Chapter Ten
Okay, here's Chapter Ten of To Catch a Thief. So sorry it's taken me so long to post, again, but I've been having a bit of writer's block and I've found I don't like to post when I haven't written anything new, but I thought you guys have waited long enough. Also, I'll be on spring break soon, so maybe I'll get more done then.
Title: To Catch a Thief
Rating: T
Characters: Prowl, Optimus Prime, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, Ratchet
Then a new Prime was chosen and Prowl watched him carefully. During his time with Sentinel, he came to know what a Prime was meant to do as a military commander and offered advice when he could, but the new Prime seemed to be uncomfortable in his presence. Prowl found this slightly illogical and would normally feel slightly irritated, but merely brushed it off.
“Prowl…why do you watch me?” asked Optimus Prime, the new Prime after a meeting with several of the other officers. “It is slightly unnerving.”
“I apologize if I make you uncomfortable, but I merely am trying to…understand,” said Prowl.
“Understand what?” asked Optimus.
“Why I seem to make you uncomfortable,” said Prowl simply and Optimus winced, embarrassed that Prowl had noticed. “It does not bother me that I would make you uncomfortable, I just find it illogical. If I can understand it, maybe I can find some way to assist you; after all, I am your Second in Command.” Optimus knew Prowl was a good mech, he could tell just by being in his presence for some time, but the mech was just so closed off. It was hard to get close to someone as a companion if they kept you further than arm’s length.
“I find it…strange that you’re so…” Optimus didn’t want to seem rude.
“Emotionless? Cold-sparked?” asked Prowl and Optimus looked at him with wide, shocked optics. “I assure you, I have heard them all and they do not bother me. I can understand why bots would think that of me. Would you like to know of my past?”
“Well…only if you wish to tell me,” said Optimus as he sat comfortably, motioning for Prowl to do the same. Prowl gave a tiny smirk, walking over to a secret compartment in the wall and pulled out two cubes of high grade.
“You will need it when you hear my story. Sentinel usually spent most of his time in here, so he would keep a stash of high grade. I believe I am the only other who knows of it,” said Prowl as he sat down. Once he was comfortable, he took a sip and Optimus watched him, completely flummoxed.
“You and Sentinel were good friends then?” asked Optimus and Prowl shook his head.
“I do not think we could truly be classified as friends, merely comrades, but he did do something that I will forever be grateful for. It’s part of my story,” said Prowl.
“Then, by all means,” said Optimus.
“I was not always as emotionless as I am now, and what I’m about to tell you may be hard for you to believe. I just ask that you believe me and trust me,” said Prowl and Optimus nodded. “I used to be a thief.”
“A thief?” asked Optimus, disbelievingly.
“The best in Praxus,” said Prowl with a faint smirk.
“You? Really?”
“Indeed.”
“Wow, that is definitely something I wasn’t expecting, and…I’m not sure I believe you.”
“I could steal your mask off your face without you realizing it, and then you wouldn’t find it until I showed it to you.”
“Prove it.”
“Not right now, you’ll be expecting it.” Optimus raised an optic ridge and shrugged. “But before I became a thief, when I was a youngling, I was a hellion.”
“A hellion?”
“I was a trouble-maker, always pulling pranks, mostly against other younglings and teachers.”
“That’s hard to imagine.” Prowl’s door-wings twitched in acknowledgement.
“I didn’t have the best younglinghood,” said Prowl softly. “I was mercilessly teased because I have a slight glitch. I crash when I’m confronted with something illogical or overly emotional. It rarely happens anymore, but it happened very often when I was young. So, I retaliated in the only way I thought was logical, pranks.”
“Pranks are logical?” asked Optimus with a raised optic ridge.
“Of course. It’s like a small plan.” Optimus chuckled. “My creators ignored the problem as well, acted as if there was nothing wrong with me. I always blamed them for what happened to me because they had our lives planned out for us from the very beginning.”
“Us?”
“I have two brothers, an older and a younger. My older brother followed along with their plans, but I didn’t, so they pretty much ignored me. Then they had my younger brother and I felt like they had given up on me.”
“What about your brothers? Did you care for them?”
“Yes, very much, but my older brother blames me for what happened to our creators. When I was still a youngling, I go so fed up with my creators that I ran away. I survived on the streets and I learned to steal. My creators searched for me and they died in an accident. I never returned to my brothers. I felt I didn’t deserve to after what I had done, so I continued on with my life as a thief, but I made sure to watch over my younger brother when I could.”
“Are they…still alive?” asked Optimus and Prowl nodded.
“Yes, but that is all I know,” said Prowl.
“Then how did you end up with the Autobots?”
“Some time ago, I was caught by Enforcers, but it wasn’t just by chance. They had it all planned out, and to be honest, I was completely fooled.”
“How did they catch you?” Optimus was getting drawn into the story and Prowl almost smirked.
“They sent in an undercover agent. He was so skilled that I couldn’t tell he was an Enforcer. The reason for that is he was trained as an Autobot Special Ops agent.” Optimus’ optics widened in surprise. “We came to be good friends, at least I thought so. Many things happened and eventually, he caught me and I was jailed.”
