I'm very careful to make all my stories completely original. OCs are very important to me, as well. Mary-sues are the bane of my existence, and I painstakingly create my OCs so that they are in no way Mary-sue. Flaws, pasts, and characterization are carefully drawn out, so to hear that I was successful is a great boon. :)
Another pet peeve that I apparently did well on: keeping the canon characters in character. I will admit that there are some characters that I don't do as well with, like Sunstreaker, but I'm working pretty hard to conquer their personalities, as well. I'm actually about to start another story with Sunstreaker as a main character. A character study of sorts. If I added to any personalities, I had to seriously debate the changes to make sure they would be in character. It's good to know I was successful.
X3 I love Chem. At first, I was gonna make him a hard-core character. You know, the type that would actually like hanging out with Shockwave… then he started humming when he worked, and I was like, "Nope. He's gonna be a super sweet mech, and everyone's gonna love him." And everyone does. :D He's been compared to a puppy pretty often.
O.O That was the greatest compliment I have ever seen. You wouldn't mind seeing her in the movie? Primus. Yeah, that made my day.
I'm glad you liked it, and thank you for taking the time to give such a long review. :)
So yeah... Got everyone back home, even a doped-up Moonstrike... And... yeah. :) See ya 'round.