CHAPTER 16
New Recruit
The city was farther away than it first seemed. By the time Swindle reached the city borders, it was already nightfall, even though he had only left the MECH base at dusk. The city streets were lit up by the street lamps, though barely any humans walked around. They were all tucked up in their homes, driving to or from work, some working night shifts. The tall buildings were lit up, though as Swindle progressed further into the city, several lights began turning off, indicating the humans were going to sleep.
Some ten minutes after reaching the city borders, Swindle found the hospital. He parked in the back and scanned his surroundings before deactivating James, his holographic driver, and turned his car lights off. Now he just had to wait until the hospital staff was heading home.
He ended up waiting well over three hours before the city was covered in darkness, save for the street lamps. No humans or vehicles other than the ambulances seemed to be present in the hospital grounds. Just to be certain, Swindle set his scanner to carbon-based life-forms to check if there were any night guards patrolling around him. The scanner came up with nothing, and Swindle decided it was good enough for him.
As slowly and quietly as his biology allowed, Swindle assumed bot mode and rose slowly to his pedes. His car lights were still off, and there were no lamps in the area he was in, but thanks to his Cybertronian biology, he had great night vision, and the little light from the half moon and stars on the sky reflected in his optics and was cast back, giving him a sort of flashlight vision.
Transformed and with the moon on his side, Swindle walked calmly over to the large back doors of the hospital. They were a bit shorter than him, but he could easily crawl through them, and the hallways in the dark hospital were just large enough that he could walk upright through them. He made sure to tiptoe as quietly as possible to avoid alerting the humans. While it was dark and mostly empty, Swindle knew that there were guards patrolling the hospital during nighttime, as well as looking after the patients to make sure they survived the night.
Fortunately this hospital seemed to be of low funds, as he encountered almost no guards, aside from a single one close to the lobby. Swindle sought cover in another hallway and took out the list of tools given to him by the MECH surgeon. It wasn't a lot, and it could all probably be found in a lab. Swindle got up and went further down the hallway he had hidden in. By the end of it was a pair of big doors with a small window at the top to look through.
Swindle peeked through the windows and confirmed it was indeed a lab. He did a quick scan of the room to make sure no one was inside, before slowly opening the doors and stepping inside. The ceiling in the lab was a bit shorter than in the hallways, and Swindle had to lower his head to fit. It was uncomfortable, but he could handle it for a little while. He just needed to get three things.
Swindle checked the list again. A defibrillator, a spinal prostethis and... blood. O-negative.
Swindle pursed his lip and looked around. He found a defibrillator in a drawer and a spinal prostethis in a closet, but there didn't seem to be any O-neg. blood in the room. Where did humans keep blood? The same place Cybertronians kept Energon in medical centers, perhaps?
Swindle tucked the two items into his subspace and left the lab, relieved to be able to stand up straight again. He went searching the hallways for something that could contain blood.
He ended up in a secondary lobby, albeit unoccupied, where he found a cart with bags of red stuff inside. That must be blood. He walked over and read the labels. Most of it seemed to be O-negative. Perhaps that was the kind of blood most acceptable by the human body. Energon wasn't nearly as complicated. All Transformers used the same kind of Energon, although some had Natural Blue while others had Artifical Pink, though both worked the same way and were accepted by all Cybertronian bodies. Artificial Pink Energon was only available if one had a special kind of Energon cube called Absorption Cubes, however. These were scarce and practically non-existing at this time of the war, meaning both Autobots and Decepticons had to rely on finding Natural Blue Energon as crystals, which were scarce on any world, as they have a very long solidification time.
Swindle decided to just take all the bags containing O-negative blood. The surgeon could decide how much of it they would use and then scrap the rest. The humans could always get more themselves. Unlike Cybertronians, humans could generate blood simply by eating and drinking various organic things. Transformers had to consume Energon in order to produce more Energon themselves, which was naturally a problem considering the scarcity of Energon.
With his subspace full of surgery items, Swindle left the lobby and wandered into the hallways, heading to the same entrance he got from.
As he exited the hospital, Swindle resumed vehicle mode and reactivated James before driving off into the street, car lights still off. The hospital theft had gone smoothly, but Swindle was not done yet. He still had one more mission to accomplish before he could return to the MECH base.
He had to find Brawl.
Fortunately Combiner team members had weak Spark connections with one another, making one team member able to find another by locating his Spark signature. It wasn't as strong a bond as the one between Spark Twins, Amica Endura, Conjunx Endura or even the parent-child bond between a Sparkling and its Creators. Even so, it enabled Swindle to find his teammates, which nobot else, not even Megatron, could do.
So it did not take long before Swindle found what was supposedly Brawl, parked in a military base just at the outskirts of the city. It was a rusty grayish green tank with a black cannon. At first glance it looked like any regular old rusty tank. But Swindle could feel a very faint energy signal from it. It was definitely Brawl, but he was dormant, just like Swindle had been. Swindle hummed in silence. Perhaps there was a pattern of some sort? He would have to check it out later.
Without hesitation, Swindle drove up beside the much larger tank and transformed.
"Heya, Brawl," Swindle greeted cheerfully but quietly. "Long time no see! You look a bit rusty - literally! But don't you worry, ol' Swindle here will get you out of this boring place. Then we'll have a drink together, catch up on the good old days, destroy some things, find the others. Whaddya say, huh? Sound good?"
The tank did not answer. Swindle let out a chuckle.
"Right, you can't really talk right now," he said. "No problem, let me just get this..." Swindle reached into his subspace and pulled out two hooks and a rope and started knotting the two hooks together with the rope.
Swindle heard a small voice and stiffened, instinctively assuming jeep mode and remained still. A human soldier appeared from the base building and took a look around at the vehicles.
"I could have sworn I heard something..." the soldier muttered to himself, gaze skipping the new jeep, and returned to the base building.
As soon as the coast was clear, Swindle resumed bot mode and let out a sigh of relief. He gazed between the large tank and the other army vehicles.
"Perhaps I should make sure I'm not followed," Swindle muttered to himself and smirked. He had gained an idea.
Thundercracker scanned the area below him as he flew over an army base. There were tanks, jeeps and jets, but none of them had Skywarp's energy signal, so he moved on to find the next.
Thundercracker had searched all night and most of the next day all across America. Every time he found an army base, he scanned the jets for anything resembling Skywarp's signal, then moved on when he found that he wasn't there. How hard could it be to find one dormant Seeker? Very hard, as it turned out. It was like searching for a tree in a forest.
"Curse those rubsigns," Thundercracker hissed to himself at the perhaps hundredth army base without Skywarp. "It's at times like these that a Sparkbond would be useful! Where are you, Skywarp?"
Like Combiners, Trinemates created a weak connection between their Sparks so they could more easily locate each other if they got seperated during missions. And like Combiners, the connection was weaker than an actual Sparkbond between relatives, best friends or lovers. Which was highly impractical in a situation such as this, where not only was Skywarp who-knows-where on Earth, he was even dormant, which only made his energy signal even weaker. Even so, Thundercracker should have been able to locate him by now, but he felt nothing.
As night had fallen, a strong energy signal suddenly popped up on Thundercracker's radar and he stopped, hovering still in the air. It wasn't Skywarp, but it was definitely worth checking out. It was a few hundred meters away below him. Curious, Thundercracker decided to check it out.
When he arrived at the signal and descended, he gasped as his scanners told him what it was.
"Red Energon," he whispered to himself, observing the large red crystal right below him. "Here, on Earth? Unbelievable. This will definitely be in our favor."
Thundercracker was about to transform and land when he noticed he wasn't alone. Surrounding the Red Energon were construction vehicles and humans scurrying around, seemingly trying to mine the Energon. Thundercracker hesitated. He wasn't afraid of the humans nor did the Decepticons really have a rule of being 'robots in disguise', but Thundercracker did have some common sense, unlike many of his brethren. He knew if he was discovered by the humans, they would report him to their military, which in turn he had learned was allied with the Autobots. No reason to alert the Autobots that the Decepticons had gained additional firepower just yet. That would make for a nice surprise later.
Thundercracker marked the location of the Red Energon site, then took off. He could always get it later when he had located Skywarp. His Trinemate's safety was currently more important than even one of the rarest kinds of Energon in the universe. Besides, they were just humans. They could handle them at any time.
Since he couldn't feel his Trinemate's energy signal anywhere, Thundercracker made the conclusion that Skywarp was not on this continent. Meaning he had to search overseas. He still had plenty of Energon in his tanks to fly for several days straight, so he wasn't worried about that.
As such, he reached the western coast of America and flew beyond that, into the Pacific. Thundercracker was fast, comparable in speed to even Starscream, but even with his speed, due to having to conserve energy, he first reached land when the sun had begun to rise. He reached an island known as Japan and decided to check it out there.
As Thundercracker soared through the skies of Japan, searching the army bases below, he met a group of Japanese jet fighters.
"This is the Japan Defense Force, please identify yourself," one of the jets' pilots spoke over a comm., in Japanese, though Thundercracker had, like many other Cybertronians, a universal translator installed in his processor, enabling him to understand the Earthlings' many languages.
Thundercracker hesitated, still soaring through the air, as the jets were closing in on him. He wasn't as good a liar as Starscream and was unsure if he should even speak to the humans or not.
"Repeat, this is the Japan Defense Force, identify yourself or we will attack," the pilot repeated over the comm.
Thundercracker decided to stay silent, instead speeding up, until he shot off, a loud sonic boom shaking the sky and the ground below. He escaped the jets easily.
Suddenly an energy signal popped up on his radar and he ceased to a stop, almost losing balance. He scanned the ground below. There was an army base, filled with jets. And indeed, he could feel Skywarp's signal among them. His Spark beat faster and he started descending into a forest just at the outskirts of the army base.
As soon as he reached below the trees he assumed bot mode and peeked through the forest edge at the jets. He spotted one jet that seemed to be a fading black with some dark gray areas. Thundercracker could just barely make out a faint purple tone in the gray. It was definitely Skywarp, and his dormancy seemed to be taking a toll on his paintjob. Which meant that his body was using all the energy it could find and absorb it to keep him alive, including his color scheme. He almost looked dying, as much as he was graying out.
