Chapter 14: Dash Away Part 2
Carlos and Rad waved to Alexis as she rode Sureshock down another street, and they continued on straight ahead. She'd given them a story about helping her parents put the 'cute' things back inside the house, but Carlos thought she still wasn't willing to go back to the Autobots' base because of Rachel's warning. "Hey, you thought about going to see the 'Bots?"
Rad ducked his head. "Yeah, but I figured it was better to wait until things were cool."
Carlos smiled. "You're just trying to make sure I'm really okay, aren't you?"
The blond grinned sheepishly. "Am I that easy to read?" he asked, but his expression twisted up as they reached a wooded area, and High Wire slowed.
Carlos blinked as he had Grindor turned around and frowned as Rad's expression was confused. "Earth to Rad, you sure you're not the one who's feeling weird?"
Rad blinked, his features smoothing out. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out, it's nothing serious. I'm thinking about all that homework I have to do." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, anyway, I should probably get home to do it. Later, Carlos!" he said and High Wire turned at the next corner.
Carlos absently waved at him, but turned his attention back to the wooded area. It took a moment, but he could remember helping out that little fox here. He bit his lip as he pulled Grindor with him to the grassy area. "Watch my bags; I'm gonna go check something out, okay?"
"Don't take too long." Grindor called back.
Carlos waved once more as he made his way into the small clearing in the brush. He could see that things were just like they were this morning. The pile of rocks was still on the ground, and he spotted the bush the fox had limped into. He cautiously walked up to the shrub, and slowly pulled the trees apart.
He froze when he met two sharp eyes that stared up at him in a furry face. The fox had tensed, but narrowed its eyes as it slowly relaxed. There was still that odd dirt pattern on its forehead, but the more pressing issue was its leg.
"Hey there little guy," he said soothingly, "you been here all day?"
The fox keened, its long ears flattening as he rested its head on its good leg. The other front paw didn't look too bad up close; he was no expert but it was probably a sprain. It had the same slack to it that Rachel's ankle had.
As Carlos doubted the fox would be as nice as his mini-con to let him pick it up, he thought of how he could help it. He abruptly snapped his fingers. "That's it!" he beamed down at the fox. "Wait here little guy, I know just who to call for help."
The brunet dashed back through the way he came, and almost tripped over his feet as he reached for his bag. "You'll never guess what, that little fox I helped earlier is still here," he frowned as he dug through his bag, "sure, it's still hurt, but I'm just happy it's alive. I thought Sid killed it 'cause he kept shooting rocks at it."
"What a horrible thing to do." Grindor said disgustedly. "It reminds me of how some bots would talk about taking us apart just to see how we could combine with them. They liked the power we gave them, but not the fact they had to do it in order to upgrade themselves."
Carlos winced. "That's harsh. Anyone starts talking like that about you again-Autobot or not, I'll show 'em you don't mess with my friend!" he promised heatedly.
Grindor chuckled, but when he answered, he sounded sincerely touched. "That won't be necessary, but you're offer is very generous. Focus your attention on your little friend rather than me."
Carlos rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, right." He nodded and dialed his home number. "Hey, Dad, I found a fox with an injured leg in the area by the park. It's in the bush, but I don't want it to get hurt or hurt anyone else too if they find it."
"And you think bringing it home wild animal is a good idea? I thought we already went through this?"
Carlos winced; trust his Dad to not play fair. "It's not that big." He protested. "And besides, can't we just take it to the shelter in the next town? It's not right to leave it out here."
His father was silent for a long while. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh. "Alright; I'll be right there. Stay away from it though; I don't want you to get bit."
Carlos grinned. "Thanks Dad!" he hung up the phone and pumped his fist into the air. "He's on his way-I knew he'd come through."
"How did you know? Have you done this before?"
Carlos shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe. I used to find small animals when I was younger and my parents would go along with helping me care for them until they let them go. They put their foot down when I started talking about rescuing bears."
Grindor hummed noncommittally. "My impression of you was that of a rash, hot-tempered child. I can see now that it my mistake to put you into a box-I am sorry. You are more compassionate than I realized."
