A few weeks after his meeting with John Keller, Nick accepted Lennox's invitation to drive into Las Vegas. Why, he had no idea. There was no case, no important data to be found anywhere, and Nick wasn't the gambling type, but Karr actually pushed him into some off time. Lennox was only too happy to waste a few hours in the casinos, demolish what he claimed was the best burger this side of the desert in an insider restaurant off the Strip, and generally enjoy himself. Nick was hard pressed not to acknowledge that this was relaxing for him as well.
The topic of Barricade came up, of course. Will was interested and Nick was reluctant to talk.
"Ironhide's blowing a fuse every time I mention him," Lennox said with a shrug. "I know they are enemies and I'm not happy about his presence either, but right now we can't change the situation. Setting him free is unadvisable and everything else would be an execution."
"I'd rather not kill myself," Nick only remarked.
Lennox sipped at his second cold soda, looking thoughtful. "What's it like to have him in your head?"
"No different from Karr, and he was a pain in the ass in the beginning. Barricade
is… distant. He has no influence on me. He can't hurt me without
going through several shields, and Karr."
"Good to know."
Nick smirked. "Yeah."
#
It was when they walked through the casino toward the exit that Nick noticed something zinging through his mind, like a blip on his senses. He stopped and tried to chase the signal that had arrived directly in his mind, without bothering his eyes or ears when Lennox grabbed his arm and broke the spell.
"Hey, MacKenzie. You okay?"
"Yes, fine," he replied automatically, puzzling over what had just happened.
"You zoned. I don't call that fine. What happened?"
//Karr?//
//I don't know//
"I don't know," Nick said out loud. "It was like… a contact."
Will frowned. "Contact? You mean Barricade?"
"No. Him I know. This was… different."
Nick frowned, not happy with the explanation himself. Barricade's contact was that of an aware mind to his. This one had been… like his mind logging on to a signal and warning him. The other hadn't actually touched his mind and he hadn't felt the resonance of a spark.
They were barely out the door when it happened again. This time Nick didn't just feel something but was flying. High speed, across the clouds, the desert below him. He felt alien emotions crash down on him, familiar by sense but not like the ones he had touched before. Anger, fury, hatred and the need to kill. Homing in on an easy target. Homing in on…
"Shit!" he whispered, stumbling.
Lennox grabbed his arm and pushed him against the wall, face filled with worry. "What the hell…?"
"I can't explain," Nick said, voice clipped, "but something coming here, aiming for us. It's picking up on Ironhide's energy signatures and it's armed and hostile. We need to get out of here before this ends up another Mission City massacre!"
Will's eyes widened. "What…?"
A deep rumble alerted them to Ironhide pulling up at the curb. "Got a scrambled signal coming in. Decepticon. Get in. We need to leave."
Karr had pulled up behind the much larger truck and Nick was already heading for him. Lennox jumped into the truck. Ironhide tore into traffic, upsetting several drivers, who honked and cursed loudly, then drove through a red light, followed by Karr. Lennox gritted his teeth at the mayhem his partner created by just driving, biting his tongue not to comment.
"ID on the signal?" he asked instead.
"Decepticon. No further clues. I've tried to get through to Optimus, but we're being blocked."
"Well, shit," Will muttered.
"Quite."
They shot off the I-15 no five minutes later, faster than anything built on Earth should be able to drive. Above them, something flew past, fast and furious.
"Starscream!" Ironhide hissed.
Lennox cursed softly. Great.
Trailing dust, Ironhide raced for a safe location, safe to engage their enemy. When the first missile exploded next to them, the decision was taken out of his hand. He turned in a tight circle, simultaneously opening his door to eject his human passenger, and Will rolled head over heels across the desert floor with a yell of surprise and pain.
Ironhide would have to apologize later on, but as he now transformed and charged his weapons, that apology was far from important.
"Came back, huh?" he growled. "Big mistake."
