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Chapter Text

"Captain log number 1456. I think I'm going to call it... 'The last one'."

Through the dark abyss of deep space drifted a small grey spaceship. Inside of it was sitting a white Cybertronian with blue, black and red accents and a shiny Autobot badge on his chest. He was steering the ship manually. Despite looking quite beaten up and tired from years of never ending battles, he was smiling.

"To summarise everything, my name is Jazz. Many of you will know me as a spy and a former third-in-command of the Autobot forces. For millions of years, we've been at war with the Decepticons over the control of Cybertron. At some point, we were grossly outnumbered by the enemy. Our leader, Optimus Prime himself, ordered us to evacuate and scatter across the galaxy to regroup and relocate our base. Sadly, I never got to learn where."

"I was fighting my own fronts with a few friends by my side. That's right. 'Was'. Just a few days ago, we received a message from Optimus saying that the war's finally ended and we could go home. It was not edited, nor fabricated. We've checked like four times before we believed it. Right now, I'm on my way back to Cybertron. We decided to split paths before the launch, just in case it was a trap. It's risky, but I believe it's going to be worth it in the end."

Jazz paused to look at a holographic picture on his desk. He was present on it, along with a blue fembot, a bit smaller red mech and the other sea green fembot. All of them were posing to the picture Jazz was taking. The red mech was making horns for the sea green fembot giving him a nudgie while the blue fembot had her arm wrapped around Jazz.

"I still can't believe it!" Jazz continued, returning his gaze to the star map before him. "After everything, we can finally return. I can't help but wonder how much's changed since the last time I've been there. I hope to see the full squad and I really I hope they still like listening to my stories. Been waiting to get them off my chest for centuries!" He chuckled to himself.

"Since this might be the last captain log, I'm going to achrivise all of my records for future generations. Let the little bots know their history. As for me, well... I'm not really sure what to do after I get there. Beside hug the scrap out of everyone. I guess Sideswipe still owes me fifty shanix, might as well remind him about it. Whatever the case, I'll have plenty of time to decide! After the endless concert of explosions, there's finally a chance to slow down, kick back and relax..."

Suddenly Jazz heard an alarm going off. He broke his train of thoughts and looked at his side to see a meteor storm coming his way.

"Okay, maybe not kick back and relax that much." He murmured.

The Autobot steered the ship up in order to avoid the storm, but he didn't notice a sudden asteroid that crashed against his ship, making it lose it's balance.

"Frag!" Jazz shouted. He tried to gain back control, but it was too late and he fell right into the storm. The meteors of all shapes and sizes began bumping into him, sending his ship off course and subjecting it to damages.

"Activate shields!" Jazz ordered. The ship released a magnetic surface around itself that soon hardened and created a protective layer around itself. The mech braced himself and then pulled the steering wheel up. The ship began reacting to his commands again and he started avoiding the incoming asteroids. Unfortunately he had way too little room to work with, so he ended up being beaten either way. He decided to take a different approach and get out of there as soon as possible. He steered his ship down, or at least what looked like down, getting hit a few more times on the way.

"Come on...! Come on!... Don't do this to me now!"

Jazz tried his best and beyond to keep a clear view of his goal through all of these obstacles in his way. The report of defenses beginning to lose their effectiveness appeared on his console, but he ignored them. Eventually his path began getting clearer and he finally could see the dark sky around him again.

"Yeah!... Oh no." Unfortunately he found himself close to a planet's atmosphere and before he knew he was falling down, picking more speed with every second.

Jazz had no choice but to stand up from his seat, pressing the button on his pad. The star map faded into a small circular device which Jazz pulled out and then tried to get to his stasis pod on the other side of the room. Before he reached it unfortunately, the ship collided with the surface of the planet and sent him flying. The mech bounced off of a few walls, eventually smacking his head against the floor and immediately falling into stasis.

The next thing Jazz saw after opening back his optics was the roof of his ship. He had to take some time to recover and eventually could feel his body again. Everything hurt.

The Autobot groaned and slowly sat up, grabbing his forehead. After a second he looked around and saw the mess the landing had left. All of his stuff was on the floor, weapons, datapads, the holohraphic picture of his friends as well. The walls had dents in them, but beyond that it looked like it got out of the heated situation in one piece. The brilliance of Wheeljack's shielding system, the spy thought.

His stasis pod was completely destroyed, though. What was more worrying was the fact that next to the pod usually hung a medical kit which was now missing. Just then Jazz understood something crucial. He looked down at his frame and noticed his injuries. They were all patched up. He suspected that whatever state the Autobot was in at the moment couldn't be compared to the one right after the unfortunate landing.

In the corner of his optic Jazz spotted his medial kit which was now completely empty. He was sure as ever that he didn't treat himself while being unconcious. That could've meant only one thing.

"It's a miracle that this piece of junk survived the landing." Suddenly Jazz heard a voice and immediately stiffened. He closed back his optics and laid back, pretending to still be in stasis.

Two figures stepped into the ship, a gigantic single eyed fembot and a smaller, but flashier blue mech. The mech walked to the controlling panel and started pressing random buttons.

"Now, let's see what we have here... Seems pretty easy to fly. Tank full of fuel." He examined out loud. After a second he decided to sit down on Jazz' chair. "It has heated seats, too? I changed my mind, this ship rules!" He cheered, grabbing the chair and rolling on it a few times while laughing.

"Look at that!" The fembot gained his attention, raising one of the Autobot's blasters up. "I've never seen like this model before!"

The flashy mech jumped out of the seat while it was still rolling and bounced to his friend in order to study it.

"Hey, Blurr." She said, pointing the weapon at him. "Any last words?"

The mech stopped and gasped dramatically, placing his hand over his chest.

"Betrayed by my own partner in crime... How very cruel and unfair!..." He whined. After a second they both laughed. Jazz had no idea what was happening, but he knew he wouldn't like it once he opened his eyes.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Suddenly he heard the fembot asking and his sinking feeling became even stronger.

"Come on, we saved this guy's life. We deserve some kind of reward, don't you think?" The mech said as he started searching through Jazz's personal items. "We spent so long figuring out how to relocate the fuel pump. People usually take way more for that!"

"I guess..." She said, glancing at seemingly unconcious Jazz. She walked closer to him and studied his frame. She noticed that he was holding something in his hand. She decided to reach down to grab it. As soon as she captured it between her claws and tried to pull it out, Jazz's grip tightened around it and without any warning his optics sprung back open behind his visor. Without any warning he kicked the fembot with both of his legs, making her stumble back.

"Clobber!" The mech shouted. Without wasting any time Jazz swirled back on his feet and transformed his arm into a sonic gun. He was about to blast a sonic attack when suddenly the blue mech before him disappeared. Jazz was slightly shocked, but kept his guard up. That was until the wind around him started attacking him. He was not sure what was happening, but he tried to shield himself from the incoming punches.

Unfortunately, it was no use. He covered his face with his arms and started stepping back, right into the fembot's waiting arms. Without wasting any time she grabbed him from behind and picked him up, holding a steadier grip on the arm with the gun. Jazz tried to outstrenght her, but she was much more powerful than him.

After a few seconds the blue mech appeared again, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Dude!" He said, stepping closer to the older mech. "Warn us next time that you're awake!"

"Oh, so you can be more discreet about stealing my stuff?" Jazz asked, giving him a judgmental stare.

"Okay, first, it's rude to eavesdrop! Second!!! You're welcome!!" After a second the mech cleared his throat. "Anyway, welcome to your second chance at life! I'm Blurr and this is Clobber!"

"Hi!" The bigger one, Clobber, smiled down to him.

"We saw your ship crash land reaaaally close to a nest of the giant worms, so we decided to see if you needed help. Turns out you did! A lot! I mean, you looked like a straight up corpse!" Blurr laughed. "All this Energon and wounds and a few of your limbs popped out-!"

"Please, spare me the details." Jazz requested, feeling sick about the younger Cybertronian's description.

"Long story short, we put you back together!" Blurr shortened his story and a wide smirk crossed his face. Jazz's optics started wandering around his frame in search for something. The blue mech managed to notice that and got annoyed pretty quickly.

"Hey. Hey! I'm still talking to you!"

"You're not an Autobot, are you?" Jazz asked.

"Pffff, no!" Blurr replied, almost offended. "We're rogues! We're our own pack!"

"That's how we're called, actually. Rogues." Clobber whispered. "Pretty cool, right?"

"We don't really care about being Autobots or Decepticons." Blurr shrugged. "You guys have a very unhealthy lifestyle. We're just trying to survive."

"Why did you help me, then?" Jazz asked. "I'm sure it wasn't out of pure goodness of your sparks."

"Well, obviously!" Blurr snorted. "You just look like a type of guy who's very generous to the people he's in debt with! Which by the way, you are!"

"Look, kid. I don't really have time for whatever this is." Jazz said. "Supplies of Energon are big enough for only one bot and the journey I'm taking is going to be a long one. I don't have any money, you used my last medical kit and I doubt you'd like to take my rock collection as a consolation prize."

"You have a rock collection, too?" Clobber asked, excitement rising in her voice. Jazz looked genuienly caught off guard for a second. He quickly regained himself.

"My point is, I'm just as much in need as you are. I don't have anything to offer."

"I wouldn't say that." Suddenly Blurr smirked, leaning a little closer to him. "You see, a few weeks ago we lost our shuttle. This is why we're on this stupid planet and not in space having wild adventures right now! And you just so happen to have a functioning ship..."

"... No." Jazz understood. "No, no, no, and a thousand more times no."

"Jokes on you, Bot! You don't have a say in this!" Blurr grinned widely, flicking Jazz's nose and making him flinch. "But if that'll make you feel better, we're going to drop you off on some populated planet. Hey, Clob! Think you can watch him until I figure out how to get the engine working?"

"Sure thing!" Clobber agreed.

"Thanks, you're the best!" Blurr said, then focused on Jazz again, poking him on the badge. "Make the smallest twitch and Clobber will start tickling you."

"... Uh huh?" Jazz scrunched his brow.

"He's serious." Clobber said. "I ripped off a guy's arm like that once."

Blurr was about to make a heel turn to the panel when suddenly the whole ship started shaking.

"Uh oh." He murmured

"What?" Jazz asked.

"I think the giant worms came back."

"You didn't relocate the ship from the nest?!"

"Were we supposed to?!"

After a second the shaking became more violent and soon the whole ship tipped to the side, making all of them lose their grounding. Jazz used his opportunity and freed himself out of Clobber's grasp. Blurr fell on the wall and accidentally pushed a button on it's panel, making all windows open. Unfortunately, Clobber and Jazz were very close to them. When Jazz slipped away from his captor he fell right out of the window. Clobber was about to fall as well, but she managed to hold onto the ship.

Blurr immediately rushed to her rescue and tried pulling her up. He used all his might to do so, but with little to no effort.

Meanwhile Jazz used quick thinking and released a grappling hook out of his other arm. It got stuck to a metal rock growing out of one side of the cliff the ship was standing near and then pulled him up. When he was close enough, the Autobot grabbed it and with a swing landed on it. When he looked up he saw Blurr struggling to push Clobber up. Eventually his feet gave up and she pulled both of them down, screaming. Jazz braced himself and used the hook to catch Clobber's back wing. Then, he quickly wrapped it's electric string around his footing, preventing both of them from falling down.

The whole group heard a loud roar coming from the distance and looked up to see two giant metal worms emerging from the ground. They were wriggling around each other and the ship got caught up between them.

"Oh no." Jazz murmured, completely horrified. The creatures set a course to the west and travelled there with the ship on their backs.

"Our ship!" Clobber shouted.

"My ship!" Jazz corrected.

"I think it's their ship now, actually." Blurr commented.

With the help of his hook, the group climbed all the way up to the surface. The three of them stepped on the solid ground and Jazz opened his wrist to see where the ship was heading to via his tracking device. The worms seemed to take it away, but they stopped after some time and were now resting in one place.

"So much for a new ride." Blurr groaned, kicking the rocks under him.

"I really hoped we could get out of here this time..." Clobber added in disappointment. Jazz ignored them and started walking towards the place his GPS was pointing at. The two Rogues immediately noticed it.

"Where are you going?" The blue youngling asked.

"To get back my ship." Jazz simply replied.

"Wasn't it taken by the worms?" Clobber reminded.

"It was." Jazz said without turning around. "I'd point fingers at whose fault that is, but I'm not that 'type of guy'. At least now we're even."

"Dude, you're not planning on going after them, right?" Blurr asked. "They'll literally eat you for breakfast!"

"I'm more worried about the shields getting further damaged." The Autobot seemed completely unaffected by their warnings. After a second he transformed into a car and drove away towards his destination.

"He's going to get himself killed." Clobber said.

"Oh, absolutely." Blurr confirmed, crossing his arms. "Come on, let's find some hideout before the night falls." He nudged her arm and turned into a different direction, starting to walk away. Clobber couldn't help, but stay in place and observe Jazz getting farther.

"... I think we should help him." She said, making Blurr stop.

"With what? Burial services?" He asked, backing up to her.

"I mean it was kind of our fault he lost his ship, right?" She asked, tapping her claws together.

"No, it wasn't." Blurr denied, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It was the worms' fault. These things are the embodiment of destruction!"

"That's the thing. We've fought them before, we could at least give him some backup!" She insisted.

"I doubt that'll help him, but I guess you have a point." Blurr grabbed his chin. "If he somehow survives, we'll save his life two times which means the ship will be ours anyway." He said and offered her to pound it. "You know what? You're right! Let's go beat up some giant worms!"

Clobber smiled to him and they pounded it.

After a few minutes of driving, Jazz found himself directly under his target. He transformed back and kneeled down, hiding behind a pile of rocks. He looked out and saw the two metal worms standing before a big cave. They looked like they were guarding it. The Autobot squinted and focused closer on the cave itself. Inside, he could see his ship's wing peeking right from the corner.

"What do they need my ship for?..." He thought out loud.

"Not the prettiest creatures around, huh?" Suddenly Jazz heard a voice that startled him and made him jump back and yelp. Somehow Blurr managed to sneak past him and find himself behind his rock.

Without any warning Jazz pushed him to the ground. One of the worms glanced in their direction upon hearing something, but seeing that no one was around focused back on observing the area.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jazz whispered, letting go off him.

"We decided to help you out some more! Must be your lucky day!" Blurr stated, sitting up. "We've been on this planet for a while and we know how to get rid of them!"

The older Cybertronian heard footsteps and turned around to see Clobber approaching. She was holding a bunch of handmade explosives in her arms.

"How do I know you're not going to turn against me the second I'll lower my guard?" The Autobot asked.

"We promise!" Clobber replied simply.

"Yeah, that's not really our style. Besides, do you have any better ideas?" Blurr asked.

Jazz thought for a moment. Upon closer consideration he concluded that he indeed didn't have many options in this situation.

"... What's your plan?" In the end, he chose cooperation.

"We'll use the good old fashioned method of distraction." Blurr said. "We'll take care of the worms, you go for the ship."

Jazz still wasn't sure about this, but nodded.

"Good... Make sure to keep up!" Blurr said. Suddenly he stood up and started stretching his arms.

"So, how are we doing this exactly?" Jazz asked. Instead of answering, Blurr finished warming up and grabbed the explosives Clobber was holding.

"Exactly like this!" He said. Without any warning he rushed down towards their target, almost with the speed of light, leaving nothing but a blue trail of electricity behind him. Jazz froze, widening his optics at that.

"What... was that?" He asked, glancing at the fembot.

"That was Blurr's special talent. He can run super fast..." Clobber explained, then added: "Okay, good luck!"

"Wait, what do you mean-?!" Before he finished his question, she jumped after her friend. Her fists started glowing mid air and as soon as she landed before the monsters, she smashed one against the ground, sending a powerful seismic wave which attracted their attention. Just then Blurr ran before them, throwing explosives at them which detonated on their lower stomachs. The worms roared in pain, getting seriously mad. They opened their mouths, revealing rows of terrifying saw teeth and charged at them. Jazz got over his shock by shaking his head and decided to join the action. He left his hiding spot and jumped down, immediately transforming and going for the cave. He had to watch out for some obstacles on his way such as the worms' swinging tails, Blurr running all over the place and Clobber's seismic attacks. Right before he reached his destination, the worm collapsed on the ground right before his path and he hopped over it, sliding inside. He transformed back and immediately rushed to his ship. Before he got close to it, he heard another roar. This one however seemed different than the other ones and it came from the deeper part of the cave. That forced the Autobot to stop. For a second he wondered if he heard it right and then a second similiar roar reached his audials. Confused, he decided that he should investigate before returning to his ship, just in case.

There was a deep hole in the middle of the cave. The Autobot stepped closer to the edge and looked down.

"Dear Primus..." It took him a second to see what was inside, and when he did, he couldn't hold his gasp, shocked of what he saw.

Inside was lying another big metal worm. Despite it's size though, it was clearly smaller than the other two near the entrance. It looked like it's tail got stuck between the rocks. It was roaring pathetically as it struggled to get itself out. After a second it managed to notice the mech's presence. It let out a tiny chirp, focusing entirely on him. Jazz leaned back a bit, unsure of what to do. He glanced at his ship, then at Blurr and Clobber, and then back at the worm. He was torn between two options for some time, but eventually came to conclusion that he couldn't just stand by and watch this poor creature suffer.

Jazz adjusted better his blue visor and took a few steps back before jumping in. He slid all the way down the hole and landed on one of the rocks preventing the little one from moving. It let out a squeak and tried to shield itself when it saw him get so close.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here to help." Jazz tried to calm it, raising his hands in defense. The worm didn't seem assured at all, but given it's position it couldn't really do much beyond chirp in suspicion.

