Never Was
Disclaimer: A bizarre idea that came to me shortly after I watched the new Transformers Animated episode on Saturday on March 13th. I'm not so sure if it is a... "realistic idea", to begin with, but I will make it as "real" as I possibly can. This idea was bugging me so much, I had to put it down. So if you feel this isn't the best, you can tell me. It won't hurt my feelings, honest. This fic takes place before the events of Animated.
"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."
-Edgar Allan Poe
"The utmost extent of man's knowledge, is to know that he knows nothing."
-Joseph Addison
By: VampireQueenAkasha
"Your reasoning is highly illogical."
-Shockwave, G1 Episode
Chapter Five: Virus
Unknown Planet
Shockwave, Red Alert, and Hot Shot blasted through the trees, panting heavily through exhausted intakes. Hot Shot chanted over and over again, weakness in his voice.
"We gotta go! We gotta go!" he chanted, "We gotta go!"
Shockwave grabbed both Autobots and yanked them into a small cave as several of the enraged aliens rushed on by, shouting and waving crackling shock rods. Shockwave poked his head out carefully and watched them disappear over the hills before spinning around and glaring at Hot Shot.
"Another stunt like that you pathetic waste of machinery, and you're going to get us killed." he hissed, covering the Autobot's mouth with one hand.
Hot Shot yanked his hand away angrily and spoke severely. "Don't you dare tell me what to do." he whispered fiercely.
"Shh!" Shockwave commanded. He peered out of the mouth of the cave cautiously before nodding and beckoning for them to follow.
The coast was clear, and now they could rest easy there for the night. Shockwave sat down and carefully inspected the disk he had retrieved from Sal'uk. Red Alert sat down beside him and leaned forward with fascination.
"What's that?" she asked.
Shockwave did not look at her. "The alien leader attempted to use this on me," he explained, "I am not quite certain of its origins or its performance, and I believe it's best I keep this away from all of us just to ensure all of our well-being."
Red Alert nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's a good idea."
Hot Shot tsked. "What's wrong with it?" he asked, "It's just a disk. It's not like it's gonna jump and stick to our faces like some parasite and lay eggs in our processors." His eyes widened. "And then, what if those eggs hatch and an even nastier alien burst from our spark chambers to eat the rest of our bodies?"
Shockwave and Red Alert stared at him, deadpanned for a few mere moments.
"And it is at that philosophy that I WILL take heed to the situation, Autobot," Shockwave said, sarcasm dripping in his tone, "You know very little of possibility. Underestimate no one. For even the smallest of foes can become the most...unpleasant of allies."
Hot Shot caught on to that and glared at him.
Red Alert just nodded and removed a small box compartment from her back. She held it up to Shockwave. "It can contain unstable Energon cubes. Will this do?"
Shockwave had exhausted his energy reserves in his battle with Sal'uk and had not taken into recharge for some time. He felt no need to argue with the Autobot at the moment. After all, what could these inferior breeds of aliens create that was more unstable than raw Energon?
"I suppose it will do," he replied, "I will continue studying this object tomorrow. We need recharge for the time being."
Hot Shot shuddered weakly and shook his head. "Not me," he said, "I can't recharge knowing those metal eaters are out there. I'll go on watch duty and Red Alert can take my place."
"Fine." Shockwave said, curtly.
O
Shockwave and Red Alert were sound asleep. Hot Shot was nodding off every once in a while. Finally, his optics flickered out and he fell into recharge. The box that contained the disk trembled slightly and a small hole blasted out, enough to cause Red Alert to jolt in her sleep, but not enough to wake her up.
The disk had sprouted peculiar metal "spider" legs and crawled about on the cold ground. A tiny lens observed its surroundings. Through digital imagery, the tiny disk performed scans of each robot. When it arrived at Shockwave, a digital map relayed every single aspect of his circuitry and weapons. And a single red word appeared.
APPROVED.
The disk dove into the air with a screech and latched directly onto Shockwave's back, where his head met his metallic spine.
Shockwave's optic flashed on, sending warning signs throughout his entire systems. Warnings of "FOREIGN MATTER DETECTED". Flashed throughout his entire central processor. He gave a sharp cry, jolted out of recharge. It was enough to wake Hot Shot and Red Alert.
"What the-?" Hot Shot spat.
Red Alert looked over and noticed Shockwave writhing in apparent agony. She rushed at his side and his claws slashed her chest in the midst of his frenzy of pain. She uttered nothing but a weak grunt of discomfort.
