Friend or Foe? III
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were just leaving the mess hall when a five foot tall blur wove between their legs. The red twin staggered and grabbed his yellow brother to keep form falling. This resulted in a tangle of the two mechs on the hall floor, accompanied by Sunstreaker's more colorful language.
Echo continued to run until he was deep within the base, and he was sure that no one was following him. Breathing heavily, the youngling leaned against the wall behind him, only to have it give out. Squeaking in surprise, Echo looked up and found that he was in someone's personal quarters. Red optics wide with curiosity, he examined the room closely.
The floor was littered with spare parts, for what he didn't know, and various tools. On the desk were various data pads that needed to be read and a few tools. Turning around Echo saw a headshot of the Megatron mounted on the wall with various darts sticking out of it. A small shiver shook Echo's frame as he quickly averted his eyes from the picture, but then he got an idea.
Ironhide groaned as he stretched his joints tiredly. He had just finished training with Kup and was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go back to his personal quarters and have some energon.
"Ironhide," Ratchet called from behind him. The black mech sighed and rubbed his optics tiredly as he turned to the medic.
"Ratchet I just finished training with Kup and-" The weapons specialist didn't get to finish his thought before Ratchet cut him off.
"The youngling you and Jazz brought in is missing," the CMO said in a bit of panicky tone. This got the older mech's attention.
"Did you check the supplies closet?" He asked.
"And the mess hall and communications and the training rooms. We're down to personal quarters," the yellow mech said seriously. Ironhide pinched the bridge of his nose as he nodded in understanding.
"I'll check the back of the base," he said as he turned and headed in the direction of his room.
The door to the black mech's room opened with a soft hiss and Echo froze on the spot. Ironhide's sensors alerted him that someone, or something, was in his personal quarters the instant he door started to open. His optics came to rest on the small mech sitting in the middle of the floor with the picture of Megatron that had once been on his wall. Except now the visage of the Decepticon leader had several black scribbles on his face and a pair of horns similar to that of Unicorn. The two of them stared at the other for a few seconds.
Echo was the first to react. Jumping to his feet he made to sprint out the door but was grabbed expertly by a pair of large grey hands.
"Not so fast," Ironhide said as he held the squirming youngling in his strong hands. Echo responded by letting out a string of loud and vulgar squeaks and chirrups. Ironhide raised an optics ridge at the small Decepticon. He wasn't surprised that he knew such language. He had been raised by Decepticons.
"I found your escapee Ratchet," The black mech said through his com-link.
"Thanks Primus," the CMO sighed. "Where are you?"
"My personal quarters," was his short response before he cut off the connection. Looking back at the youngling in his grasp, he found that the little mech had worn himself out and was clicking softly. The old mech's gaze softened and he rested the youngling's head on his shoulder as he waited for the medic to arrive.
Ratchet entered the weapon specialist's quarters and found the black mech sitting on his recharge berth with the youngling sleeping in his arms. Smiling slightly he walked up to Ironhide and scanned the unconscious mech quickly.
Relieved that the small bundle of wires was unharmed, he started to take the small Transformer from Ironhide's arms. The response they got from the youngling was a distressed squeak as he unconsciously grabbed onto the black mech's chassis. Said mech's internal temperature rose in embarrassment.
Ratchet continued to try and move the youngling only to have his reactions worsen. Echo was on the verge of waking up and having a fit when Ironhide finally intervened.
"It's fine Ratchet. He can sleep with me for the night," the black mech said as Echo curled in closer to his spark. The medic cast an unsure glance at the sleeping youngling in the older mech's arms.
"I'll bring him by the bay tomorrow as soon as he wakes up," Ironhide said in a tone that clearly told the medic he was tired and did not want to be argued with. The yellow mech sighed and nodded as he turned and left the two of them alone to get a much needed recharge.
Once Ratchet was gone, Ironhide let out a tired sigh and lay down on his recharge berth. As he moved Echo so he was on top of his chest directly over his spark, the youngling onlined a deep red optic and let out a few tired clicks.
"Go back to sleep," the black mech soothed as he rubbed the back of the small mech's helm softly. Slowly, the mini Decepticon drifted back into stasis.
Ironhide looked at the small bundle of wires on his chassis for a few minutes. It had been so long since any of them had seen a youngling. It was a miracle that he had survived so long, even under the care of the Decepticons. Who took care of you? He wondered to himself. The black mech couldn't imagine any Decepticon being capable of raising a youngling. They were killers. It was as simple as that.
Sighing again, Ironhide rested a hand on top of the youngling to keep him warm as he slept. The weapon specialist had taken care of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe when they were younglings, so he knew that they were particularly sensitive to the cold. Leaning his head back he off lined his optics and slowly fell into stasis.