Whatever the Prime saw or heard must have been very bad! He's never seen Optimus so helpless before. He ran to his friend's side to snap him out of whatever trance has taken hold of him.
"Optimus, Talk to me; what happened?!" Ratchet urgently asked.
["How in the name of Cybertron..?"] Prime could not believe it.
"OPTIMUS! Snap out of it, Prime!" The medic slapped his friend across the faceplate to knock him out of his trance. Luckily the Prime came back to reality.
"Sorry about that, but what happened here? I heard her scream!" Ratchet asked as he tried keeping Zucky from hurting herself as he checked her over again for good measure.
"She suddenly started talking. At first, I thought she had forgotten everything; my identity, where she is, what happened? But it seems she was dreaming...or so I thought..." Optimus explained."
"Don't do this to me Prime..."Ratchet hated that ominous tone Optimus' voice trailed off to.
"She appears to be stuck in her mind..." Prime said.
"Oh, no." Ratchet felt as if they just drenched him in Ice-cold coolant.
"And Knockout is with her." The Autobot leader concluded.
"By the Allspark..." The medic was afraid of this. "We had a feeling he'd try this again."
Nurse Darby, after finishing up on her errands, went directly to the Autobot base to check in with Ratchet on Zucky's progress. As she drove down the tunnel she could hear the medic tinkering away on one of his countless projects by his worktable. When she was just about to make it to the entrance of the common room, she heard a very audible scream coming from deeper within the base as she arrived! "
*Gasp!* Zucky?" Nurse Darby stopped the car and quickly got out.
But before she could say anything, she saw Ratchet just toss his tools on the table and thundered down the hall without a word. This is serious. The nurse hurried after the Medic as fast as she could run.
"Ratchet, I need a lift." The nurse said once she made it to the Medbay.
The bots only now noticed the human nurse coming through the doorway and stood close to the medic, so he could pick her up. He immediately did as she asked and placed her next to the patient on the berth.
"What's going on?" June asked.
"Knockout has infiltrated her mind...again. Last time she told me of a Spark Terror she had, but she was quickly able to turn the tables around on him, and managed to kick him out. Before that, the con was able manually override her system and control her movements." Ratchet confessed. "I fear that was only a learning curve."
Zucky had stopped throwing punches and kicking, but started frantically flailing as if she was running from something. ["Manually overtaking people's movements? Attacking people in their dreams? Where do they get all of this?!"] The Nurse was struggling to understand, but now she had to focus on the task at hand.
"Maybe she came last night but stayed asleep? If this is really a dream, we have to wake her up somehow...That should break the connection, at least temporarily." June explained and started nudging Zucky to get her to wake up.
"Zucky? Zucky, you gotta wake up, Sweety; You're dreaming!" The nurse tried waking the dragon up.
The dragon stopped running and whined in fear.
"Now open your eyes, Zucky. Whatever you're looking at will disappear with it, okay?" June guided her, but it failed.
The dragon then jerked violently as if she'd been hurt real bad on her chest just then and howled in pain so loud that it echoed throughout the base! Everyone was caught off guard by this, and June flew back in surprise, that she almost fell off the berth, weren't it for Ratchet catching her and helping the nurse back onto it. After that, Zucky was left panting heavily, tears streaming down her face.
"She cannot hear us June, I have tried." Optimus explained.
"Oh dear..." The nurse worried. "But we can't stop, we have to keep trying!"
As pointless as that sounded right now, they didn't have any other options at the moment, but something's gotta give.
Zucky's hands fly to her neck and she belts out another excruciating howl, followed by another as she grabs at her wrist, suggesting something must have been done to her hands.
Luckily the nurse brought some things with her, she dove into the bag she had on hand, and pulled a cold water bottle and a towel. Next she opened it and poured some on the dragon's forehead, but Zucky just wouldn't wake up!
Instead the dragon grabbed at her throat, trying to remove something that was choking her! In response to that she jerked again and her hands flew to the back of her head as she curled in excruciating pain. The sudden headache kept up for five whole minutes and no matter what the nurse and the bots did, the dragon did not respond to any of it!
June was completely helpless now, and all she could do was hold the poor creature in her arms as it writhed in pain caused by whatever that horrible monster was doing. "Isn't there anything you can do? Anything that you haven't tried?!"
"Had she been a Cybertronian, one of us could have been able to aid her via a Cortical Psychic patch link." The medic explained. "And again... like I said before; she might, doesn't mean she is."
Suddenly Zucky falls limp.
"*Gasp!* Zucky? Zucky, are you still there?!" June shakes her around. "Wake up, Please! Don't you dare give up on me, Young lady!"
The dragon is suddenly struck with some violent hiccups, which shortly after was followed by her emptying her whole stomach out onto the berth! The Nurse had to turn her over, to make sure she didn't drown in her own vomit.
Ratchet grabbed some towels and started cleaning up. He gave some to June so she could dry up the poor creature's face that was bathed in hot tears and sweat. "Wait until I get my servos on that sorry excuse for a medical practitioner! By the time I'm done with his chassis, THERE WON'T BE ANYTHING LEFT FOR THE SCRAPHEAP!" Ratchet roared.
