Hello everyone!
Firstly, I am so sorry that this chapter took longer than usual, and is shorter than usual! I have been so busy since I got back from vacation! I had to watch my little cousin the other day, and I have been looking for a job and doing interviews in said job-search! From now on, chapters will likely take longer than usual to be published, especially if I manage to land a job! The writer's block I've been having recently also hasn't been a big help DX If any of you amazing readers have any ideas for this story, I beg of you: please share them! I love to hear ideas that others have for this story!
As always, thank you everyone who's faved, followed, read and reviewed! Your support is appreciated!
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
Enjoy and please share ideas!
Koa quietly stared at the T.V. The large screen was switched to a random channel, and Koa wasn't paying any attention to what was on. it could've been National Geographic, or Disney for all he knew. He, frankly, was too distracted by his thoughts to care.
It was getting close to that time of year, Koa mused. He hadn't even realized it until his nightmare the other day. Two weeks from now would be the ten year anniversary since he'd first been rescued from his father.
That meant the nightmares would be coming far more frequently now, and that meant he'd probably get no sleep for the next month. He hated it, hated that even after ten years, his father still made him suffer to this day...
He hadn't told Sideswipe about his dad. Then again, he'd never told anyone about him. What could he say? His story was so...insane, sometimes he hardly believed it himself.
Besides, how would that story even start? How could he begin telling it in a way that sounded even remotely sane? Who would even believe him, believe that his father had been so deeply involved in such disturbing things?
Giving a sound of frustration, Koa ran a hand through his hair. This was getting him no where, all this thinking was only managing to accomplish in getting him angry.
Koa jumped, thoughts interrupted, when the front door slid open and, peering over the back of the couch, he saw Sideswipe enter. There was a strange light of excitement to his expression, and he seemed to have a slight skip to his step. By now Koa knew to be wary when Sideswipe was so happy, because it usually meant one of two things: He had a new idea for a prank, or he'd already pulled one off on one of the unfortunate 'bots on base.
"Should I be worried?"
The question surprised Sideswipe, but the mech shook his head all the same.
"No. Why?"
"You've got that look on your face. The 'I-plan-to-make-trouble' face."
Sideswipe made a flippant gesture.
"I don't make a face like that, kid." Koa rolled his eyes, but Sideswipe didn't seem to care as he moved forward, lowering a servo to the boy. "Hop in, I've got something fun planned for us."
Koa regarded the offered servo cautiously.
"Is this gonna end up in me getting in trouble with Prowl or Optimus like that paint prank did?"
"Ah c'mon, they apologized after I told them you weren't involved! Besides, this isn't a prank. Promise. I even got permission from the boss bot, so you can relax."
Regarding his guardian suspiciously for a moment, but curiosity quickly won out over worry and Koa stood from the human-sized couch, climbing into the silver servo.
"Sideswipe...I dunno about this..."
Sidswipe looked at Koa upon hearing the boy's nervous tone.
It was five-thirty in the evening on a Saturday. Sideswipe, eager to start teaching Koa how to handle a gun, had decided to take advantage of the empty training room. Thus why he'd dragged Koa away from the T.V and they now stood in the large training room before several paper targets that the newer N.E.S.T recruits used. Sideswipe's holoform was pulling a pistol from the weapon cache while Koa stood a few feet behind the holoform, looking significantly nervous.
"Relax, kid!" Sideswipe laughed. "Humans do this all the time! Even Lennox! Besides, you know I wouldn't do anything that would hurt you."
Koa still appeared hesitant as the frontliner's holoform approached.
"I know, but its just...I've never done anything like this. The only thing I've ever 'shot' is a photograph with my camera."
Sideswipe smirked, rolling his eyes at the weak joke.
"Well you don't have to have any experience to learn how to use a gun, kid." Reaching the teen, Sideswipe held the pistol out to him. "Here."
Koa winced, regarding the weapon unsurely. Sideswipe took in the nervous expression on the boy's face and the stiffness of his shoulders, and the frontliner's gaze softened. He reached forward with his holoform's free hand, taking the boy's wrist and making him hold his hand out. He pressed the pistol carefully but firmly into the Koa's palm. The mech didn't remove his hand from the boy's wrist or the pistol that he kept pressed into the teen's hand, even when the boy flinched. Sideswipe met Koa's worried gaze steadily.
"I emptied out the pistol, Koa. Right now, there's no bullets to worry about. I'm not an idiot, I'm not about to stick a loaded gun in your hands and tell you to shoot. Right now, all we're gonna do is go over how to hold and handle this gun safely. You don't even have to fire a single bullet until you feel comfortable and ready to do that, alright? I promise, I'm not gonna make you do anything you aren't comfortable with." A smile. "And like I said, I'm not going to let anything hurt you, not while I can prevent it. Not now, not ever."
