CHAPTER SEVEN
"WO?"
Stormshot glanced at Nightbeat. "'Whoa' what?"
"No, no, no." The detective gestured at the set of doors they had stopped in front of. "WO. That's what it says. What does it mean?"
Apelinq squinted his optics at the two painted characters. "I'm pretty sure that's a zero."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Regardless," said Star Saber, "this must be what the sign was pointing to. Shall we go in?"
"Hang on." Wing Saber shifted his arms into the form of rotary cannons. "Okay. Now I'm ready."
Grabbing the edge of the door, Star Saber pulled it open to reveal a dark room. It was lit only by a glowing green cylinder, which cast an illuminating light on the five dormant forms laying around it.
"Organics?" Apelinq asked.
"Organic patients, it looks like," Star Saber replied.
"Ward Zero," Nightbeat murmured.
The eight Autobots tentatively stepped into the room and approached the five resting organics. Although they appeared unconscious, their lips were moving as if they were talking in their sleep. Nautica carefully leaned over to one to listen more closely. After a moment, she frowned.
"They're speaking Old Cybertronian."
"Do you know what they're saying?" Star Saber asked.
Nautica leaned in closer. "Prepare, confront, repel."
Wing Saber glanced at his brother. "Isn't that what Cosmos said Omega Supreme was chanting?"
Star Saber's expression darkened as he drew his sword. "Everyone, get close behind me."
The others did so, drawing their weapons as they assumed a defensive formation. "You think the Destructons are involved again?" Skids asked.
"Someone certainly is," Star Saber said as, all around them, three sets of glowing red optics began to light up in the darkness. "And I don't think they're all too happy to see us."
* * *
"Clock's ticking."
"Yeah, your five seconds ended a while ago, smart-aft," Sideways snapped. "Might as well just shot me now and get it over with."
"Hold it." Krok raised a hand and lowered his gun. "Maybe we shouldn't be so hasty." To Sideways, he asked, "Do you work here?"
"Work here?" Sideways gave him a perplexed look. "I don't even know what 'here' is."
"You're at Mederi. Intergalactic medical center."
"Mederi? You mean this isn't the Afterspark?"
Krok tilted his head. "Why would you think this is the Afterspark?"
Before Sideways could answer, a small green Mini-Con rolled out of nowhere, panic on her face. "Krok! Spacewarp! My tools are gone!"
"What do you mean they're gone?" asked the one named Spacewarp.
"They just... they went poof! In my hands!"
"Have you made any progress at least?" Krok asked.
The Mini-Con looked away. "I... no. They're still... they're no better off than when we brought them here."
Sideways raised a hand to her chin. "Wait... how did you guys end up here?"
Krok glanced at her. "Long story. To put it short, my friends were killed and I brought them here to bring them back to life. Nickel here told me Mederi was a miracle hospital."
"So I've heard," the Mini-Con said quietly. "Obviously, such accounts weren't fully truthful."
"So I take it you haven't seen the giant Matrix outside then?" Sideways asked.
All three Decepticons stared at her blankly. "What giant Matrix?"
"Long story," Sideways said wryly. "But that doesn't matter right now... 'cos I think I'm finally getting to the bottom of this."
* * *
Skids let out a wail as he was thrown across the room, crashing into Nightbeat. The giant stone golem that had thrown him came charging towards the two Autobots, its massive arms ready to pummel them.
A pair of cannons flipped out from Skids' back and he unloaded on the giant, blasting its stone exterior away. As the golem faltered to its knees, Wing Saber dove in from behind and plunged his two blades into its back. He then proceeded to eviscerate the giant until it was nothing but a pile of rock and metal on the floor.
"Nice one, brother," Star Saber called from across the room, grappling with a second of the golem's kind. "Mind lending me some of your Ace luck?"
While Wing Saber headed over to help his brother, Skids helped Nightbeat to his feet.
"These guys certainly aren't any Destructons I know," the latter muttered.
"I think I might know who they are," Skids said. "They match the descriptions we were given at the J.A.A.T. of the Omega Guardians. Professor Shockwave was on speaking terms with them at the time."
