Visitors Summary: Loneliness can bring many things to a person's door, memories, family, and sometimes in the dark of night … a ghost or two. Late Halloween fic! Barricade centered!

Disclaimer: If only, if only, the plot bunny sings.

Image: Prowl Supplications by The Starhorse

Rating: Teen for swearing

…

Twisting to and fro,

A memory crawls in like a ghost.

…

When someone dies and they leave a companion behind, that living partner can still smell the musk of their scent long after their death. Then there are the shadows that whisp across the edge of a beings' line of sight, and one merely turns their head with a smile on their face, thinking it is their lost companion … just to see that no one is there and be sorely disappointed when they remind themselves that said person is dead. Then there are the whispers in the middle of the night that lub away nightmares, heard but thought of as nothing more than the wind. Yet, the most haunting of things are the eyes that seem to be watching while the living weep, chasing away the tears if they can. Others even swear that they caught the lost companion at the bottom of the stairs or a twisting highway, letting them know that they were there, just untouchable. To some it may seem that such things are illusions created by a grief stricken mind. Other's believed that there are ghosts watching over the one's they left behind … until they find a new companion.

…

Sorrow was not something written into a Decepticon's hard drive … yet as long as they continued to have a spark, they would have to feel some sort of emotion. Barricade wished he could tear his out and be as emotionless as Soundwave or Shockwave, even if he'd bleed to death shortly after. Anything had to be better than this ache in his spark. It was as if a tiny fist was pounding against his SHU, asking why he was trying to forget, why he was pretending he didn't care, or why he felt so lonely that a car compactor seemed cozy right now … he missed Frenzy and he could barely keep the sorrow behind its walls anymore.

It had been three months since the fall of Megatron, yet it wasn't his status, the Allspark, or his commander that he missed. It was that twitching little slagger that used him as a glorified coach. True, he had never found his partner's body to state if he was deactivated or not; he had been too outnumber to witness where they dumped the bodies, so he was in the dark.

He was in the dark, all alone.

It was concept that had never struck Barricade before … he had always been around someone, even if he could swear that someone was trying to drive him mad. Yet there was no one here that wanted his company, and he could swear that someone … no, something, was watching him. He could feel it on the back of his neck when he transformed and stretched his stressed gyros. The gaze was always there, watching him as he tried to fall into recharge; it was there as he struggled to find shelter from the rain, and it was always there when the darkness would fall onto the earth like a veil. There, in the tresses of the night, his scanner seemed useless because he would jerk from his slumber to find one of his doors open, his seats adjusted, the radio changed, or his mirrors rearranged as if someone had been sitting in him.

At first he chalked it up to his systems adapting without his partner, they had been together since he left his brother, but that idea was quickly debunked as he struggled for recharge a day in October on the outskirts of town since the humans were far to lively for him to get any rest … or egged. He'd have to remain hidden until he found a way off this rock and killing humans wasn't going to be keeping him incognito. So, here he was. In the middle of nowhere listening to the autumn winds hailing down from the north, whispering through the orange-ember leaves of the coming winter. Barricade tried to find some rest with the sound for both from his weary systems, his sorrow, his paranoia, and his loneliness. He was far from humans, Autobots, and hopefully the gaze.

Sadly, he didn't even get to initiate his recharge system more than an hour when he heard a rustle in the neighboring trees, which didn't belong to the wind. It was the gaze … and this time it had a pair of blue eyes to go with it. With a scream of turning gears, Barricade transformed, blades ready for a death match, yet … the stranger hiding amongst the trees seemed untroubled by this development. The 'Con stood there a moment, a confused look covering his face before he growled like a injured animal into the night, "What's wrong Autobot, to scare to come out of the trees and fight me?"

The eyes merely blinked, still watching in a frightenly still manner. Beside himself, and his pride, the cruiser found himself self-consciously taking a step back as if his limbs were telling him that something was wrong here and that he should leave. There is a reason pride is a sin, and so Barricade remained, growing angry at the thought of his fear.

"Come out and face me! Where's your pride, Autobot?"

The eyes just continued to stare as if he had said nothing, the wind blowing through the tree and hiding the anomalous eyes for a second here or there as if threatening its disappearance. In fact, whenever the branch and its few remaining leaves would fall over the gaze of those ever watching eyes, Barricade silently prayed that they'd be gone, but the gaze was still there. It was daring. It was wanting. It was wrong and ungodly. It wanted something from him.

With a twitch of his jaw, Barricade felt his vocalizer go slack as if it were being drowned in fear. It took him a few moments of swallowing until he finally was able to move his jaw, his voice laced in uncertainty, "Wh-what or who are you?"