Thundercracker wanted to just storm in there, grab Skywarp and take off, but he knew he couldn't. There were too many humans, and they seemed to have plenty of air support here. The risk was simply too high at this moment. Besides, as strong as Thundercracker was and as light as Skywarp may be, he couldn't carry Skywarp all the way until they found Energon.
He needed a plan. And a lot of patience. Fortunately for Thundercracker, he was a very patient Seeker and good at making plans. He decided to wait until fewer humans were present and he had worked out how to rescue Skywarp.
Until then, he remained seated on the forest floor, staring at the army base, birds occasionally seating themselves on him without his notice or care.
Starscream woke up the next morning, having slept through the night almost without any nightmares. He only had one somewhere early in the morning where he heard strange and eerie noises coming from his desk and shelf, as if something was alive. When he woke up and looked, there was nothing though, but the dream and darkness certainly made him more paranoid. Not paranoid enough for him to avoid falling back asleep and sleep until early noon.
Starscream rose to his pedes and stretched his arms and wings, arching his back to make a cracking noise, relieving him of the stiffness in his joints from a long night's recharge. As he lowered his arms, his gaze fell on the good-luck necklace now wrapped around his right wrist.
After returning from his flight with Arcee and Miko the previous evening, Starscream found the necklace all tangled up in his armor and decided it would be best to just wear it on his wrist from now on. That way it wouldn't get in the way of his transformation, other than perhaps when he had to use his laser, but it could probably work out.
The flight had lifted the mood of all three. Starscream didn't think he had ever heard Arcee laugh before, but then again it was war. There wasn't much time for laughs. But flying through the air was something no one could argue against. It was the best feeling of all time.
Well rested and content with his new freedom, Starscream exited his room and headed to the command center, intending to go on a morning fly. Or, well, early noon fly. Either way, a fly after waking up.
Starscream's pedesteps were giddy as he entered the command center and found everyone present, including the children.
"Hello to you all," Starscream greeted with a smile.
"Hey Scream," Miko greeted back, on the floor helping Bulkhead with his leg exercises.
"You seem to be doing better since yesterday, Bulkhead," Starscream remarked at the Wrecker lying on his side and struggling to lift the top leg in the air.
"Yeah, except having to do these exercises," Bulkhead grumbled.
"Come on, Bulk, this'll help you get better," Miko said cheerfully. "Follow my lead! One... two..."
Starscream turned away from the pair and headed for the elevator. "I am going for a fly," he announced without looking back. "Will be back in an hour."
"Have fun," Arcee replied.
Starscream smiled as he turned in the elevator and watched the doors close in front of him, seperating him from the rest of the team. He sighed as the elevator went up. It still felt weird being allowed to go off on his own now, but it was a change he was willing to get used to. He was happy they finally trusted him. More or less.
As the elevator doors opened, Starscream stepped outside and took a deep vent, then exhaled.
"What a lovely morning," he said to himself. "Perfect flying conditions."
Without hesitation, Starscream ran to the edge of the cliff, jumped out and let himself fall until a few meters from the ground before initiating transformation. He pointed upwards and shot into the sky, a mere meter from hitting the ground. He let out a laugh by the thrill of the fall.
"This is life," Starscream said to himself as he spun and made loops in the air, getting his own morning exercise. "To think I have been trapped inside a cliff for two months. It feels like a mere bad dream now."
Starscream ascended and reached above the clouds, soaking himself in the cold water vapor and then letting the sun dry it off his armor. A gentle breeze caressed his armor in a pleasant way. Never had he felt so refreshed by a flight before. His first lone flight, simply for the joy of flying, in months. It was something he had missed dearly, but which he had now gotten back.
At one point, Starscream initiated bot mode and let himself fall through the clouds, heading towards the ground. For a moment he closed his optics and just enjoyed the feel of the rushing wind brushing his armor from below, feeling the adrenaline rush from getting near the ground.
Just as Starscream was about to transform back to jet mode, a shadow passed by him, and with it a strong gust of wind that made him spin around. He let out a shriek of surprise and tried desperately to stop spinning.
Starscream noticed he was getting dangerously close to the ground and panic began rising in him. But he was a Seeker, a term given to only the best Fliers on Cybertron. And Starscream was not just any Seeker, he was the former Air Commander of the Seekers. Meaning he was the best of the best at flying. He knew what to do.
Taking a quick vent to calm himself, Starscream initiated transformation while still spinning. The transformation broke off some of the speed, the flat wings and body pushing against the wind from below, giving him back control of the spinning and stopped it. As soon as the spinning stopped, and he was only a a dozen meters from hitting the ground, Starscream quickly turned upwards and activated his thrusters, shooting back into the air, less than half a meter from hitting the ground.
Starscream sighed of relief as he was safely back in the air.
"What the FRAG was THAT?!" he screamed to no one in particular. He flew more slowly and began scanning the surrounding area. It didn't take long before he found the source of his crashing. A distance north of his location, a pillar of smoke went from outer space to below a forested area a few hundred meters from Starscream's current location.
"Must have been an escape pod," Starscream speculated as he began flying towards the forest. He opened his comm. to call the base. "Starscream to base, I just found something interesting..."
Back at the Autobot base, Bulkhead was still struggling with the exercises, despite Miko's help. Bumblebee stood by the railings with Jack while Raf was scrolling through a conspiracy website to look for pictures of Bumblebee, when suddenly one particular picture appeared.
"Wow, what is that?" Jack pointed at the picture, and they enlarged it. The picture was featured 'Mysterious Meteor', but Raf could tell it was no mere meteor.
"A Cybertronian escape pod," Raf remarked with shock.
"Here in Earth's atmosphere?" Ratchet said with surprise.
Raf put the picture up on the large monitors so the Autobots could see too. Miko and Bulkhead both got up to join the others.
Just then, a transmission from Starscream beeped in on the computer.
"Starscream to base, I just found something interesting," Starscream's voice sounded.
"It wouldn't happen to be a Cybertronian escape pod, would it?" Arcee asked.
"Wha- How did you know?" Starscream said surprised.
"Because we're looking at it," Arcee replied. "Well, a picture of it anyway."
"Well, I saw more than a picture, I nearly crashed because of it!"
"Are you okay?" Miko asked concerned.
"I'm alright, but you really should come, Autobots. Anyone could be in there."
"Like a 'Con," Arcee said.
"Or an Autobot," Ratchet said. "With this resolution it's impossible to tell."
"Should we call Wheeljack?" Arcee asked. "Since Bulk isn't combat-ready yet?"
"I can hear you," Bulkhead grumbled.
"Not after the stunt he pulled with Miko," Ratchet grumbled.
"An Autobot may be in distress," Optimus said. "Ratchet, bring your medical kit. Starscream, remain where you are. We will meet up at your location."
"Got it," Starscream replied through the comm. "I'll be waiting for you."
Starscream touched down to ground in the forest near where the escape pod was and transformed. He began walking towards the clearing made by the crash but stopped just before entering it. He observed the crash site. The pod wasn't very big, but probably big enough for one or two, maybe three bots to be stuffed in there. It seemed to have a hole in the ceiling, indicating whoever was in the pod had escaped. From the crashed pod ran a river of Energon ending in a point.
Starscream didn't get to stand alone for very long before a GroundBridge portal opened right in front of the tip of the Energon river, and the Autobots stepped out, one by one. Starscream stepped into the clearing to meet up with them. They were Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee and Ratchet.
As he approached them, they briefly glanced at the Seeker to acknowledge his presence before all five carefully made their way towards the pod, Arcee and Bumblebee with their weapons out.
"That pod certainly did some damage," Starscream remarked and looked around at the trees and barren ground.
None of the others made any comments, but just kept moving. As they reached the pod, Arcee wiped some dust and soot off a red spot to reveal... a Decepticon mark. Starscream couldn't help but smile at the familiar red insignia.
"It is of Decepticon origin," Optimus remarked.
"And the 'Con inside blew his way out," Arcee assumed.
She had barely turned around before red lasers were being fired at them from the left. On the other side of the Energon river, several Vehicons and Insecticons had appeared and discovered the small group of Autobots. Team Prime were quick to respond with their own blue lasers.
Starscream jumped back, surprised by the ambush, and looked uncertain from the Decepticons to the Autobots.
"Scream, you haven't forgotten how to fight, have you?" Arcee remarked as she almost bumped into the Seeker.
"Of course not!" Starscream hissed and jumped out of the way, transforming his left arm and started shooting his red lasers at the Decepticons.
Starscream wasn't sure why he had hesitated just now. They were just Vehicons, and of course some bigger and scarier Insecticons, but still. And he had even fought Decepticons just two days earlier, not only while in the Antarctic with Prime, but also in the sky alongside Wheeljack. But this was the first time he was fighting Decepticons as an Autobot. With the Autobot brand. It felt weird, but of course he didn't have time to feel weird at the moment.
The Autobots retreated behind some big rocks for cover as two Insecticons descended and started firing at them.
"All those 'Cons came out of one pod?" Arcee suggested, perhaps jokingly.
"Humans refer to the phenomenon as a clown car," Ratchet remarked, perhaps also jokingly, a bit less expectant from him.
An Insecticon began closing in on them, and Starscream lifted his right arm, firing a missile after it. The Insecticon got hit on the side as it tried to dodge the attack, but it was still functional. It transformed as it landed on the ground and went for Prime. The two clashed with claws and swords, but Prime managed to send it off with a blast from his ion cannon and sent another incoming Insecticon flying back with another blast before storming towards the Vehicons.
Another Insecticon came flying in and pushed Ratchet against one of the rocks before transforming. It roared and prepared to slash, but Arcee jumped in and slashed one of its appendages off. The Insecticon grabbed her, but she pushed against its face and got free easily. She and Bumblebee started firing at the Insecticon, until it fell onto its back.
The Insecticons seemingly taken care of, the Autobots turned their attention back to the Vehicons on the other side of the Energon river. Starscream continued firing his left laser while waiting for his right arm missile to regenerate.
Suddenly, a different set of blue lasers began firing from behind the rocks, behind the Autobots. Arcee and Bumblebee noticed the lasers and looked behind in confusion, as did Starscream. A sleek white bot came running between the trees, shooting lasers at the Decepticons.
