C.M.D: Hey, look at that, it's another chapter for Mainframe! ...How long as it been? Quite a while, I have to say. My muses have been more focused on First Aid or Rodimus, but it's nice to finally get more story written for the other characters on my list. And boy, what a bit of story do I have planned for this little nerd! I'll get to the juicy bits in time but please enjoy something a little lighter for this month!
Title: Mainframe II
Rating: T
When Mainframe had finally been granted permission to return to his office, he was appalled to see the state it had been left in. A stack of Science Department related paperwork had been moved neatly to another console! A lab table had been relocated to the centre of the room, nearby computer wires tidily draped over the side bars! And someone had removed one of his blue pens from his desk holder! All in all, the cocker collie was unimpressed and he idly thought to give Ratchet a piece of his mind over this mess, when said vet strode right back into his office, a grim scowl on his face.
"There's a problem, Mainframe," he said, pointing towards the programmer's chair, without looking away from his datapad once.
Mainframe stared for a moment in bewilderment, before realizing that the older mech was ordering him to sit and not implying that the problem lied with his chair. Stubbornly, the cocker collie refused to comply, fixing his own sullen glare at the labrador. Catching it with an upwards glance, Ratchet sighed, refraining from pinching his olfactory sensor in annoyance.
"Mainframe, your lab is fine. Nothing has been misplaced or destroyed or violated. In fact, other than the dire essentials, nothing was touched."
"Tell that to my coded 000F55 blue pen," the programmer grumbled.
"What was that?," Ratchet scowled deeper.
Mainframe did not respond.
"Anyways," the vet continued slowly, eyeing the cocker collie a moment longer before returning to his datapad, "It seems our initial analysis has revealed a far more critical situation than my colleague and I had estimated. Thus, we will need to rent your lab facility for some time longer until we are able to take
care of this problem. Probably a few months longer."
The younger autodog almost had an aneurysm.
"N-no!," he was eventually able to get out, close to trembling in outrage and fear at the idea of his sanctuary open for such a lengthy time to Ratchet's band of scrupulous characters.
The labrador's scowl hit an all-time new low at the protest. "This isn't a request anymore, Mainframe," he said sternly. "This problem is now on a government level and they can simply commandeer your labs if you do not cooperate. It's only at my request that they even asked in the first place."
If Mainframe wasn't going to throw a fit before, he was ready to blow a gasket now. "B-bu-but," he stammered, fighting wild emotions and anxiety to get the words out, "M-my work- The D-department-?!"
"Will be fine. We'll message you ahead of time what days we need the labs," Ratchet explained, "And I'll be sure we've vacated the premises no later than four in the afternoon. That'll give you plenty of time to catch up on work or fix any 'messes' we make. Fair enough?"
It wasn't, but what could Mainframe really do? If he refused, the "government" would simply kick him out of his labs anyhow and take over for as long as they wanted, with no concern for the 'bot who owned the space. No, Mainframe would have to concede -silently cursing the corrupt power of seating in the social structure of Cybertron- and trust that Ratchet's good word would allot him some time in his haven. Waving his servo minutely to the other autodog's impatient demands for confirmation, the cocker collie turned to busy himself at a console, still not responding to the vet's farewells as he finally left.
xxXxXxx
This wasn't good...
"Have you seen my results?," Ratchet asked, focused on the scans before him. They were lit brightly from beneath by the projector screen, their gruesome details visible to anyone in the office with him. From behind, Brainstorm scoffed, quietly lifting the lid off one of the medical jars and slipping a handful of latex gloves into his coat.
"For what purpose? That mumbo jumbo means nothing," the tervuren replied.
The vet refrained from hissing in annoyance, finally turning around to face his companion. "That 'mumbo jumbo' as you call it is important. You may not think so, but Streetwise's cybernetic state is key in this procedure and as it stands now, it's fast deteriorating. At least three times quicker than the Cybertronian form is supposed too!," Ratchet gruffed, servos planted firmly on his hips. "I've already read the reports from Yoketron-"
"The dumbed down version," Brainstorm cut in.
