Chap 12

Migration

From what you can tell of time, a few days must have passed. Cybertron grows closer every time you wake up, and your days (if you can call them that with the lack of sunlight) are spent with your Seekers.

They've rarely left your side since the latest incident. And to be fair, you haven't asked for time alone yet either. You don't want to be apart from them, and they don't want to be apart from you, so it's in your collective best interest to stay together. You're happy, they're happy, everyone's happy.

Actually, the Autobots have been oddly scarce since Wheeljack's departure on the flight deck. You get the impression that Elita-1 is giving each of them a stern talking to, and it's taking longer than either of you previously expected. Optimus and Ratchet specifically you haven't seen since the incident in the hallway, and it's hard not to feel glad about that. They still give you a feeling that sets your denta on edge. You can't help but hope things will be different after Elita talks to them. It simmers in your chassis, but you have other things to worry about.

The past few cycles have provided a wealth of information. With the truth of your origin behind you, an emboldened feeling allows you to ask anything and everything without fear of consequence. And amazingly, the Seekers answer your every question.

You learn so much about them, it's hard not to feel giddy when faced with millions of years of alien civilization and knowledge. Starscream, in particular, seems extremely excited to return to Cybertron, and as you've learned, he prides himself on how much he loves his planet. He even brags that no one cares for Cybertron as much as he does, which is why he was always meant to rule it. (You're not sure if this is some ongoing joke between him and Skywarp that you're now privy to, he says it seriously, but you're happy to be included regardless).

Skywarp takes you out onto the deck a few more times, your wing control becoming slightly better with each attempt. Transforming into your alt mode is still outside of your capabilities, but he says it's just a matter of time. You've even activated your pede thrusters a few times, scorching the metal panels of the flight deck, but the scuffs just make you and Skywarp grin happily at your modicum of success.

Your favourite moment within the past few cycles would have to be playing hide and seek with the Seekers. Once you introduced them to the game they were instantly on board, what with Seeking being the primary component of their culture, Starscream boasted.

The initial hesitation that you felt when explaining the rules fell away immediately upon seeing the eagerness within their red optics. But they were huge giant robots on a ship literally made for their size, and you were the smallest being alive on board. Surely this would be an easy game. You start the game as the seeker while the Seekers are hiding, and you're relatively confident the first round will conclude quickly.

Oh, but how wrong you are.

What you don't take into consideration is the fact that they're called transformers for a reason. Thinking like a human, you waved off a few hiding spots considering the shape and size of your winged guardians. While they were beings of hinges and pistons, you never stop to consider they can shift and move their body parts to fit the most outrageous corners of the ship.

And while every being on this ship is made of metal, it makes for trickier than usual seeking when everything else is also made of metal. Skywarp even shows you this cool trick when you find him, changing the value of the purple on his wings to a deeper shade so that they blend in more with the shadows. (Where you find him is actually ridiculous. He was wedged in one of the blast crevasses on the flight deck, coiled and obviously uncomfortable. He was wearing a big smile when you found him, and you couldn't help smiling back.)

After successfully finding Skywarp, you and he wander around the upper deck so many times that your legs begin to feel sore. Skywarp even offers to give you a hint to make the round go by faster but you adamantly refuse.

Starscream is proving to be an absolute nightmare to find. For someone who is normally so eager to make his presence known in any given situation, he sure hides well. (Before beginning the game, the Seekers had set down some ground rules once they grasped the root of the game, and they didn't want you to wander too far in case of an emergency. So you're limited to seeking within the parameters of the flight deck, the hallway on the way to the berth room, and the berth room itself) That means obviously the largest area to search would be the flight deck, so you spend most of your time searching there.

After fully giving up on the flight deck, you make your way to the hallway to search that area. On the way, you receive a comm notification from Starscream.

: Leaving the deck without saying goodbye? I am almost proud of your ruthlessness.: His comment gives you pause. So, he must still be on the flight deck then.

: Bravo to you for dismissing my brother's offer, there would be no way to know if he was telling the truth.: There is no way to know if Starscream is saying all this to get you off his trail either. You remain silent over the comm, but he persists anyway, chattering away in your audial.

