The Diego Diaries: Shadow Box Returns 6 (248) Edited for boo boos :D
-0-Early morning
Ratchet hurried about, his cube of energon on the table untouched as of yet. Ironhide had cleared his schedule falling into his role as Atar/Ada for the duration. He would manage the infants and take care of household things like a good housewipe. Ratchet grinned as the hulking mech who lay sprawled on the berth soundly in recharge.
/... slagger …/
He turned and walked toward the door pausing long enough to grab his energon.
The ride down and walk to the street was quiet, the hustle and bustle of the world still in repose not yet erupting into the busy hustle and bustle he had grown used to seeing every morning. He wondered about the little Seekers and made a note to seek information. The stroll to the hospital was accomplished. The traffic in the main lobby was light, mostly mechs who were scheduled for surgeries checking in with the front desk.
Riding up, he remembered the small medbay where they all began, the cramped space, the hellish orns of reclamation in which he was the only real doctor. They had come a long way and part of him was sad about it. Stepping off, he crossed the lobby and walked to the nursing station where Knockout was still at work. Glancing up, he smirked. "Good morning, sunshine."
"That's my line," Ratchet said with an answering smirk. "How was the night?"
"A dumbass didn't move fast enough. Most of the patients here and there are doing rather well. The two you are really interested in are stable and unchanged. The Prime didn't recharge at all."
Ratchet nodded. "You can go off duty. I'll cover your shift until its over."
Knockout checked the desk chronometer and smirked. "However will I manage the two extra breems?"
"Frag Breakdown. You know you want to," Ratchet said with a grin as he turned and walked to the room at the end of the corridor.
Knockout watched him go and smirked slightly. "Well, you got that right, you slagger."
-0-In the room
Optimus Prime and Prowl sat together on the spare berth chatting off line, Prowl's arm comfortingly around the big tired mechanism. Ratchet entered and scanned both. "Well, I can see both of you did what I told you to do. Not."
Prime grinned. "Good morning, sunshine."
"You've been talking to Knockout. Don't. Its hazardous to your health," Ratchet said moving to read the data readings on the over berth monitors.
"I don't pretend to know what you say half the time, Ratchet," Prime said smiling in spite of himself.
"He's incomprehensible," Prowl said with a smirk of his own. "Losers are like that."
Ratchet snorted, then chuckled. "Prowl scores again."
Prowl rose and stretched, a grin firmly in place. He walked to Ratchet and hugged him tightly from behind. "Even though you are fans of Iacon, I love you. Loser."
Ratchet glanced over his shoulder. "I love you in spite of Praxus Science being a douche bag cheating team. Whiner."
They looked at each other, then burst into laughter. Prime leaning back tiredly on his servos smiled too. "Thanks. I needed that."
"Wait until you get my bill," Ratchet said. He glanced at Prowl who was standing staring down at Tagg fondly. "Go downstairs to the cafe. It serves a great breakfast I am told. Lunch too. No dinner. They don't compete with the restaurants. If they were more than a stroll away they would."
Prowl looked at him and smirked. "Ah, information luxe, our Ratchet."
"Need you say more?" Ratchet replied. He stepped around and looked at Kestrel. Turning, looking at Prime, he grinned. "They are both out of any danger they might have had if they had been in danger at any point which they weren't. Ever."
Prime blinked. Prowl blinked and turned to interpret. "That is douche bag speak for they are going to be fine because they never were in danger."
Ratchet paused, then laughed aloud. "You know, Prowler, you use urban slang beautifully but its still like looking at my Ada and hearing 'frag' come out of his mouth. Its just so wrong."
A friendly punch greeted that. "You're jealous. Again," he said turning to offer a servo to Prime. "Come. Let's energize and come back." He turned to Ratchet. "Will they be awake anytime soon? I think we want to be here when they come around."
"Not for about half a joor." He looked at Prime. "Listen to Mother. Go and eat, then come back. By then they will be rousing. I want them to come about slowly and peacefully. The idea of post traumatic stress is a thing to consider probable for a while until we get a read from Jarro."
"Then we will know what they need and how we can help them?" Prime asked.
"We will. They could just need a few years without worry and privation. Or they could use counseling. It's hard to tell. We could all probably use counseling given the life most of us have led," Ratchet said turning away from Tagg to look at them.
"Some of us could use it, that's for sure," Prowl said with a smirk. "Loser. Looo-ser."
Ratchet snorted. "Some day, whiner, you are going to be in here and I will pinch your catheter."
