Wow, been awhile! To be honest I shouldn't even be squeezing out the writing time, not when I'm this busy in the Real World realm! This will probably be the last "full length" chapter of Fledgling, though there are two more updates to look forward to in the pipeline—and just maybe a sequel! I definitely have some oneshot plans as well.
The feedback and attention given to this story seriously means the world to me, and I think it's the reason I really threw myself in to keep it up! Well, that and the self-indulgence that is all these OCs and robot babies.
One more thing: I commissioned the fantastic Herzspalter for a sketch of our girl, and look at how gorgeous she is! Here's a link (replace spaces with periods): pbs twimg com/media/C4AzzGrXUAADMsy jpg
She adapted.
At first she only went through the motions of the day. Uppercut was always close behind, Updraft's spark constricting whenever she remembered the mail that would arrive. Just what it would mean from those who had loved her. The caste-tax was a daunting sum, and she couldn't imagine paying it just to be educated. How had Uppercut stood this?
Smokescreen promised a reference to the Elite Guard Academy, and his continued presence helped. Not that he could visit as often, with classes starting, but he seemed to take every chance he could to fuel with them, or even just appear at the door, offering an audial to listen and his voice to reassure. He was the only long distance comm that would still answer her, at any rate. Often she tried Skywarp and Thundercracker, and the twins, and it was as if they had never been there at all.
When a month passed and no caste change went through, she began to get truly anxious. Her wings twitched too much to fly straight, which made school seem even farther than it had been before. Her family (her new family, she supposed) were as kind as they'd been the first night. At some point her own berth appeared, so Uppercut could stay off the floor, and she felt too guilty to ask for the cost.
When she offered to pay some sort of rent, to earn her keep, Knock Out waved his hand.
"I don't charge my children," he said, and wouldn't hear another word about it. "Put your earnings towards school, when you're ready to get them. That's all I ask."
There were no earnings yet, not until her new standing was a certainty. Knock Out understood—he had been through this, too—but it couldn't seem to make the stone in her spark smaller.
Weeks passed this way. When she shuddered at morning energon because Breakdown passed her, he threw up his hands.
"If that spiteful slagger hasn't punished you yet, he never will," he said. "You're safe here, and you're lucky."
"Starscream doesn't seem much for the long haul," Knock Out mused. "Flighty, that one."
"Literally," Windjammer said. Uppercut stifled her giggle.
Breakdown left, and Updraft resisted putting her head in her hands. Uppercut's touch on her arm didn't make her flinch, but all the same she resisted the urge to push her off. If Updraft got lucky, Uppercut still had a hell of a tax to pay.
"Breakdown just hates to see you mope," Knock Out said, across the table. "So do I. It will get easier."
She did her best not to mope that day (or wonder why it mattered to Breakdown at all). She even searched the job boards for awhile before helping Uppercut sort parts, then tools, then files.
"Let's meet Dad on his way home," Uppercut said. "He walks after Main Street to save fuel."
Updraft followed, without argument. If she had to keep floating through life, not knowing what to do next, it felt better to at least float after Uppercut. Maybe it was that they had both been alive exactly the same number of days, or just some bond between sisters. Updraft couldn't tell, but she was relieved to feel safer. The guilt of pushing her away made her ache.
"Are you feeling better?" Uppercut asked. The sun shone red on them, warm for that time of year, and people around them seemed cheerful enough.
Updraft tried to force her wings up higher. "Not really," she said after a moment. Anything else would make her new, attentive sister push, pressure Updraft would crack under. "Maybe I'll feel better once it's all over with."
"It's not so bad being middle of the castes, you know," Uppercut said. She didn't sound the least bit insulted, but Updraft's spark still dropped. "But I don't think that's your biggest fear."
"It's hard," Updraft said quietly. "Knowing they're through with me, I mean. I just want it done with so I can stop thinking about them."
"It might not be that easy to stop thinking about them," Uppercut said gently. "Maybe they'll change their minds about staying in touch."
Updraft doubted that, but it was a nice thought. Even just a ping goodnight would be better than nothing.
A second later, Uppercut had surged ahead, spotting Breakdown above the crowd. Updraft moved slower, knowing who Breakdown would really want to see. After he greeted Uppercut, though, he turned to Updraft.
"Something for you," he said when he got there, handing her a small, sleek datapad. His free arm was draped over Uppercut's shoulders. "Sender's the Vosian Hall of Records."
Updraft said nothing on their walk back, staring at the destiny held in her hands. Just how low had Starscream bumped her? The Taxonomy would only let her alt fall so far—short of selling her entirely. (But he wouldn't, would he? Updraft had shuddered to read about modern slavery in her lessons.)
Even after all this, Updraft couldn't imagine Skywarp and Thundercracker letting her become a gladiator's plaything or go offworld. Her fingers trembled on the pad, and when Uppercut put her hand on her arm Updraft only shuddered more deeply.
She made sure to be seated, in the good chair, when she turned it on. The family acted as if nothing at all had arrived, as she entered her information and confirmed her identity. The documents appeared. Updraft took in a deep, shuddering vent, and read.
Updraft of the Vosian Heights
Function: Class 1 Fighter/To be Determined
Place of Residency: Rodion
"To be Determined" meant she hadn't found a job, or been educated. The other part was an assumption, and when the trine was young their papers had said the same thing.
This was all between the neat, gold border of the high castes.
Her fingers fumbling, she hit the button at the datapad's side. Her new ID card popped out, and she wondered why they had wasted their time printing one when nothing had changed. Her picture was the same, too, and felt like it had been taken a thousand years ago.
Uppercut leaned when she came back in, trying to get a look at Updraft's mail. Knock Out tapped her shoulder in admonishment, and she quickly returned to setting the table. (Updraft had found that Knock Out's household did this most nights—sat down together with energon, talked about their days, and almost always did so civilly. She would have liked it, if she'd been in a better place.) Updraft set her things down on the counter, before sliding into her place next to Uppercut.
