Hello, there!

Hey, remember that last time I said that there was one more OC to appear? Well, my bad, there are two more OCs to come. I forgot because I recently added the second one, so, sorry... But, as I said, they all have a rol to fulfill in here.

And, speaking of my OCs... Let's go back to Knock Out's past!

Warning: English isn't my mother language, so there might've be some grammar mistakes in here.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers franchise, nor its characters. It is a registered trademark of Hasbro.

TWENTY FOUR: Spoils from the War

Say that the base was quiet was not even close; when Fowler entered the bunker, the man was taken aback by the sepulchral silence that lurked in the place. He could even hear his own heartbeat. "Where's everyone?" He wondered, while walking towards his office, right when giant and metallic footsteps came down the hallway that led to the bots' quarters. Within a minute or two, Ratchet appeared at the control room, carrying a toolbox. The medic greeted the human and kneeled down, next to one of the panels of the main computer. Fowler arched an eyebrow at this. Wasn't Wheeljack a mechanic? Why was Ratchet repairing the systems? Then, the question that popped into his mind when he entered returned to him; only that, now, he had someone to ask it.

"Where's everyone?" He wondered, this time out loud, while scanning the room with his eyes.

"Ironhide, Elita and Chromia are with Smokescreen, searching for new vehicle-forms to fit into this planet. Arcee is on her way to pick up Jack from college; the Wreckers are patrolling; Bumblebee is in the training room; and Knock Out is resting, since he stood up all night trying to decrypt Shockwave's research." The medic answered, while disassembling the panel, only to, finally, inspect the parts. "I found him sleeping in the floor, with a datapad on his hand, and the mainframe running a basic decryption program on the document." Then, he took a particular piece to take a closer look; however, he ended up looking up at Fowler. "Honestly, I was surprised to see him in such state."

"You tell me? That guy hijacked me a couple years ago!" The man reminded him, while resuming his way to his office. Then, he stopped with a sigh. "But, I have to admit that he has been acting differently in these past weeks…"

"As I told you, Agent Fowler, though I'm no psychiatrist, I believe that Knock Out is healing from some trauma." The medic, then, looked at the part he had in hands, before put it away and look for a replacement. "Whatever thing that happened, that made him the Decepticon we knew, is finally being left behind." As soon as he placed the new part, the whole computer started to work like new.

Inside of his quarters, Knock Out was lying on his berth, reading Shockwave's cryptic research. All he could understand were some random names of some Decepticon soldiers that he barely remembered from files; he never met some of them, but learnt their names when he was looking for the traitor who killed Sunscorch. His spark shrunk at the memory of her name, but he decided to put his pain aside for the moment. Now wasn't the time to start feeling pity for his past, not when he had a bunch of Seekers and a mad scientist about to restart the war. He could barely handle it when it broke out the first time, he wouldn't survive a second; especially now that he was a traitor to the Decepticons, and a fugitive for the major part of Cybertron's population. "Ugh! This is useless!" He thought, while snarling and sitting up. He spent the whole night trying to decipher, at least, one paragraph from the text; yet, all he got was a terrible headache, numb legs, and a major ache on his back. Yes, sleep on the floor was probably not the best idea he ever had. The last time he did something like that, he was a Neutral, working on a field clinic… and he had a patient recovering from surgery sleeping in the room's stretcher.

Sighing, he rubbed his face in a weak attempt to wake him up. He already have had breakfast, and took a shower. A normal person would've decided to take a nap, but he refused to do it. He had no time for napping, not with those psychos running free. He sighed and grabbed his datapad one more time, but he was barely able to concentrate, so he put the research aside and opened another text, which he also downloaded during the night. Maybe it was the tiredness he had, or maybe his processor wasn't working normally after being deprived from sleep for more than five hours; but the truth was that he downloaded The Little Prince and started to read it while the decryption program was running. Honestly, the main reason why he did such thing was because he happened to remember Millie's state, and, for some reason, to read the same book that she cherished, back when they met, helped him to remember her as she was two years ago. Last night, when he was busy, working on Shockwave's research, he downloaded the book to shoo away the image of Millie lying on that ambulance… He didn't want to remember her like that, he wanted to remember her like the happy little girl from the glade.

