♡ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏᴜʀᴀʟ ᴘᴀᴛᴛᴇʀɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ʙɪʀᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴇᴇᴋᴇʀꜱ ♡

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა 𝕍𝔸𝔾ℝ𝔸ℕ𝕋 ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

Thundercracker bolted upright. The movement was alarmingly fast for a mech who'd been in a temporary guise of death for over a week, and alarms blared in his processor at the shock the motion gave his systems. Pistons that had been unused in what felt like aeons pulsed with fuel and stuttered at the abrupt pulse of movement. He didn't even care that the plan hadn't progressed to the point where he could drop his act yet.His brother had been shot.Their Seekerling had been stolen.His blaster hummed with the rage that he felt all the way down to his spark. Someone was going to be offlined today.________________A live video feed had been provided for Thundercracker by Skywarp, allowing him to participate in a detached way of the inaugural landing on Cybertron. The sparkling ruins of the Crystal City still glimmered with Cybertron's distant sun, reflecting light into the optics of some of the few remaining of Primus' children. Seeing his race's architecture in this state brought both a thrill and deep melancholy to Thundercracker. While he was overjoyed to finally return home to where his race had originated, seeing it in this state was like a stab in the spark.The Cybertron he remembered wasn't like this. It was resplendent, refined, and cultured. This was the ruins of what once was; destroyed before the war began in earnest. The glittering panels of the crystalline city were cracked and warped in places, with some of the towering skyscrapers collapsed far below into piles of rubble on the planet's surface.Some still stood tall and stoic as soldiers in reverent salute as the Ark II welcomed back the chosen few. The structures cast long shadows on the deck from all angles, creating a cinematographic display of light and dark passing over each other in a visual dance. It was as mesmerising to watch as it was deeply depressing. The reflection of the Ark II grew more clear the closer they came to landing, and Thundercracker forced his optics to watch. His spark hurt at seeing his home like this, and he knew deep down that Vos wouldn't be in much better condition. But then Skywarp looked down, just for a moment, allowing the feed to highlight the look on the Seekerling's faceplate. Thundercracker's worries washed away with the serene expression.Their faceplate exhibited a small childlike awe that brought a new hope to his spark that Cybertron would be rebuilt for them , for this new generation of Cybertronians. Without his training, his optics would have watered at the fierce emotion that flared in his core. This was the Cybertron of the past, that the Seekerlet had been so eager to hear about. He was seeing his home through new optics, still fresh and pure, unmarred by the cruelties of war. Just maybe, things would be all right.They had a small smile on their faceplate, intake open in reverent awe without reservation. Their green optics shone with the light of his home world, and they, too, were as breathless as everyone else on the flight deck. Wings raised and finials high, their shiny gossamer armour glinted in the light of his homeworld. And while Thundercracker could barely remember to save this recording to his memory folder, he found he couldn't look away. And while not a single spark watching the arrival on Cybertron could tear their optics away, Thundercracker was as captivated by the youngling in his brother's servo.But it was only a brief glance and Skywarp looked back up, switching the feed back to the descent, unable to divert his attention away from the imminent landing. It wouldn't be long now, but neither Thundercracker nor either of his brothers said a word on their shared comm. This was a moment of quiet reverence, and the mood was heavy with introspection.From down in the cargo hold, Thundercracker knew the halls would be empty save for whoever was in charge of landing, but he couldn't risk his roaming form being seen walking the halls when he was still under the guise of death. His ruse had been perfect. Not an inch had moved in so much as a week, and the Autobots were none the wiser. The closest he'd gotten to ruining the plan was the Seekerling's unexpected visit, but he had stayed true to Starscream's plan and stayed absolutely still. The only thoughts swimming through his processor was the remaining time before he was able to throw his guise to the Pit and scoop the sparkling up as much as his spark desired. They'd never touch the ground for a vorn (if they were amenable to that) and these were the only thoughts that kept Thundercracker sane in the impenetrable silence of the cargo hold.But his reverie was shattered when the live feed was cut, and all he felt was pain through his Trine bond. Skywarp had been shot and he could no longer see the status of the sparkling. A second wave of pain burst through the bond, and he could hear the hull begin to rattle with the impact of landing. Sending an emergency comm to