Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers Prime Hasbro does. I do own the idea of the story and OC's.
"If they travelled in stasis mode, there may be survivors," Ratchet remarked.
They felt the ship shake under their feet, causing them to lose their footing for a minute. Eventually, they regained it and continued exploring the long-lost ship. Along the way, they stumbled into a dead end – a door that had been sealed shut for a long time. And Optimus and Ratchet knew that they weren't going to leave until they had explored every part of this Autobot ship unless it was necessary. So Optimus used his abnormal strength to pry the automatic doors opened. Upon entry, a horrific sight greeted them.
Bodies of fellow Autobots. Each lying in a pool of their own Energon which was lilac rather than its normal crystal blue.
"Optimus! These Autobots didn't perish in the crash!" Ratchet gasped as he did a body scan on one of the dead bodies, "They're displaying the effects of a virus!"
"This is a plague ship," Optimus proclaimed as he went to walk forward, only to have Ratchet stop him in his path.
"Don't touch anything! The virus could still be active," Ratchet warned.
"Get out! Get out of there!" A voice yelled, a pair slender silver servos grabbed Ratchets arm.
The unknown bot threw Ratchet out, he went to protest but when he seen who it was, he just stared. He hadn't seen her in so long, he figured she was dead like so many other fellow Autobots, but like Optimus she wasn't easily killed. The ship shook as he watched the legendary Autobots femme disappeared into the ship. A few moments later, she was struggling to pull out their Autobot leader.
"He's been infected!" She dragged her leader across the ground toward Ratchet.
"No," Ratchet gasped, he looked at the silver, and red femme in front of him. "Aireon?" She looked up at the call of her name.
"Hey, Ratch," She grimaced.
Ratchet helped Aireon carry Optimus through the ground bridge portal, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee stopped in their tracks. They stared at the femme helping Ratchet carry Optimus through the ground bridge.
"Some help would be nice!" Ratchet shouted.
Bulkhead took Aireons place, she stepped back and then looked around at the missile silo as their base. She smiled at the Autobot insignia on the floor just at her feet. She looked around and then she found five unknown species gawking at her before the female spoke up.
"Who are you?!" She asked with excitement.
"She looks like Optimus," The smaller male said, his brown eyes found Aireon once again.
Two others glanced at each other before one of them spoke, "Please tell me she's who I think she is."
Aireon smiled, she looked at the eager female, "My name is Aireon Prime, what's yours?" She tilted her head as she scanned them.
"My name is Miko!" She answered bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"I bet you're a troublemaker," Aireon walked over to them.
"Oh, you have no idea," Arcee smirked but she still couldn't believe that Aireon Prime was here.
Aireon turned to Arcee, Aireon was about Bumblebees height, just maybe to his audio processors. Aireon smirked at the smaller femme, "Hello, Arcee, we met again."
"Hey, Aireon," Arcee smirked before she threw herself at Aireon.
Aireon didn't complain, she hugged Arcee back and the humans were shocked to see the interaction. When they pulled away, Aireon froze when she seen Bumblebee, he went to reach out to her but left his arm at his side. He didn't know if she was real, he didn't know if she was a hallucination of his lost love. Aireon stepped toward him, and continued to, she placed her servos on his faceplate before pulling him to her. His arms enclosed around her, she opened her optics to see Optimus's face turned toward her and he began to reach out to her.
Once she pulled away from Bumblebee she went to her father's bedside, she took his servo and looked over at Ratchet.
"Cybonic plague," Ratchet proclaimed after scanning the infected area around Optimus' optics.
The infection had already begun to spread. The area surrounding Optimus' left optic had lost its usual metallic white coloring. The area just under his optic was brown and a neon white. Outwards, it was a horrific blue and it continued to spread across his face. Aireon found it horrifying to see her father in this state, and she could feel the rage begin to build inside her. She loved Optimus more than anything, he was her father. So nothing at moment was going to keep her away from him.
"What is that?" The blonde girl asked, she still hasn't learned the humans names.
