I'm really am sorry for taking my sweet time for this chapter. I've been so busy, I barely have any time to do anything. Whenever I can, I would be able to write a few words before I hit writer's block over and over again. And it's even hard to write under this damn heat.
But thank you all for waiting. And now a new chapter.
Chapter 26: Sick Mind Pt.2
After Bumblebee had separated from the group, he had begun trying to contact the base. He even tried calling Ratchet and Optimus, and even Sam, but none had been answering their comm link. That only made the fear in his spark grow even more. It's not like them to not answer, especially Sam.
He shouldn't even be so worked up about it. There could be possible reasons why they aren't answering. He tried to think about it, but every thought would eventually lead to Sam being hurt. He keeps telling over and over to himself that Sam is safe and he's in no harm. He has Optimus and Ratchet protecting him, a Prime and an over-protective medic by his side 24/7. But something is telling him that Sam is near death's door.
He should cut his arm off or tear out his T-Cog just for thinking such horrible thing about Sam. No, that's too extreme. Besides, he would probably be scolded by Sam for thinking about it. An angry Sam is a scary Sam. But still, he has to reach to the base to see if Sam's alright. And if he is, he'll never leave Sam's side. Sam is his responsibility, Sam is his world, Sam is his.
The base has reached his view, and he stepped on it, heading towards the screeching of his tires alerted Optimus and Ratchet of his presence, and Ratchet started to make his way to Bumblebee.
Bumblebee came to a screeching halt and transformed out of his vehicle mode. "Where's Sam?!" He demanded than asked.
"Bumblebee, you can't just come here with that speed demon attitude! The base is not the place to run around like a maniac!" Ratchet began to scold, not answering Bee's question.
"Where is Sam?!" If Bumblebee could grow, he would be right now. All he could let out was electronic beeps. He saw Ratchet tensed a bit, turning his optics away from Bumblebee before returning back to him.
"Bumblebee, I think it would be best if you leave the base for the day and stay at Raf's place." He spoke softly. "Come, I'll lead you outside."
Bumblebee continues to glare, his body began to shake in anger. "Don't ignore my question, Ratchet! Where is Sam!? I need to see him!" With just one hand, Bumblebee shoved Ratchet away with such strength.
As Bee got closer to Optimus, he spotted a human leg on the slab. Before he could get a good look on those legs that belongs to, Optimus stepped in front of Bee, blocking his view and path.
"Bumblebee, I need you to listen to Ratchet. You need to leave the base for the time being. It's for your own good."
Bumblebee is starting to lose his patience. For some reason, they want him out. He keeps asking for Sam, but they kept disregarding his question. All he is asking is Sam. It's not that difficult to answer. But here is Optimus telling him that leaving the base for a while is for his own good.
"I'm not anywhere anywhere without Sam! Tell me where he is, now!"
Optimus and Ratchet were slightly taken aback at Bumblebee's behavior. Never have they seen Bumblebee raise his tone. But they should have figured out by now that Bee would act totally different when it comes with Sam. Now they worry what he might do once he finds out about Sam's condition. All the more reasons to have Bee removed from the base while they work on a cure. If there is a cure.
If Bee won't leave willingly, then they must do it by force. Optimus and Ratchet knew it would have come to this and had agreed to sedate Bumblebee if he refuse to leave. They plan to have him stay at NEST while they work on finding the cure. The same goes for Bulkhead and Arcee.
Before things go way out of hand, Ratchet prepares a syringe to inject Bumblebee that would power him down temporarily. While Bee's attention is at Optimus, he silently walks towards Bee. Optimus getting ready to detain Bee in case looks back. As Ratchet gotten close to Bumblebee, and was about to inject him, but a weak and tiny voice stopped him.
"No...stop."
Optimus and Ratchet froze in their place. They were not expecting him to wake up any time soon. Perhaps all their yelling woke him up. Bumblebee pushed Optimus away and made his way to source of the voice, not caring that he just pushed Optimus. The only thing that matters to him now is Sam. But once he saw Sam, he wasn't prepare at the scene in front of him.
He found Sam lying on the medical slab, looking so horrible than the time they saved him from Megatron. He could see an infection around Sam's eyes and beginning to spread slowly around the area, creating a disgusting color on Sam's beautiful skin. Veins are beginning to show around the infected area. Sam's eyes are close at the moment, but his face is showing intense pain.
If Bumblebee had the ability to puke, he would be doing so right now. But what he don't understand is that how Sam became so ill, when he was feeling healthy in the morning. And also, Ratchet stated that with the changes in Sam's body, he has become immune to all and any Earth diseases.
