CHAPTER XIX: WHAT ONCE WAS CARRIED
Splitwing was on her way to the lounge to pick up some energon for herself. It had been nearly a day and a half since she had picked up the signal of Snowblitz and the femme was still in a medical induced stasis for repairs. Ratchet had mentioned to her that morning he would be awakening the white flier possibly later that afternoon, but Splitwing chose not to be too hopeful.
With the loss of her armor and the extent to which her energon lines had been punctured, Splitwing figured Snowblitz would be out for at least another day. However, Ratchet was one of the finest medics that Splitwing had ever met, so the possibility that Snowblitz could be at full functionality in such a short time wasn't entirely illogical.
: Splitwing, are you available for a short discussion? :
Splitwing blinked slowly as the thoughts began to cycle through her mind. : Of course, Ratchet, when would you like to see me? :
Was Snowblitz in danger off spark-failure? Were her welds not setting? Was there a setback in Railhead's recovery?
: Immediately. :
: Certainly. I will be there right away. : Splitwing disconnected the link between her and the Chief Medic and turned from the lounge towards the medical bay.
It suddenly occurred to her how far the lounge was from the med-bay. She had numerous corridors and corners to cover, yet the base itself was rather puny in comparison to those many she had been in before.
Perhaps it was because the original construction was a design from that of the humans. Or, maybe, the amount of Autobots on base was growing to be a number that exceed the carrying capacity of the location.
Either way, the small square footage had turned into a spiraling labyrinth that Splitwing found rather vulnerable to attack should the Decepticons ever learn of their position.
Splitwing made a mental note to herself to bring up the point with both Optimus and the human leaders of the base.
Then she reminded herself that she needed to find more information about the sudden disappearance of Agent William Fowler. There was something so off about Galloway that she refused to accept his sudden assignment to the Autobots.
She also remembered she had to refill her transkit with more temporary patches—if Ratchet had any to spare.
She made a left turn into an empty hallway, her train of thoughts running rampant in her processor. It was quite organized chaos that one might never understand if they were to see inside her head.
Suddenly Splitwing's proximity sensors blared in her mind, her wings stiffened and her stance turned into one of cautious defense.
Life Signal Detected—Short Range: Designation Unknown
Her visor dimmed as she narrowed her optics, her digits twitching subtly while she tried to determine just who was roaming the hallways with her.
A light bulb suddenly lit up in her mind.
Splitwing straightened her stance and said firmly, "I know you are there."
A beat of silence ensued before there was ripple in the light to her right, revealing the ruby red mech she knew to be there.
"You always did have sharper sensors than the others," said Mirage as he stepped out of the shadows.
She hummed quietly in her throat, "Something I hadn't thought you'd noticed." She refused to look directly at him, instead choosing to stare down the way ahead of her.
"I was aware of a great many things, but Ultra Magnus' betrayal was not one of them," Mirage moved around her slightly to inspect his old student.
Splitwing's wings lowered and pulled back so they were touching. Mirage knew her thoughts had just turned hostile.
"Something I had expected of you, otherwise how else would he have had an unauthorized vessel auto-piloted from the hangars that were locked down?" She hissed sarcastically.
Mirage's optics narrowed as he came to a stop directly in front of her—looking the femme unswervingly in the visor. "You believe I am a part of his traitorous actions?"
"I believe in numerous theories, but the one in which you aided him meant nothing to me. You had so little faith in my abilities and my willingness to learn, I could not—cannot—think you would have sent me off for such specialized training." Splitwing bared her denta slightly, her lip plates curled into the beginnings of a snarl.
The crimson spy frowned deeply, "I never doubted you, Splitwing—"
"—No?" Splitwing fisted her hands, using all of her will to keep her swords in subspace. "Then I suppose it wasn't your less than stellar reports of my actions that drew Ultra Magnus to me. It must have been by folly he chose my quarters that night!"
"Splitwin—"
"—Do you have any idea how your words condemned me?" Splitwing barked, losing her temper for the first time in a very long time. "How they enslaved me?" She lashed out with her sharp claws in wild gestures. "How they have killed me?!"
