#the rescue bots are all very confused about things that other bots seem to grasp fairly easily | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

silkling · 3 years

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This is part two of an ask box fic. For part one, click below.

Part 1

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Cody had been expecting to see Blades sitting in front of the TV when he and the others returned. He had not been expecting to see the large bot the team had rescued holding the copter while said copter made a sharp, painful sounding noise. When he, his siblings, and the other three bots had returned to the firehouse, they’d been chatting and teasing Heatwave about his increasing frustration with his difficulty at contacting Optimus. Then when they’d gotten down to the bunker, the three Cybertronians had abruptly stopped talking, before they’d looked concerned and panicked and rushed ahead. The humans had followed as quickly as they could, and the group arrived to see Blades in the large bot’s grasp, making that noise that Cody didn’t know the meaning behind.

The large bot noticed the, first, and a sharp, red gaze snapped to the group. “More younglings, little one? I suppose I should not be surprised, the Rescue Force did tend to match teams within the same age bracket.” he remarked.

Cody didn’t know what a “youngling” was by Cybertronian standards, but to human ears it sounded like the new bot was calling Sigma-17 kids. Or at the very least, younger than adults.

Heatwave clearly didn’t care about what the bot had to say. “You let Blades go!” he snarled, stepping forward and looking ready to tackle the larger bot.

Blades had startled and gone silent when the bigger flyer spoke, but at Heatwave’s words he jumped and pulled himself free, gathering his pedes under him and standing between his team and the larger bot. “Wait!” he protested. “He wasn’t hurting me. I was kinda…collapsing, and he kept me front falling.”

Cody frowned. “Why were you collapsing?”

“He told me something that Optimus should have told us a long time ago. Something very bad.”

“And what was that?” Kade snipped, eyes narrowed.

“I’d be curious to know too.” Dad’s voice came from behind them. Cody turned to see his father stepping out of the elevator. “But first, maybe we should sit down. Something tells me this news isn’t going to be pretty.”

“You are a clever human.” The stranger rumbled. “I believe that would indeed be best.”

Heatwave growled, but nodded stiffly. “This way.”

He led them to the lounge area, where everyone got settled and comfortable. The stranger sat on the floor, Blades and Boulder took the couch, and Dani and Graham sat beside their respective partners. Heatwave sat leaning against the couch, and Kade sat leaning against him. Chase pulled over a Cybertronian sized beanbag Graham and Boulder had made, and Dad squished in next to him. Cody, after a moment of consideration, stepped in and sat in front of the newcomer. The large bot shot him an arched brow, and the human just smiled and waved in response.

“So.” Heatwave grunted. “What’s this news?”

“We’re the last Rescue Bots.” Blades cut in, voice quiet.

Chase was frowning. “That is not entirely news. Optimus implied as much when we asked him about the rest of the Rescue Force. I assume the rest of the Rescue Teams were folded into the Autobot ranks when the War began.”

Boulder frowned. “That would make sense, though I have a hard time believing the others would just….abandon in the oaths of neutrality we all took.”

“They did not.” The stranger cut in. “When the War began, the Rescue Force remained neutral. They aided and rescued mechs from both factions. Megatron offered them the chance to join the Decepticons, and they refused. They wished to hold true to their oaths to serve and protect all who needed it. Megatron did not take kindly to the refusal. In order to make an example of them, and also to remove a faction that would aid his enemies, he destroyed the Rescue Force Headquarters and offlined every Rescue Team there. Survivors of the initial attack, as well as those who were simply not present, were subsequently hunted down and slaughtered.” he said bluntly.

There was dead silence in the bunker, with horror growing palpable in the air.

“Dreadwing.” Blades’s voice was weak. “Maybe that was a bit blunt.” He glanced at his teammates. “I think he’s right. I found a mention of the “end of the Rescue Force” in one of High Tide’s data pads. Plus…remember what Optimus said when he first saw us? “I was not aware Rescue Teams were still active.” That’s what he told us.”

Dreadwing. So that was the stranger’s name. Still, he was more worried about the bots. Boulder looked horrified and increasingly sick. Heatwave looked stunned and angry and grief-stricken all at once. Chase looked disbelieving. None of them seemed to be able to protest what they’d been told.

“Dreadwing, is it?” Dad’s voice rose in the silence. “You seem to know a lot about the topic.”

“Any Cybertronian who was alive at the time knows about the Fall of the Rescue Force. It was a great tragedy.”

“That’s why Optimus is so adamant about keeping us here.” Blades whispered. “He knew. He probably thought we’d be in danger if any other bot knew what we are.”

“You would be.” Dreadwing agreed. “If Lord Megatron were to discover your existence, he would send his forces to see you slain, even if it meant razing this island to the ground to do so. Perhaps he would even keep you alive long enough to force Optimus Prime and his team watch your destruction.” He stated, blunt and hard.

Everyone collectively flinched at that, looking sick and horrified at the prospect. Cody could relate. The way Dreadwing discussed such violence and such horrors…it was so casual. He didn’t know what to make of it. The Rescue Bots didn’t speak so bluntly about that sort of thing, but he knew that was due to lack of exposure to that level of violence. Optimus and High Tide were both also very…sanitized, in the way they spoke of the War. It wasn’t necessarily bad that Dreadwing didn’t care to censor himself, but Cody certainly wasn’t used to it. Just the idea of his friends being stolen away and killed to make a point made him sick.

Graham’s voice broke the silence. “Lord Megatron.” he sound, sounding strained. “You called him “Lord Megatron”. I can’t imagine any Autobot calling the leader of their enemy something like “lord”. Which means you’re not an Autobot. You’re a Decepticon.”

There was a second of silence, and then Heatwave surged forward and yanked Cody away from Dreadwing. As one, the Rescue Bots, baring Blades for some reason, lowered the windshields in their chests to let their partners climb in to safety. As for Blades…he just stood, carefully maneuvering Dani out of range of danger and stepping forward before anyone else could do anything. Cody, still dazed and now strapped into Heatwave’s passenger seat, could only watch in confusion.

“Everybody stop and calm down!” The copter snapped, his rotors rattling against his back. The other bots were still, and Dreadwing hadn’t moved from his seat on the floor.

The large bot shifted his gaze to Boulder, or rather, Boulder’s chest where Graham was tucked away. “You are correct.” he said, voice somber. “I am a Decepticon. Or rather, I was. It was Megatron himself who gave me the wound that nearly offlined me.” He paused. “I am afraid I am still teaching myself to shed the loyalty that once bound me to him. I spent many millennia calling him my Lord, and it is a habit that is very difficult to break.” He tilted his head. “Regardless, I assure you I have no desire to return to the Decepticons. I would be destroyed if I were to return.”

That seemed to calm the bots down, and Dani frowned from where Blades had stashed her. “You knew, didn’t you partner?”

Blades sighed. “I suspected.” he admitted. “I read in the data pads that Optimus left for us that after the fall of Vos, most Seekers joined the Deceptions. Dreadwing is a Seeker. I put the pieces together.”

Dreadwing bristled at the mention of “Vos”, though Cody didn’t know what that was. “Vos was destroyed and razed to the ground by Autobot forces, little flyer.” he rumbled. “Seekers did not join the Autobots when the War began because most of those who did were the same who had spent generations abusing and ostracizing any and all flight-frames.” he said bluntly. “It is why most flyers joined the Deceptions. They did not wish to be treated as lesser simply because of a different vehicle mode.”

Dani blinked. “Huh. So bigots exist on all planets, then.” she sighed. “The War…are you saying it started as a social revolution?”

“Just so.” Dreadwing nodded at her. “In the beginning, it was not Optimus Prime who led the Autobots. It was his predecessor, a mech called Sentinel. Sentinel was backed by the Senate. The same Senate that had created laws to force mechs to live only by the function of their frame types, and the same Senate that allowed flight-frames to be treated as filth. When Megatron rose up initially, it was to fight for justice and put an end to the caste system.”

This was news to all the humans. They’d heard about the War, of course, but hearing about how it started and why it had began put new context on things.

“The Senate refused to listen, and thus the War began. Megatron initially led as non-violently as possible, but then any who harbored even slight anti-Senate mentalities began to be culled by Autobot Enforcers. Flyers were confined to the ground by force when not in Vos, and in Vos they were not permitted to leave the city.” The Seeker continued. “What started as a fight for equality turned into Decepticons fighting for their right simply to live. And then the Senate was assassinated, and Sentinel destroyed, and Optimus Prime took his place. By then, it was too late for things to return to peace. Too many Decepticons feared they would be killed for the crime of wanting a better life and fighting for it, and too many Autobots were bitter and angry towards the chaos the Decepticon had wrought. And so, the War continued.” he sighed.

There was silence for a long moment, and the Rescue Bots finally returned to their previous positions, though they didn’t let the humans out just yet. Blades sat on the couch, and Dani shifted over to perch on his shoulder. Everyone present was silent for a moment, taking in what they had been told. This…changed things. Certainly, the Decepticons had done horrible things. The fact that they had slaughtered the Rescue Bots was a prime example. But to learn why they had risen and where they had come from…it put a lot into perspective.

“Blades.” Dani spoke up. “You’re a flyer. Did you run into any of that sort of thing Dreadwing was talking about, before your stasis nap?” she asked.

Blades sputtered. “Well, no.” he seemed embarrassed. “You know I wasn’t always a flyer. I was a ground-frame, on Cybertron. Sure, I’d heard about the anti-flyer and anti-Seeker stuff but I never experienced it. Dreadwing is telling the truth, though. Cybertron…didn’t have the best social system. I did know about the civil unrest, thought it hadn’t grown to a revolution quite yet the last time I was on Cybertron.” he said, sheepish.

Before one of the humans could ask for an elaboration, Dreadwing was straightening up. “Youngling. You mean to tell me you were able to shift from a ground-frame to a flight-frame by scanning a new vehicle mode?”

Blades paused. “Yes?”

Dreadwing was quiet, before uttering what Cody was very sure was a curse. “You do realize that is an extraordinarily rare ability? Even triple changers are more common than that.”

“Really?” Blades, and even all the other bots, seemed stunned by this revelation.

“Yes.” Dreadwing was frowning. “Most Cybertronian t-cogs will only allow for scanning and transformation into a vehicle mode that is compatible with your root mode. To be able to change from a grounder to a flyer by simply scanning a new vehicle mode…it speaks of a highly malleable and adaptable base frame type. The kind one expects from the tales of the Shifters of old.”

That made the Bots perk up, and Cody made a note to ask about that later. For now, he opted to stay quiet and let the Cybertronians figure this out. And it seemed his family had the same idea. Even Kade, for once.

“Are you saying I’m a Shifter?” Blades seemed frantic at the idea.

“No.” Dreadwing shook his head. “But perhaps you have coding descended from them.” He sighed. “Your ability, little one, is one I have only ever heard of on Cybertron. Many would be jealous of you. I know many flyers would not give up their flight for anything, but I know of many more who would have wanted your ability desperately in order to change to a ground-frame and escape the derision.”

Blades blinked, then looked down. “Oh.” he whispered.

Heatwave growled. “Look, it’s all well and good that we’ve figured this out, but now what? You were a Decepticon! You could hurt us or someone else on the island!”

Dreadwing looked unimpressed. “I have no intentions of doing any such thing, though I will leave if you prefer.”

