Ch.10
Nightfire onlined once again in the medbay that was Ratchet's domain. The twins were sat together on a berth nearby, watching him with worried optics. They had been fighting on the other side of Praxus when the battle turned against the Decepticons after the defeat of Lycos and hadn't even known their little brother had been involved in the defeat of the gestalt until they were summoned to Ratchet's medbay. They both agreed that Nightfire temporarily blocking their bond whilst fighting was definitely not a good idea if he was going to get into these sorts of situations. Nightfire groaned in pain as he tried to push himself up off the berth and the twins reacted instantly, Sunstreaker pushing him back down onto the berth while Sideswipe called for Ratchet. The CMO very quickly showed up, Prowl in tow, and glared down at the recovering AlleyBot. Ratchet grabbed a wrench from his subspace and whacked Nightfire across the back of his helm with the tool.
"You utter dumb-aft! You couldn't stay out of my medbay for even one slagging day?! What was your malfunction taking on a gestalt by yourself?! You're lucky that …"
Nightfire tuned out Ratchet's long winded rant as he looked around the medbay at the other survivors from the Praxus battlefields. His spark sank when he saw how few Praxian's had appeared to have survived the slaughter and made it back to the main Autobot base in Iacon. He shook his head, what a waste of life. He may have been a gladiator, a killer with the energon of countless other Cybertronians staining his hands, but deep down he hated it all. The sounds, the smells, the sight of death; he hated all of it. He was rudely pulled from his musings by Prowl's quiet, yet authoritative, cough.
"Due to your actions yesterday this is just a formality really. However … welcome to the Autobots Nightfire."
Prowl held out the red Autobot badge to the younger mech who took it, running his fingers over the insignia.
"Your name has already been added to the duty roster and I want you to report to Wheeljack as soon as you are released from medbay. He needs someone who can easily design and adjust weapons so I've assigned you to help him when you are not on the front lines. That is all."
The door-winged mech turned and left without another word. Nightfire frowned slightly before shrugging and handing the insignia over to Ratchet.
"Well, where do you want this thing youngling?"
Nightfire tapped the centre of his left chest plate.
"'ere."
As Ratchet easily fixed the insignia into place, grumbling all the while about crazy frontliners and their lack of basic manners, Nightfire thought about what Prowl had said. He was about to ask Ratchet about this Wheeljack that the SIC had mentioned when a plaintive cry sounded from across the medbay. Ratchet sighed and set aside his tools.
"Ironwill's IV must have run out again."
Nightfire and the twins all looked confused.
"'ho's Ironwill?"
The medic gestured to a small cot-shaped berth on the other side of medbay as he mixed up some fine grade energon and minerals.
"He's the youngest of the six AlleyBot survivors from Praxus that made it to the Autobots. Too young to be away from his carrier really but he was found curled up next to her body by one of the recovery teams and brought here. He still needs sparkling energon but none of the other Praxians are willing to take him on so I've had him in here on an IV line to give him what he needs. He's purged everything else we've tried, I'm not sure why."
Nightfire frowned behind his mask at the medics words as he approached the sparkling's berth. Peering in, he studied the little Praxian. Large amethyst optics brimming with coolant stared back at him from a rust-orange and silver face, brown winglets twitching. A brief flash of anger shot through Nightfire and he glared over at the five other Praxian AlleyBot's who were all leaving medbay. How could they be so sparkless as to abandon such an innocent bitlet? As the sparklings ear final's drooped in distress Nightfire reached in and clumsily scooped the tiny mechling into his arms. Tucking the sparkling into the crook of his elbow, Nightfire reached down to a small panel on his side. Yanking it open as he sat himself down on an empty berth Nightfire fumbled for a second before pulling free a feeding line. Shifting Ironwill into his other arm he introduced the end of the line to the sparkling's mouth, hoping the little one recognised it. Ironwill quickly latched on and began to noisily gulp the highly refined mineral rich energon, happy chirrs occasionally making themselves heard as the sparkling fed.
Nightfire looked up when he heard Sideswipe take an image capture, the red twin smirking like the mechano-cat that caught the cyber-canary. Nightfire glowered but his brother was completely shameless. Even Ratchet and Sunstreaker looked like they were trying to hide grins.
"No' gonna make a good sire huh?"
Nightfire stuck out his tongue.
"Shaddup … it's just, ah'm not gonna make another bitlet go through wat ah did."
A small burp and a hiccup signified Ironwill having finished his feed. The little Praxian stared up at the much bigger AlleyBot holding him, optics wide. Suddenly he reached up and grabbed at Nightfires face, a wide smile splitting his face as he made a light cooing sound. Nightfire couldn't help but laugh and blow warm air onto Ironwill's chubby stomach plating, causing the little mech to squeal happily and wriggle in Nightfire's arms. Nightfire nuzzled the little mech.