Jazz looked around to analyze the situation. The little one's tail was trapped between a large crack that formed in the wall. The Autobot suspected that if he loosened it up, everything would go smoothly from then.

After a second Jazz cracked his fingers.

"Let's find out if this old mech still has the touch." He said.

Clobber and Blurr constantly switched between the worms they were fighting. Blurr kept running around and Clobber kept smashing everything on her way.

"How's the Autobot?!" She asked. Blurr glanced at the cave, but Jazz was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you serious?!" He shouted, frowning and glancing back at his friend. "He went completely sideways!"

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a worm that swooped down and tried to grind them with it's jaws. They dodged it and it went underground, making them split up.

Jazz tried to push one part of the rocks with his legs while his higher body was fighting against the other one. The mech grunted and put all of his strenght into it. Slowly, but effectively, he felt it working. The worm heard a roar outside of the cave and wriggled, trying to call for the bigger ones.

"Don't worry, you'll see them in a klick!" Jazz assured. He activated his sonic blaster and shot a sonic attack towards the rock before him to get some more room, making sure not to hurt the worm. The crack was getting bigger and the mech was having less trouble with it. Eventually he heard one last crack before the small big worm moved and immediately dug itself into the wall, finally freeing itself. Jazz felt the rocks beginning to fall down from the ceiling, so he jumped out of the crack and with a quick turn of his body shot his grappling hook up. Hearing it tap against the edge of the hole, he tightened his grip around it and it started pulling him up. Jazz avoided the incoming rocks by jumping from wall to wall until he reached the surface. He managed to get away right before the hole was completely covered by rocks.

Blurr bounced off the cave's entrance and hit one of the worms in the jaw while Clobber sent another seismic blast towards the other, making it hit the ground.

"Any ideas what to do now?" She asked as her friend landed next to her.

"I'll lead them towards the canyon, that should buy us some time!" Blurr offered. He was about to proceed with his plan when everyone heard high pitched squeal coming from the cave. The worms turned around and saw Jazz standing in the entrance with a smaller metal worm. The bigger beasts hissed horrifyingly before laying eyes on it. After a second they unexpectedly hid their teeth and started cooing to it. The little guy rushed to them and they met in the middle, nuzzling each other's noses. Jazz couldn't help but smile, crossing his arms at that view.

After a second the little worm turned back to him and decided to approach him. It hesitated to get closer, but eventually leaned in and opened it's maw, giving Jazz a long, wet lick of it's tongue. Jazz had to keep himself balanced on his feet and when the lick ended a trail of green liquid was left on his frame.

"Eeugh...!" He shivered, wiping the substance from his face. Nonetheless, he looked up and chuckled. "You're welcome."

The worm returned to the rest and gave them a little tilt of it's head. Soon, all three of them let out a piercing roar and then dug deep into the ground, leaving the group alone.

Blurr and Clobber stood still, jaws on the floor.

"You two okay?" Jazz walked up to them, finishing wiping off the worm's saliva from the rest of his body.

"How... In the Nova did you do that?!" Blurr was the first one to ask.

"These worms weren't trying to cause us any harm." Jazz explained, putting hands on his hips. "Their baby was stuck in the cave. They most likely tried to defend it from any potential predators until it freed itself."

"But they're so bloodthirsty!" Clobber added. "They never left us alone until we beat them up!"

"Have you tried using your head instead of your fists before?" Jazz asked.

"Well, we... uh..."

"Okay, who do you think you are?" Blurr asked. The Autobot decided to turn around and head back to his ship. The two young Cybertronians followed him. "You just appear out of nowhere and make the biggest threat on this planet give up on it's own!"

"The name's Jazz. And as you deduced previously, I'm an Autobot." He stated, tapping his silver badge.

"Yeah, that checks out." Blurr nodded. "Are you on a scouting mission or something?"

"No, no. I'm actually trying to get back to Cybertron. I met a really nasty meteor storm on my way and this is why I had to land here."

"Cybertron?" Clobber joined. "Isn't it dangerous there? I mean, with the whole war thing going on and all?"

"Right... Wait, your army's coming to this planet?"

"There's no need for that." Jazz said. "The war is over."

"... It's over?..." Clobber asked, completely thunderstruck.

Jazz turned around to see if she was feeling alright. The fembot decided to grab Blurr by his arm and lead him away so the Autobot wouldn't hear them.

"Are you okay, Clobber?" He asked.

"Blurr." She started, smiling. "The war is over! If that Autobot can return to the planet, that means there's no more Megatron we have to worry about!"

At these words Blurr finally understood her message and on his face immediately appeared a grin.

"Jazz, wait!" He shouted after him. The Autobot stopped before he entered his ship, looking back at the two.

"Y-you still owe us!" Blurr stated, sounding desperate. "You can keep the ship, it's ugly anyway, but we need a favour and-"

"Can we please go with you?" Clobber lost her patience and just asked. That seemed to surprise Jazz a little. She stepped forward and pulled something out of her subspace.

"Neither of us has been to Cybertron before." She said, showing him half of a broken Decepticon badge. "I was created as a Con on an asteroid somewhere far, far away. I've always wanted to see what our home looked like, but... Bad things were in the way. I know that you might not trust me, but... Can we please come with you?"

Jazz glanced at the badge, then at Blurr who looked away. He could tell that she was being sincere, but they still tried to steal his ship not that long ago. His rational part was telling him it was a bad idea in every possible way, but when he looked in Clobber's pleading yellow optic, he just couldn't bring himself to leave them all alone on that far away planet. After a second he sighed, stepping back and allowing them to enter inside.

"Alright. But you're helping me clean up the mess." He warned.

"Holy smokes, he agreed!" Blurr squealed. Without wasting any time he used his super speed to rush inside and the two could hear him crash against something. "I'm okay!" He yelled.

"Thank you." Clobber smiled, stepping inside and looking for her friend. When she was gone, Jazz slapped himself in the forehead, groaning.

"Way to go, Meister. You just willingly made this trip harder than it had to be." He said to himself. Eventually he followed the two and the ship's entrance closed, beginning the new adventure Jazz never thought he'd have.

Chapter Text

After a few hours of packing and making sure it was suitable for extra passengers, the ship was finally back on track. Jazz pressed a few buttons on the panel and the audio recorder activated.

"Captain log number 1457. The previous log was supposed to be my last one, but apparently the universe wanted to make a liar out of me." He started, facing the road.

"I've ran into some trouble on the way back and crash landed on the closest available planet. The shields have done their duty amazingly and saved the ship from total destruction. Wheeljack, if you're hearing this, Percy owes you an apology. Anyway, it soon turned out I wasn't alone there." Jazz paused as he suddenly heard a commotion in the background. He narrowed his optics for a second and then continued.

"I've met two young Cybertronians going by the names Blurr and Clobber. They are... a pretty unique pair, to say the least. Blurr seems to posses a power that allows him to move at the speed of sound. Can't tell if it's a modification or something he was just born with. Clobber has seismic generators typical for her warrior class. Threat status? I'd say yellow, maybe very light orange."

"Hey, Jazz! Who you're talking to?" Blurr asked, suddenly appearing behind the Autobot, making him jump in his seat.

"Stop doing that!" Jazz cried.

"No way! You have a diary?" Blurr laughed.

"No, that's not-" Before the Autobot could finish, the mech leaned closer.

"Hi, Jazz's diary! I'm Blurr, the fastest Rogue in the galaxy! Did he ever tell you of any secret crushes I can make fun of him for?"

"Hey, Jazz? Can I borrow your buffer?" Clobber asked, walking out of the storage.

"Hey, Clob, get over here!" Blurr insisted, turning to her. "Jazz is recording his secret diary! Come say hi!"

"Oh! Okay!" She stepped closer and waved to the computer. "Hi, diary! I'm Clobber!"

Jazz sharply swallowed air around him and closed his optics.

"Can you please let me finish?" He asked with forced patience. The Rogues stepped back, smiling innocently.

"The two of them rescued me from a certain death. After it turned out we're all heading in the same direction, I agreed to take them with me.  Hopefully, there aren't going to be any more surprises on the way and we'll reach Cybertron in a couple of weeks. If this is the last available message, you can assume I either reached my goal or died trying. My bad luck will be over either way. Log, end." After a second Jazz pressed the button again and ended the recording.

"So..." Clobber suddenly said. "A couple of weeks. That's a lot, right?"

"I'd be surprised if we got there even in that time." Blurr said, squinting a little as he looked around. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

"It's a perfectly good flying speed." Jazz claimed. "We don't know what kind of dangers lurk ahead, so it's better to stay alert. We might run into another meteor storm, or an Energon Eater, or some other freaky space anomaly."

"Fine." The blue youngling replied.

After that, the group grew silent. The only sound that could've been heard were Blurr's fingers tapping against the sides of his legs.

"... You know what we can do to pass the time?" Clobber suddenly bounced, clasping her claws together. "Roadtrip games!" 

"I'm a little busy at the moment." Jazz replied.

"It's okay! We can play something easy like truth and dare!" She offered.

"Yes!" Blurr beamed. "I'll go first! Jazz, truth or dare!"

"I really-"

"Dare it is! I dare you to give me the wheel!"

"I'm not playing!" Jazz said, finding it more difficult to keep himself calm. "Even if I did, the answer would still be no."

Blurr clearly didn't like that answer.

"Fine! Whatever! Be a party pooper why don't you!" The mech threw his hands, then left his spot and headed to the storage.

After he left, Clobber turned to the window and glanced at the stars they were passing on their way. She decided to stand next to Jazz so she could get a better view, blocking the vision for the elder Cybertronian.

"You know, I kind of need to see where we're going." He said.

"Oh!" She said, stepping back. "Sorry. I just really like watching the stars."

"You can still do that, just... Don't stand in my way, okay?"

"Okay." She said, standing behind Jazz's seat and looking out of the window. The mech felt a little unsettled by her presence, not a lot, but the feeling was there. He couldn't tell if this was because of the fact that she could easily outstrenght him at any given moment, or because this was pretty much the first interaction he had with anyone outside of his small circle of friends in a while. Either way, he tried to loosen up a bit and just focus on the way.

Blurr came out of the storage with a cube of Energon in his hands. He was gnawing on it, trying to bite off it's edges. As he was walking out, he noticed something lying on the floor. It was the holographic picture of their pilot posing with some other Cybertronians.

The blue youngling looked out to see if Jazz was busy. When he confirmed that he was, he ducked, picking it up. He held it before him and studied it carefully. He couldn't help, but tilt his head in thought when he saw Jazz's smiling expression. He looked completely different than the mech he had met not that long ago.

"Blurr!" Blurr almost dropped the picture when he heard Jazz calling him from the bridge. He quickly hid it behind his back.

"Sup?" He asked, entering the bridge with a cube in hand. "Anyone up for some Energon?" 

"Thanks for finding that photo. You can give it back now." Jazz just said, catching the younger mech off guard. Blurr walked closer and hesitantly revealed the hologram, making Clobber widen her optic. Jazz reached his hand to him without turning around and Blurr gave it back.

"Who are these people?" The blue mech asked out of curiosity.

"These are my friends." Jazz replied, placing the picture back on it's rightful place.

"Friends?" Blurr asked, crossing his arms and grinning. "And here I thought you were a loner."

"I can't tell why. I was so desperate for social interaction I let the two of you on board." Jazz jabbed.

"Ha!" Blurr laughed. "Let me guess, you were a sharp shooter back in the day?"

"That information is classified." Jazz said.

"Ah. A mysterious type, then." Blurr said, cracking his fingers with a mischievous grin. "Those are the most fun to crack!"

"I don't see what's so fun about that." Jazz said, not quite annoyed, but still unwilling to go on.

Clobber decided not to push further and returned to the stars. Something immediately caught her attention.

"Hey, Jazz?" She asked, pointing at the top of the window. "Is this supposed to be there?"

Jazz looked up and noticed something sticking out of the roof. It was a piece of metal that covered some of the view.

"It must have stitched off on the way." Jazz murmured, standing up. As soon as he did that, Blurr's optics sparkled.

"Dibs!" He said, already pushing his way towards the seat. Jazz was way ahead of him and pressed a few buttons on the console.

"Auto-pilot activated." The computer announced, destroying all of the blue mech's hope.

"Don't touch anything while I'm gone." Jazz requested. Blurr let out a moan, bumping his head against Clobber who gently patted him on the back. Jazz turned around and headed to the back of the ship.

After some preparations, the Autobot opened a lock on the roof and stepped outside. He had a metal rope wrapped around his waist that prevented him from drifting away. He looked around and his optics rested on the front of the ship, spotting the problem. A part of the roof was sticking out of it's place. The Autobot headed towards it and kneeled, then he pulled out a welder from his subspace.

Meanwhile inside of the ship Blurr and Clobber were waiting for him to finish. At least Clobber was. Blurr collapsed on his knees and rested his chin against the console. He was observing the sky before him as the ship went forward on the auto-pilot.

After second he frowned, poking the handle of the steering wheel.

"I could fly us way faster than that." He complained. Clobber decided to take a look at the broken stasis pod in the corner. She picked up two broken pieces of the glass and held them up, trying to piece them back together. When she managed to find a matching pair, she hummed. After a second the fembot placed them on the ground and decided to try something. Her arm transformed into a weapon of some sort and she aimed it at the glass. It took it some time to charge and then she fired a single laser beam at the pieces which melted together due to the heat. She couldn't help, but smile in triumph.

Clobber tried to transform her arm back, but the transformation never completed. As soon as she realised that her smile dropped. She started shaking it, but when that didn't work, she groaned and put more force into it.

"Go away, you-!" Without any warning the weapon released a second beam. This one however was aimed at the console. It went right through it, nearly hitting Blurr.

"Whoah!" The blue youngling fell back, landing on the floor. A shower of sparks escaped the mechanism and the auto-pilot started making alarming beeps. Eventually, it fell completely silent.

"Uh oh." Clobber murmured.

Jazz was just finishing melting the roof back to it's place, when the ship suddenly titled down and started falling. The mech yelped, feeling himself losing his grounding. Thanks to the rope tied around him, he managed to keep himself attached. He was now dangling from the side of the side of his vehicle as the auto-pilot completely lost control over it.

"Blurr!" He shouted, suspecting who was behind this.

"What happened?!" Blurr asked, completely horrified.

"I-I was just trying to fix the pod!" Clobber shouted in panic. "I used my arm and it didn't want to change, so I tried to force it back to normal and it fired!"

The ship made them jump and they fell over. "What are we going to do?!" Clobber asked, rising back up.

"Looks like there's no other choice." Blurr said, glancing at the captain chair. Without wasting any time he jumped on it, grabbing the handle and glancing over the panel. "Uuuh..." He looked through all the possible buttons, holding his finger on top of his lips. "Which one turns the manual back on?"

"Jazz pushed these ones to turn on the pilot!" Clobber walked closer, pointing at a certain combination of colourful buttons. "Maybe you have to push them again!"

"Right! I knew that!" Blurr said, beginning to type in the combination. He was about to finish when he made a mistake and pushed a big purple button under the green one he was supposed to press instead.

"Whoops..." He said.

Jazz was trashing around outisde, unable to stop. At the top of everything the surface of his ship suddenly disappeared. It seemed like the two young Cybertronians found the cloaking device.

After a second Blurr typed in the combination again, this time the right one, and the wheel flickered back to life. Without wasting any time the mech grabbed it and pulled it to himself, making the ship fly up.

As soon as the ship changed the direction it was heading, Jazz's form followed it as well. He swung way too hard and hit himself against the lower deck. Before he got far from it, he grabbed a metal pole sticking out of the side and held onto it. He squinted and looked up, trying to climb back inside.

Blurr tried his best to balance the ship on a straight line. It wasn't going as well as he was hoping for. The turns he was making were too sharp and Clobber, as well as other stuff around, were sliding from wall to wall from the impact.

"Good news, I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Blurr said, making a swing so hard the entire ship ended up making a barrel.

"Okay, I'm not! I'm really, really not!" Blurr blurted out.

Jazz, feeling what was about to happen, held onto the ship tighter, curling closer to himself a little. Even with all his efforts, he struggled to keep himself attached to it.

Clobber let out a cry as she was flying around the entire room. It felt like the maneuver lasted a whole eternity, but eventually Blurr stabilised the steering wheel again and as soon as he did that, Clobber fell back on the floor. She pulled herself up just in time to feel something falling on her head. She looked up and gasped, extending her arms and catching Jazz's things before they got damaged due to the fall.

Blurr had a brief second of rest until he spotted a huge asteroid the ship was heading towards. He could either go left or right, but in the heat of the moment, he couldn't choose.

"We're going left! No, wait! Right! No!" He started debating with himself, making the ship swing from side to side as he tried to choose.

"Left! No, right! Left! Right! Left! Rightleftrightlefteight-" His speech began getting faster as he panicked. Clobber rushed to him and took the wheel, making sure he wouldn't send them off course.

Suddenly the doors opened and Jazz fell back to the ship. He groaned and tried to stand back on his feet, feeling incredibly wobbly after the bumpy ride he had just experienced.

The two Rogues turned around and immediately noticed his presence.

"Jazz!" They cheered.

"Step back!" Jazz ordered, running to them. Blurr was more than happy to give the mech his seat back and the Autobot took over. He saw what the situation was and as soon as possible made an avoiding maneuver, dodging the asteroid at the last second.

At last, the ship was back on it's road and everything and everyone inside were safe.

Jazz, Blurr and Clobber all ex vented in unison, feeling relieved that it was over.

"That was close." Blurr said, then glanced at Jazz and offered him a high five. "We're making a pretty good team, huh?"

