Punish and Enslave

~

“I’ve finally had some time to start knitting and needle work again, I’ve made you-“ she yanks a rather large, rather multi purple colorful cat plush out of her front pocket “-a cat plush! Look how cute!”

Totally did not take her several trips to the local general store for stuffing.

~

The rogue seemed reasonably confused at the displayed handcrafted gift, unsure just what to make of it or how to feel over the entire ordeal. It was decent sized, which meant it likely took a lot of time and supplies.

Barricade still didn’t understand the effort and kindness she put towards him after being informed that he’d been the reason she’d been orphaned and nearly murdered.

Still, the mecha found himself crouching back down, dual optics looking over the plush. It was really well made, he just wasn’t exactly sure what even to do with it. But, regardless, sharp talons upturn in the safest way to receive the plush without risk of tearing into the design or ripping it right open.

~

“I did!” Misfits let out a soft gasp when she caught sight of a flash of parrot green. Even if he was a little filthy looking, she honestly was surprised to see that he had kept that color.

“Vivid as ever.” She squinted to see if anything else on his alt had changed. He’d gotten rid of the heart shaped sticker she’d gotten him ages ago. That made her a little sad. “I’m surprised that he’s actually survived with that paint…I wonder if he was sticking to our old strategy of just staying off the grid entirely.”

~

“I’m surprised he has such a paint scheme in the first place,” The retort was under Barricade’s ‘breath’, but in no way was it an actual attempt not to be heard. Keeping a few cars between them, Barricade mostly followed Synth through perception than straight up direct sight. He wasn’t sure just how jumpy the other mecha was.

~

Fits sat nicely in his passenger seat. Having not been asked to take the driver’s seat it was her preferred seat of choice. For a while she was quiet, texting Crosshairs and Hound why the hell Barricade suddenly took off, with her in tow.

She was excited to see Synth again, assuming it was the parrot colored keyboardist. But her intentions were split down the middle. On one side she was happy to see an old friend…the other was reminded of the last time she had seen him. When Cemetary Wind stole Tuner from them. They were a trio.

And Synth…amid the chaos had left her behind to fend for herself, out gunned and out numbered. He had fled and never went looking for her. That wasn’t part of their plans. They had made plans when they heard what was happening to others. To keep going if one had been lost or to regroup. But he never came back. Fits felt abandoned by someone she thought was family. She wanted answers. She wanted to finally get a chance to yell at him for it. She knew he must be hurting without Tuner. How did he think she felt too? Out of everyone, she had wanted Synth to be there with her to grieve, to remember Tuner as he was, just someone to reach out to who understood what she missed.

And he had left her behind.

“Thank you again Barricade.” She finally spoke to Barricade. Turning her phone to silent as Crosshairs blew up her messages. It was a worthwhile trip. Her eyes scanned every street for a glimpse of navy or lime.

~

Barricade rumbled softly at the thanks. He could speak up. Tell her it was no biggie. Insist it was nothing. Tell her your welcome. But that’s not entirely in his character. But he knew she’d appreciate some form of acknowledgement-- most people do.

He touched base with Drift one last time before cycling through all of their messages in the span of seconds. Pulling to a stop at a red light before being drawn out of his musings when a vehicle matching the description Misfits had given forever ago passed by at a green light. The cruiser almost seemed to go ridged at the glimpse, resisting the immediate urge to flick on his lights and pursue without touching base real quick. Besides, pulling them over in the city was probably a bad idea.

~

“I suppose..” Optimus hummed, before falling silent and smiling at Barricade. “You wish for peace, do you not?” He asked, cobalt optics glowing with curiousity.

~

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that as long as I’m stuck on this planet it doesn’t matter whether or not I want to be left alone,” Barricade had been solo for awhile now, not exactly having left the Decepticons but he could definitely be considered AWOL. If there were even any other Decepticons around.

~

Fits patted her pockets making sure she had everything she would need. She ususally did but it was just habit.

“If it’s not a problem and you want to get out of here for a while, I would really appreciate the ride to Synth. Assuming it’s him.”

Come to think of it, it was usually Cade who made the drives out to help any bots. Now it was her turn. She looked at the other human’s trailer and thought about asking him for help but decided against it. If she needed him she’d call him later.

“I’m good to go if you are!”

~

Barricade shifted down, passenger door clicking open. An almost sort of laugh finding its way from the mech, “You’re probably nothing compared to Peanut.” Transferring cats from location to location via free-roam inside a vehicle was certainly interesting.

Peanut liked to chew on things and clamber all over Barricade. There were still a few claw markings in his seats from one of the two of them from one of the more recent nights where he’d let them crash inside his alt instead of out in the cold night air.

Once Misfits was settled, mirrors angle to eye over the Autobots before Barricade all but shrugged, rolling on out smoothly. There was no time for hesitation or waiting. No time for arguments. And he was, arguably, the fastest here. If not entirely than thanks to his ability to flick on sirens if they run into any trouble.

The rogue was quiet-- at least externally. No words spoken as he sped off down the roads. Pinging messages back and forth with Drift for a decent chunk of the time. Though both seemed content with traveling-- preferred it, really-- it was boring alone. And there were some questions to clear up.

~

“I was simply offering a helping hand, my dear decepticon..it is a shame you have to twist my words..” he watched him with mild interest, hands clasped calmly in front of him now.

“Here I am trying to have a civil conversation, and you look ready to shoot out my optics..” he spoke slowly, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Is that correct?”

~

~

“Well..I could make sure the body is not able if it eases your poor processor..” he cocked an optic ridge, hands on his hips like a sassy soccer mom as he silently stared at the ‘con, basically daring him to come up with something to retort with.

~

“Not getting what you want, so you resort to threats. Typical.” Barricade was unimpressed, though his stance shifts, more on edge, that of an animal anticipating a rival to pounce any moment now. Claws splaying out.

~

“None of my plans have ever been outlandish! I leave the outlandishness up to Bumblebee and the humans..” he huffed, seeming playfully offended as he tilted his helm.

~

~

The girl seem to pull back into herself, more so at the growling that started. That small sound of before coming back as she looked down, going quiet and still for the most part. He could have kicked a shy sparkling or a newly hatchling turbo fox kit and gotten that reaction.

Annabelle sensed enough to go quiet then, resting her chin on her hands, on one of the claws. She looked around at what she could, wondering where her current guardian had gone, and if he even knew she was gone- when was grandpa Leadfoot going to show up?

~

Barricade might not be fond of waiting-- impatient, really, sometimes-- but he was well disciplined. He knew how to sit back and wait. To watch for tells, for information. For when to make what move.

For now, he ignored the girl clutched in his claws, free servo pressing to the wound that was ripped onto his back to the best of his abilities with a pained hiss. He hadn’t torn it back open, but that wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things. It had been pure luck and determination that he’d gotten the bleeding to stop on his own before he’d ended up dead to the severe wound. Now he just needed to get more proper supplies, and he should be able to manage.

~

“For this war to end so we can live in peace without being concerned that we could die at any moment..it is all we really want nowadays..we do not have much else.” He answered with a simple shrug, before looking down.

~

“Can I not have a chance..?” The prime spoke slowly, taking a tentative step away as he kept his servos up so he didn’t attack.

“No..Of course not..I have not seen you cause problems so I have no reason o target you at the moment..” he held his servos up in defence.