Seal Off, Groundblazer belong to KeepingThemAtBay

Deadguy and Cannonfodder are real characters apart of the Transformer Movie comics.

A/N: Sorry for such a gap in the updating. I've been busy with youth programs, a new summer job, yard work, and 4th of July stuff. Along with re-writing 5 chapters of Least Expected so that it flows much smother. That will be updated in the oncoming weeks.

Also this chapter could have been split, but I want to get through this prologue so we can reach the real story and struggle. And you guys just get more words to digest. Thanks for sticking along for the ride.

KTABay

Chapter II: Thunderclouds

She didn't remember much. The battle went all to quickly for her processor to render. There was pain… light… and vermillion optics. It was confusing and so loud, she remembered. Then, then she was flying.

…

The black and white Second-in-command stood ramrod straight with blunted clawed servos clasped behind his back. Prowl studied the primitive monitors in front of him, checking in their statistics into his battle computer when needed. Smokescreen and Bluestreak were monitoring the terminals and going over the data this shift in the control room. And Prowl still refused to take a break when they insisted, he always was the workaholic.

A lean, purple mech named Deadguy and the sturdy and built up Cannonfodder walked through the sliding doors of the command post. They stopped behind the SIC at an appropriate distance, waiting to be addressed. Prowl's doorwings flinched briefly at their presence and he glanced at them from the corner of his optic.

"Deadguy, Cannonfodder, do you have something to report?" asked Prowl in his ever cool toned voice.

Cannonfodder stood back as Deadguy stood straighter when he addressed their commander. "Yes, Prowl. We are receiving a distress signal from the Southern Grid. Transport HC-23."

Prowl turned to face them, a calculating look in his deep blue optics. "Has Seal Off's team checked in from the Simfur expedition yet?"

"No sir," Cannonfodder answered. "They have not checked in and the hovercraft's identification match up."

The black and white mech turned to Smokescreen, and the mech looked up when he sensed the SiC's optics on him. "Smokescreen, you will take Deadguy and Cannonfodder along with Topspin to Seal Off's last coordinates," he turned to face the two Autobot soldiers. "I believe that our comrades have been attacked."

…

Seal Off coughed loudly as he tried to clear his vents from the dust that had collected in them. Warnings popped in front of his vision but he brushed them aside with a mental hand, knowing the damage was already great. His audios still rang with the sound of gunfire, and he felt numb all over. Which was not a good sign medically.

Flickering icy blue optics surveyed the damage to his frame. His entire right leg was torn off and it was sparking and occasionally leaking energon through a ripped line. His had crushed chest plates and his helm felt like it been snapped to the side, repeatedly, which resulted in his vision out of focus to far away objects.

Other damage to his frame was calling a look over, but he didn't want to see the sickening sights anymore. He'd never been this damaged before in ages. Seal Off lay back with exhaustion overtaking his frame and shaking vents to try to cool his core.

Seal Off knew the Decepticon that attacked them; his name was Thundercracker. Unwillingly, a replay of the battle began in his processor and the battle overtook his inner thoughts. Thundercracker took down Groundblazer in seconds after he had finished his jibe, but the young mech got up with a heavy limp in his movements. Ativii and Ricochet attacked next, their flawless grace was like liquid amidst the flashing lights from cannon fire. Then the twins came rushing in, but Skids and Mudflap tripped and they rolled across the All Spark room to crash into Thundercracker's pedes. Their clumsiness -surprisingly- saved Ativii from a point-blank shot to the head. Seal Off smiled mentally at their bravery and courage, even when caught by surprise, his team had fought on.

Then, as soon as he thought they had the battle under control. Thundercracker called in his drones, the Dreadwings. The large, flight capable, and heavily armored single optic drones quickly took out all of them. They were faster than the partly sentiment drones the Autobots had, and it puzzled Seal Off because he thought they were real bots until his scanners told him otherwise. Then his thoughts returned to the memory; with bending metal, flashing pain, and cries of fear, Seal Off watched his team be knocked out and picked off one by one. There was a crushing fear at the sight of how easily they had gone down, and it came back to him full force.

A Dreadwing swooped Skids and Mudflap into the sky, their cannons doing little against the thick drone's armor. Ativii took a swipe to the back of the helm, immediately putting her into stasis. Thundercracker picked her up with a crushing grip, and he raked his claws against an advancing Ricochet who charged at the seeker from behind. A drone then grabbed him by the neck and snapped his knee bolts with a swift kick. Ricochet's squealed and he was on the ground in withering pain. The Dreadwings beat him around until Thundercracker ordered the drones to pick up his injured frame. He was then flown into the sky with dangling broken legs and fearful flickering optics. Ricochet never had feared for his life so greatly.

