As promised, a more exciting chapter for you all finally. Enjoy.

Thundercracker didn't know what to expect when he was instructed to venture down to the holding cells and fetch the young femme.

All the other humans had already been gathered for their duties, so the area was decidedly quiet. She was the only human left, and he hazarded a guess that she would likely be making the most of the silence and had gone into stasis, recharging from a long workday the day prior.

But to his surprise, he found that she was in fact wide awake, eyes wide and bright, arms positioned behind her back as she stood near the exit to her cell and watched him approach. Easily able to read her body language, he detected apprehension in her stance.

Pausing before her cell, he smiled warmly down at her in an attempt to ease said apprehension as he placed his palm to the access panel and deactivated the force-field.

Stepping out, she offered him a quick uncertain smile of her own before pausing at his feet. He made no move to offer his palm as Starscream would, so she quickly ascertained that they would be walking to wherever it was they were headed.

Sure enough, the large blue and white seeker gestured for her to follow him.

Falling into step alongside him, she put her hands into her jeans pockets, offering him a sidelong glance before tentatively breaking the silence between them. She was aware by now that he had a milder disposition compared to that of his brothers', so she felt slightly more at ease in his company.

"So... umm, these new duties of mine. What are they exactly?"

"Filing." Thundercracker replied simply, and couldn't help but smile when he glanced down and noted the thoroughly unimpressed expression she graced him with.

"Until your scanner cuff is ready that is." He added as they turned another corner and entered a secondary corridor in unison, "Once it is, you will be assigned permanently to the hall as a mechanic."

Teegan said nothing and simply stared glumly ahead as they continued their slow but steady pace through the winding corridor. Thankfully, their journey so far had been just the two of them, meaning she didn't have to deal with any gawking and passing whispers.

"Don't worry about the filing," Thundercracker reassured her, wrongly interpreting her silence as apprehension, "I will instruct you on what to do."

"It's not that," the young human replied quietly, head still bowed. When she chose not to elaborate, he looked down, studying her in further silence for a moment.

His processor wandered briefly to the discussion he and Starscream had had over their comm links last night. A discussion which had finally shed some light on his brothers' intentions. As well as her absurd proposition to him in the hall the night they had all partied. And as Starscream had suspected, the femme hadn't taken the news that she would be filing all too well.

Thundercracker realized then why she was likely so downcast.

"Starscream just needs to... keep up appearances whilst Megatron is away, that's all." The blue jet informed her, "And he trusts in you to help him do that by filling in for him and taking over one of his important but basic duties."

"Not enough to help him take down Megatron directly though." She replied with a soft sigh, digging her hands further into her pockets and slouching her shoulders as they rounded another corner.

"He's just, as you humans would say, keeping his cards close to his chest."

"Meaning he doesn't trust me, yeah," She reiterated before emitting another sigh, "he is wasting his time. I'm not that great at all this mechanic stuff. I'm mediocre at best. He just won't listen though."

Thundercracker chuckled at this, nodding his great head in agreement.

"Scream isn't the easiest of mechs' to get through to, I know. And besides," he added with a knowing side-long glance down at her, "He clearly sees something worthwhile in you. Whether you believe it or not."

Teegan, evidently, remained unconvinced.

"This whole plan..." he continued, tone lowering and growing much more serious now, "It's extremely dangerous. Especially for a human. You don't know Megatron like I do. Like all us Cybertronians do." He paused before adding, "Why, anyone would think you have a death wish with how adamant you are on helping my brother."

"Maybe I do" She returned briskly, "Maybe I'm tired of feeling completely useless day after day. Like the lives of everyone I lost counted for nothing. Like my brothers' death meant nothing. The least I owe him, owe myself, is to try. To try and do something worthwhile to end all of this. Even if that means dying in the process."

Silence followed this comment, broken only by the mingled pattering of her footsteps and the clanging of his as they thrummed against the metal floor. Finally, he spoke.

"You are stubborn." The blue seeker commented with a soft sigh as though he was already aware of this fact. Lifting a hand to thoughtfully rub his chin, he analysed her briefly with a quirked optic ridge before adding, "No wonder he likes you."

"Huh?"

Thundercracker threw her a knowing smile but said nothing.

