Chapter Text
Starscream didn't believe him at first, but after Thundercracker marched kan to the medbay, ka couldn't deny it. Since starting kas apprenticeship, ka had become less sullen. Thundercracker sometimes caught kas wings wiggling, a smile on kas face and joy floating on the air. For once, Starscream seemed legitimately happy, and Thundercracker was proud to be part of the cause.
Skywarp was out hunting with Soundwave. Thundercracker had opted to stay in the makeshift nest they'd built in one of the few auxiliary burrows. They were reserved for exactly this purpose, after all. Starscream would be back from kas training, and Skywarp would be back from waz hunt, but the moments alone were still torture. His plating itched and his spark stung, protesting the absence of his trinemates. Soundwave was staying with Blast and Windshear, as usual. Thundercracker had offered for na to stay with one of the Autobots, but he received a (very expected) refusal.
It stung a little. Thundercracker was of two worlds and somehow fit into neither, while Soundwave had managed to transition from one to the other gracefully. A part of Thundercracker resented Soundwave's ability to leave Autobot life behind so completely, but he knew it was irrational. Na was a sparkling, and nas early life was completely different from his.
Thundercracker rolled over in the nest. Scrap, his spark hurt. When were they getting back? Even if it weren't for his Hunger symptoms, the anticipation was torture enough.
Eventually, pedesteps reached his audials. A weight settled beside him. He purred as claws began stroking his wings. Starscream purred back. A surprise that ka was the first one to return, but Thundercracker didn't care as long as ka was here. Skywarp followed soon after, immediately plunking waz into the nest and wrapping waz arms around him.
They cuddled and caressed, soaking in each others' presence. The trine signal they emitted soothed Thundercracker's spark. He rolled over, offering his arms. Gently, they each took one. Thundercracker's wings shuddered in anticipation as they connected. As the data streamed through, he let out a content trill.
[Spark data request sent.]
Thundercracker nuzzled the trinemate closest to his face, which happened to be Skywarp. Wa nuzzled him back. Thundercracker perused the data stream, checking for available options. The response was quick: full access from both connections. He almost gasped. Had Skywarp and Starscream really completely lowered their firewalls?
He tested the connection, pulling at threads until he reached something. Files were before him—an endless stream he could barely sort. Brief previews gave him half an answer. These were memories. But whose were they?
Flashes of pain. Fear. Being shunned and hissed at. Being held and protected. Howls and screams and blasterfire. Silence and searing loneliness. Beside him, Skywarp stilled. A gentle presence steered him away. He obeyed and wandered to the other side.
More memories. Pain—there was pain in all of them. Sneers, jeers. Crushing grips and powerful blows. Starscream's purrs ceased. A presence settled beside him, watchful and quiet. He took that as permission and dove into one of the memories.
A red Seeker smiling down at him. He hid himself at their side as a massive Seeker approached, kas pedesteps shaking the ground. Behind kan were two others. The shapes were vague and fuzzy, but Thundercracker could guess who they were. He sank further into the red Seeker and growled. The red Seeker patted his helm. Foreign anger bubbled up in his core, indignant. He chirped and received another condescending pat for his efforts.
The imposing Seeker—Megatron—laughed at him. He hissed. Ka rolled kas optics and turned away from him, speaking with the red Seeker. The words were fuzzy and muffled. Whatever they originally were, Starscream didn't remember anymore.
A force sent him sprawling backward. Ahead of him, the red Seeker growled and hissed. Nas trinemates wrestled with Megatron's. With the loud clang of metal, the red Seeker deflected Megatron's blows. Na parried with ease, driving Megatron backward. The fight was blurry and skipped frequently, changing every time Thundercracker shuttered his optics. Still, in every moment, the red Seeker was winning.
But it wasn't to last. An ominous hum shook the ground. Megatron's cannon glowed. Everything went white. Cold dread washed over Thundercracker—his own or the memory's, he couldn't tell. The ground was scorched. Flame consumed it.
Thundercracker backed away, plating flaring. Ahead, the red Seeker laid. Na was barely recognizable—plating warped and a large hole in nas center, exposing charred internals. Nas optics were dark. Energeon stained the ground, pieces of nas trinemates scattered about.
A mournful howl rose from Thundercracker. He flung himself toward the monster responsible for the carnage. Effortlessly, he was caught, a single hand wrapping around his chest. It squeezed, metal denting beneath it.
