When All Lights Go Out I (TFP)

Chapter 15

As Optimus held her, the feelings Azura had regarding Optimus and the autobots came back like falling bricks. It was another reason why she was crying so much, not just from the pain she was feeling, learning that Cliff was gone and being kidnapped from her unit. And while Azura had felt completely uncertain over the last few years, coming back felt right now. She might still be upset that Optimus never told her who he was to her all those years ago, but she was happy to be in his strong, protective arms.

Optimus was still in disbelief. Azura had not let him hold her like this three years ago, and as soon as she came back, she wanted him to hold her. His sparkling was home. And Optimus felt elated, and he almost worried that this was also a dream. He hoped it wasn't the case, but that would remain to be. But he could see the scrapes on Azura's body and the energon bleeding from the wound, and he could sense she was feeling other pain as well.

Optimus looked at Arcee with a questioning expression. "How is this possible Arcee? Why is Azura hurt?" He glanced down at Azura before turning to Ratchet. "I think..."

"Yes, yes, I know." Ratchet gestures to go to the med bay. "It would be best for Arcee to tell us what happened while we are in the med bay." He turned and walked away with the others behind him. "It is definitely a Primus miracle this week."

"To be honest, I was not even expecting to find Azura when I went for a drive," Arcee said in a soft, sad tone as she walked behind Optimus. "I needed to clear my head from...you know." Optimus just nodded silently without looking back. "Anyway, as I was driving through Jasper I found myself being followed by two vehicons. I most certainly was not expecting it, but they weren't exactly being inconspicuous either. And I ended up with a little distraction while I was trying to get the cons off my tail through town, and making sure they wouldn't attack any human in the town."

"And you did not see Azura at the time?" Optimus asked curiously as they enter the med bay.

"I am afraid not..." Arcee was very upset about that. "I think the decepticons had Azura by the time they followed me...there was no other explanation." She glanced at the girl as Azura was still crying. She was still hiding her face and Arcee was a little happy that Azura was taking comfort with her carrier. "I was able to lead the cons to a drain just outside the town. It was there they revealed they had Azura with her and tried to use her as leverage to stop me from attacking them...and when they got distracted, managed to get Azura away...but they prevented me from stopping Azura from hitting the ground hard."

Ratchet was immediately worried upon hearing that. "Hmm...the visible injuries might not be the only injuries she has..." He walked into the med berth and gestured to the berth. "If you can, Optimus, place her on the med berth. I need to check the structure of her protoform. I have concerns that her lack in low-grade intake could cause her protoform to become weak and fragile."

Optimus nodded as he approached the med berth. He gently moved her away from his shoulder and she opened her eyes, looking at him in surprise. "Sorry, Azura. But Ratchet needs to look you over to help you. I'll be right here, Azura. I am not going anywhere." She whimpered a little as he gently placed her onto the med berth and grimaced as she felt pain in her back, legs and hips. "Ratchet, I think you are right." He was worried when he saw her face grimace from pain.

Ratchet immediately began to scan her body. "What else happened, Arcee?"

Arcee sighed and glanced at Bee who was looking at Azura with worried optics. "While I was fighting to fend off the vehicons, I was knocked down and thankfully, Bumblebee joined the fight. We both were able to keep the vehicons from moving their attention from us to Azura."

"We also had to make sure none of the blasts were pointed in Azura's direction. Things would have gone more smoothly, but we did not want to create an even worse situation for Azura." Bumblebee watched Ratchet scan Azura's body and check the results. "Do you think Azura was in their clutches this whole time?"