Author's Notes: HOLY PRIMUS! I DIDN'T DIE! XD But seriously, sorry to all you lovely followers/readers for the delay. Not only has my life been hectic, but I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter (kinda mild writers block you know). I managed to smash that wall now and we can continue on with the show!
Yes, there was another flamer, and no, I don't give a shit. People can believe what they want, I just don't have much respect for anon flames with no face to talk to or any constructive criticism.
Anyway, enjoy! Next chapter will be when I finish it XD
Chapter 28 - Wildest of Dreams
A small stroke graced the delicate wing, but all it caused was a mewl of pain.
Smokescreen paused as he continued to inspect Darksteel's wing, as confused as the young predacon as to why it wasn't healing as well as it should have.
"Have you talked to anyone about it?" he suggested feebly.
With a small frown, the ursagryph shook his helm. "Predaking told me it would get better…and Knock Out isn't really available…"
Wanting to roll his optics, the autobot rookie arose and gestured for Darksteel to follow him.
"Where are we going?" the predacon chirped as he easily caught up with Smokescreen, a small look of confusion at the prospect of leaving the room they had been in.
"I'm taking you to see Ratchet"
Darksteel wanted to protest, but after making optical contact, he merely sighed slightly. "…Whatever"
The pair moved in silence, one of them sour about the destination while the other was simply uncertain of things to speak of. It didn't take long for the silence to break, especially as Darksteel grumbled in pain for a moment before beginning to complain once more about his appendage.
Choosing not to humor him too much, Smokescreen soon led him into the medbay, only to pause in shock and confusion with what he saw.
Shockwave.
He did not understand why Ratchet seemed to be working with the evil scientist, but what did catch his immediate attention was the low growl that ran through the blue predacon he had brought.
He went to calm Darksteel, but was too late. With a screech, the youngest of the predacons shot forward, ready to attack his creator, only to come face to face with the one he considered a brother.
"It's fine Darksteel" Skylynx blocked his path, a calm look across his features.
Feeling suddenly indignant, he quickly "But…Predaking would want us to-"
"No he wouldn't" the dragon calmly responded. "He is here as part of a deal to cure Knock Out, so he would be more angry if you scrapped him"
"And you're here because?" the ursagryph frowned deeper, still desperately trying to save face.
Unfortunately, his fellow predacon didn't seem phased. "You recall when you were concerned over Smokescreen, I too was distracted?" he awaited the small nod from the other before continuing. "I had been thinking about becoming some form of medic…so I pursued my feelings and now I am being trained"
Darksteel huffed slightly, but didn't respond.
With a small sigh, Smokescreen moved forward. "Well, getting back to the reason we came…Ratchet, could you spare a moment to check Darksteel's wing?"
"Can you not see we are busy?!" the old medic practically shouted, but was shocked to find the purple scientist motion towards the injured young predacon.
"We are almost finished, you should check his wing's damage. Perhaps then we may be able to test the formula on him"
Turning dramatically, Ratchet frowned deeply. "Why? What good would wasting the cybermatter on a predacon?"
Shockwave glanced at the medic for a few seconds before continuing his work. "We do not currently know how the cybermatter works on predacons, and thus, do not know exactly what it would do to Knock Out's converted form. If Darksteel will let us to try it on him, it will allow us to know how it works with their kind"
"But we don't even know what it will do to him!" Ratchet argued angrily, "It could permanently change him and mess up his anatomy!"
"That would be why it would be his choice"
Darksteel stared, half angry, half confused. The insinuations scared him, but if it meant his wing would be instantly cured, he was all for it. Shockwave's obvious disregard didn't really sway him though.
Glancing at the worry on Smokescreen's face only made him more uneasy. He'd be doing Predaking a big favour in testing the formula, but he could be dooming himself to as many problems as Knock Out currently had.
Nervously reaching forward and carefully clamping onto Smokescreen's servo, he murmured lowly to the rookie. "What do you think I should do?"
A slight surprise mingled in with the worry on the rookie's face plates. He didn't really know what to say. Knock Out was a close friend of his, but he also cared deeply for Darksteel. His processor was against his spark, one wanting him to say to do so, and the other wanting to protect his now lover.
He opened his mouth to answer, but soon it fell shut again.
"Nobody needs to answer yet!" Ratchet cut back in agitatedly. "I haven't even looked at his wing!"
