A/N: I had to break this one up... otherwise it was going to be enormously long...

I threw a wrench at Skywarp. You have been warned.

There might be errors. I think I got em all tho...

Satisfied Starscream would never see the light of day again, he'd decided this was what the Seeker got for getting that Sparkling away. The tyrant smirked at the young Seeker dangling there on the wall, nearly lifeless. He'd decided for that last trick, Starscream would suffer even more, and suffer he did.

Megatron looked disgustedly at the feeble mech before him. He saw purple coming from him and was not only curious about it but wondered how he was seeming to bleed Dark Energon. He'd have to ask Shockwave about it, as he probably had been experimenting on him. All in all, he was simply amazed that Starscream was able to tolerate everything and swore the traitor was hanging on just to piss him off. Maybe Shockwave had done something to him to extend his life somehow.

Noticing their comms had been acting up, and, done with Starscream for now, he turned for the cell door and headed to the main room where most of his Decepticons congregated. Looking around, he didn't spot Blackout, the source of the comm interruption, he assumed. The Communications Specialist usually didn't go very far. "Where is Blackout?"

"I don't know," Scavenger responded. He looked over at Scrapper, "wasn't he with you?"

"No, He said he was heading to check something out," Scrapper responded. "That was a couple of hours ago. Not sure where he is now."

"Well instead of talking about it, why don't you two idiots go look for him," Megatron growled, going up to them and shoving them both forcefully. "Maybe you'll find Hook out there while you're at it and bring him to me!"

At the Autobot base, Teri stood looking at the door. She knew Thundercracker was in here and was debating on knocking, but her jet didn't seem all too friendly. After everything that had happened with Skywarp and then to Starscream and Barricade, she figured the femme was going through a lot. Maybe talking about it would help the Seeker.

With a heavy sigh, she knocked, expecting to be rejected. When the small door began to open, she looked in. "Hey, TC? Can I come in?" she asked before stepping in.

"Yeah," she heard a whispered voice. Stepping through the threshold, she heard the door shut behind her. Teri looked up to see Thundercracker sitting on the floor, cradling something in front of her and she was staring at it. She had an unreadable expression on her face. She could also hear purring and other various sounds from her direction. Curious, the woman drew closer, if only to see what the blue femme had.

Thundercracker glanced over at her, then looked back to her hands. "Isn't she beautiful?" she asked, not looking back to the human.

At that, Teri got closer, moving to her leg where Thundercracker thoughtfully moved so she could climb onto her more easily. Getting a look at what was in Thundercracker's hands, she gasped, seeing a Sparkling nestled there. "You – you had your Sparkling?"

"Yeah," Thundercracker spoke softly, a small smile gracing her features as the Sparkling grabbed her claw and held onto it.

"But I thought you weren't due for months?"

"She came early," Thundercracker then frowned as she thought about her trine. "I just wish 'Warp and 'Screamer could see her."

"I'm so sorry, TC," Teri said as she sat down on her upper leg. She blinked, getting a good look at the Sparkling. The tiny femme looked more like Skywarp, but still had some of Thundercracker's features in her. She was beautiful – however, "…She's red," the woman noted, wondering where red had come from. Neither Skywarp nor Thundercracker had any distinguishable red on them. Although, she also didn't know if color was inherited.

"Nothing was normal when Skywarp was involved. Even his own Sparkling turned out to be some random color," TC answered with a sad laugh.

Ah, so color was inherited. It would explain the colors of Barricade and Starscream's Sparklings. Teri remained silent a moment, "Girl, someone will find them. Jess is with him, and I reported him missing as soon as I found out. Both law enforcement and the military are looking for them."

"It shouldn't take this long to find them, though." Thundercracker argued, "Skywarp's teleporting range is relative to his location. He wasn't that far away." She lowered her head, thinking about the fact he'd never see his Sparkling. "He's gone."

