A/N: So I have another story in the works! It's fun! I hope someday to share it, but since I have a policy of focusing on one story at a time these days, it will be a while until we see it. You will see a sneak peak into it later in this one, however. :D So look forward to that! I wrote the first chapter in bits as rewards for finishing a chapter across a few different days. I'm over 10 chapters ahead of what's posted in terms of what I have written now. I have quite the build up, so I felt like taking some time to write something else was ok when I had the other idea pestering my brain. It actually pestered my brain because of one of the chapters. It was like "this" and then was like "what would 'this' actually look like?" XD
I do still have little side stories to this one I want to write as well. I gotta decide how I wanna do those. Hmm.
Chapter 36: More Medbay Chaos
Ratchet, Optimus, Elita, Ultra Magnus, Jazz, Ironhide, and Prowl all met in the conference room of medbay the next day. Shadebreaker would have been included, but she was still lying unconscious on a bed in the main room under Wheeljack's watch.
They were meeting to discuss the newest Decepticon defectors—the ones still recharging in the high security med-room they'd been escorted to after their scans. Among other things.
"Thank you all for coming at such an early hour," Optimus said genuinely.
"Hmm," Ratchet hummed drowsily as Jazz grumbled slightly as well.
Optimus halfway smiled at the two non-morning bots.
"You know, Ratchet," Ironhide said, looking amused. "Shadebreaker's often up with the dawn."
"Bah! She can have her mornings," Ratchet grouched, fingering the cube of energon in front of him.
"Are you not the one who wished to get this out of the way?" Prowl asked.
"Only because there is so much to take care of," Ratchet replied with a raised optic ridge. "Or do you offer your services as chief medic for the day?"
"I do not think it would go well," Prowl said logically, shifting a doorwing in a conceding motion. "I have neither the training nor the experience you do in the med field."
"Mhm," Ratchet hummed and then downed some of his energon.
"As you know," Optimus said, moving on to the topic of the meeting at hand. "We have a couple new Decepticon defectors on base. Who did remarkably well yesterday in helping Ratchet manage the chaos of medbay."
Ironhide grunted begrudgingly. "They did step up when help was needed without hesitation," he admitted.
"Breakdown was surprisingly kind and respectful when he helped me decontaminate my armor while waiting for my turn with the showers," Ultra Magnus reluctantly admitted.
"You did remarkably well to let him help you," Ratchet praised in turn, looking at the mech with some gratefulness. Usually the mech would only ever allow him to handle his medcare—due to his secret. To let a freshly defected Decepticon assist him in decontamination was massively impressive for the mech.
Ultra Magnus shifted slightly uncomfortably. Then he intercommed Ratchet something and the medic nodded in understanding.
"They brought us the Forge of Solus Prime upon arriving," Elita said, putting her information on the table. "And said they have a number of other items they pilfered that they are willing to share with us. I will also put in that Knock Out didn't even try to do anything to any of the patients yesterday. Nothing in his manner indicated that he even considered it."
"There is still a possibility they are trying to lure us into a false sense of security," Prowl said practically. "However, it does thus far appear as though they are sincere in their wish to leave the Decepticons and join us."
"There is one matter we need to discuss regarding them," Optimus said heavily. "When speaking with me yesterday, Knock Out admitted that he has been operating as a medic without a legal license. Which would also mean Breakdown's is not entirely legal either."
"Aw mech," Ironhide said, sounding sympathetic for him.
Ratchet heaved a sigh, thinking about Wheeljack—stuck in the medcaste when he had wanted to be an inventor and had only gotten that freedom with the war. That explained his attitude last night.
"Why?" Ultra Magnus asked, sounding a bit baffled.
"He wasn't medcaste before the war," Elita explained. "He was a servant in a high caste bot's home."
The bots all shared looks, understanding in their optics. Depending on what bot he had served, he may well have been treated as no more than a slave. It was many of those types that had flocked to Megatron's promise of freedom.
"He studied medical texts in secret and when the war broke out, he didn't believe the Autobots, who he'd been led to believe meant to uphold the caste system, would allow him to practice," Optimus continued. "So he went to the Decepticons, who didn't care about the legality of his work, just his skills and knowledge."
"And they didn't care if a few died at first while he got the hands on experience," Elita added drily.
Ratchet flinched at that.
"Slag," Jazz said at that.
"Does it really matter if he never got his license before the war?" Ironhide asked. "We have several medics among our ranks who never got their licenses back then. A great number of our ranks have switched careers since the war began, outside of their combat responsibilities."
"Those newer medics trained under proper medics," Ratchet pointed out. "Some of them I trained myself, if you recall."
"So, couldn't you do the same for Knock Out?" Jazz asked. He consulted the datapad in front of him. "Help him get his official license?"
"If he wants it, sure," Ratchet said doubtfully. "The way he was talking last night, it seemed like he was ready to give up the med field."
"It is likely he believes in coming to us, the side he has believed to be for the caste system, that we will disallow him to pursue continuing on as a medic," Prowl said logically.
"Are we?" Ratchet asked. "I would be willing to help him." He looked around the table to see thoughtful expressions looking at each other.
"We still do not know if they are genuine," Ironhide gruffed. "But I am inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise."
"They will be under probation for some time," Prowl said. "And, I suspect they will be medbay bound for a time when Ratchet repairs their spark casing."
"Assuming they let me," Ratchet said, a bit gruffly. "They ought to, but we've encountered defectors before that refused the operation."
"We will see soon," Optimus said, making a calming motion toward the medic. "All in favor of giving the two mechs a chance, raise your hand."
Every bot at the table raised their hand, though Ultra Magnus had a clear reluctant look on his face.
"You vote for, yet you seem reluctant, Mags," Ratchet observed.
"They're still Decepticons, this could be a deception," he said simply. "But it is right that we give them a chance. Just as we gave Drift one. And as we gave Rodimus one when he returned to us from the Decepticons many, many eons ago."