The eyes merely blinked and continued to watch him, an unnatural clicking coming from its perch amongst the tree. It was like the sound of spilling energon onto the ground, or the click of a finger against an empty spark casing. Barricade twitched at each soft plunk, his systems screaming that something was unnatural.

"I-I'm not scared of you! Now come out slagger!" cried Barricade as the headlights on his chest bloomed light into the small opening, casting luminosity over the area where the blue eyes were staring. He nearly cried out as the light glared off the small silver figure in the tree, clinging to the branches as half of his head oozed energon down the missing half of his head. The corpse quickly bared its teeth at Barricade in a growl causing the larger 'Con to take a frightened step backwards only to trip over a jutting tree root, falling on his aft. For a moment, Barricade sat there, his optics wide as he looked at the branch where the moving corpse had been sitting, only there was no energon and no Frenzy.

"I-I'm going mad."

"Thh, a-about time yo-you noticed," whispered a voice to his side.

Barricade nearly jumped out of his armor when he turned his head to see Frenzy sitting there on the ground beside him. H-How had the little 'Con gotten there? He looked back at the tree. Not a drop of energon. He stared for a moment, his armor chilled to the base as if he was in the arctic, yet, as soon as he spoke, the chill seemed unimportant. He had his companion back, "Frenzy … I thought you were dead."

The little 'Con, who had been looking at the ground, turned his gaze upward as if looking at a forgotten memory and remembering why he had hidden it in the first place, "Why are you o-out here, B-b-barricade, alone? The war-rrr is over, Megatron is dd-dead. So why are you sss- still running?"

Barricade was silent for a moment, slightly taken aback by the straightforwardness of the small 'Con. He didn't know if it was the truth of his words that had captured him or that he hadn't realized that he had been hiding from the truth. His pride wouldn't let him admit that though, "Why am I running!? How about you, you little slagger! You disappeared without even bothering to contact me if you were still alive. You're lucky I don't step your aft."

"I'm not the one who has been running, Barricade. I've been with you all along," answered Frenzy, his optics seeming almost void of life as he looked up at his companion.

…

Bumblebee slowly pulled himself downward, being carefully not to ruffle any of the brushes to loudly and risk discovery from Barricade who wasn't far off in a clearing. The youngling crouched down next Ironhide and Mirage. The two Autobots waited patiently for the youngling to speak, but all they got was a confused glance.

"What is the matter, Bumblebee? Were you unable to identify the current location of Barricade?" murmured Mirage, silently wondering if he shouldn't have gone instead. True, he could remain 'invisible' in this environment just fine; it was just that with his height and stature, he would likely attract the 'Con's attention by disturbing some brush or shrubbery.

The yellow Camaro gave the blue mech a look before turning his attention to his caretaker, confusion laced in his voice, "I-I'm confused."

"By what?" murmured the black mech as his fingers twitched, his cannons just begging to be activated.

"Barricade … he's just sitting out there, talking to himself. He didn't even notice me. I think he's damaged or defective," whispered the youngling softly before he turned a begging glance towards the older mechs, "W-we can't attack a damaged mech even if he is Barricade."

Ironhide crinkled his nose. He wasn't buying it. 'Con's did not just go 'mad' all of a sudden. There had to be something to trigger it, and what could possibly drive a Decepticon into such a vulnerable state, anyway? Most of the slaggers were heartless, "Are you sure that he's not trying to get our guards down, kid? Not the first time a 'Con has tried the helpless act."

Bumblebee rose his head, looking in the direction the 'Con was in. It had been cold over there compared to over here … extremely cold and still. Yet, it had made his words easy to pick up, "He was talking to Frenzy."

The two older mechs looked at each other, frowns forming. It was not unheard of for 'Con's that lost their cassettes or drones to become separated from the real world. Apparently, bonds of a sort could be formed over such a close partnership, and the mech would suffer as if a brother or mate bond had just been broken. It was rare, but they had seen it before. They hadn't believed Soundwave's actions after he had lost the last of his 'personal' cassettes on him … and now he was dead. He just walked off a cliff without even a second thought. Strangely, they found that they respected the 'Con much more afterwards. Cassettes were little more than children or brothers to their holders.

So, if what Bumblebee said was true …

"I'll call Prime and Ratchet," murmured the Weapons Specialist, trying not to grumble in disappointment. He hadn't fire his guns as a live target in quite a while. Well, there still was Scorponok.

"And Prowl?" asked Bumblebee with a slight tint of hopefulness in his voice, his wings dropping as the other mechs suddenly looked at him with worried expressions.

