Chapter 13: Dinobots
Rating: T
Warning: Heat cycles, implied shotacon, incest, kidnapping

It was a beautiful orn; the sun was shining, the sky was the most perfect blue and the weather was nice and mild. A perfect day, thought a young autodog, to finally be doing his job all by himself. Straightening his shirt collar, the youngling turned on his cash register, eagerly awaiting the customers he'd soon be cashing out. It was the confidence and thrill of a new responsibility that had the mech practically bouncing on his pedes with anticipation.

A shadow fell across the conveyor belt and the pup fought to keep down his squeal of excitement. Quickly, he turned his helm to his first customer, lip components stretched in a wide grin. "Good day, sir! How ar- ah, ah, ah..." The youngling's optics flared in horror, a small whimper escaping him, as he looked up at the giant mech towering over him.

A blue visor dimmed testily; sharp denta tightening into a scowl and scruffy ears flicking in annoyance. Behind the giant flanked two more 'bots: another dangerous, rough looking mech who was shorter and wider, but had an expression of mild indifference, mild ire fixed on his face; and a thin, more innocent-appearing sparkling who only came to about the cashier's hip.

A low growl tore the autodog away from his inquisitive stupor, turning his attention back to the threat in front of him. Paling further, the youngling could only whimper in distress, to afraid to do anything -even flee for safety!

"S-sorry, sir, let me help you sir," stuttered the manager, quickly elbowing the cashier out of his booth and taking over his till. "Y-you must excuse t-the pup... I-it's his first time o-on the job," the older mech added, scanning through the stranger's items. Chuckling anxiously, the manager fell silent for a klik; bagging the groceries before telling the giant his total.

Silently, the stranger pulled out a handful of credits, dumping them into the autodog's expectant servos. Fumbling with the cash a little, the manager quickly punching the sum into the register and giving the other his change. Pocketing it, the dangerous 'bot then grabbed the bag of alcohol, whipping a shopping list out of his other pocket. The squat one grabbed the rest of the bags, the little mech grabbing his tail and trailing after the two bigger strangers.

Trembling still, the youngling refrained from even breathing until the trio had exited out of the small grocery store. "W-who we-were those s-scary 'bots?!," he squeaked then, servos clenched at his face, fearful they'd come back.

His manager sighed, shutting off the pup's register and turning to the younger autodog. "Next time, make sure you cash them through quickly," he told sternly. "Those would be the Wolf brothers from down the way. They're not real autodogs -they're wild, uncivilized beasts but they can best you before you even knew what happened. The only way to keep them from breaking your neck is to to get them out of here as quick as possible. And remember: never -NEVER- look them in the optic. That's a sure way to get pulverized."

The youngling gulped.

"Now," the manager continued wearily, "Get back to work." He turned, leaving the other mech whimpering at his cash, remembering with dreaded clarity his close encounter with death just a few kliks ago.

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Down the way, just past the local supermarket and city hall, deep in the woods, was a cottage. Rugged and starting to show signs of age, this usually cheerful accommodations was home to three wolves. Grimlock, the oldest, ruled as Alpha Male, in charge of buying the groceries and making sure they had a warm place to sleep at night. Snarl, still just a youngling but nearing mechhood, was responsible for maintaining their home, keeping it in some semblance of tidy and clean. And then there was Swoop, who was by far the youngest at only several stellar cycles, whose only duty was cooking and occasionally washing the laundry. Both of his brothers thought him too young for anything else just yet and were content to let the sparkling have his time for play.

Coming home from a long orn working at the docks, Grimlock threw his dufflebag to the floor as he stomped carelessly into his home. "Snarl, Swoop -me Grimlock home," he huffed. A joyful chirp met his ears before he saw his little brother tear out of their shared room, a smile on his face and a glow in his optics.

"Brother!," Swoop cried happily as he threw himself at the bigger wolf. Grimlock caught him smoothly, lifting the tiny sparkling up and bumping foreheads with the smaller 'bot. "Me Swoop missed you lots. You having good day, big brother Grimlock?"

"Grimlock have good day, but me glad to be home," the mech answered. He saw Snarl come out of the berthroom as well, servos folded in his sweater's pouch. "What you brother Swoop and Snarl do all day?"

"Usual," the youngling replied flatly. "Dinner made already; we just waiting for you Grimlock. Now we can eat."

"Me Grimlock glad."

"Me Swoop read book!," Swoop piped up, grasping at one of his brother's ears to get his attention. The older wolf turned his helm back to the sparkling, being met with an expression of immense pride and joy. "Swoop do all by myself. Snarl no help!"

Grimlock was silent for a moment, before raising a servo and roughly patting Swoop on his helm. The young cub purred happily at the action, missing the scowl his eldest sibling threw to Snarl. Snarl frowned back, shrugging, before crossing the room to the kitchen area and grabbing their dinner from the stove. "We eat now, Grimlock say," the biggest wolf proclaimed. He set Swoop down. "Swoop go wash, then Grimlock do the same."

