AN:

Transformers on Earth

Autobots

· Optimus Prime

· Ratchet

· Ironhide

· Bumblebee

· Sideswipe

· Arcee

· Chromia

· Hawk

· Smokescreen

· Que/Wheeljack

· Jetfire

· Dino/Mirage

· Roadbuster

· Leadfoot

· Topspin

· Brains

· Wheelie

Major Decepticons

· Megatron

· Starscream

· Sideways

· Shockwave

· Soundwave

· Onslaught

· Breakdown

· Knockout

· Thundercracker

· Skywarp

· Swindle

· Laserbeak

· Crankcase

· Crowbar

· Hatchet

Hawk extended his hand, letting his partner and friend on, letting him sink into a sitting position before he got up and strode out of the brig, carrying him toward the entirety of the base, plus Kara and Liz. Optimus looked at them both, giving Caden a knowing smile and nodding. Megatron tried to tear us apart, Caden thought, tried to turn us against each other through betrayal and mistrust, but he failed. He failed because trust is all I feel for Hawk. Trust...and the love of a brother. Caden locked eyes with his friend's optics and nodded to him.

Venting in resignation, Hawk spoke.

"I promised you all that I'd have answers once my partner woke up, and like him, I always keep my promises."

…

1 week later

6:30 PM

Sudley, VA

1 year, 9 months after the death of the Fallen

"So...he asked you to do this?"

Smokescreen scoffed at the question. "Since when does he ever ask? Practically ordered me to."

Drake rolled his eyes, grunting softly as the sharp pains from his still-healing shoulders and forearm ran up his arms all the way to his spine, the recovering limbs lifting him onto Smokescreen's hood. His dark eyes perused the faintly glowing horizon, the sun setting behind the trees as he looked back toward his house, his heart swelling slightly as he thought of its single resident. His eyelids closed softly, squeezing ever-so-slightly at the memory of her body in his arms the previous night. The way her hair drifted over her shoulders and his, the curve of her body against his angular muscles, everything was perfect and familiar and...her. She was everything he had ever hoped and dreamed for in a woman and then some. A wide, close-lipped smile came to his face as he gave thanks for the living blessing that he had in Kara.

"So, um…"

Caden's eyes opened smoothly and looked at the hood he was sitting on. "Sorry," he said, sliding himself off. "Just thinking."

"About?"

He smiled wider and nodded toward the house.

"Right." Smokescreen vented audibly.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

Caden suspected that wasn't the case, but didn't remark on it. "So, wanna come inside? We're having a Halo tournament," he added with a grin.

"Woah no," Smoke responded, backing up at a slow but steady pace. "No, no, no. I know your tricks, Drake. Hawk told me all about that ego-killing Pit of a game, and I refuse to get duped into playing it."

Caden threw his head back and laughed hard, remembering the first time Hawk had actually tried his hand at Halo and failed to keep up. Although, Cade thought, for a first-timer, he was pretty damn good at it. "All right then. You can watch Kara and me kill each other."

Smokescreen waited a few moments. "Fine."

…

1 hour later

7:40 PM

Fifteen minutes. That was as long as it took for Smokescreen to get sucked in by the game and toss aside his no-play rule. Caden had to admit, compared to Hawk, he was a natural. Maybe it was the fact that he was, oh, about a tenth of his old guardian's age. Whatever the case, he was more than keeping up. Another Elite charge was foiled by the combined firepower of Caden, Kara, and Smokescreen, the three of them cutting through the closest battle line to get to the mission objective: a Forerunner tower with an embedded message. Caden's fingers danced over the buttons, triggers, and sticks, unleashing a burst from his assault rifle on a Promethean Knight before tossing a near-useless pulse grenade at an Elite and his Grunt backup. Smokescreen was struggling to find ammo, and was forced to pick up a plasma pistol, spitting relatively ineffective fire at the mass of enemies guarding the tower.