Starscream came in for another round and Ironhide raised his gun, firing away. Out of the corner of his optics he noticed Karr and part of him wondered why the hybrid hadn't made a run for it. When Karr started firing, Ironhide added his own fire power.
More missiles exploded left and right, followed by the screech of Starscream's pass overhead. One of Ironhide's volleys hit a wing and the jet transformed, gun in hand, continuing his assault. Ironhide was aware of Will close by, staying behind cover since he hadn't come to Las Vegas armed, but the weapons specialist easily remedied the armament problem. He ejected a human-sized gun and launched it toward Lennox.
The Captain grinned wildly and snatched it up, efficiently unsnapped the safety lock and started to lay fire onto the approaching figure.
Optimus witnessed in horror as Barricade tore himself nearly apart trying to get out of the restraints. Metal bent and broke under incredible power. There was a high-pitched whine, smoke rising from madly spinning wheels, and the shrill cry of a machine in pain echoed around the hangar.
"Great Cybertron, he's actually breaking free!" Bumblebee whispered.
Epps and the team were already in position, weapons trained on the twisting Decepticon. Lennox and Ironhide had gone with Nick and Karr.
And then Barricade tore free, a shower of sparks and metal accompanying the violent move. Lubricant and energon spattered over the walls, indicating deep wounds. Swerving wildly, Barricade headed for the closed hangar doors.
Epps and his men started to shoot.
Bumblebee raised his own gun.
Barricade didn't even slow down, though he swerved again, evading one of the Army Rangers.
Gunfire erupted.
Bumblebee's rapid blasts hit the police cruiser and shattered the rear window.
Barricade crashed into the hangar and took the door with him.
One tire exploded.
Still he kept going.
Bumblebee prepared for another round, but Optimus' hand stopped him. "Follow him," the Autobot leader only said.
"Prime?"
"Something triggered this. He tore himself to pieces to get free. Go after him."
The Camaro only nodded and transformed, racing after the Decepticon fugitive. Epps looked angry and frustrated.
"What the hell is going on?" he demanded. "I can't reach the captain and now this guy's escaping after wrecking everything!"
Optimus looked down at the human. He tried to contact Ironhide, but only got interference. Swallowing a curse, a dark suspicion rising inside him, he transformed.
"Ready your team. We might need you."
"Oh fuck," Epps muttered, aware what this meant.
Prime accelerated out of the base.
Starscream swooped down for a new attack, guns blazing, and Ironhide cursed under his breath. Lennox had sought cover, firing at the Decepticon jet and scoring hits, but making no dents. Each hit only angered him more.
Karr was not far away, transformed into his bipedal mode. Starscream had sent three blasts his way and two had hit dead center. Ironhide had no clue as to how tough the hybrid robot was naturally. Karr was still conscious, losing blast after blast at the enemy, but even from his position the Autobot could see Karr's injuries were leaking energon. His driver had taken cover and Ironhide was trying to provide cover fire, but things were getting hot. Starscream was fast, determined and aiming for Nick and Karr, for whatever reason. Ironhide felt that his presence was a mere nuisance.
Shots pelted around him and he jumped for cover, hoping Will could hold his own. He had the weapons, but he was vulnerable as a human.
Again, Starscream approached, incredibly fast, and transformed, sliding toward Karr and firing.
The hybrid went down with a cry of pain.
Nick staggered, dangerously open. There was blood on him, his clothes dusty, and he was favoring one arm.
Ironhide tried to get a fix on the rapidly moving Decepticon.
Starscream reached for Karr.
"Now you're mine," the Decepticon hissed.
"Dream on!"
The AI twisted around, slamming his feet into the larger robots chest, and Starscream staggered. He easily caught his balance and the next blow sliced open Karr's chest and trailed more fluids.
"He's after Karr!" Lennox yelled.
"Yeah. Damn. Just what we need!" was Ironhide's reply.
The Autobot had no idea where the battered, barely car-shaped form came from, but it collided with Starscream and brought him down, tripping him over its roof.
