Author's Notes: My updates to this story might be less frequent for a while, but don't worry, I haven't given up on it. I've got the whole thing mapped out, and there are several chapters left to go :)
Chapter 21
What's The Plan?
Phobia had been acting strangely for the past few days, and Red Alert had tried to figure out what was wrong, but so far none of his questions had satisfying answers. He feared she had been poisoned by those Decepticons, and it was driving him crazy that Ratchet wouldn't perform more tests! He must've had Phobia in for at least a dozen tests, and Ratchet was getting tired of the security director interfering with his business.
When Red Alert heard about what Dead End had done to his little femme, he wanted to march to Decepticon headquarters and tear Menasor a new one! The problem was that the damage had already been done, and he couldn't go back in time and fix things. He just wished Phobia would talk to him so he could comfort her properly. He tried soothing her spark, but all that did was help her recharge at night. She was still closing off their emotional bond, and Red Alert felt helpless.
Now he was walking into the rec room with his little sparkling in his arms. She still seemed to enjoy being carried around, so at least that was something he could do for her. Wheeljack and Q-Boom were going to the rec room with them, and Wheeljack was talking about some scientific nonsense he didn't understand. Red Alert looked down at the sparklings and noticed that Q-Boom was talking while Phobia ignored her, too. He had to suppress a chuckle when he thought about how alike he and his sparkling were.
When they went into the rec room there were already several Autobots there for their afternoon energon, including Honey Venom who was sitting on the couch in the far corner. Q-Boom flew straight for the gold femme, and Phobia looked up at Red Alert in a silent request to be let down. He obliged, and she walked at a languid pace to where her friends were sitting.
"Hey Q, hey Phobia," Honey Venom greeted them with that ever-present sly smile, "How have things been? It's been so long since we've had a chance to talk."
"Phobia got drunk off the blood of her enemies!" Q-Boom exclaimed in a pumped-up tone of voice.
"That's not funny!" Phobia snapped, "I think the Autobots are mad at me!"
"Oh?" Honey Venom asked curiously, "How has your father been acting?"
"Good, actually," Phobia admitted, "He's been even more worried than usual. Do you think he's afraid I'll run off and get overcharged again?"
"I doubt it," Honey Venom said coolly, "I've been watching your guardians carefully, and I can tell Red Alert trusts you. That's saying something, because the list of mechs that Autobot trusts is very short. I'm not even sure he's on that list."
Phobia perked up when Honey Venom said those words.
"Do you really think he still loves me?" Phobia asked hopefully.
"Are you kidding? If I held you for ransom right now, he'd probably pay it," Honey Venom said reassuringly, "The same goes for Wheeljack. I'm surprised at how well you and he get along, Q. I never thought a brainiac would be your ideal parent, considering how against learning you always were back in Altihex."
"Aw, shaddup!" Q-Boom drawled with mock irritation, "You're just jealous because we have parents and you have a chaperone. Say, how is the Designated Driver?"
"Skyfire is doing well, actually," Honey Venom said before taking a sip of her energon and leaning back, "He transported a group of humans from a flood zone. They gave him a blanket that was knitted by their local quilting club. He doesn't need a blanket, but I can tell he still treasures their gift. Personally I think the humans look like water-filled bugs mixed with monkeys, but who am I to judge?"
"Look on the bright side, I hear Banana hates the humans, too," Q-Boom teased her as she flew up to the backrest of the couch and perched on it, "Who knew you two had so much in common?"
"Do not compare me to Sunstreaker!" Honey Venom warned with a dangerous edge to her tone, "As I said, I've been watching the guardians carefully, and I have some concerns. I think Terrabyte is about to blow her cover, and Sunstreaker will not hold back if he knows the truth about her."
"What should we do?" Phobia asked worriedly.
"What can we do?" Q-Boom asked rhetorically, "Terrabyte got herself into this mess, and she can get herself out."
