Absolution Origins: Two of a Kind

by Mandyrobin

Blaster discovers he has a rare spark mutation, one that sets him apart from everyone else. A chance meeting with a certain dark blue mech may very well teach Blaster that he is not alone, and that even he sometimes needs a voice to fall back on. Meanwhile, a senator's secret investment threatens to change the fate of Cybertron forever. First chapter rewritten.

2. Secrets

My apologies for letting this one go as long as I did. I did NOT mean for this story to linger for several years. I intend to update it more often now, though I don't have an intended schedule as of yet. It all depends on my mood. Hopefully no more than a few months between chapters. Fingers crossed! (For those who have held on as long as you have, I hope the wait was worth it. ^-^)

Also, the entire first chapter has been rewritten to fit in with my new fan-made Transformers continuity, called Transformers: Absolution. If you have read the first chapter at all prior to 2014-07-20, please go back and reread it, as a few key things have changed. Parts of it have also been completely rewritten.

Oh, and don't forget, if you're not sure about certain terms or in-universe stuff, such as time units, locations or characters, please refer to the forum I made for this fan-fic series, link located on my profile page, where you can also find a Q&A topic for each story I write.

Thank you.

If Iacon was the pinnacle of Cybertron's prosperity and beauty, then Kaon is the pinnacle of its poverty and corruption. Soundwave often mused over this thought as he travelled between the two city-states, running errands for his employer. As a citizen of Kaon himself, Soundwave knew firsthand what it was like to survive each day in a place so unforgiving. It was about as common to see deactivated corpses littering the alleys as it was to see poor, homeless autobots begging on the streets. Soundwave had been one of those poor mechs in his youth and he had no desire to return to that state anytime soon.

Soundwave flew silently over Praxus towards Iacon, where he was to deliver a message to Senator Proteus. The one senator he could not stand being around. Then again, no one else really liked him either.

Soundwave transformed out of his jet form as he proceeded to land near Proteus' office. The guards outside the office tensed up as the sight of the unfamiliar mech. Soundwave wisely kept his distance. "Designation: Soundwave. Occupation: Personal Assistant to Senator Ratbat of Kaon. Request meeting with Senator Proteus on Senator Ratbat's behalf."

While it wasn't that uncommon to come across an autobot with his face covered, his emotionless monotone seemed to throw the guards for a loop. Instead of complying with his request, they readied their weapons as if they had just been threatened.

"Ah, Soundwave," came a voice from behind. The guards froze as Senator Proteus stood at the entrance of his office. "At ease, mechs. He states the truth." The senator motioned for Soundwave to follow, who did so soundlessly. He was familiar enough with Proteus to know he considered it a grave insult to speak out of turn. He stood in front of the senator's desk and waited as the red and blue mech slowly filled a cube of energon for himself and sat down behind his desk. "I believe I originally requested to see Ratbat in person. More trouble in Kaon I presume?"

"Affirmative. Rebellion in Kaon: dire situation requiring immediate attention. Senator Ratbat: extends his sincerest apologies for inability to appear in person."

Proteus nodded. "I see. This message could not have waited until he was available?"

"Negative," Soundwave replied. "Message required urgent and immediate response."

"Let's see it, then." Proteus resisted the urge to sigh as Soundwave pulled a datapad from his subspace and placed it on his desk. Proteus waited a couple of nano-kliks before picking it up, almost as if he was expecting it to explode. He read the information carefully, his expression gradually changing to a frown. An optic ridge slowly rose. Soundwave knew Proteus was finished reading when he put the pad down and shook his head, optics briefly off. He glanced back at Soundwave. "Did you know what was on this datapad?"

"Negative," Soundwave replied.

"...I see." The senator appeared as if was unsure if he should believe Soundwave, but decided to let it go. He picked up a stylus, wrote something on the end of the datapad and handed it back to Soundwave. "Take this back to Ratbat and tell him if he wants to play practical jokes, he should have the gall to do it himself instead of sending his busbot. You are dismissed."