"I've seen some of your evidence that proves Ultra Magnus' deceit—"
"—Some? You will never understand my misery until you have seen every last one of my memories; an unjust mercy you are given because I cannot show them all to you!" Splitwing howled and seethed, her visor turning violet in her rage. An unnerving growl sounded from her chest, which prompted Mirage to contact Optimus.
: Prime, I seem to have ended up in a rather delicate situation. :
: In what way, Mirage? :
: Splitwing found me. :
Optimus seemed to hesitate. : What was her reaction? :
The femme turned and thrust her fist into the wall so hard it shook the pillars behind it. "You should be overjoyed I have as much self-control as I do."
: It is not good. She has erupted… quite spectacularly in a demonstration of seeker temper. :
: I will be at your coordinates shortly, I am going to suggest you try and remove yourself from the situation. :
Splitwing slashed at the wall with her claws, seeing all the faces of those that had wronged her. She knew she had to reel in her temper before her glitch activated, but she was just so incredibly mad.
Mirage suddenly felt like a wrecker had pummeled him into the floor. : I fear if I attempt to leave she will cut me in half. : He had always felt guilty for allowing his underlings to disappear like so many had, but as he watched Splitwing tear herself apart his guilt reached a new level.
He was the one catalyst that had driven this femme straight into the hands of a greedy, self-centered, brilliant criminal.
Optimus frowned. He had been correct in his thinking that Splitwing was not to be exposed to Mirage until further notice, but it appeared as though that plan had failed immensely. Now he had a critically wounded, raging, femme seeker on the loose.
: I will be there momentarily. Do not antagonize her, Mirage. :
: Yes, sir. :
Optimus needed only to find a couple people before moving to rescue Mirage.
: Jazz, Prowl, Railhead, rendezvous at these coordinates immediately. :
: What's up, boss bot? : Jazz replied instantly.
: We have a situation. :
ORDER VYNYAN
Splitwing looked to Mirage. Here, standing before her, was a mech that caused so many feelings to erupt within her. She was undeniably pissed off that his words had put her onto Ultra Magnus' radar; she had read his reports when she had infiltrated the academy—a vorn after she had been taken.
She knew exactly how it had happened.
Mirage reported to his group of superiors; of whom Ultra Magnus just so happened to be a part of. Ultra Magnus would have been privy to the knowledge of Splitwing's glitch and aggressive behaviors during sparring. He would have been privy to every single cadets' records. He had had the prime pick of them.
Could she truly blame Mirage? She knew the answer was no, she knew it. Did she believe it? At times. He had been doing what was expected of him, but it had also condemned Splitwing to vorns upon vorns of abuse and suffering.
She snarled at him then, thinking of little Sandflare's face just before she had sealed him in that pod. The small sparkling would never have come to be if Mirage hadn't of painted her in such a desirable light—to Ultra Magnus, of course.
The small sparkling wouldn't be drifting aimlessly in space. Splitwing wouldn't have had to send him off in such a way.
She wouldn't have been further exposed to Crossway.
Crossway—her name had been—the femme carrier to Sandflare, well, originally.
ORDER VYNYAN
Splitwing had just finished her daily ration of energon. It was a meagre bit, but it had to suffice until tomorrow—or until she was given a mission. Energon rations were always increased to those sent off on assignment.
She had recently returned from Xeloks, and despite the separation from her closest friends, she was itching to go back out there. Even though it was always good to rest for a while; she wanted the extra gallon of fuel.
Besides, Railhead and Snowblitz had just been sent off on another task, so Splitwing had no one on which to spend what little spare time she had.
"Splitwing?"
The dark grey femme turned from her path—she had been headed towards her small, shared quarters—to face another seeker femme.
She was a bright, orange-red colour, but her base plating was the shade of dark pitch. She had a slender frame, much more willowy than any other femme Splitwing had known.
It disturbed Splitwing slightly how many thoughts of just how easily it would be to break her in two ran through her mind.
"Crossway."