"Incoming!" Arcee shouted as she and Bumblebee pointed their blasters at the stranger, uncertain if he was friend or foe.
"Down in front!" the stranger shouted and jumped above the pair, continuing his assault on the Decepticons in front of them. He downed a Vehicon who had managed to cross the river, then he started shooting at the others on the other side of the river. His aim was very precise and hit almost every target with every shot he fired, and elegantly dodged each attack the enemy fired.
"Friendly?" Arcee asked in disbelief. All the Autobots had now paused in their attack, just watching the young stranger easily taking down the Decepticons. Even Starscream had to admit this bot had style.
"Seems like it," Starscream remarked and transformed his arm back into an arm.
Another Insecticon came flying in and almost hit the stranger, but he managed to dodge and jumped back. He fired at the Insecticon, but one of the lasers strayed and accidentally hit the Energon river, setting the Energon on fire.
Everyone ceased their attacks as the blue flames spread towards the crashed pod. It was going to explode!
"Fall back!" Optimus shouted.
Starscream made no hesitation in running along with the Autobots as fast as he could, away from the crash site. The stranger went with them, as they sought cover behind some large rocks. They just managed to get behind the rocks when the explosion sounded. As the shock ended and there was only the sound of rattling the Autobots peeked behind their cover to the sight of trees and the ground burning in beautiful blue flames. The Decepticons had been blown to bits by the impact.
The stranger stood on top of the lowest rock and stared at the sight before spreading his arms in triumph.
"Woo! Too hot for you, 'Cons?" the stranger exclaimed victoriously.
The Autobots stood around and just looked at their apparent new ally. Ratchet turned to Bumblebee.
"Friend of yours?" the medic asked.
"What?" Bumblebee replied surprised. "Don't know him."
"Never seen him before," Arcee said.
The stranger jumped down from his rock and put his servos on his hips. A Grounder, it seemed. He had winglets, so he probably turned into some kind of car. He was mostly white but was blue in the middle of his torso, on which a red Autobot insignia could be seen. His optics were large and bright blue as opposed to the Autobots' cyan optics. He seemed to be a young mech, about a head taller than Bumblebee.
"Torching that Energon leak," the stranger said. "Pretty good plan, right?"
"Except that it wasn't your plan," Arcee pointed out. "It was a random shot that almost fried us to crisps!"
"Worked out, didn't it?" the stranger said, his smile undeterred.
"Thank you, fellow Autobot," Optimus said, catching the stranger's attention. "Your... valor is to be commended."
The stranger stared at Optimus, wincing back, looking absolutely shocked. "I... don't believe it!" he said with excitement. "You're Optimus Prime! He's Optimus Prime!" he added to the others while pointing at Optimus Prime.
"We know," Arcee replied unimpressed.
"Yes, yes," Ratchet said blankly.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Bumblebee bleeped.
"Brilliant observation," Starscream said.
The stranger paused as his optics fell on Starscream. "Hey, aren't you Starscream?" he asked suspiciously, his smile faltering. "The stiletto-heeled freak who works under Megatron?"
Starscream cringed at the accusation. "How dare you," he snapped. "They are not stilettos, they are french spools! The nerve!"
The stranger gazed at the other Autobots for answers.
"It's a long story," Arcee said and crossed her arms. "But he's kinda with us now, so don't worry about it."
"Stilettos," Starscream muttered to himself.
Turning their attention back on the stranger, Optimus placed his servos on his hips in an authoritative manner and gazed down at the smaller Autobot.
"What is your name, soldier?" Prime asked calmly.
The Autobot stood straight and saluted. "Smokescreen, sir!" he replied loud and clear with excitement in his voice.
Optimus held out a servo. "Welcome to Earth, Smokescreen."
Smokescreen eagerly accepted Optimus' servo and shook it. "It's an honor to be here," he said. "Especially with you."
"Now what?" Ratchet asked. "It's not like we can just bring him back to base."
"Wouldn't be the first time an ally turned out to be a plant," Arcee remarked.
There was silence among the group for a while. Optimus gazed from Arcee to Smokescreen, deep in thought. His gaze fell on Smokescreen's shoulder. There was another Autobot insignia, but with three stripes going out from each side of the symbol. It was a mark Optimus had not seen in a long time.
"I see that you received your training from Cybertron's Elite Guard," Optimus said and pointed at the symbol.
"True enough," Smokescreen admitted. "Though it wasn't much more than a boot camp by the time I joined. Never even got a proper graduation ceremony."
"There was a war going on," Arcee pointed out.
"Hey, all I ever wanted was to be a soldier, serve the Autobot cause," Smokescreen countered. "But what I got was security detail at Iacon."
The Autobots looked at Smokescreen in surprise. "The Hall of Records of all places," Ratchet remarked. "Optimus, do you not find this highly suspicious?"
Optimus gazed from Ratchet to Smokescreen. "Smokescreen, what was your assignment inside the Hall?" Optimus asked.
"Guarding Alpha Trion during what turned out to be the final days of the war," Smokescreen replied.
"You served under the master archivist?" Optimus remarked with surprise.
"Yeah, I wasn't thrilled at first," Smokescreen said. "Watching the back of an old bot instead of kicking 'Con tailpipe!" He paused for a moment and gazed at their unimpressed faces before continuing. "Sorry. But the Big A turned out to be a great teacher. And a true friend. I mean he was the one who petitioned Halogen in the High Council to make you a Prime."
Optimus looked intently at Smokescreen, his face unmoving. But it appeared he had made his decision.
"Rafael," Optimus called over the comm., "activate the GroundBridge."
"That's it?" Arcee asked in surprise. "That's all you need to hear before inviting him to the party?"
"If my former mentor shared this information, it is because he considered Smokescreen a trusted ally."
It didn't take long before a GroundBridge portal opened up in front of them. They each stepped through, with Starscream as the third last, making a pointing gesture from his optics to Smokescreen and back before entering the portal, followed by Smokescreen himself and finally Optimus, making sure no one was left behind.
Back at base, the humans were eager to meet with the new Autobot.
"We haven't had somebody new here since Wheeljack!" Miko said excited and ran up the stairs to get a better look at Smokescreen.
"A-hem!" Starscream coughed.
"Right, and Starscream," Miko said as she reached the railings. "What's your story, Smoke, where'd you come from, how'd you get here, how many blasters you packin'?"
Smokescreen stared perplexed at the girl. "So these are the life-forms we're supposed to protect?" he asked and looked to the other bots. "Are they all like this?"
"Fortunately not," Ratchet replied, "but I too share Miko's fascination with how you came to arrive on Earth."
"In a Decepticon escape pod," Arcee added and crossed her arms and gave the young mech a stern look.
"Still got trust issues, huh?" Smokescreen remarked. "Tough crowd."
"You have no idea, kid," Starscream commented and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed as Smokescreen started to tell his tale.
"The main thrust of combat operations was at least twenty kliks from the Hall of Records, so things had been pretty quiet. But the situation went downhill fast. The 'Cons launched a massive surge that wiped out the last line of defense surrounding Iacon. I was the only thing left to hold them back. And let me tell ya: I was pumped! I mean, this was my chance to see real action for the first time! To prove myself." Smokescreen paused for a moment. "Until everything went black. 'Cons took me prisoner and dumped me unto a transport ship. But I managed to give a guard the slip and hopped in an escape pod. Apparently it was a long-distance pod, 'cause it knocked me into stasis. Next thing I knew, I'm hitting solid ground. Hard."
Yeah, on ME, Starscream thought in his mind.
"The Decepticon warship must have picked up the pod's beacon and guided it to Earth," Ratchet theorized.
"Which would explain Smokescreen's welcoming committee," Arcee said and crossed her arms. She hummed with amusement. "Bet those 'Cons were disappointed not to find one of their own inside."
"Smokescreen," Optimus said, drawing attention to him. "Do you know of Alpha Trion's fate after the fall of Iacon?"
"I wish I did," Smokescreen replied and looked down. "But that was the last I ever saw of him."
Optimus' gaze fell from Smokescreen to the floor, disappointed he still did not know if his mentor was still alive.
"That's it," Smokescreen ended. "My life story. Not exactly the glory I envisioned for myself. Until now," he added with excitement. "Being here with Optimus Prime?! I knew I was destined for great things! I mean, now that you have help, how hard could it be to end this war?"
A loud groan was heard from the hallway and everyone turned their attention to Bulkhead who emerged to greet the newcomer. Only, his greeting was not very friendly.
"Take a good look, newbie," Bulkhead groaned as he dragged himself into the command center. His body creaked and squeaked from the damages done by the Tox-En exposure and not being used enough the last few days. Everyone went silent and just gazed at the wounded Wrecker. "This is how hard."
Smokescreen stared with shock and awe at Bulkhead, still silent.
"Smokescreen," Optimus said to divert the attention away from Bulkhead, "I would suggest that you take some time to become acclimated to your new surroundings. A tour of the base would be an excellent start."
"Sure thing!" Miko beamed excited.
Bulkhead groaned from the other end of the railings and gave Miko a depressed look.
"I mean..." Miko corrected, "Jack here offers a very informative tour."
Smokescreen's gaze fell on Jack, who looked back at him and smiled shyly.
Starscream smirked by the sight. An interesting development, he thought gleefully. Very interesting...
Thundercracker ended up waiting until late afternoon before he decided he had waited long enough. There were still humans at the base, more than he would have liked, but who knew how much longer Skywarp could take in that dormant state. Not to mention how long it would take for that Red Energon back in America to be hauled away by the humans, or worse yet, the Autobots. Thundercracker couldn't afford to wait much longer.
"Starscream did always say I never take enough risks," Thundercracker said quietly to himself and rose to his pedes, the birds on his armor getting spooked by the action and took off. "I'll prove him wrong. The great Thundercracker is no coward, unlike his Trinemates. I'll show those humans."
Aiming from between the trees, Thundercracker lifted his right arm and pointed his blaster at some random point in the city situated behind the army base. There were two ways this could go. The humans would take the bait and drive off into the city to look for terrorists, or they would see where the shot came from and head for the forest. Either way, it would lead them away from the army base.