After her stomach was completely void of everything, Zucky fell limp again. Seeing Zucky in this state and him feeling helpless to do anything about it was all but too much for the Prime to bear. The energon in his fuel lines were boiling and he felt a rage taking over in his system, unlike what he's ever felt before in his functioning life!
"Primus, help me..." Optimus trailed off as he closed his Optics.
The Nurse Placed the patient back down on the berth.
The three younger Autobots drove into the base only to find no one there.
"Hey, where is everybody?" Jack asked as he took off his helmet. Miko and Raf climbed out of their respective rides as well.
"Nurse Darby's car is right there, so there has to be someone here, right?" Raf asked
.:"Probably they're in the Medbay, c'mon; maybe Zucky's finally awake.":. Bumblebee warbled as he transformed and carefully picked up Raf. The others followed suit. When they made it into the medbay, the air was heavy with concern.
Seeing his mother with the Medkit open, some things strewn about and the lingering smell of vomit, Jack was the first to ask: "Guys, what happened?"
The young man looked at Optimus who just groaned in response as he lowered his helm, closed his optics and looked away from the human to Zucky instead. Clearly he didn't want to talk about it at this moment. When the kids turned their attention to Ratchet, the bot looked like he wanted to say something, but was having second thoughts about it, considering Prime's reaction to the question.
Finally nurse Darby went ahead; "We...need to talk..." Was all that June could say.
The other two teens froze. That was never a good sign at all. Before they could ask any more questions, June and Ratchet escorted them out the door. Optimus stayed behind in case something happened.
He felt a bit ashamed that he couldn't bring himself to explain to the children what was going on, but at the same time; his own scrambled thoughts and lack of definitive information wasn't exactly putting him in a position where he could speak confidently either, like he usually does.
Not to mention how the humans would most likely come up with dozens of questions that they simply won't be able to get an answer to, anyway. He doesn't blame them; Humans are naturally curious like that, and their young age amplifies that trait even more.
At the moment, Zucky seems to have found some rest...but for how long? Then the prime's attention fell on a minuscule replica of a vehicle, off to the side from where the patient was resting. Rafael left it next to the dragon last night. The boy spoke to Zucky, even though the dragon wasn't capable of responding.
He seemed so hopeful, even went so far as to giving Zucky something to look forward to once she woke up. Perhaps he thought his friend was just sleeping? The autobot leader carefully picked up the object in his servo. It was so incredibly small compared to him, he was almost afraid to turn it over so he could look at it from all sides.
He knew this toy had seen better days. Recently having been restored after accidentally being crushed under Bumblebee's heel strut. Rafael did a great job though; Prime wouldn't have been able to see the cracks in its body, hadn't it been for his sharp optics and their ability to pick up these kinds of details.
His young scout really did a number on the poor thing, without even trying. Optimus often worries about the safety of their human friends. Not that he doesn't trust Bumblebee around humans, but the scout can sometimes forget to pay attention where he puts his pedes. He's a bit clumsy in that regard...granted; not as clumsy as Bulkhead. But that's a whole new Cube game.
He just about cursed that word as it crossed his Processor. It's what got them in this situation in the first place. Looking at the toy he was reminded that it wasn't the cube game...no; It was Zucky's own willingness to jump head first into danger to save Rafael's life.
She knew what the malfunctioning cube was capable of, and she endured a thorough beating from it, the first time she found it. Not unlike Optimus himself...he would rather take the brunt of an impact, if it meant his comrades; both human and Autobot were safe and sound. But what was the Prime to do when he can't even get to said comrade, to protect them?
His brain module was working on overdrive to come up with a solution.
["Lend me your wisdom, Great one..."] The Prime pleaded.
Then he remembered what June and Ratchet talked about earlier;
{"Isn't there anything you can do? Anything that you haven't tried?!"
"Had she been a Cybertronian, one of us could have been able to aid her via a Cortical Psychic patch link."}
"That is it!" Optimus' optics widened as he sat straight up.
Meanwhile in the common room...
The young Autobots and their charges have gotten anxious over what they've just seen.
Having settled them down enough, June started explaining;
"After you all left, I finished treating Zucky's wounds. When I was heading home, I noticed Optimus' unusual demeanor. It was then that him and Ratchet told me that there is something up with Zucky."
"Basically the reasoning behind the cube discharging when it was in contact with Zucky was that perhaps she might not exactly be organic anymore...at least not completely." Ratchet continued from where the nurse left.
"What?!" The news surprised everyone besides June and Ratchet.
"How's that supposed to make sense?" Bulkhead asked.
"I know, I couldn't believe it either when they told me. I mean she's not made of metal, She breathes air like us and does everything else that we do as organics. How could she be? It didn't make sense at the time and it still doesn't, to be completely honest." Nurse Darby explained.
"So what? We had another bot in our midst and we didn't even know?" It was Arcee's turn to ask.
