Quickstream looks up when there is a knock on the door to the physicians' silent room.
"Yes." He calls, turning towards it.
It opens and Flatspot looks inside.
"Your visitor has arrived."
Quickstream checks his chronometer and realizes that time has run away from him while he was busy writing and updating his patients' journals.
"Thank you for coming for me, Flatspot." He says gratefully to the nurse with a little smile. He quickly saves the unfinished journal entry he had been working on and rises to meet with his visitor. "It won't do for me to be late to this meeting."
"I have shown him into Conference Room One," Flatspot adds as he follows Quickstream down the corridor. "Ping me if you need anything, and I'll be there."
Quickstream nods before they part ways, Flatspot returning to his duties while Quickstream opens the door to Conference Room One.
His guest turns around and Quickstream nods puzzled yet collegially to the elderly physician.
"Greetings, Quickstream. I don't think we ever have met." Flux states calmly as he steps closer, offering his hand in greeting.
"No, I don't think we have," Quickstream says as he takes the hand, studying Flux curiously. "I thought Nacelle would be overseeing Skywarp's transfer."
Flux smiles warmly.
"Nacelle currently has his hands full with Thundercracker and furthermore doesn't possess the necessary expertise to handle Skywarp's condition. I'm aware that Skywarp has stabilized, but it is a fact that medical conditions involving severe drug withdrawals often unexpectedly can take a turn for the worse, especially this early in the recovery phase, and will require immediate intervention to prevent fatalities. I have extensive knowledge in the field and volunteered in Nacelle's place to ensure a safe transition for Skywarp. My name is Flux. I'm the chief physician at PC-10 and will be following Skywarp closely when he gets transferred into our care."
It all makes sense to Quickstream, and he and Flux delve into a deeper conversation about Skywarp and the clinical observations the team around the black and purple seeker have made during the weeks his spark was stored. Flux turns out to be a spark specialist, and it further eases Quickstream's worry for Skywarp. The elderly physician's credentials and knowledge are startling, and before long, an hour has passed without them noticing it.
Looking at his chronometer, Flux rises from his chair.
"I think it is time for me to get introduced to Skywarp."
"I love you."
Skywarp leans into the caress to his cheek, his hand moving to reston top of Thundercracker's.
"I love you too."
Their lips meet in a gentle kiss and he loses himself to the feeling of Thundercracker's soft lips against his.
His spark swells with his feelings for the blue seeker, and he reluctantly breaks the kiss to look affectionately into Thundercracker's beautiful optics.
"I'm yours." He vows. "Forever."
"...-kywar-..."
His brows furrow at the distant, distorted voice disturbing his and Thundercracker's affectionate moment.
"Skywar-..."
The distant voice grows louder and Thundercracker begins to slowly fade away as Skywarp is woken from recharge by the insistent voice.
He reaches out for Thundercracker in desperation, wanting the blue seeker to stay, but the next moment a gentle hand on his shoulder wakes him fully and he stares up at the white hospital ceiling.
Flatspot looks at him with a gentle smile.
"You have a visitor."
"Who?" He asks, still groggy from getting his recharge disturbed.
Since they returned his spark to his frame two days ago and woke him, he hasn't seen or heard anything from Nacelle or Thundercracker. At the painful thought of Thundercracker, tears begin to slowly run down his cheeks, misery invading his spark.
Will they ever get a life together after what has happened to the blue seeker?
Will he ever get to be a part of their sparkling's life?
He is still on a high dose of antidepressants, but the ever-present depression still haunts him whenever he thinks about Thundercracker.
His spark is a gaping hole ready to swallow him up.
Because how can you fix a memory loss like Thundercracker's?
But while thoughts of Thundercracker are the main reason for his depression, it is also thoughts about the blue seeker and their sparkling that keep him from killing himself.
Suicide seems so tempting at times, but there is also a tiny, fragile hope in his spark that maybe they can fix this somehow. And that hope is the only thing he has to hold on to, to avoid drowning in the sea of destructive feelings raging within him.
"A spark specialist named Flux." Flatspot answers as he begins to help Skywarp sit up. "He is here to oversee your transfer into his care and will perform a medical examination to ensure that it is safe to move you."
There is a gentle knock on the door and an elderly physician steps into Skywarp's room when it opens.
"Greetings, Skywarp." Flux says with a smile as he moves to the black and purple seeker's berth. "Have Flatspot told you why I am here?"
"I'm getting transferred into your care."
"Correct."
