Blindsided by RiverAcantha
Disclaimer:All Transformer characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just writing for fun and for a friend. To said friend & readers: I hope you enjoy!
Warning: Rated T. Implied slash/pre-slash.
Author: Please pardon my lack of writing skills, i.e. grammar & spelling. If mistakes are seen please disregard them, this is a one shot and I don't intend on fixing any minor mistakes. Also this is my first TF fanfic so don't be surprised if there are errors in the characters and their behaviors and such.
"Hey, have you noticed something odd about Red?" Inferno stopped what he was doing when he saw Red Alert looking around at a corner, optics scanning the floor.
"Like what?" Smokescreen stopped too and looked at where Red was hiding.
"Well… isn't he little more on edge…?"
"Oh yeah? You think so?"
"…"
Inferno was still staring at Red, concern forcing his face into a frown.
"Yeah… he tripped over his own feet, turning, when I called out his name yesterday…"
Smokescreen saw this and knowing how protective Inferno was with Red's well-being, he had to step in before Inferno trips over himself worrying. "C'mon, Inferno, he's always like that."
This only made Inferno glare at him.
"Seriously, Red's just about, how do the humans say it? Jump out of his skin?"
"C'mon man, he's being his paranoid self. Now can we finish this? We need to send in this report to Prowl."
It's quiet… too quiet… oh Primus, why is it so quiet?
Red Alert was already having a bad day; first there was a crash in the security system and the lock at each entrance and exit way simultaneously burst into flame (which he had to correct immediately, "the Decepticons were at hand!") then after fixing those problems, Red found he had lost his datapad ("Oh Primus, WHERE IS IT?") and now he was out looking for it, retracing his steps. It was all the while searching that he felt a prickling feeling of being watched—watching his every move.
This would explain why he was stopping every now and then, leering into the loom of dark corners and over his shoulder. Red was waiting for something to happen, waiting for the culprit to jump out and—
"What do you want from me?" Red jumped and whipped around, his vocal pitch tuning up into a near screech. He was slowly inching backwards away from the gloom. Forget his datapad; he had to find his sanity, however little.
His cooling fans were racing faster now; he felt his processor working to find a way out, his optics working just as hard, scanning his surroundings. And then there it was; an exit from this nightmare. He saw Jazz walking in the distant, bobbing his head to his latest mixed tunes, and called out for him.
Jazz stopped short and looked in the direction of the cry. Red Alert couldn't look anymore skittish, his optics was bright; almost cyan, and his chassis was shuddering as he made his way towards Jazz.
"Hey Red, what's up?" Jazz was a little worried now that Red came closer from the gloom. "Hey man, are you alright? You look more— eh, never mind. Are you alright though?"
Red was now clinging to his sides, his frame bowing, his legs bent; the only thing that was keeping him from doubling over was Jazz's hands on his shoulders. Then suddenly sparks were shooting from underneath Red Alert's breast plate and Jazz was starting to panic.
"Red! Calm down! C'mon man!" Jazz was still holding onto Red, but now also looking around for nearby bots before his visor brightened. "Ah! Mirage! Over here, need a little help here!"
"Where's Red Alert? Slag it, what happened to him?"
"Inferno, calm down; I don't want another bot short circuiting on me." Ratchet scowled, bent over Red Alert's body.
"Is he…" Piped a quiet voice.
"Don't be a glitchhead, 'Bee—he's recharging." A moment later, Ratchet turned to Jazz after putting away his tools. "So, what happened exactly?"
"I don't know. I was just going to find Optimus with my report when Red called out my name. I turned and saw him looking like he's gonna shoot anything that moved. Next thing I knew he was heating up and then…" Jazz made a gesture towards Red's supine body. "Though I was lucky Mirage was around." Jazz turned to the Autobot, who was standing by the entrance, and grinned. "Thanks man."
"Hn."
"Alright, out! Go back to your posts. Go on, out of my med bay. And no, Inferno, you cannot stay—out!"
"Slag it! This is getting out of control! I'm above this! … However, it was partly my fault… This is bad. Why is this happening to me? Why is he—slag! Primus, why is this happening to me? Why now?"
The frustrated bot stopped his pacing only to march towards his destination, his face was set and he was determined to rid himself of these—feelings— Primus, just the word passing through his processor was ridiculous.
