Hey everyone, I'm back! Here is chapter 17. I hope you like it.
Transformers Prime: The Medic's Assistant
Chapter 17: Sick Mind
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime
(Autobot Base)
Taking a break from her work, Stormracer sat down and took a big sip of energon while thinking about recent events. A few days earlier, Arcee ran into her arch nemesis, Airachnid, who had crash landed on Earth. Apparently she was collecting heads of different species from across the universe and tried to add Jack's to her collection, only for the boy to blow up her ship and Arcee to defeat her. But the rogue decepticon still got away and was stuck on Earth. Knowing Airachnid was out there somewhere made Arcee upset. Stormracer asked if she wanted to talk about it, but the two wheeler only refused and warned her to stay away from Airachnid.
"Optimus."
Stormracer snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Ratchet speak up.
"You're not going to believe this," the medic said, looking at the computer, "I've just pinpointed the location of the Decepticon warship."
Finishing the last of her energon, Stormracer and the others made their way over to the medic with a look of shock on their faces.
"How did you penetrate their cloaking technology?" Optimus asked him.
"I didn't," Ratchet said, "I was experimenting with variable frequency wave lengths when I stumbled upon it. Even still, their ship must be experiencing some kind of electromagnetic breach."
"With Megatron deceased and the element of surprise..." Arcee said.
"We could cause some serious damage," Bulkhead finished.
Something else popped up on the screen. "Also on the same frequency," Ratchet said, "an autobot emergency beacon."
"The decepticons can wait," Optimus said, "there may be autobots in distress." He looked at the medic. "Ratchet, bring your medical kit. You, Stormracer and I will go investigate."
Soon as the groundbridge was fired up, the Prime, medic, and assistant made their way through. Once they reached the other side, they found themselves in a desert in front of a large cybertronian ship stuck in the sand.
"A crash landing," Optimus said, "buried here for centuries."
Soon as they reached the ship, Ratchet cut the wall from the outside and pushed the big metal piece in, giving the three an entrance as they stepped inside.
"If they traveled in stasis mode, there may be survivors," Ratchet said as they turned on their lights to see better.
Stormracer started walking, making the ship shake as the three tried to keep their balance.
"Whoa!" the assistant said as the shaking stopped, "guess I shouldn't have had that energon before we left."
"Let us move on," Optimus said as he started walking down the corridor, the other two following behind. They soon came to a door at the end of the hall. Using his servos, Optimus pried the door open for them to enter. What they saw inside horrified them.
Stormracer looked around at the rusting autobot bodies on the ground, making her feel sick as she stepped into the room.
Ratchet scanned one of the bodies and discovered the cause of death. "Optimus, these autobots didn't perish in the crash. They're displaying the effects of a virus."
"This is a plague ship," Optimus said. He was about to take a step forward until Ratchet stopped him.
"Don't touch anything," Ratchet warned his leader, "the virus could still be active."
Stormracer immediately took a big step away from the tainted energon. "Exactly what kind of virus are we talking about?" she asked.
Just then the ship shook again and slanted, making all three of them lose their footing and slide downward. Stormracer immediately activated her grappling claw and fired, latching it into the wall and stopping her just in time. Her knees up to her torso, she nervously looked down to see she was inches away from the infected energon.
"Stormracer!"
Looking over, she saw Optimus and Ratchet down at the other side against the wall, looking at her worryingly.
"I'm okay!" the femme assured them. She then noticed something moving over the prime and gasped. "Optimus, above you!"
Optimus looked up to see a body hanging over him from the ceiling. But before the Prime could move, droplets of the infected energon fell on his face and into his left optic. Gasping, he tried to wipe it away, but it was already too late.
"No," Ratchet said gravely.
(Later, back at base)
Everyone gathered around in the med area, worried for their leader. Optimus laid on the berth, too weak to move as Ratchet scanned him. The infection had already started to spread as it stretched out from his optic.
"Cybonic plague," Ratchet identified, "its only contagious if contact is made with the infected energon."
"What was a plague doing in an autobot spaceship?" Miko asked.