: You spent so long searching out here, but to no avail. I, Starscream, am now the ruler of this game, and will accept your surrender at any time.: You almost want to laugh at his dramatics, but hold yourself back. He's hamming it up for your sake, but there is a touch of frustration at the fact that you can't find a giant robot on a mostly open concept flight deck.

When you reach the door of the hallway you turn to notice Skywarp snickering slightly. He clasps his servos behind his back in a guilty manner when he catches you staring at him and smiles cheerily at your stare. He's definitely guilty of something, probably having something to do with Starscream's location, but you don't trust anything coming out of his intake when it comes to this game. It feels a little bit like they're working together against you, but that only raises the stakes.

"Are you sure you don't want my hint?" His voice is almost too high pitched to be considered normal, his grin a bit too tight. It would be so easy to give in. Just a tiny hint wouldn't hurt.

But your pride won't allow it. These aliens hadn't even heard of hide and seek a few hours ago, and you won't be deposed from one of the only human things you remember doing. You scowl back at his cheery smile and shake your helm aggressively.

"I'll find him. Just watch." Stomping back to the middle of the flight deck, you try and come up with a different game plan.

You've already searched the nooks and crannies of the surrounding structures on the flight deck. You're fairly certain that those areas are free of your remaining Seeker guardian. Unless Starscream was trying to get you off his trail by mentioning the fact he knew you were leaving the flight deck (that may involve some betrayal by Skywarp if that's the case) you want to believe he's somewhere out here.

He's not past the gravity shield, and even if he was you'd be able to see him easily. You're fairly certain that he's not in the berth room as that's where you started counting. The corridor was your last idea, but it was last because it was so narrow he'd basically have nowhere to hide there. Where could he be?

Skywarp chuckling under his breath behind you isn't helping your concentration, but now things are getting serious. With limited places left to search, you are close to giving up. But your pride spurs you forward as you recheck other areas more thoroughly. The purple brother offers to pick you up to get a higher vantage point, but you consider that cheating so you decline. He only shrugs in response and continues his aggravating chuckles.

Your searching has reached a point where your pedes have passed the point of soreness to actually hurting from walking around so much. They feel warm, like lingering residual heat from your pede thrusters, but in an uncomfortable way. You have half a mind to practise activating them just so you could have a break from walking around.

Circling around the charred remains of your old room and finding nothing, you backtrack to the crater where you found Skywarp. There was barely enough room for one transformer last you checked, so you hadn't felt the need to double check to see if there was more than one Seeker in the hole. But circling around again, you dubiously approach the crevice only to find familiar, glittering red optics staring up at you.

"Took you long enough." Starscream rasps, the mechanical clicks and whirrs creating an audible background of his transformation out of the hole. He looked ridiculous, almost horrific in his positioning. His legs were backward and angled in an odd direction, but he gave no indication that he felt uncomfortable in any way. "I was beginning to merge with the flight deck. If you had taken much longer, I would have slipped into recharge." He even has the audacity to fake a yawn once he raises himself from the hole.

Pouting, but proud of yourself, you cast a smirk his way. "I never would have guessed you'd use Skywarp as a cover." You try not to sound impressed. "Your own brother. That's cold."

"On the contrary." Starscream dusts some of the residual ash from the crevice off his armour as he rises to full height. "It is ingenious. I am tempted to tell you the exact time in which it took you to find us both, but I do not want you to get discouraged." A fang peeks out of his intake. "It is almost shameful, however."

Crossing your arms, you stick out your glossa at him.

"It is your turn to hide." And without giving you even a second to catch your breath or revel in your victory, he begins counting.

You barely have time to react before running in the opposite direction looking for a hiding spot. You had come up with a few ideas while you were looking for the Seekers, but you hadn't expected to have to implement them so quickly.

Judging from the fact that Skywarp hasn't moved from beside his brother, it is going to be both of them against you.

But you're tiny, and the ship is massive, so you expect things to go smoothly.

The spot that you had in mind is brilliant (if you do say so yourself). Heading towards the corridor, the door opens automatically at your proximity. Higher up on the wall is a vent that you had spied briefly on one of your many trips from the berth room to the flight deck. If you can activate that mine launcher thing that's in your arm, you can technically remain in the corridor within the parameters with no way for them to see you.

You've been more creative with the mine launcher recently. There was no point in having it and ignoring it, even if it was a symbol that made the others uncomfortable, but you had tried to rebrand it into something less of a weapon and more of a toy. It was more or less unsuccessful, but it did have its uses outside of tiny angry explosions.

