Long chapter, to make up for the like, years it takes me to update normally!

Thoughts and criticisms are encouraged and appreciated.


It had been hours since Knockout's disappearance, and yet there didn't seem to be any Decepticons falling from the sky to demolish their base. So that was good. It certainly lent credence to Arcee's theory that the groundbridge had been Starscream's. It had already been basically confirmed that he had one, since he'd been getting around so easily without a t-cog. Most of the 'Bots had agreed that Knockout calling for help from Starscream, who he had just seen earlier that day, was the more logical explanation.

Most of them.

Wheeljack remained unconvinced. When he couldn't convince the rest that they should leave, the Wrecker had insisted that they at least keep the base ready to mobilize at a moment's notice. He'd also tried to get the children sent home but getting rid of Miko went as well as anyone expected it to. After a quick shouting match followed by a pretty long standoff where the two just glared at each other, Ratchet finally pulled Wheeljack away so that the matter could be dropped.

After some discussion and a bit of research into their database, the rest of the Autobots had come up with some plausible locations for Starscream's secret hide out and all bridged away individually to try and find it. Wheeljack had refused, of course. He stayed behind with Ratchet and the children intending to guard the base.

This was regarded as a good choice by the others, both because of the injury to his arm and also the fact that he'd made it pretty clear that if he were the one to find Knockout, he'd just end up attacking him again.

At the moment, it was quiet in the base aside from the hiss of Ratchet's welder as he worked on patching Wheeljack's arm. Knockout had exacerbated what originally was a pretty minor wound, but it was still nothing serious. Ratchet kept reminding Wheeljack of that, as if it would make him less angry about being speared by the Decepticon's claws.

Over on the opposite side of the room, the three children were sitting around quietly. Raf was stationed closest to the main computer and typing away on Miko's laptop, probably still researching the different places Starscream might be; Jack was on the couch and appeared to be doing schoolwork; and Miko was right next to Jack and leaning over the back of the couch. She wasn't doing anything in particular, just pouting as she stared over at Wheeljack.

As the silence stretched, she let out a long sigh and finally spoke up. "This suuucks!" She moaned, dropping her face into her folded arms.

Jack lowered his textbook for a moment and gave her a disapproving look, "Miko, don't whine," He said, "Wheeljack still wants to send us home. Don't give him any more reasons."

"Yeah well, who cares what he thinks? I'm mad at him," Miko stood up on the couch and then swung her legs over the back and sat where she'd been leaning. "it's Wheeljack's fault this happened in the first place. Bulkhead and I were gonna watch a movie marathon today and that's ruined now."

"Is that really what you're most concerned about right now?" Jack sounded more annoyed this time, "Knockout ran off with Starscream. He's probably in danger and so are the rest of the Autobots, and you're worried about watching movies!"

Miko folded her arms in front of her chest indignantly. "I am worried about that stuff," She said, "and I had plans with Knockout too. I was gonna stick gum on his tires when he wasn't looking. It would've been great! Way better revenge than Wheeljack's stupid plan to just kill him."

Jack still looked unimpressed, but this got a chuckle out of Raf who finally looked up from his computer.

"What do you want to get revenge on Knockout for? I thought you guys were friends now." He asked.

"No, don't be ridiculous!" Miko stood up and kicked her leg out angrily, "And I wanted revenge for what did to my shoes the other day. He tossed them through the groundbridge into the ocean! AND he said they were ugly and didn't match my outfit." She paused for a moment and then put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Although, I think that was him getting back at me for putting them in his back seat while he was recharging so they'd stink up his cabin… but I only did that because he dumped paint on me when I was trying to paint his nails last week!"

This got Jack to finally smile also. "As I recall, you were going to paint his nails pink. So he painted you pink instead."

Both Raf and Jack laughed as they recalled how furious Miko had looked, stomping about with her head and shirt drenched in paint while Knockout looked all too pleased with himself.