She looked at her feet far too quickly when he did, instinct prompting movement before she could think to resist and remain motionless. An awkward bout of silence passed, and she attempted to break it, hoping the rows of lights above them weren't bright enough to pick out the pink blush presently touching her cheeks.

"So, he said I was stubborn?"

The seeker didn't fail to miss the note of indignation in her voice and nodded his large head again in affirmation with a grin.

"He also said you were one of the most reckless and infuriating beings he has come across in many, many orns." He added pointedly, "One that will likely get themselves killed sooner or later."

"Hmph."

Teegan scoffed but still couldn't manage to suppress the tiny smile that found its way onto her lips. Exhaling quietly, she looked down again, studying the motions of her feet as she trudged along.

"I err... never thanked you by the way."

"For what?" Thundercracker replied, staring down at the young human's crown of dark hair for a long, suspended moment of uncertainty.

"For helping me all those months back." She replied quietly, brushing a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, "If it wasn't for you, I likely wouldn't be here right now."

There was another long stretch of silence between them as the Decepticon considered her words. Truth be told, he had never really been offered any word of thanks in his life. And now that he finally had, he was rather perturbed by the fact that it was in regard to doing something as basic as keeping another living thing alive.

"You're uh... welcome." Thundercracker finally replied with a firm nod down at her, and she realized then that his kind likely weren't familiar with expressions of gratitude, or any sort of customary gestures for that matter. The Decepticons weren't known for compassion, let alone civility after all.

"Why did you help me?"

Thundercracker was caught off guard by her follow up question, and he looked over his wing strut briefly, evidently checking the corridor behind them was clear of any company before answering.

"Despite this," He gestured to the bright purple insignia etched into his chest, "I... I believe that every life matters. No matter how big or small."

His response was quiet, guarded. And it occurred to her then that he felt reluctant and perhaps even ashamed to admit such a thing aloud. The seeker would undoubtedly be banished from the Decepticon fold if he did.

She wondered then how he possibly ended up here. In this position. Perhaps Skywarp and Starscream had convinced him to sign up and join the cause alongside them and he had felt pressured to do so?

She thought back to the very first time she met him then, in the hall that fateful day when he'd managed to successfully dissuade Starscream and the others from killing herself and Ashley. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity alongside fondness for the blue seeker. He was clearly a very misunderstood being. Much like herself.

"You're not at all like the others. You know that, right?"

"I know."

The pair walked in silence for some time, before the blue seeker finally paused beside an open doorway and gestured for her to stand before him. Obeying, she clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at him, patiently waiting for his instruction.

"This room is designated for the scanning, filing and storage of data-pads," he gestured with a sweep of his arm, and her eyes grew wide when she looked to her left and finally took in the disarray of the room.

Data-pads were piled in every conceivable corner of the room. Some stacked so high that they had to be well over ten feet tall. There were also crates positioned throughout the room, the over-spill from them scattered across the floor.

"All you need to do is hold each one directly up to that scanner over there until it emits a beep," he pointed it out at the far back of the room, and she nodded in understanding, "then, you just file them into their correct crates using the corresponding symbols. You got all that?"

"Yeah, I got it." She reassured him with a nod and an assertive thumbs up.

"Well," he added, noting the time on his internal chronometer, "I'd best be getting back to my own duties. Scream won't be happy if I'm late." Thundercracker offered her another small smile, followed on by a nod of farewell before he turned to leave.

Hands on her hips, she turned on the spot, biting her lip as she studied the mess strewn about before her once more.

Today was going to be a long one.

Time seemed to crawl by. The pile of data-pads that had been scanned into the system ever growing as they were dumped to her right.

Yawning, she stacked four on top of one another and stood, looking around the room in order to allocate their correct containers. She repeated this process at least a dozen times, as they were far too heavy for her to carry too many at once, and finally, after countless treks back and forth, paused, stretching her arms skyward.

Yawning again, she approached and began sifting through a fresh pile haphazardly stacked to her far left. Grabbing one, she clambered up the makeshift steps she had made earlier using some spare crates and held it high above her head in order for the scanner to detect it.

The scanner emitted its usual shrill beep and she about turned, preparing to climb back down.

Yet something forced her to pause mid-step.