“Was it all just an act?”
“No, I know that, and it hurt the both of us. He went and fully joined the Autobots as a Special Ops agent, and I was left in jail, but he asked Sentinel Prime to help me, to see if I could join the Autobots because of the need for tacticians. It was because Sentinel Prime agreed with him that I came to join the Autobots. At first, I was just a normal new recruit, but when things started getting bad in Kaon, he asked me for battle plans and such. When his Second in Command fell in battle, he asked me to be his new Second in Command. I have been in this position since. But back when I was a normal recruit…”
“What is it?”
“I was told that the Enforcer that caught me, a mech I considered to be my best friend no matter what happened to us, was dead.” Optimus gave a quiet gasp of shock. “It was then that I shut off my emotions. I couldn’t…I couldn’t deal with the pain without crashing, so I changed my coding so my emotions would go through my battle computer which would deem them unnecessary. Later, I heard that my friend had survived his mission, and came back wounded but alive. I knew I should have been relieved and happy, but…it was best if I didn’t allow my emotions to get the better of me. This way, my emotions won’t cloud my judgment when I need to make decisions concerning others’ lives.”
“But having emotions helps with some decisions,” said Optimus.
“For you, yes. You follow your spark, which I find illogical, but it works for you. You make the right decisions because of what you feel. I, on the other hand, follow my logic processors and battle computer. Like they say, to each his own,” said Prowl and Optimus nodded in understanding. “And you don’t have to worry about filling Sentinel’s role. You are a different mech than he, thus you must make your own role.” Optimus smiled and nodded.
“Thank you Prowl,” said Optimus and Prowl nodded.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some reports to write,” said Prowl. He got up and headed for the door, just as it opened he looked over his shoulder and smirked. “Told you that you wouldn’t miss it.” Prowl held up the mech’s face mask and Optimus gasped in shock as he brought a hand up to his face. The black and white tossed the mask to Optimus. “Believe me now?”
“I do,” said Optimus.
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. I finally managed to get everyone to forget my previous profession,” said Prowl and Optimus nodded.
Some time later, Kaon was lost to the Decepticons and Optimus had the Autobots retreat to Iacon and the other bases to defend the rest of the planet. Things had progressed so much that it was obvious there was a civil war. There were Autobots, Decepticons, and Neutrals, but the Decepticons showed a strong dislike for the Neutrals. To them, bots were either with them or against them.
Prowl had gone to the base near Praxus to see how things were going while Optimus headed to a different base, but the base had been destroyed before Optimus arrived, so he was on his way to Praxus to join Prowl. Praxus was considered a neutral city, but the base nearby kept an optic on it. Prowl didn’t think the Decepticons would attack such a large city of neutrals, but he was proven wrong when the Decepticons attacked one night. The Autobots tried to assist, but there were too many Decepticons. During the middle of the attack, Prowl felt a surge of pure fear from the bond he had with Bluestreak and realized that Bluestreak was still living in Praxus. Prowl had to keep himself from running out into the chaos to find his little brother. He had a duty to attend to and many lives under his command. If he left, they would follow and be killed. By the time reinforcements arrived, it was too late and the city was decimated. Prowl ordered for everyone to search for survivors.
Prowl opened his part of the bond completely to both of his brothers and found that Bluestreak was still alive, but he was terrified and in pain. Smokescreen was frantic with worry and didn’t seem to notice that Prowl had opened his part of the bond. Prowl could tell that Smokescreen was still some distance away, which meant Prowl had to find Bluestreak.
“Sir, where are you going?!” called one of the mechs under his command.
“Keep searching. Split up into groups of three and search the entire city using a grid pattern,” said Prowl.
“Yes sir, but where are you going?” asked the mech.
“I’m going to find my brother,” said Prowl and he ran off leaving the mech staring after him with wide optics. Reaching through the bond to his brother, Prowl tried to soothe Bluestreak, but the younger mech recoiled from him. Without thinking, he rerouted his emotions from his battle computer back to his normal processors and nearly stumbled at the panic and worry racing through him. Again, he tried to soothe Bluestreak and this time the younger mech didn’t recoil, but hesitantly accepted the comfort. “I’m coming Blue,” Prowl whispered as he ran in the direction he could sense his brother.
Finally, he came upon what used to be their home. Prowl felt a pang of grief, but pushed it aside. Bluestreak needed him. Quickly, he climbed up onto the rubble until he got close to Bluestreak and then began to dig.
“Bluestreak? Bluestreak! Can you hear me?” Prowl called as he dug and threw aside large chunks of rubble. He heard a muffled sound and dug faster. His hand touched warm metal and brushed aside the dust to see a part of Bluestreak’s armor. “I’m here Bluestreak, I’ll get you out. Everything will be alright.” After several breems of digging, Prowl finally pulled Bluestreak out of the rubble. Immediately, the younger mech hugged Prowl tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. Prowl immediately wrapped his arms around Bluestreak. “Shh, it’s alright Bluestreak, I’m here.”
