"Growth is the only evidence of life."

- John Henry Newman

After lashing out at Knockout the other day, Starscream couldn't understand why he felt so… not good. At first, he thought getting some payback would make him feel better, and it did. For a while, anyway.

However, he continued to think about the reaction Knockout had, and realized that, on some level, he really felt bad about what happened and is actually trying to make amends. It wasn't until a few days later that Starscream came to terms with his thoughts, since that's all he's had to do within the confines of his cell.

Primus, I can't wait to spread my wings and take flight once again, Starscream thought as he slipped into recharge.

"Starscream? Hey, Starscream, wake up!"

The Seeker, jostled from his sleep, awoke with a start. His optics flickered open, vision still blurry. It took a minute for them to adjust to the light.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!"

Wait, I know that voice.

"Bumblebee?" Starscream mumbled, shaking his helm as he struggled to sit-up, still half asleep. "What do you want?"

"Well, good morning to you, too, Screamer," Bumblebee replied with a smirk. Starscream glared at the yellow and black mech standing next to him.

"Don't tell me Knockout's gotten everyone hooked on that absurd nickname."

Bumblebee ignored the accusation. He suddenly grabbed Starscream by the arm and led him out of his cell.

"What? Where are we going?" Starscream stammered.

"You'll see," Bumblebee said without looking back.

Starscream struggled in the Lieutenant's grip, attempting to get away, afraid of something bad happening.

He isn't going to terminate me, is he? Knockout wouldn't let him do that to me! Right?

Still apprehensive about what this could possibly be, but knowing he had no choice, followed Bumblebee the rest of the way in silence. It wasn't until after he calmed down a bit that he realized the absence of stasis cuffs. The lack of restraints added to Starscream's confusion, but also added to his curiosity.

Well, might as well behave myself. Primus knows when I'm going to get another chance like this.

"Ah, there you are, Starscream."

The Seeker snapped back to reality and looked up. He noticed they were in the hangar. Crates lined opposing walls, while the remaining Cybertronians occupied the center area.

"Sleep well?" Knockout asked, having turned his attention away from the data pad in-servo to greet the newcomers. Moonracer greeted them as well; Steeljaw seemed too engrossed in the information on his own data pad to bother acknowledging their presence. Unless one would consider a twitch of his ear as a sign of acknowledgment.

"Let's just say it's been easier for me to recharge with all that stress out of my system," Starscream answered, shrugging his shoulders as if it was no big deal. Knockout's mood shifted from amused to pained and back again, all in a matter of seconds.

"Glad to hear that."

Starscream noticed Knockout's swift emotional switches, and couldn't help feeling the slightest bit bad for him.

He's still hurting after the last time. I guess he really does feel bad, and my outburst just made it worse.

Starscream shivered, attempting to suppress his emotions.

"Starscream, you alright?" Bumblebee asked.

"Ah, yes," Starscream replied quickly. "Yes, I'm alright. Now, would someone care to explain to me why I've been dragged out here?"

The Cybertronians, minus Steeljaw, looked at each other.

"Well, Starscream, we've finally reached Planet-One of our little... expedition... and for reasons that I do not feel like getting into right now, decided that we should split up into teams and explore the place," Knockout explained. "We'll have two pairs go off in opposite directions, while the remaining one will, well, remain here as mission control."

"And to make sure nothing happens to the ship," Moonracer added.

"Yes, that, too."

"So, who's with who?" Bumblebee asked.

"While I sincerely doubt I have a say in any of this, I know none of you are going to leave me behind to watch over the ship," Starscream said.

"Yeah, no," Knockout laughed. "As my responsibility, you're coming with me."

There were so many things Starscream wanted to say right then and there, but didn't. He wanted to fly asap, and knew that wouldn't happen if he argued with Knockout. So, he kept his mouth shut.

"No complaints? Alright, then. Bumblebee, you're with Steeljaw…"

"Figures," both mechs interrupted at the exact same time.

"Leaving Moonracer here."

"Of course," Moonracer vented.

"Sorry, Moonracer, but I couldn't think of anyone more responsible or trustworthy to handle protecting the ship while keeping track of the rest of us at the same time."

At that, Moonracer's mood lightened. She was clearly ready for adventure, but knew that Knockout was putting a lot of faith in her to handle things while nobody else was around. For both Starscream and Bumblebee, it was so strange witnessing Knockout being sincere to someone else, especially one of his own colleagues. The only other Cybertronian Starscream ever remembered seeing Knockout act this way around was Breakdown.

He didn't dawdle on the subject any further as the sound of the door opening and the sights and sounds of the outside world reached their senses.

For the moment, Starscream couldn't move.

"Knockout, are you sure you didn't land us in one of Earth's jungles?"

"Hey, I wasn't the one in charge of navigation, Bee! You were!"

"Calm down, guys. There's no point in, well, pointing digits."

"Pointing fingers, actually… oh, wait, wrong planet. Hold on, are we back on Earth? Alright, who screwed-up the coordinates?"

Bumblebee, Knockout, and Steeljaw continued to bicker amongst themselves. Moonracer attempted to get a word in edgewise, but to no avail. She quickly grew tired of their arguing and thought of a… less than civilized way of getting them to stop fighting. Just as she was about to lay down the law, however, a powerful force shot past the group like a bullet.

Starscream laughed, nothing but joy escaping his vocals as he soared, spun and spiraled through the air, feeling the wind beneath his wings.

He was finally flying.

After all that time – lying comatose, locked in a cell or two, or more – he was finally back in the clouds.