"Shockwave, what's wrong?" she asked, "I can't perform any scans on you when you-"
He grabbed her by the neck in one, tight grip and snarled in a pained hiss. "D-Disk..." he rasped, "Corrupting...my systems!"
Red Alert gasped and glanced over at her box that had previously housed the device. She looked back over at Shockwave and he snarled in pain, struggling to reach what looked like a sticky, black parasite latched onto his back.
"Hot Shot, that symbiot, get it!" she shouted.
Hot Shot had aimed his torches at the parasite. "On it!"
Before he could think of making a next move, Shockwave dove and sank his claws deep into Hot Shot's wrist, yanking the torch upwards so the flame blasted high into the sky. Hot Shot howled in pain and struggled to break free, but Shockwave impeded that and grasped his arm tightly, ripping it completely out of the joint socket.
Hot Shot screamed in agony.
"I...cannot stop..." Shockwave hissed, painfully, "Virus...parasite...disk..."
He was spouting nonsense, no doubt his mainframe was scrambled by the virus running through his systems. She glanced at the wriggling thing on his back and instantly got an idea.
"Hot Shot!" she shouted, "Get it now!"
He stared at her and grinned. "Got it!" Shockwave slowly advanced on Hot Shot and he laughed and danced from heel to heel, taunting the large Decepticon. "Hey, come on and get me, big guy! You ain't got nothin' on me, come on!"
Shockwave advanced toward him, cannon sliding out of his arm. He hissed with rising fury and raised the barrel. Just as he did, Red Alert dove onto his back, drawing a startled cry from him. She grasped the parasite in one tight hand and he struggled against her.
"Red Alert, hang on!" Hot Shot shouted.
He slammed into Shockwave's torso, pushing against the Decepticon to ensure Red Alert would not be dislodged. She yanked the parasite from Shockwave's back and he shrieked before dropping to his knees. The single, red optic flickered a few times before dimming out completely.
Red Alert and Hot Shot glanced up at the sounds of shouting in the distance. The aliens had probably heard the commotion by now and were heading back toward them. Red Alert quickly took Shockwave's arm and slung it over her shoulders.
"Hot Shot, hurry!" she cried.
He did not argue this time. "Got it!"
O
The two carried Shockwave through a smaller alien town. They moved quick and dodged the inhabitants for fear they may have been with the scavengers.
"I'm concerned, Hot Shot," Red Alert replied, dismayed, "Shockwave has not come out of recharge. He should have by now."
Hot Shot glanced down at the immobile Decepticon and his natural Autobot nature felt a small twinge of pity. "He's a tough guy, he'll pull through."
Someone watched them from a smaller hut. A peculiar, wriggling eye. "Psst!"
They froze and looked toward the hut with mild reluctance. Whoever it was, may have had the worse intentions in mind. "Who's there?" Hot Shot demanded, raising his torches.
A peculiar, clawed hand beckoned with one finger. "Come inside quick, before the fuzz is on!"
Red Alert glanced at Hot Shot. "Be on your guard," she told him, "Just in case."
"I don't like this, Red Alert," Hot Shot told her, "It might be a trap."
She furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "If it was a trap, we would have been caught by now," she pointed out, "Just be on standby for the time being. We need to stay out of sight either way and Shockwave requires treatment right now."
They carried Shockwave into the hut and were instantly surrounded by weapons and boxes of every shape and size. The alien was no where to be seen.
"Well, step in!" a voice called, from behind a row of shelves, "And shut the door! You're lettin' all the cold air in!"
Hot Shot did just that and Red Alert squinted to the shelf. "Who are you?" she asked.
A soft clinking sound and the alien stepped out from around the shelf. He had a peculiar horse-shaped head and spider-like legs. His arms were chubby and one of his eyes were swiveling in another direction. Jewelry and tags covered most of his body.
"What's up here, robots?" he greeted, grinning, "The name's Tec. I'm a trader, of sorts. I do business with your kind."
Hot Shot looked annoyed. "Our kind?"
Tec chuckled. "Sure!" he said, "I'm as friendly as the day is gold!" His eyes landed on Shockwave. "And I see your robot friend got himself into a bit of a mess with the scavengers."
"You know them?" Red Alert inquired.
Tec grimaced and reached down, hoisting Shockwave onto his shoulders as if he were nothing. "Sure do!" he replied, "Nasty guys. Make my job a livin' mess. They take the tradin' business and shirk it like it was a descaled fish!"
