Mnemonic

Disclaimer: This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

"The heart that truly loves never forgets."

-Unknown Proverb

"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

-Kevin Arnold

By: VampireQueenAkasha

"So much for closure."

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

A Familiar Face

The sound of laser fire was loud in the echoing mouth of the cave.

The Autobots had taken cover behind rubble while the Eradicons took shots at them, protecting their stash of Energon deposits. Several of them went down from the Autobot fire, but more just continued coming their way. They were endless and showed no mercy; the Autobots were already tiring by now and they couldn't keep up with the fight forever. Arcee however was determined to find Airachnid and silence her once and for all.

"Arcee, fall back!" Optimus commanded.

Arcee had snapped out of her momentary daze to look over her shoulder as her comrades began retreating into the ground bridge. She couldn't very well retreat after all they had worked on to get to this point.

Instead of following the command, she surged into battle.

"Arcee!" Optimus shouted.

She transformed and raced through the chaos of laser fire, dodging each and every attack that came her way. Finding Airachnid would have been simple if it wasn't for the attacks that nearly blinded her. Once she found a rock surface, she took cover and transformed back, readying her weapons.

"Autobot...come out and play..."

Arcee peered over the rock surface and could see a jagged black and violet shape stalking toward her. The Decepticon bore similar colors and structure to the Eradicon drones, but was slightly taller and she could see that he transformed into an Earth police vehicle. But there was also something else about him that made her hesitate to open fire. Arcee hated the concept of hesitating in battle for any reason, but she could not help herself.

The same slow realization crept on the Decepticon's face as the harshness melted away a mere fraction. His lips parted slightly, revealing sharp denta and those bright violet optics flickered with mild realization. He too hesitated for a moment before uttering a rugged, gruff snort.

"Arcee?" he said.

She squinted at him, blinking in confusion and uncertainty. "Barricade?"

Then, Barricade looked over his shoulder as Megatron issued a command to his troops. He gave Arcee a parting scowl before turning and retreating. Arcee watched as the Decepticons made their way to the outside of the mine before being beamed up into the Nemesis. She rushed out of the mouth of the mine and stared up at the ship as it drifted away with the bounty of Energon in tow. The other Autobots observed the scene as well before Optimus looked down at her.

"Arcee, what were you thinking?" he said, in his gentle, yet stern voice, "That was dangerous and extremely reckless."

Arcee shook her head. "Optimus, if I spend another nanoklick wasting my time trying to play the good guy, no one's going to win this war," she snapped, somewhat coldly; she hadn't really meant it that way, but seeing Barricade left her frustrated and angry, "We're going to keep running and running in circles and lose more of our comrades if we keep trying to beat around the tree."

The Autobots looked confused by the phrase. Bulkhead cleared his vocals and corrected her.

"Uh, I think it's bush," he said.

Arcee glared at him. "What?"

"The human phrase is 'beat around the bush'," Bulkhead said, rather sheepishly, "You said, 'beat around the tree' and-"

"Whatever!" Arcee snapped.

Optimus nodded his head. "At least you were unharmed," he replied, "Let's return home."

Arcee shook her head now. "I can't. I have to pick Jack up from work."

No one had a chance to argue as she had already started driving off.

O

Arcee pulled up in the drive thru of the KO Burger with her hologram set up. "Jack?" she said into the speaker, "Jack, time to go."

Jack's voice piped up. "I'm almost done. Give me a minute."

Arcee uttered an impatient grunt and pulled up in front of the building before deactivating her hologram. She reclined in a parking spot while waiting for Jack. Having a moment's reprieve was unfortunate because she couldn't take her mind off of Barricade. Neither one of her comrades did not realize that before the war, the two had a history together. A history that she thought had been put in the back of her mind and long gone.

Barricade was once head of Cybertron Security and they had met on an unfortunate circumstance when Arcee was delivering intelligence reports to Intel. She had been late and was speeding entirely too fast on the streets when he had stopped her. He was older than she was, but being young and naive at the time, Arcee had started dating him afterwards. She remembered that Barricade had been gruff and no nonsense, but he had once had a tender side beneath it all. Even though Arcee wasn't the type for nonsense herself, even she had her time in her youth before war took its toll.

How was he even still alive? The last time she had spoke with Barricade was when they went their separate ways choosing sides. She had thought he was dead after the incident in Kaon. But here he was now on Earth.

"Arcee? Arcee!"

Arcee snapped out of her reverie and noticed that Jack was now standing there. "Oh. Hey, climb on." she said.

He immediately did and they rode off. The entire time, Jack was going on about the carnival coming to Jasper. Arcee had no idea what a carnival was, so Jack took the time to explain and it actually didn't sound so bad.