"Don't laugh! You guys are jerks," She shouted. Miko was pouting but clearly trying to hide a bit of a smile, "but just you wait! When Knockout gets back I'm gonna-"

Suddenly she was cut off as a loud clang resonated from the other end of the room. Miko's head snapped around and met Wheeljack's gaze as he glared at her. The mech had slammed his arm that Ratchet was not working on into the metal bench below him, leaving a sizable dent. Miko had never seen him look at her that way, with his optics blazing furiously. It was a little unsettling. Even Ratchet looked surprised and had stopped his work, drawing back a bit at the sudden movement.

"Stop talking about that Decepticon like he's your friend," He finally said, his voice in a low growl, "it's ticking me off."

It was quiet for another moment as Raf and Jack silently went back to their respective tasks. Ratchet didn't speak up either, he just gave Wheeljack a stern look before grabbing ahold of his arm to resume welding. Miko was the only one who continued staring at him. She seemed to be looking for the right words, but nothing was coming to her. After a few seconds of silence she finally spoke up.

"Knockout's not a Decepticon." Her voice was quieter than before, but just audible across the room. "Not anymore. He's changed since he got here."

Wheeljack sneered at her comment and looked away, now just focusing on his arm as Ratchet repaired it. "Even if I did believe that, it doesn't change what he's done," he said, "Someone like that… he's not an Autobot. He never was and he never will be!"

"You don't get to decide who is and isn't an Autobot, Wheeljack!" Miko said, stomping up to the railing to keep glaring at him. "And just so you know, Knockout saved both Jack and me and Bulkhead when he didn't have to. He's not a bad guy anymore!"

"Oh yeah? And how many times prior to that has he tried to slag every other 'Bot on this team? Maybe you can just let it go, but I'm not really a forgivin' type."

"What, are you a Knockout-expert?" Miko shouted, "You've only had that one fight with him, so what would you know?

Wheeljack finally pulled his optics off Ratchet's welder to glare over at Miko again. "I've been fighting 'Cons for longer than your species has existed." He growled, "So I know a lot more than you, kid!"

Miko's face flushed a bright red and she gripped the railing in front of her. She wanted to come up with some clever retort but she was too mad to think of anything good. Wheeljack wasn't like this. Sure the other 'Bots would treat her like a child who didn't know anything a lot, but not him. Wheeljack had always treated her with respect, like she was really part of the team. So this sudden attitude of his was throwing her off.

As she continued to pout and glare, the computer nearby gave off a two toned beep, and Arcee's image popped up on the side of the screen. Ratchet rose from his spot and stepped over to it, placing a hand on the console to type in a command. A moment later he pulled the lever for the groundbridge. The portal sprung to life and Arcee came through it, looking a bit disappointed.

Before she could vocalize that she hadn't found anything, she was interrupted.

"Arcee!" Miko shouted, pointing over at Wheeljack. "Tell Wheeljack to stop being such a jerk!"

Without hesitation, Arcee turned to look at the Wrecker and repeated Miko's words in a level tone. "Wheeljack. Stop being such a jerk."

"You don't even know what we were talking about!" He protested, but Arcee was already turning away to face Ratchet.

"I've got a pretty good guess." She mumbled, then continued louder to the doctor, "Nothing suspicious in the Appalachian ruins. Where to next?"

Ratchet turned back to the computer where there was pulled up a list that he and Raf had compiled of possible locations. "Well, there are still a few downed Decepticon vessels to check. Let's see… The Pale Fire crashed on Earth in the Pacific Islands. Though I doubt Starscream could have gotten to it in the first place without his t-cog. Then there's the Heretic… ah. But that one's submerged too. And in the arctic no less."

As he continued to scroll down the list, hemming and hawing about which one to choose, Raf spoke up.

"What about this one?" He said turning around his computer, showing a matching database to Ratchet's. He had one line highlighted and Ratchet leaned in close to see it.

