Red Alert looked up at his creators, and then back at his brothers. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly, optics puzzled.
Shadowrunner sighed, getting down on one knee before Red Alert. "You know how we were all planning on taking that visit off world? On a site-seeing trip? Well, you're going to be in the hospital for the trip."
Red Alert stared at his father creator in mixed horror and terror. "But I don't like the hospital."
Shadowrunner sighed, How am I supposed to explain this to a youngling who's just barely a sparkling? He wondered, staring at Red Alert.
The twins looked at Shadowrunner and their triplet silently. Shadowrunner had the distinct feeling that they were communicating behind his back. He wasn't far from the truth. The twins were more bullying then talking to Red Alert.
.:Go to the hospital Red.:.
.:No! I hate hospitals! The doctors are scary-:.
.:We don't want you to ruin our vacation!:. Came back the two cold replies. .:Go to the hospital!:.
Red Alert flinched inwardly, and he dragged his optics back to his father creator, silently pleading. Shadowrunner missed the look as he said; "We've already arranged it with the doctors. You'll actually have a lot of free time."
Red Alerts optics became crushed and defeated, but he nodded, wanting to please his creator, and silently he walked into his room, sliding the door shut before allowing the first few tears to trickle down his cheeks.
0o0o0o0o0
Red Alert watched as his creators and brothers left, and looked back shyly up at the doctor. He was doing his best to ignore the little voice in the back of his CPU claiming that they didn't care about him. He instead clung to the memory of Starwind hugging him, and Shadowrunners even rarer hug.
The doctor looked down at him, and sighed. "Well Red Alert, would you like to meet the other sparklings and younglings here?"
Red Alert didn't, but he had promised to do whatever the doctors asked him to do. So with slowly dragging feet he followed the doctor into a large room. Inside ran about 20-40 younglings, all of which were running around and laughing. In some cases they were reading, a skill which Red Alert was still having a little of trouble with.
However, at times like this he would get plenty of practice. Silently he wandered through the room, not avoiding, but not pushing himself forward as he looked for something to do. He could find no datapads that were of his level, and all of the other younglings were ignoring him.
Silently he dropped into a corner, and simply watched, his optics dark and thoughtful. He saw when one youngling nudged another, he saw when they pulled back when they were hurting others.
Red Alert found the behavior of the other sparklings and younglings absolutely fascinating. Silently he watched, watching as others enjoyed life, letting himself live through those around him. Across the bond he had with Sideswipe and Susntreaker he could feel their excitement, and he hurriedly took his CPU away from what they could be seeing.
One youngling noticed him sitting in the corner, and limped over, his leg nearly completely destroyed. Red Alert watched the youngling come up, his own optics slightly interested. The red youngling flopped down next to him, grinning. "Hello."
Red Alerts optics shuttered, and quietly he stammered, "H-hello."
The red younglings head tilted, and he grinned widly. "What are you here in for? I have to wait until my leg can be replaced."
Red Alert muttered something. He had long ago learned that when he said that he had a glitch others tended to shy away from him. The sparkling shot him an odd look, but Red Alert quickly asked, "What did you do to so badly damage your leg?"
The sparkling leaned back, his already wide grin growing even wider. "I jumped off the roof."
"What?"
"My creators wouldn't get me what I wanted." The sparkling said, shrugging. "So I jumped off the roof."
Red Alert gaped at the mech, who smiled proudly. "What do you think? Pretty smart, huh?"
Red Alert struggled to keep his voice calm. "Was this the first time they refused?"
The youngling nodded, and Red Alerts hands clenched. He then proceeded to tell what exactly he thought of the youngling. "I think you're a primus forsaken idiot!"
The youngling looked at him startled. "This is the first time your creators denied you something and you threw yourself off a roof when you could've been out and running about with your friends! To live a normal life!"
Red Alert choked on his own words, full of longing for a life he chould never have, for a life he wished he could have. "Your wasting your time and mine if you'd deliberately damage yourself over something so small. Why don't you off line yourself and just do the world a favor of having someone love you enough to miss you?"
The youngling stared at Red Alert, shocked by what he was hearing. Red Alert glared back, and the youngling said in a small voice, "Shut up! You don't know what its like-"
"Like? You want to get into feelings now?" Red Alert hissed, frustrated. All feelings of unfairness were now spilling out of him like an open wound, and the poor red youngling who had come over found himself on the receiving end of it.
"My creators just left me behind to go on a trip that I've been waiting and looking for too for vorns! I even passed up telling them about how my leg and arms were damaged in my brothers pranks in order to save the money faster! I lived through fifteen cycles of my brothers excited pranks and teasing in order to go on that vacation and they LEFT me!"
Red Alert sobbed, crying. "Every time I make a new friend their parents always chase them away, calling me a glitch, telling me they don't want their children to play with me!"
The red youngling looked at Red Alert, he's a glitch? But mom always said that glitches are dangerous. He just seems… lonely to me. Red Alert turned away from the red youngling, about to stalk away.
Pity and something else made the youngling grab Red Alert by the arm. "Wait, come talk to me?"
Red Alert looked down at the youngling, tears still coursing down his cheeks. Mom never told me that glitches could cry. The sparkling thought, looking at Red Alert. "Maybe you're right. It was rather stupid of me to jump off the top of the building."
