Chapter Text
Thundercracker woke to muffled cries. Next to him, Skywarp held Soundwave close as Soundwave whined, nas plating shaking. Skywarp nuzzled nam.
"I—it's okay," wa whispered. "We're all okay. Please go back to sleep."
Thundercracker's other side was empty. Starscream must have gotten up. Scooting closer, Thundercracker wrapped his arms tightly around Soundwave and Skywarp. Slowly, the shaking subsided, and with it, Soundwave's cries.
Thundercracker waited until he was sure na was asleep before speaking.
"What happened?" He asked.
Skywarp's wings twitched. "I think I woke nam up."
Soundwave wasn't the kind of sparkling that cried frequently. There had to be more to it than that.
"Are you sure?" Thundercracker asked.
Wa averted waz gaze. "I had a nightmare. Na woke up right after I did. I think na could feel my fear and it scared nam."
That made sense. Thundercracker checked the air. Though it was faint, the tingle of fear was present. He shifted his arm, petting the top of Skywarp's helm. Wa closed waz optics.
"My sires didn't want me," Skywarp mumbled.
Thundercracker nuzzled wan, careful not to wake Soundwave up again. "Was that what it was about?"
"Yes," Skywarp said. "No. Not really. But it reminded me of them. When I said I wouldn't know what to do if we had seekerlings…"
Skywarp paused, waz wings flexing.
"I never really had sires," wa said. "That's why I wouldn't know. They left my dam when I developed my ability. They thought I was too much trouble."
Thundercracker had been loved. Somewhat distantly, but he had been loved. He had Prowl, and Ratchet, and Bulkhead, and Arcee…
Skywarp had waz dam, and then lost everything when waz flock was killed. Thundercracker could return to his Autobots and be welcomed. Skywarp had nowhere else to go.
"You'd be a great sire," Thundercracker said.
It was the truth.
Skywarp smiled weakly, but as silence stretched between them, waz smile fell. Wa stared down at Soundwave.
"I wouldn't know," wa said quietly.
Thundercracker gestured toward Soundwave. Na clung to Skywarp even in sleep.
"Look," he said. "If you weren't a good sire, would na be clinging to you? You had a nightmare and your first instinct was to comfort Soundwave."
"Na was scared," Skywarp said, scrunching waz olfactory ridge.
"So were you," Thundercracker said. "But you put nam first. That's what being a creator is."
A good creator put their sparklings—seekerlings—first. That was the truth.
Skywarp hummed, settling back down. Thundercracker did the same. He closed his optics, but just before he slipped into recharge, Skywarp murmured:
"I just feel like something terrible is going to happen."
He was asleep before he could respond. His processor pruned that moment by the morning.
!!!
The ground rumbled. Something about it was familiar. The air was filled with the sharp, cold sting of fear—practically drenched in it. Thundercracker's first instinct was to press himself to the back of the burrow and listen. Skywarp scrambled beside him, digging waz claws into his plating as wa held on with an unbreakable grip. Waz wings trembled. Soundwave was sandwiched between them, holding onto Thundercracker much more delicately.
Toward the front of the burrow, Starscream crouched, wings spread wide and dentae bared. Despite the defensive posture, ka was silent. Ka glanced at Thundercracker, then whipped toward the burrow's entrance as the rumbling drew nearer.
[{ID:STSC} Dirtkissers.]
Skywarp yelped. Starscream rattled kas wings at wan.
[{ID:STSC} Shut up! They'll hear you!]
[{ID:SKWP} they're here???]
[{ID:STSC} Yes, you fool! Can't you hear them? They don't know where we are yet. Don't draw their attention.]
The telltale sound of thunking metal echoed through the valley. Pedesteps sounded. Blasterfire. The screech of a Seeker. Thundercracker didn't know the voice by name.
[{ID:THCR} What's going on? Who did they shoot?]
Starscream's wings twitched.
[{ID:STSC} Acid Storm, I think. I can't see very well and getting closer to the exit would expose us.]
Shouting in Common. Thundercracker could distinguish the words if only his processor weren't running so quickly. Soundwave shook. Thundercracker rubbed nas shoulders.
