Updated - 07~11~2020

5

Mutualism

He appeared in the security of the base, where light lit everything around him, something he thanked enormously. He wasn't aware of it, but he was completely filthy, covered in mud, water and energon, part his and part from the vehicon troopers. He kinda heard Miko making a comment about it, but he didn't pay any attention to her, he was way too shocked as he was still shaking in fear. The green vortex closed behind me, and he reacted to its sound adopting a fighting position, activating his weaponry instinctively, his optics darting everywhere.

Ratchet was speaking to him but his words were no other than a echo at the back of his mind. At certain point, he noticed a servo on his shoulder guard. Not even a click later, he stabbed his prod in that direction, while he brought his saw to life. He wasn't sure of what was happening as everything in his helm seemed to be spinning around. He felt the prod being yanked out of his grasp as a huge servo neutralized his other forearm. Knockout fought with all his strengths to get free, only to feel his energy drained.

The red mech started to feel an intense helmache, followed by blurry vision. The last thing he got to know was he fell prone on the floor as his world slowly became black.

He let his pedes lead him through the dark, walking to nowhere. There was nothing on sight, and he did not know where he was, but he just kept walking. The path under him changed gradually from cold void soil to green warm grass.

Vegetations of all kind started to grow bright all around him, trees getting real tall, until he was nothing but a tiny dust spot by their side. Most of the landscape looked like a mixture of Cybertronian and Terrestrial elements, although not fully resembling any of them. It brought him an odd sensation of uncomfortable comfort.

He kept advancing, admiring the new landscape, turning around to have a good look at it. Something hopped out of the shadows right by his side and ran till it reached a fallen log, where it stood observing. Knockout turned to had a straight look at it.

'Knockout...'

It was a wonderful turbofox, shaded with the very colors of its Earht counterparts, reflecting the delicate light that came somewhere over them, making its orangish plating shine blissing. The pure golden optics of the animal locked onto his, rendering him an intense albeit warm-sparked familiar gaze. The turbofox blinked raising its audio receptors and tail, before disappearing into the cyrest with a glimpse of blue shade after it.

The mech stared right where the animal had being a moment before, his mind still fixed onto the intense gaze. He wasn't certain why, but he felt the urge to follow the tubofox. With a lightened frame, he ran after it, jumping over the log. His steps over the springy grass barely made sound as terrestrial birds of all kind sang for him. He smiled in joy as he felt like never before. He had completely forgotten about the last mission incident. Now his fears had banished away like nothing had happened at all. He felt... He felt safe, he felt home.

'Knockout...'

He concentrated onto the path ahead of him, as he got to see that turnofox again, not far away, he was catching up with it. Its platings started to change slowly into bluish shades at each stride. Knockout did not understand why it was doing that, but he did not mind. He just decided it was a beautiful creature whatever the shades it had, and there was nothing more pleasant than running with it. They were running side to side now, Knockout dodging trees here and there, while the turbofox just rushed over the logs. At certain moment, he looked onto that wild orange face and he would have sworn he received a smile from it, which he kindly returned.

'Knockout...'

The red mech let the animal lead him to wherever it pleased. He had no other thing to do but to enjoy that special company. He could feel himself laughing. A slight murmur of water flowing filled the air suddenly. He didn't take him much to find himself before a river, a pristine oil river, much like those on cybertron. He stopped to admire it, while the animal jumped at the other side over some rocks.

'Knockout... Follow...'

The turbofox disappeared again between the trees.

"Wait!" He shouted, hurrying up to catch with it.

He ignored how much more time he spent after it, but it looked the animal had lead him into a clearance, much resembling those Miko once described him out from her fantasy stories. The animal continued forwards, stopping to stare back at him at the edge of the cyrest. Knockout would have continued following it, if it hadn't been because there was someone at that clearance, waiting for him.

The red mech's gaze fixed onto the shiny black unshaped thing floating on the middle of the place, lighten up by the sun above. He frowned. That didn't belong in there. What was it and what was it doing there? The turbofox looked disturbed, as it gave few uncertain steps around. Knockout too had a bad feeling, and somehow decided to walk away from that strange thing, right after the animal. But he found himself unable to do so. His pedes did not respond to him anymore.

'Knockout! ... Run! ...'

He looked at the turbofox nervously, not understanding what was going on, but the animal did not wait anymore. With one last sorrow gaze, it jumped into the shadows, to be never seen again. Knockout felt his spark sank.

Murmurs filled his audio receptors once again, although this time where other kind of murmurs. He tried to move again, just to find he could only move forwards, towards that thing. He vented deeply before taking few steps.

The mech stopped at what he believed it was a security distance from the thing, still not taking a hint of what it was. He started to feel cold all over his limbs, as a dead void voice called him.

"Knocks..."

Fighting the weird sensation, he raised his voice firmly and spoke loud clear. "What are you?" No response.

"Knocks... Knocks..."

"Who's calling?" He demanded. "Show yourself."

"Knocks..." Slowly, the murmurs turned into a really deep voice as it seemed to get closer to him. The fact of not getting answers was unnerving him. "Knocks..."

An stupid idea crossed his mind. Maybe he had to get closer to that thing. With an unpleasant sensation running down his frame, he took few more steps forwards. On the black thing, a pair of white stripes started to form, taking shape. Knockout stared into them before the black thing disappeared in a blink.

"What the... Where the rust did it go?" The cybertronian looked around everywhere. That was getting awkward, and the urge to leave increased within him. He fought against the force that was keeping him still, unsuccessfully. "Come on!" He growled in exasperation.