Before he could change his mind, Thundercracker clenched his fist and a red laser was fired from his arm cannon. The shot went all the way into the city and hit the top of a tall building. The blast was big enough to be seen as a small explosion that made the tip of the building fall off and into the street. The attack did not go unnoticed by the soldiers at the military base.
Thundercracker heard the commander shout in Japanese at the other soldiers, and they each occupied a vehicle and started driving or flying into the city, until the base was abandoned. Skywarp's jet form remained untouched. Perfect.
Taking the chance, Thundercracker emerged from the forest and rushed into the now empty army base and approached the grayish black jet.
"Skywarp, I'm here," Thundercracker called, even though he knew Skywarp couldn't hear him. "I'll get you out of here."
Having a whole day to wait and plan, Thundercracker had already worked out how to get Skywarp out of there. As he couldn't just pick up the jet and walk off with him without being seen by someone, he had to awaken his partner. But to do that, he needed Energon.
Luckily, he had plenty of Energon available.
Thundercracker put a servo on his left arm and dug the claws deep into his armor. He groaned in pain as he tore into his body until he started leaking. He pulled the claws out and held the leaking arm over one of the seams in the black jet. The Energon spilled and seeped through several crevices in the jet. At first nothing happened, but after several seconds of Energon spill, the color faded back in. Grayish black became pitch black, dark gray became dark purple, and the grayish cockpit turned bright orange.
Seeing his efforts worked, Thundercracker pulled his arm away and held on the wounds to hold back the leaking. In the distance, Thundercracker noticed the humans' military vehicles were exiting the city and on their way back to the base.
"Skywarp," Thundercracker called. "Now would be a very good time to wake up!"
As if on cue, the black jet split up and rearranged itself until a sleek black and purple Seeker stood before Thundercracker. He stretched his arms out and held a servo on his helm.
"Ow, my aching motherboard," Skywarp groaned. "Did I have too much high-grade the other night? Oh, hey Thundercracker. Sup."
Thundercracker groaned and initiated transformation to jet mode, his arm still leaking a bit from the chassis.
"Grab onto me, we're getting out of here," Thundercracker hissed, the humans halfway back to the base.
Skywarp cocked his head in confusion but nonetheless climbed onto Thundercracker's back and held onto the wings.
"Okay, but why-"
"Hang on tight!"
Without further warning, Thundercracker blasted off into the sky so fast another sonic boom was heard throughout the sky. Skywarp had to hold very tightly onto the other's wings to not fall off.
"TC, slow down! You're going too fast!" Skywarp screeched, barely able to keep his optics open.
Thundercracker kept flying until they reached a small remote island off the coast of Japan, making sure no one was following behind them. Thundercracker descended and landed on the island, initiating bot mode and throwing Skywarp off his back, so the latter landed in the water with a splash.
"Ah!" Skywarp exclaimed as he rose up and entered the beach, shaking the liquid off his plating. "Hey, warn me next time you plan to- Thundercracker?"
Thundercracker sat on the sand, servo held on his left arm to stop the leaking, groaning in pain. Concern started building up in Skywarp.
"You're wounded," the black Seeker remarked. "Hold on, I'll find something to stop the leaking."
"Appreciated," Thundercracker said, not moving out of the place.
Luckily the island they landed on had plenty of tall palm trees with pretty long leaves. Skywarp easily plucked several leaves from the crowns and brought them back to his Trinemate, knelt down and started working on the wounds. As soon as Thundercracker took his servo off, Skywarp could see what kind of wound it was and scowled.
"You did this to yourself, didn't you?" Skywarp said. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"Because it was the only Energon I had on me at the moment," Thundercracker replied.
Skywarp cocked an optical ridge. "What does that have to do with this?" he asked and started wrapping a palm leaf around Thundercracker's wounded arm.
"You were dormant," Thundercracker explained, trying to stiffle the groans as Skywarp tended to his wounds. "For more than a decade, I assume."
"Dormant?" Skywarp remarked and added a second palm leaf. "No wonder I feel so tired. But why was I dormant?"
Thundercracker's optics widened and turned to Skywarp's wings, insignias missing. "Those rubsigns you're wearing," the blue Seeker said.
"Yeah, what about them?"
"Take them off. They're toxic."
Skywarp's expression became shocked as he tied up and prepared to add a third palm leaf. "Toxic? But Swindle said-"
"I know what Swindle said," Thundercracker hissed. "I knew we couldn't trust the mech. He's always been a suspicious little bot. But I never thought he would deliberately try to poison us! I swear, if I get my hands on that guy..."
"Yeah, yeah, let's just get you fixed up first. Then you can remove those things from my wings. Heh, things from my wings. That's a funny rhyme."
"This isn't a joke, Warp. Starscream's joined the Autobots."
Skywarp's smirk fell and was replaced with a horrified expression. "Starscream? An Autobot? No way!"
"It's true. Knock Out told me, and he wasn't on the Nemesis. I think... I think I saw him when I woke up from stasis myself, but I'm not sure. It looked like him, but it could just have been a jet that looked like him."
Skywarp pursed his lips as he applied one last palm leaf. "I can't believe him. He's the one who joined the Decepticons on everyone's behalf, and now he's ditched us and sided with the 'Bots? What a jerk."
"He must have his reasons," Thundercracker said quietly, the pain slowly beginning to die down. "But whatever his reasons, it doesn't matter to us. Not anymore. We're Megatron's soldiers now, and Starscream's the enemy. We can't show him mercy. Megatron would kill us both if we did."
They went silent for a while as Skywarp finished tying the last knot on the palm leaves wrapped around Thundercracker's arm. "You dug pretty deep," he remarked. "I can't believe you did this for me."
"Believe me, if I had an alternative, I would have done that instead," Thundercracker replied and stood up, careful not to move his arm too much and loosen the leaf 'bandages'. "Now, let's get those things off you."
Skywarp stood up and allowed Thundercracker to scrape his wings with his claws. Skywarp was a bit more squirmish than his partner, but tried to remain still long enough for Thundercracker to find the rubsigns and peel them off. As soon as they were both off, he threw them on the sand.
They remained silent for a while, just standing and staring out at the horizon, at the setting sun.
"You know," Skywarp said without taking his gaze off the sun, "I don't think Screamer's gonna let us get killed that easily, even if we are enemies now."
"What makes you say that?" Thundercracker asked quietly, also still staring at the sun.
"You know, he used to be our Air Commander. And Winglord. He used to care about us Seekers. I wonder if he still does."
"Chances are he doesn't. Starscream doesn't care about anyone. He only ever cared about that Jetfire."
Skywarp made a face. "Ugh, I had almost forgotten about him. That traitor. Left us behind while calling Starscream the traitor. Wish they'd let us chase after him when we had the chance."
"Well, at least he's gone now. At least, if what Lord Megatron said is right."
"Oh yeah, how is ol' Megs?"
"He seemed pretty angry. I'd be angry too if my second-in-command had just ditched me, I guess. Oh, that reminds me."
Thundercracker initiated transformation to jet mode. He was careful not to damage the leaf bandages during the transformation.
"There's something waiting for us back in America," Thundercracker informed. "Something that will definitely make Megatron happy with us."
"What is it?" Skywarp asked curiously and initiated jet mode again, a slightly sleeker and smaller version than Thundercracker's, but probably still bigger than Starscream's.
The two jets set off into the sky, heading in determination towards the western coast of America with the setting sun behind them.
"Red Energon," Thundercracker cackled over the comm.
Back in the Autobot base, Bulkhead was not very pleased with the arrival of Smokescreen.
"If you wanted to replace me you should've called Wheeljack," Bulkhead practically hissed at his teammates. "I could've lived with that."
"No one is replacing you, Bulkhead," Arcee assured him. "For one thing, Smokescreen is too green."
"Well, Bulk's as green as they get!" Miko said from the railings to cheer up Bulkhead, not knowing what the expression meant. Starscream sighed in pity.
"What Arcee means is Smokescreen still has a great deal to learn," Ratchet clarified.
"And once you got him trained, then what? Huh?" Bulkhead snapped. "He's in, I'm a doorstop!"
"Bulkhead," Optimus said calmly, "your place with us is not in jeopardy. But there is no dispute that we have long required additional firepower. It is essential that our team learns to work with our new recruit, not against him."
Starscream scoffed. "Yeah right, like I'm not additional firepower," he grumbled. "They sure trust him faster than they did me."
"You were a 'Con, you can't blame us for not trusting you," Arcee said without looking at the Seeker. "This guy's an actual Autobot."
Starscream snorted at the comparison and stood up straight. "I think I'll go to my room," he said quietly.
"Better hope the hotshot's blasters are as big as his mouth," Bulkhead snarled, then lowered his voice. "How hard can it be?"
"Hey everyone," Raf called from one of the smaller monitors on the railings and put a picture up on the big screen. "Check this out!"
Starscream paused before setting a pede in the hallway and turned around to see what had gotten Rafael's fascination. What he saw on the big monitor astonished him.
"Oh, don't tell me it's another Bumblebee sight-" Ratchet began but paused as he looked at the screen. "Oh my..."
On the screen was a photo of a large red crystal, seemingly a broken piece of a meteor.
"Red Energon," Optimus remarked in awe.
"Red Energon?" Starscream repeated in disbelief, his need to go to his room having vanished.
"Here?" Ratchet said in awe. "On Earth?"
"What's Red Energon?" Raf asked.
"An extremely rare and volatile form of Energon," Starscream answered instead of Ratchet. "When refined it gives the power of hyper-speed, whether used on a bot or on a spaceship. I haven't seen Red Energon for almost a century." Which, actually, wasn't very long, considering the war had been going on for millions of years now, but still.
"We must have Agent Fowler clear the dig site of all human presence," Optimus announced, "in the event we are not the only ones who have discovered its location."
"Now you're talking!" Smokescreen's voice sounded from the hallway, drawing everyone's attention. He punched his fists together. "Let's scrabble up some 'Con circuits!"
"Given your limited field experience," Optimus said calmly, "I believe further training is required before you are battle-ready."
