Rating: T for some violence and Cybertronian swearing
Warnings for this chapter: Dream-violence and Echo's swearing.
Summary: Echo must use a dangerous procedure to save Optimus…
Pairing(s): None.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Echo.
A/N: I'm celebrating chapter 25 and apologizing for the last two cliffhangers with a nice long chapter this time. :D Enjoy and don't forget to review!
Chapter 25: Mind's Optic
Echo blinked and rubbed her hands against her arms. Well, this isn't quite what I expected. I thought it would be less…physical. She glanced back over her shoulder, then up at the sky. "Is this Kaon? Creepy."
She started down the long bridge, wincing at the spikes on the sides. "No wonder Autobots avoided this place."
::Echo, hurry.:: Ratchet's worried voice came over the comlink. ::I know you're in unknown territory, but you must figure out where information might be filed.::
"Got it." Echo picked up her pace, only to stop when a figure materialized out of the shadows. Red, blue, tall…
"Optimus?"
Ratchet's voice stopped her eager rush forward. ::That is not Optimus, just a figment of Megatron's mind! It can't see or hear you. Focus on your mission.::
A cold laugh from the platform halfway up the wall sent Echo into a defensive crouch, optics flickering with fear as she heard the Decepticon leader speak.
"Optimus Prime. Your Autobot armies are defeated! Bow before your new master!"
"Never, Megatron." He might be a figment of the imagination, but Optimus's voice still held the strength and confidence of his real self. "One shall stand, one shall fall!" His battle blade activated, and Echo ducked behind a rock outcropping as Megatron drew his own blade, leaped down from the platform, and charged. But as the Decepticon struck, Optimus faded and disappeared in a swirl of green smoke.
"Ohhh, Primus," she whispered, shivering. Can Megatron kill me, while I'm in here? A second later, she yelped and scrambled backward as the rock crumbled away to reveal Optimus. Again.
"Your treachery ends here," the image of the Autobot leader rumbled, stepping forward. Megatron's shot caused it to disappear again, revealing Echo crouched on the ground. The Decepticon leader stalked forward with a growl.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" He leaned down to study her. "The symbol of a doctor. I've never seen you, little medic, but you look strangely familiar…"
Spark pounding frantically, Echo stood up straight and met Megatron's optics, trying to get her vocalizer to work. All she could manage was a clicking sound.
Megatron chuckled. "Ahh, now I know. You look like Optimus's pet medic, Ratchet. Family of yours?"
"Get away," Echo managed to rasp. "Leave me alone!"
The Decepticon leader's cruel smirk widened. "Do you know what the punishment for trespassing in my domain is, little one? It's death." Echo cried out and threw one arm up instinctively to protect her face as Megatron's claws swept down.
A second later, they were on the other side of her, having phased directly through her body. "WHAT?" Megatron roared in fury and lashed out at her yet again. She stumbled backward, but his blows continued to simply slide through her without impact.
"What's going on?" Echo yelped, ducking out of Megatron's reach. Ratchet's voice sounded through her internal comm system.
::You're not a part of his dream, so he can't touch you! Play along.::
"Hmm." Megatron circled her slowly. "You are not wearing phase displacement armor. You're not a hologram, because you track my movements. And I do not believe in ghosts. So tell me, youngling, what are you?"
"I'm not a youngling," Echo snapped shakily. "And is it that you can't touch me…or that I can't touch you? Maybe it's you, not me."
"Don't try to confuse me with questions, youngling," Megatron growled dangerously. His red optics blazed as behind Echo, three more figures materialized. She turned to see yet another Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee.
Snarling with fury, Megatron lashed out with both gun and sword until nothing was left but a green haze. "They are not real…" He spun to glare at Echo. "And you are!"
Not good. Echo backed away as the Decepticon started to laugh. "A cortical psychic patch! Clever, little medic. But if this is my subconscious…" Megatron crossed the space between them with one step and growled into her face. "What are you doing inside my head?"
"Looking for the cure for cybonic plague!" Echo yelled back without even thinking. Oh frag! That was the last thing I wanted to say. I'm dead, I'm dead...
"Ahh, so there is something you want from me!" Megatron chuckled and stepped back. "An answer for an answer; how is it that you are inside my head? I am clearly not one with the AllSpark; what happened to me?"