Hot Shot and Red Alert looked at each other skeptically.
Tec placed Shockwave onto a table and touched his back with a small metallic blade. He clicked his teeth. "You took the parasite off?"
Red Alert grinned and nodded. "Yeah."
Tec shook his head. "Wow, never knew anyone smart enough to do that." he told her. He gave Shockwave a full scan before he smiled. "Ahh, he just needs some new wires and circuits boards and he'll come out of it in no time!"
Hot Shot sensed an issue with that. "What'll it cost us?" he snapped.
Tec shrugged and looked at them. "Whatcha got on ya'?"
Hot Shot and Red Alert looked at one another and shook their heads. "What do you want?"
Tec suddenly smiled. "How about one of your torches," He pointed at Hot Shot, "And one of your medical tools?"
Hot Shot shook his head in protest. "My what?" he cried, "No way! Not for any Decepticon creep! I won't!" He met Red Alert's irritated glare and whined slightly. "Red Alert! Come on! It's not fair that I have to lose a weapon cuz of him!"
"Consider it a higher honor." she told him, handing Tec one of her tools.
Tec flashed them a broad grin and tool the things. "Well, pleasure doin' business with ya'!" he told them, "Shouldn't take me longer than a few hours!"
O
Red Alert and Hot Shot took the time outside to think about their next plan of action.
"Are you...you know...sweet on that Decepticon?" Hot Shot asked.
Red Alert stared at him in disbelief. "What?"
Hot Shot grinned. "Come on," he teased, "Half the time I diss the guy, you're so quick to jump my throat and defend him. I mean, you got to have more for him other than the whole 'protect and serve' Autobot philosophy on your mind."
Red Alert shook her head. "Hot Shot, that's ridiculous."
Tec poked his head out from the door with a grin. "Hey! Sleepin' beauty's waking up! Come in!"
The two rose and walked into the hut. Shockwave was lying on his back on the table, hissing sharply through his intakes. He looked toward Tec.
"What...what did you do?" he asked.
Red Alert smiled down at him. "He saved your life, Shockwave," she explained, "You were gone into recharge for quite some time. I had no idea what I could do to help you with my limited tools that I have. Tec's a hero, you know."
Tec blushed and giggled. "Ahh, go on my pretty!" he said. He glanced out of the window of his hut. "Hey, I gotta go, you kids have fun!" He rushed out of the door, and then returned with a scowl. "I know what's all here, so hands off."
Hot Shot rolled his optics and sat down in a chair. Red Alert chuckled and sat down in another. Shockwave watched her for a few silent moments, trying to process the logic behind her actions. He could not figure it out for any reason.
"Did you bring me here?" he asked.
Red Alert smiled. "Sure."
Shockwave glanced over at Hot Shot, who struggled to get comfortable in his chair before he returned his gaze to her. "Why did you do that anyway?" he asked, "There is no logical reason for an Autobot to save the life of a Decepticon."
Red Alert laughed slightly. "What could I do, anyway?" she said, "Leave you behind?"
Shockwave rumbled softly, but did not answer.
Red Alert tilted her head and smiled. "It's weird. Despite the fact that I don't trust you as a Decepticon, it's still pretty cool how we managed to work together to survive. I mean, we may not be friends exactly, but we're not full-on mortal enemies anymore either."
Shockwave looked back at her sharply. "You and I are enemies."
Red Alert heaved a sigh as he rolled over onto his side. She was quiet for a long time before she spoke, softly.
"Why can't you see that it does not have to be that way?" she asked, "Autobots and Decepticons don't have to be enemies."
"Why can't you see that it does?" Shockwave countered, without looking at her.
Red Alert looked startled for a few moments. Finally, she sighed sadly and nodded, rising. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied, "It does have to go both ways. We can't want peace with you when Decepticons do not want peace with us."
Hot Shot shook his head, watching her walk out of the hut. He snorted at Shockwave. "Way to go, Decepti-scum," he snapped, "You hurt her feelings." He got up too. "She risked her life to help you. She sticks up for you every chance she gets and you still treat her like trash. I hope you're happy."
"No one asked her to." Shockwave said, simply.
Hot Shot made an irritated noise before storming out of the hut, leaving the Decepticon alone to his own thoughts.
O
Note-Hot Shot's mention of "Aliens" bursting from chests was, of course, a joke from the original ALIEN film. I couldn't resist. Hehe. n_n And I also could not resist making Tec much like good ol' Fred Willard of Swindle. I just pictured it and it clicked.