A/N: This is my first story on this site so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters within. I only own any OCs used in this story. Enjoy.

A Day at the Beach

Chapter 1

High above the skies above the Jasper Nevada, a lone figure glides over the ruined landscape below it. Burning yellow optics scan the area for any signs of movement. Dark wings barely make a sound as the predacon sweeps and dips through the air. It relishes the warm breeze that buffers its sleek body. He huffs softly as he remembers the circumstances that has brought it to this point.

One cycle earlier aboard the landing deck of Darkmount…

"Stupid beast!" the gravelly voice of Starscream can be heard echoing down the empty halls. He can be seen shocking the hindquarters of the predacon with a long metal rod. The creature screeches its displeasure and swings its head around to stare at the hated seeker. Its spiked tail twitches and sways as it backs away from the stinging rod.

"You will learn to obey me or you will continue to be punished." the seeker hisses through clenched teeth. The predacon growls and lowers his head as a clear threat display that Starscream is choosing to ignore. His claws lightly scrape at the deck as he anticipates the seeker's next move.

"Starscream. Stand down before you get hurt." The seeker backs away and eyes the owner of the voice. A large mech with a single red optic walks past him without a single glance. "Come, my creation." The predacon murmured softly and approaches his creator.

"Shockwave." Starscream snarls. "Your pet is incorrigible!" He watches as the seeker's face morphs from surprised to disgust as Shockwave caresses the crest on his head with his clawed servo. He knows Starscream does not trust him. He may suspect that he is a lot smarter than the others think. Starscream watches him all the time and he hates it.

Shockwave makes a point to ignore the moody seeker as he addresses the predacon. "Go my creation. Patrol the area and make sure you are not seen by the populous" The predacon bows his head and presses against Shockwave's clawed servo. His creator's monotone voice is a soothing balm compared to the grating one of the seeker. He growls softly to confirm the order before turning around to lumber to the edge of the flight deck. He unfurls his dark wings and leaps off and into the air.

One cycle later…

The predacon shakes his head. He often wondered why his master, Megatron, keeps that seeker around. As Alpha, Megatron needs to put him in his place. If the seeker continues to antagonize him, he will tear him apart. The image of ripping the wings off Starscream and throwing him off the flight deck sends a ripple of dark pleasure through his body. So lost in his own thoughts, he did not notice he was no longer flying over the desert. Off in the distance he could see a large body of water. The way the sunlight shimmers on the surface of the water attracts his attention and he changes his course.

Ever since he awoken inside that tank in Shockwave's lab, he has done nothing but hunt and be humiliated by that seeker. He had often wanted to do a little exploring but the chance never seemed to present itself, until now. For once, he let his curiosity get the best of him. Angling his body, he dives towards the water. He shutters his optics and lets his body glide a few feet above the water. The air here is so different from desert. He vents deeply as he notices the air smells salty and is kind of moist. The sensation is odd but not at all unpleasant. He reaches down and dips his claws into the water. The warm salty water sprays up his forearm and his underbelly. He rumbles softly in pleasure as the water splashes against his plating. He tilted his body from side to side, dipping the edge of his wings into the water. He knows that if Shockwave was here, he would not approve, but right now, he cannot find it in himself to care.

He opens his optics and catches the sight of land off to his side. Venting softly, he pumps his wings to gain more height before twisting his body and diving towards the sand. He notices there are a few dwellings that line a part of the land that is close to the water. He avoids those areas in favor for a part that has a rocky outcropping. They are large enough to hide him from any of the fleshlings that might be wandering about. He hovers above the sand for a few seconds before landing soundlessly. He looks around to make sure he is truly alone before settling down on the soft sand. He folds his wings close to his body and revels in the warmth of the sun and the surrounding rock wall against his plating. He lays his head down on top of his fore claws. Slowly he shutters his optics as he lets the sound of the waves lull him into a light recharge.

