Chapter 9: Kidnapped
Breakdown was playing in the forest with his step-sons, Trailfire and Rotorcharge and they were staying close together while laughing and squealing. "I'm gonna get you~!" Breakdown said as he chased after Trailfire. "Haha! Can't catch me!" The purple sparkling mech said as he ran away faster from Breakdown. "Now son, come back. Don't go too far." Breakdown told his step-son, but he didn't listen as he continued laughing and making happy sparkling noises as he ran a little far away as Breakdown and Rotorcharge tried to catch up to him. "Get back here!" Rotorcharge raised his voice at his twin brother. Still Trailfire didn't listen as he was still having fun running until he bumped into a wolf-like Cybertronian that caused him to fall onto his rear. "Oof! Ow!" Trailfire said as he fell onto the earth's ground before he rubbed his head and then looked up to see yellow optics staring down at him. "Well, well. What do we have here?" The wolf-like robot asked.
Trailfire gasped and he was spooked when he saw the wolf-like Cybertronain. Breakdown ran up closer to find his stepson until he saw the strange, yet familiar wolf-like Cybertronian that made his spark jump as he was now fearing for Trailfire. "Trailfire!" Breakdown yelled. He ran up and picked up Trailfire to keep him away from the strange wolf and he scolded his step-son. "I told you not to run too far like that!" Breakdown told Trailfire. "I'm sorry, papa." Trailfire apologized. Rotorcharge caught up with Breakdown and Trailfire and before they knew it, they were surrounded by what appeared to be animal-like Decepticons and it made Breakdown confused and concerned for his step-sons. "Kids, stay close to me," Breakdown told Trailfire and Rotorcharge. "Papa? Who are these robots?" Trailfire asked worriedly. Breakdown looked at Steeljaw when he spoke to him. "Breakdown! It's been over a millennium, my friend. How are you today?" Steeljaw greeted, yet Breakdown was still in full protective mode when he suddenly recognized the wolf-like Decepticon. "Steeljaw?" Breakdown asked. "Yes, it's me. I thought you wouldn't recognize me by now...given how long it's been since I was imprisoned in jail with my pack during the Great War." The wolf-like robot said.
Breakdown looked around and he had a feeling that he was surrounded by a gang of rejects. "Papa? Do you know him?" Rotorcharge asked. Breakdown kept his step-sons safe and closer to him while glaring at any one of Steeljaw's pack who would dare go near them. "Are these your sparklings?" Steeljaw asked. Breakdown frowned at Steeljaw and firmly replied. "None of your business, Steeljaw. Just what exactly are you and your pack doing here?" Breakdown demanded. Steeljaw was surprised by his old friend's tone of voice. "Why the long face, Breakdown? I thought you would be happy to see some of your old Decepticon brethren?...unless of course...you've become one of those Decepticons who decided that they should be allies with the Autobots. I've heard all about Orion Eclipse succeeding Megatron and uniting both sides between Autobots and Decepticons to end their civil war. But my pack and I? We still don't want to be friends with our sworn enemies." Steeljaw said before he snarled and attacked Breakdown as he bit him by the arm, causing him to let go of Trailfire before Rotorcharge caught his brother with both arms but his weight caused the twins to fall onto their rear ends. Breakdown hits Steeljaw with his hammer before he tells his step-sons to run and get help. "RUN! GET HELP!" Breakdown yelled.
Trailfire and Rotorcharge ran out of the danger zone as they rushed through the woods to outrun Steeljaw's pack. "AAAAH!" Trailfire and Rotorcharge screamed as they ran through the trees and bushes to escape from Thunderhoof and the other members of Steeljaw's pack while Breakdown fought against the latter with his hammer. Breakdown fought Steeljaw as the wolf-like Decepticon gave his armor a few scratches and drawing Energon from his cheek while Breakdown made a blood-curdling yell before he tried to tackle Steeljaw but he was too slow and heavy. "Ha! Too slow." Steeljaw said. "As always." He said after Breakdown fell to the floor. "You never should of come back from jail!" The bulky ex-Decepticon said. "Oh? And why should I be in jail with my pack? I expected you and maybe our former leader, Megatron to welcome us back with open arms. Guess I was wrong." Steeljaw said. Breakdown tried to get up to try to run over to help save his step-sons but Steeljaw tackled him and pinned him to the ground as Thunderhoof and the rest of Steeljaw's pack chased after the twins. Trailfire and Rotorcharge jumped over to the other side of the river, hoping to outrun those rogue Decepticons, but they jumped over the river too. "Come on! We gotta keep running!" Rotorcharge told his brother. "I-I can't run much longer! I'm too scared!" Trailfire cried before the twins slipped down a hill and splashed onto a mud puddle. Rotorcharge helped his brother up and they continued to flee when Trailfire suddenly slipped and fell onto the ground. Rotorcharge didn't hear his brother slip and fall as he continued to run and he went into hiding before Trailfire got up and tried to catch up to his brother as his spark continued to beat faster with fear and adrenaline. Suddenly, Thunderhoof had the purple sparkling cornered before he grabbed him by the leg and made him squirm in his grasp. "AAAAH! LET ME GO! HELP!" Trailfire screamed. Thunderhoof commlinked Steeljaw to inform him that he caught the sparkling. "Thunderhoof to Steeljaw! Do you copy?" Thunderhoof called. "Copy, Thunderhoof. I just took down the giant, Breakdown. Did you catch them both?" Steeljaw asked.