Prowl snorted, then glanced at Prime who looked at them both with a big smile. "You both make me laugh."
"Good, but the question remains, Prime … who makes you laugh more?" Ratchet asked just to be ornery.
He looked at both, then grinned. "See you later, Ratchet," he said steering Prowl around the beds and out the door.
Ratchet watched them go, then grinned. "I guess that answers my question." With that, he turned to do more analysis of the two gently resting patients.
-0-Cafe Praxus, nearby
They had gathered early, the habits of a long hard life not too easy to lose. They were tough, united and determined to do a job that needed doing. For an astonishing amount of time they had protected the family of Optimus Prime. It had been a long ordeal but they had been true to their oath to serve their Prime and to protect two of the nicest bots they had ever met in their long careers in the Elite Guard.
They were hand chosen to serve at the Palace. They were uniformly tall, handsome and gifted at the skills they would have to demonstrate in their jobs. They had been part of the Guard that protected Sentinel until that fateful day he had eluded them and met his doom. Their angst over that failure to protect had been assuaged in the competent decent dignified person of Optimus Prime.
Then he brought his genitors to live in the cavernous Palace of the Primes.
They were hardworking low caste mechs who were as out of their element as it was possible to find in the universe. They were apologetic, unassuming and genuinely kind. Their manners were beautiful, their consideration of others immense and their caring for each other and pride of their son winning. They had done hard labor their entire lives, their economic status always on the low end of the spectrum but they had dignity, class, concern for others and a respect for their culture, home world and the Primes. They were the easiest duty all of them ever had.
The two asked them about them, their families and if there were anything the two could do to help them with their burdens. They had been consistently willing to do what the Guard asked them in relation to security and helped where they could. It was easy to see that they felt out of their element in the glitzy highbrow world of life at this level but to the Elite Guard mechs who helped protect them, they were unbelievably delightful after the reign of Sentinel Prime.
When the Seeker swarm finally hit the city, the two had managed to go to the Jumble to look for friends. They wanted to help them get out of the carnage. That they had eluded the Guard to do so spoke of the chaos of the end times rather than the skill and dedication of the Guard.
When it was clear that Optimus had launched the AllSpark and would go after it, they regrouped at the burning Palace and looked around. Tracing the transponders of the two while the system was still working, they raced to the Jumble to rescue them. The smoke and falling debris were a horrendous threat as they threaded their way forward but they found Tagg and Kestrel running toward them through the hell of fire and smoke.
Grabbing their servos, gathering around them, they turned and ran for it, barely between all of them forcing their way free. Then it was the hardest time of all. They were trapped on Cybertron with the genitors of their only legal leader and the mop up was starting. They had to be protected if Optimus Prime was ever going to come back and rescue Cybertron from the enemy or even survive the blackmail threat Tagg and Kestrel's capture would entail.
They found surgeons loyal and true who disguised them. They worked together, a pair and their 'boys', keeping together. Working around the clock to make sure their charges were safe, the did what it took, moved often and survived. The potential consequences of Megatron getting custody of the two were unthinkable. They had taken an oath to the Prime to protect him and his family.
They did.
For nine million years.
It was an astonishing thing to consider. That they all came through it together was a testament to their quality and their skills. When Dai Atlas came with his Knights and the Circle to begin a resistance to reclaim their world, the framework was already there. It was built on the genius, integrity and skill of ten mechs from the Elite Guard of the Palace of the Primes.
They sat together enjoying the freedom to be who they were at last, taking the congratulations of their comrades in the city, intensely grateful that they had fulfilled their charge to the kind genitor-like mechs that had been their greatest secret all the long years of the Fall and Diaspora.
Prowl and Prime walked in, notified in the lobby of the Hospital Tower that the group had been seen going into Club Cybertron. As they passed the bar, the two paused scanning the room. The bots saw him first and arose almost as one, their habit of knowing everything before it happened once more giving them the advantage. They stood respectfully along with their friends and family as Prowl and Prime walked over to them.
"Prime," the leader, Shadow said nodding. "We are hopeful for word on Tagg and Kestrel."
"They are doing very well," Optimus said with a nod. "They have repairs ahead on joints and other things but they are alive and well thanks to you."
The relief among them was evident, then they looked at him. "We're glad," Shadow said with a smile.
"I wish there was some way to tell you in some small way the debt that I owe you for caring for my genitors. I don't know what to do or say that will express the enormity of my feelings and regard for all of you," Optimus said.
Prowl squeezed his servo and nodded. "What you did was beyond the call of duty. It was epic."