Teri stopped and thought about it for a moment. "What if… you know, he went beyond that range? Like Chicago or the moon?" She didn't know anything about how Skywarp worked. The Cybertronians had their secrets they still didn't tell, and Skywarp's ability had been one of them. The only human that knew the most was Jess, and even he really didn't know. They were a lot more complicated than they let on.

Thundercracker considered that a possibility, then frowned, "I hope not, Teri. That's too far and his systems wouldn't be able to calibrate for such a distance. He has a high chance of getting stuck in a different dimension,"

The woman's eyes went wide, "A different dimension? Can that really happen?"

"Yes," Thundercracker admitted. "I heard somewhere that the reason that so few Grid Riders existed was their teleporting accidents can do that." She watched the tiny Sparkling move around, but not move from her cozy spot in the femme's hands as she considered the fact Runway may end up being a Grid Rider.

Hearing the type of Seeker Skywarp was, she became curious. Plus, it would get Thundercracker's mind off of her sadness. "So, if Starscream is a Tracker, Skywarp is a Grid Rider… What are you?"

"I'm a Stormkeep Seeker," Thundercracker told her. "Believe it or not, electrical energy from storms can make me more powerful. I can absorb lightning and turn it into a weapon."

"Then the name Thundercracker suits you," Teri then grinned, "and a desert is probably one of the worst places on earth to be."

"It could be worse."

Now knowing differences in the Seekers, Teri asked, "Can your Sparkling end up with both of your types?"

"Yes, actually. But it is unpredictable how their abilities will function."

"Like Blacklight?"

"I'm not sure what Blacklight will be. He may turn out to be a new breed." Thundercracker said thoughtfully, not really giving it consideration until now. "Seekers don't typically mate with someone that's not another Seeker."

"So, he's literally a crossbreed?"

"Yes," the femme answered. "Now that you bring it up, I am curious what he will be. He might be a better tracker with Barricade's hunter instincts. He also might – and don't tell 'Screamer this – be faster than he is."

"I think he'd be proud," Teri said with a smile as she leaned into the femme.

"I think so too."

Teri reached out tentatively to the infant and touched her, her hand going over the tiny Seeker's head. Runway leaned into this different, yet good feeling with a small chirrup. "You guys are truly fascinating. I love learning about you."

In the med bay, Prowl stood over his found-again sister. Barricade remained offline. She would not wake, no matter what anyone had done, and they had tried just about everything. Ratchet had managed to stabilize her even though he had known it was unlikely he'd be able to pull her out of this state. How could it have come to this?

Looking down at her, he remembered when they were much younger, and he first took her under his care. They had managed to escape to Vos, where they learned to blend in. She was so stubborn about him taking care of her, swearing she could take care of herself. A small smile played on his lips as he thought about how spirited she was back then. She was so beautiful, so full of life but still had her mean streak.

Here, before him, she had grown into a wonderful femme, even though she was still very much a Youngling. They may have had their difficulties in the past, especially when she had joined the Decepticons and had been sharred into a mature form. He hadn't realized at the time that she was recruited forcefully. When he'd seen her again, she was no longer the Runner he knew.

If she found him on the battlefield, he was the first one she went after every time as if she had a vendetta she had to settle with him. It was weird, because although they fought, she ever really tried to kill him.

The femme blew his mind when he came to Earth.

Here, he had found her, and she had given birth! First of all, he never thought she would ever mate and assumed it was Groundhog's since Groundhog was the only one that he knew of that knew her gender. He was overwhelmed with joy when she'd allowed him to hold him.

Unknowingly, she had become the species' last hope. She had become the object of many conversations for that reason alone. He had been thankful Optimus wouldn't allow the Autobots to bother her in such a way, though he had remained guarded, nonetheless. And he sure hadn't known what the Decepticons would think.

When she'd told him Blacklight was Starscream's Sparkling, he'd questioned everything he thought he knew. He was, at first, concerned about the ordeal, wondering if Starscream had mated with her and decided to use her, because that's what Decepticons did. When she'd told him that Starscream didn't even know about the little mech, he had been relieved. But then it had begged the question … how had Starscream not known he'd made a Sparkling with her…? Until she'd told him how Blacklight had been sparked. He'd fainted.

