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Barricade scowled to himself as he stalked through the shadows of the corridors. The base was pretty quiet this orbital cycle and he had some spare time. Frenzy had scampered off down the vent yattering to him through the partner bond that he was going to annoy Ravage, leaving him to himself until Frenzy inevitably needed to be repaired when his teasing with Ravage grew into a tussle.
Mech's past him quietly, most shooting him a glare or if they were feeling really nice would growl when he slipped past them and faint light would glint off of his armour revealing his silent presence. Ahh, the advantages of being mostly black and grey.
Barricade grinned to himself as he past the control room where Shockwave was wandering around the various work areas making the already jumpy control room staff fidget when he paused to watch a screen with his glaring single optic. His gaze travelled back down the corridor to where the now infamous crèche room was stationed. It had been nearly a vorn since he had seen the little grey mechlet he realised suddenly feeling an urge to check up on the youngling with the scorpion like partner but firmly squashing the feeling before he actually followed through.
He paused in the shadows pondering the recently crushed urge with disgust, it was an Autobot feeling he realised with mild amusement. Barricade gave a sharp discharge through his intakes in the mimic of a snort. Who was he to even think about those feelings never mind just about follow them through, and as all Autobots kept saying in their various propaganda attempts, Decepticons were ruthless, cold and violent, and Barricade never failed to disappoint.
He was so caught up in his thoughts he never realised that the door to the crèche opened and various younglings peered out and around the corridor before one took a tentative step out into the hall. The faint 'chirr' of smugness snapped Barricade out of his thoughts and his ruby optics brightening to leer out of the darkness of his shadowy patch of the corridor.
The youngling squealed, the mechlet and his cohorts stumbling back into the safety of the doorway to the crèche as the four optics glared at them, the deep rumbling of Barricade's systems betraying that the interceptor was amused at the youngling's expense.
"You shouldn't be out" he rumbled flexing his talons making sure they glinted in the faint light making the flighty little mechs and femmes shiver in fright
"It's Unicron!" whispered one of the younger femmes hiding behind one of her friends "Soundwave said he'd get us if we went out the door!"
"That's not Unicron" snapped an annoyed voice from the back, the others parting for a grey mechlet with a silver scorpion shaped partner riding on his back. The youngling had grown since Barricade had last seen him; curiously he had over shot even the tallest crèche members in height, so that he came up to Barricade's hip. "Hi Barricade" grinned Blackout his optics lighting up in joy when he saw the interceptor, his rotor blades fanning out.
Barricade chuckled darkly and stepped further into the light to tower over the rest of them "You do realise you've spoiled my fun don't you? After all there is so little entertainment on this base"
The grey mechlet merely shrugged as the others cowered at Barricade's dark demeanour "So?"
With a weary sigh Barricade shuttered his optics before walking off down the corridor "I'm overlooking this Blackout, just once you hear?"
"Sure!" Blackout said scampering alongside the hunter as he stalked down the corridor, the other crèche members making their getaway in the opposite direction "Where's Frenzy?"
"Annoying Ravage" replied Barricade shortly "Why are you following me brat?"
"I figured since you are an anti-social slagger you would gravitate away from where there were other mechs or femmes… Plus the rec. room is in the direction everyone else went in" Blackout smiled
"And you think I'm going to tolerate your company because?" Barricade retorted wondering the exact same thing in his mind
"You would have kicked me into the rec. room and left me to my fate" said the youngling, Scorponok clicking and chirring his amusement
"Primus shoot me" mumbled Barricade as he entered the training room sub-spacing his sniper rifle and going to sit at one of the benches and picking up a discarded cleaning cloth. He took apart his rifle and worked out some of the dirt and grime that had somehow gotten into the delicate gun from his last assassination. Blackout worked himself onto the bench after a few test jumps before shuffling along to Barricade's side gazing at the gun with fascination.
"Can you teach me?" he asked eventually disturbing the rhythm of Barricade's maintenance
"Not until you are older, even we Decepticons have a thing about letting kids handle guns" Barricade growled "That is if you survive Shockwave's training first."
"You mean the Cyclops?" Blackout said quizzically tilting his head in a curious manner
"Will it shut you up if I tell you what the different parts are?" Barricade retorted ignoring the jibe at Shockwave in favour of grasping for a bit of peace.
Before Blackout could get giddy on the fact that Barricade would teach him, the door to the training room slide open and Bonecrusher barged in, startling the interceptor
Barricade, reacting on instinct had grabbed the youngling and shoved him behind his back, his gun snapping closed and training on the mech that had surprised him.