Carlos stared at the mini-con. Disbelief coursed through him. He'd suspected that Grindor hadn't thought well of him, but to hear it and get an apology for it? Wow. "Uh, thanks." He mumbled. "You're not so bad either."
"You're welcome." Grindor replied. "Though I confess your animal rescue confuses me. Would you mind explaining the details a bit more clearly?"
Carlos rubbed his chin. "Well, the fox will get taken to a vet to fix its leg, and it'll be looked after until its ready to be reintroduced to the wild." he explained. "I guess it's like what Rachel wanted to do for High Wire-protect him by keeping him with those who could help."
"Rachel changed her mind eventually." Grindor pointed out.
Carlos nodded. "There's a difference though; you, High Wire and Sureshock aren't animals. You have minds of your own. Animals don't really-they run on instinct, not reason, and sometimes you gotta do what's best for 'em 'cause they can't make that decision for themselves."
"That was…quite insightful." Grindor said, his tone surprised. Carlos looked at him with a raised brow, and the mini-con hurried on. "I'm not saying you're not smart or anything, but I as I've said-you've just been the most carefree."
Carlos shrugged. "Yeah. It always felt like someone had to be. Alexis' trying to be a grown-up all the time, and Rad's kinda all over the place, so I figured-hey, why not just be a kid?" he grinned smugly. "And if it helps my friends lighten up, then that's awesome too!"
Grindor hummed thoughtfully again, which sounded a lot like a string of continuous beeps. He quieted down when he saw a truck pulling up to the side walk a tall human who looked much like an older Carlos got out. He pulled a kit out of the truck bed and a cage.
"Okay, where's the fox?"
Carlos pointed to the woods. "It's back there in a bush just at the clearing. You can't miss it; its fur's this weird shade of blue." He paused when the man's expression contorted. "I don't think it's mange, it still had all its fur."
"Even so, stay put." Mr. Lopez warned.
Carlos glanced back into the woods, and he hesitated. Though his own knowledge wasn't limited, his dad would know what mange looked like better than he did. Cautiously, he nodded and picked up his backpack before moving Grindor to the truck. 'Still, I hope the little guy's gonna be okay.'
Hot Shot knew he'd said a monumentally stupid thing, but he just couldn't swallow his pride enough to apologize. Even when he knew that for the good of the team he'd need to cough up an apology, even with Jolt constantly on his case since he'd blurted it out-he just couldn't.
Jolt had left him a little while ago without saying a word, but when he came back with Optimus in tow, Hot Shot realized just what a goody-good mini-con he chose. "If you won't talk to Red Alert, then talk to Optimus; he's your commanding officer and he deserves to know what's going on."
Hot Shot grimaced, but reminded himself that this was for the good of the mission as well. "You're probably wondering why Jolt brought you here," he paused as he thought of how to word the 'incident', "I, uh, well-I messed up big time. I called Red Alert a machine."
Optimus sighed deeply in response. "You do realize you have to apologize to him, don't you?"
The yellow mech nodded. "It's just, I-I don't know if I can mean it! Red Alert might be the medical and science officer rolled into one, but he's also probably the most uptight bot I've ever met!" he exclaimed. "He's cold, logical, and acts as if lightening up just a little bit would make the universe implode!"
When Hot Shot's rant petered off, Optimus seemed to be collecting his thoughts. "I sometimes forget just how young you are compared to Red Alert and I." he said quietly. "While the loss you suffered with Wheeljack-" Hot Shot winced at the name- "has worn on your mind, in the grand scheme of the war, many have experienced much similar traumas. You are perhaps one of the lucky few who came online during the lull, but medics don't have that luxury; they often see bots at their worst, and well..."
Hot Shot frowned as he absorbed what he was being told. "So Red Alert's like this because…he hardened his spark?" he questioned tentatively. Optimus nodded and Hot Shot looked thoughtfully down at his pedes. "I can understand not wanting to be hurt again, but he takes it way too far."
"All of us have our ways of dealing with certain situations." Optimus said sagely.
