Skywarp sits on the floor and stares fixated at the door into the surgical room.
Thundercracker is right on the other side, but he might as well have been on the other side of the planet.
That's how it feels, sitting there and waiting for Prodigy to open the door and tell them how it went.
An hour has already passed, giving his mind ample time to think up all kinds of scenarios. But he has to believe they have come too far to have it all fall to pieces now.
Athena watches Skywarp from a distance, her spark aching at the sight of his silent vigil. While she usually would go to him to comfort him in a stressful situation like this, it is best to leave him alone because
he is teetering on the verge of breaking down as he waits for news of Thundercracker's surgery. The slightest disturbance of his current state of mind will be able to finally push him over the edge and into an emotional meltdown.
"He will be fine."
She looks away from Skywarp at Hotspot's comment, meeting her colleague's optics.
"I know."
Skywarp's vigil reminds her of what Nacelle had told her about Torment staying by her side during her coma. She looks around in the hallway for him, only to notice that neither he nor Nacelle is anywhere to be seen.
Her optics narrow at the realization, aware of Torment's recent hostile stance towards Nacelle.
Whatever he doesn't want her to overhear, he better tread lightly around her friend because they are going to have words if he keeps trying to push Nacelle away from her. There is only so much she will accept from him when it comes to those close to her. However, now that she is alone, she decides to talk with Hotspot about her decision to change specialization in their field.
Because due to her new close connection to a criminal organization, she will be ruled as inhabile in most cases within the forensic psychiatric field, not to mention in her work as an expert witness in her field in the court system. Her trustworthiness in the legal system will be nonexistent from now on, and she needs to create a new professional life in which she can see herself.
That is where Talon's offer comes in.
He must have realized she would need to make changes in her professional life if she wanted to be a part of Torment's life and offered her the opportunity to work for him as a professional lifeline.
Because what else can she see herself doing besides helping people in mental distress?
It is a deep part of her identity, of who she is.
And now, she has a fully equipped laboratory and unending funding if she needs it to do her research.
She may no longer be considered a reputable professor in her field by her peers in the scientific world when her new affiliation gets revealed. But their society can still benefit from her expertise.
"I have decided to resign from my position as Professor at the Institute of Forensic Medicine and as a member of the Psychiatric Risk Assessment Authority. I will, after all, be shunned anyway when my connection to Torment gets discovered and might as well act preemptively to avoid the humiliation of officially and publicly being declared unfit and inhabile in my field."
Hotspot doesn't ask her if she is sure. He knows her too well to ask such a foolish question. Instead, he looks at her with understanding in his optics.
"They may distance themselves from you when it all comes out, but I won't. My door will always be open for you."
"Spoken as a true friend." She smiles and pulls him into an embrace. "Thank you, Hotspot."
"And there is something you can do for me." She says as she looks up into his optics.
"Which is?"
"Publish my future scientific findings in your name with your credentials."
Warmth fills Hotspot's optics as he stares at his colleague, loving her for who she is.
Stubborn and unstoppable.
Selfless and caring.
Always with the health and welfare of others on her mind.
"Of course."
Nacelle struggles fiercely against the overly forceful grip on his arm as Torment leads him away from the safety of his friends and colleagues. Only Snowdrift seems to notice him being pulled away from the group, but the ICU specialist doesn't react.
Nacelle rips his arm free of Torment's grip when they turn a corner but is immediately stopped from walking back to Athena and their group by Torment physically cornering him against the wall. A hand on either side of him efficiently prevents him from escaping whatever the sire wants with him.
"How dare you pull me away like that!" He hisses into Torment's face, refusing to be intimidated. "I am not one of your minions to be treated as you please!"
Torment smirks coldly.
"It is good to see you haven't lost your sassiness in the face of adversity, Nacelle. If you hadn't made such a fuss, I wouldn't have had to be so heavy-handed with you. I simply wanted to tell you that Shade is ready to take you to the rendezvous point I have arranged with your bondmate whenever you want after Thundercracker has woken from the procedure and is stable. When you decide to go, you will do so alone and keep the collar on until you have landed where Prowl is. After that, you are free of us and will have to find your own way back here."
Nacelle's heated glare loses some of its intensity as he listens to Torment, his spark aching fiercely with longing at the mention of Prowl. Now that their prolonged forced separation is ending, he is yearning more than ever for them to be together again and can barely wait for it to happen. But he will first have to be sure Thundercracker is okay after the memory upload.
"Thank you for letting me know, but you hadn't needed to pull me aside like this to tell me." He points out.
Torment scoffs.