"You!" Starscream hissed, raising his gun.
"Ah hell, Barricade," Ironhide muttered and charged both gun to full power. "I knew we should have slagged him!"
"Man, he looks like caught in a shredder," Lennox exclaimed, wiping dust out of his eyes. Blood was trickling down from a head wound and he was limping.
Barricade revved his engine and in front of astounded and rather shocked eyes he transformed. Ironhide winced in mirrored pain at the sounds that came from the severely damaged Decepticon. How in the name of Primus he had managed to circumvent his disabled transformation circuits was only one question Ironhide wanted an answer for. The other was what the hell the Decepticon was doing.
"Leave him," the shock trooper ground out, standing in front of Nick and Karr.
"You claim them? I am your leader, Barricade."
"Megatron leads."
"Megatron is dead!"
"It doesn't make you his successor."
Starscream sneered. "What is it that interests you in this hybrid fleshling?"
"I could ask you the same. He's mine. Leave!"
Another cold laugh. "You want to fight me over them? Look at yourself, Barricade. How much lower can you fall? You are weak, like the Autobots. Despicable. I don't know what Megatron saw in you, but I will terminate you existence, then take the human with me."
Barricade shifted his weight, red optics glowing fiercely.
"You will not touch him."
There was the rather tell-tale noise of rupturing fluid pumps and a loud screech, then Barricade launched several volleys at Starscream. Starscream only laughed and answered the shots.
#
Barricade screamed in agony as the bullets cut a flaming path through his systems, though not hitting any of the important ones just yet. But they did their share of damage and it hurt! He reacted out of a primal instinct as he surged forward, totally surprising Starscream who had thought him disabled. But he wasn't a shock trooper for nothing. He had lived through worse and had survived. Whether he would survive this was questionable, but he wouldn't let Nick fall into Starscream's hands.
The interface unit was burning with an overwhelming pain. Barricade had a hard time quieting down and the pain spiraled out of proportion, stoking a temper that was feared throughout the ranks of the Decepticons. He channeled everything he had in his assault, letting the fury take a hold, block every rational thought.
Starscream sneered.
"You are such a weak excuse for a Decepticon, Barricade. Megatron was mad to ever employ your services!"
The shot cut into his stomach and Barricade hissed in pain as something else tore up and energon gushed out of a cut. He went down on one knee, his optics dimming with the agony of ruptured circuits, but he managed to morph his gun and aimed it at the approaching Decepticon. It was a small gun. All his other weapons had been deconstructed by Ratchet. Curse the medic!
Shock troopers were hard to defeat, though enough damage would fell them. Coupled with his thirst for battle, the sheer exhilaration to destroy and maul and batter, Barricade had survived against even greater odds.
Starscream grinned madly.
Barricade squeezed the trigger, the gun locked on its highest setting and hitting his former commander right in the chest at close range. Barricade used projectiles, propelled by a burst of high energy, and the bolts went through the armor like a hot knife through butter. At least at this distance.
Still, the damage was not enough. Starscream was resilient, second only to Megatron, and his fingers closed over Barricade's gun and tore it out of his grasp.
"You are despicably weak," the larger Decepticon whispered maliciously. "You served Megatron. You will follow Megatron!"
Something slammed into Starscream's back and he was thrown over Barricade, but was back on his feet in a flash. Another blast scorched a wing so badly, it nearly tore off. Through fading optics, Barricade saw Optimus Prime, gun aimed at the enemy, and he nearly laughed. It was nothing but a weak gurgle. Bumblebee was at his side, equally firing at the jet.
Turning away from the battle, the Decepticon looked for the one he had to protect. Pain radiated from his torn chest.
Where was the human hybrid?
#
Nick closed his eyes, trying to calm his partner, who was slowly getting out of control. Karr was frantic, unable to get to him because of his injuries, and Barricade was way too close.
//It's over// he whispered.
