Author's note: My Muse enjoys rainy, nasty days.
"What a pleasant surprise, Lord Megatron."
Barricade stepped onto the operation floor of a decrepit warehouse that had once been a steel factory. The sun's afternoon rays beat through the torn rafters and glared off his black and white armor, the words punish and enslave displayed mockingly on his door wing in elegant cursive. He had to wonder why the Decepticons were living in such squalor when they could easily build a base, but he had been out of the loop for over two solar cycles. Such happenings as the sudden and full functionality of the formally deceased Decepticon warlord left a wide range of possibilities open.
Barricade hadn't witnessed Megatron's destruction; he had been too injured to join the fight so his only confirmation of his leader's demise was through intermittent comm. chatter. Yet, after being declared offlined, there his lord perched, sitting upon a pile of scrap as if it were a throne crafted from the disemboweled parts of Autobots; his ruby optics cataloging every inch of Barricade's frame while Soundwave stood silent vigil at his side.
Barricade hadn't forgotten about Frenzy, one of Soundwave's cassettes that had been entrusted to him for the specific task of locating LadiesMan217. The hyper active slagger who was adapt at hacking had gone and offlined himself while in Barricade's care. It was nothing personal, 'Cons died all the time in their line of work, but he had to wonder if Soundwave held a grudge against him. Hosts could be protective of their symbiotes.
Laserbeak, one of Soundwave's hawk like cassettes, cawed from the rafters, and Megatron smiled. "Barricade, It's so nice to see that you have finally joined us."
Barricade never removed his optics from Megatron as he bowed under the forewarning rolling from his leader's articulators, displaying that he knew his place.
"Indeed, Lord Megatron. It is good to be back."
"And yet," his leader rasped, raising one of his serrated claws to inspect in faux disinterest. "Soundwave tells me you have been spending time with the Autobots." He then looked at Barricade, the pits of his optics casting downwards without fully turning his head. "Explain yourself; I will only give you one chance."
Barricade formatted his words carefully. He couldn't tell Megatron the whole truth; he would be dismantled if his part in rescuing the enemy was revealed, not matter the reason. Even worse consequences would befall him if his lord discovered the physical bond that had formed between Anna and him. It wasn't so much the forbidden bonding, to an alien no less, that made him pause; but if Megatron ever found out Barricade and Anna harbored the Allspark's powers, their lives would be in jeopardy in an entirely different fate than the usual punishment of being torn asunder. They would become science experiments, and Decepticon scientists usually doubled as torturer specialists. It was treasonous to withhold such information, but it was better than becoming a broken, energon coated lab rat.
It wasn't his first time lying to Megatron's face platings; he had stuck his neck out more than once for Skywarp and his brother. He always found himself in debt to the seekers in one way or another, and clearing that debt usually called for him to cover for one of their many antics, particularly Skywarp's.
He would have to play his lie carefully, there was no way of knowing how knowledgeable Soundwave was to his recent activities, and the communication specialist was likely holding a grudge over Frenzy.
With a neutral expression, Barricade began slowly, "I had been lying low after your initial demise when the Autobots saw fit to rat me out of hiding."
He watched Megatron to see if he reacted or interjected the claim of his own 'demise'. The warlord didn't even arch a brow.
"I was captured and thrown in their brig until infighting amongst their human allies allowed for my brief escape. One of those human groups often resorts to reckless measures to destroy 'Bots or 'Cons. They designate themselves as the Earth Alliance."
Megatron was already beginning to look bored, which meant a volatile exasperation would soon follow.
"Yes. Soundwave has been keeping tabs on this pathetic human group. They are disorganized insects playing with things they cannot understand. So long as they continue pestering the Autobots and stay out of my way I care not for their activities."
Barricade was becoming more suspicious as to what Megatron might know; it would be in his lord's character to lead him on in a charade of ignorance just to watch him squirm before laying out all of his lies for everyone to see.
Barricade continued, "Shortly after I was captured again, and was waiting for an opportunity to strike back, the seekers found and brought me here."
Megatron's optics narrowed, displeasure marring his already severe features. "You were captured not once, but twice?" The anger in his voice rose and fell like a wave. Afterwards, he sank in his seat, becoming contemplative.