Jazz went silent.

The two Rogues were forcefully pushed into a storage. When they turned around they saw Jazz closing the doors behind them. They made a loud ping, signaling that they were locked.

"You could at least say thank you!" Blurr shouted after him. Clobber looked down in shame. Then she sat down, curling into a ball. Blurr walked over to her, concerned. 

"Hey. Don't worry about it. This isn't the first time we're being thrown into a storage!"

"Why am I like this?..." She managed meekly, covering her face with her claws.

"I thought the least I could do to repay him was fix his stasis pod. I-I didn't mean!..." She trailed off and Blurr couldn't help but look down. After a second, he sat next to her. 

"You really shouldn't be here with me." She continued. "It wasn't your fault."

"And? Clob, come on. Don't you know me? If it weren't for this time, I'd try to get to that steering wheel one way or another! Besides, I'm not letting you sit here all alone." Blurr said, leaning against her arm.

"We're really messing this up, don't we?" She continued, finally putting her arms down. "He probably hates us now."

"I don't care what he thinks and neither should you. He's just our ride." He claimed.

Meanwhile, Jazz was pressing his back against the wall of the storage. He was listening in on their conversation.

"The sooner we get to Cybertron, the sooner we can go our separate ways." Blurr continued. "He probably can't wait for that even more than we do. But no matter what happens, I think suffering each other for a few weeks will be worth in the end.The most important part is that the two of us are in this together."

"... Yeah. Thanks."

"Don't mention it... Wanna continue that truth or dare game?"

"That's be nice."

Jazz couldn't help, but run his hands down his tired face, letting out a heavy ex vent. Somehow he ended up being the bad guy in this situation. He didn't understand how and he didn't like that position at all.

After a second he stepped away and headed back to the console he was repairing after the accident. He blocked the ship's steering wheel so it would let him work and not worry about piloting. He ducked under his chair and continued welding the cables together. As he worked, his gaze suddenly wandered to his side where the picture of his friends was standing. The Autobot quickly lost his focus and he turned his entire attention towards it.

He could hear laughs coming from the storage and suddenly, he realised that he didn't have anyone to laugh with anymore. This feeling started bothering him more than he'd like to admit. Even with these two on board, he felt like the loneliest Cybertronian in existence.

"... Computer." He decided to glance at the main computer. "Can you play my special playlist?"

"Processing request..." The computer spoke, searching for the file. After a second Jazz heard a slow paced, familiar tune playing from the speakers and he couldnt help, but smile sadly as it reached his audials.

"Thanks..." He whispered, leaning back and continuing repairs.

Chapter Text

Fourty two hours had passed since the escape from the planet with giant metal worms.

Thirty seven hours had passed since the flying accident.

Five hours. That's all it took to completely ruin Jazz's mood and most of his hopes for having any kind of good interaction with the two young Rogues who were currently locked in his storage.

The Autobot managed to repair the system enough to take them a little further, but not nearly enough to last for the entire journey. He needed some extra parts for final adjustments.

And so he began searching. His space map showed him the next populated planet on his path and he headed towards it. It was a really small green planet with sharp rocks sticking out of it's surface. It didn't look like it had the best resources, but in times like these he really couldn't afford himself to complain.

After some time the ship landed on it's surface. It was a miracle it didn't break after colliding with the ground. Jazz turned all systems off and stood up, stretching his arms. He turned around and walked to the corner where a big metal case was standing. He pulled out a few items that looked the most valuable and checked their quality before hiding them in his subspace.

The Autobot headed towards the exit when he suddenly felt the need to stop before the doors of the storage. He turned his head towards it and listened in. Surprisingly, and worringly, he could hear no sounds coming from inside.

Jazz looked down, considering something he had a feeling he'd regret later. Then, he ex vented. Before he hit the opening panel, he hesitated for a second. Nonetheless, he did as he planned and before he even stepped inside, he saw Blurr and Clobber kneeling behind the door with two metal sticks in their hands. There was an awkward silence between them for some time.

"Were you trying to open the automatic doors with a lockpicker?" Jazz asked, a hint of amusement present in his tone.

"Whaaaat? No! Nooo!..." Blurr protested, letting out a nervous chuckle and quickly hiding the tool of crime in his belt's pocket. "What kind of crazy idea would that be?! Right, Clobber?"

Clobber smiled awkwardly, hiding her own part behind her back and nodding fastly. Jazz didn't have to be a detective to know they were lying. Despite that, he decided to drop the topic.

"Whatever you say." He said, shrugging.

"Sooo, what brings you to our humble quarters?" Blurr asked. The elder Cybertronian couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I need to find some spare parts for the repairs, so I'm going out. Do you want to come with me?"

Clobber and Blurr seemed really surprised by his offer.

"Okay?..." Clobber said carefully. "Where's the catch?"

"I just thought it'd make some good for all of us." Jazz said. "If we're going to return to Cybertron quickly and painlessly, we have to learn to tolerate each other. I want to start again with you two."

Blurr let out a snort which he quickly surpressed.

"Yeah, good luck with that. But I guess I could use a walk." He said, jumping back on his feet and walking out of the storage. If Jazz didn't step back in time, the blue mech would've bumped into him.

"I love searching for parts!" Clobber cheered, stomping towards Jazz so quickly he had to step back further to avoid getting squished. "Where are we going? A spaceship graveyard? A phantom planet? An abandoned Autobot base?"

Jazz opened the entrance to the ship. As soon as the door fully lowered, the two saw a rather small market full of alien life-forms of all shapes and sizes in the distance.

"... Oh." Clobber murmured. Her enthusiasm seemed to fade a little.

"This is even better!" Blurr squealed, shaking her arm. He was about to run away when Jazz caught his arm at the last second before he went super speed.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah." He said, letting go off him. "No powers. We don't wanna cause any trouble."

Blurr growled and crossed his arms, mumbling something under his breath.

The three of them walked out of the ship and the doors behind them closed.

While they were entering the market, they passed through a giant metal gate with a sign none of them really understood, but guessed that the word engraved on it meant the name of the place.

As soon as they stepped in, they got to see first hand just how many aliens were there. Some were organic, some mechanical, just like them, others a combination of both. Clobber felt a little overwhelmed by all of them, so she decided to stay in the sidelines. Blurr, on the other hand, was completely in love with the place. He made sure to stop by every single stand, gaining a few annoyed stares from customers and shopkeepers alike.

The blue youngling was about to return to the group when he spotted a tall robot alien approaching. A sudden smirk appeared on his face as he hummed in wonder, analysing the situation. He looked out to see Jazz and Clobber chatting with an organic a few stands away and made sure the Autobot was not looking. Then, he moved out of the way a little and folded arms behind his back, pretending to look away. As soon as they walked by, he used his super speed to snatch a wallet out of their pocket and immediately hid it behind his back.

Jazz finished talking before Blurr did that and he managed to see the whole thing. He couldn't help, but frown.

"Excuse me!" He suddenly shouted, running past Blurr and gaining the robot's attention. Without any warning he pulled out the wallet and offered it to them with a smile. "I believe you dropped this."

Blurr rose an optical ridge in confusion. This wallet looked exacly like the one he had just stolen.

"Oh!" The robot said, retrieving their wallet with embarrasment. "I'm sorry, I didn't even realise. Thank you so much!"

"No problem at all." Jazz said, smiling.

Blurr decided to grab his trophy with his other hand and look at it again. To his shock, instead of the wallet he found an old rusty piece of metal. His optics immediately widened when he saw it.

After the alien walked away, Jazz's smile immediately dropped.

"Do that again and you're coming back on the ship." He warned, scowling at Blurr over his shoulder.

"How-? When-? What?!" Blurr asked, or at least tried to. "How did you-?!"

Jazz just ignored him and walked away. Clobber glanced at Blurr briefly and shrugged before deciding to follow the elder mech.

Blurr watched them go and then looked down at the dirty plate again. He frowned before throwing it on the ground with a groan.

Jazz and Clobber were walking around for some time before they stopped by a stand with spare parts on display. The Autobot gave them a quick glance before confirming that everything he needed was there. He looked up at the shopkeeper, who was a rather small organic whose skin was covered with feathers. She had to stand on the counter so she could be seen better.

"I'll take one of each." Jazz said, pulling out one hundred shanix out of his subspace. The seller looked down at the money and then crossed her arms, facing him.

"Four hundred more shanix." She replied.

"What?!" Clobber asked in awe. "That's like... more money than me and Blurr ever owed!"

"Don't worry. I have something way better than that." Jazz assured, pulling out of his subspace a red crystal shard. The shopkeeper snickered at that offer.

"Do I look like a jeweler to you?" She asked.

"Oh, that ain't just pretty jewelry." Jazz said. "This is Red Energon. Very rare, very powerful. You could power an entire battleship for years to come even with just a piece."

"A whole ship, eh? Okay. I guess I can make an exception for you." The seller said. Jazz turned around to give Clobber a smile. Then, the organic continued. "Five hundred shanix and the Red Energon shard."

That completely changed the atmosphere between them to more dense.

"... Alright." Jazz eventually said, tightening his grip on the shard and leaning closer. "How about we negotiate?" He said, optics behind his visor shining with stubborness. The organic's gaze was just as determined as he was.

Clobber felt like she couldn't possibly help in this situation, so she decided that a retreat was in order.

"Uuuh. Hey, Jazz." She called. "I'm gonna look around the place, if that's alright." Jazz didn't respond as he was busy at the moment. "Ooookay, cool! Good luck with negotiations!" She waved to him, walking away. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her leaving.

Clobber started wandering around the place, now completely alone. Her gaze was all over the place, looking at all faces rather than goods. She could feel some unwanted stares of people she passed, but as soon as she turned her gaze towards where she sensed them, they were never there and it was just her imagination. After a second she ex vented and straightened up, trying to take her mind off things. Clobber eventually stopped by a stand with some kind of mechanical goods. A big golden lamp caught her attention. The crystal on it's top was covered by a piece of metal which had shapes cut all around it's surface, a bunch of little stars. She would be lying if she said she didn't want it, but unfortunately she had no money on her.

"Psst." Suddenly, she heard Blurr and turned to her side where her friend was standing. He was folding hands behind his back and looking at the sides as if he just commited a crime.

"You'll never guess how many cool accessories are available here. Look what I snatched!" He leaned closer to her and showed her three metal bracelets. Each one of them had a different colour. One was yellow, other was purple, and the last was blue.

"Oooh!" She gasped in admiration. "Are these friendship bracelets?"

"Yup! Two for me. One for you. I heard it's stylish to wear both in this part of the galaxy now." Blurr said, putting the bracelets in his belt's pocket. "What about you? Do you need some help with a mini heist?"

Clobber considered that question, turning back to the lamp. A few customers walked to the stand already and started asking it's owner questions about it. The Rogue got scared they would take it before she did, so she made up her mind. After a second she turned to her friend and grinned.

"How about I'll add three astro-crystals to the deal?" Jazz offered. At this point he revealed all of his subspace's content to the feathered seller.

"Why don't I just give it to you for free?" She sneered, not seeming convinced at all.

They were so busy with their own deal that they didn't notice Clobber and Blurr running away from an angry metal alien who was cussing at them. Clobber was holding the golden lamp in her arms protectively.

"I don't have anything else." Jazz said. "Please. Can't there be something I can do to get these parts?"

The shopkeeper eyed him and paused after a second, noticing something.

"What about this?" She asked, pointing at his side. Jazz followed her finger down and his gaze rested on the weapon on his hip.

"My blaster?" Jazz asked, completely caught off guard. Before he faced her again, he covered it with his hand, almost protectively. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I might need it. There's no telling when another battle will..." He cut himself off almost immediately when he remembered something crucial. After a second he looked back down and pulled the blaster out, starting to hold it in both of his hands.

"I... guess there's no reason." He said, staring at it. After a second he hesitantly handed it to the seller and she took a good look at it. "Is it going to regulate my bill?"

"It might." She stated. "The question is, will you be willing to give it away?"

Jazz knew the answer by now, but something on the back of his head still made him somewhat unsure.

Clobber and Blurr were trying to find their way out of the market, but eventually they met a dead end. As soon as they turned around, they saw the furious robot approaching.

"Let's settle this smartly." He said, reaching for the crossbow on his back.

"Ha!" Blurr laughed. He took a few steps forward and rose his fists. Clobber activated one of her seismic arms, still holding the lamp in her other hand. "Tough luck! Neither of us are smart!"

The shopkeeper grimaced even harder. He was about to grab his weapon, when suddenly he heard a loud rumble of an engine roaring in the distance. His eyes widened and he looked in another direction, completely getting distracted.

Soon, the rest of the area got alarmed as well. Some of the people started packing their bags and closing their stands, other tried to continue working as if everything was normal.

The Rogues lowered their guards in confusion. Soon, however, they could see what everyone was so afraid about.

A group of vehicles drove inside of the gate, stopping right in front of the market. Then, they heard a bunch of T-cogs coming to life and soon they revealed five not so friendly looking Cybertronians. One of them was way taller than the rest. The worry only grew when they pulled out their blasters and walked towards the stands.

The robot shopkeeper completely lost interest in the two thieves and ran away.

Two of the Cybertronians, yellow and grey with dark blue accents, stopped by the nearest stands and pointed their weapons at the people behind them. They stepped back in worry of being shot and leaned under the counter to give them money.

Eventually Blurr and Clobber decided to walk out of the corner and have a better look.

"Who is that?" Clobber couldn't help, but ask the nearest person available.

"We don't know!" The organic behind one of the counters replied. "They just showed up one day and turned our lives into a living nightmare! They come here collecting 'fee' and then destroy everything for fun! We have to rebuild this market every time they show up!"

"A fee?" Clobber continued. "A fee for what?"

"For protection. From us." The third voice spoke, startling them. The tall purple Cybetronian made his presence known by stepping closer to them. The organic started shaking and then hid behind a piece of carved wood statue which resembled a shield of some sort. Blurr and Clobber seemed unaffected by the bigger mech.

"Protection, huh?" Blurr said, nudging Clobber's arm. "That sounds like a pretty swell business. Maybe we should try it sometime."

The tall mech gave others a nod and they started approaching the two with their blasters raised. Suddenly, the yellow one grabbed the lamp in Clobber's arms and tried to force it out.

"Hey! Steal your own lamp!" She protested, trying to keep a tight grip on it. Blurr also came to action and run to tackle the two of the bandits. However, that was as far as he went, because he didn't coordinate his speed well and crashed on a pole nearby. The impact made him fall on the ground, going limp.

Clobber finally lost her patience and tried to kick her attacker. Unfortunately, she was jumped on and the group burried her alive under them.

After some time, Jazz managed to leave the stand. He was holding a metal box with all spare parts he needed. He still felt some regret that he had to sell his blaster for it, but he really didn't have much choice.

As he was searching for the two of his companions, he managed to notice the sudden change of atmosphere.

He traced back his steps from the beginning and eventually stepped into the centre.

The place was already trashed. The grey and purple mechs were flipping over barrels with liquid, food or anything at that point.

Clobber and Blurr were tied to a pole with an electric rope. The yellow and dark blue mechs were throwing everything they could find at them, including things from the barrels. After a second the purple one tackled the dark blue mech and they began wrestling with each other while others cheered. The tallest mech was observing the whole thing. He made one of the stands his throne and acted as if he owned the place.

Jazz took a good look at the group and then managed to recognise them. His expression, from surprise, immediately shifted into annoyance.

"Can you hold this for me?" He asked one of the sellers, placing the metal case on their counter and headed towards the gang.

The bandits were laughing as they continuted cherishing causing havoc. The yellow one grabbed a big chunk of meteorite and aimed it at Blurr's head. The rock hit the blue mech so hard his partner could hear the clanking resulted by the impact.

"Do that again!" Blurr shouted angrily. "Do that again and I will hurt you!"

The yellow Cybertronian just grinned and was about to throw another thing, when he saw Jazz approaching. The rest of them seemed to notice as well.

"Well, well, well." The leader said, straightening up in his seat. "If it isn't Jazz!"

"Long time no see, Motormaster!" Jazz replied, stopping before them and counting all the henchmen to one.

"Breakdown." He started with the dark blue mech who seemed skittish after his name was called out loud.

"Drag Strip." He turned to the yellow one who was throwing stuff at his companions. His face remained neutral, but he started throwing and catching the piece of metal from one hand to another, ready to attack at any second.

"Wildrider." The next was the purple one, who crossed his arms and scowled at him.

"Dead End." He finished with the grey one who actually smiled and gave him finger guns. Eventually, Jazz returned to the tallest one who was named Motormaster. "Still like to harrass innocent civilians? You Stunticons haven't changed a bit."

Wildrider was about to aim his blaster at him, when Motormaster stopped him with a hand gesture.

"The war is over. We don't have to fight you, but that doesn't mean we won't." He stood up and transformed his arm into an axe which he then pointed at Blurr and Clobber who widened their optics in fear.

"Try anything and they're getting it."

Jazz didn't emote for a second, but then let out a snort.

"What? You think I'll care for some homeless rugrats just 'cause I'm an Autobot?" He said with way too much confidence. "Shoot them if you want. You'd probably be doing them a favour."

"Woooooow!" Blurr shouted, utterly offended. "Thanks! Some hero you turned out to be!"

"Whatever you wanna do to this place ain't my problem. I hardly know any of these people anyway." Jazz continued. "I just wanna return to my ship."

"Oh, and return you will!" Motormaster assured. His lips curled into a malicious smirk as he snapped his fingers. The Stunticons circled the Autobot, but he remained calm. "However, you are on our territory now. That means you have to follow our rules."