Seal Off could not remember what happened to Groundblazer after that. The captain cursed their luck and he tried to find a solution in his slowing processors. But he couldn't see one. Now the Autobots would be stuck in Tyger Pax for who knows long. Being trapped underground on the outskirts of the destroyed city was risky as it is, and they needed to leave to find Optimus and provided back up and regroup.

His optics became focussed on his surroundings for once. He felt a piercing piece of metal was dig into his shoulder-blade from the bronze ring he was against. Two of the three doors to the room were caved in and shafts of deep blue light painted the floor from the Energon Nebula, creating a depressing landscape. Cables sparked from the ceiling and walls, sending showers of yellow sparks dancing across the floor and flashes of light. Dust and smoke from cannon fire hovered near the floor and the particles send his damaged sensors off the charts.

Then in the quiet silence, there was crashing in front of him and the gray mech tensed up. And his chest protested at the movement. He tried to say something, to warn the intruder away, but his vocalizer only admitted soft sparks and garbled words.

Suddenly, there was a cracked blue visor in front of him and the captain breathed a sigh of relief. Black and silver armor melted away from the shadows and the blue nebula's light gleamed against the lacerated armor. Groundblazer collapsed on his knee in front of the broken Captain, and painful wheezes rushed through his vents. Seal Off cringed at the sound of broken vents, if they clogged up now, Groundblazer would be in big trouble.

"Go-good. Yo-you're alive," Groundblazer wheezed out. He fell forward, but caught himself with a servo with missing fingers. Groundblazer's engine coughed and choked violently. The mech started to hack and red energon splattered across the floor.

"So…are…you…" Seal Off managed to say. He shuttered his optics painfully and held his intakes as a wave of processor numbing pain washed over his frame. When it passed he let go a stuttering intake and started to shut off sensory intakes to help with the processor ache.

Groundblazer straightened so he was off his hands, but still on his knee bolts. He wiped away excess energon from his mouth with a sparking left wrist and spoke with a raspy voice. "I've con-contacted the Autobots through our-our trans…ports beacon system. They sh-sh-should be here shortly."

"Hope…so…," whispered Seal Off and he off-lined his optics. Hopefully the cut off visual sensory will help with the pain, he thought.

"No!" cracked Groundblazer's voice. "You have to stay with me Captain, keep your optics open!" The black mech jumped forward to shake Seal Off's frame, but he stopped from doing that when he saw the real damage to the chest plates.

They were completely caved in, and it looked like a giant fist had bashed them in and hot steam was rising from the vents due to a leak in the hot core. Blue energon clumped together and slowly slid down the metal plates like sludge from wounds beneath his collar struts. The slow leaking wounds meant his energon pump was damaged and could not move the fluids through his frame continuously.

He was no medic, but he knew the damage was bad.

"I have to get you a stimulator," cursed Groundblazer. He jumped to his pedes and ignored the lightning like pain that flashed up his leg struts. "Don't off-line on me now Sealy."

Groundblazer hobbled through the wreckage of the All Spark room, looking for the red fuel cell he had found earlier. Luckily it wasn't to far away and the soldier rolled it over to gain access to the port values on in. Groundblazer rummaged through his subspace pockets – that thankfully hadn't shut down due to emergency energy-saving – and pulled out a syringe that he had in there.

"It's not clean, but it'll do," he muttered. He then plunged the needle into the export value and drew the thick and highly concentrated energy fuel from the cell. Red glowing fuel glowed brightly in the syringe and then he hobbled over to Seal Off.

"This may hurt a bit, but it'll keep you alive," he told Seal Off. He then plunged the needle into the captain's jugular line. The gray mech tensed and his gears whined with pain, but Groundblazer sighed in relief when his wounds began to leak easier. His fuel pump was back online!

Seal Off's optics flashed online and he looked at Groundblazer with stimulated energy. The black mech read the message in his captain's face and he answered for him. "The fuel from the fuel cell will keep your processor online and help stimulate your nannites for repairing ruptured lines. Your fuel pump was off-line and I had to jumpstart it or you would have died from lack of energon flow. It isn't much, and could be highly dangerous but it'll keep you online for a bit longer. At least until help arrives."

Seal Off nodded slowly and his frame relaxed. Groundblazer huffed and lay back with the captain against the bronze ring. Seeing that they had nothing to do but wait, he then began to talk to Seal Off about anything besides their predicament. He talked about a femme he once tried to court and why he joined the Autobots, anything to help ease the time and keep both of them awake until help arrived.

