Author's Notes: While there are jokes in this chapter, I went with a vibe that was more exciting than funny. Still, there is some humor in here. I just had to get this idea out of my system :)

Chapter 11

Restless

Rumble had searched all over the city looking for Frenzy. He couldn't find his brother anywhere! He had expended most of his fuel reserves in his futile search, so he had to finally give up and get some recharge. If only his recharge cycle hadn't been filled with such crazy dreams…

...

Rumble was falling fast! The blue sky and white clouds raced past him as he began to accelerate toward his inevitable crash and death!

Just as he was falling he noticed Sideswipe coming right at him in his jet pack holding a skillet and grinning wider than the Joker! Rumble flailed his arms in a vain attempt to escape the crazy Autobot, but it was no use!

"Hey, pal! Lose something?" Sideswipe asked mockingly as they continued to fall.

"Um, why are you holding a frying pan?" Rumble asked instead of answering the question.

"I'm making breakfast, duh!" Sideswipe answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and then he flew off in a cloud of white smoke.

Next thing Rumble knew, he was on the ground in a dark red room. He was in the center of a circle of Autobots as they watched him with eerie glowing blue optics! He shifted nervously, but no one moved or spoke a word. Rumble trembled in place and wondered what they were going to do to him. He tried to ask them what they wanted, but his voice came out as a pig's snort!

After a few tense minutes, there was a loud howl from every member of the leering Autobot circle!

"AHH!" Rumble screamed and then ran as fast as he could; the Autobots hot on his trail!

Rumble ran down a dark nondescript road as he tried his best to get away from the mob of frightening Autobots! He bumped into something, and looked up to see Jazz and Frenzy having a tea party in the middle of the road!

"Hi, Rumble!" Frenzy said in a chipper tone of voice, "Wanna join us?"

"Um...Sure," Rumble replied uncertainly.

"Well, you can't!" Frenzy suddenly snapped, "Because you don't know where I am!"

Suddenly the tea party melted away, and the black muck formed into the familiar form of Ravage! The cat's yellow optics peered into Rumble's very soul! He backed away, but the panther stalked toward him like a predator cornering its prey!

"So Rumble...Ready to go back home?" Ravage asked verbally, and Rumble wondered when Ravage learned to talk without a comm link.

"Not without Frenzy!" Rumble stomped indignantly.

"Then I suggest you stop sleeping on the job," Ravage said calmly as he licked his paw indifferently, "Wake up, you idiot!"

"Huh?" Rumble asked as the world became fuzzy.

...

Rumble awoke as two small human kids poked his foot with a stick. He was too sore to get up right away, but he knew he was still lying in that parking lot he fell asleep in.

"Do you think it's dead?" One kid asked the other.

"It can't be dead, barf breath!" The other snapped rudely, "It's a robot!"

"Do you think it's an Autobot or a Decepticon?" The first kid asked.

"I dunno…" Replied the other kid, "Think our parents will let us keep it?"

Rumble was growing indignant, but rather than simply chase the kids away, he wanted to get a little satisfaction first! He slowly turned his hands into pile drivers, and then shook the ground all around himself and the annoying brats!

"Ahh! What was that?" The first kid asked.

"I'm makin' a hole for your graves, you little punks!" Rumble yelled over the sound of his own pounding.

"AHH!" The kids screamed in unison before running away from an irate Rumble.

"That almost felt good!" Rumble smiled triumphantly, "Now to find Frenzy!"

Frenzy knelt before Megatron as the Decepticon overlord glared down at him. They were alone on a country road, and Frenzy felt a shudder in his spark at being alone with such a dangerous mech. He was still too afraid to look his leader in the face, and he knew that whatever explanation he gave, if he was even allowed to give one, would be pointless. He and Rumble had left their posts.

"You and Rumble left your posts," Megatron said ominously, "You've been gone for 5 earth months without so much as a single transmission to report your location to me!"

"I'm sorry, boss!" Frenzy pleaded, "Our comm signals were damaged! We weren't able to to-"

"Silence!" Megatron roared, "You were not given permission to leave the base! Now I find you after you've abandoned your posts for months?! You and your brother are traitors to the Decepticon cause! There is only one punishment for treason…"

"Please, Lord Megatron!" Frenzy shouted; using Megatron's official title for perhaps the first time ever, "We're not traitors! We did all this for you! We wanted to conquer human cities to harvest more energon for you! Please forgive us for taking so long! We're sorry!"

Even without Rumble by his side, Frenzy couldn't help but refer to himself as we. His brother was as much a part of him as his own circuits.

"Oh? You wanted to conquer cities for me, eh?" Megatron asked mockingly, "And how many cities do you have at your beckon call, Frenzy?"

"Um...none, sir…" Frenzy answered in a tiny timid voice.

"None…" Megatron reaffirmed, "Then you are weak! Weakness coupled with treason! You are lower than an Autobot, Frenzy! I will not put up with traitorous weaklings in my unit!"

"But you put up with Starscream!" Frenzy exclaimed before he could stop himself.

Megatron's scowl deepened, and he would've looked like he was pouting if it weren't for the glowing red optics that shone with pure hatred. He didn't speak to Frenzy for a few seconds. Instead he pushed a few buttons on his chest armor. Frenzy's armor beeped in response, and with a sickening dread he knew what the old warlord had done to him…

"No!" Frenzy shouted, "Not the self-destruct bomb! You can't! I promise I'll do better! Please give us another chance!"

"Too late," Megatron said with finality as he turned to fly away, "In 50 astro seconds there won't even be enough of you left for spare parts. Farewell, traitor."

With those soft spoken yet cryptic words Megatron flew away; leaving Frenzy on the narrow country road alone and his life literally ticking away!

Frenzy started running around panicking! He needed to find a way to disarm the bomb next to his spark chamber! Why, oh why did Megatron insist on every soldier having one of these stupid things? Furthermore, how did Starscream get his off?

He grabbed a nearby rock and started banging it against his chest like a caveman! That wasn't really doing anything besides putting dents in his chassis. Next he pulled a fence post out of the ground and tried to use the sharp but muddy tip to pry open his chest compartment! No luck!

Frenzy was running out of ideas when he realized something that made him feel stupid...It was his chest! He could just push a button on his forearm to open it!

Heaving a sigh, Frenzy opened his chest compartment to remove the bomb, but before he could even get to it he saw the timer ticking 4, 3, 2, 1, 0!

"Nooooo!" Frenzy wailed as he waited for the kaboom.

The bomb casing rattled, but instead of a 2 megaton bomb exploding him to bits, a piece of paper flew out of the casing and into the air!

Frenzy grabbed the paper, wondering what blessed being saved his life that day. He looked down at the paper, and the note read: Dear Frenzy, I am borrowing your time bomb for a prank. Promise to return it soon. Rumble ;)

"Whew!" Frenzy sat down hard on his aft as he looked over the note again.

For once, he was grateful that Rumble was a moocher that never returned anything he borrowed. He smiled and let the note fly away in the breeze and into the sky.