Thunderhoof replied via commlink. "We only captured one of them. He's still squirming in my grip." Steeljaw chuckled evilly. "Good! Good. Lord Starscream will be pleased once we bring him back an orphan sparkling just as he requested." He said before he heard Breakdown shouting. "NO! LET GO OF MY SON!" Steeljaw jumped over Breakdown when he charged at him with his hammer before he ran into a tree and he got into a concussion. Steeljaw made a malevolent grin as he told the Velocitronian brute, "Sorry to disappoint you, old friend. But those sparklings are not even related to you." Breakdown lost consciousness as he groaned and went into uncontrollable stasis before Steeljaw went and saw Thunderhoof and the rest of their pack of rogue Decepticons holding the frightened Trailfire as he squirmed and struggled to break free, but Thunderhoof had a tight grip on his foot. "Let me go! LET ME GO! MAMA! PAPA!" Trailfire cried. "We caught the little scrapling. Now let's go!" The antlered Decepticon said impatiently. "Woah, Thunderhoof. Easy with that little child. That's our Master's future heir you're talking about." Steeljaw said before he called for ground bridge as we cut to Rotorcharge seeing what's happening while hearing his brother screaming and crying for help. "AAAAHHH! HELP! MOMMY!" Trailfire cried. Rotorcharge tried to catch up to those evil Decepticon rogues and stop them from taking away his brother, but it was too late as the portal closed. Rotorcharge was now feeling traumatized by the kidnapping of his twin-brother as he cried out for help. "HELP! SOMEBODY!" He shouted.
Breakdown was still in stasis when he almost heard the muffled cries of his step-sons. Eventually, Prowl and the Protectobots detected that there was trouble at the forest when they found Rotorcharge crying and Dropforge ran up to check on the traumatized sparkling. "By the Allspark!" Prowl exclaimed. "What happened?" He asked. "They took away my brother!" Rotorcharge told Dropforge while shaking and crying in tears. "Get a blanket!" A Protectobot said as the other Protectobot immediately brought out a warm blanket to comfort the frightened young mechling. Soon, the Protectobots and the Autobot authorities came and found Breakdown unconscious and lying on the ground. Rotorcharge tried to explain what happened as he was still traumatized, but Dropforge encouraged the young bot not to worry and stay calm until they can help him rescue his brother from the bots who abducted him.
Meanwhile, at an evil ship hovering in outer space, Steeljaw and his pack exited the space bridge with Trailfire still squirming in Thunderhoof's grip while crying for help. Steeljaw stretched out his arms and sighed like he was happy to be home when he greeted Motorstrike. "Steeljaw! You have returned! And with a Minicon no doubt." He assumed.
"It wasn't a Minicon. Minicons aren't the only ones that his Lordship requires. He hired us to fetch him an orphan sparkling and here we have him. Right boys?" Steeljaw asked his pack as they nodded and agreed with their alpha. "Let me go! Let me go! LET ME GOOO!" Trailfire screamed. "Pipe down, pipsqueak!" Steeljaw snapped at the frightened sparkling. Trailfire quiets down despite fearing for his life. "Inform Lord Starscream that we have collected a sparkling for him to adopt as his heir." Steeljaw told Motorstrike. "At once, Steeljaw. This is gonna be good!" The green Decepticon smiled with sinister delight as he then called Starscream and waited until the seeker answered. "WHAT?!" Starscream yelled. "Lord Starscream! We have captured a sparkling just for you." Motorstrike reported. Starscream paused before he ordred, "Bring the child to me. I'll be at the throne room. Don't keep me waiting." Starscream told Motorstrike. "Yes, sir!" The green mech replied before he ended the call.
After Steeljaw gets away with Trailfire as hostage through via space bridge, Breakdown takes Rotorcharge back to Iacon with Prowl and the Protectobots where they would report that Trailfire's been kidnapped by Steeljaw and most of the Decepticons who have chosen to follow Starscream after his coronation was thwarted by Megatron and his son, Orion Eclipse, near the final act of The New Beginning.
