Chapter 7: Starving

Scorponok shivered and balled up tighter. Bluestreak, while Kup was out barking at one of the other mechs no doubt, had carefully pulled up some of the metal flooring and walls and created a secret door to his borrow of sorts under the floor. That was where the drone was currently.

It had been very nice the last two weeks under the floor boards and in the berthroom when Kup was on duty.

Bluestreak was a kind master. He groomed him and patched any injures he could see and talked to him.

The kid talked all the time actually. Regardless, Bluestreak was kind. Not all of the drone's masters had been kind. In fact, Bluestreak kind of reminded him of Blackout when he would lay in the giant mech's lap and be warmed by the other's engine, tail lazily hanging off the side. He did the same thing with Blue, except the kid's heat was wondrous because he was so cold.

He needed to conserve energy even though he was so hungry

The new master's connection was growing stronger every day and so was his compassion, placing blankets and little trinkets in his burrow so he would have something to do while the youngling was on duty or with Kup. That was something Scorponok didn't want to risk breaking with a forced feeding.

He no longer had the spark to.

Some of the things the kid told him … or told Kup when he woke up from a nightmare, the older mech having gotten his own berth in the room but rarely allowed to sleep in it alone, made Scorponok's protective mannerisms all the stronger. His little master didn't deserve to suffer anymore.

And he wasn't going to make him.

Even if he had to suffer for a while. His master would mind his feeding protocols eventually. Right?

Primus, he was so hungry

Bluestreak yawned, his door wings stretching. He didn't move them much anymore. He unknowingly kept them drawn against his back as if to protect the port in his back even though he knew it was hidden. The youngling stalled at the thought. Protect? No, no. He was hiding the hole, not protecting it. He didn't even need the thing anymore. Scorponok seemed content with Blue placing cubes in his burrow as long as the gunner would take time to allow him to curl up in his lap. The drone loved that. Loved being petted, groomed and close to him even though he was dopey as of late.

The youngling frowned at that. Now that he thought about it, the drone had been cold as well. Did he need a little heater down there or something in the dirt he loved so much? He would have said something through the bond, right?

The youngling shook his helm as he locked his room so the drone could come out, having set up a motion detector outside the door so he could unlock it for Kup if the mech was coming his way while leaving it locked so everyone else had to knock. He did this because he didn't want the older mech to feel unwelcomed with a lock though, with how fast the bond was forming, he doubted the mech would feel angry.

Just suspicious.

Kup kept asking where the dirt on the floor was coming from.

The youngling shook his head, thinking of how the drone must roll around in his burrow and how far the network of tunnels had gotten under the base. Primus knows if he was allowed free rein, if the Autobots didn't despise mechs that carried drones, Scorponok could become quite the pit-raiser with that network.

Blue smiled at the thought of the small drone tripping everyone in base, cackling, and then diving back into his network as mechs like Ironhide or Ratchet would rise to their feet cursing. It was a nice daydream that would likely never come true, but at least he had had one dream that came true recently. He got a Guardian, a Caretaker.

He shouldn't be pressing the fates for too much right now with whimsical daydreams.

Maybe if the war ever ended or maybe if Scorponok wasn't dependent on him he could harbor such thoughts, maybe then. Maybe, if drones didn't have to feed off others or got a voice of their own? Maybe then drones wouldn't be so despised. Yes, one day. One day, perhaps, he wouldn't have to hide his small companion.

His friend, Scorponok.

Smiling at the thought, Bluestreak silently thanked Primus for his good luck -though a little twisted- in offering him not just a guardian right now, but a secret friend as well ... though the introduction had been anything but pleasant. Shaking off the thought of that night in the desert, the youngling looked at the door. Quickly sending a ping to it to make sure it was locked and that the sensor was up, the small mech pressed into the bond that was forming between him and the scorpion-bot. He was letting the drone know that it was okay to come out.

Walking across the floor, frowning at the dirt getting into his treads from the floor, Bluestreak shook his head. He loved the drone, really he did, but every time Scorponok came up from the burrow the drone would shake off his soil covered exterior like a dog and it would get everywhere.

Everywhere.

Kup had frowned the first few times he wandered into the room, asking where Bluestreak was rolling around to get all this dirt on him. Blue only laughed nervously and said he was a youngling. Youngling's get dirty.

Kup had laughed at that.

The youth smiled at the thought.