But by Primus, she hated her. Crossway's face was longer than the distance between both shores of the Rusted Sea.
Her looks weren't really the part that bothered her the most, if at all. No, it was the fact that she had an attitude of self-piety and arrogance that really cranked Splitwing's gut. Crossway could never admit when she was in the wrong or had made a mistake.
She always managed to find a scapegoat for her errors.
She was also the greatest suck-up Splitwing had ever met. Even her old instructor at the academy had been more proud of Crossway than he had been of Splitwing—and that thought never failed to churn her tanks.
"Swing, I need a favour," Crossway grinned as she approached the taller femme.
Splitwing was not slow to make a correction, "I have said it before and I will say it again: my designation is Splitwing, not Swing. If you refuse to learn it, I will engrave it on your forehead."
A flash of rage flickered across the flame-coloured femme's face before she could dismiss the expression. A tight smile took its place, "Look, I really need to talk to you."
"Then speak. I am not inclined to give a favour to one that has never had any interest in me other than discriminatory," Splitwing said stoically as she turned on her heel and continued on her way.
Crossway was quick to catch up to the other seeker. She stumbled over her own pedes as they turned a corner, but she remained silent until Splitwing made it to her room and had entered.
The taller femme then turned to look at Crossway over her shoulder. The slim seeker stood awkwardly in the entrance, rubbing her abdomen armor nervously.
"If you have something to say, say it. You're wasting my time." Splitwing grunted, leaving the door open for Crossway.
The flaming femme stepped hesitantly into the small room, eying Splitwing carefully. Crossway was well-aware of her rather horrible treatment of Splitwing—but she hadn't rightly cared.
She moved and took a seat across from Splitwing on the other berth in the cramped quarters.
She vented harshly in a sigh, "You are literally the only one I could come to about this."
"I doubt that," Splitwing snorted.
Crossway glared sharply at her. "You think I'm here by choice? No. I know we hate each other, but I really need to ask you something."
Splitwing leaned back and crossed her arms. "Then ask."
"We both know that you're his favourite. You get all the missions, especially the long-term ones—which means you get the most energon in the field," Crossway began. She was vigilant of every movement Splitwing made, watchful for some kind of sudden attack—even though Splitwing had never done such a thing.
"Generally, yes."
Crossway sighed, "I don't get a lot of assignments, and the ones I do get are small and insignificant. My energon rations never change."
"Are you asking me to give you my energon?"
She shook her head, glared, and spat, "Let me finish."
Splitwing bared her denta at the fiery coloured seeker, "Then hurry up and finish."
Crossway sneered back, "I'm trying. Anyway, I need your help. I'm… uh…"
Splitwing leaned forward then, optics narrowed beneath her visor, "You're what?"
"I'm carrying. It was one night of mistaken merging and interfa—"
"—What?! You dared to merge even though you were fully aware that you were full of fresh transfluid?" Splitwing growled. Only Crossway would be so selfish as to gain pleasure for herself even though she already had more than Splitwing: a mech and his transfuids.
Splitwing had been well educated in the matters of their kind's reproduction and reproductive parts.
A femme had a gestational chamber behind the spark that would house a mech's transfluids—which could only get into the chamber via manual injection or interfacing.
A mech's transfluids would then be used for one of two purposes; either it would be absorbed during a spark-merge between Cybertronians to create a new spark, or it would be processed by the femme's body. If a femme absorbed it into her own body, it would act as a kind of mineral enrichment, giving her useful vitamins not found in regular grade energon.
It can give the femme enhanced stamina, endurance, and strength—but in a purely natural way.
Only a mech could create transfluid—but it was entirely useless to him once his body had processed it. His waste then would become her treasure and his pleasure.
"Yes! I know! We were both drinking high grade and one thing led to another! Look, I don't have the rations to support this sparkling—but youdo. I want you to carry it." Crossway spat. "There are no other seekers strong enough here that could do it anyway."
Splitwing was gobsmacked. "You want me to carry your mistake, your sparkling, using my energon, then birth it, like I was its carrier?"