…

Smokescreen piloted the craft through the wreckage of Simfur. The bright spotlights at the front of the search and rescue craft cut through the darkness like white swords. Topspin stood at the stern of the open-topped aircraft, his weapons out and the safety off. Deadguy who was on the deck, quickly rummaged through the medic case he was given, checking supplies for the fourth time already. And Cannonfodder watched the sky with careful optics, looking for a Decepticon ambush.

Topspin pointed out the temple when it came into view, and Smokescreen quickly plotted a path through the destruction with Topspin's notes sent via comm link. "Turning to starboard!" called out Smokescreen so he could swerve around an obstacle. The craft swooped right and the occupants held on as the deck tilted with the thrust. He then pulled back on the rudder and the craft slowed down once they hit a clearing in front of the temple.

Cannonfodder and Topspin vaulted over the railing and they quickly took up positions near the gangplank. Deadguy pieced together his kit and Smokescreen waited for him before they disembarked and then Autobots moved towards the doors of the temple.

Topspin entered first with his headlights blazing. They quickly moved through the temple and had to work their way around a few spots to get towards the central room. The halls were far more debris filled now then they were when Seal Off's teams passed through. Deadguy and Cannonfodder kept sharing looks with each other as the wound through the corridors; the damage to the once sacred place was immense. Hopefully they would find anyone alive in the wreckage.

"Did you hear that?" asked Cannonfodder. He could hear the sound of a raspy voiced mech talking sluggishly echo against the halls. It seemed close, but just out of reach.

"It's coming from this way!" Deadguy yelled and then he dashed down a corridor that lead directly into the center room of the temple. "Seal Off! Groundblazer!"

Smokescreen ran after him with Topspin and Cannonfodder at his heels. They had to quickly duck under a fallen beam the smaller Autobot slid under and skidded on their feet to miss a shower of hot sparks and molten steel in the doorway. Smokescreen's spark clenched at the sight of the room and their injured comrades. Deadguy was already by Groundblazer, trying to get him to look at him.

"Groundblazer, can you hear me?" he asked the delirious mech. He shined a flashlight into the mech's visor, trying to get a response out of him.

"Deadguy, ain't I glad to see you," he smiled softly, cracked blue visor dim.

Deadguy vented and he quickly began to do some basic field repairs. "You've lost a lot of energon. I'm no medic, but the damage's deep. When did Seal Off go offline?" he asked quietly.

"Seal Off isn't offline, Deadguy. He's awake," said Smokescreen. Seal Off on-lined his optics to see who the voices belonged too and he slowly nodded towards the commander of the rescue mission. Smokescreen knelt to the captain and ran a quick scan over his frame. "Groundblazer, what's this substance in his lines? It's a highly concentrated dose of some kind of fuel."

Topspin walked by with a large black and red glowing fuel cell in his servos. Smokescreen looked at it and he connected the dots. "You used the fuel cell as a stimulator? Smart, it probably is what is keeping you online Seal Off. Let's get them back to the transport."

Topspin and Cannonfodder carried Seal Off while Deadguy and Smokescreen moved Groundblazer back to the transport. It was a hassle, but they eventually moved the injured bots through the wreckage. The basic purple field medic swiftly started to do field repairs on Seal Off after he had finished Groundblazer on the transport, and the young bot chattered away, trying to keep the captain awake. Smokescreen was getting ready a video transmission to Prowl and he needed one mech from the attack at least functional so they could get answers. That's why Groundblazer was patched up first.

"Smokescreen to base, do you copy?" he asked the transmission. Static met his reply but it soon cleared up to show Prowl with Bluestreak and Jolt at his flanks.

"Prowl here. We read you rescue team."

Groundblazer hobbled up to Smokescreen with a makeshift crutch under his arm. "This is Smokescreen from the Simfur rescue team, we have successfully found Captain Seal Off and Groundblazer from the recon team. Ricochet, Skids, Mudflap, and Ativii are still missing." He finished with a note of sadness to his voice.

Smokescreen watched the dreaded realization spark through all of their optics, especially Jolt's.

"Any evidence that connects to their disappearance?" asked Prowl.

"I have Groundblazer here, he will explain what happened," Smokescreen stepped to the side for the black mech.

Groundblazer processor started to spin, so he decided to get right to the point "Thundercracker intervened in the mission. He attacked us and we thought we had it in the bag. Until his drones showed up and took the missing mechs and femme captive."