Soundwave nodded wordlessly as he retrieved the datapad, bowed his head and turned to make his leave. Of course, he knew the whole time what was on the datapad. He was the one who wrote it out for Ratbat. Soundwave transformed back into jet mode and proceeded back towards Kaon. This would take some time, as he would have to fly south over Praxus and Uraya first, so he decided to activate cruise control and let himself enjoy the flight. Despite how busy Iacon was on any given lunar cycle, Soundwave had no issues manoeuvring around other fliers. It helped being able to hear them... or rather, their thoughts... before he could see them.

Then, as he was flying over the Praxus uptown, one particular thought process caught his attention. One that made his spark skip a beat.

I'm a freak! An abomination... How can I take care of a sparkling? I can't even take care of myself...

Sparkling. Soundwave knew that term well. He transformed back into robot mode and searched the immediate vicinity. No one was around at that moment, though he could sense the source of the thought process was coming closer. He felt movement within his chassis and gently placed a servo over his chest. His own young sparkling seemed to have noticed its creator's emotional shift, as it seemed to be moving subtly in response. Soundwave calmly pulsed his spark a few times to lull the infant back into recharge. The autobot was in view now, heading towards him at high speed. Soundwave focused intently on him, standing firm as he hovered in the air. It didn't take long for the autobot to slow down and transform back into robot mode.

Soundwave was almost taken aback. The red autobot had the exact same form as him, right down to the hybrid jet wing satellite panels extending from his back. A quick scan of the autobot's internal systems told Soundwave that he was also designed for maximum communications efficiency. A more thorough scan of the red autobot's chest area confirmed Soundwave's suspicions.

"Sorry 'bout that. Almost flew into ya." Soundwave recognized the voice, but remained silent. The red mech flickered his optics for a klik. "So, uh, I haven't seen you 'round before. You new 'round here?"

It was time to see just how skilled this communications autobot was. Soundwave allowed his unique program to seep into the other mech's cerebral processor. He knew the red mech had become aware of the intrusion when his optics began to narrow, keeping their focus of Soundwave. The program continued until it came to the mech's firewall, when his mental defences suddenly activated and the strength of his firewall reinforced. Soundwave immediately pulled out of the red mech's processor, leaving everything as it was before. The mech's bright blue optics widened slightly in surprise as Soundwave tilted his head slightly and regarded the mech for a moment before transforming and resuming his course towards Kaon, leaving the young autobot puzzled. When Soundwave was first informed about his condition some deca-cycles ago, he thought he was alone. Learning otherwise filled the dark blue mech with a sense of peace and yearning. He wanted to learn more about the red mech, but that would have to wait for another time.

Soundwave automatically grew tense as Kaon's dark buildings came into view. Like Iacon, many of Kaon's structures had lights projecting from various corners and surfaces. Whereas Iacon's buildings were brighter in colour, usually white or near white, Kaon's buildings were often dark almost black in colour. One would most likely guess the choice of colour palette was meant to hide some of the obvious wear and neglect of the structures in question, though there was no real evidence to support the theory. Soundwave lowered his elevation until he was just above the tallest buildings and felt a sense of relief as a particular building came into view.

Senator Ratbat, unlike most politicians, chose to keep his office quarters relatively plain. At a glance, no one would have known the dark purple building was his and there was a good reason for it. Kaonian politicians tended to be targeted for assassination more than others, not only due to the corruption of the city-state itself but the rampant corruption among the government. It was not uncommon for a senator to be offlined by an opposing senator's hire or even by their own subordinates. Such was the way of life in Kaon.

Soundwave transformed into robot mode and landed gracefully on the roof, where he was briefly greeted by two of the senator's guards as he passed. The telepath moved swiftly, striding through the halls as if walking on air. With the exception of a few brief glances in Soundwave's direction, no one paid attention to the communications master. As Soundwave drew closer to the senator's office, he sent a silent enquiry in the form of a ping to his employer. He quickly received one in return and didn't bother knocking before opening the door.

