Visitors (Huntress)

[Barricade]

((4 September 2027, 1930 HLT))

It was quiet in the underground brig, for only a couple of reasons. Firstly, the brig currently had only one occupant; the Decepticon Intell Scout known as Barricade. Secondly, said scout had, upon finding nothing else to do, sat down and leaned against the wall in a state of semi-rechage. He'd tucked himself away in the corner, his back protected by the two walls, and his legs brought up in front of his torso. His arms were crossed over his chest. At this point, he was just killing time until Ironhide got off shift and came to visit. The older mech in the routine of spending his nights chatting with his old friend. A sound caught his attention, but he wasn't sure what it was. It didn't sound like Ironhide, and it was too early for the black mech to be showing up anyways, so he remained quiet. His optics did open, however, and he watched the cell door, looking to see if it was someone else.

[Huntress]

Huntress had landed only the day before, though she had found out that there was currently a prisoner being held at the Autobot base, a name she was familiar with, Barricade. From her observations in the past and the information she had from her vorns with the Autobots, she knew that this Decepticon, while he could be a troublesome little mech at times, wasn't quite as bearings to the wall as some of the others. Being one such as she was, always looking to gain more information, even get to know the enemy at times, in case one could be saved, she had made her way to the brig, her dark frame wrapped in her cloak like wings. She had been standing there for a while, rather silent, listening, before she finally moved to approach the cell, not too worried about being silent, after all, this wasn't a stealth mission, the target was already behind bars.

The large femme soon stepped into view of the cell door, her optics unseen, covered by her dark gray visor, as matte and shineless as the rest of her frame. She cast her gaze on Barricade, her head only ever so slightly to the side, a barely noticeable angle as she regarded him "Hmph. . ." the sound came lightly from her, a mere second's pause before she spoke "You need not be worried of anyone sneaking up on you from behind here, you are not seen as a major threat while in this cell Barricade." she told the Decepticon, her voice a mere stern, unwavering calm. She stood unmoving, her unseen gaze remaining on the Decepticon. It was then she felt a stirring at her left hip. She barely suppressed a surprised look on her face, Sanity's holster was at her left hip and normally, Sanity never moved on her own around an unfamiliar bot.

The dark femme's surprise was only compounded feeling the small Sanity climb out of her holster and down Huntress's leg. Soon the small gun was standing at Huntress's feet, looking at Barricade and softly beeping. The dark femme's gaze snapped to the sentient gun then "Sanity, what has gotten into you?" she asked the small gun only to get a series of quick beeps from her old friend and to feel Chaos crawling down from his holster on the right, both of the guns soon standing at Huntress's feet, looking at Barricade and beeping at him in what sounded like friendly tones. Huntress was, admittedly, confused at this. Normally these two were good at keeping themselves and the fact they were alive, hidden from others, or at least Sanity was, but Sanity being the first to expose her sentience, to a Decepticon no less, was a shocker, though Huntress hide the reaction behind that oh so trained emotionless expression she wore so often, her gaze returning to Barricade.

[Barricade]

When Huntress stepped into view in front of his cell door, Barricade let out a small growl. "I never know what to expect anywhere." He snapped back. While he did know that he was safe here, as well as the fact that there was no reason to be defensive, he couldn't help it. It was a habit. He stood up, his four optics watching her with suspicion. He knew who she was, there weren't many Decepticons, or other, who didn't know who she was, and the Decepticons had every reason to fear her. His suspicion turned to surprise, however, when one of Huntress's guns apparently climbed out of its holster on its own. He had not expected it to be sentient. A second one climbed down and joined it, and his frame relaxed a bit at their beeping. "Cute..." He commented, his top pair of optics looking up at Huntress. "I take it they normally don't act this way?"

[Huntress]

Huntress looked down at the sibling guns for just a moment as Sanity looked up at her, giving a quick three tone beep before looking where Barricade was again. Huntress's gaze lifted to the cop car Decepticon once more as well. These guns, though they were sentient, had taken down many Decepticons, they were the reason Huntress's aim was so sharp, besides her own skill, those two made her beyond an expert marksman, however, over the vorns of war, Huntress had also learned to trust Sanity and Chaos when it came to people. "They are very keen judges of character, they only reveal themselves to those who they sense they can trust. They have yet to be wrong in that." she said, looking over Barricade once more. They hadn't revealed themselves to a Decepticon before, well, they had to one, but that one was an exception to most, a complex exception but and exception none the less. Now they were standing here, beeping at Barricade. "I would not be surprised if it were Chaos who moved first, but it was Sanity in this case." she said, stepping up to the bar of the cell, her wings folding back to lay against her back instead of cloaking around her as she placed a hand on the wall next to the cell door. "So. . .you're normally one of those Decepticons who's hard to get one's hands on, not one I would expect to see in a cell, small as you are you do tend to have a habit of vanishing. So, what occurred to land you in here?" she asked. She hadn't been filled in on how Barricade had gotten captured yet, so she figured asking would be no real danger.