At Iacon, Arcee and Knockout were having a lovely date with each other when they heard the Protectobots approaching. Knockout felt concerned as the Autobot police arrived, until he and Arcee saw Breakdown and Rotorcharge wrapped in a blanket still traumatized by the abduction of his twin brother. "Rotorcharge! By the Allspark!" Knockout exclaimed as he examined his son. "He's traumatized." He said worriedly. "Prowl, what happened?!" Arcee asked. "Arcee? Knockout? Your son, Trailfire has been kidnapped." Prowl reported. "Kidnapped!? By whom!?" Knockout asked as he raised his voice.
"Steeljaw." Breakdown answered. "Steeljaw?" Arcee asked. "I was with the boys when we were surrounded by Steeljaw and his pack of Decepticon rogues. He attacked me, went after our sons, and they...they kidnapped Trailfire!" Breakdown cried as he explained.
"Steeljaw!? He's back!?" Knockout exclaimed. "Who are you talking about?" Arcee asked before she checked on her son. "It's okay, baby. Mommy's here." She said to Rotorcharge as she comforted him. "Steeljaw was a Decepticon like me and Breakdown and...let's just say he's untrustworthy and he's bad news. We thought he and his pack were in an Autobot prison. But it sounds like they escaped." Knockout said.
"This is bad. We need to do something!" Arcee said more worriedly. "Calm down, ma'am. We'll find out where Steeljaw is keeping your son." Prowl told Arcee. "And we will find your son," Dropforge promised. "But where? When!? That wolf has our son! We have to rescue him before he gets hurt!" Breakdown replied. "We will find him. We're just gonna have to find out where they went." Prowl said. "I just hope our son is safe." Knock Out said worriedly.
Meanwhile, Steeljaw and the rest of Starscream's followers have arrived aboard their warship known as The Darksyde (which you Beast Wars fans all know) before they bring their prisoner forward to their lord and master, Starscream. Steeljaw knelt and bowed before Starscream as he sat on his throne while looking down at him. "Lord Starscream. We have the orphan sparkling." The wolf-like Decepticon rogue said. Starscream hummed before he made a hand gesture for his New Decepticons to bring Trailfire forward. "Bring the sparkling to me." He ordered.
"Yes, my Lord." Steeljaw said. He nodded at Thunderhoof to bring the frightened sparkling hostage closer before Starscream as poor Trailfire was scared as he whimpered and could barely speak as Thunderhoof pushed him forward. "So, what do we have here?" Starscream asked as he looked at the scared sparkling. Trailfire was frightened and he was especially afraid of what his captors would be planning to do to with him and Starscream could see that he bears a striking resemblance to his father, Knockout, as well as his mother, Arcee.
"Child, what is your name?" Starscream asked the frightened sparkling.
"I..." Trailfire slowly began.
"Speak up!" Starscream commanded as he raised his voice.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, my dad says so." Trailfire said.
"I can assure you that I'm no stranger because I actually know your father very well. He and I were friends once." Starscream told Trailfire.
"You know my father, Knockout?" Trailfire asked full of surprise.
"Why yes, little one. Now, I know that you are very scared and confused, but I did hire my troops to bring me a sparkling so that I might adopt him, groom him and raise him to be my heir. But it seems that my followers have collected the wrong child, haven't they Steeljaw?!" Starscream glares at the wolf-like Decepticon.
"Please! I just want to go home! I want my mom and my dads and my brother!" Trailfire begged.
"Quiet, you little brat! You will be used as bait to lure the Autobots here so that when we strike at them, it'll be a surprise." Starscream said.
"My lord, where should we put the young sparkling?" Steeljaw asked.
"Oh, I dunno. Lock him up behind a prison cell and keep an eye on him until his parents come to save him." Starscream replied while acting like he doesn't even care or give a frag.
"NO! I don't wanna be locked away in a cell! Let me go!" Trailfire yelled before screaming and kicking at Steeljaw.
"Send a message to the Autobots and tell them to come here if they wish to rescue one of their sparklings." Starscream ordered his followers.
"Yes, sir." A Decepticon soldier said.
Back on Cybertron, Orion Eclipse was attending a Council Meeting with Elita-One, Hivemus Prime, and with all the members of the High Council when they were reported by Prowl that Knockout and Arcee's son, Trailfire, had been kidnapped by Decepticon rogues led by Steeljaw. As Orion Eclipse was given an explanation of exactly who and what Steeljaw is by Knockout and Breakdown along with Arcee, Megatron would later join the group as he was shocked to hear that a sparkling had been kidnapped by one of his former Decepticons.