"Optimus," Smokescreen protested, "with all due respect-"
"Furthermore," Optimus continued, "we Autobots live on this planet as robots in disguise. You'll need to obtain an Earth-based vehicle mode."
"In order to maintain low profile," Arcee added in with a stern expression, "if that's possible for you."
"If you're talking wheels, bring 'em on!" Smokescreen said with renewed excitement.
Starscream gazed at the Red Energon, and suddenly a thought came to mind.
"Hey, Arcee," he said to the femme. "Do you remember that meteor we saw a few months ago?"
Arcee looked at him for a moment before realizing what he meant. "You mean back when we caught you the first time? Yeah, I had forgotten about that."
"What are you talking about?" Ratchet asked.
"There was a falling star," Starscream explained. "Maybe that was the Red Energon in the meteor back then. And when I...erm, escaped, two months ago, I overheard a human talking about a red fallen star somewhere. Maybe that too was the meteor, and the Red Energon."
"And you didn't tell us this sooner, because...?"
Arcee answered for Starscream: "We forgot. I mean, Optimus and Bulkhead were both immobilized, and then we had to make ready for Starscream to arrive. The meteor simply slipped my mind."
"Mine as well," Starscream admitted. "But at least we found out about it before Megatron did."
"Hopefully," Optimus said. "Let us pray he has not found out about it yet."
It took well over an Earth hour before Thundercracker and Skywarp reached the western coast of America. They could have gotten there sooner, but given Skywarp's low energy levels and Thundercracker's wounded arm, they had to spare the energy they had. Regardless, they were determined to acquire the Red Energon to gain Megatron's favor.
"Are we there yet?" Skywarp asked impatiently. "As nice as it is to fly again of my own will, I'm kinda tired here."
"We're almost there," Thundercracker replied. "Just a few more kliks. I marked the location in my processor before I left."
With their speed, it took about two cycles to get to where the Red Energon was supposed to be. By that time, the sun had almost set.
Thundercracker and Skywarp descended to the ground and assumed bot mode, Thundercracker making sure not to tear up the bandages on his left arm. Skywarp took a look around at the site, which was empty of construction vehicles... and Red Energon.
"You sure it was here you found it?" Skywarp asked skeptically. "All I see is a small crater."
Thundercracker grunted in frustration. "Those humans must've taken it and made off with it," he presumed. "And if the humans have it... oh scrap!"
"What?" Skywarp asked.
"We have to locate that Red Energon!" Thundercracker said and resumed jet mode, less careful about the wrappings this time. "Come on!"
Perplexed, Skywarp resumed jet mode as well, and the two Seekers took off together. "What's wrong, TC?"
"The Autobots are in league with humans," Thundercracker explained and increased the effectiveness of his radar. "If the humans have the Red Energon, it's just a small matter of time before the Autobots get ahold of it."
"Which means...?"
"Come on, Skywarp, I know you're not that stupid," Thundercracker hissed over the comm. "If the Autobots get the Red Energon and we return to the warship without it, Megatron is going to scrap us both!"
Skywarp gasped. "Oh frag, you're right," he replied and increased the effectiveness of his own radar. "We gotta find those humans! Good thing we're Energon Seekers!"
"Yeah," Thundercracker replied quietly, putting his focus into searching for strong Energon signals. "Good thing."
While Smokescreen had gone with Jack out to Jasper to scan an Earth-based vehicle mode, a team consisting of Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee and Starscream was sent out to the current location of the Red Energon. By the time they had called Agent Fowler to clear the dig site, they learned the workers had already removed the Energon from the site and had taken it to a harbor several kliks away from its location, by the western coast.
As the team exited the GroundBridge portal, night had fallen at the harbor and there were no humans present. Just as a precaution, Arcee and Bumblebee both had their blasters out and ready, scanning the surroundings for enemies. Optimus and Starscream walked calmly forth to inspect the crate containing the valuable Energon, hanging from a crane high up in the air. The Energon lit up the insides of the crate with a bright yet soft red glow. A faint whirring sound could be heard coming from the crate.
Starscream marveled just at the light and the sound. Red Energon had so much energy built up in it that the ions colliding together created those noises. It was a hint of its instability, but it sure was beautiful. Starscream loved Red Energon. After all, it was his favorite color.
The Autobots stopped just below the crate, gazing at the trapped Energon. Arcee and Bumblebee lowered their blasters.
"Fowler couldn't have the crane operator lower the thing?" Arcee remarked jokingly.
"The humans must have been preparing to transfer the meteor to a cargo ship when they received his evacuation order," Optimus suggested.
A swooshing noise sounded from above their heads, and everyone flinched in surprise. Above them, two large jets flew in front of them, made a back-loop in the air and returned to the ground before they both transformed and landed on their pedes with a loud thud. They were Seekers, both about Dreadwing's size and build, though one was slightly sleeker than the other, as well as black and purple. The other, bigger one, was sky blue with gray lower arms, the left one seemingly wrapped up in... leaves? They turned around and showed their almost identical faces. The black Seeker wore a smirk on his face, the blue one wearing a scowl.
The Autobots wore shocked expressions on their faces, especially Starscream.
"No... no way," Starscream said with a gasp. "It can't be... I thought you were dead!"
"Surprise, surprise," Skywarp snickered and crossed his arms and stood straight. "If it isn't Commander Starscream. Or should I call you Autobot Starscream now?"
"I knew you were a backstabber and a traitor to Megatron, Starscream," Thundercracker snarled, not nearly as pleased as Skywarp. "But to us? You've gone too far."
Starscream's initial shock turned into rage and he stepped forward, indifferent about the other Autobots' lifting their blasters and pointing at them.
"I never betrayed you," Starscream hissed and approached his former Trinemates even further. "You are the ones who decided to leave me behind with that psychopath of a leader! Where were you when Megatron tore off my wings? Oh yeah, that's right. You just stood there and watched him do it to me." He first stopped when he was almost touching Thundercracker's armor, who was at least a head taller than him and very well twice his size and weight. "I never thought you would betray me like that, Thundercracker. Nor you, Skywarp."
The Autobots behind Starscream cringed by the names and the fact that Starscream was so dangerously close to them, considering they were two and he was one, and they both towered over him. Nonetheless, it didn't seem like they were about to attack him. At least, not yet.
That changed when Thundercracker suddenly grabbed Starscream's neck cables with his right servo and lifted him up. Starscream stiffened by the touch and grabbed the arm to try to pry the servo off. The Autobots tensed up and prepared to fire.
"I believe you're misunderstanding the current situation, Starscream," Thundercracker hissed while glaring into his former commander's optics. "We are not your Trinemates anymore. You are no longer our ally. You are our enemy now. We serve Lord Megatron, unlike you. We are his loyal Seekers, unlike you. And we are going to bring you back to him so you can receive your proper punishment."
"And we'll take that Red Energon too," Skywarp cackled and pointed his arm cannon at the Autobots. "Say goodnight, Autochums!"
Skywarp fired the cannon, but the Autobots managed to dodge in time. They started firing their own lasers at Skywarp, who was eager for a fight.
"Secure the Red Energon and have Ratchet 'bridge it back to base," Optimus ordered Arcee and Bumblebee, who nodded and went for the crane.
Skywarp aimed at the pair, but Optimus charged at the Seeker and punched him in the face. Skywarp flew back but was quickly back on his pedes. Thundercracker gazed briefly at Skywarp before he noticed Starscream was aiming his right missile arm at his face.
"You wouldn't," Thundercracker dared.
"Oh, but I might," Starscream snarled.
Instead of firing the missile though, Starscream instead swiped down against Thundercracker's left arm. At first it seemed he had barely brushed the arm, but the next second the leaves tore up and fell on the ground, and a long albeit thin claw mark showed up on the plating. Thundercracker winced back and released his grip on Starscream to clutch his wounded arm, which had begun to leak again, though not as much as earlier.
Starscream landed on his pedes and jumped back. Without hesitation, he lifted his right arm and fired the missile at Thundercracker. The Decepticon didn't have enough time to react and was hit by the missile and was knocked back by the impact. Thundercracker was not down yet, though, and quickly rose to his pedes, still clutching his wounded arm. Starscream scoffed at the sight.
"You engage in combat with an injury, Thundercracker?" Starscream remarked sinisterly and spread his claws. "How foolish of you."
"No wound is going to deter me from acquiring what rightfully belongs to the Decepticons," Thundercracker said and removed his servo, deciding to ignore the wound. "I will bring you back to the Nemesis even if it means beating you half to death!"
Thundercracker sprung forward and launched a fist at Starscream. Starscream dodged to the left and swiped with his left claw at Thundercracker's wing, leaving claw marks in them. Thundercracker spun around and landed a hit on Starscream with his left fist, knocking the smaller Seeker back. Starscream landed on his front but quickly sprung to his pedes again. He transformed his left arm into a blaster and started shooting after Thundercracker, who ran to the left to dodge the shots.
Thundercracker drew his own left arm cannon and pointed it at Starscream. Clenching his fist, a pulse of screeching noise rang through Starscream's head, almost deafening his audio receptors. Starscream shrieked and covered his helm to shield his audio receptors, but too late. He found that he couldn't hear anything, everything sounded blurry and dark. The loud noise also made him a bit dizzy and his vision blurry. He looked up and saw Thundercracker coming at him but didn't register in time to avoid a punch to the abdomen.
Up at the crane, Arcee and Bumblebee both looked worried at Starscream fighting Thundercracker, as well as Optimus fighting Skywarp.
"Don't think about it, Bee," Arcee said to the Scout. "They'll be fine. Let's move on."
Bee forced himself to look away from the fights below and climbed further up the crane after Arcee.
Optimus, in the meantime, learned that Skywarp was a much more difficult opponent to deal with than he first seemed. As soon as Skywarp had gotten back onto his pedes, Optimus had charged at him, preparing another punch. Only, this time, Skywarp gave the Autobot commander a smirk, and suddenly... he disappeared.
Optimus' fist hit the thin air, and he looked from side to side in confusion. Barely a second later, Skywarp appeared right behind him with a plop and launched a kick at the Prime's head, sending him flying to the right, crashing into some containers.
Instead of pursuing Prime, however, Skywarp looked up at the crane at the two smaller Autobots trying to get to the Red Energon. He cackled with a sinister thought.
