Chapter 3: Cursed By a Cure

2 vorns previously…

After discovering what he did about what his 'condition' might be, he started testing that would otherwise be illegal even in the Decepticons. Seeing that he was possibly dealing with out of the norm, he figured why not. He had no other real options anyway.

The curse that was set upon him had taken control of him and his life in a rather quick way. Over the time since that deplorable meeting, his problems only got worse. His cravings became more severe and common, which was going to get him caught. To not raise suspicion in the Decepticons or Autobots, he had to change the places and factions he killed. Who knew he would have to do such a thing.

Setting everything he thought he would need for the time being to the side, he reached for a different injector and dipped it into one of his energon veins in his arm. Extracting the liquid, he glanced at it. What surprised him the most, and funny he hadn't noticed it before, was that his energon was tainted purple. He then put it on what one might consider a Petri dish. Watching it a long moment in curiousness, he put it under a microscope to have a look. Magnifying down to the molecule to see why, what he found was rather remarkable, to say the least. He could readily identify the energon molecules, but it was the other things floating around in there that piqued his interest. He figured these other things were the root of his problem. There were two different ones, in fact. One was red and another black. The black ones adhered to his energon, and he figured that was why his energon was tinted. Reaching for a separate tube which had regular energon not from him in it, he put a drop in to see what would happen. Almost immediately, the black particles multiplied, attached to the new energon, and assimilated it, while the red ones seemed to do nothing at all.

For a few joors, he tested his energon against samples not of his origin with chemicals to begin with to see if he could get rid of these unknown anomalies by simple means. For all he knew it could be eradicated with simple mixes of acids or some such thing. He used acids first to try to dispel them without harming his own energon, but it didn't work. No matter how strong the acids became, these particles evolved and became immune to it to the point his energon was destroyed, but the particles remained. He didn't think much of it. Some other tests he ran with chemicals that were used in warfare to see if he could kill them with that, but usually, he ended up destroying the energon or the dish he was working in. With these tests, he concluded that if he exposed himself to these chemicals, he would ultimately turn into a forever monster or it would kill him. Though, come to think of it, dying didn't seem like too crazy of a plan – it would get him out of the hell he was learning to live now.

Breems grew to joors, joors grew to deca-cycles while he continued to try to find a cure. It became an obsession he did every waking breem that he wasn't doing bidding for Megatron or feeding. He fed when he needed to and even took some of their energon afterwards to test with, but the ones he fed on no one would miss anyway. He felt guilty each time, but in a way, he felt he was accomplishing something since he'd return to his lab to continue his work, using what he could from his feedings to try to improve his chances of finding a cure.

Time had passed and he'd made little progress. He'd returned to his post with the Decepticons when he had to, and only when he knew there was no danger of him attacking anyone and gaining suspicion – lest his secret be revealed. All around, the Decepticons and the Autobots alike were aware something or someone was killing others and they didn't seem to target a faction. Both were equally interested in finding the killer, but neither had accomplished squat. Optimus Prime simply wanted to stop the killer, Megatron on the other hand…

Over time, the few things he did find out was, one, the black and red particles seemed to come to life on their own around the same time he craved his 'other sustenance' as he preferred to call it. Another, was the fact they seemed to be completely indestructible. He figured from that that he wouldn't die in the sense of actual death, but what he discovered before – he'd become a full-time monster, something he did not want. The mech also realized one other thing. While these particles were in his energon, he was in fact, immortal, for the red ones had shown their purpose, and revitalized him and healed him in remarkable time.

How he'd manage to keep it a secret this long, he didn't know, but he figured luck could be blamed. The thing that bothered him the most was that none of the solutions he'd tried worked, though he hadn't tried everything… Not yet. The extensive research on this thing was almost unending and became annoying to the fact he stopped searching. There was no hope. No logical hope anyway…

Continuing to try to find a cure to calm the savage beast within him, he tested and tested and retested, each time with unwanted results. "No…" he said to himself as he tilted his head and looked closely at the container. Wrong again. "No… no, no, no, no! This can't be!" He became more aggravated as more results yielded nothing. It was becoming more and more apparent that there was no cure, and it scared him.