"That's the problem, Q. She can't," Honey Venom told her, "Sunstreaker views our dear Terrabyte as his daughter now. To try to remove her from the home would be suicide. She's done well so far, but she's not acclimating to her new environment. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe will become suspicious if she doesn't start behaving like an adopted daughter instead of a cornered turbo rat. Now that I think about it, you two have endeared yourselves to the Autobots very well so far. You are both model sparklings, and therefore might do well to tutor Terrabyte on the proper way to treat a foster father."
"I know, I know!" Phobia jumped up and down and raised her hand, "She should give him a present! When I want someone to like me, I give them presents! Of course, she would have to get two presents because Sideswipe will want one too, but she has to give the best present to Sunstreaker otherwise he'll think she likes Sideswipe more."
"Oh, and she can play games with Sunstreaker and follow him around while he's at work!" Q-Boom added, "I always follow Pop around when he's working. Maybe she could make something explode. That's always good for a laugh."
"Um...Maybe Phobia should be Terrabyte's tutor," Honey Venom said as gently as she could manage, but it still came across as condescending, "No offense, but you have a very...big personality. Terrabyte is shy, and probably wouldn't be able to pull off your particular brand of socialization techniques."
"It still won't work," Q-Boom commented, "Terrabyte will never love Sunstreaker, and she's not a very good actress. We still need a way to get her out of there without getting the twins mad at us."
"Well...There is one avenue I haven't tried yet, but it's risky," Honey Venom replied hesitantly, "I will try it, but I won't tell you what I'm doing."
"Aww, come on! You gotta tell us!" Q-Boom whined.
"No, I don't," Honey Venom replied with finality, "If this fails, I don't want anyone tracing my actions back to you. If anyone asks you know nothing, and I was acting alone."
"Got it. We know nothin'," Q-Boom nodded.
"Yes, that shouldn't be too difficult for you to pull off," Honey Venom quipped as she stood up, "I'm going to enact my plan now. Wish me survival."
"Hope you don't die!" Q-Boom chirped happily.
"Don't scratch Sunstreaker in his recharge!" Phobia added, "I know you want to, but don't do it!"
Honey Venom rolled her optics at her friends. Sometimes they were just so blunt, but she knew she shouldn't expect anything else. After all, they were only sparklings.
Later that day Phobia was feeding off Red Alert. He drank extra energon in the rec room to make sure she got enough, and he was feeling a little weighed down. The time she spent with her friends seemed to do her a lot of good, but there still seemed to be a cloud hanging over their heads.
"Sparklet," Red Alert tried again, despite knowing she probably wouldn't say anything, "Did I do something to upset you? You've seemed rather sullen lately. You know you can tell me anything, right?"
At first he thought she would ignore his question again. He was sure she didn't want to talk to him, but then...
"Why did you adopt me?" Phobia asked out of the blue.
"Because I wanted to keep you safe and happy," Red Alert replied without hesitation.
"Really?" Phobia asked.
"Yes, really," Red Alert said as he leaned back in his chair so he could hold Phobia at a more comfortable angle.
"Then why did the Autobots let you keep me?" Phobia asked suspiciously, "Are they trying to boost their ranks with death machines?"
"Sparklet, if that was all the Autobots wanted you would've already been upgraded by now," Red Alert answered her candidly, "That's how Megatron does things. He won't wait for a spark to be ready for adulthood. He and Shockwave will upgrade mechs that aren't even a vorn old yet. You know those Stunticons you ran into? They're only a couple earth years old. They're crazy because their sparks can't handle the adult bodies they were given. Of course, I would never do that to you. You're my little femmeling."
"Does the Prime want me to upgrade?" Phobia asked nervously.
"No, he knows you're not ready," Red Alert reassured her, "Phobia, you are not a tool to be used and thrown away. You're a person, and everybody here knows that. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
"I love you, Daddy," Phobia said as she hugged Red Alert.