The plan goes well, with a few awkward gestures coaxing the mine out of your arm panel, but you eventually get it to work and you're greeted with an angry blinking light in your palm. Throwing it into the vent, you back up and clasp your servos over your audials and wait for the tiny explosion.

It works like charm except for the lingering smoke that exudes out of the tiny vent. You crawl in, pulling the vent casing behind you, and back up a little bit into the shaft. Pinning your wings back allows you to fit into the vent with ease, even allowing for some space to fan some of the smoke out. It's not too tight. How smushed you feel is overwritten by how pleased you are by this excellent hiding spot. But the din of Starscream's counting voice has stopped, and you sense that you're nearly out of time before the Seekers start to look for you.

Half a moment later, the flight deck door opens with a metallic noise, followed by Starscream's voice.

"There. They're in the ventilation shaft." And before you can make a sound of incredulity, Skywarp's servo reaches in and surrounds you.

Being pulled out of what should have been an excellent hiding spot with a frown on your faceplate, you address the brothers.

"No fair! How'd you find me so fast?"

Starscream rolls his optics. "You think after the last time I did not commit your energy signature completely to memory? Either of us could find you anywhere on this ship."

"That's cheating!" You stick out your glossa at him, sore that you were found so quickly. He sticks his glossa out right back. Skywarp laughs at both of you. Amidst the frustration, you still feel incredibly happy.

Completely exhausted, you lay limply in Skywarp's servo, even leaning back folding your wings outward. This was so fun, and while you're glad it's over, you now have more information on how to search for them next time you play. And maybe they'll always be the ones hiding if it's so easy for them to find you.

A smile makes its way onto your faceplate, and you sigh contently. Your usual worries have felt so far away in the past few cycles, and to be honest you haven't even thought of returning back to your old body in that time. Which, realising it now, is as much a balm on your usually frayed nerves as it is harmful. The more you put off thinking about it, the more complicated it will be later. But not stressing about it is something that feels more healthy. So you take the middle road and ignore both for the time being, instead basking at the attention and the fun day you've had.

The Seekers carry you back to the berth room, lay you down in the nest of blankets, and you're out like a light before you know it.

The next time you awake, there is a hushed conversation in the room with you. Starscream and Skywarp are whispering amongst themselves, not over comm, very close to the nest. As you blearily gain consciousness, you catch bits of their dialogue.

"-arriving now, shouldn't we all be present for landing?"

"What about the Autobots? I still do not trust them in the little one's proximity."

"Better us both there than only one of us guarding them here."

"Hmm, I hate it when you make sense."

Yawning audibly, you stretch your arms and feel your wings flutter simultaneously behind you. Skywarp is immediately at your side with a whispered tone. "We're arriving soon, little Screamer. We've all been summoned to the flight deck for landing."

Sleep is gone from your processor at the fact that the ship has finally arrived on the alien planet. Your first alien planet. Where your Seekers are from! You jump to your pedes at the same time as Skywarp comes in for a scoop.

The brothers nod at each other once Skywarp resumes his full height, and without another word between the three of you, you all make your way to the flight deck.

The sight that greets you through the familiar doors is not one that you're used to. Instead of the usual outcrop of space, stars glittering in every direction, there is light. An expansive brightness makes you squint your optics for the first time in weeks (since you left Earth, surely), and once they adjust you get a closer look at your surroundings.

Firstly, the reason for the brightness is because everything is made of highly reflective metal. Everything shines in this unfamiliar world, and the closer the ship gets, the more you can pick out details that may be buildings or skyscrapers fallen into states of disrepair.

The ship heads for a large expanse of open space, either an empty field or perhaps a huge old landing pad. The ship begins its descent with an aggressive pulse of rear thrusters, drowning out the silence of the crew on deck.

Secondly, all of the Autobots are here, save for Wheeljack. He must be the one piloting, you guess. You can see Elita-1, though she doesn't turn to look back at you. Instead, her gaze is fixed alongside the rest of the crew, on what was once a growing sphere of a planet that is now a spectacle wider than your whole periphery.

The Seeker brothers take a step onto the flight deck, momentarily stunned at the vision of their home planet. They don't speak either, and you can see Skywarp's intake slightly open showcasing his reverence. Starscream is so still, even his usual wing flicker is absent.

