The second part of that long chapter. That long, boring chapter. Still, I hope you like it. :) Tell me if you do. Or if you don't, well... why are you reading this? :)
Have a nice day, and thank you for your patience! :)
V.
Rumble didn't remember the last time he had felt such striking, solid fear. It wasn't like a battle where he would go willingly, sometimes even enthusiastically, knowing full well the risks and the possibility that he might not come back alive. But this - this was something he had never experienced before.
The Cassetticon clutched Soundwave's shoulders as the bigger mech crouched down before him in the wash racks, his hands squeezed so hard as if he was holding on for dear life. His processor span and his intakes were still hitching, though no coolant rose in his optics, he was still too shocked for that. He was well aware of what happened, aware of the fluids still dripping from his legs and aware that Soundwave was talking to him, mumbling comforting words to him, but he couldn't comprehend them. Soundwave closed the bond from him, probably to hide his fear, but Rumble couldn't do that, he let go of his shock, fear, shame and confusion, but most of all, the pain.
The pain... he felt like his insides were on fire and his tanks were rolling cruelly, he already felt energon hit the back of his throat. The liquid was burning his esophaegal tube and the taste was different, like when he got hit in the face in a battle - not the low-grade he was made to drink, but processed energon. Something must have been broken in him, that was for sure and it made him tremble even more.
Soundwave hugged him tighter and Frenzy sent him a questioning ping through their bond. Rumble could feel he was scared, too, but he couldn't answer. The mini-mech buried his face in his creator's shoulder when he felt coolant finally pool in his optics, Frenzy's fright added to his own fear pushed him over the edge. He couldn't even hear the wash rack's door open and barely felt another, gloved hand rest on his shoulder. Soundwave pushed him gently away to sit upright which just made the burning sensation in him intensify.
"Rumble... can you hear me?" Hook asked him, trying to get the Cassetticon to straighten up.
"It hurts..." Rumble whimpered, he didn't wipe away the coolant from his face, "Where's S-Starscream?..."
"He passed out." the Constructicon answered, "Lack of recharge. Rumble, only me and Starscream know what happened, and it will stay between us-" Rumble groaned and looked down, but Hook caught his chin and pulled his head up to look in his optics, "but it's not that simple. What you leaked contained processed energon and oil, and I see you're in great pain. The microbes must have spread in your systems and I need to see the damage. Open your plates, please."
Rumble did as he was told, and Hook tried not to wince at what he saw. No wonder it hurt so much; the rust on his converter spread, reached other converters, tubes and cables and there were spots and a crack on his waste tank; other holding tanks and his energon pump seemed to be unaffected yet. Hook saw Soundwave turn away from the corner of his optics and he understood why - the mini-con was rusting away inside and out, faster than they thought.
"Rumble, listen to me now," Hook closed his plates manually, "That converter on your energon tank is useless now, we'll have to take it out before it causes further damage. That's why you're feeling sick all the time. We may also have to remove your waste tank, we'll insert catheters to the feeding lines - the waste tank is cracked and the contents may leak out into your abdominal cavity. We'll also have to cut off rusting tubes and cables and reconnect with others or insert deflector tubes."
"Meaning," Soundwave spoke up for the first time, "large scale catheterizations and deflections are needed to maintain proper fluid circulation and avoid leakage as well as removal of parts; an operation?"
"Yes," Hook nodded, "I'll call the others and we'll take him to the operating table."
Rumble's intake hitched, "N-no..."
"It's not a 'yes or no' situation, Rumble." Hook stood up and folded his arms across Rumble's middle to lift him up, "We have to do it now. It will only get worse."
The cassette shook his head frantically and pushed Hook away, fresh coolant gathered in his optics. His features contorted in a grimace, he hunched over and retched, light blue energon trickling down his chin. He wasn't aware that his creator's hands on his side and shoulder began trembling slightly.
"Soundwave," Hook called to him gently, "Scrapper just told me to tell you to call in Shockwave. Starscream also said, before he collapsed, that we should call the Insecticons. I have no idea why, but... you must go now. You have to decide what to do."
Soundwave didn't move for a moment, then nodded slowly. Calling Shockwave was a sensible idea, he could get parts and medications from Cybertron, and he himself used to be a scientist, too. They should have called him down to Earth sooner. As for the Insecticons... yes, Bombshell had some engineering knowledge, but otherwise Soundwave saw no reason in summoning the untrustworthy ex-Decepticons. What could have Starscream wanted?
Hook put a hand on Soundwave's arm to get him to let go of Rumble. Soundwave reluctantly did so and watched as Hook lifted his creation to his lap and walked out with him carefully to take him to the operation room.