Kup was great. Rough around the edges, definitely, but always well rounded. He made sure Bluestreak practice daily with his weapons, but also took time to teach him basic maintenance from the security system to data pads. Some of it he already knew, a lot actually, but to think he had struggled to learn most of these things on his own when he could have had someone teach him. It was a little disheartening to thinking of the past, but now, things were better … especially when recharge came. They had separate berths but most of the time he was curled up with Kup, listening to the elder spark as it beat with caring and knowledge. It was nice, comforting, safe, but Kup was busy and a soldier … so when he wasn't there … he had Scorponok.

The first time he had had to recharge alone without Kup, fear crawling towards him like ghostly black servo from the shadows, Scorponok was in his berth without even asking and that night he listened to the drone's spark.

A bond of love and need was forming there and, in truth, Blue didn't think he could live without either one of them. His spark hadn't been this warm since … before the war.

He was loved.

Someone actually cared about him.

It was the best and most frightening feeling in the all the world and he never wanted to be alone again.

Ever again.

Smiling at the thought of curling up for a cat-nap (as Sam call it) with Scorponok sounded like a good plan for his short break, yet the drone had yet to rise from his dark little encampment. At first, Bluestreak wasn't worried since the drone might be recharging. The scorpion-bot had been doing that a lot lately.

Shaking his head, laugh in his throat, the small mech got on his hands and knees near the vent on the floor. He then pushed a chest out of the way that he used as camouflage for the den and then pealed up some of the loose metal tiles and grating on the floor so he could peer down at his companion. Yet, as the flooring was removed and set to the side, Blue had to sit there for a moment, staring. He could see Scorponok napping there, all his optics closed yet… he couldn't feel him. These feeling of connection had been developing since he had accepted his drone. He almost always felt the drone when he was near. In fact, Bluestreak was sure that one day they would both always know were the other was, no matter how far they were apart.

Looking at the drone, Bluestreak started to feel sick. He didn't know if he felt sick because Scorponok had yet to move or because the sick feeling was coming from the small companion. Worry creeping into his spark, the youngling reached down and shook the ex-Con. "Hey, hey, wake up."

A leg didn't even twitch on the scorpion-bot.

Swallowing, suddenly afraid, the youngling's vocals squeaked, "Scorponok? P-please move."

There was a moment of stillness and Bluestreak asked again, almost panicked, "Please?"

The horror of the situation was suddenly overcoming the youthful spark, especially when he reached out into the bond … and knew what was wrong. The bond was faint, like it was about to be severed. Like one of them was dying.

The drone was dying. His drone, his new friend was dying.

The youngling couldn't stop the sob that came out of his throat as he reached down and pulled the scorpion-bot out of the hole, struggling to pull the drone up due to his bulk. The drone's tail didn't even twitch.

Shivering, pulling the drone into a hug, his optics shivering on and off, the gunner choked, "P-please. What's wrong? Tell me. I'll fix it."

Then, it happened, the bond wavering and weak ... the drone clicked, only once and then was still.

Shaking his head at the weak display, a click escaped the youngling as well as he hugged the bot's head. Something was terribly wrong. Something was very wrong. He needed to go to Ratchet. He needed to get the drone to someone that would help the little bot.

Not even thinking it through, Blue started towards the door only to stop halfway there.

No, no.

They would just kill the drone and … probably imprison him. That was what was done to traitors. At best they would label him as a Con and banish him. Either way, it would be the end of his life in one sense or another.

"Please don't die," whispered the youngling despite all the horrors the drone's existence could cause for him. He couldn't wait nor could he take it to Ratchet, but he couldn't let Scorponok die either. The past Primes were against him and Primus had left him abandoned in his struggles… as usual.

Swallowing hard, the tubing in his throat tightening, the youngling was just about to start panicking, which he knew he shouldn't do because his spark's stress might alerting Kup to his trials. Yet, just as the youngling was about to collapse on his knees and blubber into the drone's still form, the door sensor started pinging meaning someone was coming his way.

Tapping into the system wirelessly, the youngling swore like Ironhide. He promised to hate Primus if this ended badly, because it was Kup and Prowl heading his way.

"No, no, no!" whispered the youth as he hugged the drone tighter. He couldn't deal with them right now. Something was wrong with Scorponok. Really, really wrong and the scorpion-bot was probably dying. In fact, he was positive the other was deactivating with how weak the spark felt in the bond. A small part of him, realizing the drone's mortality, just wanted to keep standing there with the ex-Con in his arms as the two older mech's came in. Part of him wanted to whimper and cry to them, begging for them to do something.

They both cared about him, right?

Right?

Yet, just as he was about to decide on that course of action, a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him: But only Decepticon's have drones.

So, as the door opened, Kup walking into the room, the two mech's weren't greeted with the sight of an upset youngling with a drone in his arms. They merely saw a youngling that was resting silently on his berth.

