Sanity Virus

Chapter 2: Midpoint

"Beloved, what happened?" Megatron asked, his voice breaking on the pet name. That did it. That simple break broke through the fear and Optimus lunged at Megatron, burrowing into the other in fear of the memories and of the fear itself. Megatron held on tight. He soothed his sparkmate as best he could without knowing what had caused the episode and Optimus fought to calm down to explain. He owed Megatron that much.

"I apologize," Optimus wheezed.

Megatron bristled at the soft spoken apology and moved back to look at Optimus fully. "Don't even, Optimus. Just tell me what happened. What triggered this? Neither of us have had such strong episodes before."

Opimus shook his head, elbows on bent knees and gaze to the floor. "I do not know."

Megatron gripped his chin forcefully. Probably more forcefully then the mech had intended but Optimus flinched regardless, his head jerking back to connect sharply with the wall behind it and bright blue optics focused on regretful red ones. Megatron cupped the back of Optimus's head, offering, "I'll try and be more careful, Beloved. I don't want to cause such turmoil." Megatron kissed Optimus's forehead, offering, "I'll be back after the meeting."

Optimus frowned as Megatron stood. He took the offered hand and got up. "Is a compromise possible?"

Megatron smirked, but it was guarded this time, sharper almost. "Depends."

"I go with you but the only strenuous thing I do is read useless information."

Megatron laughed, accepting that as a good compromise. "Alright."

They left a bit after midday, walking hand in hand for most of the way. As they got closer, though, Optimus realized this was the third time Megatron had rubbed his temples. He frowned, asking, "Are you alright, Megatron?"

Megatron looked at him, an optic ridge raised in question. "I'm fine. I'll stop by medic on the way to take care of this. It's nothing. Don't worry."

Optimus didn't believe him but let it slide. Others greeted them, though most sounded hollow. Megatron seemed to have noticed as well because he wrapped an arm around Optimus's shoulders and sped up the pace. They entered the same room as last time. The room had been repaired in their absence and looked exactly the same. There was nothing to reveal what had happened less than a day ago. The same bots were in the room – excluding Ironhide and Soundwave – and the table was covered in datapads and holocubes ones more. Optimus picked up a datapad with a sigh and started skimming, not really registering the words he was reading.

"The attacks are getting more frequent," Sideswipe commented, leaning heavily on the table covered in datapads and holocubs. "Do we even know where they're coming from?"

Optimus rubbed at his optics as Ratchet replied, "No. From what we can tell, it's some kind of virus. There hasn't enough time to analyze the compound fully to tell what the effects are."

Optimus's hand froze as he tensed. Sunstreaker huffed, pushing off the wall. "I can tell you the effects, Doc. They turn good bots bad. Make them do things they would never do."

Optimus's head snapped up and his gaze locked onto Sunstreaker.

"We don't know that for sure," Ratchet countered but Sunstreaker barked back, "I watched Arcee get her spark ripped out by her own sparkmate! I know for a fact that would never happen! Their bond was too strong!"

"And yet that only restates what little we already know!" Ratchet shouted back. "We need time to know the true effects of-"

"Optimus?"

Optimus flinched, blinking as he found himself face to face with his sparkmate. Optimus looked to the others and saw them watching him, mixed expressions among the crowd. Megatron gripped his arms tighter, drawing Optimus's attention back to Megatron and to the fact that his entire form was shaking. He sank to his knees and Megatron went with him, keeping him upright. Optimus rubbed at his head as he tried to force his body to stop shaking, blinking at the shattered datapad under his knee.

"Optimus." Optimus looked up into red optics. He reached up and placed a hand over Megatron's spark, his fingers curling into the metal in an attempt to redirect his thoughts. "What's wrong?"

Optimus slowly calmed down as he spoke softly. "I...Things had been so similar. It felt as if there would be a repeat of what had happened."

Megatron frowned and, for a fleeting moment, Optimus thought he had seen confusion, as if Megatron hadn't known what he was talking about. But it was there and gone so quickly, Optimus just brushed it off to a trick of the light. Megatron tightened his grip gently, briefly, asking, "Can you stand?"

