Prodigal Son

chapter 13

(Author's note: Heads up everybody, gonna be a LONG, INTENSE ride for this one. Strap in!)
-

Charlie felt sick.
"What..... W-What do you mean-"
Doc gripped his shoulders tight, his expression holding.
"Cody's mind is being completely rewritten from it's base structure. This isn't simple control, his entire perception of reality is being altered from a potentially irreversible scale."
".... Please tell me this is fixable. Please tell me my son isn't lost for good."
Doc and Baranova exchanged a grave look.
"....."
"You don't know, do you?"
"... No..."
-
"GRAHAM THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE'S BEING ERASED?!?!"
Graham clenched the bike, yelling back to Kade,
"I MEAN, HIS ENTIRE SUBCONSCIOUS IS BEING REWRITTEN!!!"
Frankie tried to keep the Cycle's path steady.
"This isn't dictating his actions, this is creating a completely new personality!! And if we don't act soon...."
-
Doc couldn't face Charlie.
"The Cody we know could be gone forever."
-
"Well how do we fix him?!"
Kade frantically exchanged a panicked look with Heatwave, before demanding again,
"We can still fix this, right?!?! How do we stop that thing's takeover before it's too late?!"
Graham stared upwards at the skirmish between Dani and Cody, and sighed.
".... I.... I don't know. According to these scans, the damage is already quite severe. His neural pathways are extremely corroded, and getting worse by the minute. We're.... We're running out of time to interrupt the process before the damage is complete, and presumably permanent."
Heatwave clutched the jacket around his neck like a lifeline.
"How much time do we have?"
Graham hesitated in his response, tripping over his words.
".... Less than an hour."
Kade felt his gut sink.
Less than an hour before his brother- his real brother- was lost forever, replaced by this.... This stranger.
Less than an hour before he could never make amends.
Heatwave scanned around, then sighed.
"We need to immobilize him NOW. the sooner we get him down, the sooner we can help him."
"Let me."
Everyone stared over at Frankie, who clutched her necklace tight.
"I think I can get through to him. Please, let me try."
Kade started to say something, but Heatwave held up a hand.
"Go. Graham, take over the cycle. Dani, fall back!!!"
Kade didn't look pleased, and Dani seemed confused, but Graham nodded, scooting forward as Frankie dismounted.
"If you have something, go! We don't have much time!"
Frankie took a deep breath as she reached to her back, then pulled off the original hoverboard, activating it's large green wings.
Dani touched down, her wings ceasing as her feet hit the ground.
Cody remained mid air, looking down as he mocked,
"Oh, what, you're going to face me now? And on that? I have way more hoverboard experience than you!"
"I'm still going to try."
Frankie threw down the hoverboard, but couldn't deny her nerves as she boarded.
He was right. She really hadn't had much experience with Hoverboards before.
Plus, not only was his armed, he had the added bonus of a magnetic link to his boots, holding him in place.
All she had was sheer hope she could keep her balance.
her board raised up, and she tried calming her nerves, as the sky became a blend of purple and green.
-
Charlie shoved Doc and Baranova behind him, activating the shields on his wrist as a purple energy explosion lashed at them.
"BLADES, REPORT STATUS!!"
Blades had one of Optimus's arms around his shoulder, the other around Bumblebee.
"Optimus is functional, but we still need a couple minutes!"
"I don't know if we can get them!"
Boulder attempted to swipe at the Bot's legs, but was thrown aside, Chase not faring any better as he suffered an uppercut to the jaw.
"TAKE THIS YOU HUNK OF JUNK!!"
The ground trio charged out, hardening foam cannons at the ready.
Charlie delivered hit after hit at the feet, Baranova took a few hits at the legs, and Doc managed to nail it right in the face.
"GAH! VISUAL IMPAIRED!"
"NOW NOW NOW!!"
Boulder rebounded, delivering a loud, echoing crack across it's back.
The metal plating crumpled, the bot screaming as it toppled over.
"NO!"
it shattered the dried foam on it's face,
Only to find itself staring at the glowing barrel of Optimus's gun.