This is the first time you've seen Bumblebee the whole trip. Normally he hid or was busy on the opposite end of the Ark II. He, too, stares at the glittering structures as they approach with a longing that makes you uncomfortable to look at. Arcee stands behind him, so you can't see her that well from where you're held, but you can imagine her expression is similar to his.

Optimus Prime is the only one who tears his optics away from the planet's surface to look at you. He stares only for a moment, much shorter than his usual intensive stare, and the expression of guilt that flashes across his face tells you whatever chat Elita had with him definitely got through. A modicum of tension leaks out of your body at the realisation, and you feel slightly more comfortable in his presence than you were previously. If he's feeling guilty, then that's step one.

The only other figure aboard the flight deck is Barricade, who at first you hadn't noticed due to his dark colouring against the equally dark shadows growing from the shining reflections on the flight deck. He's standing next to Elita-1, his upper arm clasped in her servo, and a pair of glowing cuffs along his wrists.

He's huge, now that you get a good look at him. Almost as big as Optimus. And most unexpectedly, he has four sets of red optics rather than the usual two. (Starscream had mentioned that he previously knew of a Decepticon with a single optic, which sounded interesting to you, but he ensured you'd never have to meet him, whatever he meant by that.) It seems silly to think that it only takes a single servo and some tiny cuffs to subdue him, but they seem to be working just fine.

You can't tell if he's damaged, as his paint doesn't show scuffs in dark spots the way that it does on yours. But you can see a few areas where the paint is more matte, less shiny, and you can guess that those spots probably still hurt. He's massive, so you can guess that it barely touched any of his vital components, probably just paint scuffs.

His optics flicker to yours for the first time, and widen in recognition. You've never met face to face, only through the door of his cell, but he seemed nice enough the time you met him. You give him a small wave, even fluttering your wings a little to showcase your friendliness, but he looks away without waving back. Not that he's able to, but he doesn't smile back either.

Kind of disappointed, you turn your helm to watch the same view as everyone else. The shapes are becoming more recognizable as buildings now, and the flashes have grown in length, nearly blinding you with their glares. Maybe it's because you've been in space for so long, your optics seem more sensitive to light. They even well up with tears a little, making the shapes blurr and mesh together in your vision.

The duration of the descent lasts longer than expected, giving you a sense of the scale of the buildings. They seem to last forever the further down you go, and at this point you suspect that you'll hit the planet's core before long. The buildings, though in ruins, are easily taller than any buildings on Earth. With the scale of the ship as your guide, this is truly a world meant for giants. If you thought you felt small on the ship, you know it's going to be nothing compared to the feeling of taking your first step onto this alien world. The starry sky, which was a constant, is completely obscured by the surrounding buildings, and the shadow of the ship glints its reflection off of the nearby shining metal panels.

Finally, finally you can see the surface. The terrain is more rugged than you expect, with millennia of fighting and decay littering the ground, and you can tell you're in for a rough landing. But none of the Cybertronians move an inch, or even brace for impact. They remain stock still, and it looks like only you feeling nervous about the imminent rough landing.

You grip your servos further into the crevices of Skywarp's palm and offline your optics, preparing for impact. And because of this exact choice you miss what happens next.

A blast is heard, then felt from beneath you, followed by Skywarp's painful shout. The blast feels warm, and the heat is coming from beneath you. It's followed in quick succession by a second blast, which causes the purple Seeker to launch you in the same way as he'd done a hundred times before. The taste of smoke fills your intake like a bitter pill, and you sputter. In the brief astrosecond of being airborne, you fully expect to feel Starscream's servos underneath you at any moment. Your wings even flare instinctively like they've done a hundred times before. But before you can online your optics, unfamiliar servos scoop and cage you before the impact hits and the whole ship rattles.

Without clear sight and fully shaken by the quick confusing events, you hear and feel the familiar sounds of transformation around you. Shifting plates and gears move in a blur, the dusty air whooshing by you before the sensation is gone completely. The metal servos are replaced by plush leather seats, and the loud screech of an unfamiliar engine roars in your audials.