Hot Shot narrowed his optics slightly. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking; just who did you lose?"
Optimus straightened up. "I have lost many to this war, but the one which still haunts me is the loss of a dear friend. He was the first of many who fell to the Decepticons." He paused, and let out a heavy sigh. "Still, we do what we must to soldier on."
Hot Shot wasn't given much time to process this new information, as overhead the mini-con signal blared. All other thoughts of the situation with Red Alert were pushed back as excitement overtook him. "I get see some action again! I was starting to get really bored and apparently no one wants that."
Optimus shook his head. "I hope you take to spark about what I said; we all need a clear processor to deal with the Decepticons."
Hot Shot's mood was a bit dampened by the reminder, but he nodded. "I will, sir." He followed Optimus to the warp room, where Red Alert, Smokescreen and the three Autobot mini-cons had gathered already.
"I have input the co-ordinates to the mini-con panel's location." Red Alert said without looking up from the warp console.
Hot Shot thought of telling Red Alert he was sorry here and now, but the mech wouldn't look at him and the warp gate was starting up, showing the icy landscape where the new mini-con was. When they drove through, it was even colder than he thought, the chilly wind hitting him right in the circuits. "How can anything survive in this environment?"
"We'll know if we happen to see anything." Red Alert said flatly.
"Now's not the time." Optimus pre-emptively cut off the argument before it could happen. "Hot Shot, you and Red Alert will search the north end of this region."
"What?" Hot Shot knew what Optimus might be trying to do, but couldn't he see that this was a bad idea? "Couldn't I go with Smokescreen? I work better with him and-"
"Hot Shot," Optimus said in a warning tone, "my decision is final."
The yellow mech grumbled as he gave into the chain of command. "Yes, sir." He didn't need to see Red Alert to know how miffed he was too about this.
As the two drove off, neither were up to speaking, and Hot Shot certainly didn't want to have this talk out here. His pistons were starting to freeze, his oil began to move sluggishly, and he was sure that Red Alert's frigid silence was enough to freeze the rest of the yellow bot.
'This isn't going to get us anywhere, and finding the mini-con's more important anyway.' Hot Shot could apologize later, preferably when he was not being forced too. "I'll catch you on the flipside!" he called before gunning his engine.
"Hot Shot!" Red Alert yelled after him, Jolt screebling along with him, but whatever else they said was drowned out by the squeal of tires as the yellow mech sped along the snow.
It crunched under his wheels and Hot Shot was pleased to find the heat of his engine warmed him back up. 'Slowpoke probably can't go faster out here. He wasn't made for the open road.' Hot Shot would have lost himself in the sensations of being free to roam had he not had a mission. A mission which would determine his continued presence on the field.
Hot Shot drove along plain after plain, snow glinting off the sunlight. The landscape was disappointingly flat, aside from a few hills or cliff, and there was frustratingly no green in a sea of white. Hot Shot frowned when he thought he heard noise over the sound of his own engine, and not a second later the ground beside him erupted.
"Ahhhh!" Hot Shot transformed and slid through the snow. He wasn't sure if it was the cold that chilled him, or the Decepticons that surrounded him. He gritted his denta as Megatron glared down at him.
"What do we have here? A foolish little Autobot separated from the rest of the unit? How fortunate-for us."
Hot Shot snarled at the bigger mech. "Who says I'm alone?"
Megatron only laughed at his attempt at bravado. His lips twisted into a sneer. "Were that true, you're bluff would hold more weight to it. Now come here you."
Hot Shot tried to pull back, but the Decepticon grabbed him by the arm which reached for his blaster. His instinct was to call for Jolt, but he remembered he'd ditched him along with Red Alert. 'Oh scrap.' He was hefted off the ground as Megatron kept a secure grip on his arms.
"Now, what to do with you first." He mused.
Hot Shot glared up at him. "Why don't you turn me around so I don't have to look at your ugly mug?" he yelped as the grip on his arms were tightened to a painful degree. Anymore and he feared they began to dent.