"-And," the labrador continued, not addressing the interruption with more than a glare, "We're both essential to this task. Not just you and your science, Brainstorm."
"You say it as if 'my science' was some mediocre, kindergarten class," the teal mech said snippily, tossing a glossa depressor at the shorter autodog. "Not that I should have to remind you but I am the greatest, untold miracle of science! Better than that Percy fellow in your silly, lil' department..."
"And I," the vet growled additionally, "Am the top of my field, so considering you know nothing about the delicacies of the Cybertronian frame, put this foolish contest to rest! I rely on you to work out a solution quickly just as you need to rely on me keeping Streetwise alive until then. And I'm telling you now... after these tests, we don't have as much time as we thought."
The scientist did not reply for the longest time, playing with the office drawers and medical jars, before he finally vented softly. "Alright, I get it. Got a copy handy? I'm sure Yoketron will want this for his reports," he said dully.
Ratchet nodded, grabbing a thin file folder from his desktop and handing it to the tervuren. "Shall I expect you'll be late tomorrow as well?," the labrador asked as his guest turned to the door to leave.
Brainstorm paused, shooting the vet a masked smile. "Yep!," he answered cheerfully. Then he was gone. Venting loudly, the other mech simply began tidying up for the night; turning off the office lights and heading home himself.
xxXxXxx
The moment Ratchet had left his labs, the programmer had set to work. And he worked and worked, until the night had drawn to a close and he realized with bleary optics that the time displayed on his desktop was nearing five a.m. Yet, all Mainframe was worried about was that even after a night of rewriting codes, his systems still weren't protected enough from Ratchet and the crazed tervuren. There wasn't much else he could do though... The security guards were doing changeover right at this very moment and a couple cycles after that, Mainframe would have to forfeit his lab to a vet and a mad mech. It was enough to make the cocker collie wish to scream to the ceiling above.
Venting in annoyance -because screaming, though desired, was not Mainframe's style- the autodog set about beginning his usual morning routine; first by checking the operation status of all the fire exits and alarms, followed by availability and functionality of all fire extinguishers on Wheeljack's floor. After several kliks of self-talk and tucking his tablet securely under one arm, Mainframe finally left his office -only to discover a lone mech casually wandering the hall outside his door. Spark pulsing erratically (why was there a stranger here?! Strangers weren't allowed up to his floor!) the programmer tried to step back into the safety of his lab, but the sliding doors instead closed quickly behind him with a loud 'zwip!', blocking Mainframe's escape and drawing the other autodog's attention towards himself.
The anxious autodog was only able to realize that the intruder raising his arm in polite greeting was the beautiful akita from the other morning, before everything fluttered and fell to black.
xxXxXxx
Streetwise was just raising his servo, glad to have found someone finally, when the poor cocker collie slumped to the side suddenly. In half an astrosecond, he had crossed the hallway and caught the shorter autodog before he could crack his helm on the floor, but the action left Streetwise's entire frame on fire. Neural net screaming in agony, the white mech cautiously collapsed to his knees, adjusting his hold on the unknown 'bot.
"This is not what I had expected," the akita mumbled to himself softly. "Oh dear... I hope he wakes up soon. I'd hate to call for help."
Calling for help meant moving. Moving either meant taking the cocker collie with him or leaving him behind. Streetwise was currently not capable of anything at the moment; at least, not until the burning faded from his frame and the blaring alerts disappeared from his field of vision. He really shouldn't have exerted so much energy... Yet, it was for a good cause. The akita didn't wish to be the source of anyone's pain and he had succeeded so far. Smiling sweetly, Streetwise set the shorter mech's helm in his lap as he laid him out on the floor carefully; content to stroke the other's ears until the poor autodog regained consciousness.
xxXxXxx
His helm hurt. Groaning a little, Mainframe shifted, slowly coming to the realization that he had fainted. Well, great, that's just what he needed to start the orn with after a long, anxious night of no recharge. Trying to recall what had caused him to collapse in the first place, Mainframe painstakingly onlined his optics again to find himself staring up at two serene lagoons haloed by a white background. The waters swirled when they noticed the autodog watching; a sultry chuckle sounding.
