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Post by Red Alert on Oct 23, 2012 10:50:57 GMT -5
<"I don't know."> Red Alert replied, bending down to pick up the pieces of the data pad. <"All I know is what I've seen. There'sa chance that their Sparks are calling to each other, at least on Ironhide's end. As for Barricade, I don't think he'd intentionally hurt Ironhide. Hell, with how the Decepticons are, we don't even know if Barricade was given much of a choice with being a Controller. The only ones who know are Barricade and Ironhide.">
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 23, 2012 11:01:53 GMT -5
Wheeljack frowned at that, watching Red Alert pick up the pieces of the data pad. <"Then why did Barricade attack n try n kill Ironhide again? Why'd he try n tear open his chassis all over again? It just doesn't make sense."> he replied. If they did love each other and if their Sparks called out to bond to each other, then why did Barricade try to murder Ironhide before the war and then again just a few hours ago, let alone all the times they kept trying to kill each other throughout the war. <"That wasn't an accident, he deliberately dug that gyro flail in deep like he was trying to reach Ironhide's Spark... to kill him..."> he added.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 23, 2012 15:03:29 GMT -5
<"I'm not sure what was said outside, but inside, Ironhide mentioned someone, or something, called 'Meta' being in Barricade's processor, and was encouraging Barricade to fight this 'Meta.'"> Red Alert moved to dispose of the data pad fragments before finding a suitable place to sit. <"That's all I know. Anything more, ans you'll have to call Ironhide back.">
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 23, 2012 23:25:34 GMT -5
Wheeljack scowled darkly at that. <"First he's a CC Controller, now there's a secondary personality inside him trying to kill them both? Was this Meta in control when he tried to hack Ironhide's processor n ripped his side open?"> he asked, wondering if there was a connection between Meta and the Combat Control programming Barricade was surely carrying in his neural core. <"We gotta catch him n get him back here, sedate him, and find that coding. If we can remove it then that'll change the outcome in all of this. As it stands now, if Barricade's found again, he'll most likely be put to death as a Combat Controller and for trying to murder Ironhide in his escape from custody and his trial, n Ironhide may end up charged with sedition for withholding dangerous information and putting the whole base at risk."> Wheeljack vented heavily then. <"And if their Sparks seek a bonding with each other, killing Barricade will send Ironhide into a downward spiral he'll never come out of again, n end up dying in.">
He ran a hand over his head trying to think of some way he could help Ironhide, but nothing was coming to him. <"Alright, how do we change this without ending up in the brig ourselves?"> he asked, looking at Red Alert seriously. <"And if I'm going to help save Ironhide from all this, you gotta be straight with me, no secrets. I gotta know everything you know about all this, from the beginning or I can't help them at all. Cybertronian neurology n Spark science are specialties of mine along side engineering, you know that. Ratchet's a general medic, not a neuro-Spark scientist. I'm the best chance Ironhide n Barricade have outside of Soundwave, and we both know there's no way that creeper mech would ever help them. Soundwave would more likely rip Barricade apart, then feed him n Ironhide to Megatron or take their Sparks n Energon for himself."> He shook his head, the whole thing overwhelming to him, but Wheeljack was never one to give up on anything when he set his processor to something. In his own way, Wheeljack was every bit as stubborn and determined as Ironhide, and in his own way, he understood the Weapons Specialist.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 24, 2012 8:46:01 GMT -5
Red Alert pinched his nasal ridge for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, counting down from ten, in Cybertronian, before speaking. <"Step one would be getting Ironhide involved in the planning, for two reasons. One, it involves his and Barricade's well-being, and two, he's the only one of us who would have a chance at getting close to Barricade, short of asking Huntress, and I don't think she knows all the details. Have I mentioned yet that I'm actually thankful that Prowl hasn't landed yet?">
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 24, 2012 9:02:06 GMT -5
Wheeljack chuckled a bit at that and nodded in agreement. <"Yeah, having him around would make this a lot harder."> He looked to Red then. <"We may need Ironhide to get close to Barricade to bring him back, but the rest still relies on both of us knowing as much as possible to protect them. Meaning I still need to know everything you know."> he told Red Alert in the hopes that he could get some straight answers.