"Don't test me, Autobot. You're only still functioning as a useful bargaining chip." Megatron said darkly. "Though don't expect to go back in one piece if you keep mouthing off."
"Can I have the first crack at him? I still owe him a missile." Cyclonus asked excitedly.
Hot Shot grimaced. It was a hard sight to get out of his helm knowing the smoking remains of Rachel's car were supposed to be him. "And what? Mistake a rock this time for me too?" he winced as the plating on his arms began to dent.
Cyclonus scowled at him. "Would have been able to take out those rotten humans if that flesh bag hadn't gotten in the way."
Hot Shot managed a glare, but came to notice that he couldn't see or hear Starscream anywhere. 'Even if one 'Con's looking for the mini-con, I've still got the odds against me.' His tank churned in disgust at being so helpless. For making such a stupid and reckless decision.
A shing rang out, and Hot Shot jerked in surprise at the claw which dug into the 'copter's shoulder. Cyclonus screeched as the cable on the claw violently retracted and pulled him along with it. Demolishor held out his servos to brace himself from the impact of the other Decepticon crashing into him, but it wasn't enough and they both were knocked into the ground, revealing Red Alert.
Hot Shot's spark pulsed with relief and shame. 'He...he came looking for me.' The tender feeling which bloomed in his chest was constricted by the plating in his arms denting from the grip still on him.
It was not helped by the dark gaze Megatron levelled at Red Alert, his optics burning in anger. "Red Alert." he spat the name as though it were bad fuel, his lips curling into a sneer. "How rash of Prime to allow you to leave his side-and so unwise."
"You mistake me for a cadet." Red Alert said coldly. "I've drawn up several different battle plans, and they all end with you releasing Hot Shot, so why don't you make this easier for all of us."
Megatron laughed darkly. "You may not be green, but you certainly overestimate your position beside Optimus. Or rather," something shifted in his expression, a bitterness seeping in with the anger, "underneath him?"
Hot Shot's optics widened. His jaw dropped. A faint buzzing picked up in his audios and he worried hthat he might be short-circuiting. Had he really heard that? Red Alert hadn't even twitched though, his face impassive as ever.
"Plan #3 then." He muttered, and abruptly his voice rose, "Jolt, now!"
Megatron roared when a small helicopter swooped down from the sky, and slammed its gun barrel into the back of his head. He snarled as Jolt flew out of range. "Why you little-" A red laser shot hit Megatron's servo, and Hot Shot took the opportunity wrench himself out of the Decepticon's grasp.
"Hot Shot, let's go!" Red Alert ordered before transforming back to vehicle mode.
"For once I agree with you." Hot Shot said as he reverted to his alt-mode as well. "Jolt, come on!" he called and burned rubber out of there.
Hot Shot could hear Megatron's furious roars behind him, and it had him driving a little bit faster. Questions ran through his processor, most centered around what the 'Con had implied. 'It has to be a lie, I'd notice if Red Alert and Optimus were shacking up.' Still, it wasn't like Red denied it…Hot Shot wanted to shake his helm.
Sooner or later though (and Hot Shot was now realizing it would be sooner), he knew he had to talk with Red Alert. It was finally time for everything to be brought into the open.
Rad had been reluctant to take Kero with him, but if anyone could have identified a card better than him, it was the guardian. "Well?" High Wire indiscernibly leaned forward as he could in bike mode for the answer too.
Kero frowned as he zipped across the forest line, his brow creased worriedly as his body emitted a faint yellow glow. "What did it feel like?"
The blond thought back to that rush of exhilaration, and the exhaustion he'd experienced immediately afterward. "It felt like I'd just got done running."
"I thought so." Kero said quietly. The glow died down as he flew back over to Rad. "It's Dash, but something feels…off about it."
"Cards can feel off?" Rad questioned.
Kero nodded. "I know it may hard to believe, but the cards can get injured if they're magic isn't up to par."
"It's really not all that strange-I wouldn't be able to catch any of them at all if they didn't get a little overwhelmed." Rad pointed out. "But I'd hate to see what this Dash can do if it were up to full power."
