Chapter FourThanks to tiedwithribbons for the idea! :D J

"Noble! Thanks Dad! Can I play it now?" Cody looked hopefully at Chief Charlie, who shook his head with a smile.

"No, you can play it tomorrow Son." He replied, mussing Cody's hair affectionately. "It's bedtime now. For both of you." He added, glancing up at Blades, who was hovering over his shoulder anxiously.

"Awww! But I wanted to play it too!" Blades moaned. "Can't we play just one game?" the helicopter looked pleadingly at Chief, but Chase answered this time.

"No, you just came off a night shift Blades. You require recharge. The game will still be at hand in the morning."

Blades drooped.

There was no way he could beg Chase out of it.

The stern police car meant what he said, and probably would escort him to his room to be sure he obeyed.

Sure enough, Chase gently took his shoulder and steered him off to bed, Cody leaving with his dad, waving a goodnight to his flying pal.

Blades waved back, but his mind was busy and almost didn't notice Chase telling him good recharge, and hastily sent back the last words of the night to the Rescue Bot lieutenant.

Blades snuggled down into his bed, but not to sleep.

He fully planned on playing that game tonight, no matter what anyone said.

He was sure Cody would not mind.

After all, the boy himself had done the same thing last year.

Blades was just determined that, unlike Cody, he would not be caught.

"Whooo! Yeah!" Blades whisper-whooped as he won yet another level.

Blades had flew through the first four levels of the game, enjoying himself immensely, ignoring his system warnings of lowered energy levels and system function errors and the much-needed recharge that would replenish those levels.

Suddenly one of the error messages flashed so bright in his HUD that he lost momentary motor control and yanked on the controller with all his immense strength.

With a loud snapping sound, the controller was pulled clean out of the game, the wires sparking and snapping as they twisted across the brand new console, leaving scorch marks as Blades frantically beat out any small fires started from the sparks.

So great was his panic, that it overrode his system sluggishness and came back to full alertness.

Staring in horror at Cody's much-looked forward too gaming console, he tried to hold back tears of regret and not a little fear.

He was definitely getting a spanking for this, and Cody was going to be so heart-broken.

Frenetically trying to fix the console, all Blades succeeded in doing was making it worse.

Finally, panic-stricken, he fled to his room and dove under the covers, clutching his teddy bear and sobbing fearfully, fervently wishing the morning never to come.

Unfortunately for the young Autobot, it came very soon.

Blades stayed hidden in his room until Heatwave came to find out what was keeping him from his morning energon.

Blades was so upset and scared that he was shaking all over, and a thin layer of lubricant clung to his outer armor like a film.

Heatwave's optics widened in alarm, and quickly he laid a large servo on his youngest team member's forehelm.

"You're burning up!" Heatwave exclaimed in horror. "And you're our medic! What do I do? Must remember training…" Heatwave paced, unaware that he looked identical to the mighty leader Optimus Prime in that moment to his terror-stricken companion on the berth.

All Autobots went through strict training on Cybertron, and now Earth, but Rescue Bots underwent even more rigorous training on the medical scale of things then anybot but the medics themselves, so Heatwave had a working knowledge of medical skills at his disposal.

But before the Rescue Bot commander could decide on a course of action, an awful, spark-rending cry came from the gaming part of the bunker.

It was Cody, and Heatwave tore out of Blades's berthroom so fast he missed hearing the whimper of pain from the other Rescue Bot.

Blades cowered as all the other Rescue Bots and the human part of the rescue team rushed to a sobbing Cody, slumped by his ruined game console.

It only took Heatwave a few nanokliks to put two and two together, and with a roar of fury that nearly sent the poor helibot into stasis lock when it reached his straining adios, he bolted for Blades's room.

The rest of the team followed, arriving to see Heatwave bodily lift Blades from his bed and yell into his terrified face: " WHY!? Blades, WHY!?"

Blades broke down sobbing and Heatwave let go of him in seeming disgust.

"I didn't do it, I didn't do it!" The shaking orange and white bot cried, hiding his guilty face from the rest of his teammates.

