Nightflow sits down in the seat beside his creator, silently waiting for Torment to explain how he knows Stormwind's creators. His creator looks at him and Nightflow sees Torment's gaze go distant as if he recalls a memory.
"It all started a long, long time before your conception. I initially worked freelance in the underworld, but after enforcers had killed my creators in a cowardly attack, I joined the Polyhexian Cartel and your gran-creator. I was consumed by grief and needed a new purpose. Your gran-creator gave me that when he became a steady presence in my life and secretly shaped me to become his future heir. But back then, I was too blinded by hate to see that. Nothing Talon did for me could quell it or sate my thirst for revenge against every enforcer."
"So you left." Nightflow states matter of factly, already knowing all of this.
An admonishing digit touches his lips to silence him as his creator continues.
"Yes, as you already know, I left. I chose a new identity and became a ghost―hunting my enemies and taking revenge. But it was still not enough. Then I was approached by a sire named Torrent. He shared my deep hatred against society and made me an offer. He needed my contacts in the underworld to complete his plans and I decided to join him and help him destroy our society."
Nightflow gasps in shock. "But you didn't, did you?!"
"I almost did, but no. But long before I realized my mistake, Torrent and I became enemies. Both of us were strong personalities and we had different opinions. It ended more and more often in conflicts between us. He decided to form a minor organization that got called the Syndicate. The Syndicate kidnapped carriers and forced them to spark. When they gave birth to the sparklings, the sparklings got sold. That was how Torrent financed our project."
Nightflow stares speechless at his creator.
"But you stopped them, right?!"
Torment lets out a sigh full of regret. "I did not. I had my own work to focus on and did not know everything they were doing."
His creator looks solemnly at him.
"Stormwind's carrier was one of the carriers Torrent had kidnapped and forced to spark. But Thundercracker was also Torrent's old lover. Thundercracker had been a famous journalist and had discovered what Torrent was doing. He tried to reveal them, but they discovered his deceit before he could warn anyone. One of Torrent's allies in the Syndicate was an outlier who could erase your memories and she took Thundercracker's memories."
"But he got them back?"
"Yes, eventually, he did. Enforcers freed him from the Syndicate and sent him to a rehabilitation facility to recover from his traumas. There he later met Stormwind's creator, Skywarp. Skywarp had been freed from an illegal arena also run by the Syndicate and needed his help to recover. They fell in love, and everything seemed good, but then Torrent found out where Thundercracker was and kidnapped him and Skywarp. He took Skywarp's warp-gate that made Skywarp able to teleport."
"What did he need it for?"
"He used it to trick my team and me into becoming his slaves. He gave us the ability to teleport, but at the same time put explosive devices on our spark chambers to control us."
"Whoa! What did you do then?"
His creator smirks evilly and pokes his nasal ridge teasingly.
"What I do best!"
His processor races with all the new information he has received.
His creator had been turned into a slave and had possessed the ability to teleport!
"What did it feel like to teleport?" He asks curiously.
"Cold, but otherwise, I felt nothing. It took some of my processing capacity―I needed to calculate where I would appear to avoid ending inside structures."
"But you don't have it now?"
"No, but that is another story. One I might share with you if your carrier gives me permission. As for the current story, as you have guessed, I broke free of Torrent's chains on me. In fact, it was when I met your carrier that I finally realized my mistake, but at that point, I was still Torrent's slave and had no idea who your carrier would be to me. But Torrent had been taken prisoner by the Joint Investigation Unit and waited for me to prepare the last of our plan to destroy our society."
"But you didn't!"
"No, I didn't. I had by then realized my mistake and did what I could to stop Torrent. I contacted the Joint Investigation Unit and worked with their director to stop Torrent and the Organization. Then Torrent broke out of the Joint Investigation Unit's detention center with the help of some of my former team members. I realized that he would soon discover my betrayal and had to react fast before he could kill me. Prowl, the director of the Joint Investigation Unit, helped me and three of my still loyal team members get the explosive devices off of our spark chambers in time."
"And that was Darksteel, Switch and Typhoon?"
"Yes, they were and are still some of my closest friends. The only ones on my team I safely could get to and trust with my decision to betray Torrent. They were all undercover among the Joint Investigation Unit and the Special Forces, ready to do my bidding and kill their targets. After removing the explosive devices, I was free to openly confront Torrent."
"What did you do then?"
"I convinced Prowl that we needed your gran-creator's help. The Joint Investigation Unit could not stop Torrent and the Organization alone. Especially not since the Senate intended to dissolve them. Gran-creator had his own agenda, and I helped him achieve his goal. Your gran-creator wanted to take control over Prowl and use him and the Joint Investigation Unit against our enemies. I knew Prowl's weakness and used it against him. Stormwind's carrier stayed at a hospital in Iacon. We tricked Prowl's bondmate― Nacelle―who was staying with him, into fleeing with Thundercracker and Typhoon to a rendezvous point I had selected. Hailstorm picked them up there without Prowl or the Joint Investigation Unit's knowledge and brought them home to us."
"I bet he wasn't happy about that," Nightflow smirks evilly, his creator mirroring it―optics sparkling with mischief.