A long, suspended moment passed in which she strained her ears, listening intently, breath held fast.

Voices.

Two voices from what she could make out. And they were headed her way.

She highly doubted it was Thundercracker. He was probably busy with more important things than checking in on her. And it certainly didn't sound like Starscream.

Her instincts told her to hide. And fast.

Dropping the data-pad, she rapidly descended the steps and scanned the room. There, just a few yards away. Two crates positioned near the exit that she could squeeze between. That way, if something did go wrong, she had a better chance of escape.

Teegan was aware that most of the Decepticons knew by now that she belonged to Starscream and therefore wasn't to be touched. But she wasn't foolish enough to think she was completely untouchable. Starscream's pet or not.

Breathlessly, she clambered over scattered data pads and crammed herself into the narrow space, just as the two unknown visitors entered the room.

"Yeah, this lot's done with now."

"Right, well just dump them in there and let's get going. I could do with some energon."

A loud clatter was heard as the unseen mech obeyed, dumping an armful of data-pads into the already overflowing crate she was crouched up against. Some actually toppled over the edge, narrowly missing her and landing beside her feet with a further clatter.

Great. Just mess up all my efforts. Teegan thought irritably. Then again, they probably didn't care. They weren't the ones having to sort through all this mess after all.

"Umm... about what we discussed the other night." She heard one of the 'cons murmur lowly.

"What of it?"

"Well... how do you plan on getting rid of him exactly? I don't think it's going to be as easy as you think. He's the fastest seeker in the galaxy after all."

Immediately upon hearing this, Teegan perked up. Were they talking about... Starscream?

"And then there's those two moronic brothers of his. The three of em stick together like frizz-rats. How are you going to get him alone long enough to do it?"

Yep. They were definitely talking about Starscream. There was no doubt about it now. She shifted closer to the origin of the two voices, straining her ears now to ensure she didn't miss a single detail.

"Simple. We poison his high-grade." The other replied in hushed tones, "everyone knows he keeps a stash of it in his personal quarters. I've still got that vial I stole from Shockwave's lab orns ago."

"Puh," She heard the other grunt in response, "Of course he does, the greedy slagger. But how will we get in there to plant it?"

She heard a sudden clang that made her jump, guessing that one had just smacked the other across the back of the head in irritation.

"Moron! We crack the code to his access panel of course. If Megatron aint willing to wake up and smell the energon and get rid of him, then we'll just have to take matters into our own servos, for everyone's sake. Starscream has proven time and time again that he can't be trusted. And if lazing around drinking and partying is his idea of leadership, I'm not sticking around and waiting for that to eventually become a reality."

"Yeah," she heard the other agree, "just look at this place. It's been deca-cycles since Megatron left. Has he even filed any of this? Let alone started the conversion on this side of the planet like he was told."

Conversion? Teegan thought to herself with a confused frown. What did they mean by... the conversion?

"He's a lazy glitch. And who will be to blame when Megatron eventually returns? We will. I'm tired of having to pick up the slack. We all are. If you think things are bad now, just wait until Starscream does take over. And that might be a possibility sooner rather than later."

"Wait... why do you say that?"

"There's been talk. Talk of him attempting to take over the Decepticons again."

"Hah!" The other barked out a gruff laugh, "didn't he learn from the last eight attempts."

"Obviously not." The other ground out, "But the problem is he actually has followers this time. 'Cons willing to make a stand against Megatron alongside him."

"He... does?"

"Yes. Most are sick of being stuck here on Earth. With no true direction since the war ended. Megatron is slowly losing favour. The decision to stay here certainly isn't helping instill confidence in his leadership for that many right now. And I don't know about you, but Megatron is still my choice over Starscream any day. Even if it does mean we are stuck on this dreadful planet for the foreseeable."

"So, ...when do you wanna do it?"

"Tonight."

Teegan heard an audible gasp from the other.

"Tonight... are you sure about that?"

"Yes. He should be carrying out a boundary check in exactly five joors, so meet me in the passage that leads directly to his quarters then."

Teegan knew she had to move fast. She had to warn Starscream!

But how could she go to him with just a description of two voices? He would probably brush it off and not take her seriously. Or be furious with her for her incompetence. No, she had to put some faces to those voices.

