61 - Event - Stage 3

[weaponsparked]

[So, perhaps a certain Autobot shouldn't have cobbled together his phone contraption. It would have made this phone call infinitely harder to do, if he didn't actually have a way to do it.]

[While he sounds decidedly upset to be revealing this, he doesn't seem to be able to stop himself, either.]... On November 17th, 2008, I landed on Earth. And

Comments

[a_gentle_boy]

...

Mr. Sideswipe...! I'm going to tell you a little about my world both because I've been telling everyone all day nonstop and I don't think I can help it, and for another reason that might be clearer later.

My world was small. There was only one village that I knew of my whole life and there were maybe forty people in it. Nearby, to the north, there was one more person that everyone knew about but nobody knew. He called himself a Magypsy, and he had been there as long as anyone could remember. His name was Ionia.

Ionia thought people were funny. They were kind of like insects, always crawling around and keeping themselves busy and then dying in the space of a few weeks or a few days without ever accomplishing anything useful. He was usually gentle - He didn't go out of his way to squash them, but he didn't care so much whether they lived or died, either. And every once in a while, he stepped on them just because he could. He sent my twin brother off to die against a dragon because he thought it was cute that a little larva thought it could fight something like that.

After a few thousand years of this, there came a day when the bugs were being killed everywhere and he wasn't really too sure what was going on except that the humans were fighting each other and one side had a lot of guns. And they were pretty intent on destroying every other human in my world.

Can you guess what Ionia did?

[weaponsparked]

... No?

[a_gentle_boy]

To save all of us little bugs, he let himself be erased from existence. There wasn't even a body.

No matter what he did to my brother, I'll remember him - him and all the Magypsies... I'll respect and look on them forever.

People will remember you for what you end up doing. Not for the mistakes you made in the past. We were worthless to you - I think we're worthless to a lot of more advanced people. But it means that much more when you care to try to protect us.

[weaponsparked]

That... sounds reasonably familiar. To an extent.

... but I don't care. About a select few of your kind, yes. About our allies, yes. But your race, the government of your race, did things I can't forgive. I protect you because that is what Optimus wants, what Ironhide would do.

[a_gentle_boy]

If that's so... Why are you upset about this, at all?

[weaponsparked]

Because... A Decepticon slaughtered everyone I knew. Everyone I was supposed to protect.

I can't be like them.

[a_gentle_boy]

Well... If you care more about that then about the people you're protecting... I don't know what to say. You're doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

But the best way to not be like them... is to care.

[weaponsparked]

I care about some of them.

But the rest of your race has yet to endear themselves.

[a_gentle_boy]

To be fair, none of us here come from your world. Even if we're the same species, it's not fair to assume things of a 'race'. That's the same for your own world, too. Not every human thinks the same way, even if their leaders made a mistake. They didn't all have a say.

And if every person has to do something to prove themselves to you... That could take an awfully long time. If you can care without knowing, if you can care just because they're people, because they're worth it as people... That's really being different.

At least... I think so. I don't think everyone would agree, but at least, it's what I'd like to work for.

[weaponsparked]

So... because I'm not fond of humans... you think I'm just like Demolishor?

[a_gentle_boy]

...That's not what I said.

You're self-centered, kind of mean, it's sort of disturbing how much you like beating things up, and it probably wouldn't hurt you to be a little less sarcastic. But you're better than you think you are.

[weaponsparked]

I'm a soldier. If you don't love what you do, that's a pathetic existence to have.

... Well then. The opinion of a child.

[a_gentle_boy]

Condescending, too. I know enough about war and sacrifices and death to have an opinion on this, Mr. Sideswipe.

If you just want me to tell you that you're a wonderful person and that it doesn't matter what you do or how you think... you probably shouldn't ask when it's impossible to lie. But if you want to know if you're a decent person... A good person. Well. I answered.

[weaponsparked]

... But you are a child.

No. I don't want that. All... I want... is to never be like the enemy.

[a_gentle_boy]

Then... That's up to you, isn't it? To make sure that doesn't happen... No one can do anything about that but you.

[weaponsparked]

I'm... doing everything I can. But it's not enough.