Crossway rubbed her face, "Yes. Is that so hard to understand?"
"Yes, yes it is. Crossway, this is a lot to ask of someone that has no positive relation to you. Too much," Splitwing stood and flexed her wings.
Crossway jumped up instantly and grabbed Splitwing's forearms, "Look, I know it's a lot, but if you don't carry it, it won't make it past the first decacycle. If you won't do it for me, do it for the sparkling. Give it a chance."
Splitwing looked slowly down at Crossway's hands on her armor. Crossway let go as if burnt, but did not cease her pleading gaze.
"To clarify: do you believe that even with your mech's transfluids, you will be able to support this sparkling after it's born?"
Crossway bit her lip plates tightly, "I don't know, I'm only going one step at a time."
It was silent in the room. Splitwing continued to look at the spot that Crossway had touched her at, thinking deeply about it.
Help the femme that made her already life of slag miserable, or let an innocent sparkling extinguish. Splitwing vented quietly.
"I will carry the sparkling, but so help you Primus, if you ask anything like this again—I will kill you for your stupidity."
Crossway glared at her, but felt a great sense of relief flood her systems, "Thank you, Splitwing. I owe you one."
"You owe me one I don't rightly think you could ever repay."
ORDER VYNYAN
Splitwing remembered that conversation like it had happened yesterday. Crossway had followed her to her quarters and begged her to carry her newly created sparkling.
She should have said no. Primus, she should have said no.
Splitwing had been given an assignment two days later, and had gone with Crossway to another ex-cadet who had been training as a medic. He transferred the new spark into Splitwing and she had carried him until he was nearly ready to separate from her.
Then Crossway had returned from a mission gone wrong. She had been captured by Decepticons and questioned as an Autobot. Splitwing had never been allowed to know the details.
They had done something horrible to her though. When she returned, she snuck out of the med-bay, waited for Splitwing to return to her quarters—and she forcefully removed little Sandflare from Splitwing's gestational chamber.
The abrupt assault on Splitwing's chamber and the little sparkling—which was still attached to her own spark—caused a hairline crack to form.
ORDER VYNYAN
Prowl and Jazz rounded the corner to the coordinates Optimus had provided only to see Mirage standing ramrod straight—not something really surprising, but it was the fact that Splitwing had the ruby mech so anxious that was certainly unexpected.
She was pacing, crouching, standing and rubbing her chest plates while whispering and hissing words that didn't form a legible sentence. Her hands trembled and her wings shivered severely.
"Prowl? What's goin' on?" Jazz said, a bewildered look on his face.
The black and gold Autobot frowned, "It would appear as though the stress of finding Snowblitz and seeing Mirage has finally caused her to snap."
"What do we do?" Jazz murmured, watching as Optimus appeared at the other end of corridor.
Splitwing collapsed suddenly, clutching her chest and keening loudly.
Mirage darted backwards and Jazz lunged forwards, landing next to Splitwing's head. He grabbed her wrists and cradled her head in his arms, whispering soft words of comfort.
Prowl was suddenly there, settling behind Splitwing's back. He latched onto her wings, stroking the sensitive panels gently and slowly.
"Hush, dearest Splitwing," he whispered.
A vicious quiver shook her entire body, all her vents stuttering and hiccupping with the seizure.
"Optimus, we need Ratchet," Jazz called to the large Cybertronian that had moved closer.
He didn't respond, but instead called the chief medic immediately, explaining to him quickly what was happening—also apologizing for Railhead's quick exit from the med-bay.
The said femme came reeling around the corner then, gasping at the sight of her commander on the ground in such a way.
"Splitwing?" She called tentatively as she edged closer, around the two mechs currently consoling her.
The rich, grey femme didn't respond.
"C'mon Spits, pull out of it!" Jazz grabbed her chin and forced her wild gaze to meet his visor.
Railhead kneel next to Splitwing's legs, watching worriedly while she shook like a leaf.
"Railhead, have you ever witnessed something of this manner with Splitwing before?" Optimus asked, calculating Ratchet's projected time of arrival.