Optimus hesitated before he nodded. Megatron hauled him gently to his feet, turning to the others. "We'll continue this later."

"Megatron," Ratchet started, gaze on Optimus.

"I said later!" Megatron shouted, suddenly furious. It was either great self control or a miracle that his grip on Optimus hadn't tightened. Sunstreaker opened his mouth but Megatron overrode him. "OUT!"

Everyone scattered. Megatron turned to Optimus, working desperately to suppress the sudden rage. He rubbed where he had been holding Optimus, asking, "I didn't harm you, did I?"

Optimus shook his head, doing his best to keep the onslaught of fear back. So many years out of war and the Last Prime was going soft. But, then again, his sparkmate was the notorious Megatron, Ruthless Leader of the Decepticons. No one ever loses that large of a part of themself, after all. Megatron didn't seem to notice the turmoil within his sparkmate and Optimus sighed inwardly. He didn't need to worry Megatron with this. There was enough to do already that he didn't need to add his sudden onslaughts of day terrors. Megatron kissed his forehead, breathing, "Good."

Megatron turned to the table and rubbed at his head, running the hand from his temple to the base of his neck where he worked on soothing whatever pain was ailing him. Optimus frowned. "You were going to go take care of that, Megatron."

Megatron look up, arching an optic ridge. He smiled gently. "I will. But I need to make sure you're ok first."

Primes don't pout. At least, not in public. But around their sparkmates, they seem to pout all the time and this was one of those times. Optimus crossed his arms and pouted at Megatron. "I am fine, Megatron. Just a day terror that has passed."

Megatron chuckled, standing, once more, before his sparkmate. A stolen kiss from a pouting Prime and Megatron replied airily, "I know, Beloved. Just humor me. Just this once."

Optimus's resolve deflated and Megatron stole another kiss. Optimus gently pushed Megatron and the other laughed, shoving back in retaliation. Optimus chuckled, staggering the two steps it took in exaggeration of compensating the weak shove in. Returning to the table, Optimus started collecting the datapads and holocubs.

As he picked one off the floor, Optimus straightened with a frown. He started stacking his armful neatly on the table. "There was no need to snap at them."

Megatron sighed, rubbing at his head as he leaned on the table. "Can we not do this, Optimus?"

"Megatron."

"No!" The table jumped and cracked from the impact of Megatron's fist on its surface. Red optics upturned to glare at the Prime. "I do not have to justify myself to you, Optimus. Nor do I have to listen to your lecture."

With the fear that had yet to leave him since last night, Optimus took a step forward with anger and hurt driving him forward, refusing to back down as he countered, "I had no intentions of lecturing you, Megatron. I was merely stating you did not have to act that way with our friends, regardless."

Megatron gave a barking laugh and Optimus was proud that he hadn't visibly flinched. "Friends? Last time I check, Optimus, they were your friends. Not mine."

"They are your friends, Megatron. They have been since the day we started rebuilding Cybertron."

The table shattered and Optimus leapt back, unable to stop the cannon from engaging, charging, and targeting Megatron. Megatron stood over the shattered table, fist still where it had stopped. Slowly, Megatron pulled out of the stance, almost like he was coming out of a daze and not quite sure what had happened. He looked at his hand briefly before looking up at Optimus. Optimus watched as Megatron took in the stance and the cannon pointed at him. Megatron took a step back, shaking his head slowly. His clenched his hands, ripping his gaze from Optimus as his vents hissed. He reached up and pressed his palm to his temple, offering weakly, "I'm sorry, Beloved. I shouldn't...I just..."

He sighed, his frame relaxing. He looked to Optimus and Optimus was startled out of his stance by how guarded Megatron's gaze was. "I'm going to go blow some steam. I'll see you back home."

Optimus gave a tentative nod and watched as Megatron left without looking back. Optimus looked back at the table and overrode the cannon, disengaging it and smothering the fear with routine. He cleaned up the mess of datapads and datacubes before heading home.

He stopped walking when he received an urgent ping. He frowned. It was an old frequency from back during the war. Activating it, he didn't have a chance to get a sound out before an onslaught of noise was unleashed.