"Ah thin' Glacie's gonna love yew."
He looked up at Ratchet.
"We'll take 'im. Ah'm not lettin' 'im grow up alone on da base."
Without even waiting for the medic to argue Nightfire stood up and headed towards Glacialnova's room, Ironwill comfortably curled up in his arms. As he slipped into his girlfriend's room the femme looked up at him. She raised an eyebrow at the little Praxian in Nightfire's arms.
"'e don' 'ave anyone swee' spar'. Ah couldn' leave 'im, 'e needs someone ta take care of 'im."
Glacialnova reached out for Ironwill, Nightfire willingly handing him over. A gentle smile was all Nightfire needed to know that his girlfriend was just as willing to care for the little orphan as he was. He turned back towards the door and Glacialnova looked up in confusion.
"Nightfire?"
Nightfire gripped the doorframe tightly, a dark look passing over his face.
"Ah'm gonna go 'ave words wit' da other Praxian's dat came in wit' Ironwill. Dey ditched 'im Glacie, ah wanna know why."
With that gruff proclamation Nightfire slipped out of the door.
_PAGE BREAKER_
The Rec Room was full of mechs and femmes all enjoying a cube or two of energon between shifts. At one table five Praxian AlleyBots were all laughing as they drunk their cubes. The group consisted of three mechs and two femmes. Interceptor looked at the rest of his team, Enforcer, Law and Order, and Patrol as they roughhoused and joked over their cubes. As the only other Praxian AlleyBot to have survived the Fall of Praxus was holed up in medbay where he couldn't bother them the gestalt team were all in good spirits. Interceptor was disturbed from his drinking when a blue and silver hand slammed onto the table. He looked up into the fiercely blazing visor of a large Kaonite mech. The rest of his team had quietened, in fact the entire room was silent as the Kaonite growled dangerously.
"Why?"
Interceptor looked confused, what had he done to incite the ire of this mech, he didn't even know him, although he did look somewhat familiar.
"'scuse me?"
The visor narrowed aggressively.
"Ah said why? Why did ya abandon Ironwill? 'e's just a bitlet."
Ah … that's what was wrong. Interceptor shrugged as he went back to his energon.
"He's no' our bitlet, why should he be our problem?"
No-one, least of all Interceptor, expected the thunderous punch that sent the Praxian flying from his seat and crashing onto the floor with an obliterated jaw strut. The rest of his team reacted with loud angry shouts as they made to stand. The loud whine of cannons warming up quickly halted them as the twins, who had been watching the situation unfold, now moved to back up their brother. Quickly sending a pulse of thanks along the bond Nightfire reached down and grabbed Interceptor by his neck cables and lifted the struggling Praxian up so he could look him in the optic. He snarled quietly.
"Yew abandon a sparklin' … the only one ta survive Praxus … cuz 'e's not YOURS?!"
The angry Kaonite's voice rose to an enraged roar as he harshly squeezed the neck cables in his grip, ignoring the Praxian trying to pry his fingers loose. He suddenly slammed Interceptor into the wall and his voice dropped to a malevolent whisper.
"Yew don' look at 'im, yew don' speak ta 'im, yew don' even go near 'im. 'e don' deserve ta 'ave ta deal wit' yew an' yer team an' yew can watch as mah femme an' meh raise 'im … an' we ain' even da same frame type. Bot's like yew are worse dan da Con's, at least dey'll put sparklin's out of der misery instead o' leavin' dem ta starve."
"What the slag is going on here?!"
Nightfire coldly let the Praxian drop as he was pulled away by two large, burly Autobots. Interceptor struggled up and tried to punch Nightfire only to be restrained by another Autobot. Both AlleyBots were dragged to stand in front of a seething Ironhide, whose arms were folded but the ever present cannons were clearly visible. The weapons specialist glowered, his blue optics blazing furiously.
"If you two have problems with each other then you sort it out during training, not in the fragging Rec Room! Brig, both of you, for two shifts … see if that cools your tempers."
Enforcer was about to protest when the angry Autobot turned on him.
"Do you want to join them?"
The small Praxian was quickly hauled back by another one of his team mates as they fled the Rec Room, all of them throwing dark looks at the unrepentant Kaonite. Nightfire threw a lazy grin at his brothers as he was escorted out of the Rec Room and towards the Brig.
"So worth it."
So Nightfire's found himself with a son and a rival in one day, he's been busy :)
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