Chapter 34:
By Transformersnewfan
"I wanna look at pictures," he announced suddenly, pulling TC along with him.
The blue Seeker shrugged, chalking it up to the pregnancy hormones.
Skywarp crawled over to the small bookcase, still holding his hot water bottle against himself—he still wasn't fully recovered—before getting his legs into a more comfortable sitting position. Thundercracker followed him and, seeing that the floor was cold, retrieved one of the blankets and lovingly wrapped it around Skywarp's wings.
"T-Thank you, TC," he whispered as he pulled several photo albums out of the bookcase.
The blue Seeker was tired, but he sat on the floor next to his little sibling to keep him company.
Together, they looked at some photos from their sparklinghood that their Creators had given them when they moved to Earth.
"I wanna go home…" Skywarp mused.
"We will, kiddo," TC wrapped his arms around him, "pretty soon."
They sat as close as they could here; no monster could intervene in their friendship and brotherly love.
Skywarp was smiling for once; looking at the photographs of himself and his brother as a newling and a sparkling. There was one that invoked happy memory files:
Flashback:
Thundercracker remembered being a normal 6-year-old, running around in the yard with his 2-year-old brother Skywarp.
"Okay, okay!" the blue sparkling panted, leaning on his knees, "Now you gotta catch ME!"
But as he took off running, his little brother simply teleported close enough to tackle/hug him! The two fell to the ground, giggling and laughing.
"Skywarp! How many times have I told you not to cheat!" Thundercracker yelled but had no malice in his tone.
"I win! I win!" the little Seeker proclaimed as he crawled all over his older sibling.
End of Flashback:
A photo of four-year-old Thundercracker holding one-week-old Skywarp on the sofa.
"I used to call you The Intruder," TC laughed now.
Skywarp: "You think Crystal will look anything like me?"
TC: "Probably, you're darker than Joey."
"I can't wait to see her," Skywarp was trying to picture his daughter, who was asleep inside him at the moment, "I wanna hold her and play with her." He forgot everything that had happened for a while, "Wanna fly her East…show her Brooklyn…and Ti-Ti and Junior."
"I'm sure they've never seen a newling before," TC smiled.
Skywarp was hoping his dreams could still become a reality; that he would be able to give birth to his child and hold her in his arms; see her little faceplates…
There was a photo, taken by their Dad, of their Mother with both of them on her lap, sitting by the flowers in their garden. It was around Easter Sunday.
"Crystal'll probably look a lot like Mom," Thundercracker continued on their earlier subject, "She's really happy about having a granddaughter."
Skywarp laid his helm against his brother's shoulder, figuring this was as good a time as any to broach the subject of the ghost's identity; he couldn't just blurt it out though; he wanted to lead into it, "Did Momma ever have the kinds of problems I've been having?"
"Um, she got stressed out," TC admitted, still looking at the photos, "I mean, it wasn't because of you…it was always over my Father."
Flashback:
Thundercracker remembered his sparklinghood vividly. More clearly when most Transformers could. He just had that gift, he guessed.
His Creators were good to him, but they were often not good to each other. His Father was a strong, muscular deep-sea blue Seeker, and his Mother was a pinkish red and white Seeker.
They fought a lot, usually after he was in his berth and they thought he was asleep. Little Thundercracker would watch and listen from the top of the stairs, sometimes cuddling his little petrorabbit, as he tried to make out what they were saying. It seems that his Mother had a friend, and his Father didn't like that.
End of Flashback:
"They were always fighting," Thundercracker began, "As far back as I can remember, they were fighting. This was before Dad and Mom got together." He bit his lower lip component, "My Father was beating her."
Flashback:
His Father started coming home from work later and later, and most of the time, he acted very funny. Thundercracker realized many years later that his Creator was intoxicated by the High-Grade Energon.
And then in more violent arguments: His Father began beating his Mother! The little Seeker didn't like this at all. He wanted to protect his Mother, but he was so tiny, how could he? What could he do?
End of Flashback:
Skywarp had never really heard the full story of what went on in his Mother's first marriage. It wasn't something they talked about. He knew his Creators began dating prior to her divorce, and that she was pregnant with him when she divorced TC's Father, but other than the bare bones details, he didn't know much.