Thundercracker fled from the memory. The watchful presence stayed where it was, a mixture of irritation and amusement reaching him, as if to say, 'What did you expect?'
Thundercracker purred weakly to soothe himself. Hands ran down his frame, grounding him. Arms wrapped around him. He nuzzled them. A helm nuzzled him back. Another presence, warm and soft, approached him.
'I'm here, I'm here…'
He trilled. It trilled back. Thundercracker followed it, then continued down the thread even as it stopped. This time, it didn't attempt to guide him away. He plunged into a memory. Like the other, it was fuzzy and skipped in places.
He woke to shouting. Energeon droplets hit the floor before him. It leaked from the Seekers ahead of him, who towered over him. But as he pushed himself onto his knees, he realized why: he was the size of a juvenile seekerling. A Seeker stood before two others, claws dripping with energeon.
"Fine!" The Seeker with bloodied claws spat, dark purple wings rattling. "Leave! See if I care!"
The closest Seeker—who bore a scratch on their cheek—stepped backward and hissed. "Then we will!"
They made their way out of the burrow, not sparing a glance toward the purple-winged Seeker or Thundercracker. Thundercracker's plating shook, foreign fear coursing through him. Ahead of him, the purple-winged Seeker bristled, baring nas dentae. Then, na collapsed to nas knees with a wail.
Thundercracker, despite the fear, crept forward. The moment he came close, the purple-winged Seeker scooped him up, holding him close to nas chest. He buried his helm in nas plating.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that," the purple-winged Seeker said.
Thundercracker somehow knew this was his fault. He let out a quiet, distressed chirp. The purple-winged Seeker nuzzled him.
"They just don't see what a gift you are," the purple-winged Seeker said. Nas claws stroked Thundercracker's cheek, smearing energeon across it.
Thundercracker backed out of the memory. The presence that guarded it was mournful. He reached out, soothing it. It reached back. Everything rippled as a memory surfaced.
Prowl entered the hall. It must've been many vorns ago, since Thundercracker was looking up rather than down. Thundercracker rushed toward him, but Prowl pushed him away.
"Not now, Thundercracker," Prowl said sternly.
But he'd been gone for a full decacycle! Thundercracker tried to hug him again, and was pushed away again.
"Not now!" Prowl snapped.
At the time, Thundercracker didn't know what he'd done wrong. But now, he understood things his seekerling self couldn't. Prowl's plating was stained blue. He was covered in energeon—his own or that of his enemies, Thundercracker couldn't guess. A hand landed on Thundercracker's shoulder.
"Come on," Bulkhead said gently, steering him away. "He can talk to you when he gets back from the medbay."
Thundercracker allowed Bulkhead to guide him away. The memory fuzzed out. It cut back in to Thundercracker's arms wrapped around Prowl's waist. Awkwardly, Prowl pried him off.
"You're okay!" Thundercracker said.
"Yes," Prowl said. "I am."
Thundercracker's wings wiggled. He purred. Prowl looked away and strode toward the shelves. He plucked one of the datapads off them without looking, not even bothering to confirm the one he grabbed was exactly the one he needed. He probably had them all memorized. There were all sorts of markers on the shelves.
"Do you know what I was doing while I was gone?" Prowl asked.
Thundercracker grinned. That one was easy!
"Fighting!" Thundercracker said.
Prowl sat on the berth. Thundercracker leaped onto it, leaning against him.
"Yes," Prowl said. "Do you know why I have to fight?"
Thundercracker scrunched his olfactory ridge. No one had ever told him.
"Because The Magnus tells you to?" He said.
The Magnus was big. The Magnus told everyone everything they ever had to do.
Prowl hummed. "Well, yes. The Magnus did tell us to fight. But The Magnus told us to fight for a reason."
He turned on the datapad. It was all long, complicated words in small print. Thundercracker tried to read it but got lost after a couple of sentences.
"Every war has an enemy," Prowl said. "This one's is the Seekers."
Thundercracker's wings twitched. Seekers… he heard that word before. No one explained what they were, but he knew they weren't anything good from the way others used it.
"What's a Seeker?" Thundercracker asked.
Prowl paused. His brow furrowed. He pressed the datapad. It displayed an image. Thundercracker leaned over to see it better, but it was already gone. Prowl sighed.
"Seekers are monsters," Prowl said. "With sharp claws and dentae. The smallest of them are as large as Bulkhead. They kill indiscriminately, and feast on their own dead. They've nearly driven several species of mechanimals into extinction with their wanton killing. If we don't take them down, they'll kill everything."