A way too calm laugh was heard next to his right audio receptor. And then the voice spoke to him in a whispered. "Here..." His gaze was turned that direction, but there was no sight of the black figure. Then when he turned his gaze to the front, he would have sworn his spark leaped in fright. There, barely few microns away from him, the white stripes observed. "You afraid?" It mocked.

"No." He dennied. "Where are we?" The red mech dared to ask, optics fixed onto those alien optics. "This place ain't real. It must be some kind of weird dream, could be a nightmare. Whenever I get back online, I'll no longer remember any of this, and you'll be just dust, whatever you are anyway."

"Not a dream..." That thing laughed, showing that horrible grin, looking completely maniac, getting those stripes wider in an insane stare. "I am the nightmare... Real as you."

"Alright... You have to be a product of my imagination." He shook his helm a no. "Yeah, just some kind of illusion..."

"You think?" Lightning flashbacks came to him, reviving the incident.

"No..." Knockout displayed concern, although he did not let himself falter. "It was you..." He couldn't find words to finish his sentence, disgusted. He found himself unable to articulate any sound as many questions thronged in his mind. He finally managed to voice his thoughts. "What are you? Where did you come from? What happened to the vehicons? How did we even get into here? I recall walking into the security of the base... What's going on?"

"You are a peculiar specie." It was mocking at him again. "You, Cybertronians, want to know everything. You ask lot..." The stripes got a bit wider and then narrowed again sardonically as it circled him around. "... And yet you keep making the wrong questions."

"Wrong questions? What are you talking about?" He shook his helm, diverting his gaze. "Are... Are you my consciousness?"

"In it."

"In it...? Thus we must be in a cortical patch. But that makes no sense." He grimaced angry, fixing his optics back on that thing. "I have no idea what you want from me, but you won't find anything here. Release me!"

"No." The thing replied sweetly. "You're too valuable..."

"Valuable? What for?" Knockout grunted, burning optics. "Speak yourself clear! I want answers. Start talking or get out from my mind."

There was a long silece before the voice replied. "Ask..."

"Alright. Where you inside the relic pod?"

"Could be."

"What happened to the Decepticon scouting team?"

"Hungry." The tripes tittle lightly.

"Hungry?" No response. "Forget it, I'm not certain I wanna know about that. Now, what about the Insecticon? What happened with him? He attacked his own team down and later on me. Then I blacked out and discovered Sharpshell offline by my side. I don't recall inflicting him much harm to decease him, he neither had fighting marks on its frame. If it wasn't me, how did he joined the All Spark?"

"No longer useful." That answer froze Knockout as he suddenly started to understand what was going on.

"You use people at your will like empty husks until they're no longer of use, and then you decease them. Just... Just like a parasite." Knockout stood in utter silence, unable to process the shocking truth.

"Careful. Parasite is an offensive word." It hissed. "Knocks..."

"If you don't want me to, don't call me Knocks again." Knockout grunted menacingly. "You have no right to..."

"... To use you at my will? I do. I can read through you. See your memories." It pronounced the s longer. Knockout did not longer felt his frame as his, as a polar cold had overtook him suddenly, paralyzing him, panic and fear spread through him. "There are no secrets you can hold from me. You are mine." There was a silence, its words still resonating in his helm, freezing cold reaching his neck. "Now, get used to it, I'll be using you for a while, Knocks."

"What kind of creature are you?" Knockout managed to whisper, optics opened wide.

"And there you go, still making the wrong question." The stripes widened again in joy.

The black goo started taking shape in front of him, forming a well known tall silhouette. There, before his very being, towering creature looked down at him. Knockout observed in pure terror that new face, fang-filled maniac face, as it recognized it. It was his very own face.

The black creature crouched over him, before speaking one last time. "There's your mistake." The voice singsonged. "Not me, Knocks..." It replied opening wide his jaws and enveloping the little mech into darkness once again. The last thing he could hear was a single icy whisper. "... Us..."

His optics opened briskly and he came back online abruptly. Knockout sat up immediately, pushing the old medic away. He yanked all the cables attached to his frames before leaning over the berth he was onto, feeling sick.

He heard someone complaining about it, but he never got to know who. Ratchet instead made it to him, resting one of his servos on his back. The red mech was shuddering, while the old doctor examined him.

The younger mech, still feeling dizzy, raised his helm slowly to look over his shoulder guard. "Where am I?" He mumbled. "What happened?"

"You are back at base, Knockout." The friendly voice of Optimus got to him. "You have been unconsciously for some hours."

*We have been worried. You hit yourself pretty hard when you passed out.* The scout beeped silently. *Your frame became completely stiff during your time out, not to mention cold. And you weren't even responding at all.*

"I almost believed your motor movement systems got damaged during mission." Ratchet muttered. "Whatever happened to you out there took a toll on you."

"Sure it did." Knockout slowly managed to sat himself up on the berth, before rubbing one of his servos over his nape. "Besides, I just had the weirdest delusion I ever had. Some kind of viscous black sentient thing wanted to take control of my frame and manipulate me like a puppet. It's incredible what imagination can create." He lightly chuckled.

"That sounds like bad mojo." Bulkhead pointed out. "So, what happened out there in th woods, you scared of your own shadow?"

The little red mech would have replied something if it hadn't for Ratchet's own response.

"Knockout shall tell us what happened when he recovers." He then turned to the younger doctor. "Your frame underwent many events in a short period of time. I'll run some more tests on you." He attached the monitoring cables back on his now clean hood. "Till then, stay still and try to rest. Don't make me tie you down to the berth."

"For the fist time in forever, I think I agree with you." Knockout mussed laying down, sore frame, and closing his optics. "Some rest won't harm me, I guess." The team dispersed away, leaving him rest. He was starting to drift into recharge when he heard that void voice again.

'Recharge well, Knocks... It won't harm us...'