The Energon Pub

Medical Bay

"Jazz, can you hear me?! Jazz! Stay with me!"

Jazz's optical visor flickered as he struggled to hold onto consciousness. Smokescreen, it sounded like Smokescreen at least, it sounded like he was trying to help him. Jazz weakly raised his hand up towards the division expert's face trying to make sure he wasn't losing his senses. "Pri-Prime..." he weakly called out. Before he knew it, Jazz felt like he was floating on air. His head limply fell back as he was carried off towards a medical berth. The words being spoken around him were fading out slowly, the noises dying out with each passing second.

"Smokes'... Ratch'... Is he-... What's going on..."

Outside Medical Bay

Blurr’s head was reeling. Everything hurt. It wasn’t long before he reoriented himself, but even for him, the bounce back was not fast. He did managed to catch sight of Hot Rod snagging Prime’s gun. He shot the cavalier a big thumbs up. Okay, okay. Think. What could he do to help? Blurr took a step forward only to stagger. Urgh. His optics shot wide open when Optimus took a menacing lurch toward Hot Rod.

Fortunately, Magnus capitalized on it. Unfortunately, Optimus was in rare form. As Magnus slammed into the wall, Blurr watched appalled as he made a grab for Optimus’s legs. He had to do something! Magnus was gonna get massacred! Darting forward, Blurr jumped, latching onto Optimus’s arm and holding tight. He wasn’t gonna get tossed aside this time!

Swerve watched the chaos unfolded, hiding behind the corner of the corridor with no immediate plans to leave. What could he do? Get killed. That was what. Optimus had gone crazy! Absolutely nuts! No thank you. Not him. Rosanna even started playing music to it as if it weren’t hectic enough. Good grief.

Optimus struggled against the restraints that bound his legs and one of his arms. He had shattered the other in his earlier struggles. Masses of jeering Decepticons looked on as the execution squad marched forward. Two with guns. One with his own. Taken.

”Megatron!” Optimus roared, ”Where are you?! I can’t believe you’d let your followers finish me! At least have the decency to do it yourself.”

Music played somewhere. A song about hope. About mercy. Such things were lost on Megatron. It was played to mock him. And as a fanfare for a great Decepticon celebration. The death of Optimus Prime. “Coward! Megatron!” Optimus broke his other arm restraint and immediately set about the legs. His hand transformed into an energon axe.

Outside Medical Bay

Smokescreen got up and backed away as Ultra Magnus stood and charged towards Optimus Prime only to be thrown into a nearby wall. Thankfully, the City Commander was not down for the count and managed to wrap both arms around Prime’s legs in a desperate attempt to hold him still long enough so the rallybot could get a clear shot.

The diversion expert brought the tranquilizer gun up to bare and took aim just as Blurr rushed back in and grabbed one of Prime’s arms. “Dammit, Blurr!” Smokescreen exclaimed, lowering the gun again. “I almost shot you!” The rallybot then moved to one side to get a better angle on Optimus’ neck. Unfortunately, every time Smokey moved into a new position, Prime thrashed in the opposite direction, ruining his shot. This isn’t working, the red and blue racer thought to himself. I have no choice. I have to get in closer.

”Megatron! Where are you?! I can’t believe you’d let your followers finish me! At least have the decency to do it yourself. Coward! Megatron!”

Prime’s words were swiftly followed by the ignition of his energon axe once he had broken free of Blurr’s grip on his arm. Optimus then turned his attention down towards his legs in an attempt to break Magnus’ grasp on them. As he did that, Prime’s neck became more exposed, allowing Smokescreen the perfect opportunity to shoot.

Taking careful aim, the rallybot moved in closer to Optimus Prime. “Forgive me,” Smokey whispered as he pulled the trigger of the tranquilizer gun, the lone dart erupting from the end of the barrel and flying directly at the Autobot leader’s neck.
______________

Hot Rod flinched, taking several steps back, as Prime lurched towards him with the obvious intention of getting his gun back. The cavalier gripped the large weapon tighter as Ultra Magnus made his daring move and tried to tackle Optimus. That didn’t work out too well as Magnus ended up being thrown into a wall before managing to grab a hold of Prime’s legs.