"Nothing changed," she said finally, as energon was set in front of her. "They even put in my new city."
"That's just what Dad said would happen!" Uppercut said brightly. "That's good. Now you won't have to worry about tuition at all."
Updraft's spark eased with relief, but the rest of her still ran cool. Surely Skywarp and Thundercracker had had a hand in that, or else Starscream had lost his nerve. She should have felt good, all the way through.
Knock Out patted her hand. His affection for her had come easily, for whatever reason—it seemed he was always reaching out to touch her. She was getting used to it.
"This will be better," he agreed. "Your carrier probably lost his nerve when it came time to punish you."
But Knock Out's parents hadn't hesitated. Had that come down to the wheels, or were there really people out there worse than Starscream?
Anyway, it had likely been Thundercracker who had lost his nerve, not her carrier, and he had ensured she had the best documents possible. She should have thanked him, if he would take it.
"I'm not hungry," she said quietly. She wanted to go flying, or nap, anything to clear her head.
Knock Out looked at her in understanding, but Breakdown raised his brow.
"That's good energon you're wasting," he said flatly. Shame burned her spark. They were living comfortably, certainly, but fuel didn't go down the drain here.
"I'll take it," Windjammer said. This was a kindness to her—but he was huge, worked long shifts, and probably still ravenous. Big mechs would have big tanks.
Updraft pushed it towards him and got up quickly, stepping past Breakdown before she had to do anything like meet his eyes.
"It's not going to waste," she heard Uppercut say as she shut the door. In moments she had gotten outside and into the air, her thrusters roaring. If she wasn't happy, at least they seemed to be.
Flying helped. Even when it felt like a certainty that it wouldn't, not this time, the wind cleared her head and lightened her wings. She turned, neatly, before finding a good current and rising fully above the skyline.
She might not have to worry about tuition, but going to school and enjoying her opportunities still seemed to leave a sour taste. Uppercut could pass the medical exam easily. Windjammer? He was strong, sure, but she suspected he could put the Elite Guard into order within weeks of they handed him the office key. He was soft-spoken, well read, and could be even more so with more than a home education. Form didn't dictate function for either of them.
Another way Updraft had gotten lucky. She fit neatly into the Taxonomy, in the way Megatronus the gladiator railed against.
She also had—
Primus. The money.
She sped up, and did a sharp turn around a building that would have made Thundercracker blow a gasket.
Updraft couldn't fix her siblings' situations, not really, but what she'd brought might be a balm on it.
She flew until the sun was dipping below the skyline, and her energon levels flashed yellow in warning. Uppercut was sitting on the stoop as she touched back down, optics pointed to the sky, and Updraft waved as she alighted.
"It's getting late," she said. "Dad worries when it's dark, if we're not back."
Updraft stretched. Her optics were brighter, her biolights not flickering. She had calmed down after all. "Well, I'm back."
"Feel better?"
The radio was on, and Megatronus's voice crackled out faintly. He spoke against Functionism, as always. Updraft wasn't entirely sure what kept her new siblings so wary of him. If you asked her, he wanted them to go to school, too. She nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "I thought about some things. You'll want to hear them."
Uppercut had to help with the dishes, but Updraft ran to their room as soon as she could. She pulled an envelope out of her new drawer (containing her polishes, one blank datapad, and a half-finished bag of sweetsticks) to look, for the first time, at her funds.
A few thousand shanix was very little in Vos. Her first polish set alone sold for over 5,000 of the credits on the datanet. Her upgrade gifts were modest, by Starscream's standards, and she had been saving them in case the Enforcers had come back. They hadn't, and the money sat untouched, on shining cards in her drawer.
It made her spark roll with guilt, to have hoarded even a little money. She should have given it to Knock Out first thing.
She hadn't seen the household books, but she guessed that Rodion's cost of living would be different. It was one of those things she wished she could have asked Dreadwing about—then pushed down, regretting thinking of Dreadwing at all. There was so she didn't know about living, the way others did. The trine probably would have continued to see to expenses until Updraft had a professional position.
If it really wasn't much, it was still something. What would Updraft do with it now?
She waited for the radio program to end first, sipping evening energon in the next room. Uppercut said nothing about the cards in her hands, but she knew her optics were raking them with interest. Megatronus was discussing money, too. Fair payment for hard work.
"The rich of this planet will soon topple from their weight," he said. "The high castes may have the shanix, and the silver, and the slaves—but we have the numbers."
"Damn straight," Breakdown said. The program crackled away, and Updraft wondered if she had already toppled. It seemed to her that she had landed on her feet.
"What have you got there?" Knock Out asked her, stepping into the next room. He had kept glancing her way after she'd returned, but she knew better than to interrupt Megatronus. Breakdown did the dishes, a position Updraft knew well as one that could hear everything. She held up the cards.
"I thought there wasn't a lot on these," she said. The way Knock Out's brows shot up, she knew instantly that she had been wrong. "And I didn't know what to do at first, so I just put them away."
"They're gold currency cards," Uppercut said faintly. She looked at Knock Out. "They are, right? They're gold."
"That they are," Knock Out said. "You didn't steal these, did you? From your carrier?"
"No," she said. "They were upgrade gifts. But you should use them for the caste-tax."
Knock Out held out his hands, and let Updraft gently place the cards into them. "You must have known these were gold currency cards," he said.
Updraft shrugged. Her faceplate felt hot, and she realized, again, how sheltered she really was.
"They're not full," she said quietly. "I mean. I had to spend some of it when I got to Rodion."
Knock Out stared at her, not in disbelief, but...something else. Thank Primus for Uppercut.
"You're not wrong," her sister said, and Breakdown's chuckle was easy to hear from the kitchen. Knock Out managed to smile.