As he's making his way towards Sam, want nothing more than to hold Sam against his chest, Ratchet grabbed him by the shoulder to prevent him from getting any closer to Sam. That made Bumblebee even mad. To Bumblebee, it looks as if Ratchet is prevent him from getting too close because he doesn't want the two together. It's like one of Sam's telenovela, where this one woman doesn't want the main couple together because the woman wants the man all to herself and will do anything to keep the two separated.
Of course! It all makes sense to him now. Sam and he are the main couple, and Optimus and Ratchet are the ones that wants them separated, so that they could steal Sam away from him. That explains why they wanted him away from the base. But that won't stop him from getting near Sam.
"Let go, Ratchet." He beeped lowly and dangerously, fist clenching.
"I can't let you go near Sam, Bee."
"And why not?"
"Because... Because..." Ratchet doesn't want to say it. It will completely devastate Bee if he knows that Sam has been infected by an incurable plague. But he knows Bee has the right to know what happened to Sam. It can't be a secret any longer. Which is why Optimus was the one who spoke up.
"Sam has been infected with the Cybonic Plague." Optimus spoke, staring at Sam with sad optics.
Bumblebee stiffen, his optics going wide as he heard those dreaded words. He couldn't believe his audio receptors. His Sam has been infected with a deadliest bioweapon that nearly wiped million back on Cybertron. Engineered in a Decepticon Biological Warfare Program, developed by Megatron himself in order to take advantage in the Great War.
"But...but how? We're not on Cybertron. How can Sam have the Cybonic Plague when we're not even back home?"
Now it's Ratchet's turn to explain. "Sam found an Autobot ship. The three of us went to investigate it, hoping to find any surviving Autobots, but only found its passengers dead and infected with the Plague. It was too late for us to leave when the ship tilted, and a single drop of an infected Energon landed on Sam."
"Why would you take Sam on a dangerous mission!? We always leave Sam here whenever we go on missions to avoid him being taken by Decepticons!"
"Yes, I know! I wanted Sam to stay and man the bridge, but he was persistent on going."
"Then what made you change your mind?"
Ratchet's words got stuck in his throat. He wanted to say it was Optimus' decision on letting Sam go with them. If he tells Bee that, it would be like he's putting the blame on Optimus. So instead, he'll take the blame. Optimus is suffering enough by putting the blame on himself. This way, he can take part of the blame and not let Optimus carry it all to himself. As he opens his mouth, Optimus interjected.
"It was me, Bumblebee. I was the one who allowed Sam to come with us. Ratchet was against it, but I couldn't say no to Sam. And because I failed to watch over Sam, he paid for my mistakes."
The next thing he knew was the pain he felt on his face and his back on the floor, with Bumblebee looming over him with anger and rage written all over his face.
"You are a Prime! You were suppose to keep Sam with you the whole time! I trusted you to protect Sam every time while I'm not with him! But you're idiocy has just caused Sam his life!" Bumblebee yelled in anger as he kept punching Optimus over and over. He doesn't care about the consequences after this, he just want Optimus to pay for what he did to Sam. What kind of a Prime are you if you can't protect someone who can't defend themselves! You're not meant to be called a Prime!"
"Bumblebee, that's enough out of you!" Ratchet grabbed Bumblebee to pull him off, but with surprising strength, Bee pushed him back and continued to punch Optimus.
Optimus just let him. He deserves every single punch Bumblebee gives him. It was his punishment for letting everyone down, for letting Sam down, as his guardian. Bumblebee was right. He's not worthy to be called a Prime.
At the same times this is all happening, Arcee arrived with Jack. Taking action, she ran to help Ratchet to stop Bumblebee. Jack thought it would be best to stay as far away as possible, in case it gets too ugly. With Arcee helping out, the two were able to pull Bumblebee away from Optimus. Bumblebee began struggling, and was able to push the two away and went back to unleash all his anger at Optimus. His tears of anger and pain are threatening to form.
As if he obtain the power of super-hearing, he heard Sam's weak little voice, telling him to stop. Bumblebee always did what Sam tells him to do and stopped. He started approaching towards Sam, but remembered Sam has the Cybonic Plague. So he stopped a few feet away from Sam. If he were to be infected for being careless, Sam would give him an earful. He let out a whine when Sam looked at him, giving him a pained smile. Bee feels useless right now, not being able to make Sam feel better.
After they help Optimus up, Arcee had demanded everything that has happened before their arrival. She made sure not to let her emotion get the best of her after Ratchet finished explain everything. Of course, she understood what the two are feeling. The same thing happened to her when she took Sam patrolling. She never expected to put Sam in danger of being Airachnid's trophy head.
"We need to have Bulkhead and the others away from the base." She suggested. "We can't afford to have another scene."
