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weaimtomaim · 15 days ago

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When the Past Catches Up

A quick note to say that this is based on a thread I did over on discord with the lovely @wwheeljack! It’s been condensed, rewritten in some areas, and edited, but still contains writing of theirs. Thank you for joining me on this journey! 💜

Of all the things Onslaught had expected to see on Earth, a partially constructed statue of his former leader was quite low on the list.

It had started when Onslaught detected a peculiar blip on his scans. A rudimentary signal meant to deter unwanted guests. The sort of thing that would work with keeping civilians away, especially of the human variety, but would stick out to those with military experience. Was it someone with limited tools and resources on hand, or someone who was new to Earth and did not yet see the human population as able to pose a serious threat?

Either way, Onslaught wanted to investigate who was responsible for the signal. It paid to keep tabs on which Cybertronians were hanging around on Earth.

Finding a towering Megatron staring down at him made Onslaught transform to get a better look at it. He keeps expecting to blink and see something else in its place, something that makes more sense to be here. Instead, he notices a flash of green and purple beyond the statue.

Despite having taken on an Earth vehicle altmode, the colors paired with the boom on their back leave only one option for who it is: Hook.

There’s a drawn out moment of silence while Onslaught attempts to decipher the scene before him. Any idea about not engaging and simply turning around to leave, however, is tossed aside when Hook finally notices him. It’s clear the Constructicon is equally surprised by his presence, try as he might to mask it.

Hook turns out to be the one to break the silence. “Onslaught,” he greets, his tone clipped and to the point. “I did not know you were on Earth.”

As the crane stares at him, Onslaught crosses his arms. And hopes that Hook does not point out his missing insignia. With any luck, he was too surprised to even notice its absence before Onslaught blocked his view of the spot it used to be. "My team and I made our own way here. I did not expect to see... this —” he nods to the Megatron statue, just in case Hook couldn't figure out what he was referring to, "— out in the middle of seemingly nowhere on Earth."

The rigid demeanor of Hook’s quickly turns into annoyance as he grumbles in a low voice. Onslaught can’t catch most of it, but could swear Hook was calling someone a buffoon. Hook then waves a dismissive servo, “There was a fault in the design, as there has been with each of the statues commissioned by Lord Megatron since our arrival to this planet.” The notable bite in his words was unexpected.

As was the explanation itself. Megatron was no engineer; any construction he ordered would not be drafted by his hand. So, logically, the design must have come from the Constructicons, yet it was apparently flawed? Curious. Onslaught almost pushes, but decides to hold back. His priority is to keep this encounter as neutral as possible, and be able to take his leave without fuss.

He ignores the building desire to simply demand answers from Hook. Onslaught prided himself on being able to keep a cool demeanor even in high stress or emotionally charged situations, and he did not wish to lose his composure so easily in front of someone who was effectively an enemy. Especially if Hook was not yet aware of that fact.

Onslaught nods. "Megatron shares some unfortunate similarities to Starscream. I know your team was tasked with building those statues in his image as well."

The mere mention of Starscream almost causes Hook’s composure to snap, if the sudden tensing of his jaw is anything to go by. His sharp gaze turns to inspect Onslaught. Instead of commenting further on Starscream, he simply stares in silence before giving a low hmm. “It is a relief to know a sane combiner team resides on this planet besides my own. Those... wretched Stunticons are idiots. As moronic as their leader is, unfortunately for every sentient being on this planet.” There's a pointed emphasis on the words ‘their leader’, as he turns back to study the statue, rather than Onslaught.

It raises the question of who exactly Hook is referring to: Motormaster or Megatron?

Onslaught gives Hook a sidelong glance. "The Stunticons made it through the exodus in one piece then? Hm." He isn't sure how to feel about that information, but it's useful to know, regardless. "Surprising. Still failing to live up to Megatron's expectations, I assume?"