"It's been quite awhile since I carried more than a copper card," he said. "This won't cover the whole tax, my dear. But it certainly helps."
"I'll get a job, too," Updraft said. Suddenly she felt eager, her spark lightened. She was helping. "Carrying messages, something. I'm fast."
Breakdown's head appeared around the door. "We're not ones for charity, Knock Out."
Her spark pulsed fainter. But, she told herself, she was Updraft of the Vosian Heights. She had seized her own destiny, and stumbled on good luck as a result. She could pass this on.
"It's family," she said, with as much confidence as she could muster. "Windjammer and Uppercut are my brother and sister through Knock Out. And I don't want to pick any school until they can start with me, it's just not fair. So it's not charity."
Uppercut nodded eagerly, and Updraft wondered how much of that was defense of her and how much was her desire to go to school. How could she blame her for the latter? They all watched Breakdown's face, and on Knock Out's was a warning. Not to take this away.
He sighed. "I carried you," he said to Uppercut. "Still hard to say no."
Uppercut's smile could have split her face. Knock Out slumped too, the cards still clutched tightly in his hands.
"How lucky I am to have you," he said to Updraft, and it was almost like she hadn't lost much at all.
She lay down for recharge satisfied, her spark thrumming calmer than it had in weeks. Calm enough that when a comm came through, on a frequency she had nearly forgotten, her spark beat quickened—but she didn't burst into tears.
All is well, Dreadwing's message said. We are so proud of you, little one. And we look after you still.
Kaon was nearer to Vos than to Rodion, in the southern hemisphere. A visit, at least right now, was probably out of the question.
No, she decided, drifting off and pinging Dreadwing back. She hadn't been the one to make a mistake.
"You look happier," Smokescreen said.
The two of them were lying on the roof, a large bag of sweetsticks between them. Smokescreen, an expert at peace offerings, always made sure Knock Out got one or two before he and Updraft disappeared.
Updraft smiled, stretching. Her wings were flat out under her, almost touching the edges of Smokescreen's doors. "I am, I think. I'm adjusting."
"Good," he said. He was muffled, talking with his mouth half-full. "We've been worried about you."
She glanced over, part of a sweetstick in her mouth. "You and...?"
"Your family, obviously. I have your brother's and sister's comms, y'know." He grinned at her, crooked. "We gossip."
"I'm surprised you have time to gossip," she said. "What with your busy schedule, drag racing and dancing and all."
"And studying!" Smokescreen said, as Updraft giggled. "You could come dancing with me, you know. I keep inviting you."
"You know I don't like parties."
"Totally different," Smokescreen said. "You can just dance and have fun. And I don't go to the Towers clubs with the rich kids."
"I'll see," Updraft said. It did sound nice, to lose herself in music for awhile. Out with a friend, somewhere other than Knock Out's familiar roof. If she and Uppercut brought the radio upstairs and listened too loudly, Windjammer would have to knock on the wall, and it just ended in the two of them feeling bad. She resolved that if she went with Smokescreen, she would get Uppercut away from her books and dancing, too.
Her comm beeped, and she sat up on her elbows. Smokescreen didn't even budge, stuffing two more candies in his mouth where he lay. His optics were closed, so he didn't see Updraft stiffen, or her optics go bright.
Can you meet me tonight?
She hadn't deleted Skywarp's comm frequency, or Thundercracker's. There were still older, loving messages there that on hard days she went back to. Skywarp had clearly been reluctant to leave her…but he had still left, and this lighting up of a new message made her wish she had purged her comm entirely.
Smokescreen looked up when he heard the sweets bag crackle, and sat up when he saw Updraft's hand gripping it too tightly. Her sharpened fingers had punctured it.
"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting right up. Updraft stared at him, before letting her wings sink down and trying to collect herself.
"Skywarp just commed," she said flatly. "He wants me to meet him."
"Oh," Smokescreen said. He was quiet for a moment, before turning back to Updraft with bright optics. "Did you tell him to frag off?"
The message sat in her comm, unacknowledged. Smokescreen sat up fully as she sat still, biting off the end of another sweetstick.
"Your carrier might have sent him," Smokescreen said, mouth half-full. "Are you worried he might try to snatch you?"
Updraft shrugged, trying to seem noncommittal. "He felt bad when he left," she said after a moment. "I could tell."
Smokescreen snorted. "He'd better feel bad, after what he did. If you go see him, I'm coming with you."
Updraft tilted her head, but it still made her spark go warm to hear him say that. She'd gotten lucky, with such a loyal friend. "You'd do that? You have to study."
Smokescreen grinned, and wiggled his doors once. "History of Iacon is basically a joke class. I know that guy wouldn't hurt you, but you should still have backup."
Updraft sighed. "So I shouldn't tell him to frag off? Bit of a heel turn there."
"Hey, I think you should." Smokescreen shrugged, his doors flicking with the motion. "But he's your weird trine uncle. If you want to meet him, I'll support you."
Her expression softened, and she knew her wings dipped in relief. "You're a good friend."
Smokescreen's optics flashed bright, and he grinned. "I know."
She pinged Skywarp's comm, knowing her optics flickered nervously. Are you in Rodion? Did Starscream send you?
He replied almost immediately. Updraft wondered for a brief, nervous moment, if he was watching her right now, but Skywarp wasn't exactly stealthy. Surely she would have seen him fly above them, or seen the purple crack of his teleport.
No, I'm slipping out of Iacon. No Starscream, no TC, just me here to talk. Can you meet at sunset?
That was a little later than Knock Out claimed was safe, but she was her own bot. That was the whole point of this, wasn't it? I guess. There's a cafe on Quartex Street that's busy.
There was a beat of no acknowledgment, and she and Smokescreen exchanged a look before her comm pinged again.
Sunset it is.