“But won’t Megatron kill you?” Boulder asked.

“He will try. I will simply have to avoid him.”

“Then why not join the Autobots?” Chase asked.

The Seeker’s expression went dark. “No. While Optimus Prime is honorable, the Autobots have not always been such. I have lost too much to their regime to submit myself to the brand, even if it is different now.”

No one seemed to know what to say to that. After a long moment, the humans were finally let out of the cabs of their respective partners, and Cody saw an odd look in his Dad’s eye.

“Hoe about this, then.” Dad said. “We don’t feel right about sending you off where you might be killed. You don’t want to fight the Autobots, you don’t want to fight for the Decepticons. Am I right so far?”

Dreadwing simply bowed his head.

“Do you even want to fight in the War at all, anymore?”

Dreadwing paused. “The Decepticons committed a crime which I must put right. But other than that, no.” There was a pause. “Even with my end goal, it is not the Decepticons at large I wish to see defeated. It is only one mech among their ranks.”

Dad hummed slowly, then nodded. “I’m guessing you’re not ready to tell us the details, so I won’t even ask.” he said. “Here’s what I propose: you stay here on Griffin Rock. You don’t let yourself be seen by the humans here, we do have a cover to maintain after all. You can think and plan your next steps here. That lets us keep an eye on you, and keeps our minds at ease that you’re not out there running for your life from a tyrant. You just can’t destroy anything or hurt anyone or cause trouble.”

Cody was surprised by the offer, and clearly Dreadwing was too. What did his Dad see in this large bot that was making him take a chance like this? Cody wasn’t against it, but it was a little unusual.

Dreadwing seemed to think over the offer, before he nodded. “I will accept your terms.”

Dad relaxed, and before Kade could protest he waved his children along. “Now come on, everyone. It’s late and we humans need our rest.” he said. “Kade, not here. We can discuss this more later. Let’s go, everyone.”

Cody hopped off Heatwave’s knee, and followed his siblings and father to the lift. The last thing he saw before the doors closed was the Rescue Bots turning to their newest addition, and heard the start of a question before the doors shutting cut it off.

“So what else do you know that Optimus isn’t-“

——————————

Everything came to a head a week after Dreadwing had settled into the bunker. The Seeker had taken over one back corner of the large room, converting it into a small space for himself. None of the other bots or humans had raised a fuss at that. But Kade was getting increasingly agitated. It was clear that he didn’t understand why Blades and his team were so calm about letting a Decepticon live peacefully with them. Personally, the copter bot attributed that to the fact that the firefighter was human, so he probably didn’t understand the Cybertronian cultural or societal intricacies that had allowed the five bots to come to an understanding. That day, Kade had been particularly snarly. Even Boulder was starting to get put off by it.

They had gathered in the bunker. Blades was watching TV with Dreadwing and Chase, trying to explain the allure of his favorite show to the two bots. Boulder was painting, and Heatwave was on his little sparring platform. The humans had come down in time to see Dreadwing pinch one of Blade’s finials when the little copter bot’s rotors had straightened and extended, threatening to start spinning right there on his back due to his excitement. It had pulled Blades back to himself, and he’d sheepishly tucked his rotors back along his spinal strut while shooting the older mech an apologetic grin.

To a Cybertronian, such a gesture from an older mech to a youngling would not have raised any attention. The gentle tweak hadn’t even hurt his sensitive finials. But to a human, especially one who didn’t have or understand the context of Cybertronian culture, the gesture and lack of reaction from the bots could easily be misunderstood.

So really, Blades wasn’t surprised that Kade had finally snapped. As soon as he’d seen the interaction, he’d roared a demand to know what was going on, questioning how the bots could live with someone who had been part of the same team that had wiped out all the other Rescue Bots. That was when Chief Burns had sighed and suggested they all get settled in the lounge to talk again. They had, taking up the same positions as the previous time, though this time Boulder also dragged over a large beanbag for himself and Graham, while Dani perched on Blade’s shoulder and Dreadwing took the free spot on the couch. Which was where they were now.

“Alright.” Kade spat. “So I’m not getting something here, obviously. Why are you four so comfortable around him? He literally admitted that he used to be a Decepticon! The same guys that destroyed your Rescue Force!”

“But he wasn’t there.” Blades chimed in. “We talked when you went to bed that night. He joined the ‘Cons after the Autobots destroyed Vos, which happened after the fall of the Rescue Force.”

“And that changes anything?” Kade sputtered.

“It changes everything.” Heatwave grunted. “He wasn’t part of the group that destroyed the Rescue Force. And even though he joined them later, it wasn’t to inflict violence, it was in response to his home and people being destroyed. That may be hard to understand, based on what I know of your human culture, but for us Cybertronians that’s enough.”

Kade crossed his arms, scowling fiercely. “Fine. I guess I can accept that, even if I don’t get it. What I don’t get is why you’d defect.” he directed the last part at Dreadwing. “You hinted last time we talked that you served Megatron for thousands and thousands of years, and joined him because he was fighting for a just cause, one you believed in. What changed?”

Dreadwing frowned, staring hard at the human. “You are correct, Skyquake and I did originally join Megatron because we believed him to be honorable and just.” he tilted his head. “As the War progressed and left Cybertron, Megatron gradually became more…mad. However, we still followed him because we had sworn an oath of loyalty, and to break that oath would be dishonorable.” he rumbled. “And we did not fully agree with the Autobots either, even after Optimus Prime took command.”

“Hold on.” Graham cut in. “Skyquake?”

Dreadwing blinked, and something odd entered his gaze. Blades felt the flash of grief in his EM afield before it abruptly cut off. “Yes. Skyquake. He was my brother. We were split spark twins.”

“I thought you said you guys don’t have families like humans!” Kade said to Heatwave, eyes narrowed.

The fire truck scowled. “We don’t! Not usually! There’s only really one exception, and that’s so rare I didn’t think it mattered!”

“Two exceptions.” Blades intervened quickly. “There’s actually two exceptions, two ways for Cybertronians to have siblings.”

Looks were directed at him, and he squirmed under the attention. Slag, he hadn’t meant to say that. They’d want to know how he knew and that was something he wanted to keep to himself. It was his burden to bare.

Dreadwing sensed his discomfort, cutting in before the questions could start and drawing the attention back to himself. “Yes. The first exception is that of split spark twins.” He glanced at the humans. “We Cybertronians are not created like you organics. On Cybertron, our source of life is called the Well of All Sparks. It is where all sparks are created, and where all sparks return upon deactivation.”

“A spark is like…your soul, right? It’s what gives you guys life and makes you who you are.” Dani questioned.

Dreadwing dipped his helm towards her. “Indeed. When a new Cybertronian comes into be, their spark is created in the Well. It goes through several layers of the Well’s energy, the spark refining and becoming more defined as it progresses to the edge of the Well from the center. Often, the sparks will not maintain their form in this process, and their energy will dissipate and return to the Well.” Noting the human’s looks, he shook his head. “The spark has no life or sentience at that time, it is merely a small collection of energy. It is if the spark holds its form past the final layer of shaping that it gains sentience and life. At that point, the energy of the Well pulls resources from Cybertron itself to create a protoform, a physical body, around the spark. Then, the protoform is pushed from the Well, and thus a new Cybertronian is created.” the Seeker explained.

“That doesn’t explain how you guys can have siblings.” Graham pointed out.

Dreadwing dipped his head. “Twins like myself are a rarity. They occur when, just before a protoform is formed around the spark, a surge of energy from the Well causes the spark to split into two. When that happens, most sparks to not survive and dissipate. If they do survive, the Well forms two protoforms around the two halves. The two halves of the spark can function on their own, and are fully formed in their own right, but due to the fact they were one a singular spark those two halves are forever bound.” he explained it carefully.

“Two halves, one whole.” Graham said, eyes lighting up with understanding.

Dreadwing nodded. “Yes. That is how split spark twins are created. Due to the bond, twins are very close to one another. A spark bond is a precious thing, little human.” His optics went distant, and Blades’s own spark ached with painful remembrance. “Through a spark bond, you are always and forever aware of the one who you share the bond with. You know what they feel, how they think, you know them in every way that they in turn know you. You can talk and communicate using the bond, and it can never be detected or listened in on. Distance can dampen a bond, and the further one gets from those they are bonded to the more muted it becomes. At one point, the bond becomes too muted to talk in words, and you can share only base thoughts and emotions.” he rumbled. “But even so, the bond persists, and it allows you to know your bonded is still living.”

“And…this Skyquake. He’s your twin? Where is he?” Kade asked.

“Gone.” Dreadwing said, his EM field flaring with that sharp agony, and even the humans could hear the grief in his tone. “Offlined before I even arrived on Earth.”

“How did it happen?” Chief asked, voice somber.

Dreadwing stared at him for a long moment, and Blades could see the grief in the angle at which he held his wings, even if he had reigned in his EM field. “Centuries ago, Megatron stationed my brother here in stasis in order to guard over Deception energon deposits. I was aware of his mission, but I was sent to far off star systems to fight in the War.” he sighed. “Recently, Skyquake was awoken, and in an ensuing confrontation with the Autobots he was slain by Optimus Prime and his scout.”

Blades flinched, optics wide. Bumblebee had killed Dreadwing’s twin? He supposed he couldn’t really judge a situation in which he didn’t have all the information, but he still had a hard time imagining the friendly yellow bit he knew actually killing someone else.

“How did you survive?” he blurted out. Looks were directed to him again, confused, but Dreadwing understood.

“Distance.” he rumbled. “I was so far away at from my brother at the time of his death that the bond was too strained for me to even feel his strongest emotions. I could only barely tell he was still living, and even then only when I focused on the link between our shared spark.” His gaze went sad. “I felt his death. The surge of energy that came from the bond breaking did reach me, but by the time it did it had had to travel so great a distance that it had dulled too much to overwhelm and gutter out my own spark. All I felt was a very faint sting. It didn’t even hurt to feel him perish.” he said, and he sounded bitter at it.

Blades could understand. “I’m sorry.” he said honestly.

Dreadwing sighed. “He died an honorable death. For that much, I am grateful.”

Kade cleared his throat, frowning. “Okay.” he said carefully. “But that doesn’t explain why you left the ‘Cons. Shouldn’t you have more reason to stay with the, if the Autobots killed your twin?”

Dreadwing growled lowly here. “No.” he denied. “The Autobots gave my brother a good death, a death I know Skyquake would not have been ashamed of. For all I resent the Autobots from taking my brother from me, it is War, and I cannot find fault in them removing an enemy from the battlefield.” He turned a sharp look to Kade. “It was the Starscream, however, who is a Decepticon, who desecrated my brother’s rest by defiling his corpse and turning him into a Terrorcon.”

Blades inhaled sharply, rage clouding his processor. He seethed, his rotors clamping tight to his spinal strut, his optics going dark and angry, and his hands curling into fists. Dani was the only one to notice, and she didn’t want to draw attention to him just yet.

“Terrorcon? Cody asked.

“A zombie.” Boulder offered, looking sick. Actually, all the bots look sick. “Or the closest equivalent to it there is for Cybertronians.”

And now the humans all looked sick. “Oh.” Kade said. “That’s why you left.”

