Please note that these characters belong to their original creators as do any songs used in this fiction, not me, this is just my take on what might happen enjoy and let me know what you think.
also i am still trying to fix any mistakes that i might have missed in past chapters (i.e spelling, grammar and so on)
Scalpel tried all he could to get past the stealth function that had some how been activated by the creature but his efforts were to no avail as the frequency that the stealth system used was being scrambled through different frequency's every few seconds as if the creature could not keep it on one setting. A wave of panic gripped at the small bots spark as he feared for his other children who were far away on that blue planet, if this creature fed on all types of energy but favored energon then it would go towards the largest source in the system. "my fury I must warn him" cried Scalpel as he tried to contact the new Decepticon leader on the com. But his actions were met with failure as he detected an energy source that was clearly connected with the creature blocking his communication system. With the help of the ships sensors the small bot was able to calculate that the energy was dissipating with every passing second but it would not clear enough for him to contact Fury before the creature reached earth. There was nothing he could do to warn them before this monster reached them and began what he feared would be a destructive rampage in which it would feed on every energy source it encountered growing larger and thus needing more energy.
Scalpel was not accustomed to the emotions he was currently feeling and it took him more then a few minutes to gain control of himself and the fear that was now gripping his spark. He could not do anything to warn them about the creatures approach so he would have to find a way to arm them with information on how to at least survive the creatures attack. Forgetting his gathered parts he rushed to the chamber where the creature had been born hoping that there would be something in the data recorders that could be used as a defense at the very least. The small bot had never moved so fast in his life, he jumped and ducked through the damaged sections of the ship like he was being chased by Autobots out for his spark. At last and with strained parts he reached the chamber that was supposed to be a place of joy for the Decepticon race. Most of the equipment was smashed and drained of it's power but there was still one data system still functioning and with a little help from the main computer he would be able to analyse the data it contained. The small bot despite the strain on his body rushed from section to section reconnecting cables and diverting power form unaffected sections.
The work took more than three hours but at last Scalpel was able to analyze the data on Zack. He began with the last readings he had taken, they did indeed look normal and in keeping with the others despite the strange growth. The small bot checked the logs looking for anything abnormal no matter how small or meaningless it may have looked even to him. There were records of internal power output, body growth, absorption of surrounding materials and so on, the massive amount of data would have surely overwhelmed all but the most skilled bots. But Scalpel with the computers help was able to begin the process of analyzing the data in far greater detail than he had ever been able to in the past. He watched as the information flew past his optics in blizzard, then he noticed something that looked unusual amongst the early readings. It was small and he almost dismissed it as nothing more than a variance in the sensors and would have done had this been a normal situation. The information showed that every few power cycles there was a strange but almost unnoticeable power drop in the power being transferred to Zack for the fragment of the matrix. Scalpel quickly ran a check against the the readings of the others and soon found that none of them had suffered the same thing during their transformation. This was some small comfort to the Decepticon as he did not have to fear that his other children would have to undergo the same thing that was now happening to Zack.
Now that he had something to work with Scalpel began looking through the data on Zack searching for how such small abnormality had caused all this. As he scanned through the information Scalpel found that there was no detectable change in the strange power fluctuation until six hours ago about two hours after he had left to gather parts so that he could build a new chamber. Then the readings went wild as Zack's changing body started drawing in more power from the matrix fragment as it gorged it's self in an uncontrolled pattern of growth. Scalpel slowly analyzed the readings looking for exactly what was happening to Zack's body when the massive power drain started. Nano second by nano second he reviewed the data looking for the cause of all this and then he found a single spot in Zack's form that seemed to be the point of origin for all this misery. It was small and almost beyond the ability of the sensors he was using to detect, but it was there. It's resolution was poor and the data was difficult to read but this was without question the source of all this. He watched as with the passing of every nano second it grew larger and larger absorbing the structures around it changing them so that they behaved like it. Where Zacks growing body had been slowly pulling materials to complete it's growth this thing was devouring his structure with an unstoppable apatite that seemed able to consume anything in it's path with ease. The affect of this was however to make all that was consumed apart of it's self though it was reformed in a twisted manner that barely functioned in any recognizable fashion.
The small Decepticon became angry towards whatever this thing was as it had now taken his son form him and by the looks of the information that was no way to help him as once the structure was consumed there was no way to restore it to it's normal condition. As the last seconds of data played out Scalpel noticed that there was a build up energy in the mass that had consumed Zacks body and mind. The energy was obviously from the fragment and by the looks of the data this thing had absorbed so much of it that the energy had become harmful to it, maybe even toxic. This made sense in a way, while it was able to feed on the vast energy of the matrix fragment what ever had consumed Zacks body had no need of more energy but now that it could no longer feed upon it this thing's massive power requirements were no longer being met. Would the thing that Zack had become die if it no longer had power? and if it got more how much would it grow?. These questions forced their way to the front of Scalpel's mind while he search for a way to stop this thing that had taken over Zacks body.