The mech allowed himself a small chuckle, thinking about it.

And yet, the mind-blowing revelations weren't over, for when she suddenly arrived at their base, he'd found out she'd Spark-Mated with Starscream, there was a part of him that felt he may have lost her. However, seeing how he was treating her and protecting her, he wondered if Starscream wasn't as bad as he tried to make others think he was, and that changed his mind on the young Seeker. After discovering she was his Star-Mate, that changed everything.

It was astonishing in a way that went beyond thought that Starscream was her Star-Mate. He was proud to find that his sister was one of the chosen two. And the pair were, here, on Earth. He considered that for a moment. The chance that both Star-Mates were in such close proximity on a completely different planet was unlikely. It was astronomical and probably couldn't even be quantified.

The mech's thoughts were interrupted by Ratchet walking in. He looked up to him, still leaning over his sister. "How could this happen…" he asked softly, still not looking away from her.

Ratchet looked to his friend. He hated seeing his friend in such a way. Frowning, he replied, "We've lost her to the Vornsworn. We all know how hard it is to get her back, if we can even get her back. If Starscream is dead, that complicates things even more. I've done everything I can think of, I'm sorry. The most we can do now, is wait and hope she comes out of it." The medic checked screens, tapping a few, and then proceeded to change several cables and wires to her body, preparing for a full systems failure.

"No… 'Run… " Prowl thought about it while he softly ran his hand over her head. What if she never woke? "What about the Sparklings?"

"I believe they are old enough to be surrogated if it comes to that," Ratchet replied matter-of-factly, setting up alarms on computers. "There are other femmes now. Maybe she's too proud to die, Prowl."

"Or too stubborn…" Prowl added. There was still hope, no matter how slim.

Besides racing, the only true happiness that Runner had found was with her Sparklings and Starscream. She might not have acted it, but Prowl could tell by her whispers. She may not have known it at the time, but he was sure she was still capable of love.

Even so, the very thing that made her happy had done this to her. It showed the harshness of it that no one should ever have to see – the bitter side that broke Sparks and destroyed lives. "I'm so sorry, Scooter," he whispered. He hadn't called her that since they were both very young.

Prowl ran his hand over Barricade's head again, watching Ratchet leave. Softly tracing her chevron, he thought about her and Starscream. He knew what happened when one of the Star-Mates were killed. One didn't live without the other. But maybe she could. She had lived through so much and he was sure she'd cheat death somehow.

Jazz entered the med bay soon after Ratchet had left, looking to Prowl where he hovered over Barricade. It hurt her Spark to see him this sad. Walking up to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I'm sorry, Prowler."

Prowl looked up to her, feeling her touch. He saw the reason she had come. She had Radar and Sonar in her other arm. "Are they alright?" he asked.

"I think they know somethin's wrong wit her. Not even Mika can settle 'em. I thought bringin' 'em here might help," She set the Sparklings down next to Barricade.

Radar beeped and twittered to Barricade but was confused when she didn't respond. Even asking for her to open her holds, she didn't respond. Prowl watched Sonar do the same, his Spark breaking again at seeing them try to get a response. He then said, coming to the realization, "They'll need to feed."

"Now what femme can we bother for that?" Jazz asked, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "Soundwave? Thundercracker? I think better TC. She should be able to produce Energon for them. I dunno how Soundwave will act if we ask 'er for such a thing."

"The question is, if they'll accept without being surrogated to her,"

"Slag," Jazz then said, realizing he was right. "Maybe they won' care if they get hungry enough,"

The beeping and twittering became louder, more frantic. With no response from their femme creator, both Sparklings looked to Jazz and Prowl for answers. Neither could understand them, though they could imagine what they were saying. "Sorry, little ones. She's recharging for a long time," Prowl explained to them.

Skywarp nor Jess had known where they ended up, one because Jess' phone wasn't working, and two, because Skywarp's navigation wasn't working because of the warp scrambling his systems. Skywarp was unfortunately too far away to be under Soundwave's protective block and things were happening to him in his mind that he could not resist for much longer.