"We don't agree, sir. Respectfully," another bot said. "We did our duty. That it was for two of the nicest bots we ever met made it all the more agreeable. We knew you would come. We just had to protect them as best we could."
"That goes without saying. As a military mech, I am aware of what you have just said. You did your duty to the best of your ability, then you went further. I am now and always will be in your debt. There are no words momentous enough nor any deed sufficient to repay the debt that I owe you. My genitors are my foundation and you protected that until I could have it back. You will always have a place of honor among our people, our profession and my family."
They nodded. Shadow looked at them, then him. "Sir, we would like to know how we can continue to serve you. You have to understand. We have served four Primes, some of us. We did serve them to the best of our ability and their willingness to let us. Some of them were criminals in our estimation. You were the best. You were The One the Chronicles foretold. We can see that here and we could see it there when word finally came through the Resistance that you were laying the groundwork for retaking Cybertron. We want to continue serving you and your family because that is our mission. We are the Elite Guard of the Palace of the Primes. Tell us what you wish and we will do it."
Prime looked at them, then Prowl. For a moment, he gave it a lot of thought. Then he looked at them. "I would give you the charge of teaching the skills that kept you under the radar of the Decepticons all this time and helping us develop the talents needed to retake Cybertron. That is our ultimate long term goal, retaking our home world and bringing it here. We need your knowledge and abilities."
They nodded. "Consider it done."
"I would give you leave to relax and enjoy the city. I hope that you have homes now and opportunity to explore other options as well. You have been living rough a long time. I hope you take time to decompress," Prime said.
"We are," a mech said with a big grin. The civilians with them nodded as well. "We are making sure, Prime," one said.
"Good," Prime said with a grin of his own. "Elita and Jazz who brought you here manage that side of our operation. They will be the command you operate under."
"We will also provide security for you and your family," Shadow said. "It is our duty. Call upon us for any and all reasons. Our charge still stands, sir. We intend to honor it."
Prime nodded. "I will be honored to do so," he said extending his servo. He shook their servos, chatting for a moment with each, then turned with Prowl to leave. They walked to the hospital tower as the city was awakening, the sun peering over the horizon to signal another sunny day.
"That group is amazing," Prowl said as they entered the hospital.
"They are. I will never not owe them my spark," Prime said as they walked into the cafe to dine.
-0-A few floors upwards
"Hi."
A drowsy bot looked at him and nodded. "Hello."
"I'm Ratchet."
"I remember. You're the doctor."
"I am. You were recharging all night. How do you feel?"
"Awful."
"Its to be expected. You were through a lot. You will get better. I will help you."
"Where's Orion?" Tagg asked.
"He's eating breakfast. He will be back in a moment." Ratchet sat down, his optics watching as Kestrel began to emerge from recharge in the next berth. Gypsy was standing next to him holding his battered servo gently. "You do know you aren't on Cybertron, your boys are just fine and your son has a family?"
"I do for most of it. I am not very aware of the family."
"Well, I'll let him tell you. I just want you to know that when my old mech and I had our first sparkling, we named him after Optimus. Our first sparkling is called Orion."
Tagg looked at Ratchet a moment, then smiled slightly. "That's wonderful."
"Thanks. We are pretty in love with our Orion. He's hell on wheels sometimes but he's got a great spark." Ratchet tucked in a corner of the blanket over his patient. "We're really glad you are here."
"So are we. Not that we ever expected it. Our boys made sure we were safe. We never expected to see Orion again. It was a hard thing to think about," Tagg said glancing over at Kestrel. "Kes is really debilitated. I hope you can help him."
"We can help both of you. Nothing either of you have is too hard to fix. What I would like to do is also schedule you with the plastic surgeons. The sooner your features are restored, the better you will feel."
He nodded. "Kestrel is beautiful. He has great features. Orion gets his looks from Kes."
Ratchet nodded, then rose walking around the bed to watch as Kestrel came back online. The big mechanism looked at him a moment. "Where am I?"
"In the hospital at Autobot City. Your son's city," Ratchet said.
"Orion? Is he here? Where's Tagg?" he asked.
"In the next berth," Ratchet said nodding to the mech reaching across the space between them. Kes looked that way and gripped his servo, squeezing it. "Tagg, are you alright?"
He nodded. "And you, Kes?"
"I'm better," he said quietly.
"You will both be better shortly," Ratchet said firmly.
As he did, Prowl and Prime came through the door. Optimus paused, then knelt beside his Ada's berth. "Good morning, Ada," he said quietly. Then he burst into tears.
-0-TBC
2013 (3)