Author's Notes: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! This has been my most read fanfic to date! You guys are so cool! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter of You Will Care For Me :)
Chapter 14
Blinking Lights
Things had taken a turn for the worse over the next week. Honey Venom's spark was growing even weaker, and when she was awake she craved energon nonstop! Her friends were starting to get depressed as it became clear to them that they might lose Honey Venom. Ratchet worked tirelessly in an effort to locate the source of the spark disturbance, and was growing more and more frustrated as he found nothing!
Sunstreaker and Red Alert had dropped their sparklings off at Wheeljack's quarters to let them play with his sparkling. They thought if the three friends stayed together it would help them. They also needed a break from the rigors of childcare.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe walked to Smokescreen's quarters. They had both been invited to a card game that night, and both were ready for a distraction. Both were tired from Terrabyte's frequent night terrors. The little femme never slept through the night, and it was impossible to ignore her when she screamed like a dial-up modem that was being tortured!
When they went inside they found Smokescreen, Jazz, Red Alert, Bluestreak, and Gears. They were drinking cubes of high grade (except Red Alert, who scowled at everyone in jealousy) and Smokescreen was shuffling the deck of Cybertronian sized playing cards.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took their seats at the round foldout table and grabbed a cube of high grade each.
"So, how's parenthood treatin' ya?" Jazz asked affably as he leaned back in his chair.
"Shut up," Sunstreaker groused as he looked at Jazz with dull blue optics.
"Ignore him, he's just been having trouble recharging," Sideswipe made excuses for Sunstreaker, despite the fact that he too had been onlined nearly every night by the little white and black femme.
"Alright folks, the first game of the night is Iacon Hanger," Smokescreen announced as he dealt the cards to the others and then himself, "5 cards, 7 players, 6 losers. Cannons are wild, and crystals have been withdrawn from the deck."
"Next time can we play an earth card game?" Bluestreak asked eagerly, "Like old maid? Or go fish? They have the funniest names for card games here!"
"Hey, Smokescreen," Gears whispered in Smokescreen's audio receptors, "Why did you invite Red Alert? He ain't exactly good company."
"You're one to talk," Smokescreen shot back at him, "Besides, Red Alert is the worst card player of all time. His lights flash when he has a bad hand, and he giggles softly when he has a good hand. Last time I played poker with him I won 250 energon chips and would've won more if Inferno hadn't dragged him away."
Gears smirked at that, sparing a passing glance at the paranoid security officer as he looked at his cards. Sure enough, Red Alert's headlights were flashing and he looked at the cards as if they were about to come to life and eat him!
"I'll open the vault with 5 energon chips," Smokescreen announced as he dropped his energon chips in the middle of the table.
"I'll enter the vault with 10," Jazz said smoothly as he flicked his chips on the table.
"Put me down for *yawn* 10 as well," Sideswipe said drowsily as he shoved some chips on the table.
"I'm out," Gears said begrudgingly as he put his 5 cards underneath the deck.
"Well, let's see," Bluestreak deliberated, "I could go in for 10 or 15 chips, but what if I lose? Do I really want to start so high in my first round? Then again, if I wasn't going to open the vault, then what's the point of even playing? I don't know! Jazz, what do you think I should do? Oh wait! Am I even allowed to ask you? Then again, you've already bid, so…"
Bluestreak went on in this manner for another 15 minutes before he decided to fold and put his cards under the deck. After those that wanted to open opened, they went around the table again and placed their bets. Jazz won the first hand, but that was no surprise. His good-natured demeanor didn't change even if he had a losing hand.
In the next round, Red Alert looked at his cards and laughed heartily! Then he bet 20 energon chips to open the vault. Unfortunately for Red Alert, no one would enter the vault with him, so he just wound up breaking even.
"It's a conspiracy!" Red Alert shouted, "You all knew what my hand was! This is all a plot to take all my money! Admit it!"
Smokescreen and Sideswipe laughed despite Red's accusing glare. They couldn't help themselves.
The third round started with Bluestreak opening the vault with 5 energon chips. Red Alert entered with 5 more chips, and then Gears entered with 10 more. They went around the table either folding or entering until a loud crash on the table caused the energon chips to topple over and the cards to fly in all directions! Once everyone got over the shock, they figured out where the pounding had come from...Sunstreaker's head had crashed on the table when he went into stasis lock!
