Aaaah, this one was a long time coming. Holidays make me lazy.
NOTE: Before this I added something the third chapter- some of you re-reading the fic may have come across it. It's an extra paragraph concerning Airachnid recalling her escape from the Nemesis- don't want to spoil it here, but it offers some insight to the last paragraph of this chapter. When I was first developing this fic with Emmy I considered just keeping a certain aspect as a secret little background thing between me and her, as I wasn't sure how it would be received by you readers, but eventually she convinced me to actually include it in the story. Make of it what you will, and on with the show~
xx
He should have been asleep. He should have just let himself fall into his berth and in turn into recharge, letting what blissful ignorance he had left drop him into the next bustling morning. Maybe the presence of other well-rested Autobots would... soothe him somehow. But Ratchet couldn't sleep- not with the base so empty yet so full with secrets. Optimus' parting promise was still running through his processor, distracting him from any possibility of doing work. Not that he had any- apart from the single file opened before him on his screen.
He'd stared at the image for an hour now- an hour exactly. He checked the clock every five minutes, methodically counting down the ticking analogues to daybreak. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd whiled away twilight hours at his console, but what was a first was the nature of his convenient insomnia.
Two Decepticons... the possibilites were slim, but the only evidence of their existence presented in front of him wasn't exactly helpful in narrowing it down. The glow of energon seemed normal at first- to the untrained optic. But Ratchet had seen enough of what injured bots bled to see the too-subtle pigment irregularities. Even so, he couldn't see how seriously they were injured... Primus, what wouldn't he have given to have someone like First Aid with him...
His shuttering optics widened as his helm shook itself. Dammit, one bot being so stuck in the past was enough for him to deal with. Even with his HUD flashing so irritatingly he had to stay focused- right now his curiosity was all that convinced him to stay online. So he knew that at least one of the 'Cons was injured- for whatever reason. And much as he didn't want to admit it, but hurting one of those was no mean feat. As for the rest of the image... the silhouette was almost totally blended into the twisting trees and soggy claws of ferns. Even when he first saw it Ratchet didn't believe it could be a Cybertronian shape, but now with the hours spent in study he saw that some 'branches' didn't line up to the surrounding plants, some shadows didn't fit, and he swore he could see the barest glimmer of pink...
He huffed a tired sigh, and forced himself not to look again at the Ground Bridge controls to his left. Optimus said he would show him, but how long would it take for him to deem it 'the right time' for revelation? Ratchet didn't doubt his friend's trust for one minute but... he was impatient. He was worried. He needed to know that there was no danger, that Optimus wasn't about to make a terrible mistake.
Just one button would take him to them...
'No.' He'd wait. He had to. He had to pretend that the co-ordinates, the shape and the doubts weren't there. Just for a while. For as long as his cynicism would hold back for.
Not that that was a more reassuring way to put it.
xx
It was times like this that Rafael was grateful for backup files. True, he didn't usually save copies of the Autobots internet shots, but this was a special circumstance. And it wasn't exactly an Autobot one.
With a stifled yawn he rubbed his eyes again- no wonder he needed glasses when he always had them locked onto a computer screen. Still, he couldn't bear to give them a rest just yet.
He'd almost forgotten about the blog photo that he'd tracked down the previous day. But it popped up again suddenly in his mind just as he entered his bedroom, seeing Bumblebee tear away from the sidewalk outside his house with a farewell flash of his rear lights from the window. Now, two hours and a USB stick later, he sat with it open on his screen and scanning through his brain. Something about it was...off. When he took away the distracting glow of the energon the shadows didn't fit together right. And Raf was no expert in trees, but he knew they didn't grow that jagged in the background...
What was it that Optimus had said about it? Of course it would be from a Cybertronian... but what type? Autobot or Decepticon, or something in between? Was there anything in between? A sigh tipped his head back wearily. 'It's too late to be thinking about this stuff...' When he went to shut off his computer though, a small blip came through the speakers. He didn't hear it very often, but that was the sound of someone messaging him.
'u online?'
Only Miko could get away with typing like that.
'Yeah. Why are you up so late?' He typed it in after another sigh, idly wondering if it was really that hard to type in a few extra letters for conhesiveness sake.
'culd ax u the sam thing'
'We have school tomorrow.'
'ur tellin me XD'
Typing that gruelling fact in must have ended up imprinting it in his sluggish mind, because all Raf wanted to do was fall into bed and hope that morning was still a long way off.
'Raf? U ok?' Miko's new message brought Raf's hand back from the computer's power button. Well, at least she was using capitals now.