Skywarp ran over to the crane and stood just under the Autobots, while Thundercracker was busy punching at a disoriented Starscream. Skywarp clenched both fists, and suddenly fire started burning from below his pedes. The Seeker ascended into the air, hovering in robot mode via jet boosters.
Arcee and Bumblebee noticed the Seeker and gazed shocked at him.
"Scrap," Arcee swore and drew her blaster, as did Bumblebee.
Skywarp aimed his own cannon at the Autobots and snickered. "It was nice knowing ya, Autochums," he cackled.
A sudden blast hit Skywarp on his right leg and he was knocked to the left. With a shriek, the black Seeker crashed into the water with a splash. Arcee and Bumblebee looked away from the Seeker and saw Optimus had gotten back up, ion cannon raised.
"Optimus, is something wrong?" Ratchet suddenly comm'ed.
"We have been engaged in combat against the Seekers Thundercracker and Skywarp," Optimus replied back on the comm., briefly gazing between the water and the crane before turning his attention to Starscream and Thundercracker fighting it out by the containers. "And it seems they have come for the Red Energon as well."
"What?! Are you holding up against them?"
"Yes, although they are stronger than we thought," Optimus replied as he started walking towards the fighting Seekers.
"Optimus, behind you!" Arcee shouted.
Optimus turned and was met by a punch to the face by a soaking wet Skywarp. Optimus recoiled, and Skywarp launched several more punches at the Prime's face and abdomen, barely giving him a chance to dodge or fight back, all while cackling merrily.
When Optimus did get a chance to recover and tried to punch back, Skywarp disappeared again. Optimus turned on a heel and looked all around him, but couldn't see the Seeker anywhere. He heard a plop from above and looked up, just as Skywarp grabbed the Prime's shoulders, did a back-flip and threw the Autobot into the water with a loud splash. He barked a laugh.
"A soak for a soak!" Skywarp cackled and turned his attention back to the Autobots on the crane. Instead of reactivating his jet-boosters, he jumped onto the crane and began climbing after them. His right booster had been damaged, so he couldn't hover properly. But he was quick to climb toward the top of the crane to meet up with Arcee and Bumblebee, who were already heading to the cable holding up the crate containing Red Energon.
Meanwhile below the crane, Starscream was thrown into a bunch of containers, his senses still slurred from Thundercracker's sound attack. He looked up and saw Thundercracker coming towards him. He could see his mouth moving and heard blurry noises but could not make out words. His vision was slowly returning to him though, and the dizziness was slowly fading away.
Thundercracker aimed his right arm cannon at Starscream's face. Suddenly the noises from his mouth became clearer.
"Say hi to Jetfire for me," Thundercracker said darkly.
His senses having returned to him, Starscream reacted quickly by turning his left arm into a blaster and aimed it at Thundercracker's cannon. Before Thundercracker could fire, Starscream fired his own laser into the nozzle of his former Trinemate's blaster. The action caused a small explosion on Thundercracker's right arm, and the bigger Seeker was knocked back, letting out a surprised exclamation.
The attack gave Starscream enough time to get back onto his pedes and start launching his own series of punches at the other Seeker, who didn't get enough time to recover to react. While smaller, Starscream's punches were fast and sharp, feeling like little bullets pummeling against Thundercracker's armor.
Whenever Thundercracker managed to get a chance to punch back, Starscream was quick to dodge and counter with a punch of his own. The two Seekers went at it in close combat, Starscream going all out. It had been many years since he had last gone all out in close combat, mostly because his opponents usually were bigger and stronger than him when it came to melee combat, and because Starscream had become prone to wanting to get a fight over with as quickly as possible.
This time, however, was different. This was Thundercracker, his former Trinemate, someone he had trusted with his life, who had now betrayed him along with Skywarp, his other trusted Trinemate. They were among the last Seekers and Vosians, and they were now enemies. They had chosen Megatron over their Winglord. The thought infuriated Starscream. This fight, he could not back away from. He wasn't simply fighting for his life anymore. He was now fighting for his honor as Air Commander of the Seekers and as Winglord of Vos. If he ran away now, he would never forgive himself.
After a more powerful punch which knocked Thundercracker back a bit, Starscream spun and launched a sharp kick with his right pede to the bigger Seeker's face, knocking him to the left. Thundercracker quickly retaliated with a kick of his own, hitting Starscream in the left side and throwing him to the right, landing on his back. Starscream snarled at his former Trinemate as he got up.
"You're not gonna run away?" Thundercracker asked with mild surprise.
"I would rather be eaten by Scraplets than let you win without a fight, Thundercracker," Starscream spat.
Thundercracker's scowl changed to a smirk, and he let out a chuckle, confusing Starscream.
"What's so funny?" Starscream snarled.
"Oh nothing," Thundercracker snickered and returned to his stoic, determined face. "I'm just glad to see you haven't changed."
Starscream frowned by the comment. "What do you mean by that?"
Without answering, Thundercracker charged for another attack. Starscream spread his claws and charged as well, continuing their battle.
Meanwhile on the crane, while Arcee set towards the cable, Bumblebee started shooting after Skywarp, but this one gracefully dodged by swinging to the side, his heavy weight pulling the crane along, almost knocking it over. Arcee and Bumblebee almost fell over by the lean, and as Skywarp swung back the other way, putting the crane back in place, they did fall over. The fall gave Skywarp enough time to get on the top of the crane before the Autobots got back onto their pedes.
Bumblebee got back up and started shooting after Skywarp again, but the Seeker dodged with quick movements and swung the back of his right servo at the Scout, knocking him off the crane. He then wandered over to Arcee, who tried reaching for the cable holding the Red Energon. She saw the Seeker's shadow and looked up behind her.
"Time to unload some more dead weight," Skywarp snickered and lifted a clenched servo, pointing his blaster at Arcee.
Arcee's gaze strayed to somewhere behind Skywarp. Skywarp caught the sight and looked behind him. Optimus had emerged from the water and crawled up another crane. As he reached the top, he launched himself off the crane and flew towards Skywarp with an outstretched fist. Skywarp was taken aback by the sudden attack and didn't react in time to get punched in the face and fall off the crane, landing on his back.
While Skywarp was down and Starscream was occupying Thundercracker in his own personal fight, Optimus grabbed the cable holding the crate containing the Red Energon and began pulling it up. But before the crate got all the way up, suddenly the crane began shaking violently. The Autobots looked below and saw not only Skywarp, but also Thundercracker pushing against the crane, trying to lift it up.
"Watch your step, Autobots!" Skywarp shouted and cackled.
"Hope you like playing with the fishes!" Thundercracker yelled and laughed.
The Autobots' gazes went from the two Seekers to their own. Their Sparks skipped a beat as they saw Starscream lying on his front with outstretched arms and legs, seemingly unconscious. Thundercracker must have knocked him out without them noticing and then joined up with his partner to finish off the rest.
"What do we do now?" Arcee asked with concern.
"Hope Bulkhead recovers super quickly and comes to help us?" Bumblebee suggested, almost a joke.
Just as he said that, a GroundBridge portal appeared below them, drawing the Seekers' attention. From the GroundBridge came a white race car with a thick blue stripe in the middle, as well as checkered doors with the number 38 on them, and pulled to a stop just in front of the crane. It could only be one thing.
"Apparently no one defined low profile for him," Arcee remarked, partly annoyed, partly relieved to see backup had arrived.
The race car split up and rearranged itself until the Autobot Smokescreen stood, strangely calm and not worried about the two large Seekers right in front of him.
More interested in the new arrival than the trapped Autobots, Thundercracker and Skywarp let go of the crane, which fell back into place with a loud bang. They turned to Smokescreen and started to slowly walk towards him.
"Well, well, well," Thundercracker said with a snicker. "What do we have here? Never seen you before, kid. New recruit, perhaps?"
"Priceless!" Skywarp said and barked a laugh in excitement. "I have the chance to be the first one to kick this Autobrat's tailpipe! You better prepare yourself, kiddo. I give a mean aft-kicking."
"Wow, we just met and we're already trash-talking," Smokescreen remarked with a smirk of his own. "Nice. You must be Thundercracker and Skywarp. I thought you'd be taller."
Thundercracker and Skywarp's smirks both disappeared and were replaced with hisses and sneers.
"This won't end well," Arcee remarked at the recruit's insult of their adversaries.
"Smokescreen, stand down," Optimus ordered. "You are no match for Thundercracker and Skywarp!"
Among the containers, Starscream finally regained consciousness and slowly opened his optics, having a real headache, trying to remember how he ended up like this. He had been holding his ground well against Thundercracker, when suddenly something hit him in the back of the head. It must have been Skywarp, the annoying prankster. He was about as unpredictable as Starscream himself, perhaps even more so, given his teleportation ability.
Starscream regained optical function and stared ahead of him, his blurry vision clearing up. Thundercracker and Skywarp both stood and aimed their arm cannons at... Smokescreen, standing right in front of them! The newbie seemed strangely calm for some reason.
"Any last words, Smokescreen?" Thundercracker asked with a smirk.
"Just three," Smokescreen said and clenched his fists, a strange device suddenly glowing on his right wrist. "Get wrecked, 'Cons!"
Smokescreen charged at the two Seekers, who stood and stared perplexed for a few seconds before firing their arm cannons.
The two red lasers went right through Smokescreen. And he was still running, unscathed.
Thundercracker and Skywarp stiffened by the action and continued firing, but every shot just went through some blue holes appearing on Smokescreen's body. He seemed to be phasing right through the shots...
"The Phase Shifter..." Starscream whispered to himself. "Ingenius."
Seeing their attacks had no effect on the Autobot, Thundercracker and Skywarp took a step back as Smokescreen approached them. He jumped into the air with his legs outstretched, and kicked both Seekers in the face, this time actually coming in contact with them. The Seekers were knocked back and they landed on their backs several meters from the crane.
As Thundercracker and Skywarp lifted themselves onto their servos, they stared ahead of them on the seemingly invulnerable Smokescreen.
"A Phase Shifter?!" Thundercracker exclaimed. "How did you get a Phase Shifter?!"
