Author's Note: Well I took a long time to get this together. I've just been so busy. I'll do my best to keep updating. - Anyways, this chapter is a bit more about character development than anything else. You get a bit of action, but I'm focusing on fleshing out certin characters.
Redeyes optic's lazily traced the room, pinpointing the location of each escape, bolt, and much more. His red optics flickered in annoyance at a small ping, venting heavily. With a heavy sigh and groan, he flexed his servos in response. Another ping. Once again, Redeyes responded with the movement of another limb, rolling his shoulders in response. Ping.
"I think everything is fine Autobot. Are you going to make me do this all day?" Redeyes grunted in annoyance, optics flaring at the medic currently residing in his cell. Half-tempted to beat the mechling over the helm, Rachet vented and tugged hard on a wire, earning a scowl.
"I need to make sure everything is functional and working properly. Normally one does not age this way; you just happen to be an exception. Now if you fragging sit still, we'll have this finished and you can go on with whatever you do in here" Ratchet's gruff voice drove through Redeye's pride like a bullet, the mechling simply grumbling in response and banging his helm down against the berth.
He supposed he should be somewhat grateful to the Autobot. After all, they had not executed him or exiled him to wander the planet alone. He knew it was simply because leaving him to his own pleasures might cause harm to the humans, but it was nice to think otherwise for a change. It gave him a little hope that they might one day actually let him out of this cell.
"There, finished. You should be okay for now. I've updated your systems to match your new frame. Don't do anything reckless and keep movement to a minimum. I still think you should have allowed me to simply reverse the process they did instead of completely breaking it" Ratchet hummed, sounding slightly annoyed, but relieved to be finished. Redeyes merely grunted in response, optics lingering on the wall once more. The medic took this as his cue to leave, servos inching temptingly towards his wrench. After a few moments, he decided against it, simply exiting the cell so he could work on other things. Redeyes laid there on the berth a little while longer until he was certain he was completely alone, digging his digits in to the metal beneath him as he forced himself up with a grunt.
Long ago his growth had been stunted through many painful procedures committed by the Deceptions, eventually turning him in to one of their own. He figured that remaining in a youngling's frame and body had not been their original plan, but it had worked out in the end. Now, however, he felt a bit more up to date with his true age.
His new frame did not resemble Ironhide's as much as it did Chromia's. He had never been tough and rugged like Ironhide, even in the tiny frame he had lived with for so long. His frame was built to host a motorcycle alt form rather than a truck, though he did not have a set Earth mode yet. He was much smaller than Ironhide and even Oneshot, built for speed and grace rather than strength and force. The only thing he had really kept that even resembled his mech creator was his facial structure and the dark colored frame.
Redeyes glanced down at his new frame, a project that they had been working on for quite a while now. Had he been able to stay with his mech creator from the beginning, he might have preferred to resemble him more. Now, he was glad that he was different. It had been too long since they had last met and Ironhide had already adopted his replacement. Redeyes knew this quite well, acknowledging the age-old rift between the two of them with hinted relief. He knew he would never regain his true stats as Ironhide's true son, but at the very least he could be a comrade. He would leave that position to Oneshot.
'Oneshot…', Redeyes narrowed his optics at the mere thought of the other mech, who was currently missing. It had been days since the Autobots had encountered Oneshot's rogue frame tearing through the city in an attempt to off the other Decepticon. Redeyes was simply astonished that the Autobot's had still not located the mech with all of the resources they had. Redeyes leaned his helm against the cell wall, reaching out through the long ignored bond. Ironhide and Oneshot may be close through their family bond, but nobody was closer than Redeyes and Oneshot. He reached out cautiously towards the other, an action he had repeated ever since learning of the mechling's disappearance. As usual, all he could feel was confusion and strange sense of closeness.
"I don't get it…why the frag are you so close….yet you are nowhere in sight" Redeyes mumbled, optics darkening in annoyance as he continued to reach for the lost mech.
Noface's optics brightened, the curious feeling overwhelming him once again. He had been tucked away in the room for hours now, Twoface currently engaged with the Autobots. Normally he might have simply fallen in to recharge or tried to distract himself, but it was difficult with that faint tugging at his spark every so often. He felt as if he could reach out, but at the same time, felt a barrier blocking him. All he could do was simply wonder what was tugging at him, urging him to find it. It had been a few days ago when the tugging had first began. In fact, it was what had woken him up from his slumber in the first place. Now, however, it felt much closer.
Noface whirred a little, reaching out cautiously towards where the felt the tugging. It was strange; it felt as if it was physically happening to him. Just as he reached out, grabbing lightly at the empty air, the tugging stopped. His optics widened in distress, unwilling to let the tugging stop. Without even thinking, he rose to his pedes and practically broke through the wall with a resounding crash. The whole area shook before he realized his mistake.
The building's alarms resonated through the hall, red lights flashing wildly in distress. Noface whirred in distress himself, servos covering where his mouth might have been before he dashed off. Two face was going to offline him!