"The Harbinger." He read, then shook his head slightly, "Right, where the Immobilizer was… it's certainly in the right hemisphere, but that ship was cut in half, and what are the odds a wreck that bad has a working groundbridge?"

"It's a good a place as any to look." Arcee shrugged.

With quiet hum of agreement, Ratchet turned to the console again and cleared the database from the screen and began to enter coordinates. However, before he could finish, the computer let off another two toned beep. This seemed different, though. Rather than one of the Autobots' signals popping up on the screen, a window popped up displaying an unintelligible wavelength.

Pausing in turning on the groundbridge, Ratchet leaned in close to get a look at the signal, a puzzled expression on his face. "What in the Allspark…" he mumbled, "This looks like… Well, it has the basic frequency of an emergency beacon. But we're only picking up a fraction of it."

"Can you get the rest of it?" Arcee stepped a bit closer to look over his shoulder, or rather under it, considering their height difference.

Ratchet started tapping on the keyboard in front of him rapidly. This continued for a good twenty seconds until finally, the wavelength in the corner of the screen disappeared and then quickly reappeared looking a bit more whole. Yes, Ratchet confirmed, it was definitely an emergency beacon.

Raf was now standing and peering through he railing up at the screen as well. "Is it Knockout? Maybe he's in trouble!"

"No, we gave him an Autobot beacon to use… I mean, unless he uninstalled it in the last two hours, which is unlikely." Ratchet replied, "This is a Decepticon beacon. Though it's a bit distorted, which is why we were able to pick it up."

"Can we find out who it is?" Arcee asked.

"There ought to be an identifying frequency attached. Let me see if we have a match in our-" before Ratchet could even finish his sentence, the originator's image popped up in the window alongside the signal. It was quiet for only a second before someone finally spoke up.

"Breakdown!" Wheeljack was on his feet now too and glaring up at the screen.

"That's impossible!" Ratchet continued staring up at the screen as well. "He was killed. His body is being used by-" he cut himself off suddenly, his optics growing wide. "Scrap." He mumbled. "They're trying to lure him in."

"Who's luring who in?" Wheeljack had stepped a bit closer, but was still on the other side of the room.

"It's obviously a trap for Knockout!" Ratchet explained, pointing back at the screen. "Breakdown was killed by MECH and they're using his body, so of course they would have access to his frequency. They want to capture Knockout again, and probably anyone else who comes along with him."

"Ratchet," Arcee spoke up, her tone very grave, "If we were able to pick this signal up, there's no way Starscream missed it. Knockout's definitely going to go after this beacon, whether he knows its a trap or not."

Spinning back around to face the console again, Ratchet began furiously tapping the keyboard. "Arcee, you go scout ahead. If you see Knockout there, try to make him see sense. And do not engage with MECH if you can help it. I'll contact the others and send them along after you, but you might not have backup for a bit while I round them up."

"No worries. I got yer backup right here, Doc."

All eyes in the room flew over to Wheeljack to stare over at him as he drew his blades. He didn't seem at all bothered by the incredulous looks he was getting, and just continued looking expectantly at Ratchet. The medic had stopped short in typing the coordinates into the groundbridge, though.

He was only silent for another second before the expression on his face shifted from shocked to annoyed. "You don't seriously expect me to let you go on this mission," He said, "we're trying to bring Knockout back, not chop him up into a thousand pieces! Put those swords away and sit down."

Wheeljack hurriedly took the last few steps across the room and got right in Ratchet's face, "Who's gonna make me? You?"

When he suddenly approached with his weapons drawn, Ratchet reflexively reached up and covered his neck. He also drew back, pressing himself against the computer's console to get some distance between them. This scene seemed uncomfortably familiar.

Fortunately, Arcee didn't let him bear Wheeljack's intimidating glare for much longer. She stepped between the two, shoving Wheeljack away. "That's enough!" She shouted, meeting his optics with her own fierce glare, "You're not going, Wheeljack, and that's final!"

"You seriously expect me to let you go square off with Starscream and that red jerk all by yourself?!" Wheeljack actually sounded surprised.