[Barricade]

Barricade moved a little closer to the cell door, sitting down before he answered the question. "Energon starvation." He replied. "Was trying to see if I could steal some Energon from here, and grabbed a human to use as a hostage. William Lennox's daughter. Didn't realize that Ironhide was nearby, 'n almost got killed 'cause he was rightly torqued off. No way I'd leave much under my own power, much less survive long, so I surrendered."

[Huntress]

Huntress nodded at Barricade's answer "I see, well, it may have not been for the worst." she said as Chaos started beeping wildly as soon as he heard Ironhide's name. The little gun started jumping up and down, beeping rhythmically like excited chanting of a statement, though Sanity sighed at Chaos's antics, she too did give a few beeps at Huntress, right afterwards Chaos let out a loud, long beep that sounded like he was going 'wheeeeeee!' and ran out of the brig, making Huntress shake her head a bit "Stay out of sight Chaos!" she warned the little gun before sighing, looking to Barricade "You said Ironhide's name, Chaos misses him." she explained to try to dispel some confusion at the least, Sanity beeped a little as well, expressing to Huntress she missed him to, and the dark femme nodded to the calmer gun before looking back to Barricade. "If you were starving so badly you must have been out of contact with your own side for quite some time. Not that I could blame you."

[Barricade]

Barricade could not help but chuckle at the hyperactive gun's antics. "Little hyperactive Scraplet, that one." He commented, using a nickname for younglings that he'd often heard used by Ironhide, and several other older mechs. "And you could say that. Two decades running and hiding, all while living off of the fossil fuels of this planet. There comes a point where it just doesn't cut it."

[Huntress]

"There's a reason he's named Chaos." she stated as she watched Sanity move closer to the bars, the calmer gun's barrel going between the bars a little "Sanity is, as the name suggests, the calmer." the dark femme said, still surprised by how quick the more level headed gun seemed to be taking to Barricade, then again, seeing as Huntress had never had to actually fire a serious shot at Barricade, she guessed it made some sense. She gave a light sigh at that "Why didn't you come for help before? The siblings trust you, it they do this quickly, then you cannot be that bad. I am sure you could have found aid here, we tend to not turn away those in need, at least those who have never proven to be half off their rocker and looking for a fight at any change, which your history does not show you to be one of those. In truth I have often wondered why you choose the side you did, as you do not seem to be like most other Decepticons." she said, he hidden gaze shifting slightly "Though I can understand self preservation, if the Autobots win, you likely know they will not execute the remaining Decepticons without reason, if the Decepticons win, they would seek to eradicate all of the remaining opposition, I've a feeling that was part of your reasoning. Unless my observations have led me to the wrong conclusion."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Autobot base Chaos was running about, using some ventilation shafts, overhands, normal cars, at one point even a card board box he could fit under and scoot around to stay out of sight to look for the big, black weapons specialist. He wanted to see his Uncle Ironhide and, for a little gun, Chaos was covering ground fast.

[Ironhide]

Ironhide was finishing up his rounds and duties for the day, getting ready for his nightly visit with Barricade. Every night he had gone there to talk to Barricade, to offer him Energon, to comfort and soothe his old friend, and even snuggle with him to recharge like they used to so long ago. As he stepped out of the barracks hangar to head towards the main hangar and the entrance to the underground brig, he stopped and gave a cardboard box an odd and suspicious look. He let out a snort and walked over to the box as it scooted along the ground haltingly, peered at it skeptically for a moment, then plucked the box up off whatever was beneath it. To his surprise, it was a sentient gun he knew all too well, one of a matched pair, and those two belonged to one mech in particular, a femme named Huntress. ~"Hey, whatcha doin' out here lil guy?"~ he asked and reached down towards the pistol, letting Chaos come to him. If one was here, it meant the other was likely nearby, and if they were here, then Huntress was here as well. ~"Where's yer Mistress? She 'round here somewhere? Yer sister with her?"~ he asked as he picked up the sentient firearm and cradled it against his chest.

[Barricade]

"Didn't come because I'm still a Decepticon." Barricade replied with a bit of a shrug. "And I joined because I was young and stupid. I've stayed for the reason you've already given." It was very well the truth. He had a chance of survival at the end of the war if he was still a Decepticon, regardless of who won.. His chances plummeted if he was an Autobot and the Decepticons won. It would take something that was a larger threat to his survival to make him change sides, or if he was still here after the trial. It would do no good to return after the trial, especially if he wasn't heavily punished for what he'd done.

[Huntress]

Huntress gave a small nod at his response "We are all entitled to our misjudgments." she stated, she had seen some who paid the price heavily for one wrong choice in the distant past, yet, she had seen others who corrected the mistake, a few younger ones, Decepticons, who were in the company of one of her targets, she recalled well seeing some of them unsure about pulling the trigger, a few she had even pulled from the mess they were in to give them a second chance. But for every one she had aided, others became corrupted, sadly, such occurred in war, she accepted that, she didn't like it, but she accepted the fact. "Perhaps you will gain your second chance soon enough." she commented, her tone just a small bit softer than normal, though it still held that calm, even nature.

