To Have a Spark
Reasons Why: Bulkhead
"Far from the stars
There might be a higher being we may not yet see
Far from the stars
A better life could wait for me."
-Helloween; Far From the Stars
"It doesn't make sense!" Bulkhead growled as another lobbing ball ended its life on the training room floor. The heavy green Wrecker wielding that ball practically sizzled with the fire he felt within himself. Miko wasn't far behind, watching from a catwalk safely above lobbing distance. She too, had her mind on the issue but the battle in her mind was not what one might expect. A certain serenity had leaked its way into the darkness of her thoughts. Culturally, she found it a strange mix of East and West – usually something that bored her to tears. This time though, it frightened her.
"Bulk?"
"Yeah?"
"Cybertron doesn't have Seppuku, does it?"
Bulkhead came to Miko and offered out his hand. She eagerly accepted and let him place her on his shoulder. He didn't miss the shine of tears in her eyes or the flash of relief on her face as she heard his reply.
"I don't know what that is, Miko. What is it?"
"It's something warriors in old Japan did. If they were captured by an enemy, Seppuku was a form of...suicide. The samurai would take his own life in a ritual that got...pretty elaborate," she shuddered a little, recalling the grisly accounts of soldiers performing the ritual.
"But this kid isn't captured by enemies. He doesn't have any information that'd fall into wrong hands or anything."
"No, Bulkhead, but Seppuku also had a lot of things to do with honour. If one who called himself a warrior thought he was shamed enough, or dishonoured himself, or broke an oath, he'd perform Seppuku."
The Wrecker froze. Miko felt him shudder beneath her. When the two locked eyes, a wordless expression passed their faces. In the next moment, Bulkhead gently set Miko down on the floor and practically ran to find the Prime.
"Optimus! Optimus!" The Prime glanced up, hearing Bulkhead calling his name rather than the knocks on his door. Standing, the massive Cybertronian emerged from his room to find Bulkhead right in front of him. Optimus extended a steadying hand to calm him down. Ushering the Wrecker into his room, the Prime said nothing until both he and Bulkhead sat on his berth. It was a Cybertronian breath later when Bulkhead spoke.
There was an unusual fear in his typically rowdy, almost playful Wrecker optics.
"Optimus, we gotta get this kid to see sense."
"Bulkhead. Perhaps if you explained in detail?" Prime responded calmly.
"There's this human thing...Miko described it. This suicide thing..."
"Yes. Seppuku. She mentioned it earlier. Have you discovered its purpose?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't make sense. The kid's not a soldier like us; he doesn't have secrets that any enemy would want..." Bulkhead trailed off.
"That is not all such a ritual is used for, is it?"
"I... No. It's not. Miko said it had to do with honour and oaths and stuff," Bulkhead frowned at his Prime, uncaring of any perceived weakness. He was a Wrecker. He didn't run from peril. And usually, Wreckers didn't need to call for backup.
Bulkhead found himself calling for backup.
"You heard Agent Fowler. I do not believe it would be too far-fetched to imagine this human seeking to follow his companion."
"But why?"
"Is it so difficult to imagine one comrade wishing to protect the life of another?"
"No, but how does that apply? He didn't see battle, Optimus. His buddy..."
"...Died on a battlefield even though he perished from a virus. It was still a battle, Bulkhead. Now, our visitor has fought a battle of his own. One that did not involve soldiers or gunfire. This one was a war within himself. A purposeless war, with no clear definition of a prize or a cause. No directives. No landmark to take, or invasion to fend off. All our visitor knows is that one to whom he was close to is now gone. All he understands now..." the Prime trailed off, observing Bulkhead's expression. He watched as the Wrecker grappled with what lay before him.
"A purposeless war? But survival is a purpose, isn't it? An objective. Isn't it?" The massive green Wrecker's rounded head cocked to one side.
"Perhaps not enough of one. Do you recall the fall of Altihex?"
"Of course I do. The city was one of the first that fell during the war."
"One of the first, Bulkhead. Not the last. Had we not found Earth, and Cybertron had fallen, where would you have gone? What would you do?"
The Wrecker couldn't answer that and in all honesty, he wasn't sure he wanted to.