"Do you have a picture of your Father in here?" he asked now, flipping through the pages.
"No, I don't think so," Thundercracker shrugged, "nothing really survived that day he destroyed the house."
Despite knowing it was a painful subject for his older brother, Skywarp felt he had to know more, "He killed your helio-hamsters," he made sure he was staring at him, "and your petrorabbit. What happened again?"
"Well, um, they were arguing that night," Thundercracker held his helm, "She had told me she was pregnant with you, and…when she told him. I overheard him…beating her up and threatening her and stuff."
Skywarp looked up at him as he stated, "He beat her up when she was pregnant with you."
Flashback:
His Father was shouting and shouting at his Mother, and Thundercracker heard his Mother rushing up the stairs.
He vividly remembered the red and white femme racing into his berthroom, scooping him up into her arms, and taking him into his Creators' berthroom and locking the door! Thundercracker also remembered his Father holding what looked like an iron bar in his hand.
End of Flashback:
"She grabbed me and locked us in the berthroom," the blue Seeker continued, "and he was hollering and hollering,"
Flashback:
Thundercracker remembered cowering in his Mother's arms as his Father yelled through the barricaded door and called her all sorts of bad names and made terrible threats, a lot of them directed towards the new sparkling.
End of Flashback:
"That's when he trashed the house. He flipped over the mattresses…I kept the cages under the bed," he snorted, "It wasn't an accident; he smashed their cage with an iron bar. Who the frag does that?!"
Flashback:
Thundercracker's berthroom wasn't immune to the destruction, his little dresser was flung forward, his closet torn apart…the little Seeker sniffled as he saw his ruined toys. Now he just wanted to get Harvey and the two helio-hamsters and get back to his Mother…He lifted the covers to—
The little sparkling made a horrible scream. His helio-hamsters were both dead. One lay in its battered cage and the other lay nearby, it seemed that when the cage was overturned one had fallen out. Both had been beaten…no, bludgeoned, to death by a heavy object. And Thundercracker remembered the iron bar he saw his Father wielding. That had to have been the murder weapon…
End of Flashback:
"Our whole house was wrecked; like a tornado hit it," Thundercracker continued, "Anything that was glass, or wood, he broke into a million pieces, even the furniture. And, um, when Dad came over…Mom told him to look for Harvey for me, and he found Harvey dead in our upstairs bathroom."
Flashback:
Thundercracker remembered the rest like it was a memory from a movie: His Mother asked her friend where he'd found the dead petrorabbit, and he replied it was in the bathroom. The big flyer tried to soften the details, for the sake of the sparkling, saying things like, the petrorabbit had passed away and went to heaven last night. The sobbing sparkling nodded that he understood, imagining Harvey's corpse was probably in a similar condition as his helio-hamsters. Since Harvey was in the bathroom, the little Seeker figured that Harvey must have put up quite a fight, either hanging on by his fangs (petrorabbits were known for their sharp dental plates) to his Father's leg while the Seeker flailed around wildly, ending up in the bathroom. Or perhaps his Creator was simply breaking all the mirrors in there, and Harvey heard the commotion and attacked, dying while defending his family…
Either way, it broke the little Seeker's spark into pieces.
End of Flashback:
"So…" Skywarp tried to lead into this, "Did he ever say he was sorry?"
"No," TC shook his helm, "and Mom didn't want anything to do with him at that point," he flipped through pages of the album, trying to get off the subject, "after that, Dad moved in, and they kept him away from us."
"Um, what was his name again?" Skywarp never did know the name.
"Scourge," Thundercracker responded before continuing, "and the policemechs came, and they saw all the damage."
"His name's Scourge, huh?" Skywarp finally knew the true designation of his tormentor; he finally had a name he could look up! And if he still hadn't been in such gastritis pain, he would have gone to the Control Room immediately to research any files they may have on this mech, "Um, are you sure there's no pictures?"
TC rolled his optics, "Why would we keep a picture of him?" He didn't really want to talk about this.