Where were Blast and Windshear? Where were Thrust and nas trinemates? Where was Nacelle? Where were Sunstorm and nas trinemates? Thundercracker could only hope they were safe in their burrows, or even better, away and not to return until the Autobots left.
How had these Autobots found them? Thundercracker hadn't given any information. Without a comm, he wouldn't have been able to anyway. Part of him wished he had tried harder to get them to install one, even though they said it would impact the mission. Seekers didn't have comms, so they would hear the low whine they made and know something was wrong. They tracked Autobots by that sound—Thundercracker used to follow the noise to find help when he got lost in the base as a seekerling. But if he had a comm now, maybe he could convince them not to attack, or even call his Autobots for help.
But if he did, would they really see the other Seekers any differently than they had before? Or would they just take him back and kill the others? Neither option was appealing. And what would happen to Soundwave? Na considered naz a Seeker despite nas lack of wings, but the Autobots wouldn't see it that way.
Thundercracker gently transferred Soundwave to Skywarp and crawled forward, crouching beside Starscream. Kas wings twitched in silent acknowledgement. The low whine of comms grew closer, punctuated by pedesteps.
[{ID:STSC} If they look in, I'm going to rush them. They'll panic, but it won't buy us much time, so Skywarp needs to get the frag out with Soundwave when I do it.]
Skywarp shifted nervously at the back of the burrow.
[{ID:SKWP} but where will we go?]
Starscream huffed quietly. If ka wasn't watching the Autobots, ka probably would've rolled kas optics.
[{ID:STSC} Cinnabar Cliff. It's far enough.]
More blaster fire. Another scream. The roar of jet engines. Thundercracker wasn't close enough to the burrow's edge to see—Starscream's wings blocked his view—but he knew another Seeker had been found and shot. There was no other explanation.
The low hum of a comm unit vibrated through the ground and then his plating. Pedesteps reached the edge of the burrow. A blaster began to charge. Were they even looking before they shot?
Starscream leaped out of the burrow with a howl, launching kaz at the Autobot. Thundercracker sprinted out after kan, launching himself at the next closest Autobot. In their panic, the Autobots' blaster shots hit the ground. Thundercracker's audials rang.
He grabbed the Autobot's hands, preventing them from aiming the blaster, but their hand was still on the trigger. Before they could charge it again, he brought it toward his mouth and bit down. The blaster gave beneath his dentae, valuable components crushed into uselessness, as the enemy Autobot shouted in surprise.
Their face was not one Thundercracker recognized, nor was the air around them familiar. These Autobots—whoever they were—had nothing to do with his own. Air rushed behind Thundercracker as Skywarp took off. Wa flew into the sky, then disappeared with a purple flash.
Short-lived relief flooded Thundercracker. The plan had worked. Skywarp and Soundwave were safe. But there were still others to protect. With a growl, he shoved the Autobot and pinned them beneath his pede.
Beside him, the other Autobots yelled in fear as Starscream's rays finally charged. Thundercracker trusted ka to hold kas own for a few moments as he turned back toward the Autobot, baring his dentae.
"Why are you here?" He hissed.
The Autobot's optics widened. Great. This again. He would have to convince—
"You!" The Autobot spat, a scowl on his face.
Thundercracker examined the Autobot again. He was a heavyweight for his frametype. Some sort of fancy truck, most likely. He was dark blue with orange accents. Still not familiar.
"Do I know you?" Thundercracker said.
"You were the voice I heard!" The Autobot spat, thrashing in his grip. "You killed my best friend!"
Thundercracker had killed many Autobots. It wasn't something he was proud of—unlike Starscream and Skywarp—but the point was, that didn't narrow anything down at all.
"You don't remember?" The Autobot said.
Thundercracker flicked his wings, once again forgetting that the Autobot wouldn't know what that meant.
"Do you remember every Seeker you gun down?" He asked.
He knew the answer. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe didn't remember the Seekers they killed, only the amount. To them, they were merely a score—enemies to be treated the same as the ones in their video games. He held no doubts this Autobot felt the same. They all did. He had once, too.