“Yes.” Dreadwing said darkly. “I learned the truth, and when I attempted to avenge my bother Megatron attempted to destroy me. It did not matter to him that Starscream had attempted to assassinate and betray him on countless occasions. He sought my death in order to protect a known traitor.” he growled. “Starscream turned my brother into something twisted and abhorrent. That is why I left.” he finished.

“I’m surprised you didn’t rip his spark out.” Blades hissed. Stunned gazes turned to the copter, and everyone was alarmed to see just how angry he looked. “I’d have tried to, in your place.”

The only one who wasn’t surprised was Dreadwing. “I did try, and I was almost killed for it. I will avenge Skyquake one day, little one. But for now, calm yourself.”

Blades actually snarled at that. His rotors rattled aggressively, the smaller ones in his pedes whirling to life with a loud buzzing, and his engine all but roared with fury. “Just the idea of someone doing that-!” he cut himself off, snarling again. Dreadwing was quick to pick Dani off the youngling’s shoulder and set her down.

“Blades.” he snapped. The others were too frozen in shock at the sight of the usually bubbly copter so aggressive.

“No!” Blades snapped. “If someone did that to ‘Aid, or Groove, or Streetwise, or Hot Spot, or any of them, I’d rip them apart myself!”

Dreadwing narrowed his optics, his processor working quickly. There was no reason for the youngling to get so upset at the idea of a spark sibling being so badly defiled, no reason for him to take it so personally. And those names…

“You are gestalt, aren’t you, little one?”

That was enough to snap Blades out of his angry haze, and his optics shot wide. Fear swamped his field, and his rotors abruptly silenced and clamped back against his spine while the rotors in his pedes cut off with a sharp grinding noise. “What?”

“Given your reaction, and those names you said….it is the only conclusion that makes sense.”

“Wait, Blades…you’re part of a gestalt?” Boulder asked, his own optics blown wide.

“That…would explain your reaction.” Chase offered hesitantly.

“Blades.” Heatwave prompted at the copter’s continued silence.

“Uh, hello? Clueless humans here!” Dani called. “Blades, put me back up. Also, what’s a gestalt?”

The youngling bent down, allowing his partner to climb her way back up to his shoulder before he sat up. He sagged, looking defeated,

“A gestalt is the other way Cybertronians can have siblings.” he said quietly. “It happens in the Well. Most of the time, the Well creates on spark at a time. Creating a living spark is a complex process, so it can’t afford to create too many at once. Every once in a while though, the Well has an excess of energy, undetectable to any technology. When that happens, it creates multiple sparks at once. If all those sparks survive to the edge of the Well, then the excess energy pulls them together into one large, massive spark. Many sparks, becoming one. They remain combined until the energy stabilizes, and then split into the original number again and that’s when the protoforms are created around the sparks.” He sighed. “When that happens, all the bots in that group are linked. They were created by the Well together, and they were merged together by the Well to bind their sparks. That’s a gestalt. Because of the spark merge that occurred in the Well, gestalt can actually merge themselves again outside of it. They can push together their sparks and processors and very beings to become a singular bot. Gestalt frames are even adapted to that they can physically combine, each member becoming a different body part, in order to form the body of a new, larger mech while their sparks combine to form the mech’s own spark. Many, becoming one.” Blades looked down. “My brothers and I are that. We can combine to form Defensor. I’m the arm.” he said weakly.

——————————

Part 3

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appleflavoredkitkats · 4 years

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dream smp war 2 updates

doing a second chain post! i thought it would be appropriate if i did since it seems like there’s a new era of wars coming our way.

(this post will keep updating by reblogged additions, so feel free to save this post somewhere or follow me to check for new updates every now and then!)

and ya’know, i thought wouldn’t be able to do this, but i realize that where else am i gonna infodump but here? so yea. here i go again.

(if you wanna check the first dream smp war post-war updates, it’s here!)

without further ado, time to explain whatever the heck just happened last stream! timeline of events might be funky because a lot of things happened, but i’ll try my best to at least mention everything that went down in the streams.

wilbur, tommy, tubbo, eret, quackity, and a confused hbomb’s stream - september 22

summary: schlatt and quackity win presidency, tommy and wilbur are exiled, some friends have become traitors, some foes have become allies, and technoblade joins the game.

the first streams that came from this honestly were very calm. legit the calm before the storm. tubbo was hanging out with niki, eret, and hbomb and eret reveals to tubbo that his first pufferfish that was stolen by fundy was actually in eret’s possession all along. eret gladly returns the beloved pufferfish to tubbo, and they rename it back to it’s original name “phukkit”.

then, everyone begins going in the server as each campaign stands on the podium waiting for the event to begin. wilbur, tommy, and tubbo first stray away from the group for a bit to watch l’manberg one last time. tubbo introduces to them his secret bunker in the lake for them to seek refuge just in case pog2020 loses. inside the bunker’s chests are some freshly brewed potions for wilbur and tommy to use in the future.

tubbo then brings tommy to the benches outside tommy’s little house and they play one more music disc together. here, tubbo gifts tommy the pufferfish he just gained earlier today, and tommy promised to treasure it dearly.

now, the event begins, and wilbur begins announcing the results. luckily, everyone is here this time. in last place is coconut2020. a funny thing about this is that fundy actually committed tax fraud and got around 100,000+ votes to be counted in the google form just from coding some bot to vote for them. in third place is schlatt, in second is quackity, and pog2020 wins the number one vote.

here’s where the plot twist happens: quackity and schlatt apparently agreed to combine their votes if pog2020 doesn’t win. therefore, quackity and schlatt got 47% of the votes as pog only got 46%, making schlatt and quackity the shared president of l’manberg. tommy protests to these decisions, but wilbur accepts it with ease, and the two merely step down the podium in shame as they watch schlatt take a speech.

schlatt went on full dictator mode-- the first decree he signed as president is to revoke wilbur and tommy’s presence in l’manberg, exiling them. tommy was confused at first before wilbur demanded him to run to the bunker. schlatt immediately conducts a search party for him, electing tubbo as his right hand man to personally hunt the two down. obviously, tubbo would do it hesitantly, and he doesn’t actually get to meet the two in the bunker at all.

a lot of the nation was quite torn from the election results. quackity and george seem to be supportive of schlatt, niki, tubbo, and eret seem to despise schlatt, and fundy and jack seem to just blindly support him as well despite being l’manbergians. punz, ponk, and hbomb were there as well, but it was quite difficult to know who they were siding with since they kinda just got pushed around by everyone at the end.

using invisibility potions, wilbur and tommy escape the bunker to go somewhere in the forest to find their new home. they find a nice hill to make a small house in, and they later name this new nation “pogtopia”. they run into some conflicts though as wilbur and tommy forget to bring an enderchest with them, and they need some of the materials in them now if they want to build up a defense.

and then, in the middle of nowhere, techno tweeted:

wilbur claims he doesn’t want to trust techno right away because he was american, but they do consider having him as an ally later on.

firstly, let’s get back to l’manberg. upon schlatt’s request, the walls of l’manberg are being torn down. i heard somewhere that this might’ve been done thanks to fundy’s suggestion, but i’m not sure. everyone complies, and wilbur and tommy visit l’manberg one last time before it gets taken apart. as they watch fundy and tubbo tear down the wall, wilbur sings the l’manbergs national anthem. (the wall also eventually gets expanded past l’manberg, but i’m not sure how far they’ve built it)

speaking of fundy, fundy’s kind of in a weird place right now. he seems to unhesitantly side with schlatt in this election, and allows his policies easily as if he didn’t care about anyone else in l’manberg. knowing this, wilbur actually disowns fundy. it wasn’t in front of him, but he does say that he is extremely hurt by him in front of techno and tommy.

before i talk about the rescue of techno, we gotta go back to quackity and schlatt for a bit. quackity actually caught tommy visiting his place to get an enderchest, but i believe he doesn’t tell schlatt about it. quackity is quite interesting because while he does believe in some of the policies schlatt believes in, he also believes that schlatt is taking this dictatorship too far. even he thought exiling tommy and wilbur was a big deal, and he aims to be the voice of reason to be able to change schlatt’s mind about his policies. moreover, he wants to discuss matters with tommy and wilbur as well to get on their side too, but wilbur doesn’t wanna talk to quackity because, fourth wall break, he believes they’re progressing far into the story too much if they do, and honestly, valid reason lmao.

do note that quackity is trying his best to tear down schlatt’s evil dictatorship. he’s secretly been advocating for niki and is helping her escape schlatt’s grasp when she needs it, and he eventually talked to schlatt near the end of the stream to be more mindful of quackity’s opinions because without him, schlatt wouldn’t have won. there’s some toxic relationship plot device being used here between schlatt and quackity, and i’m interested to see how this will all play out.

back to tommy and wilbur, they call techno and actually consider his help. tommy says he will run back to spawn and tell him when to join so that he can bring him to their secret base. eret tries to help them and supply them with goods, but tommy and wilbur refuses his help profusely. finally, when tommy reaches spawn, techno joins, and my god, all the three streams i watched just went “TECHNOBLADE????” all at once.

on schlatt’s end, he claims that techno’s arrival was part of schlatt’s plan all this time. on the other hand, techno claims he’s only here for wilbur and tommy. i fully believe techno would be with wilbur and tommy, but of course, i can never be sure. just don’t discount the possibility of a traitor!techno happening sometime soon.

even if ponk tried to kill techno and tommy as they tried to escape, tommy was able to kill ponk before techno got hurt. they eventually arrived to pogtopia, and there, wilbur declares that he will be a different man from what they know of him pre-election. i’m thinking there’s going to be more violence surrounding the war, and also some strategic planning. they want to get tubbo as a secret agent for them to tear schlatt and quackity apart, eventually leading to the downfall of the dictatorship. niki might also be someone crucial here because she and wilbur have been exchanging messages secretly, so there’s going to be some niki action too.

then, schlatt makes another announcement. after the walls have been torn down, he declares l’manberg gets a new name-- manberg. niki protests, and wilbur and tommy and rightfully disgusted, but schlatt wasn’t going to do anything about it.

everyone in pogtopia, before they can stack up on some resources, have to go back to the dream smp because they comedically have to get a visa for one day for when ninja joins the minecraft server. they were greeted peacefully (and techno steals some potatoes!!!), and it was definitely fun to see so many people in the server all at once. evetually, schlatt does grant them the visa, and they leave. they talk to tubbo one last time, and tubbo warns them about techno being allegedly “paid” by schlatt to betray tommy and wilbur. tommy regards it for now, but after that, they leave to return to pogtopia.

in pogtopia, they begin mining for resources. in the ravine they found below their base, tommy found a strip mine that leads EXACTLY BACK to his bunker. this will be used for a secret passage for them just in case they discreetly want to return to the dream smp.

this is kinda where the main plot stuff ends for wilbur and tommy’s streams, but in eret’s stream, apparently he and bad found pogtopia. they find techno silently, gifting him with potatoes, and leaving promptly after.

on quackity’s end, he’s really trying to convince schlatt to become more open-minded about this entire presidency. there’s some real tension going on between these two, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they break it off for quackity to join pogtopia. it really seems like they’re hinting it to become that way.

now, it seems like everything’s done, but nope. on eret’s stream, fundy single handedly burned down the l’manberg flag that niki built. FUNDY BETRAYAL AND ERET REDEMPTION ARC. niki is LIVID at fundy, but she wasn’t able to talk to him as he left the server immediately. we don’t know what fundy’s true intentions are, but it’s assumed that he’s siding with schlatt for now. eret at least tells niki they’ll try to rebuild it with concrete so it can’t be destroyed.