The black and purple Seeker debated telling his brother the truth, "I just…wondering what he looked like."
"Like me, I guess," Thundercracker shrugged, "Why? I mean, what's with all the questions?" he couldn't understand what Skywarp was getting at.
"Like you…" Skywarp fought back coolant tears as he thought back to that night where he had seen Gravechaser in their living room, right where they were now, "and…did he have red claws?"
"No, he was just a regular Seeker," TC answered, finally figuring out where this was going, "No, I know what you're thinking, but whoever this is isn't him. My Father's been dead going on ten years, and I've never felt anything."
The black and purple Seeker knew his brother wouldn't accept the truth, even if he presented it as a theory. But still, this was the only way he could find out anything.
"TC?" Skywarp persisted, "W-Would you tell me about him?"
It was hard for Thundercracker to resurrect his long-buried memory files of one of the hardest times of his young life, but at the same time, it was cathartic to talk about it.
"Well, I remember a lot of arguing," TC began, "and he would call her things…he was physically abusive towards her. And this was…long before Dad was around, I mean. He would say he was gonna leave and take me with him."
The pregnant flyer could see his older brother had the same sense of fear just THINKING about this mech as he himself always felt whatever Gravechaser was around.
"I just remember being afraid of him all the time…" TC continued, "Afraid he'd hurt Mom, or me…or you. I was even scared for Dad."
Skywarp: "Did he have your powers?"
"No," the blue Seeker shook his helm, "he was a tracker."
Huh?
"What's a tracker?" Skywarp asked now, trying to figure this all out.
"Um, it's like," TC tried to think of how to explain it, "like he could find the coordinates of whoever he wanted to look for. Even if, say…If you were on Earth and he was on Cybertron or vice versa." He had no idea how accurate his description truly was. And it sent shivers down the pregnant Jet's backstruct. The ghost…no, the demon, had possessed as a Seeker the ability to find his prey whenever he went in the universe. There was nowhere he could hide.
Thundercracker noticed this and readjusted the blanket around Skywarp's wings and pulled him closer as he continued to focus on the photo album, "He was an addict. He used to go out and get overcharged on High-Grade. And he was doing it more and more…especially after they divorced."
Skywarp could see this was hurting the other to talk about this, but he had to know more, "How would you feel if I look for his prison file?"
"Um, nothing I guess," TC paused, before giving him more information to search for "he was arrested twice before he…y'know," he knew his little brother knew what he meant.
Skywarp: "That he took you." He had to say it, "What was he arrested for?"
"Well, the first time was still when he had visitation with me," Thundercracker began, "but after Mom and Dad got married, and Dad was teaching me how to shoot…"
Flashback:
Thundercracker was so excited to tell his old Father that he could make it rain now. The next time his Father visited, he flew up and told him right away, and was totally stunned by the rebuking he got! His Father began lecturing him (he was four years old!) about how HE was his one and only Father, and how his Mother was a bad femme, and a bunch of other names, and how the other mech will never be his Daddy.
The little Seeker didn't like how this made him feel, being told all these bad things, being told he was bad for loving his Mother and new Daddy. Being told not to use his powers. It made him sick inside. Thundercracker didn't like his Father after this.
He told his Mother and Daddy at the dinner table that his Father had hurt his feelings and that he didn't want to play with him anymore. They agreed, telling the sparkling that if his Father didn't accept the way things were and learn to live with it, then he could not visit with Thundercracker anymore.
End of Flashback:
Thundercracker: "He started drinking again, swearing all the time, and Mom and Dad were trying to protect me…"
Flashback:
The little sparkling was in his berthroom playing with his new toys from his Daddy when said Seeker placed the call to his Father telling him the ground rules. There was a big argument, with his Daddy yelling that he loved Thundercracker and Thundercracker's Mother and that this was HIS house now, and HIS family now!
End of Flashback:
"Dad told him he couldn't come over drunk, y'know?" TC continued, "and my Father was yelling and screaming at Mom, and she was pregnant…so they called the police. Boy, was I glad."