"The same way anyone gets a Phase Shifter, I guess," Smokescreen replied with a smug grin.
The Seekers looked up and saw the three Autobots on the crane drawing their blasters and pointing them at the Decepticons. They looked down and caught sight of Starscream, having regained consciousness and his footing, also transforming his left arm into a blaster and pointing it and his right arm missile at them. They stared back in front at Smokescreen.
"Now what?" Skywarp asked lowly, panic beginning to rise in him. "There's too many of them, and we aren't exactly fresh for combat yet."
"I'm thinking," Thundercracker hissed and his optics darted around to think of something. Suddenly his gaze fell on the crate on the crane. He scoffed and rose to his pedes. Skywarp followed his lead.
The Autobots watched the two wounded Seekers staggering on their pedes. This fight was close to its end, it seemed.
"Thundercracker, Skywarp," Optimus called from the crane. "Surrender now and we shall allow you to escape!"
"And let you have the Red Energon?" Thundercracker growled at the Prime. "I don't think so."
In a quick movement, Thundercracker raised his left arm and pointed his blaster at the crate.
"If we're not having the Red Energon, no one is!"
Before anyone could stop him, Thundercracker clenched his fist and fired his cannon. The laser hit the crate and the Red Energon reacted promptly. A large explosion blew the Autobots on the crane off, so they fell to the ground. The crane itself broke apart and collapsed around them. Starscream sought cover behind the containers to avoid getting hit by the debris. Smokescreen just stood there, unaffected by the fragments falling through his phasing frame.
While the Autobots were distracted, Thundercracker and Skywarp jumped into the air and took off into the sky. Starscream heard the sound of the jet engines and spotted them escaping.
"No," Starscream snarled in fury. "I'm not finished with you two yet!"
Without thinking, Starscream initiated jet mode and was about to blast off when something tucked at his tail and pulled him back.
"Starscream, no," Optimus exclaimed, holding tightly onto Starscream's rear. "Do not go after them!"
"Let go of me, Prime!" Starscream hissed and struggled to get free. "I have to- I need to-!"
"I know it is hard," Optimus said, more calmly but strained, still trying to keep Starscream from flying off, "to be betrayed by those you thought were your friends. Those you trusted."
Starscream stopped struggling and reverted back to bot mode, Optimus finally letting go of him. Starscream stood and vented, staring into the sky at the spot where his former Trinemates had taken off to. He didn't look back at the Autobots behind him.
"My relationship with those two is not the same as the one you had with Megatron, Prime," Starscream hissed lowly. "You can't even begin to understand how it's like. Trinemates aren't friends, family or even allies. They're... it's impossible to explain what it is. Like I said, you would never understand."
Optimus laid a servo on the small Seeker's shoulder, making the latter flinch. "But I do understand what it is like to be betrayed by someone close to you," he said calmly. "No matter the relationship. But they are wounded and could not continue the fight even if they wanted to. The Red Energon is gone. There is no reason to prolong this battle."
Starscream refused to look at the Autobot leader, or any of them. He felt a pressure behind his optics and struggled to keep it there. He felt a lump in his throat and gulped silently. He wrist himself free from Optimus' servo on his shoulder and stepped away.
"If we're done here," Starscream said, trying to keep his voice under control, "then let's go back to base."
Before anyone could request a GroundBridge back to base, Starscream turned the other way and initiated jet mode.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Smokescreen asked surprised.
"Taking the long way home," Starscream hissed, and took off before he lost control of his voice.
The Autobots stared after their Seeker, hearing an echo of a scream in his direction. It was a scream of sorrow, and quickly faded before they could think deeper on it.
Smokescreen looked around at the Autobots. "Uh, are you sure it's a good idea to just let him take off on his own like that?" he asked uncertain. "I mean, isn't he a 'Con?"
"Was a 'Con," Arcee corrected and looked away from Starscream's take-off point. "And it's fine. We've known him longer than you have. He'll be back."
"Arcee is right," Optimus said. "Starscream needs to be alone right now, to gather his thoughts. In the meantime..." He gazed at Smokescreen. "We will discuss this back in base, Smokescreen."
Starscream cried while flying back to base. He couldn't help himself. For all the years he had been serving under Megatron, for all the times he had been punished and reprimanded, for all the battles he had fought, for all the times he had tried to gain Megtron's favor, for everything that happened even before the war began, Starscream was used to suppressing his emotions. He didn't like to let people see him being emotional. Crying was a sign of weakness, that's what he had told himself throughout his life. It was something helpless bots did, bots who couldn't do anything but cry about their sorry situations.
Unfortunately, Starscream currently found himself in a situation unlike any he'd been in before. He was with bots who actually didn't judge him because of what he was, but rather for who he was. Everything that had happened the past three months, including all the free time he had to think about his past, brought on a series of unwanted emotions, most unwanted of them all, sadness, helplessness and guilt.
Starscream did feel helpless in his situation when he was under Megatron's control, but then again not entirely. He had chosen to follow Megatron because he would liberate Cybertron from the caste system. Starscream, unlike Megatron, had not been part of the low caste, but rather had been created into the high caste. One would think this meant his life had been pure luxury and joy, but alas, things were not that simple.
Due to his origins as a Cold Constructed bot, even when living in the high caste, Starscream was looked down on, bullied and occasionally assaulted in the street. He doubted a low caste bot would receive any attention like that. They had simply been ignored and thrown away like garbage. Starscream had been noticed, but instead of simple garbage, he was treated like a punching bag. No one ever got punished for assaulting him, nor any other Cold Constructs anywhere on Cybertron.
The Energon Seekers had provided him a safe place to work and live in, with others of his kind. With the Seekers behind him, and with his amazing aerial, combat and political skills, Starscream quickly rose in ranks and even went as far as to challenge Winglord Overlord for his title. Starscream had won and became the next Winglord, almost at the same time with becoming the new Air Commander of the Seekers, not to mention the Energon Seekers.
Then Megatron came and raided Trypticon Station, forcing Starscream to give up himself and his Seekers to the Decepticons, losing Jetfire's respect and companionship, and eventually he even lost his dignity. He, a high caste bot, serving under a low caste bot like Megatron. Had someone told him back before he joined the Energon Seekers, the messenger would likely have been thrown in jail for something so blasphemous. Now though, his status meant nothing. Nobot's status meant anything anymore. Nor did frames matter. All that mattered was if you were an Autobot or a Decepticon. Which political party you sided with. Red or violet.
When arriving on Earth, Starscream found he was one of only two Seekers left confirmed to still be alive. His Trinemates had disappeared, only Skyquake was left with Starscream. And this one trapped himself in a cliff when Megatron decided to leave for space to search for Dark Energon, not coming out again until three years later. The big Seeker had simply refused to follow Starscream's command. Apparently he was one of those who blamed Starscream for surrendering the Seekers so easily, despite Skyquake's loyalty to Megatron.
Thundercracker and Skywarp had been the only ones to never question Starscream's reasons for whatever he decided to do with the Seekers. They didn't necessarily support him either, but they always followed him through it all, save for the short period of time where he had been marked as a fugitive after attemptively ceasing leadership of the Decepticons after Megatron had become damaged. Naturally they couldn't support a traitor, but as soon as Starscream returned to the Decepticon fold, they followed him once again.
And now, more than a decade after thinking Thundercracker and Skywarp had been terminated, they appeared once again. But this time they refused to follow him. Called him a traitor. Not a traitor to the Decepticons or Megatron, but a traitor to the Seekers. That had hit Starscream harder than any sword, bullet, blast or punch from Megatron's wrath. His trusted Trinemates, now turning their backs on him when he needed them the most. When he needed someone he knew, someone to have his back.
Starscream felt alone, so utterly alone. His Seekers were either dead or had turned their backs on him. There was no one left for him to fight for. No one to return to if Cybertron ever got restored.
Starscream initiated transformation to bot mode, still flying high up in the sky. He fell towards the ground, watching the incoming ground with sorrowful optics and a strange calm. Maybe he should just end it all there, so he could be with Jetfire again. Then he would finally be free from the pain, suffering, angst and guilt that he had to live with for his entire life. He closed his optics, and waited for everything to end.
I'm just glad you haven't changed.
Something in Starscream clicked, and by instinct he returned to jet mode and blasted back into the sky, a dozen meters from hitting the ground. Thundercracker's words repeated themselves in his mind.
He hadn't changed. What did Thundercracker mean by that? It certainly wasn't like Starscream to fight long battles like that, nor was it characteristic of him to not run away...
Suddenly, he realized. He had not been referring to the Starscream everyone knew of. The war Starscream.
He had meant the Starscream he knew, from before the war. The Winglord Starscream. The one who never gave up, no matter how bad things seemed to get.
The one who would never take his own life for something as silly as betrayal and loneliness.
Starscream chuckled, which was laced with sobs as well. He couldn't believe he almost did that. What had he been thinking?
"So what if they've betrayed me?" Starscream snarled to himself, trying to regain control of the crying. "Who cares if I'm going to be the only Seeker left on Cybertron? Or Vosian, for that matter? I won't let them get to me. I will never let them win."
Because he was not alone. He had the Autobots, and the children. Which... was pretty much it, actually. But it was better than no one. And by Thundercracker's chosen words, perhaps he and Skywarp hadn't completely given up on him yet. Maybe they could still make it work out. Given time.
Starscream turned his sobs into chuckles, thinking about the thought. "Until next time, Thundercracker, Skywarp," he said to himself and headed back to base.
When Starscream did return to base, it was with a heavy Spark. As soon as he reached the landing pad on the cliff and initiated bot mode, he lingered for a bit. He looked at the elevator with hesitation. He didn't feel completely ready to see the Autobots yet. He didn't want them to see him like this. He knew they knew he had been through a lot and that he was a mess, but he didn't want them to know just how big a mess he actually was. What he had just planned to do to himself. If they knew, they would likely lock him up again, if not because they didn't trust him with their lives, then because they didn't trust him with his own life.
Admittedly, this had not been the first time he had tried to take his own life. He had done it once before, not long before the war started. It had not been because anyone had betrayed him, or because he was lonely, or because people had told him he was useless and garbage. No, it was... why had he done it again?