The task before him was not an easy one, firstly he had no idea where this thing had come from, secondly he did not have any information about anything like this happening ever and thirdly there was the matter of this creature draining energy from anything it encountered to sustain it's self. All of these things were unknown to him and all needed an answer if this thing was to be stopped. With the help of the main computer Scalpel went back to the beginning of all this, to his first scan of Zack when he had arrived on the ship. All his regular scans had proven normal but then if they were normal this wouldn't have happened. He transferred every byte of data into the main computer and found that because of the data purge that he was able to bring the full power of the massive device to the task with ease. He began scanning Zacks human form and with the aid of the computer he was able to go down to the cellular level in great detail. He moved through the data one micron at a time looking for any defect that might have caused this no matter how small and harmless it looked.
With in minuted he had found at least two things that didn't match up with the human norm but it took him much longer to determine that these were not the cause of the problem. He resumed the scan continuing to search for the source of all this trouble.
Layer after layer fell away revealing nothing that could cause this, no other creature, on infection, nothing that had escaped his earlier analysis of the scan. Then as he peered deep into Zacks human body the small Decepticon noticed something small with in the brain mass, something that looked wrong. There was a small cluster cells that crossed several levels, to a normal scan they would have been invisible and undetectable and it was only because Scalpel had gone to this lever of detail that he had managed to find any trace of this. The cells looked wrong when compared to the others around them, they were larger and misshapen and almost looked as if they were somehow simpler and more chaotic in their design. These cells looked damaged in some way but Scalpel was unable to understand how they could have become damaged so deep with in the brain tissue of this human without any surrounding tissues being damaged as well. However this new information allowed Scalpel to run a projection as to what would happen to these cells should they be exposed to the conversion process. At first the cells remained unaffected by the energy and for a moment the small crab bot thought that they would have simply died from the lack of energy and the conversion of the surrounding brain mass. But as more and more of the normal cells were converted and replaced the nutrients that were no longer needed by already converted cells were absorbed by the growing mass of cells and as they consumed more they reproduced faster.
Scalpel watch as the cells lost more of their shape and function then finally the first of the cells was converted by the energy of the matrix, but the structure it became looked wrong and flawed. More cells followed and soon there were was a mass of miss-formed components and armour plating. It looked as if this part of Zacks body didn't know what it was supposed to be. For a time the mass remained mostly dormant only stealing a little more power than the rest of the surrounding structures but as time went on this started to change. It began consuming more energy from the conversion process and when the rest of Zacks new form no longer needed energy for the matrix this mass began to consume it all. The rest played out in an almost identical pattern as to that which had been recorded by the sensors that monitored Zack's development. To think that these few distorted cells had caused all that transpired was almost laughable, almost. Now Scalpel was faced with a very real threat, one that looked like it would consume almost any kind of energy it encountered to fuel it's never ending growth. There had to be a cure for this condition something that the humans used to treat their sick that could lead to a way to at least stop the creature Zack had become.
Accessing one of the smaller computers that he had been forced to work with while the main computer was disabled Scalpel searched through all the data that had been acquired from earth by the Decepticon's. He instantly accessed every medical text they had searching for a match to this thing that had consumed his son. The information contained much detail about the human body and it's weaknesses but little about diseases and how they were treat. After searching through some files recovered by the ever through Soundwave Scalpel found what he was looking for and once more his spark broke in pain. He now had a name for this monster that had taken Zack from them and replaced him with this warped creature, cancer. From the data many humans considered this the most cruel and hateful disease on their entire world and for he first time in his life he found himself agreeing with the humans of earth. This illness matched all that had happened completely and to his further sorrow he found that the only cure the humans had was to destroy or remove the damaged tissue before it killed the patient. But Zack had been completely consumed in a few short hours and there was nothing of him left not even his spark, everything had been consumed leaving a mass of materials that were formed as if there was no design in place.
With a resounding finality Scalpel disconnected him self from the computer and moved like a sparkless machine through the ship. There was nothing he could do, there was nothing anyone could do to save Zack. All that remained for the poor creature he had become was pain and destruction at the hands of the Autobots or worst sill his brothers who were still his friends. That is if he didn't overpower them and feed on their energy's first, then he would probably continue devouring all of earth's power until there was nothing left and his systems starved him into shutdown. With a mournful cry the small bot collapsed into stasis his power exhausted as the weight of what was happening overpowered him totally. As he fell from the waking world Scalpel slipped into nightmares about what was happening to his son and what new horrors awaited the others.
As Scalpel fell deeper into a world of nightmares that he had never known in his life a small point of light was growing brighter as an object approached earth. Soundwave spotted it before any other tracking stations and scanned it's form checking if it was either friend of foe. The readings made no sense as whatever this was had a distorted power signature. Seconds after his scan this thing rocketed towards him at speeds only a ship should have been capable of. His moment of indecision nearly cost him his life as this thing almost grabbed him, but in the final moment he released himself from the satellite and fell towards the earth below. As he curled into a protective ball to shield himself from the heat Soundwave saw the creature begin to consume the power from the satellite he had been attached to. As he fell the creature that was Zack finished it's meal then moved on to the next satellite and the next draining power and slowly blacking out earth's communication and tracking systems.
