Author Note: A little bit shorter than the previous.

Not sure I like this chapter... Oh well, enjoy.

Seeking Solace – Chapter 7

Skywarp appeared in front of Thundercracker with a bright purple flash. He was smiling, but that smile faded when he saw what was in front of him.

Starscream was leaning against Knockout, his optics offline. For a spark splitting nanosecond, Skywarp thought he was offline.

Thundercracker, noticing his concern smiled and sent a wave of reassurance through their bond.

"He's fine. Megatron just..."

Skywarp nodded, not needing to hear the words. He glanced over to Knockout, who was currently being used as Starscream's pillar of support. His optics settled on staring at the bright blue that leaked from his chassis.

"I'm fine. Just a gash," he said waving his hand dismissively. He winced at the sudden movement and moved his arm over his chassis again.

Skywarp raised a brow plate, "I don't think either of you are fine."

He glanced to Thundercracker expectantly; usually he had some sort of advice or something smart to say.

"Skywarp, warp these two to med bay. I'll meet you there. We need to give them some Energon and then warp them off the Nemesis. We can't have Megatron getting his servos on either of them."

Skywarp nodded and knelt beside Starscream, holding him upright. He put a servo onto Knockout's arm. Knockout flinched slightly at the touch but didn't protest.

They warped away in a flash of purple.

Thundercracker sighed in relief. Now he just needed to make sure Megatron hadn't killed all of the Vehicons.


Knockout's knees buckled and he leant against a wall for support.

"Warn me next time!" he growled.

Skywarp shrugged, "Sorry. You get used to it. Star used to purge his tanks when he first teleported with me."

Knockout raised an optical ridge but didn't say anything else. With one servo held to his chassis, he began working around his med bay.

For a moment, Knockout turned and expected to see Breakdown there to hand him all the necessary tools. He was disappointed when he only saw Skywarp staring at him strangely.

Deciding to ignore the purple seeker, he distracted himself by moving around med bay gathering all of the tools he needed to repair Starscream and himself.

Once he had collected the appropriate tools, Knockout wandered back over to the seekers. Skywarp had picked up Starscream and placed him on a med berth.

Knockout nodded in approval and then began to work quickly and effectively, as he had always prided himself on doing. He tried to patch up Starscream as best as possible with the limited time they had, but it was still taking far longer than he had hoped for.

Cursing to himself, his servos began to move faster and his medic's training took over. Completely ignoring the pain that came with moving around Starscream so quickly, he began to repair his wings – the part of him that would take the longest to fix.


Thundercracker walked slowly and as quietly as he could manage around the corner. He was sure that the Eradicons had lead Megatron around here.

It took some time, but finally, Thundercracker managed to locate the offlined Eradicons. They were scattered around the hallway, some with holes in their armour that looked like a fusion canon blast and some lacking heads.

Lowering himself onto one knee, he inspected the Eradicons. It looked like they had fought for quite some time before they were offlined, but they had never really stood a chance against Megatron.

Countless Eradicons died on a daily basis during raids or encounters with Autobots. Sometimes when Megatron was in a bad mood, he would take his anger out on the Eradicons since he didn't have Starscream to throw around.

He wondered what it was like to live like them; knowing that your death was inevitable. He shook his helm and rose to his pedes. He would have to call for a cleanup, eventually.

Now, however, he was going to see Starscream.

He spun on his heel and began to walk, only to find Megatron blocking his path.

"M-My Lord... What are you doing here?"

Thundercracker looked up at Megatron, who towered over him and suddenly felt a lot like his trine leader. Thundercracker, however, had no idea how Starscream managed to deal with him every day, let alone survive his beatings.

"Have you seen your trine leader?"

Thundercracker looked away.

"N-No, my Lord. I... I admit, I was looking for him myself."

Megatron just stared down at the blue seeker who was shying away from him; apparently Starscream's trine mates had more self-preservation than their trine leader.

"Perhaps he's already escaped?" Thundercracker offered.

Megatron snorted and slapped Thundercracker out of the way.

Thundercracker fell into a wall and quietly vented air; panicking right now wouldn't do anybody any good.

He stood up and followed after him, sure that Megatron knew he was there, but unsure as to what to do from there.


Skywarp stood leaning against a wall in med bay, watching Knockout work. Energon flowed brightly from his chassis, but he seemed to be ignoring it in favour of Starscream.

He was bored out of his processor, but he wouldn't leave Starscream. He hadn't seen him in eons and even if he was in recharge it was reassuring to just be in his presence.

Skywarp's felt his spark reach out to Starscream. It was comforting knowing that he was ok – for the most part. They just needed to bond again so that their connection would be stronger.

He smiled fondly at the memories of his trine back on Cybertron. They had bonded before the war and stayed neutrals during the years that the war had been confined to words and minor skirmishes.

They had sided with the 'Cons after they were attacked by Autobots who had thought they were Decepticons. Skywarp had defended them all and insisted on their neutrality, but the 'Bots were stubborn and convinced that all the flyers were 'Cons.

Starscream had been hurt the most, and had wanted revenge on the Autobots. Thundercracker and Skywarp had both agreed completely.

In hindsight, it wasn't their best choice, but they all doubted that they would be welcomed into the Autobots; especially after Skywarp offlined one of them.

If the Autobots were naive enough to think that all fliers were 'Cons, then they'd prove them right.

"Skywarp, Megatron is headed towards med bay. Get Star and Knockout out of there and then warp to our quarters."

Skywarp jumped at Thundercracker's voice coming through their bond. After the initial shock, Skywarp shook his helm and stood up straighter once he realised just what Thundercracker had said.

Megatron was coming for them.

Frag.

Knockout looked up from Starscream to see Skywarp suddenly become alert and jumpy. He tilted his helm to the side questioningly.

"Megatron!" Skywarp said, his volume increasing in urgency.

"I haven't finished repairing Starscream!"

"We have no time! Grab some Energon cubes. Quickly."

Knockout nodded and rushed to the Energon store room. He sub spaced a few cubes and then scurried around the med bay gathering things he would need for later. He stopped, however, when he heard footsteps.

Skywarp glared at him and Knockout moved to the purple seeker. He put a servo on Starscream's wing and they teleported away with a purple flash.

Knockout just hoped that Megatron didn't notice the extra energon on the med berth.