Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers
Medbay
Author's Note: G1/Prime cross AU.
Summary: The war is over and Knockout finds himself needing to stay true to his promise.
Pairing: Slight Breakdown & Knockout references.
After what felt like an eternity of fighting, the war was over and both sides were putting their differences aside and working together to rebuild Cybertron. Many were at distant ends of the universe and had a very long trip ahead of them, especially since many of the spacebridges that had been constructed long before the war started were damaged and needed repairs while the rest were undergoing maintenance. It was a slow and tiring process, but Cybertronians were making their way home.
The cities of Cybertron were under construction while the planet itself had recovered during the absence of its inhabitants. Energon and other resources had been put under better management since the war had instilled better practices and higher efficiency. Not only that, but inventions for the formation of energon through other power sources such as solar energy had greatly cut down on the demands for mining raw energon.
Knockout, even though he was the CMO on the Nemesis during the war, wasn't a full-fledged medic. Medics were so hard to come by, especially with the Decepticons, that Megatron had taken the top of the class at the Decepticon medical school to work on the Nemesis to work with Hook. That was how the two became associated and eventually friends. Hook had worked with him and though a perfectionist, the surgeon filled in the gaps of what Knockout hadn't learned yet.
One day, it was decided that the Constructicons were needed more elsewhere and so Hook went with his team, leaving Knockout to his own devices. It was then claimed, right as Hook was about to leave, that Knockout was a medic, no longer an assistant seeing how he could improvise and work on his own. There were still things that Knockout couldn't do, but he quickly learned how to get around the problem in ways that the medical association back on Cybertron would have gaped at.
It was hard difficult work; there was no use in denying that. Decacycles passed and Knockout was given his own assistant. Sure the mech didn't possess very much medical knowledge whatsoever, but that wasn't uncommon in the Decepticon ranks. As so long as the medics knew what they were doing, it didn't matter who the assistant was; the need for medics was that bad.
His assistant learned and grew accustomed to Knockout's ways. Even though he wouldn't be considered a medic, even by Decepticon standards, he was also considered to be Knockout's bodyguard.
The two became close friends and while others thought they were even closer than that, they spent just about every moment together. Knockout was promoted to CMO, that and there were no other medics on the Nemesis, but Knockout did his best. He and his assistant, Breakdown, knew just about all there was to know about each other. It was Breakdown who convinced Knockout that one day, he'd finish his training to be a full-fledged medic. Being in a sappy kind of mood that night and somewhat over energized as well, the two made a promise to each other. Breakdown would stay by his side, no matter what happened while Knockout would finish his training. Sure they'd be unable to fulfill such promised if they were killed in the war, but until that day, they'd stick to it the best they could.
Breakdown had since offlined.
Knockout still missed him.
Even though Breakdown was no longer at his side, Knockout was going to do his best to keep his promise to Breakdown. The mech genuinely wanted Knockout to be able to stand on his own two feet as a medic once the war was over.
That's why Knockout had originally gotten back in contact with Hook, hoping the perfectionist would help him complete his training. What he hadn't taken in to consideration was that Hook would be working with the other Constructicons in rebuilding Cybertron from the ground up.
Instead of losing hope, which Knockout was on the verge of doing, he pestered Hook about what kind of buildings they had done, in what city were they working on and if any medics were in the area. Instead of telling him who that medic was, Hook told him about a medbay that the Constructicons had recently built, a favor to a friend before the war started.
Taking this opportunity, he convinced Hook to get him an interview at the medbay to get a job there as well as the location of it.
Knockout looked up at the building, one in a handful that had been built by the Constructicons in what was once the bustling city of Iacon. The population of Iacon was small, but in time it would grow back to what it had once been.
The building itself was a bit large, but it wasn't the biggest building that had been built so far. The Constructicons had definitely taken their time on it. Wide windows would allow the sun to filter in during the day. Hook had bragged about how the windows would be difficult to break, let alone crack, making it a safe, but beautiful place to be. It was a very sturdy building and although he hadn't entered it, Knockout felt jealous whatever medic was in charge of it.
After he was done checking out the medbay from the outside, seeing how it was locked up tight, Knockout stopped by the other buildings in the section of Iacon that had been rebuilt and even hunted down the location where the Constructicons were staying.
Knockout rang the bell, looking around at his surroundings. They certainly were doing a good job.
"Hello." Longhaul drawled, standing in the now open doorway. "It's been a long time since we've last seen you."
"That it has." Knockout replied, hearing the laughter of the other Constructicons in the background. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Longhaul moved out of the way, allowing the smaller mech to come in before shutting and securely locking the door behind them.
Knockout looked around, having thought that the Constructicons would have made a fancier place for themselves. Sure they weren't going to permanently settle down at this location, but Iacon wasn't going to be rebuilt in a decacycle. He followed Longhaul who went to where the others were, expecting Knockout to follow on his own instead of having to be told to do so.