The flamed-covered mech suddenly became light-headed as the fight to subdue Optimus Prime continued only a few meters away. Hot Rod stumbled backwards as a sickening feeling quickly enveloped his frame. “What’s...going on?” The cavalier muttered as he fell down to one knee, keeping a firm grip on Prime’s weapon in the process.

Kill them, Rodimus.

The Fallen’s voice suddenly filled Hot Rod’s head once more, a wave of pain and agony accompanying it.

No! You’re not real! We defeated you!

Defeated, yes, but not destroyed. Not yet!

This was true. Ultra Magnus had not yet had the chance to launch the Fallen’s spark into the sun before current events had distracted him. The dark spark was still on the Guardian somewhere, possibly close by.

Kill them, Rodimus. Use Prime’s weapon. Kill him and then Ultra Magnus. Free me so that we may be rejoined! It is your destiny, Rodimus. You have no choice! You are weak and I am strong! You need me, child!

NO!

“Noooooooooo!!!!!!” Hot Rod screamed as he flung Prime’s gun down the corridor with all of his might. The weapon landed away from the fight in a far off corner as the cavalier collapsed entirely to the ground, his optics growing dim.

Private communication from Jetfire to Ultra Magnus.

>>Ultra Magnus, as you already know Megatron is on the loose. He hasn't shown up on the Trion as of yet. As for the Project Titan Superion it is coming nicely on my end. The designs for whoever is chosen is coming along nicely. The tricky part is protecting the processors of the respective parts during combination and after they separate. I've yet to get any updates from Ironfist's tests for anyone beyond the special teams.<<

Outside Medical Bay:

“Noooooooooo!!!!!!”

Cliffjumper spun around to see Hot Rod collapsing on the floor. Prime's gun was safely far away it seemed.

The red minibot ran over to Hot Rod and shook him.

"Roddy! What's going on? Are you alright?" Cliffjumper was not getting an answer. He looked up at his surroundings. There were others wounded and in worse shape physically than Hot Rod. Calling a medic would only prove to be useless. That was not an option. Cliffjumper's best bet was to try and wake him up.

"Come on Roddy! Do you hear me? Don't die on me or sumthin!" Said Cliffjumper as he shook Hot Rod more.

Medical Bay

Inside the medical center on the Guardian, one of the CR pods whirred to life. Inside said pod, an average-sozed royal yellow and dark grey bot came online. Momentarily he panicked, then forced himself to calm down and think for a moment.

Name? he asked himself. Trailblazer.

More details followed. Rank, function, memory. Location.Okay. Now that I've got my identity established, let's check myself out.

He accessed his internal systems diagnostic (one of the few things her could do with tech). Energon levels: 100% Metal ore content: full. Structural integrity: 100% Arrow manufacturing system: online. Plasma level: Medium. Internal cooling system: offline. Temperature: 1900 degrees and rising.

Oh dear, that's no good, Trailblazer thought to himself. With effort, he activated the cooling system. Relief filled the soldier as his internal temperature cooled and stabilized. Okay, now to see where exactly I am.

His optics flashed on. Unlike the usual Autobot blue, his were a dark shade of orange. Trailblazer looked around, finding himself in a very small space. It was a CR chamber. The closeness of the walls flashed painful memories to the fore, causing him to panic once again.

Get yourself under control! Trailblazer chastised himself. Once again, the fear subsided, and he found the lever that opened the chamber.

He eagerly removed himself from the medical device and ordered his other senses online. Once he adjusted, a loud commotion caught his attention.

It sounded like a fight of some kind. Immediately, he put himself into combat mode, cautiously moving his hand to the sword on his back. He followed the sounds of the fight to the outside corridor.

It took him a few moments to take in the scene playing out before him. It was Optimus Prime, fighting several other Autobots, several of them from the command staff. Ultra Magnus. Hot Rod. What was this, a mutiny? Was some entity, like a virus or other thing, making the crew go nuts? Whatever the case, Prime seemed to be winning. Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus were both down, and the other 'Bots weren't having the best of luck either.

Trailblazer removed his hand from his weapon and struck a defensive Circuit-su pose. He didn't wish to harm anyone, at least until he knew what on Primus had caused this to occur. Finally, he spoke. "Can someone please tell me what in the Pit is going on here?!"

