Hmm, to all those who PM'd me with oneshot ideas, I'm sorry, but I can't get on my email… But yeah, this is how Inferno would find out about Red Alerts glitch, and why it's so aggravated.

SsSsSsSsSsSsSs

The second the twins came charging into his room, Ratchet knew very well that there was trouble. And that it seemed to be concern for someone else, for neither twin was hurt at all. His optics focused on them blearily as he rasped out, "What do you two want?"

"Umm, Ratchet, I think we caused a mech we know to umm…"

Ratchet sat up, "Is their energon pouring out of them at an incredible rate?"

"No, but-"

"THEN DON'T DISTURB ME!" Ratchet howled, feeling exhausted, tired and cranky. "It's one of my off days!"

"But we think they crashed!" Sideswipe said quickly, clearly agitated. "They've been staggering around, muttering like crazy, and nearly killed any who got near!"

Ratchet hissed in frustration as he got up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Red Alert heard them coming long before they got to the room. His sensitive auditory receptors caught the noise of their walking, and he spun, tensing. The room was completely empty, and he wasn't going down. Their was no way he was going to allow anyone to destroy him or sell him for spare parts-

The door hissed open, and Red Alert crouched, his gun unwaveringly rising up to point at the newcomer. Some small part of his CPU stopped him. It was a medic, and medics were untouchable.

He pulled back, stumbling slightly in his confusion.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When the mystery mech had pointed the gun at Ratchet, for a brief moment the medic had thought he was going to be shot. But then, something flashed in the mechs optics, and the Lamborghini stumbled back, still tense as a wire, but no longer quiet so willing to shoot.

Ratchet recycled air softly, glad that the mech apparently trusted medics just a little- he took a step foreword, and very nearly got shot.

Ratchet stared at the gun pointing directly at him, and forced himself to calm down. "Stop that right now." He snarled, one hand slowly clenching a wrench. He would get only one shot at the mech, and that was it.

The mech tensed even further, and his optics darted towards the wrench. Crud. He's already spotted that wrench. Well, the next best thing to do would be to…

With no warning at all, Ratchet leapt foreword, bringing his wrench down had on the mechs helm. It clanged off the helmet eerily, and the mech dropped like a stone. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker. Because you two did this, you get to carry him to the med-bay."

The twins grumbled as Sideswipe easily hoisted him up. They passed by several groups of mechs, who were torn between curiosity and fear. Whispers grew as they walked, and Ratchets back grew stiff as he listened to them.

"Red Alert? Are you sure? I heard that he-"

"-A glitch, eww, what are they doing here?"

"-are you sure that he's a decepticon?"

"I bet you that he really is a glitch-"

"I heard that he didn't even care when his creators die!"

The whispers and muttering grew as Ratchet listened with half a auditory receptor. huh, I wonder why everyone seems to hate him so much?

0o0o0o0o0o0

Red Alert stirred on the table, making Ratchet curse him heavily and roundly. One optic onlined slowly, as Red Alert listened to Ratchet, then slowly he asked, "What happened?"

"You glitched. The twins set up a prank that badly jolted your CPU, and your glitch came back full blast." Ratchet grumbled, giving Red Alerts helm a slight, soft whack. "You really can't take a break can you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I looked into your CPU. Nasty piece the Decepticons did. My question is why you haven't told anyone."

A hollow laugh escaped Red Alerts lips, as he stared at Ratchet. "And be experimented on further? No thanks."

Ratchet grunted, but he had to agree with Red Alert. If he told, the possibility of the higher ups ordering him to be further experimented on would quiet possibly go up. "It's amazing you aren't completely fried yet." Ratchet said conversationally. "But, I need you to stay here on this bunk for another couple of breems while I wipe the information off the computer. After all, it wouldn't do for someone to accidentally stumble over this."

Red Alert watched as Ratchet cleared off the data, and relaxed slightly. "Considering what the decepticons did to you, I'm surprised that you didn't shoot me on first sight."

"I think that they programmed me not to." Red Alert said softly, optics still on Ratchet warily. "Can you get rid of it?"

"Nope. Wouldn't dare. It's been so long if I tried everything you have would be fighting against me."