It had started as a minor annoyance in the back of his mind. Not knowing exactly what it was, he'd been able to ignore it until it became too persistent and started to take over. Things were downloading. As they began to take root in his systems, he realized Starscream had lost. And that alerted him to something even worse, "Oh, no… no, no, no…"

He'd taken a small walk and noticed a small spring not far away. Satiating his thirst, he'd returned to the black jet. Jess had heard Skywarp talking to himself as he approached from behind him. He was muttering to himself. "What is it?" the man asked, stepping up next to Skywarp.

"It can't be…" Skywarp whispered, his voice cracking.

"What 'Warp? What?"

"'Screamer…" he said softly, putting his fist over his Spark, "He – he lost." The Seeker dropped his head. He formed a fist over the ground, grabbing at the soil as he did.

"He lost?" Jess asked, "How do you know? Can you communicate with them?" he asked hopefully.

Skywarp didn't move, sorrow still lacing his voice, "No. I've got new protocols. I'm downloading stuff."

"What do you mean downloading stuff Skywarp, what are you talking about?"

"They're Megatron's protocols,"

"Megatron? Why would you be downloading from Megatron?"

He knew there would be a lull between the switch. He used that time to explain to his pilot. "When a leader loses a fight for leadership, the winning contestant kills them, as they have all rights to do so."

"So Starscream is dead?"

"Probably," the Seeker admitted sadly. "I fear I am going to change on you."

"Change? Change how?"

"Megatron's protocols will take over. Without Starscream's… well, you know what happened in Mission City…"

"Can't you like stop it or something?" Jess asked. "Starscream told me that you guys went against his programming before on Cybertron."

"That's different. Normally 'Screamer's merge keeps us aligned with him. We haven't merged in a while. He, being our trine leader, gives us his will. It helps to keep us solidified as a trine and be able to operate as a unified unit. Without it, I'm nothing more than a soldier."

"You can't stop it?"

"No. It's automatic when a new leader takes-" the Seeker stopped, hissing as if he were in pain, and confusion worked over his face. "I need to get back."

"I know we do," jess replied.

"I need to report to Megatron," Skywarp then said.

Jess's head turned sharply for the Seeker, "What?"

"He'll want to know what happened." Skywarp continued as if he hadn't heard the man.

"You can't, 'Warp. We gotta find Thundercracker, remember?" The man stepped closer to Skywarp as if he were to stop him from going anywhere, he wasn't entirely sure why, as he couldn't stop a 30 ft tall creature.

The Seeker looked out across the forest, saying, "You bring up a good point. I'll need to bring Thundercracker to him. He'll want her. Especially with her being sparked."

"What?" Jess' heart sank at the Seeker's words. What the fuck was he saying? He didn't think he'd talk like that, "She's your trine-mate, Skywarp, you're talking nonsense!"

As his processors continued to revert, his voice became cold. Jess could swear he was losing his accent too, but that could have been his imagination. Skywarp told him, "I am a soldier. I do my job."

"What the fuck are you saying, Skywarp?" Jess yelled up at him, trying to reason with him, "Come on, she's your to-be Spark-mate!"

"She's open. They'll want her for that reason as well."

The feeling that went through the man made him swallow hard when the Seeker looked down at him. His optics weren't the soft, kind optics he'd come to befriend. They were cold, calculating. "But what would Starscream think if he found you giving her to him?" the man tried. Hell, at this point he was willing to try anything.

"He's dead." There was no emotion in those words.

"Would you listen to yourself!" jess yelled, "You're talking about giving one of the last femmes – your fucking trine-mate and your Sparkling to Megatron!"

For some reason, Jess saying that angered him. The Seeker then looked down at the man, "As for you…" he flicked his wrist at him, and a small barrel appeared out of his arm.

Jess put up his arms, slowly backing up, "Woah, woah, hold on a minute…" There was no way he would be able to dodge such an attack. He knew Skywarp too well. The barrel began to ignite with energy, "Skywarp, what are you doing?"