"Whatever happened to that mech, anyways?" Ironhide asked. "Last I knew, he was serving under your command."
"He's leading a contingent of bots in the Zelta Quadrant right now," Ultra Magnus replied. "Chasing down a lead on Grimlock."
"Ah," Ironhide said in understanding.
"Very well," Optimus said. "We will give them a chance here, then. And Ratchet will offer Knock Out proper channels to pursue a continuation in the med field."
The Prime and Ratchet shared a nod with each other, both satisfied with this decision.
"Now, there are two more items on the docket," Optimus said with a heavy sigh. "Solarcharge. And this new mech he brought here, Shadowstreaker. Prowl?"
"The issue of Solarcharge is as follows," Prowl said, lifting his datapad. "Multiple counts of stalking behavior towards Shadebreaker, as well as lying and manipulative behavior towards multiple officers, including Optimus himself. While these are not physically harmful crimes, they are still serious given our values and the damage they do to a bot's emotional and mental wellbeing. Especially when asked to stop and those requests are consistently ignored."
"I can confirm it has affected Shadebreaker in a very negative way," Ratchet said with a heaviness in his tone. "Part of her had hoped they could work through their differences, but she cannot deal with his lying and manipulating. She comes to medbay after interacting with him sometimes and just cries. And the stalking has made her feel unsafe, despite her efforts of being understanding about it and her increased ability to defend herself."
"Poor femme," Ironhide said sadly.
"We also have reason to believe he put Shadebreaker in intentional danger when dealing with Unicron," Prowl said, continuing with the charges. "The Shards respond to bots of the lineage of the bots who they were originally meant to be controlled by. He could have traded Shards with Shadebreaker so that she would not have been so close to Megatron when it was over and she was weakened."
"Do we know this for certain?" Ultra Magnus asked carefully.
"We had the twins test it in secret," Prowl said. "But Solarcharge was insistent that Shadebreaker's Shard would not respond to him."
Ironhide scoffed. "Sticking to his story, huh?" He shook his helm, likely remembering his ploy from before her trip into the past.
"But what does he gain by putting his own sister at risk?" Jazz frowned.
"It is possible he promised her to Megatron in return for his cooperation," Elita said meaningfully.
A silence fell over the bots as they all took that in.
"He- his own sister?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"It was their father who gave her over to Shockwave to begin with," Ratchet said drily. "Sometimes the apple doesn't fall far, as the humans say."
"Indeed," Prowl said grimly. He looked at the datapad again. "This is the most egregious of his crimes, but I am concerned about all of them. He does not seem to care that his lies and manipulation hurt those around him. As well as seems willing to put even someone he claims to care about at great risk to accomplish his goals. Given how prone he is to lying and manipulating, why did he not take efforts to go back on his word to Megatron? Is he secretly working with him? Have we been sheltering a Decepticon spy? Just what are his goals? When put together, his actions all point to him having some ulterior motive in regards to Shadebreaker that we have yet to pinpoint. What is it?"
The room was silent again as everyone considered the possibilities with a heavy air. No one had any nice conclusions.
Then Prowl's doorwings shot up as security hailed them all on intercom.
"Slaggit," Ratchet cursed for them all as Prowl and Ironhide bolted out the door, followed closely behind by the others.
Solarcharge woke that morning to find the sun filtering through his window.
"Slag," he grumbled, rolling over.
He'd meant to be up sooner than this. Before other bots had a chance to be awake and stop him. Before they had a chance to analyze the fact Shadebreaker was in a little bit of danger from Megatron and misconstrue that as her being in danger from him. They were so suspicious of him as it was.
He'd only meant Megatron to separate her from the bots, where he could more easily slip her away from the war with less of a fight. He would've pretended to be saving her—he would've been saving her. But he would have taken her to his home. Away from the dangers of war. Safe.
He made himself roll off the bed and got some warnings from his system that he required energon. Growling in annoyance at this setback, he took a cube from subspace and downed it. Fragging dark-en exposure making his energon intake need to be higher than usual. Every cycle.
Then, five minutes later, he left his room, moving at his usual pace to avoid suspicion, but his wings shifted slightly to pick signs of any bots nearby. He made his way to the main room without running into anyone and then peaked in through the glass in the door.
He saw Drift still on the bed where he'd initially been laid, except no longer restrained and now he laid on his side, curled in a fetal position as Wheeljack stood next to him and spoke softly.
His optics moved from them across the room to where he'd last seen Shadebreaker. She was still there, sleeping still. The main difference was that her armor had been restored to her frame, nice and clean. It still needed polishing, but it at least was no longer contaminated. The IV was still there as well, in case her frame didn't wake up before it needed more fuel.
He paused at that. She still needed medcare. Did he really take her now? Yes. He had access to quality medcare himself. If nothing else, he could always slip into another reality and get another Autobot medic to help him who wouldn't be able to report anything to these bots. She'd be receptive to an Autobot medic.
In time, she would understand why he was doing this and accept his actions.
He entered the room and nodded a greeting to Wheeljack as the mech looked over to him. He moved casually over to Shadebreaker's side and looked down at her. He placed a hand on her helm gently, optics softening on her face as she moved a touch at his energy.
"She's going to be alright," Wheeljack assured him, having moved closer, watching him warily. He was standing a small distance away, optics darting briefly to his hand before watching his face.
"I know," Solarcharge said simply as the sensors in his fingertips took in information. It would be safe to move her.
"What are you doing?" Wheeljack asked as he began unhooking the IV.
"Taking her somewhere safe," Solarcharge replied.
"She's safe here," Wheeljack said, a growl entering his tone and the sound of a weapon powering up alerted Solarcharge to a weapon being drawn on him.
Solarcharge looked at Wheeljack seriously. "Really? You have three Decepticons running around as of yesterday."
"Ex-Decepticons," Wheeljack corrected, leveling the weapon at his spark. "Plenty of Autobots to watch out for her. Not to mention she's no weakling. And last I checked, you were the one who brought Megatron on base."