Flux doesn't say anything further, but silently follows Flatspot with his gaze as the nurse finishes helping Skywarp sit up comfortably. He nods to the nurse as Flatspot leaves the room, gently closing the door and leaving them alone.
"I am here on behalf of Nacelle." Flux says when he turns his attention back to Skywarp.
Skywarp visibly perks up.
"Where are they? Are they okay? What about Thundercracker?" He asks in a flurry.
Flux holds up a hand, quietly silencing Skywarp's questions.
"I know you have questions, but it is not my place to answer them. You will have time to speak with Nacelle when we arrive. But before we can get to where they are, I need to examine you to be sure you are healthy enough to leave the hospital."
Skywarp nods in understanding and patiently leans back in the berth, allowing Flux to examine his frame and connect to his systems to check for any discrepancies. The physician is silent as he performs the examination save for a few hums here and there. Finally after more than an hour, Flux steps back and evaluates the final results of his examination of Skywarp's internal systems.
"There are some discrepancies in your spark's energy output, but none of them are potentially life-threatening right now. We will be keeping a close optic on them in case they do develop into something more severe. Other than that, I detect nothing that will postpone your transfer."
Flux lifts his gaze from the datapad and stares at Skywarp.
"So, now we only have the formalities to fill out. That is, of course, if you are safe with getting transferred into my care?"
Skywarp feels the gentle optics study him with an unsettling intensity and senses something underlying in Flux's words, but doesn't know what to make of it.
Why shouldn't he feel safe?
Flux subspaces the datapad and sits down at the foot of the berth, regarding Skywarp calmly.
"Nacelle and Thundercracker are staying at a top-secret location where they are safe from Torrent. He will not be able to get to them even if he knows where they are. While your spark was stored, there was an attack on this hospital where they had to flee. Your assigned protector took out the attacker meant to kill you. If you accept to be transferred into my care, there are certain requirements."
Flux pulls a collar out of subspace.
"The first requirement is that you will have to wear this at all times. It is a device that nullifies your communication- and GPS systems. It is non-invasive and can easily be taken off when no longer needed. The second requirement is that you must follow any order given to you. And I mean any order. No matter what it is. If you follow these requirements, no harm will befall you, and no one will intentionally try to hurt you."
Skywarp stares warily at the collar.
Flux's words are worrying, but at the same time, he senses the honesty in them. And to be honest, nothing in the world could keep him away from Thundercracker at this point. Not if he finally can get to see the blue seeker. He has waited for so long to finally get united with his beloved and find out for himself what has befallen him.
"Understood."
Flux regards him with a look that only can come from age-old experience and wisdom and then nods in satisfaction.
"Good." Flux finally says. "Then let's move on to the formalities."
At Flux's summon, Quickstream enters Skywarp's room, and together they fill out the required documents, putting their signatures at the bottom of them. When Skywarp has signed the last one, Flux rises and looks at him.
"It is time for you to get on your feet."
Skywarp slowly moves to sit on the edge of the berth and places his feet on the ground. The weeks his spark was stored have taken their toll on his frame and he needs to start moving around to find his balance point again.
He stumbles forward when he puts weight on his feet and stands up, but soon his frame finds out what is up and down and corrects his stance, helping him balance. His wings help him compensate, too, and it feels good to finally be standing again.
Flux looks approvingly at him, and Skywarp can't help smiling at the elderly physician in return.
"We have a transport to catch. Do you have everything you need with you?"
"He should have." Quickstream comments with a reassuring nod to Skywarp. "We have not taken anything out of your subspace."
"Then he is officially released from A-63, S-23, Department of PTSD and Affective Disorders and transferred to PC-10." Flux states formally and moves to the door, patiently waiting for Skywarp to make his way over to him. "We are in no hurry. The transport will wait for us as long as it takes to get there."
Quickstream and Flatspot follow them up to the hospital's roof, where a medical transport waits and say their goodbyes before Skywarp and Flux walk into it. Skywarp immediately moves to the gurney inside the medical transport and sits down on it, feeling exhausted. Flux sits down in a seat across from him and pulls the collar out of subspace.
With a tired nod, Skywarp accepts it and feels his system silence.
"You should get some recharge. I'll wake you when we have arrived." Flux reassures after he has informed the pilot that they are ready to take off.
Skywarp lies down on the gurney while Flux raises its sides to secure him from falling out of it as they fly.
Within moments, Skywarp is in a deep recharge, unaware of what awaits him when he wakes up again.