He kept his optics trained on as many as he could, mentally preparing to 'flip the switch' on his ability from 'passive' to 'active'.

Outside the Medical Bay

His axe hit home, releasing the restraint binding his legs. Optimus staggered forward, setting his blue optics on the assortment of Decepticons in front of him. One cowered against the wall, clutching his gun tightly. He’d need that back. But first thing’s first. One of the Cons had a gun pointed right at him. He was too slow to dodge the shot that shortly followed.

It struck his neck and stuck in it. It wasn’t laser fire? What…? He pulled it out to see. It was a syringe. No. He couldn’t stop here. He had to escape. He had to…! It hit him like a wave. Crushing, powerful. But he wouldn’t give in. He couldn’t. He had to…keep going…

“Hrgh…”

Taking a step forward toward the Con that shot him, Optimus retracted his energon axe, reaching out with his hands for them. But he couldn’t reach them. His feet simply stopped obeying his mind’s orders. He crashed to the floor, but even that wasn’t the end of his fight. He still attempted to rise up again only to have the floor rush up to greet him again. His vision flickered, growing dark and filled with static. The Decepticons before him vanished to be replaced by…

Autobots. Smokescreen. Hot Rod. Cliffjumper. Blurr. Others he recognized. Allies. Comrades. Friends. What…what happened? He craned his head around to look back. And there was one most familiar to him. But…he was injured? What?

“B-Brother…?” was all Optimus managed before oblivion consumed him totally, and he lay still as death upon the floor.


When Prime went down, it was quiet. Oddly quiet. The words that Optimus had said. It made no sense. It was as if he just recognized them at the end. Blurr moved at a staggered pace over to Ultra Magnus, offering the acting commander a hand up. He looked over to Optimus, then to the new arrival on the scene. Blurr didn’t immediately recognize him.

"Can someone please tell me what in the Pit is going on here?!"

“Optimus…uh…well, he went berserk,” Blurr offered by way of explanation. He looked to Magnus. “What…whatdowedo, Magnus? Isheokay? WhatWASthat?!”

Blurr tried to keep the edge of panic out of his voice. It wasn’t exactly easy. How could you remain calm when your leader just tried to kill the lot of you? Magnus seemed to have taken the worst of it. Glancing about, he noted that Hot Rod looked rather haggard, but Cliffjumper was handling him. He spotted Swerve peaking around the corner. Hiding. Bit of a coward. Couldn’t even help when his friends’ backs were to the wall? Pheh.

Outside Medical Bay

Unfortunately, Smokescreen had not been fast enough with the tranquilizer gun. While the dart had successfully struck Optimus in the neck, it was not before Prime’s energon axe had sliced into Ultra Magnus’ back armored plating. The City Commander rolled away in agony as Optimus pulled the dart out and staggered forward towards the rallybot’s position, reaching his hands for the red and blue racer.

“Optimus, please stop!” Smokey exclaimed as he dropped the empty tranquilizer gun to the floor and quickly pulled out his rifle, taking several steps back in the process. An astrosecond later, Prime stopped suddenly and collapsed, the dart’s chemicals taking affect. Optimus tried to get back up but failed in his attempt as Smokescreen watched cautiously, his weapon ready just in case.

The look on Optimus Prime’s faceplate then changed. It was if he had just woken up and didn’t know where he was. The truck-former craned his neck around to look at the badly wounded Ultra Magnus. “B-Brother…?” That was all Prime could say before he lost consciousness completely and lay motionless on the floor.

“Optimus….” Smokescreen said, the fear in his vocals replaced with concern for his long time friend and leader. The diversion expert put his rifle away and quickly rushed to Prime’s side, kneeling down next to him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Optimus, can you hear me? Optimus!” Smokey shook the Autobot Commander to see if he’d get a response, but none immediately came.

The rallybot then glanced around at all those present. “He’s out. Somebody help me here. I have no idea how long the sedative Ratchet gave me will last. We need to get Prime back into the med bay and restrained now before he wakes up.”
____________

“Come on Roddy! Do you hear me? Don't die on me or sumthin!”