"The only way you can contract the Cybonic plague is if you come into contact with the infected Energon."
"But what was it doing inside of an Autobot ship?" Miko wanted to know as she turned to Jack and Rafael.
"Its passengers were infected. The virus wiped out millions on Cybertron during the Great War," Arcee answered sadly.
"The Cybonic Plague was engineered in the Decepticon Biological Warfare Program by Megatron himself," Ratchet announced gravely.
Aireon nodded, she held onto her father's servo with both of her own, she stood up from her kneeling position.
You have a cure, don't you?" Raf asked worriedly.
"No…cure," Optimus rasped.
"Optimus, please. Save your strength," Ratchet coaxed him gently, "We all need you. Your daughter, everyone needs you."
"Would Megatron create a disease without a cure? I mean, what if he caught it by accident?" Jack suddenly asked as he held Miko closer.
"It's not like we can ask Megatron, Jack. He's pushing up lugnuts," Bulkhead retorted.
"But we may be able to access the Decepticon database. For a moment, we still have a fix on their warship's coordinates," Caleb observed.
"Well, I can't sit around while Optimus goes through absolute torture. Bumblebee, wanna come with?" Arcee offered, earning hums in agreement.
"I'll go with," Aireon let go her father's servo reluctantly.
"Don't go…," Optimus begged her quietly.
"I want to be able to save you, father. I'm not gonna to sit around watching you die. I thought I already everyone I loved, I finally got you guys back, and I'm not going to lose my father," Aireon turned back to her father, but Optimus weakly grasped her hand.
And she hated seeing the strongest mech she has ever known so weak, she wasn't about to let him die. She kept on a strong face, she went to turn around when she hadn't heard three words from him since she was just a child.
"I love you," he rasped.
"I love you too, daddy," she whispered as she held his servo tighter.
"Arcee, Aireon, Bumblebee, work quickly," Ratchet warned.
"We will," Aireon replied.
The GroundBridge portal shone in the middle of a hallway aboard the Nemesis. Through this portal, Arcee, Bumblebee and Aireon flipped their way through the portal. Arcee, Aireon and Bumblebee had their arm cannons unfolded and charged."Let's start with the lab," Arcee suggested.
"That's a good idea," Aireon agreed as they made their way around carefully, their weapons still armed and ready.
When they reached the miniature hallway leading to the lab, they made sure they were well hidden in case any of their Decepticon drones decided to make an appearance. When the doors opened, they realized they made the right choice. Knock Out walked out of the lab. Once he was gone, Aireon peeked around the hallway he disappeared down and then turned back to the others.
"Okay. You two search the databases. I'll stand guard," Aireon unfolded her other blaster and stood guard at the doorway.
Arcee and Bumblebee ran towards the computers. Arcee, being the fastest-typer immediately hacked into the systems.
"I'm in the network," Arcee announced, "How's Optimus doing?"
"His condition is on a slow downhill climb," Ratchet answered with a sigh.
"Ratchet," Optimus rasped, drawing Ratchet's attentions from the vitals before him to his old friend, "Were you…?"
"Infected? No," Ratchet shook his head, causing Optimus to breathe a sigh of relief as the light in his optics slowly dimmed.
"If it's here, I don't see it."
"Are you certain, Arcee?" Ratchet demanded.
"Bumblebee and I have searched every file. Nothing," Arcee reported.
"Well, search again! Clearly, you missed something!"
"We've scanned their entire database," Arcee retorted angrily, "Even had Aireon double-checked some files."
"Did you use a redundant quantum algorithm?"
"What the frag?!" Aireon aimed her blaster, "Whoa…"
Don't tell me how to research! You think you're the only one who cares about Optimus? We've known him since I went into the academy with Aireon!" Arcee snapped.
"Arcee?!" Aireon called.
"What is it?" Arcee immediately demanded, she also instantly regretted it knowing that technically… Aireon was her commanding officer, she took over after finding her mother dead. "Whoa!"
"What is it? What's going on?"