And ridiculous it was, he was not a bot driven by feelings like some, no, he was the logical kind, the one that would talk things out rather than running head long into anything. He was brought up to see the big picture, trained only to fight when necessary, taught to negotiate if possible. But this, whatever this was, was not something he dealt with before. And let's just say he had dealt with the worst of things; false accusation, near death and death experiences, being brain-washed, used against his own will, sticking his neck out for the Autobots only to be called traitor. Those things he can handle, he can handle these things only because it was for the greater good; he was 'taking one for the team'. Sure he was ridiculed some times but the ends justified the means. Those things he can handle, but not this.
This was new to him and he want out. He didn't ask for this to happen to him, especially not when a war was still raging on out there against the 'Cons.
"Slag…" He stopped outside the med bay, he knew he had to take some precautions; he didn't want to be caught doing this. He activated his electro-disruptor and made his way in.
He could see Ratchet hunched over his work desk, tinkering away, under some light on his datapad. The only other light lit was one above Red Alert's still body, both lights were dim but still good enough for him to see. He quickly made his way to Red and stopped just as abruptly as coming here. He didn't know what to do next. He was really upset with the unsettlement of his objectives.
For a whole two minutes, all he did was stare at Red. From there his optics trailed down and took in small details; there was a couple of minor scorch marks around Red's chest plate, his cooling fans were humming softly underneath, his shoulders and arms were lined with dark marks, showing how far the sparks reached. There was a twitch innate Red's right servo, curling then uncurling, relaxed.
There was a swell of air in his fans, holding it in before it was released in a rush, he felt empty and rather cold. He kept on staring at Red. He turned to leave when he felt something hold onto him. He looked down and saw black servo on top his own. He quickly looked up and saw Red's optics blinking on slowly, about to fully wake. He made a move to pull his servo from Red's captive grip but Red only held on steadfast.
Ah slag…
Red was now looking at him, even in this mode, Red was looking at him right in the optics as if he wasn't invisible. It was rather disquieting. Red must have felt his discomfort; after a minute Red nodded and let go, going back into recharge.
He stood there for a while longer, a little disturbed by Red's glowing optics, and then he gave off a little wiring hiss before leaving; retreating into his quarters.
He couldn't fall into recharge at all that cycle.
Apparently the shock Red Alert took did quite the number on his system; it was bad enough to keep Red in recharge for the next two cycles, and when he rebooted on the third, Red couldn't recall anything after short circuiting. The nightly visits were erased from his memory chip.
This perked Ratchet's attention and he insisted that Red Alert stay ("Red, you are going to stay here for a while longer—get your aft back on the table."), but Red argued that he had to tend to his security post and when Optimus was about to agree, Ratchet quickly shot down any disagreements and filed everyone from his work space. He even dared them to step inside, whilst handling his sharp tools with a sinister glint in his optics. Even Ironhide cowered a little (though he'll never admit it). Unfortunately for Red, everybot ran for the sake of being online another cycle, leaving him at the mercy of Ratchet.
Optimus Prime promised Ratchet three days but after that Red Alert was to be discharged immediately.
Under the careful inspection of their resident medic, and a little help from Perceptor, they were determined to find out why, as of late, was Red Alert more paranoid than usual, short-circuited when nothing had happen for a long while (no sightings of the 'Cons) and then suddenly come out of static recharge as 'normal' as can be.
On the first day of the two's intensive watch and care, they found Red's Spark quiet and at peace, almost humming as soundly as his cooling fans—low and steady; his processor and his usual paranoia has calm a little; surfacing for just a moment before settling again. Ratchet, Perceptor and Red Alert retired into recharge that cycle, perplexed but nonetheless intrigued.
The second day was much the same, only this time, Ratchet noticed something odd during one of his late cycles (working and whatnot): Red would lie in recharge until blinking online for a minute or ten, staring up at the ceiling before going into recharge again for the rest of the cycle.
The next day, when Ratchet shared this information with Perceptor and Red Alert, the look of curiosity and mild concern were their respective reactions, and the fact that Red Alert was completely ignorant of such a thing happening was also made aware. Ratchet immediately asked (read: demanded) a couple of more days from Optimus, and with the backing of Perceptor and Red Alert's insistence, they were granted time.
The Autobots had already retired to their quarters when it happened again. Ratchet saw (from his dark corner, feigning sleep) Red Alert's optics blinking and shuttering until it was the only light lit. His blue optics were staring, unwavering at ceiling above, before, after three whole minutes, his optics shuttered offline. Ratchet watched Red's prone body for a moment before retiring himself.