Flashback:
Thundercracker could hear his Father flip back and forth from begging for his Mother to take him back, that he loved her and their sparkling, and then he would change like the wind, insulting her, and insulting Daddy, and then his Father went back to begging, and then insulting again. And…repeat.
Finally, his Daddy couldn't stand it anymore. He told the sparkling he'd be right back, and the large, black Seeker barreled down the stairs and confronted his Father. Poor, four-year-old Thundercracker heard the all-out brawl, complete with punching and what sounded like chassises wrestling around, his Mother all the while screaming how she was calling the police!
Within minutes, Thundercracker remembered, he could hear the sirens and saw red lights in his window. He ran to the top of the stairs and saw his Daddy holding his drunken Father pinned to the floor. The first policemech took his Father away and locked him in the police hovercraft, the second policemech sat on the sofa and seemed to interview his Creators. His Mother told the first half of the story and his Daddy told the part where he came down. They were pressing charges against his Father because his Mother was carrying and shouldn't have this stress.
End of Flashback:
"So, in answer to your question," TC continued, "yeah, Mom was under a lotta stress, all because of him." He flipped through the album, trying to distract himself, "I mean, I don't think about him much anymore…I'm lucky Dad is so good to me, not being his and all."
The darker Seeker was staring at him now, knowing there was something more to the story, "Go on…"
"Uh…" Thundercracker didn't want to tell Skywarp anymore, "He was arrested another time…same thing…" he remembered vividly what happened that day, but he could never bring himself to put it into words.
Flashback:
In all, Thundercracker's Father would be arrested no less than three times: The first was the aforementioned incident. The second, was when his Daddy was at work, and his Father came over unannounced. The sparkling was in the backyard firing his Sonic Booms at the approaching clouds, hitting the small ones but waiting for a nice big one to roll by. Yes, he used his Daddy's advice and was pretty good at it now! Then he heard his Mother yelling and crying. The sparkling raced back inside, calling for her. He flew around the sofa and saw his Mother on her side, laying on the floor, with his Father panting and hollering over her chassis. His Father had struck his Mother, and now she was crying into her hands. The little Seeker knew his Daddy was at work and wouldn't be home for another two hours, so he raced over to defend his Mother and his unborn sibling!
End of Flashback:
It was heinous what Scourge had done. He had beaten their beloved Mother while she was carrying Skywarp. And thinking about that always hurt Thundercracker to his very laser core. He could have lost his brother…
Flashback:
Thundercracker did the only thing he could think to do: He threw himself on top of his Mother's abdomen and screamed at his Father, as loud as he COULD scream, to leave them alone! His Father then turned his drunken ire towards his Creation and began shouting obscenities, saying he was going to teach him a lesson! Thundercracker kept screaming to just leave his Mother alone! At some point during the yelling, his Father told Thundercracker that he'd kill his Mother and kill him too! Finally, more policemech showed up and arrested his Father. Neighbors called them, the sparkling guessed.
His Mother called Daddy and Daddy came home quickly after that. His Mother was crying into her hands. His Mother said his Father had struck her, and that Thundercracker had gotten in between them, and there was more fighting. They were pressing charges against his Father for both hitting his Mother and sparkling abuse, for BOTH sparklings!
End of Flashback:
Thundercracker whispered to himself now, "She was hurt…"
Flashback:
He heard the policemech telling them that they should go to the hospital to see if the sparkling his Mother was carrying was okay. Thundercracker started crying; he doubted the storkoid would bring the sparkling to their home now, seeing that they weren't safe from his Father. And, for some reason, it made Thundercracker miss Harvey so much more…
His Daddy came upstairs and picked him up, saying they have to go to the hospital with Mommy now. He tried to tell the little one not to worry, that he was back from work now and would protect them. Thundercracker remembered hugging his Daddy around his neck and crying.
Apparently nothing was wrong, Thundercracker guessed, since they all left the hospital the same night, and his Creators weren't crying or anything, and when they got home, his Creators didn't disassemble his old sparkling crib that his Daddy had spent last weekend painting in the garage or anything. Maybe his Creators and those policemechs had a meeting and worked everything out with the storkoid?