"You'd never catch it then." Kero said grimly.
Rad grimaced. He glanced around at the empty street, but couldn't chance that it'd be deserted for long. The rush hour to get home would be starting soon, and he'd like to be back at the apartment before it got bad. "Come on, let's go find that card."
Kero nodded and climbed into the back of Rad's hoodie, curling up in the hood while High Wire began cycling down the street. "Concentrate on that feeling you had when you first felt Dash, and follow it to the source."
Rad nodded and closed his eyes. He went through the motions of riding the bike, but one look at his 'asleep' face and they'd know something was up. He didn't let that discourage him, not when he needed to find Dash. He thought of the rush, the thrill and the blood racing, his heart thumping as he 'ran' and his eyes snapped open.
"I got it!" He squeezed on the handle bars and Rad began peddling as High Wire gave up control. Rad chased the presence along the sidewalk, the pull growing stronger. When he finally stopped, his entire body slumped over High Wire, exhaustion flooding through him. "Man, what a rush." He breathed.
Kero patted Rad on the shoulder as best he could. "It's okay, now you just need to catch it."
"Rad?" Kero stiffened and ducked back into the hoodie as Rad glanced up. His eyes widened when he saw Carlos peering out of a door at him. "What are you doing here?"
The blond felt a chill run down his spine the longer he looked at the house. This was Carlos' home, and Carlos had Dash. 'Oh no. Please don't let this be like Sword.' He'd been willing to chalk that up to Alexis being a convenient target, but if Carlos was possessed then it meant the cards were actively going after him. "You…doing okay?"
Carlos raised a brow. "Uh, you're the one who's been acting weird. Shouldn't I be asking that?"
Rad flushed. "Yeah, well," he shrugged awkwardly, "anything new happen since I left?"
"You mean almost two hours ago?" Carlos teased. Rad grinned sheepishly at him. The brunet laughed and shook his head. "Glad you stopped by though, I got something cool to show you!"
"It's not a trading card is it?" Rad asked cautiously.
Carlos gave him a funny stare. "No, why would it be?" he gestured to the garage. "High Wire can talk to Grindor in there. Just be quiet 'cause my dad's still home."
High Wire beeped affirmative as Rad lifted the garage door enough for the mini-con to slip in. "Remember, just call and I'll be there."
Rad hoped it didn't have to come to that, but he appreciated the sentiment. "I will." He assured him and let the door fall again. Carlos led him through the kitchen to the back, bypassing Mr. Lopez as he manned the stove. His stomach growled and he blushed.
Mr. Lopez grinned. "Staying for dinner, Rad?"
The blond chuckled weakly. "No, Carlos just wanted to show me something." He managed to say before Carlos grabbed a hold of his sleeve and pulled him outside.
"And here it is!" he waved a hand to the cage at the edge of the patio. His chest puffed out proudly. "I even got to bandage its leg myself, pretty cool huh?"
Rad didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the creature, who stared back with its fur standing on end. It hissed and Rad flinched. The fact it was in a cage gave him more comfort than he thought. "It's something." He found himself saying weakly. "Where'd you find it?"
"Out in the woods." Carlos explained, and then his lips twisted up. "This morning I caught Sid throwing rocks at it and Seth egging him on."
"So they didn't just go after you because you helped Billy and Fred?" Rad questioned.
Carlos shrugged uneasily, sending his father a quick glance. "Not sure, but don't mention it to my dad, okay? He and Mom already think this world's dangerous enough."
"It's a wonder they didn't decide to homeschool you then." Rad said with a weak grin.
Carlos' smile was much more amused. "Don't be giving them any ideas. Mom might be busy with her radio show, but Dad's had a lot of free time he retired from being Indiana Jones."
"I always did wonder where your fascination with caves came from." Rad teased.
Carlos huffed and crossed his arms. "You're just jealous."
Rad's smile tightened. Yeah, on some level he could fully admit that he was envious. He had no right to be; his parents had been gone for nearly three weeks while Carlos had to deal with his father being out on expeditions for months a time. There was no comparison and he berated himself for thinking there was. "What is this? A fox?"