However, all the while observing, Ratchet missed the subtle movement of Red's servo, shifting from beside his body to floating in mid-air and being placed back by his side gentle at the end of his wake.
For the next couple of days, the same pattern made itself apparent. By the last day, after gathering their information together, they have come to a semi-mutual conclusion: Red Alert had a 'Guardian Angel'. This conclusion was only semi-mutual since, as Perceptor kept repeating, "It's not scientifically possible let alone possible in any sense!" and due to Red Alert's lack of response to the conclusion. However unlikely, Ratchet was most stubbornly firm with it; he said it would explain the unusual calm in place of Red's paranoia; the odd wakes so late in the cycle; Red Alert's tranquil demeanor alone was setting off alarms.
According to Spike, these 'Guardian Angels' were these heavenly beings, invisible to all but their charge, who knows everything about their ward. These angels were assigned to one charge at a time, and come to their intended only when they are in distress to protect them and guide them.
To Ratchet, this situation kind of fit the bill.
They shared this with Optimus, who displayed great interest, and with Jazz ("Wish I'd been there to help out."), Prowl (it's important for those in command to know, anyway) and Inferno (for his blatant worry for Red).
The next day, Red Alert was released from Ratchet's care and went back to his security post. Everything was different now, well, not so much… The only thing that really changed was the transformation of Red's day and night behavior… During the days after his—eh…—meltdown and the impact it had on him afterwards, Red was even more so on alert (no pun intended) during the days then ever before, even more paranoid. Afterwards, when the 'bots were in recharge, Red became more settled and calm, as if his glitch wasn't a factor anymore. Nowadays, the Autobots had to work with two extremes of Red Alert's personality.
Aside from that, ever since the incident, Red's guardian angel visited every night, invisible to the naked eye, advanced optics, and visor. It was due to these visits that calm Red's extreme paranoia, it was the anticipation of his guardian angel visiting him that settled Red's extreme personality.
It was thanks to this guardian angel that Inferno was even more so hell bent on exposing this 'angel sent from above'.
Inferno had been studying everybot he didn't completely trust and those bots were, not surprisingly, just Mirage. There wasn't much love lost between most Autobots and Mirage; even though they all 'trust' him, there was just this little bug inside them that would jump at Mirage and brand him traitor if there was one little breach in security or if there was a leak of information or any if they were lead into an unfortunate situation. The first bot that would be suspect of betrayal was Mirage. Of course there were some bots that try, very hard, to push aside Mirage's desire to consort and make peace with the 'Cons and see him as a true ally and Autobot, however few.
It's not to say that Inferno was after Mirage only, no—well, not really… mostly Mirage but when anything has something to do with Red, Inferno would be one of the first to jump in the line of fire to protect him; with Red, Inferno would become a mother cheetah to her cubs and be suspicious of any other than herself (Inferno) and her cubs (Red Alert). It was just that Mirage would be the first on his list to be suspicious of. That's all.
It's to even say that it was impulse that made the immediate enemy, among the Autobots, Mirage.
Now, Inferno, being the caring friend he was to Red, had become suspicious of an 'angel' coming to visit Red at night, all alone, vulnerable to surprises, especially half asleep. Smokescreen had, multiple times, stressed how Red's 'guardian angel' wasn't going to do harm.
"If this angel really wanted to hurt Red, he would have done it already."
But Inferno was having none of that.
"Hey Red, you're awfully energetic today." Inferno said, seating himself beside the smaller bot.
"I guess so…"
"What's up…? Is something the matter?"
"No… It's just… I really want to see my guardian angel… I mean, be awake to see him, and not just scarcely feel his presence. I don't ever remember seeing him and when I asked, Perceptor said my memory chip is blank during those lost moments." Red Alert said and took a sip from his can of liquid energon.
"So you are curious… I want to know who this angel is too. Don't you think it's suspicious that he won't let you download his image? Probably not even speak to you? He's probably binding his time before he strikes. It would make sense, seeing as you are our head of security. If you were taken down…you can't trust this angel, Red. He's no better than a 'Con! Sneaking around… he's plotting something… That slagging sneak, he's just like Mirage! Playing the angel but really, underneath it all he's just a lying, no-good, slagger! He—"
"Alright! Sure all of this is kinda suspicious, but—"
"Did you hear that?"
"It was just a static. See?" Red pointed to one of his surveillance screens. "There's a bit of a glitch I've been still trying to fix. I think there's something disrupting the airwaves—or something…"
"But it sounded more like—!"