"The passengers were infected," Arcee told her, "the virus wiped out millions on Cybertron during the Great War."
"The cybonic plague was engineered in the decepticons' biological warfare program," Ratchet said, "by Megatron himself."
"You have a cure, don't you?" Raf asked worryingly.
"No... cure," Optimus said weakly as he turned his head to face them.
"Optimus, please," Ratchet told him, "save your strength."
"Would Megatron create a disease without having a cure?" Jack asked, "I mean, what if he caught it by accident?"
"It's not like we can ask Megatron, Jack," Bulkhead said, "he's pushing up lugnuts."
"But we might be able to access the decepticon data base," Ratchet said as he looked at the computer, "for the moment, we still have a fix on their warship's location."
Stormracer stepped forward. "I'll go," she said to Ratchet, "you didn't teach me to surf through a data base for nothing. Plus, if anyone can find a chemical formula for a cure, its me."
"I'll go with her," Arcee volunteered.
Ratchet looked at the two and nodded. "Go," he said, "and hurry."
(Decepticon Warship)
Arcee was the first to jump through the portal with her blaster out and ready. Seeing no decepticon in sight, she put her digit to her commlink. "Clear," she said.
Stormracer then hopped out before the portal closed.
"Let's start with the lab," Arcee told the assistant, "they most likely rebuilt it after your last visit."
The two femmes hurried down the corridor and towards the lab. Just as they were nearing the door, it opened, making the two immediately duck behind a corner. They watched as Knock Out walked out before he paused and looked around.
"Hmm," he said with a shrug before continuing down the hall.
Soon as he was gone, Stormracer and Arcee quickly made their way into the room. Once inside, the assistant rushed to the computer and began searching through the files while Arcee kept watch.
"Come on, come on," Stormracer said hopefully as she searched. After scanning through the data base another two times, she said, "I don't see it."
"Check again," Ratchet told her over the commlink.
"I did," she said, "there's nothing here."
"You're not looking hard enough!" he said gruffly.
She frowned. "What do you want me to do?! Take the computer apart until I find it?!"
"This is no time to be funny!"
"I'm not trying to be funny!" She found herself getting frustrated and took a deep vent, "Ratchet, I've checked every file three times already. If there is a cure, its not here."
Arcee looked through the window of the other door and gasped in shock. "Storm," she said, "you're not going to believe this."
Looking at the two wheeler in confusion, the teal femme made her way over and looked through the window. Immediately she had the same shocked expression Arcee had as they opened the door. Laying comatose on a berth was the last cybertronian they expected.
Megatron.
"What's going on?" Ratchet asked.
"It's Megatron," Arcee said, "he's... alive."
"What?!" everyone on the other end exclaimed.
"That's not possible," Ratchet said.
"Well, I'm staring right at him," Arcee said, activating her blaster as they walked towards the warlord, "the good news is, Megatron isn't exactly staring back."
"He's in critical condition," Stormracer said, "hooked up to life support."
Arcee glared at the con and charged up her blaster. "Time to finish this once and for all."
"Whoa, whoa!" Stormracer said, stopping her, "you're just going to offline him in his state?"
Arcee shot her a look. "Storm, this isn't a normal bot! It's Megatron! The same one who destroyed Cybertron and took countless lives. If we don't do this now, we may never get another chance."
"Wait!" Ratchet said, "Megatron may be Optimus' only hope for survival."
Confused, Arcee powered down her blaster as she put her digit to her audio receptor. "What are you talking about?" she asked the medic.
"Is he displaying any brain-wave activity?"
Stormracer looked at the monitor beside Megatron. "Yeah," she said, "spiking hard."
"His sick mind is still at work," Arcee said spitefully.
"Perfect," Ratchet said, confusing the two bots, "if a cure exists, Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his brain and find it."
Both the femmes' optics widened.
"You want us to what now?" Stormracer asked, hoping she heard wrong.
"Ratchet, are you out of your fragging mind?" Arcee asked the medic, hating the idea.
"The laboratory should contain all the equipment you need to perform a cortical psychic patch," Ratchet said.
"No way," Arcee argued, "have you even performed the procedure?"