Carlos blinked at the abrupt subject change. "Well, I think it is. It's got the general shape, but the ears are kinda too thin and its tail isn't bushy-oh yeah, and it's blue. Dad and I are going to ask the animal shelter people when we take it there tomorrow."
"Tomorrow." Rad repeated softly. If he wanted to capture Dash, he'd have to do it tonight. Carlos and Mr. Lopez were clearly seeing Dash's true form, and he couldn't risk anymore people examining this 'unknown species'. "It's pretty cool, but I gotta get home for dinner. Rachel's ordering take-out."
"Lucky." Carlos muttered.
"I heard that." Mr. Lopez interjected, and Carlos winced.
"I mean, lucky for you. Me? I get to eat the awesome meal my awesome Dad is making." Carlos reiterated.
"Nice save." Mr. Lopez said dryly.
Rad smiled at Carlos' nervous relief, but it strained when he caught Dash glaring at him. 'As far as I know, Carlos isn't an alien or has magic, but with my luck Dash could choose him just to spite me.' He quietly bid his farewell and hurried to retrieve High Wire. "Oh, and Grindor, I'll be back later tonight. Turns out that fox is a Sakura Card."
Grindor stared at him, unease flowing from him to Rad. "Are you sure? Is it dangerous? Should I be worried about Carlos?"
"Kero?" Rad called quietly.
The plush guardian popped his head out of the hood. "I couldn't sense any magic from either Carlos or his father, but just in case, try and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't start acting funny."
Grindor nodded seriously. "Then please come back as soon as possible. I don't want that card to hurt Carlos. He cares about it, but that doesn't mean it still can't use that."
"I'm guessing Sureshock told you about Alexis and Sword?" Rad questioned. Grindor nodded. "I'll…I'll be back then." He replied softly. The door closed behind him as he climbed onto the bike seat.
"You don't sound all that happy about catching this card." High Wire said.
Rad shrugged. "It's just...I saw how happy Carlos was."
"Rad," Kero said seriously, his voice more stern and firm than the blond had ever heard it, "you can't let a card keep running around on its own. Dash is weak now, but it's gonna get stronger. And then who knows what'll happen." His tone then softened and he rested a hand reassuringly on Rad's shoulder. "You're the not the first who wanted to let a card be free, just to make someone happy."
Rad's eyes widened. Did Kero really just volunteer information about the previous Cardcaptor? It was another piece to a puzzle which had always been in the back of his mind. Even if he learned just a snippet, it was telling. "Did something bad happen?"
Kero hesitated. "It's…better to catch them before they can cause damage."
Rad sighed. Looks like Kero was back to being secretive again. "I…I guess so." He muttered. He hadn't even done anything and guilt was already setting in. Could Dash really get strong enough to escape the cage on its own? If he wasted time, then would he be putting Carlos in danger?
He didn't know how long he'd been peddling High Wire around, but even as he remained silent his concern bled through the link. Even Kero didn't intrude on his thoughts.
"Hey, Rad," the blond nearly jumped out of his skin, his heart racing as he wildly looked around. His heartbeat settled down to a more normal pulse when his gaze landed across the street, a familiar dark-haired man standing there, "you okay?"
Rad blinked owlishly. He blushed as he wasn't sure how to answer that. "I…"his voice trailed off as he saw the sack of spades in his arms. "What are those for?"
Marty shrugged. "Dr. Paaswell sent me out to buy them. The class is going on a dig soon." He grinned and playfully wagged his finger. "Don't tell Rachel, it's part of the final exam."
Rad's stomach churned. Rachel…was going away too? Again? His hands shook on the handlebars, his throat constricting. "O-okay, I won't. Promise." He plastered on a strained grin.
He'd wanted a distraction, but not like this. Bile rose in the back of his throat, but Rad managed to keep it down. He hoped he could for the rest of the night too.
