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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 14:17:29 GMT -5
((Autobot Brig - NEST Base Washington DC: August 13th, 2027: 1:21 AM))
Ironhide had been restless ever since Barricade had been captured, and though he made sure the Decepticon scout had the Energon required for a prisoner, he dared not go to the brig himself. Old memories replayed in his processor, finding a very young mech on the streets of Kaon, bringing him back to Iacon with him, earning the young mech's trust, teaching him, growing to love him, taking him into his arms, growing closer, living together, mutual interfacing, even the hope of growing together as lovers, the hope of never being alone again, only to watch it all shatter as Barricade brutally murdered a young trainee, Torque, and nearly killed Ironhide in the process, then Ironhide chasing him down in Kaon, only catching a single glimpse of his protege and would be lover before losing him forever, or so Ironhide had thought.
He woke up with a strangled cry as the nightmare of that day hit him, and he sat there on his berth venting hard, clutching at his chest where Barricade's gyro flail had tore into him. He looked down at his chest then, a fingertip tracing the faint scar that remained, then closed his optics and vented a heavy sigh. He could no longer stand the uncertainty anymore and stood with a snort, heading down to the brig.
Everyone was in recharge, except a few on night watch, which left Ironhide to himself as he went to the subterranean brig. He stood in the outer chamber, looking at the monitors, looking at Barricade in his cell. Flashes of old memories flickered across his thoughts, memories of rage and pain believing the one he loved had betrayed and tried to murder him. They had told him it was deliberate, that Barricade had meant to do it, and all the broken promises struck him at once. Had it all been a lie? He snorted then, stressed and confused. There had been moments, hints of something else, but what? What was the truth and would Barricade even tell him the truth? Or would he just be the deceitful Decepticon Scout and lie to him like always? Was their any way to be sure either way?
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 14:25:56 GMT -5
Barricade was in full recharge, curled up somewhat on the berth on his back, allowing his claws the room to strike out should he be attacked or startled. Just another habit from living on the streets and with the Decepticons. He twitched a couple times in his recharge, then let out a small whimper. Another twitch, and his optics snapped open and online as he sat up quickly, cycling air as the remnants of the nightmare faded away. He growled at himself softly, then gently laid back down on the berth, starting to calm his systems down to return to recharge.
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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 14:36:25 GMT -5
Ironhide watched as Barricade sat bolt upright. It seemed he suffered nightmares too. Then Ironhide made a decision and shut off all the monitors to the brig, every camera and sensor shutting down, leaving it dark save for the ambient lighting of the brig itself. He then vented softly and after locking the main door to the brig from inside, he walked across and entered the brig itself, shutting and locking that door as well. He ten stood there for a moment, quietly looking at Barricade in his cell, wondering how to even begin. He chose to let Barricade make the first move, or inquiry in this case, merely watching him in silence for the moment.
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 14:40:43 GMT -5
Barricade sat up again when the door to his cell was opened, four optics watching as Ironhide stepped in, then locked the door behind him. "Wasn't expecting to get visitors after hours." He commented, his usual amount of attitude in the comment. "Something special going on that I've been granted permission to be privy to, or did the trial go on without anyone telling me and you're here to give the sentencing?"
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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 14:51:05 GMT -5
Ironhide merely looked at Barricade a moment, then vented softly. ~"They said it was deliberate, that ya tried ta murder me n left me ta die. Why'd ya try n kill me?"~ he finally said softly. What had happened with Torque would have happened sooner or later anyway, Ironhide had come to terms with that some time ago. But this, this he needed some kind of closure to, one way or the other. He had to know the truth. ~"All the promises, all that we had, all we shared... was it real? Or were they right n it was just lies ta get what ya wanted from me?"~ he asked, though Barricade could hear the pain in his voice, the hope that somewhere, something was real, that the others had been wrong.
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 14:59:15 GMT -5
Barricade looked down, his optics focused on a spot on the floor before he responded. ~"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I didn't even think, I just...reacted..."~ He vented a bit. ~"I'd say that I'd never actually try to harm you, but that would be a lie, considering that when we've fought before, I have tried to kill you."~ He went silent for a moment, his claws clicking together nervously, before he continued. ~"When I realized that I'd attacked you, I....I didn't know what to do. I thought I'd killed you, so, I panicked. Ran back to the only place that seemed truly familiar to me. Then, when I saw you, I wanted to run up to you 'n apologize, tell you that it was all an accident. But...I was also afraid that you wouldn't believe me. After all, I'd run off after nearly killing you. So, I did the only thing I knew to do well; I ran again."~
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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 15:09:27 GMT -5
Ironhide lowered his head then, his hand coming up to his chest, covering the scar. ~"Then they were wrong, I was wrong. I wish ya had stayed. I wish ya had come ta me, I woulda fergiven ya."~ He looked at barricade then, his expression full of remorse. ~"I loved ya, with all my Spark, I loved ya, 'Cade... I'd have understood..."~ he whispered shakily then. The truth was there; Ironhide knew the heat of battle and instinct made a mech react in ways he wouldn't normally, even do things he'd never do otherwise. As old as he was, as long as he had been fighting, even then, he knew what it was like. ~"I wish ya had trusted me... I failed ya... I'm sorry..."~ he added and his voice cracked a bit. Now he knew it had all been a mistake, and all the pain, the loss, the regret he felt, Barricade could see it as plainly as he could see Ironhide standing there in front of him.
