|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 12:23:02 GMT -5
Ironhide heard the telltale whir of Barricade's gyro flail and his Spark sank. He had no choice now and he hated it. "Ya ain't never gonna be Barricade. Yer just a parasite ta be exterminated, Meta." he replied coldly. As his left fist swung forward again, his arm cannon sprang to life, spinning up and readying its first volley. He couldn't avoid the strike of those spinning blades completely, but he hoped he could lessen the damage and he turned his frame sideways as the gyro flail raked across his chest, leaving a diagonal series of slashes from his lower left chest across towards his right shoulder. At the extent of his swing, his cannon fired and inwardly he prayed he wouldn't kill the mech he loved. {~"Fergive me, 'Cade, Meta didn't give me a choice. I always loved ya, 'Cade, n I always will..."~} he whispered in his Spark, words he couldn't say out loud, words he wished Barricade could hear... somehow...
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 16, 2012 12:46:27 GMT -5
Meta yanked the flail back as Ironhide prepared to fire. His free hand went up, aiming to push Ironhide's arm to the side while stepping away from the potential new target. If all went well, Meta guessed that he would have a free shot at the outside, and from there, freedom. Other Autobots would be here soon. He knew it. That meant he had to wrap this up quickly. If he could get past Ironhide, chances were he would be free.
|
|
|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 13:00:30 GMT -5
As soon as he felt the hand push against his arm, inwardly he sighed with relief while outwardly he snarled and brought his right fist forward hard, aiming for the area he knew Barricade's head should be. He knew the swing would overbalance him and being unable to see because of Meta's hacking attempt, Ironhide realized it would likely increase Meta's chances of either getting in a more serious hit with that flail or slipping past him and escaping, but there was nothing much the Weapons Specialist could do about that, even as he tried to bring his left hand back to grab Barricade's arm in order to keep him there long enough for his punch to connect and hopefully knock the smaller mech into stasis before Meta could injure him further, or worse, cripple or even kill Ironhide. He remembered what seeing Ironhide fall, thinking he was dead, had done to Barricade long ago when the younger mech had lashed out not realizing who had grabbed him, and he knew that if Meta managed to kill him and Barricade couldn't stop it, the poor scout would likely go mad from the stress and grief and guilt, if not off-line himself entirely just to be rid of Meta once and for all. Ironhide knew that no matter what, he had to survive this and make sure Barricade knew he still lived. He would not let the younger mech vanish from his life again, nor would he allow the same mistake to tear them apart a second time.
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 16, 2012 13:15:54 GMT -5
Meta ducked, the fist passing right over his head. "As much as I'd love to stick around and gut you for everything you've done, I simply don't have the time. Perhaps later." With a smirk, he slipped past the rest of the way. With his optics no longer on Ironhide, he would be unable to maintain the hack. He had to move quickly. The moment he reached the surface, he transformed and took off.
|
|
|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 13:24:37 GMT -5
Ironhide stumbled and hit the wall, shook his head and as soon as he realized his processor and his vision was clear, he bolted after Meta, transforming as soon as he hit the outside tarmac and pushing his engine as hard as he could, calling ahead to the gates to close them and stop the police car from leaving. <~"'Cade, fight back, bury the slaggin' parasite. Dun let it do this t' ya, t' us."~> he urged over their private frequency, praying that Barricade could hear him somewhere inside his processor. "C'mon, 'Cade... fight 'im..." he murmured out loud to himself, ignoring the painful gashes across his chest for now. He had to stop Barricade some how, he had to get the younger mech back. At this point, that was all that mattered.
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 16, 2012 14:03:05 GMT -5
Meta snarled and slid to a halt when he saw that the gates had been closed. "Feh. Do you really think this will stop me?" He growled, bringing the gyro flail up to slash through the gate. Before he could, a sharp pain flashed through his processor, making Meta stagger and growl, holding his head once more as the internal battle started anew. "You will stay in there, upstart..." He growled.