'Sorry, Miko. Just tired.' His fingers hesitated for a second on the keyboard, before he decided to ask her. 'You know that energon blog pic I found?'
'ya'
'I've been looking it over, and there's something weird about it. Don't know how to explain what.' He didn't expect Miko to give him any help with it- he just felt the need to share the worries with someone. Anything that would give his mind a rest, even if his typing fingers didn't get one.
'sounds freky,' Miko replied after a long moment, in which he could almost picture her scratching her head in thought. 'U shuld tell OP bout it'
Optimus. He was still out in the forest when night settled and they all had to return home- Raf remembered the worry wreathed in Bumblebee's beeps when he talked with him during the ride back, and the anxiousness on Bulkhead and Arcee's faceplates that they conveniently hid in their alt modes. Usually Raf would have been planning to tell him anyway, but with what Ratchet had said about Elita One... Raf couldn't even imagine what he'd do if anyone in his family was harmed, and he didn't want to think about what Optimus must have been going through. He had too much to worry about now- no matter how brave a faceplate he put on for the rest of Team Prime. Nevertheless...
'I think I will.'
"RAFAEL!" A sudden shout from the lower landing made his fingers slip on his keyboard just as he sent the message, and his glasses almost fell off his desk from how he jolted in surprise.
"Are you still on that computadora?!"
"Sorry, Mama- I was just finishing up some homework!" he answered, scrabbling to switch it off and leap into bed before she decided to stamp up the stairs. The covers muffled his mother's warning for him to get to sleep, but even if he heard it it didn't speed up the hours that it took his mind to finally switch off.
xx
"More spark pains, Lord Megatron?" Knockout asked, trying to keep the weariness out of his voice as the mech marched again into the familiar medbay. No matter how much he told him that there was nothing to do but wait for the aches to subside, he just kept coming and threatening all sorts of unfortunate limb removal if the good doctor refused to look him over again. It was enough to almost want your spark chamber torn out and thrown off the Nemesis flight deck. Still, he could hardly let himself offline with his chassis so scarred, so that was enough to steer him away from the usual impulses.
"Not this time, Knockout," Megatron growled to Knockout's carefully veiled relief. "No doubt you've heard of Airachnid's departure from our ranks?" A crimson eyeridge raised at his question.
"Of course, my liege," Knockout answered, just as he set down a polished drill. Only the entire army had heard of her escape from the Nemesis, and over half were envious of her getting out. And he would admit that he'd miss seeing those fascinating legs of hers...
"And while she was with us, she underwent a full medical examination?"
"As standard."
"Then why was I not informed that she was carrying?" He almost sliced the rag in his claws into strips with how his wired suddenly clenched at Megatron's casual revelation.
"I-I'm sorry, my liege?" he stuttered, whirling to face the warlord's expectant optics with his own wide ones. Knockout realised his audios weren't glitching when Megatron's faceplate hardened, and his peds began to march his frame closer to the medic.
"Airachnid. Was. Carrying," he growled slowly, optics narrowing with every word punctuated with disapproval. "Either you failed to notice... or you decided not to tell me, doctor." When he drew his scowling faceplate level with Knockout's, the red mech was fighting not to flinch away from the raging hot air rolling out of his vents, ending up with his wheels pressing into a wall.
"U-um, I d-did not detect any life signals i-in her spark chamber when-"
"EXCUSES!" The med-bay erupted into a screech of claws on metal and a cry of agony from Knockout as his abdomen metal was torn into by grey talons that flung him across the room like a lifeless target drone. Energon leaked from the twin wounds in his side and from a gash in his lip that came from his denta biting into it, and he left a trail of the liquid as he scuttled backwards from Megatron's approach.
"That glitch spawned a sparkling on this ship- AND NOT ONE OF YOU MORONS KNEW ABOUT IT?!" Every word screamed hit into Knockout like bricks as he futilely held his shaking servos up against Megatron's fury.
"L-Lord Megatron, please! I-If I had any idea that Airachnid was in that state-" Knockout began to beg, holding back his wince at the spreading sting of his bleeding cuts. "T-then I would never have let it go u-unreported!" The fear in his optics and in his heavy broken air cycles seemed to have the necessary effect on his pleading, for the warlord's snarling scowl and the seething glare of his optics seemed to fade back into the darker recesses of his mind. He straightened his spinal column and glanced with distaste at the sheen of energon on his claw tips as Knockout struggled to stand. The gaping gashes in his protoform were no real worry to him- his mind was too focused on keeping Megatron from another volatile outburst and convincing Breakdown to buff the scratches out after all this for him.
