Curiousity and Bordom(Arc)

[Archetype]

Arc blinked a couple times and looked up at the mech, obviously confused. "How is that selfish if it would have saved so many lives and so much pain?" The small bot looked down again. "The worst thing I ever caused... I had no choice in it... I never chose to be created... I never chose for there to be a huge battle over me... I never chose for so many to die because of me... And as a result of it all I became... flawed... Broken... I sometimes wonder if I can't make good choices... because I was bad to begin with..."

[Barricade]

"Yeah? I had no choice in being spawned to a pair of creators who could barely care for themselves in the festering pit that was Kaon. Don't hear me complaining about it, do ya?" He snorted, crossing his arms. "Compared to that, your onlining sounds like a pretty pleasant cake walk."

[Ironhide]

Ironhide was doing his rounds, and though it was the middle of the afternoon, he often looked in on Barricade to see how he was doing and make sure he wasn't going too stir crazy in the cell. But as he went in to the Brig's outer chamber with all the monitors, he heard Barricade talking to someone. More like snapping at them, really. "Aw slag..." Ironhide rumbled softly and shook his head. "That lil bot's gonna piss him off n he'll never relax t'night." With a heavy sigh, Ironhide stepped into the cell room and planted his large hands on his hips, scowling at Arch. "N what the slag ya think yer doin' in here? Ya know ya ain't allowed in here, kid." he rumbled warningly. "Officers, Security, n Medical only. Dat means Prime, Jazz, Me, Red, Ratchet, n maybe ole 'Jack if Ratchet tells 'im ta come down here. No civilians, Scouts, er low rank grunts, n 'specially not unescorted." he informed Arch with a snort.

[Archetype]

Arc was quiet for a moment, thinking over what Barricade said before speaking again. "I can't say I know what it was like for you... I don't know what it's like for most... But for me..." The minibot looked up at Barricade again, pain apparent in their optics from the memory. "First... there was nothing. Well... almost nothing... Sometimes there were voices, though they could be hard to understand at times. Then... then there were more voices... then shouting... all of it close and at the same time distant... and then suddenly... Suddenly I could see... I could feel... And those distant voices... They were all so loud and clear. I was awake, and in that one moment all I knew was chaos, pain, fear, desperation and..." Arc shut their optics and shuddered for a moment before continuing. "...screams... All of those screams... I remember every voice... every face... I hear them all the time... see them when I recharge... screaming in agony and anguish... all of them staring at me... like they want something from me..." It was hard to describe to people, and on the rare occasions that Arc tried to it seemed that most couldn't understand. Perhaps it was because others couldn't feel things the way they could. They didn't understand what it was like to awaken for the first time to searing pain throughout their entire body as it screamed at you that no place was safe. That you were trapped, surrounded by danger, and wanting desperately to make it stop. Trying to follow whatever shred of safety could be found amidst the horror to have the chaos snatch them each away at every turn. To see people fall lifelessly to the ground in front of them and find it horrifying and mortifying and not even know why because they had not yet had the chance to learn what death was. All that was known was pain and fear and the panic that spawned from both. And once it was all over, once they had escaped the horror, they find themself alone and lost. And it is in that state that they learn that all of it happened because of them in the first place, that they were the cause of something so horrific and terrifying. Opening their optics again the minibot looked at Barricade before looking down again. "That's what it was like for me... I can only hope it was more pleasant for you..."

Arc jumped with a gasp as Ironhide spoke, having been too wrapped up in the nightmarish memory to notice he had come in. Looking over to the larger mech they stumbled back a bit, noting how clearly displeased he was and finding themself quite a bit intimidated. They looked down, shaking slightly, though their color-shifting paint made it seem more pronounced. "I... I'm sorry... I just... I was curious... I wanted to understand..." The minibot tried desperately to piece together an explaination. They knew what they wanted to say but finding the right words, that seemed to be the problem.

[Barricade]

Barricade snorted again. "Sounds like Kaon." He growled, musing over what the small bot had told him.

When Ironhide entered, Barricade's features changed to a scowl. "What's the matter, Ironaft? Scared 'm gonna attack the lil' scrap of a bot through the bars? You're as paranoid as your Security Chief."

[Ironhide]

Ironhide frowned at that. "Curiosity'll get ya slagged, kid." he retorted with a snort, then turned his scowl at Barricade. "N ya can shut it. Yer time's comin' soon 'nuff, them Prime'll deal with ya." he snapped back, though with the optic that was not visible to Archtype, Ironhide winked at Barricade, a subtle cue that they both knew the truth no one could know, not yet. Ironhide then loomed over Archetype, his scowl darkening. "Yer too trustin' n too curious 'bout the likes o' him, n yer gonna git yerself in more trouble n ya can get yerself outa. There's a reason most bots ain't allowed in here. Can't trust 'Cons, ever. Ain't none o' them worth tryin' ta get ta know er understand 'em. Only good 'Con's a dead one, period. Now git yer aft outa the brig 'fore I give ya the understandin' o' my ped meetin' yer aft!" Ironhide hated to be so mean to the young and confused bot, but he had to make his point clear in the hopes that Archetype would not go into places he knew he wasn't supposed to go, like the brig, the armory, and some of the offices and labs on base. He would definitely have to make it up to the little bot soon, just to let Archetype know he didn't hate the little bot, but that he was only making sure he understood and didn't go into off limits areas again. He often wondered if is soft Spark for little ones would be his own undoing, yet when he looked back on his long life, he knew the answer was a resounding no. His only real regret was the loss he suffered just before the war, a misunderstanding that drove away someone he dearly loved. As Archetype moved towards the exit door, Ironhide spared a glance back at Barricade and his expression softened a bit as if to say "All of 'em but you. I love ya n I can't loose ya again." It was as if part of him needed to let Barricade know that his harsh words were never meant towards the scout. He vented heavily and closed his optics for a moment, pulling the gruff and irritable mask back in place before turning to follow Archetype out of the cell room. His Spark felt torn, but for now he had to endure it just a little longer, just until he could truly set things right again.

[Archetype]

Arc shrank back a bit from Ironhide's tone and stance, nodding to indicate that they understood. They began making their way towards the exit but couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that something was off, that something seemed to be missing. The small bot thought about it as they walked and then realized what it was, a lack of aggression. Their ability to sense danger wasn't limited to just outright threats, things like ill intent and aggression also triggered it, albeit more subtly. Even if the aggression wasn't directed at them they still felt it, their systems warning them to stay away from the particular area or situation. But despite the way the two other mechs had spoken to each other neither of them had felt aggressive in it.

Arc paused and turned, looking back between the two larger mechs a bit puzzled. "You don't really mean what you say to each other, do you?" they asked without even thinking about it. "You act like you hate eachother but-" As soon as they realized what they were doing they turned away again and kept moving towards the exit, a bit more quickly now though not at a run or anything. It probably wasn't their place to ask such a thing and they didn't want to anger the other two but sometimes their curiosity really did get the better of them.