"Naturally," Hook scoffs in annoyance. "They cannot complete even the simplest of tasks without getting injured, or torquing off one of their fellow Decepticons. I tire of repairing the lot of them simply because they are unable to behave themselves. No amount of lecturing gets through to them, and neither has Megatron accepted they are a lost cause and should be removed from the duty roster. They are a drain on our limited resources."

Onslaught nods along at Hook’s explanation. It's all what he'd expected to hear, what he's heard about them countless times before. Yet now... he can’t deny he feels uneasy at hearing it. Given what his own team had gone through with the loyalty programming, and the fact that the Stunticons had been formed after their attempt to kill Megatron, the idea that the youngest Decepticon gestalt might not be in control of themselves doesn’t feel too far-fetched.

No time to dwell on it now, though.

Luckily, he’s not given the chance, as Hook directs a question his way. "May I enquire into your team? Are you well? We have not heard from you since the fight on the Ark, and my brothers worried you had been offlined during the battle."

"We nearly did offline. Bruticus crashed back onto Cybertron’s surface from orbit. He was injured enough that he was unable to decombine for several days. It was... unpleasant." And left Bruticus traumatized, but he'd leave that part left unsaid. "Other than that, we have been surviving as best we can. We had been unable to make contact with any Decepticons since reaching Earth. Until now, it seems."

As soon as Onslaught mentions the extent of the injuries Bruticus had sustained, Hook’s gaze snaps back to him. It almost looks like concern as the Constructicon is clearly looking over his frame and asks, "Did you receive the proper repairs after Bruticus would not decombine?"

Both the concern and the inquiry are unexpected, especially since the incident had occurred years ago at this point. The anger Onslaught feels in response is also unexpected. It boils up so quickly, it almost threatens to take him over entirely. He lets out a slow vent of air in an effort to tamp it down. Hook certainly isn’t making it easy to keep up this forced casualness.

"There were no medics in the vicinity, and we needed to follow after the rest of you as soon as we were able. We took care of our injuries in the aftermath as best we could." He's sure Hook won't find that a satisfactory answer, but what else could they have done at the time?

When Hook turns fully towards him and moves to cross the unspoken divide between them, Onslaught tenses. His arms drop to his sides to allow himself more range of movement, should Hook try anything.

The Constructicon in question steps right up to him, huffing in annoyance as he straightens to his full height to stare down at Onslaught. "Considering the relative incompetence of your team's medical skills, I would recommend you allow me to examine you for any persisting injuries or internal issues that Bruticus' injuries could have caused. It is ill-advised to not seek medical attention after your combiner is injured." There’s a pause while Hook mutters under his breath. Then he has the audacity to prod Onslaught in the chest plate. "As your former Chief Medical Officer, I give this recommendation strongly. For the benefit of your entire team and Bruticus."

Fortunately, Onslaught isn't one to buckle under a stare down, not even one from a displeased medic. If anything, it only proves to fan the flames of his anger. This time he doesn't try to push it down. If Hook can see it? Can feel it? Good.

He meets and matches Hook's gaze. "I would suggest you keep your distance." Onslaught's tone is low. The warning is clear: keep your hands to yourself. "We have since been looked over by medical professionals. And do you know what they found?" Onslaught waits only a beat before barreling on, his voice rising in anger, "Do you? Did you know what was done to us?!"

There’s a flicker of something across Hook’s face - confusion, perhaps? - before he schools his expression. His tone when he replies can only be described as haughty, "Do so ever enlighten me, Onslaught. Clearly, I am missing some important datapoint that you presume I have prior knowledge about."

Onslaught roars and reels one arm back, then surges forward to deliver a swift punch to Hook’s abdomen. All the anger, all the hurt, it's reaching a boiling point and it wants out.

Bruticus doesn't just get his rage from Brawl.

"Loyalty programming," he spits out as Hook stumbles a few steps back and hunches over.

Hook has enough self-preservation instincts to raise his servos in a placating gesture. “I have no idea what you're talking about. I never came across any mention of loyalty programming in your medical records, nor found such a thing during scans.”