JUST AS ALL THIS SHIT CONCLUDES, SAPNAP JOINS. he only joins so he can catch up with everything he missed. eret and niki explain everything to him, and sapnap says he will have to talk to dream about this. he then leaves afterwards.

conclusion: BE HYPED. BE HYPED FOR PLOT. SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION TO THE ENTIRETY OF THE DREAM SMP FOR THIS AMAZING PLOT. DON’T SEND THEM HATE; MAKE CONTENT FOR IT INSTEAD. these people probably worked hard improv-ing/making plots for these, so show your love and appreciation for them!!!!!

#dream smp war #dream smp #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #tubbo #fundy #nihachu #theeret #jschlatt #quackity #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #sapnap #technoblade

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thatshxtagain · 4 years

Text

Friends Don’t Hurt Each Other

Words: 5,208

Synopsis: When Heathcliff was still Simon, he hurt the NERDS. Badly.

Warning for violence, slight gore, and angst.

Ruby was allergic to plenty of things. Caffeine, bad guys, tall grass, oblivious teachers, socializing, moronic bullies, spicy soup, almost everything in the world. Over the years, her allergies had turned almost physic, with the ability to predict all of her enemies movements and lies before they happen.

But these allergies also made her predict bad things. Disturbing things. Things she wished she didn't know. So when her knee began to grow hives, her eyes swelling up to the point she could barely see, Ruby wished her allergies weren't so accurate.

Three cells away from her, Ruby could hear Matilda yelling and kicking as the goons kept a firm grip on her, dragging the small girl down the hall. The others had peeked from their cells too, wondering what was going on. Hea-Simon had kept them imprisoned for weeks, why would he bother with them now?

"I assume you already know what I'm doing."

Ruby heard Simon coming a mile away, but didn't bother to acknowledge him. The undeniable dread of what was to come distracted her. Simon frowned, reaching through the bars and turning Ruby's head.

"Hey. Look at me."

Ruby withdrew from his grasp, eyes still glued on Wheezer as she continued to struggle, attempting to escape. Simon followed her eyes, smirking, until Wheezer was out of her line of sight.

The flat screen TVs hung in front of ever cell turned on, revealing Matilda being pushed into an empty, four walled room, the metal door sealing shut behind her. She scrambled to her feet, taking in her new surroundings.

Simon reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a pen. He pressed the top, and a microphone activated. "Hello Wheezer, enjoying your new cell?"

Wheezer growled at the voice. "Simon."

"That's my name! Don't wear it out yet, I'm still planning on revising it, after someone destroyed the very reason I called myself Simon," Simon glares at Duncan. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why you've been moved."

"Are you planning on making me fight your new bots?" Wheezer asks, going into a fighting stance. "Because I can take those down no problem."

Simon laughed, his forced maniacal laugh that he'd been practicing since he got into the villain business. "Oh Wheezer, do you think I share brains with Jones? Fighting would only give you joy and misplaced determination. No. Absolutely not."

"You see, coming up with something that could break all of you has been proven difficult," Simon continued, and this point Braceface, Gluestick, and Flinch had all turned their attention to the redheaded boy. "I already disabled your upgrades, but you continue to encourage each other, plotting escape plans behind my back. With things like Julio's candy addiction and Duncan's paste eating, there isn't much to use."

"But-" Simon's tone was worrysome, and the expression on Ruby's face didn't reassure any of the boys. "The disadvantage of an asthmatic health condition is the perfect start."

"What is he talking about?" Jackson whispered urgently. "What is he talking about?!"

Matilda seemed confused, having not yet understood what Simon meant. But maybe that had something to do with the fact her head was starting to feel funny. Her brows furrowed, one hand moving to the wall for support.

"How are you feeling Wheezer?" Simon winked knowingly at Ruby, and she recoils, disgusted. "Any dizziness? Spots appearing in your eyesight? Shaky knees?"

Matilda would not give Simon the pleasure of saying 'yes.' Instead, she tries to move to the other side of the room, wobbling on her feet, her head growing heavy. She reaches for her inhaler - only to realize she didn't have it. The goons must've taken it during her struggle. "What are you yapping on about Simon," Matilda mumbles through grit teeth.

"Nothing much really, the room's just limited of oxygen," Simon responds dismissively. "It shouldn't be too much of a problem for normal people, y'know, with normal breathing, and no health problems whatsoever."

Simon grins maniacally. "Unfortunately, you're not one of them."

The remaining NERDS could only watch in horror as Matilda started panting, which turned into wheezing, causing her to place both her hands on her throat, her eyes wide with panic.

"Oh no, she's hyperventilating," Simon mockingly says in concern. "Puffer-fish! Why don't you calm her down with some comforting words? I'm sure some reassurance from her 'wise' leader will certainly help!"

"You wouldn't," For the first time since he arrived, Ruby spoke. "You wouldn't go this far."

Simon whirls around, still grinning. "If I were bluffing, your allergies would've told you! No itchy arms or swollen blemishes?"

Ruby had none of those. That didn't stop her from continuing. "I don't need my allergies to know that this is beyond anything you would ever do. You would never go this far because you spent too much time with us, fighting on our side, laughing and talking as friends. I know you wouldn't do this because deep down you're still Heathcliff, and that this goes against everything you believed in, and that you would never kill off a friend."

For a moment, the two locked eyes, staring down at each other, waiting for one of them to back down. Without looking away, Heathcliff pressed another button on his pen, leaning forward as Matilda's labored breathing grew louder, more desperate. The Korean fell to her knees, gasping for nonexistent air.

"Allergies.." Simon started, his thumb still on the button, Matilda crying out in the background, shrieking at Simon despite him not being in the room.

"Don't..." Duncan ripped his eyes away from the screen, and one of the NERDS' calmest agents began slamming angrily against his bars, demanding Simon stop whatever he was doing. The only thing that stopped Simon from getting any closer to Ruby's face were the cell bars.

"Lie."

Wheezer doubled over to her side, curling up with her eyes squeezed shut, still attempting to take in any air in the room, but Ruby knew there wasn't any left. Not with Simon's hand on that button. At this point, the frizzy haired girl could already see tears forming in the corner of her eyes, her hands now pulling at her scalp in misery. Through the years she's known her, Wheezer has never once cried on a mission.

Then she stopped. Stopped moving, stopped screaming, stopped breathing.

Ruby tore her gaze from Simon when her foot turned red.

She was allergic to teammates being tortured.

She was allergic to teammates hurting teammates.

She was allergic to teammates dying.

A wave of silence overcame the cellar, the NERDS' expressions a mix of shock, fear, and concern, still processing in their head what they just witnessed. Then, as if only realizing now, they roared, their attention now back on Simon, letting out their anger on the red headed villain.

"What did you do?" Duncan barks, looking as if he were ready to break the bars off with his bare hands. "What did you do?!"

Flinch covered his ears, eyes forced shut as he slid to the floor, breathing heavily, shaking. "Oh my god, oh my god, Wheezer's dead...WHEEZER'S DEAD!!"

"Calm down buffoons, she's only unconscious," Simon mumbles, removing his thumb from the button. "Killing her now would only relieve her from her suffering." The mastermind leaned into his microphone-pen. "Goons, take Wheezer back to her cell. Leave one of the disabled inhalers inside."

Ruby let out a breath of relief. Despite his new villain stature, Simon still had humane morals. He wouldn't kill one of them, not yet at least.

That marked the start of Simon's new torturous methods. From tricking Flinch into eating poisoned Hershey's, to hijacking Jackson's braces into nearly pulling themselves apart, Simon grew more and more creative for the NERDS' suffering.

Ruby's was just to simply watch. To have to listen to each of their screams being broadcast to her from surveillance cameras, unable to help them, unable to remove them from the pain.

Wheezer was always the one who got the worst of it. Whether it was because she was Simon's first victim or her asthma, Ruby didn't know. That was one thing Ruby's allergies couldn't predict. Ruby could remember days where Matilda wouldn't even fight back, letting the goons take her to her panic room without a struggle, handing them her inhaler. When inside, she sits in the middle of the room, eyes glued to the floor, hugging her legs to her chest, simply waiting for her fate. Ruby hated it. Wheezer had always been the fiercest of the spies, never backing down from a single fight. To see her in such a reduced state where she actually considered giving up...that was something she couldn't stand.

Ruby never remembered how they even escaped the wretched place. Maybe a backup team had been sent to rescue them or Brand and Ms. Holiday had personally stormed the place, the blonde wasn't sure. All she and the rest of the NERDS wanted to do was put that chapter of their lives far, far away.

Until Heathcliff came back.

"What did I do?"

Heathcliff didn't miss how each of the NERDS tensed up at his statement. When nobody said anything, he continued. "I've listened to what you've said about me during mission debriefings. 'Bad-guy Heathcliff,' 'unstable,' 'end of the world schemes,' Benjamin already showed me what happened through the past year, I know what happened, but I can tell he was holding back if the rest of you are still keeping your distance from me. So please, just be straight with me - what did I do?"

Heathcliff studied all their faces. Flinch seemed to cower into himself, gripping the seat of his chair. With a free hand, he turned the knob of his harness, slowly calming himself down. Duncan and Jackson both shared a look of discomfort, busying themselves with fiddling with gadgets and turning over a football respectively. Heathcliff worriedly notes that Matilda had tentatively placed a hand on her throat, her eyes flashing with recognition and a hint of fear that he never remembered her ever carrying. Ruby's expression was unreadable, something Heathcliff learned was never a good sign. None of the NERDS met his eyes, all consumed in their own world.

Finally Ruby got up, the others watching as their leader walked over to the other end of the Playground, where Benjamin was hovering nearby.

"Benjamin," Ruby said quietly. "Show the footage of Day 24 of our capture."

Both Benjamin and the rest of the NERDS were taken aback. "Are you sure this is what you wish?" the orb asked.

Ruby nodded, and a light shot out around the NERDS and Heathcliff, showing a three - dimensional projection.

The projection displayed the NERDS lined up in front of a boy with a skull mask, each battered with what Heathcliff assumes are their own assortment of scars and fading bruises from an unknown source. Duncan had several cuts and arms anywhere that showed skin, Jackson's mouth has pieces of his braces sticking out, and both Flinch and Matilda were deathly pale, although Flinch carried more of a sickly expression while Matilda looked as if she hadn't been breathing for a long time. Heathcliff guessed it had something to do with the masked boy. For some strange reason, Ruby was the only one unharmed. She wasn't even lined up with the rest of the NERDS, instead held back by goons beside the boy.

"Now you're probably wondering why I brought all of you out here today," Heathcliff nearly had a heart attack when he heard his own voice coming from the masked boy. "Usually I'd take you separately in pairs per day, and I never put you all in the same room together. Think of this as experimenting, then we'll go back to the usual schedule, capishe?"

Heathcliff was shocked when all they did was give an assertive nod, letting the goons strap them down to the chairs willingly. Why weren't they fighting back? Why wasn't Ruby helping them?

