heligooddeals:

mightymegatron:

mightymegatron:

The ping is answered almost immediately.

::Blackguard, what’s happened?::

She wanted to say more, and he waited patiently for Blackguard to find the words. As painful as all of this was, it was strange to have someone to talk to about it, in a way that kept him from shutting down the connection. The question even made him chuckle.

::He cared enough about him to threaten me to stay away from him, as any parent would.:: Megatron’s was not exactly a trustworthy face, and though he seemed to have an odd rapport with younglings, their parents were a whole other story.

::He never spoke of him as the child of an alternate, but his own. Apart from that, I never saw them together. Optimus was very intent to keep me as far from him as possible, after all. …Rather ironic, all things considered.:: How recently had he planned on kidnapping the child, only to find himself concerned for the femme’s safety and well-being? Strange indeed. Children seemed to have this effect on him, and Megatron had yet to overcome this odd endearment. Projection, perhaps, he lamented.

She hums softly, satisfied but confused with Megatron’s reply. Optimus sounded as dedicated as any parent should be with their child, and yet he had been passive with her. Why give threats and draw lines with Megatron when he dares to get close (besides for the obvious reasons, of course) but stand back and simply observe her, a stranger, when she literally steals Rigel away?

Maybe he knew he was dying. Part of her muses. Couldn’t bring him back if he was just going to die on him. Couldn’t’ let him die too.

She quickly abolishes the thought. For all his talents and abilities, Optimus predicting his own untimely death was certainly not one of them.

But still, she wondered.

«Why would he let me take him then?» She asks the warlord softly, brokenly.

«He wanted him back and I refused to hand him over and he just– let it happen? He didn’t even argue or fight or threaten me, he just– let me have him and said he’d be watching. And I fucked up.» What little there was left of her composure quickly started to crumble. Shuddering breaths and sobs soon filled the spaces that would have otherwise been silence on her end of the comm.

«I was suppose to take care of him, ya know? Keep him safe, keep him alive, keep him around until he showed up to pick him up. And then he died, so then I just had to keep him, and I fucked it all up.»

It was a fair question, one that Megatron had an easy answer to, but he let her finish. He listened to her sob despite the uncomfortable twisting in his chest. That was what you were meant to do, wasn’t it? Blackguard was worlds away, but at least if he remained on his end of the comm, she wasn’t quite as alone. It wouldn’t be fair to subject her to that, when he felt just as responsible.

::You’re looking for punishment for what happened. You won’t find it here.:: His voice is deliberate and somber. ::Rigel is still alive somewhere. He has to be, and as long as that is the case, we haven’t… ‘fucked it all up’ just yet.:: The warlord reset his shoulders, telling himself this, too.

::Optimus didn’t trust him with me, he had no reason to. But who did Rigel turn to when he had the ability to go anywhere? He chose you, over an entire multiverse of possibilities. Obviously that meant something to Optimus, or he would have taken the child regardless of who you were.:: 

::So let that mean something.:: Megatron looked to the empty Matrix sitting on his desk. He went to shove it to the floor, as he had so many times, (it angered him to no end that the damn thing didn’t seem to ever dent) but instead he left it where it was. ::Don’t give in. Rigel will need you.::

heligooddeals:

mightymegatron:

mightymegatron:

Megatron’s last conversation with Blackguard had ended poorly, largely due to his own temper. Rigel’s dismissal had left him sore, and the very implication that the dealer may have felt the same… After his outburst, he’d been almost certain that the two of them would cease contact with him, as he was unneeded.

When he hears the urgent tone of the alert, he wishes that had been the case, returning it with as much desperation.

::Blackguard, what’s happened?::

There is silence on his end of the line, for a long time. This is because Megatron is trying his best not to sink down into a chair, in a cliché

show of loss. No. There has to be some way they can narrow it down, he has not lost Rigel, he has not failed, not yet. Think.

::…There are only two other universes that would know of him, enough to try and steal him away. The one that I extracted him from, and his true point of origin.:: 

If it was the former, neither he nor Soundwave could set foot in that world without being destroyed. For the fortieth time this stellar cycle, Megatron curses the dark energon within him. If it was the latter, it was not a universe he had ever had contact with, and thus had no way of being able to locate it.

Either way, Rigel was currently beyond his reach. He may as well be anywhere. After another beat of silence, an idea finishes forming. 