The line closed, and a deep sigh escaped her vents.
"What a mess," Smokescreen said, after a moment. He was frowned, his brows furrowed. "And it's a little on me, so I promise, I'll try and help you out."
"It's not," Updraft said. "But like I said, you're still a good friend. And also, someone—who's not my sire, or his conjux—should probably know where we're going."
Uppercut had been almost universally supportive of what Updraft did, since she had moved in. That inexplicable, warm connection between them (could it really be because they were born the same day, or just coincidence?) made her protective, and often defensive of what Updraft chose to get up to, or how she dealt with her new life. She also knew how much Skywarp and Thundercracker had meant to her. Whispered conversations, and the occasional comm tap, were cathartic. It was like having a best friend, only nearby. Not just a comm frequency.
Now, though, Uppercut was frowning, her hands on her hips as she stared down Updraft and Smokescreen.
"I thought you were done with those Vosians," she said, as if her own sire wasn't one through and through. Her optics were narrowed. Updraft would have been a bit intimidated by the figure she cut, had she been anyone else.
Updraft shrugged. She tried to stare bravely at her sister, because she had already resolved to do this. Smokescreen was already looking out the window next to them to avoid it all, the coward.
"I am done," she said. "But if they hadn't cut ties completely, I wouldn't have stopped talking to them. I just didn't want to live like them."
Uppercut's frown deepened for a moment, and Updraft geared up to argue. Then her sister sighed. Smokescreen turned back, optics a fraction brighter.
"Based on what I know about you, I probably can't stop this," Uppercut said. Her optics glinted with mischief. "If I sit on you, maybe."
Updraft sighed, but now there was a smile tugging at her optics. "We just want to make sure someone knows where we are. Just in case."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Uppercut said. "I'm not letting you two hotheads go on your own. You're not that big and scary, if there's trouble."
"I don't think he's here to snatch me again," she said. She hoped, as her spark rolled with worry again. "And, Cutter, my uncle is a trained military flier. He's armed all the time. Don't do anything stupid."
Uppercut grinned, though Updraft caught her biolights flashing nervously. "I'm not the one I'm worried about. Just an extra pair of optics on the situation."
"I'll meet you guys later, then," Smokescreen said, the first words out of his vocalizer since they'd come down from the roof. "Do a few laps around town. Some recon."
Updraft snorted. "Please. But, fine, weirdo. We'll see you later."
Halfway out the door, Smokescreen paused. He glanced back at Uppercut. "Can I call you Cutter?"
Uppercut folded her arms, frowning again. "Absolutely not."
Smokescreen shrugged, and he was gone. Uppercut sighed, pinching her nasal ridge in a very Breakdown gesture, before dropping back into her seat.
"You're bad influences on each other," she said, turning on a datapad and not really looking at it.
Updraft grinned, dropping onto the cot next to her. "We always have been. Even long distance—one time he convinced me to climb up to the balcony above ours, for a 'better view.' My bodyguard almost peeled off my paint for it." There was no need to remind Uppercut just how high up that would be. "Us, together? Forget it."
"That Seeker mentioned the Iacon bombings when he was here," Uppercut said. Her chair creaked, and Updraft had already noted that it had been built with a much smaller mech in mind. "And there was so much going on I never asked. Were you really right there?"
"Yep," Updraft said. Now she was the one looking out the window, and not at her sister. "We snuck off from the adults during the celebration, and instead of fireworks..." she shrugged, rather than finish her sentence. "It was really bad. I know Smokey had nightmares for a long time."
Uppercut's big hand was warm on the back of her neck, and comforting. Her optics were gentle, and Updraft was reminded of what a good doctor she'd be. "You've had a heck of a life, Draft. And it just keeps coming, doesn't it?"
Updraft chuckled, though it wasn't very funny. "I think we're doing better at slowing it down."
Windjammer had caught the three of them on their way out, and simply stood in the doorway until he learned where all the "kids" were going off to at that hour. Breakdown was working the late shift, and Knock Out had simply waved them off when he deemed three a safe number to travel in. Of course, Windjammer had sussed out that where they were going was not innocuous.
"If you don't tell me," he said carefully, leaning in the doorway, "I'll just have to ask Dad."
Uppercut confessed, already antsy, and that was why Updraft's brother followed them out, his massive frame ensuring everyone gave them a wide berth. Updraft had wondered just how much Windjammer's childhood frame had squeezed his spark to make Knock Out build such a big one for adulthood. He made Dreadwing and Skyquake look diminutive.
Updraft had picked this café because it was well-it, inexpensive…and busy, so no one nosey would seek to overhear her business. Quiet places tended to echo secrets.
"Drinks on me," she heard Smokescreen say, as the others stepped past her. She scanned the crowd—she had seen enough of Smokescreen staring at Windjammer on their way over. (Her friend did have a taste for fliers, as the trine had guessed. Just not the flier they'd thought.)
Updraft walked by them as they got themselves a table, scanning the crowd for…ah. There he was.
Up on the balcony, as far from the ground as possible. A drink on the table in front of him, and his feet up on the table's edge. He looked bored, examining his sharpened fingers. Updraft remember being very small, watching him polish those hands for an event, and how mesmerized she'd been. He hadn't looked any different then than he did now.
Skywarp only saw her when she ascended the stairs. His wings flared out, an emotional response Starscream would disapprove of, and his optics glowed so bright that Updraft had to squint.
It made her spark ache with missing him. Quickly, before she could lose her nerve, she crossed the patio and took the second seat at his table.
Before either of them could speak (though she guessed there would have been a beat of silence anyway) a server appeared, refilling Skywarp's engex without a word.
"Would like anything, miss?" he asked. Updraft wondered what he must think of them, two expensive-looking Vosians in a middling Rodion bar.
