The Sickness of the Mind and Heart.

"Seriously? You guys went to Greece? Come on!" I pouted. Miko, Jack and Raf laughed at me.

"I don't care what Mom says next time, I'm coming with you guys," I continued, pouting childishly.

"YES!" Miko cheered before turning to the boys, "I told you she'd want to come!" She told them. I huffed playfully as the boys rolled their eyes.

"And you went racing? With Arcee and Bumblebee?" I asked disbelievingly to Jack. He instantly stopped laughing and a sheepish look took over his face. "And you met one of Arcee's old enemies?" I asked him. Jack nodded sheepishly as Miko laughed at him. I groaned as Raf laughed quietly.

"I go away for a week and you guys already have so much fun," I wined. Ratchet and Optimus stopped what they were doing for a second to chuckle at me.

"That's what you get- Wait where did you go for a week?" Jack asked as Miko kept laughing at me. I tapped my nose giving him a smirk.

"Now that's a secret," I said smugly to him. Okay, I guess it wasn't that much of a secret but Fowler ended up telling Mom that I had a run in with M.E.C.H with him (not telling Mom about the bots yet.) and she wanted me to get away from the house for a while to make sure that they weren't watching it. We hadn't seen anything so far, so Fowler gave us the all clear to come back yesterday.

"Now that's mean, to them at least," Raf said smiling as he shifted his glasses as Miko groaned at me. Jack just rolled his eyes at me.

"Optimus, you're not going to believe this. I've just pinpointed the location of the Decepticon warship," Ratchet said sounding amazed himself, making everyone look or move over to the computer.

"How did you penetrate their cloaking technology?" Optimus asked as he moved to the computer as well.

"I didn't. I was experimenting with the variable frequency wavelengths when I stumbled upon it. Even still, their ship must be experiencing some kind of electromagnetic breach," Ratchet said as he turned around to face the other Autobots.

"With Megatron deceased and the element of surprise-" Arcee started.

"-We could cause some serious damage," Bulkhead finished. I sure that Ratchet rolled his eyes at them before he went back to the computer.

"Also on the same frequency, an Autobot emergency beacon," Ratchet said as it came up on the screen.

"The Decepticons can wait. There may be Autobots in distress. Ratchet bring your medical kit," Optimus said. I bit my lip as a bad feeling suddenly rushed through my body. Please let everything go well for once.

♦️

I raised my hand to my neck. What the? I swear something liquid just landed on my neck.

"We need a ground bridge, now!" Ratchet said suddenly over the comms making all of us jump. Raf quickly started typing to get the ground bridge on. We watched anxiously as it opened. I bit my lip nervously. This couldn't be good.

♦️

"Cybonic Plague." Ratchet said grimly as he scanned Optimus. This time I made sure my hands weren't holding any metal bars or anyone. I seriously didn't want anyone worrying about me (getting nervous or angry) when they should be worrying about Optimus.

"It's only contagious if contact is made with the infected energon," Ratchet continued.

"What was a plague doing in an Autobot spaceship?" Miko asked. I bit my lip. If only there wasn't this massive war going on. If only Cybertron didn't go dark.

"It's passengers were infected. The virus wiped out millions on Cybertron during the great war," Arcee said as I adjusted my position so I was leaning against the wall with my arms folded over my chest.

"Cybonic plague was engineered in the Decepticons' biological-warfare program, by Megatron himself," Ratchet said grimly. I bit my lip as my nails drew a small amount of blood from my too tight of a grip on my forearms. I seriously hate this war.

"You have a cure, don't you?" Raf asked. I closed my eyes as the feeling of dread flowed through my body.

"No cure," Optimus rasped out. I dug my nails into my skin even more. Why did all the bad things always happen to Optimus? Primus, just give him a break. He had to fight Megaron, who from what I could gather was like a brother to Optimus, who was now dead due to the dark energon that corrupted his mind.

"Optimus, please, save your strength. Primus knows you'll need it," Ratchet said to Optimus who shifted slightly on the cybertronian sized cot.

"Would Megatron create a disease without having a cure? I mean, what if he caught it by accident?" Jack asked. I looked up slightly at that from where I was leaning against the wall. While that does seem like a good idea, I doubt Megatron would have told anyone about it, to keep the cure from getting out.