"Inferno, calm down! I wouldn't worry too much; I'll fix the computer glitch and leave my angel alone; you're way too worked up about it, he's not going to hurt me." Red turned from his wall of surveillance screens, looked at Inferno and smiled, "He's just watching over me is all." He chuckled, "You worry too much. You all worry too much, I'm okay."
"…No, they don't worry enough…"
"You worry too much Inferno, I'm alright; you know I can take care of myself. And if anything, I'll confront him." Red said, optics still glued to the screens in front, with a hint of contentment.
"…Fine, just be careful. We don't know what the angel's real intentions are…" Inferno said and stood up. "C'mon, it's time to recharge."
That night, Red was charged up and was ready to stay up the whole night; he had taken in more fuel than usual. In his bunk he waited for a chance at meeting his angel. Time ticked by and before Red knew it, the sun had risen and he was left with a cold ache of morning chills and a hollow feeling where his Spark laid.
That morning wasn't like the other mornings before; that morning, Red ignored everything and anything that came into contact, didn't refuel himself, was completely blind of his surrounds and threw himself into his work. He had the entrance to his security station locked up until the end of the day. He then locked himself up in his bunk and stayed awake that night too.
This became a loop sequence for Red and immediately the Autobots picked it up. They were all concerned for Red and tried to get him talking but all ended in failure. Optimus couldn't get much out of Red (not to mention the lack of time to actually sit him down to talk), Prowl tried but was shot down immediately (having a door slammed in his face was answer enough), Jazz wasn't with much luck either (despite the natural allure of coming to Jazz whenever the bots needed someone to talk to), not even Inferno could get Red to talk.
The only being that could possibly get to Red was his guardian angel, but alas, he was nowhere to be found.
That night, Red stared into space, his optics were a dull steel blue. He knew nothing good lasts. He should have known it was the same for him.
No far from where the rest of the Autobots recharged, a lone bot was sitting in his bunk, contemplating his next actions. He, along with the rest of the Autobots, has seen the change in Red Alert's behavior and they were all concerned. He was too—probably one of the most. He couldn't explain it but he feels…at fault, and rightly so—it was his fault to begin with. Everything he did, from Red's accident leading up to all of his behavioral alterations. It was all on him. It started with him and it will end with him. He was going to fix it—fix Red.
The spy stealthy made his way towards Red's bunk door, activated his invisibility mode and slipped inside. He wasn't a spy for nothing; he had to know the layout of the places he would scope, he had to know when and where to lay about spying. This mission he assigned himself was no different; he knew the ins and outs of the base. Part of his job meant breaking into the base every now and then to test their security.
The bot stepped inside and moved towards the berth, taking out his datapad and a contraption similar to a stun gun. He connected the two devices and hovered over Red Alert's body. Even in the dim lighting he could see the dull hue of Red's paint job and a slit of pale blue optics, fighting the need to recharge. Red was losing the battle.
"Let go."
At the sound of his voice, Red's servo twitched; his optics blinking. Red made a move to speak.
"Good bye, Red Alert."
The air rippled and twisted for a second before Mirage stood in view. His datapad in one servo and the other contraption sticking out of Red's side. The tube connecting the two was glowing a faint green, pulsing like a heart and in sync to the rhyme of Red's Spark.
Mirage looked on for a moment before pressing a button on his datapad. Red Alert shook for a second then didn't move at all. His optics blanked out and close, head slump to one side, his cooling fan barely notable in the dead quiet. His chassis grew cool and his limbs sprawl.
After a brief second, Mirage set to work right away. He checked Red Alert's structure and saw on his datapad that Red Alert was near off-lining. Mirage had to keep Red's processor and hard drive working to a minimum. He detached the end connecting to Red's side and lodged it onside his head and with a click of a button, flash memories were erased and rewritten to fill in some gaps.
15 human minutes had already past but to Mirage it seemed like eternity. He could only hope when he's finished that Red would go back to normal. He had worked on this for a while now; finding out how uncomfortable Red Alert was, being watched, and then seeing the influence of his 'guardian angel' had, leaving him. Mirage was set on erasing and replacing memories of those weeks. Red Alert would be better off without them. The Autobots would be better without the memories of those weeks as well, which was why he was going to do the same thing to the others. He had it all set and ready.