"You're filth," the Autobot said. "Why should I remember each grain of dirt I scrape from my pedes?"
The pace of battle didn't allow for the learning of faces or names. It didn't encourage memory—only survival. But at least Thundercracker acknowledged his opponents as thinking, feeling beings.
Thundercracker slammed the Autobot into the ground, a small part of him relishing the pained grunt he let out.
"I'm filth that can talk," Thundercracker said. "And filth that has you pinned beneath my claws."
Starscream's cry pulled Thundercracker's attention away. Ka struggled against the Autobots, who had foregone their ranged weapons in favor of blunt ones after they both had taken them out. Energeon leaked from a wound on his side. One of the Autobots brought their hammer down on kas arm, splitting the scar on it open.
Autobot beneath him forgotten, Thundercracker launched himself at Starscream's nearest tormentor. He sank his fangs into the Autobot's neck, energeon flooding his mouth as he broke their major fuel line. They let out a gurgling scream, but he was already moving on to the next Autobot. He dispatched them in a similar manner, a growl growing in his engine.
He knelt to help Starscream up. Well, really more like dragged Starscream to kas pedes. Kas plating trembled, pain on the air. Although the plating had regrown, it wasn't just the outside that Megatron had damaged vorns ago—the internal supports that held Starscream's arm together were weakened. Thundercracker had caught Starscream clutching kas arm a few times, and knew that the injury still caused kan pain.
The blow was direct, putting enough pressure on the weakened supports to snap them again. Energeon wept from the fresh wound. Still, Starscream bared kas dentae and flexed kas claws.
"There's still more of them!" Ka hissed.
Starscream's determination was endless, but ka couldn't go on like this. Fighting with such an injury would only make it worse. As much as Thundercracker longed to keep his trinemates by his side, he needed Starscream to get to safety. But if he just said that, ka would refuse.
"Find Blast and Windshear," Thundercracker said. "If they're not gone already, they'll need help escaping."
Kas wings twitched.
"Cinnabar Cliff," ka said. "You know where it is."
Then, ka was off, heading toward Windshear and Blast's burrow. Autobots took aim at kan, but ka was swift and dodged with ease. Thundercracker diverted his attention to the other burrows, preparing himself to attack as the other Autobots took notice of the commotion.
There weren't that many. Now that they were attacking rather than defending, they could probably finish the Autobots off. Especially if—
Megatron's pedes hit the ground with a loud thump as kas cannon powered up. Judging by its size, it wouldn't be very safe to fire near the burrows, but if it was facing away, it would take out a lot of Autobots. So, Thundercracker began driving the Autobots near him away from the burrows. A handful of other Seekers popped out of their burrows, some he recognized—Ramjet grinned at him before leaping onto a nearby Autobot.
Hope swelled in Thundercracker's spark. By now, Starscream would have gotten Windshear and Blast to safety. Skywarp was already gone with Soundwave. The tide was turning.
A shot hit Thundercracker's leg. He hissed in pain, searching for its source. The Autobot from before stared at him, a stolen blaster in his hands and a mask over his face. The blaster's glow dimmed as it powered down, its charge released. It would take a few kliks for it to recharge. Thundercracker charged his own rays and shot it, not giving it the opportunity.
The Autobot threw the broken blaster to the side and unsheathed a sword. It glowed, a high pitched hum emitting from it. Scrap. Thundercracker didn't know quite what it was, but he knew anything with a charge was something he didn't want to be hit with. The Autobot ran at him and swung. Thundercracker pivoted to avoid the strike, growling as the movement put pressure on his injured leg.
A screech rang out. Thundercracker forced himself not to look, dodging another blow. His rays were finally cooled enough to charge again, so he activated them. But he still had to wait for them to gather enough power. A particularly swift strike nearly caught him.
The air stirred behind him. Thundercracker's wings twitched. He leaped out of the way of the approaching object, just barely dodging another blow from the Autobot.
"That almost hit me!" The Autobot yelled.