Starscream, he shouted through the voice link.: Status report! All I'm getting is waves of pain from 'Warp! What is going on up there? Are we under attack?:Starscream didn't respond, but Thundercracker could feel a tsunami of emotions crashing through him. Anger, confusion, shock, and hesitation pulsed in fiery intervals, and that was enough to get Thundercracker's fuel lines racing. Whatever happened was not going according to the plan.The landing rocked the cargo hold stronger than he had expected; a few storage containers had broken open and were spilling their cargo of Energon cubes onto the floor. Some cubes cracked, spilling vital Energon onto the surface and splattering up their neighbours, but Thundercracker lay steadfast, unmoving despite it all.He needed information , Primus dammit all. With the turbulence happening both upstairs and ringing throughout the ship, he had no choice but to lay and be patient.After what felt like the longest astrosecond of his life, he finally got a comm, but it was worse than he imagined. Skywarp's voice sounded pained, but his words drove a chill into Thundercracker's spark.: T-took...:  the comm was laced with static and full of hurt. : He took...the little one...:Thundercracker's fuel lines ran red-hot with rage, both for his kin and their charge. Without another word, he deactivated his temporary stasis lock and sat upright on his makeshift funeral slab. Someone was going to pay for this.________________Starscream couldn't go after Barricade. He silenced the need to berate himself. But if he had just stopped and thought about it for a moment, none of this would have happened. He prided himself on his edge, that no matter how many years of so-called peace passed, he'd thought he was still as sharply honed as the day the war began, never losing his fierceness and edge.He should have known, more than anyone aboard, that Barricade was not easily subdued by standard stasis cuffs. He even had the brief thought that perhaps the Autobots had developed something stronger during their alliance with the humans over the years, being the faction with the most resources and personnel in recent cycles. But that thought had left as quickly as it entered his processor, and he, as well as the entire Autobot crew, were stunned into shocked, distracted reverence at the arrival of their home world.He had assumed that Barricade was just as stunned.He had assumed that Barricade was the least of his worries when it came to the Seekerling, having never interacted with them even once.He had assumed the landing would go smoothly, and his carefully laid plans were set to enter their next phase.Starscream wanted to blast the flight deck to smithereens. This was all his doing. Some Air Commander he was, forgetting to factor in all the variables before implementing the next step. He was no rookie, this should have been a simple operation. He knelt next to his still smoking brother, who's knee joints were badly damaged. The blasts had been well aimed and precisely executed, hitting their mark with a precision no doubt learned from vorns on the battlefield. Barricade was a Decepticon, and knew exactly where to aim to incapacitate his opponents.Starscream supposed he should be grateful that his brother wasn't dead, only injured, but his pride was still bruised by their decided loss. The goal had never been to kill Skywarp, it had always been the sparkling.Barricade stole their blasted Seekerling . Using the rough landing as cover was inspired, Starscream wouldn't have surmised that Barricade had it in him to come up with that plan on his own. But Starscream wouldn't have put the Seekerlet in danger like that, or any plan that would risk the little one in any way.It hardly mattered. They had to move now and Starscream was frozen with choice.He couldn't leave Skywarp, injured in the presence of the enemy. A lone Seeker was a dead Seeker, and a thousand alternatives swarmed his processor as to their possible next step. Well acquainted with plans going awry, no one could accuse Starscream of not having back up plans. He considered a few more options but before he could come up with a viable solution, an alert stopped his processing in its tracks.Thundercracker made the decision for him, leaving him scrambling to pick up the pieces of the remains of his crumbling plan. Without any regard for their original plan, Starscream could hardly blame him for acting without orders. His spark signature flared to life amidst the settling air of the now-still ship, and Starscream had to come up with a new plan and fast .Their connected bond was a flurry of emotion where there was normally stillness. Worry for the sparkling, anguish for their injured brother, rage at their former ally, pain and regret seeping through the seams of their armour. Proud Vosians, the Command Trine, outwitted by Barricade the Grounder of all mechs. They'd get their Seekerling back. And Barricade was going to hurt for this.The Autobots were stumbling on deck, looking as rattled on the outside as he felt on the inside. Good, their panic would only add to his deception. He just had to distract the Autobots for long enough to give Thundercracker some cover to leave without