IF only things were so simple in life. As I sit here, high on a cold, I couldn't help but think that. Just thought you should know. Dx Who knew hand sanitizer could be my best friend?
And I wanted to get myself a G1 Wheeljack transformer but every time I look on Ebay it makes me sad. I mean, it's like people scrapped him for parts! ToT I hope you like this little snippet, and I hope there aren't that many mistakes in it!
Summary: Tensions are high, and evil memories find a way to bleed into a certain Ex-Con's Processor, and the last thing he needs is his charge causing more problems…
This side story explains how Barricade earned his nickname, along with how Zackery got her bandana and why she never takes it off.
Warnings: Ratchet being Ratchet, along with some very dramatic memories.
Disclaimer: I Own Nuffing!
"I'm fairly disappointed in you, Zackery…"
Optimus Prime; leader of the Autobots, stood in one of the many hallways constructed beneath Diego Garcia with his arms crossed. His towering figure completely dwarfed the severely wounded 12 year old child standing before his feet.
Her black hair was riddled with grease and muck; the sling for her left arm was ripped; the bandages covering part of her head and left eye were slackened, and despite whatever pain she was in, Zackery stood as tall as she possibly could with her only visible blue eye blazing pure defiance...
Ratchet is not going to be happy about this…
"You could have been seriously harmed had we not found you."
You don't know that for sure, tin-can. Zackery mentally grouched. She was tired of being confined to the med-bay with Ratchet there, griping whenever he could about her condition. Samantha was hurt too. Why am I the only one stuck with The Hatchet while she gets to run around? It's not fair…
Of course, she would never say it out loud, let alone look the gentle metal giant in the optics when he spoke. Being around him always irritated her more than Bumblebee ever had. Maybe she was starting to adopt some of her Guardian's characteristics?
The thought alone was almost enough to lighten her mood.
"Ratchet had specifically given you instructions to stay within the medical ward until you were healed."
Which also means, 'stop running off and fritzing the medic'.
"Barricade was also very upset and has considered grounding you from the base."
'When you get back to the states, he's going to make a collar and chain you to a door.'
"What if the Decepticons had attacked, again?"
'You would have been a liability, again. We don't have the resources to be able to save you a second time.'
"Zackery, look at me please."
'Are you even listening?'
"I don't want to. Just kick me off base already and be done with it. It's obvious hardly anybody wants me here, anyways."
The Prime knew he had never been on good terms with the Witwicky child since her mother's death, and he understood the circumstances as to why. But being kidnapped by the Decepticons and nearly killed had put him, along with everyone else, on high alert; that and adding her inability to remain still in one room for more than 5 minutes was making things much worse.
He was surprised her Guardian's processors hadn't simply short circuited by now.
With her being injured and half-blind, Optimus had thought she would be more careful (and he honestly thought she would be a bit more…traumatized from the whole event.) But the first time he had received a ping stating she had disappeared, the whole base went on a level two security lockdown and began a search party. Even the miniature set of twins were panicking. After 4 worrisome hours of searching, they finally found the girl, stuck in one of the ventilation shafts, with the help of Wheelie.
They couldn't necessarily stick a tracking device on her, but the Autobot leader was seriously considering on asking for her Guardian's permission to do so. He, along with everyone else on base had so much already on their tired processors…
To top it all off, this is the third time she decided to pull a disappearing act on them.
"Doing so would be putting you right back into Decepticon possession. You are safer here, but you must understand that disappearing like this is doing much more harm than good. I am sure Ratchet would like to have a word with you about this before handing you back over to your Guardian's for a proper punishment."
Zackery could hear the Prime's tension filled shoulder struts pop slightly when he moved to kneel before her with his palm out and facing upwards.
"I understand you find being confined to the medical ward a nuisance…" He ignored the sound she made as she stood her ground. Optimus knew her 'I'm being defiant, leave me alone' act could only go so long. He was quite happy he was a patient mech.
There was always option 'B' as well…
"But if you continue with this behavior, I will speak to Ratchet and Barricade about a possible beacon system to place on you."
There was a small silence, and Zackery got the impression that there was little she could do about the tiny threat the Prime had given. So, giving in to her wounds and tired mind, she reluctantly slid onto the massive servo.
It had taken the medic a few hours to get the youngling fixed back up and laying in bed (but not without a very strict lecture and few painful 'whaps' of his finger to her forehead) and he constantly rattled on about sticking a beeper under her skin in case her 'rejected scrap heap of a Guardian' lost her, again.