End of Flashback:
"Are you thinking about when he took you away?" Skywarp asked.
TC let him believe so, "Uh-huh…"
Flashback:
Earlier that day, his Mother had laid down with him for a nap together, but the little Seeker was bored and carefully wiggled away from her recharging form and went outside. Now he was facing the barrel of a blaster in his Father's hand.
His Father seized the sparkling in a lucky moment: No neighbors around and, Thundercracker would later guess, observed him and his Mother sleeping from the window. His Father told him they were going on a trip, just the two of them. He also told the sparkling that if he refused, or screamed, he'd deactivate his Mother. Thundercracker nodded that he understood completely.
End of Flashback:
"You were very brave that day," Skywarp whispered, "you weren't scared of him…"
"No, I was scared," the blue Seeker admitted, "I was…very scared."
Flashback:
Finally, his Father landed in front of a motel. It was all different shades of green. The motel row was two floors, and the doors were very close together. A large neon sign flashed the words "Sleepy-Tyme Motel" in bright red.
Thundercracker was in recharge on the rug for maybe a few hours when a loud noise woke him. His Father was in front of the television, watching some old black and white program, and drinking High-Grade. He threw an empty cube against a wall, shattering it. The glass falling in an established pile, which was what had apparently awoken the sparkling in the first place.
His Father started rambling drunkenly about Thundercracker's Mother, calling her bad names again. And he hated Thundercracker's Daddy even more so! Calling him all sorts of bad things. Blaming him for all the trouble. Didn't he realize how much this hurt the sparkling? Thundercracker scooted behind the berth, hiding.
End of Flashback:
"He was drunk again," Thundercracker recalled, "And when he was asleep, I called the police…and,"
Flashback:
When the little sparkling was sure his Father had gone into recharge in the chair (Well, passed out drunk, actually), Thundercracker quietly flew up to the motel's roof. All the lights were out for miles around, even the two moons of Cybertron were crescents tonight. But there were clouds. Beautiful, spark-saving clouds. He flew up in the darkness and fired his Sonic Booms into the air, hitting anything that moved, giving them his all! And the skies lit up with lightning streaks, and the rains came down. Rain, hail, lightning. Everything…
When he finished, Thundercracker went back into their humble motel room and prayed, prayed like he'd never prayed this hard before, that his Creators and the policemechs would find him…
End of Flashback:
"…It was morning when they came," TC stared off into the nothingness, "They started banging on the door…"
Flashback:
Suddenly there was knocking at the door, "Open up! Police!" His Father grabbed his blaster and pointed it out the window, screaming back at the officers. Sky-Byte was outside too, yelling at his Father to open the door as well! Little Thundercracker hid between the berth and a little table; his Father never even checking where the sparkling was. A key could be heard opening the lock from the outside, but his Father opened the door suddenly shot one of the policemechs point blank! The sparkling's optics frozen wide open in fear!
Two policemechs rushed to their fallen comrade, and five other policemechs rushed into the tiny room. His Father shot a second policemech right in the chestplates! A third policemech grabbed his Father's arm and the blaster shot into the ceiling before a fourth officer took the weapon away. Then all the policemechs that weren't shot dogpiled on top of his Father yelling at him to cease his resistance! Another policemech ran to the second policemech that had been shot, the one that was shot badly, telling him to stay calm.
Sky-Byte stood in the doorway, looking shocked and horrified at the scene in his entrepreneurial establishment.
Thundercracker was still cowering in the corner as the policemechs struggled to subdue his Father, who was now punching and kicking them and flailing like a wild animal! Yet another policemech entered and grabbed the sparkling, scooping him up and carrying him out over his shoulder!
"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" His Father shouted as Thundercracker looked back over policemech's shoulder. His little vents gasping in terror; terror that no four-year-old should EVER have to experience. He was whisked to the manager's office, where his Daddy was talking to several policemechs.
"THUNDERCRACKER!"
"DADDY!"
The big Seeker hugged the sparkling tightly to his chest, and little Thundercracker sobbed and hugged him around his neck.
End of Flashback:
"Sky-Byte unlocked the door, and…" Thundercracker bit his lip components, realizing it mirrored Skywarp's nightmare, "He shot the two policemechs. One after the other."