Everything? Determination swelled in Thundercracker's spark.
"I won't let that happen!" He said. "I'll take them all down!"
Prowl shut the datapad off and looked at him. His lips pulled into a frown, his optics searching in a way Thundercracker only understood now. Then, he smiled.
"I'm sure you will," he said.
The memory faded. Bitterness grew inside Thundercracker. Between everything, he had nearly forgotten that no one ever told him what he was. In that moment, did Prowl ever think that he was describing his own adopted creation? Or was there some special category in his mind that separated Thundercracker from other Seekers?
A growl rumbled in his audials.
'How dare they?' came a hiss over the connection.
'Why would they lie like that?' another cried.
"It's okay," Thundercracker assured them. "I know who I am now."
{Spark data received!}
!!!
Emerging from the private burrow was its own affair. The flock knew not to bother Seekers while they were inside, but the moment they exited, all restrictions were lifted. Optics watched them cross the shared burrow. All conversation went silent. Above ground was the same tale—silence and wide, watching optics.
The moment Thundercracker settled down, a purr stull rumbling in his chest and his trinemates still clinging to him, the ground thudded as a Seeker landed before them, flanked by two others. Thrust smiled down at them. Thundercracker raised his wings in greeting. Thrust took the silent invitation, motioning for nas trinemates to come forward. They placed a ferrowolf on the ground before them, then sat beside Thrust.
Thundercracker rubbed his chestplates, the heavy, buzzing feeling telling him what he already suspected: the spark data was being mixed with his own and his spark was preparing to split. He leaned forward, prying a scute off of the ferrowolf. The rest of the Seekers surrounding him followed. Even while eating, he continued to purr, content in a way he couldn't describe.
"You seem excited," Thrust said quietly, a knowing smile on nas face.
"So does the rest of the flock," Thundercracker said. Their gazes still hadn't left him.
"It's not every cycle the Winglord tries for a litter," Thrust said. "Megatron certainly never did. Kas trine only had the one, and that was before ka came here. It's a sign things are getting better."
Thundercracker hummed. Did the Winglord having seekerlings really matter that much? Sunstorm and Thrust had been trying since before Megatron was dethroned. He chewed the piece of ferrowolf in his mouth before responding.
"Better?" He said.
Thrust flicked nas wing.
"Well, yeah," na said. "If you feel comfortable having a litter, then maybe we all can too. Actually…" Na paused, glancing at the other Seekers. Then, na learned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "I think I kindled. I'm not far along enough for us to know yet, but I've had to take breaks during our hunts. We're going to ask Sunstorm to check soon."
Thrust had been trying for so long, and now na finally had another chance. Warmth flooded Thundercracker's spark.
"Congratulations!" He said.
Somehow, he hadn't noticed Thrust go into Hunger. Between everything he had to do, it must have slipped by. But now there would be even more seekerlings. If the flock felt safe enough to have litters, maybe things really were starting to get better.
!!!
Thundercracker was always hungry. He expected it, considering the first time he kindled, but this gave the first time a run for its shanix. He chewed on a piece of petrorabbit Skywarp happened to have stashed away despite the fact that he had taken his morning energeon ration a breem ago. Wa nuzzled him. He nuzzled wan back.
Wa and Starscream seemed to always have some sort of snack on them. He made sure to thank them every time they offered, and the joy they exuded warmed his spark. Skywarp would do as wa did just now—nuzzling him and smiling. Starscream would crack a smug grin and purr to kaz. With his trinemates by his side, Thundercracker finished his snack and walked down the hall, heading for Arcee's office.
Prowl's calls ceased three orns ago. He and Optimus must have entered Iacon for communication to go dead. The whole city was under an impenetrable firewall, which blocked all external communication save for what was authorized by The Magnus. Supposedly, enemies could intercept unauthorized communications, so it was safest to not allow them at all.
Knowing the Seekers now, Thundercracker had to wonder what enemies this doctrine referred to. They certainly couldn't intercept communications like that. Bitstream and Hotlink could barely get their claws on Autobot weapons. How would they get them on communications? But Prowl and Optimus did suspect sabotage, so the enemies that measure was intended to thwart must be ones from within. But what would they want?
Until Thundercracker brought the Seekers to the base, Seekers didn't communicate with Autobots. Perhaps another flock had tried at one point? Thundercracker searched his memory files for Prowl's history lessons and came up with nothing. But before he could ponder any further, he came nose to wall with the door. He paused in front of it, pressing the buzzer on the access panel. After a few moments, the door slid open.