Solarcharge narrowed his optics at him. "I didn't have a choice," he said, a dangerous note entering his tone. "Now, I suggest you lower your weapon before you get hurt."
"No," Wheeljack said. "I suggest you leave before you get hurt."
Solarcharge sighed heavily. "I really didn't want to have to do this," he said.
He ducked, dodging the shot Wheeljack fired upon seeing movement, and then slammed the back of his forearm against Wheeljack's chassis, sending the mech into the air a bit. The weapon the mech had fired fell uselessly from his hand from the force of the blow and then Solarcharge followed up by grabbing the mech's helm and holding him still to knee him in the gut.
"Ack!" Wheeljack coughed up life-en and fell to his knees as Solarcharge backed up some. He moved, however, to make another move.
Solarcharge snarled at his determination and delivered a kick to the mech's side, sending him flying across the room and into the back of the couch across the way.
"No one is keeping me from taking my sister home," Solarcharge said, pointing at the floor. "Not this time."
He turned back to Shadebreaker only to find Drift standing between her and him. He narrowed his optics, surprised the mech had been able to get there so quickly despite the obvious poor condition he was in.
There was something not quite right in Drift's optics as he stared at Solarcharge. Maybe it was the red bleeding into the edges. Maybe it was the half-crazed look. Solarcharge wasn't sure. But he knew the mech was barely standing up, even as he held a great sword that sparkled with energy with its point aimed directly at his spark.
"You will not lay a hand on her," Drift's voice was deadly calm. It was clear he meant just as much business as Solarcharge did.
"You really think you can stop me?" Solarcharge asked. "You may wield a Great Sword from the Circle of Light, Drift, but you can barely stand. Getting through you will be nothing."
"You sure you want to test that theory?" Drift asked, a little more red bleeding into his optics.
The hallway door leading to the conference room opened then and Prowl burst through with Ironhide right behind him, weapons pointed directly at Solarcharge.
"STAND DOWN, SOLARCHARGE!" Prowl roared.
Shadebreaker shifted, disturbed by the volume, yet didn't wake by some chance—likely lingering sedatives. A groan made it past her lips, though. She might wake if too much more noise happened.
Ultra Magnus and Optimus came in next and a moment later Solarcharge was surrounded.
"You are outnumbered, Solarcharge," Optimus said. "Surrender and we will hear you out."
Solarcharge schooled his expression as he considered his options. He might've been able to take Drift. He might've even been able to take Drift and Prowl. But add the three larger mechs? With one of them being the Prime? And one Ironhide, who had already given him a beating on the training ground once?
"This isn't over," he said in a dangerous tone.
Before the bots could move quickly enough to stop him, he slipped through a portal beneath his pedes to escape.
Prowl watched Solarcharge disappear with frustration in his spark. He had still been giving the mech too much benefit of the doubt. And it had been to the almost detriment of a currently vulnerable member of their community.
He clenched his fist and raged at himself for a moment before he felt Ironhide's hand on his shoulder.
"Don't beat yourself up," Ironhide said gently. "We all gave him too much benefit of the doubt after all his help. And we had no solid reason to be sure until we'd talked everything out and realized we were all seeing the same things."
Prowl sighed. "You are correct," he said. "I should have known better, but I cannot undo it."
He looked around. Ratchet had entered from another door while they'd been dealing with Solarcharge and he was at Wheeljack's side, helping him out of the wreckage of the couch. Ultra Magnus was moving toward them in order to help.
Optimus was helping Drift back to his bed after the mech had halfway collapsed against Shadebreaker's bed.
"Hmm-mmm," Shadebreaker's groan brought his attention to her, his doorwings shifting. "Wha- what happened?" She placed a hand on her helm.
Prowl and Ironhide both moved to her side and Ironhide helped her sit up as she struggled to do so.
"Solarcharge just tried to kidnap you," Prowl told her as he gently wrapped the site where her IV had been in a bandage. "Wheeljack tried to stop him and he got pretty damaged. Drift was able to stall him long enough for the rest of us to get here. He fled, however."
"Oh," Shadebreaker said, clearly not expecting that kind of answer. "I meant, why does my helm hurt? But that would explain why I'm awake when I feel like I should keep sleeping." She rubbed her helm slightly, looking around. Then she sighed.
"I am sorry," Prowl said, as he affixed the end of the bandage and lowered his hands. "I should have arrested him this morning when I had suspicions about his intentions. I had no solid proof, however, just a suspicion because of how close you came to Megatron dealing with Unicron."
"Hmm," Shadebreaker hummed, looking only semi-present. "It's not your fault, Prowl. I had thought about trying again to get him to take my Shard when I saw I would be close to Megatron through it, like trade or something. But I didn't. I trusted it would work out, because Drift would be close by. I didn't know Drift would be extra affected by the dark-en and need saving himself."
"Is that what happened?" Ironhide asked gently, rubbing Shadebreaker's shoulder where he was still supporting her in a half hug.
Shadebreaker nodded. "Hmm," she hummed affirmatively as she leaned against him lightly, prompting him to sit on the edge of her bed. Her systems were clearly trying to bring her back into recharge. "Ah dunno tha' Ah woulda trusted him ta save Drift anyway. So…"
"Are you awake enough to drink some energon?" Prowl asked gently at an intercom from Ratchet.
"Ah ca' try," Shadebreaker replied sleepily, leaning against Ironhide a bit more now that the mech was settled.
Prowl nodded and slipped away to get a medgrade from the cabinet as Ironhide rubbed her shoulder some more. He looked over to the doorway to see Chromia looking sleepily into the room with narrowed optics. He shifted a doorwing and she moved to meet him at the counter.
"What the slag happened in here?" She asked blearily, looking at the destroyed couch and then at Wheeljack as Ratchet tended to him.
