Chapter 2
A/N: I sadly don't own anything other than my OCs.
Thunderwing walked around the warehouse, as they got everything ready. "Sire! Sire! Sire!" a young white mech, with gray, and blue stripes said rushing in.
"Hey Bluestreak," Thunderwing said giving his sixteen year-old son a hug. "I need to talk to you about something."
-.-
"I don't even know this woman," Bluestreak said.
"You've met her before," Thunderwing said.
"Yea, but she doesn't even have a holo-tv," he complained. "Why can't I stay with Shade?"
"She going on this trip too," Thunderwing replied.
"What about Ratchet?"
"He's doing his residency," Thunderwing said.
"Where you going anyways?" Bluestreak asked.
"Believe me, I wouldn't be going if it wasn't impaortant," he sighed.
"You can't just dump me when opportunity knocks," Bluestreak said.
Thunderwing sighed. "That hurt, Titiania tell you to say that?"
"Can't I come with you? I could help you research, like I did in Tyger Pax," Bluestreak pleaded.
"Blue, this is nothing like Tyger Pax," Thunderwing said.
"Thunderwing downstairs."
"I'm sorry Blue," Thunderwing said as he began down the stairs. "You want some good creator advice? Don't listen to me."
Thunderwing stood next to a black mech as a cage was being lifted. "Blackout what is that?" Thunderwing asked.
"It's the high hide, takes the researchers up into the trees, keeping them outta harm's way," Blackout answered.
"Actually, that puts them at a very convenient biting height," Thunderwing said remembering the t-rex.
Bluestreak walked around exploring all the tech, going to a trailer he walked into it. "This is awesome," he said as he looked at a map.
-.-
Thunderwing sat on the boat, wondering if he should just transform into his alt mode and fly to the island. It definitely would be faster than the boat.
Blackout opened a case with a gun in it. "Tranquilizer gun, there's enough sedative in one dart to knock out ten mechs," he said to Thunderwing.
"Sure it's enough?" Thunderwing asked looking skeptical.
"I mixed it with cyber-cone snail venom, fastest neural net toxin on Cybertron, the animal is paralyzed before it even feels the prick of the dart," the black mech said.
Icefire walked over as she argued with a mech in some other Cybertronian language. "He said he wants to drop us off on the shore, he refuses to go any further up the river. Heard to many stories about this island chain, and once he drops us off he's going to anchor somewhere off shore."
"Why?" Thunderwing asked.
She turned and asked him. "He said that there was a fisherman, who came fishing near here, never returned." The mech said a few more things. "He said he has a long distance comm and the radio. Send the call, he'll be here in two hours," Icefire translated. "He says he won't stay anywhere near these islands, in fact they call these islands…" she stopped before asking again looking a bit surprised and worried.
"What?" Firestrom asked as he petted Skylinx's helm.
"The five deaths," she said. The others glanced at each other worriedly at the answer.
-.-
They fallowed the signal towards Shade's location, mildly arguing as Thunderwing was doubting the equipment. Getting to a clearing he spots Shade's supply pack and runs towards it. "SHADE!" he calls out. Skylinx trots up and sniffs the pack before he starts running around.
"SHADE?!" Icefire and Firestrom call out.
"SHADE?" Thunderwing shouted again.
"DR. SHADE!" Firestorm shouted a little specifically.
"How many Shade's do you think are on this island?" Thunderwing asked the red and yellow teenager. "SHADE!"
They all stopped yelling when the thundering sound of predacon feet came from the bushes nearby. Readying their blasters they moved towards it. To their amazement a herd of stegosaurus walked past them. Icefire and Firestrom were happily collecting video and pictures.
"Wow," Blackout said summing up what everyone was thinking.
"Yea it always starts with 'wows' and 'amazings', but then there's screaming and running," Thunderwing grumbled.
"Don't remind us," Firestrom said hopping up on some of the falled trees for a better angle.
Shade stood a few feet away from him, not that he noticed. Skylinx had found her a few minutes ago, and he was happily curled up around her peds. Looking back she saw Firestorm eagerly taking pictures. "HEY FIRESTORM!" she shouted causing the youngling to fall back startled.
"Guess you got the drop on us," Firestorm said in between laughs.
"No kidding," she said as she climbed up onto the fallen tree. Looking at the group she spotted Thunderwing. "Wow, Thunderwing I never thought that Quintus would've talked you into coming. Hey Blackout!"
"Hey Shade," he said to the dark blue and black femme.
"You got any energon?" she asked splasing in the stream. "Skylinx ate mine."
"Sorry."
"That's ok, that group you just saw was a family group. An adult pair, and several sub-adults. I found trampled egg clusters, after they hatched which show that they stay in the birthing area for some time, I just haven't been able to get a shot of the nest," Shade said looking ecstatic. "Hey can I borrow that camera?" she asked Firestorm.