being noticed. Elita-1 was sprawled onto the charred rubble where his sparkling was once kept imprisoned. She nursed her bruised faceplate as he warred within himself at the many injustices that had been done to the poor creature in the short time before being in their charge. He hadn't seen the hit directly, the one where Barricade attacked Elita-1, he'd only heard it. Everything had happened so fast his audials didn't even register that the stasis cuffs had been broken until the first blast had already rung out. His brother's flash of pain was the first indication that something had gone wrong, showing how much his attention was diverted until after the shot had already made its mark. The second shot distracted him long enough to miss Barricade's swift movement and swipe of the Seekerling. Starscream only had a brief glimpse of their wings spread in a way reminiscent of their usual tossing game, before being obscured by Barricade's large black servos and getaway into the ruins of the Crystal City.  Ratchet rushed to Elita-1's side, where she shoved him away in lieu of aiming his attention towards the still-smoking Skywarp. It was when her optics searched for the Seekerling in Skywarp's care, then in Starscream's, and seeing no sign of them did he see the true outcome of the incident dawn on her faceplate. Shock and anger painted her expression in fiery colours, she was doing well keeping her growls low and guttural.Starscream could see the realisation creep over the medic's faceplate a scant moment after Elita-1's, his expression turning from surprise to horror to rage. Starscream could see his servos clenching on empty air, as if he were holding himself back from throwing a punch. Instead he yelled across the din of the flight deck, Ratchet's voice cutting into the audials of all present."Where's the sparkling!?"Skywarp wheezed and Starscream placed a servo on his brother's pauldron for support. Before he could say anything, Skywarp beat him to the punch."T-taken." He hacked a static laced cough. "Barricade has 'em."The Autobots all stilled as a unit, with Ratchet's voice overcome with the shock of the news. "Well what are you waiting for? Fly after them!" The doctor's voice was laced with anger and fear, and his blue optics raged at Starscream who only squeezed his brother's armour tighter.The nerve of the medic, thinking he could order him, Air Commander Starscream, like some common footsoldier. Ratchet knew that the Seekers would be the fastest at retrieving their stolen charge, but Starscream couldn't leave his Trinemate alone in such a vulnerable position. His servos were tied, and Thundercracker would be upon them soon. He was running out of time.Upon seeing Starscream's lack of movement, Ratchet's helm turned to Optimus, expression distraught. "Taken! What if they're hurt? I need to be there!" His servos were raised to his leader in a pleading fashion, but they did not make contact. Starscream could see the medic's servos were trembling.Optimus Prime's faceplate was impassive, a thousand and one thoughts probably swarming his Matrix-ridden processor. He let out a pulse of calm in his frequency, alleviating the shaking of his medic, but there was a layer of trepidation laced in the undercurrent. His Autobots all looked at their leader with rapt attention, awaiting orders as to what to do.Elita-1 moved to stand from her prone position, and Optimus shot her a fierce look. They clearly communicated over a private comm for a brief astrosecond, before Optimus' voice rang out on the flight deck for all to hear."No, Elita. You will remain here with your designated duty. We cannot risk both the sparkling and the safety of the Emberstone with your rash actions. There are others here that are more qualified to retrieve them." Optimus Prime turned his fierce blue optics to Starscream, and for a moment the Air Commander forgot how similar the Prime was to Megatron. Both were war leaders, wide in stature and forged for battle, no matter what the years of peace had done to soften their image. For a brief moment Starscream was afraid, but then Optimus' heavy stare turned to the flight deck's entrance door and Thundercracker walked out.The Autobots didn't move. How could they? It had been a Primus sworn fact that Thundercracker had been offlined a mere week prior, and that much was certain for the duration of the voyage. They had all seen his colours fade, the proof of his demise. Yet here, with internal code blaring that this image they were seeing was wrong , the Autobots could not tear their optics away from the spectre.Optimus only nodded at the revived Seeker, and Thundercracker took to the air a mere klik later, transforming without ever speaking a word. Then Optimus Prime's optics lay once again on Starscream."I am presuming you have a very good explanation for this." His voice was cold and cutting; this was not a request. They were no longer honoured guests, grief-ridden Trinemates aboard the ship, and now he had his brother laying seriously injured at his side. Starscream was going to have to talk a lot to get out of this.