Optimus Prime's unusual Charge

Shifts and Surprises

Ratchet noticed Zucky's brighter demeanor despite her injuries. "Someone's looking chipper today? Don't take it the wrong way, though. I'm glad you're feeling better for a creature who heals painstakingly slowly."

Zucky didn't think about her wounds. "Oh? Uhm... I guess my skin's still a little numb from hurting so much... but I try to ignore it as much as possible. I can't let it hold me down, Ratchet."

Ratchet nodded in understanding. "I see."

Zucky gently felt the wounds underneath the bandages. "I'll still need to change the wrappings later after breakfast when I take a shower."

Ratchet's thoughts were focused on his work, but he still listened to her while he was at it. He remembered something. "Oh? Speaking of refueling, of course, we'll take everything slow; but at some point, depending on how your mutations take shape, organic fuel might not support your systems anymore."

Zucky realized this. "Yeah, I thought about it, though it still scares me a bit. I mean, even though it didn't kill me the first time, a few drops are still significantly less compared to, say, a whole cup of the stuff." 

She gently rubbed the side of her arm in nervous thought. "I've eaten organic food my entire life so far...Switching to something else... it's gonna be a big change." She glanced down at her hands, her mind racing with possibilities and fears.

Ratchet paused his work and turned to her, his expression softening. "Change is never easy, Zucky. I understand. That's why I said we'll take everything slow. Your well-being is most important to us, after all." 

Zucky looked up, meeting Ratchet's gaze. "Thanks, Ratchet.

His words brought a sense of comfort, easing some of the fears gnawing at her. "You're right," she said softly. "I just need to focus on what I can control and take things one step at a time."

"Precisely," Ratchet agreed.

The dragon's stomach growled in complaint. "And it would seem you're late with your refueling," the medic joked to cheer her up.

Zucky rubbed the back of her head, a small smile forming. "I guess so."

She climbed off the work table and made her way towards where her bag of supplies was, to see what she was going to have this morning to tide her over until Nurse Darby came back from visiting the kids at the hospital. She soon found a protein bar and some water in her bag and settled down to eat. As she took a bite, she couldn't help but think about the future and the uncertainties it held. 

After finishing her meal, thee dragon excused herself and headed towards the washroom. The prospect of a shower was both daunting and enticing. She knew the water would sting her wounds, but the thought of being clean and feeling somewhat normal was too tempting to resist.

In the washroom, she carefully removed the bandages, surprised she wasn't feeling any stinging at all as she pulled them away from the wounds. She thought she felt something hard on her skin, but she thought maybe it was just dried up blood or scabs, but no. Her jaw dropped at what she saw as the bandages fell off her body. She gasped and covered her mouth to stifle the possible surprised shriek she might have belted out otherwise, but she decided to swallow it down and think logically for a second. What if it's just her scales coming in again? Yeah, that's probably it, right? But so fast? How is that even possible?

Her reflection in the mirror revealed an unexpected sight. The areas where she had been injured were now covered in a smooth, metallic sheen. It wasn't the familiar, organic texture of her natural scales but something different, something... more mechanical. She reached out tentatively, touching the new growth. It felt cool and hard under her fingers, like armor plating.