Red Alert nodded, sighing softly. His optics slowly offlined as he drifted into a light recharge, and Ratchet held still. He knew if he moved Red Alert would wake up glitched and he did not want to spend another few orns straightening out Red Alert's CPU.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ratchet smiled slightly as he watched Red Alert and Inferno pass by, Inferno talking avidly and Red Alert listening closely. It had been vorns since he had met Red alert, and since Red Alert had become part of the Ark, but still, he had at first been stunned by the trust that Red Alert had placed in the fire trucks hands…until he realized that there was no such thing as a Decepticon fire truck. Oh certainly they had firefighters, but those were distinctly different.

Besides, Inferno held an aura about him that seemed to captivate Red Alert.

Ratchet watched them pass, when suddenly he had to know. "Red Alert, did you tell Inferno about that yet?" He asked, unexpectedly.

Red Alert froze, as Inferno looked at his friend curiously. Ratchet mentally cursed himself as he realized too late that he should of asked that in the medbay. However, Inferno should know if they were to progress to the next level of friendship, and Red Alert knew that.

Red Alert shook his head, as Inferno stared hard. "No, he hasn't." Inferno confirmed, optics curious. "But I think that maybe he should."

"Inferno-"

"Don't you give me the line 'it's nothing' Red! Whenever you do that means it means a whole lot."

Red Alert looked at the ground, and mumbled, "It's not" defensively.

Inferno crossed his arms, one optic ridge raised. "Red, I can read ya like an open book." He said softly, "It's caused you a lot of pain."

Red Alert gave a pointed glare at Ratchet, who unhurriedly went his way. He passed by Jazz, and quickly stopped the mech. "Jazz. Don't you have a check up to go to?"

"Oh, Ratchet!" Jazz squeaked, suddenly nervous.

Now, understand, he wasn't a coward. No, he had placed bombs directly in Megatron's recharge bunk. But nothing ever, ever compared to Ratchet's checkups, and if you missed one, Ratchet was sure to make your next even more painful then necessary. So the Ark made it a point to regurally visit Ratchet, even if they didn't like to.

Even Prime had learned his lesson. So it was a very nervous Jazz who quickly ran over the last time he had visited Ratchet in his CPU. "Umm, no. I visited you just five orns-"

"We had a battle since then. Come with me."

"But, Prowl-" Jazz said quickly. Ratchet firmly dashed any small hope he might have had of using Prowls name as an excuse.

"Prowl told me that if he saw you in the next three orns he'd personally throw you into space for disturbing him too often." Jazz wilted slightly, just as the twins came casually strolling by.

"Where do you two think you're going!" Ratchet barked.

They jumped, and turned fast staring at Ratchet. "We were going to the cafeteria-" Sideswipe began, when Ratchet quickly came up with the excuse to give Red Alert and Inferno the needed time to work out the newest development. "Too bad. I'm calling a mandatory inspection of all mechs."

"WHAT?!"

"Too bad. You lot are obviously not taking care of yourselves, and I might as well get you all over with soon."

"Alright, then how about I go get Red Alert and Inferno?" Jazz asked quickly. "I got a message they were headed down that way."

Ratchets optics flashed. "No, I think their quiet busy right now."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Inferno took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that yelling at Red Alert would do nothing. But still, he really wanted to know. Red Alert shifted from foot to foot, looking about ready run.

"Red." A twitch. "Red, what was Ratchet talking about back there?"

Red Alert stammered something, looking away. A sudden, terrible thought seized Inferno. "He wasn't talking about a spark mate, was he?"

Red Alert quickly shook his head, and Inferno breathed an internal sigh of relief. He didn't know if he could take it if Red Alert announced that he was taken. "So, what then?"

Red Alert looked at the floor, and mumbled fast. "I have a glitch."

"What?" Inferno didn't think he herd correctly. Red Alert, have a glitch? Red Alert nodded miserably. "Red, surely not-"

"I do. I have one of paranoia." Red Alert said flatly.

"And why didn't you tell me before?" Inferno demanded, sudden anger rising up in him.

Red Alert looked away, ashamed. "I-I I just…"

Infernos anger faded away quickly, looking at the completely miserable Red Alert. He knew what courage it must of taken for Red Alert to say such a thing, and personally he wondered if he could ever admit that himself. "Ah well." He shrugged, and looked down at Red Alert. "Were you ever planning on telling me?"