The windows of the vehicle you're in are tinted black and you can't see out of them. What's worse is the impact is still rattling your frame. The world is still rocking like an earthquake and you feel like you're still in the middle of crashing. The car is also shaking with the rocky terrain. You're going somewhere and fast. Whatever's just happened still hasn't fully hit you, but you can tell something's really wrong.

Skywarp sounded hurt. What happened? Was there someone on the planet that fired upon arrival? Who were you with now? It wasn't one of the Seekers, since it was some kind of ground vehicle you are in, but it's hard to tell from the inside. Your denta chatter from the rush of fear and adrenaline, and it's hard to make out words. Plus, you don't want to distract someone during a fight again resulting in another death on your record. So you keep your chatter to a minimum until you find it's safe to speak.

You begin to count, same as you did the cycle before during hide and seek. You make it to thirty before a deep, slightly familiar voice gets your attention through the surrounding speakers.

"Phew, I think we're in the clear."

"Barricade?"

"We're finally out of range. Status report?"

You pat yourself as much as you're able in the shaking transformer. The terrain must be really rough here. There are no sore spots, but your processor is swirling.

"W-what happened? Did we crash?" Your words tremble, but they're clear, thank goodness.

"Had to get you away, didn't I? It wasn't safe. Still ain't safe, but we're out of comm range so that's a positive." His voice is just as you remember it from the other side of the door, gruff with an accent you can't place.

Nervousness creeps into you like bugs under your shirt. Were there enemies when you landed? When were you going back? Red optics meant he worked together with the Seekers at some point right? Even though he said they weren't friends, you presumed they're probably still allies.

"Did the Autobots do something? I-Is that why it isn't safe?"

"They'll never be safe, those Seekers neither. I saw my chance to save you, and while it was risky I admit, it worked! You're safe with me now." His tone is prideful in a way that makes you feel sick. The familiar realisation of being kidnapped hits you in full force.

You scramble to the door handle in a second, finding it unfortunately locked tight. Barricade brushes off your panic in a way reminiscent of Optimus. "Hey there, I know it's a little bumpy, but I'll get you somewhere safe soon."

The cables in your neck tense with anxiety and anger as you yell at him. "Let me out! I have to go back to them!" You bang on the windows for good measure, the force making your servos sore.

Barricade hits a tight turn that makes you fall to the floor of the backseat in a tumble, but he apologises while chastising you all the same. "Careful there! I ain't no medic, so I don't want you hurtin' yourself." He growls low. "'Sides, those Seekers are nothin' but bad news. It ain't right that they've been keepin' you. They ain't the nurturin' type."

More slander against your favourite Seekers. "I don't care! Bring me back!" You use your pedes to kick the glass, but it's hard to get the angle right. You pedes keep slipping without giving maximum impact. You have to get out of here.

The heated air from a nearby vent blasts in your faceplate, hot and uncomfortable. You get the impression that Barricade's fighting some inner part of himself. You kick the windows a few more times to showcase your aggravation.

"You don't get to choose for me! Turn around!" Your assault doesn't stop, but it also doesn't do any damage. What were these windows made of? Were they bulletproof?

"Listen kid, you gotta fight your programming. You don't belong with them, hear me? They're no good for you." His voice is calm despite the annoyance you can hear beneath his tone. "I know this ain't easy to hear, but it's all in your code. You imprinted on the worst slaggers Primus ever made, and you gotta fight it, so it'll be easier in the long run."

"No!" It's hard not to feel like a child throwing a tantrum when all you're doing is yelling back at him, but you can't think of anything else to do. The fact you're doing so from the back seat of a car isn't helping. A part of you knows like you sound like a petulant child that's been told they can't stop for ice cream. But you've got to get back to the brothers. Skywarp was probably hurt! And you know Starscream wouldn't leave his brother alone, injured amongst the Autobots.

Think. Think. How do you get out of this? Is there a child safety lock that you can disengage from the driver's seat? Stumbling amidst the moving vehicle, you make it upright and fall forwards over the seat divider. No such luck, and you feel briefly winded by the impact. It's far from cushioned leather in this section.

"Stop squirming and get down so you don't hurt yourself." Barricade's voice has an edge to it, like he's both worried for you and steadily getting annoyed. You ignore him in favour of trying to climb over the divider.