::…Have you attempted to make contact with the Academy again?::

Shame colors her field at his question, making Redstrike look over at her again and ask what was going on. She was becoming more and more disturbed and he couldn’t ignore it any longer. Blackguard shifts in her spot on the couch, thinks, and texts him that she was speaking with Megatron – a different one, not the one who currently housed them; The one she thought belonged to the same universe stream as Rigel.

Apparently she had thought wrong, and that – perhaps – was the worst discovery to be made in the entire investigation. The boy had come from an unknown stream, and the mecha of that stream had taken him back.

»: No. I hadn’t thought of that.

»: I’m not really sure it’s an option.

A pause, then:

»: You think it’s a worth a shot?

Was it? 

The Academy had what they wanted, they could simply ignore any hostility out of the simple virtue that they were currently hidden. It was a long shot, but if open hostility was pointless…

::We may be able to coax a response out of them if your message concerns them, in a way that a threat wouldn’t. If this Academy is Functionalist, then Rigel would be a jewel in their crown. His acquisition would be everything to them. Therefore, they would investigate anything that might suggest doubt as to his validity.::

Here, Megatron paused. Even if this did work, if the Academy began to suspect that Rigel was in fact not a Prime, he would be in danger. They would have to work fast, but a rescue would be possible.

::Send a message telling them that you’ve changed your mind, and that after thinking it over you believe Rigel would benefit from their education, and that you would like him to come visit and see the school grounds. They likely believe you to be dead, and that shock combined with the confusing tone of your message make provoke a quick reply, one that we may be able to trace as it comes in.::

::It may not work,:: he admitted with a snarl. ::But it’s something.::

heligooddeals:

mightymegatron:

Megatron’s last conversation with Blackguard had ended poorly, largely due to his own temper. Rigel’s dismissal had left him sore, and the very implication that the dealer may have felt the same… After his outburst, he’d been almost certain that the two of them would cease contact with him, as he was unneeded.

When he hears the urgent tone of the alert, he wishes that had been the case, returning it with as much desperation.

::Blackguard, what’s happened?::

Her plating flares out anxiously as Megatron begins his planning and lays out his orders. She wants to react, wants to follow, wants to keep him happy (or at least keep him from getting anymore upset) by doing everything he says but the sheer speed of which he gives his orders coupled with ferocity of his voice leave her confused and overwhelmed. It’s all heard but only a little of it is understood, and what is understood does not click. This is not her universe (that she knows of anyway), she doesn’t even know where her universe is anymore; She’s a terrible first choice to send in. She’s not a spy or a scout or even a soldier, she’s a civilian; And where else could they have gone? The academy was Cybertronian. Unless it was a ruse?

She halted that thought before it could get anywhere, not wanting to think on that subject again. The other Megatron had already pointed out the possibilities of what could actually being going on with Rigel and his kidnappers. She did not want to rehash them.

The sudden pause in everything almost goes by unnoticed until Megatron starts speaking again, uncharacteristically soft in tone and volume. It’s not quite what Blackguard would describe as defeat, but something like it.

She cycles the air through her vents in a long, heavy sigh.

»: No. They took him through a bridge. He could be anywhere. In any universe.

There is silence on his end of the line, for a long time. This is because Megatron is trying his best not to sink down into a chair, in a cliché

show of loss. No. There has to be some way they can narrow it down, he has not lost Rigel, he has not failed, not yet. Think.

::…There are only two other universes that would know of him, enough to try and steal him away. The one that I extracted him from, and his true point of origin.:: 

If it was the former, neither he nor Soundwave could set foot in that world without being destroyed. For the fortieth time this stellar cycle, Megatron curses the dark energon within him. If it was the latter, it was not a universe he had ever had contact with, and thus had no way of being able to locate it.

Either way, Rigel was currently beyond his reach. He may as well be anywhere. After another beat of silence, an idea finishes forming. 

::…Have you attempted to make contact with the Academy again?::

 heligooddeals:

mightymegatron:

Megatron’s last conversation with Blackguard had ended poorly, largely due to his own temper. Rigel’s dismissal had left him sore, and the very implication that the dealer may have felt the same… After his outburst, he’d been almost certain that the two of them would cease contact with him, as he was unneeded.

When he hears the urgent tone of the alert, he wishes that had been the case, returning it with as much desperation.