"I think we're safe." Hot Shot said. He wanted to fill the silence that had been kept up after his rescue and subsequently finding a cave to hide in. Jolt and Red Alert could really hold a grudge. They hadn't found the mini-con yet, but given they'd just spent the last hour making sure no 'Con had been able to tail them, leading them to a storage panel might not be the best idea.
It didn't make this any less awkward though.
"Optimus," Hot Shot said into his comm., but all he got was static, "sir? Scrap, the comm's down."
"It's probably the cold, the circuits are likely frozen."
"You speak!" Hot Shot exclaimed, only for Red Alert to jerk his helm away. The yellow mech deflated. "Look, I know I messed up earlier, and I'm real sorry." He said, but Red still didn't look at him. Jolt wouldn't either.
Hot Shot vented heavily, his expression creasing in self-deprecation. "I know I'm not your first choice as a partner, or maybe even your last. I'm loud, obnoxious, I say things without thinking, I-"
"You don't have to degrade yourself." Red Alert cut in. "That's not what I want."
Hot Shot frowned in confusion. "Then what do you want? I'm trying to apologize here but you won't accept it!"
"Because I know it's not your apology. You'll do this to please Optimus, I'll accept to make him happy, and then we'll go right back to how it's always been until you say something else that's incredibly insensitive." Red Alert explained coldly.
Hot Shot's jaw dropped. He floundered to think of a comeback, to rebuke anything of what Red said. Nothing came up though, and he knew why he couldn't fire back. "It's true." He admitted. A heavy feeling settled in his spark and he slid down the ice wall. It's freezing surface chilled his back, but he didn't care. "We can't keep going like this."
"On this we are in agreement." Red Alert replied.
Hot Shot pulled his knees up to his chest plate, cringing only minutely when his arms ached. "Carlos said something to me once; he told me 'it takes two to tango'. I didn't listen because I was happy enough to think that my behavior was your fault, but…I know deep down it's not true. And I can't keep kidding myself."
"It's not as though I am entirely blameless either." Red Alert said quietly. "I should know better than to rile you up, or respond to your jabs."
"Then what's the real reason for it?" Hot shot pressed.
Red Alert vented deeply, his lips tightening. "You…remind me very much of myself, when I was younger." He said it slowly, and watched Hot Shot like he expected another smart remark. Hot Shot though was aware enough that this was important. "In fact, your attitude was much like other mechs I had known. It was early in the war, just before the mini-cons arrived."
He chuckled, and that alone was enough to keep Hot Shot silent. "We were young, so sure we could beat the Decepticons, that our illustrious Prime would lead us to victory."
Hot Shot smiled slightly. "Optimus." When Red Alert shook his helm, the smile was wiped clean.
"Sentinel." Red corrected. "He was the Prime before Optimus, and now with hindsight, I can truly see just how foolish we'd all been to assume defeating the Decepticons would be easy." His tone became grave. "War can wear on even the hardiest of sparks, with each battle tearing you down piece by piece. This," he lifted the nozzle he'd had in lieu of a left servo, "is to remind myself of the cost such arrogance can bring."
Hot Shot had wondered about it, but it was a subject Red hadn't given a reason for back on Cybertron. He was a medic, he should have been able to reattach it. "So, you chose to have only one servo?"
Red Alert nodded tightly. "I can never allow myself to forget that day. I thought we'd finally gained upper-hand with the arrival of the mini-cons, but even with a partner I'd been no match for the Decepticon."
Hot Shot saw a burning anger in Red's optic band, more furious and full of hate than with anything he'd looked at the yellow mech with. "What happened to him? Did you get him?"
Red Alert chuckled bitterly. "No, as a matter of fact, he became one of Megatron's top soldiers. I thought I'd never get the chance to make him answer for his crimes, but that's all changed." His optics band brightened. "And he will pay."
Hot Shot's spark pulsed as he leaned forward. "Who?"
The gaze he received was dark and vengeful. "Starscream."
A/N: Oh boy, I can see the arguments already. This little bit is in fact not a liberty. In his bio, it's clearly stated that Red Alert's servo was chopped off by Starscream. It's actually a wonder that they never did anything to indicate this in the show.