Nodding his helm quickly in understanding, Swoop skipped from the room and to the washroom.

Once the door had been shut, Grimlock turned to Snarl. "What you Snarl allowing him Swoop to read for?," the wolf growled. "Books are no good; books not put food on table. Him Swoop should be learning real things, like how to find best wood and carry home, or how to set trap and bait for beasts. School is for weak, rich autodogs, not real mechs."

The youngling frowned back, setting their pot roast on the little wooden table they would eat at. "Book not bad, Swoop just having fun. He Swoop likes them, not school. He still learning to be strong wolf," Snarl answered. "You Grimlock should let him Swoop be."

The older mech opened his mouth to say more, but Swoop was skipping back into the room, and Grimlock was quick to silence his oncoming words. He watched the sparkling clamber up onto a chair, scratching his brother behind his ear as he got up out of his own seat. "You Swoop is good boy. You Swoop grow up to be big and strong," Grimlock said, "But first Swoop must eat. Me Grimlock join you after me wash."

That said, the large wolf wandered off to the washroom, leaving Swoop purring and kicking his pedes at the table while Snarl dished up their supper.

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"Me Swoop ask please big brother. Please..."

Grimlock gripped the sheets tightly, pressing further back against the pillows as his youngest brother Swoop clambered up into his lap; sharp, little claws digging into his shoulder plating as the sparkling pulled himself higher up the other 'bot's frame. Normally, the bigger wolf was used to Swoop climbing all over his chassis, but this time it was different... There was lust burning in those hooded optics and pale cheekplates were flushed with rich energon. Against his pelvic plating, the smaller wolf was hot like fire; his intakes short and quick as he kneaded Grimlock's plating.

"P-please, brother," Swoop whined softly, grinding slowly against the larger wolf. Blue optics looked up at him pleadingly. "Swoop want; Swoop need. Please... you Grimlock t-take me S-swoop for m-mate?"

The eldest mech growled, olfactory sensors twitching as the scent of the other's heat reached them. It was Swoop's first cycle, and the sparkling's lubricants were rich and thick, intoxicating to the Alpha wolf. It took all of his strength to keep himself in check when Grimlock felt those molten fluids drip onto his stomach plating as the cub scrambled higher up his frame.

"You Swoop must-"

"Swoop beg of you Grimlock!," the sparkling keened, pressing trembling kisses to his brother's fanged mouth. "Only you brother is wanting. You Grimlock strong, brave, most smartest... you is greatest mate. Swoop want no other!"

"Pl-please... please, t-taking of Swoop, is begging you. Me S-swoop wanting to b-be claimed b-by you brother."

Grimlock grabbed hold of the younger wolf as Swoop leaned in closer, scent growing richer as his arousal peaked. It called to the mech, stirring up his primal desires; ordering him to give into the calling and take what was rightfully his. But rationality was still present and it forced the wolf to push the sparkling away.

"You Swoop out of place," Grimlock snarled, trying to resist the temptation before him still, "You is young cub; you not understand. Me Grimlock not be mate, me Grimlock brother. Mate come later when you Swoop ready."

Tumbling backwards a little on the berth from the harsh shove the older 'bot had given him, Swoop quickly sat back up, denta bared at Grimlock. Coolant glazed the narrowed optics, rejection shimmering in the blue glass. "Swoop is ready," he growled in return, "You no tell Swoop when he ready. I-if you Grimlock no w-want Swoop, th-then... then Swoop f-find other mate. B-better than brother is!"

The sparkling scratched at the older wolf's servo when Grimlock reached for him, hurrying off the berth and running out of the cottage. Grimlock huffed, getting off the berth and heading for the washroom. He trusted that Swoop would be safe enough out in the woods around their home, but right now he had to get the traces of his brother's lubricants off before he could control his lust no longer.

XXXXXXXXX

He was burning up inside, and now his spark was aching as well.

Swoop crashed through the bushes and leaves, running further into the woods, as far away from his brother as was possible. He had not expected to go into heat so young in his life, since he'd only learned about mating and the like a couple stellar cycles ago, but even still, the sparkling knew that if his body was running through the changes it meant that he was ready to take on a mate. And there was only one that he could think worthy enough: his brother Grimlock.

In his processor, he could see it now. The older wolf was powerful and full of courage; he could protect him and his future offspring without any trouble. Grimlock had a good job and brought home plenty of food, plus he was caring and kind. He loved Swoop already. Why then could his brother not see him as a potential mate?

