~O~
7
The following morning, Red Alert searched for Shockwave and found him tending to a herd of moosebot in a fenced-in area just outside of his laboratory. She joined him and he barely acknowledged her.
"Autobot." he said, "I have no further tasks for you at this present time."
Red Alert nodded. "That's fine. I just wanted to see how you were doing."
Shockwave stared at her, confused. "Why?"
"Well, you seemed troubled about our discussion," Red Alert replied. "I'm sorry. Having any sort of passive talk with a Decepticon is still unusual to me."
Shockwave thought about that. "The same applies to myself, I suppose..."
Red Alert stood on the opposite end of a moosebot he was presently grooming.
"It seems your lesson in gentleness does apply here," he replied. "I have had few accidents."
Red Alert nodded. "I told you. Violence has its place, but mostly people and animals tend to respond more to kindness." she explained. "Though I suppose you haven't had much experience in that."
"No."
He paused before continuing. "Talking with you is certainly better than with Sentinel or any other stupid Autobot," he said, "You do not speak with that persistent, sanctimonious tone that makes me want to cut out your glossa."
Red Alert laughed a little. "I haven't been much in the ways of boasting."
"And why is that?"
"I'm a nurse. I have very little to pride myself in other than that."
Shockwave made an annoyed sound. "That is a stupid belief."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"A female such as yourself is physically desirable, intelligent and hard-working." Shockwave replied, as if she should have known that. "Whatever else you feel you need to have isn't important."
Red Alert arched her optic ridges. "Was that a compliment?"
"Whatever you wish it to be. It matters not to myself."
She laughed a little. "Well, I appreciate it. I haven't had many Decepticons commenting me."
"I assumed we were all Cybertronians?"
She made a face. "Oh. You caught me..."
Shockwave sighed and guided the moosebot to its herd. Red Alert followed him and stared up at the larger Cybertronian, wondering what he was thinking. Shockwave sensed her gaze and clicked his mandibles. He didn't demand for it to stop.
"Do you remember before the war?" Red Alert asked. "When you had that shipment of Energon delivered to Iacon during the festival?"
Shockwave contemplated this. "Yes. It came back later because some fool decided to damage the crates."
She laughed a little. "That was me."
"What?"
"I was still in training and I had chased one of my patients down," Red Alert explained, laughing and making gestures with her hands, "He was a crazy bot, hopped up on High Grade. I ended up spinning right into the crates. I had Energon all over me."
Shockwave snorted and shook his head.
"You can imagine the letter I had to write." Red Alert chuckled.
"Yes. You had stated the unfortunate events that led to an Energon spillage on physical form. Had I known that was taken literally, I believe the laughter in my office would have made more sense."
"They laughed?" Red Alert snorted. "I can't believe that."
"Laughter is stupid."
"No, it's not. It just had a tendency to make things worse sometimes. You've never laughed?"
"No."
Red Alert arched her optic ridges. "Never?"
"Never."
She thought about that.
What a sad thing.
O
Shockwave stayed true to his word.
He did not call for her to interface in the days to pass. Red Alert wasn't sure why he did this. He still never gave her any answer. But really, why was she worried about the reason? Didn't she hate the very thought of being taken by him every time he wanted it?
Red Alert was getting confused and decided to try and sleep it off.
But she was awoken prematurely from recharge by the sounds of Shockwave's enraged curses. Cautious, she stood up from the berth she was made to sleep in and wandered into another room. She found him asleep at the desk, in the middle of what she could guess was a terrible nightmare.
She looked over her shoulders briefly before approaching him. There was a blanket lying nearby and she took it before placing it over his shoulders. Shockwave seemed to calm and she turned. He awoke and watched her go before staring down at the blanket she had covered him with.
Confused by the gesture, but too exhausted to argue it, he went back into recharge.
The following day, the two walked outside into the courtyard to talk.
"I don't remember that..." Red Alert had finished listening to him discuss a speech he had made in central Kaon regarding an advancement in Energon.
"I'm certain you don't," he replied, evenly. "It was a particularly proud moment in Decepticon history."
Red Alert frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Seeing things on the other side certainly puts a new perspective to it."
"It does, I suppose."
Red Alert tilted her head with a small sound. "You know. I've been thinking about those rebels still out there." she said. "Do you think they will be caught?"
"I think they will be killed." Shockwave replied.
Red Alert reacted with a mild gasp.
"Why does that surprise you? This is proof that they cannot accept that the world has changed," Shockwave continued, "Your naive ideals will only get you killed in the end. They will not accept it, and Megatron will waste no time in trying to persuade them. He may attempt it for a little while, but he has little in the ways of patience."
"What if I tried to say something?"
"You MUST be joking."
"No, I'm serious."
"And you believe they would even CONSIDER such an idea?"
"It's worth a try! Megatron and Sentinel Prime found a way to get along. Somehow. Maybe I can try all the same!"
"No. I will not allow it."
Red Alert glared up at him and started to protest, but something gleamed in the distance, near the top of a destroyed tower outside of Iacon's walls. She squinted and struggled to make out what it was. Shockwave stared down at her. His back was facing the direction of the point of interest.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
Red Alert's optics grew wide. "Move!" she shouted.
A shot rang out, just as she managed to shove the larger Cybertronian out of the way. Only to take a hit directly in her shoulder. Shockwave watched in disbelief as she tumbled a few feet away before whirling with a fierce roar, taking aim with his cannon in the direction of the shot.
Moments as he fired, the building stood intact for two seconds before it was obliterated in an explosion of violet light. The sound captured the attention of others, who rushed outside to see what had happened. Slipstream bent down to Red Alert, just as the Autobot was moaning in agony.
"Oh! Oh, oh, don't worry, dearie." she soothed. "We'll get you fixed!"
Megatron turned to Shockwave for an explanation. "What happened?" he demanded.
"One of the rebels!" Shockwave spat, filled with the urge to slaughter. "A sniper!"
Megatron turned his attention to Starscream. "Go! Check the perimeter!"
"As you command, Lord Megatron." Starscream said.
He took to the skies, while Shockwave made his way to Slipstream. She carried Red Alert in her arms and they made their way into his laboratory. She winced in pain and looked around, dazed.
"What happened?" Red Alert mumbled.
"You were just shot!" Slipstream laughed. "Don't worry. We'll get you taken care of."
Red Alert winced when Shockwave put a hand over her wound. They arrived at his laboratory and she was placed onto a table. Shockwave gestured with a snap of his claws.
"Slipstream, bring my tools here!" he ordered.
She made her way to a table and brought the tools in question. Looking down at Red Alert briefly, she gave Shockwave a small smile.
"It's peculiar, my friend," she teased, "Here I thought she was the enemy."
"An Autobot never takes a bullet for a Decepticon, you fool. Now shut up and bring me a case of Energon."
Slipstream made her way through the lab to retrieve what he wanted. Red Alert was a little dizzy from Energon loss and winced when Shockwave moved quickly; he was already soldering the wound shut. She met his gaze, but he didn't look at her. He seemed focused, intense. It was more than what she was used to seeing.
"Here it is." Slipstream said from somewhere Red Alert couldn't see.
"Good. Connect it to that tube." Shockwave ordered.
Red Alert was going to question what was going on, but she felt a sharp pinch on her other arm and noticed Energon flowing into her from a small tube that had been connected to her body from a machine.
"We will discuss your actions later," Shockwave told her.
Red Alert didn't want to do any talking.
She was just as in much shock for what she had done as he was.