Chapter Fourteen
The Battle for Bulkhead
Optimus had been in a bit of a stupor since the last call with Ratchet. He really couldn't believe what he witnessed. The Key acting on its own. It had always done things, but this was an unusual amount of activity. Sometimes it would do as Sari wanted. Other times it would indicate important things like Allspark fragments. And what Pyrus said. It showed her what she needed to spread her program, but refused to give away the secrets of the Spark. It was the second time in just a few days that the Key had done something that a stranger asked. Not that many strangers had an opportunity to ask or even know what it was or how powerful it could be.
"Prowl…," he looked over at the meditating bot, "Do you think… the Key… I know that it contacted Pyrus because it seemed to know that she created what is affecting the others… but… do you think it has intelligence like Pyrus thinks it does?"
"Our knowledge of the Allspark is limited. We really only know what has been passed down from generation to generation. For a time, it was only something of myth and legend," Prowl thought for a moment, "Autobots are taught to respect it as it is the source of life. In stories it is said that the Allspark has a will of its own. Since the Key is imprinted with the Allspark's energy, wouldn't it be possible that it also has that will as well?"
Optimus pondered out loud, "The Allspark has a will… so that could have passed onto the Key… It understands the trouble that Bumblebee and Bulkhead are in… so it brought Pyrus to our attention… and when she needed something we couldn't give, it helped her… twice now…"
"Isn't it strange that it hasn't just repaired them?" Prowl asked, "It hasn't hesitated in the past. It knows that it can't, so it brought in Pyrus. I have a feeling it won't interfere directly… or even take sides… but I also believe that it doesn't want to see others suffer."
"Doesn't want to see others suffer?" that was an interesting thought to Optimus.
"Prime? Prowl? We're ready," Ratchet came over the comm.
"Right," Optimus was nervous as he opened a link into the Medbay.
Not much had changed since they had talked last. There were a few extra wires coming out of Bulkhead. Most likely due to what Ratchet and Pyrus were about to do. Pyrus was finishing up something on her holo monitors and didn't pay mind to Optimus and Prowl observing.
"We're first going to download the Downgrade at Bulkhead's Spark," Ratchet started to explain, "Hopefully the malware won't notice what we're doing. Once downloaded, Pyrus and I will make sure that it begins to spread via the electrical pulses. We will be driving as much of the malware out of infected systems as we can. As long as we drive a certain amount of it off, the Downgrade can begin to protect and purge the rest. I will be heading up the offense in the main systems while Pyrus will take on the secondary and support systems. We'll have to work in tandem through each system."
"Why's that?" Sari asked.
Pyrus could be heard grumbling something as she collapsed most of her holo monitors, "I will explain as Optimus and Prowl haven't heard any of this yet. So listen this time," she warned Sari.
"Well try explaining in a way that others understand," Sari huffed.
Pyrus growled, "I have explained it in the simplest terms I can. I can't help that the subject and procedure… Never mind… we don't have time for this," she let out a frustrated sigh, "Basically all you need to know is that Ratchet is going to clear out main systems as he has a better understanding of them. I will take care of the secondary and support systems that are connected to the main ones. Ratchet and I have to work together in order to ensure that main systems aren't reinfected by their support systems and vice versa. Of course we have to get to the Spark and its supporting systems without Hydra noticing. You remember how it reacted with the scan we tried to run."
"Not well," Prowl recalled, "How do you plan on concealing what you two are doing when it reacted so fiercely to a scan that wasn't even meant to hurt it?"
"Cerberus is going to help with that," she seemed proud of that fact.
As if on queue, the blob-like program popped out of one of the remaining holo monitors. It quickly wrapped around its creator's neck and seemed to want to be petted. Pyrus obliged it and began to rub as if it was like a cat. It hummed as she showed it some affection.
"I'm going to have Cerberus mimic Halberd's signature. This should, in theory, cloak our presence while we initiate the download… from there… well," she turned to Ratchet, "It's going to be a warzone…"
"That's one way of putting," Ratchet already seemed very leary, "Once the download is done and begins to flow out to the other systems, Pyrus believes that Hydra will go on the offensive."
"It's hard to say which systems Hydra will go after first, but I have a good idea of where it will go," Pyrus brought up an image of Bulkhead, "I did program it after all. The way its behavioral protocols are written, it should head for essential processors and motherboards," she highlighted several areas of importance, "That's where we will begin our defense and offense. We'll move from system to system until Hydra is purged… I hope…," she let out a sigh.
