Chương 42: LOG-039.

Everything hurt.... More so than last time. My mental processes were... a jumbled mess. At best. At worst... I wasn't even sure just how I was holding a coherent train of thought at the moment. And of course the constant pounding against my processor didn't help. There was meaning behind it, to be sure. But I was all too busy feeling sorry for myself to parse anything regarding it, besides the fact that I would deal with it later. Memories flashed by as I floated within an unending void. Triumphs. Defeats.

The many, many things I had done in my long life. It was in that unending void, alone, that I wept for the first time in eons. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Cycles and more. Time wasn't relevant in the void. I... cried for a long time. There weren't any tears, of course, but the action remained the same. My frame shuddered and writhed in place as I processed everything. My broken yet stable mind flashed to Autobots. Decepticons. Neutrals. What had I done? What had I done? No.

"What... can I do?"

"Nothing of worth, welp." My attention was ripped away from my inner thoughts as the thing appeared in another part of the void. It was then... that I realized the true scale of Unicron. This was no mental-mindscape, such as had been presented in the show. Even as compromised as I was, some small part of my processor set to work understanding the environment around me. We were code, for lack of a better term. Displayed in our purest, most physical yet non-physical forms.

Perhaps our bodies were used as crude avatars, and our sparks (or Unicron's anti -spark, in this case) acted as central nodes, but the environment and everything within it was ultimately made up of ever more complicated lines of code. And compared to my own existence, Unicron was a titan. A titan that... wasn't looking too good.

"At the very least, you understand the futility of your birth. Now, you will listen and obey." Thoughts, ideas, blueprints began to form within my mind. Presumably sent by the Destroyer floating across from me. An upgraded frame. Near limitless power. Modernised Legion designs, inherently superior to my old, outdated tech.

"You have proven some small semblance of temporary worth. I shall put this to use. You will be changed, and in turn, you will destroy those who dare threaten my-""No." My immediate, uncompromisng refusal was met with a burst of violet lightning that smashed across my frame. I should have screamed. Writhed in pure agony. And yet... I remained utterly still. Completely silent. Unicron's dark optics glowed for a moment, before he peered closer. A gargantuan servo raised to fire another blast at me.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. I merely took it like the first one, instead focusing on reorganizing myself. None of this was real. We were code. Yes, I could feel the pain spreading thoughout my supposed frame, but intellectually I knew it was a mere trick. Besides, compared to the hatred, sadness, self-loathing and sheer madness that plagued the rest of my processor? Oh, this was nothing.

"Fool! You think yourself above me? You know nothing. I will purge your insolent accident of an existance. Your wretched frame shall become my newest Scourge, even as I tear your mind asunder!" I allowed the two-bit God to continue threatening me, even as I took the chance to analyze just what the fuck had been done to me.... There. The shattered strings of the Shadowplay treatment, clinging to sections of my primary code like a dead spider. Bits of Unicron's influence still burning more of it away.

I didn't even hesitate as another burst of self-loathing fell across my processor. Slowly, I began to breath life back into it while smothering those horrible little flames, barely taking the time to acknowledge that I was effectively mutilating myself once again.... It wasn't a hard decision. Compared to the sheer pain, the horrific experience of having to comprehend my many, many eons of numerous mistakes and atrocities, muted emotions really didn't sound that bad.

Then I jerked violently as a lance of hostile code battered at my left side. That wasn't a trick. It was a... malware attack?

"I will not be ignored!" I looked back up at the titanic program for a moment, before shaking my helm.

"Yes you will. Stop interfering." Unicron glowered for a moment, before sending another dozen lances towards me.

"Scum!" And yet... the damage meant nothing. It was temporary. Despite his advanced code, Unicron was... weakened. In every little way that mattered.

"Abomination!" After all, we'd already won. We had won the second Orion had made it to the Chaos Bringer's core. Perhaps if he had been even slightly stronger, he could have easily overridden my existence and puppeted my physical body into attacking my allies. But as he was? It was the flailing of a corpse that hadn't yet realised it was dead. At best.

"Vile descendant of a tainted creation!" And thus, my 'epic' mental battle with Unicron continued. Consisting of him futilely trying to damage and corrupt my conciousness using falling apart malware, even as I steadily continued to piece my mind back together, slowly dragging isolated nodes and fusing them back into one unified whole.

"Judging by your continued failure to break me, I believe a significant change in your situation has occurred. Perhaps you should just give in? You made a... tolerable showing. I think." Unicron only became more desperate, more hysterical as his efforts bore little to no fruit. Yet I did partition a small, slightly less damaged part of my conciousness in observing him in turn. Legion. How very interesting. That term... it had cropped up multiple times now. And it had drawn my attention. I would look into it.

Once this was all over. Once I had some time to myself. It was as I finally pieced the last fragments of my mind back together, still ignoring the maddened, raving, derelict program trapped in here with me that I recieved a ping from my utility systems. [ENERGON LEVELS: OPTIMAL.] [EXITING INDUCED STASIS.] I stared at Unicron's seething form, even as he continued to hurl insults at both me and my supposed creator. Primus, presumably. Then I dipped my helm, even as my form slowly began to fade from the void.

"You're never going to get out of here. I'll make sure of it." Unicron's only response was an unhinged scream as he reached for me and everything went black once more.

Knockout was forced to step back as Dreadwing and Ultra Magnus shouldered their way into the medbay. The complaints and protests of a group of Vehicons and Zakus right behind them. The medic blinked as Dreadwing stepped forward, servos clutching his cannon tightly.

"You called. He is awakening?" The red racer nodded, even as their temporary Autobot guest took up position on Shockwave's opposite side.

"The dark stuff's been purged and his systems are all checking out. He should be up any time now." Clank. They all collectively jumped as the very mech they were discussing jolted, all three of them raising their weapons in a rare show of unification. Knockout's own gaze was glued to Shockwave's optic as it slowly began to come online, one blaster aimed right at it. He...

still wasn't quite sure why he vented in relief when the crimson lens turned on with a faint click, Shockwave's helm slowly panning around to take in the plethora of weapons aimed directly at his frame.

"... Ah, you were prepared for the possibility of my frame becoming compromised. Good work." All three of them shuttered their optics, Ultra Magnus frowning slightly.

"You're not?" The Decepticons' resident mad scientist shook his helm.

"No. Unicron tried and failed to corrupt me. Judging by his vastly weakened state, I believe the vanguard force are currently in the process of trapping him within the reliquary. Excellent news, I'd reckon." Knockout tilted his helm, even as Dreadwing and Magnus opened and closed their mouths like those Earth fish he'd observed on one of his drives near an isolated river.

"You know... I was expecting a lot more dramatics. Indomina reported that ah... you were experiencing emotions again. But you seem pretty much the same." Shockwave nodded, tapping the side of his helm with a digit.

"The Shadowplay was broken, temporarily. It was an extremely unpleasant experience for me, so I repaired it. Though... I can still bear a small amount of emotional capacity. A decent compromise."

"... Oh. Well alright." Knockout made to help the cyclops up, then paused and blinked.

"Wait... what?" Shockwave just vented air in what the medic would swear was a small showing of exasperation, when asked about the event later on.