Transformers (TFP) Stranded

A Rough Search

Cycles and cycles passed as the two mechs trudged through the hot, humid rainforest. The day was droning on as the sun slowly slid  across the sky, making the circuits in Knockout's armor feel like they were on fire.

The sun was blazing in his optics but he could still make out Starscream's slouched form trudging beside him out of the corner of his eye. Knockout knew he had to keep sight on his commander or the seeker would most likely collapse from heat exhaustion. Starscream's delicate frame wasn't exactly designed for intense sun.

They had been trekking through the heat for almost four Earth hours and there was still no sign of Soundwave.

​Knockout was beginning to have doubts and think that they would never find Soundwave in this maze of a forest. Still not a single trace of the silent mech and they had been searching for how long?

Knockout could feel his systems weakening by the second and it was growing harder for him to keep his optics open for long.

Knockout could feel giving up hope. His will was so strong in the beginning. Why was it so flimsy now? It was just so easy to give in to the thought that perhaps they wouldn't make it out of this accursed jungle, and that they should rest right now instead. Yes, rest. Rest. Wait for help to find them. He was just so tired.

He started trying to think up scenarios where Soundwave wasn't lost and they could return to the ship. Maybe Soundwave had bridged himself back already and was forgetting about them. He would remember sooner or later, right? Maybe Soundwave had not been injured and he had found his way to a city where he could contact the headquarters. Knockout even thought of a scenario where Soundwave was found by the Autobots and they had restored him back to mint condition and gave him back to Megatron with no fights. He would bridge them back from there. He had to.

The heat. It was so dizzying. It wanted to eat him alive. Was this punishment for the atrocities done to Earth by his species? It surely felt like a punishment. Was this jungle and it's heatwave and humidity Earth's way of exacting it's revenge from these invaders? Cybertron. He wanted Cybertron. This place wasn't home. It would never be home. Cybertron was gone. Home was gone. Forever.

​Knockout was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of metal clang onto the ground behind him.

The red mech turned to see that Starscream had collapsed onto the ground and was lying a few feet behind him in the sun. The light bounced off the seeker's shiny armour, the silver bathed in the sun's sizzling touch.

Knockout trudged over to his fallen comrade and knelt down beside him, placing a servo to his arm. The metal was hot to the touch.

The seeker's delicate systems were clearly overheating in the intense humidity. Starscream squirmed under the medic's touch and groaned. His optics were closed and his intakes were heaving.

​"Scream, are you alright?" Knockout asked groggily. Clearly his commander wasn't alright but the medic could hardly find the energy within him to begin his examination.

​Starscream slowly blinked his optics open and turned his head slightly in Knockout's direction. Those crimson optics met his own. Worn-out expression on his face plates.

"My heel is killing me." He complained, his voice hoarse.

​Knockout rolled his optics and smirked, "I'm surprised they didn't start killing you the first time you started walking in them. Those things are instruments of torture you know." He grinned.

To Knockout's delight, the seeker smiled. It was a tired, half-way there smile, but a smile nonetheless. Anything to get Starscream riled. They needed to keep moving.