Karr whimpered and Nick entwined them in their minds, sinking to his knees. His body ached from the debris that had hit him, right before and after he had been flung aside by a shock wave from an exploding missile. One hand looked burned, but not too badly. He had had worse.
Suddenly he was grabbed -- gently. Large fingers closed around his body, big enough to crush him should the large robot choose to do so.
Karr's cry of helpless anger echoed in his mind.
Nick looked up and into blazing red optics in a terrifying face. Part of that face was torn up, scratched, but the red optics were glowing brightly. Parts of Barricade were missing, torn of, and he was covered in sand and fluids.
#
Barricade cradled the injured human in sharp-clawed fingers, gazing at the pale, dirty face, meeting intense blue eyes. All his instincts screamed at him to dump the insect, squash the worm, and run. The Autobots were coming, he was badly damaged, completely at a disadvantage, but he was staying.
He could no longer transform, that was a fact. His body was depleted. What wasn't used to shield his spark was just enough to keep him from falling flat on his face.
The painful echoes of Nick's injuries rebounded in his mind, but at least he wasn't dead. He had avoided feeling the loss of the interface again.
"Are you functional?" he asked, voice gravelly and rough.
"What do you care?"
Barricade tilted his head. He was shutting down, close to total failure, but all his reserves were now focused on his last moments.
"I don't know."
He wanted to dump the human in the dust because of the lubricants leaking from his cut skin, because he was filthy, but that reaction was overridden by the need to have him safe.
"Set me down," Nick demanded, trying to push himself up in a sitting position.
Barricade couldn't but obey. He remembered his reaction to Frenzy, knowing that the small, hyper-active machine would now be his partner, would share circuits and power, would be able to log into him. He had been disgusted and revolted.
The same had been true for Nick.
But he had accepted Frenzy and Nick was a necessity. Keep him safe and alive and whole… because he needed him.
Somewhere in his massive frame, Barricade felt something else give and he tried to compensate for it. He was already losing energon through the ugly and deep wound in his stomach, his exostructure was badly mangled, his vision was narrowing down and only keeping on Nick, and there were so many warnings flashing past his inner optic, it was dizzying.
"Set me down," Nick repeated, voice softening, and it sounded strange.
This human was sometimes as cold and calculating as a machine, but he had this gentleness he only showed when talking to Karr. Now it was directed at him.
"You are breaking down, Barricade."
"I know."
"Set me down."
And he did. Nick staggered a little and almost fell against Barricade's hand.
"You are injured."
"So are you," Nick remarked, looking at the kneeling Decepticon.
But Nick was safe.
He didn't care if he died now. He would cease to function and everything
would be solved.
A gurgling noise emerged from his throat and Barricade felt his knees give way.
He fell onto the ground, hard, vision swimming. His optics were
fixed on the bright blue eyes of the human.
After that, there was only static and darkness as stasis lock set in to preserve his spark.
#
Nick had just enough coordination to fall out of the way as Barricade had a total system failure and crashed. The mangled form of the Decepticon lay on the desert ground, optics dark and lifeless. Karr was screaming in his mind and Nick wanted nothing more than to follow Barricade into unconsciousness, but he couldn't.
Heavy steps announced the arrival of the Autobots and he looked up at Optimus Prime and Ironhide. Lennox was running after them – well, more like a fast limp. The captain looked a lot worse for wear, too.
"Starscream has fled," Ironhide muttered. He looked like he wanted to prod Barricade with a foot. "You okay?"
Nick looked over to where Karr lay. "Alive," he only said.
"Which can't be said about him," the weapons specialist snorted, looking at Barricade.
"He tore himself out of the restraints," Optimus murmured, amazed.
Bumblebee walked over to Karr and pulled him up. The AI barely managed to stay on his feet. Optimus bent down and rather easily picked up the limp Decepticon.
"We need to leave," he stated.
Lennox nodded. "Got communications back. Epps and the team are on the way. Ratchet's with them. They're meeting us ten miles from here."
Nick closed his eyes, so infinitely tired.