"Something's going on with her, even though we can't see it from the outside. Problem is we're not even sure what, Arcee. Whatever it is, it might not even be Cybertronian in nature at all, for all we know." Ratchet answered.
"What do you think it might be?" Raf asked with concern on his face.
"She survived being exposed to a life threatening amount of energy for an earth organic...the few traces that remained in her circulatory system were slowly absorbed." Ratchet explained.
"Wait, shouldn't it have killed her?" Jack was confused.
"It should, but it didn't...everything was checking out just fine, I chalked it up to being an innate ability of her specific species." The medic said in response. "That, and I couldn't remove the remaining energon without actually killing her."
"But what about just now?" Bulkhead asked.
"Yeah, what happened back there?" Miko also wanted to know.
"She slept soundly through the night, not a beep...Then, nearing the morning earth hours, she suddenly started talking. Prime thought she had forgotten everything, but afterwards figured it must have been a dream. He was wrong." Ratchet explained. "She's trapped in her own mind, and somehow; Primus only knows, Knockout is in there tormenting her!"
"Same way he prevented her from telling us there was something wrong, when she played that racing game with Miko!" Raf said. "Mind-control, remember?"
"Of course, Manual Override!" The doc just had an Epiphany. " But we still don't know how he does it!"
"But now that we know it is some kind of mind control, we can find a way to break the connection, right?" Jack asked.
"We do, but unfortunately she's not a Cybertronian. Otherwise, one of us could have been able to aid her via a Cortical Psychic patch link." The medic explained.
"Corti-what now?" Miko was confused.
"You know how you connect your laptop to your phone to download the pictures from it?" Raf explained.
"Yeah?" The girl answered.
"Same thing... almost; It's like connecting two brains together with a cable." The boy concluded.
"Only it's a lot more difficult when you're trying to connect a non-organic brain module, to an organic one." The medic added."Unless..."
"Ratchet, your presence is requested in the medical bay." Optimus' voice came through the comm-link.
"Right away, Prime" The medic answered.
"Everyone else as well." Prime added.
"Uhm...yes sir." Ratchet had no idea what his friend had in mind that it required all of them, but obliged anyway. "You heard the Prime, let's go!"
Back in the medbay...
When the teens were deposited onto the berth, Raf noticed how Optimus was delicately holding the yellow R/C car he left next to Zucky last night.
"You wanted to see us Optimus, Big Bot?" Miko asked.
"That is correct. As difficult as it may seem at the moment to aid our friend, I believe there is a way we can help her." Optimus began "Rafael, I am curious as to why you were speaking to Zucky, even though she could not respond?"
"I do believe she can hear me Optimus, even though she can't interact; she can still hear and feel everything around her. Mama always taught me to be positive and to be that motivating force behind my friends. Letting them know I'm standing right there by them no matter what." Raf answered. "And she needs this more than ever now. She saved my life Optimus, I'm willing to pay her back for that in whatever way I can."
The prime gave the boy the tiny car back. Rafael took it and placed it back with Zucky, but this time he placed it on her body and placed her arms over it in a hug.
"R...Raf?" Zucky managed to croak, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.
Inside Zucky's mind...
I heard the engine roaring closer and closer until...
["Nothing?"] I thought after waiting in a painful silence after the sounds suddenly died off.
I didn't trust it, the Silent darkness' that lured me in a false sense of security before; TWICE! I got up and looked ahead where the sound was coming from before...nothing? Just pure blackness. Knockout seemed to have vanished into thin air without any trace! As I was looking ahead, there was this strange feeling. As if there was something...I tried reaching out ahead of me;
*Beep-Beep!* "NYAAAGH!" I shrieked, whirled around and cowered under my arms as I folded them over my head when I curled up into a ball out of fear.
"Please, PLEASE make this stop! It's driving me insane!" I sobbed.
I then hear a familiar whirring approaching me. It sounded like the motor of a r/c car? It ran into my skull softly, backed up and repeated the action two more times in succession, before beeping at me again.
I didn't even trust the sounds around me anymore. That crazy Doc-Red's done a number on my psyche at this point. The toy car then went around and managed to climb up on my back. It did tickle, but I couldn't even find the strength or peace of mind to even register that I would normally laugh when tickled. Instead, still believing this another sick trick, I started shivering in anticipation. I knew as soon as I let my guard down, this stupid 'peaceful moment' scenario's gonna melt away before my eyes!
"Please...Just kill me already? And if you're not going to, just leave me alone!" I sniffled.
The tiny vehicle didn't oblige and proceeded to run its tires on my shoulders. Was it seriously trying to comfort me?
["No, of course not...I know better. *sigh* It's probably not gonna leave me alone, until I acknowledge its presence."]
After taking a big deep breath to calm my nerves and prepare for another possible betrayal, I pulled my ears back and sat up straight again. The car hopped off my shoulder and drove back around to face me. Its antenna wagging back and forth due to momentum, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't chuckle internally, because it made it look like a cute little puppy.
Only now did I really take a good look at it; "Raf?"