"What was their status when taken captive?" asked Prowl. Decepticons were known to remove dead Autobots off the battle field for dishonorable reasons. Reasons like target practice or vile medical experiments or for spare parts.

"Yes. They were all taken alive, but heavily injured," said Groundblazer gravely. The mechs on his transport listened with dread eating at their sparks. "He could have slaughtered them, but that Decepticon chose not to. I can think of a few reasons why. But the mission always comes first. We were able to successfully obtain a large enough fuel cell to power the Xanthium." He finished his report, and a sudden wave a nausea overcame him. Groundblazer clutched his helm. He suddenly felt very faint and the injured mech tipped over.

"Groundblazer!"

The mech's systems plummeted into emergency stasis and Smokescreen laid him on the deck. Prowl over the videoconference looked slightly startled but then he reined in his fright and asked Jolt to do a run down.

"Smokescreen, get him laid out and get a stimulator in him. By the looks of it his intakes are failing and his spark rate's reaching a dangerous parameter,"

"Yeah! I can see that!" Smokescreen started to pry open Groundblazer's chest plates to get to his internal workings so that Deadguy could get to them. They needed a jump-start, and now!

"Med bay will be ready when you get here! Keep their spark rates up, I'll be in touch via comm link!"

Then the transmission link was cut.

"Cannonfodder get us to base NOW! Deadguy, I need your help here!" ordered Smokescreen.

The purple Autobot jumped over and began to work furiously on Groundblazer's chest to try and unclog a intake his scans were indicating. Topspin was keeping tabs on Seal Off while the field medic worked furiously to free the passageway. Cannonfodder pushed the throttle forward and the wind started to whip against their frames painfully.

"I don't understand!" shouted Deadguy. The intake was cleared, but Groundblazer was still declining. "He was fine minutes ago!"

"Well he isn't now. Do what Jolt's telling you, but keep him alive!"

Deadguy started to feel the panic settle in. He might not be able to keep these guys online until they reached base. Then a whole team of Autobots would be wiped out in one orbital cycle. And part of it could be because of him.

His spark clenched at the thought of having a comrade die at his servos.

The med bay was oddly quiet. It was a drastic change to what it had been just hours before. Not even the ceiling fans that constantly hummed could chase away the crushing silence and grief.

Jolt's black digits tapped at the medical berth in front of him. The cold, movable table-bed was still slick with drying energon from a dead comrade. A dead comrade. Jolt's digits stilled and he stared at the berth with dim optics and a tight spark. A dead comrade. His digits tightened into a fist and a low angry growl came from his engine.

Dead comrades. Dead friends. And he could do… nothing.

"There wasn't much you could have done, Jolt," said a voice behind him. It was quiet and calm, a voice that was trying to reassure him.

"There is always something I could have done, First-Aid."

First-Aid walked closer until he was standing in front of Jolt from across the berth. The red and white medic looked tired and defeated; due to the long hours they just pulled trying to save their comrades but had ended in failure. His visor had yet to be cleaned from the dust that had settled on it and his face guard was still splotched like the rest of his armor. First-Aid sat down the welder he was holding and placed his servos on the berth.

"Yes, there is always something you could have done. But it was their time to go, Jolt. We don't live forever," said the quiet medic.

Jolt's fist tightened more and he shuttered his optics tightly. "And what about Ricochet, or Ativii? Did they deserve to die?" He spit out. His processor cycled faster, thinking about his best friend at the hands of a power craving mech. Thundercracker was an predictable Decepticon that took joy in causing fear in others. Rumors had been flying around that he was building an army for Lord Megatron, or himself. And his processor tortured him with the ideas of what could happen to his dear friend.

"We don't know if they are deadspark Jolt. They could be very much alive, fighting to live another day. Ricochet is a strong mech; he would not leave you behind that easily Jolt. Not his best friend," said First-Aid, staring intently at the blue and black medic. After a few minutes of painful silence, he spoke again. "I know what you are thinking Jolt. You're blaming yourself for the death of Seal Off and Groundblazer and the loss of your friends. It is out of our hands now, and you must prepare to board the Xanthium. Get some recharge, it'll help sooth your circuits."

Jolt slammed his servo into the berth and shot up, anger and hatred crackling through his circuits. "How can I rest when my friends are out there, in danger and at the hands of a mad mech?! How can I just sit idle by as Autobot after Autobot comes in injured and fighting for life when we just sit here?" The cycles of sitting and waiting for injured comrades to walk through the med-bay doors had finally broken his calm and sometimes flamboyant composer. Raw anger and hatred for the Decepticons was fueling his outbreak. He'd lost his best friend from the start of the war to an ambush attack, and lost someone who was becoming very dear to him.