________________When you awoke, your helm throbs with a dull pain and a high pitched ringing in your audials. Images and memories come back to you slowly; the landing, Skywarp's shout of pain, Barricade's blatant kidnapping, the rough drive–Cybertron.You're here.You open your optics with a snap, and quickly regret the decision. Though it isn't as bright as it was during the landing, it is still brighter than the artificial lighting of the ship. Wherever you are is dimly lit, with beams of light pouring in from one agonising direction. The first thing you notice is the material you're laying on; some kind of scratchy dried vegetation that you've never seen before, and a few plush shiny leaves with stems that leak a familiar looking bluish liquid. Squinting, you look down at your own plating to see it dotted with the small drips of Energon, though it smells significantly less like battery acid from what you remember. It smells like warm pennies and moisture here, a smell you've never experienced before. So this is what an alien planet smells like.Getting to your elbows and rubbing the back of your helm, you're relieved to find no mark from where you hit yourself. Your finials are also undamaged, you're lucky that they didn't bend or break with the There's no damage, it's just a bit sore, and there's nothing leaking from the nearby seams. You don't have a squishy brain anymore, just a processor, but you don't want whatever life-giving liquid your body runs on to spill out of your body, you're much happier with it  staying on the inside .From your slightly improved position, you get a good look of your surroundings. It's definitely a cave of sorts, with some alien vegetation blocking both the entrance and some of the incoming sunlight, but the plants have a metallic quality to them and they're a colour you've never seen on a leaf before. The veins sparkle with Energon like the bioluminescent tentacles of a deep-sea squid, and they have a sheen to them that boasts a hardiness far above what you're used to from Earth plants.The ground too, has a metallic quality to it. There's still dirt, but it's more mineral rich, like there's a high quantity of iron in it. You dig your digits into the soil and find that it's not as dense as you expect; like this dirt was sifted on purpose. Your processor confirms that there are more metals present in the soil than Earth's dirt, but it doesn't give you more information than that. Wiping your servos on your chassis to get rid of the residual grit, you look around for your newest captor.Barricade is nowhere to be seen, though you can presume he's somewhere nearby outside the cave. There are small signs of life in here, but other than unfamiliar animal prints, you can't see any wildlife. There wasn't a lot of time to discuss topics of cybernetic wilderness before you arrived, and you grip your arm panel in frustration.Don't get discouraged. You can get out of this. He doesn't know you're awake, but you don't know where you are (other than on an alien world). You have the element of surprise if you need it, but you gotta be smart about this.Getting to your knees as quietly as you can, you raise a servo to your audial to activate your comm system. Maybe if someone was close by, they could hear your signal!But you ring for both Starscream and Skywarp, and your comm unit cheerfully explains that they're both out of range.Damn. What did Barricade say on the way here? That you were out of comm range? So unless they enter your comm range, you're out of luck.You want to swear, but the only one that seems appropriate is the alien one you've been hearing a lot lately. It doesn't feel good to think it, worse yet to say, so you keep your frustration to yourself. Opting instead for biting your lip plate and trying to come up with a plan, you're slightly pleased that you're not feeling the usual need to cry as you would have a week ago.Okay, time to evaluate your situation. What do you know? And what does Barricade know? You chronicle your current information.One: You're on Cybertron, and out of range of the Seekers.Two: Judging from the vegetation, you're not in any of the cities you've heard of.Three: Barricade doesn't know you're awake, and he probably doesn't know you're armed. That's good.Four: You can hover just a little bit, but you can't fly.You really want to swear. The only good things are the fact that you have two surprises that Barricade doesn't know about. He probably doesn't want to hurt you, but he won't be convinced to bring you back to the Seekers. Whatever he was saying about fighting your programming was absolute scrap! You're not with the Seekers because of some internal imprinting system!Right?Doubt creeps up on you, and you shut your optics trying to focus on separate topics. Time to do a full system check of your current status. This was well overdue, but it hadn't seemed important before. But if this world is made of and created for cybertronic life, then maybe something in your own processor could help you.There is still so much about your own body and abilities that you are unaware of. You got the gist of it from the brothers, but nowhere near the introspection that you feel you fully need to understand yourself.Activating your HUD, a cheerful little  icon states that your last system check had been completed