Arcee, and Bumblebee certainly got the shock of their lives over the sight before them. Lying on a stone cold berth with half a dozen large wires hooked up to his body keeping him alive was the head of the Decepticons himself:
Lord Megatron.
"It's Megatron! He's alive!"
"What?!" Caleb exclaimed.
"That's not possible!" Ratchet shook his head in disbelief, "That's just not possible!"
"Well, we're staring right at him," Arcee retorted. "Good news is: Megatron's not exactly staring back."
"What did I miss?" Aireon wondered and turned to Bumblebee who came to her side.
"Megatron…," Optimus gasped from his berth.
"Condition's critical. He's hooked up the life support," Arcee reported. "Time to finish this once and for all," Arcee proclaimed as she aims her blaster.
"Wait! Stop!"
"What?" Aireon stared at Arcee in disbelief. "What the frag is going?"
"Give us one good reason why we shouldn't and fast," Arcee snarled.
"Megatron may be Optimus' only hope for survival."
"First of all, I'm not actually sure you said that correctly. Second of all, what in the name of Primus are you talking about?" Aireon demanded as she lowered her blaster away from Megatron's life support cables.
"Does he display brainwave activity?"
"Spiking hard. His sick mind is still at work," Arcee answered bitterly.
"Perfect! If a cure exists, Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his brain and find it."
"What kind of high grade are you guys on?!" Aireon lowered her voice from a screech.
"Enter Megatron's brain? Ratchet, are you out of your fragging mind?" Arcee demanded.
"The Decepticon lab should contain all the equipment you need for a cortical psychic patch," Ratchet went on.
"Have you even performed the procedure?" Aireon asked.
"No. But I have thoroughly studied the theoretical literature. Invented by Decepticons. Outlawed by Autobots," Ratchet recalled.
"Whoa. Can't we just haul Megatron through the GroundBridge and buy us some time to figure this out?"
"Time is one thing that Optimus doesn't have! One of you must try this! I will not allow Optimus to pass knowing that Megatron will outlive him and that he will never be able to finally talk to his daughter again!" Ratchet swore.
"Ratchet, I would lay down my life for Optimus. Anytime. Anywhere. All of us would. If a mind-body split is the only way, then I'll go inside Megatron's brain," Arcee proclaimed.
"No. I'll go," Aireon proclaimed.
"Aireon absolutely not! Megatron-"
Aireon cut him off, "Ratchet I've spent centuries traveling the hundreds of universes watching fellow Autobots die because of Megatron! I am not going to sit here and allow these bots into his mind, when we have the cure. We will finish Megatron once and for all," She folded her blasters back into her arms and turned to her stasis-locked uncle.
"I will kill you when this is over," She vowed, her sparkling blue optics glowering at him.
"Aireon… Sweetspark…no. Please. No," Optimus pleaded her.
"I'm doing this to save you," Aireon whispered. "No matter what," She then turned to her teammates.
"Aireon, are you sure you want to do this? Because once you're linked up, there's no turning back until we find the cure," Arcee warned her.
"I'm sure," Aireon nodded, determination and courage shining in her eyes.
She finally has a way to save them, to make their deaths not be in vain, she'd save Optimus. She'd save her father, she kill Megatron like she wanted to do all those years ago.
Arcee nodded and snuck away with one end of the purple glowing cable. Bumblebee and Aireon watched from their hiding place as she hooked up the end of the patch she took with her to Megatron's body. When she came back, she held the other end of the cortical psychic patch in front of Aireon's head. She turned to meet eyes with Bumblebee. Through his usual bleeps, Bumblebee asked if she really wanted to do this. Aireon gave him a reassuring smile and nodded, her throat plates tightening around her voice cords.
"Ratchet, we're ready."
"Initiate cortical psychic connection," Ratchet instructed.