"Yes, you're right." Ratchet placed his two fingers over his receptors to contact Bulkhead. "Bulkhead, do you read?" He waited for a bit until he got a reply. "I need you, Raf and Miko away from the base for the time being. We've spotted Scraplets in the base again." There was a loud girlish scream coming from the other end of the comm-link. Ratchet had cut off communication to prevent hearing loss from that loud scream.
Arcee had listened to the whole thing and was looking at him with slight amusement. "Scraplet? Really?"
"At least that got him away from here." He retorted back.
Arcee nodded in agreement before looking back at Sam with sad optics. "Is there any way to help Sam? We can't lose him a second time."
Ratchet let out a long sigh. "The only way to save Sam is a cure. But we all know there is no cure for the Cybonic Plague. Autobots' best scientist can't figure out the formula used to create it."
"Would Megatron create a disease without having a cure?" Jack finally asked after staying silent for a long time. "I mean, what if he caught it by accident?"
"It's not like we can ask Megatron, Jack. He's pushing up lugnuts."
"True, but can't you just hack into their database from here and find any file on this plague thing? You did said Sam has a lock-on their ship, right?" Jack said, looking helplessly at the two. He knows he can't do anything to help Sam, but at least he can give out ideas that could help the Autobots.
Ratchet opened his mouth, but closed as he fell into deep thought, thinking of what Jack just said. His optics lit up and looked at Jack with a huge grin. "Yes, that could work! We can't hack into their system from here, but we can open up a GroundBridge to their location and search the file from there! Jack, you are a genius! Looks like Sam was wrong of you being the dumb one in the group."
Jack smiled as he watched Ratchet started typing on the computer. He felt proud that he was able to help out. "Thanks. Wait, what did Sam say about me?"
"Optimus, there is still a chance to save Sam. We just need to get on board the ship and search the database."
Optimus nodded. "Understood. Arcee, you and I will infiltrate the warship and find that cure."
"No! I'll go to their warship." Bumblebee declared. He looked at Optimus with those narrow optics of his. "You have no right to do anything for Sam. You failed to protect him, and now I'll go to fix yours and Ratchet's mistakes. Open it up, Ratchet."
Ratchet looked at Optimus to see if he rejects Bumblebee of going. Optimus gave a nod to Ratchet to let him go. Ratchet sighed and opened up the bridge. "Take Arcee with you. You need the help you can get to make the search go faster."
"Alright." Bumblebee was hesitant to let Arcee go with him. He wanted to do this himself, now that Sam has became his responsibility. But Ratchet is right. He needs help if he wants to find the cure faster. Time is not by their side. He motioned Arcee to follow him, and disappeared through the GroundBridge.
"Arcee, wait." Ratchet called out. "Keep an eye out for Bumblebee. He has become emotionally unstable, as you saw what happened earlier today. Make sure he doesn't do anything that might compromise the mission. Remember, do no engage. Just hack into their database and that cure."
"Will do."
The two jumped out the bridge, and began to move stealthily, keeping their weapons up, in case they get spotted. The two began their search for the Decepticon's lab. When they reached the next hallway, a door opened and Knock Out walked out. He paused for a moment, as he felt another presence. But shrugged it off and went to meet Starscream at the bridge.
Once the coast is clear, Arcee and Bumblebee entered the room where Knock Out came from, and found the lab. Arcee began typing while Bumblebee began searching for anything that might help find the cure.
"I'm in the network." She told Ratchet.
Back at the base, Ratchet continued his scan to see how far the plague has spread through Sam's body. It was moving slow, but not slow enough to give them time to find the cure. He guess that it's the AllSpark or whatnot that's slowing the spread of the infection. But if they can't find the cure today, Sam won't live for another day.
"Ratchet..." Ratchet snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Sam, who was looking at him with tired eyes. "Were...the two..."
"Infected?" Optimus walked next to Ratchet and shook his head. "No. But I wished it would have been me that got infected, not you."
"Or me." Ratchet said.
Sam groaned in pain. "No...you two...important...not me..."
"Samuel James Witwicky, I will not have you talk like that." Ratchet wanted to yell at Sam, but with his condition, he needs to tone it down. So he began to speak softly, like he used to when Sam was a baby. "Look, Sam, you mean a lot to us, and we would lay down our lives for you."
"Ratchet is correct." Optimus walked a bit closer to Sam, but not too close. "Our lives changed when we first met you. I...we love you, Sam. We hold you dear to us within our sparks."
Sam closed his eyes and turn his head away, letting tears drop freely. Sam felt he was being a huge burden to them again and wish he could just die right away. Optimus saw those tears and took one step closer to Sam, but Ratchet placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Optimus let out a small sigh and took a step back. The urge to touch Sam was too great, but he knows it would only cause more problems, not solve anything. "If only we could take your place on that slab."