“I…I was s-so scared! T-there were e-explosions everywhere! A-and the screams!” cried Bluestreak. Prowl rubbed the hinges of Bluestreak’s door-wings and held him tightly.
“Shh, it’s over now,” said Prowl.
“And…and so many d-died! I was i-in the m-market. They ch-chased me here, a-and our h-house…it’s gone!” yelled Bluestreak.
“I know Bluestreak, I know,” said Prowl. He ignored the tears staining his armor as he comforted his brother. He ignored his own pain and grief for his brother.
“Everything…is g-gone,” said Bluestreak.
“I’m sorry Bluestreak,” whispered Prowl. He heard running footsteps and looked up to see a figure in the distance. He tensed and drew his rifle, but relaxed when he recognized the silhouette as a Praxian and he felt his older brother coming closer through their bond. When Smokescreen got close enough, he looked shocked to see Prowl there, but he walked up to them. “Smokey…”
“Prowl, Bluestreak,” said Smokescreen softly before he fell to his knees. Prowl held one arm out to him and Smokescreen watched him carefully before wrapping both younger mechs in his arms. For the first time in a long time, Prowl felt comforted. It felt good to not have to be the strong one. All three brothers wept for their lost home as they sat in each others’ arms amongst the rubble of their younglinghood home. Prowl wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but he didn’t really care.
“Prowl?” called a familiar voice and Prowl looked up.
“Prime,” said Prowl as he quickly wiped the tears from his face. He stood slowly, helping Smokescreen lift Bluestreak to his feet. “Praxus is gone.”
“I…I know, I’m sorry,” said Optimus as he stepped over to them. “What happened?”
“The Decepticons…they just attacked, no warning. The entire city is in ruins. We tried to stop them, but there were too many, we had to pull back and do what we could on the outskirts, but…” said Prowl and he looked around at the rubble. “I have the soldiers searching the city for survivors.”
“Prowl, shouldn’t you be back at base or at least base camp?” asked Optimus carefully.
“Optimus sir, meet my younger brother Bluestreak,” said Prowl by way of explanation and Optimus’ optics widened in surprise. “He…was caught in the attack. And on his other side is my older brother Smokescreen.”
“I see. It’s nice to meet you both, though I wish it was under better circumstances,” said Optimus solemnly. “Come, we should get back to base where our medics can look over your brother. I’ll have the soldiers report to me on anything they find.”
“No,” said Prowl. Smokescreen and Optimus both looked at Prowl in surprise. “This is my home; I want to be informed on any survivors.”
“…Of course,” said Optimus. “Let’s get back to base first.”
“Prowl,” hissed Smokescreen quietly and Prowl gave him a raised optic ridge in question. “Do you really think you should talk to the Prime like that?”
“I am his Second in Command. He allows me some latitude when it comes to my tone when speaking with him as he knows I only wish for what is best for everyone,” said Prowl and his older brother stared at Prowl in shock.
“You’re his SIC?!” cried Smokescreen in shock causing Bluestreak to look up with wide optics and stare at his brothers. “We all heard about some young mech taking over the position, but I had no idea it was you.”
“Young mech?” asked Prowl with a raised optic ridge. He wasn’t that young.
“Compared to some of the other candidates for the position,” clarified Smokescreen and Prowl nodded in understanding. The four made it back to the base camp and several mechs dashed towards them. Bluestreak flinched and his brothers soothed him with words and in their sparks.
“Prowl, this way, I brought our new CMO with me,” said Optimus and he led Prowl and his brothers through the base camp to where the medical tents were set up. “Ratchet?”
“What is it Prime?” asked a red and white mech.
“We have a survivor,” said Optimus as he stepped aside and allowed Prowl and his brothers into the medical tent.
“Bring him over here,” said Ratchet as he walked back to a berth near the back of the tent.
“Come on Bluestreak,” said Prowl softly as he began walking forward. Ratchet watched the SIC carefully with a slightly confused expression. He had only known Prowl for a short while now, but he knew him to be emotionless and cold, yet here he was acting gentle and concerned. “Everything’s alright now. Ratchet is going to check you over for injuries, alright?” Bluestreak nodded hesitantly with his optics focused on the medic, watching for any sudden moves. Ratchet noticed that the other mech was also watching Prowl while sending worried glances towards Bluestreak.
“Bluestreak right? Have a seat and I’ll check you over,” said Ratchet. The grey mech hesitantly sat down and Prowl looked over at Smokescreen with a raised optic ridge; he had noticed Smokescreen’s gaze.
“Prowl, we need to talk,” said Smokescreen.
“Later Smokescreen,” said Prowl. “I need to go check on the reports; see if there are any other survivors.” Prowl was about to turn to leave when Bluestreak grabbed his door-wing, carefully though.
“Don’t leave,” said Bluestreak plaintively with a pleading look.
“Blue, let go of my door-wing,” said Prowl with a sigh as he turned slightly towards the younger mech. Bluestreak let go and Prowl stepped up so he was close to Bluestreak. “Everything’s fine now, you don’t need to be afraid.”
“I don’t want to be alone,” said Bluestreak quietly.
