Chapter Text
Dread froze his fuel lines.
"Kindled…?" He repeated.
"Kindled!" Sunstorm said. "I can feel a second spark in your chamber."
"I can't," Thundercracker said.
He took the petals. Why didn't they work?
"Why not?" Sunstorm said.
There were a million reasons. He wasn't ready for a newspark. The ever-encroaching Autobots threatened their home and their lives. He had to care for Soundwave. Skywarp and Starscream didn't want a newspark. Blast lost two of nas seekerlings, and Thrust lost nas—his could end up just like those lost ones.
"I can't," Thundercracker repeated, his spark turning faster. "I can't, I can't—"
He scooted away from Sunstorm, digging his claws into the dirt. His spark pulsed, its energy crackling against the walls of his chamber. His plating snapped so close it stung.
He wanted a newspark. He did. But not now. Not like this. Not when it could die at any moment, whether before or after it was born. Not when the Seekers he shared his burrow with didn't want one. Not when he already had others to care for. Not when Megatron led the Seekers.
"It's okay," Sunstorm said softly. "You're going to be okay."
Thundercracker shook his helm. "No! I can't… I can't have a newspark. I took the petals…"
Sunstorm's wings lowered. Na scooted closer. Thundercracker flared his wings.
"They don't always work," Sunstorm said. "Especially on larger Seekers like you. But it's going to be okay."
Thundercracker finally hit the wall of the burrow. He pressed himself against it. "Stop saying that!"
"Thundercracker, please—"
"Oh, for scrap's sake!" Starscream's voice cut through the air. "Just let nam terminate it."
"Terminate it?" Thundercracker whispered.
Sunstorm turned back toward Starscream, a snarl forming on nas face. Wobbly and weak but determined, Starscream fanned kas wings wide as ka pushed kaz onto kas knees.
"You know how I feel about that!" Sunstorm said, nas voice losing its pleasant softness for the first time since Thundercracker heard nam speak.
But Thundercracker was still focused on what was said before. Terminate it? There was a way to remove the newspark? He didn't have to carry a newspark that would very likely die? He could just… get rid of it?
"Right," Starscream said. "Your obsession with seekerlings. I'd almost wonder if you misdosed nam on purpose, but I know you're just incompetent."
"You are very knowledgeable of the mechanics, sibling. But your abilities are suited better for fields other than the preparation of medicines," Sunstorm said. "The petals are a flat dose."
Starscream rolled kas optics. "There it is again! You're so condescending. All you have to do is teach me how, but you keep refusing."
It was the best thing to do, wasn't it? Get rid of the newspark now before it grew enough to feel pain when it was inevitably killed in some other way?
"You want to be a Claw, and Claws don't practice medicine," Sunstorm said.
"They do when it's a matter of life or death!" Starscream hissed. Kas optics drifted toward Thundercracker. Kas wings twitched. "But that's not the issue right now. Go take care of your patient before nas spark gives out."
Sunstorm stared at kan for a moment, nas wings twitching. Then, na turned toward Thundercracker.
"I want to terminate it!" Thundercracker blurted before he could stop himself.
Sunstorm's plating tensed. Na tapped nas claws on nas lap. With a shake of nas helm, na scrunched nas optics shut.
"Very well," na said. Na opened nas optics. "We will discuss the details."
'The details' turned out to be not only an excruciatingly detailed description of the procedure itself, but also of sparkling development. Thundercracker had to wonder how Sunstorm even knew these things, considering the lack of imaging equipment and the fact that he hadn't seen Sunstorm jack into a patient once. The response he received to that question was simply, "I have special hands." He could only assume that meant Sunstorm had some sort of outlier ability.
Since the newspark hadn't surfaced in his storage space, he was early in the process. The newspark was small enough to be reabsorbed. So, all he had to do was take a blend of herbs that would force his secondary locks to relax. With them open, the storage chamber would be considered compromised. The newspark would be snuffed out.
The spark spasms—brought on because the newspark was drawing energy from his spark—would cease. He would no longer feel lightheaded when he rose after sitting. Thundercracker expected to be remorseful after taking the concoction Sunstorm gave him—he was, after all, snuffing a newspark—but all he felt was relief. Everything would go back to normal.
Well, as close to normal as it could.
!!!