Finally, in an even tone, the warlord added, "You are lucky Soundwave took pity on you. I would not have extended the same kindness. Do not expect it to happen again."
Barricade stooped lower to the ground. "It won't," he promised darkly while his spark shimmered in relief.
"Good. Now get out of my site, you wear on my patience."
Knowing he was already walking on thin ice, Barricade made a hasty, but dignified retreat even though there were a multitude of inquiries filed in his processor. He had gotten off unexpectedly easy. He had been almost certain Soundwave would embellish on his tale and rat him out. Something more important than his possible two-timing must have been brewing. Megatron only allowed fallacies to fall to the wayside when he was preoccupied with an end goal that was nearly in his grasp, so long as that fallacy did not get in his way. It made Barricade suspicious, but of what, he wasn't sure.
Barricade meandered the manufacturing facility, not aiming for any particular area. It was odd being among his own kind after so long in solitude, and he felt a restlessness in him that couldn't be placed. A pile of collapsed beams stood in his path so he stomped onto to the mess, a dissatisfied frown forming on his face plates as the metal tore like tissue paper under his pedes.
It bothered him that Starscream was nowhere to be seen, that the Decepticons were slinking about the shadows of this dirt ball planet, that he hadn't been reprimanded, that the humans were beginning to show their violet and resourceful natures that struck a little too close to home, and that he was trapped with a frail human girl.
His optics narrowed at the split he had torn in the beams under his pedes. His human was the most frustrating element. He'd never been tied down by anything; it was one of his strengths to never hold anything of value that couldn't be stored in his CPU. The human femme was weak and naïve, like a sparkling, yet strong of will and somehow an intrigue after eons of war. He was no scientist, but he knew the human life span was short, that was another problem she presented. Did the Allspark extend her life force to match his, or would he be subjected to possible deactivation when her short existence came to an end? It was an unfit way to die, to waste away by the snapped threads once connected to something so frail and small.
"We'll look whose back."
Barricade snarled, his battle computer triggered, warming his systems, and he nearly drew his buzz saw. He was further annoyed, and pleasantly surprised when he saw who the snarky speaker was.
"What the frag do you want, Blackout?"
The towering grey mech glared down at Barricade; then even with the absence of a mouth, turned his optics into the illusion of a tight smirk.
"It's funny how supposedly dead mechs keep coming back from the well of Allsparks."
He had been thought dead? That was news to him.
Barricade threw back his head and barked with mirth. "Indeed. Our sparks seem to be so corrupted that even the pit spits us back out into this hellish existence just so it doesn't have to deal with us."
Blackout chuckled. "I'm just glad Megatron is back in command. If that slagger Starscream thought he was going to be in permanent command I would have slagged him myself. That twitchy bit-brain doesn't care about why we're fighting in the first place, he just wants someone to boss around and worship his afterburners."
Though Barricade wasn't overly fond of Starscream, he had proven a formidable commander, albeit a flighty one. A tip in the balance of power might have been a good thing to simply change the game up a bit, but at the end of the day it didn't matter to him who was in charge so long as they proved competent. With Megatron back, it was clear as to who was currently holding the reins.
"Yes," Barricade smirked. "It is good Megatron is the one in command again."
Blackout peered down at his former partner and shifted his pedes. "How about a cube of energon? I could use one right about now."
As if it were a challenge Barricade's mouth plates curled upwards. "I accept."
"Skywarp, you do realize you have an organic near my tools."
"Yeah. So?"
"They smell and spew fluids everywhere and make a general mess of everything. So, unless you want its biology integrated into your systems the next time I have to apply repairs, you might want to remove it." The voice lowered to mumble under its breath. "And before I electrocute it."
Skywarp huffed air through his massive vents and bent down to pick Anna up off the large table that was the focal point of the room. She swatted at his hand before he could.
"I'm not about to spew anything." She said pointedly to the other mech in the room before turning on the seeker. "Skywarp, no. The last thing I need is you flinging me around like a rag doll again."