Maybe he thought nothing of it, though. Smokescreen seemed perfectly comfortable in this city below his world, and Updraft had seen alt modes of all kinds by this point. Perhaps two Vosians weren't even something to blink at.
"An energon spritzer will be fine, thank you," she said. Drinking wasn't something she was used to.
"That's on my tab," Skywarp said. "Thanks."
He was polite, and for that Updraft was grateful. He hadn't always been such to lower castes around her. This time he probably wanted to be in her good graces.
Well, she had come to give him a chance.
"I can pay for it," she said, as the server turned and left. Skywarp's brows shot up. He leaned a fraction closer, and a smile tugged at his mouth.
"My treat," he said. "Keep your shanix. Speaking of…"
He pushed something across the table to her. A credits chip, shining new. Platinum, when she had only carried gold. Updraft stared at it, before pressing her hands tight in her lap.
"I'm not starving, you know," she said. "You didn't just come to bribe me, did you?"
Skywarp's whole frame flashed hurt, and Updraft regretted her choice of words.
"I already told you I'm not here to take you back," he said. His optics were serious in a way she had rarely seen, and his fingers gripped the table's edge like it had the answers he needed. "I wanted to check in on you. Can't be sure you're getting everything you need."
Updraft took a deep vent in, and out. Being angry would do no one any good. Slowly, she took the chip, putting it away. The sum on it might well be mind-boggling.
"Don't get upset," she said, more quietly, "but you guys didn't seem concerned with that when you left. I seem to remember being told that if I left Vos, I'd lose everything."
Skywarp's optics flickered. He looked away, hands now in tight fists in front of him.
"We were stupid," he said, voice holding a ragged edge. "We were stupid, and I should never have listened to your carrier. I'm so sorry, Updraft."
At least he was admitting it. She wondered why it was so sharp in her tanks when she agreed with him.
The server returned with Updraft's drink, and to refill Skywarp's. Updraft worked hard to keep her wings still and betray as little emotion as she could.
Skywarp had always been on her side.
"It's…"
Updraft paused. Skywarp was watching her, all seriousness. Really listening, like he could when he worked hard to do it.
"It's not okay," she said finally. "I shouldn't lie to you. But I accept your apology."
She finally reached out, and pressed her hand over Skywarp's. His smile was a relief, soft and uncharacteristic as it was.
"Best I can expect, I think," he said. He forced a chuckle. "I've been thinking a lot about it—a lot—and I think you were right. You'd never reach your full wingspan tethered to the aerie."
It was…profound, for Skywarp. Updraft bit the inside of her cheek as Skywarp squeezed her hand, in both of his.
"Have you been studying?" she asked, corner of her mouth twitching. "I could swear that's from Vosian Flightpath."
"I did get through my degree. That's by Current," Skywarp said. His optics glowed with more warmth. "I probably read that over TC's shoulder, though."
Updraft grinned, and she felt Skywarp's hands relax. So he still loved her, and that had to mean something. He was trying.
"Is Thundercracker still in Vos?" Updraft asked carefully. She was almost afraid to know the answer. Maybe he was angry enough to avoid the whole northern hemisphere.
Skywarp shook his head. "Nah, he's in Iacon with us. They think I'm running patrols."
"Oh," was all she could say at first. "He wouldn't drop my caste, so I guess there's that."
Skywarp shrugged, visibly uncomfortable. "He told Starscream if he did we would break trine. But I think he can do better than that."
Updraft stared at him. She pulled her hand back, knowing her optics must look overly round.
"Break trine," she repeated. When Skywarp nodded, she felt her tanks twist. "But…he doesn't know you're here?"
She wasn't sure she had ever seen Skywarp look so sad.
"He knew Starscream wouldn't do that and deal with the scandal," he said, shrugging helplessly. Mechs who broke trine almost never formed a new one, after all. "But TC knows how it would look, if he was always in Rodion, visiting someone who left. He can't get past it."
Not even for her, she who Thundercracker had shifted his whole life around for. Updraft shivered, and Skywarp reached again for her hand.
"But, Updraft," he said. His brows went up, his optics a fraction wider. "You're right, okay? This caste stuff, it's not worth you being gone. It sucks."
She wasn't sure how she felt about this serious Skywarp. His edge of anger was gone, and he'd put his good humour aside. Because he loved her. He missed her, badly.
And he knew he'd been wrong. He was trying.
"Yeah," she said. Her fingers curled around his. "It does. Does TC know you feel that way?
Skywarp grimaced. "Does he ever," he said, more softly. "He won't admit that he might miss you more than he likes our position. I've yelled about it enough."
"'Warp," she said, wings drooping. "Don't worry about making him change. He's stubborn."
"It rubbed off on you," Skywarp said, his grin returning for a second. "Most people don't get how it feels to be apart. It's a hell of a lot easier to be set in your ways when you belong."
Updraft tilted her head, because Skywarp was as Vosian as the best of them. More willing to goof off, maybe, but—
Skywarp chuckled. He let go of her hands, to sit back and stretch. "I'm an outlier, Updraft. It took a long time for mechs to accept what I am. And slaggers are still suspicious."
"But Thundercracker gets it," Updraft said. She had never thought about that before. "Even Starscream gets it."
"They knew me before we found out," Skywarp said. He shrugged, like it was nothing. "Your carrier's spiteful, but TC might just figure it out. You're still his little girl."
A lump rose up in her throat. She thought, again, of how warm she had felt whenever Thundercracker had been proud of her. Skywarp finally reached back, to take a sip of his drink, and sighed. He sounded grown-up.
"Well," Skywarp said, with a note of forced cheerfulness. "I came all this way to check on you, and I've done almost no checking! You look well-looked after, at least."
Updraft smiled. She tried to relax. "My sire's good to me, roller or not."
"You are as gorgeous as ever," Skywarp conceded. He grinned, optics flashing. "Plating pristine, biolights bright…wing maintenance? Thruster clearance?"