"I don't know…" the Seeker replied, looking at his weapon curiously. He brought out another one on his upper left arm. Again, nothing. Realizing he wasn't able to fire on the man, he asked, "Why can't I shoot you?"

"I'm your pilot, 'Warp." Jess shrugged, trying to get the Seeker to back down. "Maybe that's why you can't."

"I don't understand…" Skywarp said, "I need you with me. Maybe Megatron can explain it. As soon as my thrusters are repaired, you'll come with me."

"How? I thought your navigation was out?"

"I can sense his pings," The Seeker replied, looking in the direction the pings were coming from. South.

Like that, Jess hoped that Skywarp's repair system hit a fatal error and wouldn't repair him. What had he turned into? What was he saying? Who the hell was this mech sitting before him?

He watched the Seeker begin to transform into his jet mode, "I'm almost ready to fly, get in my cockpit and don't move, human."

Upon repairing the telepath's sensor completely, Hook took Soundwave to a place where they could talk privately. They walked out to the end of the runway. "Explain something to me, and I'm asking you, because I believe you are the cause of it,"

"Ask,"

"Why hasn't Megatron's codes taken us all over? We should have gotten his information a long time ago."

"I'm actively blocking it," Soundwave answered simply, "Starscream will remain our rightful leader."

He figured it was something like that. "Good," Hook said with relief. "Good." He turned to her, "Does Megatron know you can do that?"

"Negative."

"That has to be eating him alive. Thank you." He paused and then asked, "Can you do me a favor? Ratchet brought up a good point. He mentioned Devastator. I need you to amplify my call to combine."

"Are you sure they will listen? They could influence Devastator beyond your reach."

"They have to answer." Hook explained. "I am the strongest of us."

"With everything that is going on, I am not sure what will or will not happen, Hook. You may lose control of him. Be sure of what you're asking."

"That's why I waited for you. With your help I can bring him around. I also think you should have Sixshot standby just in case."

Hook didn't sound very confident if he wanted Sixshot to guard. Soundwave nodded to him. It would either work, or it wouldn't. Devastator would be pretty useful, that is if he could be controlled. Hook nodded in return and turned in the direction of the Decepticon base, "Whenever you're ready."

Soundwave's wave sensor rose and spun, shifted into many different forms, and then settled on a parabolic dish, "Now."

The sound of Hook's call to combine went out across the airwaves, amplified, and then masked to any other instrument by Soundwave, in hopes the others would hear.

Meanwhile…

"You are flying in restricted Canadian airspace. Identify yourself or be fired upon,"

Jess heard the words come over a speaker in the jet.

They were in Canada! Holy fucking shit.

Two F-35s appeared on the screen in front of him when he turned back around in his seat. They were a little distance away, but not far enough that they couldn't shoot them.

"They think they can stop me…" Skywarp growled evenly.

Jess spun in his seat, looking around frantically for the fighters that were talking to them. "What? Shit! Skywarp tell them you're American Air Force or they're gonna shoot at us!"

"You know as well as I do, they won't hit me." Skywarp had been monitoring them. He saw them get closer.

"Last chance. Identify yourself." The voice demanded.

Skywarp flew on as if he hadn't heard the fighters.

Jess watched the screen in front of him show a target lock on Skywarp. "Stupid insects," the Seeker stated darkly. The man watched as words came across the screen, some he understood, like the words in Cybertronian for 'target lock'. Another scramble of words he barely could read, read 'incoming missiles'.

The Seeker waited until the missiles got close and rolled, dodging both of them easily. He fired a laser type weapon at them as they flew by, destroying them. He then stopped, dead in the air, and the two jet whizzed past.

"Skywarp, don't!" Jess yelled as he saw the screen in Cybertronian 'forming solution' and then 'solution formed'. The mech fired on both of them with the same weapon he'd used to destroy the missiles, blowing them both out of the sky.