Skywarp's optics were round, turning and looking at their living room floor, where he had dreamed there were bleeding chassises of Steve and his partner. "W-What were their names?"
"I don't know," TC shook his helm, "I-I mean, I never DID know."
"It was Steve," Skywarp told him, hands beginning to shake, "the first one that died was named Steve."
"I have no idea," TC didn't want to believe what was going on, but, there it all was, right there in front of him.
"N-No, I KNOW his name was Steve, TC!" Skywarp was in near hysterics, "I don't know how I know this, but I j-just know this!" he realized what he was saying, "H-How do I know these things?! HUH?! I-I wasn't even born yet!"
"I don't know what to think…what to say," the blue Seeker was at a loss, "Just…Mom or Dad must've told us at some point…Maybe, pregnancy heightens your senses or something."
The carrying Jet had coolant tears running down his faceplates now, shaking his helm, whispering over and over, "I know his name was Steve…"
"I believe you," TC wrapped his arm around him and hugged him, "there's definitely something happening."
They held each other in silence for a while, at least until Skywarp could compose himself.
"M-Mom and Dad…" Skywarp rasped out, "t-they never talked to me about this stuff."
"I think they were scared," Thundercracker admitted, "Warp, my Father was a really scary mech, especially when he was angry. You know, I had nightmares for years after the kidnapping…and Harvey…He was in prison, and it was like…We were still living in fear. Dad installed a security system, I remember. We were always afraid he was coming back."
Skywarp leaned closer, putting his helm against TC's shoulder, still holding the medical device to himself.
"We didn't talk about it unless we had to, I mean," the blue Seeker continued. "In fact, when you were very little, he escaped from prison…"
Flashback:
Skywarp was around nine-months-old, crawling very well now, while five-year-old Thundercracker colored on a datapad on the coffee table in their living room. Their Dad was helping their Mother make dinner when the kitchen phone rang…
End of Flashback:
"Dad had, um, stayed friends with one of the policemechs," Thundercracker recalled, "so he called to warn them, that he was out, y'know?"
Flashback:
Their Creators quickly packed their bags and headed out with their sons.
End of Flashback:
"We went to a hotel for the night in downtown Vos," TC continued, "it was probably the Grand Vosian Hotel, I remember when Starscream was staying there, years ago, and we went to see him, remember? I think the lobby was the same…" he knew he was rambling now, "Um, well, Dad said they caught him again right away. And we went back home."
Skywarp just wanted to take in this information; this was the most he had ever heard about his brother's biological Creator.
"There was another time," Thundercracker kept adjusting the blanket to cover the pregnant Jet's wings, "I was nine, so you were five, and Dad came home from work, and he talked to Mom, and they came in and he said he was surprising us by taking our family on vacation for a week."
Flashback:
Again, the couple hurried their sons into their awaiting vehicle with their suitcases.
"Teecee! We're going on an adventure!" little Skywarp chirped.
"In the middle of winter?" the blue sparkling wondered to himself.
End of Flashback:
"I remember that," Skywarp smiled now, "we went to Crystal City, right?"
"Uh-huh," the other nodded, "I remember Dad making a bunch of phone calls the first few days. And then they were relieved. They had recaptured my Father, but since they had rented the cabin for the rest of the week, we stayed there…so they took us ski-flying."
There was a pause.
"Mom only told me after we got back though…" TC remembered.
Flashback:
His Mother figured Thundercracker was old enough to know the truth. She sat him down on the sofa and told him that they went on the trip because his Father had escaped again and that she was always afraid he would come to hurt her babies.
"I wouldn't let him, Mom," her eldest told her. "I would protect you."
They hugged each other tightly.
End of Flashback:
"Well, after he was dead, it was like," TC shrugged now, "we didn't have to be scared anymore."
"Do you remember the day your Sire died?" Skywarp asked, "Cause I do…"
"Of course." TC sighed.
The two brothers remembered it very well, in fact.