"You are lying." Chase coldly told him, furious that Blades has disobeyed a direct order and not taken his recharge, resulting in his breaking Cody's gift from his father.

"Don't spank me!" Blades wailed next, but Heatwave's growl answered.

"Oh, you'll be getting a spanking alright- and I'll be the one giving it to you!"

Blades began sobbing harder.

The last time Heatwave had spanked him, it was horrible.

He didn't want it ever again.

"A-a-lll I-I-I wan-want-t-ted-ed t-t-t do wa-wasss to-to p-l-pl-lplay I-I-it!" Blades managed to get out between his crying.

"Well I don't care if that's all you wanted to do!" Dani yelled at him. "You broke it and then lied about it. I say you deserve all the punishment you can get! Cody's heartbroken!"

"Just wait until Optimus hears about this one." Heatwave fumed. " I am so disappointed in you, Blades- I thought you a better bot then to act like a sparkling newly emerged!"

" I cannot believe you would do something so foolish as to risk human lives in not taking your recharge in favor of a childish amusement." Chase scolded harshly.

"It's part of being a Rescue Bot; you have to get your rest." Boulder said sternly.

"And if you can't do that you can forget about being a Rescue Bot!" Heatwave snarled.

"I'm not even sure I can fix it." Graham was shaking his head as he examined the wrecked console.

"You can be sure you will pay for this Blades. I am not very happy with you right now." Chief Charlie said flatly.

"Of all stupid things to do!" Kade exclaimed angrily. "I'm with Heatwave on this one: Can't do as you're told, can't be a Rescue Bot!"

"Come with me." Heatwave grabbed Blades's arm in a fierce grip. " We're doing this right now."

But just as the angry red firebot was dragging a wailing Blades from his berth, the alarms went off.

"Great." Heatwave cursed quietly under his breath, though no one but Blades heard him.

Cody and the rest raced upstairs to find the problem.

Turns out there were forest fire breakouts on the other side of the island, and the flames had trapped several folks.

"Rescue Bots, roll to the rescue!" Heatwave called, then stopped Blades with a laser-hot look. "Not you." And without any further words, turned his back on the shocked helibot, and led the rest of the team minus Cody and Dani out.

Blades let out a whimper, but Dani just glared at him and Cody hung his head and slowly walked to the inner door.

"Cody?" Blades called out before he disappeared.

"Not now Blades." Cody's voice was emotionless, and he didn't turn to look at his friend. "I don't really feel like talking right now." Then he disappeared into the other part of the firehouse, probably to go to his room.

"Not like I blame him." Dani snapped at a crestfallen Blades. " I don't wanna talk to you right now either- and you didn't even break something of mine!"

Dani spun on her heel and stalked off, slamming the door behind her.

Blades slide to the floor and slumped against the wall, burying his face in his servos and crying.

He never meant for this to happen, why did they all have to be so mean to him?

It was an accident he broke it, even though he knew that if he had obeyed Chase and Chief Charlie, he would have been recharging and not been playing that game when he was so tired.

Blades knew he deserved punishment, but he felt like everyone now hated him.

And he was sure he wouldn't have an aft left once Heatwave was done with him.

Maybe Heatwave and Kade were right: maybe he wasn't meant to be a Rescue Bot.

Sniffling, and trying to calm his sobs, Blades knew what he must do.

He was going to leave Griffin Rock and go to the New York City base.

Maybe he could live with the Protectobots; after all, his namesake was there.

He had heard a lot of Blades-The-Protectobot, and would love to meet him.

Having made up his mind, Blades headed to his room to pack.

Heatwave grunted as he ran though the flames and lifted yet another trapped human out from the flames.

"It sure would be easier if Blades were here." He grumbled softly to his partner Kade.

"It sure would. You guys were to hard on him." Kade didn't look at Heatwave.

"Us? You were doing it too!" Heatwave accused hotly.

Kade heaved a sigh. " I know." He admitted quietly. "And I wish I hadn't. The poor guy looked like we ripped his heart right out of him."

"In a way we did." Heatwave sounded regretful. "I really need to apologize to him for how I spoke to him. After all, he is the youngest; I can't expect him to behave like us older bots all the time."