Thundercracker turned sideways, following the Autobot's line of sight while keeping him in the corner of his vision. Ahead of them, an orange, broad-shouldered Autobot stood holding a large gun. A briefly spared glance at the object Thundercracker evaded froze his spark: a plasma net.
"They want these things alive, Sentinel!" The orange Autobot said. "Alive!"
"They only need a few," Sentinel said.
Thundercracker should have taken the moment to kill both of them, but their words gave him pause. The Autobots wanted the Seekers alive. They brought plasma nets.
"You're capturing us," Thundercracker said.
Sentinel scoffed. The orange Autobot paused, his net gun falling to his side. He stared, optics wide, at Thundercracker.
"Well, I'll be!" The orange Autobot said. "These things can talk?"
Sentinel brandished his sword.
"Spare the wonder for later," he said. "And fire that net gun before it decides to fight again."
Even if they fought the Autobots off, some of them would be captured. Thundercracker searched the camp. Were there more Autobots than before?
Thrust and Ramjet struggled valiantly against a swarm of Autobots, but it was little use. One of the wrestling Seekers defended their companion, who was already trapped in a net. Megatron still blazed through the crowd, he and his trine one of the only not to struggle. But as ka danced closer to other trines, ka paid them no mind, focusing only on the Autobots.
Thundercracker launched himself over the two Autobots bickering before him, heading toward Megatron. He landed, greeted immediately by a humming cannon. Instinctively, Thundercracker flared his wings. Megatron bared kas dentae and lowered the cannon.
"You're in the way," ka said.
Thundercracker stepped to Megatron's other side, but it did nothing to improve kas demeanor.
"We need to flee," Thundercracker said. "They have plasma nets—"
"And surrender our home?" Megatron hissed.
An Autobot came toward them. Megatron blasted them in the spark chamber without hesitation.
"They already sent reinforcements!" Thundercracker said. "They'll just keep sending more! We're outnumbered. They planned this."
Megatron growled, charging kas cannon again. "All the more reason to stay. We can't give them what they want."
Of course Megatron wasn't going to agree. Thundercracker should've expected it. He shook himself and took off, landing before Ramjet and Thrust. He fired on the Autobots attacking them, giving them a brief reprieve.
"Where's Dirge?" He asked.
He hadn't seen Dirge with them, nor had he seen kan elsewhere on the battlefield.
"We don't know!" Ramjet said, waz voice cracking. "We tried to find kan but we got cornered!"
Scrap. Ka may have been captured. Thundercracker didn't know where they were taking the Seekers they managed to down, only that they were taking them. He would need to find where they were moving them to before it was too late. But first…
"Get to safety," Thundercracker said. "Cinnabar Cliff. I'll find kan."
Ramjet hesitated, but Thrust placed a hand on waz shoulder. The two took off, leaving Thundercracker to face the approaching Autobots. He took out as many as he could before leaping into the sky again, flying just barely out of range of their net guns. He landed before the wrestling Seekers, but now only one of them remained—the dark blue one. The orange one was gone.
The dark blue Seeker turned toward him, optics wide and wings low. Thundercracker lowered his to show he meant no harm. The Seeker relaxed.
"They are taking nam!" The Seeker cried. "I was doing the defense and they are taking nam!"
Thundercracker's systems took a moment to parse the wording. The Seeker's accent was strong, and their grammar was wrong—a sign of an incomplete or corrupted language packet. Were they also not a native Vosian speaker?
That wasn't important right now.
"Did you see where they took nam?" Thundercracker asked.
The Seeker pointed. "There! But I cannot do the getting there or they will take me."
Thundercracker followed the Seeker's motion. He didn't see anything beyond the ongoing battle, but at least he had a direction to search. He turned back toward the Seeker.
"Go to Cinnabar Cliff," he said. "The others are waiting. I'll look for nam. But we can't let anyone else be taken."
The Seeker hesitated, glancing between the space they pointed to and the sky. Then, they nodded.
"I am Jetstorm," they said. "The one they took is Jetfire. When you do the finding, please tell nam I was doing the looking."
"I will," Thundercracker said.