The bot clicked and whirred in alarm at the sight of soldiers dashing through the hall, shouting loudly at him to stop. Their weapons were raised and their eyes glaring aggressively. The bot's optics dimmed before brightening again at the tugging. It was back! The mech glanced at the soldiers who surrounded him know, their weapons raised and poised to fire.
Down the hall, Twoface came racing through the hoard of soldiers that were loitering around. As soon as she stepped in to the hall, however, weapons targeted her in as instance. The femme scowled in annoyance, fully prepared to defend herself. These idiot humans were going to get themselves offlined if they continued to block her from approaching Noface. Whatever had set him off…well that would have to wait. For now, she needed to calm him down and fix the situation before it worsened.
"Get out of the way you fragging insects! You're only making it worse!" Twoface snapped, her temper rising. Her normal attitude and tolerance for humans was completely gone by this point. She had assured Prime she nor Noface would harm anybody on base, but at this rate, the both of them might end up breaking their word.
Redeye's optics brightened in surprise at the alarm blaring, jumping to hide pedes almost immediately. He stomped over to the front of his cell, thumping on the reinforced door in annoyance.
"What the slag is going on out there? Are you going to maybe let me know just in case I might get…I don't know, fragging offlined!" Redeyes snarled, only to have his answer a few clicks later. The door he had previously knocked on vibrated as something on the other side slammed roughly in to it. Redeye's optics widened in shock, the mech backing away just in time to watch as the door was smashed through by what appeared to be a training bot. Instead of the standard white optics, however, the bot's optics were bright blue and staring right at him. Both mech's seemed confused, as if neither were expecting the other to be there.
"What the fra-" Redeyes barely began his first words to the other as the bot's optics brightened and he thrust himself at the other. Redeye's felt his frame crashed against the larger bot, squirming in discomfort and trying to pull away. It was only then that he noticed the bot making a motion with his servo.
"Oh frag, that's right. Training bot's can't speak….wait…how the slag are you even moving like this on your own?!" Redeyes exclaimed, completely bewildered. Noface narrowed his optics a little, looking frustrated as he tried to convey his thoughts. He was well aware of his inability to speak. He took a moment to reassess the situation before taking his one free servo and placing it on the other's chestplate. After a moment of this, Noface took the servo away and placed it on his own chestplating. He repeated this gesture several times, watching as it slowly began to click with Redeyes.
"You – YOU SET THE ARMY ON US" Redeyes suddenly burst out angrily, taking note of the approaching soldiers. This was ridiculous. Despite his promise to Ironhide to stay out of trouble, he was being forced in to it by this troublemaker. The idiot seemed barely aware of his own actions. Something told him that the bot was barely even aware of his current situation. The former mechling groaned in resignation. He took one look at the incoming soldiers and grabbed the bot by the shoulders roughly.
"You need to make a path for us. You're built to withstand attacks – I'm not. I can't do this right now in this cell. Now go clear a damn path and try not to kill anybody. I'll get mauled for this later, but we don't have time to stand around. Now get!" Redeyes snapped, optics flaring. Noface seemed taken back by the sudden aggression, but nodded before whirling around and transforming. Redeyes merely nodded, the bot taking this as a signal and barreling towards the crowd. Redeyes followed closely behind, having to dash in his bipedal form due to his lack of an alternative mode. He held his arms up to help protect him as he ran, flinching at the sound of weapon fire bouncing off his armor. It did not help that Noface seemed to forget that he was making a path for the both of them and not just himself.
"Training glitch! Don't go so fast I can barely keep up!" Redeyes snarled, nearly tripping as he tried to avoid stepping on the humans beneath him. For small, defenseless organics, their survival instant seemed to be at an all-time low today. He vented furiously and gritted his dentas as they ran around through his path, some even narrowing avoiding his incoming pedes.
Finally, however, the duo had entered the main hanger. They were so close to freedom. Redeyes could practically taste it on his glossa, though his dreams were soon dashed by a sharp tugging on his arm before he was yanked down to the ground. His optics whirred in surprise as his frame slammed against the ground, wincing at the pain that shot up his frame. He had forgotten about Ratchet's warning and here he was now, trying to recover from the shock of being drove in to the ground. As his optics readjusted, he found himself face to face with the barrel of a cannon.
"What. Did. I. Fragging. Tell. You." Ironhide snarled, seething with anger at the mechling below him. He had practically broken down the room he was in just to restrain both mechs that had caused such chaos in the base. He was severely disappointed in Redeyes as well as furious as Twoface and her training glitch. They had caused enough damage and he was going to end it here. Ironhide seemed conflicted for a moment before shuttering his optics and charging the cannon. As painful as it was, this mech had done enough damage. Redeye's optics brightened in surprise at the mech's actions, unable to understand what was happening. His normal composure was beginning to crumble at the seams, frame shaking in fear. He was still recovering from the shock earlier, as his frame was still too new to handle that kind of activity. Ironhide was about to offline him!