nearly 20 cycles prior. Hmm, probably when you were still in the storage container. Lots has changed since then, but there is no time to reminisce.You are very familiar with your comms unit at this point, only accepting comms from recognized Cybertronians. A sparkling's firewalls are fierce when it comes to unauthorised access, needing some admin access to disable, but you can never figure out how to access the administration files. Most of what you're able to do at this point doesn't require admin, but it's something that may become a snag later.Your weapons system pops up in a new window, showcasing a diagram of your miniature mine launcher that you know instinctively will barely scratch the paint on Barricade's thick armour. It'll be good to keep this information from him, the fact that you have weapons at all as a sparkling your size is rare, as you had been previously told.The 'settings' section of your processor gives you a basic overview of your abilities and functions. It is separated into a few categories, but you decide to tackle them one at a time in an organised manner.Your name slate is still listed as blank, as well as your gender selection. These are unimportant and they won't help you get back to your Seekers. The age selection proudly boasts your age as you remember it, 13 years old, and there's a small wheel showcasing your completed process towards your next frame size. There's barely a smidge of colour on the wheel, symbolising that you're a ways off from upgrading. So no imminent magic evolution will save you here.Your list of contacts is small, and besides Barricade, they're all out of range. All of the Autobots are listed, and all of them as well as the Seekers and Thundercracker are shown as far away. You had only briefly met him before he passed, but you'll hold onto that contact forever in memory of him. Your Seekers are probably still with the rest of the Autobots, all the way away on the ship's flight deck. You hope Skywarp is ok. The last thing you'd heard from him was a cry of pain, and then you were whisked away. You're getting tired of this.A status button brings you to a series of windows that showcases the reports of damage across your body. It's minimal, and exactly what you expect, but there's two extra details that draw your attention.The first is a bar that shows your current energy levels. You're sitting right at the 50% mark, meaning you're at half power. And without any Emberstone charged liquid nearby (you don't think there's any around, at least) it's a good idea to reserve power. You pay close attention to the bar, knowing that the lower it gets the more it uses up memory space to compromise. You've lost enough already, and you can't disable it without the goddamn, fragging admin system. The second thing you notice in this section is a line that reads No Current Status Ailments . Previously this must have been where the Flight Sickness was showcased, but it seems without your attention it must have been cured somewhere in the meantime. This was great news! You're all better now! But a sour feeling crawls into your processor; you can't share this good news with the Seekers.Slapping yourself in the cheeks, you try to snap out of your funk, promising yourself that you'll tell them once you see them next. No compromises, you'll make sure you see them again.The last overview category is your alt-mode schematic. The amount of time you've spent pouring over the image trying to find some sort of key that allows you to transform is far longer than you would have liked, and you have nothing to show for it. The Scorpion looks back at you impassively, and you would give just about anything to be able to transform right about now.The concept of flying out of here is a pipe dream, but if you can figure out your alt mode it'll be a walk in the park. Barricade's a Grounder; if you can fly, he'd never be able to catch you. He'd never risk shooting you out of the sky, and from there all you'd have to do is find your way back to the ship!But you have no idea where you are, or how to navigate this alien planet. Who knows what kind of dangers lay outside this cave? The concept alone is terrifying, but never seeing the Seekers again is worse. A makeshift plan is already forming in your processor, but it'll take time.If you play nice with Barricade and work on your transforming in secret, then you might be able to scrounge up useful information and find an opening to escape. The only risk would be running out of energy prematurely, but that was a risk you're ready to undertake. Emboldened and nervous, you stand from your crouched position and face the entrance of the cave, preparing to face your first steps on Cybertron, the alien world.Pulling the wide-leafed vegetation away, a vision of an alien jungle greets your vision. Plants overtake odd shiny structures that look foreign even to your alien optics, and even your scanner can't determine what they are.Seeing Barricade nowhere in sight, you call out for him."Barricade?" Your shrill sounding voice doesn't carry far in the sprawling jungle. The leaves and alien plant matter muffle your voice a bit and it doesn't echo like it did in the hallways of the ship.Your