And strangely...Koa believed him. He didn't know why, but he trusted Sideswipe to keep him safe, just like he'd saved him from Soundwave back in Kapaa.
Even with a gun in his hand, Koa felt safe.
Koa's bright grey eyes turned from Sideswipe's face to the empty pistol being held to his palm. Slowly, the youth's long fingers curled around weapon, and Sideswipe grinned, letting go of the boy's wrist and the gun, letting the full weight of the pistol settle into Koa's hand. Koa blinked owlishly.
"Its...A lot heavier than I thought it'd be."
An amused snort left Sideswipe, and Koa frowned at his guardian. The mech raised his hands in surrender.
"Sorry, that just wasn't the first thing I was expecting you to say." Koa looked unimpressed and Sideswipe groaned. "Ah c'mon, quit it with the look of death!"
Koa's gaze hesitantly returned to the weapon in his hand. Smiling, Sideswipe reached forward, adjusting the boy's hold on the gun.
"You gotta hold it like this, otherwise you'll end up hurting yourself once you actually do fire the weapon. Make sure your grip is tight." The boy's fingers immediately tightened around the pistol. "Yeah, just like that. Now-"
The sound of the mechanical door sliding open made both Sideswipe and Koa jump, and they both looked up.
Ironhide, in all his gigantic, scary glory, was standing there with his arms crossed. He regarded Koa and Sideswipe's holoform with an appraising optic.
"Sunstreaker said ya both were in here. Figured it'd be best if I were here too, t' make sure ya didn' do anythin' stupid." At Koa's enquiring look, Ironhide added, "Not you, kid. It's him I'm worried 'bout." He nodded at Sideswipe's holoform.
Sideswipe looked thoroughly offended.
"Hey! If there's one thing I know, its weapons! If I didn't think I could teach the kid, I wouldn't have brought him here. Besides, the gun isn't loaded."
Ironhide snorted.
"Knowin' you, you'll find a way t' make it dangerous."
"Ah c'mon, it'll be fine! You taught Sunny and I how to fire blasters when we were the equivalent of his age!"
As the two argued, Koa busied himself with examining the pistol in his hand. It was heavy, a mix of metal, rubber, and some other material Koa didn't know the name of. It wasn't like holding his old polaroid camera, not in the slightest. This felt...far more dangerous. It made a heavy weight settle in his chest. The weight of fear.
But also...Excitement. He could feel excitement fluttering in his chest. This was something new, something that could be fun. Well, as long as he didn't shoot himself in the foot. Or anyone else.
The teen jumped when Sideswipe's holoform took hold of his hands, adjusting his grip on the gun.
"Fix your grip, kid."
Koa winced.
"Sorry."
A raised brow.
"What're you apologizing for?" Moving behind the boy, he pushed Koa's arms up until the gun was leveled with one of the paper targets. "Now, hold it steady. Look right where you're aiming, and don't ever close your eyes." The frontliner instructed, voice low and even, serving as an anchor. "Take a deep breath..." Koa did so. "And then pull the trigger."
Koa's finger twitched without any thought, and there was a click, signaling the empty gun had been fired. Koa looked at Sideswipe, and the 'bot grinned.
"Perfect. See, not so bad, right? Of course once its loaded there'll be a bit of a kick, but this particular gun shouldn't give you much trouble. What'cha think, wanna give it a shot?"
Koa shrugged as he lowered the pistol, attempting to not look too excited (seriously, Sideswipe would tease him endlessly if Koa looked like a kid in a candy store).
"If you think I won't shoot myself, sure."
Sideswipe grinned, taking the gun.
"Alright, let's load this baby up and see what kind of aim you've got."
Koa watched his guardian go load ammo into the pistol, glancing nervously at Ironhide. The large mech simply leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he, too, watched Sideswipe. The frontliner in question moved back over to Koa, carefully handing him the gun.
"Helpful hint for when its loaded: make sure it never points right at you, alright?"
"Yeah, no kidding." Koa huffed, earning a grin from Sideswipe.
It was seven-ninteen when Koa and Sideswipe returned to their quarters.
Things had gone very well, all things considered. At first, Koa's aim wasn't the best. He'd only clipped the edges of the paper targets, making Sideswipe and Ironhide cringe. Yet, Koa proved to be a quick learner. Half-way through their little "training session", Koa had managed to start clustering his shots close to the center of his targets. Not a sharp shot, Sideswipe had mentioned to Ironhide, but one frag of a quick study.
As he was set down on the Cybertronian-sized couch, Koa thought back to earlier and his aggravation towards his father.
He should pay his dad no more thought, he decided. After all he'd done? The needles, the scalpels and knives, the pain-inducing drugs, the...the experiments.
In Koa's opinion, his dad didn't deserve to be thought of.
His father deserved to be forgotten by anyone who'd ever known him, as if he were erased from time, had never existed.
That's what he deserved, as did his employers, Sector 7.