"Electric chairs? Run out of ideas or something?" Jackson grunted, leaning forward to spit blood out to the side. Heathcliff was horrified to see metallic pieces sparking where he had spat.

The masked boy chuckles darkly, walking in front of Braceface. "these aren't electric chairs Jones. You see, even though you're unable to use your upgrades, you've still got millions of nanobytes swirling through your bloodstream. This-" he pats the back of the chair. "-is designed to hack into those nanobytes. And since you're the first person to question my tactics today, I'll give you a free demonstration."

The boy pressed a button on the side of the chair, and the machinery whirled to life. Or at least the orb hovering over it did. From a distance, the machine simply looked like a massage chair, vibrating and operating like one. But with a closer look at Jackson's composure, it was definitely not a massage chair. The blonde was convulsing in his seat, sucking in air through grit teeth. The orb above him blinked red, and suddenly white bolts of what appeared to be electricity - Heathcliff knew they weren't - struck down on the chair.

That's when Jackson screamed. A deafening, pained noise that snapped the other NERDS' heads up in alarm, their full attention now on their screaming companion. The masked boy immediately noticed. "Ah, interested in the machinery now?" If he wasn't wearing a mask, Heathcliff could've sworn he was raising an eyebrow. "Don't worry, you're all getting a fair turn!"

The orb above Jackson clicked, and the other orbs spun as well, glowing red as white bolts struck down on their own chairs. Heathcliff almost toppled over when they screamed in unison as loud as Jackson, stepping back from where he stood before.

The boy smiled cruelly behind his mask, turning around to face Ruby who, Heathcliff honestly can't figure out how, had kept a neutral expression for this long. Her left eye twitched, hives appearing on her knees as her ears swelled up. The boy frowned when Ruby barely gave a reaction, pressing another button on Jackson's chair. More bolts struck down from the orbs, and Ruby held back a flinch when her teammates screamed louder, jolting in their seats, their hands gripping the arms of the chair tightly as a way to stay conscious.

The real Ruby painfully closed her eyes, arms crossed over her chest as she forced herself to turn away. Hearing her friends screaming in agony, practically begging to be dead but had the dignity to never say it aloud. The sight still flashed in her head, each of the NERDS stuck in their own torment, wailing, crying, every time closer to death. She despised them all.

The masked boy growled, walking over to Ruby, ripping his mask off. Even though Heathcliff had already guessed it, seeing it personally still jarred him. Heathcliff himself glared down at Ruby, who didn't so much batter an eye at him. "Y'know, I can make this a lot worse Pufferfish," Simon seethed, tilting his head at the leader of the NERDS. "This is only the second setting. There are eight settings in all. All I have to do is press a button-" without looking back, Simon reached behind him, pressing another button, this time on the right arm of Flinch's chair. The orb above him turned yellow, and suddenly the bolts increased, and a sound that could only be described as a mix of a bat and a banshee erupted from the Latino boy. "-and I can force them to simply take it all in."

The two were locked in another staredown, just like the one during the first day, daring the other to look away first. Simon's hand drifted to another button, ignoring the shrieking boy and the bright white flashes behind him.

"Stop it," Heathcliff whispered, his eyes wide with fright.

His brows furrowed, waiting for Ruby to look away, his hand staying on the current button. Pufferfish sniffled, signifying a runny nose, but otherwise she didn't back down. Flinch's screams only increased, the loudest among the rest of the NERDS. Even without his superstrength, Flinch was on the brink of crushing the chair arms then and there.

"Stop it!" Heathcliff exclaimed, whirling to Ruby and NERDS. "Turn it off!"

The NERDS looked over at their leader, their eyes pleading for her to turn off the projection as well. But both the current Ruby and Simon didn't stop.

Simon only lifted his hand when Flinch turned silent. The orb above him clicked, shutting off, its job done.

Like a domino effect, the other orbs clicked off as well. The NERDS panted heavily, each exhaling in relief that it was over.

Until Duncan looked over at Flinch.

Flinch had gone limp in his chair, his head hung heavily. Duncan could still see his back moving up and down, a sign he was still breathing, but barely.

Jackson and Matilda only noticed when they heard choking noises. They turned over to the once hyperactive boy, who was making weird sounds from his throat. Suddenly his shot forward, and the NERDS watched in alarm as he began vomiting on the floor, a foul smell of mashed potatoes, spoiled meat, and blood filling the air.

What terrified them the most were the nanobytes floating around in the remains, each popping and fizzing like the pieces of Jackson's braces.

"That was the fifth setting," Simon informed coldly as the goons unstrapped the NERDS from their chairs. One goon took one NERD each, throwing them over their shoulder as if they weighed nothing. Which, they technically didn't, Simon only ever fed them once in a while. "You're lucky it wasn't the eighth."

The projection ended, and each memory came rushing back to him. The day he proposed the abuse, the weeks the NERDS were separated for torturing, the looks on all their faces when each came just inches away from dying. The redhead placed a hand on his head, an incredulous look on his face. Heathcliff stumbled back, sitting himself into a chair.

Ruby stepped forward without acknowledgement. "During your days as Simon, you succeeded in capturing and imprisoning all of us in your lair. You did nothing to me. But them-" Ruby pointed to the other NERDS, who each carried a self - conscious look, attempting to be apart of the conversation. "You beat them mercilessly in several different days, breaking them, tearing their self confidence to pieces day after day, waiting for them to snap. You hurt them, terribly. It's a miracle they even recovered from what you did to them. God, they almost died several times to the point they were waiting for the day they would. Did you see the blood on Flinch and Jackson? Do you remember how you scraped Duncan's skin just to remove every sign of paste on him? Do you remember how you suffocated Matilda because you knew her asthma would make her vulnerable to minimal oxygen? Do you? Do you Heathcliff?!"

The leader of the NERDS took a deep breath, regaining composure, then continued. "Everything that happened to them, every time you'd punish them for something they didn't do, watching them suffer with a smile, that is what you did. What you did to them is the exact reason I specifically gave an order for them to keep their distance from you. I may not show it often, but I care deeply for each and every one of them. What they had to go through is unforgivable, and I don't want anything like that happening ever again."

The NERDS watched as Ruby began walking to the exit of the briefing room, one by one following her lead. "I hope you got your answer," she called before the door closed shut behind them.

Heathcliff looked up only when he only heard four pairs of footsteps leave. Jackson hesitantly approached the redhead, who sat up at the sight of him. "Jackson...I-I don't know what to say..I...I-"

"Hey, it's alright," Jackson said reassuringly, pulling a chair to sit in front of Heathcliff. "I'm not here to do...whatever it was that Ruby did just now."

"Insult and expose me for the monster I am?"

"You're not a monster."

"That footage sure as heck made it look like I was."

"Listen," The former football player placed a hand on Heathcliff's shoulder. "You shouldn't get caught up in what she showed you. Yes, Ruby's furious and we all got effected by it, but that was all in the past. We're still here, being spies, fighting bad guys, saving the world. You should never let yourself be held back by things that happened back then."

Jackson turned to the orb. "Benjamin?"

Heathcliff didn't remember when Jackson had gotten accumulated to the robotic ball's commands, but the orb spun, showing another projection.

This time, the boys found themselves inside the School Bus, the dark skies through the windows suggesting it was midnight. This took place after the NERDS had been rescued, on their way back to the Playground.

"When all of you disappeared suddenly, we struggled on what to tell your families," Brand said standing up, cane in hand. "Duncan and Jackson's families knew about their spy lives, so that was easily taken care of, but as for the rest of you, we had to simply tell them you were kidnapped and we working on finding you. We can drop you home now, maybe talk a little with your parents-"

"Brand?" The director stopped when one of the agents spoke, raising their hand slightly. Flinch bit his lip in hesitation, then asked, "can we...stay over for the night at the Playground? We'd like... some time with ourselves before returning home."

Brand took a long, hard look at the agents assembled in the cockpit, a flash of sympathy and guilt in his eyes. Heathcliff understood why they wanted to sleep over - with weeks with only their own thoughts, they must've wanted to be closer than ever. "Of course you can children," Ms. Holiday fussed in the motherly tone she used whenever she had to calm them in an argument. "We have a few pillows and blankets in the storage room, but you'll have to sleep on the floor, okay?"

"And take a shower," the lunch lady added. "You all reek."

"Then it's settled," Brand nodded. "There should be some old gym clothes you can wear in the storage room as well, and Ms. Holiday and I can provide you all with bathroom supplies."

The NERDS nodded, some mumbling 'okay.' Brand and Holiday exchanged looks of concern when that was the only response they got, the agents falling silent once more. Usually one of them would spite out a joke to lighten the mood, then none of them seemed interested in conversing.

It wasn't long until they had arrived to the Playground, the NERDS filing out without a word. Ms. Holiday gathered the bathroom supplies and gym clothes at lightning speed, ushering them to the showers. Unlike the showers in the middle school, each had a separate stall, which gave them as much privacy as they needed.

After a while, each of them stepped out of the showers, some later then others, piling up in the room Ms. Holiday had pointed out before they entered the showers. The lunch lady was waiting inside, a weight scale in the corner and an assortment of doctor's tools on a table. "Hop onto the scale," he said to each of them when they came in, taking notes of of their weight. The lunch lady performed a few other tests, pointing a flashlight in Jackson's mouth to check his braces, doing a scan of Flinch's stomach, having Matilda practice breathing for a stethoscope, and so on.

"So from the results of the tests, Jackson's braces are...a hot mess, Flinch has literal nothing in his stomach, which hints either vomiting or starvation, maybe both, Duncan your skin is practically peeling off, so you'll need treatment for that, Matilda, speak for me?"

"Hi," the littlest of the spies croaked, and the lunch lady grimaces. "That basically speaks for itself, I'll probably get you a breathing mask for that, and Ruby-...." the lunch lady falters, squinting at his clipboard. "Ruby, you're completely fine. Besides a few scars and the weight loss shared between the rest of you, you're unharmed. There's not a single hair on your head missing."

The NERDS stayed quiet. They never really questioned why Ruby was the only one who never got hurt, but they assumed it was because Ruby and Heathcliff were close before. Every session Simon would go in front of Ruby's stall, gloating about his latest ideas and plans. If they didn't have cell doors or goons in between them, the other NERDS would've assumed they were working together.

"With this info, would it be appropriate to ask what exactly happened in there?" The lunch lady scratches the back of his head. "I mean, I get that it's a difficult topic to talk about, and I don't expect you to answer right away, but in order to help you, we have to know what was going on."

Again, not a word from the NERDS. The lunch lady sighs, sliding his clipboard on the table. "Alright, I'll be calling you one at a time for treatments and prescriptions. Jackson, you first."

With that, the other NERDS headed to the room on the left, finding the pillows and blankets Ms. Holiday mentioned in a pile. The spies got to work with arranging them into somewhat of a pillow fort, only realizing halfway that they didn't have enough to make it big enough for all of them, so instead left a large gap on the side for them to lay down in. They probably made it too narrow that they'd have to squeeze together to fit, but they couldn't care less. The lunch lady would occasionally pop in to call one of them for treatment, the other returning from it at the same the time.

They finished the fort when Matilda came back carrying a bottle bigger than her head and her replacement inhalers.

"What's with the bottle?" Flinch asked, munching on a granola bar. All the lunch lady said to him was to fill his stomach with the nearby vending machine snacks, but not to take anything sweet just yet.