"It sounds like you're unsure," Prowl could sense she wasn't confident in her words.
"As I said before, Hydra is difficult to deal with… even for me who created it," Pyrus admitted, "It shares my cunning and nasty temper. We're in for a fight… one that we can't avoid forever. Ratchet, ready?" she looked up at him.
"No turning back now," Ratchet nodded his head, "I'll start syncing our systems."
With that Pyrus collapsed her remaining holo monitors and surrounded herself in her green cylinder. It came alive with all sorts of data, graphs and various images of Bulkhead. Taking in a deep breath, she looked over to Ratchet and gave a nod. Ratchet nodded back and began to start up the syncing process. His screen flashed for a moment as all the data Pyrus had on her screen appeared on his. The wires that were connected to Bulkhead began to pulse blue and green. They must have been entering his systems.
"Okay… the Downgrade is ready… Spark is stable and Spark support is on standby just in case," Ratchet reported.
"I'm not seeing any spikes in activity from Hydra or Halberd…," Pyrus analyzed the incoming data, "Cerberus is cloaking the Downgrade… looks like it will have a clear path to the Spark… How is Bulkhead doing? Any anomalies?
Ratchet quickly checked, "... no… processors are quiet save for normal background functions. All in the green so far."
"Let's keep it that way," Pyrus seemed a bit relieved.
The pair stayed quiet for a while. Both were concentrating on moving to the objective without being noticed. It was tedious and delicate work. Everyone was just on edge as they waited to hear any kind of news. Whether it was bad or not.
"I am in the Spark's support systems… they are still free of infection," Pyrus reported.
"Just got into the Spark's system… all clear here. Still no movement?" he asked.
"None," she confirmed, "We should get the Downgrade downloaded as quickly as we can. I'll have Cerberus continue to shield it for as long as it can. Once the download gets to a certain point, Cerberus can no longer cloak it."
"By then the Downgrade should begin to protect Bulkhead's Spark until it finishes. From there, it will spread. We then just have to move to those systems and clear out Hydra," Ratchet understood.
"Easier said than done," Pyrus nervously smiled, "Everyone hold onto your butts and bumpers… it's about to get wild…"
Sari literally did grab onto her butt as she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She could only watch the screen that showed Ratchet and Pyrus' progress. The download was nearly done. It only had just a little bit to go. It was so nerve wrecking watching the percentage get up to 100%. Just as it passed 97%, parts of the image of Bulkhead began to flash red.
"Hydra is aware," Pyrus began to pull up the highlighted areas, "It's making a run for the Spark just as I thought it would… knock out the source before it can spread… Enabling barrier protocols…," she looked over to Ratchet, "Make sure that Downgrade finishes downloading and begin the push to the processors and databanks. I'll meet you there once I'm sure the Spark and its systems are safe from Hydra."
"Understood," he called back.
Their digits moved quickly across their respective keyboards as they each performed the task they needed to do. Pyrus was a bit more physical in her movements as she was twisting about in her holographic cylinder. She was slipping in between so many things that Sari could barely keep up with her. Ratchet was a bit more subtle in his movements as he concentrated on the download. Sari just wanted to scream out loud and ask what was happening, but she knew that it was best for her to remain quiet. She would just have to wait.
"Download complete!" Ratchet got excited, "Heading for the data banks as the Downgrade will get there first."
"Understood… I'm making sure that the Downgrade is doing what it's supposed to do then I'll head there," Pyrus acknowledged, "Letting the barrier down… now."
Everyone had their eyes and optics glued to the display screen. The Spark system remained blue even though it was surrounded by a mass of flashing red. No matter how much the red tried to overtake the blue, it just couldn't.
"Downgrade is working," a small smile formed on her face, "Hydra can't enter the Spark… it's retreating…," Pyrus quickly shifted through data, "... As I thought… It's heading for Bulkhead's databanks. Easier for it to replicate there… they have the resources and memory to do so… heading there now. Hold the line."
"The Downgrade is already starting to spread," Ratchet gritted his servos, "It's not to a point where it can begin to protect the data banks yet…"
"Use Cerberus' barrier function to guard the data banks as best as you can," Pyrus began to shift up to his position, "... Hydra is thick in the secondary systems… time to draw a line in the sand… Once we take something, we're not surrendering it," she smirked in Ratchet's direction.
"No. We're not," he smiled back.