Anyone visiting Senator Ratbat's office for the first time would be surprised to see very little. There was a couple of file cabinets filled with datapads in the far left corner. In the far right corner was a small table, a statue of a bipedal robot with beast-like wings sitting atop, while a portrait of an old mech hung above on the wall. In the front left corner was a cooler, where the senator stored his refreshments. Ratbat himself sat at a medium-sized desk in the centre of the room, with nothing by a datapad and a small cube of expensive high grade sitting on top.

The senator's golden optics lost their coldness at the sight of his most trusted assistant. Ratbat gave a smile as Soundwave took a seat in one of the three chairs in front of the desk and sat up proper, waiting patiently as Soundwave pulled the datapad from his subspace and placed it on the desk. The senator calmly took the datapad in his left hand and looked it over. Ratbat's smile quickly turned into a grin, followed by a hearty laughter that went on for a good couple of klicks straight. When Ratbat finally did manage to settle down, he still found himself unable to wipe the grin off his face.

"Ah, Proteus. Always with a pipe up your aft." The senator chuckled again. "I wish I could have seen his faceplates. Excellent job, Soundwave. I trust he was no trouble?"

"Negative," Soundwave gave his monotonous reply.

"Good, good." Ratbat stood up at strode over to the cooler. He removed two energon cubes, one much smaller that the other, and placed them on his desk. "I went through the trouble of acquiring sparkling energon from the medics for Ravage. I hope you don't mind. It certainly wasn't easy. I was told they had to make it from scratch."

Soundwave nodded. His chest opened to reveal a small beast-like robot in the form of a feline. The infant's big, wide optics glanced around the room before settling on Ratbat. Ravage jumped out of Soundwave's chest compartment and went right up to Ratbat, a loud purr escaping the small feline's throat as the senator began to pet him gently. The purring grew louder as Ratbat scratched underneath Ravage's chin and a gentle smile graced the senator's faceplates. Ratbat slowly placed the tiny cube of energon in front of the feline, who sniffed it briefly before proceeding to calmly lap up the energon. With the small robot sufficiently distracted, Ratbat gave the larger cube to Soundwave. The communications master retracted his face-guard so he could drink. Both mechs were quiet for a time before Ratbat spoke again.

"Rattrap has returned from his scouting mission. He says he discovered something quite interesting." Soundwave glanced up at his employer, who took it as a sign to continue. "An unknown mech seems to be causing quite the ruckus in the gladiator pits, supposedly one of the mechs who lost their jobs when the northern mining facility was shut down a few deca-cycles ago. Rattrap wasn't able to get much more data aside from the mech's designation: Megatronus. Naturally, once his identity as a 'beast' was discovered, it was unwise for him to stick around."

Ratbat's optics regained their coldness as they bore into Soundwave. The telepath did not need to respond verbally, instead letting his unique program do it for him. However, once the suggestion reached the senator's thoughts, he brushed it aside. "No, confronting this Megatronus now would be unwise. I need to ensure that there is no doubt in his cerebral processor that I am his ally, or at the very least someone he can trust." The senator briefly paused. "Keep your optics and audio sensors open. Use your power to learn more about this Megatronus and what he plans to accomplish."

Soundwave nodded. Ravage finished his cube and turned back towards his creator, letting out a sound akin to a whine. Ratbat frowned slightly at Ravage before turning his gaze back on Soundwave. "Something is bothering you."

The dark blue mech looked away from his employer for a moment. He thought back to his youth on the streets of Kaon, when he first met the senator. When his life had been at its worst.

Soundwave sat alone in the old industrial park, with nothing but a small flame to keep him warm. His energon levels had been below 30% for several orns now. Like the other autobots around him, he would likely not be able to acquire energon for several more. He kept his functions to the minimum required to survival. The other mechs nearby made a point of ignoring him, since news of his special power got out. To make matters worse, Soundwave was starting to get quite ill. It took all he had to keep his energon down. He began to wonder if doing himself in was better than enduring this torture.

As he struggled to keep back those suicidal thought processes, he let his unique programming loose, hoping that the words and memories of the mechs around him proved to be enough of a distraction. That was when he happened upon a conversation that drew his attention.