Prowl shifted a wing as he retrieved a cube from the upper cabinet that he could reach. He scanned it to make sure it was med grade, then passed it to Chromia and then got another down for Shadebreaker. He was silent as he did so, not sure if he should tell her right away, knowing her propensity for rage. Especially when it came to mechs doing despicable things.
And what Solarcharge had done was despicable. Whether he meant to take her to Megatron or to his own base. It was hard to know. But he had not only tried to kidnap Shadebreaker, but he had violated the sanctuary of medbay.
"We will need to adjust our shielding to prevent Solarcharge from returning," he said simply.
"Oh slag," Chromia said as they made their way back to where Shadebreaker and Ironhide were waiting.
Ironhide nudged Shadebreaker when Prowl reapproached. "Femme, Prowl's got your energon."
"Hmm," Shadebreaker made a grumpy noise. "'M tired."
"I know, but your system needs sustenance and Solarcharge removed your IV," Ironhide said gently. "Ratchet needs to tend to Wheeljack right now."
"Wasn'..." Shadebreaker paused, lifting a hand slowly toward the proffered cube. "Hmm…wasn' Knock Out here now?"
"He's gonna need some supervision before he can really practice on his own for a while," Ironhide said, smiling ruefully.
"Hmm," Shadebreaker said, holding the cube, but not making to drink it.
"Geez, fembot, you're more out of it than I am," Chromia said, mildly amused, but mostly concerned.
"I believe she still has some sedatives in her system," Prowl said, frowning as he watched Ironhide help guide her in drinking some energon. "The scuffle with Solarcharge caused her system to wake her up."
"An' Ah over di' it on th' portals," Shadebreaker said. "On top of th' dark-en exposure. Th' exposure lowered th' numbah Ah coul' handle."
"Huh-uh," Ironhide said, nudging the cube to her lips. "Drink your energon, femme."
Shadebreaker obediently let him help her drink the cube, falling silent.
"Poor femme," Chromia said sympathetically. She sat on the foot of the bed and rubbed her pede gently through the blankets.
There was a shout from across the way and Prowl looked quickly toward Drift and Optimus in alarm to see the mech fighting the Prime as he tried to hold his hands away from his own arms. His doorwings shot up in alarm and moved to head over to help.
Chromia followed and Prowl barely glanced at her when she moved with him to flank Drift as the mech tried in vain to pull away from the Prime.
"Drift," Optimus said. "Peace. Calm. I'm trying to help you."
Drift merely growled in response and suddenly, without warning, bit down onto Optimus's fingers. Hard enough to draw life-en—which wasn't too hard given the mech had sharp denta, leftover from his Decepticon days.
Prowl saw Optimus flinch, but he didn't cry out or flinch away, only looked sad as tears started rolling down Drift's cheeks.
.:You need to restrain him and I will sedate him:. Prowl intercommed Optimus as he and Chromia moved in very slowly from behind Drift, opposite sides.
Optimus didn't reply, but he pulled Drift toward himself. "Easy, Drift," he said gently. "You're safe here. You will get through this. There's no need to fight me. Remember?"
Drift squirmed and fought Optimus harder, sinking his denta in deeper as he got pulled closer to the mech and closing his optics.
Optimus wrapped his other arm—the one not trapped by a bitten hand—around the white mech once he had him close enough. He held him against him securely, pinning his arms. He looked up at Prowl and nodded.
Prowl nodded back and moved in quickly. He administered sedatives as efficiently as possible, forcing himself not to think about it.
Drift released Optimus's hand to cry out at the injection and squirmed harder for a moment before slowly going limp.
Once the mech was completely limp in his arms, Optimus sighed, relaxing his hold and then shifting to lift him into his arms and transfer him back onto his bed.
"What the frag was that?" Chromia asked.
"Dark-en withdrawals," Optimus said grimly, resting his uninjured hand on Drift's forehead. "He was hit with a wave shortly after I got him over here and was trying to gauge his optics out. The more I prevented him, the more he fought me."
"Slag," Chromia said, flinching. She paused, looking like she was remembering something, then she flinched again. "Slag."
Optimus sighed heavily, clearly feeling strong sympathy for the mech. He looked up as Ratchet approached and ran a scan on Drift.
Ratchet heaved a sigh, laying a hand on the white mech's shoulder. "I'll get some fresh painkillers in him shortly," he said. "Hopefully he will be calmer when he wakes and we can get some energon in him."
"Hopefully," Prowl said doubtfully, eyeing the unconscious mech warily. He doubted the mech would leave an IV alone in his state.
Ratchet turned to Optimus and waved for him to show him his hand. "Let's have a look at your hand."
Optimus obligingly extended his bitten hand toward the medic. "How's Wheeljack?"
"He'll live," Ratchet replied gruffly as he examined the wound—it looked a bit mangled, but not as bad as it could've been. "He's got a cracked support strut in his chest and the strut in his right bicep is snapped in two while his left arm and leg both have fractures from the impact with the couch. His tank is rather bruised as well, but luckily not damaged enough to need surgery. I've patched most of that up, but his chest fracture will need surgery if it doesn't heal with the nannites on their own."
"Primus," Chromia flinched. "He really wanted to take her, huh?"
"It would seem so," Prowl said, glancing back over at Ironhide and Shadebreaker.
Shadebreaker had her face buried on Ironhide's shoulder as the mech rubbed her helm soothingly, whispering to her. Her cube of energon was in his free hand now, not quite completed.
The door to the hallway opened to reveal Shadowstreaker this time and he paused, taking in the scene before him. Knock Out peaked out from behind him, having clearly woken up now as well.
"It appears we missed a party," Shadowstreaker said in a tone that made it clear he meant "party" as in "fight" and he was frowning.
"Why's the couch all busted?" Knock Out asked, pointing at it.
Prowl sighed slightly, wondering how many times he was going to have to explain what had happened.
"You miss all the fun when you sleep in," Chromia quipped, crossing her arms and cocking her hip out to the side as she halfway glared at the two mechs distrustfully.