"No!" Rumble cried out and trashed weakly in Hook's arms, his voice high with fear and desperation, "Soundwave! Starscream! Nooo!"
"Sedate him!" Hook called to the others and all three Constructicons were soon gone with his cassette. Soundwave just stood at his berth rigidly, his hands balled into fists. He was once again grateful for his mask and visor - no one could see his own optics fill with coolant. Rumble had always been afraid of medical procedures and avoided letting anyone but Soundwave tend to his wounds as long as he could.
Seeing the extent of damage the organic infection had caused in his internal systems made Soundwave agree with Hook that immediate intervention was needed. But seeing - and feeling - Rumble's distress was almost too much. Was he- no, he couldn't be losing him. But that rust looked so bad...
Soundwave took deep vents and turned to the exit. He had work to do. Call Shockwave. But... the Insecticons? He again grew uncertain as he glanced over at the second-in-command's still form on his berth. Starscream had valuable knowledge on these organic lifeforms, he took care of the others, especially Rumble, when no one asked him and his determination was to be admired. The tape decker thought maybe he should trust him to know what he was doing and if he thought calling the Insecticons might help solve their problems, Soundwave had to support him.
And anyway, what was the worst that could happen? The Insecticons refusing to come, or just simply leave them with nothing. Perhaps demand energy from them for their help. Soundwave didn't care anymore. He had to try anything that could help them save his Rumble...
Deep within the buried core of the Ark, Teletraan-I flickered to life and the gentle tenor of the computer called out to the Autobot leader,
"Incoming message from Cybertron to Optimus Prime. Incoming message from Cybertron to Optimus Prime."
"Optimus!" Blaster shouted from the monitors, "Elita's calling ya!"
Optimus walked out of the with a shake of his head while the others snickered behind him, "What makes you think it's her?"
Blaster smirked, "Well... who else would be calling you from Cybertron?"
Ratchet snorted, "Go, Optimus, answer it already."
Ever since they re-discovered them on Cybertron, contact had been established with the femme soldiers. They were all skilled spies and fighters and were essential in monitoring Decepticon activity on their home planet. And, with that, the number of calls they recieved had increased, but Optimus was not the only one; Ironhide and Chromia could spend hours talking to each other, once they even missed a distress signal because of them. And even though Optimus could see her as often as he wanted now, a surge of excitement ran through his circuits every time he got to talk to his long-lost mate.
When Elita's face appeared on the screen, for a minute, they just watched each other. Every time, for a moment, Optimus felt like they were young again and he took in the femme's features, the way her optics softened and her whole frame seemed to relax and the Autobot leader let himself smile behind his mask.
"Elita," the femme's name on his lips was whispered like a blessing to an angel, "has something happened?"
Elita One nodded and stood straight, "Shockwave has been preparing the space bridge. This time, he will not only send supplies and energon, but he himself will travel to Earth, too."
"What?!" Jazz exclaimed.
"He has never come to Earth before..." Mirage mused as the others started gathering around the monitors, too, their interest perked up by Elita's news.
"What supplies will he send?" Optimus asked, turning back to the femme. Elita shook her head.
"We don't know." she answered, "But according to Moonracer, they didn't look like weapons. Still, Optimus... be prepared. If Megatron called Shockwave personally... he must be planning something big."
"Right." Optimus turned to the Autobots gathered around him, "Bumblebee, Hound and Beachcomber, you shall go and investigate. Do not interfere, unless absolutely necessary. Seaspray, you follow them underwater to the Nemesis, but be careful not to be noticed."
"You underestimate me, Prime." Seaspray chuckled and the four Autobots moved to the exit. Optimus look after them with growing worry in his optics. He knew they could take care of themselves, but these news were still unsettling.
"What could have Megatron come up with this time?" Ironhide asked and Optimus shook his head softly.
"I have no idea, old friend."
Starscream came around to a faint groan from his side. This time, he let his systems reboot properly before he onlined his optics - he did not have any fluxes, for which he was grateful. He took a deep vent when he remembered what happened and according to his chronometer, he had been in emergency stasis for a joor. He overheated and was low on energy, he told himself. No, it had nothing to do with his condition. He could still work, he was sure of that.
"Alright, focus, Starscream." a familiar voice told him and he saw Scrapper stand above him. Starscream pushed himself up and grasped his leg when a sharp wave of pain washed through it.
"Energon." he rasped and was soon offered a cube of medical grade. He drank its contents in quick gulps and stood up carefully from the berth. He pressed his lips together tightly to hold back a grunt when the burning pain in his leg increased as he put weight on it.