{"No, I won't!"} Barricade snarled back, clawing to take control away from Meta. He was making progress, but it was slow.
|
|
|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 14:11:46 GMT -5
Ironhide sped across the pavement towards the gate and saw that Meta was distracted, holding his head. <~"That's it, 'Cade, rip that parasite apart n take back yer chassis."~> he urged, hoping to bolster Barricade's strength against Meta. He barreled forward at the smaller mech and at the last moment he transformed, launching himself into a flying tackle that would unfortunately carry them both through the gate; but if he could distract Meta long enough for Barricade to regain control, then they could get to the trial and afterwards see about getting Meta permanently removed. At this point all he wanted to do was hold onto the smaller mech, not realizing the gyro flail was still active in Meta's hand as he wrestled with the Decepticon scout.
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 16, 2012 14:17:06 GMT -5
Meta snarled as Ironhide tackled him, sending the two of them crashing through the gate. With Ironhide distracting him on the outside, he was finding it harder to fight Barricade on the inside. "Then I'll just have to remove the distraction!" He growled, the gyro flail in his hand being slammed towards Ironhide's side as it spun.
|
|
|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 14:31:46 GMT -5
Ironhide realized too late the bladed weapon was still active and his optics went wide as those sharp blades met his side armor, found a crease between the plates, and tore its way deep into his right side, shredding part of his primary Energon tank as the Energon it contained gushed free over the spinning blades, along with his vital fluids as several lines were ripped through as well. Ironhide let out a Spark chilling howl of agony and recoiled away from that lethal spinning disk of blades, desperate to make it stop hurting him. He managed to scramble back and to his left several yards, blinded by pain and venting hard trying not to scream as he moved, the sensation flooding his processor and drowning out any cognitive reasoning for the moment. Instinct took over and it was all Ironhide could to to stay somewhat up on his hands and knees, his right side still towards Meta and leaving the jagged hole in his side visible to the scout.
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 16, 2012 14:59:01 GMT -5
Meta smirked, letting the image flow to Barricade. "I'd finish you off right here if I didn't have better things to do. Pleasant days, Ironhide. What will be left of them." With a sneer, Meta transformed once more and took off.
Some miles away, Barricade finally took control, pulling off to the side so he could transform. The energon and fluid was still on his gyro flail, and his frame was shaking. <~"Ironhide, are you alright? Slaggit, you'd better not be dead!"~>
|
|
|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 15:24:00 GMT -5
Ironhide toppled onto his left side as Meta made his escape, leaving the burly mech laying there shaking as his systems desperately fought against going into shock from the pain and loss of Energon and fluids. He had no idea how long he laid there before he was found and taken to the med bay for one of the medics to repair his shredded side and slashed chest armor. The repairs were well under way when he heard Barricade's voice call out to him, jarring him back towards cognitive awareness. <~"'Cade?"~> he murmured softly, thinking it a dream, his voice sounding thick, almost as if his glossia were double in size but still understandable. <~"'Cade, dun leave... dun let Meta tear ya from me... dun let what happened b'fore... tear us apart again..."~> he urged, his voice weak and heavy with an odd sort of grogginess that Ironhide couldn't push away. The pain seemed gone and he felt odd with his right arm way up over his head. With a heavy groan he brought his arm down towards his side, earning him an indignant "Hey, I'm not done with you yet." from a far away yet familiar voice he couldn't quite place. A hand pushed his arm back up by his head and Ironhide was too weak to argue. Instead he tried to focus on Barricade again, calling out to him over their secret frequency. <~"It weren't yer fault... It was never yer fault... Meta... it was Meta... it weren't you... Ye'd never hurt me..."~> he offered, then vented heavily which made his medic scowl at him for a moment, then Ironhide added softly, <~"I always loved ya, 'Cade, n I always will... Come back ta me, 'Cade... please..."~>
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 16, 2012 15:36:23 GMT -5
Barricade sighed in relief when Ironhide responded, his legs almost giving out under him. <~"Oh, thank Primus. I know it wasn't me, Ironhide. But, I can't come back. I already told you, if I found an escape, I would take it. Hurting you was never in that plan. But, I still intend to see this war through with the choice I made. If I stay with you, then I'll just be a target to get to you, and you'll be a target to get to me."~>
|
|
|
Post by Ironhide on Oct 16, 2012 16:03:56 GMT -5
Ironhide groaned heavily. He could vaguely feel someone next to him moving things around on his side, or was it in his side? He couldn't tell. "'Cade..."~> he murmured out loud as well as through the link. "Dun go... they won't hurt ya... come back..."~> he responded, not realizing he'd spoken out loud.