"So you say..." he muttered skeptically as he slowly rubbed his talons together. "And if I was to take your word for it." A ragged sigh of eternal thanks to merciful Primus shadowed Megatron's turning away from Knockout. "Then that still leaves the question of how you just so happened to not know of her pregnancy."
"Well, um... if I may input on the situation," Knockout started his bid to keep himself alive for the time being. "The act of sparkling carrying is a very delicate procedure- any number of factors may have shielded the spark from detection." Megatron's quirked optic ridges expressed a smidge of believe to the medic's reasoning, and a twitch of his stained talons folded behind his back signalled him to continue.
"She may not have been sparked at the time of the examination, o-or the scanner was malfunctioning, or even her partially organic biology might have interfered with the results!" Knockout went on, trying not to groan with every step he took with a hand stemming the trickle of energon from the largest wound on his right. "And i-if I might ask, my liege..." his dimming optics flitted nervously as he hesitated to inquire. "How do we know now that she was with spark?" He almost dived for the floor again at the sight of Megatron forming a fist, but instead of crashing it into Knockout's faceplate he kept it static as he rotated himself to face the medic again. The look in his optics was cold and somewhat thoughtful, like curious dried blood stains.
"It was that child's birth that prompted her defection in the first place," he eventually answered with little emotion that could be discerned. "I saw it before she escaped."
"What became of it?" Knockout pressed on. Megatron's lips twitched ever so slightly as he delivered his dangerous reply.
"It has been dealt with." The tone told Knockout that any further questions would not be so generously answered- with words rather than a fusion cannon in his face. "Return to your usual duties- I trust this discussion will not leave the walls of this med-bay?" The medic managed a single nod as he recalled where Airachnid's escape had been reported from- the fourth level deck of the Nemesis- those few days ago, and the team of Eradicons that had to close the whole level off for 'cleaning' shortly afterwards when Megatron finally departed again. And on that grim note did he also realise the most nagging question of them all.
'Who in their right mind would sire a sparkling with her?'
xx
"Open Dreadwing's communication link," Megatron relayed to Soundwave as he entered the Command Centre, just registering how long it had been since he saw the soldier. If anyone now knew the importance of keeping appropriate leashes on your officers, it was Megatron. As Soundwave opened the comm channel, the warlord didn't hold back the edge to his addressing tone.
"Dreadwing, where are you?"
"Merely pursuing my destiny, Lord Megatron." His co-ordinates came up on the screen as he spoke- Megatron didn't recognise them, but he sensed that wherever it was, it would soon be Dreadwing's grave.
"Did I not order you to stand down?" The edge sharpened on the stone of his vocaliser as it grated past, already growing wary of just how loyal this Seeker was. They were always ones to watch out for...
"Forgive me, one true master, but it is my hope that vanquishing Optimus Prime will earn your respect." He had to shutter his optics to stop them from rolling at Dreadwing's evident lapse of stupidity.
"Optimus is not so easily disposed of, as I keep trying to explain to all of those who foolishly attempt it!"
"I assure you, Master, in but a few moments Optimus and two others will be blown to their protoforms." He paused a moment to consider Dreadwing's words- in all the times Megatron had received false news of Prime's impending demise, his would-be assassins were never able to actually trap him. And if there were two other Autobots to sweeten the gravestone...
"I will allow it, Dreadwing, in memory of your departed twin, but only this once," Megatron finally relented, with no real anger left in his systems after just subjecting Knockout to the brunt of it. Perhaps Skyquake's death could prove very useful for ensuring Dreadwing's full and loyal return to the Decepticon cause. And he'd be a valuable addition, of course- for as long as he can stay alive.
"I will be surprised if we ever hear from Dreadwing again," Megatron commented with a hint of smugness as he clicked off the comm link. Obviously he didn't expect a reply from Soundwave beside him, but there was something in his energy field that felt... distant. His helm turned to where his officer stood still as ever- too still. It was something that Megatron had noticed as a rather common trend developing within Soundwave recently.
"Soundwave." Megatron's summons was met with no acknowledgement. "Soundwave!" Only when he raised the decibel did the mech's helm snap to attention toward the warlord's voice, not even a semblance of surprise in his frame other than the slight fizzle of his field. Even the faceless couldn't hide everything.
"You've been rather unfocused as of late, Soundwave," Megatron mentioned suspiciously, partially turning himself further in Soundwave's direction. No further response. "I'll expect your Iacon database work to be progressing as ever despite current... events." Not that he'd also expect Airachnid's departure to have any effect on the officer.
He didn't notice Soundwave's confirming nod come with just a nanoklick of hesitation beforehand.