He was beaten and he was damaged but he got out.
As someone who prized loyalty, there was an undeniable pang of guilt for leaving his team behind regardless of what he thought of them or their actions.
Well, guilt for leaving MOST of them.
Others should take their punishment and he'll relish knowing they're suffering.
This was more important to him, however.
FAR more important.
He wasn't sure on how long he had been out for, it was certainly a different point in the current solar cycle than it was when he was taken in; yet also hadn't been long enough for him to have been put away properly, but it didn't matter.
His engine's strained and whined at him as his sleek form cut through the sky effortlessly despite the rough time it'd had.
A few mecha on the streets below saw him and gasped, all too aware of what had been going on.
Irrelevant.
He had to get home.
It was a burning desperate desire, that made the wind around him feel like ice-cold blades cutting at his exterior.
No doubt by now they'd scoured their data and public records, zeroing in on their personal living spaces, raiding them for any Decepticon-related news.
Not when they got to his home they wouldn't.
They'd get far more than they bargained for there.
It was true, easily spotting it from far away Cyclonus could already see groups of police mecha surrounding his home.
And a few familiar faces.
Anger and panic overthrew him, he had to do something.
They had to get away.
The heat and rush of overpowering emotions prickled at his entire body as he pinpointed his target.
Head of the group trying to get into his home.
Big, red and blue.
An easy target.
Roaring, Cyclonus felt flames spill from his left side at his sudden, forced speed boost.
He got a quick glimpse of surprise from his new 'landing spot' as the Autobot spotted him far too late.
A satisfying, grunting gasp of shock managed to just reach his audials as he rammed his nosecone into the Prime's abdominal plates.
The Autobot leader skidding backwards until Cyclonus had him pushed into a wall, but he wasn't leader for nothing.
Optimus grabbed him in return, pressing on already beaten joints and panels, holding him still as if readying him for the surrounding police mecha no doubt baying for a chance to get at him.
Cyclonus only revved his engines more and tried to ram the Autobot again from close range, the tip of his jet form was sharp and he knew he was tearing at the Prime's plating.
However before any damage could be done; hot fluid briefly trickled down his left side before his engine coughed out an explosion.
Cyclonus grunted; A fuel line must've bust.
Cyclonus shuddered at the pain throbbing through him from it, cursing himself for over-exerting himself.
But he had to.
He must.
It was, however, just the distraction he needed, the sudden burst dislodged Optimus's grasp and made the police mecha flinch away from him.
Wrenching away from the Autobot, Cyclonus swung up into the air before coming back down to his house.
There was a very thin alleyway between his home and a neighbouring building, narrow enough that none of the Autobots had gone down it, merely guarded each end.
Yet it had an escape route.
He knew what he'd been doing was dangerous and this might've happened.
He'd only wished it'd happened differently.
The wall here had a thin part, easy for any mecha strong enough to burst through and escape.
Like a secret door but not some 'high tech' nonsense leading to a tunnel or something, just a simple breakable wall.
His jet form easily made the gap of the alleyway on its side and while it may have been an awkward turn he burst through his own walls, transforming and flopping onto the resulting rubble.
He was tired.
He was beaten.
The engine on his left side a source of horrible pain.
But he was home.
It was warm, it was nice.
It was comforting.
A happy place.
He smiled as he took in the familiar colours of his walls and ceilings, designed to fit tastes and needs. The place he always returned to at the end of every cycle.
A heavy relieved sigh escaping him and almost taking away his stress and troubles with it.
There was even a photograph or two on the walls, he saw himself in them.
Not his actual self but the blue facade he'd worn for such a long time.
But he was smiling in them, surrounded by other smiling faces.
It was relaxing.
It had everything he ever wanted.
It had the only thing he wanted.
"DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" A voice pierced through his haze.
The only thing he ever wanted was looking at him, distraught.
Being home again had almost lulled him to recharge but of course; once more, his trusted other had come to get him out of his mess.
Faceplates framed by purple stood by the wall they had so carefully decorated together.
His own blue facade had been shed long ago, no longer needed in the current situation.
It was like he'd just come home from another day working, except he hadn't.
"Galvatron!" He gasped jolting upright, dust and debris falling from him.
The aforementioned mech smiled at him, desperate but happy. Yet no words of greeting left him, thumps at the door prompted him to run over and lob something out the window.
Cyclonus knew what it was, a deliberately designed smoke-bomb.
It caused the right amount of panic as he could hear the police mecha scatter as the word "GRENADE" was yelled.
Galvatron was already heading to the hole Cyclonus made his entrance.
"C'mon dear, we have to go!" He pleaded.
Cyclonus looked at him.
He was frightened, he'd feared this happening from the start.
He'd always feared never getting out of it alive, he feared making a promise he couldn't keep.
The same promise he made every morning as he left.
"One moment! Please!" Cyclonus begged in return before bolting into the adjacent room.
The room where they prepared their Energon and fuel had a wobbly panel on the floor.
"Haha we've been meaning to remove it, buuuut it does add a bit of charm to the place guess we're used to it!"
He remembered laughing, joking about it when Dropforge had come to his abode before their meeting under more pleasant circumstances.
The Mini-con had smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around Galvatron's shoulder struts and smiled back at the police mecha.
Suspicion averted.
But now, he ripped it from the floor and pulled out a safe. A small clunky thing with a manual lock on the door, another safeguard against those who'd find it; expecting a digital lock and no doubt not having enough experience to figure a way around this type of ancient thing.
They needed this.
They really needed this.
Thumping and a yell brought his attention back to reality.
The forces outside had already overcome their ruse and had returned to trying to beat down their armoured walls, yelling for their surrender.
Back into the initial room, Galvatron had an officer on the ground and another was backing away from the cannon strapped to Galvatron's arm.
Yet more were trying to slip in.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON!"
A different voice than the monotonous, uninspired, repetitive tone of the usual police mecha cut through the commotion.
Safe in hand Cyclonus ran back to see a red and black femme standing with dual pistols aimed at Galvatron, her frame easily slender enough to have slipped through the small alley.
With the weapons aimed at him, Galvatron was frozen trying to assess how good her aim and reaction time would be if he so much as tried to get a shot in first.
Growling Cyclonus felt his vents hitch.
When did he dent them like that?
Rushing forwards Cyclonus swung the safe around, the heavy ungainly object swinging in a sloppy arc but it was all he needed.
It crumpled into the femme's head, knocking the Autobot into - and through - the wall.
A few officers ran to her aid but Cyclonus saw the door on the little safe buckle and struggle to stay shut.
Damn.
Broken.
It was ancient and good against those with no experience of old locks but it had it's faults too, he'd just hoped it would've lasted longer.
"Grab onto me!" Cyclonus transformed, taking the safe into himself before the damaged lock slipped open.
Galvatron looked at him panicked, he still had officers around him.
They had little to lose right now.
A window smashed and the external forces had broken in at the front, Galvatron made a soft keening noise as he looked around quickly trying to spot the enemy's new opening.
Galvatron grabbed the officer he had downed, a young mecha with an unsightly dent now covering a portion of his face and a jaw-joint that was no doubt out of place now.
With officer in-hand Galvatron swung the poor thing around using him to topple the police by him, leaving him with an opening to leap over them and grab onto familiar wings.
Without a moment to lose Cyclonus blasted out of the hole in the wall, and twisted upwards, they're going to go as high as possible.