The purple scientist hummed in thought, "Well, perhaps it would be best to begin now so we can progress this project as rapidly as we can"
Grumbling under his breath, Ratchet moved over to Darksteel and gestured for him to move to the other side of the room. Smokescreen moved with him, but Skylynx remained with Shockwave, clearly sensing the tension and agitation radiating between the trio.
"Just relax and spread your wing slowly" Ratchet instructed, watching the ursagryph closely as he un-tensed himself and did so.
Immediately, he yelped, trying to muffle it, but the flinch of pain it caused only made him curl in on himself as it continued to hurt. Smokescreen's servos were quickly invading his ball, trying to ease him to uncurl, so all Darksteel could bare to do was latch onto the nearest arm and keen softly.
"It shouldn't be hurting him, should it?" Smokescreen asked seriously.
With a deep frown, Ratchet answered. "No, it shouldn't"
"Then what's wrong with it Ratch?"
Ignoring the obvious disrespect in the rookie's question, the medic moved closer. "Darksteel, I am going to check it over, but it may hurt"
"Just do it quickly" Darksteel growled, eager to be able to furl his wings back up…it didn't hurt when he folded them in.
Taking his chance, Ratchet gently felt around the damaged area, unsurprised by the muffled pained noises. Retracting his servo with a sigh, Ratchet sighed deeply. "Though I don't condone Shockwave's sudden suggestion, at present, your wing is badly damaged and the cybermatter might just help heal it"
Turning slowly as he retracted his wings, the ursagryph stared at the medic with naive eyes. "If it will make me better, I will do it"
Smokescreen nodded in agreement, but Ratchet simply shook his head, slight annoyance running through his poise.
"Like I keep saying to you, it could do so, but it is also as likely to permanently alter your system like what has undergone Knock Out"
"Wait" the ursagryph's optics widened, "Are you saying…it might make me…a non-predacon?"
Further into the base, a large dragon slept curled around the mech everyone was concerned about.
Predaking had been worrying himself silly over the decision for his mate, and though his own recharge was affected, he had been forced to sleep once more from pure exhaustion.
The thing he hadn't noticed were the odd twitches from Knock Out as he powered down.
The twitches that only intensified.
Slowly his optics began to flicker back online, only semi-aware of his surroundings. A vague familiarity assaulted his senses, the sights and smells seeming safe to him.
Grumbling, Knock Out sat up, feeling like absolute slag. But something seemed to click in his processor. He had been about to attack some prey…and his mate had stopped him.
The one he admired and trusted had betrayed him.
Scrambling up and out of the grasp of the dragon, and somehow not waking the deeply recharging predacon, the red mech hissed as he stumbled away. His thoughts were a cluttered mess…He was half aware of his instincts being a problem, and half way to wanting to submit to their whims.
Crouching down onto all fours, he glanced around once more, evaluating his best escape from his abode. Knock Out needed out…even though he knew he would end up coming back, he needed his freedom so he could continue the hunt that was so rudely interrupted.
Predaking still slept soundly, unaware of his mate plotting his escape.
Moving towards the door way, the red medic stopped abruptly, spotting his reflection in his mirror. Rushing over, a mix of rage and sorrow bubbled into the red mech. Carefully, he traced his talons across the reflected image of himself, tears stinging at his optics.
"No…" he gasped, practically crashing back into himself at the visual confirmation of what was going on.
His body…his form…
Looking down in horror, Knock Out screamed out in disgust, instantly lashing out at his mirror. He watched as his image shattered, the glass spreading across the floor and creating diamonds of sharp crystals everywhere.
This made Predaking jump up in shock, but Knock Out was not done.
As the tears escaped, he wailed out over the loss of his looks, rushing to the door and smashing the control panel. The door shuddered open, and as Predaking became aware of the situation, he only just caught sight of the red mech running away.
Rushing to follow, Predaking was forced to transform to his bi-pedal form to leave the room. He'd be able to track his mate easily, but he couldn't fathom just how Knock Out could have awoken without aid.
Before leaving through the door, he glanced back at the mess of shattered mirror across the room. Instantly, he could kind of guess that Knock Out had seen his current appearance, but he wasn't entirely sure how the red mech had woken up.
Out in the corridor, the dragon king halted for a moment. More havoc outside the red mech's room had occurred. Shined surfaces and walls were scratched, as well as more things smashed. It would appear Knock Out was lashing out at anything that reflected his image as he fled.