Skywarp is woken from recharge when Flux gently shakes him.
"We have arrived."
He sits up confused and his bleary optics looks around at the insides of the medical transport as he slowly remembers what has happened. Meanwhile, Flux moves to the ramp and light begin to spill in when it slowly lowers.
Getting his first sight of where they have landed doesn't give him any answers to where they are. It appears to be a hangar of some sort, because from where he is sitting, he can see the tip of a large wing belonging to some other kind of transport.
Steps move up the ramp and a figure obscured by the light enters the medical transport.
He squints his optics to identify the newcomer, but it is first when Nacelle pulls him into a firm embrace and their fields intermingle that he recognizes the green and white seeker. He leans into the embrace, returning it.
"It is so good to see you, Skywarp," Nacelle says, relieved.
"You too," Skywarp mumbles against Nacelle's plating, savoring the well-known and welcoming field as it encompasses him. He can feel tears threaten to fall from his optics at their reunion, but by sheer willpower manages to keep them at bay for now.
"He is waiting for you." Flux says softly, and Nacelle nods in answer, retreating from Skywarp.
Skywarp looks questioningly at Nacelle and Flux, curious to find out who they are talking about.
Thundercracker?
His spark pulse speeds up at the thought and he begins to hyperventilate, suddenly not feeling ready to face the blue seeker.
Now that their reunion is about to happen, it simply feels way too soon.
He doesn't even know what to say to Thundercracker when he sees him!
But to his relief and disappointment, it is not Thundercracker that waits for them outside the medical transport when he and Nacelle walk down the ramp. The brusque dark grey sire that is waiting for them is the same height as Skywarp, but that is also where the comparison stops. The sire is heavily armored and Skywarp notices the discreet embedments on his frame from where internal weaponry can emerge.
The sire in front of him is lethal if he wants to be.
"This is Torment." Nacelle introduces the sire, and Torment steps forward to offer Skywarp his hand.
Skywarp takes it after a bit of hesitation and immediately senses who Torment is.
The lethal sire is not holding anything back but is totally open to him.
It takes him completely by surprise since he had expected someone like Torment to withhold information about himself. They lock optics, and it is as if they connect on a deeper level.
Torment nods imperceptibly to him, respect and understanding in his optics.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Skywarp." Torment says with a small genuine smile. "I apologize in advance if some of us appear brusque and unapproachable. We are not used to having civilians in our midst, but know that you are safe here."
"What is this place?" Skywarp asks as he looks around.
"This is our base of operation." Torment explains calmly. "We are currently several floors below Iacon. That is all I can divulge."
He gestures with his hand to the massive blast doors at the end of the enormous hangar.
"Let me show you to your room. We can talk on the way."
Hidden from sight behind a huge tiltrotor, Thundercracker and Shade are watching the interaction between Skywarp and Torment from a distance.
The new seeker draws Thundercracker's full attention, and he is about to go to the small group gathered at the open ramp to the medical transport, but Shade holds him back gently.
"You need to stay here, Thundercracker. Torment won't like it if you disturb him."
He looks at Shade and nods in understanding before his curious gaze returns to the black and purple seeker.
Torment leaves them when he has shown Skywarp and Nacelle to Skywarp's recovery room inside the medical bay. Skywarp turns to Nacelle when the door has closed behind Torment.
"Who are these people?" He asks, confused.
Torment had only vaguely answered his questions as they walked here, and what he has seen on their way has caused more questions than answers.
Nacelle motions for him to sit down on the berth and then sits down next to him. The green and white seeker looks down at the floor with a deep frown and Skywarp senses a profound uncertainty in Nacelle's field before Nacelle finally lifts his gaze and looks him in the optics.
"They are criminals."
It doesn't really surprise him with what he has seen so far.
Torment alone is a clear giveaway.
The lethal sire could have been some kind of special operations operative, but he had felt off in some way.
"This is the Polyhexian Cartel's headquarter," Nacelle explains further when Skywarp remains silent. "They are one of the largest criminal organizations on the planet. Their territory spans from Polyhex to Praxus and finally Iacon. Torment is the heir to the organization. Their leader is Talon. I have yet to meet him. So far, he appears to stay in the background and pull in the strings."
"How did they get involved in whatever is happening?"
Nacelle can't help the wry, ironic smile.
"They are allied with the Joint Investigation Unit in the fight against Torrent. Torment and Torrent have been deadly enemies since Torrent betrayed Torment." He looks warily at Skywarp before he decides to divulge the following information: "We now know why Torrent wanted you warp-gate."