"Any available warriors, come in! We need help! Headquarters is being attacked and we've got two other assaults going on at North Point and Iacon Records! Any available warriors within these areas, please give aid! I repeat! Any available warriors, come in! We need help! Headquarters is being attacked and we've got two other assaults going on at..."

Optimus shifted forms and raced back through the streets. He transformed just outside the doors to Headquarters and found the telltale signs of an assault. Mechs and femmes scattered the grounds and Optimus engaged both a blade and a cannon as his battle mask locked into place. With this many offlined, it was a large scale assault. Which meant –

"Megatron!"

Optimus made his way through halls lit with emergency lights as quickly as he could, barely feeling his sparkmate at the end of their abused link. He rounded a corner and staggered to a stop over a small squad barely holding up against an assailant. Optimus opened fire over their heads, his optics quickly confirming that the assailant and the small squad was not who he was looking for. Optimus was both surprised and pleased to see a familiar face among the strangers.

"Bumblebee."
"Nice timing, Optimus. I was worried we were going to get scrapped," the little yellow ex-scout chimed happily. "This is what I get for teaming with rookies."

The only femme in the group smacked Bumblebee upside the head, snapping, "Don't blame us for your mistake, Commander."

Bumbebee laughed, not taking his attention off their target.

"These things are resilient!" one of the remaining anonymous mechs commented. He sat back, hiding behind his comrades to recuperate. Optimus could hear his vents working overtime to keep his system cooled. The purple and red frame was shaking. Optimus met the blue optic gaze that looked up at him as the mech asked, "How do we kill these things, Optimus Prime, Sir?"

Optimus looked back at their target. "Decapitation."

"Seriously?" the mech asked, the fear of the moment growing a bit much for him.

"Great," one of the other mechs grumbled. Optimus didn't bother looking at which as he ducked the wall panel that had been thrown at them. The panel embedded itself into the wall behind them. The grumble, though, seemed to settle the purple and red mech a bit. At least his frame had stopped shaking.

"Any ideas?" Bumblebee asked.

Optimus frowned. "Just one."

"Good enough for me," the ex-scout announced, happily agreeing. He stood up, offering cover fire as Optimus raced forward.

The fight was over in a matter of seconds. The once whole Cybertronian collapsed in a heap of metal at Optimus's feet, the head rolling down the hall somewhere. Optimus looked at the squad as it approached cautiously, ordering, "Keep your weapons out."

The blue and green mech that had been ready to disengage his weapon jumped, meeting Optimus's gaze. He nodded and hurried to take up the rear. Bumblebee nudged the mass with his food. "None I recognize."

"I know him." Optimus looked at the remaining mech of black and red, recognizing the voice as the one that had grumbled earlier. The mech looked too seasoned to be a rookie. "Lived next door. Good mech. Vet, if I remember correctly. Autobot."

"Frag," Bumblebee cussed, looking away. "It's not like we needed another one lost."

"There are no more factions, Bumblebee. Any we lose now is one of ours, no matter past alliances."

"Yes, Sir," Bumblebee accepted with a not.

Optimus nodded in recognition, asking, "Have you seen Megatron?"

"Last I heard, he was up aiding Ratchet in keeping the medic clear. He may have moved on."

Optimus nodded. "Sweep this floor. Aid anyone you come across."

"We'll be here if you need us," Bumblebee agreed, saluting. He turned to his team as Optimus started down the hall again. "Alright, troops. I want an open commlink at all times. If there's any trouble or if you find..."

Silence was only cut by what noise Optimus made. It was eerie trotting through hallways he knew should be bustling at this time of day. Twice he came across deserted battlefields in those tight hallways. The second one had been the worst yet.

Parts and spilt energon splattered the hallway for the entire length and Optimus couldn't distinguish features enough to know if anyone he knew was dead now. The carnage continued along the path he took and, while there were other ways of getting to medic located on the third floor, Optimus was going for the shortest route. He could hear shouts and weapon fire as he approached the stairs. He hugged the wall, raising his cannon as he tried to decipher what was happening. He flinched when the corner beside his face shattered from a shot. Swallowing his fear, Optimus stepped out.

