Chapter 79: Recover
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A soft soothing touch against my face slowly roused me from my long slumber and welcomed me back to the land of living.
I opened my eyes and came to face an all to familiar navy blue painting accompanied by red and yellow flames.
My eyes traced over the ragged edges of the colorful lines while my ears trained on the soft whirring sounds and occasional shifting against the soft metal beneath me.
It truly...relaxed me.
I remained in my lying position, completely pleased by the silenced air and the sounds of my soft breathing along with the presence of another being.
...wait
I shot up in alert. "Wha-"
"Shhh. Easy." A large metal hand cradled my head back to its previous position and somehow eased my tense state with just a caress and a few comforting words.
"It's alright sweetspark. You're safe."
I knew that voice all too well.
"Dad?" My head craned to meet those warm blue optics of Optimus Prime. Father.
A soft smile came along his lips. "Good morning, my dear."
"What...happened?"
"It appears that you have no memory of recent events."
Apparently not.
"The Decepticons!" My head whipped around in all different directions in search of anything unusual. Maybe this was a dream or hallucination and Megatron was just waiting to pull me out of it and laugh in my face.
"H-How did I get here?"
"Liza," He hooked a finger under my chin and forced to me to look into his blue optics. "We came and rescued from the hands of the Decepticons. Do you not remember?" He sounded genuinely concerned and surprised of my lack of memory.
"Not really." My brows furrowed in concentration. "I remember the Cons...Megatron and this other guy named Soundwave when they..." I wasn't able to finish after the agonizing memories began to rush in like a speeding train. Those torturous moments of me screaming and begging to those blazing red optics to stop.
I could still hear that evil cackle ringing in my ears.
"Liza." A comforting hand settled on my shoulder.
"You do not have to continue."
"But they..."I shook my head and stared at him with watery eyes. "They threw me in a cell and I don't remember anything after that."
"It is alright, sweetspark." He carefully adjusted my maximized form against his chest and cradled my head where his spark lied.
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize, young one."
"But I told them daddy. I told him everything." I felt the cold tears begin to trickle down my cheeks as the haunting memory of the terrible events began to edge its way into my mind. "..T-They know everything now. He knows everything. I'm sorry, but I-I couldn't just take it anymore."
"Please, do not apologize for such a thing, Liza." He scolded softly and tightened his hold around me slightly.
"It is not your fault. You had no choice."
"But now he knows that I'm your daughter! He knows all our secrets and-"
"Enough." His voice was low but firm.
His commanding voice had me quiet in seconds and staring at him with a pout. "Don't you dare give me that look youngling." He said with a rare teasing smile and pressed a gentle kiss to my head. "You had nothing to do with this and that's final."
"But I-"
"I will not allow you to blame yourself for such a chaotic situation. You are a victim like the rest of us."
"But-"
"Ah!"
"I-"
This time a large hand settled over my mouth, mumbling any further argument. "That's enough out of you. I refuse to allow you to blame yourself for Megatron's actions. You had nothing with this. Do you understand me?"
I winced under his stern optics and gave a quick nod.
He waited a few seconds before slowly removing his hand, allowing me to have the ability to speak again.
"There." He stroked my hair and placed another kiss on my cheek.
"Thank you daddy." I snuggled more into his chest, letting out a low whine when pain suddenly soared throughout my body.
I tried to not make it obvious but my dad quickly took notice of it and looked down at me in concern. "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine."
"Are you certain? You seem in distress." He sat up slightly and carefully readjusted me in a position that he hoped was comfortable for me.
"It's just-ow!" A stinging pain spread across my arms when I attempted to push myself up.
"Cease all movement." He instructed and changed my position again before swinging his legs over his berth and sitting up completely with me in his lap.
"What are you doing? I'm fine."
"You are not well."
I frantically searched my brain for another excuse. I didn't want him worrying."B-But-"
"Liza." He faced me with firm optics.
"But it only hurts when I move! Maybe if I don't-"
"No Liza. You are in pain and in need of medical attention."
"But I can-"
"End of discussion." With that, he stood to his feet with an arm under my legs to support my body against his chest and another across my back as he headed out the door.
"Where are we going?" I questioned though I already knew the answer.
"I am taking you to Ratchet." He answered simply.
I let out a huff and raised my head from the crook of his neck. "I can walk."
"We'll let Ratchet decide that."
"But I don't wanna be treated like this. Stop holding me like I'm a baby! I'm not a baby!" I whined pitifully and wiggled my legs that hung loosely around his hips.
"Put me down!" I demanded, trying not to cause more harm to myself as I tried to squirm out of his grasp.
"But you are my baby girl."
Aww.
The term made me pause and caused a flutter feeling to settle in my stomach. It made me feel small...like I was a little girl again. Instinctively, I cuddled to his body more and laid my head on his shoulder though I didn't cease my previous mood.
"You know that's not what I meant."
He chuckled and carried on through the hallways with long strides.
I was somewhat thankful that it was early in the morning and most bots wouldn't be awake for another hour or two at least. The teasing would last for days if anyone saw me being carried around like a newborn by my dad.