Kara reappeared from active camo behind a Knight, assassinating him in a brilliantly fluid animation as the target's backup shifted toward her. A frag grenade from Smokescreen finished most of them off and leveled an Elite's shields, allowing an automatic burst from Caden to cut him down. The tower was secured not two minutes later, and the mission ended not long after.

"I honestly," Smokescreen started, "don't understand what Hawk's problem was."

"That he's an old man," Kara asked, a smile splitting her face. "Excuse me, old mech."

"Still…"

"Whatever the case," Caden cut in, "you're here, he's not. What do you want to do?"

"Well…" His holoform scratched his chin, a light shade of red "hair" on it, before grinning ear to ear. "There was this one thing I did with Liz a while back that was really, really fun."

Cade and Kara exchanged a look before the former spoke. "Oh?"

"Street racing."

Both the humans' eyes widened.

"Beth," Caden started, "let you take her street racing?"

"Drake, I swear, you've got a real talent for misjudging situations. I suggested it after researching it online and informing her of the danger, and she practically drove me there. Once it started, she actually did drive me."

Caden smiled and raised his eyebrows even further at that. "You actually let her?"

Smokescreen shrugged. "Well, she was a really good driver...and she told me to take over if I needed to."

"Well, if I'm gonna be riding with you, same thing applies. What, did you think that every time I drove with Hawk that he gave up his control? He's a million-year-old warrior, been driving longer than human civilization's been in existence, and he has a field of vision that's very much superior to mine. I know when to trust his judgement."

"Well," Smoke said with a scratch of his head, "I'm not that old, but…"

"You're older than me, and I trust you if Hawk trusts you enough to put you in charge of my safety. Only question is, Kara, do you trust him?"

The girl bit her lip and swept her piercing dark eyes over Smokescreen's redheaded holoform, then sighed in resignation. "Don't be out too late, boys."

Caden laughed and hugged her. "I promise."

They held each other for a lingering moment before Kara pressed her lips to his, her arms wrapping around his head and keeping him there for what Smokescreen felt was an uncomfortably long amount of time. When she started humming in enjoyment, the Bot gave a discreet cough and sheepishly looked away, his holoform completely red.

"Ahem," Caden coughed out, "guess I should've told you to wait outside. Um...can you?"

"Yep, thank you." Smokescreen's holoform vanished in a hasty retreat before Kara grinned at Caden cheekily, his face almost as red and embarrassed as Smokescreen's.

"You're kind of evil, you know that?"

She smiled wider. "I know." She pulled him close again, her wiry yet iron-strong arms keeping his lips breathlessly entangled in hers. Her soft hands roamed over his back and sides, sending slight tickling sensations through his t-shirt. When she reached his lower sides, he almost jumped, breaking the kiss and throwing his hands to protect his sides. "Still?"

Cade rolled his eyes. "Kara, I've always been sensitive there."

She snorted. "More like ticklish."

"No...maybe. Partially. Whenever you're involved though…"

"I know," she breathed into his ear, returning her hands to his sides ever-so-gently, reaching under his shirt and delicately stroking her fingers along his skin. He completely froze and held her shoulders loosely, his knees almost collapsing before he gently pushed her away.

"I have to go," he almost gasped out, pulling away, his breathing and heart rate elevated.

She gave him a seductive smile. "I know," she purred, knowing that the last thing he wanted to do right now was go street racing. "I'll be here when you get back."

Caden's jaw dropped slightly as his eyes followed the wave-like sway of her hips as she glided up the stairs and out of sight. He let out a ragged breath, shaking his head and blinking rapidly to clear his hormone-induced haze before striding out the door to get to Smokescreen.

…

2 hours later

10:05

Dulles Airport

"Came back for round two?"

Smokescreen's single tinted door lifted to reveal a six-foot man instead of a five-ten girl, causing the speaker to backpedal a step or two at his near-predatory expression. Caden stepped out of the car, crossing his arms and leaning back against its side, glaring at anyone who dared come close while he was smiling internally. Intimidation is the best tactic for psychological warfare, I find. Although with his engine, I'm not even sure I need the edge. Another ten minutes passed before the announcer strode up to the road, mic in hand.