"Don't thank me. It is a simple transaction. Nothing more."
The complete disregard in Torment's voice, as if he only is an item to be traded and not a living, feeling being, hits Nacelle hard, and he shakes his head in utter disbelief.
He now sees that everything between them had been a sham - nothing more. Torment had only befriended him to make him complacent and easier to control while he stayed with the criminals.
The audacity of these people!
His hand moves of its own accord, connecting satisfyingly with Torment's cheek before the sire can grab it, and when Torment grabs his wrist hard to stop him from doing it again, the flaring pain only serves to fuel his anger. With a twist of his wrist, he fights free of the crushing grip and moves free of Torment, his wings hiked up in aggression as he walks away.
Two hours have passed when Prodigy finally comes out, and Skywarp nearly breaks into tears when the surgeon nods reassuringly to him.
"The surgery went as planned, but he is still under in preparation for the next step." She explains before her attention shifts to Hotspot and Athena, who is approaching.
"Can I see him?" Skywarp asks, rising from the floor.
Prodigy looks back at him, giving him another nod.
"Take the time you need. I'll need to speak with Hotspot and Athena before we move on to the next step."
He steps into the surgical room with a rapidly pulsing spark and it nearly stops pulsing when he sees Thundercracker lying lifeless on the surgical table with the implant embedded into the left side of his head. It isn't shielded by the protective plate, and from a distance, it looks like there is a deep hole in Thundercracker's head. But as he gets closer, he sees a round seven-pin connector fill out what seems like a hole, a light-emitting diode blinking in its center, indicating it is waiting to receive input.
"You can touch him as long as you are careful not to touch the area where the implant is."
He looks at Icestorm and the monitors showing Thundercracker's status, relieved to see that the blue seeker's vitals look fine as far as he knows. The spark pulse is steady, the internal temperature is within normal levels and the line indicating Thundercracker's processor activity is waving slowly but steadily with a prolonged pause between each peak. The fourth line is also moving in a wave but barely noticeably, and its peak follows the peak of the processor activity as if forcing it down again and keeping Thundercracker under.
It fascinates him to see how it all works together and he touches Thundercracker's shoulder affectionately, reassured by the feeling of the blue seeker's warm plating.
Thundercracker is okay and is simply in a deep coma-like recharge right now.
Voices and footsteps sound as Prodigy, Hotspot, Athena and Nacelle enter the room, ready to move on to the next step. Skywarp stays in the background together with Nacelle as Hotspot tests the functionality of the implant.
Hotspot connects an empty datapad with Retrograde's cable and connects its seven-pin plug with the connector implanted into Thundercracker, his face lighting up with satisfaction when he receives memory data through the connection.
"The link-up is a success. You have done it again, Prodigy."
Prodigy chuckles softly.
"I have had a lot of practice recently."
Hotspot disconnects the datapad and switches it with another containing the memory data they are about to upload to Thundercracker.
"You can lighten his stasis, Icestorm."
On the monitor, Thundercracker's processor activity instantly increases, the length between each wave becoming shorter and the peaks becoming higher.
"And stop. Keep him right there." Hotspot calls out when the processor activity has reached the specific threshold between deep and light stasis.
He connects the seven-pin plug with the connector again and activates the program on the datapad, starting to upload the data to Thundercracker's memory center. The process is slow, but the data-files are enormous and there are many of them. And it is not like uploading data to a regular computer system. Thundercracker's processor needs to be able to handle the load of data they are feeding it. This is why Thundercracker needs to be in a light stasis, because this is the stage where the processor is most actively processing memory input, equivalent to when one is in a deep recharge and dreaming.
As the upload progresses, the line monitoring the processor activity becomes increasingly active, its waves becoming violent zigzags as the processor begins to process the incoming data.
If he hadn't been kept in a light stasis during this process, Thundercracker would have woken up and the memory data would not have integrated correctly with his memory.
When the upload is a success and Thundercracker is allowed to wake up, it will be like the memories never had been gone, and only his memory of them being gone will tell him that they hadn't always been there.
There is a beep from the implant as the upload bar on the datapad reaches 100%, and Hotspot disconnects Retrograde's cable from Thundercracker before Prodigy steps in and installs the protective plate designed to shield it.
Thundercracker's processor activity spikes at the brief pain stimuli while his wings twitch in response, showing that he is kept on the edge between stasis and recharge.
"You can bring him out of stasis," Prodigy tells Icestorm.
The stasis line becomes a straight line as Icestorm brings Thundercracker out of stasis and into a state of deep recharge. Then he sends a gentle disruptive impulse into the recharge center in Thundercracker's processor, triggering him to slowly wake up.