He finally felt free.

{Starscream! Starscream, can you hear me? Please respond!}

Knockout yelled through the commlink, startling the Seeker and causing him to lose altitude for just a second.

KO: {Starscream, answer me!}

SS: {For the love of the Allspark, Knockout, I read you loud and clear! Now stop raising your voice at me! You nearly made me crash with all that racket!}

KO: {Ratchet? What does he have to do with any of this?}

SS: {RACKET! I SAID RACKET, NOT RATCHET! Primus, something must be clogging your audio receptors. I thought you pride yourself on the best of self-care, doctor? Does that not apply to every single part of you, and not just your looks? Either that, or you really suck at listening.}

Knockout didn't immediately respond. Starscream could hear him saying something, but couldn't understand what was being said.

KO: {Honestly, Starscream, whenever you're preaching nonsense, I just tune you out.}

commlink ended

"Starscream? Hello? Screamer, you still there?"

Knockout waited another minute, then turned to face the others.

"He hung up on me."

"Shocking," Moonracer retorted, earning a few chuckles from Bumblebee and a snort of amusement from Steeljaw. Knockout just rolled his optics.

"Anyway, what are you two planning on doing while out and about?" Knockout asked, directing his question to the other pair of explorers.

"Well, for starters, making sure Steeljaw doesn't kill me while we're alone," Bumblebee said, raising his voice in order to make a point.

"Not when I have a lot riding on this mission, I won't," Steeljaw argued, not bothering to look at Bumblebee.

"Doesn't matter. I'm still going to keep a close eye on you."

"So long as you don't get in my way, go right ahead."

"Alright, then!" Knockout anxiously interjected, wanting to get them to talk about something else before things got out of hand. "So, what else do you guys have in mind, aside from the possibility of… WHOA!"

Knockout never got to finish as he was swept away in the blink of an eye.

Starscream was used to howling winds echoing in his audio receptors; because of that, Knockout's screaming wasn't as painful to deal with as it could have been. Not that Starscream would mind either way. He was having way too much fun to care.

"What's the matter, Knockout? Afraid of heights?" Starscream teased, laughing all the while.

"Heights, no. Falling to my death, yes!" Knockout screeched, further tightening his grip around Starscream's jet mode. "Not to mention the damage to my beautiful paint job!"

"Tch. You're such an idiot."

Knockout opened his mouth a little to protest...

{Knockout? Starscream? Come in!}

KO: {Bee? Is that you?}

BBB: {Knockout? Thank the Allspark! Are you alright? What's going on?}

KO: {Well, I'm not too sure, but I think Screamer here is trying to kill me.}

SS: {No, I'm not, but call me Screamer one more time, and I won't hesitate to drop you.}

KO: {Don't worry, Bee! I'm fine! We're both fine! Actually, more than fine. Courtesy of Starscream, we have a bird's eye view of the place.}

SJ: {That means the ground work will be left solely to us.}

BBB: {Oh, Primus. Well… um… yeah, I guess so. Knockout, Starscream, you two be careful out there, alright?}

KO + SS: {Got it.}

SJ: {And do try to come back with something useful while you're at it.}

MR: {What I'm pretty sure Steeljaw meant to say was to be sure to return in one piece, please.}

SJ: {Yes, of course. That, too.}

KO: {Well…}

SS: {We'll try.}

BBB: {Good luck.}

The commlink ended, but Starscream and Knockout waited a little longer before conversing amongst themselves again.

"Something tells me Moonracer is a lot scarier than she looks," Starscream admitted. "Honestly, it sounded like Steeljaw was a little intimidated by her."

"I wouldn't be too surprised," Knockout vented, relaxing his grip on the jet. "Moonracer can be rather terrifying at times, but that's a side of her that rarely comes out, and I plan to keep it that way."

Starscream hummed in thought.

If she's anything like Arcee, then I must stay on her good side.

Suddenly, a heavy force pushed up into the Seeker's undercarriage…

Everything immediately went dark…

Until his system rebooted shortly afterward.

" . . . What happened?" Starscream moaned, slowly transforming from jet mode to bipedal form.

"Knockout?"

Starscream only had to turn his helm a little ways to spot his comrade sprawled out on the ground a few yards away.

"Knockout!"

The Seeker turned and rushed to the medic's side, only to double over in pain.

"Scrap… that hurts," Starscream vented, wrapping his arms around his damaged midsection. "That really, really hurts."

"Starscream?"

The Seeker didn't look up.

"Starscream!"

He felt light servos glide carefully across his dented frame. He instinctively flinched at the touch of another being, but relaxed once he realized that it could only be one mech, and knew he wasn't going to hurt him.

"Knockout," Starscream rasped, attempting to sit up. He grimaced as pain shot through his frame and he nearly collapsed.

"Whoa, easy there, Screamer," Knockout warned, catching Starscream before he injured himself further. "The damage is easily repairable, but I'm betting the impact did quite a number on your insides."

"No kidding. What happened, anyway?"

"Um… I'm guessing that?"

"What?"

Knockout lifted his servo and pointed to something behind Starscream. The Seeker carefully turned around to see what caught the medic's attention. That's when he saw it.

"So… boulders being shot into the sky by geysers?"

Both Knockout and Starscream lounged on their perch for nearly an hour, watching the phenomenon unfold in front of them. Neither of them could find the logic behind any of it.

"I mean, this isn't the first time we've encountered weird stuff on an organic planet. This seems pretty normal for us."

"Knockout, just shut up."

" . . . You want me to call Moonracer?"

"Please."

"Okay."