pedes crunch a few loose leaves on the ground, each leaf bigger than your helm and still flush with life. A few alien animal footprints are present in the dirt, as well as an alien print that could only be Barricade due to its size. He was here, but he isn't here now.The sky is an odd colour, from what you can see through the canopy. It's a burnt orange colour, and you hope it doesn't signal an oncoming sunset. You have no idea how time, night versus day works here, and the idea of being here alone at night without even Barricade scares you. You begin to yell louder, only to remember that you have a comm unit and nearly smack yourself with your foolishness. Raising a servo to your audial, you comm your kidnapper.: Barricade? Where are you?:His reply is instantaneous. : Sparkling, status report.:You sigh, but keep it to yourself. : My helm is sore, but I'm ok. Are you far?:: I'm makin' my way back now, don'cha worry. Stay close to the cave entrance and I'll be there in a klik.:: Aye, sir.: You respond sarcastically, and end the comm. Barely a few seconds later the sound of leaves crunching under tires and a loud engine signals your kidnapper's arrival, and your performance of a lifetime is about to begin.The one thing you've learned about these giant aliens is that they seem to turn into goo whenever you do something they think is cute, so you'll turn up the ham dial for Barricade until he's giving you the information you need to navigate this terrain. It may take a while, but you're prepared to do whatever it takes to get away. A small part of you is embarrassed at the show you're about to put on, but you brush the thought aside. Whatever it takes. Maybe the Seekers will even be proud of you for escaping on your own, but you think back to the conversation you had with Starscream concerning your weapons. Sparklings weren't supposed to be fending for themselves. But with this situation happening more often than you'd like, you don't really have a choice. The sound of transformation heralds Barricade's entrance, and his tires are dirty from his romp in the forest. He shoots you a sharp toothed smile and kneels as much as he can so that you're closer to the same height. It's nowhere near enough for you to stop craning your neck, as huge as he is, but you lightly appreciate the gesture."Where were you?" Your voice sounds meek, even to you, but it works for your act."Scoutin' the area. This place is fine for a temporary shelter, but we can't have you livin' in a cave, can we?" His smile is equal parts natural and fierce, like a sword trying to be a kitchen knife. Both dangerous and sharp, but meant for entirely different tasks.You nod in an attempt to placate him. Your wings flutter behind you nervously, and you pray to whoever's listening that they don't give you away."How's your fuel level? You low on energy? I can process some–" You shake your head more aggressively, interrupting him. "No! No, 'm fine. Thanks for asking." You shuffle your pede a little to emphasise your meekness. It has the desired effect, and he reaches a servo down, giving you an option to climb aboard.Being in the servo of a giant robot in the middle of an alien forest is way better than being on the ground, even if he is your kidnapper, so you accept and climb aboard. His servo feels rougher than the Seekers, and the plating is definitely more dense than theirs. Your armour in comparison is thinner than tissue paper, and these digits could easily squeeze the life out of you if they wanted. But Barricade won't hurt you, physically that is, and you know instinctively that he'll protect you from anything that might want to hurt you in this jungle."Where're we going next?" Trying not to leak your nervousness out of your voice, you try to get your first piece of information from him."Well, I'm thinkin' of heading to Polyhex to see if there are any resources there that can still be used. But Kalis also ain't that far from here, and it used to be an Energon storage hub during the war, and wherever there's Energon there's bound to be some good stuff. The only issue is Kalis; it used to be run by Autobots, and we don't want to risk runnin' into them there. An' I know Polyhex from my Decepticon days, so it's more familiar to me."He's giving you more information than you thought he would right off the bat, but none of it sounds familiar to you. Polyhex? Kalis? You don't know those cities, or at least you don't know where they are in conjunction with the cities you have heard of. "How far away are they?" Maybe you can get an indication at how long you might be travelling for.He obliges easily once again. "A few cycles in each direction, but each direction brings us closer to the Rust Sea, and I'm not lookin' forward to drivin' through there with you in my cab."You bring your optics down, sorrowfully. "'m sorry. I don't mean to be a burden." You mean it, too, which helps your ruse. This whole time you've been a robot you've been so angry at yourself for being so useless, but Starscream helped you come to terms with that with his babies shouldn't have weapons talk. You miss him. And Skywarp.Barricade immediately crumbles at your downturned mood. "No, no! Scrap, that's not what