First-Aid's composer also began to crack. His processors strained and bent up emotions threatened to break out. He straightened and his visor flashed. "This is our position! We are medics, Jolt. We help those in need and don't rush out into danger and try to get ourselves off-lined! We keep those who risk their lives daily, on-line! We do not need to do no more. This is what we are made to do. Optimus and Ratchet would want us to stay here and help."

Jolt leaned towards the senior medic, his bright blue optics cracked with electricity, hurt, and fury. "But they aren't here, are they First-Aid? Our leaders have abandoned us! You see it in Prowl's optics; you see it in the Wrecker's and Sideswipe's. You see it in everyone's. We haven't heard any morsel of news or information from Optimus and his team in years! It's a lost cause, this war. But we need to keep fighting on. It's time that we go out into space and search for the All Spark ourselves. At least then we are doing something," Jolt vented and tried to rein in his anger. The blue medic calmed down somewhat and he turned away from First-Aid and continued in a much quieter voice. "Ativii once told me something. A concept I have taken much to spark. She said, 'You do what's right to survive, if it's for your survival or others. And sometimes that means taking matters into your own servos.' Her field reports show this, and she is very good at understanding the concept."

"You speak of her very highly Jolt," First-Aid noticed. All hints of anger slowly disappearing and the rant had helped him calm down. "You have feelings for her don't you?"

Jolt stared at the wall quietly. The panels sticking from his back shifted downward as his spark spun in his chest. He'd only recently gained feelings for the teal green femme, but he denied the feelings in his spark, at least, until he learned of her capture by the wretched Thundercracker.

First-Aid watched the young medic in front of him. And he reflected on Jolt's life, or at least what he has told him. Jolt was young when Ricochet and he joined the Autobots. They were simple soldiers, ground force attackers and back up units. Then Ratchet saw the chance to recruit the blue mech to train to be a medic, since he had the skills and a unique electric ability that could help greatly in the medic field and the number of medics in the force was small. Jolt's past before the war was dim to First-Aid, but he knew the mech in front of him had almost polar like personalities: serious and quiet at one point, and then looking for trouble and jumping before thinking the next.

The red and white medic began to worry for his fellow medic. Loosing those closest to you was always a heavy blow, and Jolt may be suffering from the truth that his support in life was truly gone. And that could change a mech for good.

"What are you going to do now then?" asked First-Aid. He picked up the welder and on the berth and walked around it to stand by Jolt.

Even though Jolt didn't have lip plates like most mechs, First-Aid could see the smile behind the face guard. "This is what I'm going to do," he flicked his wrists and a metal prong slid out of each wrist joint. The prongs sparked with blue lightning and First-Aid took a step back from the thick currents circling the whips and prongs. He didn't want to be come a conductor for the volts to pass through.

"When did you learn to do that?" asked First-Aid as he studied the new addition with a bright visor.

Jolt shrugged. "I've been working on it for a while. It's time I take matters into my own servos and do what's right."

"And you'll be doing that how?" asked First-Aid, curious about his answer.

"I'm going on the Xanthium as an electric specialists and combat medic. And I'm going to fight on the front lines and help those who need me on the spot," he said confidently.

"And I wouldn't expect anything less from you Jolt," smiled First-Aid. "As crazy as it sounds, I will support you. Go and avenge your friends."

[07-07-13] KTABay:Everyone does not to stay the same personality all the time. We sometimes crack. That is why Jolt and First-Aid got into their argument. And I felt that it was appropriate for the medics to rant about their feelings about the war at this time. Place yourself in their position. The Autobots haven't heard anything from Optimus, and the All Spark could already be obtained by Meagtron, for all they know. I know I would feel abandoned and alone to fight on until another day. I would feel like it would be time to take action and move. So that's why I wrote about that, and I haven't seen any fanfictions write about this possibility of loneliness.

Also, Jolt and Ricochet's history will be explained later. It'll also explain why Jolt has 'bi-polar' personalities and electric abilities.

Thanks for jumping of express 'Rising Spark' because it's going to be a wild ride. :D

NEXT CHAPTER:Prowl makes his statement that all Autobots must head to the stars in search for Optimus or the All Spark. Cybertron is no longer supportive, and they must leave their war torn homeland in search for something better or their enemies. Thundercracker also begins to lay his sinister plan to alter a Cybertronians body through surgical enhancements to make them the super hero he has always dreamed off...

Much love, KTABay.