Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro

Units of Measure: 1 vorn = 83 stellar cycles; 1 stellar cycle = 1 year

Never Again

He might be prone to occasional fits of paranoia, but no one could ever say that Red Alert was unobservant. While the strange mech with the familiar face spoke, the security officer was taking in all the information he could in just a few seconds.

The mech was a fighter; the scarring and dents to his plating stood as testament to that fact. He was not angry, but stressed and worried; Red recognized the signs having seen them more than once in his bondmate. And as the final note that spurred the white Lamborghini's next actions, the mech threatening them had the same haunted, empty look in his optics that Cliffjumper had sported up until they'd arrived wherever-the-pit they were now.

"Calm down, please," Red Alert said, tone even and non-threatening as he ignored the stunned look Prowl turned towards him. "We're friends of Cliffjumper's, and we were just with him a moment ago."

The Sideswipe doppelganger continued glaring at them but dropped the rifle so that the barrel was pointed towards the ground instead. "That doesn't exactly answer my questions, wise-aft," he groused. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, and only 'cuz you're sporting red Autobrands. But if I think you're fragging with me—"

The threat was cut off by a soft pulse of displaced air, and all three mechs turned to look towards the source. Both Prowl and Red Alert were a bit put off by Skywarp's arrival, if only because the seeker they knew of appeared in a rapid flash of light and disappeared the same way; this version sported silver plating in place of purple and seemed to melt into view from the shadows. Pale blue optics focused on the Autobots for a moment before apparently dismissing them as no threat and turning instead to Sideswipe.

"Lord Galvatron wants you to move your skidplate and get back inside ten seconds ago," the seeker drawled calmly, seeming almost bored with playing messenger bot. "Also, Starscream says you're welcome and Shockwave says please don't hit me in the face."

"You get weirder every time you open your mouth," the green Lamborghini replied, both annoyed and confused by Skywarp's delivery.

"Don't slag the messenger, I'm just doing what they ask of me," the jet said with a shrug before stepping forward to rest one hand on Sideswipe and the other on a wary Prowl. "Grab your mech there and we can shift."

Shift, it seemed, was a more appropriate word than teleport in this case. No sooner had the Datsun wrapped an arm around his mate's waist than the landscape around them start to fade out, the interior of a room simultaneously fading into sight. It was more than a little unnerving, and made Prowl absently wonder if the process happened just a little faster for his world's Skywarp.

As bizarre as the experience was, he had time to take note of the fact that they were arriving in what seemed to be Darkmount's command center, that he could pick Galvatron and Starscream out almost immediately even if they had different colour schemes than the versions he was familiar with — ignoring the fact that his world's Starscream was still presumed to be deactivated, of course — and that apparently his missing companion had either found a door really fast or bumped into Skywarp when he had gotten separated from them.

Apparently Prowl wasn't the only one who took note of Cliffjumper's presence. The instant that they had finished shifting into the room, Sideswipe knocked Skywarp's hand aside (prompting a sarcastic thank you, Skywarp, you're welcome, Sideswipe from the annoyed seeker) and started across the room towards him. The minibot met him about halfway, and if there had been any remaining doubts in the policemechs' minds regarding the connection between the odd pair they were instantly laid to rest.

They could both remember holding onto one another that exact same way, unwilling to let go, when they'd been reunited after Prowl's brush with deactivation. Right now, there was no power on Cybertron or any other world that could possibly separate them.

When that fact became clear to the others in the control room — mostly because Sideswipe and Cliffjumper quickly moved on from a locked embrace to a fairly long lip lock as well — a thin, unfamiliar grey and teal mech turned to look at Starscream. Red Alert took note that the mech had a black faceplate with a single sky blue optic set in the center and no other discernible facial features.

"Does that mean no hitting?" he asked the seeker, the voice oddly familiar.

Starscream actually snickered. "I think it means Sideswipe will hold off on hitting either of us for being 'stupid, thoughtless brain-bots' for a little while yet, Shockwave. However," he added, turning to face the now stunned Autobots and a vaguely amused Galvatron, "the question now becomes what shall we do about our new guests?"

Epilogue

In the end, the decision was a simple one.