Which doesn't go according to plan. Whether on purpose or by accident, at the exact moment you feel unsteadiest, Barricade makes an extremely sharp turn and you're violently thrown backwards by the momentum. You don't have enough time to react before a solid surface meets the back of your helm hard and it's the last thing you remember for a while.

Barricade tried to soothe his alarms blaring in his processor. Somewhere along the way, the sparkling had been knocked unconscious in the back seat, and his code demanded that he pull over and find the closest doctor for medical attention. He knew that was the Autobot medic, and there was no way he was going back. However they weren't out of the danger zone yet, and while they were far out of comm range, the farther away they got from the ship the safer they'd be.

He couldn't imagine this happening back on Earth when he had refused Thundercracker's offer. He understood intrinsically that TC had been offlined by some Autobot protecting the sparkling in the middle of the fight, and had he realised they existed earlier he suspected he'd have done the same. Decepticon or no, a sparkling was in danger, and Thundercracker tried to do everything he could to get them to safety, which was admirable. If that was the way to go, TC definitely went out like a hero.

Which is what he was doing now. The first and only time he had been released from his cell was to witness the arrival on Cybertron. The moment he spied the small youngling (were they always that small?) in Skywarp's servos, he knew he had to come up with a plan to get them out of harm's way. The whole voyage he'd played nice in his stasis cuffs, never once trying to remove them or fight against them.

But they were weaker than rusted chains. He knew the moment they were slapped on that he could get out of them with ease. Cuffs just weren't made to detain mechs like him.

Laying optics on a sparkling after four million years was like a bucket of the iciest water dumped directly on his processor. It was impossible, but they were right there. While alone in his cell he fought his own belief at what he saw. Had his optics been malfunctioning? Or had there really been a sparkling, a fragging sparkling, right there in the middle of a battlefield?

The small steps echoed in his memory files when the sparkling had approached his cell. He couldn't stop himself from questioning the validity of their presence, and was both delighted and concerned to find how much they didn't know. Were they raised on Earth away from their parental units? Where had they come from?

Barricade knew as soon as he saw those wings, flared and afraid on the battlefield that those Seekers were going to be a problem. With TC out of the picture, that poor sparkling was going to be with the worst caretakers this side of the Horsehead Nebula. He knew (and was right) that Starscream would immediately claim the sparkling as Trine property (those tiny wings be damned, they were still a Cybertronian under there) and pull some Pit-spawned scheme where they'd be forced to imprint on the slaggers.

Barricade had no choice at the start, locked in his cell as he was. He could hardly fight for his claim, nor could he provide Energon for the sparkling when they needed fuelling. So he bided his time and came up with a threadbare plan for when he would be allowed on deck. Unfortunately for him, it took until the end of the voyage, but nobody will say that Barricade ever missed his chance. His patience paid off and as soon as he saw an opening, he took it.

Was it risky? Yes, but it was necessary. The longer the sparkling remained in the Seekers' presence the worse the separation would be.

So he shot Skywarp in the leg joint after snapping his own cuffs, elbowed Elita-1 in the faceplate, and shot the Seeker again for good measure. Once Skywarp was on his knees, Barricade channelled all his remaining energy reserves into revving his engine as fast as he could go, and snatching the youngling in his servos before taking off.

The harsh landing made for good cover, although he could tell the sparkling was rattled by the experience. All the dust and debris that was kicked up obscured the exact direction of his retreat, and he counted on the fact it would be a few astroseconds before anyone realised the sparkling was missing.

At the beginning, the sparkling didn't even fight him, making him grateful that the imprinting protocols either hadn't been activated or hadn't ever been authorised to begin with. Then the rescue dawned on the sparkling, and they reacted harsher than he had expected. They thrashed and kicked, and while it barely hurt, it was seriously impacting his ability to drive safely on Cybertron's rough terrain. Driving on the ruined highways of his homeworld and looking for somewhere safe to hide at the same time wasn't easy, but the wriggling sparkling distracting him in his cab made it significantly more difficult.

At one point, he thought he spotted a shadow overhead, perhaps one of the Seekers looking from an aerial view. So he made a decidedly reckless turn into a nearby tunnel and felt the sparkling make contact with his rear window. They were silent after that, and that's when the alarms started blaring.

Barricade had no choice but to keep driving, and he followed the tunnel as far as it would go. He had to backtrack a few times because of cave-ins and wide open spaces, but once he began to see familiar Cybertronian vegetation, he knew it was safe to exit.