The medic shook his head, laying a hand on Ironhide's chest in an effort to steady him. "Easy there big guy, just let me finish fixing this. Barricade did a number on you, he tried to kill you. But we got to you in time. He's run off but we'll track him down, don't you worry." the strangely familiar voice seemed to be saying, as if trying to calm Ironhide down.
Somewhere in his processor a memory surfaced and it set Ironhide off, struggling to get up off the medical berth. "No! It weren't 'Cade! He'd never hurt me! Lemme go! Ya dun understand, it weren't him! I gotta find 'im! Slaggit, it weren't 'Cade! 'Cade'd never hurt me! I won't let 'im starve ta death in Kaon's streets again! I gotta find 'im, slaggit, lemme go!"~> he started shouting, near to panicking even with as groggy as he was from the pain inhibitors. With as out of it as he was, he didn't realize that not only was he shouting in his memories at the medics trying to repair his damaged chest, he was also shouting at the medic who was trying to repair his side, and the whole thing, including the memory of the medics trying to hold him down while they tried to sedate him to finish repairing his torn chest, was bleeding through the secret com to Barricade, letting him see how Ironhide reacted to the accusations Ironhide had heard claiming Barricade had betrayed and tried to murder him, yet Ironhide refused to believe it, violently fighting the medics and very loudly defending his beloved Barricade with every ounce of his Spark. As the memory slowly went dark when the medics managed to administer the sedative, the mech trying to repair his damaged side had also managed to inject a sedative, and Ironhide rambled incoherently, then merely groaned, then finally went quiet.
|
|
|
Post by Wheeljack on Oct 16, 2012 17:23:23 GMT -5
Wheeljack vented heavily and shook his head once he finally got Ironhide fully sedated. "Slag, I see why Ratchet complains about your stubbornness." he remarked and lightly patted the burly mech's chest. "I wish we knew what was going on with you n Barricade. Last I heard you two murderously hated each other n this damage proves it. I don't know why you defend him when we saw him rip out your side and leave you for dead out there by the gate, or what's left of it after you tackled him through it anyway." He sighed again and picked up his tools to start work on the damage to the burly mech's side again.
It was about then that he realized there was another presence in the room and he looked over to see Red Alert standing nearby watching. "Oh, hey Red. Been waiting long?" he asked the security officer as he looked back to what he was doing. "Slagging con did a number on him, ripped his primary Energon tank open along with some major fluid lines and tore open the bottom of his heat exchange bellows on this side too. Gonna take a bit to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but at least we've got him on life support, though." and with that he gestured to the life support umbilical that was supplying fluid and Energon to Ironhide's stressed systems through his interface module, along with pain suppressors and sedatives to keep the big mech quiet while Wheeljack worked. "Barricade managed to tear up his chest armor a bit too, but most of that is superficial to shallow gouges, painful but nothing made it through his thick hide." He then paused a moment and looked at Ironhide's scarred chest, noticing a distinct similarity between the new damage he had sustained and the very old and wicked scar that was just right of center chest. "Hang on, that ain't right..." he muttered and reached over to Ironhide's chest, gently coaxing his armor open to see how deep the scars went. "Primus... Red, these scars are the same pattern..." he then looked over at Red Alert, his optics wide in surprise. "This ain't the first time Barricade's come close to outright murdering him... As old as this is, it's pre-war at least." he said, looking back at Ironhide's scarred laser core.
|
|
|
Post by Barricade on Oct 18, 2012 8:11:53 GMT -5
Barricade cringed, feeling his memories of that day rising. <~"I'm sorry, Ironhide. I can't. Not yet..."~> With great reluctance, Barricade transformed and drove back onto the road, beginning to make his way to the Decepticon base. As he drove, he opened up his comm, looking to contact the last mech he'd spoken to before his escapades at the Autobot base. ="Swindle, you fragger, you'd better be listening. Tell me where you want to me, so I can get this all over with."=
|
|