"Better than ever. He used to be a Seeker himself," Updraft said. "Careful, Skywarp. You sound like TC."
He grinned at her, but his optics were sad. "Someone has to. He's acting like a sparklet."
When he turned to look over the balcony, Updraft followed his gaze to Smokescreen and her siblings. Seated below them, with a clear view of her and Skywarp. Uppercut waved, and smiled, though Windjammer's optics were bright with suspicion as they watched her. Smokescreen wasn't looking—he was telling Windjammer something, and she wondered if his optics had been off her brother all night.
"You've got a whole little entourage," Skywarp said. His mouth twitched mischievously. "Did you ask them to come?"
Updraft shook her head. "They insisted," she said. "Just in case."
"How about that," Skywarp said, flicking his wings. "Caste really can't be everything, eh? Wings, either. They like you 'cause they like you."
It was like he had some big revelation. If he was learning, Updraft wouldn't object. She finally took a sip of her drink (which she had let go flat) before flashing her own grin.
"Don't let any Functionists hear you say that," she said. "Did Starscream kick up a fuss about the fine, by the way?"
"'Course," Skywarp said. He drummed his fingers on the table, shifting in his seat, and Updraft knew their visit was almost over. "But he paid it. TC's pretty upset he lied to the cops."
He took a last long drink, like he had to steel his nerves. Updraft reached out quickly, intent on giving his hand one more squeeze.
"I'd say maybe he learned a lesson, but…" Updraft shrugged. Her smile was sad. "Thank you. For coming. I figured you'd given up on me."
"On you?" Skywarp, quickly, had covered both hands with his own. "Never. I just want you to be happy—I learned my lesson."
"Then you're doing better," Updraft said.
When they'd paid (Skywarp still insisted on covering hers), and stood, she put her arms around him and squeezed. He stiffened for a split second, but found himself, letting his arms settle around her.
"Maybe your sire will upgrade you taller," he teased. Updraft managed to elbow his side, from where she was.
"I'm good," she said, when she'd pulled back, and let go. "It's getting late for us, so we'd better get going."
"Fly safe," Skywarp said gently. "And TC would remind you, study hard."
Smokescreen was talking animatedly when she descended the balcony, and Windjammer was resting his cheek in his hand, apparently now listening intently. Uppercut jumped up as Updraft approached. Updraft could almost touch her relief.
"It went okay?" she asked. When Updraft nodded, she visibly relaxed. "Thank Primus. I've been playing third wheel to these two all night."
"Excuse me," Windjammer said, sounding affronted.
"It's called quality time," Smokescreen said cheerfully. His plating was warm as he brushed past Updraft, and she made a mental note to tease him immensely about this. It was hard not to giggle when she met Uppercut's optics again.
Skywarp was gone when she looked back at the balcony. She couldn't see any Seekers ahead of her, and he would have slipped out as soon as she'd been distracted. Maybe, soon, she could see him again, but for the moment she tried to push the idea out of her start.
But it was hard to be really glad he came, with the ache in her spark.
Knock Out was still up when they slipped in, peering over the top of a datapad. Updraft wondered if they'd be interrogated, when it had gotten so dark, but her sire only shifted in his seat.
"Good to see you kids having fun," he said. "As long as you stay together."
Windjammer just grinned. "No one bothers me."
"I know, darling," Knock Out said. There was humour in his voice. "Exactly why you stick close to your sisters out there. Now get to recharge."
They did as they were told, Updraft's wings relaxed with her relief. It was only when she and Uppercut had finished in the washrack, lying back on their berths, that Updraft pulled out the platinum card.
"Another contribution to the school fund," she whispered. In the dim light she handed it over, and watched her sister's optics go wide with shock.
"He just...gave this to you?" Uppercut whispered. When Updraft nodded, she looked as if she might cry.
"I don't need it," Updraft said. It made her uncomfortable, knowing how easily shanix had come to them in Vos. "Who needs that much money? When you're a big-shot doctor you'll make it all back."
"You will, too," Uppercut said. She took Updraft's hand in her bigger one and squeezed, optics bright. "When you're a big-shot flight officer."
Breakdown might be unhappy, about more charity. Skywarp might be unhappy too, to know that Updraft was just giving his money away, but it was hers to do with how she wanted. And what she wanted to make this new sister happy, because nothing had made her spark glow quite like it.
For once, her dreams were good.
"I've had a thought," Windjammer said.
Updraft looked up from her textbook. (One of Uppercut's, and incomprehensible, but something to read.) "You have a lot of those."
Windjammer smiled, but continued on. "It's kind of not what we were planning, but with a certain Seeker and her resulting windfalls...it's been on my mind."
He meant her money. Updraft huffed, hunching lower over her datapad. It did no good to try and fit in when people kept pointing out the differences. Behind her, Uppercut looked up.
"Windjammer," their sister said, a warning. Updraft turned in surprise, and was surprised to see her scowling, arms folded over her chest.
They could hear Breakdown washing dishes a room over, and Knock Out's drill power down in the shop. So they were listening, too. Smokescreen, leaning in the doorway (he must have thought it was a cool looking pose), watched them all with interest.
"Well, out with it," Updraft said. "Or I'll start to worry the idea is 'kick Updraft out, we've got that Vosian cash.'"
Windjammer shot her a withering look. Then he rolled his shoulders, wings straightening up.
"I was doing the books this morning," he said carefully. "And just to see the numbers—"
"Primus," Uppercut said, interrupting. She was still frowning, and Updraft wasn't sure why. "You and your numbers."
"Okay," Windjammer said, more sharply. Breakdown's washing slowed in the next room. "As I was saying, I put together the money Updraft gave us, plus what we've put aside for Uppercut and I. And if we pool my savings…" He shrugged. A smile tugged at his lips. "Caste-tax paid in full, Uppercut passes her test, becomes a doctor."