“You won’t be,” said Prowl softly as he hugged Bluestreak gently, rubbing his helm soothingly. “I won’t leave you alone again.” Bluestreak clung to Prowl as he trembled.
“Bluestreak,” said Smokescreen sadly as he rested a hand on the younger mech’s shoulder. All the while, Ratchet was watching the exchange completely bewildered.
“Smokescreen, will you go check the progress of the search? Tell the others I sent you,” said.
“But Prowl-,” started Smokescreen.
“Smokey,” interrupted Prowl. “Don’t make me turn it into an order.” Smokescreen looked startled before he gave a grudging nod.
“I’ll be back in few Blue,” said Smokescreen as he left the med tent.
“What was that about?” asked Ratchet with an irritated huff.
“Smokescreen, Bluestreak, and I are brothers,” said Prowl simply and Ratchet looked completely shocked. “I’m the middle, Bluestreak is the youngest, and Smokescreen is the oldest.”
“You know, I would have pegged you as the oldest,” said Ratchet and Prowl smirked.
“You wouldn’t have thought that if you met me before the war,” said Prowl wryly. He pulled slightly away from Bluestreak and nodded to Ratchet, letting him know he should get to work. Ratchet only found a few minor injuries on Bluestreak, and had them quickly repaired. It was then that Smokescreen returned. Prowl gave him a questioning look and Smokescreen shook his head; no other survivors had yet been found.
“Prowl, I need to talk to you for a moment,” said Ratchet. “Bluestreak, try to get some recharge. Prowl and I are gonna be right over here.” The grey mech nodded hesitantly as Prowl and Ratchet walked over to Smokescreen.
“What is it Ratchet?” asked Prowl, concern in his tone.
“Bluestreak is fine physically, but I’m worried about mentally,” said Ratchet.
“Mentally? What do you mean?” asked Prowl.
“He’s just been through a terrifying experience and he’s a civilian,” said Ratchet.
“Post Traumatic Stress,” said Smokescreen knowingly and Ratchet nodded. “He could have flashbacks and nightmares, and his behavior could change slightly because of the traumatic event. I’ll keep an optic on him; I’m trained in psychology.” Ratchet nodded.
“Good. Now, I want to talk to you Prowl,” said Ratchet as he gave the SIC a glare.
“Yes Ratchet?” asked Prowl.
“Don’t give me that innocent tone, you’ve messed with your emotional programming, haven’t you?” accused Ratchet and Smokescreen turned shocked optics to his younger brother. “That’s why everyone thinks you’re so cold and emotionless, but now you’re not acting that way at all.”
“I did it when Sentinel was still alive,” admitted Prowl, but he didn’t act at all ashamed. “I was informed that a close friend of mine had died, and because of my glitch, any time I tried to grieve I would crash, so to circumvent the problem, I routed my emotional programming through my battle computer. It considers emotions as unnecessary, thus dumping them. Once I was informed that my friend was actually still alive, I decided not to change the coding since it prevented me from allowing my emotions to cloud my judgment when it came to tactical decisions. I changed it back when I went to search for Bluestreak because he recoiled from me.” Prowl placed a hand over his spark chamber. “I’m still trying to not think about what happened because I might crash. It was hard to keep from crashing earlier.” Ratchet stared at Prowl. That was the first time he had heard Prowl talk so much about himself at one time.
“Wait, glitch? You have a glitch and didn’t tell me?!” yelled Ratchet, brandishing a wrench, but Prowl didn’t react like other mechs would.
“It was unnecessary to inform you because I rerouted my emotional programming to go through my battle computer. Without my emotions, I couldn’t crash, unless I was confronted with something illogical, which I have learned to avoid,” said Prowl. Ratchet growled in frustration.
“You still should have told me,” snapped Ratchet.
“I apologize for not informing you. I’ll be sure to let you know of any other such things if they come up right away,” said Prowl dryly.
“You’d better,” said Ratchet.
“Prowl, sir, I was informed you were here,” said a mech as he poked his head into the medical tent.
“Report,” ordered Prowl.
“We’ve searched the entire city extensively…there aren’t any survivors,” said the mech softly. Prowl stared at the mech in shock. Suddenly, his body stiffened, his optics went dark, and he collapsed.
“Frag it!” yelled Ratchet as he caught the black and white mech. “You, Smokescreen, help me get him on a berth. I assume he has crashed.”
“I guess. I’ve never seen him do it,” said Smokescreen quietly. Ratchet gave him an incredulous look. “I know, we’re brothers, I should have known, but I didn’t find out until just before the war. He kept it secret from me, don’t know how. Our creators knew about it, but apparently didn’t do anything about it.” Ratchet muttered angrily and noticed Bluestreak sitting up and staring at them with wide, scared optics.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked tentatively.
“He just crashed. I’ll have to do some scans, but he should be fine,” said Ratchet. “Lie back down and get some rest.”
“I can’t,” said Bluestreak quietly. “I keep…seeing and hearing what happened.” Smokescreen walked over to Bluestreak and hugged him.