"We're just bringing him in alive, Bumblebee. I don't think that's going to fix what's wrong between his brother and him," stated the older mech with a sad sigh. He knew that that hope was the very reason Bumblebee had spared Barricade at few months earlier. Prowl still believed that he could save his brother …. Who were they to deny his last hope? After all, he had just lost his closest companion, Jazz.

"I-I know," replied the youngster in a whisper as he looked back in Barricade's direction, "but … at least now we know he has a spark."

…

Barricade stared at his estranged companion, trying to ignore the fact that his vents were now allowing mist to crawl into the air like a dying fog, "What the slag are you talking about?"

Frenzy slowly looked up at him, his optic completely dark like that of a dead mech, energon dripping out of half of his missing head, "I didn't go anywhere. I've been with you … since I died."

The last word seemed to grip to the very autumn air, clinging to it like a tick as Barricade took a step back in horror. He might have started running too when he saw energon start to pool out of Frenzy's optics as well, but a loud clang met his shoulder. He was almost too afraid to look up and part of him wished he hadn't as a pair of blue optics glared down at him. It didn't take less than a second for the fear to be replaced by hatred. Sadly, he didn't even get to lift his weapon before an invisible leg kicked out his knee, causing him to fall to the ground with a heavy thud. The mech soon found himself being wrestled into restraints as he was overpowered by three Autobots. Yet, as he found himself ready to cry out to Frenzy, his vocals caught. When a leg passed over his line of sight … and the silver being was gone, not even the sound of hurried footsteps.

He didn't even get to question it when someone opened the back of his neck, targeting his automatic shutdown.

…

When he awoke to the world, all Barricade saw were bars, cold-emotionless metal that was merely created in the thought of restraining him. He couldn't help but wither at the thought of being an Autobot prisoner. Yet, that was the least of his problems. It was cold in here. Why was it so fraggen freezing? Then, without even a warning, he felt eyes on him and, despite his inner Meta telling him to not look up, he did. Fear rolled though his system as dead optics stared back, and he found himself backing up against the wall.

"Fr-frenzy? What are y-you doing here? Move on to the well of sparks. If you are angry about me leaving you behind … I'm sure you'll have your revenge soon enough," murmured the mech, unable to look the being in the optics and see that energon dribbling down the side of his head. It disgusted him. Not only was his only partner and companion in the universe dead, but he was haunting him. Perhaps, it was best that the Autobots were going to be putting him to death. How could he live like this? His commander dead, his partner caught in some sort of netherworld, and his own brother unable to forgive him. Death was not something to be feared, a dying mech had whispered to him on the battlefield once, it is release.

Frenzy walked forward, his metallic feet not making a sound until he wrapped his small hands around the bars of Barricade's prison, frost flowing up the metal from the dead being's touch.

"Barricade, I'm n-not haunting you for the reasons you think," the mech stated, his voice echoing over the walls in a ghostly murmur, "I couldn't leave until I was sure."

With dim-tired optic, the enforcer looked upward, "Sure of what?"

"That you weren't left alone," murmured the smaller being as he disappeared into the shadows.

Barricade could only sit there, fear returning. He didn't want to die alone, "F-frenzy? Where are you going? You said you were going to stay with me!" cried the mech as he reached a hand out between the bars as if reaching for an invisible being, his vents whimpering for some type of comfort until his vocalizer whispered in a tone that he had not used since he was a child, " … please, don't leave me alone. I don't want to die alone."

In his panic, the younger mech did not hear nor see the entrance of the enforcer, his brother. Prowl stood there a moment, his mind stunned that both the facts that his brother was really there and that he had said that. Despite the knowledge of what had happened the last time he had tried to touch his brother, Prowl reached out a shaky hand and took his brothers hand into his own. Barricade merely stilled, the soft clicking in his voice turning into whimpers as his second hand reach out between the bars in a hungry manner. Prowl almost bucked when he was pulled into the bars, thinking that Barricade was going to try to hurt him … yet it was something far more unexpected and wonderful. His brother was hugging him through the bars, clinging to him like he'd fall from existence if he didn't have him there to cling too.

Prowl slowly returned the hug, understanding full well what his brother was going through, "it's alright ... at least we now have each other."

The tactician softly smiled as he watched the two ghostly forms disappear into the shadows, a blue visor glinting. It seems that ghosts weren't always bad things, because now he had his brother.

XXX

Paw07: Just a short Halloween-ish story. Not terribly scary, but it's still there. Sorry it's a bit late though. Hope you all had a happy Halloween.