"Good morning," the chuckle said, the lagoons transforming into a pair of optics, the white sky forming into a face. "I'm glad you've finally woken. I was afraid I may have to go and find help, leaving you unattended."
Spark seizing, the cocker collie realized with horror that he was staring up at the face of the stranger he'd spotted outside his labs. Even more terrifying, the programmer noticed a klik after that his helm was currently resting in said intruder's lap.
"Oh!," the akita gasped as Mainframe squirmed violently; dropping out of his lap and and wriggling a safe distance away before clambering to his pedes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you- now or earlier! I was only trying to find someone but I couldn't find any staff downstairs to assist me."
'That doesn't give you the clearance to wander in restricted hallways!,' the programmer wanted to shout, but he couldn't even feel his glossa as the stranger gracefully rose to his pedes, readjusting his coat and smiling sweetly.
"My name is Streetwise," he introduced, holding out a servo to shake. "May I know your name?"
Mainframe could felt himself get lightheaded again; fumbling a couple more steps back but finding only wall instead. He almost missed the ding of the elevator, too focused in on the concerned akita watching him in puzzlement, snapping out of his terrified trance only when a familiar vocalizer shouted down the hall.
"Mainframe, you better not faint!," Ratchet growled, quickly striding forward. The vet carried a large box before himself, cycling heavy intakes at the unknown weight within. "I have no time for your fits this morning."
His pride burned at the scolding but the cocker collie only threw a passing glare to the vet before the anxious mech bolted past his two unwanted guests; picking up his fallen tablet along the way and rushing for the elevator. He ignored everything behind him as he punched the down button, practically collapsing to the floor as he tripped into the lift in his haste to escape. No matter though, Mainframe thought, hugging his tablet and venting rapidly to soothe his frazzled sensors. He had managed to get away from a horrific confrontation and in a moment, he'd have security handle the beautiful pit-spawn lurking in his halls.
All would be well... Soothed for a moment, Mainframe cycled a relieved intake -recalling immediately after that he wouldn't be able to return to his labs for some time this orn. Mood souring, the autodog sullenly tried to figure out what he'd be doing the rest of the time, climbing back onto his pedes as the elevator neared the ground floor.
xxXxXxx
"What the frag were you thinking?!"
Streetwise bowed his helm contritely, glancing at the irate vet nursing his stinging servo, before apologizing. "I am really sorry, Ratchet. I startled the poor mech and I didn't want him to get injured because of me."
"That was incredibly stupid!," the labrador growled out. He glared at the pen holder he'd knocked over with his slamming, a fleeting urge to tidy up passing through him, but instead turned away from the scattered pens in disgust. "Resorting to that sort of power- you're here because you've been experiencing increasing pain and temporary paralysis for weeks now, especially following use of your abilities! To do something that slagging foolish...!?"
"I'm sorry," Streetwise repeated.
Ratchet vented angrily for a moment, before finally coming over and unloading the box he'd carried in with him. Among the contents was a variety of expensive medical equipment. The akita noticed and the small smile he wore fell completely. "It's bad, isn't it...?"
"I... need to run some tests," the vet mumbled in answer. "More now, after the additional energy you exerted just kliks ago."
"I see," the younger autodog sighed, laying down on the table at the other mech's gesture.
"Don't worry, it'll be quick," Ratchet tried to soothe. He picked out the heaviest of the bunch, turning the gadget on and drawing close to Streetwise's side. "And once Brainstorm arrives, we'll be able to figure out a way to help you from the results."
It was kind of the vet to offer him comfort, but the akita's smile could spread no further than his lip components. Hope, after all, was something not really made for beings such as himself...
xxXxXxx
Wheeljack whistled to himself as he rode up the elevator, tossing the datapad he held up and down as he waited. It was a slow orn in the department and, for once, the bulldog had finally decided to get his reports done on time. Unfortunately, seeing as he had written them all down on the only free datapad in his lab, which he realized belatedly had a broken port and no wireless capability, he was going to hand-deliver the same datapad to Mainframe directly. Considering the agoraphobic detested receiving anything but digital files, this was going to be a fun drop off! Ah well, the autodog shrugged, getting off the elevator as it reached his supervisor's floor.