"If it's here, I don't see it."
"Are you certain, Arcee?" Ratchet asked.
"I've searched every file. Nothing."
"Well, search again! Clearly you missed something!"
"I scanned the entire database!" She yelled as she continues to search for the file over and over again.
"Did you use a redundant quantum algorithm?"
"Don't tell me how to research. You think you're the only one who cares about Sam?"
"Arcee, come look at this."
"What is it?!" She snapped angrily. She left the computer to check what Bumblebee found. When she looked thorough the small window, she gasped in shock.
"What is it? What's going on?" Ratchet asked in worry.
"It's Megatron. He's...alive."
Everyone back at the base has their eyes and optics wide. "That's not possible." Ratchet whispered in disbelief.
"Well, I'm staring right at him. Good news is, Megatron isn't staring back."
"Megatron." Optimus mumbled to himself, which got Ratchet's attention. "Ratchet, I believe we have found the cure."
"He's critical, hooked up to life support. Time to finish this to finish this once and for all." Arcee began powering up her blaster, ready to fire, but was stopped by Ratchet.
"Wait! Don't!"
"One good reason - fast."
"Megatron may be Sam's only hope for survival."
That completely stopped Arcee from firing as she lowered down her weapon. "What are you talking about?"
"Does he display brainwave activity?"
Arcee looked behind Megatron's body and read his vital reading. "Spiking hard. His sick mind still at work."
"Perfect. If a cure exist, Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his brain...and find it."
"Enter Megatron's brain? Ratchet, are you out of your fragging mind?" Arcee couldn't believe what she's hearing. Entering Megatron's brain is like a complete suicide mission. No one knows what would happen if they enter his brain, or what would they encounter there.
Ratchet ignored her question and continued on. "The Decepticon laboratory should contain all the equipment you need for a Cortical Psychic Patch."
"No way. Have you ever even performed the procedure?"
Ratchet paused for a moment. "No. But I have throughly studied the theoretical literature. Invented by Decepticons, outlawed by Autobots."
"Can't we just haul Megatron through the GroundBridge, buy us some time to figure this out?"
"Time is one thing that Sam does not have! One of you must try this! I will not allow Sam to die on us again!" Ratchet yelled desperately.
Unfortunately for him, he had forgot about Jack and had heard what he just said about Sam dying again. It didn't take a genius to figure out that according to Ratchet's words, Sam had once died before, but was brought back to life.
"Ratchet, you know I would always lay down my life for Sam - anytime, anywhere. But a mind/body split?"
"I'll do it." Bumblebee proclaimed.
"No, Bumblebee. We have to find a different way to get the cure from Megatron without having to enter his mind."
"This is not for debate. I'm going in, and that is that. I will do whatever it takes to save Sam, and no one will stop me." Bumblebee stared at Arcee with determination.
Arcee had never seen Bumblebee like this. Being the youngest one of the Autobots, he always looked innocent, even though he really isn't, but always shows it. But if Sam gets involved in something dangerous, like this one, then he acts so maturely, like a leader. She sighed in defeat, knowing there's not changing his mind. To Bee, Sam always comes first out of anything.
"Ratchet, prepare the procedure."
"Why has the electromagnetic shielding not been repaired?!" Starscream yelled angrily at the Vehicons.
"The crews are working as quickly as they can, Lord-" The Vehicons was stopped mid-sentence by a harsh slap by Starscream. But it had no reaction to it. He withstood that slap.
"We are leaking a trail! All the Autobots need do to pinpoint our position is to access the correct frequency wavelength. Accelerate your efforts!"
"Yes, Lord Starscream." The Vehicons then left the area. As soon as they did Knock Out came in.
"Doctor in the house." He greeted.
"Ah, Knock Out. And how is the patient doing today?"
"Same old." He sighed tiredly. Having to watch over Megatron's body can really bore him to death.
"An inglorious fate that he should remain in this vegetative state." Starscream smiled gleefully.
"On the contrary, Megatron's body may be scrap metal, but his mind is still percolating."
"Keep that to yourself." He hissed silently, looking around the room to see if anyone might be eavesdropping, especially one. "That blasted Soundwave sees and hears everything."
"The eyes and ears of the Decepticons."
"Well, as long as their master remains in limbo, so does their cause. The Decepticon deserves a strong, alert leader."
"One who would require a loyal Second-in-Command?" Knock Out smiles slyly.
Starscream chuckled, getting that small hint. "A candidate would need to earn that post, by making a strong case to said eyes and ears."
"A case for showing mercy, Lord Starscream?"
"You scratch my back, I scratch yours."
Arcee connected on end of the Cortical into the back of the slab that Megatron is lying, and dragged the other end to a hidden spot under all the computers to Bumblebee, who was sitting down, waiting to start. He gave a thumbs up to tell her that he's ready.