I meant. I was only sayin' that it ain't safe there, and I don't wanna put you through it. It's full of corrosive gases and your armour's real thin."You nod, but keep your sad expression. "You're right, Barricade. My armour isn't anywhere near as tough as yours. Thanks for keeping me safe." And just like that Barricade's demeanour changes from awkward to preening. If he was anything like Starscream, he might like being praised by someone much smaller than him. It seems to be working so far, so you keep that in your back pocket of things that are working thus far. It makes you feel a little slimy for doing so, but you're not lying. His armour is thicker than yours, and he is keeping you safe, even if he's the one that put you in this situation in the first place."So what's our next step?" You ask innocently, meeting his four red optics with your two green ones. He pauses his preening to hum thoughtfully. "I'm thinkin' Kalis first, an' if we don't find anything good then we head to Polyhex. How's that sound? I'll make a wide drive so you can see the Rust Sea from afar, but we don't have to drive through it." You nod, better to agree and leave this forest. Cities have maps, and with some luck you'll get a better clue as to your location. Unnamed jungle isn't exactly on any map."Sounds good to me. Are we leaving now?" Glancing up at the sky, it's darker than it was before. Maybe the sun is setting. The coming night sends a chill of apprehension up your spinal strut."In a bit, jus' gotta cover our tracks." He seems pleased, something else besides you must have him in a good mood. He's awkward, but you're getting a grasp on his personality pretty quickly. Nothing has gone wrong so far and the first step of your plan is already in motion. Once you know where you are, you can start finding your way back."You can sleep in my cab while we travel, sorry about the rough terrain earlier. I'll make sure it's smoother for you this time 'round." You force a smile and shake your head."Mm-mm. It's ok. You told me not to move around a lot and I didn't listen. I'll listen this time."He nods back at you sagely, which is an odd motion coming from him. Like he's trying to act like a knowing big brother or something rather than the kidnapper he is. Just play along, you tell yourself, and things will be fine.He grabs a nearby small tree that is dwarfed by his massive size, and begins brushing the tracks you previously noted away, a few hundred metres in all directions. You remain in his servo the whole time, never touching the ground, as the light fades through the trees signalling the beginning of night. After huffing appreciatively at his work, he throws the tree far over the canopy and it lands somewhere distant where you hear it crash. Then without any warning he transforms, the servo you're sitting on shifting and moving you around until you feel the familiar plush leather seats beneath you. The heating is hot as you remember it, but not uncomfortable. It settles over you like a warm blanket. Despite your best efforts, you actually feel a bit sleepy, and you listen idly as Barricade revs his engine. "I'll wake you when we get to the Rust Sea, kay?" His voice comes out of the radio and the surrounding speakers, but not too loud. You murmur your thanks, and make yourself comfortable in the cab. The interior is reminiscent of the military vehicle you slept in weeks ago when you were first brought to G.H.O.S.T. headquarters. It feels like so long ago, and it reminds you of what it was like in Starscream's cockpit when he was transformed.You miss your Seekers with a fierceness, and your optics burn with unshed tears. But you don't cry, and you fake a yawn that hopefully disguises your watery optics.The invisible tether tying together you and the Seekers feels tight and uncomfortable, like you'll only be comfortable again when you're with them again. You hold onto that tightness, that discomfort, using it as another motivator for your plan. You curl up on the expensive leather, wings tucked behind you and out of the way in case the drive gets rough, and you clench your servos together tightly like a prayer.You'll make it back to them. It was just a matter of time.________________Thundercracker soared overhead, barely taking in the sights of his home world. He was on a mission, and nothing was going to distract him.He knew deep down that he should have waited for Starscream's order before breaking his guise, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His instincts screamed at him to go after the Seekerling, overriding his leader's orders.His fuel lines felt like they were on fire, his thrusters dispersing any clouds to less than vapour with the speed he was travelling. Barricade was going to be on the wrong end of his Sonic Boom before Cybertron's sun set, he promised himself.Thundercracker followed the plume of dust that Barricade left behind until the buildings made him have to slow down to navigate. Thundercracker knew that Barricade was adept at escaping enemy fire, one of his skilled traits that kept him alive during the war, and it only fueled Thundercracker's ire further. Tighter and tighter turns were needed, and the trail was beginning to