"Of course," Nightbeat said dryly. "Seems like everything ties back to Shockwave these days."
Once the two Sabers had brought down the second Omega Guardian, they and Skids joined Stormshot and Apelinq in taking on the third. The golem swung at Star Saber only to have its arm sliced off. As it was about to switch to its other arm, Apelinq generated a mallet from his Transfer Interlink system and swung it at the giant. The force of the blow sent it stumbling back to the center of the room. Before anyone could stop it, it tripped over one of the patient's slabs and crashed into the glowing green cylinder.
The room was plunged into complete darkness. The patients ceased speaking. Just as Skids was about to switch on his headlights, the room was lit up gain by a full set of lights, revealing it to be full of computer screens and other equipment.
"Looks like we've found the control room," Brainstorm remarked.
Apelinq stepped over to one of the lit monitors, which bore the image of a black cross-sign with the letter "M" overlapping it. "Does anyone recognize this symbol?"
"It's the Mederi symbol," Nautica said. "Velocity used to study at one of the offshoot centers near Caminus."
"And just why would a medical center be projecting itself to look like the afterlife?" questioned Stormshot.
Apelinq's hands moved across one of the consoles, bringing up dozens of files containing information pertaining to the facility. The Maximal quickly perused it, absorbing everything he could.
"This is the original Mederi," he said as he read. "Built eons ago by the Omega Guardians."
Nightbeat threw his hands up. "If Shockwave's name comes up, I'm out."
Apelinq ignored him and pointed at the five organics. "The 'patients' are telepaths; they pick up on the inner thoughts and desires of new arrivals and fabricate illusions so that actual patients can die happily and peacefully."
"So it's a hospice then," murmured Star Saber. "That's why it made itself to look like the Afterspark and 'reunited' some of us with the people we've lost."
"But not all of us believe in the Afterspark," Stormshot pointed out. "Why didn't it generate a different place for bots like me or Skids?"
Apelinq rubbed his chin as he studied the notes again. "I don't think it necessarily tries to apply itself to encompass all of its present patients; it merely latches onto whoever awakened first... or had the strongest desire out of everyone."
Wing Saber looked over to the shattered cylinder and the telepaths surrounding it. "Was that their power source then? Because nothing's trying to make us happy anymore."
"It would be just like us to destroy a source of happiness," Skids remarked.
"We should probably seek out the others, now that we've broken the illusion," Star Saber said. "Hopefully not too many bots were euthanized before we did...."
"We also need to find our ship," Wing Saber suggested. "Provided it wasn't actually obliterated."
"I'll try to plot out a course from here," Apelinq said. "Unless I'm mistaken, Mederi is supposed to be on the same 'spiritual ley-line' as Theophany and Troja Major."
Star Saber took pause at this, staring at the Maximal. "Wait... did you say Theophany?"
Apelinq waved a dismissive hand. "It's a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, I'm sure. I remember Ginrai going on about--"
"Plot a course from here to Cybertron," Star Saber ordered.
Apelinq looked confused. "Uh... wouldn't we want to get back to Velocitron?"
"Yes, but I want to see a visual of the map."
"Um... okay." Apelinq did as told before displaying the results on the screen. Star Saber stepped up to the monitor, his optics widening in awe.
"Caminus... Deimus... Theophany... this is the map Drift came up with." He pointed at the cluster of stars surrounding the projected ley-line. "Look at the constellations."
"Solus' Arrow... the Core...." Nautica murmured in amazement. "They're all there; even the ones from the Cybertronian Zodiac."
Star Saber inclined his head to Apelinq. "Bring up records of any Cybertronian patients Mederi has had."
Apelinq didn't even question the request and proceeded to fulfill it. The screen changed to show a procession of metal warriors disembarking from a Titan of legend. Banners displaying a gear-shaped emblem were proudly waved while the lead bot carried a very familiar talisman.
"The Matrix," Wing Saber whispered.
"It can't be," Nightbeat said quietly.
"I do believe it is." Star Saber beamed proudly as he turned to address the others. "My friends... welcome to Cyberutopia."
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