CHAPTER EIGHT
She had been drifting in dreams and, as usual, her dreams were odd, mismatched things akin to an LSD hallucination. A purple turtle swam at the bottom of a wishing well while something that looked like a grey rubix cube floated above it.
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She was just about to try to get the turtle out of the well using a bucket and a very big magnet when the grey cube began to talk to her.
"Easy, femme, you're safe."
Said femme glanced up at the cube. Of course she was safe! It was the turtle that was stuck in the well!
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"It's alright, we won't hurt you."
That was when everything-the turtle, the well, her bucket and oversized magnet, the cube—began to fade and she remembered the even WEIRDER dream she had had before, the one where she had somehow ended up in the Transformers universe with a robot body. Now THAT had been one hum-dinger of a dream! And so life-like too!
"Femme…."
"Femme?"
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Slowly, groggily, she opened her eyes only to see a metal-beamed ceiling above her. `Waitaminute…..` Her ceiling was plain white plaster, not metal.
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"Ah, you're awake."
"Easy, femme, you're safe."
She turned her head to see Optimus Prime and Ratchet pretty much hovering beside her. `Okay,` she rationalized. `I'm still dreaming.`
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Bringing up an metal arm to cover her face, she groaned. "You guys are beginning to sound like broken records, you know that?"
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Silence…..then; "Forgive us, we just don't want you to be afraid."
"I'm annoyed, not afraid." She countered, rolling her eyes, though they couldn't tell with her arm over them. "And I'm annoyed because I'm still stuck in this stupid dream."
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Dream Ratchet actually growled in frustration. "How many times must you be told you are NOT dreaming!"
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Optimus put a restraining hand on the medics shoulder. "And why do you believe that you are dreaming?" he asked calmly.
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"Because there's NO way I could possibly be in a room with Ratchet and Optimus with an Autobot body of my own."
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"'None-the-less," Optimus said calmly in his rolling baritone. "that is where you are and that is who WE are." The Great Leader paused, weighing his options. "You know our names." He said finally, keeping his voice quiet. "May we know yours?"
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She simply looked at them for a time, then shrugged deciding that, as this was a dream, their knowing her name couldn't hurt her any.
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"Cassie. My name's Cassie."
Both Autobots looked slightly surprised and Ratchet mumbled, almost to himself; "That's not a Cybertronian name….."
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The femme scowled at him though the two Autobots found it more endearing than intimidating.
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"That's because I'M not a Cybertronian!"
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"It is physically impossible for a human being to turn into an Autobot." Ratchet said decidedly, his eyes both worried, sympathetic and even frustrated.
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"I know it is." Was her simple answer. "That's how I know this is a dream."
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Ratchet resisted the urge to bury his face in his servos.
"There is a way for you to prove to us that you were not born a Cybertronian." Optimus finally ventured, deciding to shelve the whole 'dream' issue since the argument seemed to be completely circular and could be dealt with later.
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"Oh really?" the femmes voice was sarcastic as she propped herself up on her elbows to observe them.
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Ratchet took a slightly anxious step towards her. "Carefully, now." His green eyes then switched from worried to stern disapproval. "And show some more respect to your Prime, femme, or you'll be spending some time in the brig!"
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Optimus knew that Ratchet wouldn't REALLY do that to the femme, not now at least, and 'Cassie' seemed to know it too because she didn't look the least bit concerned…..of course, that could also be because she believed the whole situation to be a dream.
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The Autobot leader pressed his proposition forward. "There is something Ratchet can do that is called a memory probe. Basically, it allows us to view your entire life from your eyes."
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Now she looked a little stunned and blinked at them. "Everything? You mean, like EVERYTHING everything?"
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"From the moment you first opened your optics till now." Ratchet confirmed, giving a serious nod.
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The femmes jaw dropped. "Wow…..talk about invasive."
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"It is a tactic we are hesitant to use," Optimus said with sincerity. "But there is no other way that we know of to prove what you believe is fact."
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"Uh-huh." She said lowly, obviously not liking the idea. "And what are the other options?"
"You stay here in observation," Ratchet told her. "until I can discover what is causing this delusion." The medic didn't add that he had tried to find out what was wrong with her literally over fifty (50) times.
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"Or," Cassie added her two cents worth. "I could wait until I wake up."
"Let us pretend that that is not an option." Optimus said gently.
"Is there any way I can…..er…..filter stuff I don't want you to see?"
Cassie finally asked.
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"Unfortunately, no." Optimus answered.
Cassie sighed, her metal shoulders drooping. "Fine, let's do this before I lose my nerve."
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That was how she found herself hooked up to quite a few wires that linked her to both Optimus and Ratchet.
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The two mechs stood infront of her, apparently not at all bothered that they were attached to her by the coils of metal.
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"It's alright, femme." Ratchet soothed even though she obviously wasn't all that concerned. "For you it will be just like slipping into recharge; a dream."
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She nodded carefully so as to not dislodge any of the wires. "Let's just get on with it."
Ratchet started the process.
"Initiating memory probe now….."
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END OF CHAPTER
'Cause I'm just evil like that. Mwa ha ha ha ha.
Tee hee.
VOCABULARY:
INITIATING: starting
INVASIVE: to break on in, intrude upon