Shadowstreaker raised an optic ridge at her, but said nothing as he moved further into the room. He headed toward the energon cabinet.
Knock Out entered as well, followed by Breakdown, who must have been hidden by Shadowstreaker's frame. The two mechs glanced around before following Shadowstreaker to the energon and leaning against the counter to survey the damage Solarcharge had left in his wake.
Prowl looked back at Optimus, a question in his expression. They had not reached the topic of Shadowstreaker when they'd had to leave the meeting to deal with Solarcharge.
Optimus returned the look with one that told him to be patient. They did not really know anything about the mech yet and had no real reason to kick him off base besides a dubious connection to Solarcharge.
"I must go handle the security update," Prowl said after a moment. "But I will return afterward to finish our meeting."
Optimus nodded to acknowledge his words.
Prowl returned the nod and then nodded to Ratchet and Chromia before heading for the door. He was aware of the mechs consuming their breakfast watching him leave, but he heeded them no mind.
"Seriously, though," he heard Knock Out say conversationally. "What's happened to the couch?"
"I got here at the same time you did," Shadowstreaker replied smoothly, sounding calm, yet mildly perplexed.
"Name…hmm… Age?" Ratchet asked Shadowstreaker a short bit later. He had to go through the same scans with him as Knock Out and Breakdown in case he stayed. It was as good of a chance to try for some information as any.
Shadowstreaker named a number that was smaller than he expected. A great deal smaller. Astronomically so, in fact.
Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "That's hardly older than a newly upgraded second frame sparkling, mech," he said drily.
Shadowstreaker shrugged. "It's complicated," he said.
"Try me," Ratchet said, tapping the back of his datapad impatiently.
"I spent a chunk of time as a human," Shadowstreaker said.
"Don't tell me Shockwave changed you," Ratchet said, narrowing his optics. He almost dreaded telling Shadebreaker if that was the case.
"No," Shadowstreaker said, raising an optic ridge and tilting his helm. A wing shifted in confusion. "My…mother helped me return to my Cybertronian form after I nearly died in a car crash."
"Ah," Ratchet said as if that made any sense at all. Return was a word that stuck out, though. Return like it seemed Shadebreaker had been returned to Cybertronian.
"You don't believe me," Shadowstreaker said, looking slightly amused.
"I wouldn't say that," he said. "But I have only known one case of what you speak of and it was only possible due to a unique set of circumstances."
"Ah, well, I share those circumstances, most likely. I was originally Cybertronian," Shadowstreaker explained. "Until my uncle took me from my parents in order to hide me away as a human from a threat he thought was too great for them to protect me from. He did the same with his daughter."
"Hmm," Ratchet hummed thoughtfully, tapping the back of his datapad again. "And just who is your uncle?"
Shadowstreaker paused, looking at him for a long moment. "I believe you've heard his name more than once recently."
Ratchet narrowed his optics again. "You're not talking about Vector Prime?"
Shadowstreaker nodded. "He hid us in separate realities," he said. "I don't think it was his intention, but it's what happened. I do not believe Shadebreaker would even know we know each other. I had no memories of my sparklinghood, despite having been old enough for my first memories, until my parents unblocked those memories for me."
"Hmm," Ratchet hummed. "What about physical and mental age?" He looked at his datapad, thinking about how he charted Shadebreaker. "The age medical scans would come up saying you are."
Shadowstreaker named a new number that put him around the same age range as Arcee and Bumblebee. Of a younger age group than he—Ratchet—was in, but not nearly as young as the first number would've denoted.
"Why didn't you lead with that one?" Ratchet asked gruffly as he marked it.
Shadowstreaker shrugged. "It was the easiest way I could think to broach the subject," he said. "I understand you are all probably hesitant to trust me given Solarcharge brought me here and he's a lying afthole."
Ratchet let out a small scoff at that. "That's putting it mildly," he said drily.
"I wanted to start out by laying transparency on the table," Shadowstreaker said. "Metaphorically speaking. The number I gave you is my literal age, so it wasn't really a lie, just something that would flag as unusual."
Ratchet sighed a bit at that. "I can understand that," he said softly. "Regardless, I can tell you that some will still be slow to trust you."
Shadowstreaker nodded in understanding. "Maybe more so, once they hear who my father is."
Ratchet raised an optic ridge at that. "Oh?" He wasn't sure any mech could be worse than Vector at this point, but most bots thought Vector was a good guy, since most didn't know of his actions regarding Shadebreaker.
"Megatronus Prime," Shadowstreaker said simply.
Ratchet stared at him, mouth slightly ajar for a moment before he remembered to close it.
"Yes, that Megatronus Prime," Shadowstreaker looked amused by his reaction. "He's reformed, though. Nothing like the legend. That was mostly Unicron's fault. He's actually a really chill guy."
"And who is your mother?" Ratchet asked almost cautiously after he recovered from the shock. He had his doubts about the story of Megatronus being…reformed, but he had no way of knowing otherwise.
"Solus Prime," Shadowstreaker said, optics sparkling in amusement as Ratchet appeared stunned once again.
Ratchet blinked rapidly five times in succession. "Wait," he said, shaking his helm as the facts started to add up. "If Vector is your uncle, that means your parents are…"
"Shadebreaker's aunt and uncle, yes," Shadowstreaker nodded. "And she and I are cousins. I would've come a lot sooner, but…we've been quite restricted. My parents are in a kind of forced retirement. And I was…well, I stayed with them for a long time after getting my Cybertronian body. I had to heal, after all. As well as learn how to be Cybertronian and catch up on everything. It was also nice just to get some time with them, after growing up without them, when they clearly regretted my doing so."
"Hmm," Ratchet hummed thoughtfully, tapping the back of his datapad with a digit once more. "By chance do you have any prior knowledge of Cybertronian things from before your…transformation?"
