Disclaimer: Don't own TF, never will. Alpha, Omega, Kit are mine. Hammertread, Cap, Cable, Driveby, Beacon, Jade and some others are Lady StarScream's. Putting this up here at her request.
Alpha bit her lip to try to keep from pacing. Key word there. Try. The femme couldn't stop herself as she paced the length of the room she and her twin brother, Omega, shared. She felt warm energon drip from her lip and finally stopped biting it. Primus, she was so worried about her friend! Why did all this have to happen? Why did he go back to the Decepticons? Alpha shook her head and sighed as she continued to pace.
When her friend, Hammertread, had gone back to the Decepticons, with her in tow as his captive, life went from bad…to worse for her. First, she got tortured by StarScream, which is never fun. Second, once she finally managed to escape, some psycho werewolf planted a chip in her spark, causing pain to her whenever he pushed a button. However, her brother had managed to get that out. Third, when they were fighting Decepticons, Alpha ended up fighting Hammertread and he, well, to put it mildly, wasn't himself. He called her a 'psychic-glitch' and claimed that she had 'put false memories into his head'. It would later be known that his memory had been wiped clean by Megatron thanks to the 'fly-cam' built by Driveby's teammates.
Now, they had captured, not only Hammertread, but Orcus as well, who had plunged the 'controllers' into Alpha, Jazz, and Jade's sparks. Luckily, though, they had all been removed. What was really worrying Alpha, though, was the fact that they weren't sure if they could get Hammertread's memories back. Sure, they had already gotten a plan. A friend of the Autobots', Indy, was coming to America from England where she was stationed to help break down the mental barriers that were blocking Hammertread's memories. Indy, like Alpha, was a psychic who would lend her powers to whoever needed them. Now, she was coming to help Hammertread despite her boyfriend, Klutch, who had tried Alpha, Hammertread, Driveby and her crew, and Jade for crimes against the Autobots, telling her she couldn't.
They had come so close to turning Orcus over to Indy and Hammertread getting his memories back that Alpha had a feeling something was going to go wrong, though she really hoped it didn't. After all, even though she fiercely denied it whenever her brother or others poked her about it, she cared for the big, grumpy 'I am not a spicy pickle' tank.
Alpha paused. She chuckled at that memory. Poor Hammertread had been tackle hugged by Kit around his waist. She yelled her hug cry 'Kimchee' and the tank wanted to know what it meant. Kimchee is a Korean dish, but, since it's served with pickles, Kit decided to tell him that it's a very spicy pickle. Hammertread growled and merely replied, "I am not a spicy pickle." Alpha laughed at that.
Shaking her head, Alpha found herself back in the present. She sighed and then jumped slightly when the door chime to her room rang. She answered it and saw the Autobot commander, Optimus Prime, standing in her doorway. The femme stood up strait. "Sir?"
Prime straitened up. He looked the femme over and couldn't help but sigh. It was no secret that she cared for Hammertread, though she denied it. "I thought I would inform you that Indy has agreed to come to help us, in order to recover Hammertread's memories." Here, he paused for a moment. He practically read Alpha's mind, knowing that femme couldn't help but think 'I knew that she would come. We talked through our minds'. He sighed and then continued, "Although, if he was to still claim loyalty to the Decepticons even after his memory is recovered, I will treat him as one. Do you understand?" He asked, looking at Alpha.
Said femme looked at the ground. She couldn't help but feel responsible for this. After all, had she not chased Hammertread when they met, she wouldn't have been captured, they wouldn't have been turned into humans and the chain of events to follow never would have happened. Alpha nodded slowly, never taking her optics from the floor. "Yes sir." She said softly, her emerald optics dulling slightly.
Prime nodded. "She'll be here this evening." He informed the femme, "I'll let you know when she arrives. You two may have some things to discuss." With that, he turned to walk out, sighing heavily again.
Alpha nodded. "Thanks, Prime." She added under her breath, "Primus, I hope he doesn't go back to being a Decepticon…I can't fight him knowing him knows who I am…"
"I hope he doesn't either, Alpha." Prime said to her softly over his shoulder as he left the room.
Alpha's emerald optics saddened and she leaned against her now closed door. She shook her head and smiled softly at the welcomed comforting touch of Omega's hand on her shoulder. "Hey bro…" She whispered.
"It'll be okay, sis." Omega said softly, smiling back at his sister, as he squeezed her shoulder warmly. If there was one thing a twin was good for, it was that. Helping the other out.
"I hope so, bro…" Alpha muttered softly as she squeezed her little brother's hand. The femme sighed and looked up at him. Omega wasn't wearing his visor for some reason and they locked optics. Emerald met frosty blue optics.
Omega toured his big sister's soul, which he knew by heart, and then pulled away. He leaned her head forwards and leaned forwards himself. The two touched foreheads and Omega smiled. "I know it will be, sis. I know it will be."