"I'm not intending to square off with anybody," Arcee snapped back, "and if I let you come along, I won't be able to talk Knockout down. So back off!"

There was a long pause as Wheeljack merely continued to stare down at Arcee, but he finally seemed to get that she wasn't backing down either. So, with a low rumbling growl, he turned away and sheathed his swords. Arcee watched him take a few steps back towards the bench he'd been sitting on before, just to be cautious, but then looked back to Ratchet.

"Fire it up, Ratch! I'm going in."

As the medic turned to get back to typing, taking one last wary glance over at Wheeljack, Jack hobbled over on his crutches to stand beside Miko as the two watched Arcee approach the bridge in anticipation of it opening.

"Arcee," Jack called out, "be careful out there. If Starscream is with Knockout… well, uh, you already know how bad he is. Just be careful."

"Yeah, and those MECH guys are no joke either!" Miko added, "Don't let 'em get KO again or he's screwed! That guy's useless against those jerks without my help... Tell him I said that too! He'll get mad and want to come home and yell at me."

"I'll contact the others and send them along as soon as I can." Ratchet said, grabbing ahold of the activation switch. He then pulled the lever and the green portal sprung to life. Arcee was about to run through when suddenly she hesitated.

"Oh wait," Taking a quick step to the side, she grabbed ahold of the two ends of Knockout's energon staff that had been left where he'd dropped them earlier. "I don't think that idiot has any weapons besides this and his saws… I'd better bring it along. If MECH is really there then- HEY!"

In that brief moment where there had been no one between him and the groundbridge, Wheeljack had leapt forward, transforming and speeding past Arcee to disappear through the portal. She had turned around just in time to watch him zoom by, but not in time to do anything about it.

Without hesitating any longer, she sprinted through the portal after him, not even bothering to say anything back to Ratchet and the children who were just staring on looking somewhat horrified.

"Oh scrap…" Jack mumbled, looking over at Ratchet, "Wheeljack just pulled a Miko."

"I'm annoyed that that's what you're calling it," Miko didn't sound annoyed, she just seemed surprised as she stared at the still swirling portal, "but yeah dude, not cool! Can't you like, yank him back or something Ratchet?"

"That's not at all how this technology works." Ratchet flipped the lever up, shutting down the bridge again. Then he turned back to the console once again. "I've got to get ahold of Optimus immediately, before the situation becomes even worse!"


While Knockout did enjoy having his work appreciated, Starscream was starting to get on his nerves. The very moment he'd finished the seeker's surgery, he transformed his servos into their blaster forms with the most delighted smile on his face. It actually made Knockout proud of what good work he'd done with such a lousy replacement part.

Of course, after ten minutes of Starscream transforming his servos back and forth all the while yapping on about how grateful he was and how awful it had been not being able to transform, Knockout was getting bored of it. Something about praise from Starscream never seemed sincere for some reason, even though in this case it probably was. And all the repetition didn't help either.

He'd followed Starscream back to the main bridge of the ship, but took along a few of the scattered tool boxes, intending to sort them and find out exactly what else he had to work with here. Also, he was hoping to find the right tools to fix the hole in his side door which Wheeljack's sword had sheared through.

Now, as he sat on the steps near the main platform in the room just poking around and sorting, Starscream continued to pace nearby and absolutely would not shut up.

Finally having enough, Knockout interrupted. "Is there a reason you can't sit still for a single moment?" He asked, being sure to make his annoyance very noticeable in his voice.

Starscream deflated a bit and stopped in his tracks. "Hrmph. I suppose not…" he mumbled, "Don't mind me, of course. I see you're doing very important work there with those tools. Sorting them by color, doctor?"

"By type and color, I'll have you know." Knockout said with a smirk, "Turns out there are some very nice pieces in these sets. And here I thought you were living in a cave somewhere using rocks and sticks for tools. Meanwhile, you've actually got a multi-drive wrench here in red and blue." He went ahead to set the red one aside in a growing pile of what looked to be his favorites.