Arcee and Bumblebee looked on to the last Prime, the daughter of their dying leader. Future leader to the Autobots, a femme they knew their whole lives, one they considered their childhood friend. Bumblebee slipped down beside her and pulled her into his lap and held her tight, Aireon wasn't going to protest. She missed other Cybertronian contact, especially from her long-lost love. Arcee connected the other end of the patch to the back of Aireon's head and twisted it to ensure the connection.
Aireon locked eyes with Arcee and Bumblebee both and held on to him tightly. As reality began to fade all around her.
When she opened her eyes, she wasn't on the Nemesis anymore. She took in her surroundings. Fire. Metal. Tall structures. Gunfire. A Decepticon or two. Within moments, Aireon knew where she was. But she didn't dare to say the name aloud. She felt around her body, making sure that everything was still in place.
"Holy slag," Aireon gasped as she began to take tentative, cautious steps forward.…
"Communications downlink activated. This will allow us to see and hear everything Aireon does while in Megatron's subconscious mind," Ratchet explained.
"Whoa. Where is that?" Jack asked in amazement as he glanced at the screen.
"Kaon," Aireon answers.
"The Decepticon capitol back on Cybertron," Raf clarified for a confused Jack, and Miko.
"Ratch, Optimus' vitals are…," Bulkhead trailed off, unable to finish what he was saying.
"I know. Quickly, Aireon. I know you're in unknown territory. But you must figure out where information might be filed in Megatron's mind."
She walked up the stairs before stopping at the sight before her, "Whoa…"
Standing before her was Optimus. He was rid of the Cybonic plague. In fact, there wasn't a thing wrong with him. He stood there in perfect working condition. Ready to fight any oncoming enemy.
"Dad!" Aireon cheered as she ran forward, but Ratchet's next words stopped her.
"Aireon, that is not your father. But a figment if Megatron's mind. He cannot see or hear you," Ratchet told her gravely.
"Oh slag!"
"Optimus Prime! Your Autobot army has been defeated! And your family lies together in a shallow grave with them. Bow before your master," Megatron told him.
"It was under your hands that my family is gone, Megatron. I will never bow before you. Not after what you did to them. One shall stand. One shall fall," Optimus proclaimed as he turned around and unfolded his blade.
"So be it," Megatron sneered as he unfolded his arm cannon and jumped to the ground below.
"No," Aireon steps back.
She watched from behind a molten rock as Optimus and Megatron ran towards each other at equally high speeds. They went to punch each other at the same time. Optimus missed. Megatron didn't. In fact, as soon as Megatron touched Optimus, he disintegrated into blue dust and flowed in the wind.
Aireon's eyes widened in shock and her body shook with anger. She also looked like she was about to burst into tears, if she could. She saw Megatron; the lifelong enemy she shared with her family; kill her father with one punch.
"That never happened!" Bulkhead cried in protest.
"It's not a memory. We're seeing Kaon as Megatron has created it. In his darkest dreams," Ratchet growled.
The rock Aireon was hiding behind suddenly changed color, texture and shape. She gasped as it did caught herself before she fell. There he was. Standing before her once again. Was Optimus.
"Megatron! Your treachery ends here!" Optimus declared as he unfolded his arm blade.
Megatron didn't say anything. He just folded his sword back into his arm and charged his cannon.
"No!" Aireon roared as she lounged forward.
She went to shove her father away but she fell right onto her hands and knees Instead, of knocking Optimus out of the way, she was too late disintegrated behind her. Suddenly, Aireon felt Megatron's eyes on her.
"Ah, Aireon Prime. I thought I had killed you a long time ago. With your mother. Oh, the pleasure I had of watching your father cried as you and his wife bled out in his arms. Either way, the punishment for trespassing on my domain is your destruction!" Megatron snarled as he held up his blade.
Aireon glared up at him and unfolded her own blade to prepare for a fight. Megatron took his swipe. Aireon closed her optics as she held her arms over her head as she braced for impact. But she didn't feel anything. In fact, Megatron's swipe went through her. Aireon opened her eyes and looked at Megatron in confusion. It was an expression that Megatron shared.
"How can this be?" Megatron demanded as he swiped at Aireon again…only to have it go through her.