He blinked down at her in surprise and the new Decepticon, Knock Out, ogled her like it was the first time he had ever seen a human specimen. Knock Out was a rather short mech in comparison to the seeker, with a bright red paint job trimmed with gold. Wheels with rather fancy looking rims sat atop his shoulders and his face had a smooth, slicked back quality to it. She couldn't help but wonder what he transformed into, probably a sports car.
"I will not fling you around like a rag doll. What do I look like? A sparkling?" Skywarp placed his hands on his hips and Anna couldn't help but smack her hand across her face and grit her teeth.
She thought the Decepticons were supposed to be scary lunatics. Skywarp was just like what he pictured himself as, a four year old. The mech she had been deposited near seemed to feel the same way, if the grimace on his face plates was anything to go by.
"Did-did it just understand Cybertronian?" Knock Out sputtered.
Anna looked up at the transformer with an impeccable red paintjob that glistened in its finely waxed state.
"I did." She told him flatly.
Knock clicked the claws of one hand together in confusion.
"Ah, where did Barricade say he found her again?" He asked to Skywarp who merely shrugged in response.
The Decepticon medic bent over to her, his curious ruby optics so close that they glowed off her skin. She crossed her arms in annoyance.
"Didn't say. All I know is she's his new pet, and I'm keeping her occupied while he deals with Megs." Skywarp looked thoughtfully at the door then down at Anna.
"I wonder what's taking him so long."
Knock Out sliced an uninterested hand in the air, nearly taking Anna's head with it as he turned back to whatever it was he had been working on before she and Skywarp interrupted him.
"Just keep the human out of my way," he said dismissively. "I don't need it going and putting fingerprints all over my glass or mucking around my space."
The temporary medical room was a bit cleaner and more methodically organized than what she had seen of the rest of the 'base'; nothing would change the fact it was still just a dusty, rusting old warehouse. She found his statement of her ability to make the space dirtier invalid, unless of course they squished her innards on the floor.
Skywarp opened his mouth to say something then shut it abruptly when a third body entered the room. The new comer dragged himself through the door with an upper leg that was torn and sparking with leaking fluids and loose wires under the gaping wound.
"TC! What the slag took you so long." Skywarp chided angrily and moved to help the cobalt seeker onto the berth Anna was currently occupying.
Thundercracker grunted in pain as he was lowered onto the table.
"What did they do to you? That looks like it hurts." Skywarp bent down to look at the injury and Knock Out tried to shove him out of the way. Unfortunately for the lithe mech, the seeker was impossible to bodily remove.
"Move it bird brain or there won't be a leg left to save."
Skywarp finally complied by backing up.
Knock Out began clamping leaking wires as Thundercracker looked up at Skywarp who could have been his twin for all Anna knew. Both of them looked near identical save for the color and height.
Thundercracker was slightly taller and sported a cobalt paint job striped with red that sparkled when the light hit his armor. Skywarp had onyx paint that was accented by purple in the same pattern as Thundercracker.
"It was those front liners. Sunstreaker nailed me with his blaster then thought it prudent to start tearing out my leg component with his bare hands." Thundercracker relayed in a cranky manor.
"You did some damage of your own, I hope?" Knock Out asked while still buried in his work.
"Of course he did. I saw TC stab the very same slagger right through the shoulder. There's no way he got out of that fight without a limp."
A thought struck Anna; Thundercracker had been present for the entire skirmish.
"What happened to the others?" She asked in English. She didn't know how speak cybertronian and she doubted her vocals would have been able to produce the electronic sounds the language required.
Thundercracker lifted his arm to get a look at her, seemingly unsurprised by her presence, then looked up at Skywarp.
"Warp, what did I say about leaving things where you found them?"
The purple seeker threw up his hands. "She's not mine. I'm just watching her for Barricade, promise. She's his pet, see, and I was told to make sure she didn't get squished."
Thundercracker raised an optic ridge. "Since when did Barricade start caring about anything other than his old ship?"
Skywarp shrugged his massive shoulders, the movement tugging his wings upwards. "Don't know, but he had her when I picked him up. She's pretty smart for a squishy too, she can understand cybertronian."