"Yes, it was quite the stroke of luck that this ship was in such good working order." Starscream nodded, looking around at the bridge, "Although it's felt a bit like a cave at times… not being able to fly has made everything feel more confining."

Knockout nodded along, "Understandable. Being cooped up will do that to you." He agreed.

"It was even more that, though," Starscream took a few steps down the platform and leaned back against the main console as he continued, "There were times where I wanted to transform, as anyone would, but I simply couldn't! It was absolutely dreadful not being able to be the shape I wanted to be."

After a moment where Knockout just stared down at one of the tools in his servos, he shot a knowing glance over at the seeker. "Well goodness, I couldn't possibly know what that's like." He grumbled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Starscream's wings drooped lower but only by a bit. "Ah right, the alt-mode thing…" he said, "It's not quite the same, but I suppose I see your point." With a definitive shake of his helm he stood up straight, his wings flexing outward in a stretch. "Anyway, that's all behind me now! I'm looking forward to soaring through the sky again as a proper jet… erm… how long do I need to wait for this to heal up before I…?" He trailed off at the end of the sentence, looking at Knockout expectantly.

The doctor didn't take his optics off his work as he replied, "Hmm… well, it's been about 20 kliks already. Ideally you should wait a whole subcycle. Though, as long as you're careful during transformation so you don't tear open your welds, I'm comfortable clearing you to go now."

"Oh! Excellent!" Starscream's optics seemed to brighten and he clicked his long claws together excitedly, "Thank the Allspark, I was going to drive myself insane just waiting around here."

Starscream wasn't paying attention to Knockout's expression, but if he had been he'd have realized he wasn't the only one being driven insane. The seeker took a few excited steps towards the exit before pausing and looking to the main console behind him again.

"Ah but I should turn off the gravity again before I go. This ship leaks an obscene amount of energy due to it's… well, due to half it's pipelines being sliced in two."

With a heavy sigh, Knockout pulled one of the tool boxes onto his lap and started to load up some of the tools again. "Fine," he moaned, "At least give me a moment to clean up before you do. Some of these are a bit delicate and I'd rather they not get thrown across the room."

"Fair enough." Starscream stepped over to the computer but didn't touch the controls just yet. He stood there quietly, impatiently tapping one of his claws against his arm and watching as Knockout continued to pack away tools. A few seconds passed in silence until, all of a sudden, the screen behind Starscream came to life, announcing itself with a quiet beep.

"Ugh, what now?" He mumbled, placing his digits on the console to begin typing.

Knockout only paused for a moment to look, then continued loading tools back into the toolbox on his lap. "Something wrong, Screamy?"

"The ship is-" he paused and glared back at Knockout for the nickname, but then signed and continued with his though. "The ship is picking up an emergency beacon somewhere on this planet." His claws clacked against the console as he typed a command to bring up the details of the signal. He had no intention of going to their aid, but he was curious who sent it out.

He looked up at the screen in silence for a moment, then hummed thoughtfully. Knockout didn't look up, just kept going about his work as he spoke up.

"So, are you going to leave me in suspense?" He said with a slight smile, "Which hapless Decepticon is crying out for help?"

Starscream hesitated for a moment, still staring up at the screen. "Forgive me for being so blunt, Knockout, but from our conversation earlier… I had assumed you were implying that Breakdown was deceased."

There was a sudden metallic crash behind him and Starscream spun around to see Knockout had stood up so fast the tool box in his lap had been thrown down the stairs, sending the tools inside scattered across the floor. The medic hadn't even seemed to notice, though, he was staring intently at Starscream.

"It's from Breakdown?"

"Yes, it would appear so." Starscream was tapping his claws against the console quietly. "I don't mean to pry, doctor, but what exactly happened with him? He can hardly be dead if he's sending out messages like this, so…?"