"Mount up and start up!"

Each driver responded in kind, the loser from last race recognized by Smokescreen and scowling at him. The car rumbled angrily in response, and the man looked on in confusion until the announcer drew his eyes to the front.

"You all know the 'rules.' Drive smart, drive well, and drive fast...and maybe you won't get sent to the scrapyard with what's left of your ride."

A universal laugh came from all present, including Caden, who was smiling sinisterly and gripping the wheel of his Lambo Egoista. The jet-like car revved in response, Smokescreen mirroring his predatory mood and expressions as the announcer counted down from five.

"—Four-three-two-one-go!"

Caden slammed on the gas, accelerating at a pace that almost rivaled Earth reentry and would have burnt his tires to a crisp had he been driving a normal car. He was almost instantly in second place, shuffling over to first a few seconds later.

"Woah," Smokescreen said, "what happened to hustling?"

Caden chuckled. "I have a girl to get back to, so let's just say that being a sporting driver isn't very high on my list of things to do right now." He kept a solid hundred-foot lead on the other drivers until one in the back started catching up. Drake checked Smokescreen's speedometer, clocking himself at 150 without nitro boosters and wondering how on Earth another driver could have a car capable of matching him. He was too focused on the race to see that the car had tinted windows or was shimmering ever so slightly. "Okay, we got some competition. Let's show 'im how it's done." Drake shifted Smokescreen up a gear and pushed his engine to the limit, barely keeping a lead on this new contender. The car nudged his rear bumper slightly, causing Caden to shift lanes on the darkened backroad to avoid being run off.

The other vehicle, a blue muscle car of a make he hadn't seen before, sped to his side before emitting a laughing noise and kicking in nitro boosters. Caden's jaw dropped.

"Did that thing just—?"

"Yeah," Smoke said hesitantly. A few more seconds passed before they got over their shock and realized they were losing.

"Enough a this." Flipping the gear shifter's side open, he hit a button that kicked in Smokescreen's overdrive and rocketed them toward the rival car at 250 mph. "Awww hail yeah!" Caden had never pushed Hawk this far, but he didn't doubt that the older Autobot could match Smokescreen's speed. They came up on the rear of the car and scraped the edge of its paint in a near miss, crossing the finish line with barely a thousand feet to spare. They could almost feel the car seething and glaring at them, its driver parking it ten feet from Smokescreen and refusing to get out. After collecting their winnings and starting on the drive home, an uneasy feeling settled into Caden's stomach that they were being watched.

It was confirmed seconds later when they were rammed from the side by the same car. Smokescreen spun several times, his right side half caved-in from the impact as he reeled in pain. Caden was likewise jarred, but kept his senses long enough to spot the other car and see the way its colors and shape shifted. His eyes widened. No. What had once been a blue sports car was now an all-too-familiar bright red Ferrari.

"Smokescreen," Caden said almost panickedly when he couldn't open his door. "Smokescreen, come on, you gotta move!"

A groan came from the speakers. "Can't. T-cog...dislodged."

"T-cog?"

"I need it to transform."

"I don't need you to transform, I need you to move. Give me controls, or something!"

"Sorry...I don't think-"

"I don't think you have the time or brainpower to think," the other car said in a snobbish voice.

"Knockout," Caden said, almost snarling, "nice to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same, fleshie. You scratched my paint, I demolish yours."

"You made an exception for Hawk," Drake responded as he gave Smoke's door a firm kick, not budging it.

"I was feeling charitable. Not today. Today you beat me at my own game and, to add insult to injury, scratched my brilliant finish. Which means I scrap you and your guardian."

With one last kick, Caden knocked the door open and leapt out, spinning and rolling away from Smokescreen as Knockout transformed and drew a dual-pronged electrostaff from his subspace. Caden pulled his Sig from a holster inside his jacket, powering up the MA system and taking a few shots at the Con's joints. Knockout threw his hands up in defense, but his armor did little good, as he was a medic designed for repairs, not heavy combat. The bullets effectively went right through, hitting sensitive cables and servos. In the middle of his thrashing, Knockout accidentally smacked Smokescreen with his staff-hard. The impact, in concert with the electric shock, realigned his T-cog and got him moving again, albeit sluggishly.