Thundercracker looked down at Anna again who was successfully looking bored. She wasn't really, all of the new 'Cons made her head spin as she scrambled to mentally catalogue their names and faces. Supposedly all Decepticons had shorter tempers and a strong sadistic streak, according to Sideswipe. She was trying to figure out who she would be moderately safe around, and who shouldn't be touched with a ten foot pole, not even with her eyes. One wrong look and she could be slag where she stood, there was no Allspark connection preventing these cons from squishing her out of spite.
"Can you tell me what happened during the fight? Who all was injured?" she pushed.
Thundercracker scowled. "Why should I tell you anything?"
"Because I asked," She said flatly, wondering if she could be blunter. She had nothing to bargain with and was running on her pathetic will alone.
Skywarp snickered and Thundercracker backhanded his wingmate without needing to get up. Skywarp stumbled backwards with a yelp and scraped against Knock Out who shoved the off balanced seeker away.
"Hey! Watch the paint job," The medic snapped as Skywarp careened into a pile of old scrap from the warehouse that splintered and flattened under his weight.
"Ow, was that really necessary, TC?" he asked in a voice that reminded Anna of a kicked puppy. Dear Primus, this guy was pathetic.
Thundercracker scoffed. "Don't be such a sparkling."
"Yes, both of you, knock it off before I have to use my annoying seeker repellant." Knock Out's optics narrowed and held his hand that was transformed into a sparking welder close enough to his face that it glowed off his white facial plating.
Anna tapped one of the hands that supported Thundercracker's leaned back, top heavy weight against the table.
"Stop bothering me." He flicked his hand back at her and she dodged away from unfurling claws.
Undeterred, she approached again. "Someone important to me was there. I need to know."
He gave her an appraising look this time. "None of the Autobots or humans were terminated, if that is what you're inquiring."
A sigh of relief escaped her and a constriction in her chest uncoiled by a large margin. "Yeah, thanks."
"Don't tell me you're an Autobot sympathizer." Skywarp leaned around Thundercracker and gave her a scrutinizing glare.
Anna bit down on her tongue as the question rolled about in her head. She wasn't sure she had the answer. Sure, she cared about one of them, but then again she had always cared about Wheeljack, he had been family to her long before being labeled an Autobot.
She had come to consider Sideswipe a friend, he had his spark in the right place, most of the time. Ironhide, she wasn't sure what he was to her anymore. She used to consider him a grumpy parental figure, but just recently he had voiced his utter contempt for her species. Optimus was an alright 'bot, though a bit uptight and authoritative for her tastes. As a whole the Autobots had been accepting to her presence, but she had been their prisoner more than anything else.
She frowned. "No, they don't have my sympathy."
Skywarp didn't appear to notice the battle wagging in her vacant, searching eyes.
His optics brightened and a smile curved over his face plates. "Great! Oh, I should probably show you around the base. Want a tour?"
"Yes, take her, just get out. Your very presence is chafing my armor." Knock Out transformed his welder back into a hand and stood with a hand full of dangling wires dripping with energon.
"You too, repairs are done. Just don't go running any circuits for the next few cycles while the welds mend."
Thundercracker pushed Skywarp out of the way and tested his weight on the repaired leg. Satisfied, he stood to his full, impressive height.
"Not bad," he commended the medic.
Knock Out scoffed, playfully offended. "Did you think I was a one trick pony? I can do more than simply look good." He raked a hand over his sleek helm and grinned rakishly.
Anna couldn't withhold her undignified snort. She was beginning to like this group of misfits. They were far more laid back than the majority of the Autobots, and they all had an amusing case of vanity in some shape or form.
"We'll that's a relief, I thought we were going to have to use your dismembered parts to find anymore use out of you." Skywarp barbed.
The red and gold Decepticon was non-pulsed when he parried, "Ah, but that's the thing, Skywarp. I love dismembered parts. If you're not careful you might start to notice that you're, shall we say, lacking bits and pieces."
In a flash of limbs Thundercracker had Knock Out lifted into the air in a headlock and a blaster attached to his arm scraped against the red mech's helm.
"Over my cold frame," Thundercracker threatened in a low rumble.