The blend of herbs gave Thundercracker a headache nearly on par with the one he had after Data Hunger, but he could tolerate it. The bigger cause of concern was Starscream, who—as Sunstorm said—proved completely unable to walk. When he and Skywarp left to hunt, Thundercracker's spark hurt at the thought of leaving Starscream alone. But ka was safe in the burrow, and they needed food.
If walking was a challenge, getting Starscream to eat was impossible.
Thundercracker placed the petrorabbits they'd caught on the floor. Starscream raised kas helm just enough to see. Ka was pressed flat onto the floor, clinging to it as if it was kas only source of stability. Considering kas condition, it likely was.
As Thundercracker prepared the carcass, Starscream showed no interest. He offered kan a scute, but ka didn't even stir. Thundercracker sighed. He set the scute down and placed his hands under Starscream, forcing kan into a sitting position. Starscream let out a protesting whine, pushing kaz into the wall.
"Come on," Thundercracker said. "You need to eat."
"No," Starscream moaned, attempting to adjust kas position and failing.
Ka tilted to the side, nearly falling over. Thundercracker reached out, pulling ka to his side. Starscream leaned into him. Taking the opportunity, Thundercracker picked up the scute and brought it to Starscream's lips. Ka scrunched kas olfactory ridge and reached for it, missing it several times before finally grabbing it.
"Fine," ka growled.
The first bite took Starscream a couple of attempts, but after ka managed it, ka ate at a relatively steady pace. After finishing the scute, a click sounded as ka unlatched kas cockpit. Ka pulled out kas medicine, taking it with about as much grace as ka took kas meal. Thundercracker resisted the urge to help. He didn't know the amount of powder Starscream required or whether the aid would even be appreciated.
The meal continued like that—Thundercracker helping whenever he could until eventually Starscream pushed him away insistently and curled up on the floor. Taking that as a sign that Starscream was done, Thundercracker took his own portion of the meal.
When he finally looked up, Skywarp's optics bore holes into him. Waz dentae were bared. But wa quickly corrected waz expression, shifting to something more neutral. Beside wan, Soundwave looked between the two of them, his shoulders tense.
"What is it?" Thundercracker asked.
"It's not important," Skywarp said.
The air was sharp with anger.
"It's important if it's making you upset," Thundercracker said.
Skywarp stared at Starscream. Ka didn't stare back—ka likely didn't even notice ka was being stared at. Between Starscream's pain and Skywarp's stinging irritation, the air was oppressive. Skywarp closed waz optics for a moment, waz wings flicking, then turned back toward Thundercracker.
"You're so… soft with kan," wa said.
"Ka is hurt," Thundercracker said.
"Ka is," Skywarp said. "But that's kas fault. And ka dragged you into it."
Was that what wa had assumed?
"I asked kan to," Thundercracker said. "It was my idea, not kas."
Skywarp's wings twitched. Wa frowned. "Why?"
"Megatron is a bad leader," Thundercracker said. "We both saw what happened to Thrust. If Megatron hadn't forced na to fight, nas seekerling would still be alive right now."
Skywarp adjusted waz position, moving backward as wa did. Soundwave scooted away from wan.
"Winglord Megatron is doing what ka believes is best," Skywarp said carefully.
The wording was hard to miss.
"But is it what you believe is best?" Thundercracker said, his wings rising. "Do you think—"
"Ka is going to to kill you all!" Skywarp hissed, baring kas dentae. "And me for being associated with you. Gossip travels farther than you think. I know what ka said to you. I don't like Winglord Megatron, but I don't want you to die."
"We might die anyway," Thundercracker said.
Megatron was going to lead them all into their deaths if ka continued the way ka was. It didn't matter if that was how Seeker flocks worked. No one wanted to die, or for their loved ones to die. But if the Seekers never fought against it, Megatron's callousness would pick them off one by one. Ka may not have killed during challenges—though even that promise was shattered—but enough was lost in battle to make up for it.
Thundercracker only knew a portion of the Decepticons by name, but he'd seen the number of them that crept out of their burrows to catch the sunlight dwindle cycle by cycle. Blast lost both of nas trinemates and two of nas seekerlings. Thrust lost nas seekerling. How many more Seekers—born and unborn—would be lost?