Scavenger was in the middle of a joke when the two came in. Knockout wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a warm welcome from everyone, not just Hook, wasn't it.
"It's been a long time." Hook smirked, checking out the changes that Knockout had made as the vorns went by. "It's good to see you again."
Scavenger was practically bouncing in his spot on the couch. "You're a lot shinier than I remember."
"Things happen." Knockout outwardly brushed the comment off to the side although he secretly soaked up the complement, hoping more were on the way. "How's work here been?"
Scrapper answered, having made a mental list of their projects and the states of each. "We have much to do, but nothing that we can't handle. The medbay turned out better than expected."
The other Constructicons agreed.
"How long has it been open?" Knockout questioned, taking the empty seat, much to Longhaul's displeasure.
"It's been done for a few days now and we've done tours, but my friend still needs to get everything situated before it officially opens." Hook replied, "I've been told that I can work there whenever I want."
"Who's in possession of the medbay?" Knockout questioned, wanting to know who it was that he'd be working for and being trained by.
The others looked towards Hook, amused looks on their faces, but the medic was silent, not wanting to spoil the surprise. "You'll find out soon enough."
Mixmaster passed him a cube of energon. "I made it myself." The scientist proudly stated, waiting for Knockout to accept it before taking a swig of his own cube.
"Thanks." Knockout muttered. "So do I have the job?"
"You'll have to talk to him about it tomorrow morning at ten. I'll meet you there." Hook replied, "Also, your living arrangements have been settled." Hook handed him a datapad containing the location along with other key information.
Knockout accepted it, taking a quick glance through the datapad. "Thank you for everything." It wasn't often that Knockout thanked anyone for anything, but this was something major and he really meant it. If it weren't for the Constructicons, he would still be aboard the Nemesis, trying to figure out what to do next. There weren't very many medbays set up yet and so he would have had quite a wait ahead of him.
"You might want to get going." Bonecruncher suggested. "It's getting late and we all have a big day tomorrow."
With a few last words and several goodbyes, Knockout left, leaving the Constructicons alone once again.
"Hook, does he know who our friend is?" Scavenger questioned, not wanting to use the actual name in case if Knockout was still nearby.
"Nope. Our friend doesn't know it's Knockout either." Hook replied, a smug look upon his face. "I didn't want to miss the look on their faces. I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back."
Scrapper shook his head, though he couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "It's time to recharge."
The Constructicons left the living room; Longhaul staying behind to turn off the light and make sure the door was locked before joining his siblings.
Knockout wasn't lost, he was just checking the area out, that's all. If he was going to be living at what turned out to be apartments, newly constructed ones on top of it, he needed to know the layout firsthand. It wasn't because he didn't have a map and couldn't find his actual one in the dark.
A flash of blue caught his attention once again. He had seen it several times already and was getting the distinct feeling like he was wandering around in circles.
The sound of a door opening caught his attention. Knockout stopped his advancement to face the resident. A red and white mech with a facemask and a blue visor stepped out, securely shutting the door behind him. "Are you lost?" The mech hesitantly questioned, "I've seen you go pass my apartment four times tonight."
"Uh… well…" Knockout straightened, "Now that you've asked, do you know where apartment…" Knockout looked back at the datapad, quickly locating the number, which wasn't what he thought it had been in the first place which explained why he was having so much trouble. "27 is?"
The visored mech brightened, "You're moving in?"
"Yes." Knockout answered, somewhat suspicious of the harmless mech before him.
"I was wondering who would live there." The mech brought him to the apartment next to the one they had been lingering in front of. "I'm in 28. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask. By the way, I'm First Aid." The mech offered his hand to Knockout.
"Knockout." Knockout took the hand, giving it a brief shake before letting go. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but he wasn't sure where. "Aren't you apart of some group or something?"
If the facemask wasn't in place, Knockout could have sworn the mech was smiling. "My brothers and I are the Protectobots. The apartments on this floor are somewhat small and cozy, but they're much bigger than what we were given on the Ark. Some of the other floors have bigger places, but we decided to have our own separate apartments for now. We might change our minds as time goes on. You'll see them around when they're not working. If you want, I can introduce you to them."
"Perhaps some other time." Knockout replied. He just wanted to get a good night of recharge.
"Have a good evening." First Aid muttered before heading off to his own apartment.
Knockout, looking over the datapad, keyed in the access code, grateful when it opened, revealing a plain, unadorned apartment. Making sure the door shut and was locked, he took a quick tour of his new living space before entering his newly found berth room. True to his word, the apartment was small, but a perfect size for a single bot.
Carefully, he sat at the edge of the berth, testing for its durability and comfort before lying down and beginning his recharge sequence.