The thought was somewhere in the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite recall. He shook his head, deciding perhaps it was better not to remember, considering the result.
Starscream closed his optics, took a deep vent and exhaled. Then he took another deep vent, and exhaled. He continued venting deeply for a few minutes, clearing his head, calming himself down. Trying to forget why he was so upset.
When he had, he opened his optics again and looked around him, staring at the black night sky, the thousands of stars accompanied by the crescent moon. It was beautiful. Maybe not as pretty as the Twin Moons of Cybertron, but it was still something. The silence of the dark night and the cold breeze brought a certain calm over him. He took another vent and waited a few seconds before exhaling, just enjoying the feel of the cold air in his systems.
Starscream was tired. It had been a rough day, and he knew it was probably going to get worse tomorrow. Or perhaps it would go better. Who knew.
Deciding he had calmed himself enough, Starscream went to the elevators and opened the doors, stepping inside. As the elevator went down, he wondered if he should say anything. Probably not. He didn't want them to worry. He didn't need to make them think that perhaps he couldn't take care of himself. He would just tell them he was enjoying a night flight. Certainly they would believe that.
Before long, the elevator stopped and the doors opened, letting Starscream out into the base. As he stepped out, the Autobots present - everyone but Bulkhead - looked up from whatever they were doing, and caught sight of him. Even the humans noticed his presence.
Arcee side-glanced to Smokescreen. "Told you he'd be back," she said.
Starscream walked down from the elevator and out on the floor, his face blank and his wings drooping slightly. Looking back at the Autobots, he remembered his fight with Thundercracker, and with it the words he had spoken. He fought hard not to let himself get caught up again and gave the Autobots a forced smile.
"If you don't mind, I'll turn in for the night," he said with a strained voice.
Before he could make it to the hallway, however, Ratchet stepped in front of him with his servos up. "Ehp-yep!" the medic said. "You're still damaged from your fight with Thundercracker."
"I'm fine," Starscream said quietly, trying to get around the doctor. "Let me pass."
"At least let me take a look at the damage first, just so I know you aren't badly hurt."
Starscream hissed but turned to the medbay. "Fine," he spat and sat down on one of the operating tables with his arms crossed. "Just do it quick."
Starscream's wings remained drooped while Ratchet looked over the wounds. There were several cracks on his armor from Thundercracker's punches and kicks, as well as a few scratches that leaked a little bit. Other than that, nothing seemed to be serious. Ratchet rose up.
"Nothing a good night's rest and an Energon cube can't fix," Ratchet informed. "Take one before you turn in. I'll handle whatever isn't healed by tomorrow."
Starscream perked and looked up at the doctor, his wings flicking in response. "You're letting me take a cube by myself?" he asked surprised. "Without watching me?"
"Can't supervise you all the time," Ratchet admitted. "You do have the run of the base, and we aren't restraining you anymore, so there isn't really anything stopping you from taking a cube now whenever you want."
Starscream hummed and thought for a moment. "This means the sessions are stopping now, doesn't it?" he asked quietly and stood up. "Very well then. I never really liked them anyway. I will see you all tomorrow."
Starscream left without another word. He almost made it to his room when he noticed someone was following him. He turned, expecting it to be Arcee, but instead it was Smokescreen. His wings perked in surprise, and he sighed.
"What do you want?" he almost hissed.
"Look, Scream," Smokescreen said, "I'm sorry for calling you a stiletto-heeled freak earlier. And, uh, sorry for doubting you. Seems you're a really big help to the team, considering. Hope we can work out our differences in the future."
Smokescreen held out a servo. Starscream stared down at it, contemplating. The Seeker huffed and smirked in amusement. His servo lingered near the other bot's servo.
"Thank you for the offer," he said, softly dashing the other's servo away, surprising the young mech. "But if I were you, I wouldn't assume myself friends with everyone right away. Some of us are hard to please, and even harder to earn trust with. I do not know you, Autobot, and I certainly am not going to be friends with you so easily."
Starscream turned around and opened the door to his room. "Hope you're a fast learner, newbie," he said as he stepped inside. "You'll need it."
With that, he closed the door and left Smokescreen out in the hallway to think about what he learned today. And Smokescreen left Starscream to think about his life choices.
Thundercracker and Skywarp had flown for almost an hour before they spotted the Nemesis flying in the sky.
"I can't believe you did that," Skywarp hissed over the comm. "It was Red Energon! Red! Energon! And you just blew it up!"
"I couldn't let the Autobots have it, now could I?" Thundercracker hissed back. "There were too many of them. We were already wounded and de-energized when we entered the battle, we were never going to win it. At least I made sure the Autobots didn't get a chance at having one of the most powerful substances in the galaxy."
Skywarp scoffed over the comm. "Tell that to Megs, will ya? He's gonna scrap us for certain, is what he's gonna do!"
Skywarp began to lose altitude, a few hundred meters before they reached the Nemesis.
"Hey, Warp, you okay?" Thundercracker asked with concern. "You didn't get hurt badly back there, did you?"
"No, I'm fine, just... tired," Skywarp said, his voice getting quiet. "I wanna recharge..."
"Just wait a little longer, we're almost there," Thundercracker said and flew in front of Skywarp. "I'll let you ride my slipstream, alright? Just stay with me!"
"Alright... alright..."
The slipstream effect seemed to be doing the trick. Having to spend less energy on speed, Skywarp managed to lift himself up enough until the two Seekers finally reached the flight deck on top of the Nemesis. As soon as solid ground - or, floor - was below them, Skywarp instantly changed to robot mode and landed flat on the deck on his front. Thundercracker changed to bot mode and landed more gracefully on his pedes before turning to his partner.
"Skywarp, you still with me?" Thundercracker asked and poked the black Seeker with his pede.
"Carry me," Skywarp whined.
"You can stand up, come on."
"Too tired. Can't move."
Thundercracker huffed in annoyance and knelt down, grabbing Skywarp's left arm and hauled it over his shoulder, helping him back on his pedes. Skywarp had just enough strength left in him to walk his own steps, but it was obvious he would fall if Thundercracker let go of his arm.
"Come on, let's go inside," Thundercracker encouraged quietly. "We'll report to Megatron, and then we'll have a cube and a good long night's rest. Sound good?"
"Mhm," Skywarp hummed, barely able to keep his optics open. "You won't leave me, will you?"
Thundercracker gave his Trinemate a weak smile. "No, we're together in this," he replied softly. "Just as we've always been."
They entered the Nemesis and slowly walked down through the hallways until they reached the command center, where Megatron was waiting. The warlord stood with his back to them, his servos folded behind his back. Nonetheless, he knew they were there.
"Thundercracker," Megatron's dark voice rumbled through the command center. "You have returned. And you brought Skywarp with you, I see."
Thundercracker took a chance and let go of Skywarp, who, despite his low energy levels, managed to stand upright by himself, though his optics had hard to keep themselves open. Thundercracker stood close by, just in case. He put a fist on his chest and bowed his head.
"Yes, my liege," Thundercracker replied. "We have both returned. I have to report something to you first, though."
"Is it about the Red Energon?"
Both Seekers perked and stared widely at the warlord, who now turned around to face them.
"H-how did you know?" Thundercracker asked surprised.
"Soundwave isn't my First Lieutenant of Intelligence for nothing," Megatron replied darkly. "Laserbeak just returned and showed us your battle against the Autobots. Impressive, considering the state you were both in."
Thundercracker and Skywarp both shared worried glances. Megatron's compliments did not always mean good things. More often than not, they betrayed the punishment that often followed. Thundercracker stepped forward.
"My lord," Thundercracker exclaimed, making gestures with his servos, "forgive me for destroying the Red Energon. I know it was foolish, and I know we could have used it, but the Autobots were simply too many, and-"
"Calm your thrusters, Thundercracker," Megatron said, strangely calm. "You were right to destroy the Energon. You prevented the enemy from getting a dangerous tool. Not many would have the courage or boldness to do that."
Thundercracker blinked and briefly looked back at Skywarp, whose face also was expressing surprise.
"However," Megatron continued, his voice growing darker and more ominous, stepping towards the blue Seeker, "it was wrong of you not to report the Red Energon when you first found it. It was also wrong of you not to call for backup so we could have seized the Red Energon for ourselves."
Megatron walked all the way until his armor almost touched Thundercracker's. The Seeker was almost a head shorter than the warlord, and it was hard for him not to cringe by how close the former gladiator was to him. Nonetheless he stood straight and kept optic contact with the warlord, making sure not to frown or emote in any way that would provoke the big guy.
After a few seconds of a staring contest, Thundercracker looked down and closed his optics. "You're right, my liege," he said quietly. "I was not thinking. My only thought was to make sure Skywarp would return here safe and sound. So that we both could serve you in the war against the Autobots. I did what I thought was the best for our cause. I apologize if I was wrong. I am ready to receive whatever punishment you have in store for me."
Megatron raised an optical ridge, still staring down at the blue Seeker. Behind Thundercracker, Skywarp stood and stared at his partner with concern. Skywarp's frame wasn't terribly scratched, but fatigue and wear was visible on his armor. Even though he had come out of dormancy and gotten the rubsigns off him, his armor had now again turned slightly more gray than when he woke up. The dormancy had been very rough on the black Seeker.
Megatron studied the blue Seeker in front of him. Thundercracker had no fatigue showing visibly, but his armor had definitely seen better days. Scratches from the long claws of Starscream, deep wounds from his own claws, as well as the many punches and kicks received from Starscream's speedy attacks had left their marks on his chassis. Both Seekers had fought hard and seriously in this fight, and both had received heavy damage as a result of it.
Megatron turned around and stepped away from the Seekers. "Get to sickbay and get yourselves fixed up," Megatron growled.
Thundercracker and Skywarp both looked up and at their leader in surprise.
"Lord Megatron..." Thundercracker trailed off.
"Do not show yourselves before me until you are ready for battle. I do not need to lose any more warriors than I already have. Do not disappoint me, you two."
Having got the cue to leave, Thundercracker turned away from the warlord, grabbed Skywarp by the arm and led them both out of the command center.
"Roger that, Lord Megatron," Thundercracker said in silence and smirked. "We'll be ready."
