Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro
Warnings: AU, mild angst, and minor spoilers for Bayformers... but more on the per-Earth side of things
Notes: Hey, would you look at that? It's a prequel-of-sorts to Hidden! I got a review wondering why Blaster and the kids were hiding anyway, as well as a "where's Ramhorn?" question.
After getting the goofy little "Where's Waldo?"-type imagery of Ramhorn in a stripy sweater and glasses hiding in a crowd out of my head, I started to think about what the answers might be... and this is the result.
The core of the battle had moved on, the sound of fighting coming from much further off, but Blaster didn't truly register it. Nor did he really notice the presence of the twins – Rewind and Eject, clinging to one another as they'd often done as hatchlings when something frightened them – or Steeljaw; his optics were locked on the unmoving quadrupedal form of his eldest creation.
The large mech knelt to the ground, carefully scooping up Ramhorn's limp frame. Only a short time ago the five of them – the not-quite-lookalike twins, Steeljaw, Ramhorn, and Blaster himself – had been fighting alongside the rest of the Prime's soldiers, working to drive the Decepticons out of the city. Blaster had been keeping close watch over his creations the entire time, knowing that with the All Spark gone, splitsparks – those capable of carrying newsparks – were invaluable and highly sought after by both factions. The Prime's forces, however, sought to protect them while the Decepticons wished to either destroy them or breed them until they went offline.
Blaster was himself a splitspark, having carried each of his four creations next to his own spark, and knew that the chances of them inheriting the trait was high. He also knew that should the Decepticons find out then not a one of the four younglings would ever be safe. It was his habit to keep to the backlines, breaking into the 'con comm channels and keeping the lines open for his fellow soldiers.
However, this time one of the 'cons had managed to slip past the main defenses and opened fire with the intention of taking out Autobot communications. The younglings had seen this and gone on the offensive, the two quadrupeds cutting in close while the twins fired back in retaliation. The 'con turned his weapons from the communication's mech to his assailants and fired off one shot. Blaster honestly didn't remember lunging at the Decepticon, nor did he recall firing a shot at pointblank range; the only thing he remembered about that instance was the sharp static-filled cry from his eldest youngling and the sensation of the bond-link between them severing abruptly.
The red mech bowed his head, optics dimming as he cradled the limp frame carefully. All the fighting, the decision to stop hiding and face those who would kill or claim them, seemed to be all for nothing now. One of his precious creations was gone for no good reason, and the reality was that any of the other three could be cut down just as easily. Pit damn it, he himself could be taken down just as easily, leaving the younglings to fend for themselves.
"Blaster," Steeljaw growl-purred quietly, "we need to move from this location. The others will be wondering what has become of us."
Blaster nodded slightly, lifting his head to look at his remaining creations. Steeljaw, deep bronzed plating scuffed from the battle, peered up at him with sympathetic optics. The twins were still clinging to one another, only distinguishable as separate beings by their different plating colours and the femme-frame Eject had opted to upgrade to in spite of wearing a mech frame during hir sparklinghood. Black-and-silver Rewind's face mask was retracted, as was blue-and-silver Eject's visor, making both look even younger than their tiny frames suggested.
The larger mech stood at last, still cradling Ramhorn's frame tenderly. "You're right, Jaw," he said, vocalizer still a bit staticky. "We need to leave."
"Boss?" Eject asked, optics blinking as she frowned slightly. "That sounds oddly final."
"Yeah," Rewind added, also frowning up at him. "And besides, where would we go if we did skip out? There are exactly two neutral-allied cities left on the planet, and both of them are slowly sinking."
Blaster smiled faintly at his younglings before turning his gaze towards the sky. "We go out there," he replied. "Like you said, Rewind, Cybertron is dying. There's no more we can do here but watch it fade."
"And die with it," Steeljaw added, his deep blue optics locked on his offlined brother. He understood his creator's desire to flee; honestly, he himself didn't want to possibly watch the rest of his family likewise fall. The quadruped had already decided to follow wherever his creator went, no questions asked.
The twins looked at one another, optics dimming as they communicated silently with one another via the unique bond they shared. After a moment, they turned and grinned faintly at their remaining family members. Rewind spoke for them both: "So when do we leave, Tor?"
They left that day and never looked back, the younglings tucked against and into their creator's protoform armour as they traveled in stasis. It took vorns for them to reach a place where Blaster felt they would be safe, a small blue and green organic world where the dominant species was in a technological revolution of sorts. They landed on the planet's satellite, built a small monument to the fallen Ramhorn well away from the fledgling species' eyes, and continued onto the planet itself.
With their smaller size – no bigger than the hatchlings of the dominant humanoid species – the twins were able to recreate their outward appearance to blend in with the natives, adopting human designations to complete their cover. Blaster fashioned a holoform to use when the occasion called for it, and chose a 1984 Corvette C4 as his personal disguise. Steeljaw, older than his siblings and more willing to compress his mass, shifted his frame to nearly half its size and took on a canine form as his alt.
For ten human years, the newly-designated Lancaster family lived in peace, safe from the war that had torn their world apart. At least, until the war arrived on Earth.
End Note: Yes, I killed off Ramhorn. I'm such a bitch. But, they kind of did need a catalyst to make them want to get out of Dodge, and....