With dread, she slowly slid upright, palms flat against the surface of the storage container behind her for support and sidestepped to the edge. Sucking in a deep calming breath, she cautiously peeked around the container.

They were nearby, lingering within the doorway. The one currently speaking had unusually large eyes, purple in colour. Body mostly matching the purple of his eyes, it was broken up in places with bright yellow accents. The one standing off to the side and facing him with folded arms had an orange visor concealing his eyes. This one's body was mostly green, interspersed with purple accents. A claw-like scoop hanging from a telescopic arm located on his back.

Snapping her head back round again, she closed her eyes, sucking in another deep breath in an attempt to calm her raging heartbeat. Repeating a calming mantra in her mind over and over, she crouched low and attempted to squeeze in further between the crates, deciding it was best to wait them out. But in her efforts, her foot hit a data-pad that had fallen into her path earlier, the machine activating with a loud beep.

An awful silence fell as the two robots ceased their murmuring. Teegan froze in horror, holding her breath, not daring to take another step.

"Who's there!" One of them commanded loudly from somewhere above her, and the sound of a weapon being drawn was heard, "Skywarp, is that you!? You better not be up to any of your stupid tricks!"

"The moron is probably using his cloaking ability so we can't see him." The other murmured.

"Well, we'll just see about that! Won't we?"

All was still for a moment. Then, suddenly, a deafening cacophony filled the air as data-pads rained down upon her from above. Squealing in terror, she threw her arms up over her head in an attempt to protect herself from the falling objects.

Slowly lowering her arms, she caught sight of the purple and yellow bot through the gap just above her, his face twisted into a furious snarl as he scanned the room with his weapon raised, free arm swiping at any stacked data-pads he passed and sending them violently in all directions as he attempted to find what he assumed was Skywarp.

You have to get out of here! She urged herself as he began furiously tipping over crates, sending even more data-pads flying everywhere. You have to make a run for it, there's no other choice!

Sliding over to the edge of the container again, she peered around it, looking toward the corridor. There! A maintenance shaft! Just to the left of the doorway! That was probably her best option of escape. She just needed to reach it in one piece...

Drawing in a deep, calming breath then exhaling shakily, she made a break for it.

Adrenaline kicked in as she jumped out into the open and began scrabbling desperately over the mess strewn everywhere towards the exit, arms swinging about wildly for balance.

If she went down, that would likely be it for her...

"Look, it's a human!" The yellow and purple one declared in alarm from behind her, pointing wildly in her direction. The other bot swung around dumbly from within the doorway, just as she scrabbled past his gigantic green calf.

"W-what the..." The green one mouthed stupidly, "What in Primus was a human doing in here?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," the other one bellowed, motioning furiously with his weapon as he gave chase, "just kill it!"

Footsteps pounded behind her as the other joined the pursuit, a sudden rush of air bristling across the back of her neck as he made a grab for her but missed.

That was close! Nearly there. Nearly there. Just keep going!

"You missed it, you idiot! How did you miss it!?"

Reaching the vent at last, she wrenched the cover off frantically and immediately dove into the gaping darkness without hesitation, palms slick against the cold metal as said darkness enveloped her.

But she wasn't safe yet.

Crawling as fast and as hard as she could within the pitch blackness, she just had time to throw her hands over her head as a loud blast ricocheted off of the metal grate to the shaft entrance, twisted pieces of it flying towards her like shards of glass up the tunnel.

A sharp, searing pain like a hot brand blossomed across her right shoulder and she cried out in pain, gritting her teeth and desperately keeping tears at bay as she forced herself onward again.

"Better watch yourself in there, filthy fleshling," The gruff voice of the green one echoed gleefully down the shaft towards her, "if the cleaners don't get you, another one of us will!"

What on earth were the cleaners? She did NOT like the sound of that. Better stick to his "advice" and watch herself in here...

Cautiously now, she continued onward, throat burning painfully, palms clammy, making it all the more difficult to slide across the metal surface. The sounds of her banging and clanging echoed outward into the darkness ahead. A darkness that seemed to stretch on forever.