"It's not like we can ask Megatron, Jack. He's pushing up lug nuts," Bulkhead said.

"But we might be able to access the Decepticon database. For the moment we still have a fix on their warship's location. " Ratchet said.

"Bumblebee, come with," Arcee said as she walked to the ground bridge. Bumblebee quickly followed after her.

"Arcee, quickly," Ratchet called to her as she and Bumblebee went through the ground bridge.

♦️

"I'm in the network," Arcee said over the comm-link.

"Ratchet, were you..." Optimus tried to ask making Ratchet and the rest of us look at him. I bit the inside of my mouth. I hate seeing Optimus this weak. It was like liquid fire had filled my body, to see him this way.

"Infected? No," Ratchet said quickly. This seemed to make Optimus relax slightly, although he was slightly tense still.

"If it's here, I don't see it," Arcee said sounding frustrated.

"Are you certain, Arcee?" Ratchet asked nervously.

"I searched every file. Nothing," Arcee growled out.

"Well search again! Clearly, you missed something!" Ratchet said, getting frustrated. Oh, no. We have an argument on our hands, people.

"I scanned the entire database!" Arcee protested.

"Did you used a redundant quantum algorithm?" Ratchet asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't tell me how to research. You think you're the only one who cares about Optimus?" Arcee snipped at him

"Arcee," Bumblebee called.

"What is it?" Arcee snapped at him.

"What is it? What's going on?" Ratchet asked when Arcee gasped.

"It's Megatron. He's alive," Arcee said quietly.

"What?" Jack asked as he looked at Miko and Raf as I thought about it.

"That's not possible," Ratchet said in disbelief. Well, I guess it could. If certain factors came into play like... The Dark fragging Energon! That must be the reason.

"Well, I'm staring right at him. The good news is, Megatron isn't exactly staring back," Arcee said.

"Megatron," Optimus mumbled weakly. I looked down at him sadly. I will always hate what this war has done to whatever relationship that Optimus and Megatron had.

"He's critical, hooked up to life support. Time to finish this once and for all," Arcee firmly. My eyes widened.

"Wait don't!" Ratchet and I called out. Everyone looked at us weirdly.

"One good reason, fast" Arcee snapped.

"Megatron may be Optimus' only hope for survival," Ratchet explained quickly.

"What are you talking about?" Arcee asked. Her voice was laced with confusion.

"Does he have brain-wave activity?" I asked for Ratchet who nodded along with me. Thank you, Ratchet, for the history lesson a couple weeks ago.

"Spiking hard. His sick mind still at work." Arcee sneered. I breathed in relief. Optimus still had a chance.

"Perfect! If a cure exists, Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his brain and find it," Ratchet said almost happily making Bulkhead and my friends look at him confused.

"Enter Megatron's brain? Ratchet are you out of your fragging mind?" Arcee asked frustrated with doc-bot. I bit my tongue to stop myself from snapping.

"The Decepticon Laboratory should contain all the equipment you need for a cortical psychic patch." Ratchet said almost casually, but I could hear the sound of urgency in his voice.

"No way. Have you even performed the procedure?" Arcee asked him in disbelief. I could hear her pacing. Primus, I'd be nervous if Ratchet was asking me to do it instead.

"No. But I have thoroughly studied the theoretical literature. Invented by Decepticons, outlawed by Autobots." Ratchet said. I am so glad that Ratchet helped me catch up on some Cybertronian history. I understood more than I did a couple weeks ago.

"Whoa. Can't we just haul Megatron through the ground bridge, buy us some time to figure this out?" Arcee asked sounding like she was trying to plead with Ratchet. I shook my head slightly. There's just not enough time.

"Time is the one thing Optimus does not have! One of you must try this. I will not allow Optimus to pass knowing that Megatron will outlive him!" Ratchet vowed before muttering something so low that I couldn't hear him.

"Ratchet, I would lay down my life for Optimus, anytime, anywhere. But a mind-body split?" Arcee asked hesitantly.

"I'll do it," Bumblebee said suddenly.

"Are you sure, Bumblebee?" Raf asked concerned for his guardian.

"Bee's the best scout there is," Bulkhead said confidently.

♦️

"Ratchet we're ready," Arcee said. I fumbled with my hands nervously. There are so many things that could go wrong with this.

"Initiate cortical psychic patch. Communications downlink activated," Ratchet said as the video feed stabilised.