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 15:14:03 GMT -5
Barricade shook his helm, his shoulder sagging a bit as though an immense weight had been placed on them. ~"No, I failed you, Ironhide. I should have trusted you. Instead, I broke my promise and left. Ran like the coward everyone says I am."~ There was a weight on his shoulders. It was the weight of knowing what he could have done, and not having done it. ~"I didn't tell Megatron, by the way."~ He spoke up again. ~"About you and your brother."~
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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 15:25:17 GMT -5
Ironhide nodded then, and venting a heavy sigh, he turned, leaning his back against the wall before sinking to sit on the floor, staring at the ground in front of him. ~"I deserve ta be in here as much as you, if not more. I shoulda believed in ya, in us. I never shoulda listened ta them. I shoulda believed in ya. I went lookin' fer ya, hopin they were wrong, n when I saw ya I hoped ta find out the truth. But when ya ran from me, their words hit me all over again n it was... it was like losin' my brother all over again, feelin' my Spark ripped outa my chest. Only it was you I lost, n I felt like I was dyin' inside all over again. N all that pain turned ta rage, thinkin' ya had just used n betrayed me, abandoned me n everything we had, all we coulda had t'gether... I shoulda believed in ya... I wanna take it all back, make it all go away, try n erase the pain, start over with ya... with what we had... but I dunno how..."~ he said at length, fighting to keep his vocal modulators from breaking up on him. He closed his optics then, letting his head lean back against the wall, venting heavily as the pain crawled through his chest all over again.
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 15:29:40 GMT -5
Barricade looked up at Ironhide with his secondary set of optics, the first set remaining on the floor. ~"Maybe it would be best to start completely new, instead of trying to go back to what was."~ His primary set of optics looked up as well, and a small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. ~"Barricade. Decepticon shock trooper and intelligence scout."~ He spoke as he held his hand out.
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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 15:36:24 GMT -5
Ironhide looked over at him then, a small smile growing on his features. In their own way, they had forgiven each other and there was an understanding between them, unspoken, but tangible none the less. He extended his hand then, taking hold of Barricade's in his own. ~"Ironhide, Autobot Weapons Specialist n Combat Instructor."~ he responded. His Spark still ached and he wanted to hold Barricade again, but if they were to have any chance at all of reconciliation, then perhaps starting over was the best for them both. Maybe one day the dream they had together long ago could still be made possible, or at least regain something of that dream, on some level. Ironhide had hope again at least, and that was a start for them both.
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 15:46:09 GMT -5
Barricade shook Ironhide's hand. ~"Weapons Specialist, eh?"~ He raised a pair of optic ridges on one side in a questioning gesture. ~"Ever seen a weapon like this before?"~ He asked, sending the command for his gyro flail to activate, only to be met with a twitch of the wheel the flail was located in and an error message in his HUD. ~"Huh...Right. Locked down and disabled. Say, you wouldn't have happened to see the 'young punk bot' who disabled it, wouldja?"~ There was a slight smirk on his faceplates, indicating a jest.
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Post by Ironhide on Sept 18, 2011 15:55:52 GMT -5
Ironhide laughed at that, the release of tension helping him to relax a bit. ~"Yeah, I think so. So, ya wanna show me somethin' new huh? I think I can help ya with that."~ he offered and stood up, stepping around to sit on the berth next to Barricade. He wanted to trust, to believe again, and learning the truth of what had happened had gone a long way in letting Ironhide let go of the lies he had believed for so long, letting him embrace what really was, what could be again if they wanted it to be. He then linked into Barricade's command system, finding the locks he had placed, then sent the code to undo not just his weapons, but all three of them. There was no way Barricade could get a com out with the walls shielded, and only Autobot coms could access the relays that allowed the ones inside the shielded brig to communicate with the others. ~"There. Now, what's this lil toy o yers ya wanna show me?"~ he asked with a smile, genuinely curious about the weapon Ironhide knew was Barricade's own Spark weapon, the one he had designed and built himself, much like Ironhide had done long ago with his own arm cannons, his own Spark weapon.
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Post by Barricade on Sept 18, 2011 16:26:17 GMT -5
Barricade's optics followed Ironhide when the older mech sat next to him on the berth, raising a pair of optic ridges on one side in slight confusion. All four optics widened slightly in surprise when Ironhide sent the commands to unlock his comms, weapon, and transformation. His gyro flail whirred to life, the tire splitting in half to reveal two rows of razor-sharp blades. ~"Gyro flail. I haven't met much on a bot that the blades won't make short work of."~
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Post by Red Alert on Sept 18, 2011 16:31:13 GMT -5
Red Alert had been up and monitoring the base's surveillance system when all the camera feeds from the brig when dark. He'd seen Ironhide enter the brig and go to the controls right before it had happened. Now, several minutes had gone by with nothing, and Red Alert was starting to get worried. <"Ironhide, please tell me that Barricade is still functional, and give me one good reason not to wake Optimus up to drag you out of the brig.">
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