"It's almost Primus Day," a yellow mech mentioned offhand to his companion, a bigger brown mech.

"Don't remind me..." the other mech replied. "That means it's almost a whole lunar cycle since I've been thrown out here. I don't want to think about it."

The yellow mech frowned. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel worse."

"Then why are you almost smiling?" the brown mech asked.

"Why? Haven't you heard?" When the brown mech shook his head, the yellow mech continued. "Every orbital cycle, on Primus Day, a kind senator comes down to the streets to bring us gifts of energon and supplies."

The brown mech's mouth fell. "A senator? You're joking!"

"I would never joke about something like this. He's been doing this for a few lunar cycles now. Every since he took over for that one old senator... I forget his designation now." The yellow mech smiled brightly. "I can't wait! I wonder what he has for us this time."

For the first time since he became homeless, Soundwave felt a glimmer of hope. When he woke on Primus Day, he noticed something different about the mechs around him. Many of them seemed happier and eager. More autobots arrived as the kliks passed and, no more than a couple cycles later, three figures appeared in the alley. When the figures emerged from the shadows moments later, the young telepath almost couldn't believe his optics. All three mechs had beast modes, as evident by the armour they wore. The purple mech who stood in the middle of the trio had brilliant golden optics, the emblem of the Senate adorning his chestplate. He wore a cape, which the telepath noticed was comprised of the metal sheets that appeared to make up his wings.

"A beast?" the brown mech from before asked out loud. "You're a filthy beast?"

The young senator smirked. "I prefer to refer to myself as a descendent of Onyx Prime, and as you can see, I am far from filthy."

The brown mech went quiet as the senator looked around at the poor and homeless autobots who were present. "My goodness, there are more unfamiliar faces this orbital cycle. Well, I believe an introduction is called for. I am Senator Ratbat, successor of Senator Drivetrain. I come bearing gifts in the spirit of Primus."

A femme ran up to Ratbat and grabbed his servo, causing everyone else to freeze. She had tears in her blue optics. "Please, senator! Can't you do more than this? With you're influence, surely you could bring all of us out of poverty!"

To Soundwave's surprise, Ratbat's optics softened as he gently placed a clawed servo on the femme's shoulders. "If my influence truly had such power, I would not hesitate to do just that."

"I... I do not follow..." The femme said in reply.

Ratbat nodded before he continued. "I am but one righteous mech in a government filled with corruption and greed. I must keep a low profile in my philanthropy, else I stand risk of becoming a target in the eyes of my fellow politicians. If they succeed in extinguishing my spark, there will be no one left in the government who will hear your voice. No one left to fight in your designation. Do you understand?"

Fresh tears filled the femme optics, but she nodded none the less. Ratbat offlined his optics briefly before reaching into his subspace. When the femme saw the object and energon cube in his hand, she gasped and stared at the young senator in surprise. "How... how did you..."

"I have my ways," Ratbat replied calmly. The senator began approaching each autobot individually, bestowing each of them with an object they most desired along with an energon cube. Soundwave watched Ratbat closely, noticing that the senator seemed to be making a point of ignoring him. Soundwave, eager for Ratbat to take notice, decided to unleash his program upon the young senator. No sooner had he began observing the senator's thought processes, Ratbat turned his golden optics towards Soundwave, a knowing smile gracing his faceplates. The senator pushed a very specific thought to the forefront, one with a message for the young telepath. Patience. Your turn will come shortly.

It took everything Soundwave had to prevent his jaw from falling open. The senator was aware of his power, but how? Once Ratbat was finished with everyone else present, he approached Soundwave. The telepath stood up and locked optics with the senator.

"I have heard much about you... Soundwave, is it?" When the telepath nodded, Ratbat continued. "Come with me. I have a proposition for you, one that will make good use of your... unique abilities."

Ratbat sat quietly, letting Soundwave sort through his thoughts. After several nano-kliks, Soundwave spoke. "Soundwave: not only splitspark."