"And you're back at square one," Uppercut said. "Absolutely not. I don't want to go if you can't."
"Well, maybe I want my little sister to get her education," Windjammer said, shifting on his feet. "Both of them, actually. I'll manage."
"I haven't watched you work all those double shifts for nothing," Uppercut snapped, and Updraft straightened in surprise at her tone. "You deserve to take your exams just as much. Keep your shanix."
Why is it free for us? Smokescreen said to Updraft, over the comm. It makes no sense.
It does, though, Updraft said grimly, watching her siblings glare each other down. They want people in the place they gave them. Megatronus talks about it sometimes.
"Stalemate, eh?"
Breakdown appeared in the doorway, and they all sat up. Updraft would have preferred to sink down, but her sire's conjux tended to demand attention from presence alone.
"No," Uppercut said. She folded her arms, instantly on the defensive. "Not if I refuse to do it."
Breakdown looked over at Windjammer, optics steady. As if none of this had to do with him. "You talk to your carrier about this?" he asked.
Windjammer's big frame seemed to sink down, just a fraction.
"I told it's just a thought I had," he said. "I made her an offer of the money I've earned—"
"And we've helped you earn," Breakdown interrupted. "You can do what you want with it, but Uppercut's stubborn. The plan was to start together."
Windjammer's optics blazed brighter. "And, you know what? That was fine before. Now we're luckier. I don't want my sister to wait another decade just to be educated, not when she deserves better."
Uppercut put her hand on Updraft's arm, and she started. Why was she being comforted? If anything, this was Updraft's fault for changing the whole dynamic, and causing the conflict with her stupid money.
"Yeah," Breakdown said. He shifted on his feet. "She does. And you do too, kid."
"Excuse me," Smokescreen said suddenly. They all whipped around to look at him, and he straightened up. Updraft could see where his training was sticking to him.
"Yeah?" Breakdown asked, after a moment. Smokescreen chattered and fooled them, and Knock Out, but Updraft had noticed him straightened up around Breakdown. He was no-nonsense, a bit like Dreadwing that way.
"I might have an idea," Smokescreen said. "About the Elite Guard Academy, anyway, and it wouldn't cost a lot of money."
"We're listening," Uppercut said. Over the comm, to Updraft: I do want to go to school. But it has to be fair.
Smokescreen's doors perked up on his back, and Updraft's mouth quirked in spite of herself.
"The Guard's a little hard up for fliers at the moment," he said. "Most of them are born in the southern hemisphere—and not that many people are being born now, you know? We know what Vos is like about their Seekers."
Windjammer folded his arms. His long wings dipped down, almost touching the floor, matching his frown.
"Getting in on my own merits is important, too," he said. "No disrespect, Smokescreen, but I'm not sure just a good word is enough for someone like me."
Updraft stood up slowly, and straightened her wings. "What about two good words?" she asked. Breakdown looked at her (yes, yes, she'd done enough), but she ignored him. "Smokey, you just said Vos hoards its Seekers, and I'll have no trouble sitting their exam..."
"And?" Windjammer asked. He'd pulled his shoulders in, too, like he was trying to make himself smaller. Updraft hoped that shyness might help him, if they could see that he was more than a mid-caste bruiser.
"Well," she said, smiling a little. "I haven't had a lot of chances to fly with my new big brother. I need to get to know him better. And it's worth a try, if it can get us all educated sooner, right?"
"Instead of you sulking, and Uppercut upset because you're still stuck here," Breakdown said. Updraft whipped around to look at him, and caught a small smile on his face where he leaned in the doorway. His optics flickered warmly at her, like they did at Uppercut. "If it doesn't work, we'll talk again."
"They won't be happy about it," Windjammer said, shifting uncomfortably. "A mech like me touching down at their academy."
"They don't have to be," Breakdown said sharply. Updraft nearly jumped. "You're polite, and you can talk like a noble if you want to. Your carrier was one himself, and he brought you up right. Don't let them break you down, Windjammer."
"Okay," Smokescreen said quickly. He had gone stiff as a column in alarm."So, we'll try it."
"I'll talk to Knock Out first," Windjammer said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I still don't know if it will work."
"Worth a shot," Updraft said cheerfully. "Megatronus didn't get as far as he did by just keeping his head down, right?"
She got a rather dark look for the comparison, but Breakdown grinned at her. That had been worth it, then, even if Windjammer still disapproved.
You really think you can do that? Uppercut commed, to her and Smokescreen.
Yeah, Smokescreen said, with a little more confidence than what Updraft felt. Of course. And we'll all help change the world when we get it right.
Knock Out, despite all appearances, was a rather private mech. Yes, he often dated (and berthed) handsome mechs in decent bars, but that had slowed as his life went on. It was mostly a game, after all, in the most positive sense, and Knock Out thoroughly enjoyed meeting and impressing new bots with his...assets. Breakdown liked to hear about it, and the option was always open for him to do the same if he so wished. (Knock Out had always thought he'd look rather good with that Bulkhead fellow, the other foreman on their site. Breakdown firmly denied this, proving Knock Out right.) His conjux was quite happy monogamous, he'd been assured.
Still, they were only flings. Breakdown was love, and firm constant companionship. Taking the ritus in Vos was regularly a loveless affair, regardless of what the Primal texts said about it. His own parents had been set up by an employer and parent, respectively. Certainly his leaving had not made that any firmer. Knock Out had come to believe that your conjux should also be your best friend, if the whole thing were to succeed.
So Knock Out had little in the way of friends. He'd had little in the way of lovers recently as well, since Updraft had appeared and wound herself into his home and his spark. He was invested in her settling in, yes. But it had also made him wonder if others were being as foolish as Starscream, not grounding their sparks appropriately, and…well, three sparklets was enough. Especially since they were grown, and would be sitting entrance exams in a couple of months. His children, fully educated! Just the thought of it warmed his spark like a flame.