::Blackguard, what’s happened?::

She shifts restlessly, the motion drawing a curious and worried glance from Redstrike. She avoids making optic contact with him but sends a forced feeling of calm through her field. He needn’t worry, he’s done enough of that. She’s just dealing with some demons – metaphorical and literal – at the moment, and this one in particular can only be dealt with by her and her alone.

He seems unconvinced and makes his doubt known through a soft grunt, but leaves her alone and gently runs his hand over her rotors to soothe her.

After Crossfire sends a copy of all his collected data to her datapad, Blackguard saves it for herself then forwards another copy to Megatron. There wasn’t much available – a list of her recent comm calls with Ruka from the academy that inquired about Rigel highlighted as the likely suspect, video footage of the attacking mech exiting Crossfire and boarding their own ship that took off almost immediately into a space bridge – but it was something. It was all they had and she had to put all her faith into the idea that something could be found from it.

Truth be told though, she didn’t know if what could be found would be enough.

»: I am.

She does not trust that question, because if she can walk then she can meet him somewhere (his Nemesis, she suspects). If she can meet with him then she can be forced to cower and grovel under his unforgiving gaze. He cares for the boy, for whatever reasons he has, and she has royally screwed up on keeping Rigel safe and, by proxy, keeping Megatron happy. She shifts again, earning another look and slightly more aggressive petting from her mate.

She does not want to meet with him.

As soon as the datapacket is sent, he begins scanning through it, watching the footage first. The mech doesn’t appear to be a pirate or smuggler, but reminds him instead of something much worse. He has the air of a Senator.

His suspicions are only confirmed by the forwarded messages, an Academy aggressively interested in Rigel. In Megatron’s experience, the only “schools” that need such pushy recruitment are those that no one willingly attends. A new dread settles in his lines, that the femme they rescue may not be the same that was lost. Dread is a powerful motivator.

::Good. I will join you in your universe momentarily. It’s likely that they’ll be shielding Rigel’s signal from wherever he’s being kept, but a mech like that operates out of Cybertron. I can have Soundwave start scanning transmissions for mention of this Academy, and the moment anything is found, I want you on-planet. I am too well-recognized, and…::

He trailed off. If Blackguard had been repaired by his alternate, then that was where she was, in another universe in which the Decepticons had been victorious. In such a world, surely nothing like the Senate, or Shadowplay clinics or facade Academies could exist without his counterpart’s knowledge. When he speaks again, his voice lacks its usual intensity.

::…He’s not there at all, is he?::

heligooddeals:

mightymegatron:

Megatron’s last conversation with Blackguard had ended poorly, largely due to his own temper. Rigel’s dismissal had left him sore, and the very implication that the dealer may have felt the same… After his outburst, he’d been almost certain that the two of them would cease contact with him, as he was unneeded.

When he hears the urgent tone of the alert, he wishes that had been the case, returning it with as much desperation.

::Blackguard, what’s happened?::

Blackguard curls herself tighter around her bondmate, the shame of failure in protecting her child suddenly gaining strength at the sound of Megatron’s distress. He trusted her with Rigel. She failed them both. She deserves everything that comes and absolutely no second chances.

Having to explain it all through text feels impersonal too, but with her vocalizer on the fritz she has no other choice.

»: Rigel’s been taken.

»: I don’t know who did it. They hit us with an EMP-blast and I barely managed to keep out of my systems crashing because of it. They tried to kill me for it too.

»: I have been mostly repaired by the other Megatron’s medical crew. He, Crossfire, my conjunx, and my amica are doing their best to look into the attack and find Rigel.

She pauses slightly before sending:

»: I’m sorry.

Somehow, not hearing her voice is even more alarming. Likely it was a result of her ongoing recovery, leaving his mind to conjure all of the things the femmeling himself may be going through. Megatron gets halfway through hurriedly punching in the code for Rigel’s locator beacon before remembering he doesn’t have it anymore…

Slag. He stares at the console screen while he thinks. They tried to kill Blackguard and failed, but if her injuries were so extensive they likely believed her to be dead. If they had been planning on ending Rigel’s life too, they wouldn’t have bothered kidnapping him. But, needing to take his guardian out of the picture boded ill for the young one. Something was going to happen to him that a sane parent would not approve of, and there were pits much more painful than death. This trail of thought chilled him, but it meant that there was still a chance.

Megatron begins running a diagnostic on his own circuit shielding.

::You’re both alive. Send me all of the information you have, the more of us that are looking, the better. Are you able to walk?::