"Look out below!" Smokescreen yelled as he jumped above Knockout in Stealth Force Mode, transforming midair to plant a drop-kick on the Decepticon's head. The two struggled for a few moments in a grapple, but Smokescreen was a member of Cybertron's Elite Guard and the apprentice of a legendary fighter. Knockout was tossed on his aft in a matter of seconds, Smoke deploying his plasma cannons and firing blue bolts at him in rapid succession. A few missed, but most found their marks on his chest plating. Spinning his staff, Knockout deflected a few more incoming rounds before bringing it to bear against Smokescreen. The inside of it was caught by the Autobot and used as leverage to throw him off-balance, a firm side-kick punting Knockout back into a pair of trees.

To Smokescreen's surprise, he didn't get back up to fight, but just stared at his arms in shock and horror. His once-immaculate paintjob was not only scratched, but near-stripped, thanks to both the high-heat and high-impact attacks of his opponents.

"You...you...damn you Autobots!" He leapt to his feet, not retrieving his staff and instead pointing an accusing finger at them both. "Nobody ever understands the importance of a good finish!" He stomped around in circles a few more times before speaking again. "So much red paint, so much detailing, and who's gonna pay for it all?! Me, that's who! Always me."

Smokescreen and Caden exchanged a look, both of them barely suppressing laughter at the vain Con's tantrum. When Caden finally got control of his emotions, he spoke. "Knockout." He almost flinched at the murderous expression he gave him. "I know you're pissed. If someone gave me a whole lot of scratches, I'd be pissed too, but...who's to say you have to do it yourself?"

"Well who else is gonna help now that Breakdown has curbside duty?"

Caden narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly, filing that away for further investigation. "How about me?"

"What," both Cybertronians asked in unison.

Caden shrugged. "I'm good with a brush, and I have more than enough money to get you what you need. Why not?"

Knockout's red optics narrowed, perusing the human's face for any signs of deception. The Autobots may not be much for lying, but this boy had a reputation. "Well," he started uncertainly, "I suppose...that might be acceptable."

"Then let's go." Drake nodded to Smokescreen, who hesitantly transformed down into his damaged Lambo form and sped off, a very confused Knockout in tow. Thirty minutes later, they were entering a closed repair shop in Manassas after heading to the nearest car care center. Caden had picked up about ten different shades of red and yellow, all high quality, along with all the materials he would need to properly apply and buff the new coat. "Back up," he ordered Knockout, prompting him to wheel onto a hydraulic lift. Ten minutes later, half of Knockout's rear was done, along with his doors and hood. The main body was the least damaged, so he figured he'd save that for last.

"So," Caden said in the middle of application, "tell me something." The car snorted in response. "You don't seem like the conquering type, really. And it's pretty apparent that you don't particularly like Megatron, since he doesn't trust you and all. So, why stay with the Decepticons?"

A long pause lasted before he responded. "Look, when I first joined up, it was a do-what-you-want, take-back-Cybertron sort of thing. Not unlike your race's alternative lifestyle movement."

Caden raised his eyebrows to their max and stared at him incredulously. "I sincerely doubt that."

"Why? You humans did all sorts of strange and self-destructive things...still do."

"The difference being that hippies don't tote twenty-foot guns and commit genocide."

Knockout scoffed. "So, what? You think I participated in all that?"

"You stayed after the fact, knowing what they did."

"And?"

Caden scowled at him. "Passive admission is tantamount to active participation."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that if you stayed for any reason other than duress, then you agree with what they did."

Knockout was silent a long time. "I hate human logic."

"And I hate lame-ass justifications." Caden deliberately laid down a stroke too hard, digging the metal edge of the applicator into his rear slightly. Knockout, surprisingly enough, didn't curse him out or respond in any way except a slight hiss.