"You should rest some more, Starscream." Scrapper said and put his hands on the Seeker's shoulders, "You hardly recharged all night, don't push yourself."
"I'm alright now, Scrapper. Just needed some energon." he looked to the side to Rumble's berth and saw the mini-con lying there, it seemed he was just coming online as well. He was dazed and taking deep vents, tubes were hanging out of his mid-section and arm, leading fluids away or into his systems. His visor had been taken away and his optics shone a deep, feverish red.
"How's he?" Starscream asked and walked over to the Cassetticon. Rumble turned his head slowly and looked up at him.
"He was sedated, it's just wearing off." the Constructicon explained, "We had to remove a converter and the waste tank, as well as some tubes and cables. We'll examine all three of you to see the extent of internal damage."
"I'm only overheating a bit. My leg hurts, but nothing else." Starscream murmured and sighed, "If you must make that examination, leave me for last. I have work to do."
"S-Starscream..." he heard Rumble whisper and the Seeker leant down to the younger mech and put a hand on his head, the need to take care grew strong in him again, "Where's Soundwave?"
"Tending to his duties." Scrapper answered him.
"How are you feeling?" Starscream asked.
Rumble groaned and shifted weakly, frowning when the familiar qeasy ache washed over his frame, his processor was still foggy from the sedative, "Hot."
Scrapper brought him a smaller ice pack and lifted the cassette's head up to put it under his neck. "Would you like some energon?"
Rumble shook his head, but his gaze was fixed on the glass that separated the bay from the outside world. "Frenzy..."
Starscream turned around, too, and saw the mini-mech twin press himself to the glass, his expression looked like that of a scared youngling. Scavenger walked up to him and showed him how to get on the coverall and mask and led him up to Rumble's berth. That was the first time since they left Antilla that Starscream saw a small smile on the purple Cassetticon's face, while on the other hand, Frenzy looked even more horrified when he saw his brother up close.
He started reaching out to Rumble, but froze and looked up at Scrapper with wide optics, "Can I... Can I touch him?"
"Yes, you can."
Frenzy then leant down to his other half and enclosed him in his arms carefully, he hardly dared hug him to himself. Rumble leant on the other mini-mech and went lax in his arms, he made no effort to get back up when Frenzy slowly straightened up. The red and black cassette refused to let go of him, and he was visibly fighting with himself, trying to hold back coolant from pouring down his face. Frenzy felt a hand sluggishly tug at the base of his neck, wanting to touch his face, but couldn't from the mask.
"Hey, you can cry, bro'." Rumble muttered to him quietly, "I did, too."
Starscream looked surprised at this, but Frenzy let his shoulders drop and pressed his forehead to his brother's head. The Seeker was sure they had talked through it within their bond, sharing thoughts and feelings they couldn't express with words. Must have been like the trine bond, Starscream thought - just, maybe, even stronger. They were split spark twins, two halves of a whole, like sparkmates. The only difference was that while split-spark twins were one spark divided, sparkmates created a new being of the two upon bonding and became halves together of that new entity.
Starscream sighed. He didn't have any doubts that Frenzy could feel every emotion Rumble was feeling, but this connection between them was stronger than he first thought. Yet, Starscream would've never thought Rumble would give this silent permission to anybody to show their fear over him, crying about a fate he himself refused to accept still. When Rumble allowed Frenzy to be weak when he needed support made Starscream's spark tighten. He felt uncomfortable and got up to leave them to have their time together. Who knew if they could have any more chance-
He will work it out.
Starscream limped hurriedly up to Astrotrain's berth. He knew the computer was still working and he thought about organizing all the data he had gathered so far, but first, he wanted to see how his other commrade was doing. The triple-changer onlined his optics when he heard him, he looked rather dazed and Starscream could almost feel the heat radiating from him. There was an IV-line in his arm, he was recieving heavy medication, strong painkiller that made him delirious and his vents were working deep intakes.
"Hey," Starscream put a hand on his arm and managed a small smile. After all, Astrotrain took great effort in taking them home when he was injured the most and already weakening even before they reached Earth, "why don't you recharge?"
"Don' wanna." Astrotrain mumbled, "Blitzwing jus' went away..."
Hearing that, Starscream smiled. That must have meant he went to pick someone up, otherwise he wouldn't have left his partner's side, and Starscream hoped that someone was Bombshell or all three of the Insecticons. Finally, some improvement.
"Good." Starscream said, "You just rest. Help is coming."
"Help?" Astrotrain frowned and fought back a whimper, "You mentioned the Insecticons... how would they help us?"