Jess watched in horrified silence as the jets went down. He only caught the glimpse of one of the pilots ejecting. He looked back at the holo-screen and lifted his foot, kicking the console as hard as he could, uncaring of what he hit. He smiled to himself as several of the gauges cracked.

In retaliation for being kicked, the Seeker suddenly released the system that held saved the human from gravitational forces and flipped upside down, released the buckles letting the man fall onto his canopy with a loud 'oomph!'. "Don't do that again," he hissed.

Jess felt searing pain as he landed on his right shoulder and his neck. Quickly, ignoring the pain, he worked to right himself so that he wasn't laying on his shoulder. He knew the Seeker would flip back over and dreaded what parts of the jet he would hurt himself on when he did so.

As suspected, Skywarp flipped quickly. The centrifugal motion sent him face first into the back of the seat and sprawled him sideways over the controls. He managed to right himself, now sore. "Asshole," he grumbled. "SKYWARP!" he then yelled, "What have you done!"

"They shouldn't have fired on me. I would have let them alone." The jet replied simply before flying off once more.

"We are in their airspace! They have every right to fire on you!"

"I do not care."

About two hours into his run, Blacklight stopped quickly when he heard a strange sound go over the desert in the direction he was running. He'd heard the call before, but it was a little different this time. Ignoring it, he continued running, tripping over his own feet to get to the Autobot base. He was so close!

Outside, a group of mechs stood. They were discussing strategy on getting Starscream and defeating Megatron when Jazz happened to look toward the Decepticon base, seeing something in the distance, "What is that?" she asked, pointing.

Worried it was one of Megatron's followers, everyone looked up, seeing something too small to even be a car. It was running as fast as its legs could carry it, sometimes going down on all fours to get better speed. As it got closer, Prowl exclaimed as he jerked, "Primus, it's Blacklight!"

Moving away from the other mechs, Prowl headed for the Sparkling, "Blacklight!" he called.

Blacklight had seen the group as he approached. Hope filled his little Spark. Prowl was there with them! "Prowl!" he called, slowing down when he realized he didn't have to run so hard. He was here! "Prowl, Prowl, Prowl!"

"Primus, you're alright!" The tactician grabbed for the Sparkling. Blacklight leapt at him as he grabbed, latching onto his arm and climbed quickly to his shoulder. He shivered from exhaustion, laying back on Prowl's door wing. He was glad that Frenzy had given them that Energon. Curling up to him as Prowl put a hand up to him, the tactician looked out to the others. "He's okay," he told them.

Inside the building, two younger Sparklings bound from where they were, hearing their brother. They chirped and beeped feverishly as they ran to see him. They had missed him.

Prowl allowed the younger Sparklings to climb him to be with their brother. Wondering how the little mech managed it, he asked, "What happened?"

"Skorp and I got separated when the fight broke out. I got caught by Megatron. Frenzy helped me."

"Frenzy helped you?"

"Yes. He even brought us Energon,"

"How did you get away? Did Frenzy help you escape?"

Blacklight frowned, remembering what his sire looked like before he was forced to leave. "No. Starscream… he got me into a vent, and I ran," he said as he considered how hard it was for Starscream to even do that, for how weak he was.

Excitement filled Prowl as he heard that. "Starscream's alive?" he turned to those who were excitedly watching the tactician and the Sparkling, "Tell the others that Starscream is alive!"

Blacklight didn't answer right away, looking down as he thought about his mech creator's condition. Sadness filled him as he looked back to Prowl, "I'm scared. He's not doing well. He tried to lie to me, but I could tell."

"What's his status?" another voice called.

Prowl looked up to Ratchet's approach. The Autobot CMO had heard him call Blacklight from where he was watching Hook and Soundwave. "He's conscious," he told him. For a moment, he didn't know if that was good news or bad news. The little mech dropped his head, "He's very weak. They did something to him."

"What did they do?" Prowl asked. It might help answer what happened to Barricade.

"He wouldn't tell me what they did." The little mech's optics darkened, "But I saw what they did."

"What?"