"I'm thinking of asking Sierra, but..." Jack began. He paused slightly and looked down at Arcee's flickering dials. "Hey, you've been pretty quiet."

"What? No. I'm just listening," Arcee replied, sounding less-than convincing.

Jack made a slightly amused, surprised sound. "Okay. That's new."

"Sorry, kid," Arcee told him, "It's been an off-cycle."

Jack looked a little concerned by the tone in her voice. "Is everything okay at base?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I just need to take a little ride alone. Is that okay with you?"

They were pulling up to his house, not leaving Jack any time to argue. He climbed off of her and frowned with worry. "Arcee, if something's bothering you, you can tell me," he assured her, "We're partners, remember?"

"Sorry. But I'd really just like to be alone right now," Arcee replied, forcing a smile in her voice, "I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

Jack nodded his head reluctantly. "Uh... Okay."

He watched as she sped away without so much as a second word in. Jack waved her goodbye before walking up the driveway and into his house. His mother was home in the kitchen and she smiled when she saw him.

"Wow, is that my son coming home early?" she said, "I think that's a first in a while."

Jack rolled his eyes with a slightly amused smile and took a plate with a sandwich on it that was sitting on the counter.

"So...anything interesting happen today?" June asked.

Jack was still not used to the idea that his mother knew about the Autobots, but talking about it a lot more made it easier. "Arcee's acting weird tonight," he told her, "I asked her what was wrong and she wanted to be alone about it."

June shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe she's having a monthly."

Jack spat out his sandwich. "Mom!" he insisted, going red in the face, "I don't think that's it!"

"What? Don't they have those?" June asked.

"I'm not going to ask!"

O

Arcee spent the evening riding in silence. It had definitely helped to a small degree as she didn't feel as tense as before. Barricade's presence should not have changed anything. They were at war and he had made his choice. Thinking logically that way made it easier for her. Seeing him again was a momentary shock, but now that she had time to think about it, she felt better for doing so. It was war and he had chose the 'cons.

The sounds of police sirens snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Oh scrap!" she growled.

But when Arcee peered through her mirror, she could see that it was in fact Barricade in his vehicle form, pursuing her through the Nevada highway. Barricade's headlights transformed and shifted; laser pistols emerged and took a shot at her tires. Arcee felt her world spinning as she transformed and skidded across the asphalt. Arcee immediately climbed to her feet and her arms transformed into her guns, aiming them at Barricade as he rolled up to her.

"Well, it's been a long time, Arcee," Barricade rumbled, transforming.

He was roughly the same size as Knock Out and loomed over her, those violet optics flashing with menace. His left arm transformed into a laser pistol and he aimed it at her. For a moment, the two combatants stared one another down. Arcee took the time to study his features; that dark, angular face covered with scars and those lips pursed in a perpetual scowl. Not much had changed about his appearance since she last saw him.

"I thought you were dead," she said, calmly.

"I may have been," Barricade replied, with a roll of his shoulders, "But I guess that didn't make a difference to you, did it?" He lowered his weapon and smiled with a bit of mockery to it. "How's Tailgate these days?"

Arcee felt her chest swell with anger. She charged at him with a fierce yell, guns transforming into her wrist blades and he avoided her attacks as she swung at his chest and face. He grabbed her arms and delivered a punch to her midsection, sending her stumbling across the asphalt again. Arcee uttered a wet grunt and staggered back to her feet. She watched Barricade glare at her venomously.

"You moved on pretty quick," Barricade growled, "But I guess betraying me had its perks, didn't it? He was in close with the Wreckers."

Arcee snarled at him, gripping her abdomen. "You betrayed yourself, Barricade! You chose Megatron!"

"And YOU chose the AUTOBOTS!" he spat, his voice practically piercing the silence, "You made the decision to turn against me, so whatever I do or say, it's all because of you!"

Arcee shook her head. "I always remembered how you put all the blame on everyone but yourself," she snapped, "Everyone was in the wrong, but you. I told you that I wanted us to be together, but you wanted Megatron. You wanted to take the path that he chose for you. So how are you any better than me?"

Barricade uttered a resigned snort. "You were right, Arcee; you do hurt everyone closest to you."

Arcee was surprised by Barricade's sudden confession; he had never been one to admit to his own emotions to anyone. It was a subtle thing, but he confessed it nonetheless. She watched as he transformed and sat there, engine idling.

"You have made an enemy of me, Arcee," he promised, "When we see each other, do not hesitate to shoot."

"Likewise," she said, calmly.

Barricade uttered a snarl and performed a perfect U-turn before speeding back the way he came. Arcee watched him go and felt a sick sensation in her chest.

How much was this war going to take?