Aireon gave Megatron devilish grin and stood to her feet, you could see her face in Megatron's disoriented faceplate.
"Megatron can't touch, Aireon?" Hannah asked.
"Because she is not a creation of Megatron's mind, Aireon is immune to his physical attack," Ratchet explained.
"Your eyes track my movements. So you're not a hologram. And I do not believe in spirits," Megatron pondered aloud as he walked around her, "So tell me, Aireon Prime? What are you?"
"Megatron."
Both Aireon and Megatron turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. Optimus was standing before them ready to fight. And this time, he brought along back up, Bumblebee and Bulkhead stood beside him ready to fight.
"Uh-oh. Special guest stars," Miko observed.
"This is not good," Ratchet remarked.
"You are real. They were not," Megatron chuckled as he realized how this was possible, "A cortical psychic patch. How unexpected."
"Oh really? I haven't noticed," Aireon glared at him, her tone sarcastic and angry.
"We've stirred Megatron from his oblivion. He's becoming self-aware," Ratchet warned.
"Just how much danger will she be in exactly? Now that Megatron knows that she's in his mind?" Hannah asks nervously.
"Only time will tell," Ratchet sighed gravely.…
"If this is my subconscious… What are you doing inside my head?!" Megatron screeched.
"You did not just scream like a femme," Aireon raised a metal brow, "At me."
Suddenly, they heard the doors open. Arcee and Bumblebee froze in fear. Arcee immediately snapped out of it and returned to her post after signaling Bumblebee to be quiet and keep an eye on Aireon. Bumblebee nodded, when Arcee returned to her post, she saw Starscream walking into the lab with Karson and Kristen, Knockout and Soundwave following him like lap dogs.
"Knockout, if you would be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave for the historical record," Starscream requested…nicely, for a change.
"Simply put. Unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathless slumber forever," Knockout proclaimed.
"My father would not have wanted to be seen this way. To stand idly by while he remains captive in his own body. It's not just," Kristen sighed sadly.
Soundwave didn't by the act Starscream, Knockout, Karson and Kristen were putting on for him. He walked up to them and pointed to the screen where Megatron's vitals were being monitored. Particularly, he was pointing to his spiking brainwave activity.
"Brainwave activity. Not evidence of consciousness," Knockout corrected, "Merely in an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake."
"Soundwave, we must face reality. Megatron is lost to us," Starscream proclaimed.
"The only honorable option would be to show him mercy," Knockout mumbled sadly.
"A simple throw of the switch," Karson clarified.
"Quick. Painless. Compassionate," Knockout added.
This worried Bumblebee and Arcee. If they flip the switch off Megatron's life support while Aireon was still inside his mind, what was going to happen to her? They dreaded the answer, but they had to know for certain. But would they lose a brand new member and Optimus?
"Ratchet, are you hearing this?" Arcee whispered.…
"If Megatron perishes, Aireon's mind will remain separated from her body forever," Ratchet announced gravely.
"We'll lose Aireon and Optimus?" Hannah could already feel the grief of losing her long-lost older sister. Caleb's shoulders slumped and he pulled his twin to his chest.
"The only way you could have entered my mind is via cortical psychic patch. But the question remains: what happened to me?" Megatron desperately wanted to know.
Aireon didn't answer his question. She didn't know the answer. Suddenly, Megatron saw something in her eyes that he had never seen before. The lighter blue circles trapped between mountains of darker blue swirled around. Just like a portal. Like a Space Bridge.
Suddenly, he found himself back at that fateful day, the day the Autobots destroyed his Space Bridge. He stood and watched as the structure collapsed around him. He reached into the portal to retrieve his army while he still can; just nanoseconds later, the Space Bridge exploded all around him. Presumably destroying him along with the structure.
"The Space Bridge explosion? And yet, if you're in my head, I am not one with the AllSpark!" Megatron gasped in realization."So tell me, Aireon Prime. Do I still function?" Megatron demanded.
"Aireon, we are out of time!"