"He is dead." Knockout stormed up to the console, practically shoving Starscream aside, "Those humans stole his frame and that scum Silas is using him like a puppet. It's disgusting!" He was typing furiously on the console and a few more details popped up under the window, including a set of coordinates. "And now they're trying to lure in and capture more Decepticons so they can build an army of corpses."

"Ah." Starscream nodded, "So this is a trap. That makes more sense. Well, since we know, there's no reason to-"

The seeker didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, Knockout had already turned and headed straight for the door.

"What are-? Knockout!" Starscream's voice climbed to a high pitch as he rushed after the medic. "What exactly do you expect to do?"

"Kill them." Knockout snarled, not looking up at the seeker and definitely not breaking stride. "All of them. They deserve it."

"Yes perhaps, but- would you stop?!" Starscream grabbed ahold of Knockout's tires on his back and pulled him away from the door just as he was about to walk through it. Knockout glared up at him but said nothing. "Now listen, let's think about this tactically for a moment. They've set up this trap for a purpose, possibly to target you specifically. And we know it's a trap, so they'll be expecting someone to come to it. So no matter what way we approach, they would have the upper hand."

"You promised that you would help me get revenge," Knockout looked away, a fierce snarl still on his face, "and I'm not waiting. So are you coming or not?"

"You'll have a hard time getting that revenge if your spark is extinguished." Starscream snapped. Then he let out a dramatic sigh and released Knockout's shoulder, "But I can see you're intent on this no matter what I say." Stepping around the other mech, Starscream headed out the door. "Very well, let's go then. I'll grab the Apex Armor, and we can start strategizing when we get to the groundbridge."

Knockout looked a bit surprised as he hurried after the seeker. "I didn't expect you to actually come." He grumbled.

Starscream glanced back at him as he continued down the hall. His voice took that lower, dark tone as he spoke again. "Don't forget doctor, I have a score to settle with those humans just as you do," He said, "I intended to go after them sooner or later, anyway. This particular scenario is a bit riskier than I'd prefer, but if I don't help, you were about ready to go rush in with no plan."

The angry scowl on Knockout's face finally broke for a moment as he smirked at the comment. "Don't be stupid. It's not my style to go barreling into fights unprepared."

"No, you're right. I suppose of the two of you, Breakdown was the one who did that."

When he got no response, Starscream glanced over at Knockout again. His tentative smile was gone again and he was just glaring straight forward.

"Hmm. Now, when you said 'puppet' before," Starscream said, "do you mean to say that this Silas human is inside his frame and piloting him somehow?"

"It's something like that. A bit worse, actually." Knockout confirmed, "In any case, he's not going to be doing it for much longer if I can help it."

"Of course not." Starscream stopped as they reached another door along the hall and stepped inside. It was a very small storage chamber and housed on the bottom was a single small locker compartment. Reaching down, he undid the combo and pulled out the Apex Armor.

Turning back around he smirked at Knockout. "Understandably, your grudge seems to be with that human in particular. So I'll leave him to you… or at least if I do end up fighting him, I'll be sure to just disable him so you can dismantle him slowly at your leisure. It's the least I can do."

Knockout's smile was back, just as Starscream expected it to be after that promise. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Starscream."

"Well, I like to think I'm not an unreasonable mech," Starscream stepped back into the hall and the door closed behind him, "after all, I'll be happy with squashing the rest of the humans while you have your fun."

Fun.

Knockout followed along as Starscream continued onward towards the groundbridge. He probably would have used the word fun to describe taking revenge as well, so he wasn't sure why the word felt suddenly jarring. It popped into his mind what the Autobots might think of such a descriptor for something as gruesome as taking apart his enemy piece by piece.

Although he did intend to do that, whether or not the Autobots would approve, so worrying about it made no sense. They had just gotten into his head with their pacifist nonsense. He didn't have to worry about that with anymore. Starscream wasn't about to try and convince him to let it go and move on. No, they were definitely similar on this front: neither of them were forgiving types.