"You are THIS CLOSE-" he ranted, turning to wave a laser scalpel dangerously close to Barricade's optics. "To having me ask Prime to remove you as her caretaker! What inthe PITwere youTHINKING in letting her wander with that idiot on wheels? Oh, if you weren't religious before, you had better start praying to Primus and the Un-Maker himself that I don't find my welding torch or so help me-'
If there was one thing Barricade had quickly learned when staying with the Autobots (even if it was only temporary), it was the fact that everything in the medic's hands became a potential weapon that promised pain and a horrible dismantling.
And there was no option to look towards Autobot leader for help, as it seemed the Prime favored self preservation over suicide and stood quietly on the sidelines a good distance from the CMO.
If Sideswipe had not walked-er…rolled in, the irate lime-colored mech would have burned out his optics!
Ratchet's rant quickly ceased as his vision snapped to the grinning 'idiot on wheels' he had so graciously dubbed, and the grin said mech sported was quickly replaced with widened optics and a squeak (yeah…he squeaked) of terror as the medic's inner workings rumbled with fury.
"You."
Who knew the Hatchet could make one word make you nearly purge your tanks in fear?
Maybe it was a medic thing…
"Ratchet, please calm yourself for a moment, or you'll wake the youngling."
"Calm down? Calm down? ("Ratchet…") This slagger could have gotten her killed ("Ratchet...") and he waltzes into my med-bay with the nerve to even grin-"
.:Ratchet.:.
The message sent over the private channel was simple, but filled with authority only the Prime was capable of. With his engines still rumbling in anger, Ratchet quickly ceased his yelling and proceeded to point the laser scalpel in the silver twin's direction. A silent promise of a slow and painful off-lining was in order.
Barricade, on the other hand, was thinking about the idea of stripping the tires right off of the mech and beating his processor to nothing but a pile of dust for 'kidnapping' his charge and then leaving her to her own devices.
If her mother were alive, she'd be a far worse threat than any medic. Or Decepticon, for that matter…
After few minutes of silent fuming from Ratchet, Sideswipe's grin returned, and Optimus was fairly sure the twin might have lost his mind….though some would say he and his brother were never sane to begin with.
"Sideswipe, please refrain from making him any more upset than he already is…Ratchet, I would like to speak to you in private, please."
With a huff of hot air from his intakes, Ratchet headed to another part of the med bay with the leader (to work up some evil awesome secret plans), leaving Barricade and Sideswipe alone.
Former Decepticon and current Autobot had a stare-down. Barricade hated this silver mech with a fiery passion. Not only did the femme enjoy his company, but the idiot was also a bad influence on her! Whenever he or his sibling got an itch to pull whatever hideously planned pranks their fried processors could come up with, both would find a way to coax her into it. And the stories they told her were completely outrageous!
"Taking out Shockwave single-handedly? Please. You don't actually believe that, do you?"
Honestly….the only thing those two trouble-makers were truly capable of doing was annoying the slag out of him.
"Why such a face, Decepticon?"
And he also had an annoying habit of trying to egg the Ex-Con into a fight. Oh, how badly he knew the Corvette Twin wanted the femme to be removed from his care…the thought made his systems rumble in irritation.
"Whatever you're going on about, save it you little punk." Barricade snarled. "So either get lost or power down your vocalizer before I'm tempted to rip it out!"
Sideswipe merely made a 'tsk' noise and his grin turned into a smirk. That familiar, annoying 'I-am-better-than-you' smirk Barricade wished he could wipe right off with a shot to the face. It would make his systems feel a lot more relaxed, at least.
"As tempting as that sounds, I'll have to decline your most generous offer!" the silver mech practically sang. "I just wanted to drop by an' ask her a question. Is that so bad, Pops?"
The Ex-Con seethed at nickname.
"She's my charge and she will be fine without whatever other useless trinket you have acquired for her, pest. Now beat it!"
"A bit touchy today, are we? Well I won't take long so I'll wake her-"
Barricade cut him off with a quick clack of his claws being extended and poised while Sideswipe's own twin blades emerged from within his arms. One mech was snarling; the other nearly cackling in mirth as they both eyed each other.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"
"It's not my fault you're always on edge….it isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. Makes games like this a little more fun, don't you think?"
"We'll see who is calling it a game when I'm finished scrapping your grey carcass!"