"They held him and Sunstorm merged with him. They said they were going to take Barricade from him. Their Sparks were red. After that, he was much weaker."

Ratchet was glad to see the little mech was still alive. He reached for him to examine him saying, "Then what we knew about Star-Mates must not be entirely correct. I don't know what to expect now."

"Shockwave did something to him afterwards," Blacklight then said. "He injected him with something,"

"What did they put in his lines?" It was the only assumption.

"He didn't put it in his lines," Blacklight shook his head, "He injected it directly into his Spark." The little mech turned his optics down, not wanting to say more. He was afraid for his sire.

" What?" voices said in unison.

Wishing to change the subject, he asked, "Where's Barricade?" He wanted to see her. He missed her.

"Listen, Blacklight. Before you see her, there's something you need to know."

A horrified feeling began rolling in his Spark every time he thought about Barricade. It hadn't started out as that, mostly loss, but no, it was changing. It had an actual ache of fear. That aching feeling caused Starscream to wake with a flinch. He involuntarily cried out rather loudly when he tried to move. It felt as if iron jaws had his entire body, but it wasn't something so simple, oh, no. He took notice that he wasn't on the floor as he had clearly remembered being. His legs dangled under him.

What had they done? What had Shockwave done?

So many of his systems were offline. His communications. Navigations. Weapons. Most of his sensors were offline – except you know, those that registered pain. His mind was there, and even that could be debated. Realizing he was unable to move much at all, he looked around as much as he could to try to figure out why. His Spark sank when he saw what was causing the pain in his wings. There was a protrusion out his left shoulder. Quickly looking right, he realized he was hanging on the wall by spikes driven into his wings.

He was as good as dead. The mech's head dropped once more. Wondering if he would see Barricade again, she was all his mind was on – her and their Sparklings. It distracted him and kept his Spark functioning. Although, that, in itself, was becoming worrisome. His HUD was reacting to everything that was wrong. His Energon – or lack thereof, his sensor network, his Tardacain levels. His Spark power. His Spark was misfiring, giving errors and readings he didn't want to see. He knew he was dying, and he didn't have much time left. He needed to see her one more time. He would stay alive. He would… for her.

Vortex had been out with the other two Constructicons. When he returned, he did not want Megatron's wrath from what news he had to bring. "Blackout has been killed." He knew Megatron would be pissed to find out Starscream's forces were causing trouble.

"What? Blackout is dead?" Megatron yelled in anger. He knocked the Combaticon back, "You're lucky you're still needed, or I would kill you myself!"

"Hey, hey, hold on, no need to kill the messenger. I have worse news for you." Vortex found his footing and backed away a step as Megatron stepped toward him.

"Oh?" the tyrant growled, his optics flashing in warning. "What else do you think could anger me more?"

"When we uh, got there… The Constructicons um… they left."

If Megatron's anger could get any worse. He balled a fist, debating on shooting the Combaticon right where he stood. "What do you mean they 'left'?"

"Well, they both looked up and headed away." Vortex shrugged, unsure how much more meaning there was to 'left'. He didn't mention that he heard a call similar to Onslaught's but knew it wasn't him.

Did he really need Bruticus? Really? Because shooting the messenger sounded real good about now. He knew he needed that combiner – dammit. With a seething growl, he asked, "Where did they go?"

Megatron was not going to like this. "Uh… toward the Autobot base."

That meant only one thing. "HOOK!" Megatron screamed angrily. He glared at Vortex.

Vortex backed from Megatron and as soon as he was out of reaching distance, he took off, leaving the commander to stir in his anger. Vortex was well aware that if Hook got control of the Constructicons, any assault Megatron had been planning was likely going to go out the window.

Hearing Megatron, Shockwave approached and spoke, distracting the tyrant, "You called for me, my lord?"

"Yes, Shockwave. The last time I visited Starscream, I couldn't help but notice the purple. What is it?"

He'd already had a lie in place for that. "I figured you would want him alive longer to be able to take your anger out on him."