Just then Chase beeped in. "Heatwave?" he said in a heavy voice.

"Go ahead." Heatwave replied.

"I believe we were too harsh on Blades. I should have noticed his distraction last night and checked in on him shortly afterward. I blame myself."

Typical Chase, Heatwave thought fondly.

"I blame myself as well. He's more of my responsibility then yours." Heatwave soothed his distressed second. "We'll apologize when we get back."

"I was just thinking the same." Boulder said softly through the coms. "Graham thinks so too."

"As do I." Chief Charlie confessed.

Hearts and sparks lighter at their decision, the team worked faster, and soon got the fire out and all the humans to safety.

Heatwave had another suggestion on the way back. "I say skip the spanking. He's sorry enough."

All the others agreed, the heavy guilt infesting their all concisenesses lifting a bit more.

Back at the firehouse, Blades had finished packing all his personal belongings, and now was preparing to leave.

Knowing that Dani, who was in the command center, would spot him as he flew away, he created the perfect diversion.

Drawing in a deep breath, he let out the loudest scream he could muster into the bunker.

Then he transformed and flew desperately away, south, towards New York City.

Dani and Cody all but flew down the stairs to see why Blades screamed, but to their horror, he was gone.

Not even a note was left behind on why he left, but when Dani saw his bare room, she broke down crying, and Cody had to try and comfort her through his own tears.

What will this do to Heatwave? The boy wondered in concern.

Blades never made it to New York City.

Shortly after leaving Griffin Rock, tearfully saying his goodbyes as he flew away, laser fire erupted all around him, and he felt a shot strike his rotors, the circuits blowing out and sending him in a free fall straight to the ground.

But before he hit, a blue, white, and red jet transformed beneath him and caught the orange and white copter bot in his arms.

The crimson-opticed Seeker looked down at Blades as he transformed in his lap, meeting the bot's optics with his own.

"Well, half-brother, we finally meet." Starscream, for that's who it was, snickered softly as Blades whimpered.

"Ha-half-brother?" Blades peered at Starscream in confusion and fear.

"That's what I said. Your sparker is the same as mine, though the carrier was different, thank Primus." Starscream replied haughtily.

"Wha-?" Blades floundered, and Starscream set him down on the ground in front of him, rolling his blood-red optics and sighing dramatically as the helibot scrambled away from him.

"In other words, your father is the same as mine, but our mothers were different, thank Primus." Starscream told him.

"I know what you said, I just…how?" Blades hugged his knees tightly to his chest, back firmly against a tree, and Starscream face-palmed himself.

"You Rescue Bots are sooo dull." Starscream complained. "I told it to you, twice already."

Tears welled in Blades's optics, and he sniffled loudly.

"Cut that out. I don't wanna cry-baby for a half-brother." Starscream snapped, and Blades cringed.

Starscream stared at him for several long moments, then sighed and moved over to where Blades sat, his rotors smoking.

"Don't come near me!" Blades cried helplessly as Starscream sat down next to him.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." Starscream murmured soothingly, and it shocked Blades that the jet could actually sound gentle.

It shocked him more when Starscream wrapped his arms around the smaller bot and stroked his back comfortingly while examining the injured rotors.

"Lie down on your front. I think I can fix this." Starscream told him, and Blades obeyed.

Starscream injected a painkiller into the Rescue Bot's back, and set to work.

Blades turned his head to he could see the jet as he worked.

"Why aren't you killing me?" Blades asked in confusion.

Starscream didn't even pause. "Why should I?"

"Because I'm an Autobot."

Starscream chuckled. "What kind of beast do you think I am, killing my own half-brother when it would suit my purposes to leave him alive?" The way he said it sent surges up and down Blades's spinal struts.

"What are your purposes for leaving me alive?" Blades asked fearfully.

"That would be telling." Starscream said in a singsong voice, grinning wickedly at Blades. "Now, how about you tell me what you are doing here all alone and weaponless-wait, I forgot, your great and mighty leader Optimus Prime don't allow you to carry weapons even though all the tech on your little island would attract a certain someone's deadly attention sooner or later, if yours truly decided to let him that is." Starscream's smirk grew wider. "But really, what are you doing out here all alone and with no human master to command you?"