"And what are those rules exactly?" Jazz asked. He felt Wildrider bringing the rifle closer to the back of his head.

"A person with the gun gives orders!" He answered.

"Wildrider!" Motormaster shouted, making the mech stand down. "That's not a proper way to treat an old friend! Excuse him his rude behaviour, he's been itching for a good fight since we got here."

"It's fine. We've all been there." Jazz sympathised.

"The rules are that you're free to go, but you've got to give us something to remember you by. A little souvenir, if you will."

"That might be a problem..." The Autobot said. "I just sold a lot of my stuff for spare parts."

"What about that visor?" Breakdown asked. "I bet the boss would look great in it!"

Jazz couldn't help but shoot him a death glare. It made the Stunticon shrink.

"I would look great in it..." Motormaster hummed, scratching his chin. "I accept!"

"You heard the boss, buster." Dead End said. "Hand it over!"

Jazz was strongly against it, but after a second, he reached for his visor. He slowly removed it from his face and looked down before anyone could see his optics. Then, he attempted to hand it over.

Before Drag Strip grabbed the visor, it slipped out of Jazz's hand and fell on the ground. The Stunticon snarled at that. He tried leaning down and grabbing it when suddenly Jazz punched him in the face.

Before the rest of the group could react, the Autobot punched Wildrider in the stomach with his elbow, who released his weapon due to the impact. Dead End tried to punch him, but the mech grabbed him by the arm and threw him over his shoulder on the ground. Eventually, Jazz picked up Wildrider's blaster and his visor from the ground and swiftly turned to Motormaster, aiming the weapon at him.

Blurr and Clobber gasped.

"What was that rule about the gun again?" Jazz asked, putting his visor back on and smirking.

Motormaster growled, then turned to his gang.

"Get up and destroy him!" He ordered.

Jazz jumped back and pointed the blaster at the pole where the Rogues were hanging. He quickly found the rope's power source and shot it, destroying it completely. The electric rope around them finally faded into nothingness and they both landed safely on the ground.

The Stunticons pulled out their weapons and started shooting at them. Clobber used one of the stands as a shield, hiding Blurr and herself behind it. Jazz joined them after a second. He sat down with his back pressed against the wall. He didn't have his blaster anymore, so he had so think of some other way to defend them.

"We have to get rid of them before they'll hurt somebody!" He stated.

"You said you didn't care about this place!" Clobber reminded.

"I was bluffing!" Jazz admitted. Suddenly, a red laser beam pierced through the wall, almost hitting the elder mech in the shoulder. "Okay. I think I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help." Jazz said, turning to Blurr and Clobber.

"What do you think, partner?" Blurr asked, glancing at his friend. "Should we help?"

"Beats being stuck on a pole." Clobber said.

"It sure does!" He said and they fist bumped each other.

The Stunticons continued shooting until a blue bolt of energy escaped from their enemies' hiding spot and rushed past them. They shielded themselves from potential danger, not noticing how Clobber jumped out after it and smashed her arm against the ground, making a small quake that separated them from one another.

Drag Strip landed a few feet away, falling on his back. After he opened back his optics, he noticed a big shadow creeping above him. He looked up to see Blurr standing over him, holding a rock over his head.

"Payback time, baby!" He said in a menacing tone before bashing the other's face with it.

Motormaster tried to shoot Clobber, but Jazz prevented him from doing that. He rushed to him and forced the weapon out of his grasp with a large metal bat he had found on the ground. The first strike was successful and he tried the second, but this time Motormaster managed to grab him by the arm and lift him up. He scowled and tried to hit him, but Jazz transformed his free arm into a sonic blaster and blasted a sonic attack at him. Motormaster shouted in pain, letting go off him and covering his audials.

Wildrider and Drag Strip pulled out two swords and tried to slash Clobber with them. The fembot avoided Drag Strip's attack and catched Wildrider's blade. She got distracted after that and because of that got hit by Drag Strip's spin kick. Dead End used that chance and charged at her, tackling her. She fell on one of the stands where a bunch of shop keepers were hiding. Blurr rushed in and took care of them for her.

Clobber shook her head and looked around.

"We could use some help, you know!" She said.

"We're not going out there!" One of the organics said.

"You're the ones with combat experience!" The techno-organic added.

"It's your market!" Clobber stated. "And once we're gone, they're just going to come back unless you stand up to them! Are you really okay with waiting for another days to watch all of your hard work being destroyed for no reason?!"

All of the sellers exchanged looks between each other.

Jazz blocked Wildrider's attack with his arm and with a swing cut his legs, making him fall. Dead End sneaked behind him and was about to hit him when Blurr swooped in and kicked him in the face. Jazz turned around just in time to see the Stunticon stumble back.

"You should watch your back more, oldsport." Blurr turned to him, giving him a smug grin. Jazz rose an optical ridge at him. Suddenly, he aimed his sonic blaster at him. Before Blurr reacted, Jazz fired. The soundwave avoided the blue mech and hit Breakdown instead, who was about to shoot Blurr in the back. He flew all the way across the market with a scream.

"You should watch your back more, kid." Jazz said, grinning twice as smugly. Blurr stared at him, trying to process his shock, before looking away in order to hide his embarrasment.

Breakdown landed on the wall, right next to Motormaster. The leader grunted and looked at Jazz and Blurr with anger.

He let out a roar and rushed at them, transforming his arms into two big axes. Then, he rose one of them up and swung it in order to cut the two in half. Both Blurr and Jazz managed to avoid it and jump back, making the axe hit the surface of the ground. Motormaster tried to swing again when he felt something hitting him in the helm. He looked up just in time to get hit with some green fruit which spluttered across his entire face.

"Hey!" He shouted furiously.

The rest of the Stunticons managed to gather themselves from the ground and saw shadows surrounding them from all sides. They looked around and were immediately attacked by flying pots, pans, figurines, rocks, food and many other things of all kinds. A few metal bullets also found their way towards them.

The crowd of angered sales people gathered round and attacked them with everything they had. Clobber was among them, helping to load a few canons with ammunition.

"Fire!" She ordered and the techno-organic fired an elegant, already damaged vase at the group. The Stunticons managed to dodge, but they were still vunerable to other attacks.

"Stop that!" Dead End demanded. He and his team started backing up, feeling awfully overpowered.

"We'll destroy you all!" Wildriver threatened.

"Get out of our planet!" An organic ordered. Their chant was followed by a couple similiar ones. Seeing that they couldn't do much, the Stunticons turned around and ran back to their leader with tail between their legs.

Motormaster completely lowered his guard in order to shield himself from being beaten by the people around him. Jazz took advantage of that. The Autobot transformed his blaster back into a hand and leaned down, nesting them on the ground.

"Now!" He yelled. Blurr didn't waste any time and jumped on them. Jazz boosted him up and the blue mech used his super speed to give Motormaster a powerful punch in the face. The impact was so strong that it made him stumble back. Clobber released Jazz's grappling hook and created an electric line across the floor.

Blurr quickly grabbed the second end and they tightened it, making it go up. Motormaster tripped over it and fell down on his back with a painful groan.

When he tried to stand up, he noticed the other Stunticons rushing to him, completely horrified.

"What are you idiots doing?!" Motormaster shouted, sitting up. "Get up there and fight!"

"This is not your planet anymore!" Clobber stated boldly. "Get out of here and don't come back!"

The shopkeepers reloaded their weapons, bracing themselves for another attack. Motormaster clenched his fist and grimaced in anger. Eventually, however, he looked down and closed his optics, accepting his defeat.

The Stunticon leader stood up, startling the others, and walked away. The gang gave the crowd one final glance before following their boss.

As soon as they got to the gate, all of them transformed, driving into the sunset.

Once they were gone, the whole place filled silence.

"We did it!" Blurr was the first to make a sound, and he used it to let out a cheer. He and Clobber jumped and high fived in celebration. She also tried to give Jazz a high five, but the mech was distracted.

He was looking at all the damage the Stunticons had left. The shopkeepers didn't celebrate with them either. They started collecting what was left and tried to repair their stands.

"What a mess." Blurr said, placing hands on his hips and shaking his head. Then, he clapped and started stepping back. "Anyway, I think it's time for us! This trip was lots of fun, but our job here is done!"

"Pretty good job, if you ask me!" Clobber added. They both turned to walk towards the ship, but Jazz didn't move an inch. After a second he started looking for his box of spare parts and noticed it on the ground in the distance. Right next to it was a robot that was struggling with setting back a roof on his now demolished stand.

Jazz walked towards him and was about to pick up his case when he stopped, looking back at the robot. The roof was about to collapse on him. He glanced back at the case and thought for a second, then made up his mind.

The seller was about to give up when Jazz stepped towards him and supported the roof for him. Thankfully, he was tall enough to do that without any trouble. The shopkeeper, understanding his intentions, reached for a metal pole and attached it, stabilising the construction. Then, he turned to him and nodded. Jazz nodded back with a smile.

"Clobber! Blurr!" He shouted after the two, making them turn around. "I'll stay and help with the repairs! I'll be back as soon as possible!"

After a second Jazz looked around and stepped towards another stand, helping some organic collecting crystals in a basket.

"This guy is really something else." Clobber said, crossing her arms. They watched him go around the place, helping the folks as much as he could. Blurr couldn't help, but groan.

"We'll never going to leave at this rate!" He whined. Suddenly, Clobber had an idea.

"Why don't we show them how it's done?" She suggested.

"Cleaning isn't exacly our thing, but... Eh." Blurr said. "At least it's one way to kill time."

Clobber nodded and decided to head to Jazz to help him lift a few heavy cases, while Blurr found a mop on the ground and used his super speed to clean the mess.

After a few hours, the market was back to normal. Despite the noticable loss in materials, everyone was happy that they managed to recover from the attack.

Jazz headed back to his ship where Clobber and Blurr were already waiting for him. They were sitting on the floor, playing with the lamp and admiring the colourful bracelets. The Autobot put down the case with spare parts and sat on his chair, making his presence known.

"Can you believe that they let us keep these things after we helped them clean up? What suckers!" Blurr said, grinning.

"I believe it's called 'showing grattitude.'" Jazz stated. "They were thankful for your help today."

"Sounds like you could learn a thing or two from them." Blurr teased.

"Stop trying to end my life and then we'll talk."

"Maybe one day."

After a second Blurr took the blue bracelet and and slipped it on Clobber's wrist. She noticed that and smiled, pulling him closer for a tight hug. Jazz chuckled, then turned to the steering wheel. He activated the ship's engines and soon left the planet.

When they were back in space, Clobber picked up her lamp and together with Blurr headed away. Jazz noticed that.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Back to the storage?" Clobber shrugged.

"Yeah, so we won't disturb you." Blurr added. Jazz considered this for a moment, before spinning in his chair towards them.

"And miss watching all those stars? I'm afraid I can't allow that." He said, supporting his arm with the chair's handle and smiling.

The two Rogues seemed to be surprised by his words. Nevertheless, they immediately brightened up and returned to the bridge.

"So, does that mean I'll get another shot at flying the ship?" Blurr asked.

"Don't push your luck." Jazz said. "Leave that to the professionals for now."

The blue youngling was about to snap back when suddenly they saw star shaped lights appearing on the walls. They started dancing around the entire bridge.

Clobber looked down and noticed that her claw landed on the turn on button on the lamp's side. She quickly retracted it, then started looking around.

"Whoah..." Blurr gasped in amazement. "It's like we're in the middle of the universe."

"In a way, we are." Jazz said, looking out of the window. His tired gaze returned to him. "Far from home, in an unfamiliar place... Easy to get lost if you're not careful enough. Maybe it's just my age talking, but nowadays it all seems so distant and cold. Not like when I first hopped into a spaceship."

"I thought that's just how space worked." Blurr stated, pillowing his head in the arms which he rested on the elder Cybertronian's seat. "Sure it's big, scary and unpredictable, but it's not always that bad! There's so much to do! Every day brings a new adventure!"

"Yeah!" Clobber joined. "Kind of like life in general, in a way."

"I wish I could agree, but..." Jazz trailed off, feeling his optics under his visor getting heavy. He paused and then decided to follow his gut.

"I just want you two to know I can't guarantee anything about this trip. Evidently, I'm not that great of a company. I don't know how long it'll take or whether there will be any more complications on the way. All I have is a goal and ain't a single thing in the galaxy that's gonna keep me away from it."

"... That was..." Blurr said, sitting up. "Strangely inspiring. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Does that mean we're cool?" Clobber couldn't help but ask.

"No hard feelings here." Jazz assured. "But we've got some things we still need to discuss."

"How about later." Blurr requested. "It's nice like this now."

"... I guess it is." Jazz murmured, returning his attention to piloting. The lights from the light reflected on the window's glass, making their dark road shimmer with dozens of different colours.

Meanwhile, in the other part of the galaxy, the purple ship of the Stunticons landed on a distant asteroid. It was almost completely empty, excluding one run down building on it's surface. The ship's doors opened and Breakdown and Dead End jumped out of them.

"Why do we have to go?" Breakdown complained. "Boss knows I have nightmares about him!"

"That's probably why he sent you, specifically." Dead End said, looking more bored than bothered like his friend. The two of them stepped before the building, and then stopped, as if something was keeping them away. Eventually, Dead End pushed the other Stunticon towards the door. Breakdown turned to him and gave him a glare. The Stunticon just shooed him with the wave of his hand.

Breakdown turned back around and anxiously walked closer to the building's door. He reached his claw to knock on it, but before his shaking fist could reach the door's metal surface, it opened on itself, making him scream. He quickly ran away, hiding behind Dead End.

"Stop playing around!" Dead End snarled, pushing him away. "Boss will leave us here if we don't hurry up!"

Breakdown gulped before hesitantly returning to the door and finally entering inside.

The room was entirely dark. The Stunticon couldn't see any walls or ceiling, and the only source of light available was shining from a narrow line from the opened door. It was lighting a desk standing in the middle of the room. Someone appeared to be sitting behind it, turned around from the future client.

Breakdown stepped towards it, clenching the edges of the datapad he was holding.

"A-are you... Lockdown, s-sir?" He stuttered, barely audibly.

"Depends." The figure spoke in a deep, chilling voice that left shivers on Breakdown's spine. He also noticed that the chair he was sitting at slightly moved towards him, now revealing a side of a tall spiky Cybertronian. He had his optics closed and arms crossed across his chest. "What do you want?"

Breakdown took that as an invitation to continue and he quickly walked to the desk, keeping as much distance as he could.

"We have a job for you." After a second he tossed the datapad on it. On it's screen appeared an old Decepticon wanted poster with Jazz's photo on the front.

The Stunticon could finally see the figure's eyes. They were bloody red and stared directly at the paper.

"Dead or alive?" The figure simply asked, raising his gaze at Breakdown next.

"Motormaster wants him alive, so he can finish him off himself." He explained. "He's travelling with two other Cybertronians. He explicitly said that they should be..."

"Mm..." The figure squinted, humming. "This is goin' to cost extra for each head."

"Oh, we can pay you extra! We can pay you even more! I mean, we wouldn't bother you if we didn't have the money!"

The figure unexpectedly moved and released a clawed metal hand from his grasp. Breakdown immediately backed off, barely holding the scream in himself. Thankfully, the mech just dug them in the desk, grabbing the datapad and pulling it to himself. That calmed the Stunticon down.

"Deal." The figure purred.

"G-great!" Breakdown said, reaching to his subspace. "Here, we can pay some of the total ammount right now-"

"Keep it." The mech said. The Stunticon saw him rise his arm and noticed that his other hand was missing. He started rolling the ring on his wrist, changing between different settings. From a metal stick, to a drill, to a poorly constructed claw.

"I prefer bein' paid after finishin' the job. After all," He finally stopped at the one setting he was looking for and rose his limb, which revealed a huge hook attached to it. Breakdown swore he could see him smirking in it's reflection.

"The prize is much more rewardin' when you have to earn it."

Chapter Text

Jazz stepped in front of Blurr and Clobber with arms folded behind his back. He was standing before the window, holding a long stick in his hand. The auto pilot was fixed by now and he could walk freely around his ship again.

"Alright! Since we'll be spending more time onboard this ship, I went ahead and prepared some rules you have to follow." Jazz said, unfolding one arm and using it to point at the holographic screen.

"Rule number one: No touching anything that looks unstable. If it looks like it, it probably is. Number two: No powers or modifications of any kind. Number three: We respect each other's privacy." The third point was circled a few times with a red line. As he was saying that, he looked up directly at the two. The Rogues gave him innocent smiles.

Jazz stared at them for some more time, then moved on. "Number four: We stay on track no matter what. That means no more distractions. We don't make any stops unless they're really needed."

"Question!" Blurr said, raising his hand. He looked extremely bored. "How long till we get to the 'no fun allowed' rule?"

"Ooooh, I wanted to ask that!" Clobber said, a little disappointed.

"I'm not against having fun. See? It's one of the rules." Jazz pointed at the bottom of the list. The last line read 'Have fun (safely)' with a cute smiley face drawn next to it. The Rogues grimaced at that. "Don't give me those looks. I know it's no amusement park, but there's still plenty of stuff to do here!"

"Like?" Clobber asked.

"Like... You like stories? I've got some stories!" Jazz offered. He paused, rubbing his cheek. 

"Man, where to even start?... Have I ever mentioned my best friend Cliffjumper? I always say that he may be small, but he could fight a Dinobot if given a chance. It actually almost happened on a mission the two of us were sent to. We were rescuing one of our ally teams, the Dinobots..."

Blurr seemed to disconnect himself from reality as the elder mech was telling his story. Suddenly, something caught his attention and he immediately tipped his interest towards it. Outside of the window a huge grey planet could've been spotted in the distance. It's surface was was covered with stone loops and structures that somewhat resembled a roller coaster ride.

