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The creators of the tiny sparkling looked at each other proudly, cradling the body gently. The male mech said to the femme, "Well, Arclight my dear, we finally have the child we longed for."
"And he's beautiful." Arclight breathed, holding the sparkling close.
The doctor smiled as he finished mixing up the special energon to feed the child. "I ran a systems check. Their was no glitch to be seen so far, so I think it's safe to take him home."
The two nodded, and the male mech paid the doctor. The sparkling onlined his optics for the first time, to the two, giant faces that was above him. And clicked softly.
"That's odd." The doctor murmured, frowning slightly. "Usually they're laughing or wailing their heads off by now."
The sparkling clicked again, its hand slowly reaching out. Arclight wrapped her own hand around it, and the sparkling let off a shriek that made all bots within hearing range jump.
The doctor hastily took the sparkling away from the distraught femme, running a few more tests. "Very well. It seems that he simply has a much more sensitive sensor net then most sparklings. I would suggest from holding him more then possible. You might accidentally hurt him."
"B-but al-all I-I d-did was wrap my hand around his!" Arclight stammered, optics wide. The idea of hurting her own sparkling was repulsive.
"I know. But his sensor net is sensitive enough that it would be like a vise." The doctor said sympathetically. "Oh certainly you can pick him up, but I suggest that you don't rub him or bounce him."
Arclight shot a helpless look at her mate. He smiled gently, and took her hand. "All right." She said, slightly reluctantly. All of her dreams of tickling and playing with her child flew out of her CPU. "We won't. Stardream and I won't."
Stardream took her by the shoulders as he said softly, "Don't worry. We'll have more children later."
"Dear, we could only barely afford this one." Arclight said with a slight smile. "I don't think we'll be getting a new one anytime soon."
"Have you thought of a name?"
"Red Alert. His name is to be Red Alert."
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Arclight smiled at Red Alert, holding up a specially brewed energon cube. "Ready for Sparkling school?"
Red Alert looked up at her with dark optics, and then back down at the floor, frowning slightly. Arclight ignored the frown. Red Alert was usually frowning, so it had simply become a matter of life that he would frown.
Stardream called out, "Well, Arclight, are you ready?"
"Yes, and so is Red Alert."
Again, Red Alert seemed about to speak, but he shifted uneasily and said nothing. Arclight bent down to him, and asked worriedly, "Is everything ok honey?"
Red Alert nodded, his foot making little circles on the hard, iron floor. Then he glanced up. "I don't want to go."
"Don't worry Red, everything will be alright. You'll get to play with others your age now." Red Alert's frown simply grew deeper, and he stared back through troubled optics. "And you'll get to learn so many new things."
Red Alert silently followed his mother as they stepped out into the city. Neighbors and friends greeted her cheerfully. Red Alert they ignored. He had always been quiet, and was usually overlooked.
Red Alert looked up at Arclight, and back down at the floor. The little voice inside his head was telling him that this school business was just a cover-up. When he saw the tall, grim building, it confirmed it for him. He began screaming.
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Arclight felt the spark nearly drop right out of her chaises as she stared at the doctor. "He has a glitch?"
The doctor sighed, and nodded. "Paranoia to be exact. It's not something we can erase from his CPU either. It clutches to every thought. If we were to do that, we might wipe his entire CPU."
Arclight took a deep breath, and looked at Stardream. He smiled and squeezed her hand. "We'll work through this."
"Yes, you'll want to start getting him to a psychiatrist. Otherwise it'll grow."
The two nodded, and silently left with Red Alert. The doctor watched them go, and shook his head. "Poor folks. Glitches never completely leave."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Red Alert looked up at his parent, frowning slightly. He knew he had done something wrong. He just wasn't sure what. The little voice in his head whispered, It's because of you. They don't want you anymore. Red Alert brushed that thought away, it was impossible.
His creators did want him. They told him that every day. Every day? Sneered the voice, They haven't said that since last eighteen recharge cycles! Red Alert again brushed the thought away.
Momma and Poppa had been busy lately. It wasn't his fault that they no longer had enough time to tuck him into bed. Besides, with them gone and working so much, he got more and more time to himself. He could play wherever he wanted.
Red Alert grimaced slightly at the thought of the ancient sewers that were below ground. He had nearly been caught by the acid that ran through it. He still had a slight mark from this encounter, unseen by his creators.
Red Alert looked up to Arclight, and took her hand lightly. "Did I do something bad?" He asked, worried.
Arclight stopped, and looked around. She gently squeezed his hand back, despite the fact that she wasn't supposed to. "No, no. You did nothing wrong. I'll tell you when we get home."
Red Alert looked back at the ground. He remembered the stares he had gotten when he had started screaming. He was silent the rest of the tip back home.
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"You see my dear, we can't support you. Not with a glitch." Red Alert stared in bafflement at Arclight. She wasn't making any sense.
"So, you are going have to be raised by a sparkling home, until you can get over your glitch."
Red Alert spoke for the first time that entire night. "B-but the voices in my CPU are good, right?"
"No. They're horrible. You must get rid of them."
Red Alert stared at her as if she was going glitchy on him. Arclight continued as if he had never spoken. "It's just for a short time, ok? Until you can get your glitch under control, and we can afford it."
"Promise you'll come to get me?"
"Promise."
0o0o0o0o0o
Red Alert on-lined with a click, his breath coming fast. It had been vorns since he had dreamed about his creators. The youngling curled into a small ball, and sighed. They're not coming back.
Red Alert flipped to his other side, gazing out over onto the city. They lied. They're never coming back. Red Alert drifted back to sleep, at last taking comfort in the cold truth. They weren't coming back, and he was free to do what he wanted.
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How's that for a sad beginning? Don't worry, next chapter our favorite fire truck appears.