He stepped through. Before his trinemates could follow, the door shut. His wings twitched, unease settling in his spark at being separated from them. But he forced it away and turned toward Arcee.
The air hummed with anxiety. Her plating was held close. Despite the obvious signals, her posture was forcibly relaxed. She motioned for Thundercracker to sit. He obeyed.
Silence stretched over them. Thundercracker tapped his claws on his knee.
"We didn't receive our stipend for the past two orns," Arcee said. "My messages haven't gotten through."
Each base received an ornly stipend to pay for supplies and anything else they might need. As far as Thundercracker knew, there was never an orn where it wasn't sent. So for it to suddenly not be sent now, well… Thundercracker didn't know what that meant.
"How long do you have left?" Thundercracker asked.
"Four orns," Arcee said. "But at this rate, potentially less. We have a lot more personnel than when we began saving it, and there wasn't much left to save in the first place."
Thundercracker felt a pang of guilt. He was one of the mecha consuming the most fuel right now, with the newsparks demanding so much energy. He hadn't even told any of the Autobots yet.
"That's… not good," Thundercracker said.
Arcee nodded. "It's not. That's why we need the Seekers' help."
Thundercracker's wings shot up. Their help? How?
"You've kept Soundwave fueled somehow," Arcee said. "Whatever you were doing, we need that now."
Oh.
"Autobots don't hunt," Thundercracker muttered to himself.
"What?" Arcee said, leaning forward.
"You're going to need to hunt with us if you want fuel," Thundercracker said. "That's how Soundwave has been refueling. He drinks the line energeon of the prey we catch."
Arcee's olfactory ridge scrunched. She recoiled slightly, then sighed.
"We'll do what we have to," she said.
!!!
Thus began the difficult process of training the Autobots to hunt. Some of the Seekers proved reluctant—Dreadwing scoffed at the idea—while others were much too eager. Bitstream and Hotlink bounced ahead of the gathered Autobots, wide grins on their faces, even as Sunstorm glared at them from beneath the shade of a nearby tree.
"Alright, pathetic little weaklings!" Bitstream said cheerfully in Common, kas accent on full display.
The Autobots exchanged reluctant glances. Thundercracker cringed. More of them came than he expected, but less would remain if they kept this up.
"You can't call them that," Thundercracker said.
Bitstream switched to Vosian. "Why not? They can't hunt. They're like seekerlings, but fully grown. Pathetic. You'd think with all of the weapons they've made and the things they've done to us, they would know."
"Well, they don't," Thundercracker said. "Until now, their food came from somewhere else."
He didn't have time to explain the concept of currency or shipping. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure where energeon came from. He never asked.
Bitstream hummed, kas wings twitching. Ka turned back toward the Autobots.
"Okay, then!" Ka said. "Grounders, it's time to learn how to hunt!"
The first attempt went terribly. Bumblebee scared off the petrorabbit they were stalking by walking too loudly, which resulted in an entire decacycle of lessons on stalking. Then, a young recruit named Bluestreak panicked when the cyberdeer they were chasing came toward her and missed the shot, hitting another recruit, Cliffjumper, in the shoulder. This resulted in the banning of guns during the sessions (something which all of the Seekers proclaimed they wanted from the start, and all of the Autobots complained about). For a while, things weren't too eventful—they failed many of their attempts, but a few succeeded. Still, the success rate was too low to replace the rations they were soon to lose. Time was already running out. Arcee called him into her office the other cycle, pacing anxiously, as she explained that her hails still hadn't been answered.
The Seekers already were hunting for three litters. As Bitstream said, they all saw the Autobots as pathetic at best and enemies at worst. None would agree to hunt for the Autobots. It was difficult enough to find a handful that were willing to hunt with them.
As the latest attempt returned with little to show, Thundercracker rose from his place with a sigh. He caught himself as his vision fuzzed, stumbling slightly. Starscream and Skywarp were at his side immediately, supporting him. It hadn't been very long and the litter was already taking plenty of energy from his spark. Even just flying between the base and the camp left him wanting to lay down. Sunstorm had confirmed at least three newsparks—a lucky number, na said. Thundercracker didn't feel very lucky now.
Acid Storm approached him with an irritable flick of kas wing.