"You're on life support. But that doesn't matter at the moment! Someone needs your help! Someone's sick with the Cybonic plague!" Aireon cried.
"Cybonic plague? Someone else is unwell?" Megatron asked in concern a nod came from Aireon as he realized who else is unwell, "Optimus! Such irony! But after ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is fallen by a simple virus from the distant past! And what makes you think I would save the life of my oldest enemy?"
"Megatron, your treachery-!"
"Not now!" Megatron and Aireon shouted as Megatron shot Optimus.
"Did we just agree on something?" Talida suddenly asked, "And if you help me get what I want, I can help you get what you want the most."
"I find the thought scary as well," Megatron agreed, "Oh? And just what is it that I want most, Prime?"
"The chance to destroy your enemy by your own hand and everyone he cares about most," Aireon answered bored, and unamused, she crossed her arms, causing Megatron to laugh.
"I must admit. You really are quite adorable sometimes… for an Autobot, of course. But did you not see? I do slay my enemy by my own hands. And in this reality, I have destroyed everyone he cares about the most; his wife, Elita-One, you and Caleb and Hannah. At will anytime I desire," Megatron retorted.
"But if you let the Cybonic plague kill my dad; you'll never get the chance to destroy him yourself in the real world," Aireon snapped and she couldn't believe she was doing this.
"Wow. She's playing on Megatron's desire to destroy the real Optimus. That might actually work. Good strategy, Aireon," Bulkhead complimented.
"Smart," Jack remarked.
"Twisted," Miko smirked.
"You go, Eon!" Hannah cheered, earning strange looks from everyone in the room; expect Optimus.
"Eon?" Caleb asked, his mouth turned into a frown.
"What? You gonna keep going around calling her Aireon. She should have a nickname, I like Eon," Hannah rested her forearms on the railing on the catwalk.
"Soundwave, do we take your silence to mean you concur with Knock Out's medical expertise?" Starscream asked, earning no response from Soundwave.
"Speak now or forever hold your peace," Karson threatened as Starscream reached for the main life support cable.
"Going… Going…," Starscream taunted as he slowly pulled at the life support cable.
Arcee aimed her blaster at Starscream in case he went to fully pull out the cable and end Megatron's life. Arcee grew increasingly more worried as she cradled her lifeless form.
Just then, she and Bumblebee began witnessing some good news and bad news. Soundwave managed to distract Starscream from pulling the cable. He was pointing at the cord linking Megatron and Aireon together. Humming in curiosity, Kristen walked around until she was behind Megatron's berth. She noticed the beginning of the cord connected near his head.
Bumblebee heard Arcee curse and she knew that they were in trouble. She never swore unless they were in deep trouble. And if she was cursing now.
"After our deep history together, to not watch the spark end from Optimus' eyes with my very own," Megatron started.
Aireon rolled her optics and crossed her arms. "Come on."
"Well played, young one," Megatron complimented as he revealed something in his hand, "The chemical formula for the cure you seek… not that I expect you know how to read it."
"You'd be amazed at what I can do," Aireon sneered as she reached for the formula. Then it was gone, she growled and glared at Megatron.
"Not yet," Megatron sneered.
"What do you want?!" Aireon demanded.
"Just how am I supposed to destroy your father as you propose while I'm trapped here in a perpetual daydream?" Megatron pondered aloud before finally deciding, "Once you release me from this prison, you will have the cure."
"Come on. Come on," Arcee begged Aireon quietly as she heard steps coming closer, "Come on, Aye. Come back to us. We need your awesome skills at the moment!"…
"You must guarantee my recovery. Or Optimus fades to ground metal graves…the real Optimus," Megatron threatened.
"Slag," Aireon swore, unsure.
Will she truly free her father's arch nemesis at the price of saving his own life? She was considering it but she also couldn't let Megatron live after today.
Ratchet rewinded and fast-forwarded the video multiple times. Until he found the frame he wanted. The frame of Megatron showing Aireon the cure for the virus he had created himself.