Shadowstreaker frowned in confusion. "No, that was part of why I spent so much time with my parents, to learn about Cybertronian customs and culture," he said. He paused and raised an optic ridge. "Should I?"
Ratchet shook his helm. "Nevermind, don't worry about it." He said. "We should move on with the exam."
Shadowstreaker considered him for a long moment, as if debating whether to press him about it. Then he shrugged slightly and answered all of Ratchet's medical questions with ease.
Ratchet was a little disappointed the mech didn't have any problem with medications being inefficient. If he had, it might've provided some answers for why Shadebreaker had some trouble with painkillers. But, ultimately, it was better that Shadowstreaker did not suffer from it as well. It would make his care simpler.
The rest of the exam went smoothly. The life-en draw had no problems and scans went smoothly. Ratchet would know if they would collaborate with Shadowstreaker's story before they picked the meeting back up—he had talked Prowl into holding it after he got the results back from all of it.
"Alright," Ratchet said, logging the results of the optic tests. "I'll let you know if the scans or life-en tests come up with anything to be concerned about. Otherwise you seem to be the spitting image of a healthy triple changer."
Shadowstreaker nodded. "Thank you, Ratchet," he said.
"You are welcome," Ratchet said as he waved for him to follow him back out of the room. "I will say I am curious how you managed to come back without a trace of dark-en on you when everyone else got covered in the stuff."
"Ah," Shadowstreaker said. "That would be my outlier ability at play."
"Oh, of course," Ratchet said sarcastically, rolling his optics.
Shadowstreaker chuckled lightly. "I have a small personal shield," he said. "It not only helps protect me from damage, to a degree, it also functions as a personal shield against contaminants such as dirt, grime and, conveniently, dark-en. It can be taken down with enough hits, but I didn't get hit enough down there."
"Ah," Ratchet said, cause he couldn't think of anything else to say. Then he did. "You said it protects you to a degree?"
"Yes," Shadowstreaker said. "I can still get damaged while it is active, it just takes more force with which to do so."
"I see," Ratchet said. He was quiet as he considered something for a long moment. "Are you planning on staying here? Or did you wish to go back to your parents?"
"If you would have me, I would stay," Shadowstreaker said. "As much as my parents and I love each other, they wish for me to be part of the world and make friends. It…would be nice to visit them if possible, from time to time."
"Hmm," Ratchet hummed. "That might be a question for Shadebreaker. Unless you want to hunt down Solarcharge."
"Not particularly," Shadowstreaker replied.
"Very well," Ratchet said as they re-entered the main room of medbay. "We will discuss quarters for you. Usually, new bots bunk with someone for a while before getting their own quarters. Drift might be a good option if he wasn't going to be in medbay for the immediate future, so we'll have to figure out who will be willing to room with you for a couple weeks. In the meantime, you'll stay here in medbay. Probably the room you had last night."
Shadowstreaker nodded. "I understand," he said.
Ratchet nodded back and then moved away to check on his patients. Shadebreaker was asleep right now, but Chromia was hunched over a bucket, having clearly purged her breakfast, with Ironhide rubbing her back soothingly. Clearly she had some kind of virus his scans yesterday had not picked up. Or some kind of extra reaction to the dark-en like Drift.
"Frag off, Ratchet," Chromia growled when he approached.
"'Mia," Ironhide chided gently, wiping her mouth. "He needs to check on you, femme. You just purged your breakfast and you've been worse off than most of us. We need to make sure you're ok."
Chromia growled, but let Ironhide pull her close and rub her arms soothingly. The black mech looked over her shoulder at Ratchet and motioned him lightly with his helm over.
Ratchet moved slowly so as not to startle Chromia or risk her feeling like he was rushing her. He took a scanner out and ran it over her, frowning at the results. "Fever, not terrible, but it's definitely worse than it was before," he said. He reached a hand out to double check her pulse and Chromia pulled her arm away.
"Don't touch me," Chromia growled, but there was more pain in her voice than anger.
"Chromia, 'Mia," Ironhide said sadly, tightening his hold as she pressed into him as if seeking safety. "Ratchet's not going to hurt you, you know that." He rubbed her arms.
"Medics always hurt me," Chromia growled back.
Both mechs paused and then shared a look with each other.
"'Mia," Ironhide said. "That's the dark-en exposure talking. You know that's not true. Ratchet would never hurt you. He's never hurt you before."
Chromia growled and shrank more into his arms, frame shaking.
Ironhide sighed, resting his chin on top of her helm. "Aw, femme," he said sadly. "Think about it, though. Has he hurt any of the others since we got back?"
Chromia shook her helm.
"So why would he hurt you?" Ironhide asked.
"Because that's what medics do," Chromia said. "They hurt me, even if they don't hurt others."
Ironhide frowned, as did Ratchet.
"Chromia," Ratchet said gently. "When have I ever hurt you?"
Chromia paused, peeking out at him with a narrowed optic.
"When have I ever hurt you?" Ratchet asked again.
Chromia seemed to think about that for a long time. "When you're not straight forward about what's going on," she said. "When you've tricked me into getting sedated or restrained me."
Ratchet flinched. "I am working on the former," he said softly. "I've done the later, because you fight and scream whenever you need a life-en draw or something seriously re-alligned. And when you've hurt the assisting staff while they were attempting to help. I need to do those things to help you. I'm sorry that they distress you, I really am, but you don't give me a choice when you fight me so hard when you desperately need care."
Chromia scoffed at that, turning back away from him.
Ironhide sighed, placing his hand on her helm to soothe her as he felt tears fall from her optics onto his chest.
Ratchet paused, thinking. "Chromia…" he said quietly. "Have other medics….hurt you?"
Chromia nodded.
Ratchet blinked and had to suppress his anger from boiling up. He shared a look with Ironhide and knew the mech was suppressing his own anger. He looked back at Chromia. "Chromia," he said seriously. "I promise. I swear on the AllSpark that everything that I ever do is only ever to help and to heal. And if I ever find out the identity of these medics who hurt you, they will face the full consequences of the law."