Blades was so upset he didn't even rise to the challenge in Starscream's words, making the Seeker look slightly disappointed.

"I was leaving, I'm-I'm not meant to be a R-Rescue Bot anymore." Blades began to cry again, and Starscream clicked his tongue.

"What did I say about crying? Oh, never mind. But who fed you that load of rubbish? Seems to me you were doing mighty fine being a pet slave of the flesh insects down there."

Once more Blades's didn't respond to the Decepticon's goading, frustrating the jet even more.

Crying harder, Blades told Starscream what had happened during the night, and what his teammates said to him before they left.

He didn't seem to notice Starscream taking such an abnormally long time messing with his circuits.

"I understand you completely." Starscream soothed. "It happens to me all the time. It is such a pity the greatest war-er, minds, are wasted when our superiors make such big deals out of insignificant little shortcomings."

"R-really?" Blades hiccupped softly.

Starscream nodded, his voice warm and optics glowing softly. "Yes. All you can do it take it and move on, knowing that someday you will get your chance to shine as the true hero you are."

The sly Seeker noticed with some satisfaction that Blades was calming down- and hadn't even noticed what he was doing to his circuitry.

"So, who is our father, half-brother?" Blades asked after some silence.

Starscream looked at him in some surprise. "You mean you don't know?" he asked.

Blades shook his head.

"Well…" Starscream looked t his half-finished work inside Blades, then back down at the helibot doubtfully.

If the panicky bot got scared and upset now, it would mess up the delicate re-wiring job he was doing.

"How about I tell you who your carrier was instead?" he suggested.

"Okay." Blades seemed content with that.

But before Starscream could tell him, more laser fire opened up around them, and Starscream dove for cover, dragging Blades along with him.

"Drop the Rescue Bot, coward." Aerialbots landed all around them, and Starscream quickly planted his null rays inside Blades's still-opened back plating.

"Make one more move and he dies." Starscream snarled. "This bot's mine."

Blades's mouth had dropped open, and he was staring in awe at the Aerialbots that held them at gunpoint.

"I have both your wings in my sights Starscream." The one with the most authority in his voice warned.

Blades remembered that he was called Silverbolt.

"And I have his spark in mine." Starscream replied with a sneer.

Blades stiffened, optics widening with fear.

There was a brief standoff, then a roar of rage came from right behind Starscream, whose own optics widened with alarm before a large fisted servo smashed into his helm from behind, knocking the Seeker away from Blades.

Heatwave landed where Starscream had been nanoseconds ago, the jet lying on the ground cradling his head and groaning.

"You keep your filthy servos off my-"

"Younger brother, I know." Starscream interrupted with a pained sigh as the Aerialbots bound his wrist, ankles, and wings.

"What?" Heatwave stared at Starscream, and an Aerialbot quickly stuffed a gag into the Seeker's mouth.

"No, ungag him, I want to know what he means." Heatwave pleaded as the rest of the Rescue Bots came up to them.

"Blades! You're all right!" Cody shrieked, leaping from Boulder's cab and racing to the slightly dazed helibot.

Starscream's optics narrowed as they tracked Cody.

Silverbolt looked sadly at Heatwave. "That is for our Prime to say, not this piece of useless scrap." He replied, ignoring the squeal of outraged from his prisoner.

"If you are my older brother, then Starscream is your half-brother too." Blades mused, his back starting to hurt as the painkillers Starscream had been pumping into his back started to wear off.

"He told you that much already?" Silverbolt exchanged worried glances with his companions.

Heatwave had gone deathly still. "Half-brother by who?" he said faintly, Starscream's optics now boring into the firebot intensely as Heatwave's optics met his.

"By our sparker." Blades replied innocently, not expecting the cry of pain and horror from Heatwave.

"MEGATRON is our shared sparker?!' Heatwave howled with such grief in his voice, that everyone who could move edged away from him.

All the Aerialbots hung their heads as Heatwave began to sob.

"We better call Prime." Silverbolt muttered to Air Raid, who nodded.

TO BE CONTINUED