It was already embarrassing enough that we passed a few curious humans along the way.
My dad, however, seem unbothered by this and simply greeted them with nod or a quiet good morning.
Well...it couldn't get worse, right?
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"Ow Ratch! That hurts!"
"I'm being as gentle as I can, Liza. Just hold still." The medic sighed and begun rewrapping the bandages at a slower pace.
"I'm trying." I murmured. My entire body was so weak and sore that every touch against my wounds left a horrid sting.
"That's too tight." I frowned at the stiffness in my arm and begun pulling at the bandages to loosen them up.
Ratchet grumbled and swatted my hands away. "Quit it. You'll be fine."
"It still hurts." Their was no response from the green mech this time and he simply continued on checking me over, allowing a short silence to fall over the three of us.
Eventually, I got sick of the poking and prodding as my mind became active with racing thoughts and questions that I felt that needed to be answered immediately or my head was gonna literally blow up from stress and worry.
Was everyone alright? Did anyone get hurt trying to save me? What exactly did those Cons do to me while I was unconscious?
They were fully aware that the bots were coming to rescue to me so they might've planned something else for that matter. What if they attached some sort of tracker to me or tested some unknown substance on my body like I was some sort of lab experiment?
How exactly did the bots know I was being held in an underground cell? It certainly couldn't have been out of luck and I'm sure I didn't have the ability to tell them while I was being tortured for information. Even I could alert the others, I didn't have a single clue about my own whereabouts
Unless...there was something hidden across my body...maybe some sort of tracker device? After the situation I was in, I'm not complaining but if that's the case then I think it's time to come clean about it.
"How did you find me?" Immediately, I caught the attention of both mechs in the MedBay. Ratchet paused in his work and shared a look with my dad before he started off with a rather short explanation.
"We didn't. Boomer did."
I stared up at the medic in disbelief. "Wait..Boomer? He found me?!"
How in the name of Primus did he know where I was?
"Yes, apparently he has the ability to track your location by-"
"BOOMER!"
Realization suddenly hit me like a raging storm.
"Where is he?! Is he okay?" Without a single thought, I pushed myself forward and nearly succeeded in making my escape if an arm hadn't circled around me and settled me back into place.
"What are you doing?! Let me go! Where's Boomer?"
"Calm down, youngling!" Ratchet exclaimed as he forced me back down when I tried to push past him again.
My dad stepped forward and grabbed ahold of my flailing arms. "Liza, please. Calm down."
"Where's Boomer?" I demanded, making a futile attempt to escape from his iron grip. "What happened to him? Is he okay?"
"Sit down and then we'll talk!" The medic grabbed me by my shoulders and forced me back down.
It took a few moments before my dad decided to release his grip and step back so Ratchet could continue checking over me.
"You want to know about Boomer? That's fine, but don't expect any easy news."
I nodded, fearing the worst for my Cyberdog.
"Boomer is fine. He's badly damaged but he'll live."
I released the long breath I had been holding and sent many prayers to Primus.
Thank Primus. He's alright. He's going to be ok.
A wave of relief settled over me and eased all tension across my body.
"But, I'll be honest with you Liza." This caused me to perk up and stare at the medic with slightly wide eyes.
"...At some point, he wasn't going to make it."
A dread feeling settled into my stomach and slowly started to eat away from the inside. What if the situation was reversed and Boomer hadn't actually made it? What if he had actually died?
"Hey," Ratchet quickly stepped in as if he could read my mind. "He's okay now so no need to worry yourself."
"What happened to him? Who hurt him?" If I had the strength, I was willing to get revenge on the Con that had the nerve to even think about hurting my family.
Who has the heart to hurt an innocent Cyberdog? It's beyond me.
"He saved you." This time my dad spoke up.
"What?"
"Boomer saved you from the hands of Megatron."
Wait.
I shook my head in confusion and stared up at the red and blue mech with furrowed brows. "But I thought Megatron went...how did he...I mean...I don't remember anything after they knocked me out with something. What happened?"
"According to Jazz and Jolt's report, they found you unconscious in a cell from within the tunnels hidden underground. However, once they retrieved you from the holding cell, Megatron appeared and refused to let them leave with you in their grasp. Boomer bravely lunged towards Megatron and held him off which gave Jolt just enough time to escape with you until I had arrived."
"So he....risked his life f-for mine."
He nodded.
Boomer nearly sacrificed his life for my freedom? The fact that a dog would do such a thing...not that I looked upon dogs as dumb creatures but...why me? The Primes blessed me with neither a wild animal or simple house pet but an actual family member who had courage like someone like...my dad.
Now my family was injured because of me. If I hadn't got caught in the first place then none of this would've happened.
"C-Can I see him?" I looked at Ratchet with hopeful eyes.
"Are you sure?" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "In the state he's in now it might be a bit difficult to look at him."
I know it will be tough to see my dog in pain but eventually, I'm going to have to accept it either way.
After taking a deep breath, I mumbled out my answer.
"Yea. I wanna see him."
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