"If I only could do the same with all my friendships…" He thought with a sigh. From all his Cybertronian friends, the only one with who he shared happy moments was Breakdown, because they met before the war started… But Sunscorch and Nightglider came into his life when the conflict was already going on, and didn't have so many good memories with them, because there was no time to create them. Though… he somehow managed to create some precious remembrances with the crimson femme. He was glad for it, because he lost her almost as quickly as he met her…

He was running one way to another, trying to find the accursed defibrillator, only to find out that it was being used on another patient. Under normal circumstances it should be one per room, but given that they were on a field clinic, and in the middle of a war, they should be thankful that there was at least one. By the time he was able to take the equipment, Breakdown came up, saying that they lost the guy…

"Scrap!" Infuriated, Knock Out rudely gave the machine to a nurse that was passing by. He hated to lose patients! It was one of the worst things for a medic! Then, after seeing his friend's pale face at his reaction, the red bot took a deep breath to calm himself down. He needed to be ice cold to keep treating the other soldiers. "Okay, call it, and fill the formulary; make sure you write the exact time. Meanwhile I'll go with the next patient in line."

"Got it. Oh! And… she's back." The blue laborer told him, before go back to the room where their previous patient was.

"Let me guess: broken limbs? A hole in the chest? Acid shower?" Knock Out started to point out, while grabbing some stuff that he needed for the guy he was about to attend. Breakdown turned to look at him with a quizzical look at the last question. "Don't ask…" The red medic warned him with tired eyes and slightly shaking his head in denial.

"No, actually… she looked in one piece this time. She only told me to call you, and to tell you that she was in some sort of hurry, so…" The blue bot shrugged. He really didn't know what that femme wanted this time.

Sighing, Knock Out made sure that he had all the equipment he needed, and walked towards the entrance, where he found Sunscorch. She was, indeed, in one piece (only some minor scratches on her paint; but, hey, she just came from the battlefront); the only thing that called the medic's attention was that she seemed to be in deep thoughts, with her eyes looking down in a depressive way, and her arms crossed in front of her chest. The red mech cocked his head to the right, while walking closer to her. The femme didn't noticed him, until he cleared his throat.

"Knock Out…" She muttered, like coming back from a trance. Then, she looked at all the things he was carrying around and chuckled, while placing a hand on her hip. "Hey, I know that I tend to get hurt, but this is already too much…" She mocked, while gesturing to the stuff he had between his arms.

"Ha, ha… Very funny." He retorted, rolling his eyes. "Though you may like to believe it, you're not my only patient; so I hope that you can talk and walk at the same time, because I have to keep moving." He told her, while gesturing with his head to follow him, at the same time he turned to leave.

"It's alright with me, I'm multi-tasking." The femme said, shrugging.

Knock Out entered a consulting room in which was a soldier who survived an underground mine. Due to his injuries, the Velocitronian chose to keep the guy on stasis, until further advice; however, his legs were a complete mess when he arrived, and though he repaired him as much as he could, in the end he had to look for some spare parts to replace the limbs. Unfortunately, that morning, they found out that the poor warrior wasn't answering to the treatment as well as he wished, so, now, Knock Out would have to deal with a massive infection in the lower extremities. As he prepared his equipment and cleaned his hands, Sunscorch simply stood there, gazing upon the patient with an unreadable face. The medic noticed this, and arched an eyebrow wondering what she was thinking at that moment. Then, she sighed and clenched her fists, before turn to look at him eye to eye.

"I came to say goodbye." She stated, quickly, dryly. He knew why: she always told him that there was no point in prolonging something that was painful, that it was better to do it quickly.

"You're going to the battlefront again, aren't you?" He asserted, tired of seeing her in pieces, needing his help to survive another day; only to be torn apart over and over… The medic sighed and walked towards his current patient to start the treatment. "Where will you go now?" He asked, while scanning the soldier, trying to find the right spot to inject the medicine.

"Kaon's walls…"

Knock Out's pulse failed him for a minute, and he had to turn around to look at her in disbelief. Did she just said…?