Following the destruction, he eventually came to meet an autobot, but not one he'd expect. The white wrecker cocked an eyebrow at the predacon as he spoke in confusion.
"Soooo…what upset Knock Out?"
Overlooking Wheeljack, Predaking grumbled his answer lowly. "He somehow awoke from medical stasis and freaked out over his new looks"
Wheeljack nodded with a hum, seeming to understand the issue. "Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Get Ratchet, with his help we can hopefully get him back into stasis"
Agreeing easily, the wrecker allowed the predacon to continue onwards, moving off to accomplish his task. The pair neither really got on nor hated one another at this point, but they weren't keen on dragging out conversations.
Predaking sniffed around, sensing Knock Out had retreated into a quieter part of the base…the prisoner containment area. He growled as he followed his nose towards the mech he loved, hating that his mate had tried to confine himself away from them, all over his looks.
"Knock Out" he grumbled as he entered an oddly shaded room. It looked like the lighting had been shattered much like a lot of other items.
"GO AWAY" Knock Out screeched, still out of Predaking's visual range.
But the dragon king was still determined.
Stalking towards the voice, Predaking shook his helm, answering calmly. "I will not stay away", and as he could just about make out the form of his mate quivering in the corner, he continued, "I will never stay away".
Reaching out gently, he ignored the low hiss from Knock Out and carefully trailed his talons along the red helm, goading the mech he loved to look up.
It was a short look they exchanged before Knock Out tried to shy away, but Predaking forced him to remain.
"Don't look at me!" Knock Out shuddered, attempting once more to back away, only to find himself firmly against the wall. "I'm…I'm…hideous!"
With a small grumble, the dragon con leant in closer and spoke lowly into the red mech's audio. "Do you find me hideous?"
"No…"
Purring, Predaking carefully brought Knock Out into a kiss, unsurprised to find him whimper and pull himself as close as he could.
"It's okay Knock Out"
"But is it?" Knock Out asked lowly, burying his face plates in the king's broad chests as more tears threatened to escape.
The defeated tone his lover used upset Predaking more than he'd expect, and coupled with the guilt over causing this, the dragon king was at a loss. Sighing slightly, he spoke as collectedly as he could. "I knew you would hate these specific alterations, which is why I helped improve your finish while you were in stasis…"
Knock Out cut him off before he could continue. "And I like that you did that, but look at me…I'm a monster…a…a…"
Shushing him as more tears began to leak out, the predacon hugged him closer, "As we speak, Ratchet and Shockwave have been developing a cure…one which I've been led to believe should revert you"
"But HOW?" the red mech demanded, puffing up in annoyance, "Your fragging venom has completely changed my plating! How in the pits could a cure revert someone's form?!"
"Because the cure we plan to use is pure cyber-matter" Ratchet's calm voice interrupted, shocking Knock Out momentarily.
Moving slowly towards the pair, he watched calmly as Predaking turned to face him with Knock Out still in his arms, as well as when Knock Out tried to force himself away with a low whine.
"Do you trust us?" the old medic continued to the other medic.
With a small huff, Knock Out nodded warily.
"Then you must understand why it is best to put you back into stasis"
He wanted to protest, wanted to screech out and attack the medic, run away, possibly try and remove the alterations himself…but one look at the medic's seriousness told him otherwise.
He may be experiencing the pits right now, but stasis was an escape. It would ease his mental side, and though this error had occurred and allowed him online, he really wished it hadn't.
"Just do it quickly" he mumbled, tears once more leaking from his optics as he hugged into Predaking.
Nodding in understanding, Ratchet pulled out a cable and carefully connected it to the red mech's neck. "We will cure you Knock Out, it won't be long now"
Not saying anything, the command was almost instantaneous in making the red mech fall back into medical stasis.
"So how did he online?" Predaking asked as he hugged the now limp mech closer and stood up. "You said he could only online with your codes"
Shaking his helm, Ratchet sighed deeply through his vents. "Unfortunately, he is also a medic, so it is entirely possible that his system kept attempting codes until he onlined, though, there is a very slim chance of such codes simply failing as well". After a small look over the now slumbering mech, Ratchet locked optics with the predacon king.
"I believe we should take him to the medbay now…I think we are almost ready to attempt the cure"