“It’s alright Bluestreak. I’ll be by your side to protect you. Get some rest, alright? I be right here if you need me,” said Smokescreen gently and Bluestreak nodded hesitantly. The younger mech curled on his side facing Smokescreen and slipped into a light recharge.
Title: To Catch a Thief
Rating: T
Characters: Prowl, Optimus Prime, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, Ratchet
Then a new Prime was chosen and Prowl watched him carefully. During his time with Sentinel, he came to know what a Prime was meant to do as a military commander and offered advice when he could, but the new Prime seemed to be uncomfortable in his presence. Prowl found this slightly illogical and would normally feel slightly irritated, but merely brushed it off.
“Prowl…why do you watch me?” asked Optimus Prime, the new Prime after a meeting with several of the other officers. “It is slightly unnerving.”
“I apologize if I make you uncomfortable, but I merely am trying to…understand,” said Prowl.
“Understand what?” asked Optimus.
“Why I seem to make you uncomfortable,” said Prowl simply and Optimus winced, embarrassed that Prowl had noticed. “It does not bother me that I would make you uncomfortable, I just find it illogical. If I can understand it, maybe I can find some way to assist you; after all, I am your Second in Command.” Optimus knew Prowl was a good mech, he could tell just by being in his presence for some time, but the mech was just so closed off. It was hard to get close to someone as a companion if they kept you further than arm’s length.
“I find it…strange that you’re so…” Optimus didn’t want to seem rude.
“Emotionless? Cold-sparked?” asked Prowl and Optimus looked at him with wide, shocked optics. “I assure you, I have heard them all and they do not bother me. I can understand why bots would think that of me. Would you like to know of my past?”
“Well…only if you wish to tell me,” said Optimus as he sat comfortably, motioning for Prowl to do the same. Prowl gave a tiny smirk, walking over to a secret compartment in the wall and pulled out two cubes of high grade.
“You will need it when you hear my story. Sentinel usually spent most of his time in here, so he would keep a stash of high grade. I believe I am the only other who knows of it,” said Prowl as he sat down. Once he was comfortable, he took a sip and Optimus watched him, completely flummoxed.
“You and Sentinel were good friends then?” asked Optimus and Prowl shook his head.
“I do not think we could truly be classified as friends, merely comrades, but he did do something that I will forever be grateful for. It’s part of my story,” said Prowl.
“Then, by all means,” said Optimus.
“I was not always as emotionless as I am now, and what I’m about to tell you may be hard for you to believe. I just ask that you believe me and trust me,” said Prowl and Optimus nodded. “I used to be a thief.”
“A thief?” asked Optimus, disbelievingly.
“The best in Praxus,” said Prowl with a faint smirk.
“You? Really?”
“Indeed.”
“Wow, that is definitely something I wasn’t expecting, and…I’m not sure I believe you.”
“I could steal your mask off your face without you realizing it, and then you wouldn’t find it until I showed it to you.”
“Prove it.”
“Not right now, you’ll be expecting it.” Optimus raised an optic ridge and shrugged. “But before I became a thief, when I was a youngling, I was a hellion.”
“A hellion?”
“I was a trouble-maker, always pulling pranks, mostly against other younglings and teachers.”
“That’s hard to imagine.” Prowl’s door-wings twitched in acknowledgement.
“I didn’t have the best younglinghood,” said Prowl softly. “I was mercilessly teased because I have a slight glitch. I crash when I’m confronted with something illogical or overly emotional. It rarely happens anymore, but it happened very often when I was young. So, I retaliated in the only way I thought was logical, pranks.”
“Pranks are logical?” asked Optimus with a raised optic ridge.
“Of course. It’s like a small plan.” Optimus chuckled. “My creators ignored the problem as well, acted as if there was nothing wrong with me. I always blamed them for what happened to me because they had our lives planned out for us from the very beginning.”
“Us?”
“I have two brothers, an older and a younger. My older brother followed along with their plans, but I didn’t, so they pretty much ignored me. Then they had my younger brother and I felt like they had given up on me.”
“What about your brothers? Did you care for them?”
“Yes, very much, but my older brother blames me for what happened to our creators. When I was still a youngling, I go so fed up with my creators that I ran away. I survived on the streets and I learned to steal. My creators searched for me and they died in an accident. I never returned to my brothers. I felt I didn’t deserve to after what I had done, so I continued on with my life as a thief, but I made sure to watch over my younger brother when I could.”
“Are they…still alive?” asked Optimus and Prowl nodded.
“Yes, but that is all I know,” said Prowl.
“Then how did you end up with the Autobots?”
“Some time ago, I was caught by Enforcers, but it wasn’t just by chance. They had it all planned out, and to be honest, I was completely fooled.”
“How did they catch you?” Optimus was getting drawn into the story and Prowl almost smirked.
“They sent in an undercover agent. He was so skilled that I couldn’t tell he was an Enforcer. The reason for that is he was trained as an Autobot Special Ops agent.” Optimus’ optics widened in surprise. “We came to be good friends, at least I thought so. Many things happened and eventually, he caught me and I was jailed.”
“Was it all just an act?”
