What a wonderful world! [Book 2]

{13} - An intriguing discovery

-A few days later-

"Now, you know the rules right? No talking to strangers, call us if you see any Autobots, stay away from humans, and absolutely no racing." Knockout said, fretting over Cascade like a mother hen.

"I know, I know. I'll be fine, Dad." Cascade chuckled, rolling his optics at Knockout and glancing at Breakdown.

"And we mean it when we say call us if you see any Autobots. Now that you're older, they'll see you as more of a threat and they won't hesitate to hurt you. You aren't a sparkling to them any more." Breakdown said, putting a hand on his hip as he gazed at his sparkling. "Primus... I can't believe you're already going out on your own.."

"Don't cry now, dear." Knockout teased, grinning at Breakdown as he stepped back from Cascade. "Okay, I think you're good now. You have that energon I gave you, right?"

"Yeah, I put it in my subspace." Cascade replied, pointing to his chassis.

"And your gun?" Breakdown chimed in.

"Yep, right here." Cascade grinned, patting the small gun that was clipped to his waist. "Might even do some target practice while I'm out."

"Alright kiddo, be careful out there. We love ya." Breakdown said, pulling Cascade against his chassis in a hug.

"Yes, please be careful. I don't want you coming back all scratched up and hurt." Knockout added, hugging both Cascade and Breakdown. He stood up on the tips of his pedes to reach Cascade's helm, lightly kissing it.

"Aw Dad, really?" Cascade chuckled, wiping the side of his helm and smiling at Knockout.

"Yeah, now it's my turn." Breakdown snickered, bending down and kissing Cascade on the top of his helm. "Go have fun, bud. We'll open the groundbridge for you."

Cascade pulled away from his parents and sighed, excitement building up in his chest. He couldn't believe that he was finally going out on his own! "Thanks you guys, I love you." He said, flashing them a grin before turning on his heel.

The groundbridge soon appeared in the corridor and he walked up to it, pausing before he went through and turning around. He waved at Breakdown and Knockout before transforming into his alt-mode and driving through the portal.

Knockout sighed, watching the portal disappear with a low hiss after Cascade had gone through. He looked up at Breakdown, leaning against his arm. "You think he'll be okay?"

Breakdown sighed as well, hugging Knockout close. "Yeah, he's a good kid. He'll be just fine." He replied, bending down and kissing Knockout on the helm. "Kinda wish he was still tiny, huh?"

Knockout chuckled, nuzzling Breakdown's arm softly. "Yeah... can't believe he's already going out on his own.. Soon, Megatron's going to force him to fight alongside us....." he sighed again, his gaze flicking to the floor.

"That's not till later, Knocky. Don't worry about it. I'll teach him everything he needs to know. Until then, let's just focus on letting him have fun." Breakdown said, nudging Knockout back towards the Medbay.

"Okay..." Knockout mumbled, walking back into the Medbay.

-Meanwhile, in Jasper, Nevada-

"Woo hoo!" Cascade laughed, revving his engine as he sped down the open road. "This is awesome!"

He loved feeling the wind against his frame as he went faster, feeling like there was nothing stopping him. He felt so free! This was what Knockout was talking about! The thrill of going as fast as you could on an open road with no one to stop you!

And when the road eventually ended, he just drifted like Knockout had shown him and turned back around. His tires squealed against the pavement as he took off again down the road.

As he was driving, something streaking across the sky caught his attention. He quickly transformed, skidding to a stop and watching as the fireball flew across the sky and arched down towards the ground. "Whoa! What was that?" He wondered, waiting until it disappeared before starting to run off to the area where it went down.

He ran towards the forest, seeing a plume of smoke rising in the air a good distance away. He leapt over fallen trees and dodged broken branches, following the trail of destruction that the object had left when it crashed.

Cascade slowed his pace once he got closer to the crash site, hesitantly putting a hand on his gun. He gulped nervously, his curiosity getting the best of him as he slowly approached the steaming hunk of metal.

As he got closer, he saw that the object looked like a pod of some sort, like the ones they had on the Nemesis. He tilted his head, taking a few steps closer and standing next to the pod. "What is this?" He mumbled, bending over and brushing off dirt from the glass on the pod.

He nearly jumped in fright when he saw a mech inside, stumbling backwards slightly. When he looked closely, he could see that the mech looked like he was asleep. His optics widened slightly when he noticed a thin trickle of energon coming from the mech's mouth. He was hurt!

Cascade frantically looked for a way to open the pod, eventually finding the door release and pressing it. The door of the pod shot off, digging into the ground a few feet away. Cascade stared at it for a moment before returning his attention to the mech inside the pod.

What struck him was that the mech looked eerily similar to him except that his armor was a darker blue color and he had different markings. He studied the mech for a moment, a bit confused. "Who are you....?" He mumbled, soon realizing that he needed to call Knockout.

He bent over to pull the mech out of the pod when a thought hit him. What if this was an Autobot? He gulped, looking for any symbol on the mech to show which side he was on. He sighed in relief when he saw the Decepticon insignia clearly engraved on the mech's chassis.

He gently grabbed the slightly larger mech by the shoulders, pulling him up slightly so he could slip his arms under and lift him up more. He grunted with effort as he dragged the mech out of the pod, gently setting him on the ground and breathing heavily. He stared at the mech for a moment, still trying to understand why this mech looked so much like him. Almost like.... an older version of himself.

Cascade shook his head, kneeling down beside the mech and checking for a pulse just like Knockout had taught him to do. He felt one and quickly listened to see if the mech was breathing. He was, so that was a relief. But Cascade still needed to call Knockout. His carrier had much more medical experience than him.

He pressed a finger to the side of his helm, activating his comn link. -Uh... hey dad. I.. um.... have a bit of a situation here...-

-What is it? Are you hurt? Did you fall? Where are you?- Knockout's worried voice came over the comn link.

-No, no. I'm fine. It's just.... I saw a pod crash and I went to investigate it. I'm at the crash site now.- Cascade replied, still kneeling beside the mech and constantly checking on him.

-A pod? Did you see what's inside it?-

Cascade sighed, studying the mech laying beside him for a moment before replying. -There was a mech inside of it. He's unconscious and I think he's hurt, he needs medical attention.-

Knockout was silent for a moment before he responded. -Is the mech Autobot or Decepticon?- His voice sounded somewhat shaky.

-He's Decepticon. Just please come...- Cascade said, glancing around for any sign of Autobots. They could've seen the pod too and be on their way towards his position. And that caused a knot of worry and fear to twist in his stomach.

-Alright... me and your sire are coming.- Knockout replied, ending the comn.

Cascade sighed, staring at the mech again and studying his face for a moment. 'Who are you....? And why do you look so much like me...?'