A/N: I know it's been awhile since I updated this story, but it had to go on the back burner because parts of this deal directly with 'Countdown' and I didn't want to give too much away. I didn't want to do something in this story, but it became necessary, so I've named TC and 'Warp's creator's. This will most likely be the only time you see their names, tho.

As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, reviews given much love and Seeker younglings like to hear from readers. Drop a note and tell us if you like it!

Chapter 6 - The Tale of the Seekers

"So where was I?" The older black mech looked over the three younglings sitting in front of him. He had to skip a day in the telling because the red sparkling was sick. The youngling did look the worse for wear, but he was also more sullen than usual. The other two were sitting on the edges of their seats, eager and ready for him to finish with the story.

"The ruins of the ancient civilization…" Starscream spoke very softly.

"Oh, yeah. Okay." Worldly green optics glittered as he sat back in his chair. "So the scientists found these artifacts in the ruins on that planet that were covered with strange runes, one of them being an old dialect of Cybertronian. They were able to decipher the Cybertronian part and it told a story about some of Cybertron's best warriors who left the planet."

The older black mech smirked and got ready for the tale, "This is how it went: Long ago, a visitor from another world came to Cybertron looking for the best warriors Cybertron had for an intergalactic competition. The government decided it would be a good idea to check out whom else would be at the competition and to seek out information on alien technology to prepare in case we got invaded again. So twelve of our best Guardian Fighters, dubbed the 'seekers', were picked to go with the alien for the competition and sent off."

He took a drink from his cup of energon. "Now there were alien races from all over the universe at the competition and our twelve best were humbled by some of the other races, and the worry that they would come home losers or worse - give the idea to the stronger races that Cybertron would make an easy target, overwhelmed the group. So the seekers kept close to each other, but they did what the government wanted them to do, seek out the necessary information. Many of the alien combatants used technology that was beyond our imagination, but while our best felt overwhelmed, they weren't stupid. And while they kept watch on the competition, they took ideas from what the other aliens were using and upgraded themselves. So… the first trials of the contest were to weed out the weaker alien races, and many of the groups were eliminated. But the trials were simple for our seekers, and that boosted their moral. Now that we knew we might actually make it somewhere in the competition, the seekers became a little bolder among the other races there, spreading out to gather more information and befriending many of the aliens as they continued to rise in rankings."

He took another drink. "And while our twelve seekers started to spread out, they found that a few of the races were jealous of them and their ability to morph between our armored Protoform bodies to armored and battle-ready fliers and other heavy duty fighters. There were only a handful of fliers in the other races but nothing like us. Once the weaker races were removed from the competition, the real battles began. Battles that turned into struggles for their very lives."

He leaned forwards on the table, "Our twelve had made friends at the tournament, but they had also made enemies. Enemies that were also looking for information on technology and resources. Enemies that wanted the biological information on our species so that they too, could alter their physical appearance at will. Because of this envy accidents started to happen. And then during one of the trials, one of our twelve was killed. That's when fights outside of the competitions broke out. It was after one of these fights that it was decided among the remaining seekers that they were going to share all the information they had gathered between themselves. One of the seekers needed to make it home alive with what they had learned, and if all the information was shared, that would ensure that Cybertron got the information."

The older flier shifted his wings into a more comfortable position. "It was also decided that they would aggressively go after technology from the others at the competition. One of the races we befriended found out that one of the stronger races planned to kill the next Cybertronian they went up against with an illegal weapon that would download the complete memory and genetic makeup of its victim. So the friendly race decided to give us a weapon to combat the illegal weapon, but the aliens heard what was going to happen and they killed the messenger with the weapon. Another one was sent but it reached our remaining group with barely two cycles before the final competition was to start. There was little time to adapt the weapon, but our group wasn't just skilled in fighting, and they improvised on the designs barely getting it complete before the trial."

The worldly green optics grinned at the rapt younglings. "The final trial was an assortment of tasks that would test fighting skills, strength, agility and the like. Our remaining seekers decided on one of the Guardian Fliers that they best believed could easily accomplish all of it, and they gave him the new weapon along with a self destruct program in standby incase he was killed."

The flier leaned in close. "So the trial started and our best stood toe to toe with the alien through the first part of the battle, but the alien was just waiting for the flier to drop his guard before he went in for the kill. He believed that if he made it seem like our flier was his equal that his guard would drop. But the flier didn't drop his guard, in fact, his guard increased as he realized that the alien was baiting him. And then our flier started to best the alien and poke through his weaknesses. This only angered the alien further and the battle turned vicious."