"Ratchet, we're ready." She said through the comm link.
"Initiate Cortical Psychic Patch."
Bumblebee turned his head around, giving Arcee access to the back of his head. Arcee connected the cable to the back of his head, and soon, Bumblebee found himself in an all too familiar location. The location seem so dark, surrounded by blazing lava.
"Communications downlink activated. This will allow us to see and hear everything Bumblebee does while within Megatron's subconscious mind." Ratchet explained to Optimus and Jack.
"Where's that?" Jack asked from above the catwalk.
"It appears to be Kaon, the Decepticon capital back on Cybertron." Optimus explained. He looked back at Sam and saw that his vital reading has reached critical. He started to shake in fear, but didn't show it. "Ratchet, Sam's vitals..."
"I know. Quickly, Bumblebee. I know you're in unknown territory, but you must figure out where information might be filed in Megatron's mind."
As Bumblebee wonders through Kaon and walks up a pair of stairs, he was greeted by the sight of Sam, all cured from the plague. He was thrilled he was okay, but shocked that he was inside Megatron's mind. He ran forward towards Sam to pick him, but Ratchet's next words stopped him.
"Bumblebee, that is not Sam, but a figment of Megatron's mind. It cannot see or hear you."
"But why Sam? Did the two had some sort of history together?" Jack asked.
"You could say that."
Soon, there was an evil laughter echoing, and up on a cliff was Megatron staring down at Sam. "It's all over, boy. The Autobots are defeated, and there is no one left to protect you. If you surrender to me, I promise to spare you and make you my personal pet."
Then the fake Sam turned, staring up at Megatron with bravery and determination. "I would never surrender to the likes of you! I would rather die!"
"So be it." Megatron jumped down and charges at Sam with his cannon ready to fire.
The fake Sam started running too, dodging each blast by diving and cartwheeling and taking a huge step to the side. Those who are watching are quite surprise on how the fake Sam was running at very top, inhuman speed. Know they wonder if the real one can truly run like that.
Back at the scene, fake Sam took a dive behind a boulder to take cover to regain his breath. But it didn't last long as it was blasted to pieces and was knocked back. Megatron took aim at the fake Sam and grinned evilly.
"Say hello to your Autobots for me." Megatron blasted the fake Sam and it disappeared into smke.
Bumblebee had to look away, his chest beginning to hurt. But he remained calmed. He has to think that the Sam he just saw was a fake, and the real Sam was back at the base, suffering from the plague. But the fake Sam looked so real, it was hard for him to intervened.
"Whoa! That never happened!" Jack yelled, frantically.
"It's not a memory. We're seeing Kaon as Megatron has recreated it in his darkest dreams."
Bumblebee had hid behind a giant boulder of rocks, watching as Megatron begins to walk away. But then Bee spotted another Sam from afar, and made a run for it. Megatron heard the small footsteps and lazily fired at the other fake Sam without any snarky remarks. Bumblebee couldn't help it. His need to protect Sam overpowered him and quickly tired to take the blast. But it went through him and blasted the fake Sam to somke. Bumblebee realized he just made himself known to Megatron and said 'Con is now staring down at him.
"The Autobot Scout." He snarled, cracking his neck. "The punishment for trespassing in my domain is your destruction!" He raised up his blade and took a swing at Bumblebee. But the thing is, it just went right through him, which surprised the both them. "How can this be!?" He yelled as he continued to strike Bumblebee. But every swing went passed through him.
"Megatron can't touch Bee?" Jack asked.
"Because he's not a creation of Megatron's mind, Bumblebee is immune to his physical attacks."
"You're not wearing phase-displacement armor. Your eyes track my movements, so you're not a hologram. And I do not believe in spirits." Megatron pondered aloud as he walked around Bumblebee. "So, tell me, Scout, what are you!?"
"Megatron."
Both Megatron and Bumblebee turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. There was Optimus this time, and along with him were Bulkhead and Bumblebee.
"Uh-oh. Celebrity guest stars."
"This is not good." Ratchet mumbled.
The real Bumblebee walked towards the three fakes ones and started inspecting them. When he's in front of his copy, he couldn't help but think how handsome he looked. Megatron screamed furiously and blasted all of them, leaving only the real Bumblebee.
"You are real. They were not." Megatron chuckled amusingly. "A Cortical Psychic Patch. How unexpected."
"We've stirred Megatron from his oblivion. He's becoming self-aware." Ratchet stated.
"If this is my subconscious, what are you doing inside my head!?"
Back out in the real world, Arcee is starting to grow impatient. She wonders what is taking so long since she hasn't any word from Ratchet to disconnect. The door to the lab opened, and walked in Knock Out and Starscream, followed by Soundwave.