<"If you're gonna be honest with yourself and with me, which is more important; keeping a secret that'll likely end up getting him killed, or saving his life and the life of his Spark mate?"> he asked softly, then gently laid his hand on Red Alert's forearm. <"Ya gotta trust someone, Red, ya can't just bury yourself in secrets n hide away in your security room, locked away from everyone. It'll drive you mad and make you no good to anyone, even yourself. I won't hurt him, n if Barricade loves him, if he's Ironhide's One, you know I'll do all I can to help them both. I believe in the good of others, that even a Decepticon can change for the better. Fatally optimistic inventor, remember? I can't believe anyone is completely irredeemable, not even Soundwave n Megatron."> he added, hoping Red Alert would trust him.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 24, 2012 9:12:03 GMT -5
Red Alert jumped a bit and shifted his arm away from Wheeljack out of habit when the inventor touched him, his over hand moving to rub at the spot a bit. <"When it comes to Meta, I know about as much as you do. As for Ironhide and Barricade, I've told you pretty much all there is. In the beginning of it, Ironhide disconnected the cameras in the brig for several hours, so I'm missing feed there. Him and Barricade are the only ones who could fill it in.">
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 24, 2012 10:10:26 GMT -5
Wheeljack nodded at that, pulling his hand back. <"So this Meta was the one who attacked Ironhide and Barricade would actually never willingly hurt Ironhide because he loves the big lug nut? N Ironhide defended Barricade because he loves him. So, how are we gonna get through to Ironhide without him getting belligerent and refusing our help?"> he asked with a tilt of his head, glancing at Red Alert's arm though he kept quiet about his concern.
Wheeljack had always been a friendly and outgoing mech, he liked most other bots and it showed in his demeanor. What he couldn't understand was why others were frightened or mistrustful of him, why so many kept their distance or even scorned him. He wished someone would love him, often praying that Primus would lead him to his One. But all he had were the Aerialbots, and he had no idea where any of his five young sons were or if they were even still alive. He looked to the ground then, his thoughts drifting to his five lost Sparklings; six really if one counted Superion. They were all he had and he was forced to leave them behind back on Cybertron.
Wheeljack had friends of course, and while he had a human love once ten years ago, however briefly that was, she never knew what he really was and would never have accepted him if she knew he wasn't human. <"You n Ironhide're lucky, you know. He has Barricade, if we can save them both... n you've got Jazz..."> he murmured softly and looked away. He wanted very much to help, but he couldn't deny the pangs of jealousy in his Spark when he saw others bonded or at least together. As deeply as he craved such a bond, Wheeljack had no one and at this point felt he was likely to remain alone for the rest of his life. Thus the Aerialbots, his Sparklings, had become his life. "I'd give anything to see my lil flybots again..." he added more to himself out loud and closed his optics for a moment, then moved away from Red Alert to put the scanner away after shutting it down and began cleaning up the area where he had been working on Ironhide's damaged side.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 24, 2012 13:14:45 GMT -5
<"Our best bet is to try to explain to Ironhide that we're trying to help him and Barricade, and see if that gets through to him."> Red Alert replied, moving to help Wheeljack. "And they'll get here soon enough,Wheeljack. You were the one who raised them, and taught them how to fight and to stay together. Look at all they'd survived before you had to leave. They'll be fine."
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 25, 2012 3:51:13 GMT -5
Wheeljack looked over at Red Alert for a moment, then lowered his head and vented a sigh. "They're all I have, Red... I never should have left them..." he responded softly. "For so long I wished for a Spark mate, for a family, Sparklings of my own, but who would want a creepy crackpot engineer who blows things up n talks to Decepticon corpses while he dissects them?" He shook his head slightly, then looked at Red Alert. "The Allspark called to me, Red, five times it called to me, Primus called to me and each time I answered, a fragile helpless little Spark came out of the Allspark and drifted down into my hands, singing to me, trusting me. So I opened my chassis for each of them, one by one, n cried with joy."
He closed his optics, sat back, and pulled his arms around himself as he remembered the Ano-Cycles he shared with his beloved Aerialbots. "I sheltered them, nurtured them, cared for them, felt their pods form inside my chassis, cradled their pods as they slipped free of my Sparkling chamber, tended to them, watching them take shape while their pods nestled together on my berth, n cradled their tiny chassis in my arms when they hatched. I fed them from my own chassis' Energon reserves, I taught them all I could, I protected them, I held them while they recharged n rocked them when they suffered nightmares. I did everything I could for them from the moment their tiny little Sparks came to me..." His venting hitched slightly and a pained expression came across his face and Red Alert could see the pain and sorrow in his blue optics as he looked at the Security Officer.
