A/N: One more to go.
The line of Autobots ground to a halt in a low-lying valley out of sight of everyone except the pesky Seekers. But there weren't any seekers chasing them so it seemed like a safe place to catch their breaths and gather their wits before heading back to the Ark.
Prowl took a quick headcount and paused. "Anybody see Tracks?"
"He was right behind me," Brawn offered. "But I don't see him now and I don't know when he stopped following me."
Prowl nodded. "Jazz, take Bumblebee and Hound and look for him."
Jazz nodded and waved for the yellow minibot and green jeep to follow him.
They drove back out of the valley and paused. "Can you pick up his trail, Hound?" Jazz asked the tracker quietly.
"Sure," Hound replied, his voice low and edged with concern. "Follow me." With all his sensors on high, Hound backtracked along their route for several miles without success.
Bumblebee, who had been watching the skies, suddenly stopped as a shadow passed overhead, obscuring the stars.
"Seekers," he whispered. His analysis was confirmed as the low rumble from the distant jet's engines reached their audios.
Jazz pulled up next to Bumblebee and hunkered low on his wheels, "I see him. Hound? Are you finding anything?"
Hound continued up the path the Autobots had taken previously for a few more minutes and then stopped abruptly.
"I've found something. There's energon on the ground here. It's pretty fresh, maybe an hour old."
He transformed and bent low to look at the rocky ground. He continued on up the path a ways and stopped again. He picked up a piece of metal and examined it, turning it over in his hands. There was a lot of energon on it. He sniffed it and frowned.
"Definitely Tracks," he said as he rejoined the other two 'Bots. He handed the metal to Jazz and went back to the where the energon trail left the path. He found the direction easily and, keeping low to the ground, quietly followed it.
Jazz and Bumblebee were close behind, keeping a wary optic out for the return of the seeker they'd seen. It was very dark there but they were keeping to the shadows as best they could when the seeker returned. He circled low and then disappeared behind a ridge of rock.
Hound stopped and waited for the other two to catch up. "He's close, I can smell him but there's too many other scents, too many mechs came through here after he did. I'll look some more, though."
He turned to leave when Bumblebee caught his arm. "Wait, look." He pointed towards the ridge just as the unknown seeker dropped to a landing a short distance away.
They could just make out his blue armor. "Thundercracker," Jazz said even as the seeker started muttering in his distinctive voice.
"Stupid, slaggin' Soundwave, can't find some little Autobrat…" He was quiet a moment and then started again. "Fraggin' dark, never know what's creepin' around out here…"
"How close is Tracks?" Jazz asked in a whisper.
"Really close, I think. He's lost a lot of fuel so he couldn't have gotten far anyway, but…" He stopped talking and held up a hand. Listening intently, he glared at Thundercracker. "Shut up," he mouthed silently at the cranky seeker. He turned his head back and forth still listening for a repeat of the soft sound that had caught his attention. He pointed at a rock wall in the deep shadows. Several big trees hung over it and it curved slightly down, making a shallow cave. "There," he whispered pointing.
Jazz nodded. "We need a distraction. Get Thundercracker looking in the other direction so I can get to Tracks."
Bumblebee grinned. "Remember that story Blue told?"
Hound grinned back. "Sure do." He turned his body so that his holoprojector on his shoulder was pointing away from Tracks' hiding place and activated it.
A blob of light appeared among the trees in front of Thundercracker. It seemed to coalesce into a translucent image of a seeker. Thundercracker's muttering stopped as he saw it. The 'Bots could see his optics brighten in shock.
The image became more solid, revealing a red and silver, slightly transparent mech holding his head in his arms. The head opened its mouth and a gruesome moan echoed around in the rocks.
Jazz smirked at the sight and at Bumblebee for producing such a creepy noise from his vocalizer, but as soon as Thundercracker's optics were turned toward the ghost Jazz was off, moving silently to Tracks' hiding place.
He found the damaged mech easily. He was hardly hidden at all, just pressed into the shadows and covered in mud. Jazz grinned reassuringly at the barely conscious mech and slung Tracks over his shoulders in a fireman's carry and headed for the path out of the area rather than back to Hound and Bumblebee.
Hound heard Jazz escape and nodded at Bumblebee. "A couple more of those groans should keep him busy. The image will last until we're out of here."
Bumblebee obliged with another set of moans and then they took off, scrambling over the rocks as quietly as they could before joining Jazz. Hound transformed and Jazz placed Tracks inside the jeep's cab as best he could.
Before taking off, Hound said, "One last thing."
Jazz and Bumblebee looked back at the headless seeker and guffawed as the ghost raised his head over his shoulders and threw it at Thundercracker. Thundercracker's high pitched screech echoed in the rocks and he took off into the air, vanishing into the night.