"DON'T YOU DARE IRONHIDE" the familiar screech snapped the Autobot out of his daze, his glare momentarily directed towards the approach of Abby. Her hair seemed quite out of place, as if she had not groomed it in ages, and her eyes blazing furiously as she approached. Ironhide was about to say something before he felt a strong force on his side, forcing him to the ground with a loud crash. Abby ducked down, putting her hands over her head as she watched Noface slam the mech down. Redeyes seemed still caught in his daze, staring at Noface before the bot yanked him back up on his pedes. Redeyes was snapped back to reality at the sound of the other Autobot's approaching the main hanger, well aware of their low chances of escape if the other's arrived.
Noface took off out of the hanger, transforming in to his alt mode and racing off. Redeyes dashed behind him, sparing a glance behind him as he did so. Out of the corner of his vision he could see the other Autobot's running in. However, his main focus was on Abby, who seemed to be staring right back at him. She seemed furious, but at the same time relieved. Redeyes has little time to linger on her, however, as the duo made their escape.
"No, no…definitely not….were you even listening to me?" Redeyes scowled, eyeing the vehicles that were laid out in a row before him. None of them were remotely suitable for him, not to mention impossible due to his frame. Noface stood beside him, staring at him in confusion.
"Don't stare at me like that. I told you I need a motorcycle of sorts. My frame type won't fit these at all! I told you! Now go find me a motorcycle so I can stop hiding like this" Redeyes snapped irritably, ignoring the offended optics of the other mech as he took off in search of the perfect alt mode. The mech lowered himself down among the trees once more, doing his best to stay out of sight of any wandering humans.
'Humans…what stupid creatures' Redeyes thought dimly, optics focusing upwards. It had been hours since their escape, the stars now glistening above them. He briefly recalled Cybertron, though he had little memory of it. He had been tampered with so much that it was hard to recall what was real and what was not.
He scowled a little at his own memories, willing them away as he tried to distract himself. Instead, thoughts of Abby filled his processor. She was hard for him to understand. He knew she had to hate him for everything, yet she stopped Ironhide from offlining him. He simply could not figure out why she would do that. In fact, he briefly entertained the idea of connecting to her phone. However, he knew the consequences of attempting to contact her. While the Autobots were not his enemy, they would simply get in his way. He was certain he could fix the situation with him and this other bot.
'Speak of the unmaker' Redeyes thoughtly dimly, optics flickering towards the sound of metal scraping across the ground. Scanning the area briefly, Redeyes waited a few moments before crawling out of his hiding area. Noface stood there with bright optics, seemingly hopeful as he dropped his target on to the ground. The motorcycle seemed dented in a few places, possibly because of Noface's rough treatment, but otherwise intact. Redeyes flashed his optics briefly before scanning the vehicle, rumbling a little as his frame carefully adjusted to the newly acquired alt mode. He was still a bit sore from the earlier beat down.
"hmm.. a Yamaha V-star Harley Davidson?" Redeyes mused, taking a moment to allow his frame to relax before finally transforming. It was an odd sensation for him, as he had never really done it at this size or this scale before. Metal scrapped against metal and gears whirred and clicked in to place as he changed forms, finally resting in his small alt form. Noface's optics twinkled at the sight, relieved he had found something suitable this time. It would make traveling much easier for the other mech now that he could blend in.
"Alright, now that we get that issue fixed, we'll need to figure out where to start looking. " Redeyes spoke out loud, deciding to leave their comms. closed for now. He didn't want to risk anybody managing to access their frequency, no matter how unlikely it would be. Noface, having transformed back in to his own vehicle form, flashed his headlights in response. Neither knew exactly where they were going, but Noface was the best connection they had. The white bot dimmed his headlights for a moment, trying to concentrate, suddenly overwhelmed by a darkness.
"You weren't made to be in that body you know. You're being rejected" the familiar voice of the figure he had met in a previous dream filled his thoughts. After a few moments of pitch black, Noface found himself in the room once more. The blurred girl was lying beside him, her features still barely recognizable. Noface shuttered his optics, trying to focus on the girl's form. It was impossible, however, as she never seemed to come in to focus. She took notice of his actions and laughed lightly.
"You won't be able to see me right now I'm afraid. You've been tampered with; you can't see me until you remember me. Or, at least who I look like" she smiled sadly, rising to her feet as she looked down on the confused mech.
"Now run along my little mechling. You only have so much time left before you lose your chance. When that happens, you'll never be able to see her again. You'll have to make a choice – to join me once more or find her again"
Noface whirred in confusion, assuming she meant Twoface. As the imagery around him started to fade, the mech began to remember a tiny bit of information. Though it was incredibly vague, images of a warehouse and a dark city filled his thoughts before he found himself in reality once more. Redeyes's form sat there waiting patiently.
"Hey, are you ready or not? We need to start looking if we're going to find it" Redeyes vented in annoyance, having sat there watching the still bot for several minutes. Noface suddenly flashed his brights, startling Redeyes for a moment as he suddenly tore out on to the road. Redeyes's growled in annoyance before taking off after the mech.
"You better know where you're going or else. I don't want to be lost with you"
And there we have it. I'm actually a bit excited to end this particular arc, simply because I've got the whole next one planned. Anyways,reviews are always loved and appreciated. I I ever make tiny mistake just let me know - I tend to forget in between chapters due to the long time I was away from this story