"Old habits die hard, Deceptiscum!"
They both lunged at each other.
Zackery was jolted from her much needed (and much enjoyed) rest by a deafening BAM! followed by the very familiar sound of Cybertronian metal meeting concrete. Turning her head so she could see, she quickly regretted it as a silver and black mass tumbled across the floor.
Are they seriously going to do this in the Med-bay?
Oh, they would never really try to kill each other. Sideswipe knew how much she cared for her guardian, and Barricade really couldn't kill an Autobot without some his processor being melted down by carnivorous metal-eating nanites, courtesy of Ratchet and her father. But that didn't mean they couldn't rough each other up, or rip a few sensitive wires.
"Is this what you guys call the robot version of the Hanky Panky?"
The mass of metal broke apart and both mechs stood. Sideswipe was all but smiling, his shiny finish now scuffed with chalky white streaks. Barricade's systems were venting hot air as he growled.
He's literally steaming!
"My, what a beautiful look you've got going there, Zack! You sleep well? Didn't mean to wake you, but I really, really, really have to ask you something important!" Sideswipe chimed, making Barricade grump a noise.
.:Aft kisser:.
.:You're just jealous:.
.:Jealous? Of an Autobot with the processing power of a sparkling? Pah!:.
"Ratchet's going to be mad when he finds out you woke me up."
"It was a group effort, totally worth it, and you love me too much to even think of such betrayal…by the way, what's your favorite color?"
.:I could have told you that:.
.:I don't like you enough. Sorry Pops:.
Zackery looked the corvette twin up and down while picking at a bandage on her arm. She knew he meant no harm, but Sideswipe was already treading on thin ice with Ratchet, and Barricade obviously wanted to tear him a new exhaust pipe for waking her up.
She sighed.
"Sideswipe…my favorite color is orange, you know this. Can I go back to sleep, now?"
.:Yes, aft-kisser. Crawl back to the Pit from whence you came:.
.:I didn't know you could be so poetic!:.
"Orange? Are you serious? That's the most annoying color I've ever set optics on! How could you favor such a horrid abomination?"
Ah, there it was. The hidden agenda.
Barricade had heard the explanation before as to why his charge adored the ghastly color. He had really hated it with a passion afterwards, but there was no way he would waste his time or precious energy to really go through with destroying every little trinket given to her from the twins (or anyone else for that matter) that ended up being the cursed color.
Seriously…did Sideswipe have to keep throwing it in his face whenever he could?
"How could you not remember? I know I told you…."
"Clearly I need my memory bank refreshed. I give you the honors, of course."
"Uhg….you promise to let me sleep after?"
"Cross my spark!"
Just listening to the twin made Barricade want to 'throw up', as the humans would say.
Primus forbid the femme from ever having to repeat this conversation, he had said after the first time Zackery explained her most loved color. But Sideswipe just wouldn't let it go, and would get her to repeat it in front of Barricade whenever he damn well could.
The Ex-Con now believed Primus had a horrible sense of humor.
"Well, remember when you and Sunstreaker asked me one day which one of you I thought was better?"
.: I wish I could deactivate you for putting me through this:.
.:Shh! This is my favorite part!:.
"I had to think about it for a bit, actually. You both really aren't that bad…and it's hard to choose between the two of you. If you think about it, you can't have one twin without the other….and then I remember you telling me how you and Sunstreaker used to be red and yellow. You can't have too much yellow or two much red, and you really can't have orange without either of them so…"
Zackery heard Sideswipe crooning at her. She could also see Barricade standing behind the twin with his arms crossed and pretending to be interested in something on the wall.
"Hey 'Sides? Can you go now? I'm tired…."
That made the silver mech's croon stop immediately, and he pouted slightly. "Alright…I'll tell Sunny you're feeling better. Oh! Be sure to stop by after you're up! We've got something for you!"
Only Barricade seemed more than pleased when the twin finally decided to leave. No sooner had the door hissed shut, the room became encased with an awkward air, the femme nervously twiddling her blanket.
He really hated it when she was fidgety. The annoying little noises she would make seemed louder to him than anyone else; mumbling she had directed at herself was heard only by him, and she had a strange habit of mixing her words into untranslatable gibberish whenever she had became too nervous or very upset. His charge had an array of very strange habits, most only he knew about. Some were quite obvious while some were so discreet, you wouldn't notice them unless you actually looked.