Jetstorm took off. Thundercracker waited a moment before doing the same, heading in the direction Jetstorm had pointed. He fired on the Autobots when he could, but with growing relief, he saw fewer and fewer Seekers below. The Autobots couldn't have captured all of them, so most of then must have fled.
Eventually, he reached it: a large transport. Based on the size, it was a vehicle rather than a transformed Autobot. Thundercracker landed on the top of it with a clang, startling the Autobots below. They dropped one of the Seekers they were hauling. Thundercracker recognized them as Jetfire. Jetfire began to squirm, attempting to free themself from the plasma net.
Thundercracker aimed his rays and fired, taking out the conductors that projected the net. Jetfire burst out and attacked the Autobots. Satisfied that the Jetfire was free, Thundercracker turned his attention toward the transport. Digging his claws into the roof, he pulled. The top of the transport began to peel.
But it wasn't enough. Thundercracker's pedes slipped against the roof of the transport, his joints clicking as they strained to pull. Finally, his grip gave, and he was sent tumbling back. He landed hard on his shoulder, just barely able to tuck his wing back in time to prevent it from being damaged. His injured leg stung, the freshly dented shoulder only adding to his discomfort.
Somehow, he needed to get this open. The Seekers inside couldn't free themselves. But how?
His ability created vibrations. Maybe, if he used it, it would cause enough damage to the transport for him to open it…
Thundercracker leaped back onto the top of the transport and dug his claws in. Then, he summoned the part of his engine that roared. Everything began to vibrate around him. The transport shook. He pulled.
The roof peeled away. Thundercracker deactivated his ability and hopped inside, charging his rays. Dirge was the closest to him. After he shot the conductors, Dirge nodded at him. Ka charged kas own rays and moved to help the nearest Seeker. When all of the Seekers were freed, Thundercracker left the transport.
Just outside, Jetfire waited, wings wide and claws flexed as they stood guard. Energeon was smeared across their plating. The ground around them smoked, scattered with burnt plating. Thundercracker approached them carefully.
"Jetstorm was looking for you," he said.
Jetfire smiled. "I know."
Thundercracker dipped his helm and flicked his wings. The captured Seekers emerged from the transport slowly. He waited for all of them to be out before speaking.
"We're meeting at Cinnabar Cliff," he said. "The others are already there. We can't stay here anymore."
The Seekers exchanged glances. A couple of them whispered to each other. But soon, they all took off. Thundercracker flew alongside them. Cinnabar Cliff was only a breem or so of flight away, but it was far enough that the Autobots wouldn't reach them until they'd already moved on.
Thundercracker dismissed a warning. He was running hot, but he expected that. Between fighting, flying, and using his ability, there were plenty of reasons for him to be overheating. He could cool down when they made it.
When he landed, his vision fuzzed at the edges. Everything in him told him to lay down, but he forced himself to keep standing as he surveyed the Seekers before him. He counted, trying to match each Seeker with his memory files.
A whoosh of air and arms gently wrapping around him assured him that Skywarp had made it. Wa let out a surprised noise and let him go, staring at him with a scrunched olfactory ridge. Soundwave, clinging to Skywarp's side, looked up at him in a similar state of concern.
"You're running really hot," wa said.
"I know," Thundercracker said. A layer of static crackled beneath his voice. "I need to make sure…"
"Everyone is here."
Starscream's voice. Thundercracker turned toward it. Ka came up from behind him.
"Everyone alive, anyway," ka said. "I've already taken inventory."
"The Winglord isn't here," Skywarp said quietly.
"Almost everyone alive is here," Starscream said. Ka nudged Thundercracker. "Now lay down on your side and spread your plating. You need to cool off."
Thundercracker wanted to argue, but Starscream was right. He did as ka commanded. Even just a few moments laying with his plating spread made a massive difference, the heat dissipating at a much faster pace.
Pedesteps approached. Thundercracker lifted his helm, catching a glimpse of yellow plating. It was just Sunstorm. He closed his optics. Hands felt gently near his injured leg as if investigating the area.