An unknown amount of time passed, and since her burst initial adrenaline had finally ebbed, the injury to her shoulder twinged more insistently now, the steady spreading of liquid heat moving freely down her upper arm. But she couldn't stop and check on the severity of her injury at this moment.

It was too dark to make out much of anything anyway, and besides, she didn't have time to spare. She had to ensure she reached Starscream and warned him of his impending demise before it was too late.

She wasn't even sure she would be able to find him with what time she did have.

Her heart sank into her stomach at that thought.

How would she find him? It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack...

Finally, after what felt like forever, she saw a square patch of dim light up ahead.

Reaching it, she paused breathlessly and cautiously peered through the grate into a large room below. It was completely empty, save for a few consoles and stacked containers.

Sighing, she continued onward. She didn't even know in which part of the Citadel she was in.

Beginning to feel more and more hopeless, she heard two voices echoing from somewhere up ahead suddenly. Two voices arguing back and forth loudly.

Recognizing said voices as Frenzy and Rumble's, she felt an immediate sense of reassurance and picked up further speed, clambering breathlessly towards their origin.

Sure enough, as she rounded a sharp corner, she found herself looking outward into another passage opposite, noting another shaft entrance set into the far wall between the currently squabbling brothers.

The notion of emerging from the tunnel and convincing Frenzy to comm Starscream and warn him for her sprang into the forefront of her mind. But that notion was quickly dismissed as she considered one main issue.

Rumble was a complete douche. She was certain, that without any supervision from his superiors, he would likely attempt to injure her. Or worse...

How on earth was she going to reach the other side without them seeing her? Come on guys. She silently urged. Go somewhere else.

As if her wish was granted, Rumble released a struggling Frenzy from the headlock he currently had him gripped in and yawned.

"Come on numb nodes, let's go get some energon and chill in the rec room."

The rec room... hmm. Crouched within the darkness of the vent, face lined with horizontal stripes from the light siphoning through, she watched them both turn to the left and head off. Maybe Starscream was there.

With no time to lose, she lifted the grate from within its housing and set it aside before sprinting across to the other on tiptoe. Carrying out the same actions, she quickly dived in, taking care to seal the grate behind her again.

They both headed left, so she would too.

The rec room was her best bet. Her only bet, really.

With a newfound determination and re-instilled hope, she set off again.

"No, Warp, I haven't fixed the machine yet. It turns out I don't have a spare compression diode. And since it was you that broke it, you can warp into Shockwave's lab and steal me another."

"I don't see why you won't just use the femme to get this sword." Skywarp commented, slouching back into his chair, and crossing his pedes over one another on the table they were all currently sharing, "You use her for pretty much everything else."

"As I've said before," Starscream replied curtly, pushing his brother's pedes off of the table with a sweep of his arm, "she's more useful to me here, at Nexus for the time being. I can retrieve the sword myself once the machine is functional again."

"When do you think it will be ready by?" Thundercracker chimed in then, "It looked pretty messed up to me."

"I've been dedicating every other joor I can to it," Starscream replied, "It's forty six percent of the way there. As long as Warp can get the part I need within the next deca-cycle, then it won't be too long before it's operational again."

Thundercracker raised his optic ridges, apparently rather impressed. Opening his mouth in order to ask his Commander a follow up question, the words died on his glossa as he paused and studied the ceiling suddenly.

Starscream raised his optic ridges at him expectantly, motioning for him to continue with a gesture of his hand. But Thundercracker didn't seem to have noticed.

"Do you guys hear that?" He asked, glaring suspiciously up at the vent located a couple of feet above their helms. Warp and Starscream shared a look before following Thundercracker's gaze, both listening and watching intently.

Moments passed, the only other noise coming from the rowdy mech's surrounding them as they guffawed and shared loud conversations with one another.

"I think you need to clean your audials out, TC." Warp commented finally, lowering his gaze from the ceiling and giving him a side-eyed look laced with concern.

Tearing his own gaze away from the vent, Thundercracker gave a dismissive shrug of his large shoulders and instead returned his attention to his drink.

"Never mind. I must have been imagining i—ahhh!"

All three seekers scrambled back from the table in unison, Skywarp letting out an involuntary yelp and grabbing his drink as something small and black landed with a light thud within the centre of it.