"You have no idea how angry he got when he found out, but he couldn't do anything about it. I later convinced Nacelle to have Skywarp transferred into my custody, and that is how I met Stormwind's creators. They stayed with us until we had dealt with Torrent and the Organization. During Thundercracker and Skywarp's stay with us, we became friends. And later on, your carrier and I were there when Thundercracker received the first of his lost memories after your carrier and her colleague Hotspot had found a way to help him."
Nightflow muses on the information his creator has given him during the rest of their trip home. He gets pulled against his creator's frame and is only distantly aware of Torment speaking with his elites.
"We are approaching, sir."
He onlines his optics blearily at Ripstorm's announcement, realizing he must have fallen into recharge at some point.
He turns around in the seat and sits on his knees while he looks out of the aircraft's side window. They are nearing the entrance to his gran-creator's stronghold. His creator sends the signal for the opening, and Nightflow stares in marvel as the enormous camouflaged hangar doors slide aside. As they fly towards the entrance, his gaze turns to the dozen turrets hidden strategically in the canyon's rocky surface.
If his creator hadn't sent the signal in time, they would have come to life and shot them out of the air. But now, they remain passive―letting them fly through the open hangar doors and into his gran-creator's seat of power. He hears the hangar doors slide closed behind them with a deafening boom, and then the light turns on inside the tunnel leading to their home far down below the surface of Iacon.
A few minutes later, they land in the vast hangar that houses his gran-creator's enormous fleet of various aircraft types. A few are civilian-looking and non-threatening, but most are fitted with heavy weaponry and ready to be dispatched at any moment to defend their territory against their enemies or fight over new ones.
The ramp begins to lower and strong arms pick him up. He looks surprised at his creator as Torment carries him out of the aircraft. He is not a tiny sparkling anymore, but sometimes his creator seems to forget that.
Yet, he doesn't complain this time.
He cherishes moments like these with his creator.
It is as if Torment becomes an entirely different sire when he tells his exciting stories, and it is so rare for his creator to openly show him affection. His carrier says that that is just how he is―that Torment isn't good at showing his true feelings but loves him dearly in his spark. And in moments like this, he sees that love.
They barely make it down the ramp before his carrier hugs him and he gets sandwiched between his creators. Torment crouches to let Athena embrace him more firmly.
"Primus, Nightflow! I have been so scared."
Tears well up in his optics at his carrier's distressed voice and he leans into her embrace while his creator holds him. "I'm so sorry, carrier." He chokes out.
Athena trembles against him, and his spark hurts.
He hadn't meant to hurt her.
His carrier leans out of the embrace, her optics turning stern as she looks at him. "Don't you ever do that again!"
"How often hasn't he promised that only to break it?" His gran-creator smiles coldly as he approaches them with his second-in-command a step behind him. "And he will do it again, won't you, Nightflow?"
He blushes at the sudden attention on him and hides his face against his creator's shoulder, which draws a burst of laughter from his gran-creator―the sound rich and good-natured―and he dares a shy look up at Talon.
"He definitely has your abilities, Torment. Nothing can hold him back when he sets his mind on something."
There is an encouraging caress of a massive hand on his shoulder and back, and he looks up into the optics that are full of pride at his skill in escaping from his creator again and again, no matter how focused Torment is on keeping him on a short leash when they are away from home.
"Don't encourage him!" His carrier scolds and points threateningly at his gran-creator.
It forces a burst of deep laughter out of his creator and a digit pokes his nasal ridge affectionately. He looks into Torment's optics, seeing them shine with mischievousness. "Why don't you tell your carrier who you met on your runaway?"
"Stormwind." He says with a broad smile as he thinks about his new friend.
Athena whips around on the spot, her optics wide with surprise as she stares at them. Then her optics narrow and Nightflow sees her gaze focus on something behind them. Curiously he looks around, seeing Turborazor and Ripstorm stand at attention behind his creator.
"Don't tell me-" His carrier doesn't finish the sentence but simply lets out a resigned sigh while she shakes her head. "I'll contact Thundercracker and Skywarp to apologize."
Nightflow looks between his creators. "Can I see him again?"
"Absolutely not!" Athena almost yells with distress anew in her voice.
He is about to voice his protest, but just then, his creator suddenly caresses his carrier's cheek to calm her. He sees gentleness fill Torment's optics as his creators have a silent communication, and not wanting to ruin the moment between them, he remains silent, waiting for the outcome of whatever discussion they are having.
"The damage has already been done, Athena." His creator finally speaks out loud. "We can no longer protect them by keeping a distance. Our presence in Praxus, no matter how short, will be all over the news by now. Stormwind's connection to us will have been exposed to the world tonight. Many may not connect the dots, but I know some of our enemies will. There is no longer any point in keeping a distance."
Torment looks at Talon, seeking his approval before then looking at Nightflow.
"No promises." His creator says sternly, his optics conveying the seriousness of the matter. "I will contact the Joint Investigation Unit. If we are doing this, we must do it correctly. I have no idea how Prowl will react to the request and whether he will allow our presence in Praxus, but I will do what I can."
He hugs his creator tightly.
"Thank you, Creator!"