The senator's optics went wide. "There is another?"

"Location: Iacon," the telepath replied. "Observation: triple changer. Jet and satellite alternate modes. Designed for maximum communications efficiency."

"Just like you..." Ratbat muttered, tapping a claw on his desk. "Does he have the same abilities?"

"Unknown. More investigation required."

"And the sparkling?"

Soundwave picked up Ravage and gently cradled the infant against his chestplate. "Status: second stage gestation. Estimated creation: three point five vorns."

"I see." The senator nodded. He stood up and walked over to the window behind him. "Do you know the designation of this splitspark?"

Soundwave said nothing, instead tuning into a specific radio frequency. A shock-pop song filled the office briefly before a familiar voice spoke. "Gooood evening, Cybertron! Welcome once again to... The Voice! I'm your host Blaster and mech, do I have a show for you tonight!"

A smile crept onto Ratbat's faceplates. "Well, well. The Voice of Cybertron himself." Ratbat turned back towards Soundwave, his smile morphing into a scheming grin. His golden optics suddenly quite mischievous. "This Blaster could prove useful to us. Let us put Megatronus aside for the time being, shall we? Your new task is to keep tabs on Blaster. Learn everything you can of him and keep me posted on the status of his sparkling."

Soundwave gave a swift nod. The senator was about to speak again when he was interrupted by a brief knock on the office door. Both mechs turned towards the door, Ratbat's faceplates and optics returning to neutrality as he sent a ping to the mech on the other side. The door opened to reveal a tall blue and yellow mech, another beast-mode autobot. "Excuse me, Senator. We have a situation."

Ratbat tilted his head slightly. "Not too bad I hope, Sky-Byte."

"That depends on your definition of 'bad'," the sharkformer replied. "Razorclaw's team managed to capture an intruder. The mech claims he was sent to assassinate you, but he was rather careless. We're not quite sure if he's serious, or playing a practical joke."

"I hope for his sake he's not joking. That would be a horrible way to die," Ratbat commented casually. "I'll take it from here."

"Sir, is that really a wise idea?" Sky-Byte asked. "If he is an assassin, you'll be giving him what he wants."

"Considering what you do know of my past, Sky-Byte, I'm surprised you feel the need to be concerned. Not that I don't appreciate it, of course." He patted Sky-Byte on the shoulder briefly before striding out the door. "Thank you for keeping me informed. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Soundwave silently following close behind his employer as the senator entered the elevator at the end of the hall and punched in a series of authorization codes. While the elevator casually descended, Ratbat quietly searched through his list of options for punishment. It had been several orbital cycles since the last time he was targeted for assassination and he didn't bother keeping a record of the last sentence he had used. Well, scrap. It was always so hard to pick one that wasn't so... messy.

Upon exiting the elevator, Ratbat and Soundwave approached Divebomb, another beast mode autobot with a "bird of prey" type alt mode. The red, orange and black mech turned towards the senator and gave a respectful bow. "Greetings, senator. This way."

"What do you know about the assassin?" Ratbat questioned.

"Not a whole lot, unfortunately," Divebomb replied with a sigh. "Any attempt by my teammates to get information out of him have failed. The mech's either courageous or stupid. Not quite sure which."

The senator raised an optic ridge. "Not even Razorclaw?"

A faintest hint of a smile graced Divebomb's faceplates. "Nope. He's pretty cheesed off by it too. You should have seen his face when he left the interrogation room."

"I can imagine," Ratbat commented dryly. They stopped next to the room in question where two of Divebomb's teammates, Rampage and Tantrum, where standing guard outside. The senator turned to Soundwave. "Stay here. I shouldn't be long."

Ratbat swiftly entered the room and locked the door behind him. He casually turned towards the would-be assassin, who was locked in a chair and facing the window. The black and yellow mech wasn't very large and, judging from his size and his old rusting armour, he had a car alt mode. The mech raised his head slightly at the sound of Ratbat's entry, but didn't do or say anything immediately. Ratbat took a step forward and felt a familiar pain form in his tanks, one he hadn't felt in several vorns. He swallowed hard, forcing his tanks to settle. Now was not a good time for his old addiction to resurface.