"I'm not a bad mech," he said after a while. "Just made bad decisions."

"Doesn't excuse your continuation of them."

"You don't understand. Not sure how to relate this to you, but...yes, that's a good analogy."

"What?"

"Drug addicts. Their behavior is self-destructive and often criminal, and yet they continue to engage in their practices. Why?"

"Because it's familiar and they have a need that's being filled by it."

"Exactly."

Caden pressed his lips together and sighed as he buffed one of the last sections, thinking hard. "I'll admit, you've got a point there." He sighed again, stopping his work in contemplation. "Be honest though. Do you really prefer to stay with Megatron rather than join us, or heck even go neutral?"

Knockout was silent for a while. "You don't just 'leave.'"

"Why not? Hawk did. Dreadwing did."

"Yes, and both of them came within a glitch mouse of being scrapped."

"Hm. Point, but on the other hand, neither of them really decided to leave. They waited. They were loyal until Megatron betrayed them one way or another. Do you really want to do that?"

"Megatron has no reason to doubt my loyalty, and besides, I rarely see battle these days, just medical work."

Caden chuckled. "I think I might have something to do with that."

"Yes...I must admit, I rather admire the way you thoroughly scrapped Scalpel. Even I'm appalled at some of the things he did. Little glitch deserved it, in my opinion."

"See? That's my point. If you can't even trust your own team, can't respect them, then what business do you have being allies?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you."

Both were silent until Caden finished and stepped back, observing his handiwork. Smokescreen whistled in compliment as Caden raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement. Knockout drove in front of a large nearby mirror, then transformed after getting a good look at himself. His red paint was bright and metallic with an orange and yellow flame pattern on his doors. It looked real, lifelike, and Knockout had to admit, the human did one hell of a job.

"You know," he said, smiling, "for a fleshie—" he turned to face Caden, "—you're not half bad."

Caden crossed his arms. "As a painter or a person?"

The Con shrugged and smiled wider. "If you're so perceptive, you figure it out."

He transformed down into his Ferrari form and started for the exit door when Caden called to him. "Whatever it's worth, for a Con, you're not that evil."

Knockout simply snorted before speeding off into the night.

…

20 minutes later

11:34 PM

Sudley, VA

Caden and Smokescreen wheeled into the driveway of his house almost sluggishly, the events of the night having left them both tired and sore. Drake was looking forward to the one-on-one treatment from his gorgeous girlfriend, but had thanks to give.

"Hey Smoke," he said, climbing out of his "cockpit," "thanks for…well, for everything. Even if I don't understand why Hawk chose to leave you here instead of staying himself, I'm glad he did."

"Same. Kinda weird, that was."

"What, with Knockout?"

"Yeah."

Cade shrugged. "Yeah, a little. I guess it'd be worse for an Autobot veteran. They've been fighting each other so long, I don't doubt that some, if not most of them would be hard-pressed not to just kill the other guy and be done with it. If there's gonna be a permanent solution to this war, though, you gotta find an avenue into the other faction, even if it is just one Con at a time."

Smokescreen laughed. "Look at you, thinkin' like a diplomat."

Caden raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not diplomatic, it's tactical. Basic psychology."

"Whatever you say, partner."

"I only have one partner, and he's currently absent."

"Guess that makes me the sub."

Caden quirked a smile. "Hell of a sub."

"Thank you very much. I'll be here all week."

The 20-year-old laughed before walking inside the house, leaving Smokescreen to recharge in the garage.

…

10 minutes later

Kara hummed into his neck as her delicate fingers caressed his shoulders, their torsos flush with each other in a tight embrace. Caden was tired, sore, and still recovering, and yet he still had the strength to be in control of their intense makeout sessions. It was a trait that she actually admired, contrary to the majority of do-it-yourself sections in her personality. He could take control of their relationship, of her, and she'd be okay with that. She trusted him implicitly, and he never gave her a reason to doubt the placement of her trust. Now, his lips were brushing her cheek and gliding down to her neck, the tip of his tongue slipping out every so often to send a shot of electricity up her spine. His hands held her waist, curled around each other to keep her pressed against him.