"It's a... human!" Thundercracker could only exclaim, servo placed over his spark in shock, "I... think?" He added uncertainly, leaning in slightly to get a better view of the creature now doubled over and seemingly struggling to breathe.

"Whatever it is, it's about to be a stain on the table!" Skywarp exclaimed, grabbing an empty cube and raising it directly above the creatures' head in order to squish it, but Starscream's hand placed firmly around his wrist stopped him in his tracks.

"Teegan?" The red jet questioned, rather nonplussed as he leaned forward, optics narrowed upon her heavily dirt-streaked face.

Nodding breathlessly, she straightened to full height before tightly weaving both arms around her violently trembling frame.

It was no wonder they hadn't recognized her at first. Her hair was sticking up wildly in all directions, clothes in near tatters, her face, forearms, knees, and calves smothered in what appeared to be grease.

The red jet shifted a furious glare in Thundercracker's direction then, quirking a questioning optic ridge at him. The other merely opened and shut his mouth again, evidently dumbfounded and lost for words.

Whatever strange fascination Starscream held with this creature, Thundercracker couldn't see the femme being alive after tonight. Not after pulling this stunt.

"Teegan," Starscream ground out dangerously then, shifting his glare from his older brother to her, "just what do you think—"

"—T-They are..." she rasped, still desperately trying to even out her breathing, "trying to... kill you!" She managed to choke out.

"Who is?" Thundercracker and Skywarp immediately exclaimed in unison, the latter setting the empty cube aside and studying her with a disbelieving frown.

Shifting her weight to her other foot, she turned and observed the other two briefly before continuing, her voice growing that bit stronger now.

"One of them nearly got me...," her gaze lifting to meet Starscream's evenly, "b-but I managed to get away and find you in order t-to warn you."

"What did they look like, Teegan?" Starscream asked her calmly, throwing a surreptitious glance about them to ensure no one was eavesdropping before studying her closely again.

Thundercracker and Skywarp dragged their chairs closer then, the three seekers forming a wall as they huddled in around her and listened with rapt attention as she recounted all that she had seen and heard in detail. It didn't take long for realization to dawn on them.

"Swindle and Demolisher," The three jets murmured in unison, three sets of eyes lifting to lock with one another in turn.

"Those slimy fraggers!" Skywarp growled, balling his servo into a fist upon the tabletop.

As the three jets began to discuss all they had just been told in hushed whispers above her, Teegan swayed on the spot, a dreadful clammy feeling coming over her suddenly, the hair on her neck bristling as her vision began to cloud.

"I-I, don't feel so... so good." Teegan stammered breathlessly with a grimace, and though barely audible above the cacophony of noise around her, Starscream had heard it.

Acting quickly, the red jet cupped a single hand around the human femme as she went limp, allowing her to slump against the protective barrier of his fingers. He noticed she was bleeding then. Traces of it smeared across parts of his fingertips.

He would have to see to that and ensure it wasn't anything serious he decided.

"Is..." Skywarp piped up, eyeing the floppy form of the human with wide optics, "she dead?"

"No," Starscream replied calmly, "just passed out from exhaustion and potentially some blood loss."

Gently, beneath the shared, curious stares of his brothers, the Decepticon jet slid his fingers out from beneath the human, allowing her to roll slowly onto her side. She sighed quietly but remained still.

Demeanour shifting and becoming very serious, he then rose swiftly from the table, looking between his two brothers dourly.

"Warp, I want you to take the femme to yours and TC's quarters to rest. Lay her flat somewhere safe and give her plenty of water." Placing two fingers to the side of his helm, he transmitted a sequence to the other, "Once you have, meet me at these coordinates in exactly ten kliks."

"Got it!" The purple seeker trilled, rising and making a grab for the unconscious human, "Ugh," He exclaimed when he noted the small scarlet stain pooled on the table beneath her, "she better not get any of that nasty bio fluid on me!"

But the look Starscream graced him with immediately had him falling silent. Picking up the femme in one hand and saluting with the other, he vanished with a disembodied shimmer of light.

"What about me, Scream?" Thundercracker spoke up, rising from the table pointedly and cracking his large knuckles.

The response his Commander gave was clipped, ambiguous.

"You are to come with me. I have a plan of my own to set in motion."