The Prime's gaze was hard as steel.
"You cannot be allowed to harm anybody else. I will not take a life unless all other possible options are completely gone. But it is clear that I have no choice."
The gun picked up a charge.
But the Moor-Bot only smirked.
"It is like I said, Prime. You must always watch your pawns."
"I assume Cody Burns is your King."
The Moor-Bot gazed darkly, knowing everyone's attention was steady.
"No. I have captured yours."
A sudden screaming in the distance caught everyone off guard, as the Bot looked deep into the Prime's optics.
"Checkmate."
-
Frankie kept her stance steady and her gravity centered as she forced the hoverboard to it's limits.
"What's the matter, can't keep up?"
She scowled at the mockery, but clutched her necklace.
"What's the matter, worried I'll catch you?"
"Fat chance!"
They left glowing trails behind them, the pursuit growing faster and faster.
Frankie grabbed her comn.
"Guys! I have a plan. When I give the signal, I need Dani!"
"Copy Frankie!"
Frankie leaned in, then carefully pulled off her necklace, gripping the pendant in her hand.
Cody noticed, and his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, I see. You're going to fire at me, aren't you?!"
"I don't want to!!"
"LIAR!!"
Frankie raised her hands, the pendant dangling.
"Cody, I would never willingly hurt you. I don't want to fight you, but you aren't giving us a choice!! All of us just want to help you!! Please, you're being manipulated!! That thing is messing with your brain!!!"
Frankie instantly sensed she'd made a mistake, Cody's eyes flashing purple as he all but snarled at her.
"Don't talk about my partner that way!"
"HE'S NOT YOUR PARTNER!! HE BRAINWASHED YOU!!"
"LIAR!!!! HE FREED ME!!!"
Cody suddenly gunned at her hard, and she had to evade frantically as he charged, rage set into his features.
-
"What is she doing up there?!"
Graham used his helmet's lenses to zoom in, studying the scene carefully.
"It looks like.... She might be trying to intentionally aggravate him!"
Kade groaned aloud, yelling,
"Why on earth-"
Heatwave cut him off, staring upwards in concern.
"No. If she has a plan, we need to follow it. We're running out of time."
Dani nodded in agreement.
"I'm just waiting for her signal."
Kade sighed, then gazed upwards.
"Frankie.... Please.... Be careful..."
-
Frankie nearly collided with a tree as she swerved away from the energy blast.
Cody took aim again, running at her at top speed before pulling up, the energy exploding from the power core.
Frankie gasped for air, then had to evade another.
Cody was relentless, but Frankie knew she couldn't quit now.
Instead, she lowered her helmet entirely.
"C'mon, that all you got?"
Cody sneered.
"Hardly."
She took off, leading him back to the main area of the clearing.
"PROVE IT!"
"As. You. Wish."
Frankie could hear the building charge in the hoverboard.
She left a green trail behind her, until she was right where she needed to be.
She spun around, staring dead ahead as he got closer.
The purple flare in his eyes was only frowned out by the light now surrounding the board. It was the biggest charge he'd pulled this far.
He pulled up.
And was completely unprepared for Dani to shoot up, ramming into him.
She plowed into his back, completely destroying his balance, sending him flailing around mid-air.
"NO NO NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Frankie brandished the necklace pendant, taking aim.
"Saving you. Sorry, Cody. DANI NOW!!"
Dani nodded, then gave him one last spin. She touched down, and Frankie waited.
Cody flailed around, trying to regain his balance.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Still crackling and ready to burst from it's own power, Frankie was suddenly greeted with the completely exposed power core as Cody teetered.
Now!
She fired. 
Time seemed to freeze.
Cody met her eyes.
She had so much she wanted to say.
The realization in his eyes sent guilt shooting into her soul.
The words were on her tounge.
But the shot hit the power core.
And then the world ended.
-
The blinding explosion sent shockwaves through the woods.
The Moor-Bot didn't even turn as everyone whipped around, jaws agape.
Charlie tried his comn.
Only static.