"I was wondering about that, too, Starscream." Megatron spoke up, his voice hoarse. He was sitting up almost curled in on himself on his berth, it was easier to breath that way, and now he gave his second a piercing gaze, "What made you think you can decide alone in something like this?"
Starscream straightened up and looked down on the Gunformer, "This is all related to the experiment, that's what, mighty leader." he spat, "The Insecticons have been living on Earth for millions of years. Their systems have adapted to this environment. Anyway... you trusted me to be in control of these things, so if you would please, do not question me!"
With that, the Seeker stormed into his little laboratory. He needed to take a few deep vents to calm himself down, his cooling fans kicked on again. He called Hook to bring him energon and he activated the datapads, downloading the fidings of the computer and made his own analysises. Now the growth plates had solidified and he began developing new cultures to experiment on while he examined the results he had got so far.
He shook his head before he lost himself deep in his work. He sipped from his energon - low-grade, but he had to deal with it - and leant back in his chair with a sigh. His head was throbbing again and his spark quivered uncomfortably. He offlined his optics, allowing himself a minute of rest when he heard footsteps behind him. It was different from the others and he smiled a little. The Insecticons must have finally arrived-
When Starscream turned around, the smile froze from his face. The one who stood behind him was not the one he expected and a shiver ran down his backstrut when he looked up at Shockwave. The mech's single optic gazed down at him intensely and Starscream stood up, ignoring the pain, to be eye-level with his long time rival.
"What are you doing here?" he growled. Shockwave remained calm and collected before him which just served to further frustrate the Seeker.
"Lord Megatron called for me." Shockwave answered and Starscream's energon pump skipped a beat, "I'm here to relieve you of the research on the Cosmic Rust infection."
"You... relieve me?!" Starscream screeched and shot Megatron a fiery look that burned with fury. He pushed his way past Shockwave and hurried over to Megatron's berth as fast as his rusting leg could carry him, "How dare you?!" he pointed a finger in Megatron's face, "This research is mine! I'm perfectly capable of working on solving this problem, and you know it!"
"Yes, Starscream," Megatron sounded just as calm as the other Decepticon standing behind him, "you demonstrated that capability by passing out... this morning." the Gunformer stopped for a moment to catch his breath, "You are getting worse, too, and... you can't deny that. And you still haven't come up with anything that could help us."
"The analysis is ready!" Starscream shouted and winced slightly at how sore his vocoder felt, "I was just about to begin sorting out the solutions! And what makes you think this drone could continue it without me?! How dare you take it away from me? How dare you doubt my abilities?! He's not even a scientist anymore!"
"But I used to be one." Shockwave interrupted and Starscream turned around slowly, "I was a renowned scientist before I joined the Decepticons to fight in a war millions of stellar cycles ago, just like yourself, Starscream."
Starscream noticed he was referring to the fact that he himself had not worked as a scientist since joining the war either, but the Seeker's anger drove him. "Thank you for reminding me of that, Shockwave. But tell me if I'm mistaken... your field was astrophysics and engineering, wasn't it?"
Shockwave did not say anything for a moment, then finally answered, "Correct."
Starscream smirked in victory, "Well... mine was astrobiology. I researched organic microbes before. I wrote the programs that can analyze them. You have never studied anything like this before. If I tell you they are facultative anaerobic, extremophile eukaryotes, would you understand that? Or if I tell you they use elements of our metals as prosthetic groups for their proteins as part of their metabolism? That that is not the reason for the rusting, but an acid that is the byproduct of these metabolisms? Hmm? Do you understand any of that?!"
Shockwave stood his gaze, "I learn fast."
The reply was like cold shower down Starscream's frame, and the other continued, "I know you have made datapads on these research-"
"You will have none of them!" the Seeker screeched, his intakes quickened and his cooling fans whined, "I will not allow anyone to-"
"You will, Starscream." Megatron cut him off, "You will show Shockwave all you found so far, and you must let him take over from you from now on. Be yourself again, Starscream, and let Shockwave do the work for you."
Dead silence ruled the repair bay. No one dared say anything as the three argued, and all looked at Starscream with wide optics. However, Starscream couldn't care less. He had felt betrayed by Megatron before, but never like this. For him to doubt his scientific expertise... was simply... unacceptable.
"I. will. not be replaced." he growled and leant close to Megatron, no longer fearing his wrath, "Listen to me now, lord mighty Megatron. I am not weak like you. I have not succumbed like you. I will solve this problem, alone, as I told you at the beginning. I will write history here, and no one, not even you, not even this fragging disease can stop me!"
Megatron pushed himself up until his face was inches from Starscream's, "But it will, my dear second." he whispered, "And you will listen. Get down from the clouds now, Starscream, and start acting responsible."