Sniffling, Swoop started to slow down now, well deep in the forest; his heat cycle spiking again incessantly, demanding that he mate. But there was no one around, and the one that the cub loved did not want him. Overwhelmed with sorrow, the sparkling laid down on a soft bed of moss, curling up as his claws scratched around the rim of his valve. He was tempted to plunge them deep into his passage to alleviate the growing pain, but that would not be honourable he knew. His valve was sacred, meant only for the touch of his mate, not for his own selfish clawing.

Prying his servos away from his pelvic plating, the wolf turned and pressed his face into the dirt some more, drowning out his tears. He almost missed the stranger's approach; sitting up and whirling around in surprise. The thin kittycon loomed over him, red optics glowing faintly from behind the translucent green mask he wore over his helm.

"Well... look at what I've found," he mumbled to himself, his tone somewhat disinterested. The tabby's tail flickered as Swoop growled at him, claws flexing defensively. Quickly, the stranger lashed out, kicking the wolf to the floor again, dropping onto the sparkling; one servo wrapping around the smaller mech's slender throat. "I'd say autodog... but you're much more than that, aren't you? And would you look at that..."

The kittycon's gaze dropped down to his exposed valve; slick walls rippling hungrily at the older 'bot's heavy frame straddling him.

"In heat, are we? Hmmm... This shall work in my favour I think." The tabby smirked, reaching into his white lab coat and withdrawing a vial. He popped the cap on it, holding the small bottle and its mysterious fluid towards the sparkling's olfactory sensor. "Don't worry, cub," the cruel voice purred darkly, "It's only a special serum to make you sleep. It won't harm you..."

Swoop tried to twist his helm away, but the kittycon's grasp around his neck made it hard to do so. He cycled a sharp intake, fangs bared, taking in the unknown scent. It made him cringe, ligaments tensing before darkness started to crowd around the edges of his vision and heaviness settled into all his joints.

"Sleep...," he could hear the kittycon say again as he slipped into unconsciousness, "... and when you wake, the tests shall begin..."

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When Swoop awoke, it was to find himself trapped in a cramped cage, set on the floor. All around him was dark walls with no light, except from what came from the hundreds of strange vials and beakers set around the room. Some bubbled, some hissed and others produced a foul smoke that made the sparkling gag and growl anxiously in his little prison. They all glowed in a myriad of different colours, like some sort of twisted rainbow; blue flames dancing beneath their glass bottoms.

The wolf did not like the looks of the mysterious brews.

"I see you're awake now," a voice piped up. Swoop turned as best as he could in his cage, watching as the stranger from before entered into the room, shutting the door behind him and plunging everything back into semi-darkness once more. "Welcome to my lab, little one."

"Or," the kittycon drawled, striding forward, "That is what I would say if I had a proper lab and not some hovel in the ground. Unfortunately, the scientific community does not care for my work and thus I've been cut from achieving my rightful standing. But... you may just be the key to changing that."

"W-what... what you do with Swoop?," the cub growled, grasping the bars of his cage anxiously. He watched as his captor headed for the nearest table, opening a thick book and penning something onto the pages.

"Have you ever heard of 'dormant genetics'?" Swoop frowned in confusion. Catching the look, the tabby smirked, occupying himself next with a large syringe and a small bottle of a clear liquid. "No, no I didn't think you would. A theory I devised back when I still had my license stated that all 'bots started from three individual roots. Now, I never cared much about our ancestors and the like -all boring drivel in my opinion- but cases have been documented in the past couple decades of strange anomalies present in individual CNA."

The mech flicked the needle's tip, squeezing the bottom a little so a tiny bit of the unknown concoction squirted into the air. Pleased, the kittycon approached the trapped sparkling; a strange glow coming to his optics.

"Perhaps it's the influx of mix-breeding that is being introduced into society these days... The young ones don't hold themselves to the same restrictions as their parents do," the older 'bot mused to himself as he reached into the cage for Swoop. The wolf tried to struggle, but the kittycon merely tugged him tight against the bars, injecting the needle's point into the thin plating of his arm. "It would be the only catalyst really as to why strange new coding is being discovered in sparkling CNA. I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that though, would you?"

The sparkling hissed at the quick prick, swooning suddenly as the mysterious liquid coursed through his energon lines; flaming the dying embers of his heat cycle until it was roaring once more. Moaning weakly, Swoop pressed against the cool bars, trying to grasp at the mech's sleeve as the stranger withdrew.

"No, of course not. You're nothing but a wild, little thing -you would know nothing about the scientific community and the uproar about 'wings'."

"W-wings...?," Swoop mumbled confusedly. He was losing focus on reality now, overwhelmed by his basic programming and the heat cycle. All he could pay attention to -all he felt that he needed- was this strange mech before him, who smelled odd and unnatural, but who held such a strong presence.