'What is that sound?' He grumbles softly and wonders who is fool enough to wake him from his pleasurable recharge. He opens his optics and has to refresh them a few times to clear his vision. Sitting about twenty feet from his position was a tiny fleshing. It had its back to him and seemed to be playing in the sand. His optic ridges furrowed in confusion. He is quite certain it was not there before. He does not think the little fleshling even knew he was here because he would have heard screaming or something. He lifts his head and tilts it to the side a bit. He had never been this close to one before. He had been a little curious about them ever since he encountered the ones that traveled with the Autobots. This would be the perfect opportunity to satisfy his curiosity.

The predacon slowly uncurled himself from the spot he was resting in. He notices with amusement that his lumbering steps were muffled by the surrounding sand. The little fleshing wont even notice he is there until it is too late. If it screams, he will have no problem beheading it before any of the fleshlings in the area can hear it. Slowly he creeps up behind it. His audios pick up its high pitched voice as it giggles and throws sand in the air. Within moment his large form is looming over the tiny body in front of him. Growling softly, he watches the body of the small fleshling stiffens and stare at the shadow he is casting across it. Chortling in amusement, he waits for the tiny form to turn and look at him. The predacon had expected quite a few things to happen. Screaming, calling out for help, and maybe trying to run for its life. It would not get very far on such short legs, but it would have been funny to watch it try. Nothing could have prepared him for this.

The tiny form was just standing there, staring at him with large brown optics and not making a sound. Maybe the little fleshling's processor crashed at the mere sight of him. He fought the urge to fidget in discomfort as the fleshling raked over his form with its optics. It blinked a few times before a wide smile seemed to split its face. Yeah, this is definitely not what he was expecting. He watched as it pointed towards him and yelled out in merriment "Dwagon!"

'…dwagon? What is a dwagon?'

His optic ridges furrow with slight confusion. He tilted his head to the side and watched at the fleshling walks up to him. It seems almost excited to be in his presence. This was new for him. From the moment he stepped before his master Megatron, everyone around him has shown him nothing but fear. Fear and in the case of that accursed seeker, loathing. This little one was curious and awestruck. He huffs through his vents and notices the way it jumps a little as the warm air gusts over its body. Still, it does not back away and is actually reaching up to him. He turns his head to the side just to see if anymore fleshlings are around. Seeing that they are still alone, he tilts his head downward to get a closer look.

As soon as his head came within range, the fleshling reaches out with its tiny servos and touches his face. The first thing he notices is that its servos were very softly. Heat seemed to radiate from them. It did not seem to have any claws. He thought that was very odd. How did it protect itself with no claws? As he studied the little fleshling's face, the top of its head was crowned by long light brown filaments. Every time it moved its head, the sun made the filaments shimmer with a slightly reddish tinge. It was quite fascinating. Its face was round with large, dark brown optics. It had a tiny nose. He doubt its sense of smell was very good with such a small snout. He did notice it seemed to vent through it and its open mouth. It was smiling at him and he noticed how small its fangs were.

'How did it protect itself with no claws or fangs?'

Its soft outer casing was covered in some sort of flimsy cloth armor. The top part was a bright pink that covered its torso and the bottom was white. That part did not even cover its legs all the way. For such delicate looking creatures, you would think they would wear more armor than this.

Narrowing his optics and adjusting his audio's sensitivity, he tried to take in details beyond surface details. His audios were picking up a small double beat of something emanating from its chest. He knew it was not a spark. He did not pick up a spark signature from it. Maybe it was some kind of pumping system. Pumping what, he was not sure. It was not energon. He would have detected that as well. This piqued his curiosity even more. Maybe he could find out what it is. What keeps this little creature alive. It would be easy. The outer casing of the fleshling was so soft, he could easily cut through it with his claw. He could do it so fast, it would have no time to cry out. It was one of many in its herd. He was sure it would not be missed. His optics gleam with the thought of seeing its insides.

'A small one in the crowd of many. No one will know you are gone…'

To be concluded…