Chromia sobbed at that, curling into a ball in Ironhide's arms.
"Oh, 'Mia," Ironhide said, holding her close. He looked at Ratchet. "You said she has a fever?"
Ratchet nodded, looking back at his scan. "Her pulse is off, too."
Ironhide nodded. "I can feel it," he said. "What do you need to do?"
"The scan indicates a virus of some kind. I need a life-en sample, so I can determine the kind of virus we're dealing with," Ratchet said gently. "And then I'll need to give her some anti-nausea meds with her anti-viral meds. And she'll need some energon whenever she can keep it down. Her system needs it to combat the exposure on top of the usual reasons."
Ironhide nodded in understanding.
"You'll need some more energon soon as well," Ratchet said meaningfully.
Ironhide nodded. "I know," he said softly, optics tired.
Ratchet sighed heavily, watching Chromia for a moment before standing to his full height and moving away to get the supplies he needed.
Knock Out met him at the drawers that contained the empty syringes and clean needles. "Is there anything I could be doing to help?" He asked quietly, subdued. "I know I probably won't be allowed to practice regularly, but I can still help."
Ratchet sighed. "You're going to be allowed to practice, Knock Out," he said gently. "Under supervision for a while, but you will."
"Really?" Knock Out perked up, optics widening in surprise.
Ratchet nodded. "I'm going to help you get properly licensed," he said. "Until then, no work without supervision. For now, I need you to check on Wheeljack. Can you do that?"
Knock Out gave him a two finger salute and then sauntered off toward the mech where he was reclining in a med bed, the bed at an incline to keep him supported. "You got it, doc," he said.
Ratchet rolled his optics, but didn't have it in him to be very annoyed. The Decepticon medic seemed like he genuinely wanted to help and there was a lot to manage right now. He had told Solarcharge when he'd arrived that he could handle the number of bots fine by himself, because of the vibe Shadebreaker had from him, but he really could use more hands in medbay at this point. He needed to talk to Optimus about sending for a transfer of some trusted medics from another base. He had a couple in mind.
He moved back to where Ironhide was sitting with Chromia crumpled up in his lap and knelt by them once again. He met Ironhide's optics with a meaningful look.
"'Mia," Ironhide said gently, rubbing her arm. "Ratchet needs some life-en so he can identify the virus and take care of you."
"Frag that," Chromia growled.
"I know you don't like it," Ironhide said gently. "But you need to let him take care of you so you can get better. Your system is too weakened from the dark-en to fight the virus on its own."
"Slag," Chromia complained.
"Do you need Elita to come help support?" Ratchet asked gently, knowing the femme commander could coax Chromia when Ironhide couldn't.
"Hmm," Chromia groaned a little. "No." She shifted and held an arm out for Ratchet shakily. "Just be quick."
"As quick as possible," Ratchet assured, taking her arm in one hand gently. "As long as you don't fight me."
He took the armor off her arm to access the lines and Ironhide helped support and still her shaky arm with a pained expression on his face. He cleaned the site with a quick swipe and then inserted the needle, tightening his grip on her arm reflexively when she started to pull away with a growl. Once he had enough he knew he should be able to get a read on the virus, he removed the needle and then bandaged the site gently before returning the armor to its spot and releasing her arm.
"There you are," Ratchet said gently, reaching out toward her.
"Don't," Chromia growled, tucking her arm back between herself and Ironhide.
Ratchet pulled his hand back and looked sad. He met Ironhide's optics and then touched the mech's shoulder in support instead. It was hard learning the femme you loved had been hurt so badly, he knew. And Ironhide was a soft spark to begin with, especially when it came to his femme.
Ratchet moved away to start the tests on the life-en samples and then check on his other patients. He got the samples both set up in the respective machines on the counter and activated them so they could run while he checked on the others.
Shadebreaker was sitting up on her bed when he approached, a second cube of energon in her hands already as she talked quietly with Optimus.
"I'm glad," she said quietly in response as he came into audial range to their conversation. Then she looked toward him and then she smiled slightly, looking tired still. "Hey Ratch'."
He returned her smile softly. "Hey," he said softly, stopping by her side. He resisted the urge to reach out and touch her face. He was medic right now, not partner. "How are you feeling?"
"Still tired," Shadebreaker replied, tilting her cube slightly and looking at its remaining contents. "The dark-en exposure has really slowed my recovery time far as energy goes. Unless you pumped more sedatives in me this morning when I wasn't looking."
Ratchet shook his helm. "They should be out of your system by now," he said, frowning. He took out a scanner and ran it over her. "And they are. Your systems are reading exhaustion, however. You should sleep more after you finish that cube. Your system needs some restful recharge."
Shadebreaker nodded. "I will try," she said. "It's rather active in here, though."
"You can take your usual room, if you need the peace," Ratchet said gently. "I don't want to sedate you again if we don't have to."
"Ok, thank you," Shadebreaker said softly.
"How's your pain?" Ratchet asked.
"I'm actually pain free at the moment," Shadebreaker replied. "The meds you last formulated seem to be effective still."
"That's good," Ratchet said, nodding. "You may go when you are ready."
Shadebreaker nodded. "Thank you," she said. She shifted a wing. "I'll go now, so I can let myself wind down. I'm a little too hyper aware right now, really. I need the quiet."
Ratchet nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder when she slid to the floor.
She placed a hand on his arm in return and then slipped away, drinking from her cube as she walked toward the door.
Ratchet turned to Optimus. "And how are you holding up?" He asked, tone suggesting he better tell him honestly.
"I am holding up alright, Ratchet," Optimus answered, placing a hand over his spark meaningfully. "The Matrix provides a buffer against the mental effects of the dark-en exposure. And I believe my larger frame allowed me to withstand the exposure otherwise better than the others."