Thundercracker onlines his optics slowly, shielding them with a hand against the sharp light in the ceiling.
His processor is in a frantic overdrive, trying to sort and make sense of all the new data it has received, and he remains still, allowing it the time it needs to acclimate to the sudden influx of data that needs to be processed.
He can already feel a dreadful headache approach due to the overactive processor activity, and it doesn't help his optics adjust to the sharp light of his surroundings.
"Thundercracker?"
All thought stops at the sound of the familiar voice, and he is suddenly flooded with familiar yet unfamiliar memories belonging to that specific voice.
"Skywarp?"
The headache intensifies as his processor, on top of sorting the data, suddenly dedicates power it doesn't really have to draw up all kinds of memories about the black and purple seeker. But as the memories begin to slot into place like pieces in an intricate jigsaw puzzle, processing power gets freed up and the stress on his systems dwindles to within normal parameters.
It finally allows his optics to adjust to outside stimuli and causes the headache to ease when his vision clears and he can see.
The scanner and the surgical robotic arm have been moved away from the surgical table, allowing him to sit up and rise from the table when he is ready for it. But he feels far from ready to do that and stays lying on the table, looking at his surroundings.
To his right, he sees Icestorm watching the monitors showing the status of his internal systems. To his left, he sees Skywarp a short distance away while Prodigy, Nacelle, Hotspot and Athena are standing further away.
He wants Skywarp to come closer, but when he gestures for him to do so, his coordination fails and he ends up striking out with his whole arm instead of waving Skywarp closer with his hand. Frustration builds up within him at the lack of control over his frame, but at least Skywarp interprets his intention and comes closer.
"Should he be like this?" Skywarp asks worried, looking over his shoulder at Hotspot, Athena and Prodigy.
Thundercracker follows Skywarp's gaze, wanting to know the answer too.
Is this how he should be after the upload, or is he glitching again?
Having lingered in the doorway in case he would be needed, Snowdrift steps into the surgical room at Skywarp's question and walks over to them.
"This is why I am here." He states as he establishes a medical link-up with Thundercracker.
He meticulously checks Thundercracker's systems for errors before he performs an in-depth physical examination where he tests Thundercracker's coordination and, with small tasks, examines the function of his processor and memory. When the medical link-up disconnects, he gives Thundercracker a clean bill of health.
"Your systems are functioning optimally. Your processor is still overburdened with data, and it is uncertain how long it will take before it has processed it all."
"Thank you, Snowdrift," Thundercracker says as he receives the good news.
It gives him peace of mind to know everything is as it should be.
Another hour passes before he finally is ready to try and sit up. Skywarp helps him rise and then gently supports the weight of his upper frame as Thundercracker moves his legs over the table's edge. He instantly overbalances, but Skywarp is there to catch him before he can topple to the floor.
He remains sitting on the edge, allowing his processor to regain its equilibrium.
There is so much going on within him that he can barely keep up with it all, and his spark feels weird.
"Are you ready for me to let go of you, Thundercracker?"
The worry and affection in Skywarp's field, along with his gentle and caring voice, only causes Thundercracker's spark to react even weirder than it used to around the black and purple seeker. He touches his chest in wonder as an overwhelming feeling of love and devotion for Skywarp erupts from his spark and seems to encompass his whole being in its tingling warmth.
His optics fills with tears and he looks up, looking into Skywarp's optics with clarity and understanding.
"I-"
He struggles to find the words in the shocking epiphany as tears spill over and runs down his cheeks.
"I remember us."
Skywarp rears back as if struck, but then immediately surges forward, looking at Thundercracker with tears forming in his optics.
"You do?"
Thundercracker's tears flow faster at the sight of Skywarp coming undone with feelings in front of him and the sense of deep desperation filling his loved one's field.
"I do."
He caresses Skywarp's tear-stained cheek affectionately and leans forward to bring their lips into contact, kissing Skywarp softly.
"I love you, Skywarp. More than I even imagined." He says against Skywarp's lips, diving in for another kiss, and this time Skywarp reciprocates it while entirely breaking down emotionally.
"I never- I never thought I would hear you say those words again after what happened. I know you don't know everything yet, and that you shouldn't, not yet, but know that I am so relieved to hear you say them. I love you so, so much, Thundercracker. Have done it almost from the moment I met you - which you, of course, don't yet remember... But uh..."
A gentle digit to his lips silences Skywarp's string of words.
"I know. I will know it all with time. Finally starting to remember and remember my feelings for you and how important you were and still are to me is what is most important to me right now."