"I love you too, Sparklet," Red Alert replied as he put his arm around Phobia.
The two just sat there in silence for a while. Phobia fed off Red Alert until she fell into recharge, and Red Alert didn't feel like getting up to move her to the berth, so he just sat there in the chair with his bundle of joy.
Honey Venom took in a deep intake of air, and steeled herself for what she was about to do. Going into the Prime's office unannounced seemed like a very bad idea, but she needed to do this for Terrabyte. Out of all of her friends Terrabyte was the most loyal, and she couldn't afford to lose that loyalty when the others were no longer dependent on her to survive. To think she had been replaced by Autobots…
She knocked on the door, knowing she could easily be turned away, but surprisingly the Prime invited her in. He even seemed happy to see her. She took this as a sign of his good mood and proceeded to sit down. She just hoped the words she chose for this meeting would be well-received. She needed the Prime on her side.
"Honey Venom, what can I do for you?" Optimus Prime asked in a friendly tone of voice.
Honey Venom tried to keep her features neutral and her stance professional. She was an Autobot soldier after all, and she didn't want what she said next to sound too emotional.
"Prime sir, I am grateful that you have allowed me to see you on such short notice," Honey Venom said cordially, "I have a matter of great importance to discuss. You see sir, I believe that my associate Terrabyte is in danger."
"Oh?" Prime asked as he quirked an optic ridge, "And why do you believe that?"
"Well sir…" Honey Venom froze for a moment. She was about to bad-mouth one of the Prime's most useful warriors. She needed to present a solid case. "...I believe that Sunstreaker is unfit to be Terrabyte's guardian, and I humbly request that you remove her from his care and transfer her to a different Autobot. If necessary, I will take her."
Optimus Prime said nothing, and his face mask made him difficult to read, but Honey Venom was sure he was unconvinced. After an awkward pause, she spoke again.
"Please understand that I respect Sunstreaker's abilities as a soldier," Honey Venom quickly added before continuing to make her point, "I just don't think he's the best mech to raise a sparkling, and especially a special needs case like Terrabyte. She was sparked from Decepticon parents, and no matter what she is now, nothing will change the fact that she was born a Decepticon. Sunstreaker hates Decepticons, and has used this as an excuse to torment my associate. He treats her like garbage, and because of his abuse she is losing sleep and lives in constant fear. If she is ever to be an effective Autobot she needs to feel that her Prime will watch out for her. All I ask is that you find someone who will not use Terrabyte's coding against her."
Honey Venom exaggerated her case, but she knew it was for the greater good. If the Prime was to side with her, then she needed him to believe in the immediate threat. Autobots were soft-sparked, and appealing to his sense of pity seemed to be the best bet for getting Terrabyte away from the twins.
"Honey Venom," Optimus Prime said after a moment, "I believe you are mistaken. I have seen Sunstreaker with Terrabyte, and the way he treats her. I've never seen Sunstreaker care about anything the way he cares about that sparkling. He and Sideswipe have done everything in their power to help Terrabyte to heal. I will have Prowl look into this, but I doubt he'll find anything untoward. I understand why you believe this. You're scared for your friend because of your shared Decepticon heritage. You are wrong about one thing though: what you are now matters more than who you used to be. I do not judge what you once were, and the Autobots accept you and your friends as you are."
"I see," was all Honey Venom could think to say, "Thank you for your time, sir. I also thank you for looking into my claims. I'm sorry I bothered you, sir. Am I dismissed?"
"Yes, Honey Venom," Optimus said with an air of bemusement, "Hopefully everything will be ironed out soon enough. You and your friends are doing fine. Don't worry so much. You will fit in soon enough."
Honey Venom bowed slightly at Optimus Prime and left without another word.
That meeting was a disaster! Now not only was Terrabyte still unprotected in her home, but now Honey Venom would be a known saboteur (and not the official kind). She had to get the twins away from Terrabyte before they discovered what she really was...