"Pops…"
The Ex-Con felt his systems go at full alert, little program warnings lighting up at the strained whimper he had heard from the child.
"You're…not mad at me….are you? When I yelled back there…"
A minute pang of sympathy tugged at his spark as Zackery's sniffles became evident, but it was ignored.
Of course he was upset with her! After the N.E.S.T team had begun to retreat, he had stayed behind to ensure the last of the humans could make it out.
Bad idea on his part…
Somewhere in that time, the girl's father had disappeared and she managed to slip away from her human guard to search for him.
Bad idea on her part…
He told her to run and began to fend off Megatron to the best of his ability, a fight he knew he could never win. The Ex-Con's status as a defector only made Megatron's hatred grow with each vicious tear into Barricade's armor, and before the final blow, the femme had yelled something…what was it, again? He couldn't remember…
But it was enough to pause the Decepticon leader in his attack and turn to the brat with the intent to kill. The broken and battered child had had the full attention of the sick and twisted mind of Megatron, and now she suffered a severe handicap of being blind. If Optimus had not shown up when he did…
Barricade didn't even want to think of it as he watched the girl sniffle and hiccup. Why was she still fidgeting?
"That is not my designation. And yes, I'm upset. In fact, I'm far more than upset." His systems revved, but the Ex-Con fought to keep his vocaliser in check. It would do no good to have Zackery stammering a fit to a point where she couldn't even be understood. And that nickname…oh how he hated it. He hadn't minded at first….the femme was traumatized and going into shock, her father nor any Autobots where in sight….
"Femme…femme listen to me. Don't close your eyes, understand? Fem…Zackery stay with me!"
"D-don't…"
"That's it, just keep speaking! Ratchet is almost here-"
"And if you ever-"
"RUN you idiot!"
"EVER disobey me, again-"
"DADDY!"
"Zackery Banes Witwicky-"
"P-please don't leave me! I'm scared! Don't leave me, too! Don't leave me, don't leave me like they did! PLEASE!"
"I'll make your life more miserable than it already is-"
"I won't, just calm down."
"Do you understand?"
He knew she wouldn't make eye contact with him, but the frenzied nod of her head was all he needed before his systems hissed and began to relax back to their normal settings.
"Good. Now go back to sleep." And with that, he left the Med-bay.
Whatever dignity he had was quickly forgotten as he watched his charge interact with her younger sister in the mess hall a few weeks after her bandages were removed. His face had an agape expression, one Sideswipe was far too happy to capture in his memory for later abuse as he stood next to the Ex-Con. Even Sunstreaker was enjoying Barricade's reaction to the new gift Zackery was showing off to her sibling.
The bright orange cloth with intricate silver lines making out Cybertronian symbols that she had wrapped around her head made it far more easier than he had thought to spot her.
But it wasn't the ghastly color that was causing his current situation. It was the meaning of the symbols Sunstreaker had laced throughout the cloth that had Barricade at a loss for words.
"It's an old song our Creators used to sing." Sideswipe explained with glee, waving as the Witwicky sisters looked in their direction. "I know you sang it once for 'lil Zack, and she told me you could only hum it since you didn't know the words…."
"Don't get us wrong, we really want nothing to do with you." Sunstreaker interjected, earning a glare from the Ex-Con. "But if it helps with the nightmares, I'm willing to lend a hand, if only just this once. For her sake."
"It's easier to see her from this far, too! So you won't lose her anymore." Sideswipe added.
Barricade's glare diminished when he turned his attention back to the girls. He refused to even think about thanking them. It was just another trick to earn his charge's favor, another trick to get him to lash out and landed in the brig. Insubordination he couldn't afford…
Zackery pulled Samantha towards the group, grinning all the while.
"Pops! Sammy wants to see your transformation! She doesn't believe you're a police car!"
Ignoring the sniggers from the twins and N.E.S.T personnel within the area, his stared at the femmes for a moment, still unable to tear his optics from the bright coloring.
He would have to find some way to get her to wear the blasted thing constantly. There was no way in the Pit he was going to let her run off again and leave him to the mercy of Ratchet.
Please don't kill me! TwT I really don't want to post my fanfic online, yet. I want to know what everyone thinks of this, first! If I can pull off the side stories (and actually have people like them) then the full story will surely be a blast for everyone! (I hope!) If you're confused by anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, please review! I won't know how it is if you don't review...And I'm sorry if anyone seems out of character...a flame about this is welcome, if it makes you feel better...