Baranova cursed, thinking aloud,
"An electrical discharge must've interrupted the communication frequency!"
Charlie didn't even look back as he started running.
"KIDS!!!"
The Moor-Bot seized it's moment of opportunity, using it's gun barrel to smash into Optimus's head, sending the Prime staggering as it fired at itself, breaking the remaining hardening foam.
Despite the damage to it's frame, it staggered on.
The remaining offense team only had one option, and began pursuing.
-
Frankie's ears rang, her eyes taking a minute to focus.
"Frankie.... Frankie can you hear me?"
Frankie groaned, slowly feeling somebody turn her over, from where she'd been laying on her stomach.
Her vision focused, seeing Heatwave and the three burns siblings leaning over her.
"Ooohhh.... Did it... Work?"
Frankie was slightly singed, but seemed alright.
Dani pulled her into a tight hug, everyone sighing in relief.
"Oh thank goodness you're okay.... We were so worried..."
"Oh Primus... This isn't over, LOOK!!"
Heatwave frantically pointed up, and the team gasped in horror.
Slung across an upper tree branch, barely hanging on, Cody.
While Frankie was decently roughed up from the explosion, Cody was visibly far worse, having been right at the heart of the explosion.
The soles of his shoes had been torn right off his feet, the remaining material clinging in tatters, along with the ragged bottoms of his pant legs.
Most of his clothing was ripped to oblivion, showcasing burned, bruised skin.
Everyone booked over, Heatwaves's hands trembling as he overheard pained whimpering.
"CODY!!!! HANG ON, PLEASE!!!"
Cody's breathing was ragged, his weak grasp struggling to hold onto the branch.
But just as Heatwave started to run towards him,
A huge hit barreled into him, sending him sprawling in the opposite direction.
The Moor-Bot stood ominously, it's gaze fixated on Heatwave.
"At last.... The Firebot, face to face."
Heatwave got to his feet, shouting,
"I'LL HOLD IT OFF, PROTECT CODY!!"
The Moor-Bot shook it's head, it's gaze oddly calm. 
"Firebot, I should really be thanking you."
"Thanking me?!"
"Why, yes!"
Heatwave backed up, as the Moor-Bot took dangerous steps forwards.
"You see, I owe everything to you."
-
Without a second thought, Dani shot up, her wing pack working overtime.
She pulled in front of Cody, but he almost tried to shirk away.
"S-Stay back!!"
"Cody, I'm going to get you down, okay? Please, please don't fight me."
She could see his face now, since she was closer.
He had a gash on his forehead, he'd probably slammed it against the branch. His eyes were purple, but they lacked the previous anger.
They were wide, welling up with tears. He looked terrified, and in serious pain.
"Get back!!! Get back!!"
-
"How do you possibly-"
"It's quite simple, really."
The Moor-Bot stalked around Heatwave in a circle, it's demeanor much like a shark.
"I told you when I first announced my intentions to take the boy. It was you, dear Firebot, that inspired me. You told me I didn't have what it took to win. And that dear boy was what I needed. So I claimed him."
Heatwave clenched his jaw in rage, but the Moor-Bot wasn't done.
"And it didn't stop there. No.... You intrigue me. You intrigue me very deeply. Because it was you, that was special. It was you that bonded with the boy like no other."
It's ghastly face shifted, a twisted admiration.
"I couldn't understand it. Not at first. As I did my research, something nagged at me. Something I simply couldn't explain. I worked so hard to understand the workings of Human/Cybertronian partnerships, but something... Bothered me.  Then.... I realized. It was so simple, yet so troublesome."
It was practically on top of heatwave now.
Heatwave could feel his spark pusing, raw panic shooting through him.
"I was jealous. I was jealous of you, I wanted what you had with that boy."
-
Sweat beaded down Dani's forehead.
"Cody, please! You have to take my hand, I'm getting you down from here."
"N.... N-no! This is a trap! I know not to trust you!"
Suddenly, a large snap caught both of their attention, dread filling everybody nearby as the branch Cody was clinging to started to break.
-
Heatwaves's optics went wide, their soft orange glow more prominent in the dark forest.