The gesture turns out to not do Hook much good; if there's one thing Onslaught hates, it's being lied to directly to his face. He knows there are old medical records that reference something being installed, he's seen them with his own optics. Were he not so blinded by rage, he could come to the logical conclusion that records of any sort could be redacted or kept out of the hands of lower ranking bots. If Megatron had ordered the loyalty programming to be kept secret, and Hook hadn't been involved with its installation, it very easily could've been hidden from Hook despite him being their medic.

But right now, Onslaught isn't thinking very logically. He grabs Hook and hefts the crane up off the ground with little resistance. “Do not lie to me," he warns, before throwing Hook into the statue of Megatron.

There’s a clang of metal against metal as Hook makes contact, then a thud when he crumples to the ground. Onslaught doesn't advance on him yet as he groans, allowing Hook to gain his bearings as he tries to get himself sitting upright. Instead, Onslaught speaks, "After the Detention Center, after millions of years of torture, there was no mercy. No forgiveness. No second chance. Megatron had us installed with loyalty programming to make us serve him against our will." It spills out of him of its own accord. "Everything has been a lie."

Hook slowly heaves himself back to his pedes, leaning on the statue for support while doing so. When he looks up at Onslaught again, it’s through a cracked visor. "Onslaught," Hook rasps, "I am not lying. I do not disbelieve you, but I have no recollection of any loyalty coding documented anywhere for your team. You... why do you think I would know about this programming?" There’s a pause as Hook seems to put the pieces together. "Are you implying that I engineered this loyalty coding? That I installed it?"

"You said it yourself, you were our Chief Medical Officer. There are only so many individuals who could have been involved in the creation and installation of that programming." Onslaught stalks forward. "You are among them."

So far Hook has been staunchly holding the position that he had no idea about the loyalty coding. But that response was expected. Who would confess to that sort of crime when one of the victims survivors was threatening you? Of course he's claiming ignorance.

"You know gestalts. You know us. It is not that far a leap to assume Megatron would turn to you for help in— in leashing us." Would a confession make Onslaught feel better? Not really. But there could be some closure. Some assurance in knowing how it all went down. The existence of the coding may have come to light, but there were still so many unknowns.

Yet Hook bristles with anger, as though offended by the accusation. "Megatron did not approach me for anything in regards to your team, aside from ensuring your frames adjusted to the replacement of your sparks and processors properly. I was not privy to any knowledge beyond that. I did not leash you or your team.

"The only time I have seen traces of loyalty coding was when I did an unauthorized scan of Wildrider after he complained of hearing voices and talking to another personality. I know gestalt, but I would never lower myself to forcing loyalty coding onto one of our own kind."

That makes Onslaught freeze in place, save only for his plating that continues shifting and flaring. Wildrider had signs of loyalty programming? That likely meant the rest of the Stunticons...

It was a possibility that the Combaticons had all landed on post-removal of the programming. That they weren't the first to have suffered that fate; perhaps not even the first combiner. And now confirmation of those suspicions was being thrown at him by Hook.

He could be a difficult bot at the best of times, but Hook held fast to his convictions, for better or worse. Onslaught does believe that he wouldn’t have willingly helped Megatron. Of course, reality relies solely on whether or not Megatron would have thought it worth the effort to try and force Hook's compliance. With bots like Soundwave and Shockwave ready and willing to follow his command, perhaps he hadn't.

Onslaught's servos ball into fists. But after a few moments, they relax open again. Despite the rage he's still feeling, he doesn't actually want to continue escalating things. Nor does he want to continue baring his spark and emotions to someone who still has ties to Megatron. He levels a glare at Hook. "Do not follow me. Any attempt will be taken as a threat, and I will respond accordingly."

Then, without another word, Onslaught transforms and drives off. He has much to think about. Much to discuss with his team.

#ic status #drabble #THINGS ARE HAPPENING! THINGS ARE BEING PUT INTO MOTION!!#also gonna tag this as #wwheeljack | constructicons

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