"… No," Ratchet said, "but I have thoroughly studied the theoretical literature. Invented by Decepticons, outlawed by Autobots."
"Okay whoa," the blue femme said, "can't we just haul Megatron through the groundbridge and buy us some time to figure this out?"
"Time is one thing Optimus does not have!" Ratchet argued, "you have to try this! I will not allow Optimus to pass knowing Megatron will outlive him!"
Stormracer looked at Arcee, seeing she was scared to do it. She didn't blame her. She didn't like the idea either. But if it meant saving Optimus' life...
"Ratchet, I would lay down my life for Optimus, anytime, anywhere," Arcee said, "but a mind/body split..."
Releasing a vent, Stormracer volunteered. "I'll do it."
Arcee looked at her. "You will?"
"Stormracer, you have to be the one to perform the procedure," the medic told her.
"I can do it on myself," she said, "you said so yourself it has to be done. Arcee can keep guard while I look for the cure."
"Storm, are you sure?" Sierra asked her worryingly.
"I'll be fine, Sierra," she told her friend, trying to sound positive, "I mean, how bad can it be?"
She could hear Ratchet letting out a vent, knowing he didn't like the idea of her doing it. "Very well," he said, "I'll walk you through the procedure."
It didn't take long for Stormracer to set everything up. Once she connected the one end of the cortical psychic patch to the back of Megatron's helm, she took the other end to where she and Arcee were hiding.
"Glad I didn't destroy this," she said, readying herself.
"You're sure you can do this?" Arcee asked.
"Yeah," the assistant assured her, "it'll be a walk in the park. Only in Megatron's head. No biggie. Just be ready to disconnect me soon as I find the cure."
Arcee nodded. "Be careful."
Nodding back, the assistant let out a vent. "Ratchet, I'm ready."
"Initiate cortical psychic patch," the medic said.
Stormracer connected the patch into the back of her helm. The next thing she knew, she felt herself being sucked out of her body. It all happened so quickly as she soon found herself in a different place.
"Whoa," she said as she looked at her servos. She let out a chuckle. "This feels so weird." But when the femme looked up, her smile disappeared when she noticed she was in a very ominous looking city. "Well, this is... creepy."
"Communications downlink activated," Ratchet said from her commlink, "we will be able to see and hear what you do while within Megatron's subconscious."
"Whoa, where is that place?" Jack asked.
Stormracer studied her surroundings as she started walking. "I... I think its Kaon," she said, "it was the Decepticon capital back on Cybertron. Though I don't remember it looking like the pit."
"Remember your mission," Ratchet told his assistant.
Nodding, Stormracer searched as she walked through the city. Making her way onto a bridge, she walked over a large smelting pool with steam rising from it. She couldn't help but shudder, imagining Megatron sentencing many autobot prisoners to melt in it.
"Why can't Megatron think of a meadow with flowers and cute fluffy bunnies?" she asked herself grimly.
"You have to hurry," her boss reminded her, "I know you're in unknown territory, but you must figure out where the information might be filed in Megatron's mind."
"Right," she said.
She walked for quite a while as she looked, wondering where the cure might be. Walking up some stairs, she made it to the top and noticed a bot standing there. Her optics widened when she saw who it was.
"Optimus?" she asked questionably as she rushed over to him.
"Stormracer, that is not Optimus," Ratchet told her as she stopped in front of the prime, "but a figment of Megatron's mind. It can not see or hear you."
She studied it up and down. "Wow," she said, "it looks so real."
Just then Stormracer heard an evil laugh coming from behind the figment. Looking up, she saw Megatron standing on a high platform as he looked down at the fake Prime.
"Optimus Prime," he said, "your autobot armies are defeated. Bow before your new master."
"Never, Megatron," the figment said as it turned around and activated its sword, "one shall stand. One shall fall."
"So be it," Megatron said, activating his sword.
Watching, Stormracer quickly hid behind a structure as Megatron jumped down from the high platform. The two then charged at one another. But soon as they reach each other, Megatron's blade sliced right through the fake Optimus, making the prime disappear into dust.