"Having a hard time, are you?" the mech said after a moment. Ratbat's optics went wide. He hadn't realized he was being that loud. He gave a small sigh as the pain eased and walked around until he was facing the black and yellow mech. The mech looked up at Ratbat, optics hidden behind a golden visor. "Hello, Ratbat."

"Jackpot..." The senator was confused. Jackpot was an old colleague of his, from before he began delving into politics. A look of concern formed on his faceplates. "Why are you here?"

"To kill you, of course. Why else?" Ratbat couldn't hide the look of shock on his faceplates right away, causing Jackpot to grin wickedly. "Surprised, are you old friend?"

"More than I should be, I suppose." The pain came up again, but Ratbat forced it down. He would control it. He had to! "Still bitter about our last encounter?"

Jackpot chuckled. "Nah. That doesn't bother me anymore. But one thing has always bothered me, and you know what that is, Ratbat?"

The senator sighed. "No. Should I?"

"Oh yes. You are the one who started it, after all."

Ratbat's optics flickered a few times. "I'm not following."

"You left me alone," the black and yellow mech replied, his vocals sharp like a knife. "You said you would come back for me, and you didn't. Every Primus-damned time you promised you wouldn't leave me, you did it anyway. I trusted you, Ratbat. For lunar cycles, I trusted you. And you forgot about me. About us. Our friendship... Did it really mean something, or were you just using me like you did everyone else?"

Ratbat was about to speak when a sudden rush of pain hit him. He could barely hold it back and he fell down to his knees, gritting his denta harshly. His faceplates were facing the floor, optics shut off. The pain that started in his tanks had begun to rapidly spread throughout his chassis as he began to shake involuntarily. He could barely think. He thought he could hear Jackpot talking again, but he couldn't understand the words right away. Weakly, he deactivated the locking mechanism on the chair, releasing Jackpot.

"...tbat. Ratbat!" The first thing Jackpot did was kneel in front of the senator. "What's happening? Are you alright?"

The dark purple mech coughed harshly. "I... I will be fine. H-help me... u-up. Pl-lease."

The black and yellow mech nodded, and moved to grab Ratbat's arm. Slowly, he helped the crippled politician to his feet. Ratbat grabbed Jackpot's shoulder to help steady himself and he inhaled a few times in an attempt to calm his chassis. Jackpot continued to hold Ratbat as the purple beastformer struggled to steady his still-shaking frame. The senator's optics were still offline, a hand resting on his chestplate as he continued to inhale deeply. After a moment, Ratbat finally stilled and Jackpot swallowed hard. "...Ratbat, are you alri-"

Jackpot got the wind knocked out of him as he suddenly found himself thrown up against the wall behind him. A loud hiss filled his audio sensors as he looked up at Ratbat, whose golden optics were filled with hostility... and hunger. The senator's fanged denta were clenched tightly. A clawed servo pining Jackpot against the wall. The black and yellow mech didn't speak right away as he struggled to hold the senator's gaze. "Ratbat, what's wrong?"

The senator's mouthplates morphed into a sadistic grin. "Oh, my dear Jackpot, I'm just fine. Better even."

Jackpot winced at the venom in Ratbat's voice, which only served to make Ratbat grin even more, if that was possible. Had Jackpot's optics not be covered with a visor, he would not have been able to hide the fear that filled them. "But, just a moment ago, you..."

"That is something I thought long gone after my time in rehab," the senator explained. "You see, back when I was still a street rat like you, I have developed an addiction of sorts out of survival. I had thought my addiction was long gone, but something about you caused it to resurface."

Jackpot swallowed again. "Addiction?"

"Yes." Ratbat traced an energon line in Jackpot's throat with his free servo, causing the mech to shiver involuntarily. "Sometimes, one must resort to desperate measures to acquire energon. It just so happens that my energon processor gave a rather... unique way to go about it."