"-Oh, the look on Grim's face when he said that to him!" While Jazz was still telling his story, Blurr stared at the distance with big sparkling optics.

"Jazz!" Without any warning the younger Cybertronian interrupted, jumping on his feet and zooming to the window, squashing his face and hands against the glass.

"Rule number two! What did we literally just talk about?" Jazz almost jumped out of his skin. Blurr ignored him and zoomed to him, pushing him towards the window.

"Look!" He said, catching him by the shoulders. "If this isn't a neccessity, I don't kow what it is!"

Jazz managed to understand what he was talking about, but didn't seem as enthusiastic as he was.

"I can tell you what it is." He said, gently pushing him away. "It's a distraction."

"Maybe, but a really cool one! Can we go? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-" Blurr started begging, giving Jazz the puppy optics. It wasn't very effective.

"What would you even want to do there?" The elder mech asked.

"Race, obviously!" Blurr said. "Look at this and then look at me and tell me it wasn't the first thing that came to your mind!"

"There's a planet next to Cybertron called Velocitron. You can have all the racing your spark will ever desire there."

"But it's going to take sooo loooong! What kind of sports car are you? Don't you feel the powerful urge to just... Go? To feel the wind in your frame? To break the speed limit in every single way? To be free?!"

"Not every sports car likes racing, Blurr." Jazz stated flatly.

"But you do. Right, Jazz?" Clobber asked, walking to them. "I mean, you won the first place in one."

"Okay, yeah, but that was... Wait. How do you know about my Golden Tire?" Jazz asked, turning around to her.

Clobber froze at that question, then looked away as if trying to hide something. Jazz frowned, extenting his hand towards her. She sighed and opened her subspace, giving him his trophy back.

"You just added a brand new rule to the list." He stated.

"You were a racer?" Blurr asked.

"It was something I liked doing in my spare time before the war." Jazz said, looking over the golden trophy to see if it wasn't damaged. It was a statue of a tire surrounded by a ring of fire. On the back of the trophy were lines of some text. "It was a very long time ago."

"It was said to be the biggest race in Iacon." Clobber said. "It's all written on the trophy! There were almost two hundred participants and one of them was an unbeatable champion-"

"Thank you, Clobber! That'll be enough for the history lesson!" Jazz said, trying to shut her up.

"Jazz, you hard-hearted turtle! You never told us!" Blurr chuckled. "Now you've gotta compete against me!"

"I really don't." Jazz said, heading to the storage.

"What's the matter? Are you scared of losing to the fastest Rogue in the galaxy?" Blurr followed him, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I think you're really scared!"

"I know what you're doing and that won't work." Jazz said. When he was inside, he put the tophy back on the shelf near the wall where the Energon Cubes were stored.

"Jazz? More like Coward...-azz! That's right! I bet you bought that trophy from someone, because you're acting nothing like a champion!" Blurr wasn't giving up.

"I'm not listening to you." Jazz said, walking out of the storage without sparing him a glance.

"What? Afraid of facing the music that you're a coward?... Or maybe..." A thought suddenly crossed his mind. He grabbed his chin thoughtfully and he grinned playfully. "You just want to hide the fact that you're light years away from your prime."

That actually made Jazz stop. He felt his eye began twitching, but he quickly took control over it. After a second he turned back to Blurr whose expression became sickenly smug. Jazz didn't care.

"One race." He said, pointing his finger at him. "And if I win, you're not allowed to complain for the rest of the trip."

"Deal!" Blurr agreed, offering him his hand which Jazz accepted.

The group landed on the planet and chose one of the tracks for their racing ground. They created a starting line, set out rules, and started preparing themselves. Blurr was doing jumping jacks, push ups, rolling his joints, and trying every warming up excercises he could think of. Jazz just stood next to him, gaze fixated on the track.

After a second Clobber walked in front of them, holding Jazz's stick in her claws.

"The first to cross that line after three laps wins!" She announced. Blurr and Jazz turned to each other. Blurr had a confident smirk on his face while Jazz, his usual stern expression.

"Don't get lost." He said.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Blurr teased.

"I'm serious. I don't want to go looking for you after this is over." Jazz clarified.

"Get ready!" After a second Clobber shouted, raising her arm. Jazz was the first to face her. Blurr snorted and shook his head before doing the same.

"Ready?!" She shouted. The two mechs transformed into their alt modes...

"Set!..." She continued, slightly lowering her arm. Their engines came to life. The tention between them rose with each second as they waited in anticipation for the last mark. And finally...

"Go!" She shouted, cutting the air before her with the stick. At that command, the two vehicles floored it. They left her behind a huge puff of smoke and began their race.

It started off well, with Blurr reaching the front. The first loop went smoothly, Blurr couldn't help, but let out an excited squeal as he was driving upside down. Jazz made sure to pick up just the right speed not to fall down and the two passed it approximately at the same time. The next obstacle were the turns. Blurr was a bit clumsier at passing them, but Jazz was managing to perfectly drive through them, gaining a certain advantage over the other. Blurr wasn't about to lose to him and followed his lead. After a few minutes the first lap was crossed.

"Wanna see a trick?" Blurr suddenly asked, then sped up.

"Be careful!" Jazz warned. The younger mech ignored him and proceeded with his trick. He surrounded himself with bright blue energy and started flashing from side to side as he kept turning his super speed on and off.

He was so busy with his trick he didn't notice a loop before them. When he did, he tried to slow down, but was unable to. Before he reached it, he fell for a bump on the road and tripped, hitting the edge of the road. He fell off the track with a startled yelp. Thankfully the ground was near and he landed on the side of his alt mode.

Jazz drove to the edge.

"I'll spare you my comment on that." He said before backing off and continuing the race. Blurr swung from side to side and managed to land back on his wheels.

"I meant to do that!" He claimed, trying to find a way back on the track.

While they were racing, on one of the higher loops nearby appeared a tall figure. It was wearing a dark cloak which covered their entire body, only making their red optics visible. They looked down at the racing mechs and saw that they were getting near to their position. The figure chuckled darkly and pulled a green and black bomb out of their cloak. They pressed it's button with their thumb and threw it on the structure across them. After they did that, they backed off and jumped on a flying board they set out before and flew back.

When the countdown ended, the bomb exploded and made the loop fall apart.

The second circle was passed. Jazz and Blurr were going head to head, when the rocks suddenly started falling from the sky.

"Hey!" Blurr was forced to stop and avoid the rock that landed before him and almost crushed him. After a second another rock fell, then another, and so on until he was circled by them from all sides. Jazz managed to skillfully avoid all of the boulders on his way. When he noticed that Blurr wasn't by his side by the time he got out of that situation, he stopped with a loud screech of his tires.

Blurr transformed and used his super speed to jump out of his trap and sprint towards the safety. On his way was standing a huge rock and he didn't notice it in time. The young mech ended up hitting it. The impact was so powerful it broke into thousant tiny pieces, making Blurr cry out in pain. He lost his ballance and rolled a few steps away, hitting another boulder with his back.

Blurr tried to rise from the ground, groaning in pain. As soon as he looked up he saw a huge rock falling right towards him. The mech looked away and tried to hide his head with his arms, bracing himself for an impact, when Jazz suddenly stood between him and the danger. His visor flashed with purple light and in a matter of seconds a set of speaker looking devices withdrew from his arms, shoulders and back. Without any warning, he blasted a sound attack from all of them, creating a powerful sonic beam which obliterated the boulder, saving the younger mech's life.

"Whoah..." Blurr murmured, looking in amazement at whatever Jazz just did.

"Get out of here!" Jazz ordered, glancing at him over his shoulder. Blurr didn't have to be told twice. He returned on his feet and transformed, speeding away from the falling rocks.

Eventually Jazz transformed and found his way out of the boulder maze. It took him some time, but he finally began catching up with Blurr.

Clobber was waiting on the opposite side of the track, waiting for the two to arrive. When she heard a loud commotion in the distance, she decided to investigate.

Jazz and Blurr were almost there. The rocks kept falling, but thankfully they could see Clobber running towards them from their position already.

The cloaked figure was about to throw another explosive when she came into the picture. As soon as their red optics landed on her, they froze.

With a cry, Clobber punched the rock which was about to hit the two mechs, smashing it into pieces. The Autobot and the Rouge managed to stop behind her.

The figure couldn't help, but stare at the fembot in disbelief. They didn't even notice that a bomb slipped out of their now shaking claw and fell on the loop under their board.

"Alright, kids, the show's cancelled! We're getting back to the ship!" Jazz said, transforming back.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but you got it, coach!" Blurr said, transforming as well.

All of them jumped out of the track and landed on the ground next to it, running towards some place safe.

The cloaked figure watched them go. They found themselves paralysed until they heard a soft alarm going off from under them.

They looked down and noticed their bomb. "Scrap!" They gasped, returning back to their senses. They tried getting away from it, but it was too late and they got caught up in the explosion.

They crash landed on one of the lower loops and after a second got burried under the incoming rocks, immediately falling into stasis.

That last explosion could've been heard from afar, where Jazz, Blurr and Clobber found safety near their ship. They sat down behind it, taking their time to rest.

"Are you okay?" Jazz asked, glancing at his side where the two Rogues were sitting.

"'Okay'? You were awesome!" Blurr said, grabbing his arm and giving it a glance from a few different angles. "What kind of weapon was that? Has it always been there? Do you just casually carry stuff like that with you all the time? I have so many questions!"

"You'd be surprised how much extra ammo you can carry if you know enough anatomy." Jazz said, releasing his arm from Blurr's grasp.

"What happened back there?" Clobber asked. "Everything was stable in one second and then everything started falling apart!"

"No idea." Jazz said. "But we're lucky we managed to come out of it unharmed."

Suddenly Blurr realised something.

"Jazz," He said, turning to the other mech and giving him a huge grin. "Do you know what this means?"

"That we should've stayed on course like I told you to?" Jazz asked. Suddenly, Blurr wrapped his arm around him and Clobber and brought them closer to himself.

"That was our first official adventure together!" He cheered. Jazz fought back the urge to roll his optics. Again with the adventuring thing.

"Does that mean Jazz is like a honorary Rogue now?" Clobber asked.

"It must be!" Blurr said, releasing both of them and glancing at her. "That race was basically a rite of passage!"

"You almost died." Jazz reminded.

"And it was great!" Blurr laughed.

Jazz let out a long tired sigh, leaning against the ship and landing his hand on the top of his visor.

"...I s'ppose that did bring back a memory or two." He finally admitted, lowering his hand from his face.

"I read that big race also had an accident with a falling building." Clobber said, smiling to him.

"Of course you did." Jazz said, staring up at the sky. After a second a hint of amusement sparked on his lips, but after a second disappeared as fast as it appeared.

"Alright, crew. I think it's time to get going. We don't know if we're safe out here, too." 

The three of them stood up and dusted themselves off.

"We should redo that race sometime." Blurr said. "We didn't get to see who won. Which means I'm still allowed to complain as much as I want!"

"As long as the track isn't falling on our heads." Jazz said. "You really need some practice."

"Hey!" Blurr replied, a little offended.

"I guess I could give you some tips, being the champion and all... If you promise to be less demanding." Jazz teased. Blurr groaned at that.

"I can be less demanding!" Clobber said, raising her hand. 

"Do you even want to race?" The smaller Rogue asked, still annoyed.

"No, but that doesn't mean I can't." She stated. "I can make those funny puffballs and cheer for you from the sidelines!" 

"I don't need any practice!" Blurr whined, making the two snicker.

The three of them continued their conversation as they prepared for the launch.

Meanwhile, the cloaked figure managed to online back and escape from within the rocks. They groaned and shook their head, looking down. They saw all the destruction they caused, but their targets were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, they heard a sound of an engine in the distance and looked up to see Jazz's ship flying away. They couldn't help, but narrow their optics at that.

After a second they stood up and glanced at their board. It had seen better days, but it would still fly. It was all that mattered.

They set it before themselves and stepped on it, flying away. In the meantime, something seemed to occupy their mind. The person they saw with the two mechs. Was this some kind of Autobot trick? The Autobot he was chasing was known for those, apparently. A failed perception on their end, perhaps?

After a second they shook their head.

"Get a grip on yourself, Lockdown." The bounty hunter said, hitting himself on the head. "You have a job to do."

After a second the mech pulled something out of his cloak, a scanner of some sort. It was showing the exact coordinates Jazz's ship was heading towards.

"Perhaps I underestimated him. I need more time to think of my next step..." He thought out loud.

Chapter Text

The ship hadn't been this quiet since a very long time. Perhaps the reason behind this rare state was the fact that it was completely empty. There was no soul to be found around the entire flying machine. Judging by the setting sun on a grey metal planet outside of the window, it had been there for quite some time now.

Suddenly, the entrance of the ship opened and the lights turned on. Jazz and Clobber walked in, tiredly dragging their feet. The Rogue was holding a big tube with something inside it. Both of them were covered from top to bottom in some sort of green slime.

As they stepped inside, the entrance closed behind them. While Clobber headed to the storage to find something to clean herself with, the first thing Jazz did was heading to his seat and dropping on it like a sack of spare parts. Then, he pushed a red button on the console and leaned closer.

"Captain log number 1460. I just had possibly the worst two days of my entire life." He began. The Autobot paused to wipe the slime from his forehead, throwing it on the floor. It made an uncomfortably wet sound which caused him to shudder. "It all began just like any other day. I was staying on course while Blurr and Clobber were keeping me company..."

-----

Clobber was sitting by the window, chin pillowed in her arms. She was looking at the stars, burried deep in her thoughts.

"Okay, I think I've got it this time!" Blurr said. He was sitting next to Jazz's seat with his legs crossed, back turned to the console. "You're some kind of... superhero persona! That's why you never take off your visor! I bet Jazz isn't even your real name!"

"Warm." Jazz replied.

"Really?!" Blurr gasped, facing him.

"Nope." The Autobot quickly blew away his hopes. "You come up with this stuff by yourself?"

"Come on, Jazz, you're no fun!" The younger mech groaned. "I've seen dirt having more enthusiasm!"

"What's there to be enthusiastic about? You constantly harrasing me about my personal life?"

"I'm trying to figure you out because you just don't make sense! One time you're boring, then you're cool, then you're boring again - It's exhausting! And then you're just so full of secrets! We have them, too, you know! I bet they're bigger than yours will ever be, but you don't see us keeping people on the edge of their seats!"

"Bigger secrets than mine, hm?" Jazz tried, but couldn't stop himself from grinning. "I wonder how that looks like." 

"Take Clob, for example!" As soon as her name was dropped, Clobber widened her optic. "She's-!"

Before Blurr spilled the beans, she grabbed him and covered his mouth with her claw.

"Secrets?" She repeated, chuckling nervously. "What secrets? Don't listen to him, he's just crazy-talking!"

"... Okay?" Jazz blinked. He was just being lighthearted, but her reaction made him reconsider the whole conversation. He was about to change the topic when suddenly an unexpected message popped up on the screen.

"That's strange. We're receiving a request to open our communication line." He said. That seemed to catch the two Rogues' attention.

"Who's requesting?" Blurr asked as Clobber freed him.

"It doesn't say. I don't see any ships either..." Jazz stated, then started tapping on the panel. "I'll send my response and see what they want."

"Blurr..." Clobber lowered her voice, looking through the side window at the space around them. "Now that I think about it... Doesn't this place look kinda sorta familiar to you?"

"What do you mean?" Blurr asked. Clobber pointed forward.

"If you join these starts together, they look like a petro rabbit on a snowboard. Look, there's the nose, and the ears, and the six spider like legs, too."

"Yeah, I see it, but that's impossible." Blurr replied. "The last time you marked that symbol, we were on the planet..."

A sudden realisation washed over them and they widened their optics.

"Jazz, stop!"

"It's a trap!"

The Rogues quickly turned to their pilot, trying to warn him. Jazz was about to react, when suddenly he felt a splitting pain on his entire body which made him cry out. A short circuit entered inside of the ship through the communication system, zapping everyone within their reach. It eventually reached the two young Cybertronians as well. The pain was insufferable for a few seconds and then ended as quickly as it began. The three of them felt themselves dropping on the ground, falling into stasis immediately.

-----

"I still have a sore feeling all over my hood." Jazz said, rolling his shoulders. "Turns out someone set a trap which activated as soon as we entered that sector. Right after it knocked us out, it sent a signal to a planet it was from. Which brings us to the next part of this long, terrible chain of events. We woke up in cuffs."

-----

Jazz, Clobber and Blurr were standing on a moving platform which roamed through a gigantic metal city. They were in a company of two tall robots who were guarding them. Their ride was covered by a yellow sphere of sorts which didn't allow the outside world to see them.

Clobber was shaking. She looked like she was about to have a heart attack. Blurr seemed nervous too, but tried to hide it as best as he could.

"Jazz..." The young bot whispered, leaning closer to the Autobot. "You need to listen to me very carefully. Never believe anything they say!"

"'They?'" Jazz asked in confusion.

"The people of this planet!" Blurr colaborated. "We've been here before, and trust me, they can't tell the truth if their lives depended on it! You have to blast us out of here before it's too late!"

Jazz nodded and tried to unlock the speakers on his back. To his surprise, the transformation was blocked mid process. He tried it again, but with the same result.

"Not good." He murmured.

"What do you mean not good?!" Blurr silently shouted.

"They must've blocked my T-cog. I can't activate my weapons."

Suddenly the platform stopped, reaching it's destination. One of the guards pressed a button on the ceiling with a spear and the sphere desintergrated into nothing. They stationed in front of a menacing looking grey tower with chains wrapped all around it.