The green mech actually smiled softly at that. "Good to see he's getting' some rest on his own. I don't mind that we share a berth at night or nothin' with the bond formin' and everything, but he can't seem to sleep alone. He actually waits for me."

Prowl frowned at this, his wings twitching slightly before he nodded. "I'm glad to hear he's recharging better and I will see if I can schedule it so you both can recharge at the same time, but, I must ask … has he said anything else about what he has nightmares about. About the dead speaking to him I mean?"

Kup, who was about to pull out a cy-gar, frowned and stated softly, "I can feel the fear sometimes, through the bond, but he doesn't really tell me what they are about."

Nodding, Prowl stated softly, "The bond is young. It's only been about a little over two weeks. Now, let's wake up the dreamer. We need all the speed we can get if we want to catch him."

Bluestreak struggled not to tighten his wings or shiver or click as the two mechs stepped completely into the room, their conversation behind him. What was he going to do? He could not let them take him on a mission, for that was why they were undoubtedly here, because he had to do something for Scorponok. He had to take care of the little one. It was his responsibility. M-maybe he could play sick and get out of the mission, but then he would be sent to Ratchet's and he'd be just as useless to Scorponok. Frag, frag, frag. What was he going to do?

Kup's croaking stalled all thoughts in the youngling's head though as the lights came on.

"Lights forty percent."

A dim light overcame the room and the green mech took a step forward only to stall when there was a crunching noise underfoot. "What the… dirt? More dirt. Kid… Ugh, Primus. I swear the kid rolls around it in or somethin'. It's always on the floor."

Prowl, looking away from the still form on the berth, wondering why the youngling hadn't roused with the lights coming on, stared at the dirt on the floor. It looked like a combination of gravel, cement bits and recently dug up soil, like what the base had been placed on. That was odd.

Leaning down, picking up a small sample and looking at it with magnification, he asked simply, "Where is all the dirt coming from?"

"Don't know, but I tell him to sweep but it always comes back. I guess younglings are younglings even if they are soldiers. At least I don't have to tell him to take a bath," said Kup as he walked forward to wake up his charge.

Prowl stood, sub-spacing the sample for future reference.

"Regardless, wake him. We need speed if we are going to catch Barricade," said Prowl, his optics shimmering as he looked at the dirt on the floor and how it led to the only vent in the room and not, say, around the bed where normal foot traffic should be.

Kup touched Bluestreak's shoulder as the grey mech roused. There was fear in his optics, but the green mech didn't mention it as he said, "Come on trooper. We have Cons to kill."

It was likely a nightmare again.

Prowl frowned at the kill comment, but said nothing. It was a capture mission if they could.

Bluestreak merely nodded stating, "Yeah… kill."

Grabbing a cube of energon, even though he already had two in his sub-space for emergencies, the youngling spared the vent a glance before he followed the older mechs outside. He needed those cubes … as a bargaining tool. A hungry Con would probably be willing to make deals.

"Fraggen slagger!" cursed Ironhide as the enforcer got low on his rim and barely outraced an eighteen wheeler's sliding trailer, sparks flying.

Bumblebee merely snickered at his elder and rushed forward, slipping right under the trailer. He laughed even harder when his caretraker was forced to stop since the interstate was blocked off by a pile up caused by Barricade slamming into a Neon. Instead, the yellow youngling cried over the comm link, ::Come on Blue. Let's get this slagger!::

::Bumblebee, language:: barked the youth's guardian through the comms as he tried to get out of the traffic jam.

::You do it all the time!:: laughed back the yellow mech as he flew under another trailer, not even throwing up sparks like Barricade had in the same move. The enforcer was getting old and sloppy it seemed.

::Don't patronize me, kid:: barked the black mech, before he added. ::I commed Optimus. He and Hatchet will try and cut old Cade off from the other side of town. You two see if you can get 'im cornered in a parking garage or somethin'. Me and Kup will be goin' around.::

Blue slid under the semi-trailer a moment later following Bee, getting low on his shocks. He didn't even uttered a word as Kup braked next to a trapped Ironhide in his alt form, the entire interstate now in disarray. The real cops' sirens could be heard in the distance.

::Ready for some off roadin':: joked the green jeep as he turned into the interstate's ditch.