It was hard to say what was truly going on from Sari, Optimus and Prowl's perspective. All they got to see was an image of Bulkhead and a battle between red and blue. As Ratchet and Pyrus called out that they had cleared a system out, the image of Bulkhead was starting to lose more and more red. The blue had spread out from the Spark and penetrated just about every part of Bulkhead. There were only just a few spots of red now.
"All major systems cleared," Ratchet reported, "Just some of the secondary and tertiary systems left. Downgrade has already entered them and Hydra is fleeing from them. It has nowhere to go now!"
"What?" Pyrus asked in a concerned tone, "It's fleeing? That doesn't make sense… Hydra doesn't run… it never has," she began to try and trace the malware's movements, "... it's not running… IT'S CHARGING STRAIGHT FOR US!" she yelled.
"WHAT!?" Ratchet wasn't sure what she meant by that.
"Cerberus! Protect Ratchet's systems! Push Hydra into mine! I'll deal with it personally," Pyrus ordered her program, "Nothing in or out!"
The glowing cylinder of light around her flashed which seemed to indicate that Cerberus understood. Ratchet's screen turned green with hints of blue. Optimus was about to ask what was happening, but he was interrupted when one of the wires that was protruding from Bulkhead began to spark and turn red. It flowed up and tried to go into Ratchet's console, but it was stopped rather quickly by a blue light. Turning back on itself, the red headed straight for Pyrus' computer. The green cylinder of light was slowly starting to turn red. Not wasting any time, Pyrus set to work. She pulled at codes and typed in new ones as fast as her fingers could go. The green and red seemed to be fighting one another for control, but the green seemed to be winning. This angered the invading red.
"Stop fighting Hydra! You need to stop," Pyrus yelled, "They aren't enemies! Those that broke me have been broken beyond repair. You don't need to do this anymore! Just give up… let me put you to rest…," she pleaded.
Her words only seemed to anger the malware. The sound of crackling static could be heard building up. The entire cylinder turned red. Bolts of electricity shot through the cylinder and Pyrus. Her entire body seized up as the electric shock. She gritted her teeth, but refused to scream out in pain. Ratchet got up to help, but he couldn't get past the barrier. His magnets didn't have any effect either. Everyone could only watch in horror as Pyrus stood in the middle of an electrical storm. Optimus noticed it out of the side of his optic. Ratchet's screen flashed and the wire came alive with green and blue light. It surged into the cylinder and overtook the red. They began to battle. They swirled and zipped across the cylinder. The electric attack ended and Ratchet was able to reach in and grab Pyrus. She was breathing hard and twitching, but she indicated that she was okay. She stared in horror as the two colors fought so fiercely. The cylinder bent and bubbled with every movement. The larger bubbles began to take form in the shape of beastly heads. Three dog headed ones emerged from the blue and one serpent like one came from the red. The heads bit and snapped at one another as if they were fighting for their lives. It was so strange and terrifying to watch. Ratchet grew concerned for Sari, so he picked her up to keep her out of harm's way. Optimus and Prowl wanted to rush in there, but what could they really have done? Plus there was the quarantine to worry about. All they could do was watch on the other side of the screen.
The battle between the two programs took a turn for the worse. The serpent head whipped about and managed to wrap around one of Cerberus' heads. It rapidly bit the head and landed the final blow. The head shattered into a thousand shards of light and numbers as it fell from its body. Pyrus let out an audible gasp as she watched her two creations tear into one another. She couldn't watch it anymore.
"Cerberus!" she pulled herself from Ratchet's grip, "HYDRA STOP!" she ran up to the battling coded beasts.
They didn't stop though. Their fight only became more fierce. They were so consumed by battle, they refused to listen to their creator. Pyrus knew she had to stop this. Running up to the serpent head, she latched onto it. With some quick coding she was able to create a surge of electricity through her gloves that stunlocked the serpent. She didn't even hesitate to reach inside the monstrous snake's head and pull out a glitching line of code. Quickly crushing it in her hand, Pyrus jumped back. The serpent head twitched flashed in and out until it fell apart. The red from the cylinder faded until there was only blue and green left.
Pyrus approached the two remaining dog heads, "Cerberus? Cerberus? Oh… my poor, poor program," she gently pulled them out of the cylinder of light.
As they came out, they took their more blobbish form. But now there was a gaping hole in it. The serrated edges of the wound blinked with hints of red. It was easy to see that the codes were damaged. The poor little blob of a program trembled in its creator's arms.
"I'm so sorry Cerberus…," a tear ran down Pyrus' cheek, "You are such a good little program… always protecting me…," she whispered as she collapsed into a heap.