Chapter 7
The minibot greeted his visitor with as much cheer as any prisoner would be expected to offer. That is to say, none at all.
It was Thundercracker that was sent to check up on him this time. At least he appeared to have regained his usual tense demeanor that had been missing since Gears last woke up. Well…. It's still not quite right, but certainly better than the nearly fond glances and the suspicious favors every con seemed to want to offer him.
The larger mech held himself like a dutiful yet reluctant bot set out to accomplish some unpleasant task.
Gears scoots further back on the oversized berth until his plating meets a cold wall, the data pad given to him for his brief transmission with the other Autobots held closely to his chassis.
The Decepticon, fortunately, had not come to confiscate the pad. He offered up a second one to the mini instead.
The smaller mech made no move to take it.
"You were worried about your spark earlier." Is all the seeker says for an explanation…
Which is not helpful in the slightest. What are the Cons expecting him to do with a data pad and the strange feeling in and around his spark? What are they plotting?
"I'm no medic. Doubt I'll understand any of the gibberish on that thing." Gears huffs, "Especially if its from that poor excuse of a constructicon you mechs got parading around as a health specialist!"
Thundercracker appears stunned, no defense or scathing remark to counter his words. He just sits there silently, looking off to the side of the small room on thought.
Well that's annoying. Say something, slag it! The lack of a negative reaction is unnerving.
"Just tell me what it says." The Autobot presses, leaning forwards to try and regain the larger bot's attention. "What about my spark does Megatron want me to believe? Give it to me straight or get out, cause I'm not touching that."
To emphasize his point he moves a few more inches away from the seeker and his data pad.
The thoughtful look in Thundercracker's optics settles into something unreadable. He powers on the flat device, glancing over it's contents before setting it on the table top.
"Your spark is fine-"
So that's what they're playing at? How pathetic.
"Lier! I know something's wrong! I can feel it!" the smaller mech sneers, inwardly proud the Con gave in (when most others he knows would not have). "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"
If Ratchet himself couldn't convince Gears that he was imagining his ailments on a good day, he sure as pit isn't going to believe a Decepticon on a bad one. Trying to convince a prisoner they care and to not worry sounds like a desperate and poorly planned move to achieve… achieve something!
Maybe they think they can convince Optimus to give them even more energon should the minibot report he's being properly taken care of? Or they're worried that if he tells the Autobots that he's not doing well, the deal will be done with completely.
"Alright. Fine." Thundercracker says with an exasperated shrug. "There is something unique affecting your spark and while you're in no physical danger, there will be consequences if you don't handle the little one properly."
...What?
"The frag is that supposed to mean?"
"This," the seeker insists, "will explain everything better than I can."
He then slowly (as if dealing with a frightened petro-rabbit) places the pad on the berth next to the mini's peeds. Just as slowly does he retract his arm and look to the other mech expectantly. Almost imploringly.
Gears curses and sets the data pad he'd been holding off to his side and picks up the new one with a distasteful hum. The moment he activates the offending device's screen, the sloppiest excuse of a medical entry shines back at him.
Only his designation and frame type are at the top, where the medic's name and more of Gears's information should also be. Then, it goes right in to what appears to be readings of some sort.
Maybe the cons will let him keep this data pad as well and he could show this mess to Ratchet. The Autobot medic would either get a kick out of it or rage about it's inefficiency… Probably some combination of both.
It takes the minbot a moment to realize that these are supposed to be spark readings – wait – two separate sets of spark readings?
The first set looks fine upon first glance, at least to a mech with no medical degree. The second, however, makes no sense to him.
So which is his spark now? Or is his spark fluctuating between these two readings?
Gears scrolls lower to see a description of some sort below two dates (one Earth based, the other Cybertron based). The dates for yesterday.
The description read:
Patient is stable. Both sparks are stable. (Second spark remains stationary beneath the primary spark.)
WARNING: Signs of spark malfunction in reaction to the attempted removal of a center chassis positioned circuit card (circuit's function believed to be personality based).
Both sparks?! As in two? Where are the Primus forsaken details?! How could there be two sparks when even cybertronian's capable of splitting their spark would have to place the new piece into a frame almost immediately, before the sparks would just merge back together? And how do the Decepticons expect him to believe any of this when Gears knows for a fact that his spark is a standard one?
He's definitely going try and show this slag to Ratchet. It's ridiculous.
The description continues:
Status of the sparks determined via scan. Positioning determined via physical examination.
The mini's energon runs cold as he reads and rereads that final statement.
They opened him up… They opened his spark chamber!
The fact Thundercracker decided to move closer to the now positively enraged Autobot instead of moving away is laughable, given the seeker probably knows of the data pad's contents. What could the larger mech have been expecting other than a solid punch?
Too bad the hit did little more than dent the con's shoulder plating.
"Get away from me!" Gears growls, shifting himself so he's standing on the berth. "You creeps have a spark scanner and – and yet your so-called medic saw fit to break into an unconscious mech's spark chamber!"
The seeker frowns and lifts his servos in a placating manner. "We thought you were dying-"
"Get out! Leave me alone! GET!"
Thundercracker's wings flick and his plating flares in irritation…. before wilting, and the mech begins to apologize.
His words only prove to further anger the smaller mech, who's engines huff in a final warning to the seeker. By some miracle, the con is wise enough to heed the mini's request and makes his way to the door.
He chances a final glance towards the autobot before finally exiting the room, door sliding securely shut behind him.
Gears feels his frame shake, little tremors rattling plating and wires and joints unsteady. His spark is racing. Hurting.
A twinge of worry bleeds through the anger and the red and blue bot finds himself slumping down into a corner between the berth and wall, facing opposite the rest of the room. Normally he handles these kinds of situations quite well (he'd been quite calm during the last time the Cons had taken him, even before they removed his circuit) but this time… this is just too much.
His spark is racing and still very off beat.
Answers.
He needs answers.
Calling up and searching his own programs and diagnostics on his HUD, Gears sorts through everything pertaining to his spark. His tank churns when what he finds confirms that his spark chamber had been manually opened nearly a solar-cycle ago. Everything else reads fine, much of what he's seeing matching up with the stats in the medical entry.
Nothing new, however, nothing confirming and/or denying the possibility of a second spark.
Of course not. The mini is no carrier, and so he lacks any programs that would detect one.
Gears checks to see that he's still alone before letting his chassis plating and workings part and his spark chamber open. He can't see much, but he uses the reflective back of the data pad to make out the bright shape of his spark. At first it appears to be deformed, but the closer he brings the pad, the clear division between two glowing orbs becomes more visible.
Slag it all to the pits…. There is a second spark.
…..A newspark?
The data pad nearly slips through his digits. He remembers Thundercracker trying to assure him that the newspark was fine.
Is it fine?