A realization washed over Thundercracker. Challenges didn't have to be one on one. That was what Starscream said. Ka meant that he and Starscream could challenge Megatron together. They couldn't take him on alone, but what if they weren't? What was stopping the flock from working together to remove Megatron?
"Why should we follow Megatron if ka doesn't care about us?" Thundercracker said. "Why should we fight for kan if ka is willing to hurt us? If ka won't even protect the most vulnerable of us?"
How many more Seekers felt this way but were afraid to voice it? How many more had lost trinemates, seekerlings, or family and Thundercracker wasn't there to know? Did Megatron even know? Did Megatron even care?
'Blast can have all of the seekerlings na wants when every last Autobot is dead.'
Ka didn't care. Ka only cared about eliminating their enemies. Perhaps ka had some vision of an Autobot-free future, but that future wasn't now. If they kept going like this, it may be a Seekerless one instead. They needed a leader that would care for them in the moment as much as they did the future.
"Do you think Starscream would?" Skywarp said, waz voice trembling despite the set of waz wings. "Do you think ka cares about anyone but kaz?"
What sort of question was that? Hadn't Starscream helped Thundercracker get the petals? Only a couple cycles ago, Starscream advocated for him when Sunstorm told him he had kindled. Starscream was unpleasant and abrasive, and had unrealistic expectations, but ka was far from selfish.
"I do," Thundercracker said.
Skywarp blinked, taken aback. But wa quickly shook waz out of it.
"So," wa said. "Even if you did manage to make Starscream Winglord, how would ka hold onto it? One challenge and it would all be over."
How many mecha in the flock actually wanted to be Winglord? It seemed like Starscream was the only one, but maybe ka was just the only one willing to fight Megatron to do it.
Skywarp continued. "You can't step in unless ka has more than one opponent. Ka has to be able to hold kas own, and ka can't. When Ramjet called kan too weak to defend a trine, it wasn't a lie. Ka is weak. It's something ka can never change."
Thundercracker half-expected Starscream to call out. When ka didn't, Thundercracker assumed ka was asleep, or simply too miserable to respond. He did not expect ka to be laying, chin sitting on kas arms, staring up at him. Their optics met. Starscream averted kas gaze, kas wings drooping.
'I'm going to do it, and everyone that ever doubted me will regret it.'
Ka was used to this. This was what ka expected to hear. Thundercracker's spark burned. He couldn't dismiss Skywarp's concerns. What would happen if Starscream was challenged? But he couldn't let those harsh words stand.
Then, the realization struck him.
"What if ka doesn't have to take on challenges?" Thundercracker said.
Skywarp's olfactory ridge crinkled. "Ka can't just say no."
"Not that," Thundercracker said. "If ka leads well enough, no one will want to challenge kan. No one challenges Megatron because they fear kan, but the same can be done with love."
Skywarp glanced at Starscream. Ka let out a quiet growl.
"Starscream?" Skywarp said. "Lovable? I don't think so. Ka is a scrapheap."
Starscream rose, wobbling slightly, and shook kas wings.
"I'm your courted trinemate!" Ka hissed.
Skywarp hissed back, baring waz teeth and rattling waz wings. Wings lowering, Starscream averted kas gaze and sank back to the floor. Skywarp hummed.
Thundercracker wasn't certain what he'd just witnessed. It felt like a challenge—the kind that wasn't a brawl—but Starscream backed off so quickly. Was it trine role related?
"Don't talk about Starscream like that," Thundercracker said. Skywarp glared at him, but waz wings drooped as he glared back. As wa averted waz gaze, he added, "I don't want either of you talking like that. I may have a lot to learn, but even I understand that trines are supposed to work together. That can't happen if we keep insulting each other."
He looked between both of his trinemates-to-be. Starscream, just like Skywarp, looked away with kas wings lowered. What exactly was the role of a Spark, if it caused them to react to his words like this?
!!!
Claws poked his shoulder. Thundercracker groaned. They poked more insistently.
"Thundercracker!" Starscream's voice was right in his audial.
Memory hit Thundercracker like a blow to the helm. He helped Starscream sit up, then guided kan out of the burrow. They'd already gotten up like this several times. Did Starscream ever sleep uninterrupted, or did ka always have to get up mid-recharge? No wonder ka was so cranky.
They moved as far away from the camp as they could manage without flight. Thundercracker allowed Starscream some privacy. Frankly, he didn't even want to know as much as he did. Eventually, Starscream called him back over. Thundercracker supported him again as they made their way back.