Meanwhile, in the Autobots' high security prison, the olive green, grumpy, snarky 'I am not a spicy pickle' tank, Hammertread, sat staring up at the ceiling of his cell, eyeing the square grating there. It had been only a few days since that psychic little glitch, Alpha, had drawn him away from the other Decepticons with an offer for him to get revenge on him, which he couldn't turn down. After all, she put false memories into his head and made him think that she was his friend and that she cared about him. Once he was out in the open, the many Autobots she had brought with her attacked him. He had almost killed her, too, before he was knocked out. He cursed, thinking he could have finally gotten revenge on the glitch.
Hammertread's attention turned to his 'guards'. They weren't really paying him any attention. He looked back up at the grating. It would be too small for him to fit through, but…
The tank shifted some and put his back to the bars of the cell next to him, "Psst!" He hissed into the cell, where Orcus was being held.
Orcus heard him and lifted a single dog-ear. He turned his head slightly so his red optics were looking at Hammertread. "What?" He whispered to the tank as he leaned back against the cell bars.
"Is there a little square grating in your cell?" Hammertread whispered back, making sure the Autobot guards didn't hear him.
Orcus thought it was an odd question, but looked up nonetheless. He saw the grating and nodded, his tail swishing slightly. "Yeah." He confirmed as he cracked his knuckles. He smirked. The tank had a plan and he knew it. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as Orcus thought him to be.
"It's a ventilation duct." The tank informed him as he made it look like he was leaning against the bars. The Autobots were none the wiser as he continued, "If you can get through it, you can get us out of here."
Orcus grinned. Did this tank actually think that, once free, he was going to risk his neck to try and get him out of here as well? Hmm…maybe he was as dumb as he had thought him to be. The white werewolf got to his feet and then made sure the Autobots weren't looking before he climbed through the grating. He swished his tail and then looked down before placing the grating back. "Thanks." He grinned before starting to leave.
"Hey!" Hammertread yelled. "You're supposed to get me out of here too!"
The Autobots heard that. Trailbreaker ran over to Orcus's cell and gasped. "He's escaped!" He yelled, pointing to the now empty cell.
"No-Good Turbo-Flea bitten wolf." Hammertread hissed, looking at the ventilation duct over his own cell. "COME BACK HERE, YOU TRAITOR!!" He roared up into the duct.
The three Autobot guards chased after the werewolf, but Trailbreaker stayed behind to watch after Hammertread. He smashed the alarm and then glared at Hammertread, as if saying 'you really thought that he was going to help you?' Hammertread growled at him and glared back at him, his optics like hot coals.
Prowl, Driveby's group, Cap, Cable, Driveby, and Bullet, along with Jade, were the first to reach the control room. They were greeted by a small army of human soldiers and the clicking of guns being cocked. For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the silent, almost spooky, control room until Cable leaned over and whispered, "What's going on?"
Indy's voice rang out from across the room, "Hold youah fiah." She commanded and the human soldiers slowly lowered their weapons. She walked up. "Allo." She smiled at the group.
About that time Alpha and Omega came barreling into the room and the group parted to let them through. Alpha stopped, but Omega wasn't quick enough and ended up running into his sister. Both fell flat on their faces on the floor and Alpha groaned, but looked up at Indy. "Heyas, Indy." She smiled as Jade and her group edged out of the room, leaving Alpha, Omega, Indy, Jade, Cap, Cable and Terrablast in the room. "Thanks for coming."
Indy nodded and then glanced at the door, almost nervously, as Autobots transformed and zoomed past. Prime walked up to her. "Why don't we go discuss things in my office?" He offered the femme, looking her in the optics.
Indy glanced at Alpha, "I'd rather like to speak to your…friend first." She said softly to Prime, though she was really talking to Alpha.
Alpha looked at Indy and figured, okay she rather knew, that she was talking about Hammertread, "HT, right?" She asked, blinking, "Okay. Follow me." She turned around and walked towards the brig, motioning for Indy to follow her.
Prime followed the two femmes, troops marching after them. In the holding cell area, Hammertread was grumbling something about traitorous Decepticons and traitorous Autobots, and a few uncomplimentary comments about the ancestry of both for several generations down the line. Alpha had to wince. He must have been pissed at Orcus for leaving him there to curse his own faction like that. She sighed, hoping that he wouldn't consider the Decepticons his faction anymore once they got his memories back. She really hoped so.
Trailbreaker glared at them from his desk, "It's about time you got here." He said gruffly, standing up. He sat back down once Prime told him to. In his voice, Alpha heard anger and annoyance. She couldn't help but growl slightly at him. He didn't know what was at risk. To him, an Ex-Decepticon that could turn on them at any moment. To her…a really good friend was at risk. Even Prime didn't understand, but Alpha didn't really expect him to.
