Chapter 78: Risky Sacrifices
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"Liza."
A muffled voice sounded from afar.
"Liza," It called again but seemed to get increasingly loud and sounded more clearer as it repeated my name.
"Can you hear me?"
A soft touch to my arm sent my entire body into flames and throbbing sensations full of pain though my brain hardly recognized the waves as it struggled to gain ahold of my surroundings. A bright light followed with a cool surface gently pressing against my face caused me to flutter my eyes.
My eyes fought to overcome the blurriness that covered the area around me and the booming headache that was causing a war.
"Liza?"
Suddenly a large figure popped into my view and the light only increased.
I forced my gaze to avoid being blinded only to have my head eased back into its previous position. "Liza, can you hear me? Speak to me."
The faint ringing in my ear cleared and I was finally able to latch onto the voice above me. "...Wha..." I took displeasure at my croaky tone and the lack of words that managed past my lips while I squinted my eyes to focus on the being hovering above me.
"R-Ratch..."
"Yes," My vision finally cleared and revealed the worried blue eyes of the humanized version of the medic above. "It's me."
"I-Is it really...y-you?" I pulled my arm back and attempted to reach for him, hissing at the fiery pain that soared throughout my body.
"Liza no." He scolded firmly as he grabbed my bandaged arm and set it back down.
"You're still healing. Relax."
"But..." I cringed at the dry crack in my voice.
"Liza..."
"I-I wanna know...it's you. It's not a d-dream...is it?"
A sigh came from his lips. "No Liz. It's not a dream. It's me." He gently grabbed ahold of my arm again and guided it to his head, allowing me to feel out the features of his face.
"See."
I couldn't do anything but let out a breath of relief, satisfied with the confirmation of Ratchet.
It was him. It wasn't a dream or a hallucination.
I was home.
Away from those Cons.
Away from him.
"Ratchet."
"It's okay." He smiled softly and removed my hand from his jaw. "You can rest now. You're safe."
"T-They're not gonna w-whip me anymore." I breathed weakly, fearing that someone would just walk right in and take me back to that wretched cold room.
"No sweetspark." He reached over and grabbed something out of my view.
"Y-You sure?"
There was a small pinch in my upper arm before tiredness began to settle over me once again.
"They're not here to hurt you anymore. You're safe now."
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Ratchet made sure the medicine settled the girl into a deep sleep before ever so gently flipping her onto her stomach, mumbling quiet reassurance when she grumbled out an inaudible complaint and squirmed.
Carefully, the medic lifted her ripped shirt over her back and situated the rest of her clothes so he could have a clear view of the cuts and bruises littered across her body. He cringed slightly at the damage that was done and quickly began to work on disinfecting and cleaning the wounds all while offering comforting words to the girl who would twitch violently at his touch.
He used a small force to hold her down as he applied antibiotics and patched her up.
Once he was finished, he rewarded the unconscious girl with a kiss to her forehead and gently flipped her onto her back, careful with the healing scars.
He did a double-check over her body for any more possible injuries, grateful that she wasn't in a much worse condition.
The Autobot medic took a step back and to go over his work with his eyes.
She was safe.
Now the rest was up to Liza...though Ratchet suspected that she would suffer more mentally than physically.
At such a young age, any child was bound to be traumatized for life after being kidnapped and tortured. Megatron could've done much worse but Ratchet didn't want those thoughts to slip into his processor.
Who knows what goes about in that wicked mech's mind?
His holoform fizzled out of existence and he transformed, letting out a sharp hiss from his vents once he was back to his normal self.
A blanket was settled over the girl and Ratchet isolated himself from the large medical berth to allow Liza to rest peacefully then shuffled over to the other side of the Med Bay where his other patient lied.
He approached the limp form of the injured Cyberdog and quickly checked over his vitals and monitored the slow beat of his spark.
A frown pulled down on Ratchet's metallic lips as he allowed his optics to roam over the broken body of Boomer.