He was racing towards fire without really processing anything, blade scraping the floor every so often. His body moved on instinct alone, falling back on training he had long since thought rust. He was upon the assailant and had it decapitated before those fighting to stay alive even registered what had happened. Someone was shouting a cease fire as Optimus ducked one shot and sidestepped another. Optimus looked to the rag tag team of Cybertronians and was pleased to see another familiar face. "Barricade."

"Prime," the once Decepticon responded, nodding. "Lucky you showed up. We were being picked off faster than we could have anticipated."

Optimus returned the nod. "Bumblebee is with a squad near the entrance. Retrace my steps and see if you can offer some aid. They had an open commlink. See if you can contact them."

Barricade nodded as those with him started past Optimus. Barricade studied the Prime before offering, "Megatron was alive last I saw him. Up on the third floor. They were holding their own when I left."

Optimus nodded and moved to go up the stairs. A hand stopped him. He looked back at Barricade but the mech didn't release his grip. "I'm sending one of mine with you."

Optimus shook his head. "If there is a chance of getting everyone out, I will take it. Clearing this floor is our only option without Seekers or more information."

"Megatron ordered me to send one of mine with you."

Optimus gave a gentle smile, though the battle mask hid it. "I will deal with Megatron. Take care of your squad, Commander."

Barricade released Optimus's arm with a sharp nod. The mech saluted before following his team. Optimus watched them till they all disappeared around the last corner before he started to climb the stairs. The emergency lights flicker briefly before going completely dark, leaving Optimus in a pitch black stairwell. He took a moment to adjust to the new development before moving on, knowing full well he was at a disadvantage in this dark. He pressed against the wall beside the exit and charged his cannon. With a steady hand, he opened the door.

Silence.

Optimus kept his weapon to his chest as he looked around the edge of the door. Nothing. Stepping out, he raised his weapon, taking careful steps. He sent a comm ping from where he stood before hurrying down the wall. It was unclear if the infected bots were still sane enough to understand a ping like that but anything could draw their attention as well as nothing.

He sent another ping as he rounded a corner, listening for anything. The farther he moved, though, the more he was certain no one was there. The medic bay was 3 minutes away and that was without any complications. He rounded the next corner only to backpedal, raising his weapon. He was instantly grateful he wasn't trigger happy like a few bots he knew because he had just stumbled upon three sleeping infected. He shuddered, thanking Primus for the steady hand. He ignored the gore in the hall around the three sleeping infected and continued down the hallway he had been traveling. There was always another way.

The next turn had been impassible. The roof had caved in from something and Optimus wasn't about to take the chance to blast his way through. Sadly, that had been his last short route option. The hallway he was now in continued on for a good 3 minutes on its own before anything opened up to allow him to go right. He just hoped it would be clear.

When he came to the turn, he found it dark and empty. Neither of these boded well with him. Clenching his free hand, he started down the hall, foot fall as quiet as possible. He had a rough idea on the floor plan but it had been some time since he had been in this part of the building. The back of the building still had large areas of construction. This building was to become the central hub of activity, creating a place for Cybertronians to mingle and learn. But, for now, it was merely Headquarters.

The floor panel he stepped on gave way and Optimus staggered away. He cringed at the sound of the floor panel clattering off of the support struts and other panels on its way down. He looked to his left and saw that the wall was still there, still solid, but the floor and the lowest part of the wall had been taken out as something had come through at an angle, heading for the ground floor. Optimus placed his foot down carefully, testing the floor panel as he moved forward. It was slow, tedious, but he made it through the damaged area without another incident. Hurrying along, Optimus rounded the next corner and started to hear noises. Noises he wasn't too sure he was grateful to hear.

Shouts and weapon fire echoes off the walls as screeches and screams mingled with the chaos. Optimus rounded the corner to find himself a good distance behind a squad. The medic bay was in between Optimus and the squad, holding the middle line. Optimus ran forward only to stop at the medic bay.