"Knock Out, if you would be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave...for the historical record."
"Simply put, unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathless slumber forever."
"Our master would not have wanted to be seen this way, to stand idly by while he remains captive in his own body. It's not just."
But Soundwave wasn't fooled. He slowly raised up his finger to point at the readings. Knock Out followed where he was pointing and knew what he wanted to know.
"Brainwave activity - not evidence of consciousness, but merely of an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake."
"Soundwave, we must face reality. Megatron is lost to us."
"The only honorable option would be to show him mercy."
"A simple throw of the switch."
"Quick, painless, compassionate."
"Optimus, are you hearing this?" Arcee whispered.
"If Megatron perishes, Bumblebee's mind will remain separated from his body, forever." Optimus announces gravely.
"The only way you could have entered my mind is via Cortical Psychic Patch. But the question remains, what happened to me!?"
Bumblebee stood his ground, his optics never leaving Megatron's. The way Bumblebee's optic began to whirl has awoken a memory of Megatron. A Memory of what happened to him, which started at the SpaceBridge. He remembered the Bridge exploding around him and then one massive explosion, one in which no one could've survived in.
"The SpaceBridge explosion. And yet if...if you're in my head, I am not one with the AllSpark. So, tell me, Scout, do I still function?"
"Bumblebee, we are out of time!"
Hearing Ratchet's voice through the private comm link snapped Bumblebee out of his trance. He began to explain his reason of him being inside Megatron's head.
"Cybonic Plague? Someone besides myself is... is unwell?" Megatron asked, showing slight concern for the victim. Megatron began to think of someone who is infected of the plague. His first thought was Optimus, but even he can't be brought down by a simple virus. It must be someone really important. He quickly narrowed his guess to one person. "The boy!" He then laughed maniacally. "Such comedy! But after years of failed captures, the Autobot pet is felled by a simple virus from the distant past. And what makes you think I would save the life of both yours and Optimus' pet human?"
"Because we know something about Sam that you don't, Megatron."
That got Megatron intrigued. "Oh? And just what that might be?"
"Bumblebee, we can't informed Megatron what Sam might be capable of." Ratchet warned. "It's just a hypotheses. We have no other information if Sam could be capable of doing such thing."
But Bumblebee didn't listen. If it means spilling Autobot secret to the enemy in exchange for the cure, he could do it without hesitation. Of course, that would mean putting Sam in danger of capture and torture again. But this time, it will be different. This time, it would be him that would be protecting Sam. Arcee, Ratchet and Optimus failed doing so, but not him. Because he is stronger when Sam is with him.
"Because Sam is the one who can restore Cybertron back to life. He is truly the vessel of the AllSpark. And if you let him die, then what's the point of taking over Cybertron?"
That seems to shock Megatron.
"Soundwave, do I take your silence to mean you concur with Knock Out's medical expertise?" He asked humorously, due to the fact Soundwave never utter a word in his life. And as always, Soundwave remains quiet and still. "Speak now, or forever hold your piece." Starscream told Soundwave as the former is about unplug the life support. "Going... Going..."
Soundwave slowly raised his finger to point a different cable running from Megatron. Starscream hummed in curiosity as he went behind the slab and saw a cable connected to Megatron.
"Scrap." Arcee cursed silently. They are now out of time.
"I find it hard to believe that a small child could be Cybertron's survival. But Shockwave did mention about the boy having something similar with the AllSpark."
"So what's your answer?"
"Well played, Scout." Megatron opened his palm, and a holographic cube appeared. "The chemical formula for the cure you seek. Not that I expect you to know how to read it."
Bumblebee made a motion to grab it, but it disappeared.
"Not yet. And how am I to accomplish capturing the boy and restoring Cybertron so I can rule over it as you propose while I'm trapped here in a perpetual daydream? Once you release me from this prison, you will have the cure. You must guarantee my recovery, or your pet shall perish- the real one."
Ratchet predicted this would happen. He rewind the clip to where Megatron showed Bee the formula and paused on it and zoomed on it. "Arcee, we have the formula! Disconnect Bumblebee now!"
Sam let out a small smile. "Good job, Bee." Sam closed his eyes and laid motionless.
"Ratchet!" Jack cried as he pointed at Sam.
Ratchet read the vital readings and let out a shaky breath. "No."
Arcee was happy to do so. So she started to unplug the cord, which in result, the dream world of Megatron began to disintegrate.
"You were watching. You tricked me!" Megatron yelled. Soon, Bumblebee started to disappear and Megatron ran after him. "No! Take me with you! Take me!" Megatron begged as he disintegrated as well.
"Hurry, Bee." She began to shake the unconscious scout.