Knock Out rolled his optics and held his hands up in surrender while he dangled in the grip. "Alright, you win, just don't scratch the finish."
Thundercracker released him and Knock Out fell to his feet. The sports car looked over his shoulder to make sure his roughly handled frame hadn't been marred.
"We're leaving." Thundercracker grabbed Skywarp's forearm and bodily dragged his wingmate out of the makeshift medical bay.
"Wait, I'm supposed to be watching the fleshy human! Barricade will have my tailpipe if anything happens to it." Skywarp struggled against Thundercracker, but to no avail as he was removed from the premises.
Simultaneously, Knock Out and Anna looked at each other; she wondered what was going to happen to her now that she didn't have the hyper seeker looking over her. Could Knock Out be trusted?
The red and gold medic glared at her. "Don't. Touch anything."
Anna sat in on the makeshift berth for what felt like hours while Knock Out fiddled with a long, electronic pole that sparked from the tip every once in a while like a giant cattle prod. She easily entertained herself by creating characters in her head and playing with plot ideas she had roaming in her head. It had been a while since she had enough time to simply retreat into her mind with no real other problems requiring her immediate attention. It was soothing, like a meditation that stole her mind away for a time and kept it from thinking about unresolved problems that were eating her subconscious; namely the state of Wheeljack and her dad, and maybe if Ironhide hated her. None of that mattered or even crossed her mind when she retreated to her imaginary worlds.
Oddly, she felt more at peace in the decrepit warehouse surrounded by supposedly evil Decepticons while harboring the status of a pet than she ever had at the NEST military base. Here she had no one breathing down her neck for one reason or another. No Ironhide to drag her around like a sack of potatoes, no Skids or Mudflap to drive her insane, no Ratchet to suffocate her with restrictions, no humans scrambling around her like ants. As nice as the lull was, she was beginning to wonder where Barricade was. She could still sense him in the general area so it was safe to say he hadn't gone and abandoned her.
She was currently sprawled out on the rusted metal surface, her eyes closed while playing silent images that only she could see and hear when a rumble split the relative silence. She cracked an eye open and watched Knock Out glance back at her with a puzzled frown.
"You're not my charge, but from what I've heard about Barricade he would have my head if something was wrong with you."
Anna opened her other eye and sat up. She wrapped an arm around her lower stomach with a slight grimace.
"I haven't eaten in a while, and I need…stuff that includes a shower."
She tried not to look, or feel hopeful when she looked up at him.
"Eat…you mean fuel? I'm not dealing with this, disgusting organics, why a Decepticon would ever want one I'll never know. No, don't move, I'm contacting Skywarp."
His optics dimmed for the span of a minute before they brightened back to their natural hue of red. "He's on his way. Do me a favor and don't offline before he gets here. That way it's his fault, not mine."
Anna shuffled to her feet. "I wouldn't dream of it, I would just hate to make your life miserable."
His optic ridge rose and she gave a slight smile. He wasn't anywhere near as scary as Barricade could be, and she found her mouth running freely.
"This spark sitting was supposed to be easy," Skywarp announced upon entry. "Since when do pets start demanding things?"
She had been called names all her life, demeaned in front of others, and had even tolerated being called a pet for a short time. Now she was just getting irritated.
"We'll excuse me for being a living creature with thoughts, feelings, and needs. I didn't ask for this bull corn either."
"Sure you are." Skywarp said flippantly before roughly picking her up.
Taking a trip to the store with Skywarp was interesting, to say the least. The flier didn't know the meaning of discrete. He buzzed the parking lot of a gas station just outside of town before landing in the middle of a busy street and sending every human within a hundred miles into a panic. Anna was beginning to hate his rough treatment when he dumped her painfully on the concrete mid transformation.
His landing had destroyed the pavement under his pedes, overturned a few vehicles, and instantaneously caused a twelve car pile-up. As if that wasn't enough destruction, he proceeded to tear the roof off the gas station, pluck Anna from the ground, and place her inside like it was a giant doll house. The store clerk stared at her from behind the counter with wide, frightened eyes and an incoherent stutter that trembled on his lips.