"Mmm...Cade," she breathed out.

"Yes," he whispered back.

"I…" She didn't continue, as her mouth suddenly found itself covered by his, their tongues matching pace and passion as their hands intertwined. When they finally broke the kiss, they were both panting and breathless.

"You were saying," he asked coyly, a mocking smirk on his face.

"Mmm shut up," she groaned out, wrapping her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly, her right leg bending at his side, her heel hooking around his hip. Her hands at his sides stopped whatever he had planned next, her fingers barely glancing over his skin yet causing massive neural responses.

"Kara," he managed.

"Yes," she asked, mirroring his tone and expression from earlier.

"Too much…"

"What's that?"

He groaned slightly and gently pushed her hands away, panting hard, then wrapping his arms around her midsection and embracing her tightly. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered out his next words. "I love you."

She smiled warmly against his cheek, her lips curled upward ever-so-slightly, yet her eyes projecting happiness, an expression she'd picked up from him. "I love you too."

"Always?"

She looked him in the eyes and kissed him deeply, longingly, breaking it ten seconds later. "Always."

…

1 week later

9:35 PM

Caden's black SUV cooled down after turning off, its former occupants giggling and walking into the house arm-in-arm. The rumble of a familiar engine stopped the man in his tracks, a smile coming to his face.

"I'll be right behind you," he told Kara, who smiled knowingly and nodded before leaving them alone together. Caden strode up to the familiar gray-and-silver Lamborghini Embolado and stood in front of him, hands in his pockets as he stared at him intently. "Where ya been?"

Only the rumble of the engine answered him for a few seconds. "Out. Decided to take a road trip. Clear my processor."

Caden nodded in understanding, smiling slightly. "Gotcha. You okay?"

"Sort of."

Drake's eyes narrowed to slits. "You're blaming yourself again."

Hawk vented hard. "You know me only too well. I...I know you don't blame me, but...it just felt like something Crow would do."

The man smiled. He was distancing himself from his previous life by referring to that entity in the third person, no longer associating himself with it. If he could stop feeling like just the next iteration of Crow, then he could let go of his guilt and finally move on. "Stand up."

Hawk hesitated for a moment before transforming and standing up straight. "Okay?"

"Draw the Sword of Primus."

Hawk's optics widened as realization hit him and he complied, pulling the weapon out of his subspace and watching in almost absent interest as it expanded into its longsword form and heated in his grip.

"You see? It recognizes you. You're not Crow."

The Bot pressed his lips together and nodded, his optics locked on the sword as it cooled down and collapsed before returning to his subspace. "I see. Thank you, Caden."

He smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." Caden gave a light kick to Hawk's metal shin. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have quite a bit of time to make up for with a particularly gorgeous brunette."

Hawk raised his hands in surrender. "I'm stayin' out here then. And shutting off my audios."

"Oh come on," Caden pouted, already heading for the door, "we are so not that loud."

"Get the hearing of a Cybertronian and say that."

Caden rolled his eyes and grinned. "Good night, Hawk."

"Good night."

Two hours later, as Caden lay in his bedroom holding the woman he loved, his face nuzzling her neck and hair as they drifted off together, he thought of all the blessings he had. He had a world, a home that wasn't in danger of perishing. He had a woman, his woman, his soulmate. He had a brother, not in blood, but in bond. He had a family, his family, and from that moment on, Caden swore that he would die before letting it be torn apart. He knew they all felt the same.

AN: Not much to say about this chapter except that I wanted to show something akin to the Christmas Truce of World War I with regard to the Cybertronians. Some of you might disagree, but Knockout never struck me as evil, just a Con who wanted to survive and look good while he's at it. I also wanted to push Hawk away from his self-doubt once and for all and show his moral compass in action.

Next chapter...you know what? I'm not giving you any previews. You'll just have to wait.

As always, please review and recommend.