"It's no longer amusing. He's practically dead."

"I can do some rudimentary repairs on him?"

"No," Megatron said, his thoughts back on the Constructicons, "No, that won't be necessary. He will die soon enough. No one can put up with that much."

Bonecrusher, Scrapper, Mixmaster, and Scavenger showed up at the Autobot base, the call too strong to ignore. Everyone moved away from them, and they seemed to ignore everyone around them, as if they were in a trance.

Those that were curious as to what was going on, watched the four from a distance. They had heard Hook's call to combine, and now were wondering why. They imagined that Hook wanted Devastator, so, now they wanted to see if he could control him.

They followed the call past the buildings and to where Hook and Soundwave stood waiting for them. Soundwave backed up from them all, still aiming the dish in their direction.

Without words, they began reforming into their respective parts of Devastator. Hook was the last to join the combination mech, and just before his Spark joined with the four from the other Constructicons, he sensed something off about Bonecrusher. Perhaps it was the fact he was brought back from the dead.

Devastator's Spark ignited with life.

Sixshot stood, watching the combiner. He'd been ordered to stay between the monster mech and the Autobot base if Hook and Soundwave lost control. He wasn't too happy about it either. "I can't believe I let her talk me into this…"

He'd had his run ins with all of the combiners except those two new ones until Starscream's fight. Megatron wanted to gauge Sixshot's ability against them. Devastator was too much for him and had nearly killed him. If Shockwave hadn't called off the attack…

"-Just think if it as a new beginning, Sixshot."

Someone was talking. His mind was on Devastator. The combiner was the only thing he was afraid of.

Devastator stood for a moment in his gigantic glory and let out a strong cry. That scream! The six-changer twitched. He hoped no one else saw that.

Those that had never seen the beast only stared slack-jawed at him, most everyone moved even further back. The gargantuan mech hadn't taken his optics off of Soundwave the entire time.

Sam, who had come to the sound, stopped short of Bumblebee who was watching. He thought Soundwave looked like a Cobra Enchanter or something – either that or she was really brave or stupid. "What is that?" he asked with disbelief.

"That is Devastator. The most powerful combiner to ever exist," Ironhide told him.

As the leader of the Aerialbots, Silverbolt wasn't far away. He wanted to see if Hook could get the menace under control for himself. As much as he hated to admit it, being neutral with Devastator would be a big win.

"Skydive said Superion was as strong as Devastator." Sam noted as he watched the behemoth.

"Down!" they heard Soundwave call. All optics went to the femme and the combiner. They watched, becoming nervous when the mech didn't respond to her command.

"Shit," Sixshot cursed to himself.

"He's close, but in an all-out brawl, Devastator would win," Air Raid told the young man, standing not far away to observe.

"It's huge!" Sam called. He continued to watch with apprehension, "What are they doing?"

"They're seeing if Hook can gain control of him."

" Here?" Sam squeaked. "They couldn't do that somewhere not here? What if he doesn't get control? What if Devastator attacks us?"

"That's what Sixshot is here for," Silverbolt told him with a hint of a smirk in his voice. "If Hook loses control, Sixshot will protect us."

"Yeah, fuck you too, Silverbolt," Sixshot growled acidly, hearing the sarcasm in his voice. He considered leaving them to fend for themselves for that snarky comment.

All optics and eyes were on the giant combiner which roared again. He was still staring down at Soundwave. "Control him, Hook!" she called to the combiner. "Lay him down!"

Devastator didn't move from his position, various growls and snarls coming from the mech. Soundwave hadn't moved and she was starting to wonder if Hook was losing control. The combiner shifted his weight on his massive legs.

Suddenly the mech reared up and came back down, closer to Soundwave. A challenge, she knew. Soundwave didn't move, returning the challenge. She knew this thing could crush her in one blow.

Sixshot prepared himself. This fucker was going to attack!

Enjoy the cliffy I have left for you!

So yeah, if you've seen this before, this is going somewhere out left field. It's not totally off track, but going places... haha

Hope you enjoyed!