Flashback:
Skywarp was much naughtier than his older brother had been. He liked to use his teleportation to his advantage. Now ten-years-old, he was easily bored whenever Thundercracker was busy with his homework. Eighth-graders seemed to have more homework.
The black and purple sparkling warped into the living room, careful not to be noticed by his Creators. It was Sunday afternoon, so his Dad was home reading the daily datapad on the sofa, and his Mother was in their garden. Perfect time to get into mischief!
Skywarp snatched his Mother's purse and stole ten dollars' worth of credits out of her wallet; now all he needed to do was trick TC into taking him to the arcade.
The phone rang, and the little sparkling teleported away before his Dad got up to answer it, telling his Bondmate that he would do so.
Skywarp rematerialized behind the feature wall, knowing he couldn't be seen from the kitchen. He eavesdropped on his Creator, hoping he would hear the latest juicy, neighborhood gossip!
But today, the large flyer was very serious to whoever he spoke to on the telephone. It quickly became clear as his Dad called for their Mother to come inside.
It was the authorities: Thundercracker's Father had been offlined in prison. From what Skywarp could make out, it had been a brutal attack; his Mother gasped at the details; his Dad angrily asking whoever was on the phone where the slag was the guard! Despite being his former rival, the large Seeker did not approve of vigilantism destroying the mech.
The phone call ended. And the two adult Seekers could be heard hugging in sadness, saying that at least this mech's pain was over. His Mother worried aloud how they would break the news to Thundercracker, that he would be so hurt. And her husband assuring her that they would tell him as gently as possible and help him deal with this in any way they could.
Oh, they need not have worried, because their littlest was on the case! He relished the idea of playing the role of 'reporter,' just like that human character, Jimmy Olson, in his Superman comics!
He immediately teleported away when he heard his Mother wonder aloud why her purse was behind the sofa.
Thundercracker, now fourteen-years-old and a straight-A student, was hard at work on his essay on electric shocks and its effects on the chassis for his biology exam. His datapads were all over his desk, open to chapters he was using to cite his sources.
"OH TEECEE!" Skywarp materialized so close to his brother's left audial, that he nearly blew out its circuits.
"Skywarp! Don't do that!" Thundercracker barked back, "I told you not to bother me until I finished my homework!"
Skywarp was bouncing up and down, so happy to be the one to announce this, "But I gots this breaking news for ya!"
"It can wait until later," TC told him, "Give me another hour."
"AN HOUR?!" the younger screamed, "I can't wait that long! You want me to explode or something?! I gotta tell you something now!"
"I still have to read my Shakespeare datapad," the student waved him away, "you want me to fail my test?"
"Isn't that, like, next week?" Skywarp asked.
TC rolled his optics, "It's a big datapad."
Skywarp continued bouncing around, covering his mouth, wanting to tell him. He started jumping up and down holding onto his older brother's shoulders.
TC: "What are you doing?"
Skywarp: "Waiting to tell you something!"
"Fine," the blue youngling knew he wasn't going to get anything done at this rate, "what's so important that you can't wait to tell me?"
"YEEEYA!" Skywarp shrieked with delight, "TEECEE! You're mean old Sire's pavement pizza!"
Thundercracker's optics went wide, "W-What?!"
"He's deactivated, TC!" Skywarp bounced up and down more, "I heard Dad on the phone! Somebody made a whole bunch of wrestler moves on the slagger, and now the cops haveta wash his jail cell with a garden hose! Isn't that a howl?!"
"Wow," was Thundercracker's sad first response; optics fell to the floor; a sullen look on his faceplates, "I guess it's over."
"WHY AREN'T YOU CELEBRATING?!" Skywarp squealed.
"Well, can't really celebrate anyone getting murdered, I mean," the blue youngling studied his hands, "it's too bad because…a lot of what he did was because he was drunk, and…they say that effects ya." He sighed, "I hope he finds peace now."
"HELLO?! He kidnapped you!" his little brother came faceplates to faceplates with him, as if to get through to him.
"Oh, I know, I know…" Thundercracker admitted, "I guess I just think…he probably loved me, but High-Grade Energon corrupted his processor. He really hurt me, and Mom…he killed Harvey and my two halio-hamsters…" he was looking at the very spot he had found them laying there, "he was nothing like Dad. I'm…we're very lucky to have him."