"Where?" He asked, really wanting to believe that he misheard her.

"Kaon's walls. We're going to divert the 'Cons, so Ironhide and his team can snatch the engine parts that those morons stole from us last night." She explained, crossing her arms once more. It wasn't easier for her to say it, than for him to hear it, but still…

"Are you out of your fragging mind?! You can't go there! Not again!" He snapped, waving his arms around, gesticulating towards her scarred body, while gripping the scanner and the syringe. "You barely made it out the first time!"

"I'm not planning to go inside Kaon! I just need to call the guards' attention, that's all!" She retorted, trying to calm him down. Well, it wasn't working!

"Inside, outside… What's the difference?! Last time you were sent to that place, you and Springer were taken prisoners and tortured for days! And, on top of that, you told me that the only reason why you escaped was because he lured the guards to a trap, giving you time to run!" He reminded her, glaring. Then, he snarled and put his instruments in a nearby table, so he could massage his temples. "I knew it… I fragging knew that one of these days I was going to attend your funeral, instead of your wounds!" Then, he looked at her, at the verge of an attack. "Isn't there anybody else to take the mission but you?! There must be someone stupid enough to gladly go to assault the Decepticons' stronghold!"

"Nobody wants to go there, K-Out! That's why I volunteered!"

"Well, there goes my answer then…" He commented, placing a hand on his hip, and the other on his forehead.

Growling, Sunscorch grabbed him by the arms, pulling the medic closer to her face, and preventing him from gesticulate. She didn't have the energy, nor the time, to start an argument with him; she knew the implications of this job, but she also knew that nobody else would take it. Besides, she was familiar with the landscape; she knew where to hide, and how to maneuver there…

She was the only logical option.

"I know you won't approve what I did, and I know that you are the kind of guy who worries for everything and for everyone, that's why I wasn't sure if I should tell you, but…" Sunscorch looked away and sighed for a moment there. "But I also knew that if I didn't, then you would never forgive me… nor would I. You're the only one who knows what happened those days when I was taken prisoner, so you were the only one who would possibly understand the fear I'm feeling right now… And you're the only one who's able to give me the strength to do it…" She finally confessed, while lowering her head, not wanting to look at him.

She was trembling and sobbing. It was almost surreal for Knock Out to be witnessing this side of her. It was the first time he saw Sunscorch so weak and fragile. Was this the same femme who punched him in the face because he restrained her from leaving the field clinic? Where was the fearless warrior who liked to jump into action, never minding if there was a plan or not? Where was his Sunscorch?

Sad of seeing her like this, the red mech sighed, before pass his arms around his companion, trying to reassure her. That's when he felt her hiding her face on the crook of his neck, sobbing in fear. He started to stroke her back.

"It's ok… It's ok… I know you'll be fine this time. You're stronger now, and you won't be alone; the twins will be with you the whole time. I'm sure that a couple days from now, we'll meet again." He tried to comfort her, but she simply kept crying. "Probably with you lying on my stretcher, but…" He added, and was able to hear her chuckling against his shoulder.

Feeling better, the femme took a step back, wiping the remaining tears.

"Thanks, K-Out. I needed to hear that." She said, smiling. Then she glanced towards the soldier that the medic was about to attend when she confessed her orders. "I gotta go, and you have a guy to patch up, so…"

"I guess we'll be seeing soon, then." He completed with a smirk, while grabbing his tools to resume the procedure.

"One more thing."

The red medic saw her placing her Energon prod on the table, next to his own tools. He arched an eyebrow and looked at her, waiting for a further explanation.

"The battle seems to be advancing towards this place. Look, I know that Breakdown is strong enough to fight for both of you, but… Just in case. You know how to use it, I imagine." She said, and smiled when he grabbed the item and turned it on. "Good. Take care…"

"Hey, that's my line." He retorted, playfully, making her chuckle. "Once you're done, you know where to find me. Good luck, Sun."