Hot Rod’s optics slowly flickered back to life as he felt Cliffjumper shake him several times. The cavalier let out a slight groan as he looked up into the concerned visage of his crimson comrade. “I ain’t gonna die on you, Cliff,” Roddy replied in a groggy voice. He then slowly sat up, rubbing his cranial unit with his right hand. “I might be going a little crazy on you, but not dying.”

The last thing the flamed covered mech could remember was the Fallen speaking to him, urging him to use Prime’s weapon against his own friends. Hot Rod had resisted, of course. The fiery demigod had been defeated and no longer held any sway over the cavalier. Still, the Fallen continued to haunt him, or perhaps he was slowly going mad. Either way it was not good for Roddy or anyone around him.

With Cliffjumper’s assistance, Hot Rod got back up to his feet and looked around to see Optimus Prime laying motionless on the floor as a wounded Ultra Magnus was being helped by Blurr nearby. “So, um, what I miss?”

Corridor Outside Medical Bay

Trailblazer took stock of the scene the played out in the next few seconds. What followed was his leader, his commander, being drugged. Then Blurr spoke up.

“Optimus…uh…well, he went berserk.”

That was more than enough explanation for Trailblazer as the warrior forced himself to relax. Question of what he should do was answered by the red and blue 'Bot -Smokescreen.

Trailblazer rushed to Optimus's side. He looked at Smokescreen. "Okay, definitely gonna need help lifting him."

Medical Bay

"Smokes'... Ratch'... Is he-... What's going on..."

“Shh-shh,” Ratchet hushed, “Don’t talk.”

Even as Ratchet frantically worked to stabilize Jazz, he kept an audio out on the goings on outside. After some time, things seemed to quiet down. Fortunately by that point, Ratchet had managed to patch up and repair most of the damage to Jazz. Setting him on an energon infusion, Ratchet patted him lightly on the arm.

“Stay here, Jazz. You’ll be fine. I’m going to go out and see what’s happened.”

With that, Ratchet left his patient’s side, stepping out into the medical bay proper warily. Most Autobots left in the medical bay where sheltering in place and peering out toward the doors anxiously. Taking swift purposeful strides, he made his way to the doors of the medical bay to see what lay beyond.

Outside Medical Bay

“So, um, what I miss?” Hot Rod asked.

“They took the big guy down,” Swerve said, walking up to Hot Rod’s side. “Primus, I know we wanted Optimus back, but…I mean. Are we even sure that’s Prime? He attacked us! For all we know, the Fallen could be possessing him now. Or worse. What if it’s a Con…trap…thing?! Maybe we should crack him open. Just to make sure.”

Swerve shook his head lightly as others rushed to help pick Optimus up. If that was even Optimus. How could they be so sure? Crossing his arms and raising his voice, Swerve spoke up. “Where are you even taking him? You should throw him in the brig!”

“Thebrig?!” Blurr snapped back even as he hurried over to help Trailblazer, Smokescreen, and Ultra Magnus with Optimus. “HaveyoulostyourmindSwerve?!”

Before the two could get any further in their bickering, Magnus spoke up.

"Autobots, this is a crisis of many unknown proportions. We all need to be on the top of our games. Whether what is affecting Optimus Prime is related to the Fallen or some new threat entirely, I don't know. But I do know we will face it down like any other challenge we have faced. I need this ship back on its original course to Sol and I need the Autobot Command staff either here, on this ship or by linkup. We have a lot to deal with. Let's get the injured tended to and let's move."

Swerve and Blurr looked to each other before averting their gazes. Blurr focused on helping the big guy while Swerve tried to beat down his fear of the coming threats. As the ruckus died down, Ratchet marched out of the medical bay and immediately over to Magnus and company with a grim expression on his face.

“No, Magnus,” Ratchet stated sternly, putting out a hand to stop the larger mech. “He’s not going back in there. Swerve has a point. If Optimus goes on another rampage, who are the first in his path? The injured! My patients. No. We need him in the most secure place possible. I’ll work on him there. You know it’s what Optimus would want too. He wouldn’t want to hurt anyone else.”

Corridors - Outside the Medical Bay

With effort, Trailblazer helped to lift Prime. Thanks to the help of Blurr and Ultra Magnus, they were able to hoist their leader up.