All of the others were asleep. There were no other Seekers around. It was quiet. Curiosity pulled at Thundercracker's spark, and now was the perfect time to ask questions.
"What is a Spark?" Thundercracker said.
Starscream flicked kas wing. "What do you think one is?"
The retort seemed snarky on the surface, but Starscream's tone was serious. Ka wasn't making fun of him—ka legitimately wanted to know.
"Sunstorm told me Sparks were the 'spark' of their trine, but I don't know what that means," Thundercracker said. "Na also told me that sparks don't engage in fights between trines, and that they carry and raise seekerlings."
Thundercracker already broke the first rule multiple times, and he would break it again. Though he wanted a sparkling someday, he terminated the only one he had kindled so far. Soundwave, despite being a newspark, was a sparkling, not a seekerling. According to Sunstorm's descriptions, Thundercracker shouldn't be a Spark at all, but everyone still called him one.
Starscream looked away and hummed.
"That would be like nam," ka mumbled.
"Is na wrong?" Thundercracker asked.
Starscream shook kas helm.
"That first one is the most important. Not any of that scrap about not fighting or about raising seekerlings," ka said. "You're the trine's spark, in role and in name. It can't exist without you. You're not a seekerling factory—you're the trine's leader."
Starscream said it with such conviction, but doubt still pulled at Thundercracker's mind. Why would Megatron be Winglord instead of kas trine's Spark, if that were the case? Why didn't Sparks fight? If they were the leader and not just the trine's brood dam, didn't it make more sense for them to fight?
"I'm not a leader," Thundercracker mumbled.
That was the one thing he was sure of.
Starscream scoffed. "Aren't you? You give instructions and we follow them."
Thundercracker shifted his weight to better support Starscream as they began walking downhill. Kas steps were unsteady. Ka kept stumbling to one side or the other, and only Thundercracker's grip was keeping kan in a straight line. It was still an improvement from a couple of cycles ago, when Thundercracker had to carry kan.
"That's not leadership," Thundercracker said. "That's obedience."
Starscream frowned. "Leaders give orders, followers obey. What more is there to it?"
"A lot more," Thundercracker said.
Starscream's steps faltered. Ka stumbled, pressing into Thundercracker.
"Agree to disagree," Starscream said. "My helm is hurting again."
Thundercracker let it slide. The argument wasn't worth it. If he had to be the leader of the trine, then he would use his actions to show Starscream that ka was wrong about leadership, rather than trying to convince him with words.
The valley was close to empty when they returned. Only two Seekers were out—the ones that were always wrestling. But they weren't wrestling now. Thundercracker had never seen them apart, but he had also never seen them with a third member. Were they a couplet?
"I also trined you for a reason."
Starscream's whisper brought Thundercracker out of his thoughts. He hummed.
"Other Seekers don't see me the way I want them to," Starscream said. "But when we trine, they'll have to acknowledge it."
What did that mean?
"How do you want them to see you?" Thundercracker asked.
Starscream shook kaz, raising kas wings. Kas face was set in a determined glare as ka stared ahead. Thundercracker followed kas gaze, his optics landing on the Winglord's burrow.
"I'm a Claw," Starscream said.
Thundercracker had never questioned that. But his processor pulled open orns-old memory files. Ramjet's voice played in the back of his mind.
'What kind of trine needs two—'
Two what? The answer wasn't Claws, if Starscream claimed they didn't view kan as a Claw. Sparks? Wings?
'You want to be a Claw, and Claws don't practice medicine.'
Sunstorm's words just a decacyle ago. Not that Starscream was a Claw—that ka wanted to be one. Whatever sort of test Seekers ran to determine trine role, its results weren't that Starscream was a Claw. Was it wrong, or had Starscream decided to become a Claw? If Starscream could change kas role, could Thundercracker do the same?
But what would Thundercracker be? He couldn't say he wasn't a spark, but he also couldn't say he was one.
"You are a Claw," Thundercracker said.
Ka had never been anything else to Thundercracker. Between all of the questions in his mind, that was the only certainty. A quiet purr rumbled from Starscream, punctuated by an uncoordinated nuzzle, and Thundercracker knew he said the right thing. He pulled Starscream closer, lifting kan into his arms. Rather than protesting, Starscream sank into him.