"Both of you, listen up." Jazz said, making the two lean closer to him. "As soon as we enter inside, I want you to leave all the talking to me. I've been in these kinds of situations countless times. I know exactly what to do."

-----

"Aaand that was the moment I lost any idea what to do." Jazz said, giving a fingergun to the panel.

-----

The trio was brought to a giant court room of sorts. On the sides were placed benches on which were sitting robot witnesses. In the middle of the room was a stand behind which was sitting a red four eyed robot with what appeared to be an axe in her hand. Jazz, Blurr and Clobber were pushed forward and they hesitantly stepped closer.

"The court is in session!" The robot on the side of the stand announced, gesturing at the judge and slowly backing off.

As soon as he saw that they were finished, Jazz made a brave step forward.

"Before we begin with whatever this is supposed to be," He started, clearly annoyed. "can anyone tell me where my ship is?"

The crowd began whispering among themselves. The guards in the corner wanted to step in, but the judge rose her hand in an order not to get involved. Yet.

"Your ship has been confiscated and will remain as such until further notice. May I request your name?"

"It's Jazz." Jazz answered.

"I'm going to ignore your arrogance this time, sir Jazz. You will not get another chance to speak without permission-"

"In that case, so sorry for interrupting by the way, I'll use the one I have now to its full extent. Why are we doing this in the first place? All we did was mind our own business. I'm pretty sure you can't hold us here without a good reason."

The witnesses seemed to be angered by that response, but the judge kept a calm expression.

"I'm guessing you're not familiar with this place." She stated.

"With all due respect, it's hard to register anything while we're being dragged to court. Just what kind of crime do you think we've commited to treat us this way?" Clobber and Blurr looked at each other as soon as the Autobot asked that.

"You, for example," The judge said, pointing her axe at him. "are charged for smuggling two criminals onboard your ship."

"What? That's just crazy, I think I'd notice if I was travelling with..." Suddenly he stopped, connecting the dots together. After a second he slowly turned around to the two Rogues who dropped their innocent act. Even Blurr looked away in order to avoid making eye contact.

-----

Jazz sighed deeply, hiding his head in his hands.

"... I might be too trusting sometimes..." After a second he straightened up. "Can you guess what they were tried for?"

-----

"High treason?!" Jazz shouted in disbelief.

"34th vorn of the meteor season. That was the date of our appreciation festival." The judge began.

"We celebrate it every hundred cycles to thank for the creation of our beautiful civilization. After the parade, the ruler goes to the national vault and retrieves the relic crafted by the hands of the first people of our planet - the Crown of Life. Passed from generation to generation, it brought us luck and prosperity... Until the last festival."

"According to the witnesses, a hurricane appeared out of nowhere and was quickly followed by an earthquake. As soon as they passed, those two were seen near the opened vault." The judge said, glaring at Blurr and Clobber.

"... Blurr..." Jazz said, which almost sounded like a whine. "Please tell me you didn't break into the most important vault on this planet and steal the Crown of Life while everyone was looking."

"Okay. We didn't." Blurr admitted. Jazz was about to speak again when the Rogue cut him off, facing at the floor.

"I snatched it right off the ruler's head after he got it out..." Jazz took a deep in vent, trying his best not to explode right there and then. "In retrospect, this might've not been our best idea."

"It was your idea..." Clobber frowned.

"Yeah, but you still helped me, so I can't take all the blame for myself!" Blurr retorted.

"Your Honour..." Jazz spoke again after a second. "I'm so, so sorry for what my passengers have done to you and your people. I knew absolutely nothing of this. If you only give me a chance to fix this, I'll make sure they'll return the relic to its rightful owners."

The two Rogues cringed at that offer. The whole court room began whispering among each other again, some even began shouting at the Autobot. That made Jazz even more worried.

"Yyyyyeah... About that..." Blurr hissed.

"We... kind of never took it off planet." Clobber said.

"... What?" Jazz asked, turning to them.

"I might've kind of, you know... Mocked the guards while they were chasing after us..." Blurr said, masking the tension in his voice with a chuckle. "I got distracted, my super speed took me off course a little, I tripped. One thing led to another and, uh... I..."

-----

"The kid dropped the crown into the sewers..." Jazz said with joined palms. He suddenly dropped them to his knees. "So yeah!... My negotiations unsurprisingly failed the first time."

-----

The floor of the court room opened, revealing a circular hole filled with glowing blue liquid. The two guards picked Blurr by the shoulders, walking with him towards it until he was dangling right above it.

"C-can't we just talk about it?!" Blurr squirmed in fear. "Possibly for the next few hours?! I know a guy who can make you an even better crown! A whole bunch of 'em! And he does it cheap to-!"

The two guards suddenly dropped him. Blurr let out a horrified scream before he fell inside with a splash.

As soon as he made contact with it, the liquid changed colours into white and soon a thick fog started forming on it's surface. After a few seconds the pool was lifted, revealing to everyone present a tube with frozen Blurr inside it. The young mech stiffened with a horrified expression on his face.

The guards turned around to Clobber and Jazz. The younger fembot immediately made a step back. The guards were about to grab her, when Jazz had a unexpected, adrenaline motivated idea.

"Hold on!" He shouted, making the two stop in surprise. He immediately turned to the judge and without any hesitation stated: "I think we can help you!"

-----

"If it weren't for my gift of convincing people, we would've never escaped. I've made a deal with the judge. If somehow me and Clobber found the Crown of Life and brought it back, our case would be re-examined. The three of us'd be exiled instead. Not a perfect solution and definitely not an easy one, but I'd take it any day over being turned into bot-cicles. The problem was, we had two days. They unlocked my T-cog, but most of our stuff was still confiscated. We had to find the relic with limited time, limited resources, and worst of all, my limited patience."

-----

Jazz and Clobber landed on the ground safely. The mech looked up and saw how the opening to the sewers on the ceiling was sealed. From the crates he could see a guard leaning closer for a second. They squinted and pointed at their eyes and then at his, before backing off while still making eye contact.

The first thing the two could notice was the size of the tunnels they found themselves in. They had massive proportions and looked endless. Even for the sewers, they were huge.

"Jazz..." Clobber began, glancing at Jazz who definitely didn't look like he was up for a chat. "There are no words I can use to say how sorry I am you were dragged into this."

"Don't you think it would've been better if you told me about your problems with the law before we began travelling together?" Jazz asked, speaking through gritted teeth. He was trying to surpress the urge to shout.

"I..." Clobber said, tapping her claws together. "Was going to tell you. Honest. But I was scared that you'd judge us."

"That's what you were most worried about?" Jazz barked. "How could you do this do these people?!"

"W-we had this phase when we wanted to be the most infamous thieves in the universe! It sounded like the easiest way to start!"

"Well, my congratulations. You dream came true." The Autobot sneered, then paused for a moment. "Is there something else I should know about that you forgot to mention?"

"Uuuh..."

"Clobber."

"... We're banned on seven planets." Clobber admitted.

"How many?!" Jazz gawked.

"I'm sorry!"

"How did you get banned on seven planets?!"

"I don't know! People just don't like us!"

Jazz took another deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"This is fine." He said after a second.

"Really?" Clobber asked.

"Yeah." Jazz confirmed. "All we have to do is find that crown and return it before the time passes. We can handle this."

He stated and took a few steps back from Clobber. Then, he opened his subspace and reached inside it, but his hand went deeper than expected. The fembot heard a transformation sound and then, with a grunt, Jazz pulled out a red toolbox.

"I thought they confiscated everything." Clobber said, blinking in confusion.

"Only from the surface." Jazz said, opening the toolbox. "I keep some of the stuff under hard to reach places in case of unexpected Decepticon investigations."

"That looked painful."

"The more you practice, the more you get used to it. Let's see what we're working with..." Jazz hummed.

"One solar flare, the trackers, a metal pole, and- Can you open that?" He requested, handing Clobber a small metal can. She took it and tried to open it while he picked up two blades from the toolbox and installed them into his wrists. He hid and extended them a few times to adjust them better. When he finished, he continued.

"The trackers could be used to mark the checked sectors... The flare might give us a few seconds to search the darkest areas... The pole can be used in many ways..."

"And what's this for?" Clobber asked, raising the can she opened.

"That's for me." Jazz stated, snatching it from her. "It's called stress refueling and it's very bad for you." He made a passive aggressive eye contact with her before turning around and chugging the entire can of goodies at once.

When he finished, he put the empty can back in his subspace and opened a pad on his arm which revealed a small console. He set a timer and the numbers started going down. After a second he closed it back and looked up.

"Two days. That's not a lot, so we'll have to hurry." He said, starting to walk through the tunnel. Clobber looked around to make sure they were alone and then sheepishly followed the elder mech. The two of them activated their headlines, lighting up their path.

"Make sure to look very carefully." Jazz said. "The crown might be about everywhere considering all this time it spent down here."

The two of them began their search and after some time Clobber sensed the waves on the small lake next to their path occasionally getting stronger. The fembot tried to be strong, but the sound of dripping water made her stop, turning her headlights towards the water. As soon as she did that, it went completely still. She panicked and quickened her pace, glancing over at Jazz who seemed perfectly calm.

"How come you're never scared of anything?" She asked. "We're six feet under, strange sounds are coming from everywhere, it smells, and on top of everything it's so dark!"

"We don't have time for getting scared." Jazz replied, perhaps too harshly. "Our lives are on the line."

"Right..." Clobber said, looking down. After a second Jazz considered his words and decided to add something to his reply.

"Think of positive things." He stated. "Something you like doing."

"Like what?" She asked.

"Like... treasure hunting." Jazz offered. "You like those?"

"Y-yeah." Clobber confirmed.

"Think about it as a treasure hunt. Focus on that part and I'll focus on time. How's that sound?"

"... Okay."

-----

"We've searched far and wide for the Crown of Life, but it was nowhere to be seen. I could feel Clobber slowly losing hope, but she managed to pull through. Now, I was mighty mad at both her and Blurr, still am, but at least I can appreciate her determination." Suddenly, he caught a piece of cloth that had been thrown from behind. Jazz turned around and spotted Clobber peeking at him from the inside of the storage. She immediately hid when she noticed his visor on her. 

After a second, the Autobot faced the panel again. He started cleaning himself with the given material. "Anyway, back to the story. We were slowly running out of time. At some point, we started walking in circles."

-----

Clobber and Jazz moved through the tunnel, when suddenly Jazz extended his arm, making Clobber stop. They saw a circular tracker with an Autobot insignia on it's top stuck to a wall in front of them.

"Great..." Jazz murmured. "We're getting nowhere."

"What should we do now?" Clobber asked. Jazz pulled up the timer again.

"Scrap. Only five hours left..." He murmured.

"That's... That's still a lot, right?"

"Considering how much time we spent on searching already? I'd say it's a generous take. Give me a second to think of a different strategy."

As they thought of another plan, suddenly Clobber heard a deep growl like sound which caused her to shiver. To her horror, she heard a transformation sound. She looked down to see that her arm transformed into a way too familiar laser.

Clobber couldn't help, but gasp out loud.

"What?" Jazz heard that and turned to the young Cybertronian who managed to hide her arms behind her back.

"What what?" She asked.

"You sounded like you noticed something."

"What? No, I didn't." She said, shaking her head. Jazz frowned.

"You're hiding something again."

"Me? No! No, sirie!" Clobber assured with a fake smile. She tried to transform her laser back to normal as she spoke. Something was blocking her from doing so. "No weirdness or stress-induced quirks over here!..."

"I don't know what this is about, but I'm not in the mood for any games now. If this is something important, you better tell me now when we still have some time before they give us a cold shoulder. Quite literally, may I remind you." To Blurr, Jazz's commanding tone was probably a norm by now. To Clobber, it was the most terrifying sound she had heard in a very long time. She faced the ground, partly to avoid his anticipating gaze and partly to think of a proper response.

During their confrontation, the waves on the water started picking up. They were slowly beginning to gain on force and eventually Jazz noticed them as well. When she saw that he was distracted, she looked at her hand which returned back to normal. She couldn't help, but let out a relieved sigh. Jazz slowly backed off from the pool, pulling out the hidden blades from his wrists.

After a second, the waters stilled for just a moment. Then, without any warning, a green tentacle burst out of it and shot right at the two. Jazz jumped and slashed it before it reached Clobber. It fell right back into the water, which began bubbling and a muffled screech could be heard under it.

"Go!" Jazz ordered. He and Clobber transformed and began rushing down the tunnel where they came from. It was also the first time Jazz had a chance to see Clobber's alt mode which turned out to be a small, even for a fembot Clobber's size, grey and purple hovertank.

The Autobot was leading the way while Clobber tried to keep up. Without any warning another tentacles emerged from the water and completely blocked their way out. The two of them had to stop and transform back. Just then, their hunter finally revealed itself. A huge slime like creature with tentacles, multiple black eyes and a huge maw full of sharp teeth burst out of the water. It's body was covered in armor created from scrap that was sloppily sticked together one way or another. The creature growled, raising it's injured limb which slowly recovered from the cut.

"We're gonna die!" Clobber panicked.

"Not if I can help it!" Jazz said with determination. He pulled out a flare and quickly slid it's peak across the dry floor, making it light up. He threw it behind the monster and it got distracted by it for a second, turning it's back to them.

"Come on!" Jazz said, grabbing her arm. They rushed towards the monster and jumped on it's back, holding onto it's metal armor. The beast roared, starting to wave it's tentacles around. Some of them managed to hit the two, leaving a trail of green glowing slime on their frames. Then, it started spinning around, trying to throw them off balance.

Jazz and Clobber braced themselves and hanged on in order not to fall off. In the madness of all of this, something caught Clobber's attention. She narrowed her optic, looking up. The first thing she noticed was a faint glow coming from the beast's junk armor. The Rogue decided to start climbing until she found herself in the front of a red jewel burried under the melted metal. She gasped, recognising it immediately.

"Jazz!" She shouted. "I found it! I found the crown!"

Jazz had to take a moment to process her words. Then, he quickly climber to her, ducking in order to avoid getting hit again.

"Are you sure?" He asked, just to make sure.

"Yes! It had a big red jewel on top!" She said, pointing at the gem. Suddenly the creature made a sharp forward motion. Before the two could react, it dived deep into the water.

The place turned out to be much bigger at the bottom where no walls were blocking the open pool of water. The creature made a few barrerls, taking sharp turns every now and then. Jazz felt like he was losing his grip, but after a second felt Clobber's claw pressing against his back, preventing him from slipping.

After a few minutes, the creature jumped out of the water again, landing on it's surface and rushing back and forth from one tunnel to another at full speed. Meanwhile, Jazz tried to cut the hole around the crown with his blades, but the metal surface didn't even bulge.

"Why isn't this working?!" Clobber asked.

"The metal is too thick! If I use any more force, I might damage the crown!"

"Isn't there another way to do it?!"

"If I had something to melt the metal with, we'd get it out way sooner!" He groaned, hiding his blades inside of his wrists. "I knew selling my blaster was a bad idea!"

This made Clobber pause as she looked down at the crown. She stared at it for some time before her gaze wandered on her arm.

"Jazz..." She said after a second. "I know me and Blurr messed up real bad today!..."

Jazz felt the bumping getting more intense. Even with Clobber's support it was getting harder to hold on.

"Spit it out, kid! We ain't got time!" He hurried.

"I think I have an idea, b-but I don't know if I should! The last time I used it caused a disaster, and... I just don't want you to freak out, okay?"

"Any ideas sound great right about now!" Jazz said. "Just do it!"

"Okay!..." Clobber said, taking an invent. She knew she shouldn't, but it seemed to be the easiest way out. She just hoped she wouldn't cause any more trouble than she already had.

Without any warning she transformed her arm into a laser, completely catching Jazz off guard.

"Can you use this?" She asked, raising it to him. Jazz couldn't help, but stare at it for a second before returning to reality and carefully grabbing it with a nod.

The beast started getting tired. It's pace seemed to slow down, but it wasn't giving up. Jazz used Clobber's laser to melt the metal around the crown, making sure it wouldn't touch the relic itself. The task wasn't the easiest during their bumpy ride, but Jazz was doing it with nearly perfect precision. Another tentacles were coming their way and Clobber waved her free arm to swat them away, while avoiding moving too much.

"I got it!" At last, Jazz cheered, letting go off Clobber's arm and grabbing the crown which he freed from the creature's back. It's surface was still covered in junk, but they would deal with that later. The two Cybertronians jumped off the beast's armor and landed on the ground. The creature noticed that and turned to them, opening it's maw. A heat started radiating from it and it soon spat out a ball of fire towards them. They avoided it and transformed, speeding back to the exit.

When they turned around the corner, Jazz suddenly stopped Clobber and threw metal pole in front of him into the water. The splashing sound attracted the beast and it dived after it, while Jazz and Clobber froze, not muttering a single sound. After making sure that it wasn't coming back, Jazz let her go.

"That was close." Clobber sighed.

"Tell me about it." He said, removing the metal pieces off the crown. He gave it a look to make sure it wasn't damaged before hiding it inside of his subspace, looking at the watch. "And we still have four hours left."

"We did it!" Clobber cheered, throwing her hands in the air. Suddenly she remembered that the laser was still there. She tried transforming it back, but it was stuck.

"No! Not again!" She groaned, shaking her arm up and down. That made Jazz step back a bit.

"Clobber?"

"I'm sorry! This is not supposed to happen!" Clobber shouted, shaking her arm more violently and trying to return it back to normal. After a second Jazz decided that he couldn't watch anymore and grabbed it with both of his hands.