Skywarp's short attention span had him already bouncing and thinking about the arcade, tuning his brother out a bit.
"Dad's my real Sire," Thundercracker concluded, "A Sire is someone that guides you, protects you, is good to you…It's not something anybody can really teach you, you either have that gift, or you don't. Dad is everything my Father wasn't."
"Well, I'm glad your old Sire's dead!" Skywarp shrieked, "He deserved it!"
"Why do you say that?" TC asked.
"Well, DUH!" the sparkling rolled his optics, "cause now you're not gonna wake up screaming that you're being kidnapped again!"
Even years later, Thundercracker would occasionally cry out in his sleep about his Father abducting him, and the shooting of the two policemechs, usually loud enough to wake his little brother. Sometimes even waking their Creators.
"I still do that?" TC asked shamefully.
Skywarp nodded.
"Sorry," the blue youngling pulled his little brother to sit on his knee and loosely hugged him, "I-I'm…really grateful that Mom and Dad love me, and protecting me all time. And that I didn't go down the wrong path after what happened. And you…I'm grateful to have my little brother."
Most of these profound statements were lost on the sparkling, "Are you gonna take me to the arcade?!"
"Sure, sure, in a little while," TC nodded, used to this from his baby brother, "Just lemme finish this essay, okay?" He was still shaky, "W-Why don't you play with your game console while I work on it."
Thundercracker let him down and tried to go back to his datapad; the words seemed to blur for a moment as he tried to find his place where he had left off.
Their Dad knocked on the door, asking if he could come in. Thundercracker told him yes.
The adult Seeker could tell, just by looking at his eldest's expression, that TC knew what he was about to say.
"It's okay, Dad," TC nodded, "Skywarp told me."
Their Sire sighed momentarily at that, before asking Thundercracker if he wanted to talk about it.
"I'm okay, Dad," the blue youngling tried to reassure him, "there's nothing we can do, really."
His Stepfather sat down next to him and told him about the phone call, using much more sensitive terminology than Skywarp had used. All the while, the boys' Mother stood in the doorway.
TC listened, having a rather indifferent reaction, "Dad, he did it to himself." He gave a slight smile as he said, "As far as I'm concerned, my real father is sitting right here."
Their moment of closeness was obliterated by their little one, "DAD! I WANNA GO TO THE ARCADE!"
Their Creator told his youngest to have patience; Skywarp rolled his optics in response.
After Thundercracker assured his parents that he was alright and that he was only worried to finish his homework, the couple said they would do something as a family that evening, possibly going out somewhere nice for dinner, just to take everyone's processors off the hard news.
After they left their kids alone, their Sire noted to his wife that, if there was any silver lining in this mess, he would finally be able to officially adopt Thundercracker.
The youngling tried to read back over his homework, but the shock of his biological Father being offlined in prison was too much for him to just pretend it never happened, "Ugh, I gave up, let's go to the arcade."
"YAY!" Skywarp shouted, jumping up and down again, "I love you! I love you!" he grabbed his older brother and glommed onto him, "You're the best big brother!"
"You're the best little brother, Warp," TC couldn't help himself from hugging back; his little sibling always knew how to cheer him up.
End of Flashback:
The two brothers were sitting just as close now as they were then. Their memory files having played out, they were back in present time.
"Guess I've never been…sensitive," Skywarp admitted now, cringing.
"Aw, that's nothing," his brother hugged him, "you were just a little kid."
Somehow, they both knew they were being watched. Thundercracker turned around; scanning their living room.
Scared, Skywarp whispered suddenly, "I wanna go to bed."
"Oh, okay," the blue Seeker helped him up, and got him back into the sofa bed, "listen, no matter what's going on, we're gonna be okay, alright?"
"I wanna sleep with you…" was all Skywarp said, looking down, "don't leave me."
"Sure," TC finally got the other settled in the pillows and the hot water bottle on his pregnant belly. Their two blankets weren't the warmest, so he held Skywarp in his arms for their warmth.