"Just grab whatever so I can blow this joint. The humans are hurting my audials." To punctuate his point Skywarp aimed a blaster mounted to his arm into the scattering crowds below and fired a concussive round that cut a high pitched scream short.
Anna shook internally as she grabbed reusable bags and began stuffing them with food and products while Skywarp cackled gleefully at the mayhem he was causing outside. A part of her was rightfully terrified, but a messed up part of her was shooting with excitement at causing such chaos. Anyone in their right mind would have been disgusted and horrified at the death Skywarp was making a game of 'targeting the screaming squishes', as he so loudly dubbed it. Something must have been mentally wrong with her because she was cracking a hysterical smile that rivaled Skywarp's. She was having fun.
Three overflowing bags later she was hailing the manic seeker to get her out of the store and to spare anymore casualties. She had to yell a few times before he acknowledged her, bending over to take the bags before dropping them into subspace.
He transformed, throwing her into the cockpit so quickly she couldn't tell up form down until gravity thrusted her into his seat in a tangled heap as he shot into the air.
There was hardly any time to register the adrenaline filled flight before Skywarp was transforming again. In one fluid motion he landed on his pedes and had Anna, her tousled hair and tangled limbs, in his claw. Her heart was beating like a rabbit's, but she was grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's do that again," she huffed, nearly breathless.
"You like flying?" Skywarp sounded intrigued while watching her try to fix her unruly hair.
She beamed up at him, feeling giddy with adrenaline.
"Hell yes! No roller coaster ride can beat that!"
He chortled in cybertronian while carrying her into the base.
"Barricade actually found an interesting pet. Maybe I should find one for myself."
She cringed and wondered if she had just sealed the fate of some hapless soul who would become the Seeker's unwilling pet. At least she would have company that way.
"Skywarp!" The mech's personal flavor of rage and irritation seeping through her internal connection was unmistakable.
"Hey, Cade," she greeted cheerfully, non-pulsed by his glaring optics and inflated approach.
Skywarp, however, looked like a giant scolded puppy when his wings sagged with his shoulders. The seeker really was the size of a horse in comparison to Barricade; Anna was being held at his chest height and was still a few inches above her 'Con.
"What did I do?" Skywarp asked innocently.
Anna wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for the seeker, an outrageous part of her wanted to pat his helm.
"You were supposed to watch her, not go running around town like a maladroit idiot! Do you have a screw loose?" Barricade snarled and extended a demanding hand towards her.
"I waswatching her. The squishy said it needed supplies so I got them. You should be thankful because now you won't have to," Skywarp defended with an air of confidence and dumped Anna into Barricade's waiting claw. She couldn't have been more grateful when she was caged against his chest and the world stopped flipping or otherwise bouncing in a kaleidoscope of colors.
"Yes, Warp. What part of Megatron's orders to keep a low profile did you not understand?" Thundercracker appeared from a nearby room in a hunched position, his wingspan fit awkwardly in the building's narrow halls.
"I was barely gone a breem! Besides, those humans still have no idea where we are."
A fleeting part of her wanted to come to his defense, but her aching body kept her sympathy in check.
Thundercracker bludgeoned Skywarp's facial plates and the black seeker wheeled in surprise, but ultimately lowered his wings in defeat. Anna couldn't help but notice had some abusive friends, but that was apparently what it took to keep him in check.
"Ok, Ok. Geez, I still don't see what I did wrong."
Thundercracker vented heavily and grabbed the tip of Skywarp's wing, dragging his fellow seeker off down the hall.
"Wait," Skywarp protested. "Let me drop off the squishes junk before it rots inside me."
He wiggled free of Thundercracker, who let him go, and the seeker scooted next to a quietly simmering Barricade.
"Show me where I can dump this scrap."
Barricade stepped aside and shot Skywarp a warning glance. "Follow me."
They entered a room that was only a minute away. The warehouse may have been large by human standards, but for cybertronians it was like living in a shack. Anna wondered if they could crack when crowded for too long like people did.
"Just put it down somewhere and get out," Barricade ordered.
Skywarp complied, dumping all of his and Anna's spoils from the day into a dusty corner.