The black and yellow mech froze in fear as the realization hit him. He struggled to speak, only one word coming out. "...vampire!"

"I prefer energon consumer myself, but vampire certainly has a nice ring to it." Ratbat continued to smirk as he bit down on Jackpot's neck cable, causing the mech to cry out in pain. The purple beastformer felt almost giddy as warm processed energon filled his tanks, rapidly spreading throughout his chassis. Jackpot's chassis quickly grew weaker, falling limp and his optics going dark. Ratbat withdrew from his victim, wiping away the energon that covered his mouthplates. His sensitive audios picked up the still-beating spark of his former friend. The senator smirked again as his clawed servo plunged into Jackpot chest, ripping out the mech's sparkcasing. Ratbat quickly subspaced the spark as he turned towards the door. Outside, the four mechs stood in the same position as when he left them, though all but Soundwave were now visibly stiff.

"Soundwave, have Nightscream deliver the assassin's remains to Cryotek. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to give his pet a new chew toy. Then proceed with your task as we discussed." The telepath nodded as Ratbat turned to Divebomb and his comrades. "Thank you for bringing the assassin to my attention. You may return to your respective duties. Dismissed." Ratbat did not stick around to see the mechs off, instead swiftly making his way back towards the elevator. He punched in some new authorization codes and entered the floor number. Enjoying the brief moment of quiet, Ratbat briefly offlined his optics and exhaled.

A soft "ding" announced that the senator had reached his destination. The elevator doors opened into the dark hallway of a basement level, the ceiling lights either deactivated or broken. Ratbat was not phased however, allowing his nocturnal sight to guide him as he walked. The hall was empty, or so it seemed. The senator walked swiftly, even as strange sounds began to emerge around him. Growls, hisses, the sound of claws against metal... All sounds that would put the fear in most autobots. A smirk formed on Ratbat's face as he entered a large and seemingly empty room. He stopped as his optics fell upon a creature thought of as myth. A creature with pale yellow optics, rotting chassis covered in cracking green-tinted armour. Its claw and fangs sharper than knives and several sharp tentacles spread out from his back.

"Ratbat," the creature hissed, not in malice by familiarity.

"Treadshot," the senator replied with a curt nod. "It has been too long."

The undead creature's faceplates, or what little was left of them, formed into a smirk. "You've been feeding again, friend. And here I thought you had it under control."

"I admit, it came as a surprise to me as well." Ratbat pulled the spark out of his subspace. "A gift."

Treadshot's tentacles snatched the sparkcasing out of Ratbat's servo. He broke it open and swiftly swallowed the spark whole. Content, the sparkeater turned his gaze back towards the senator. "How much longer will I be forced to stay trapped here, Ratbat? I hunger so much, it hurts!"

"Patience, my friend." Ratbat kneeled down in front of the sparkeater, scratching beneath the creature's chin. "My plans are slowly falling into place. Soon, you have all the sparks you desire."

"And I will remain by your side, as promised?"

The purple beastformer's smirk turned into a grin. "Of course."

Treadshot chuckled darkly as he regarded his friend. "Back to the subject of feeding... Who was the unlucky victim this time?"

"Jackpot."

"Fragger got what he deserved." The sparkeater spit in annoyance. "I wish I could have seen his faceplates."

Ratbat feigned disappointment. "He wasn't as frightened as the others. More shocked than anything. Not that I gave him much time to react. The hunger returned with a vengeance."

"It usually does." Treadshot chuckled again. "I did tell you, remember."

"Mute it! It's bad enough I still enjoy it. I don't need you throwing it in my faceplates and making it worse."

"Admit it. You miss the times when we used to hunt together." A pause. "Do you even fly anymore?"

The senator frowned. "It's a been a while since I last spread my wings..."

"No wonder you're hunger returned, fragger! You slagging flyers go crazy when you don't take to the air." Treadshot pushed Ratbat back a few steps, his hollow voice full of concern. "What are you waiting for? Go, enjoy a good flight! You will feel better."

Ratbat's smiled calmly as he stood up. "I... may do just that."