Ironhide grunted. ::Sure thing… and don't worry about the kid. He's got Bee with him.::

::I'm not going to be babyin' him on missions:: barked Kup as the two jumped the ditch, rumbling through a neighboring parking lot while dodging parked cars. ::Just 'cause I'm his caretaker doesn't mean I will be holden his hand all the time in battle now. He was a soldier long before I started making sure he takes his daily nutrients … or vitamins as Samuel would say.::

Ironhide chuckled, recalling the day when Bumblebee told the human about caretaker bonds and that it hadn't been strange for Bumblebee to cuddle with his caretaker, Ironhide. He had said there was wasn't anything odd or homosexual about it. Not that mechs and femmes genders were limited like humans anyway.

Besides… Ironhide had a girl.

Annabelle.

Everyone had laughed at that and Sam had gone home out of embarrassment alone ... though he claimed his face was always this red.

::That's not what I meant. Everyone noticed how quiet he was today. He'll tell you what's bothering him when the kid wants to:: said the Top-kick. ::Blue can only stay quiet for so long. You've only been with him a short time and ya' already know he's a chatter box. He can't keep it in too long without explodin'.::

Cutting off a granny car, not caring that the woman was probably too blind to have even noticed Kup had forgotten to turn on his holo-driver on until just then, the green mech sighed ::I know it, but I feel it's something really bad through the forming bond. I can't help but wonder why he hasn' come to me yet. That's what I'm here for. His assurance, his caretaker.::

The black mech chuckled under his hood, engine revving. ::Yah know kids… bad might mean havin' to go to Ratchet for something he broke on himself.::

Despite himself, Kup chortled though he deeply doubted that was the problem.

Meanwhile, up the turnpike, around a K-Mart parking lot, through a rather shifty neighborhood and a Burger King drive through, the two younglings where catching up to Barricade. And the Con was getting nervous. It wasn't that he was a coward or anything of the like. In truth, he had been mauled rather badly the day Megatron had been deactivated in Mission City. He couldn't take a beating right now. Not after being T-Boned by a damn Volkswagen and then a fifteen car pileup.

Damn VW. He hated those things. Really, he might have died of embarrassment, but somehow Frenzy pulled his head back together and came and saved his aft from the crusher. He had been too dinged and heavily damaged to do much more than sit there and try to heal his innards.

It had been a long and painful recovery. It also left him half-starved because the energon had been bleeding out of his wounds and into the dirt in that shifty junkyard. Not that he wanted to remember that horrid place. The junkyard itself was frightening in a way. He hadn't told Frenzy but sometimes he had nightmares about it … that he was resting with the dead. In truth, he knew it was human cars that surrounded him. They never even had a spark, but still … it haunted him like a ghost in his backseat.

He did not want to end up there again, surround by questionable metallic corpses yet here he was… two little brats coming up behind him. He was still crippled, still low on energy and Megatron wasn't coming back to save his aft or distract the Prime. It was now a time to survive. It was now a time to run… himself right into a corner.

"Primus! God Dammit! Slagger!" swore Barricade as he slid to a stop, tires throwing up hot rubber. "Why the pit doesn't this have a dead end sign!"

Slamming himself into reverse, the enforcer was about to make a mad dash for the end of the alley, yet as he pushed his tires, rubber burning … lights flashed over his form. Headlights … with an Autobot signal attached. Shivering in his frame, knowing he was dinged and dented and that this was going to hurt as a consequence, Barricade transformed and brought out his flail, the cement cracking under his weapon's weight as he tried not to shudder in pain.

He would not die today.

He would fight to the bitter end, yet as the youngling transformed, headlight dimmed revealing it was the young gunner and not the irritating yellow one. The Con then heard something he never expected to.

"Barricade… please," whispered the grey mech. "Stop… I won't hurt you. I just need to talk."

Barricade was sure his face might have been hilarious too look upon because he was completely befuddled. "What?"

Slowly, the Autobot lowered his arms, guns still not drawn, and then the gunner did something most unexpected. He got on his knees and bowed his head in defeat as he continued to beg, his optics shivering in a sign of emotional distress. "Please… I need your help… he's dying and I don't know what to do."

Slowly walking forward, blade popping out of his wrist as he threw his scanners around the alley and roofs for a trap, the Con placed an energon blade under the youngling's chin. He forced the youngling to look up, his red optics boring into the Autobot's blue ones. "Who's dying and why should I care?"

Door wings shivering, a click of distress in his throat, the youngling whispered, "I know you are short on supplies… I can give you almost anything you require. Just help me... Scorponok's… dying. I don't know what to do. Please … Help me."

Barricade almost smiled.

XXX

Paw07: Yeah, Barricade. I love him so much. I really need to get back to Bubblegum Under the Seat but I have to revise so much shit before putting out a new chapter for that. I figure… work on the stuff that doesn't have lots of plot holes first. XD

Also… cliffhanger!

(Revisions April 2016)