Red Alert stared at the youngling for a few seconds more, and then flopped down next to the youngling as the red mech pulled him down. The youngling wiped the tears off, looking around worriedly. "Don't cry. The doctors will come if you do."
That was enough to make the tears stop. The youngling smiled slightly as he said, "We got off to a bad start. Let's try again. How long are you going to be here?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Red Alert leaned backwards into the wall, listening as his new found friend laughed, enjoying the sound. He had been listening most of the time, and his friend seemed content with it. When the red youngling at last ran out of words, he turned to Red Alert, and began questioning.
Red Alert did the only thing he could think of. He complained about the twins. He complained about how even though they were triplets they never wanted him, nor did his parents apparently, because they always left him behind.
He admitted having trouble with reading cybertonian, and how he had to take special classes after regular school in order to keep up. The youngling listened, not interrupting, allowing Red Alert to ant. "Wow," The youngling said, blushing red with shame as he considered his behavior from earlier. "You do have it hard."
Red Alert was about to say something when a doctors voice rang out clearly from the doorway. "Red Alert!"
Red Alert flinched, huddling up in the comer. His friend sat in font of him, not understanding why Red Alert wanted to hide, but willing to help. Doctors began combing the room, calling for Red Alert and asking others if they had seen him.
The youngling stiffened and Red Alert whimpered as another youngling pointed their way. The doctor advanced and saw Red Alert hudlled behind the youngling who glared up at the doctor. "Inferno," The doctor chided the youngling, "Please move."
"No."
"Inferno-"
"No. You're scaring him."
Red Alert squeaked as the doctor simply pushed Inferno out of the way, picking Red Alert up by one arm. The youngling twisted as pain lanced through the arm, and he glared up at the doctor. "That hurts!"
Inferno did the only thing he could think of and with his broken leg. He tackled the doctor, making the doctor loose his grip on Red Alert. Red Alert screeched in pain however as the doctor landed on top of him. Inferno was about to babble an apology when a doctor swooped down on him, bearing him away.
The last Red Alert saw of his friend was two kicking feet.
0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The two creators looked down at their youngling, wondering what had gotten into him. "Inferno?"
"Yes?"
"Are you still mad bout the toy we wouldn't buy you?"
"Nah. I made a new friend today!"
Shadowrunner passed by the happily talking youngling, heading inside for his own youngling. Red Alert met him in the office, scowling at the doctors, refusing to get nearby them. "Red Alert?"
The doctors quickly said, "Don't worry. It was just a little mishap that happened earlier. One of us accidently tripped on top of him, and he's been leery of us since."
Red Alert ran to his father, clinging onto his leg. "Don't make me come back here ever again!" Thoughts about his friend were already fading. Besides, Red Alert knew the drill. The younglings creators would never allow him to talk to his friend-for-a-day ever again.
Shadowrunner looked helplessly down at his youngling…
--
Red Alert woke up with a gasp, optics darting around his room on the Ark. With a soft groan he sat up. It had been a long time since he had had that particular memory come up during recharge. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall back into recharge, Red Alert rolled out of his bunk.
Silently he moved towards the control room, sleepiness quickly running out of his tubes to be replaced with his normal paranoia. By the time he got to the control room, he was half convinced that Ratchet simply wanted to Red Alert to drop dead.
The door slid open, and Infernos familiar body sat in one of the chairs. Red Alert paused, confused. Inferno isn't supposed to have guard duty until after my shift- worriedly he checked his internal clock. "Inferno! You were supposed to wake me up!"
Inferno started in surprise, twisting to see who had spoken. "Red? Ya up?"
Red Alert had no intention of being pulled off topic however. "Inferno, why didn't you page me telling me that it was my shift?"
"I was going to, but Ratchet said you needed all of the recharge ya could get." Inferno shrugged, patting a nearby seat. "Come and sit Red."
Red Alert glared for a moment at Inferno, but Inferno showed no signs of moving. "No Red, you can stay in here, but ya can't watch. You're supposed to be recharging."
Red Alert sat down in the seat, suddenly a little shy. "I was for awhile. Then I woke up."
"Bad dream?"
Red Alerts optics shuttered, and he leaned back in the chair. "A little. Their were some good parts."
Inferno snorted amusedly and Red Alert hesitated, the feelings of abandonment, yet the knowledge of having a fiend, if for only one day, still gripping his spark. "Inferno, why- why don't you hate me?"
Inferno stiffened, turning to look at Red Alert. "W-what? Red, what do you mean by that?"
Red Alert crossed his arms, glaring. "Don't play dumb Inferno. Most mechs wouldn't give me the time of day once they found out about me having a glitch, but yet- you're-"
Red Alert gave up, frustrated. Inferno chewed on his bottom lip, and then said, "I was once told by a glitch to go ahead and die if I was going to be selfish, and that's when I started realizing that glitches weren't so bad. He listened while I talked, and wasn't afraid to tell me what he thought was wrong and well…"
Inferno hesitated, then shrugged. "He didn't seem wrong to me, just lonely."
Red Alert could agree completely with those sentiments. Some fleeting memory tugged at him, asking him if he had ever said those words, but Red Alert brushed it aside.
SsSsSsSsSsSsSs
Alrighty, Red Alert meets a much more selfish Inferno, and completely changes both their lives. I really like pulling this. I like Red Alert helping to shape his own life, and others around him without them realizing it... Of course, with Ratchet he just said hi, but...