The copper femme shook her head vigorously, "Never. I've only ever seen her glitch out, but that is terrifying on a whole different level."
Optimus nodded solemnly, "Do you recall any traumatic events that could cause her to lapse like this?"
Again, Railhead shook her head. "I don't know. We all had our fair share of slag handed out by Ultra Magnus, but nothing that would cause Splitwing of all bots to react like this."
"What do you mean by that?" Prowl asked, optics snapping to the thick femme.
"I mean that Splitwing never really snapped like this. She usually kept her composure together, but there was one time she was attacked in our quarters and she was never quite the same after it. She'd lose herself in her thoughts a lot more often, and sometimes I'd catch her clawing at her chest—kinda like that," Railhead gestured to Splitwing as she began pulling at her armor again, having momentarily escaped Jazz's grip.
Optimus frowned deeply as Ratchet came barrelling down the hall. He dropped and shoved himself between Railhead and Jazz.
"Move," he ordered.
And move they did.
ORDER VYNYAN
Splitwing was welcomed back into consciousness with the grinning face of Snowblitz.
"Howdy."
Splitwing shoved Snowblitz aside and pulled herself into a sitting position. As she moved, she felt an absurd tautness in all of her muscular cables. She lifted her arms and found the motion to be jerky and stiff—like she had been in a medically induced stasis since she was a sparkling.
"What happened?" She asked.
"We could ask you the same thing," Prowl said as he and Ratchet entered the med-bay.
Splitwing puckered her brow as she tried to recall the missing time from her memory banks.
"You had one helluva time screaming at Mirage, then you collapsed and had a spark-related seizure," explained Ratchet as he sent Splitwing a patronizing glare.
She knew exactly what his thoughts were on the latter of his words.
She glared back.
Then she remembered.
Splitwing had had a flashback to the times when she had been carrying Sandflare, and subsequently, his crude birth from her hold.
She sighed. She would have to apologize to Mirage for threatening him, but she would not apologize for her earlier words—before she had become erratic.
He had needed to hear what she had to say.
"Care to share with us your thoughts?" Ratchet prompted.
Splitwing vented sharply, "Not now, Ratchet. I thank you for taking care of me, once again, but if you'll excuse me, I need to go out for a while."
The medic narrowed his optics until they were mere slits, scrutinizing her every word.
She turned the patronizing glare on him.
"Fine, but you had better report back here at the end of the day for a check-over. I will not have you over stressing your body without proper maintenance," Ratchet growled. "However, we need to have a talk, first."
Prowl watched carefully, trying to discern the meaning behind the events of the day, but there was one big piece missing.
What had happened to Splitwing?
ORDER VYNYAN
Another chapter for everyone to enjoy! I just wish to mention that the idea that Splitwing carried Sandflare isn't new, that was a prospect I have been meaning to incorporate for some time now—I just wanted to wait for the right moment.
And here it is!
Also—do not use my ideas, please. I have never seen in another fanfiction a mech's transfluid used in such a way. If you like the idea and wish to use it in your own story, ask me first. :)
Let me know your thoughts on it all! Please notify me if you spot any mistakes!
turtlelly: I believe that Ratchet knows so much of Prowl's lineage because he is one of the oldest bots around, so I deem it logical enough that he would have possibly known Prowl's carrier and sire. Also, as the CMO, he would have access to all the records for a bot's medical history—including such things as hereditary conditions/traits. Hence, he would have an idea of what Prowl's lineage was like. :)
Mewnekoice12: Nah, it'll be more of physical interaction. You'll have seen some of the details in this chapter, and you'll get the rest soon!
As for requests, well, would you want to request a one-shot? Or do you have input for the plot of the story? Either way, I'd love to hear what you've got and I will see what I can do! :)
It would also be much easier to reply to you if you've got an account? The only way I can currently reply if through an update—which might not always come so quickly!
Luna Uchiha666: I am thrilled you enjoyed it! I love reading those unordinary scenes when one of characters does something unexpected—especially for their character (no pun intended)! :D