The poor Cyberdog was pummeled, scratched, beaten, and shot. His body was covered in dried Energon, bullet wounds, deep scratches, a gaping hole in his side, and one of his legs seemed to be twisted oddly.
He looked like absolute scrap. Any being that opposed Megatron was either killed or somehow survived by luck or skill. Ratchet was surprised that Boomer was even alive after what that mech did to him.
"Primus," Ratchet watched as Boomer shifted slightly and slowly opened his optics to observe his surroundings.
Once they landed on Ratchet, he immediately noticed his inability to move due to the numbness and cables hooked to his body and let out a loud whine in protest.
"Hey," Ratchet reached out with a gentle servo to try and console the Cyberdog. "It's gonna be alright."
He eased another painkiller into his system as he comforted him.
"It's going to be okay."
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:::Optimus.:::
The Autobot Leaded immediately perked up from his desk and activated his commlink with quick digits. :::Ratchet. Liza, is she-:::
Ratchet quickly eased his friend's panic in a soothing tone. :::She's fine, Optimus.:::
At his words, Optimus shut his optics for a brief moment and allowed the air that he hadn't realized he was holding to flow out of his vents as he settled back into his office chair.
Since Ratchet kicked everyone out of the Medbay and refused to let anyone in, Optimus couldn't do anything but lock himself in his office and busy himself with paperwork to keep his mind at ease and relax.
He failed ultimately at that and his optics have been going over the same words over and over again for....how long?! Night!!
It's NIGHTTIME!!
And he's been sitting in this chair for hours worrying and fidgeting and worrying.
Primus!
:::Optimus do you copy?:::
This pulled the tall mech from his frantic thoughts and returned him to reality.
:::Er...apologies Ratchet. Could you please repeat?::: The sheepish tone was detectable in his voice.
:::It's Liza. She's awake and she wants to see you.:::
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Ratchet wasn't surprised when Optimus rushed through the Med-Bay doors under five Earth minutes like the worried father he was.
Before he could even get a word in, the Autobot Leader immediately headed straight for the girl sitting on the medical berth ahead.
With surprising gentleness for a mech his size, he carefully took her small hands into his much larger digits and lowered himself to her eye level.
"Sweetspark, are you alright? How are you feeling?"
When she didn't respond, Ratchet could see the worry growing among Optimus features.
"The medication is still in effect Optimus." The medic quickly assured him and went to shut the door to allow their privacy.
"It won't be long before she's responsive again."
There a brief moment of silence before Optimus spoke up again. "I understand." His voice was serene and understanding but Ratchet knew Optimus all too well. He could detect the hint of fear and concern from him.
Liza had just woken up high on the medication...well..she had more of a dazed expression like a human buzzed from a gallon of human caffeine. She seemed confused about her surroundings like she had the mind of a newborn child.
Ratchet watched as his friend stuck a digit out to caress her cheek and offer her comforting words with his deep voice.
The girl only watched him with a slight tilt of her head, showing how truly much younger she looked. Though she seemed to understand what he wanted so she maximized her form to soak in more her father's comfort.
"You're safe now, my dear. I will protect you." He murmured, gently cradling her head to his chest.
With some pained effort of her own, she settled her hands on his broad shoulders and leaned more into him. In return, Optimus hugged her body closer, careful of the wires connected to her arms, and slowly rocked the girl in his arms.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you before."
"Optimus." Ratchet chided gently. "It wasn't your fault."
The medic received nothing but a sorrowful look from his leader and returned a look of his own.
:::Don't do this to yourself Optimus. You had nothing to do with this.:::
:::She had to suffer because of me.:::
:::This was not your doing, Orion.::: Ratchet told him with a stern tone edging into his voice and squeezed his shoulder.
Silence fell on the other end of the link and the medic took this as a chance to allow the father-daughter duo a moment of their own
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"What happened to her?"
Ratchet turned to his friend who was sitting by his resting daughter. "When she first woke up, she rambled on about them whipping her. From the scars and marks that mainly covered her back, I figured that's what they did to her. I've also noticed these blacks marks across her body." Ratchet explained as he made arm movements.