Their moment is interrupted by Hotspot walking over to them.
"It is good to hear you have begun to remember what we wanted you to remember, but we still need to examine you before we can be sure everything is as it should be in your processor. The first step is to get you on your feet to test your motor functions to ensure we haven't inadvertently caused damage to your processor during the surgery."
Nacelle watches with tense anticipation as Thundercracker finally rises from the surgical table and with deep concentration follows the complex instructions Hotspot gives him to single out every motor function from head to feet to check them for any discrepancies in function and range of motion.
"And we are done." Hotspot finally states.
Nacelle is relieved when Thundercracker finishes the last of the tests, knowing before Hotspot announces it that the blue seeker has passed the physical test without any severe issues. There were a few delays in some motor functions, but nothing deeply worrisome. It will be from the unavoidable damage done to the processor when Prodigy gained access to the areas she needed in Thundercracker's processor. Just like the damage Retrograde had caused, but less extensive.
Knowing that Thundercracker is fine, has undergone surgery with minimal damage and is fully functional and healthy, nothing is holding him back, and he shoots a glance at Torment.
Torment's nod towards the door is barely perceptible, and Nacelle follows the silent order, leaving the surgical room without being noticed. His spark is pulsing with growing anticipation, longing desperately to be reunited with its counterpart.
When he exits the building complex, a small assault aircraft is waiting near the passenger aircraft. As he cautiously walks closer, Shade walks down its ramp and waves him closer with a laidback smile.
The sight of the black and silver carrier instantly makes him relax.
Shade is not Torment. He has always treated him well, and Nacelle still feels safe in his presence.
When he steps up the ramp, Shade follows him into the small assault aircraft with a gentle hand at his back to support him. There isn't much room inside it, and Nacelle shudders at the sight of the weaponry and wide range of neatly stacked ammunition on visible display.
Shade leads him towards one of the stacks of ammunition along the floor of the hull and pulls down a primitive equivalent of a seat, waiting for him to sit down on it before strapping him in, basically strapping him directly to the hull. He looks down at his feet, feeling unease at practically sitting on top of heavy explosives.
When he looks up, Shade has taken a seat opposite him and is knocking three times on the hull. The knocks are a message to their pilot, and the next moment, the aircraft's engines power on with a deafening roar.
"Ready?" Shade yells over the noise while sending an all-clear to Turborazor and Ripstorm inside the passenger aircraft.
Nacelle nods with clenched teeth at the sheer noise around them.
The aircraft shoots into the air at full speed, and Nacelle thanks Primus for the straps keeping him in the seat. Without them, he would have been thrown against the closed ramp at the back of the aircraft at destructive force. Now he only suffers the pain of an immediate headache when his head slams hard against the aircraft's hull at their take-off.
He has never flown in something like this. Of course, criminals have no interest in cozy interiors or comfort; to them, this is a work tool, and there is no reason to fit it with more than the barest minimum of any interior. Anything else would be a waste of space in such small confines. But the noise! It must be a nightmare to be in hours after hours. However, when he looks at Shade, the black and silver carrier is leaning his head against the hull with offline optics, completely ignoring the noise and the hits of his head against the hull.
Seven long minutes pass in the deafening noise before Shade again onlines his optics.
"We are nearing our destination."
In the noise of the aircraft and worry at the sheer amount of weaponry within it, Nacelle had utterly forgotten the reason for their trip, but now his spark almost seems to deafen out the tortuous noise of the aircraft. He can suddenly barely contain himself as they fly the last distance towards where the rendezvous point is - his wings constantly twitching while his spark is reaching out and feeling Prowl.
Without delay, Prowl responds with his own desperate longing, almost breaking him to feel it.
His focus on Athena had helped him dampen his longing while he stayed with the cartel, but Prowl had had no one to ease the distress at their forced separation. And now that Nacelle is free of his self-appointed obligation, it overwhelms him how long they have been apart.
He can barely endure it a second longer!
His plating is itching all over, his nerve endings afire as his whole being only has one thing in mind: PROWL!
From the sideline, Shade observes Nacelle's impatience with a gentle feeling in his spark. It had not been easy for him to keep a distance during the recent weeks, but it had been strictly necessary after the downfall of the Organization and its leaders.
When their mission ended, so had their alliance with the members of the former Joint Investigation Unit, and they became enemies again.
Talon had been firm in his warning not to share any further information with their guests. Any little bit of information accidentally slipping out could end up causing them great harm. It would be best for them if Nacelle was kept blind to what was happening outside their headquarters as long as he stubbornly refused to leave.