"What happened to you? You've been uptight ever since coming back," Skywarp's inquired after shaking the last of the items out into a messy heap, causing a couple of bruised oranges and apples roll across the floor from in the wake of the avalanche.
Her interest perked, she hadn't noticed anything off with Barricade who was always uptight and grouchy.
"It's physically impossible to be uptight."
Skywarp didn't look convinced. "Don't play dumb. You've been on this planet longer than I and even have a human pet. You know what I mean."
"It's none of your business, get out," Barricade snapped.
Skywarp peered down at him, his expression indiscernible, but Anna could see his optics flickering with thought; almost instantaneously, he was smiling again.
"Just let me know if you want to bust a few heads later. All this sitting around is making my plating itch!"
Barricade watched Skywarp quit the room with brooding optics. When the seeker was out of site, her 'Con turned to a far wall and began methodically stripping abandoned machinery.
Anna watched him work; paying close attention to the way the dim light reflected off his backside and glinted off his Decepticon symbols. Skywarp had said he was 'uptight', more so than usual. She tried to concentrate on the bond to feel for anything she might have missed. His emotions were well guarded, that steam of hate he cared around his spark like a badge barricaded her from nuanced emotions. Now that she was really focusing, fumbling with the strands of their connection, she could finally recognize at least part of the problem. He was tired and agitated, no doubt harboring a lingering stress that had been present ever since his first day in the Autobot's brig.
She felt ashamed that she hadn't noticed before. The past few months had been pretty rough for him, maybe even more so than her. He drove for endless nights without rest and she didn't know the last time he had refueled. It was a miracle that he wasn't offline, really.
Barricade dug his claws into the panels of a crane and ripped them from the machine before throwing it into the pile of scrap collecting at his feet. He then produced a welder from subspace and bent over to begin arranging the sheets of hand pounded metal side by side.
She ignored her hunger, her appetite abating at the prospect of eating more energy bars, and avoided looking at the white hot center of the tool as it sparked across the metal when she approached.
"Cade?"
He pointedly ignored her, but she continued. "If you want to take a break I'll be the look out."
He shot her a glare, one she took a step back from. He apparently wasn't in the mood to talk.
Anna watched him finish his work, creating one large sheet of flimsy metal that he took from the floor and leaned against the gaping entrance as a makeshift door. He took a step back and observed his work, only marginally satisfied with it.
He then walked over to her and scooped her wordlessly into his claws. She didn't protest, and even helped by climbing into them. His silence was unnerving her, and she wondered if he was about to snap.
Barricade walked over to a conveyer belt and laid down on it, his head and pedes crushing into the machinery at either end of it. He then cupped her to his chest plating, caging her against him.
"Just let me offline for a few joors," was all he could mutter before his systems shut down.
Random Author's note: I finally finished catching up on the new Prime series- I know, I'm way behind on seeing this show- and I have to say, it's pretty darn cool. I especially like how the writers place their own spin on characters while keeping their defining quirks. Wheeljack was so different from what I imagined, yet his 'Prime' personality still works really well. I actually like Bulkhead for once, Arcee is a strong female character, Soundwave is bad-ass (I wish he could talk), Ratchet is his ever amusing control freakish self, and the humans aren't overly annoying, they actually help.
Though some people don't seem to like her much, I'm going to side with Miko. She likes to get right in the thick of things, but recognizes it's not all fun and games, even if she appears flippant about dangerous situations. She pretty much embodies every Transformers fangirl/fanboy. Who wouldn't want in on the action?
Megatron is closer to his G1 counterpart than any other continuality, in my opinion. I absolutely love the facial expressions and lighting in the show. Some of the looks Megatron gives in reaction to characters are the best.
And this all leads to Knock Out's appearance in this fic. I've always been fascinated by the idea of a Decepticon medic and have been trying to form my own OC version. Luckily, I didn't have to make one up for this fic. How can you not like the narcissist pseudo-medic who loves to race and has a twisted sense of humor? Not to mention he looks like my favorite mega expensive sports car. I also have to say, Knock Out and Breakdown make quite a pair.