Stormracer's optics widened in shock. "What?!"
"That never happened," Bulkhead said.
"It's not a memory," Ratchet said, "we're seeing Kaon as Megatron has re-created it, in his darkest dreams."
Just then, another figment of Optimus arose from the structure Stormracer was hiding behind, making her fall back in surprise. "Megatron," the Optimus said as it approached the warlord, "your treachery ends here."
Turning back around, Megatron glared at the Prime and deactivated his sword. Instead, he charged up his cannon and fired it at Optimus.
"No!" Stormracer shouted. Forgetting the prime was just a figment, she rushed over to try and shield it, only for the blast to still hit its target. Turning around, she saw the prime disappear into nothing, making her remember he wasn't real.
"Right, figment," she said sheepishly to herself.
Turning around, the autobot found herself having to look up when she saw Megatron stopping in front of her. But what scared her the most was the fact he was looking back down at her.
"Uh... hi," she said nervously.
"The medic's little helper," he said, "if you are here, I assume the autobot medic isn't too far away?"
Pushing away her fear, she stood her ground. "He's not here," she said, "it's just me."
Megatron evilly chuckled. "Very unwise," he said before activating his sword again, "the punishment for trespassing into my domain is your destruction!"
Stormracer fearfully took a step back as Megatron raised his sword over his helm. She shielded herself with her arms as he brought the blade down on her. But it didn't hit her. In fact, it went right through her. She looked at herself in surprise, seeing she was still okay.
"Whoa," she said.
Megatron looked at her in shock. "How can this be?!" he exclaimed angrily. He tried again and again to strike her, only for the same thing to happen every time.
"Megatron can't touch Storm?" Stormracer heard Sierra ask through her commlink.
"Because she is not a creation of Megatron's mind, Stormracer is immune to his physical attacks," Ratchet told her.
Megatron finally stopped as he frowned at the femme. Trying to figure out what was going on, he began circling her.
"You're not wearing phase displacement armor," he said, "your eyes track my movement, so you're not a hologram. And I do not believe in spirits." He stopped in front of her. "So tell me. What are you?"
"Megatron."
Both Stormracer and him looked to see another figment of Optimus standing there with Team Prime… including her.
"Uh oh," she heard Miko say, "special guest stars."
"This is not good," Ratchet said.
Stormracer looked to see Megatron frowning at her then at the figments. Looking back at them, the assistant made her way over to the figment of herself and waved her servo in front of its face. "Yoohoo!" she said as it remained still.
Megatron finally released a yell and blasted the figments with his cannon. Even though the blasts couldn't hit her, Stormracer still shielded herself out of reaction. Soon as he stopped, she lowered her arms to see him glaring at her.
"You are real," he said, "they were not." Thinking for a moment, he chuckled. "A cortical psychic patch. How unexpected."
"We've stirred Megatron from his oblivion," Ratchet said, "he's becoming self aware."
Scrap, Stormracer thought.
"If this is my subconcious," he glared at her again and got right in her face, "what are you doing inside my head?!"
She couldn't help but flinch. "I'm, I'm looking for something," she said, regaining her courage.
The decepticon leader stood to his full height. "Is that so." He looked around at his surroundings and frowned. "It would seem I am trapped here in my own mind. But the question remains... what happened to me?"
Stormracer remained quiet as he thought to himself for a moment.
His optics widened. "The space bridge explosion," he said, remembering what had happened, "and if you're in my head, then I am not one with the AllSpark." He looked at her again. "Tell me, do I still function?"
"Stormracer, we are out of time!" Ratchet told her through her commlink.
Remembering her mission, Stormracer let out a vent and spoke. "Listen, I'm here because O- a bot, is infected with the cybonic plague."
"Cybonic plague?" Megatron asked, "someone besides myself is unwell?"
She nodded.
Megatron thought for a moment before grinning. "Optimus," he said, figuring it out as he laughed. "Such irony! That after ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus is felled from a virus from a distant past."
Stormracer frowned as she continued. "He's running out of time. He needs the cure."
Megatron smirked. "And what makes you think that I will save the life of my oldest enemy?"
