Healed [Sequel to Burned](Transformers Prime)

Chapter Four | Trust

"Trust in me,
In all you do,
Have the faith,
I have in you,"

»«

Dana leaned against the railing as she watched Ratchet work, his digits tapping the various keys and buttons on the board as he pulled up the Iacon Database and searched for more coded coordinates. The Decepticon tech had proven to be difficult to work with on occasion, yet the Harbinger hardware had provided almost immeasurable benefits when installed in the new Autobot base. Now, instead of a few computer screens that Ratchet had managed to cobble together, he had five different monitors which could do five different things if he so desired.

Megatron watched as well, though he was bored more than anything else. The medic wouldn't allow him anywhere near the computers, or anywhere else besides the medical bay really. His modified armor shined thanks to Ratchet's polishing efforts, and it felt reassuring to him to be able to see his fusion canon once again, but he was still waiting for a test run to ensure it was still operational. So far, he was trustworthy enough that it was not manually disabled, even though Ratchet made it clear he wouldn't be afraid to do so if he was given half a reason.

"It doesn't help that this is in the Decepticon dialect," Ratchet muttered, "that I need to translate to Autobot to fully understand."

Dana tilted her head. "How many different languages are there?" She asked.

"On Cybertron? Two, that I am aware of. Three if you count Cybertronian Sign Language. Four for the extinct Predacon dialect." Ratchet counted off with his digits before he returned to the computers.

"Only four?" Dana gaped. "Humans have hundreds."

"Six-thousand nine-hundred nine, to be exact." Ratchet corrected. "Though I'm not entirely sure if that is counting the 'dead' languages you have."

The human woman's eyes widened in surprise. "Almost seven thousand languages?" She shook her head. "And I only know one. Well, two, sort of. Would you count American Sign as English?"

Ratchet shrugged. "Cybertronian Sign is considered its own entity."

"Could you teach me that?" She asked eagerly, then pausing. "If you know it, of course . . ."

"I can compile a file," the medic reassured, unable to help but smile a little, "you've already proven to be quite proficient with the Autobot dialect. Cybertronian Sign shouldn't be much more difficult."

Megatron raised an optic ridge. He never thought a human would be so interested in the Cybertronian culture to actually learn one of the languages. Additionally, he was surprised at her clear eagerness to learn more about the world from which he and Ratchet had hailed from. In contrast, Megatron had no interest in learning about human life; he couldn't possibly imagine how such small and primitive creatures could lead lives that were in any way compelling.

Dana's eyes sparkled with delight, another grin spreading across her face as she looked at her guardian. "Thanks, Ratchet." She paused, eyes flickering over to Megatron briefly before she asked her next question. "Could I learn the Decepticon dialect as well?"

Ratchet paused, briefly looking over his shoulder to glance at Megatron behind him, noticing how the warlord was staring at him, but not saying a word, or doing much of anything besides sitting there.

"I don't see why not." Ratchet replied slowly as he returned to his computers. "Though it is a bit trickier to learn. There are more double-meanings in words; context is incredibly important."