"This will allow us to see and hear everything while within Megatron's mind," Ratchet explained to the others who didn't understand.

"Whoa, where's that?" Jack asked shocked at the video feed.

"Looks like Kaon, the Decepticon Capital, to me," Bumblebee said as he looked around.

"Bee says that it looks like Kaon," Raf said.

"The Decepticon capital on Cybertron." I finished. What made it like that? Didn't Cybertron's rulers ever think to do something about it? Like fix it up or something?

"Ratch, Optimus' vitals," Bulkhead warned.

"I know. Quickly Bumblebee. I know you're in unknown territory, but you must figure out where the information might be filed in Megatron's mind," Ratchet said as a fake Optimus appeared in the video feed.

"Optimus?" Bumblebee asked waving his hand in front of the fake Optimus.

"Bumblebee that's not Optimus, but a figment of Megatron's mind, It cannot see or hear you." Ratchet told Bumblebee who nodded and was about to move before we could hear an evil laugh.

"Optimus Prime, your Autobot armies are defeated, bow before your new master," Megatron said from a high up platform. I narrowed my eyes at the con and had to keep from growling at the screen.

"Never Megatron, One shall stand and one shall fall," fake Optimus said reading his sword.

"So be it!" Megatron bellowed before he jumped down and ended up killing the fake Optimus with one strike.

"That never happened," Bulkhead said confused. I sighed. It's Megatron's mind. in your mind you can come up with scenarios that never happened in the real world. 

"It's not a memory, we are seeing Kaon as Megatron has re-created it... in his darkest dreams," Ratchet explained.

"Megatron, your treachery ends here," fake Optimus said before getting shot down.

"The Autobot scout, the punishment for trespassing in my domain is your punishment!" Megatron said as he swung at Bumblebee. 

"How can this be?" Megatron asked as he took several more swipes at Bumblebee.

"Megatron can't touch bee?" Raf asked confused.

"Because he's not a creation of Megatron's mind, Bumblebee is immune to his physical attacks," Ratchet explained. I smiled at that. 

"You're not wearing phase-displacement armour," Megatron said walking around Bumblebee, "Your eyes track my movement, so your not a hologram. And I do not believe in spirits. So tell me, scout, what are you?" Megatron asked rhetorically. 

"Megatron," Fake Optimus said walking up with a Fake Bulkhead and Fake Bumblebee. 

"Uh-oh. Special guest stars," Miko gulped as we shared nervous looks. 

"This is not good," Ratchet murmured. 

"Erm, I'm just going to go over there. Hello?" Bumblebee said as he waved at the fake Bumblebee. 

"You are real. They were not." Megatron laughs. "A cortical psychic patch.  How unexpected. "

"We've stirred Megatron from his oblivion. He's becoming self-aware," Ratchet said nervously. What had we gotten into?

"If this is my subconscious... Then what are you doing inside my head?" Megatron asked Bumblebee. The smallest amounts of panic in his optics startled me.  What was he hiding?

♦️

"Come one, bee. What are you doing in there?" Arcee muttered before we could hear doors open. 

"Knockout, if you would be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave for the historical record," Starscream said. 

"Simply put, unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathless slumber forever," Knockout sighed. 

"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," Starscream seemed to try to reason with Soundwave. 

"Brain-wave activity, not evidence of consciousness, but merely of an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake," Knockout added onto Starscream's words. 

"Soundwave, we must face the reality. Megatron is lost to us," Starscream said. I could easily hear the delight at the thought of Megatron fading to him.

"The only honourable option would be to show him mercy," Knockout seemed to back up Starscream. 

"A simple throw of the switch," Starscream said. 

"Quick, painless, compassionate," Knockout added to whatever conversation they were having. 

"Ratchet, are you hearing this?" Arcee asked quietly and rushed. 

♦️

"If Megatron perishes, then Bumblebee's mind will remain separated from his body, forever," Ratchet said nervously. 

"We'll lose Bumblebee and Optimus?" Jack asked. I placed my hand on Raf's shoulder as he looked nervous and scared for his guardian. 

"The only way you could have entered my mind is via cortical psychic patch. But the question remains, what happened to me?" Megatron growled as he leaned into Bumblebee's face before seemingly freezing.