Thundercracker was soft. Skywarp wasn't wrong when wa said that, even if wa only meant it in the context of Starscream. He liked caring for and helping others. But he also wanted to protect them.
Could a Seeker play more than one role? Could he be a Spark and a Claw? The idea sank into his processor as he laid Starscream down in the nest. A warmth rose in his spark, but it was swallowed by dread.
He didn't know if it was possible. If this was how the Seekers reacted to Starscream, how would they respond to him? He didn't even know if that was actually what he was, or what a Spark-Claw could even be called. What if Spark-Claws didn't exist?
Eventually, he slipped into a troubled recharge. Other things demanded his attention, but the thought never truly left his mind, even as orns turned to vorns.
!!!
It didn't sit right with Prowl. Why would the Magnus make such a mistake? And if it wasn't the Magnus, who was it? How would the route get changed so drastically? No one should have been traveling through that area—they weren't expecting any others!
37% likelihood this was intentional and climbing. But who could commit such an act of sabotage? There was one distinct possibility, and he was currently roaming the base—their mysterious survivor, who had eventually give his name: Optimus. One of three Prime-ranking mecha in the village. If this was an intentional act, there was an 87% likelihood that he was responsible. But there was still the 13% chance he wasn't. Prowl had to approach this carefully.
He couldn't just accuse Optimus of sabotaging the route. Not publicly, at least. It would cause the others to doubt him, as all he had was circumstance. If Optimus was a saboteur, he would alert Optimus to possible discovery with nothing to gain from it. If Optimus wasn't, he would destroy the mech's (already limited) trust in him.
The easiest solution was to watch Optimus to obtain further information. Unfortunately, the mech proved to be a ghost. Outside of the sparse moments he left his assigned quarters for meals, Optimus was never out and about. Policy was to never enter another mech's quarters without their permission unless a threat to their life was suspected or there was reasonable proof of a crime being committed. Prowl had neither, so he couldn't enter Optimus's quarters.
He never responded when Prowl knocked. Messages were given curt replies that told Prowl little about him. Optimus never lingered after meetings. But one cycle, Prowl finally obtained a sliver of information.
He entered the mess hall. Ratchet had been quite insistent this time, and Prowl didn't have any meetings to fall back on. Still, he made as many excuses as he could until Ratchet couldn't take it anymore and told him he would 'drag him there by his doors.' Prowl's doors were quite delicate, and Ratchet seemed to mean it, so here he was.
The mess hall was typically empty at this time of day, but voices reached him. He paid them little mind. It was just Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker, after all. They were always chatty. He had finally stopped looking their way expecting to see blue plating framed by wings.
He filled his cube and turned around. There wasn't much point in eating in the mess hall. His office was much quieter. But as he passed the group's table again, a name caught his audials. Optimus. They were talking about Optimus.
Prowl slowed his pace. The three soldiers continued to speak, so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice him. He sat at a nearby table—close enough to hear clearly, but not enough to draw attention.
"He's so mopey," Sunstreaker said. "You know that level with the giant cybershrimp? The one you got stuck on?"
Bumblebee nodded.
"I handed him the controller and he beat it in one try, but he didn't even care!" Sunstreaker said.
"One try?" Sideswipe said, leaning into the table.
"He's crazy good!" Sunstreaker said. "You think he'd be all show-offy about it, but he's not. I told him he was skilled and he just got all huffy and sad. Left the room, didn't want to play anymore."
"Huh," Bumblebee said. He hummed, resting his chin on his hand. "Well, he watched everyone in his village get killed. Cut him some slack."
"Everyone's seen someone die," Sunstreaker said.
Bumblebee's doorwings lowered. "Yeah, but… not like that. He probably misses them."
Not like that indeed. Any mech would be distraught over the loss of everyone they loved, even if it were planned. But if it weren't Optimus, who would it be? At the very least, Prowl had more options now.
Bumblebee and Sunstreaker had apparently found a way to spend time with Optimus despite his solitary nature. Perhaps Bumblebee was right, and he was merely grieving, but the extent of his grief was orns of isolation and avoidance. Such an extreme response could be worthy of a wellness check, should Prowl receive concerns…
Perhaps it was time to speak with Bumblebee. He seemed the most likely to talk.