With a bounce in his step, the engineer sauntered down the long hall for the lone pair of sliding doors situated on the far end, rapping loudly as he maintained his whistling. "Mainframe? Hey, Mainframe, open up!," he called out, knocking harder when no one answered after a couple kliks. "I know you haven't left the building yet today, so put your fangs away and open the door, ya vampire!"
Nothing still.
Pouting now, the bulldog knocked a third time; a pede tapping away at the ground impatiently. "Mainframe, seriously dude, open up or I'm going to grease every single inch of your- Woah!," Wheeljack cried, taking a stumbling step backwards as the doors suddenly shot open, grazing off a layer of plating from his knuckles in the process. "Hey, what's the-? Brainstorm?!"
"Hey kiddo!," Brainstorm chirped, bounding out from the interior of Mainframe's lab. The tervuren immediately took to leaning against the open doorway like a poster mech for a bad porno, his optics twinkling in mischief. "So, what were you going to be greasing of Mainframe's exactly?"
Wheeljack paused for a moment to laugh boisterously. "Oh, that, it's totally not what it sounds like. Unless you think it sounds like me fragging with somebody's equipment for giggles, in which case, yeah, that's exactly how it is. But that aside," the engineer coughed, reining in his chuckles, "Exactly how and why are you here in Mainframe's lab of all places. He hates strangers in his safety zone!"
"Oh, that," the scientist sighed, straightening up as he waved a servo dismissively, "You see-"
"Brainstorm!," shouted a familiar vocalizer behind the teal autodog. "What the slag are you doing?!"
"Ratchet!," the younger mech greeted cheerfully. "You're here too? What's up!"
Ratchet paused, his mouth open wide to continue yelling at Brainstorm, when he realized that it was Wheeljack standing outside of the labs. "Oh... Wheeljack," the vet grumbled, all the atmosphere escaping him in one heavy vent, "Listen, I'm sorry to break this joyous run-in, but unfortunately we're very busy. Isn't that right, Brainstorm?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, super busy," the tervuren replied, making rude gestures out of the labrador's sight.
Ratchet obviously was aware of his actions though, because he swatted the other mech upside the helm. "It's your slagging Wrecker business, so the least you could do is try and act professional!," he snapped, "Now say goodbye to your son and let's get back to work! Please!" With a huff, the vet stormed back into Mainframe's lab; the sound of various items being moved about with clangs and clacks.
"Wrecker business, huh?," Wheeljack asked, looking to his sire. Brainstorm nodded, nursing the growing bump on his forehelm with a sour face.
"Unfortunately, yes. Which means I really need to go back or otherwise Yoketron will stick me with some truly boring jobs for the next two years...," the older autodog pouted. "Call you later?"
"Yeah, sure thing! I've got reports to hand in to Mainframe anyhow, so I guess I'll go see where he wandered off to," the engineer mumbled to himself thoughtfully, glancing down at his datapad in question.
Ratchet's vocalizer came drifting out of the lab as he turned to head back to the elevator, bringing the bulldog to a pause. "If you do find the fool, tell him I want to see him as soon as we finish up here for today! The slagging idiot fainted this morning and I need to make sure he doesn't have a concussion."
"Fainted? Again?," Wheeljack gaped, glancing at the teal mech.
"Too much energon down south," Brainstorm winked, shaking with silent laughter at his own joke. Before the younger autodog could respond to that, the tervuren said his farewells and stepped back into Mainframe's labs; the doors rapidly sliding shut once more. Eventually the shock wore off and Wheeljack hurried to the elevator, his processor whirling over the possibility that someone other than himself had caused Mainframe to black out. This would require a trip to the security hub directly for visual confirmation!
C.M.D: Brainstorm is an ass and Mainframe is hopeless. What fun! Be kind; give me your mind~ REVIEW, please?