Bumblebee was able to power back on just in time as Starscream finds the two hidden 'Bots. The GroundBridge opened and Bumblebee was the first to enter.
"Intruders!" Starscream yelled as he aimed at Arcee.
"Allow me." Arcee smirked as she shot the life support off of Megatron's chest. She jumped inside the bridge and disappeared.
Starscream was actually pleased that the Autobot did the job for him. The sound of a flatline was music to Starscream's ears. "It was the inevitable outcome." Starscream growled in frustration as Soundwave pointed at Megatron. "Of course, it would be wrong to allow Megatron to perish by an Autobot's hand. Knock Out."
Knock Out shrugged and went to reconnect back the life support onto Megatron's chest.
"Did you get the formula?" Arcee asked right away as soon as she arrived. But she was met by mournful silent. She saw Ratchet on his knees and it began to worry her. "What's going on?" She asked, fearfully.
"We're too late. Sam's gone." Ratchet voice was broken and shaky.
"What!?" True enough, she heard the flatline coming from Sam's readings. "But we have the cure!"
"Yes, but we didn't got it in time!" Ratchet looked at her with angry eyes. "We failed, Arcee, we failed again."
"No, we didn't."
Ratchet looked at Bumblebee like he's gone crazy. "What do you mean?"
"If we could just enter Sam's mind, maybe we could keep Sam's brainwave activity stay active."
Ratchet slowly stood up, smiling at Bumblebee. "That could work. It would take me time to create a cure, and time is not on our side. Excellent thinking, Bumblebee."
"Newsflash: In order to enter his mind, we need the Cortical Psychic Patch. Something we don't have."
"I beg to differ." Ratchet mumbled. "I have jobs for you guys. Jack, I want you to go to Sam's room and get me a syringe. To cure Sam, I would need small hands to inject the cure into Sam's veins. You will be tasked to do that."
Jack wiped his tears off his face and gave a salute. "I'm on it."
"Take Arcee with you for faster transportation."
"Will do!" Jack jumped onto Arcee's vehicle mode and the two went to high speed to Sam's room.
"I want the two of you to stay here and away from while I go fetch something from my quarters. The virus is still active and could infect any of you." Ratchet ordered as he transformed and rushed to his room.
A few minutes later, Arcee and Jack were the first to arrive. "I've got the syringe!" He shouted, showing everyone the syringe.
Few seconds later, Ratchet arrived. For some reason, he's looking a bit nervous.
"Something the matter?" Optimus asked.
"Promise me you won't get mad." Slowly, Ratchet revealed an almost-exact depilate of a Cortical Psychic Patch, one compatible to human size. One end is where it connects to a 'Bot's head, the other is for connecting to a human's head.
"Ratchet, explain." Optimus demanded.
"Sam and I have been working on this ever since our encounter with Silas. We were hoping to use this on him if we manage to capture him, to learn what he has in store for us."
"Ratchet, I would have a word with later, but right now this is important. Has it been tested or completed?"
"No, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Arcee, I need you to go into Sam's head and keep him alive. But be warned: the Cybonic Plague is still active, and it will soon start affecting you. You could die while inside his head."
"I'm willing to make that sacrifice. For Sam."
"No. I'm going in."
"Out of the question, Bumblebee. You just got out from Megatron's mind. Who knows what it might affect you. You could be putting Sam in even more danger."
"I'm here to fix your mistakes, and I would do as I please." Bumblebee grabbed the Cortical Psychic Patch and shoved those around him. He quickly connected one end to the back of his head, and the other on Sam. Like last time, his whole body shutdown.
"Fragging idiot!" Ratchet yelled in anger. He's going to give Bumblebee a piece of his mind once this is over. For now, he has to start working on the cure. The plague had already attacked the brain, and soon, Bumblebee. Ratchet read Sam's reading and was happy to hear no flatline. It seems it worked.
When Bumblebee powered on his optics, he was met with darkness. When he turned on his headlights, he still met with darkness. He realized he is walking on no ground, just floating. But that won't stop him. He began his search for Sam, which proved to be difficult, for he has no idea in what direction he's going. Like the blind leading the blind.
He has been going to random direction, and sometimes he felt he's been going in circles. Then he saw something. A light at the end of the tunnel. Bumblebee became alarmed and knew what it meant. So he headed towards the light, hoping he could see Sam along the way. And he did. He saw Sam floating slowly towards the light. He let out a loud cry and grabbed Sam. He started to shake Sam out of his trance.
"Bee?" Sam groaned tiredly. Bumblebee nodded, happy that he saved Sam in time. "Wh-what's going on? Where are we?"
"It's okay, Sam, just stay awake for me, please. I don't want you to leave me."