The femme looked over at Hammertread and locked optics with him. She was forced to look away. In his optics, she didn't see the good friend she knew he was. She saw the murderous Decepticon that wanted nothing more than to rip her to pieces and every other Autobot he could get his hands on. "Well…there he is, Indy…" Alpha muttered, pointing her head towards Hammertread. "Now what?"
Hammertread saw them and sat up. He regarded all of the Autobots coolly, then glanced at the humans around Indy's feet. Something flashed across his forgotten memory…marching down the hall surrounded by human soldiers... one of them shocked him with a handheld tazer... a fight broke out...a blue mech standing beside Indy...him offering to pound him to bits for Alpha because he was being annoying...He glanced at Alpha.
Alpha locked optics with Hammertread again. Emerald optics met red optics and then emerald backed down. "Hey, Ht…" She murmured, looking at the ground. The femme then realized something humorous, "You know, if he keeps doing this and getting into trouble, he's gonna end up rentin' this cell as his part time home." She smirked, but it was empty.
Hammertread blinked at Alpha. Something in his mind knew her…not as the little psychic glitch he thought she was, but as something else. A friend, perhaps. Maybe she was right? No. He shook his head. She couldn't be right. "I know you…" Here, he looked away. "I think…" He muttered softly.
Alpha nodded. "You do, HT…" She replied softly, "You've got to remember me…" She looked at the floor and then added, in a quiet, begging tone, "Please…you've gotta…"
Indy sighed. She didn't think that Hammertread was really worth all this trouble. She thought that, once he had gotten his memories back, that he would go back to the Decepticons and not even look back at them. She figured this was all one big mistake, but she owed Alpha. "So, how are we going to get to him without him trying to rip us apart?" she asked the femme, looking at Hammertread.
Hammertread looked at her, then at Alpha again. He narrowed his optics and new that he was not going to let these two psychic glitches put false memories into his mind again. He was not going to let them trick him again. "If you think I'm about to let you put false memories into my head, you're wrong." He growled at them.
Suddenly, he remembered Alpha saying the same thing to Indy. Why?
"I'm just a psychic who lends her talents to whoevah needs them." Indy explained calmly, looking at him. The red sports car sensed his anger…and worry…and…no…it couldn't be…was there…fear in his red optics? No…she was just sensing things…
Trailbreaker got an idea and stood up behind them. "I might be able to offer some help. I can use my force field to hold him still, but not for very long." He offered the two femmes. He ignored the look Hammertread gave him that said, quite clearly 'You can try'.
Alpha looked at Hammertread, her emerald optics softly. "This is for your own good, HT..." She said softly as she clenched her fists nervously. The femme looked at Trailbreaker. "Do it. I can help with the force field if needed, using my psychic energy..." She offered. She was going to do anything to get Hammertread back to normal.
Trailbreaker nodded. He activated the force field, which forcibly shoved the huge, bulky tank against the wall. Hammertread growled as he tried to struggle against the force field's hold. Trailbreaker groaned and concentrated on keeping the force field in place, "You'd…better hurry…I don't know…how long…I can keep this…up…" He panted.
Alpha started to go over to help Trailbreaker with the field, but Indy stopped her. "Don't worry about the field." She said, motioning for Alpha to follow her. "Yoah memories of him should help."
Alpha nodded and followed her. The field clicked on after them, just incase Trailbreaker's field gave in. As they neared Hammertread, the tank moved his head to one side, "No…" He said, "Don't touch me!!" He started to wiggle against the field…
Alpha walked over to Hammertread and placed her hands on his cheeks. Tears brimmed her emerald optics, "Easy, Hammertread…I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." She said as she swallowed. The femme looked over at Indy. "Ready, Indy?"
Hammertread growled loudly, trying to resist as Indy put her hands over Alpha's. "No…let me go!" He howled, struggling even more. He whimpered slightly and started to shake, knowing he was helpless. And that scared him. One of his fears, and probably his only, was to be helpless. Not able to do anything to defend himself…at other's mercy…that scared him. That scared him terribly.
Alpha looked at the tank and tears ran down her cheeks from her emerald optics. "We're not going to hurt you, Hammertread." She promised. The femme added, "I never would." Softly as she started to help Indy remove the mental barriers that Megatron put in the mech's head, using his chip, which blocked his memories.
The field started to loose it's grip as the tank struggled and Hammertread moved a little from side to side. He roared, not wanting to believe it, and then theresistance in his mind only caused more pain, which made him angrier. He finally froze for a second, stunned, and then roared like a beast released from hell, and broke the field, throwing both femmes back onto their skid plates. He stomped over, eyes glowing like hell-coals, and grabbed Alpha by the upper arm, hauling her roughly to her feet His grip was so tight around her arm that the metal squeaked. He growled low in his vocalizer, and narrowed his optics. Right then, the tank looked even more scary and fierce than he had ever looked before.
Yoda: Y'all read. Now review. Or else.