"Clobber. Look at me." He said calmly. "Don't try to force the transformation back. It won't do any good."

Clobber was still panicking, but his words seemed to get to her. She completely ceased moving.

"Good. Now close your optic and count to ten. Don't think about the laser. Don't think about anything at all."

Clobber was confused by that, but she did as she was told. Her optic was closed shut and she started muttering numbers under her breath. As soon as she got to five, she heard a sound of transformation. It lasted a few seconds and then she looked back at her hand, seeing her claw. She immediately widened her optic at that.

"How did you know?" She asked, turning to Jazz.

"It's an exercise some young Cybertronians have to practice in order to fully control their shifting gears." Jazz explained, then smiled. "Keep doing that and it'll get easier soon enough."

"... That's it?" She asked, sounding both disappointed and angry.

"Were you expecting something harder?" Jazz asked.

"Yes! I was hiding it for a reason! Rocks, I'm such an idiot!" She said, facepalming. Jazz thought for a moment before saying:

"You... weren't instructed how to deal with these kinds of things, were you?" He asked. Clobber shook her head, avoiding eye-contact.

"... If you had any more questions, I'll make sure to answer them." Jazz promised.

"Really?" She asked. "You're not mad that I kept it a secret?"

"Kid, you committed treason against an entire planet. This at least I can understand." He stated, letting go off her and heading towards the exit. Clobber had to take a moment to process everything that had happened. Then, a big hopeful smile appeared on her face as she followed him to the exit.

-----

"Thankfully, there were no more complications on the way back. We transported the crown, they returned our everythings and we went our separate ways. Right now, I'm speaking from the inside of my ship. We're dirty, exhausted, but still alive. A quick rest and a shower and we'll be good to continue our mission. Log, end." He pushed the button and the recording ended. Just then, Clobber walked in, already clean. She was holding the Blurr tube over her shoulder.

"We should finally unfreeze him." She said, placing it on the ground.

"We should." Jazz said, turning on the auto pilot and then turning to her with a grin. "But I'd leave him like that for a few more hours. Safety measures and such."

"That's fair." Clobber shrugged. She returned to the seat by her window and waited for the take off while Jazz turned to the front of the ship.

Without a warning, the Rogue heard a soft bonk behind her and turned around to see Jazz's face pressing against the panel. She panicked a little and rushed to the mech, trying to figure out what was wrong. She looked at his arm where a message popped out, stating that the mech was just out of energy.

Clobber stepped back and looked behind her, glancing at the broken stasis pod on the other side of her ship. She felt her claw clenching and unclenching as she wondered something. Then, she smiled and nodded to herself. After a second Clobber walked to the pad and started repairing it as best as she could. After some time Clobber returned to him scooped him up. The pod wasn't at it's best state, but it could be used again. The glass window was completely removed and Clobber had no problem placing Jazz inside it. A yellow light inside of the pod turned on, signalling that the mech was plugged in.

The Rogue couldn't help, but feel extremely proud of herself. She turned around and headed back to the window as the autopilot was running the ship, and Jazz was peacefully resting, at last.

Chapter Text

There was a loud commotion inside of the ship.

Jazz looked away from the lake he was in the middle of taking water from and turned around.

"One more time!" Blurr shouted, beating the inside of his palm. Clobber was standing on the bridge, holding a piece of metal she formed into a ball. The bigger Rouge put one foot before herself and second behind, then threw her arm back. Using all her power, she threw the ball towards him. Seeing that, Blurr ducked and braced himself. He waited for the right opportunity and then jumped and caught it with both of his hands. The impact immediately pushed him away. The mech screamed, landing on the wall which bended with his weight.

Blurr fell on the ground, his world began spinning.

"Are you okay?" Clobber asked.

"Woo!" Blurr cheered, jumping back on his feet and dizzily swirling around. "That was your most powerful throw yet!"

He attempted to make a step forward, but accidentally tripped over his feet and stumbled back. Just then, Jazz returned abroad the ship. Before he fully stepped in, Blurr bumped into him. The bucket in the elder mech's hands slipped and all of it's content splashed all over him, making him groan.

"Blurr!" He cried at Blurr, who was holding his shoulder for support. After a second, his gaze wandered to the side and he gasped upon seeing the huge dent in his wall.

"Are you two actually trying to destroy my ship?" He asked.

"Nah, we're just playing catch!" Clobber said cheerfully.

"I caught one throw so far!" Blurr said, raising the ball in the air.

"That's still six to one, loser!" Clobber chuckled.

"Six?" Jazz asked in worry. He turned his head more and saw six ball sized holes next to the dent. The mech couldn't help, but drop his arms in defeat. Eventually Blurr regainied his balance and let go off him.

"So, what's with the bucket?" He asked, noticing the object in question laying on the floor.

"Well, before you oh so brutally interrupted me, I was in the middle of cooling the engine." Jazz said, picking up the bucket. "We've been flying for a long time now and I need to make sure everything is running smoothly before we go any further. In the meantime, I highly recommend moving with whatever your mind comes up with next outside."

"The ball would fly away." Clobber stated.

"It always does when she's throwing." Blurr added. Jazz sighed deeply. Not wanting to waste his breath any further, he walked to his pilot seat and sat on it. He turned on the panel and pulled up the ship's console.

"Computer, begin scan." He ordered.

"Processing..." The machine said, and a loading bar appeared on the screen. Jazz was about to stand up, when he noticed something else; A familiar metal bar was laying on the console and not in the place he put it on the last time he saw it. The Autobot picked it up and unfolded it into a holographic board on which he had written down his rules.

"What is this?" Jazz asked, walking up to the two with a smaller version of the board in his hand. It's screen was completely covered in colourful scribbles and doodles.

"Oh, that?" Blurr pointed, grinning. "Since you decided to make your wish list, we did one ourselves! That way, all of us can respect each other's demands at the same time!"

"You used my board to write on and erased mine." Jazz said.

"There was too little room! What else were we supposed to do?" The younger Cybertronian asked.

"Look, we even decorated it!" Clobber started pointing at the pictures. "This is Blurr, this is me, oh, and you're there, too!" She gestured at a messy doodle of pouting Jazz on the bottom of the board. Jazz couldn't help, but pout in a similiar fashion at that.

"Anyway, where were we?..." Blurr asked.

"I remember. Think fast!" Clobber shouted and threw the ball. It passed Blurr and Jazz, hitting the wall and getting stuck in it.

"... Whoops." She said, covering her mouth with her claws.

"... You know what? I changed my mind, the outside sounds swell! You do you, coach!" Blurr grinned nervously, patting Jazz on the back. He used his super speed to escape from the ship and Clobber ran after him, leaving Jazz behind.

The Autobot pressed his fingers against his visor and quickly counted to ten. He finished with a deep breath and could carry on. He decided to forget about the situation and return to his seat.

As soon as he sat down, he heard a ping and looked at the screen.

"Scanning complete." The computer announced and then showed the results of the entire process. Everything seemed normal, but there was one area flagged with a red zone warning.

"Unstable energy flow? Could've sworn I checked it not that long ago..." Jazz hummed. "Looks like it's going to take a while after all."

The Autobot leaned down and pushed a button, which revealed a secret stash under the panel. He shuffled inside for a while, before he understood something worrying. The stash was empty. After a second the Autobot opened it fully and confirmed that there was absolutely nothing in it.

"Oh, for the love of... Blurr! Clobber!" He called after a second. The two Rogues came to the bridge, pushing one another on their way to get there first. Soon they stopped before their pilot, who rose from his seat and crossed his arms.

"Where's my MP3?" He asked, giving them a stern look.

"What MP3?" Blurr shrugged.

"The one I put in my stash." Jazz said, gesturing. Despite being clearly upset, he kept his voice calm. "We're the only bots around. Someone had to take it and that surely wasn't me."

"Maybe you just misplaced it?" Clobber suggested.

"Yeah. We didn't know you had a MP3 until now." Blurr defended.

"There are many mistakes I'm capable of making, but misplacing my sweet tunes generator is not one of them." Jazz said. After a second, his gaze lost its sharpness and he unfolded one of his arms. "Come on, kids, I need music to focus. I'm not mad, I just want it back."

"I wish I could help you..." Clobber said apologetically. "But I really don't know where it is."

"Same here." Blurr said, raising his arms in defense. "Innocent this time."

Jazz didn't seem to like this answer.

"Alright. I guess we're doing this the hard way, then. I'm going out for a small break. By the time I return, I want to see my MP3 back in the stash. Exactly where it's supposed to be. I won't ask any more questions and won't look for the suspects. The case will be closed as soon as it's back."

"But-!"

"Otherwise, we're going to have a big problem around here." Blurr tried to speak, but Jazz was ahead of him. "Is that clear?"

The two of them went silent.

"Good." Jazz walked past them, leaving the two by themselves. As soon as he left the ship, Blurr turned to his partner.

"Okay, Clob. The gig is up. Where is it?"

"What is?" She asked.

"The MP3. I promise, I won't tell a soul."

"I didn't take it! How should I know you didn't steal it?"

"Uh, because I didn't? Besides, technological stuff is your thing."

"Well you may have thought it was shiny!"

Blurr gasped dramatically.

"Are you accusing me?"

"You accused me first! How's that fair?"

"Okay, fine. Neither of us took it." Blurr said. "But if it weren't us, where is it?..."

As they were wondering, the two heard a small commotion out of the sudden.

"Jazz?" Clobber asked, looking for the mech. To her confusion, he was nowhere to be seen. The sound was followed by another, smiliar one; The Rogues managed to pitpoint that it came from the storage.

Not thinking about it much, the two of them slowly approached it and peeked inside. The lights took some time to turn on, but once they did, they were met with nothing. Everything seemed to be perfectly fine. The only thing that was somewhat out of the norm was Jazz's racing trophy lying on the ground before the shelf it was usually standing on.

"Ah. The usual suspect: Gravity..." Blurr chuckled. He decided to step closer and pick it up.

"Seriously, Jazz should get a new shelf. It's going to collapse one fateful day." He commented, placing the trophy back on it's place. Just then, Clobber felt a strange sensation on the back of her neck. She squeaked, immediately jumping away.

"Whoah, what's the emergency?" The mech asked, turning back to her.

"I- I don't know." Clobber said. "I just felt something!"

"Felt what?" Blurr asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Like a really strange wind." Clobber explained. "It came out of nowhere and it was very cold!"

"You mean like a ghost?" Blurr asked, making her deadpan.

"That wasn't a ghost." She said with full confidence.

"And how do you know that?!" The blue Cybertronian demanded, stubbornly pointing at her.

"For the last time, ghosts aren't real!"

"That's not what the nice guy from the garage sale three years ago said! You didn't even let me buy his book!"

"He was trying to scam you!" She yelled, throwing her arms in the air. Suddenly they heard a loud clank and they paused, looking back at the shelf. The trophy had vanished completely, leaving an empty space on the shelf.

"What the-?" Clobber said before they both heard a low grumbling sound; It made them freeze in fear. Things didn't get any better once it ceased, because the shelf shook and after a second started falling over.

The two Rogues jumped out of the way and it collided with the ground, making a terrifyingly loud metallic thud. Both of them screamed and without wasting any time retreated out of the room and then from the ship altogether.

"I told you the ghosts were real!" Blurr shouted.

"There has to be some kind of logical explanation for this." The fembot insisted.

"Logical-shlogical! The ghost tricked Jazz into thinking we stole his stupid music box! We have to prove our innocence!" He said, smashing his fist into his palm.

"How?" Clobber asked.

"According to all the tottally legit paranormal documentaries I've seen, we're gonna need a tangible proof. It's time to combine our greatest tracking skills and investigate!" Blurr said with confidence, puffing out his chest and bravely facing the ship.

"I doubt we'll actually find anything, but whatever makes you happy, partner." Clobber said, standing in the background.

The Rogues slowly moved back to the ship, holding two branches. They looked around the entire place, trying to spot the impostor. They entered the storage where they last saw any signs and as soon as they entered, the lights began to flicker.

They turned back to back to each other, keeping their guard up. They waited a few minutes in tension, but nothing seemed to happen. They eventually calmed, dropping the branches.

"Okay, here's the plan." Blurr whispered. "We're gonna make a trap. Whatever is haunting us seems to like shiny things, so we're going to gather as many of them in one place as possible."

"And where are we going to find enough of that?" Clobber asked.

"We'll figure something out." Blurr assured.

-----

After some time the Rogues gathered all of Jazz's belongings in a pile in front of the bridge. In the meantime, they hid in the storage, peeking and waiting for something to happen.

"Now what?" Clobber whispered.

"Now, we wait." Blurr instructed. "As soon as the pile moves, we're gonna take a picture! I knew that ultra blue filter was a good investement! Once we get our proof, Jazz will beg us to forgive him for ever doubting our honesty!"

"... How will a ghost be caught on a camera if it doesn't have a body?" Clobber asked. Blurr shushed her and made both of them hide.

After a few minutes, they began hearing that same rumbling sound again. It was faint, at first, but with time it began slowly rising; A hardly ever a good sign.

"Remember to turn off the flash." Blurr reminded. Clobber rolled her eye, but listened and opened her arm, disabling the flash on her console.

The the pile was completely still for a long time, but eventually something began happening. The flashlight that decorated it's tip gently twitched. Nothing else was happening for a while, but eventually another movement came. Surprisingly enough, a couple of objects slowly rose from their place and began levitating.

The Rogues prepared themselves and quickly took a picture. Clobber did it very unnoticably, but Blurr's side of the helm flashed as it snapped a photo. The objects made one drastic motion at that, realising that it was being watched.

"Are you kidding me?!" Blurr groaned. "Automatic setting my shiny metal-"

Before he finished his complaint, the grumbling sound turned into an ear-piercing shriek. The objects from the pile fell on the ground and the target disappeared out of sight. Clobber panicked and transformed her arm into a laser.

"Where did it go?!" She asked, pointing it at all directions. Without any warning Blurr was tackled and pushed on his back; Some strong impact on his chest prevented him from getting back up. After a second he heard the same screech, now much more closer, and he could feel the heat of the impostor's breath on his face.

"It's on me! Clobber, it's on me!" He cried at the top of his vocaliser. His partner didn't waste any time and tried to get whatever attacked Blurr off of him. She managed to get a hold on something and lifted it up. It growled dangerously as she did, struggling in her grasp. Clobber tried to keep it still, but failed and soon she felt sharp pain on her arms and back. She let out a shout, but kept holding it tightly.

"Whatever you do, don't let it go!" Blurr said, standing up.

"I'm trying!" She spoke through gritted teeth. The blue mech run up to the pile and began searching through it. Eventually he held out a stick before himself. It automatically transformed in his hand into a fighting staff.

Clobber fought with the air to stop it from scratching her, it was getting presumably more challenging with each second.

"Hiyaaah!" Blurr shouted, raising the staff above his head. With a swift swing, he hit Clobber in the left shoulder. She cried out.

"My bad!" He said. He took a second swing and this time managed to hit their opponent, which let out a pained shriek. Noticing that it was distracted, Clobber got a firm grip on it and threw it off herself.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it, now!" Blurr shouted, shaking her by the arm. She rose her weapon and fired a laser at the ground. The 'ghost' roared and soon the two of them saw claw marks on the wall. Clobber followed them and tried to blast the intruder off of it. It avoided and continued jumping around.

Just when things couldn't get worse, Jazz stepped inside of the ship. He was suddenly forced to stop, when a string of a laser shot right in front of him, raising his guard to it's fullness. After a second he noticed Clobber randomly blasting her weapon around the entire ship.

"Stop it!" He quickly ran up to her and grabbed her arm, trying to stop her.

"Jazz!" The two Rogues turned their attention at him and Clobber transformed her arm back.

"What in the name of all thirteen Primes do you think you're doing?!" The Autobot barked. He took a look around, seeing nothing but destruction around himself. The ship looked like a complete battlefield.

"Thank Nova you're here! You won't believe this!" Blurr said. "A ghost stole your MP3!"

"... What?" Jazz asked. He sounded almost hysterical.

"We don't know what it is, but there's something on the ship!" Clobber clarified.

"We set a trap and it fell in it! It's still here, right next to that-..." As soon as he turned around to point at the pile, he noticed that it was gone. "... Uh oh."

"It stole the rest of your stuff!" Clobber continued. Jazz couldn't help, but massage the bags under his eyes with his two fingers.

"I swear, we almost had it!" She continued.

"It's very dangerous, but now that you're here, I'm sure we'll be able to catch it!-"

"Stop..." Jazz suddenly cut him off, pleading.

"We can't stop now!" Blurr stated. "We're so close to solving this mystery! If we give up now, we'll never get your stuff back and-"

"I said stop!" Jazz shouted. His voice suddenly became terrifyingly angry, catching the two off guard. "When I asked if you wanted to destroy the ship, it wasn't supposed to be an invitation!"

"Wh- Oh! Oh no!" Clobber tried to defend. "This weren't us, it was the-"

"Ghost, right?" Jazz's voice broke as a strained smile spread on his face. He couldn't hold it for long. "No, I can't. I can't do this anymore- I tried so hard not to lose it, but you just don't care, do you?"

"... What?" Clobber asked.

"All I asked was to return my MP3, the only thing that keeps me sane whenever the two of you do something that puts us in danger! I know you don't respect me, but I thought at least you wouldn't treat me like an idiot!"

"B-but..." Blurr started.

"Jazz, you've got it all wrong!" Clobber tried to calm things, but failed. "We don't think like that, we-!"

"Oh, you don't? Then what's up with all the mocking?" The Autobot counted. "Stealing my stuff, destroying my ship, almost getting me killed on a daily basis, going against my rules on purpose? I thought you'd at least have some common sense to take accountability, but apparently I failed so miserably in your eyes, you don't think I deserve even a decent lie!"