"The alien brought out a hidden weapon to fight with, but the judges didn't stop the fight, so our flier assumed it wasn't the weapon he had to worry about, and he continued to best the alien. The stronger alien had our flier beat in sheer strength, but the flier had extreme agility, a battle computer and a CPU that far surpassed the alien. The alien raged as our flier kept out of his reach, but then he got a lucky hit and damaged one of the flier's wings, effectively keeping the flier from using his alternate form. So our flier was stuck in his bipedal form, which while he was still very agile, made it more difficult to keep out of the stronger alien's range. And now with a boost in his moral, the alien started to take risks to damage and wear down the flier."

He shifted his wings into a more comfortable position. "Realizing that the alien was now just trying to wear him out, the flier started to use his CPU more that his agility to best the alien, and he went for body shots that would also tire and wound the alien. As they wore each other down, it was obvious that the stronger alien had more stamina than our flier, and with the arena soon damp with blood and energon, it became clear that the alien was ready to go for the kill. The judges of the trial realized that something was wrong in the battle and tried to end it, but the stronger alien kept on fighting and wounding the flier. Other contestants started to jump into the arena with the two combatants and end the battle… And that's when the alien pulled the illegal bladed weapon."

The older flier sat back to take a swig of his energon, an evil grin crossing over his faceplate. "Our flier was tired and beaten up, bleeding excessively and being held back by other contestants, as they tried to stop the stronger alien. But the alien wasn't going to stop until he completed his task, and he mowed through the growing group of other combatants, guards and anyone else that stood in the way between him and our flier. The others pushed the flier up against the wall as they tried to save him, but he tried to get free of their attempts to help him. The flier was nearly helpless as the others stood in front of him and blocked his way, he couldn't morph into his flier form and get between the ones trying to help him and the alien, and watching them die for no reason sent the flier into a berserk rage. He screamed to the heavens for Primus' aid and Primus heard his call."

The flier leaned closer to the younglings, his voice taking on a dramatic edge and his optics glittering in the moment. "The flier was given his alternate form back with a boost of incredible strength. He shot into the air with a scream of rage and dove in front of the group that had tried to protect him. The alien lifted the weapon high into the air to slash through the flier, but with his boost of strength, our flier threw himself at the alien, bringing out the energon modified weapons… and…" The older flier warped from his chair only to reappear in the air, in mid fight with the enemy. One leg was stretched out, aiming straight for his invisible enemy's chest while two large energon hook swords appeared in his grip. As if his foot hit the invisible enemy, he quickly somersaulted in the air, tucking his wings back and slashing with a cross cut at the enemy in the middle of his spin. He landed gracefully in a tucked crouch, his head bent down and the deep purple energon blades humming in his grip, parallel to the floor.

"The alien didn't know what hit him, and the look of shock was frozen on his face as his head rolled across the arena floor. The combatants in the arena and the crowds in the stands went quiet at the masterful display. The other seekers ran down to help him, carefully lifting him up and storing the energon-based weapons. The crowd then cheered and the judges awarded the Cybertronians the intergalactic award for being the best of the best."

The older black mech stood and faced the wide and stunned optics of Skywarp and Thundercracker with a wicked grin. "And that is how our group of 'Seekers' became known throughout the universe as 'the best of the best'."

The red mech frowned, "That's not a real story, you just made that up."

Skywarp socked Starscream in the arm. "It is too a real story!" He looked up at his creator. "Tell him it's a real story!"

The older flier crossed the deep purple energon hook swords in front of him and looked at the disbelieving red youngling. "How do you know it's not true?"

Starscream crosses his little arms over his chest with a frown. "Because there would be something about it in the history of Cybertron. The war stories you told us about the Varcterions and the Quintessons are true because I've read about them in my studies, but there is nothing about 'seekers' or some intergalactic contest that Cybertronians won."

The older flier grinned, "Maybe you just haven't read about them yet."

"I doubt it."

Worldly green optics looked at the frowning mech as he stowed the hook swords. "Just because it's not in a book doesn't make it any less real."

He raised an optic ridge at Skywarp's creator, "That's silly."

The flier patted the youngling's head. "It's okay if you don't believe it, Starscream."

The blue youngling was still looking at the older flier in awe. "I believe it. I know you and my mother-creator beat up Scintillians and helped win the war." He turned to look at Starscream. "If they could fight off the aliens, and old Cybertronians fought off the Varcterions and Quintessons, then why can't a flier win a fight single-handedly against another alien?"

"Because it's not mentioned in the history of Cybertron!" Starscream looked exasperatedly at Thundercracker.