"The lunch lady said to drink 'plenty' of water, saying it'll help bring my voice back," Matilda wheezed, half her words sounding as if she had inhaled helium. "Since I'm supposed to drink ten eight - ounce glasses of water everyday, he gave me half a pitcher to cover the days I didn't."

"Maybe you should rest your voice for now," Duncan suggested. "You're already having a harder time talking then usual."

Matilda nodded as Ruby adjusted the last pillow for the row of pillows they'd be sleeping on. Five pillows, five of them. "Flinch, finish that granola bar and go brush your teeth. Duncan, go follow him to steer him away from anything with sugar." Both boys nodded, the Latino shoving the rest of the granola bar into his mouth before following Duncan out the door.

Matilda took a sip from her water bottle, glancing up before pointing at the small glowing orbs floating around the room in confusion. Jackson followed her line of sight. "Oh those?" He asked. "Duncan activated them. Said it would give enough light in case one of us needed to go to the bathroom or something."

"We just got back and Duncan's already playing around with the gadgets?" Ruby joked. "That guy really can't separate himself from technology." This earned a chuckle from the other two, the female recapping her bottle before setting it aside. Heathcliff couldn't help but smile a little at the sight. They had just returned from being beaten to the core, and they already seemed to be slowly turning back to their normal selves. Or at least, as normal as a NERD could be.

It wasn't long until Flinch and Duncan returned, and the NERDS shut off the lights, getting ready to turn in for the night. Flinch and Matilda lay on the left, Duncan beside Matilda, making him in the middle of the five, with Jackson and Ruby on his right.

The NERDS stayed put for a while, simply laying there but not exactly sleeping just yet. Not even a few minutes had passed when Jackson blurted, "as tired as I was on the School Bus, I can't fall asleep."

"Me neither."

"Not a wink."

"Surprisingly, no."

"Matilda?"

There was the sound of shuffling beside Duncan, so he assumed she shook her head. "Well that's just great," Ruby grumbled. "How are we gonna fall asleep?"

"Hey Duncan, why don't you tell us about those floaty thingies you got set up around the room?" Jackson asked. The chubby boy perked up. "Well for starters, these 'floaty thingies' are called the strontium aluminate-" a loud exaggerated snore cut Duncan off, causing a few laughs from the others. Duncan scowled at Jackson, who in return gave a shrug, smiling.

And just like that, the NERDS stayed up for the rest of the night, finding a deck of cards on one of the shelves and going through multiple rounds of card games to pass the time. Normal games turned into bets, which escalated to screaming matches when they lost. By the time it was morning and Brand, Holiday, and the lunch lady had come in to check on them, they were all sprawled out on in different positions, asleep. The cards were scattered across the room, their pillow fort disassembled, and Jackson's face covered with several sharpie drawings.

"Should we wake them?" The lunch lady asked, walking over to move Flinch to the side. In his original position, one of his legs kept kicking Wheezer, who in return elbowed him in her sleep.

Brand shook his head, a small smile coming to his face. "Let them rest. They're recovering already."

The projection ended, and Jackson turned back to Heathcliff. "See? Even after just coming back, we were okay. Sure, we decided to miss out a few days of school to take a short break, but afterwards were raring to go on another mission."

"Heathcliff I'm going to be completely honest - we all hated you during those weeks were captured. But we don't hate the you right now. You can start over, just like I did. And yes, gaining their trust will be hard - heck Ruby will be dead set on making your life a living hell - but they'll come around when they're ready. They'll see that you're not the Heathcliff you were before, and sooner or later, you'll be back on the team."

"Hey, Jackson," Heathcliff spoke after a moment. The blonde quirked a brow. "Why are you helping me? After what I did, after that order Ruby gave you and the others, why do you still help me?"

The blonde chuckles, getting up from his chair. "Do I really need to answer that? It's simple." He extended a hand to the boy with glasses. "You're my friend, Heathcliff." The boy gradually took his hand, and Jackson pulls him up.

"And friends don't hurt each other."

#N.E.R.D.S #nerds michael buckley #N.E.R.D.S. fics #nerds jackson jones #nerds heathcliff hodges #nerds duncan dewey #nerds matilda choi #nerds ruby peet #nerds julio escala #agent braceface #agent choppers #simon #agent gluestick #agent wheezer #agent pufferfish #agent flinch #angst #fluff

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mrevaunit42 · 7 years

Text

Road to being a hero (My hero academia AU prequel)

Hello everyone, Mr.E here wishing you a fantastic week!

I’m here to say happy birthday @minthia-ren *throws confetti* WOO! and for your birthday I took a wild guess and made this *an idea give to me by @artgirllullaby thanks lullaby!*

So a few weeks ago i made a SVTFOE my hero academia au which you can read right here https://mrevaunit42.tumblr.com/post/162875418322/im-going-to-be-a-hero-boku-no-academia-au-part I had loads of fun with it and figured you know what would be really cool, making a prequel of it.

So while this is based on the my hero academia series *highly recommend* this is not exactly a one to one as i like to change up things in aus so i can write my own version of stories in that world.

All Might and The Queen *this au’s Eraserhead* are the top heroes around but before they were they best, they were River Johansen and moon Butterfly, two students at UA high, training ground for all heroes and while River doesn’t technically have a quirk, he isn’t the only one with a secret.

So this takes place before River gains one for all and is basically the first day of school of his freshman year.

The main bad of this story is basically an oc but there are two old foes who have cameos in this I was just too lazy to describe them. also no spoilers I made this background up

Have an amazing birthday minty and you too if it’s your birthday when you read this. Happy birthday! *yes I stole this from Caddy and I don’t care.*

Notification squad: @hipster-rapunzel @nerdymetalhead @isolated-frequencies @ladyxgilex @thefandombytes

“Wow….”

The words slipped out of young 14 year old River Johansen but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t contain the excitement bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Despite the setbacks, despite the nay sayers, despite being told an undeveloped quirk was paramount to being quirkless, he was here. He was ready to follow his dreams and become a hero.

He was about to take his first steps into the giant, seemingly impractical building of U.A high.

River glanced down at his hand, a torrent of emotions running through him.

River was a rather unusual case in the world that bred heroes and villains overnight. Quirks were manifestations of great, weird and strange powers about 80% of the world possessed. A physical part of a person’s identity nowadays.

River technically had a quirk, a power hidden deep within himself. The problem was it was hidden too far inside and no one could hazard a guess how to get it out. The doctors referred to it as undeveloped: A quirk that had been forming but has stopped for no apparent reason. Since the quirk gene hadn’t finished developing the power, it simply did not work. It was just there.

River could still pass on his quirk to his children (Whatever it may be) and for all intents and purposes was registered as a quirk user with the government but the harsh reality remained: either the quirk would form one day or it wouldn’t.

Normal, more sane people would’ve been deterred, given up and gone out to seek normal, everyday lives but not River. He was neither of those words and he refused to allow his destiny to stop there. He would be a hero even if he had to claw his way from the bottom to get there.

And claw he did.

Without access to his quirk, River decided to focus on the one thing he could control: Himself.

He trained intensely over the last few years, building his strength and stamina to peak physical condition. He could run miles without tiring, bench press double his weight and picks fights with bears and come out the victor.

Not that he did fight any bears. That would silly and dangerous of course.

However, despite all his hard work and effort, no one would take him seriously whenever he declared he would be a hero. An undeveloped quirk, they reasoned, was just as bad as being quirkless. He would never be a true hero because it was simply too dangerous for someone who was basically human.

River never listened to them for a moment. He refused to believe such a thing and even if he had to lie to get into UA, he would get in.

Which, coincidentally he might’ve actually done.

River nervously glanced over his schedule, trying to keep a calm face amidst the happy go lucky teenagers that surrounded him as he focused on the most troubling aspect of the piece of paper he held in his hand

Quirk: Super Strength.

So he panicked. It was perfectly understandable given how left field the proctor’s question came from and it’s not like anyone was hurt. True his hand was a little swollen and bruised after defeating so many test bots but he passed 1st place with a nice chunk of rescue points on the side. He was living proof one did not need to have a quirk to be a hero.

Too bad he couldn’t actually tell anyone about that.

“It’s fine” River muttered to himself, anxiously fixing his school uniform, patting down his short blonde hair “it’s fine, no one will ever find out.”

“Find out what?” A voice asked quizzically.

River nearly jumped out of his skin as he faced the owner of the question. He felt his cheeks burn as he lifted his gaze higher to find a pair light blue eyes staring him at curiously.

She was nearly a head taller than him with long straighten pale blue hair. Her face was set in a stony indifference but her eyes spoke with more emotion than he had ever seen in anyone.

“That…I…” River spoke slowly, trying to will his mushy brain to work “Don’t know where I’m going! New campus you see and I’m lost. I’m looking for 1-A but I don’t seem to…”

“1-A?” The girl repeated “That’s my class. I can show you to it if you don’t mind.”

“T-thanks!” River beamed despite the nervous beating of his heart “I’d really appreciate…say, have we met before?”

The girl rose an eyebrow “Have we? I don’t seem to recall.”

River stroked his chin thoughtfully “Oh, I remember! You were in line to take the school exam! Sorry I don’t usually forget a face, especially one as pretty as…”

River gulped, quickly covering his mouth

If the girl caught River’s slip of the tongue, she didn’t let on

“Oh, the examination. I suppose I would look familiar. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Moon Butterfly.”

River took her hand eagerly “River. Umm, River Johansen!”

“Pleasure to meet you River.” Moon said, gently pulling her hand away “Shall we head to class?”

“Of course, ladies first”

Out of pure instinct or perhaps more likely out of some misunderstood signal from his brain, River fell into a bow before he realized what he had done.

River’s blush worsen out of embarrassment and he was at a lost how to escape this situation without further embarrassing himself.

River could feel his heart stop as Moon’s cute giggles played on his ears “Alright my good sir, please follow me.”

River scratched at his neck as he dutifully followed behind Moon.

The grin on River’s face was priceless. His muscles ached from how wide it was but he couldn’t help it! First day of school and he’s already made a new friend and no one suspected he didn’t actually have a quirk. He learned a lot from his teachers and he was finally taking the first true step to be the hero he always dreamed he would be.

Everything was coming up…

“Please, that’s all my money! I need it.”

River stopped in his tracks, ignoring the noises of the city for a moment.

“Shut up and hand it over.”

River scanned the area, eyes narrowed in concentration when he picked up a tiny whimper coming from the alley ahead.

River ran as fast as he could, barely mumbling apologizes to those who were slow in moving out of his way as he pushed past.

He ducked into the narrow passage only to find a sickening sight.

There was a boy about his age in a regular school uniform huddled on the floor, crying and sniffling as three older students hovered over him menacingly.

He had never seen any of them in his life but his heart burned with a righteous fury as he noticed the very familiar attire that the three older teens wore.

“HOW DARE YOU!” River shouted, unable to contain his rage any further.

The three older students turned around, a smug sneer dancing on their lips

“Dare what?” The middle one spoke up, taking a step forward. It was clear he was the later “We’re just doing some business. Nothing to get involved with”

River clutched his fist tightly, trying his best to ignore the barely veiled threat.

“You are UA students” he told them through tightened teeth “You are supposed to be heroes. You are supposed to protect and serve others, not your own greedy desires.”