"Steeljaw abducted a sparkling!?" Megatron exclaimed. "Dad, do you know this Steeljaw guy?" Orion Eclipse asked his father. "Know him? Steeljaw was a schemer and a revolutionary on Cybertron. He is this wolf-like Decepticon who studied sub-sonics and he was one of my supporters during my younger years when I wanted to take down the Caste System and he was one of my most cunning, tough, ruthless Decepticons. After trying to instigate a rebellion against the old High Council he was arrested and imprisoned aboard the Alchemor along with his pack: Thunderhoof, Minitron, Underbite, Fracture, Airazor, Divebomb, Clampdown, Kickback, Bisk, Springload, Quillfire, and Groundpounder. How they escaped from their prison is beyond my understanding." Megatron explained.
Orion Eclipse looked to Knockout and Breakdown and he asked curiously, "If Steeljaw was one of your Decepticons then why do Breakdown and Knockout seemed to have bad blood with him?" Breakdown answered, "Because like Starscream, Steeljaw wanted to lead the Decepticons in your father's place and he even made his own group of Decepticons which we called 'Steeljaw's Pack' or even 'Decepticon Rogues'." Knockout added, "And like Doomsayer, he wanted to rule the Decepticons his own way and he proved himself to be untrustworthy many times and even deceitful even to his fellow 'Cons like a true Decepticon. He even scratched my paint job one time. But now he and his pack have my son!" He yelled.
"Guys! Do you see that?" Altair Comet asked everyone in the room as she noticed a drone floating by towards them before it stopped at the center of the High Council meeting room where it shined a bright light before it showed a holographic image of who you may ask?
"Starscream!" Hivemus Prime said.
"Hello, Autobots. Missed me? Well, I certainly didn't miss any of you!" Starscream said mockingly before he laughed maniacally as a hologram. "Nice to see me again, isn't it?"
"Starscream, what do you want?!" Orion Eclipse demanded.
"Revenge, you fool. Also, I'm here to let my dear old friend, Knockout know that we have someone who wants so badly to see his daddy." Starscream said as he hinted that he's holding Trailfire hostage. Knockout became angry as he ran up to the holographic Starscream, demanding answers for where he is keeping his son.
"Starscream, where is my son, Trailfire!? Where are you keeping him!? I swear, if you hurt my sparkling, then I will—"
"SILENCE, KNOCKOUT! Your son is perfectly fine, healthy, and unharmed I assure you. I am keeping him comfy cozy in his cell." Starscream told Knockout after yelling at him.
"Let go of our son!" Arcee said angrily. "Not yet! I have a score to settle with Megatron and his son. If you want to see your little brat alive again, then use a space-bridge to travel to my new warship." Starscream told his enemies.
"Your ship?" Hivemus Prime asked.
Starscream showed a holographic image of The Darksyde as it hovered around in space. "The Darksyde. Do you like it? I was going to name it The Nemesis 2.0, but then I thought I would give it a more original name." He said before he showed his enemies the exact coordinates on where to space-bridge there.
"Starscream!" Megatron raised his voice. "Return Arcee and Knockout's son at once! It's me you want, remember?" He said.
Starscream growled angrily as he remembered, "Ohh, I remember it like it was yesterday! Meet me within less than a megacycle, my dear old friend, or I will do much damage to the sparkling. Don't keep me waiting, Megatron. I want us to settle this feud once and for all. You can bring Knockout, Arcee, Breakdown, Orion Eclipse and some backup all you want. But my ship is full of some of the deadliest New Decepticons you'll ever see! Ta ta for now!" Starscream laughed maniacally as his hologram faded before Knockout could run through it to attack Starscream.
"I have the coordinates for us to travel to his new ship." Elita-One said. "However, I cannot allow my son-in-law to go into what could be a death trap." She said.
"Don't worry about me, Elita. I've been through a lot of risky situations before." Orion Eclipse told his mother-in-law.
"I'll stay with Altair until you get back safely and with Arcee's son." Elita-One replied. Orion nodded before Megatron spoke to his son. "I suggest we come up with a backup plan and some battle strategies in case anything goes wrong." Eclipse nodded in agreement. "Alright. But we need to get there on time or else we'll lose one of our sparklings." Orion said.
"Then we need to come up with a plan now before we go and save Trailfire." Arcee replied.
"I agree with Arcee." Hivemus Prime said. "Starscream killing Autobots and humans is one thing, but killing a sparkling and specifically children brings up a whole new low even for him. I'll fight Steeljaw with Arcee and Breakdown, Knockout and the Protectobots will find Trailfire, Megatron will fight Starscream, and Orion Eclipse will lead the rest of us into battle against the New Decepticons." He said.
"Alright, but what happens if we're outnumbered?" Orion Eclipse asked.
"Don't worry. We will call for backup just in case." Hivemus Prime said.
"I just pray to Primus that Starscream would listen to reason this time." Megatron said.