“No, I know that, and it hurt the both of us. He went and fully joined the Autobots as a Special Ops agent, and I was left in jail, but he asked Sentinel Prime to help me, to see if I could join the Autobots because of the need for tacticians. It was because Sentinel Prime agreed with him that I came to join the Autobots. At first, I was just a normal new recruit, but when things started getting bad in Kaon, he asked me for battle plans and such. When his Second in Command fell in battle, he asked me to be his new Second in Command. I have been in this position since. But back when I was a normal recruit…”
“What is it?”
“I was told that the Enforcer that caught me, a mech I considered to be my best friend no matter what happened to us, was dead.” Optimus gave a quiet gasp of shock. “It was then that I shut off my emotions. I couldn’t…I couldn’t deal with the pain without crashing, so I changed my coding so my emotions would go through my battle computer which would deem them unnecessary. Later, I heard that my friend had survived his mission, and came back wounded but alive. I knew I should have been relieved and happy, but…it was best if I didn’t allow my emotions to get the better of me. This way, my emotions won’t cloud my judgment when I need to make decisions concerning others’ lives.”
“But having emotions helps with some decisions,” said Optimus.
“For you, yes. You follow your spark, which I find illogical, but it works for you. You make the right decisions because of what you feel. I, on the other hand, follow my logic processors and battle computer. Like they say, to each his own,” said Prowl and Optimus nodded in understanding. “And you don’t have to worry about filling Sentinel’s role. You are a different mech than he, thus you must make your own role.” Optimus smiled and nodded.
“Thank you Prowl,” said Optimus and Prowl nodded.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some reports to write,” said Prowl. He got up and headed for the door, just as it opened he looked over his shoulder and smirked. “Told you that you wouldn’t miss it.” Prowl held up the mech’s face mask and Optimus gasped in shock as he brought a hand up to his face. The black and white tossed the mask to Optimus. “Believe me now?”
“I do,” said Optimus.
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. I finally managed to get everyone to forget my previous profession,” said Prowl and Optimus nodded.
Some time later, Kaon was lost to the Decepticons and Optimus had the Autobots retreat to Iacon and the other bases to defend the rest of the planet. Things had progressed so much that it was obvious there was a civil war. There were Autobots, Decepticons, and Neutrals, but the Decepticons showed a strong dislike for the Neutrals. To them, bots were either with them or against them.
Prowl had gone to the base near Praxus to see how things were going while Optimus headed to a different base, but the base had been destroyed before Optimus arrived, so he was on his way to Praxus to join Prowl. Praxus was considered a neutral city, but the base nearby kept an optic on it. Prowl didn’t think the Decepticons would attack such a large city of neutrals, but he was proven wrong when the Decepticons attacked one night. The Autobots tried to assist, but there were too many Decepticons. During the middle of the attack, Prowl felt a surge of pure fear from the bond he had with Bluestreak and realized that Bluestreak was still living in Praxus. Prowl had to keep himself from running out into the chaos to find his little brother. He had a duty to attend to and many lives under his command. If he left, they would follow and be killed. By the time reinforcements arrived, it was too late and the city was decimated. Prowl ordered for everyone to search for survivors.
Prowl opened his part of the bond completely to both of his brothers and found that Bluestreak was still alive, but he was terrified and in pain. Smokescreen was frantic with worry and didn’t seem to notice that Prowl had opened his part of the bond. Prowl could tell that Smokescreen was still some distance away, which meant Prowl had to find Bluestreak.
“Sir, where are you going?!” called one of the mechs under his command.
“Keep searching. Split up into groups of three and search the entire city using a grid pattern,” said Prowl.
“Yes sir, but where are you going?” asked the mech.
“I’m going to find my brother,” said Prowl and he ran off leaving the mech staring after him with wide optics. Reaching through the bond to his brother, Prowl tried to soothe Bluestreak, but the younger mech recoiled from him. Without thinking, he rerouted his emotions from his battle computer back to his normal processors and nearly stumbled at the panic and worry racing through him. Again, he tried to soothe Bluestreak and this time the younger mech didn’t recoil, but hesitantly accepted the comfort. “I’m coming Blue,” Prowl whispered as he ran in the direction he could sense his brother.
Finally, he came upon what used to be their home. Prowl felt a pang of grief, but pushed it aside. Bluestreak needed him. Quickly, he climbed up onto the rubble until he got close to Bluestreak and then began to dig.
“Bluestreak? Bluestreak! Can you hear me?” Prowl called as he dug and threw aside large chunks of rubble. He heard a muffled sound and dug faster. His hand touched warm metal and brushed aside the dust to see a part of Bluestreak’s armor. “I’m here Bluestreak, I’ll get you out. Everything will be alright.” After several breems of digging, Prowl finally pulled Bluestreak out of the rubble. Immediately, the younger mech hugged Prowl tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. Prowl immediately wrapped his arms around Bluestreak. “Shh, it’s alright Bluestreak, I’m here.”
“I…I was s-so scared! T-there were e-explosions everywhere! A-and the screams!” cried Bluestreak. Prowl rubbed the hinges of Bluestreak’s door-wings and held him tightly.