"Arcee, we have the formula! Disconnect Aireon now!" Ratchet instructed, "We know how to save Optimus!
"About damn time!" Arcee snapped as she moved to the connective end of the cable attached to Aireon's head, "Come on, Aye. Time to come home."
Inside Megatron's mind, the world began to crumble around them. Fantasy was dissolving. And reality was coming to light. Aireon just stood there grinning. That was when Megatron realized what was going on.
"You were watching. You tricked me!" Megatron cried.
"Bye bye," Aireon tormented with an opening and closing her fist as she began to disintegrate along with Megatron's fantasy world.
"No! Take me with you! Take me!" Megatron begged screeching, as he began to disintegrate as well.
Bumblebee pointed his guns at the oncoming intruders just as Aireon came to life in his arms. In an instant, the two joined Arcee in pointing their guns at the approaching footsteps. And those footsteps belong to Kristen.
"What the?!" Malita shrieked as a GroundBridge appeared behind them, "Intruders!"
"Allow me," Aireon smirked as she shot the life support cables off of Megatron's chest.
"Bye," Arcee gave a half wave before she and Aireon jumped into the portal just as it closed.
"Was that?..." Karson trailed off as the ground bridge closed.
"It was the inevitable outcome," Kristen sighed sadly, despite her shock.
"Of course, it would be wrong to allow Megatron to perish by an Autobot's hand," Karson grumbled.
"Knockout!" they both yelled.
Knockout just looked at them and shrugged before waving at them in the style of, 'Yeah, yeah yeah.' He reached for the cable Aireon had shot off and reconnected it to his chest.
Night had fallen upon the Autobot base, the mood in the air was no longer somber. After Ratchet discovered the formula, he set about to create the cure and save Optimus from succumbing to the plague. By the time Arcee, Bumblebee and Aireon had returned to the base, Ratchet was just feeding Optimus the cure. They just waited. With Bulkhead, Ratchet, Jack, Miko, Caleb, Hannah and Raf.
Anxiously.
Worriedly.
Waiting for any sign that the cure was working. That Optimus would be okay. When Optimus groaned and opened his eyes, everyone released the breath they didn't know they were holding in. Ratchet immediately ran over and helped him sit up and eventually up on his feet.
"That's it. Steady," Ratchet coaxed carefully.
Everyone jumped and cheered at the miracle recovery Optimus had just made. Caleb and Hannah hugged each other tightly with a few silent tears of joy and relief.
"Please. Save the hero's welcome for my physician, my scout and my two second-in-command, and my eldest child. Who are also my family," Optimus smiled proudly.
"What is it with you and nobility? Honestly, for as long as I've known you, you never appreciated the love people give you," Aireon smirked and walked over to her father.
"Welcome home, sparkling femme," Optimus opened his arms for her.
Aireon smiled up at him and threw her arms around his neck and Optimus enclosed his arms around his first born. He felt something click into place after so long, he finally had his long-lost daughter. And it was the greatest day of his life. He wasn't able to let her go anytime soon.
Meanwhile, back aboard the Nemesis, Knockout was running his usual diagnostics on Megatron to see whether or not his condition was improving or not. Starscream, Karson and Kristen were certainly in for a surprise with this report. As if it was cued, Starscream, Karson and Kristen walked in.
"And how is the patient doing today?" Starscream asked.
"Funny you should ask. Not sure what the bots did in there. But Megatron's registering zero brainwave activity," Knockout announced.
"Meaning?" Karson pressed.
"Physically, he's stable. But now, there's…no one home," Knockout clarified.
Aireon laughed quietly and shook her head to herself, she looked over at her new siblings, allies and teammates. She went to follow Bumblebee and Arcee to the entering tunnel. But suddenly, she froze. Her body became rigid and her back straightened.
Inside her mind was a horrifying sight. Inside her mind was a pair of glowing red eyes. Inside her mind was Megatron.
"I'm out. Or should I say…in?" He chuckled lowly and cynically.
To be continued…