"It's almost like she's been thrown in and out of a fire."
"Will she be alright?" Optimus questioned, stroking Liza's arm.
"She'll be fine. She just needs proper nourishment and rest and she should be fully healed within a few days if she doesn't disobey my orders and reopen her wounds."
"Do not worry, Ratchet. I'm sure she won't attempt anything while you're around. I, myself won't allow it either." Optimus smiled softly.
"I'm sure you won't Optimus. But..."Ratchet fell silent and dropped his gaze to the ground for a brief moment.
Optimus eyed his medic questionably. "Yes, Ratchet?"
"I...I'm not entirely worried about the physical damage...I'm more concerned about her mental health."
"Such vile events could traumatize one at such a young age," Optimus stated with a sigh.
"A high possibility...undoubtedly. I'd be surprised if she didn't suffer from PTSD or a mental disorder. For all we know, she could be scarred for months, years, or perhaps for the rest of her life."
"Unfortunately," Optimus grumbled ad raised his head with a flicker of hope in his optics.
"What can we do to help her?"
"Well," Ratchet started as he glanced over at the sleeping girl. "I hate to say this Optimus, but there's not much we can do for her. Her body will eventually heal itself over time but all we can do is comfort her and give her time to adjust. I think an Earth week or two would be suitable before we set her back into public school with the humans. If her condition happens to be worse than we expected then maybe it would be necessary to remove her completely from school for the remaining of the year."
Optimus thought this over and nodded. "I agree, Ratchet. I will do anything that will help improve Liza's health even if such actions are needed to be done."
A comfortable silence settled between the two, nothing but the soft noises from the nearby machine were heard until Ratchet stepped forward and faced the Prime.
"Optimus, it's late. You should get some rest."
"I'm alright, Ratchet."
It was obvious why he wanted to remain here.
Aware that he was going to dealing with the stubborn side of Optimus Prime, regardless he tried again."She'll remain here where I can keep an optic on her. Don't worry. She's going to be okay."
"What if she awakens and is in desperate need of my presence?"
"Then I'll contact you and let you know."
"That would be unnecessary if I was to remain here with her."
The medic pushed away the itching urge to hurl something at the Prime. If he didn't know Optimus then he could've sworn he was arguing with a sparkling.
Primus.
"Optimus," Ratchet warned.
"Ratchet." He replied in a much calmer tone.
Deep down, the Prime knew he was going to deeply regret arguing with his medic and not just because of his amazing throwing skills. Normally, he was the one to obey medical orders unlike the rest of them but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her again, He was afraid that he would wake up and find her missing again, her spark crying desperately for him while she remained in the hands of the Decepticons.
A large guilt settled over him at just the thought of her being tortured and beaten with every inch of her life. Her screams and cries unheard by him but the evil mechs who took pleasure at hearing such agonized sounds.
Monsters.
Not again. He won't allow her to be taken away from him again. He refused. Not from them.
"Take her with you."
The voice startled him slightly and Optimus turned his head to give the medic a confused look. "What?"
"Take her to your quarters with you."
"But..." His optics landed back onto his daughter, carefully going over the bandages and wires that were connected to her body with uncertainty growing within him.
"Are you certain? Will she-"
"She's stable. Once the medication wears off, she'll return to her normal self but her body will be weak. If you're gentle and can keep her from moving around a lot then I'll allow you to take her to your quarters for the night. But you must bring her straight to me in the morning."
It's not like he needed to ask Optimus to be aware of her fragile form. The mech was gentle with the toughest beings.
"Are you sure she'll be alright? Will you allow me to do that?"
"If it helps you recharge Optimus. She should remain asleep for the remainder of the night but if you think something is wrong then bring her to me immediately."
Optimus replied with a firm nod.
"Understood Ratchet." With that, the Prime rose from his kneeling position and started edging towards the patient across the room.
"Now...Boomer. How is he?"
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