Mirage looked down at his datapad and saw the process was nearly done. He let a grim smile appear upon his face. It was better this way…
Suddenly, his datapad started beeping and whining. Something was wrong. Mirage saw the loading bar drop from 89% to 50%. The process and fake memories were draining and being erased in itself. Then a red flashing screen popped up—'detecting glitch' it said. Mirage cursed to himself. He was hoping that Red's glitch wouldn't interfere and that it was dormant enough to do nothing. He moved to deactivate and unplug the connection but it held strong. It was only until the glitch had terminated the invading memories that the connection snapped loose.
Mirage stood there, staring from his datapad to Red Alert's face. He saw the slightest twitch in Red's left servo and from there his whole functions were building up and working at moderate speed. Red Alert's glitch was working harder now, forcing electric currents through its host's body. Mirage looked on, inquiry written behind his optics; he was so spellbound he didn't notice the electric sparks and shocks running from Red to his datapad. It shocks stung him and Mirage dropped his datapad. His servo was scratched and burnt. But his attention was elsewhere; Mirage zoned his full attention to the black servo that laid on his.
Mirage looked up from the black servo that held him to the Autobot before him. Red Alert was fully awake. Mirage was caught, he had to leave. Mirage would be killed on spot if the other Autobots knew what he tried on Red and plan to do on them. There would be no trial, no chance to plea. He had to go, run from this place. Call him a coward, he's been called worse.
He tugged his servo away but Red only held on harder. Similar to that first night… No! He had to go. Leave here. Now. Mirage jerked his servo back harder, even with the help of his other servo did nothing to loosen Red's grip. Red was not letting go. Mirage was getting tired of the blank stare from the other, restless at the tight grip Red had on him. Agitated even, by the feeling of Red's hand on his and what the simple touch was doing to him. He felt he was going to crumble under Red's blue gaze, so guilty under Red's stare. But he didn't break luckily. Not in front of Red. Never, he vows, not to Red, or anybot else!
"…Mirage?"
And that did it. His name spoken from Red Alert's hush audial broke his every resolve. He can't run away now. He was spellbound to right his mistakes.
"All this time… it was you?"
Mirage didn't know whether he flinched from the way Red said you or for being affected at all. He was appalled at himself. How could he let this—whatever this was—carry on for so long? This unhealthy obsession was going overboard; moments of rare peace would be filled with the curious pondering of Red Alert earlier on. It's been, in human time, two months, three weeks, fourteen—no, make that fifteen days, and two point five hours, since this fascination reared its head into his life. It's gone long enough now, he must end this.
"All those times…"
Where does he even start to end this though?
"…the staring…"
Should he first explain how it first began?
"…you were following me!"
Slag it
"And those visits… you were my guardian angel?" It was then that Red Alert finally took in his surrounds and notices the wires hooked up to him. "W-what's all this? What were you trying to do?"
"Yes, it was all me. I apologize for putting strains on your system, Red Alert. You don't have to forgive me but let's put this behind us." He was looking straight at Red Alert now. He was not going to lose himself in this shameful moment. He was going to walk out of this with as much of his dignity in tact, or at least what's left of it.
Mirage turn to leave when Red Alert took hold of his arm; holding him still, and although Mirage can't see Red's face he knew the expression upon it. "Are you just going to leave without an explanation?"
"Isn't it obvious? I was trying to wipe out your memory, along with the other Autobots. It would have all worked out if it weren't for you and your good-for-nothing glitch. Now if you don't mind, I have to get going. Goodbye Red Alert."
"That- That's pathetic, even for you."
"…"
"T-that's the most cowardly thing you've ever done."
"Say that again, with more conviction. You sound depressing." Mirage turned to look at Red with a smirk, "You look pathetic. I always wondered how you even landed Head Security when you're so troubled and insecure of yourself." Mirage shook his arm from captivity and walked to the entrance. "Until next time little one."
The next dawn approached with a flurry of confused and anxious bots crowding around the last to see Mirage. All were sprouting the same questions and accusations. It became evident that Mirage had planned to betray them and leave, only this time for good.
"That slagging sneak! I knew there was something off with him! Should have kicked his aft out of here the first time he defended the 'Cons!"
"Ironhide, calm down; what's done is done." Optimus Prime said with a huff before turning his attention to main concern. "Did he say anything else before leaving, Red Alert?"
"…No."
"Alright, so first off…"
Red had explained what happened the night before. Told the bots what Mirage had planned and that he left without another word. He knew he should have lied but Red couldn't find it in himself to mention Mirage's promise of a next meeting… It would be his secret.
He can only hope that it's a promise that Mirage would keep.