Skywarp elbowed Thundercracker with a smirk. "Nerdy 'Screamer is just jealous that all he's going to be is a bookworm while I'm going to be the best fighter and you're going to be the best flier Cybertron has ever seen," His purple optics widened excitedly and he threw his arm over the blue youngling's shoulders. "We'll become Seekers and be the best of the best! TC and 'Warp! The universe's best Seekers- no, wait, TC and 'Warp the universe's elite Seekers. We'll be unstoppable!"

The older flier just laughed as the two younglings started to make plans on becoming 'seekers'. He turned to see Starscream get up and head for the door. "You're not going to join TC and 'Warp, Starscream?"

The red youngling shook his head, "I'm too old for silly stories like that. I need to focus on my studies and not goofy myths."

The black flier walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "No one is too old for a good story and there is plenty of time to study later. Can't you give a little time to pretend like the others?"

Starscream looked over at the other two younglings sadly as they animatedly made plans, "No, I can't."

The flier knelt beside the youngling, "Okay. You don't have to play make believe with them, but there has to be something you want to do besides study."

The red youngling looked at his friends, then into the worldly green optics before finally casting his optics down. "Can you-?" he voice drifted off.

"Hmm?"

"Can you-?" Starscream fidgeted and looked to the side, his voice barely a whisper. "Can- can you teach me how to- how to fight?"

The flier tilted his head to one side curiously, "Yeah, I can do that. You three are about the age to start learning anyways." He patted the youngling's shoulder. "I'll just need to ask your creator-"

Wide, panic filled purple optics locked with green. "No! You can't! I mean-"

The older mech shifted over from where was, repositioning himself between Starscream and the other younglings. The red mech was staring at the ground as the flier watched him carefully. "We have to ask for permission. I can't teach you without your creator knowing. Your creator needs to know in case you get hurt."

"I won't get hurt, I promise."

"Starscream, I have to get their permission."

The youngling sighed and shook his head as he opened the door, "Never mind then."

--

The sound of the door closing and the older mech getting up off his knees drew the other younglings' attention, "Where did 'Screamer go?"

The mech looked at the door strangely, crossing his arms over his cockpit and tapping his fingers on his elbow. He turned to look at the other two who were getting off their chairs, his optics falling on the blue mech, "You know… I haven't seen your mother-creator in a while, TC. How about you show me where your place is?"

--

"Why do you want to talk to my mother-creator?" The blue youngling looked up curiously at the much larger black flier.

Green optics grinned at Thundercracker, "Because I'm going to ask her if I can teach you the basics of fighting."

"We're going to learn how to fight for real?!" Skywarp hyperly jumped around them as the three walked over to Thundercracker's house.

"That's only if he can get permission, 'Warp. If he can't, then you'll have to wait until you go to the Academy."

"No way!" Wide purple optics glared at the older flier, "I can't wait that long!"

The black flier smacked his youngling in the back of the head, "You'll have to. I won't teach you if TC and Starscream can't get permission."

"But why!" Skywarp whined as he hopped around them, "That's so not fair!"

"I'm not teaching you because I don't want you to practice on them, that's why."

Skywarp grabbed Thundercracker's arm and pulled on him, jumping up and down excitedly, "You just have to get her to say yes. You have to! Have to have to have to!!"

The blue youngling could barely keep upright with his over exuberant friend nearly ripping his arm off.

Starscream had retaken his place on his stoop and was reading when the others came around the corner. The older flier took one look at the red mech sitting there hunched up alone and frowned, he was such an odd sparkling. Extracting Skywarp from Thundercracker's arm long enough to get the mech to point out his home was a difficult task, but once he got the information, he let the two run over to the red sparkling.

The flier shook his wings and gave himself a once over; he wasn't as polished up as he would have liked to be to visit a femme, especially this one, but it wasn't really a social call he was making. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, casually turning to look at the three across the street. The two sparklings were trying to get Starscream to stop reading and off the stoop. He heard the door unlock and he turned around with his best smile for the femme.

The sleek-winged femme opened the door to find the broad-winged flier with green optics smiling at her. "Hello, Nebula."

"Nice to see you, Stealthshadow. Is there something I can help you with?"

The black mech motioned with his head to the younglings across the street, "I wanted to ask you if I could start to teach Thundercracker some basic fighting skills."

The blue femme frowned and looked past him at the younglings, "They are getting close to that age, aren't they?"

He nodded and turned to look as well, "Heh, yeah. Before we know it, we'll be taking them to get their first upgraded protoforms." He looked back to her with a spreading grin. "And I'll assume that you'll be teaching them to fly?"

She gave a wistful sigh, "Yes. That's all Thundercracker talks about. Becoming a flier and Skywarp and Starscream."