The dark femme looked to the exit of the brig then, a light hmph coming from her "Chaos found someone." she stated, and indeed the small gun had. Outside, Chaos had hopped up on Ironhide's hand and was currently giving a little hug to Ironhide's chest with two of his little legs. A series of beeps came from the small gun, a confirmation that Huntress was here with Sanity too, and that they were in the brig talking to a new friend, of course Chaos saw anyone he felt he could trust as a friend, though he held Ironhide and Wheeljack as more, calling them uncles much of the time, a habit even Sanity had picked up over the vorns.

[Ironhide]

Ironhide chuckled at Chaos's exuberant greeting and hugged the little gun in return. ~"I missed ya too, lil one."~ For most people, and mechs, being seen hugging some sort of firearm would be viewed as rather odd at the very least. But with Ironhide, no one would think twice about it, given his well known fondness for his own cannons and most other high powered long distance weaponry. ~"Talkin' ta Barricade, huh? Well, let's go see yer sister n Mistress then, hmmm?"~ he responded and headed towards the brig. ~"S'aight, was headed down that way anyway."~ he added and continued down the hallways. He soon entered the brig, not being particularly quiet so he wouldn't startle Huntress, but also not being especially loud either. ~"Hey there Huntress, good ta see ya again. Oh, uh, think ya lost someone here. Found 'im though."~ he offered as he walked in, then looked down at the other gun. ~"N there's yer sister. Hey lil one, miss me?"~ he asked and crouched down to offer a hand to Sanity.

[Barricade]

"Maybe. I'm just going to wait and see." Barricade replied, looking in the direction of the brig entrance when he heard the sound of someone entering. A small smile broke across his face plates when he saw Ironhide, but he hid it as quickly as he could, not knowing how much would be shared about him and the black mech. "Everyone having a party down here 'n not tell me about it?" He groused, a bit of his attitude returning.

[Huntress]

Huntress nodded to Ironhide when he entered "So I see, You should have seen how quickly he ran out of here at the mere mention of your name a moment ago." she said, giving just the slightest hinting of a smile, though it was gone as soon as it appeared. The weapons specialist was a welcomed face to see, and Sanity seemed to agree as the calmer sibling climbed right into Ironhide's hand with a small series of beeps asking her 'Uncle Ironhide' how he had been and that she missed him. It was then Chaos skittered up Ironhide's armor to sit right on the large mech's shoulder, giving happen, rapid little beeps about finding a new friend, missing Ironhide, wondering where Wheeljack was, likeing the new planet and other topics on the little young gun's processor.

Huntress looked over to Barricade for a moment "Reuniting of old friends, albeit unplanned, certainly not unwelcome." she responded to the cop bot as she moved to lean her back against a nearby wall, her wings relaxing a bit, her very expression seemed to get a little less tense. She had a very trusted ally and friend here right now, she could allow herself to at least not be on edge, knowing that if anything or one did attack, Ironhide would have her back, even if such attack was unlikely.

[Ironhide]

Ironhide chuckled and cuddled Sanity to his chest as Chaos perched on his shoulder, beeping excitedly. ~"I been alright, lil one, dun worry bout that. Wheeljack's here if ya wanna see 'im though."~ he looked over at Huntress. ~"When yer done here I mean. I figured ya'd wanna see him too since she's askin' bout 'im."~ he offered and indicated Sanity as he gently ran a hand over the gun in his arms. He then reached up and stroked Chaos as well in an effort to soothe him and calm him down a little. ~"I missed ya too, lil ones, both o' ya n Huntress too. S' been a long time..."~ he offered them with a smile. ~"As fer new friends, careful with that. Some can't be trusted n some 're just downright murderers."~ he shook his head then, not wanting to mention the Dreads around Barricade, though he glanced at Huntress and sent a private com to her alone. <~"Keep yer optics open fer the Dreads. Word is they might be headed this way fore too long, if they're still alive."~> He let out a derisive snort then and looked at Barricade for a moment before looking back at Huntress. ~"Barricade's facin' trial soon, next few days I think. Prime wants ta get it done with pretty soon, dun like leavin' a mech ta rust in a cell without proper trial. He's kinda sticky 'bout that sorta thing."~ He vented sharply then and gave Barricade a look that Huntress would see well enough. It was well known among the Autobots and Decepticons alike that Ironhide and Barricade hated each other and have since before the war, but virtually no one knew why. What no one knew was that they had reached a reconciliation since Barricade's capture and that they also had no idea of was the history they shared before the war. Only Red Alert knew any of that and the security mech had no reason to tell anyone and every reason to guard that secret with his life, knowing what it would do to them both if the wrong people found out. Ironhide turned to Huntress more fully then, content to let the little sentient weaponry perch and snuggle up on him. ~"But 'nuff 'bout that slaggin spy, how ya been, Huntress. Ain't seen ya in a Turbo Fox's age."~ he asked, trying to avoid the subject of himself and Barricade altogether for both their sakes.