“Shh, it’s over now,” said Prowl.
“And…and so many d-died! I was i-in the m-market. They ch-chased me here, a-and our h-house…it’s gone!” yelled Bluestreak.
“I know Bluestreak, I know,” said Prowl. He ignored the tears staining his armor as he comforted his brother. He ignored his own pain and grief for his brother.
“Everything…is g-gone,” said Bluestreak.
“I’m sorry Bluestreak,” whispered Prowl. He heard running footsteps and looked up to see a figure in the distance. He tensed and drew his rifle, but relaxed when he recognized the silhouette as a Praxian and he felt his older brother coming closer through their bond. When Smokescreen got close enough, he looked shocked to see Prowl there, but he walked up to them. “Smokey…”
“Prowl, Bluestreak,” said Smokescreen softly before he fell to his knees. Prowl held one arm out to him and Smokescreen watched him carefully before wrapping both younger mechs in his arms. For the first time in a long time, Prowl felt comforted. It felt good to not have to be the strong one. All three brothers wept for their lost home as they sat in each others’ arms amongst the rubble of their younglinghood home. Prowl wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but he didn’t really care.
“Prowl?” called a familiar voice and Prowl looked up.
“Prime,” said Prowl as he quickly wiped the tears from his face. He stood slowly, helping Smokescreen lift Bluestreak to his feet. “Praxus is gone.”
“I…I know, I’m sorry,” said Optimus as he stepped over to them. “What happened?”
“The Decepticons…they just attacked, no warning. The entire city is in ruins. We tried to stop them, but there were too many, we had to pull back and do what we could on the outskirts, but…” said Prowl and he looked around at the rubble. “I have the soldiers searching the city for survivors.”
“Prowl, shouldn’t you be back at base or at least base camp?” asked Optimus carefully.
“Optimus sir, meet my younger brother Bluestreak,” said Prowl by way of explanation and Optimus’ optics widened in surprise. “He…was caught in the attack. And on his other side is my older brother Smokescreen.”
“I see. It’s nice to meet you both, though I wish it was under better circumstances,” said Optimus solemnly. “Come, we should get back to base where our medics can look over your brother. I’ll have the soldiers report to me on anything they find.”
“No,” said Prowl. Smokescreen and Optimus both looked at Prowl in surprise. “This is my home; I want to be informed on any survivors.”
“…Of course,” said Optimus. “Let’s get back to base first.”
“Prowl,” hissed Smokescreen quietly and Prowl gave him a raised optic ridge in question. “Do you really think you should talk to the Prime like that?”
“I am his Second in Command. He allows me some latitude when it comes to my tone when speaking with him as he knows I only wish for what is best for everyone,” said Prowl and his older brother stared at Prowl in shock.
“You’re his SIC?!” cried Smokescreen in shock causing Bluestreak to look up with wide optics and stare at his brothers. “We all heard about some young mech taking over the position, but I had no idea it was you.”
“Young mech?” asked Prowl with a raised optic ridge. He wasn’t that young.
“Compared to some of the other candidates for the position,” clarified Smokescreen and Prowl nodded in understanding. The four made it back to the base camp and several mechs dashed towards them. Bluestreak flinched and his brothers soothed him with words and in their sparks.
“Prowl, this way, I brought our new CMO with me,” said Optimus and he led Prowl and his brothers through the base camp to where the medical tents were set up. “Ratchet?”
“What is it Prime?” asked a red and white mech.
“We have a survivor,” said Optimus as he stepped aside and allowed Prowl and his brothers into the medical tent.
“Bring him over here,” said Ratchet as he walked back to a berth near the back of the tent.
“Come on Bluestreak,” said Prowl softly as he began walking forward. Ratchet watched the SIC carefully with a slightly confused expression. He had only known Prowl for a short while now, but he knew him to be emotionless and cold, yet here he was acting gentle and concerned. “Everything’s alright now. Ratchet is going to check you over for injuries, alright?” Bluestreak nodded hesitantly with his optics focused on the medic, watching for any sudden moves. Ratchet noticed that the other mech was also watching Prowl while sending worried glances towards Bluestreak.
“Bluestreak right? Have a seat and I’ll check you over,” said Ratchet. The grey mech hesitantly sat down and Prowl looked over at Smokescreen with a raised optic ridge; he had noticed Smokescreen’s gaze.
“Prowl, we need to talk,” said Smokescreen.
“Later Smokescreen,” said Prowl. “I need to go check on the reports; see if there are any other survivors.” Prowl was about to turn to leave when Bluestreak grabbed his door-wing, carefully though.
“Don’t leave,” said Bluestreak plaintively with a pleading look.
“Blue, let go of my door-wing,” said Prowl with a sigh as he turned slightly towards the younger mech. Bluestreak let go and Prowl stepped up so he was close to Bluestreak. “Everything’s fine now, you don’t need to be afraid.”
“I don’t want to be alone,” said Bluestreak quietly.
“You won’t be,” said Prowl softly as he hugged Bluestreak gently, rubbing his helm soothingly. “I won’t leave you alone again.” Bluestreak clung to Prowl as he trembled.