"Because... uh..." Stormracer tried to think of what to say before another figment of Optimus made its way over to the warlord.
"Megatron," the figment said as it approached him, "your treachery ends h-" it didn't finish as Megatron blasted the illusion with his cannon.
Seeing that gave Stormracer an idea. "Because if you don't, you won't be able to accomplish what you want most," she told Megatron.
Megatron smirked at her again. "Oh? And just what is it I want most, my dear?"
"To be the one to slay Optimus Prime."
He laughed. "Did you not see? I do slay Optimus by my own hand, at will, whenever I desire."
"You're only destroying illusions of him. The real Optimus is still online, but he won't be for long. If you allow the cybonic plague to kill him, then you will never have the chance to do it yourself. Do you want to spend your time taking down figments, or would you rather the satisfaction of offlining the real deal?"
She felt terrible for saying it, but it was a matter of life or death.
Megatron's grin disappeared as he started thinking. After a moment, he spoke. "After our deep history together, to not watch the spark leave Optimus' eyes with my very own..." He looked at Stormracer for a moment before smirking. "Well played." Holding his servo out, he opened it and revealed the formula. "The chemical formula for the cure you seek. I assume someone with your knowledge is able to read it."
Relieved she was able to persuade him, Stormracer reached out to take it, only for Megatron to close his servo and make the formula vanish.
"Not yet," he said.
"What?!" the autobot exclaimed as she frowned at him, "there's no time!"
"And how am I to terminate Optimus Prime like you propose while I am trapped in a perpetual daydream? Once you release me from this prison, you will have the cure."
Her optics widened as she hesitated.
"You must guarantee my recovery," the con said, "or Optimus fades to gunmetal gray. The real Optimus."
Just then Ratchet's voice popped up in her commlink. "Stormracer, we have the formula! Arcee is disconnecting you now!"
Everything around them started falling part and fade away into dust. Megatron looked around and realized he had been tricked.
"You were watching!" Megatron said as he angrily looked at her, "you tricked me!"
Stormracer backed away from him as she felt herself fading away.
"No!" Megatron shouted as he tried to grab her, but she already faded into dust and was pulled out of his head.
Stormracer's optics immediately opened once she returned to her body. She looked to see Arcee with her blaster pointed at the opening where they were hiding. Her optics widened when she saw Starscream kneeling down to look in.
"What in-?!" he exclaimed soon as he discovered them.
Just then a groundbridge portal opened behind the two femmes.
"Storm, move it!" Arcee told her.
Getting up, Stormracer made a run for it through the portal as Arcee fired a shot, hitting the life support cable off of Megatron's chest. Smirking, the two wheeler then jumped through the portal after her friend.
(Later - Autobot Base)
While Ratchet was administering the cure into Optimus, Stormracer and the others waited with anticipation, hoping they weren't too late.
After a while, Sierra looked at Stormracer. "So, what was it like?" she asked her, "being inside someone's head?"
"Weird," she said, "since you're technically not in your physical body, you just feel like a... well, like a ghost I guess."
Ratchet then walked over to the group, gaining everyone's attention.
"How is he?" Arcee asked him.
The medic smiled. "He's going to be alright."
Delighted by the good news, everyone let out a cheer.
After a moment of rest, Optimus was well enough to get back up. Ratchet and Stormracer had to assist him as he stood on his pedes. Seeing their leader had finally recovered, everyone applauded him.
"Please," he said, stopping them, "reserve the hero's welcome for my physician," he said, "and his assistant."
Stormracer felt her cheeks heat up when everyone then applauded her and Ratchet. She couldn't help but bashfully smile as she and Ratchet continued to assist Optimus. Once the prime gained all his strength to stand on his own, Stormracer took a step back as everyone went to talk to him. She let out a happy vent and smiled, glad to see everything was back to normal.
Just then she went rigid, her smile disappearing as she just stood there.
"I'm out," a voice said in her head, "or should I say... in?"
Uh oh! Not good!
I hope you guys liked this chapter. I already started typing the next one, so hopefully I will have it up soon. Until next time! God bless!