"I can never leave you, Bee. We're always together, no matter what." He looked at the light and heard his parents calling out to him. As much as he wanted to reunite with his parents, his place was with the Autobots, with Optimus and Bee.
Bumblebee held Sam tightly against his chest and began to tell stories of his life on Cybertron, to keep the two occupied.
"Done!" Ratchet announced proudly. "Jack, dip the syringe here and fill it up to the top." Jack nodded and walked up to Ratchet holding the container with the antidote and filled the syringe up. "Now go and inject it to Sam's veins. And be careful."
Jack carefully grabbed Sam's cold arm and began to locate the vein. When he did, he rubbed some alcohol on the area and inject the needle to it. He slowly poured all the cure down to the last drop. Once he's done, he placed a bandage on the area.
"Excellent work, Jack. Arcee, disconnect Bumblebee. We're done."
Arcee grabbed the cord and disconnected it from Bumblebee and Sam. Bumblebee was the first to wake up and looked around frantically.
"Where's Sam?" He asked.
"It's okay. Sam's fine." She pointed where Ratchet began scanning Sam.
"His vitals are showing no signs of the plague, his heartbeat is beating normally. We did it. Sam is alive and well."
Sam was beginning to wake up, groaning as the light burn his sensitive eyes. With the help of Jack, he was able to sit up. He smacked his lips and looked around the base to everyone looking at him with smiles, minus Bee and Optimus, but their eyes says everything. "Hey, guys." He greeted with a smile.
"How are you feeling, Sam?" Ratchet asked.
Sam began stretching like a cat, hearing his bones crack in the process, which pleased him. "Tired, sore, but mostly tired."
"That's understandable, after what you've been through." Ratchet said, sadly.
Sam knows that tone from Ratchet. It's the 'blaming himself for putting Sam in danger' tone. He looked at Optimus and saw he was blaming himself. Sam let out a long sigh. "Optimus, Ratchet, it's not your fault. I was persistent in going with you guys. I made you guys take me, I put myself in danger. And besides, it's no one's fault. We didn't know it was a plague ship." He let out a smile, which seems to comfort Ratchet and Optimus.
"Still, we should've come prepared. Then none of this would've happened."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sam stretched and let out a loud yawn. "Do I have the doctor's permission to go and take a long beauty sleep? Because he can get very cranky if I don't."
Ratchet missed hearing those teasing, not that he's going to admit it out loud. "Go on, you little brat."
"Let me take you." Bumblebee transformed to his vehicle form and opened the door for Sam.
Jack helped Sam up and led him to Bumblebee. Bee closed the door after Sam and took him to his room.
"Is Sam going to be alright?" Optimus asked.
"He is cleared from the virus, but one can never be so sure. I still need to give him a routine checkup, including Bumblebee. He's been inside Megatron far too long. Who knows what might happen to his mind."
"And how is the patient doing today?" Starscream asked Knock Out as he entered the lab.
"Funny you should ask. Not sure what the 'Bots did in there, but Megatron's registering zero brainwave activity."
"Hmm. Meaning?"
"Physically, he's stable, but now there's... no one home."
"Are you going to be okay, Sammy?" Bumblebee asked as he carried Sam to his room.
"Don't worry, big guy, I'm just a little tired. A goodnight sleep is all I need." Sam rubbed the palm of Bumblebee in comfort.
"Good. It's just... I don't want to lose you again."
Sam started caressing Bumblebee's cheek. He melt at the warm feeling touch of his Sam. "You won't, Bee. I have you and the others." He reassured.
"Alright." Bee lowered his hand so Sam could get off. Do you need anything else, Sam?"
"No. I'm okay."
"Alright. I turn the lights off for you. See you tomorrow." Bumblebee turned off the lights and left the room.
"See ya." Sam waved at the door where Bee left.
Sam started walking towards the stairs to his bedroom, but was abruptly stopped. He remained frozen for a second before he starts inspecting and flexing his fingers. Sam's smile grew sinister and bearing his now growing sharped teeth. He let out a hiss in delight.
"I'm out... or should I say in?"
But it didn't sounded like Sam. A little, but it came out disoriented, mixed with someone else's voice. When Sam looked into his reflection on the mirror, not only it showed his face, but it also showed a ghostly reflection of Megatron's face. Megatron has now taken over Sam's mind and body. He smashed the mirror with his fist and laughed maniacally, his laughter echoing in the dark room.
That sure took way longer. I hope I would be able to write the next chapter more quickly. But seeing as how I changed everything from the show, it might be difficult for me to come up with new ideas, might hit some blocks along the way. Then there is this heat that's preventing me from working. Like I said, I'm not going to quit on this. I would finished writing this whole series until I reach the final episode of Robots in Disguise.
Thank you all for waiting. Please leave a review. I would appreciate it.