"Then I left them behind on our dying home world crawling with Decepticons hunting down every last Autobot to rip apart... I left them, my own hatchlings I raised n loved... They were my life, they were all I had, n I left them there..." He shook his head sadly, feeling very obviously guilty. "My shuttle was ordered to take off early. They called me in my lab while my lil ones were practicing maneuvers in the canyons next to the base, n I barely got to the shuttle in time. I couldn't even grab any tools, nothing. I tried to call them, Primus knows I tried to reach them, but the ion drive on full thrust scrambled the coms n by the time the engines cut off well away from Cybertron, coms wouldn't reach." He lowered his head and vented shakily.
"I prayed I'd see them flying escort for the shuttle, but I never saw my lil mechlings again. I keep hoping I'll see their con trails in the sky, coming home to me. Every time I see planes fly over head I pray to Primus it's them. Every day I pray they'll come, that they'll find me, n every night I cry for them, wishing I had a Spark bond with them, wishing I could feel their little Sparks pulsing with mine just so I'd know they were okay..." He thought of them as his little hatchlings even though each one of them were more than twice his size. It was obvious he missed them deeply, mourned them really, fearing they were dead yet unwilling to accept that possibility without seeing their chassis for himself, one way or the other. "I look at bond mates n families and I can't help but wonder if my lil bots hate me for abandoning them... Would they understand that I had no choice? Would they believe that I never wanted to leave them?" he asked, looking to Red Alert again as if hoping for some kind of answer.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 26, 2012 11:56:17 GMT -5
Red Alert reached out to Wheeljack as the engineer spoke, gently placing a hand on Wheeljack's shoulder. "For all it could help, they did leave Cybertron safely. They left before me; I made sure they had the coordinates. They were gone right after the next message came through." Red Alert offered a small, rare smile, standing there not as the paranoid Security Director, but as a normal Autobot. "They'll be here before you know it."
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 26, 2012 12:06:08 GMT -5
Wheeljack's expression brightened a bit with that hope. "They were together? They got away n they're coming here?" he asked Red Alert, a clear note of hope and anticipation in his voice. He lowered his gaze in thought then, wondering why they hadn't arrived yet. "They must've gotten lost. I hope they're okay. It's such a long way n they're still so young." he said, growing concerned because while Red Alert had left Cybertron after the Aerialbots did, he found his way to Earth first and no one has seen or heard from the Aerialbots since the five of them had left Cybertron. He looked over at the door then, the urge to go outside and look to the sky in the hopes of seeing them coming to find him beginning to overwhelm the Engineer. "Why haven't they come? Where are my lil bots? Why didn't they follow one of the others to Earth? Why didn't they follow you here?" he asked softly, uncertain and afraid for them.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 26, 2012 12:14:28 GMT -5
"I stayed in contact with them until they were too far for the comms to reach." Rd Alert offered. "At that point, they were still together. They didn't follow me because it wasn't for almost another Ano-cycle that I left. I had to make sure most of the Autobots had been safely evacuated. The Aerialbots wanted to leave the moment the next message came through with the coordinates. I made sure they had plenty of Energon before they left. I know I picked up some Decepticon commotion just outside of Cybertron's orbit after they left, but nothing came through about the attack being successful. Have faith, Wheeljack. The Aerialbots have taken on a lot that most would think bots of their age wouldn't be able to."
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Post by Wheeljack on Oct 26, 2012 12:28:19 GMT -5
Wheeljack couldn't help but smile at the last bit, though he remained worried and would continue to worry until all five of them were on Earth and safely reunited with him. "I hope they find their way here soon. I miss my lil bots so much." he replied and placed his hand on Red Alerts on his shoulder, giving it a grateful squeeze. "I just hope they're okay. N I'm grateful to you for looking out for them for me." he added, looking at Red Alert. "I just, I worry about them when I can't be there for them. I suppose that's part of being their Alpha. I wish I hadn't been forced to leave them behind." he reasoned, managing a bit of a smile before he vented heavily and let Red's hand go.
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Post by Red Alert on Oct 26, 2012 12:53:40 GMT -5
Red Alert flinched when Wheeljack squeezed his hand, but managed to keep the smile. "Anyone with Sparklings knows how I feel all the time with you lot. Especially with the twins running around. And you and your experiments. And Ironhide with his temper. And everything else." The smile turned into a slight smirk, though the smirk was gone as quickly as it came. "Should we give Ironhide some time to cool down before we spring this on him, or you want to get it over with?"
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