"Maybe we should crack him open. Just to make sure. Where are you even taking him? You should throw him in the brig!”

Swerve. That coward. How dare he suggest such things! It took a lot of control on Trailblazer 's part to control his temper. He didn't want to lose control and burn his leader. He couldn't. Fortunately, Magnus spoke up.

"Autobots, this is a crisis of many unknown proportions. We all need to be on the top of our games. Whether what is affecting Optimus Prime is related to the Fallen or some new threat entirely, I don't know. But I do know we will face it down like any other challenge we have faced. I need this ship back on its original course to Sol and I need the Autobot Command staff either here, on this ship or by linkup. We have a lot to deal with. Let's get the injured tended to and let's move."

Good. Magnus was probably the best to speak up. Anyone else would just delay getting Prime into the Med Bay and-

Ratchet came out.

“He’s not going back in there. Swerve has a point. If Optimus goes on another rampage, who are the first in his path? The injured! My patients. No. We need him in the most secure place possible. I’ll work on him there. You know it’s what Optimus would want too. He wouldn’t want to hurt anyone else.”

'Blazer could control his temper, but his tongue got the better of him. "What?!"

Medical Bay

The sound of servos and machinery rang across the med bay as one of the CR pods inside it came to life. As the lid opened, a black, slender bot came out, his blue optics flashing and flicking, like the blinking that happens after a troubled rest. As he stepped out of the pod, Blackthorn could feel something was wrong. He wasn't sure exactly what was wrong, but every instinct he had was told him he wasn't safe.

Despite his general feeling for wrongness, Blackthorn decided to step out of the med bay, walking slowly towards the exit. As his senses adjusted to his surrounding, he heard a commotion outside of the med bay. Rushing in to help in any way he could, Blackthorn found himself with the most unexpected thing he could have thought short a black hole inside the ship. Although now that he thought about it, there couldn't exactly be a black hole inside the ship without him realizing it before.

He saw Prime, unconcious, being carried by several bots. He saw Magnus, Hot Rod, Ratchet and Smokescreen. He looked at everyone really confused. "By Primus, what happened here?"

Outside Medical Bay:

Swerve's words were annoying at first hearing. The sound of him saying so carelessly to throw Optimus in the brig sickened Cliffjumper. In fact, he felt an urge to give Swerve a smack to the face for such a jerkish thing to say. The only thing that kept Cliffjumper from lashing out physically on Swerve was the thought of Optimus somehow doing what he did again.

However, that didn't stop him verbally,

"WHAT THE FRAG, Swerve?! Oh you have said some uncaring things in the past, but AH. Man. This is probably the worst I've heard from you..."

But of course Ratchet would agree with Swerve in some way. Great. This was fragging great. Optimus deserved more than this. Not to be restrained to a table or... or behind some brig barrier. No, that's not how their beloved leader was to be treated.

"But Magnus, that's... That's terrible! Optimus shouldn't be cooped up in the brig like some criminal of war! Surely we can find some better way to keep 'im under control, surely!"

---

It all happened so fast in the eyes of Rosanna, but she was still up and running. She was far too small to help lift Optimus, but... She felt she could help in some other way...

"Ratchet, can I please go with you, or whoever is taking Optimus to his next resting point? I.. I want to help somehow."

Outside of the Medical Bay

“What?!” Swerve couldn’t believe this. “How am I the bad guy?! HUH?! It wasn’t me who tore through his friends and comrades like they meant nothing to him! Like we meant nothing! A fine welcome back! I care! I don’t want him to rip us all to shreds! But if you want him to tear you apart then by all means! Even Ratchet said I had a point!”

Swerve crossed his arms and gave Cliffjumper a hard look when he was suddenly distracted by the arrival of yet another Autobot drawn in by the commotion. Seeing an opportunity, Swerve trotted over to Blackthorn and gestured.

“You agree don’t you? When someone, even if its Optimus Prime, attacks you and your friends, you gotta do something about it! The brig is the best place for him. Even Magnus says so. See? See?”