Besides, what if one more of his dates turned out as rotten as that Seeker? He wasn't sure they could house one more surprise child.
"K.O! Where you at?"
Of course, few friends certainly did not mean none.
"Working, of course!" Knock Out called. "Unlike some of us. Come on through, Swindle, you old slagger."
Uppercut looked up from her work station, mouth in a thin line. Knock Out shook his head, but he was smiling nonetheless. His dear daughter thought Swindle was slimy, and that might have been true, but he wasn't a total lost cause. Knock Out would have locked him out by now otherwise.
"My favourite mod tech," Swindle said, throwing his arms out as he let the door close behind him. "Judging by your waiting room, you must have some time for your old buddy."
Knock Out snorted, but he reached out to grasp Swindle's hand anyway.
"Plenty of custom orders due this week," he said. "Business is quite well, thank you. You're back awfully early from Protihex, so maybe I'm not the one you should be worried about."
Swindle laughed, with no more sleaze than usual. Then he turned, and took a step back with feigned shock.
"Is that little Uppercut?" he exclaimed. "By Primus, that upgrade came up fast."
To her credit, Uppercut didn't roll her optics, or frown, though her smile was still thin. She shrugged shyly.
"We all have to grow up," she said. "You haven't visited Dad in awhile, Swindle."
"Connections to make, new merchandise to get shipped," Swindle said, waving his hand. "Busy, busy. But! I thought I would pay a visit now that I'm back. Even brought a nice vintage back from the Old Town in Protihex."
Knock Out clapped his hands together, optics glinting. "You're too kind. Free of charge, of course?"
He rather enjoyed the twitch of Swindle's optic, but before he could respond the door had opened again.
"Of course it's free. This," said the bot, sliding up next to Swindle, "is a gift, between friends. Right?"
"Of course!" Swindle said cheerfully. He covered it well, but Knock Out saw the ripple of his plating. "Finish up, K.O, and come get me up to date."
Knock Out grinned. "I suppose I might as well. And Royale! It's been some time."
The femme who had followed Swindle in was taller than him, with indigo plating and bright purple optics, angled gracefully on her face. To Knock Out's relief, he saw Uppercut brighten. There were few other sparklets she had had much contact with, after all.
"Been awhile, yeah," she said. Her smile for Uppercut was more genuine, but Knock Out saw her fingers twitch. "I was off-planet with my carrier, but it's nice to be home."
Swindle huffed. He was already cracking his bottle open. "You're too young to hunt bounties. I'm glad you're back."
Royale raised a brow, before strolling closer to Uppercut. She'd been a very quiet thing, the handful of times Swindle had brought her along. She no longer stuck close and clung to her sire's leg, of course, but Knock Out saw the twitch of her fingers and how hard she worked to carry her shoulders straight. She'd been in her upgrade last time she was there, but she had been clumsy and awkward in the way his own daughters were finally getting out of. But Royale had never been given much opportunity to get out and explore.
"Knock Out? Everything okay? I heard someone kind of burst in, and..."
Updraft paused. So did Royale, and Knock Out saw how her gaze lingered on the new arrival.
"Hi," his daughter said, pausing in the door.
"Well, good afternoon!" Swindle said, immediately throwing out his hand for Updraft to take. Knock Out swore he could see the shanix symbols appear in his optics. "I thought you said your customers were gone?"
"Oh, she's not a customer," Uppercut said proudly. There was a flash of mischief in her optics. "Updraft's my sister. She moved in a few months ago."
Swindle looked at Knock Out expectantly. His hand had come up, to quite literally close his jaw, before he had burst into another grin and straightened up. He shook Updraft's hand hard, but she was still glancing over his shoulder.
"I don't remember this one," Swindle said slyly to Knock Out. When he turned back to Updraft, his optics went brighter. "A Seeker, eh? I wouldn't have forgotten you having another girl out in Vos."
"Well, he didn't know for awhile," Updraft said. She was uncharacteristically shy, stepping back neatly from Swindle as soon as she could (and planting her gaze right back on Royale, who met it with just as much interest). "It's nice to meet you."
"You're Vosian, alright," Swindle said. "Great customers, Vosians. Very military, very wealthy—just my style, you know."
Knock Out smirked. "And stuck-up, something my dear Updraft fortunately did not pick up. Come, Swindle. Catch me up on all your latest scams."
"Scams!" Swindle exclaimed, but it was all in fun. "Lies and slander, Knock Out! You know me better than that."
"That's why he knows they're scams," Royale said. Knock Out saw the flash of her grin—and dare he say a wink, in Updraft's direction. Uppercut leaned on her workstation, her brows raised, and decided it would be best to leave the young ones to it.
A comm crackled out, from Uppercut, so he stole a glance back into the workshop. Updraft was leaning on his table, asking Royale something, as Uppercut sat behind them looking thoroughly entertained.
First your best customer falls for Windjammer, now this, she said. Knock Out smiled.
It's a touch early to make the call, sweet spot. But, yes, you can see it in Updraft's optics.
Hm. I have bigger things to worry about.
So did Swindle, surely, who didn't even seem to have noticed, and Knock Out, who had no shortage of work to do rather than drink. He had gleaned something much more important from this, anyway.
If Updraft did have herself a little crush (and she did—he knew it when he saw it), she must be comfortable enough to let herself fall into it. The edge on her being had worn off, though not dropped off entirely. That was simply what Vos did.
He would keep an optic on it, though there was no need to worry. Updraft deserved a little happiness, after all. So did Royale, being Swindle's offspring, poor thing. Puppy love was surely an acceptable cap on his daughter's story, at least for the moment.
Maybe he didn't race as much as he'd used to. But there was something to be said about a quiet life.