"The space bridge explosion. and yet if you're in my head, I am not one with the Allspark. So, tell me, scout, do I still function?" Megatron asked Bumblebee. I narrowed my eyes at the slight desperation that had appeared in his optics. What the frag is he hiding?

"Bumblebee, we are out of time!" Ratchet said hurriedly to him.

"The Cybonic plague's cure. Do you have it?" Bumblebee asked quickly. 

"Cybonic Plague? Someone besides myself is unwell?" Megatron said curiously. Bumblebee nodded. Megatron thought about it before giving a laugh.

"Optimus!" Megatron kept laughing. I tensed up. Of course, the Decepticon Warlord would figure it out. 

"Such irony! But after ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is felled by a simple virus from the distant past," He laughed. "And what makes you think that I would save the life of my oldest enemy?" Megatron asked Bumblebee.

"Megatron, your treachery is-" A fake Optimus said before Megatron shot him.

"Because that's not what you would want the most," Bumblebee said.

"Oh? And just what is it that I want the most, scout?" Megatron asked him.

"To kill Optimus, yourself," Bumblebee said. I bit my lip nervously. Come on, 'Bee.

"Did you not see? I do slay Optimus by my own hand, at will, whenever I desire," Megatron growled amusedly at Bumblebee

"But then you wouldn't have finished himself off for yourself, by your hand personally," Bumblebee said. I would have laughed at Bumblebee's inner Decepticon thinking if it wasn't a difficult moment right now.

"He told Megatron if he lets the plague virus destroy the real Optimus, Megatron will never get the chance to do it himself," Raf translated for Jack and Miko as I gripped the bars nervously.

"Smart," Jack nodded.

"Twisted," Miko said with a small smirk on her face.

♦️

"Soundwave, do I take your silence to mean you concur with Knockout's medical expertise?" Starscream asked.

"Speak now, or forever hold your piece, going... going... hmm," Starscream said over the comms, thanks to Arcee.

"Scrap," Arcee said quietly making us share nervous looks.

♦️

"After our deep history together, to not watch the spark ebb from Optimus' eyes with my very own..."

"The formula?" Bumblebee asked hopefully.

"Well played, Scout. The chemical formula for the cure you seek, not that I expect you to know how to read it," Megatron said dryly as he displayed it. Bumblebee went to reach it but Megatron closed his hand.

"What?" Miko asked quietly as Jack and Raf shared confused looks with her.

"What?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not yet. And how am I to accomplish terminating Optimus as you propose while I'm trapped here ina perpetual daydream?" Megatron asked before spinning to face Bumblebee.

"Once you release me from this prison, you will have the cure," Megatron said as Ratchet started to type on the computer hurridly.

♦️

"Come on, come on," Arcee said.

♦️

"You must guarantee my recovery, or Optimus fades to gunmetal grey, the real Optimus," Megatron said smirking slightly. I frowned at the look in his eyes. It looked almost as if he was-

"Arcee, we have the formula! Disconnect Bumblebee now!" Ratchet said interrupting my thoughts as he froze the feed on the computer. I started fumbling with my hands nervously. Please let this go well. There are so many things that could go wrong.

"Hurry, Bee," Arcee said nervously as we heard her over the comms as Ratchet started up the ground bridge.

"What in-" I heard Starscream faintly say before the bridge opened up.

"See you," Bumblebee said to Starscream before he and Arcee came through the bridge. I saw my friends visibly relax when they made it back safely.

♦️

"That's it steady," Ratchet said as he helped Optimus up. I rolled my eyes playfully as everyone started clapping before I joined in as well. My smile widened, even more, when I saw Optimus give me the tiniest of mock glares before he shook his head.

"Please reserve the hero's welcome for my physician and my scout," Optimus said motioning to Bumblebee, who rubbed the back of his head shyly. I smiled at him as he took a couple bows causing us smaller people to laugh.

Although, I was kind of ignoring the feeling of dread that had settled in my body. Optimus was back on his feet and no one had died yet. Everyone was safely back at base. What else could go wrong?

♦️

"I'm out. Or should I say, in?

Optimus, my old friend. Your child is with you. 

No matter she will be put to use when I, when we, return, "

Evil laughter filled the yellow Autobot scouts' head.

♦️

Somewhere far away a boy woke up with a gasp. His eyes flashing red before melting back to their normal chocolate brown.

"What the fuck was that?"