WHO:
namesnotprowl,
technoorganic, later
brbhatingumoar and
calledthemedicWHAT: Blackarachnia is extremely displeased about Barricade breaking into her lab, and finally gives him what he deserves.
WHERE: Zone 8
WHEN: During Magnum's infection, probably now-ish ;3
WARNINGS/NOTES: Violence, robogore, and general creepiness.
(
Crawling up the walls, running down your face... )
He's been ignoring attempts to call him unless they use emergency channels, but a text is impossible not to read - and he's gathering supplies and a kit before he's even formulated a reply.
//On my way. I'll use the transwarps, ETA less than a Centicycle. What the frag happened?//
Reply
And that mention of Soundwave, of Blackout... Ratchet shudders, small but hard to miss, and there's certainty in his voice- and maybe too a little hate, a little fear..
::I'd never turn a mech to Soundwave, don't worry. I can keep a secret.::
And just as quickly, that certainty disappears, because Blackout... There is nothing sure about Blackout.
"How... how is Blackout doing?"
He says it out loud, because he doesn't think he can keep the guilt out of his mental voice.
Reply
He does note Ratchet's reaction to the mention of Soundwave, and would relax if he could. "Thank Primus," he breathes. "The Tyran one up my aft is menace enough." And he hates it, because the mech terrifies him. Part of the reason he stole the virus was to regain his freedom.
Barricade also notes the change from mental to physical voice. It's curious, but he refrains from asking. He's not in any shape to interrogate someone, and he figures Ratchet will tell him if he wants. "Ain't heard anything, lately. Not since I put his Spark back in his chassis. Assume he's better, since Magnum's got him working. Well. As better as he gets these days."
He's still a bit bitter over Blackout changing sides. He can't help it.
Reply
The damaged lines mostly replaced, and the majority of Barricade's armour plating in a pile beside him, Ratchet focuses on flushing the lines with new fuel, coolant and lubricants, hoping it'll cleanse the system quickly so they can have the Tyran mobile sooner than later.
Ratchet can feel that bitterness, though he doesn't know why it's there, and he feels momentarily defencive for the mech.
::As better as he gets is a good assessment. He's glitched, and I don't think anyone can fix it.::
Reply
He hasn't been this... naked... since he made planetfall on Earth. It hardly matters when he can feel his joints starting to loosen up. Barricade rumbles in relief, finally realizing that he is probably going to need to comm Bonecrusher. Frag.
He notes the defensiveness, though he sounds a bit wistful when he speaks again. "Blackout... used t'be the most loyal of us. Had a lot of respect for that. Since my first contact with him here, he's been 'my lording' t'folks on the street. And letting Dirge almost rip his Spark out."
Reply
"Doing something to him that's been done before was exactly the problem. You do realize Blackout's been reprogrammed? Multiple times. His processor is a mess of patches and workarounds- Soundwave's work, from what I could see. So if his loyalties have changed, someone's gone in and changed them. And considering what we know of Magnum, I'm not surprised in the least." He didn't know anything about Dirge attacking the other's spark, but he wasn't sure if they were connected or not.
Reply
His firewalls roll back up in his processor as Ratchet withdraws, and he twitches a couple claws experimentally. He'll stay down until he's certain that things are moving properly.
Reply
"Control box?" Now Ratchet's confused, because he wasn't aware of that bit of tech at all. "I'm speaking of his processor- the entire thing is composed of overrides and patches. Everything. It's certainly older than his stay in the Nexus, so if it wasn't your Soundwave it was someone just as capable." He vents, because he'd wanted to help, and he knew for a fact he hadn't - and he'd not get the chance to do so again, either. "I... tried, while I was contaminated, to restore some of his free will. I suspect it wasn't successful."
Reply
"Yeah. This cube thing. Whoever has it has him." Though the changes to Blackout's processor... that's new on him. "No one else as capable as Soundwave with that, back home. Didn't know about any of that. Apparently personnel records were way more incomplete than I thought." He rumbles quietly at the last bit. "I don't know. Frankly, I don't know if whatever Soundwave did could be undone... or if Blackout would want it. Being someone's utterly loyal hound has kinda been his thing."
Reply
"But Blackout would take... lunar cycles. At least. Probably longer, to go in and rebuild everything. And he can't want it- not while he's like that.He's not even aware of it - which means fixing it to give him a choice to choose I'd have to force the repairs."
And that was something that Ratchet never wanted to have to do. Not again, at the least.
Reply
Ratchet wouldn't want to force repairs on anyone; Barricade's a little more selfish, worrying about the drone more than Blackout. He's lost trust in the mech that he won't get back.
Reply
Leave a comment