"Yes, just… later." Later, when I wasn't afraid, or when I had my glitch banished. Red Alert thought, but he didn't say it out loud.

He staggered heavily when Inferno lightly slapped his back. He hissed in pain, softly massaging his damaged nerve wires, glaring at the fire truck, who smiled innocently back. "C'mon Red. We still have an energon cube to get."

Red Alert nodded, and didn't glance at his friend for the rest of the walk to the cafeteria.

0o0o0o0o0o0

By the time they got to the cafeteria, Red Alert was desperately hoping that it was full. This was unusual to be sure, but Inferno hadn't said a word, and Red Alert wondered if Inferno was ashamed of being friends with a glitch.

The door slid open to the entire cafeteria empty. "Wonder what happened?" Inferno said aloud, glancing around. Red Alert shrugged uncomfortably, and made a beeline for the machines on the wall that dispensed the energon. He looked it over, swiftly choosing and picking out a cube. Inferno followed at a slightly slower pace, and suddenly bean humming.

Red Alert shot an odd glance at Inferno, wondering if decepticons had gotten into the programming of his best friend and reprogrammed him. Inferno chuckled at the odd look, and pointed at the wall. On it advertised a band that Jazz loved to play. Blaster hated the band, so the two of them would try to drown each other out, cranking up the volume of their speakers until Red Alert, Prime or Prowl would scream at them to shut it off, or turn it down.

Then it would go down, the other mechs breath a soft sigh of relief, and the fight between the two would once again escalate. It might end for a couple of orns when Red Alert would throw them in the brig, but Jazz and Blaster both refused to let the feud go, and the music would always invariably start up a little later.

Red Alert looked around, wondering which table Inferno would take, and wondering if he could get away with sitting at another table. Inferno evidently saw the plan, for he sat at a table, and patted the seat beside him. Red Alert hesitated for a split click, before realizing how ridiculous it seemed. He was in the room alone with Inferno. It wasn't like he could claim that he was taking the seat of another person.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ironhide grumbled to Bumblebee, "This just isn't right. Why would Ratchet suddenly call us out in the middle of the blue to give us checkups?"

"Knowing Ratchet, he probably wants to scare the sparks out of us." Bumblebee said softly, though his optics glinted with amusement.

"What I want to know is why Red Alert and Inferno aren't here."

"Ratchet said he had just checked up on them."

"Huh, I bet those two are having the time of their lives, while we have to wait here."

0o0o0o0o0o0

I bet that everyone else is out having fun. Inferno thought, his optics sidling over to look at Red Alert. Red Alert pretended not to notice the gaze, as he sipped gently at his energon. But Red Alert was tense as a spring, dispelling the illusion. Infernos gaze turned back to the energon in front of him, and unbidden the question came to his lips, "How did you become glitched?"

Red Alert paused mid-swallow, optics growing frighteningly large and distant. Inferno stared transfixed at his friend as a sudden change came over the security director. If Inferno had thought Red Alert had been tense before, it was like comparing a candle to a bonfire. Not even close.

He started shaking from the force of the memories, and Inferno regretted asking the question. "Wait, never mind Red!" He cried, panicked. "If you don't want to tell, or think about it, that's fine!"

Red Alert flinched at the sound of his voice, snapping out of his memories. "I've never talked about it Inferno." Red Alert said harshly. "Never."

"I can see why." Inferno murmured

Inferno worried what he was supposed to do as he looked at his still shivering friend. Slowly he wrapped an arm around Red Alert, murmuring, "Do you want to? It says telling a person what happened helps."

Red Alert hesitated, looking up at Inferno. Then, to Infernos complete and total surprise, the Lamborghini scooted closer. "Well Inferno, it started out a long time ago, I was sparked with the glitch, but it was much, much smaller. And then, the war came. My glitch became useful, but I never really thought about it, because nobody ever noticed. Then, one day, decepticons snuck aboard…."

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And what did the decepticons do? Well that depends on you, readers! Review and tell me! (don't PM me, because unfortunately, I can't log onto my email account. Stupid thing refuses to work, and I can't figure out WHY!)