When Thundercracker opened his optics again, the group was a lot more settled. Its members were no longer leaking from injuries, some bearing obvious marks of treatment. A couple dozed off in the distance. Thundercracker himself must have fallen into recharge, however brief.
Soundwave was curled at his side, sandwiched between him and Skywarp. On his other side was Starscream, who had an arm wrapped around his waist. Slowly, Thundercracker sat up. Starscream stirred. Ka was the first to wake, shortly followed by Skywarp and Soundwave.
The sky screamed. A two heavy thumps followed it. The Seekers scattered as Megatron landed, kas tan wingmate beside kan. Megatron had a scowl on kas face, dentae bared. Kas wingmate was more sullen, lacking waz signature grin.
Megatron growled, stalking forward. Thundercracker stood up.
"You!" Megatron hissed.
Thundercracker widened his wings and stood tall. Megatron growled again. The air hummed as kas cannon activated. Ka held it up, but the angle was wrong. Thundercracker followed it.
Rather than pointing it at Thundercracker, Megatron had pointed it at Starscream.
'If either of you attempt to challenge me again, I will kill kan.'
Thundercracker couldn't let kan shoot. He launched himself into Megatron, forcing the shot wide. Megatron howled and threw him off. As Thundercracker struggled back to his feet, Megatron stomped toward him.
This time, the cannon was aimed at him. Its light was near blinding. But before it could fire, a magenta blur flew at Megatron.
Ka blocked every one of Starscream's blows with ease. Thundercracker threw himself back into the fray. Between the two of them, they managed to land some good hits, but Megatron was strong. Ka grabbed one of Starscream's swords and pulled, taking it for kaz.
Starscream hissed and attacked with kas remaining sword, but ka wasn't as efficient with one sword missing. Thundercracker attempted to dodge one of Megatron's swings of the sword, but miscalculated. It swiped across his abdomen, sending him stumbling backwards. He let out a choked cry, pain searing across his body.
Starscream's remaining sword flew to the side as Megatron disarmed kan. Megatron threw kas taken sword and raised kas cannon again. Thundercracker attempted to rise, but between the fresh wound on his abdomen and the wound on his leg splitting open, pain had him pinned. He brought a hand to his belly and it came back coated in energeon.
A loud screech pierced the air. Pale purple landed on Megatron's shoulders, scratching at kas optics. Skywarp?
Despite the distraction, Megatron's cannon still went off. At such close range, there was no way for Starscream to avoid it. Thundercracker's fuel lines froze.
Skywarp was flung away. Looking down, Megatron grinned. Dread grew in Thundercracker's spark. He attempted to rise again, just barely making it to his pedes. Megatron's grin fell as ka turned toward him.
Then, ka was slammed sideways. Red and dark blue plating flashed around kan. Thrust and Dirge. White joined it. Ramjet. A strike from black claws. Blast. Another strike from a Seeker Thundercracker hadn't even spoken to landed a blow. The flock swarmed Megatron, unwilling to let kan escape or even attack.
Ka turned toward kas tan trinemate.
"Blitzwing!" Ka barked.
But Blitzwing merely hung waz helm and stepped back.
Thundercracker stared on in disbelief. Was this really happening? He hadn't even had time to discuss anything…
"Sit up."
Nacelle. Ka was at his side. Thundercracker did as ka requested.
"Stay still," ka said, activating kas thrusters. "I need to cauterize that."
Thundercracker stayed as still as he could. He spared a glance toward Starscream again. Sunstorm, Bitstream, and Hotlink were at kas side. Sunstorm's wings were low, nas brow furrowed. Worry grew in Thundercracker's spark.
They were just forced out of their home. Did Sunstorm have the supplies na would need to fix kan? Could na fix kan?
There was one group of mecha he knew could. Ratchet was skilled. Ratchet had tools and devices Sunstorm could only dream of. If he brought Starscream back to the Autobots…
As soon as Nacelle finished, Thundercracker stood, his mind made up. He stepped past the crowd, who were already dismantling the remains of Megatron, and pushed through Bitstream and Hotlink. Then, he took Starscream in his arms and ascended.