A Medic's Last Hope
Ch. 8: Darkness
Sethblackwolf
A/N: Don't own. I'm so sorry for the delay. Please remember I don't know the complete cast of Prime's top officers. I'm also switching the timeline around a little bit. Oh well, most fanfics can be considered AU anyway. Next chapter is Ratchet's past and Chop Shop with the Decepticons.
"Perceptor, what is Dark Energon?" Optimus asked, taking the vial from the microscope and examining it.
"Dark Energon is a corrupted version of the energon that sustains and powers us. Religiously, as energon is the 'blood' of Primus, Dark Energon is similarly the 'blood' of Unicron. Supposedly, it was released by Unicron after his first battle with the thirteen original Transformers. Dark Energon is so potent that one drop can corrupt any amount of regular energon." The microscope looked at all of the stricken optics in the room. "Or so the legends go..."
"What does it do?" Blaster wondered out loud.
"Besides what I just told you? It supercharges any Transformer who has been infused with it, making them stronger, faster, more powerful...and more aggressive. Studies show that Dark Energon turns pain into pleasure, rendering any blows inflicted on a user futile. However, it also acts as a powerful narcotic, causing addiction. In the labs, Dark Energon withdrawal turns the user into a raving brute desperate to do anything for more. If the craving is not satisfied, the user devolves to a beast-like state and eventually dies."
"Wait, wait, wait... Mechs were experimented on?" Sideswipe spoke up before turning on his Prime. "And you allowed it?" Optimus look appalled that the frontliner could even think that he would allow experimentation on his own people.
"I knew nothing of this!" Perceptor tried to explain but was cut off by Prowl.
"These experiments were shut down long before Sentinel Prime offlined. The High Council decided that nothing could be gained by exposure so everything was covered up. Sentinel Prime didn't know. Therefore the knowledge was never passed down to Optimus Prime."
"What do you mean passed down? Sentinel died before he could give anything to Optimus. For pits sake, that's why Optimus Prime was made Prime in the first place!" Prowl, Jazz, and even Blaster groaned at Sunstreaker's question. Perceptor tried to explain.
"Well you see-..."
"You are so blond Sunstreaker!" Blaster laughed. "The Matrix of Leadership holds the memories of all the Primes. How could you not know that? Everyone knows that! Frag, I think even the Decepticons know that!" Sunstreaker growled at the stereo while Sideswipe pretended to have a panic attack.
"I don't remember being told this! Nobody told me this! Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?" Prowl was not amused.
"It's not so much that no one told you anything but more like you two were not listening." Jazz chuckled into his fist as the twins glared at the SIC.
"How in the Pit did you know about that 'Dark Energon' anyway? Didn't you just say that it was kept under wraps?" Perceptor took a deep breath and … was cut off again. This time by Jazz.
"Cool it Sunny! Prowler was head enforcer on the case." Meanwhile, Perceptor was grumbling to himself.
"Fragging rude sparklings, not letting me finish what I was saying. I wonder if the Decepticons have to deal with this slag. Of course they don't, they'd kill the rude spawns of the Pit. Oh... so tempting..." Red Alert started to twitch and inch away from the murderous pacifist. Going back to the main argument...
"Oh? So now you're defending him. Just a few minutes ago he slapped you silly." Sideswipe put out. The T.I.C spluttered.
"O-of course he did, I deserved it!" Optimus slapped a hand to his forehead and shook his head, optics off-lining in embarrassment. Blaster couldn't help but take the bait.
"You know, that's what every victim of an abusive relationship says." Prowl stormed over to the communications officer.
"How dare you! I have never abused Jazz!" Blaster held up his hands in surrender.
"Alright! Alright already! I took that too far." The stereo gave them a sly look. "A little defensive there, could it be that you two are into that sort of thing?" Perceptor tried one last time to speak.
"If we could just-…"
"Is that any of your business Blaster?" Optimus asked.
"Frag it all…" Perceptor grumbled before slamming his hands on the table and standing. "Slag all of you to the Pit and back! If one of you so much as coughs while someone else is talking, so help me Primus, I will dismantle you myself and use your parts in my experiments!" The microscope leaned forward and the rest, even Prowl and Optimus, collectively leaned back. "Do I make myself clear?" As one they nodded. Perceptor smirked. "Good!" He sat back down. Optimus hesitantly raised his hand. "Yes Prime?"
"Are you alright Preceptor? Do you need to see Ratchet?" The big rig's optics widened. "Oh!" Perceptor nodded.
"Yes! That's right! Ratchet has gone A.W.O.L., apparently suffering withdrawls of Dark Energon, and all we seem able to talk about is Prowl's and Jazz's interface life. Which, for the record, that is something I DON'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT!" The group winced. "Now Prowl," Perceptor said, turning to the S.I.C. "Please share with the class your experience with Dark Energon." The Datsun nodded.
"A short time before the beginning of the war there was an epidemic of missing mech cases from Kaon, Praxus, and even Iacon. As far as we could tell there was no relationship between the missing mechs. They were all different models, ages and castses. They all went missing at different times too, which led the enforcers to believe at first that none of these crimes were related. It was actually Red Alert who was able to find a connection." Red Alert took his cue to speak, warily glancing at Perceptor for permission.
"It turned out that thoses details were the connection. What each case had in common was that they were all crimes of opportunity. Each mech or femme went missing at a time were the least amount of people would notice." Optimus raised his hand.
"What set this off as more than the regular trafficking case? Cybertron had more than its fair share of scum." This time Jazz answered.
"The average of missing persons cases for the whole of Cybertron was 197 per month at that time. Durring this that number skyrocketed to 372 per month for those three cities alone." The group's optics widened.
"Excuse but wait a second!" Sideswipe yelled. "That's almost double! If the amount of people increased that much then why didn't an alert go out? Isn't that what happens when things get that bad?" Red Alert looked down in shame and Prowl gave the red frontliner a look of pity for his naivety.
"Sideswipe," He spoke softly. "Most of the people that went missing were those of the lowest caste. No one cared until some of Tower mechs went missing." Sunstreaker snorted.
"What else is new? What does this has to do with Ratchet?" Prowl looked comptimplative for a moment. He turned to Red Alert.
"Now that I think about it, wasn't that when Ratchet went on a vacation from politics?" Hound poked Perceptor in the arm.
"Ratchet was a politician?" The microscope nodded.
"Yes, and a good one. It is strange that Ratchet, who was defending the lower caste, left right before that same caste started to get abducted."
"You don't think…? Ratchet would never do that!" Blaster picked up the conversation.
"Ratchet would never hurt his friends and yet he slit Ironhide's throat! We need to accept the facts that Ratchet is not who we thought he was and that he might very well be a Decepticon sp-!" The door slammed open to show Wheeljack standing there with his mask off and the Pit in his optics. Scars crisscrossed all over his face with the newest one, the one caused by Ratchet at the party, still showing signs of being freshly welded.
"You slagging bastard! My brother would never betray the Auto- whoa!" Wheeljack barely dodged a blast from Perceptor's cannon.
"Perceptor!" Optimus shouted, appalled at the lack of restraint the normally quiet and polite scientist had. The microscope looked unapologetic.
"I gave a fair warning."
"Wheeljack wasn't here to hear that warning!" Perceptor tilted his head.
"Oh, sorry." He said, not sounding sorry at all. Jazz, seeing that Optimus was about ready to deck the scientist, spoke up.
"What do you mean, your brother?" Wheeljack looked furious at himself.
