Flame had lost count of how long it'd been since the Grand Architect had found them. It hadn't been long - maybe only a few solar cycles - but adjusting was already difficult. Everything until recently had seemed bleak to him. Everything insisted he'd be stuck on Garrus-9 for the rest of his life, and he still didn't understand why Shockwave had gotten him out in the first place. He was just an Autobot who'd gone astray, but definitely not enough of a big name for Shockwave to pick him out without thought.
This Grand Architect, whoever he was, seemed more promising than Shockwave. He had offered Flame and Scorponok freedom from being stuck with the rest of the escaped prisoners - he had saved their lives. Without him, Flame could only have thought he'd still be adrift in space, slowly dying as they'd jumped out of the ship due to fear of the DJD in nowhere. But his suspicions about this cause had been rising - he was immediately separated from Scorponok, as if this mech had a preference for someone more notable.
He found himself pacing around the room he'd be told to wait at, boredom getting into him quickly. There was nothing to do, and it was probably killing him more than actually dying out in the middle of nowhere would have. All there was to keep him grounded were his thoughts - that weren't anything good. Flame scratched at his insignia - the Autobot badge he surprisingly was never stripped of, before looking up at the doors. As if on queue, they opened. The mech who stood there was about Flame's height, and looking for kibble, he seemed to transform into a bike. Their color scheme was mostly a mixture of purple and yellow, with an unmatching grey head. What seemed to be a smaller mech was equipped as a piece of kibble onto his arm, the black taking away from rest of the arm's coloration. Notable was lack of insignia - all the non-Cybertronian species Flame had seen up to then under his new boss' employee wore a gear like symbol - but this mech was blank, and seemed to just be staring past him.
"So," he spoke. "You coming or not?"
"One second," Flame called, taking a few seconds to think up his options. He wanted to make sure that whatever he was doing was safe, and believing he could trust the other, he followed.
"The Grand Architect found you and your partner didn't he? You're lucky - you could have been put in much worse positions."
"I wouldn't consider me and Scorponok partners as much as I'd consider us two smart ex-prisoners who took a stupid chance in an attempt to survive."
"Hm."
"I mean you're up to your own opinions, but from my perspective, you're putting us a lot closer than we actually are. We had literally just met a solar cycle previously," Flame rambled on, before realizing he was probably speaking more than he needed to.
"You were involved in the war, weren't you?"
"I mean, it's kinda obvious. I've got the Autobot badge on my chest in full view - I don't know why you think I wouldn't have been involved."
"Your friend had a different badge. You were on opposite sides, weren't you?"
"I wouldn't consider Scorponok a friend either - but yes, we were."
"I never got involved. I met the Grand Architect vorns ago, and swore loyalty. It's been easier this way. No morality involved, just work for the greater good."
"What do you mean by the greater good?"
"That's something he can explain to you. We're here," the purple bike said, stopping at an open door. "You first."
Flame, wary, pushed the door open and walked inside. The other came behind him, walking at a much slower pace than him. The room was empty other than a transmitter - Flame stared at it in curiosity.
Before he could examine the controls, the other mech had turned on the device. Nothing popped up - Flame had used ones similar to this before. He knew the mech on the other end was definitely hiding their appearance for some reason.
"Greetings, boss," the other said, arms crossed. He looked almost bored - as if this conversation was just a waste of his time.
"Ah, Sideways. On time as always," the Grand Architect spoke over the comm.
"I wouldn't delay my services to you. I brought the one you wanted," he said, grabbing Flame's shoulder and pushing him forward. Flame bumped directly into the transmitter, before stumbling back and fiddling with his hands out of nervousness.
"Uh, hello?" Flame inquired, tilting his head.
"Flame, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Very well, Flame. I suppose you have questions as to why you are here," The way the one on the other side spoke made it seem as if he was amused with the current situation.
"I feel it would be simplest to thank you for saving my life, first and foremost."
"That's something I seem to keep doing. I consider myself lucky to have Cybertronians like you - they're hard to find these days." Flame took a moment to process that. Cybertronians, even with their lacking numbers, had never been hard to come across in his experience. He wondered how far off the Grand Architect had been working from where the war had been occurring.
"I wouldn't consider myself much. Just loyal to serve whatever your cause is."
"So, Flame, are you willing to hel-"
"That's a bit too much for him, you know," Sideways poked in. "If you're going to do the whole monologue you did to the last few of us. I'll do it. Our mission is simple - a threat is coming and we need to get rid of it. Are you willing to contribute to our cause?"
"It's the least I can do."
"Alright, boss. I'll take care of this from here," Sideways said, shutting down the transmitter. "Now, do you mind removing your badge if that's possible?" Flame hadn't even thought of doing that yet. He scratched at the insignia, eventually removing it and throwing it on the floor. By then, Sideways had grabbed what seemed to be a long metal rod. "Hold still," he said. "It'll be painful."
Flame braced himself as Sideways slammed the rod into where his insignia had been, nearly falling to the floor before holding the spot with his hand. The Grand Architect's badge was burning onto his body, and he only looked up at Sideways, wordless.
"That's one way to start a friendship," Sideways laughed, before reaching his hand out. Flame shook it, still in pain from the branding. "Welcome to the team, Flame."
"Uh, thanks?" Flame could only respond. Looking towards the future was blank in his mind now - he had no idea what came next, but whatever it was, he was hopefully prepared for it.