Blurr let out something that was halfway between a sigh and a groan. He looked to Trailblazer. “Look, Idon’tlikeiteither, but…Doc knows best. Let’sgethim to the brig. Sooner wedo the sooner Doc canfixhim.” Grunting as Optimus’s weight shifted, Blurr continued helping their fallen leader to the brig.

Ratchet nodded gratefully to Ultra Magnus for his understanding. He hadn’t expected it to be a popular opinion but the wound in his shoulder did not leave much room for argument in his own mind. Optimus wasn’t himself. And what he’d done would surely haunt him for the rest of his cycles. Ratchet almost hoped that he was too far gone to remember it.

"But Magnus, that's... That's terrible! Optimus shouldn't be cooped up in the brig like some criminal of war! Surely we can find some better way to keep 'im under control, surely!"

“No,” Ratchet snapped at Cliffjumper. “This is the safest way. For everyone. I’ll have no further arguments!” Ending that particular conversation there, Ratchet was about to turn and follow when a small voice spoke up next to him. One of Blaster’s. “Do you even have any medical training?” Ratchet said, trying to recall. He shook his head.

“You can come along for now, but once I start examining him, I want to be left alone. Everyone else behind a forcefield or whatever other security measures we have.” That way he was the only one in immediate danger. Turning, Ratchet pursued Magnus and the others when his optics went wide. Jogging over to him, he put a hand on Magnus’s back.

“Magnus! You’re injured!” First Jazz, then Ratchet himself and now Magnus? They were some of Optimus’s closest friends! Ratchet’s faceplate grew grim. He’d find out what was causing this and fix Optimus and hopefully get some idea as to why it was happening.

Outside the Med Bay

Trailblazer's burnt orange optics flashed in anger. He was about to speak further when a warning flashed on his HUD, telling him that his internal temperature was about to activate his plasma control circuits. What soon followed were the stern, but empathic voice of Ultra Magnus.

"No, Trailblazer. It's ok. Ratchet is very much correct. Until we have restored Optimus to his original functioning, he presents a danger that we cannot simply deal with in a med bay like we would one of our other fallen warriors. This is best. We get him to the brig."

Finally, he managed to calm himself down. He didn't like the situation, but everything that Magnus and Ratchet said made sense. At least from a safety standpoint.

But this is Prime! Optimus Prime!

'Blazer shook the thought out of his head. No, it wouldn't do any good to dwell on such matters. He gave Cliffjumper a look of empathy, and turned his gaze to Blurr.

"Thank you."

Then Swerve just had to speak up. Trailblazer turned to face the sniveling little coward and gave the smaller 'bot a look of pure contempt. I'll deal with you later, you piece of scrap.

With that, he shifted his hold on his leader, and walked with everyone that was with Prime to the brig.

Outside Med Bay:

Swerve had responded to all of the hate for his idea. Typical of him to use others' terms of agreement to his advantage. But, his point was valid. And Clocker knew it. He got closer to Swerve...

"Swerve, I agree too. *sigh* It's... I'm not normally one to lose hope. I really hope Optimus will- Or even can return to his old self again. I just know that... Seeing our great leader put into our own brig is... Almost too much to bear for the more sensitive of us. Especially for those who have fought by him for so long."

Outside Medical Bay

Hoist came running as soon as he could. The news definitely was bad news, and Prime would have needed some help. Overclock followed closely behind him. Hoist had found Overclock in another part of the ship, and had brought him up to speed on the situation. The two arrived at the scene with Prime being carried by several other 'Bots. Hoist went over to Ratchet to alert him of his presence.

Upon closer inspection, Hoist saw that Ratchet himself had been hit, along with Magnus and a few others. This looked bad. Ratchet needed to be tended to first so that he could tend to the others. "Ratchet, are you okay?" Hoist brought out his basic repair tools. He gestured towards the operator behind him. "Overclock, help the others out."

Overclock went over to help the commander, Ultra Magnus. Meanwhile, Hoist activated his head-mounted monitor unit. He scanned Ratchet for any other injuries. A small internal leak. Nothing that he couldn't fix, but he'd need him to be still. "Ratchet, could you hold still for a minute? There's a leak in your internals."

Outside Medical Bay – En Route to Brig

“Okay, definitely gonna need help lifting him,” Trailblazer said as he rushed over to Optimus Prime’s side and looked at Smokescreen.