"You were jealous?! Of me?!"
"Of course!!! I have documented every aspect of human rescue bot relations, desperate to recreate it. I have longed for nothing more than precisely what you have. But something is lacking!!! Something I cannot understand!!!"
Heatwave was stunned by this revelation, but managed to force out a response.
".... Of course it's wrong! You kidnapped him, you brainwashed him!"
"I helped him see his world in a new light!! I opened his eyes, helped him see just how he'd always been squandered!"
"HE HAD A HOME, HE WAS TAKEN CARE OF!!"
"HE WAS PUSHED ASIDE, HIS TALENT SQUANDERED!!"
"HIS FAMILY LOVE HIM!!!"
His voice broke, his chest heaving from emotion.
"... I love him..."
The Moor-Bot's eyes sent wide, before nodding.
It understood now.
"... It's truly you.... And I understand now."
The cannon began charging.
-
The branch shook violently, giving off another loud snap.
Cody gasped in terror, and Dani hovered closer.
"Cody, please!!"
"NO! YOU'RE MY ENEMY! You.... You hurt me... You hurt me....."
Dani froze, then sighed.
She tore off her helmet, letting it fall to the distant ground as she exposed her face.
"Cody, look at me. I promise you, I'd never let you fall, I swear on my life. I'm going to get you down, I refuse to let you fall. But you have to trust me. Please!!"
The branch snapped again, sinking lower.
Cody glanced between Dani and the ground.
He shuddered, then looked up, tears streaming from his eyes.
"... Help me. Please."
He held out a hand, Dani grabbed it.
As soon as she got a tight grip on him, the branch snapped the rest of way.
Dani frantically threw Cody to her chest, her arms in a death grip as he grabbed around her shoulders.
The branch crashed below, Kade scooping Frankie out of harm's way, and they could hear the discarded helmet shatter from the branch's impact.
Dani forced air into her lungs, before realizing how violently Cody was trembling.
"... You.... You saved me...."
She slowly started sinking to the ground, rubbing his back.
"Of course I did... I made a promise to you that I wouldn't let you fall. I'm never breaking a promise to you again."
His tears only became stronger.
He didn't understand.
It didn't make sense.
Nothing made any sense.
He was scared.
He wanted his partner.
He wanted safety.
His whole body hurt.
He was burned, his skin stung, he could feel sticky and drying blood.
And his neck throbbed.
Dani stole a glance at his neck.
She hasn't seen the chip up to this point, nobody had.
But she certainly noticed a massive crack running diagonally across it.
-
A sudden commotion caught Heatwaves's attention, and he momentarily forgot about the Moor-Bot, as he saw a massive tree branch collide with the ground, smashing into several pieces upon impact.
Without a second thought, Heatwave shoved his way past the Bot.
"CODY!!!"
He scanned the scene in a sheer, desperate panic, then stopped.
Dani hovered mid-air, Cody held tight in her arms.
He was okay.
A huge sigh escaped heatwave.
But his relief made him miss the footsteps behind him.
"Dani, is he-"
"HEATWAVE BEHIND-"
But as Optimus tore through the forest, his warning was too late.
The world seemed to stand still at the sound of metal piercing metal.
Heatwave heard it before he felt it.
Slowly, his optics looked down.
He almost couldn't process seeing the Moor-Bot's cannon sticking through a jagged, splintered hole in his cab.
Smoke poured out of the hole, burning electricity making it's mark from a fresh blast. 
The Moor-Bot met his optics, watching the shocked gasp escape him as realization started setting in.
"Thank you for everything you've taught me, Heatwave. And... Goodbye."
It ripped out the cannon.
Neon blue began flooding heatwaves's vision, and he slowly fell backwards.
Energon pooled around him, the lifeblood seeming to pour out in rivers.
Kade broke the silence first, collapsing to his knees with tears flooding his vision as his voice cracked and choked, a scream tearing from the depths of his bowels, long and drawn out.
"HEEEAAAAATTTTTWAAAAAAAAAVVVVEEEEEE!!!!!"