"You do?"
Nacelle nods.
"He used it to enslave Torment and his team. They accepted the warp-gate technology and woke up from the surgery with explosive devices on their spark chambers. Torrent still controls some of them, but Torment made an alliance with the Joint Investigation Unit and got the explosive devices off of himself and three of his closest associates."
"How many are still out there?"
"From what I know, maybe four or five."
Skywarp looks down at the floor, contemplating the information.
Torrent is in possession of his warp-gate technology.
He can easily imagine what a megalomaniac like Torrent could and would do with it.
"What else has happened while I have been unaware?" He asks, looking up again with worry written on his face.
"There was an attack on the hospital we stayed at. Thundercracker and I had to flee with our protector, another seeker named-" Nacelle hesitates, his facial features betraying the feelings within him at the thought of Typhoon. "-Typhoon. He defended us as we fled. We should have been picked up by enforcers from the Joint Investigation Unit, but Torment had other ideas, and instead, the cartel picked us up and brought us here. I worried for you, but found out a few days ago that Torment had had the foresight to assign a protector to you too."
"And Thundercracker?" Skywarp asks, his spark nearly bursting with the need to know.
Nacelle looks at him with optics slowly filling with tears, and his hand closes over Skywarp's.
"He is gone, Skywarp." He states softly, voice full of sorrow. "The Thundercracker you used to know no longer exist."
Skywarp's optics fills with tears.
One thing is to hear it from someone like Torrent.
It is entirely different to hear it from someone he trusts.
Nacelle would not react like this if it wasn't the absolute truth.
"I'm so sorry, Skywarp." Nacelle whispers sorrowfully and pulls him into a fierce, supportive embrace.
The tears spill over and Skywarp begins to cry violently against the green and white seeker's shoulder, his wings rattling with every hitched sob.
Thundercracker is truly gone.
His worst nightmare has become a reality and there is nothing he can do about it.
"Some colleagues of mine are trying to find a way to help him. They are the best in their field. If there is a way to reverse it, they will find out." Nacelle murmurs soothingly against his audial.
It ignites that tiny, fragile hope within him that stubbornly refuses to die, and once again, he holds onto it for dear life.
It is the only thing he has.
A life without Thundercracker would not be worth living.
The tears continue to flow, but over time, they slowly die out and he leans fatigued against Nacelle, his breathing slowing and becoming more relaxed.
"When can I see him?" He asks with a sniff, pulling out of the embrace to look at Nacelle.
Nacelle looks warily at him.
"I know you want to, Skywarp. But the introduction between you and this new Thundercracker needs to be slow and careful. He is as new as a sparkling and barely knows anything about the world around him. The past few weeks, the mental retardation caused by Retrograde's procedure has lessened and he has been working to increase his vocabulary. He is still in a very fragile state."
"He doesn't remember me at all?"
Nacelle shakes his head.
"No."
There is a gentle knock on the door before an unknown voice politely requests entrance.
Nacelle looks briefly at the door before his attention focuses back on Skywarp.
"This is your room. It is up to you to decide if you are ready or want to face other people." He says reassuringly.
Skywarp rapidly caresses the evidence of his crying away and allows the stranger to enter.
Darksteel peers into the room, his gaze shifting from Nacelle to Skywarp.
"I thought I would say hello now that you are awake and aware." The mercenary says, stepping fully into the room.
Nacelle's optics brighten in realization.
"You were with him at the hospital."
Skywarp looks curiously at Darksteel as the mercenary nods in confirmation. Flux had mentioned he had been assigned a protector and that said protector had taken out someone sent to kill him.
Apparently he owes the sire in front of him his life.
"Thank you." He says, his optics locking with Darksteel's.
"Only did what I had been assigned to do." Darksteel answers calmly, but no less still clearly welcomes the notion. "And I hear we have you to partially thank for the mess we have landed in."
The words are full of humor and confuse Skywarp.
Darksteel points to his chest.
"Your outlier ability." He clarifies.
"You can teleport?"
"Sure can." Darksteel grins, but then the grin slowly falters. "It came with a terrible price and now we do everything we can to ensure that no one will suffer for our mistake."
Skywarp nods solemnly in understanding.
Torrent has a lot to answer for.
Now he understands Torment's motivation more clearly. They have both suffered at Torrent's hand, and it had been this connection he had felt when he shook hands with Torment. Torment had reached out to him like a like-minded.