"Barricade" snarled Bonecrusher's malicious ruby optics training on the assassin "What are doing here?"
Barricade eyed him wearily his gun dropping to hang at his side "Merely sitting where it was quiet" he said coldly in return feeling Blackout shift towards the vent that was beside the bench, hidden by his bulk.
"The brats have gotten out again, fragging wastes of space!" the Decepticon ranted at the interceptor as Barricade merely watched him with an unimpressed air.
"And you are coming to find me because?" Barricade snapped interrupting Bonecrusher in the middle of a particularly explicit sentence
"Well we are missing that little slagger Blackout again, and don't interrupt me!" Bonecrusher snarled back
Barricade allowed his ever present resentment and rage surface, optics surging a bright burgundy baring his fanged denta as he leapt to his pedes in defence "I'll interrupt you if I damn well want to! I don't need to listen to you rant about the brats! I already know they are a pain!"
Both Decepticons stalked closer to each other Barricade having to look up slightly but no less intimidated as they invaded each other's personal space, sizing each other up for a brawl. Bonecrusher was the first to try and strike pulling his fist back and lunging as Barricade sidestepped, forgetting Blackout was still working at the vent to disappear in.
"There you are!" snarled Bonecrusher making the fatal mistake of forgetting Barricade and lunging for the youngling who had plastered himself against the wall with a squeak of terror as the Decepticon warrior lunged claws extended and optics full of malicious rage.
Barricade felt something snap, an optic suddenly glowing a bright ice blue and tackling Bonecrusher from the side, sending both tumbling snarling and clawing at the other away from the youngling. The sound of shrieking metal filled the training room as Barricade's talons raked down Bonecrusher's side drawing bright blue energon. With a well placed kick Bonecrusher flipped Barricade over his head landing the interceptor on the middle of the training pitch which apparently didn't faze the hunter in the least as he rolled back onto his feet bi-coloured optics glittering with menace. The blue optic suddenly bled back to red just as the door to the training room reeled open revealing Megatron.
Both warriors froze like deer in headlights; the only sound was Blackout's youngling armour rattling against the wall as he shook in terror. "What is going on?" the Lord of the Decepticons roared clearly annoyed
Bonecrusher dropped to his knee joint and bowed his head "Glorious Megatron, I was retrieving the escaped youngling when Barricade attacked me"
Barricade didn't bow to busy warring with himself over why he even bothered to attack the other over the young grey mech that was trying to make himself as small as possible under Megatron's stare.
"I never knew you had a soft spot for younglings Barricade" Megatron said to the smaller mech startling the interceptor out of his traitorous thoughts at the wickedly nice tone
"He attached himself to me, sir not the other way around" he retorted sharply optics flaring at the very idea. The Decepticon Lord hummed almost pondering the situation and Barricade could tell he was sadistically amused that his warriors would fight over the youngster.
"Very well, Barricade" Megatron rumbled clearly having had an idea and turning a devious smile on his scout "Take him back to whatever pen he managed to escape from this time, and report to me in the command room"
Barricade fought not to flinch at the tone, getting offlined was probably more preferable from getting a dressing down and maybe a few new wounds in the control room; he'd be ridiculed for vorns! However, like the good soldier that he was he merely bowed "Yes, Lord Megatron"
With that the warlord swept from the room, Bonecrusher rising to sneer at the smaller Decepticon "You're in for it now Barricade" and leaving the training area to tend to the long raking talon marks down his sides.
As soon as Bonecrusher left Blackout rushed over gripping his leg in a hug and giving off small keens of distress, Scorponok clicking in worry upon his back under the fan of rotor blades, Barricade leaned down his conflicted feelings about the situation making him unsure of his next move towards the youngster "Hush little one" he finally settled on being nice "Come"
Blackout followed him back down the corridors to the crèche door, always staying in his shadow like a lost turbo-puppy. Blackout whimpered softly as Barricade nudged him back through the doors of the crèche, the interceptor leaning down to rub his helm softly with his talons "It'll be alright brat; I'm tougher than you give me credit for"
The grey mechlet nodded before getting accepted back into the fold of his playmates as they saw him shoved in.
Barricade turned away as the door hissed shut and locked, Frenzy leaping down from a vent to sit on his shoulder as he melted back into the shadows of the dimly lit corridor as if he was never there at all.