"'Warp wants to be a flier as well, and there isn't another flier on the planet that I would trust to teach him than you."

The femme looked at the black flier strangely, "You could teach him."

"Nah, I'm getting too old for that. And I'm only going to teach them defensive skills. I don't need to rush 'Warp to a medic if he does something stupid."

She laughed, "Hopefully, Starscream and Thundercracker will keep him from doing anything too rash."

He smirked and turned to look across the street at the three younglings; Starscream was trying to fight off the other two and losing. "I wish some of their good behavior would rub off on him, but I guess that's a pipe dream." He turned around to face her again, "Which leads me to my next question."

She stopped watching the younglings and looked at him, "Hmm?"

"What do you know about Starscream and his creator?"

"You better come inside. This might take awhile and you might need a drink."

--

"Okay. So I found out from my father-creator that flier trines and quads have their own communications channel. It's a specific comlink that only they can use and it can't be hacked into." Skywarp's purple optics glittered as he looked back and forth between his friends.

Thundercracker tilted his head to one side curiously, "So?"

"So…" Skywarp started to grin in such a way that the others knew he had come up with another daft plan. "So, since we're going to be wingmates, we should have our own comlink! That way we can talk to each other any time we want to!"

Starscream rolled his optics and went back to reading his data pad.

"But we don't know if we'll be wingmates, 'Warp. That's decided at the Fighting Academy, and they put trines and quads together based on skill and compatibility." Thundercracker looked back at the sullen Starscream, "And we don't really know if we'd be… skilled enough to fly together."

"Like slag we'll be skilled! We're going to be the best fliers and fighters ever seen on Cybertron in millions of years!" Skywarp gestured animatedly. "Besides, we'll be all set for being a trine by the time we get to the Academy. We'll start practicing now!"

"But, 'Warp…" Thundercracker motioned with his head to the reading form of Starscream, trying to get the youngling to clue into the fact that they didn't know if Starscream had any interest in becoming a flier, "We're not sure if we'll be in the same level at the Academy. Some of us might be ahead of the others."

"So, we'll just have to practice harder to keep up with the others! We are going to stick together through the University and the Academy, aren't we?" He looked between Thundercracker and the still reading form of Starscream. Suddenly he face fell. Maybe they didn't want to be his wingmates. "You two aren't going to abandon me, are you? I thought we were friends till the bitter end."

"Of course I'm not going to abandon you, 'Warp. But…" The blue youngling looked at the red one, "You never know what can happen."

Skywarp finally got the hint and put his hand over the screen of Starscream's data pad, worry and hurt in his voice. "You're not going to abandon us, are you, 'Screamer?"

The red youngling finally looked up at the two now that he had been put on the spot. Skywarp's pleading face made him frown, but it was the sudden look of hurt that passed between the black and the blue mechs that made him feel guilty. "…no, I-"

Thundercracker looked crestfallen, "You don't want to be fliers with us?"

He was torn. He wanted to be a scientist, but he also didn't want to lose his friends. He finally squeaked an answer before looking away, "I don't know…"

"Oh." Skywarp and Thundercracker shared sad and disappointed glances. "Well…"

Thundercracker stood up and moved to the bottom of the stoop, "We'll just let you go back to your studying."

Skywarp followed the blue youngling. "…Yeah."

It suddenly felt very cold on the stoop, and Starscream looked over to where his friends had moved. They were very hurt that he didn't say yes. He looked at the data pad and its text on astronomical phenomenon and then at the backs of his two best friends. Skywarp's father-creator did mention something about the Academy needing fliers for research missions…

Starscream put the data pad down and got up, moving to stand right behind Thundercracker and Skywarp. "Oh all right. So we're going to be fliers."

"No," Skywarp turned around with a mischievous smirk. "We're going to be Seekers."

"But that was just a silly story…"

"So we'll make it real." The black mech's smirk grew.

Thundercracker's face lit up with an excited grin, "And we'll be wingmates in our very own trine."

"And we'll be the best fighters."

"And the best fliers."

"Friends 'til the bitter end!"

The blue and black mech's were grinning wildly as they went on about what they would become.

Starscream sighed and sat down next to them. "Okay, okay. So we go through the University and the Academy together."

Skywarp turned to face Starscream with a knowing smirk, "But we have to do something first."

The red mech looked at him, "What?"

"We need our own comlink system."

Starscream didn't like the look Skywarp was giving him. "And just how are we going to get that, you glitch mouse?"

"Easy!" He grinned at Thundercracker and Starscream. "Since you're the smart one, you're going to make them for us!"

--