The leader scoffed dismissively “You’re a bit naive of you think that kid. Get out of here before I show you how the world really works.”

“Meddling when you don’t need to…” River dropped into a fighting stance

“Hmm?” The trio looked confused at the 14 year old.

River took a deep, calming breath before letting out the fiercest battle cry he could muster, his fists clenched as he raced forward with all his might

“…is the essence of being a hero!”

The leader remained unimpressed as the diminutive pipsqueak inched ever closer.

River threw himself at a lunge, ready to plant his fist firmly into the jerkbutts stomach as hard as he…

He nearly lost his balanced as the leader of the bullies vanished without a word and left him grasping at empty air and despite how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down his spine upon seeing the goons knowing smirks.

River gasped loudly as all the air was knocked out of his lungs, the leader towering over him, his knee driven as deep as he could manage into River’s stomach.

River fell backwards and landed on the cold pavement.

“Tch” The leader grimaced, rubbing his aching knee “What the hell? You’re built like a wall.”

“H…how did you do that?”

“Oh the whole vanishing act?” The leader waved off the seriousness of the question “I can freeze time at will. Dangerous.”

“Yeah” the shorter goon chuckled dumbly “Except it only lasts as long as you can hold your breath.”

“IDIOT!” The leader screamed “Ugh, whatever. It’s more than a match for you pipsqueak.”

River weakly rose to his feet, fists at the ready once again.

The leader shook his head “You just don’t learn, do you?”

“I’m thick headed like that” River replied with a smug smile

The leader said nothing as his goons approached. The shorter of the two hands morphed into giant lobster pincers. The taller one’s arm turned into a massive of unrealistic bulk of muscles.

“Monster Arm, Lobster Claws teach him a lesson.” The leader grinned evilly before vanishing into thin air once again.

River braced himself as the two remaining bullies rushed towards him but before he could react to their attack, something basked him in its shadow.

River whirled around to find the leader of the scum grinning manically at him, his arm raised high.

“Hey!”

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks from the sudden outburst but while River had been expecting backup for his foes, the looks on their faces made it clear that wasn’t the case.

“3 against one seems a little unfair, doesn’t it?”

River frowned thoughtfully, the familiarity of the voice poking at his memories but he couldn’t fathom a guess who could that be.

“Now then” Moon’s voice called out “Give back whatever you took from that boy and let my friend go or else we’re going to have a problem.”

“Moon!” River cried out

The leader rolled his eyes as he turned to face yet another 14 year old brat that fancied themselves a hero.

“Look kid” he spoke condescendingly “Your little boyfriend made his choice and I need to teach him a lesson about sticking his nose in other people’s business.”

‘Boyfriend?!’ Despite the severity of the situation, River couldn’t stop the blush from forming on his cheeks.

The leader went on “So move along blue unless you want the same lesson”

Moon’s gaze was indifferent but River could see the cold, controlled fury brimming in her eyes.

“Well then” Moon said simply “I suppose I have my answer.”

The leader smirked as he inhaled deeply and…

Nothing. Nothing happened and instead of everyone else locked in place, he found himself straining, willing his body to move but his muscles remained frozen, unresponsive to his brain’s commands.

He glanced upwards only to find the brat had locked eyes with him, her light blue eyes a pale gray as her hair stood on end almost like it had been caught by a breeze.

“Guys” He strained to talk “She’s got me locked in place”

“We’re fine” Monster arm turned to his partner in crime.

“yeah we can move.” Lobster claw answered.

“You idiots!” The leader scolded “That means she can only get one of us. GET HER!!”

“Right boss!” The pair scurried forward, their sights set on the teenager holding their boss in place but in their rush they had forgotten one tiny, angry detail.

River lunged at Lobster Claw, smashing the ¾ths teen, quarter lobster straight into a brick wall.

Lobster lashed out, flailing his claws out wildly but this wasn’t River’s first fight.

River ducked under the attack and tackled his stomach as hard as he could. Lobster claw wheezed as all the wind out was knocked out of him. he whimpered softly as he collapsed onto the floor.

River didn’t bask in his victory yet. His legs were already moving but he feared it was far too late as Monster Arm rose his hand and aimed it straight for Moon’s jaw.

The confidence never left Moon’s face as she nimbly dove under the jab, pivoting on the balls of her feet while her hair fell back into place, her eye contact with the troublesome leader broken for a moment.

Monster Arm turned around, striking outward with his hand in a wide swing but Moon was far too quick for him: She sidestepped the attack and caught the mass of muscles by the wrist. With a strained groan, she pulled Monster Arm over her shoulder and sent him slamming into the pavement with a satisfying thud.

Moon wiped her hands cleaned of non-existent dirt while she blew a loose strain of hair back into place “I’d say that’s victory for me.”

The leader disagreed silently as his muscles slowly began to relax and unstiffen now that her gaze was turned from him. He flexed his fingers carefully, making sure he had free movement before attempting his quirk.

River made his way over to Moon, unable to keep the admiration out of his eyes “That was so cool Moon! I didn’t know you could do that. Umm, what was that exactly?”

“It’s my queenly gaze” Moon explained “but most people call it Medusa’s gaze. I can freeze anyone in place so long as I make eye contact with them. The side effects take a few seconds to wear off once I look…oh no!”

“That’s right” The leader appeared, towering above the two 14 year old’s without warning “It’s game ov…”

River moved to intercept but Moon was already on it.

Her eyes did not pale this time nor did her hair rise but her hand did and with it, a giant, shimmering blue copy appeared and squished the hapless leader of the bullies against the wall before forming out of existence without warning.

“That’s…not…fair” he whined as he fell onto the floor and unconsciousness.

Moon could feel anxiety building within her as she mentally cursed herself. She wasn’t supposed to use that so openly, so recklessly. Her mother warned her about what would happen if the wrong people discovered the secret about her second quirk. The secret of the Butterfly family….

A moment turned into seconds and seconds became dozens but eventually Moon turned to River, wondering what was going through his mind right now.

“You have a second quirk?”

Moon blinked, surprised at the excitement in his voice. Not curiosity or fear or confusion but genuine joy and giddiness.

“Y-yes.” Moon uneasily answered “but I can’t really talk about it. I’m sorry River.”

Moon glanced downward sadly, wondering if she lost her new friend over her most guarded…

“That’s okay, I understand.”

Moon blinked in astonishment “What? Y-you do?”

River gave a cheerful nod “Of course. A second quirk is an unheard of thing. It’s a secret and one you need to keep. One I will keep.”

Moon could feel her heart skip a beat at the sight of River’s toothy grin, his blue eyes filled with sincerity.

“….I…” Moon began but River added “I’ll make it fair. I’ll tell you the secret about my quirk”

“Your quirk? You mean super strength?” Moon gestured to the imprint of Lobster Claw molded perfectly on the wall’s surface.

“Nah, that’s just because I’m strong from all the training” River revealed “but the truth is my quirk is undeveloped”

“Under….developed? I…I don’t quite follow”

“I have a quirk” River explained “But it hasn’t actually formed yet. I don’t know what it’ll be…or if it’ll ever actually become active…”

“River…”

“That’s why I lied” River went on “They would’ve never let me in the school if they found out I didn’t have a quirk.”

“Don’t be silly River” Moon shook her head “We have the support…”

“I don’t want to be support.”

Moon stared at River, his determination evident in his tone.

“I want to be a hero” River said “I want people to know everything will be alright. That no matter what is going on, they’re safe. That they have nothing to fear. You know why?”

“Why?” Moon asked gently

River gave the brightest smile he could “Because I’m there! I will be the symbol of peace and I’ll save everyone.”

Moon’s heart softened at River’s declaration, his puffed out chest and heroic pose, the smile that never left his face.

“I believe you River.” Moon told him softly.

River offered his hand “To friendship and secrets.”

Moon took it and was caught off guard how soft yet firm his hand was against hers

“To friendship and secrets.”

“So” River began as the two made their way to ensure the boy was alright “Have you ever considered wearing goggles?”

“No.” Moon answered uneasily “Why?”

“I think it’d help with your quirk. Really freak people out if they can’t tell who you’re looking at. Plus I bet you look really cool.”

“Thanks River. I’ll keep that in mind.”

#my story #star vs au #my hero academia au

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silkling · 3 years

Text

Of Rules and Regulations

Of Moments of Life AU

———————————————————————————————————

Chase didn’t understand humans, sometimes. Chief spoke of the importance of following the rules, but fairly often the human let the citizens of Griffin Rock get off with very little punishment in regards to their rule breaking. Yes, he did ticket speeders and illegal parkers, but all too often he would allow people to break the same rule multiple times and would not increase the penalty, as so many human law books suggested was prudent. It confounded him. He did not understand. Were rules not important?

Chase knew they were. Rules were the pillars of a structured society. The Rescue Force, when it had still stood, had been built on rules and order. They had functioned best when the regulations and protocols had been followed…hadn’t they? Unbidden, the police bot found himself remembering Sigma-17’s encounter with the energon eater. He knew what protocol would have dictated, in that circumstance. ‘Do not cease the rescue operation, not until all other options have been exhausted and there is no chance of mission success.’

That was one of the Rescue Bot codes. Had they followed it, they would have pushed past the energon eater to follow the distress signal. Except….Chase knew now that the signal had been a false one. If they had not halted the rescue operation, then Sigma-17 would have continued to try and save bots that did not exist, and would likely have lost one, or more, of its members to the space beast. So in that circumstance, it would have been foolhardy to follow the rules. But…that was an exception, wasn’t it? Surely it was best to follow the rules at any other time?

He was so caught up in his own processor as he went down to the bunker that he didn’t notice when his path led him directly into that of another. Chase let out a surprised shout when he impacted something hard and large, and the force of it, even if he hadn’t been walking fast, enough to make him stumble back and almost trip over his own pedes. Thankfully, a large hand caught his shoulder and righted him quickly. He looked up to thank who had caught him, thinking it to be Boulder since no one else had hands close to that size, only for his voice to die in his throat when his optics met the red gaze of Dreadwing.

“Ah. Dreadwing.” he said, shuffling awkwardly. Dreadwing was another case that made Chase’s processor ache.

Again, he knew what protocol would dictate about the Seeker’s circumstance. A jail cell until a trial could be held. But every time he tried to think of that idea, his spark ached and protested it, and he didn’t know why. It just…didn’t feel right. Dreadwing had done horrible things in the name of the Deception cause. He knew this. The Seeker had even admitted as such. Yet….he didn’t want to go see him punished either. He knew why the flyer had done the things he had. He didn’t understand, not truly, but his reasons had been just, even if his actions had not been. And given what Chase had learned of his Dreadwing and others like him had suffered when they hadn’t been under the Decepticon banner, well. Chase couldn’t see himself demanding recompense. It was hard to. Dreadwing was not a saint, he knew that. But…he wasn’t some violent, sparkles monster either.

“Hello, little one.” The Seeker’s deep rumble tore him from any further spiraling. “You seem troubled.”

Chase opened his mouth to deny it, but his vocalizer faded to static. It clicked as he forced it to reset, the Cybertronian equivalent of clearing one’s throat, and he sagged. “Perhaps.” he agreed.