"Yes. Wings," smirked his warden. He placed the syringe on the table, grabbing his book again and writing something down. "My theory was that a root strand, almost lost since the time of the first three great ancestors, allowed for something as unnatural as 'wings' to be formed from additional ligaments and cabling along the back of the rotor joints on each side of the spinal struts. Too much pure-breds dulled the strand, losing such mobility and compatibility for such an occurrence to happen again but kittycon-autodog coupling seems to be triggering the binary CNA coding, creating this physical effect once more."

"But of course, spouting such unfounded rambling was what had my license revoked in the first place...," the kittycon grumbled to himself. "Well, that, and my chemicals. CNA is a very delicate and somewhat toxic branch of work; to even begin mimicking such ingenuity, one must not be afraid to dabble in slightly... poisonous trades. A shame my colleagues could not see that."

Tabby tail flickering in dark amusement, the mech stalked around the tables, picking up and discarding various tools, as if he was unsure of which ones he wanted to use first. "No matter though. I shall make them see the error of their ways soon, and you, you cub will be the means to my resurrection to high society once more," he purred sickly, grabbing a pair of blue gloves and snapping them on. Swoop panted heavily in his cage, his irrational processor whispering at him to flee even as he weakened further from the return of his heat cycle. "Such primitive and undiluted CNA... you shall be the perfect subject for my study."

The stranger stalked back to the little cage, his optics lit with madness as he crouched before the wolf. "I look forward to cutting you up little one and discovering all the secrets you hold inside."

Lids growing heavy, Swoop shuddered, curling up on the bottom of his prison.

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Grimlock looked up from the t.v as Snarl came through the door, a bag slung over his shoulder plating. The youngling stopped, looking around, sniffing the air curiously. "Something smell weird...," the younger wolf noted, frowning. He stopped, looking around again. "Where is Swoop?"

The Alpha male scowled in return. "What you Snarl talking about? Swoop outside home, moping."

"It smell not right though...," his brother replied.

Grimlock huffed, turning back to the screen. "Brother fine. You go bring Swoop in now; we eat now," the older wolf ordered. Snarl put his bag to the floor, his ears perked worriedly.

"But... Snarl not see Swoop outside. No smell him brother either."

The mech jumped to his pedes at the words, hurrying to the door and onto the porch. He looked around, smelling the air, not seeing nor catching the sparkling's scent. "SWOOP!," he roared, his voice echoing through the trees. The woods shook, animals scurrying and squealing in fright... but no voice called back in response.

A slow panic began to overtake Grimlock. He quickly scrambled around the cottage, still seeing no sign of his youngest brother. Circling back around, he came a stop before the porch, servos clenching anxiously at his sides. Snarl stood in the doorway, equally as worried, his optics focused on the elder wolf. "Him Swoop not here," he whined softly. "Him Swoop in heat. Where he Swoop go then?"

Grimlock snarled in anger, mostly at himself, debating. Finally, he snorted off to the side, turning back to the woods with a growl. If Swoop wasn't nearby, then he must have run off further into the forest. The sparkling should have been back by now... He knew better than to stay away from the cottage, especially when it was getting dark and dinner was ready. Even wolf cubs were in danger once the sun had set.

"Something not right...," the larger mech growled. "Me Grimlock go look. You Snarl stay here; make sure in case Swoop come home."

Snarl nodded his helm quickly as his brother stormed off into the dark trees, not even looking once back. He hoped that Swoop would be safe and unharmed once Grimlock found him, especially if the sparkling was experiencing his first heat cycle. But why had the younger wolf run off in the first place...?

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It felt like he'd spent cycles searching. Grimlock roared in fury, slamming at the trees, even as he tore up bushes and almost sprinted through the woods. He still hadn't found Swoop, and with every passing klik, he felt his anxiety grow and grow until fear was clenching around his spark as if it would rip out the burning orb that very moment. Even guilt was now making itself present, leaving the wolf feeling ill.

"Swoop! SWOOP!," the mech cried out again, coming to a stop in a small clearing. The wind howled, rattling through the trees, sounding like a million, little limbs beating against each other. From downwind, came a scent. Grimlock's visor flared at the familiar smell as he whirled around, racing towards the source.

The wolf cursed himself when he ended up in another clearing, with no Swoop to be found. Dropping to his knees, Grimlock sniffed deeply at the surrounded grass and bush, trying to identify the scents he could not recognize. There was the smell of dew and spring grass -his brother's regular scent- mixed with the heady aroma of heavily pollinated wild flowers and ripe bolt-berries, signs of the sparkling's heat cycle. But the other scent... it was too sharp and sterile and just...not right.

The "clean" scent threatened to overwhelm his baby brother's sweet smell, strangling it.

But it didn't take away from the lingering traces of lust, fear and confusion covering the trampled grass along the ground.

Someone had actually been here; someone had actually taken the sparkling away from his family... someone not worthy. Someone... feline...

Grimlock grabbed at the trees, tearing them down, ripping up the grass, before turning and howling his rage to the night sky above.