Shockwave — and it was still so weird to see a mech that wasn't bulky and purple bearing that designation — and Starscream's theory regarding the tachyon level in Cliffjumper's energy field being the catalyst to shuttle him unwillingly back to his home dimension had proven to be the correct one, and the scientists had worked with Mixmaster to devise a chemical to wipe out the tachyons. The only downside was that if Cliffjumper ingested the concoction, he could never return to his home universe again.

The minibot had simply looked over at Sideswipe, smiled faintly, and said, "So why are we still talking about this instead of me taking it again?"

Red Alert and Prowl were a different story. They'd spoken for a while with Galvatron and discovered that while Cybertron was on the brink of peace, it was going to be some time yet before they rousted the last of the Autobot splinter cells. And while the scientific division had done thorough research in trying to locate Cliffjumper, the process to open a rift to any dimension was not a simple process; in fact, the only reason it had been successful in the first place was because Shockwave had managed to lock onto an active stellar spanner and hijack it for a few seconds. The chances of it happening again soon were very small.

"So, it could be years before we're able to go back home?" Prowl asked calmly, one hand resting on Red's beneath the table.

"From Starscream's calculations, yes," Galvatron replied apologetically. "He asked me to double-check the numbers, and my conclusion is the same as his. Of course, we won't turn you out during the interim; you're welcome to remain in Darkmount or travel to one of our other bases if you like. You won't be expected to fight—"

"I'm afraid that I'll have to insist," Red Alert interrupted, squeezing his mate's hand in return. "It wouldn't be fair to your Decepticons if we just sat around and did nothing while our friend is an active member of your army."

Prowl added, "Tacticians are always an asset, and no matter how good a security system you already have in place, Red could most likely improve it a thousandfold."

The Decepticon commander protested, of course, but the policemechs were adamant about doing their part. In short order, Prowl and Red Alert were de facto Decepticons, although the only ones not surprised by the decision were the couple themselves and their fellow Autobot.

"You aren't planning anything funny, right?" Sideswipe asked them with narrowed optics, one arm draped protectively and possessively over Cliffjumper's shoulders. The minibot rolled his optics but only leaned into the one-armed embrace.

"No," Prowl replied evenly. "We'll fight for the Decepticon cause until the last enemy falls, and only then will we concern ourselves with the possibility of returning to our world."

"It could be a while," Cliffjumper cautioned, absently running his fingers across the transformation seams on Sideswipe's wrist. "It was five vorns before I came close to returning, even if it only took me a stellar cycle to get back home."

Red Alert smiled slightly, not missing the affirmation that this world was his friend's home now. "Then it takes us a while," he said. He didn't have to add that home to him was wherever Prowl was.

From the faint grin Cliffjumper shot him in return before turning to speak quietly to his bonded, it was obvious that the minibot understood exactly how he felt.

The End

Notes:
1. The opening chapter for this story had actually been in my head for — no lie — nearly two months. I had been thinking of writing it just as a one-shot, short angst fic when the challenge was announced. It seemed almost karmic that I hadn't even scribbled a bit of this out yet, so it became part of the overall story.
2. Once I got partway through the second chapter, I knew that the ending would be a little bittersweet. Cliffjumper was always going to go "home" to Sideswipe, but someone would wind up there with him. I just hadn't decided on the who at that point.
3. Prowl and Red Alert were my second choice to travel with Cliffjumper. My initial thought was Hound and Mirage, but they have Shattered Glass counterparts who are in the canon, and I didn't think that they would even have two seconds to talk before Sideswipe shot the pair of them. Prowl and Red, on the other hand, don't have canon SG counterparts so they could have been seen as completely unfamiliar.
4. As for Shockwave, allow me to confirm: yes, I blatantly borrowed his appearance from Animated and changed his optic colour. He doesn't physically appear in the canon from what I've seen (if I'm wrong on this, please let me know!), and I wanted to change him up entirely. Still scientifically-inclined, still soft-spoken, but really slender rather than big and bulky. I love fucking with the status quo!
5. Skywarp is another non-SG-canon cameo. I decided to play with his ability a bit and slow it down. I... rather think it worked.

And that's all she wrote! I hope you've enjoyed the ride, because I've enjoyed writing this crazy-ass thing.