"Aw, scrap!" Sideswipe groaned as he hefted his brother onto a nearby couch, "We should probably go now. Sunny and I haven't been getting a lot of recharge lately. Terrabyte keeps us up at night with her night terrors."
"Really?" Red Alert asked with interest, "Do you think the Decepticons are probing her processor while she recharges? They could be sending the beam through a satellite uplink."
"No, I think she's just having nightmares," Sideswipe said dismissively.
"I know," Smokescreen nodded as he thought back to the therapy sessions, "She is a brave little sparkling. After everything she's been through, I'm surprised she can function at all."
"Wait, you mean you know what the nightmare is?" Sideswipe asked curiously, "So, what is it?"
"You don't know?" Smokescreen asked, concerned, "I'm surprised she hasn't told you by now. She's been with you for five months! Of course, I cannot reveal this sensitive information due to patient-doctor confidentiality."
"Stop being so full of yourself!" Sideswipe exclaimed with a lopsided grin, "You're not a doctor! The only reason you got this job is because nobody else wanted it! You're not even a licensed therapist! You can tell me if you want. Just whisper it in my audio receptor..."
Smokescreen bristled at the red twin's tone, but at the same time he did feel guilty for not telling him. If Sunstreaker and Sideswipe didn't know what was wrong with the sparkling then how could they hope to fix it? Smokescreen told Jazz he could deal the next hand while he led Sideswipe to the back room where his office was.
Smokescreen closed the door behind them, and then drew in some air to cool down his overheating systems. This was a tough decision for him to make.
"Alright Sideswipe, I will tell you Terrabyte's dream, but this is the only thing I'll tell you and only because talking with her about it might help her recharge at night," the tense way Smokescreen said those words told Sideswipe that whatever memory kept the sparkling awake at night was a traumatizing one, "Terrabyte told me that she replays the same memory every night. It's the memory of her parents being murdered by a group of enemy soldiers when she was one and a half vorns old."
"Wait, you mean she saw it happen?" Sideswipe asked; his voice filled with sorrow and hatred for the Decepticons that did this to her, "She never told us. Now that I think about it, Terrabyte doesn't really talk much, to us or anyone else."
"Yes, it is difficult for me to get much out of her during our sessions as well," Smokescreen empathized, "She mentioned that she used to talk a lot more before the attack that claimed her parents lives. You see Sideswipe, during the attack one of the killers grabbed Terrabyte by the throat and damaged her vocal processor. That is why she sounds the way she does today. She hates her voice, and not just because it is difficult to understand. She hates it because it reminds her of the mech that took her parents away."
"I wish Sunny and I could get our servos on the fraggers that did this to her! They'd be sorry!" Sideswipe growled; his tone surprisingly venomous for the easygoing red twin, "Does she know their designations? They might still be alive on Cybertron!"
"She has never said one way or the other," Smokescreen replied, "Now, I really have said too much. I hate violating the confidentiality agreement, but Terrabyte needs to be able to discuss these matters with Sunstreaker and with you. She'll never move on if she doesn't."
"Why would anyone choke a sparkling?" Sideswipe whispered as he shook his head in disbelief, "I knew she was damaged, and I knew that she was likely strangled, but I guess I was in denial. No wonder she's so sensitive! I still remember when our creator was offlined. Sunny and I weren't in the house at the time. He hid us under the floor panels because he knew Decepticons were in the area. We stayed down there quietly for hours, and when we came back up, that was when we saw his body. I don't see it in my dreams like when I was little. I don't even remember what he looked like. I guess I blocked it out. Maybe someday she will, too."
Smokescreen nodded sympathetically and waited for Sideswipe to say something else, but he didn't. Taking that as a cue, Smokescreen opened the door and they returned to the card game; Sunstreaker still in recharge on the couch.
Playtime had been noisy to say the least. Wheeljack had taken the sparklings to the Dinobots' lair at Q-Boom's insistence, and the eight of them had a blast pretending to be monsters from the Godzilla franchise (Grimlock, of course, insisted on being Godzilla). For two hours Wheeljack sat back in a beat-up recliner and worked on an invention he had been neglecting as he listened to the little ones (and big ones) play and scream as they ran around.