“Bluestreak,” said Smokescreen sadly as he rested a hand on the younger mech’s shoulder. All the while, Ratchet was watching the exchange completely bewildered.
“Smokescreen, will you go check the progress of the search? Tell the others I sent you,” said.
“But Prowl-,” started Smokescreen.
“Smokey,” interrupted Prowl. “Don’t make me turn it into an order.” Smokescreen looked startled before he gave a grudging nod.
“I’ll be back in few Blue,” said Smokescreen as he left the med tent.
“What was that about?” asked Ratchet with an irritated huff.
“Smokescreen, Bluestreak, and I are brothers,” said Prowl simply and Ratchet looked completely shocked. “I’m the middle, Bluestreak is the youngest, and Smokescreen is the oldest.”
“You know, I would have pegged you as the oldest,” said Ratchet and Prowl smirked.
“You wouldn’t have thought that if you met me before the war,” said Prowl wryly. He pulled slightly away from Bluestreak and nodded to Ratchet, letting him know he should get to work. Ratchet only found a few minor injuries on Bluestreak, and had them quickly repaired. It was then that Smokescreen returned. Prowl gave him a questioning look and Smokescreen shook his head; no other survivors had yet been found.
“Prowl, I need to talk to you for a moment,” said Ratchet. “Bluestreak, try to get some recharge. Prowl and I are gonna be right over here.” The grey mech nodded hesitantly as Prowl and Ratchet walked over to Smokescreen.
“What is it Ratchet?” asked Prowl, concern in his tone.
“Bluestreak is fine physically, but I’m worried about mentally,” said Ratchet.
“Mentally? What do you mean?” asked Prowl.
“He’s just been through a terrifying experience and he’s a civilian,” said Ratchet.
“Post Traumatic Stress,” said Smokescreen knowingly and Ratchet nodded. “He could have flashbacks and nightmares, and his behavior could change slightly because of the traumatic event. I’ll keep an optic on him; I’m trained in psychology.” Ratchet nodded.
“Good. Now, I want to talk to you Prowl,” said Ratchet as he gave the SIC a glare.
“Yes Ratchet?” asked Prowl.
“Don’t give me that innocent tone, you’ve messed with your emotional programming, haven’t you?” accused Ratchet and Smokescreen turned shocked optics to his younger brother. “That’s why everyone thinks you’re so cold and emotionless, but now you’re not acting that way at all.”
“I did it when Sentinel was still alive,” admitted Prowl, but he didn’t act at all ashamed. “I was informed that a close friend of mine had died, and because of my glitch, any time I tried to grieve I would crash, so to circumvent the problem, I routed my emotional programming through my battle computer. It considers emotions as unnecessary, thus dumping them. Once I was informed that my friend was actually still alive, I decided not to change the coding since it prevented me from allowing my emotions to cloud my judgment when it came to tactical decisions. I changed it back when I went to search for Bluestreak because he recoiled from me.” Prowl placed a hand over his spark chamber. “I’m still trying to not think about what happened because I might crash. It was hard to keep from crashing earlier.” Ratchet stared at Prowl. That was the first time he had heard Prowl talk so much about himself at one time.
“Wait, glitch? You have a glitch and didn’t tell me?!” yelled Ratchet, brandishing a wrench, but Prowl didn’t react like other mechs would.
“It was unnecessary to inform you because I rerouted my emotional programming to go through my battle computer. Without my emotions, I couldn’t crash, unless I was confronted with something illogical, which I have learned to avoid,” said Prowl. Ratchet growled in frustration.
“You still should have told me,” snapped Ratchet.
“I apologize for not informing you. I’ll be sure to let you know of any other such things if they come up right away,” said Prowl dryly.
“You’d better,” said Ratchet.
“Prowl, sir, I was informed you were here,” said a mech as he poked his head into the medical tent.
“Report,” ordered Prowl.
“We’ve searched the entire city extensively…there aren’t any survivors,” said the mech softly. Prowl stared at the mech in shock. Suddenly, his body stiffened, his optics went dark, and he collapsed.
“Frag it!” yelled Ratchet as he caught the black and white mech. “You, Smokescreen, help me get him on a berth. I assume he has crashed.”
“I guess. I’ve never seen him do it,” said Smokescreen quietly. Ratchet gave him an incredulous look. “I know, we’re brothers, I should have known, but I didn’t find out until just before the war. He kept it secret from me, don’t know how. Our creators knew about it, but apparently didn’t do anything about it.” Ratchet muttered angrily and noticed Bluestreak sitting up and staring at them with wide, scared optics.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked tentatively.
“He just crashed. I’ll have to do some scans, but he should be fine,” said Ratchet. “Lie back down and get some rest.”
“I can’t,” said Bluestreak quietly. “I keep…seeing and hearing what happened.” Smokescreen walked over to Bluestreak and hugged him.
“It’s alright Bluestreak. I’ll be by your side to protect you. Get some rest, alright? I be right here if you need me,” said Smokescreen gently and Bluestreak nodded hesitantly. The younger mech curled on his side facing Smokescreen and slipped into a light recharge.