The Wastes, outside what remained of the Crystal City, were vast with cybertronic vegetation, overgrown, and perfect for hiding. The plants soared high above, uninhibited by the previous inhabitants of the planet, growing unchecked and unrestricted around the debris of the once great city. The usual shine of the crystalline building material was obscured by the darkened foliage of semi-organic cyber matter, lending an air of mystery and danger.

The crumbling skyscrapers of the fallen city created makeshift canyons surrounded by overgrown vegetation, lending the image of nature reclaiming what once was a glittering utopia. While it lent many advantages to his current state, Barricade couldn't help but think of the ruins of his home city of Iacon, some distance away but closer than he'd been in millenia.

The canyons surrounding the ruins of the Crystal City were a perfect place for two Cybertronian refugees. There was enough raw Energon to sustain the plant life, thus there would be more than enough to refine to a consumable state. Barricade had to thank his lucky stars that there wasn't anyone else around, otherwise the fight for resources would be ugly.

Still, this area was still too close and too open to the landing of the Ark II, so it was imperative to keep moving. Hiding out somewhere in the Wastes was top priority, and getting the sparkling checked over for damage was secondary, as much as it blared angrily in his processor.

Cybertron had other indigenous life besides Cybertronians, but more basic and feral. Cybercats and aviannoids made this reclaimed space a home, and Barricade theorised that if he followed the tracks he may stumble upon a cave or something to repossess as shelter for himself and the youngling. He was once again in luck, and found an area not too dissimilar from his hideaway on Earth. An expansive cave overgrown with cyber vegetation obscuring the entrance. It only took a few blasts from his cannon to expel the previous inhabitants, and they scattered in fear leaving the area vacant for his purposes.

He transformed within the confines of the cave, depositing the sparkling onto his servo. They weren't leaking Energon, luckily, but they weren't waking up. After a quick scan and finding them for the most part undamaged, he cradled the youngling closer to his chassis and prayed that they'd wake up without issue. With nothing else to do in the meantime, he constructed a basic berth using materials left behind by the previous owners of the cave and some fresh vegetation not far from the entrance.

Placing the sparkling in a crudely fashioned nest, he could do nothing for them but be patient until they woke up. The fresh vegetation leaked droplets of raw Energon onto their delicate plating, which made the small form look more feral and vulnerable than they ever had in his memory.

So Barricade spent his time going through old memory files of maps of Cybertron and determining his exact location and where he intended to go next. This place was only temporary, and they'd need more refined Energon before long. Barricade could work off his reserves for a good while yet, his soldier training allowing for long periods of time rationing his energy, but the sparkling would need some before long. He had to prepare for the eventuality and provide for them to the best of his ability.

He admitted to himself that this was far from the optimal rearing situation that he would have wanted for a sparkling, but if the Autobots were successful with their mission, then hopefully Energon would be free flowing and available before long. Until then, he could refine the raw Energon in his own body to provide for the sparkling. It wasn't his favourite idea, but it was better than nothing, and more importantly it meant survival. And the survival of this little creature was more important than anything in his processor, even overwriting his own. When they woke up, he hoped they would come to see that.

He also had to consider the outcome if the sparkling never woke up, or took a turn for the worse. Right now they were unconscious, a false recharge that probably knocked them into sleep mode by accident. They looked peaceful, and would probably wake up with a ringing processor, but they were still online. If they took more than a cycle to awaken, then Barricade would have to consider other medical options.

Every soldier in the war had some medical knowledge, especially after field medics became scarcer once the battles waged on. But it was the trickier stuff, like the inner processor problems, that required a medic's steady hand to fix. Barricade hoped it wouldn't come to it, but he was prepared to bring the sparkling to Ratchet if it meant they would survive. Their survival came before anything.

He looked down at his tiny charge, delicate and fragile, and felt a well of fear churn in his tanks. He was responsible for more than just himself now. Even as a Decepticon under Megatron's rule, he was known for looking out for himself first, and had rarely been in the situation where he was in charge of others. He didn't work well with Vehicons, and preferred to showcase his merit alone. There hadn't been a time where he truly cared about another being besides himself, and he was finding the situation odd in his processor.

But with this small creature, this first new sparkling, he was now in charge of something more. And the thought terrified him.