The place was organized chaos. Most of the medical berths were occupied and any trained medic was running between patients, trying their best to take care of what they could. Ratchet was near the door, thankfully, and had seen Optimus before the Prime could fine him.

"He's with the squad keeping the infected at bay!" Ratchet barked, stopping a sudden gush of energon. Optimus was gone before he could become a hindrance.

The first mechs he ran into of the squad were Starscream and one of his trine. Starscream had a nasty gash on his wing and a burn from a gun on his opposite side. His trinemate was working on stilling the flow of energon enough to get Starscream the short distance to the medic bay without Starscream falling into stasis lock. Starscream's trinemate nodded in welcome as Starscream onlined one dim optic before offlining it quickly. He rasped out, "He's been waiting for you, Prime."

Optimus nodded, clasping the trinemate on the back before moving on. He hugged the corner to get a look at who else was there. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were working together to take down one of the four infected trying to get past the blockade Optimus was standing beside. Several other mechs and femmes were among the infected fighting but not many were getting close enough to do much. It was clear it was a suicidal mission going in like that, getting close like that. The infected were all leaking energon and the hall was covered in it. Optimus added cover fire with the barricade, finding himself standing side by side with his sparkmate.

"Beloved." A strong arm wrapped around his waist, pulling his back flush with Megatron's chest. Megatron brushed a kiss on the top of Optimus's helm, questioning over the noise, "You're unharmed?"

Optimus clung to Megatron's hand as he continued to fire at the infected. It was hard, especially with friendlies among them. "Yes. I ran into Bumblebee and Barricade. They and their squads appeared to be holding their own for now."

Optimus felt Megatron's nod against the back of his helm. One of the infected went down and didn't come up. "I've lost 12 so far and more are going to fall before these three are taken out."

"How many infected were in the initial attack?" Optimus ducked, stepping out of Megatron's hold as a piece of Cybertronian went flying through where they had been standing. They returned to the other's side but didn't return to the embrace.

"20, from what I was told."

Optimus tensed. "20?"

"20."

Optimus got a lucky shot in, catching an infected in the face. It opened up the opportunity for those in the brawl to get the upper hand. Another infected fell and didn't get back up.

"We've been at this for nearly an hour. If we don't finish this now, we'll start losing more mechs."

Optimus nodded.

A half an hour later, the last of the infected fell. They had lost 8 more mechs in the brawl but, thankfully, things had quieted. As Optimus knelt to aid Sideswipe with his injured twin, Megatron ordered, "Back to med bay. Two mechs at point at either end. Interchange every 15 minutes. No point should be left unattended."

Sunstreaker gave a strangled scream as he was moved. Sideswipe seemed lost, trying to aid his brother as best he could as they moved him to medic. It was worse in there than the first time Optimus had hurried in there less than an hour ago. Ratchet came over almost immediately, directing, "Bed 13. Get the energon loss to stop."

Optimus nodded, directing Sideswipe in the right direction. Sunstreaker collapsed onto the medical berth with nothing more than a groan. Sideswipe started fretting over his brother, inhibiting others to give Sunstreaker the medical attention he needed. Optimus gripped Sideswipe's shoulder firmly and directed him back out into the hall where he was pleased to see those that had minor to no injuries were waiting. Most were silent but a few were talking in hushed voices. Optimus saw Megatron talking with Starscream's trinemate so guided Sideswipe in the opposite direction to the outer edge of the group.

"Sideswipe, your brother will be fine," Optimus tried, watching the smaller mech's reaction.

Sideswipe shook his head, snapping – though softly – "He got infected. I know he got infected. How could he not get infected? There was tainted energon everywhere! Ratchet said–"

"Ratchet had stated that they have had little time to work on an antivirus. Your brother will remain your brother long enough for them to complete it."

Sideswipe looked up at Optimus, his blue optics bright with fear and apprehension. Despite the emotional turmoil raging inside, Sideswipe took those words as truth and nodded. He gave a weak smile and an even weaker, "Thanks, Optimus."

Optimus reached up and gripped Sideswipe's shoulder in a way to offer comfort. "You're welcome."