Once the new component was secured and tested, Wheeljack subspaced his new weapon and called out to the group that it was snack time. They ran up to Wheeljack like a thundering herd! He was almost certain he'd get trampled by the Dinobots and have to call Ratchet to get the sparklings! Luckily for him, they had better control over themselves than that.
"Oh, boy! Snacks!" Grimlock cried out when Wheeljack started pulling energon goodies out of his subspace.
"Hey, him Snarl got a bigger energon goodie than me Swoop!" Swoop whined.
"Hey, quit shovin'! It's my turn!" Q-Boom elbowed Slag as she flew above him and back down to grab her treat.
Sludge and Terrabyte were the most polite of the group as they calmly waited their turn for treats. Sludge still wasn't totally comfortable with Terrabyte, and she wasn't too comfortable with him either, but they both worked around their shyness and tried to get along.
Wheeljack doled out energon goodies to everyone as they came to claim their fair share. When he was done, he noticed that he still had one energon goodie left, and then he saw why. Curled up in the corner, crying, was Phobia; unwilling to look at everyone else enjoying their candy.
Wheeljack walked up to her, placed his servo gently on her back, and held out the energon goodie for her.
"Come on, Phobia," Wheeljack prodded warmly, "Don't you want to join your friends? You were having so much fun a minute ago. What happened?"
Phobia's intake caught a few times as she tried to stop crying, and after a minute she said "I can't...I can't eat that!"
Wheeljack nearly hit his head with his fist! Of course! She was an energon leech, and that meant she couldn't eat solid matter! How did he not think of that?
"It's okay, Phobia," Wheeljack rubbed her back soothingly, "You can feed off me. I've got enough energon to spare."
"It's not just that!" Phobia wailed as she looked ready to start crying again, "I can't do anything! I can't eat, I can't whistle, and I can't even smile! Why was I sparked with no mouth? What kind of stupid programming is that?"
"It's okay Phobia, I understand," Wheeljack tried to console her.
"No you don't!" Phobia snapped miserably.
"Actually, I do," Wheeljack replied in a conspiratorial tone of voice, "You wanna know something about me?"
Phobia's red optics looked up at him with unabashed curiosity. He knew he had her attention now, and he hoped what he did next wouldn't backfire on him.
Wheeljack removed his welder's mask, and Phobia's hands went to the sides of her head where her tiny speakers were as she gasped! There was nothing there!
"You don't have a mouth either!" Phobia gasped in awe as she looked at Wheeljack's exposed face.
"That's right!" Wheeljack replied cheerfully.
He then pulled a couple of neck cables to either side to reveal a hole that connected to his chassis.
"This is where my energon goes," Wheeljack explained happily.
"But…" Phobia was speechless for a moment before she finally said "...But you eat in the rec room! Everybody sees you!"
"Yeah, so?" Wheeljack shrugged, "I'll admit, I was a little self-conscious when I was younger. Most mechs have complete face plates, and I sometimes wondered what it would be like, but not anymore. I am who I am, and my friends accept me regardless. Although, if they had any reason to avoid me, it wouldn't be because of my lack of a mouth." He said the last part as he showed her his new weapon.
Phobia giggled when she thought about all the explosions Q-Boom told her about.
"Also, when I was a sparkling sometimes mechs couldn't figure out when I was talking," Wheeljack confided, "That's why when I got my upgrade I added these flashing lights over my speaker. Pretty stylish, huh?"
"Yeah!" Phobia gushed excitedly, "When I grow up, I want blinky lights too! Daddy also has them, and they flicker when he senses danger, like Spider-Man! Maybe I'll also get a face mask that looks like Optimus Prime's! Only black. Black matches my hearse mode."
Wheeljack laughed and patted Phobia's helm affectionately. He just loved sparklings, and was glad he was able to help his daughter's little friend out.
"So, what do you say? Wanna go back and play with your friends?" Wheeljack asked.
"No," Phobia replied, "Q-Boom got to be Mothra, and I wanted to be Mothra. Can I stay here and feed on some of your energon? Please, Mr. Wheeljack?"