The femme nodded, and started to leave. However, for some reason, this time she kissed him on the cheek before leave the clinic…

That was the last time they talked…

"Why do I keep doing this to myself?" He wondered, while sighing and lying down on his berth. Perhaps, a quick nap wasn't such a bad idea after all…

Ratchet was about to cut the mainframe in half. Now he understood why Knock Out fell asleep on the floor the previous night; the decryption program was way too slow, and, this far, he has only been able to decode a very, very small fragment. Major part of it was a list of names. There was only one he knew: Ambulon, a medic who worked under Pharma's orders during the war, was mentioned in the document. If he remembered his story correctly, the guy was a Decepticon, but something awful happened to him and his team; then, one night, at the first chance he had to run away, he reached for the closest Autobot outpost, and begged to switch sides. But, since he didn't remain on that outpost (he was told to return to Optimus's base, where the Ark was being built), he wasn't sure of what happened with Ambulon after that night… Maybe Knock Out would be able to make some sense out of this fragment. Growling under his breath, the old bot decided to call the red mech for help; but he didn't walked too far, since, after two steps, an alarm started to ring. "An Autobot S.O.S.?" He arched an eyebrow and cocked his head, while trying to pinpoint the coordinates.

Another screen showed that Bulkhead and Wheeljack were already coming back to base. Good. No need to mobilize Bumblebee and Knock Out.

The green vortex closed behind the two Wreckers who walked into the jungle with their guns ready for an ambush. Wheeljack was the one holding the scanner, muttering that he didn't liked the situation: the signal originated a few klicks away from the Black Moon's wreckage, and, knowing what was inside of that vessel, he suspected some sort of trap. Bulkhead nodded, saying that he was suspicious too, but… Well, they did find Autobot survivors. There was a slight chance that they missed somebody. The white bot shrugged. It was possible, but it was improbable…

Back at the base, Bumblebee and Knock Out appeared at the control room.

"What's with the alarm?" The warrior wondered. Knock Out was too busy yawning to be able to ask anything.

"The sensors received an Autobot S.O.S. coming from the whereabouts of the Black Moon." The older medic explained quickly, before return to the instruments.

The other two bots in the room shared a look and arched an eyebrow. Did they forget someone back on that wreckage?

Wheeljack was starting to feel uneasy with this recon. They have been walking for too long in complete silence, and there was nothing that indicated the presence of another Cybertronian in the area. "I've a bad feeling…" He thought, while putting aside the scanner for a minute, and turning to look at his partner.

"Ok, this is ridiculous. There's no one here, Bulk." He stated, gesturing to their surroundings. "Let's call for pickup."

"Huh… I don't know, Jackie. What if someone is really calling for help?" The green bot said, stopping his friend from contacting the base. "Besides, not all the ships has returned to Cybertron; what if someone got stranded on Earth, and is hurt or something? I say we finish this recon. Just to be sure." He added.

"Ugh… Alright, let's finish this mission. But let's do it quickly. I really don't like this place." The Wrecker gave in, resuming his march.

Following the signal, both warriors ended up in a river's shore, where they heard the roar of a plane's engine. A Seeker! Putting away the scanner, Wheeljack readied his weapons, next to Bulkhead; both Wreckers glanced up to the sky, where a cerulean airship appeared into view. Identifying it as Thundercracker, both Autobots opened fire. Strangely, the newcomer didn't answered the attack, in fact, it made strange pirouettes in order to be able to land next to the Wreckers who were trying to keep him afar.

"Wait! I'm friendly! Friendly!" The flyer yelled, desperate.

"What the…?! Jackie! Hold on!" Bulkhead grabbed his friend's arm and pushed it down, realizing that it wasn't Thundercracker's voice. "Identify yourself!"

The aircraft approached their position and transformed in midair into a young mech, whose contexture was similar to Bumblebee's, except that he had actual wings. His face was slender, with sharp cheeks; his eyes were bright blue; his helm had crests that curved to the back of his head, giving him an outline that reminded to a hawk; his helm, wings, torso, shoulders, hips, forearms, and lower legs were sky-blue. There was a red tattoo of two concentric circles (it was actually a writing that read: "To serve and protect. Brothers in arms. Brothers in blood") on his right wing; on the left one, the Wreckers could appreciate the Autobots' insignia.

"My designation is Daybreak."

That's all for now.

Waiting to read your opinions about the chapter!

Bye!