The rallybot nodded. “I’ll do my best, but unfortunately I’m not the strongest ‘bot around.” Smokey began to try and lift the Autobot leader, using all of his strength in order to do so, but he made little headway even with Trailblazer’s help. It wasn’t until Ultra Magnus had joined them and gave assistance that Prime was finally lifted off the floor.

Hot Rod, meanwhile, was trying to get his bearings on what he had missed while unconscious.

“They took the big guy down. Primus, I know we wanted Optimus back, but…I mean. Are we even sure that’s Prime? He attacked us! For all we know, the Fallen could be possessing him now. Or worse. What if it’s a Con…trap…thing?! Maybe we should crack him open. Just to make sure.”

“It’s not the Fallen, Swerve,” Hot Rod replied, assuredly, glancing down at the red and white minibot beside him. “I would know if it was the Fallen inside Optimus. I don’t know how, but I would know.” Swerve then suggested that they take Prime to the Brig just to be safe. That idea was met with apprehension from several of the Autobots present, including Blurr who rushed to Prime’s side to help the others lift him. Magnus then began speaking to everyone in the corridor before the arguments could get out of hand.

“Autobots, this is a crisis of many unknown proportions. We all need to be on the top of our games. Whether what is affecting Optimus Prime is related to the Fallen or some new threat entirely, I don't know. But I do know we will face it down like any other challenge we have faced. I need this ship back on its original course to Sol and I need the Autobot Command staff either here, on this ship or by linkup. We have a lot to deal with. Let's get the injured tended to and let's move.”

The City Commander’s words gave Smokescreen some comfort but not much. Optimus could still wake up at any moment and attack them all over again. This fact made it all the more important to get Prime back into the med bay and restrained as quickly as possible. With the help of the others around him, the diversion expert tried to maneuver Prime towards the Med Bay entrance, his joints and servos straining under the weight of the Autobot leader. Their progression was suddenly stopped by Ratchet.

“No, Magnus. He’s not going back in there. Swerve has a point. If Optimus goes on another rampage, who are the first in his path? The injured! My patients. No. We need him in the most secure place possible. I’ll work on him there. You know it’s what Optimus would want too. He wouldn’t want to hurt anyone else.”

Ratchet was clearly implying that Optimus should be taken down to the Brig, agreeing with Swerve who had just suggested it moments ago. Trailblazer voiced his objection but was quickly overruled by Ultra Magnus.

“No, Trailblazer. It's ok. Ratchet is very much correct. Until we have restored Optimus to his original functioning, he presents a danger that we cannot simply deal with in a med bay like we would one of our other fallen warriors. This is best. We get him to the brig.”

Smokescreen couldn’t help but admit to himself that both Magnus and Ratchet made sense. Prime had already gone on one rampage. They couldn’t risk him going on another and the Brig was the safest place to keep him. Cliffjumper then voiced his own objection to treating Optimus like a common criminal, one that Ratchet quickly silenced. The debate was over. Prime was going to the Brig and that was that.

“It’s okay, Trailblazer,” Smokey said to his upset comrade in a reassuring voice. “I don’t like it, either, but Ultra Magnus and Ratchet have a point. We can’t risk Optimus losing control again. I'm sure he’ll.....understand when he....wakes.”

The red and blue rallybot grunted, struggling to keep a hold of the Autobot leader as the group carried him down the corridor towards the Brig. Smokescreen’s fatigued servos continued to feel the intense strain and he almost lost his grip until a certain cavalier appeared at his side to offer assistance.

“I got ‘em, Smokey,” Hot Rod said, moving alongside the diversion expert and taking a firm hold of Prime’s limp frame. "You can let go now."

“Thanks,” Smokescreen replied, releasing his grip and allowing the cavalier to take over. The rallybot let out a wearied sigh, taking several steps back as the group continued onward with Prime in tow. Hoist had now appeared, offering to fix a leak that Ratchet apparently had. It then occurred to the diversion expert that maybe there was a better way to transport Optimus, one where the Autobot leader could be restrained now rather than later and thus keep everyone safer.