Echo bit her lip. Play along. "Remember dark energon?"
Megatron's optics narrowed for a long moment, then widened. "The space bridge explosion! You were not there…ah, but your companions were. So tell me; do I still function?"
::Echo, we are out of time!:: Ratchet's voice gave his daughter the determination to glare at the Decepticon leader, since she knew he couldn't hurt her. "Just one question each! Cybonic plague?"
"Why would you want that?" Megatron gestured with his gun hand. "Someone besides myself is…unwell?"
Echo forced a nod. Megatron guessed the truth only a second later. "Optimus! Ha, such irony; after all these years of battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is felled by a simple virus from the distant past!"
"Enough, Megatron," the femme hissed, temper rising. "Tell me the cure!"
"And what makes you think I would save the life of my oldest enemy?" At the sound of another image of Optimus, Megatron spun and destroyed it.
Echo's processor was racing frantically. "Because that would give you what you want most; to kill him with your own servo!"
"Can you not see?" Megatron laughed and gestured toward the green smoke. "I do slay Optimus at will, whenever I desire!"
"But just an image," Echo pointed out. "You want to do it for real? Let the plague kill him, and you never get the chance."
In the Decepticon laboratory, Arcee noticed Soundwave pointing at the cable leading from Megatron to Echo's offline frame. "Scrap! Echo, c'mon, wake up…"
"After our deep history, to not watch the spark ebb from Optimus's optics with my very own…" Megatron considered for a moment. "You are more clever than I thought, youngling. Very well." He opened his hand to reveal an encrypted formula cube. "This is the chemical for the cure you seek. Not that you'll be able to decrypt it."
I can't, but I know who can! Echo rapidly saved every image she could. "Give it here."
"Not yet," Megatron smirked. "How am I to terminate Optimus if I remain in this state? When I am free, then you will have the cure."
"No!" Echo made a grab for the hologram, but he snatched it out of her reach.
"Guarantee my recovery, medic, or Optimus fades to gunmetal gray. The real Optimus."
Arcee desperately tapped at Echo's faceplate. "Come on, come on…" Above her, Starscream was following the cable toward them.
Ratchet quickly checked the image Echo had sent him. ::Arcee, we have the formula! Disconnect her now! Bumblebee, get ready in case she can't walk through the groundbridge.::
The dream-world of Kaon started to crumble around them, fading again, and Echo realized what was happening. She turned and sprinted back the way she had come as Megatron made the connection.
"You were watching. You tricked me!"
Echo could feel the world fading back into spirals of light and dark as Megatron roared, "NO! TAKE ME WITH YOU! TAKE ME!..."
Her optics powered to reveal a blurred image of the Decepticon laboratory. Before she even had time to reorient herself, Bumblebee had scooped her into his arms and sprinted into the groundbridge, which still seemed to be spinning around her.
The moment they reached the base, Ratchet was taking her from Bumblebee and cradling her like a sparkling. "Here, just lie down. You're stable, but you need rest."
"Optimus…" she rasped, looking over at the other berth.
"The antivirus is working as we speak." Ratchet brushed a hand over her forehead. "In a few hours, he'll be just fine. You did well."
"Ratchet, may I speak with her?"
Ratchet glanced up at Optimus in surprise. "I guess it works fast. Yes, but stay sitting down. And Echo, don't you move."
"Yes, sir." Echo looked at her commander. "Are you…"
"Recovering, as your father said," Optimus reassured her. "I will not take long, but I want to acknowledge what you have done. Entering Megatron's mind was a dangerous procedure, but you acted bravely and fulfilled your mission." His servo covered hers completely. "Thank you, Echo. I am honored to call you a member of Team Prime."
Echo blushed at the applause from the humans. "I only did what anyone else would have. But you are welcome."
"Alright, now," Ratchet said firmly, pushing Optimus back. "Let her rest. A mind-body split is exhausting."
The femme shuttered her optics as the sound around her died away. But just as she was about to slip into recharge, twin red optics gradually registered in the darkness, along with a jagged-toothed smile. Megatron's laughter rasped in her processor.
"I'm out. Or should I say…in?"