"Yea," he said.
"I'll be back in a sec," she said as she walked off.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were invited on this mission?" Thunderwing asked.
"Cause I knew that you would've stopped me from coming," she answered.
"You're right," he said, "I would've tied you to the berth!"
"Aren't you curious how the animals are surviving without lysine?" she asked ignoring him.
"No," he said.
"Turns out the herbivors are eating plants that are lysine rich, and the carnivors eat the herbivors…" she began when the sound of a predacon that was not Skylinx caught her attention. "Wait, wait…shhh…stay there I'll be right back," she said as she ran towards the sound, much to her Sparkmate's objection. "Stay there," she ordered as she approached the herd that just passed. Getting down into an army crawl she managed to get close to one of the sparklings. Taking a few photos, she reached out and gently touched it.
In the meantime Thunderwing was torn between swooping in and dragging Shade out of there, and banging his helm on one of the trees. "She's too close." When he saw her start petting it he was seriously about to slam his helm against the tree. "She just had to touch it, she can't not touch it!"
"Is this even possible?" Blackout asked, and Thunderwing looked like he wanted to smack him.
"What did you think you were gonna document?" he asked.
"Animals…big cyber-iguanas," the black mech answered.
The camera began to make the sounds of it malfunctioning, stressing the sparkling, and alerting the adults. Shade began to move away as the adults approached her, one swung its tail, and she ducked.
"Shoot it!" Thunderwing growled at Blackout.
"They're just protecting their sparkling," he reasoned.
"And I'm trying to protect my Sparkmate!" Thunderwing growled as he struggled against Blackout and Firestorm, the latter who was considering getting Skylinx to sit on the dark blue and green seeker.
Hiding in a hallow log, Shade barely avoided getting skewered.
"They're leaving," Icefire said, and they all began to go to Shade.
-.-
"These are some of the best shots ever, most photographers don't get shots half this good. If I enter these in a competition I'm sure to win," Firestorm smirked, as he, his sister, and Blackout walked ahead of the bikering couple.
"Predacons can smell scents from miles away, so we need to observe and document; not interact," Shade said.
"Well that's an impossibility, due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, as you study it, it will also change," Thunderwing argued.
"That's a chance I'll take," Shade snapped. "I'm sick of scratching around in rock and bone, and I'm trying to determine the habits of animals that've been dead for millennia, so of course I'm taking the opportunity to study them while they're alive."
"Do you not remember what happened what happened last time we were here?" Thunderwing asked.
"I've worked with predators since I was eighteen; cyber-lions, cyber-wolves, you," she stated. "Predacons were categorized as vicious creatures that didn't care for each other. Sonicblast said that the t-rex was a rouge that abandoned its young at the earliest opportunity, I think I can prove that wrong."
"Fire!" Blackout called.
"Which fire? Icefire? Firestorm? Actual fire?" Thunderwing called confused.
"Actual fire!" Blackout yelled.
They ran to the camp to see Icefire putting out the small campfire. "Who started this?" she asked.
At that moment Bluestreak walked out of the trailer. "I was going to make dinner, wanted it ready by the time you all got back," he shrugged.
-.-
"You basically told me to come with," Bluestreak said, as his sire was frustratingly smacking his comm.
"W-what?" Thunderwing said looking shocked.
"You said 'don't listen to me' and that's what I did," he said.
"Blackout why isn't my comm working?" Thunderwing asked.
"In this remote of an area you have to wait for a good signal," Blackout said.
"I'm taking him outta here, if anyone wants to come with," Thunderwing said as he dragged Bluestreak into the trailer.
"Don't be mad," Shade said coming in after them. "He takes after you."
"If you wanted to rescue me, why didn't you rescue me from that fundraiser I had to go to last week, or dinner with your parents?" Shade said. "I could make a career on waiting for you."
"She's got a good point," Bluestreak said.
"Thunderwing, I love that you came to save me, but you need to learn that I can handle myself. I handled myself against the raptors didn't I?" she said. Getting no response from him her tone turned brisk and business-like. "I know what I'm doing, and you two are welcome to go, but I'm staying."
"I'm staying too!" Bluestreak said. "Why do I have to leave when there's a femme my age and a younger mech staying here?"
"I love you Thunderwing, but I can, and will handle myself," she said. "I'll be back in five or six days."
"You'll come back in five or six pieces!" Thunderwing argued.
"You know, there's a big difference between you and me, it's that I'm not afraid of this place and you are," she said.
"For good reason, I was smacked into a building by a t-rex!" he started.
"And I was chased through the maintenance shed, and main complex, by velociraptors and then the t-rex!" she fired back.
"What's that sound?" Bluestreak asked.
Looking out the window they see a large fleet of hovercrafts flying to the island.