"These dirtkissers are slow," ka hissed in Vosian. "The prey leaps right into their path and they don't react before it's gone."
"Then we'll work on it," Thundercracker said.
Hotlink came toward Thundercracker's other side. Bitstream only had one seekerling in nas litter—if a single seekerling could be called a litter—but ka had already been forced to step back from hunting practice. Seekers were never grounded while gravid due to the size of the seekerling because seekerlings always fit in the cockpit, but the draw on one's spark in the early orns was immense. It wouldn't decrease until the spark chamber was fully formed and the seekerling's systems began producing energy of their own.
With a trill of amusement and a shake of waz wings, Hotlink said, "So we get to do even more training sessions? I can't wait to drill these losers."
Acid Storm's olfactory ridge crinkled. "Go ahead. I certainly don't want to. They never learn anything."
Aside from Hotlink and Bitstream—who seemed to have endless interest in the Autobots—most of the Seekers were in Acid Storm's camp. A few cycles ago, kas trinemate Ion Storm had quit the project entirely after a particularly tedious training session. Thundercracker lowered his wings.
"I know it's difficult," He said. "But they'll starve if we don't help them. And if they starve—"
"Other Autobots will come here, and they won't be as friendly," Acid Storm said. "We know. That doesn't make this any less frustrating."
Thundercracker closed his optics and dipped his helm. When he opened them again, Acid Storm was frowning. Kas brow furrowed.
"You should sit down," ka said. "You seem tired."
Thundercracker waved ka off. "I'm fine."
He had to get back to the base, anyway. Arcee wanted a report and he needed to discuss the issues they were having.
Acid Storm continued to scrutinize him. Then, ka hummed and turned away.
"If you insist," ka said.
Thundercracker walked past the rest of the group. They would eventually disperse and find their own way back, so he didn't feel the need to instruct them. Hotlink and Acid Storm would already have it handled. With Starscream and Skywarp following him, he braced himself before taking off. Soundwave remained behind, finally having voiced that na no longer wanted to spend any time in the Autobot base.
Mid-flight, Thundercracker's spark spasmed, drawing energy from his frame and making his helm spin. At the first sign of a clearing, he landed early. He sank to his knees, clutching his chestplates. Three seekerlings meant thrice the energy, and his spark was almost sore from it. His plating snapped close, stifling his ventilation even as his temperature rose. He closed his optics, shaking his helm despite knowing it would do nothing for the dizziness.
A hand brushed against his wing as a weight settled at his side. He leaned into it, purring to himself.
"You okay?" Skywarp asked quietly.
"I will be," Thundercracker said. "Just give me a klik."
It was more than a klik, but neither Skywarp nor Starscream commented. They walked the rest of the way. As much as Thundercracker craved to curl up in the nest, he forced himself not to turn down the hall to their room.
Arcee was waiting for him. This time, his trinemates were allowed in the room. There was no more pretending the impending shortage could go away.
"Have they picked up?" Thundercracker asked.
Arcee shook her helm. "No. I've had trouble even reaching The Intermediary."
The Intermediary routed requests into Iacon as necessary. It was normal to reach The Intermediary and then have a request be rejected. But for the call to not reach the intermediary at all? Something else was going on.
"Do you know why?" Thundercracker asked.
"No," Arcee said. "We're hitting a timeout. All we know is that it's not reaching The Intermediary. But we can communicate with other bases just fine."
Thundercracker didn't know much about these things. If Prowl were here, he would know more, but that was part of the issue: he wasn't. His side was still silent, and the few times Thundercracker attempted to reach him were unsuccessful.
"Bounce it," Starscream said, leaning against the wall. "If you can send a call to another base, can they not send your call to there? It is what flocks did with messengers before so many were destroyed. One flock sends a messenger, the other sends theirs when the messenger arrives. You send your call to the other base. They send it to where you want."
Arcee frowned. "That's against Communications Code."
Starscream snorted, flicking kas wing.
"Is this not against code?" Ka said. "Your soldiers will starve. Why should some code matter when your life is threatened?"
Arcee looked away, staring at some point on the desk. Anger and apprehension flooded the air. She scowled.
"If we still can't reach them in a decacyle," she said carefully. "I will consider it."
Starscream scoffed. "Your soldiers can barely hunt. You will run out of fuel. 'Consider' faster."
Before anyone else could interrupt, Starscream turned away. Ka walked into the hall. Thundercracker shot Arcee once last glance before following. Starscream was right, but did ka really have to say it like that?