Smokey quickly rushed back into the med bay and soon re-emerged, pushing a large hover gurney down the corridor. He hurried to catch up with the group, moving the gurney into position next to them. “Hey, guys, let’s use this hover gurney to transport Optimus. It’ll be easier and quicker than to struggle carrying him all the way down to the Brig. It’s got restraints, too, which will help if he wakes up during transit and goes crazy again.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Hot Rod agreed, glancing over at Ultra Magnus. “With your permission, of course.”

Corridors – En Route to Brig

”Granted,” Ultra Magnus replied as he came to a full stop in the corridor. Hot Rod nodded and halted his pace, as well. With the City Commander’s assistance, along with the others, the flame-covered cavalier began maneuvering Optimus Prime onto the hover gurney.

“Once we've dispatched the Fallen's spark into the sun of this solar system and found a way to restore Optimus, I think the tide might finally turn in this war.”

“Getting rid of that wretched thing can’t come fast enough,” Hot Rod said firmly as Smokescreen held the gurney steady while everyone set Prime’s limp body onto the portable berth. The rallybot then quickly activated the energy restraints which came to glowing life around the Autobot leader’s wrists, ankles and even around his waist.

“There, that should do it,” Smokescreen said, looking to the others present. “Optimus is secured.”

“Good,” Hot Rod responded with a brief smile as he took up a position at the head of the hover gurney, glancing over at Ultra Magnus. “We’ve got this, Commander. You should really save your strength until Ratchet can take a look at that back of yours.” Now that Prime’s frame was fully supported by the portable med berth, it would only take a couple of mechs to maneuver the gurney down to the Brig. “I’ll push, you steer, Smokey?”

“No problem,” the diversion expert said as he placed a firm hand on the foot of the hover gurney. Hot Rod then pushed Optimus Prime down the corridor as Smokescreen, and likely some of the other Autobots, guided their leader the rest of the way to the Brig.

Outside of the Medical Bay

The situation here was far worse than Blackthorn had anticipated. From what he quickly was able to gathrt, Prime had gone crazy and started attacking the other 'bots. Now that's something you don't see every day. What kind of power could make Prime of all 'bots attack a comrade.

As Blackthorn was lost in his thoughts, Swerve approached him, telling him something about how Prime should be taken to the brig. Now that was an idea. He admired Prime more than any other being in the galaxy, but until they could find out what's going with him, he was a danger to himself and everyone around him.

Before he could answer, the rest of the groups decided to take Optimus to the brig, and Ratchet wanted to take a look at him. Good ol' doc was a bit cranky, but it was understandable with everything that was happening.

With that, he decided to follow the rest of the group to try to figure out what was happening.

Corridors – En Route to Brig

As the rest of the 'bots talked, Blackthorn kept trying to analyze the situation from what little he could gather. Someone doesn't just suddenly go crazy, less of all Prime himself. He heard mention of the Fallen, and that it could be inside Prime, but Hot Rod quickly dismissed that idea.

The more Blackthorn thought this situation, the less it made sense. Finally, he said, to no one in particular.

"So, I just woke up from the CR, so I probably missed a lot, but, what happened right before Prime started attacking everyone else?"

Corridors to Brig

Trailblazer's attention was taken away from the little coward -the warrior refused to acknowledge the metallurgist's name- by Smokescreen.

“It’s okay, Trailblazer. I don’t like it, either, but Ultra Magnus and Ratchet have a point. We can’t risk Optimus losing control again. I'm sure he’ll.....understand when he....wakes.”

Trailblazer knew that. It made sense. But still...

No. He told himself. Don't get dogmatic. They've all got good points.

He saw the struggle that Smokescreen had holding up Prime. It was the same struggle that Trailblazer himself was facing, due to his own lack of high strength. Fortunately, Hot Rod intervened and got permission to use a hover gurney.

They loaded Optimus on it. It pained Trailblazer to no end to see his leader, the embodiment of everything he held close and dear, strapped down like some sort of...of...prisoner. His thoughts told him that this was necessary, an this time, he refrained from speaking. Barely.

Hot Rod and Smokescreen began to push Prime in the direction of the brig. Trailblazer spoke up. "Hey, why don't I and the new guy-" he pointed to Blackthorn- "take care of this? You two need to take a rest."