He thought again of his confusion, and his processor all but screamed with discontent as it struggled to make sense of the data it had been given. He didn’t know who he could talk to about this. None of his teammates were as stringent about rules as he was, and he doubted the humans could grasp out protocol and regulations were practically a part of Chase’s core coding. They weren’t Cybertronian, after all.

Except…

Except Dreadwing had been a high ranking officer in a structured military for longer than modern human civilization has existed. He, of all those Chase could talk to, was the most likely to understand. But could he? The Seeker had once been a Decepticon, so would be even be willing to help?

His mind flashed to Blades, and the way the copter’s rotors had been happily fluttering as he told the team how Dreadwing and he had swapped stories of their brothers, and how the older flyer had taken the younger bot to the back of the island at night for in depth flight lessons. Dreadwing had been a Deception once, true. But he seemed more than willing to help Blades, and Chase found himself praying that that odd fondness wasn’t just for the copter bot.

“Dreadwing.” he straightened his spinal strut, meeting that red gaze head on. “If you would be willing, I would require your advice. There is a matter that is causing me severe distress and my processor is unable to understand the data I have gathered on the topic.”

Dreadwing simply stared at him for a moment, his right wing twitching in a gesture that Chase didn’t know how to interpret. He knew flyers were capable of communicating with their flight appendages. It was why Dreadwing was so attentive to every movement of Blades’s rotors. But he was no flyer, and he didn’t know what that twitch meant.

Thankfully, Dreadwing quickly seemed to realize this, because he instead dipped his helm. “I would be most amenable to help, little one. Perhaps you would prefer to sit somewhere comfortable? I sense this will not be a short discussion.”

Chase nodded his agreement, quickly leading the way to the lounge. He pulled over one of the bot sized beanbags for himself, settling into it comfortably while Dreadwing took a seat on the couch. After a moment of organizing his thoughts, he lifted his gaze. “I am struggling with my core beliefs and understanding whether or not they may be wrong.”

Dreadwing tipped his helm to the side. “I see.” he hummed.

Chase figured he likely would. The Seeker had had to recently shift his entire worldview of where his loyalties lay, after all. “I…have built my understanding of the world and my surroundings on rules. There are rules to everything, I have learned. Not just the laws that govern society, but strict rules of how certain things operate and function within the world. The rules of organic reproduction, for example, or the rules that bind Earth to a cycle of different seasons. These are all set rules that do not break.”

The Seeker hummed. “So I see. Then here does your issue lie?”

“I….” he trailed off, then reset his vocalizer. “Chief Burns consistently lets the people of Griffin Rock off with lesser punishments than he should, if he were following the laws of his society. Just this morning, when he should have given Mr.Harrison a much harsher penalty for once again causing a mass public disturbance, he let him off with merely a word of warning.” The cop bot sounded frustrated. “And there is also…” He looked down. “You. Protocol dictates you should be locked within a cell until such time you can stand trial. But I find myself disliking that idea and I have no desire or intention of actually following through on it. I am aware you have done horrible things in the past, yet my spark insists that you can be given a better chance to make amends here and with your freedom than locked away in a jail cell.” he finished, frustrated and angry with his own lack of understanding.

To his credit, Dreadwing let him finish before he spoke. “I believe I understand now.” he stared hard at the smaller bot. “Rules are important. You are correct about that. In a well functioning, proper society, rules create the pillar upon which order is maintained.”

Chase made a frustrated noise. “Then why-“

Dreadwing cut him off. “However. In such societies, there is also often a deep sense of community. That means there is an understanding among all those within that society that some of the rules that establish their land are more important than others. Vos operated under such a system. The Senate despised us for it, as it meant there were instances in which Vos’s children did not fit into the societal rules they had set for the rest of Cybertron.”

Chase blinked. “But what does that have to do with it?”

“In such a society, where some rules are deemed less important, it is also generally understood that if one breaks those rules they may not necessarily have to face the punishment written by the law as long as no one was harmed. Take speeding, for example. I know one of the citizens on this island does so consistently, and yet Chief Burns only ever gives him a single ticket.”

Chase jerked. “How did you-“

“You rant about that specific man very often, Chase.” the Seeker said dryly. “Now, in that instance, the Chief is in the right. He could ticket the human more, he could jail him for the night, but that would not help matters. Perhaps it would stop him, but it would also build a sense of resentment.”

Chase crossed his arms. “What does that matter?”

“It matters quite a bit.” Dreadwing sighed. “In a society built on a sense of community, like Vos was and like Griffin Rock is, it is not lack of total and complete order that causes things to crack. It is resentment. Vos, this island, they were, and are, both built on the backs of their children’s’ respect and regard for one another. Once that respect and regard is lost, so to are the foundations that make Griffin Rock a community.” he explained.

Chase blinked. “Chief…does not penalize the citizens of the island more harshly because they are a community?”

Dreadwing hummed. “Precisely.” he agreed. “Without the proper community, it would not truly be Griffin Rock. As such, the people of the island have an unspoken understanding that, so long as no one is harmed when something goes wrong or when someone breaks a rule, then it does no harm to let them off with a lesser punishment.”

“Or even no punishment at all?”

“Or even no punishment at all.” Dreadwing seemed pleased that Chase was starting to understand. “As for the second half of your concerns…I do understand that as well. You are correct. Any legal system would demand my incarceration. However, one must also look at the specific circumstances.” he leaned back. “I cannot tell you how you should think on the matters of my crimes and the penalties I should face. That is not a decision that is mine to make.”

Chase blinked, then sagged and nodded. “I know. And the fact that you are not trying to sway my opinion says much more about your willingness to make things right than any long term imprisonment could, I believe.”

Dreadwing chuckled. “Thank you, little one. I will do my best not to misplace your faith. Primus saw fit to gift me a second chance and the opportunity to make amends. I will still avenge my brother one day, but I will not squander what I have been given here.”

Chase smiled despite himself. “Good.” Then his expression dropped a little, and he looked down. “What about in societies that are not built on community? Are rules not important there?”

Dreadwing tilted his helm. “Hm.” he narrowed red optics. “That is a more complicated matter. If the society functions and all within it are content, then yes, I suppose the rules would be important. But that is not often the case. Before the War, Cybertron functioned under strict rules, but it was in fact those same rules that caused so much suffering.”

Chase looked at the Seeker in confusion. “I…was aware of the discontent. I knew the lower castes were struggling. But how bad was it exactly?”

Dreadwing tilted his helm up. “The root of the problems lay in Functionism itself, little one. It was a plague. The Rescue Force, by some odd miracle, was not affected by Functionism. They believed that as long as a Bot was willing to train, then any frame-type could be used in rescues, as there was not only one kind of rescue and some would require unorthodox frame abilities.” the Seeker sighed heavily. “However, the rest of Cybertron was not so lucky.” Fingers drummed against the couch, and the Seeker was silent as he considered his next words. “Your teammate, the little bulldozer? Had he not been a Rescue Bot, then the rules of Functionism would have forced him to be a construction worker, whether he wished it or not. And if he did not bend to his function, then the Senate would have punished him severely and they would have been allowed by law to do so.”

Chase went still, optics wide. He couldn’t imagine that happening to Boulder. He knew what sort of punishment Dreadwing was talking about. Anything from jail to…empurata. He shuddered as the thought crossed his processor. He couldn’t imagine Boulder, warm, soft-sparked Boulder forced to bare the markers of empurata. That penalty was too much. Even he had been aware of that much of the Senate’s darkness, even if he hadn’t understood how bad it had truly been.

“I….see.” he whispered.

And he was starting to. Rules had defined his life up unto now, but…his life had dramatically changed, and so had to the rules that defined it. Perhaps it was time he changed his own understanding of rules as well. He looked up to meet Dreadwing’s gaze, standing up from his beanbag. “I…thank you, Dreadwing.” he said gratefully. “I do not understand fully, but I believe I will eventually. You have given me much to think about. Your advise….it was much appreciated.”

Dreadwing too, stood. He nodded at the littler bot, and Chase found his spark was starting to hammer at the thought that this, whatever is was, was going to end. “Movie!” he blurted.

At Dreadwing’s confused stare, he reset his vocalizer. “I would like to share something of mine with you, now that you’ve shared your advice with me. If you’d be open to it. Blades has shown you his favorite Earth entertainment, and if you would not be opposed than I would like to show you mine.” he said, and despite himself he couldn’t keep the hopeful note from his voice.

Dreadwing seemed to catch on to his true intentions, because the Seeker had a knowing glint in his optics. There was a brief silence as the flyer considered, then his helm dipped in acquiescence. “I would be interested in seeing what it is that garners your enjoyment, young one.” he agreed, retaking his seat on one end of the couch.

Chase relaxed, and was quick to set up the movie and grab the remote. It was the first movie in his favorite series of detective films. This series wasn’t quite as silly as some of the others, and some of the crimes were genuinely thought provoking. Chase was hoping Dreadwing would appreciate the moral complexity. He moved to the beanbag as the movie started up, and paused to glance at the empty space next to Dreadwing. After only a moment of hesitation, he pulled the beanbag to the nook where it was usually kept with the others like it, then went to take the empty seat on the couch. Dreadwing only shot him a glance, but did nothing else before returning his attention to the film.

After the movie had progressed, Chase felt his frame shift slightly, instinctively seeking out the warmth and closeness of the larger frame by his side. His shoulder pressed into Dreadwing’s arm, and when he realized what he’d done he tensed and made to pull away. Only…Dreadwing didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the large Seeker only shifted his position, freeing up space for Chase to rest more comfortably against his side. After a second’s thought, the police bot did so, tucking in against the larger Cybertronian and enjoying the quiet closeness. Cybertronians were a social species after all, and physical touch was just as important to them as it was to the humans.

Dreadwing didn’t drape his arm around the youngling, as he did whenever Blades burrowed in close to him. He seemed to understand that it would make Chase more uncomfortable than relaxed, because he simply kept it tucked back so that Chase was leaning back on it as he curled into the Seeker’s side.

The movie progressed, and Chase found his processor settling more and more as time went on. Eventually, the usually loud data processing that flowed through his mind quieted to a gentle buzz, and he felt himself relaxing against the frame of the older Cybertronian he’d tucked himself into. He still had a lot he had to figure out, but now he was more certain of one thing.

He would enjoy having Dreadwing around. The Seeker wasn’t quite so bad, after all.

In fact, Chase thought, frame and processor at peace with each other for the first time since Sigma-17 had departed Cybertron on that fateful mission. In fact, I think I truly do enjoy having him here. He feels…he feels like family.

———————————————————————————————————

And here we have the second installment in the “of moments in life” AU! No Blades this time, but there is Dreadwing and Chase bonding! Chase is starting to accept that not all is black and white, and Dreadwing is starting to find a new place and purpose for himself. Also, he’s a dad now. He just hasn’t really realized it yet.

I hope everyone enjoyed that! I had a lot of fun with it! There’s going to be more of this in the future, so if y’all wanna make sure you don’t miss the updates and whatnot, follow the “of moments in life au” tag.

I’ll see you all in the next fic. Until next time, friends!

#tfp #tranformers prime #rescue bots #tfp dreadwing #Dreadwing #rescue bots chase #Dreadwing lives #chase is having a moral crises #Dreadwing helps #chase and Dreadwing bond #chase has a new dad now! :D #of moments in life au #maccadam

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