"I have noticed our larger frames are better off than the smaller ones, barring having other things going on," Ratchet observed, running a scan on the Prime to be certain. "Our Praxians are still sleeping and they're usually awake by now. Same as Sideswipe. I'll have Knock Out take Bluestreak and Bumblebee some energon soon, but could you deliver some to the twins? I don't believe Sunstreaker would appreciate Knock Out delivering it to them."
"Indeed," Optimus agreed with a grim tone. "I expect there will be bumps regarding the twins accepting our new defectors being among us."
"You can bet on it," Ratchet said as he consulted the results of his scan. "After that, you will need some energon yourself, but then you are free to go. Just make sure you keep up your energon intake. Twice as much as your normal amount. And snacks are recommended."
Optimus nodded in understanding. "Understood," he said. He placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "I will leave you to your patients here, Ratchet. Good luck."
Ratchet nodded and then watched as Optimus went over to the cabinets and got a few cubes down and headed to the door leading to the hallway. Then he moved toward Wheeljack's bed where Knock Out was typing something on a datapad.
"What do you have for me?" Ratchet asked the red mech even as he pulled his own scanner out to double check.
"He fell asleep after I asked a few questions, from the rotating sedatives you put him on earlier, I believe. Pain levels are ok," Knock Out led off with. "Vitals are a little off, but within expected parameters given his injuries."
"Which are?" Ratchet asked, even though he knew what they were.
Knock Out listed off Wheeljack's injuries and then the course of treatment and what had already been done according to his scans.
"Good job," Ratchet praised, not looking at the Decepticon medic as he consulted his datapad to double check his calculations for how much sedatives he would need for Wheeljack if they needed to do surgery. "And what did your scan say about the progress of his support strut in his chest?"
"It looks promising so far that we won't have to perform surgery," Knock Out said optimistically.
Ratchet nodded. That's what his scan showed as well, though it was too early to know for certain. "Thank you, Knock Out," he said genuinely. "Now, my next ask is simpler. I would like you to take some energon to some of our bots who haven't left their rooms yet. Optimus is taking care of the twins, but if you don't mind taking some to Bumblebee and Bluestreak, I would be grateful. And have Breakdown take some to Rewind and Chromedome while you're at it."
"You got it, doc," Knock Out said, giving him a two finger salute.
"Don't call me doc," Ratchet growled.
"Sure thing, Sunshine," Knock Out grinned cheekily.
Ratchet groaned, rolling his optics at the departing mech. He moved to the counter where the machines with the samples of life-en was waiting for him to check them. He opened the data from the scans they took and checked the results from Chromia's first since it was more urgent.
"Mhm," he hummed and then downloaded the results onto the datapad containing her records and then switched to Shadowstreaker's to download the results from his to peruse after dealing with Chromia.
He got together an injection of the needed antiviral medication for Chromia and mixed in some painkiller and anti-nausea medications with it. He would give her some sedatives to help her sleep it off, but she desperately needed energon and she would not be able to drink it if she was asleep. She'd probably be able to sleep on her own when she wasn't in pain and nauseous.
Once it was prepared, he subspaced the injector and moved back toward Ironhide and Chromia, having intercommed the mech to give him a heads up that he was headed back his way. He moved slowly once he was close and paused when Chromia turned to eye him.
"Peace," Ratchet said gently, holding his hands up in surrender. He moved a step at a time. "I mean no harm, remember?"
Chromia narrowed her optics, but she didn't growl at him this time when he knelt in front of Ironhide.
"What do you want?" She asked defensively.
"You have a virus, Chromia," Ratchet explained gently. "You likely picked it up before going down into Earth's core and the dark-en weakened your system too much for it to handle it. I need to give you an antiviral shot to help your system combat it along with some anti-nausea meds so you can drink some energon to combat the dark-en exposure effects and keep up your strength. I also included some painkiller in it."
Chromia narrowed her optics at him. "No sedatives?"
Ratchet smiled ruefully. "As much as it would be great for you to sleep the virus off, we need you awake to drink energon," he said drily. "I'm hoping you can sleep on your own with the nausea and pain gone. But if you feel you need sedatives to sleep after some energon is in your system, I can oblige. I'd rather not if we can help it, however." He held a hand out to her in peace.
Chromia eyed him as if she didn't quite believe him. "Who are you and what have you done with Ratchet?"
Ironhide chuckled. "I believe Shadebreaker happened here." His optics sparkled a little.
Ratchet nodded, giving the mech a dry look. "She reemed me once pretty hard for keeping something from her," he said. "It made me realize I do tend to coddle my patients a bit too much. I have been working on it, but it's not been all at once. Hence why I still did it occasionally with you, Chromia." He looked back at Chromia. "I didn't realize it bothered you as much as it did. I am sorry."
Chromia frowned at him, looking as if she was weighing his words. Then she sighed heavily. "I see," she said. Then she flinched and pressed herself against Ironhide. "Where does this shot go?"
"Shoulder," Ratchet said gently. "You don't need to move. Though I'll need Ironhide to shift his arm a little."
"Mhm," Chromia hummed, hiding her face against her mech's chest.
Ironhide rubbed her arm gently and then moved his arm that was in Ratchet's way.
Ratchet gently removed the armor from Chromia's shoulder and then wiped it clean with a cleansing cloth. He kept a steadying and reassuring hand above the injection site as he used the other one to administer the shot.
Chromia hissed at the feeling, but didn't fight him, for which he was grateful and when he pulled the injector away, he wiped the site clean and put a little bandaid over it gently before replacing her armor.
"That should start doing its work soon," Ratchet said. "You need to drink twice your usual amount of energon if you can today, so drink what you can when the nausea passes."
Chromia grumbled, hiding her face.
"I'll make sure she drinks something, Ratchet," Ironhide assured him.
Ratchet nodded gratefully. Then he stood again and moved away again. He checked on Wheeljack again and then headed toward the hallway to go check on Chromedome first before checking in with the other patients.