cool. They were getting farther away, and he could feel the range between them widening.It made his tanks churn. Every klik where the Seekerling wasn't in his servos was agony on his senses. They were probably so afraid, once again torn from the hard-won place where they felt safe, trapped again where they couldn't see the sky. Thundercracker had promised that this would never happen again, but here he was.The worst part was that he knew that Barricade had the advantage with this terrain. The fallen skyscrapers created makeshift high cliffs and canyons, dangerous manoeuvring for even the most skilled flyer. So he soared high, hoping to get a more wide vantage of his prey. In the distance, a barely distinguishable plume of dust faded, giving Thundercracker a clue of the location of his quarry. He accelerated his thrusters to maximum output, ignoring his screaming energy reserves; if he kept it at this pace, he wouldn't have enough Energon without having to return to refuel. He shot towards his target, even catching a flash of black paint flickering off the reflections of the surrounding crystalline towers. But just as Barricade turned the corner, he disappeared, the dust cloud dissipating until nothing was left.Thundercracker soared higher again and circled twice like one of Earth's birds of prey. But Barricade was nowhere in sight, and the trail was growing colder by the klik. He swore. He wouldn't give up.Easing up on his thrusters in preparation for landing, he found the ruins of what was once a highway where he could descend without losing too much speed. He transformed, hitting his pedes on Cybertron's soil without a thought and took off running. Wherever Barricade had vanished to, it must be visible from the ground. He wasn't a trained scout like Bumblebee, but even he could do some basic tracking.The direction of Barricade's tire tracks aimed out of the Crystal City, rather than deeper within it. Thundercracker knew Barricade from their shared faction during the war, and knew the black 'Con wasn't stupid. There's no way he'd go back into the city closer to where the ship landed. His first act would be to get as far away from the ship as possible, then find a place to hide and regroup.But there would be no back-up for Barricade. Unlike the Seekers, Barricade was truly alone out here on the ruins of their home world. He had made the thoughtless decision to take the Seekerlet out from under his very own watch, and there would be no one to save him from the Trine's wrath. Worse yet, he stole the Seekerling before Thundercracker could spend his allotted time with them. All those pensive moments dreaming about the look on the young one's faceplate when he would be announced alive, the joy on their expression, all of this was torn from Thundercracker by Barricade's idiotic decision. Barricade was going to pay for this, and the rage fueled his tanks with righteous fire.There, some fresh looking tracks made a semi-circle in the debris. A sharp turn was made here by a heavy vehicle mode recently, which could only be Barricade. Thundercracker followed the direction of the tracks until he was met with the mouth of what was once a service tunnel of the Crystal City. He no doubt went this way.Unfortunately, this service tunnel could have any number of endings, requiring Thundercracker to search them on foot. Without a Grounder alt, he had no choice but to navigate the tunnel on his own two pedes, as his wings only barely allowed him to fit in the narrow space. He cursed under his breath. Comming his brothers to let them know his circumstance, and ventured forward into the tunnel.As expected, he received no response from either brother, only receiving a wave of urgency in lieu of reply. They were no doubt busy back on the ship, but Thundercracker couldn't spare their predicament a thought. He had more pressing matters to focus on, and every astrosecond that ticked by was one where their Seekerlet was getting farther away.At this rate, he may not reach them by sundown. The tunnels were winding with many exits, and Barricade even had the nerve to backtrack down a few to throw ground pursuers off his trail which Thundercracker didn't appreciate. It meant more time in this Primus forsaken tunnel, hidden away from the sky and away from his charge. Even as a full frame Seeker, Thundercracker didn't like spending long periods of time in tight spaces without any view of the sky. He wasn't some first framer that was easily susceptible to Flight Sickness, but every moment down here made him think back to when the Seekerling first entered their protection; how small and sick they felt in his servo. He may not be susceptible, but he hated thinking about all the scrap their poor Seekerlet had been through prior to their claim, and this place only seemed to amplify those negative thoughts. There were a few sections of the tunnel that were cracked, allowing a scant few rays of sunlight to pour through, and Thundercracker was grateful for every one of them. Each one merited a klik of rest, the trickling breeze giving him a renewed burst of energy to carry on his mission.He wasn't going back until he had the sparkling in his servos. It was just a matter of time.