Wheeljack chuckled again and lifted her up on his shoulders. She giggled as he gave her a piggy back ride back to the recliner so he could sit down while she ate.
Another day had passed. It seemed each hour was precious when it came to Ratchet and his work with Honey Venom. Her spark was fading and throbbing, it had turned from a healthy pink to an energon-deprived purple! He didn't understand it! They fed her more than enough! Why were her systems telling her she was starving?
The sparklings were all in the room with her. Ratchet had tried several times to get them to leave, but they wouldn't budge. Even when he threatened them with words as colorful as he would use on any adult they still didn't leave her! Now they were all huddled together recharging in a pile on Honey Venom's berth!
Ratchet needed to take another scan, so he gently moved little bodies around until he could get a clear reading of his patient. The movement was enough to wake up Q-Boom.
"Hey, Doc…" Q-Boom mumbled sleepily, "D'you mind? I'm trying to recharge, here!"
"You could recharge much more comfortably in your own berth," Ratchet groused.
"No I couldn't," Q-Boom argued, "It's too big. I guess sometimes I sleep okay when I'm in a pile with my Dino-brothers, but Snarl leaks cleaning fluid from his mouth when he sleeps. It gets in my vents."
Ratchet didn't want to get into an argument with a sparkling, so he just shook his head and sighed deeply. He hated to deny them this chance to be near their friend. He knew Honey Venom didn't have long now. She probably wouldn't even wake up again.
"Hey, Blood Bank!" Q-Boom called out to the medic,"If you'll pardon my language, you look like slag. You should probably recharge with the rest of us. Not in our berth though! You're too big to fit in here with us."
"I can't recharge yet," Ratchet said as he reached for a device to read the latest energon samples from Honey Venom, "As long as she's still alive I still have a chance to save her! There has to be something I'm overlooking! Some disease, or perhaps a chronic condition…"
"Um, Doc?" Q-Boom's face took on a pensive and almost apologetic look as she spoke, "I, uh...I hate to tell you this, but I've seen this before."
"What? Where?!" Ratchet demanded; immediately regretful of the harsh tone he used, but Q-Boom didn't seem to notice.
"At the foundling home," Q-Boom said matter-of-factly, "It happened to several sparklings. They would be sick like this, and then they would die. The adults stopped feeding them when they saw this happening because they knew the energon wasn't working. Sparklings that went through this didn't live. Ever. The only reason Honey Venom is still here is because you and Skyfire feed her. Just skip a meal or two and she'll slip away, just like that."
Ratchet sighed. He had hoped something Q-Boom said would give him the answer to solve this dilemma, but instead it just made him more confused and concerned.
"So...Is this a contagious disease?" Ratchet asked.
"I don't know," Q-Boom shrugged.
"Did the adults ever catch it?" Ratchet asked.
"No," Q-Boom replied.
Ratchet rubbed the bridge of his nose cone. He still didn't have the answer, and now it seemed that this was a condition that was 100 percent fatal. Still, he couldn't rule out that maybe the underfunded foundling home simply wasn't equipped to deal with such an outbreak of...whatever this was.
"I really don't want to lose my patient," Ratchet lamented out loud; forgetting for a moment that Q-Boom was listening, "She's so young, and so full of potential. Why is this happening? To lose a sparkling that's only 5 vorns old-"
"8," Q-Boom interrupted him.
Ratchet stopped in his tracks, turned around slowly to face Q-Boom, and said "8? What do you mean, 8?"
"She's 8 vorns old," Q-Boom informed him, "Actually she might be 9 now. They don't keep good track of these things in foundling homes."
That was it! Ratchet had the answer!
When a Cybertronian is between the ages of 4 to 6 vorns old is when it's safest for them to be upgraded to adult bodies. If the sparkling turns 7 without an upgrade, then the spark grows too large for the smaller spark chamber to contain it, and the body itself becomes insufficient to process and store energon! Honey Venom wasn't sick! She had a constricted spark! Her sparkling body was suffocating her adult spark!
/Ratchet to Skyfire!/ Ratchet comm'ed the shuttle, /Get to the medbay now, and bring protoform sheet metal! We need to build a body!/