"That's not true!"

"We-"

Jazz rose his hand to shut them up, pinching his nose under his visor as he let out a shaky sigh. That outburst really seemed to take a lot of energy out of him.

"I'm going to clean this mess now, and better for the two of you to get out of my sight before I do something we're all gonna regret later."

"But what about your MP3?" Blurr dared to ask.

"Get out!" Jazz roared, too upset to control his tone.

-----

The two Rogues stepped out of the ship as soon as possible and the doors closed behind them. They took some time to recover from their shock, going silent.

"...Wow. " Blurr started after a second. "Did not see that coming."

"I've never seen him like this before." Clobber replied sadly.

"Me neither. He must've really liked that MP3."

After a second the two of them faced the ship, the bumps from the morning were visble even from the outside.

"Great. Jazz is mad at us and that invisible freak is still in there!" Blurr said. "Just what does it think it is! It lives on the ship rent free, takes what it think belongs to it, makes a mess," As he spoke, Clobber had a bit of a self reflection moment. She joined her claws together and looked down, deep in thought. "it makes this journey a nightmare! It acts just like!... Like!..."

"Like... us?" Clobber asked, gaining Blurr's attention.

"What? No! I was looking for some annoying parasite name!"

"That sounds a lot like us..."

"... No. Nuh uh. You're not gonna do this to me, you hear me?" Blurr said, tip-toeing to reach his friend's face. He still missed a few inches, but it was close enough. "This mess is not our fault!"

"Earlier today, we made all these dents in the wall and spilled a bucket on Jazz..."

"Okay, I can see your point, but we were just having a little fun! Nothing wrong with that!"

"Then why do I feel so horrible now?"

That single question completely shut Blurr up. The mech glanced at the ground, seeming to go through a self reflection of his own.

"... Why does it feel so horrible now?" He said after a second, squinting.

"Do you think it's... regret?"

"No! No, it can't be!... Can it?"

Clobber hung her head sadly. However, as soon as she looked up, she noticed something neither had seen before. She glanced past her friend, right at a dark dot on the side of the ship.

"Look!" She said, pointing behind him. The blue mech turned around, noticing the same thing. They decided to step closer and investigate.

"What is that?" He asked, placing his hand on the ship's surface. He couldn't reach the hole, because it was above him.

"It looks like a hole." She said.

"Yeah, I know what a hole looks like. I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be here."

Suddenly both of them picked up some rhytmic vibrations inside that made them freeze. Blurr shushed and leaned in, turning up his hearing. Soon he recognised the sound as snoring. That made him gasp.

"What?" Clobber asked.

"Something's inside!" He stated. "And I'll give you three guesses what it could possibly be!"

Blurr quickly scanned the hole, calculating if it was big enough for him to fit in. After a second he turned to Clobber and pointed up. She nodded and leaned down, placing her hands on the ground. Blurr used them as a lift and after a second bounced inside. He landed in the vents, pulling the rest of his body that didn't fit at the first try in.

After some time Blurr started crawling through the tunnel. The more he went deeper into it, the more dark it was becoming and more open cables he saw on his way. He had to be extra careful with them.

After some time he found himself in what he assumed was the ship's energy source chamber. It was a small room with a stand on it's centre; There was a large Energon ore placed on it. He looked closer and noticed that all of the cables were connected to it.

Blurr left the vent, but he still had to shrink in order to be able to move around the room. He lowered his upper body and then began exploring the place.

On his way he watched his steps, not to damage the cables and, in result, the ship itself. After some time, he heard the snoring again. It was coming from the corner of the chamber. Blurr decided that that was the place where he wanted to go next.

After he got close enough, he stopped. He saw all of the lost objects piled up in a formation some would call a nest. The rhytmic sounds, however, weren't coming from it. Blurr looked around and after a second his eyes widened. There was some kind of large creature curled up in the cables. It was brown with orange accents, had six legs and resembled a lizard of some sort. It was quite large, even for Cybertronian standards.

Blurr slowly moved to the pile, making sure it was still asleep, and began picking up the items. The creature suddenly sneezed, making him jump and glance back at it. Thankfully it was all it did, before dropping it's head on the other side and going back to it's nap. Blurr loosened up, feeling the relief wash over him.

After a few minutes he managed to take one third of the pile and secure it's content in his subspace. He turned around to leave, when he noticed something that made oil in his lines freeze. The creature was gone.

"Well, slag." Blurr murmured. Suddenly he heard a low growl behind him and his eyes widened again.

-----

Jazz was sitting on the floor, head hidden in his arms, when suddenly he heard a loud scream inside of the ceiling. Alarmed, he immediately looked up.

"Blurr?!" Clobber called in concern, still outside of the ship.

"What is going on out there?!" Jazz shouted. Without any warning a part of the ceiling collapsed and Blurr fell down, hitting the ground. The startled Autobot took a step back.

After a second, Blurr jumped back on his feet and ran up to Jazz.

"We have to run, I think I made it mad!" He said, grabbing him by the arm.

"What?" The elder Cybertronian asked in confusion. Suddenly Blurr was blown away by a powerful force and landed on the already bended wall. That was enough to alarm Jazz and make him take a battle stance. The two of them heard a loud roar and in the ship's floor appeared a trail of clawed marks. It was coming right towards the Autobot.

Jazz sensed two swipes made his way, which he skilfully dodged, but couldn't detect the rest. The beast reached him when his guard was lowered and scratched his shoulder pad. The mech couldn't help, but let out a pained groan.

Just then Clobber finally stepped into the ship, she was holding a huge ball of orange leaves in her arms.

"Eat this, ghost!" She yelled, before throwing it. The ball hit the creature in the back, making it hiss. The leaves scattered all around it's body, making it visible to the eye.

The Cybertronians finally had their chance. Blurr used superspeed to circle the beast. Judging by the movements of the leaves, it was trying to follow him, but was way too slow for him. Meanwhile Clobber run up to them. As soon as she got close enough, Blurr stopped running and cleared a way for her. She quickly grabbed the beast and threw it over her shoulder.

The beast roared, rolling through the entrance and outside of the ship. It fell on the grass, but immediately stood back up. That's when a small sonic wave blasted before it, making it back off. Jazz was standing before the entrance, holding out his arm, which transformed into a blaster.

It tried to retreat back to the ship, but the Autobot shot again. The beam landed a bit further from it, but it did manage to scare it off. Seeing that it wouldn't win this battle, the beast growled, but then retreated back into the forest; It shook off the leaves from it's back and disappeared.

Jazz took some time to calm himself and then transformed his hand back to normal.

"I've got it!" Suddenly, he heard Blurr's voice and he turned around. The blue mech was peeking out of the hole in the ceiling, holding out a shiny metal box with two earphones on the sides. He was grinning triumphantly.

-----

The three of them stood before the computer, checking the database of all possible wildlife this planet had to offer.

"There!" Blurr said, pointing at the screen and making Jazz stop scrolling. The same creature they had faced appeared on it along with it's description.

"Velgrox." Jazz read. "A creature native to this planet. It uses highly developed camouflage to avoid any predators while building a nest. Due to it's territorial nature, it's considered highly dangerous, especially with it's infamous metal-cutting claws."

"Told you there had to be a logical explanation." Clobber said, giving Blurr a smug grin.

"If that thing cut one of the cables, the ship'd be a goner. You've... actually solved a very serious problem..." Jazz trailed off.

"No need to thank us, we accept cash and credit only!" Blurr stated. Clobber frowned and immediately elbowed him. He glared at her, before sighing. "Kidding."

After a second, Jazz closed the computer and turned to the two.

"I owe you two an apology." He said, sounding geniuent. "I should've listened to you in the first place. This could've played out a lot worse and who knows for how long we'd be stuck down here."

Blurr and Clobber appeared to be surprised by that apology. After a second their guilt returned to them and they slightly looked away to avoid eye contact.

"Hey, you know what they say." Blurr stated. "All forgiven, and forgotten."

"I'll make it up to you once we set off. For now, I suggest you find some cozy place. This is going to take some time."

After he said that he walked past them, leaving the two by themselves. They looked back at him, seeing him pulling out a welder from his subspace and trying to reach the ceiling. Blurr and Clobber exchanged a look and then nodded to each other.

"You wanna do all the repairs by yourself in that state?" Blurr walked up to him and grabbed him by the arm, showing him the scratch marks.

"What? A literal scratch?" Jazz asked, not entirely understanding what the other meant.

"Yeah! It's a real safety hazard. Fine, I guess I have to help you out!..." Blurr said, pretending to be annoyed.

"Me too!" Clobber volunteered. She walked up to them and without any warning picked both of them up, placing them on her shoulders so they could reach it better.

"... Okay?" Jazz said, but decided to go with it. Blurr helped the elder mech patch up the ceiling with his own welder.

"You know, I've been thinking. Maybe those rules of yours wouldn't be too bad from time to time. We could actually look through them... in some far, unspecified future." Blurr said.

"Man, was I really that mean earlier?" Jazz asked, genuienly concerned. 

"What? You think I'm too dumb to have a moment of self-reflection all by myself? I've got my reasons!" The youngling defended. "Completely unrelated to you!"

"My reasons are semi-related." Clobber stated. "I'm sorry we were acting that way."

Jazz wasn't sure what to think of that, but he couldn't bring himself to complain at the moment while they had repairs to do.

"Does that mean you'll stop throwing things around my ship from now on?" The captain asked after a second.

"We'll think about it." Blurr teased.

Chapter Text

The universe, despite what some may believe, is a rather calm place. Between the spinning planets and stars drifting aimlessly through the fabric of space, there is a sense of unspoken harmony. It creates a sense of peace, which is hard to disturb unless someone was really trying to do so.

Today seemed just like one those days.

Somewhere in the middle of a distant galaxy, Jazz's ship was stationing right above a long heat trail surrounded by meteors. It's captain and his passengers, for some odd reason, were sitting on it's roof.

"This is the last time I'm falling for your manipulation." Jazz said, polishing a shiny metal board on his lap.

"All I said was that the Autobots seemed kind of boring, you told us to get on the roof. Just admit you like a challenge." Blurr said, giving the elder mech a smug grin. He and Clobber were busy preparing boards of their own as well.

"Are you really sure this is safe?" Clobber asked for what seemed to be the hundreth time.

"Meteor surfing? Of course!" Jazz claimed. "It's basically our signature sport! You're not an Autobot if you didn't hop on the board at least once!"

After some time they finished and stood up.

"Before we dive in, we're setting a few ground rules." Jazz said, facing them. "This is not a race, I'll lead the way and you'll do exactly as I say. No shoving, no fighting and no showing off. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Jazz." The Rogues said in unison, Blurr crossed his arms, while Clobber saluted. The Autobot continued by placing his board on the ground. As if on command, it's sides lit up with blue lights, signaling that it was activated. Then, he stepped on it and after a second it began levitating.

"Place your boards on the ground to activate them. Don't throw them, you might damage them."

"Yeah, yeah we hear you." Blurr said, placing the device before him. Clobber smiled and followed.

"Now, hop on. One feet should be on the opposite side of the other. Like this." He said, placing one foot before the other, taking his position. They followed his instruction and jumped on their boards. They started rising all of the sudden and they got startled just for a second, before trying to catch their balance. While Jazz made this look so easy, they definitely need some time to adjust. Eventually they got used to it and straightened up, both looking very proud of themselves.

"Okay. Now we're getting to the really fun part..." Seeing that they were ready, he drifted towards them and grabbed them by their arms. "Practice!"

After a second he moved his desk, bringing them all the way down from the rooftop and right on the heat trail. The captain steered them towards it and then let go.

As soon as he did, two ropes of bright energy emerged from the Rogue's desks and connected their legs to them. Clobber and Blurr couldn't help, but yelp in surprise.

"Easy, it's just safety protocols." Jazz explained. Picking up a pace they could follow, the Autobot took the lead. Blurr and Clobber attempted to move, but soon they encountered their first problem. The blue Cybertronian's desk was too wobbly and he tripped face first on the metal surface. Clobber had definitely less trouble with balance, but only because she spread her arms to her sides and very slowly moved forward.

"Am I doing this right?" She asked innocently.

"... Maybe I should demonstrate." Jazz thought out loud, then he turned foward and without any warning sped up.

The Autobot zoomed across the trail and made a few barrels while flying between the meteors. At some point a big asteroid blocking his way came up to the view and he decided to have some fun.

With an impressive cartwheel, Jazz bounced off the rock, while his board flew under it with a spin. He ended his little spectacle with a backflip, safely returning back on his board. As soon as he was on it, he couldn't stop himself from giving a theatrical bow.

The two young Cybertronians were a bit annoyed by Jazz breaking his own rules, but weren't about to stay behind. Clobber quickly figured out how to speed up and soon picked up the pace.

"Good job, Clobber!" Jazz complimented as she zoomed past him. The Autobot noticed Blurr staying behind and moved towards him. The younger mech stayed on his fours, waving his arm on the side of the board to move forward.

"Need some help?" The Autobot asked.

"Who, me?" Blurr chuckled bravely. "Nah, I'm just giving you guys a head's up! The fastest bot in the galaxy, remember?"

Jazz rose an optical ridge, but then shrugged. "Okay. Take your time." He said and returned to Clobber.

Blurr stood up and tried to keep his balance, but he still had trouble just staying on board.

Meanwhile Clobber seemed to be doing better. The fembot began spinning around on her board, sending meteors around herself fly to the sides.

"Look, Jazz! I'm doing it!" She cheered.

"See? You're a natural!" Jazz complimented.

Back to Blurr, he not only had to deal with staying behind, the incoming meteors kept sending him off course. He was getting beyond frustrated.

"Come on you stupid board, go faster!" He murmured. When he looked up, he saw Jazz and Clobber flying between meteors together, having fun without him. He decided that he'd had enough.

"I said, faster!" Blurr shouted as his frame shone with bright blue light. He jumped off his board and landed on one of the bigger meteorites coming his way. He began bouncing off of the asteroids with his super speed, leaving a trail of energy behind him. At that rate, he had no problem reaching Jazz and Clobber.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Clobber said, noticing her partner's blurry form speeding by.

"Last one at the end is space debris!" Blurr shouted, jumping from one asteroid to another. Suddenly, he zoomed in front of Clobber's board, startling her and making her lose her balance. She went off course and collided with Jazz, taking him with her.

Blurr was so wrapped up in his own meteor jumping that he didn't notice that. He just kept going, until he tried to jump on another one. He was just about to make it to the other way, but missed the rock just a few inches. Thankfully there was another one right near him, but he accidentally penetrated and destroying a few others which were on his way.

"Kid, this is getting out of hand!" Jazz said, following the blue trail of energy with his gaze as it bounced around.

"Blurr, stop!" Clobber begged.

"What was that?" Blurr asked in the distance. "Hold on, I'll get closer so I can hear better!"

"Nonononono-!" They both protested, but it was too late. Blurr attempted to jump on the asteroid next to them, but he couldn't quite coordinate his landing. When he realised that and tried to stop, it was too late. He crashed against Jazz and Clobber. All three of them were blown out of the heat trail by the impact, screaming for their dear lives.

-----

"Ow. Ow. Ow." After getting out of their less than fortunate situation, the three Cybertronians returned to the ship and found the nearest planet available. There, they began patching each other up. While Clobber was more than capable of treating herself, Jazz was tending to Blurr's injuries, causing him to flinch. "Owowowow! Quit it!"

"What in the world were you thinking?" Jazz frowned. "You could've killed us!"

"But I didn't, okay?" Blurr said, hissing as Jazz put a welder on his open wound. "Look, I'm sorry. I got too excited, that's on me."

Clobber was just finishing cleaning herself from the star dust. "Look on the bright side," She started, trying to pass the towel to her friend. "We've got some new meteor bits for my collection!"

"Yes, what a hoot." Blurr rolled his eyes, snatching the towel off her claw. After some time Jazz finished repairs and stepped back. Blurr returned on his feet and stretched.

"Are you sure everything is alright in there?" The Autobot asked.

"You tell me, you were the one patching me up." Blurr said.

"That's not what I meant." Jazz clarified. "This isn't the first time your speed caused us trouble."

"Oh, gimmie a break! When was that ever the case?" Blurr challenged.

"Okay... How about that time in the big city?" Jazz started counting on his fingers, recalling their stop at a city occupied by smaller robots. Blurr made a bet with a street kid that he'd race around the city in less than five minutes. He ended up destroying a local fountain and the citizens made all three of them clean it up.

"Or that time on the desert planet?" He continued, recalling an event that occured a few days ago. They stopped to ask for directions the nearest seller of traveling animals. Blurr wanted to stretch his wheels and drove with with his super speed too close to the animals, scaring them off and causing a stampede.

"Not to even mention our stop at the beach asteroid." Jazz counted, expression souring at the last memory. There was a really nice day on the planet they found themselves on, so they decided to stay a bit longer. The Autobot was resting near the shore, while Clobber was building gigantic sand figures. Blurr had the ingenious idea of trying to outdrive the waves. He ended up creating a huge wave, which he accidentally fell into. It ended up washing all three of them away.

"I still hear the screams of Mr. Sandhead when I offline my systems..." Clobber said in a mournful tone.

"Oh, please. These weren't even close to my worst!" Blurr defended, but Jazz just seemed more convinced of his words. "Wait, that came out wrong... Whatever, everything's fine! You don't need to get worked up about it!"

"Actually, I am your captain." Jazz adapted more stern tone as he spoke. "Anything that might seem like a direct violation of my crew's safety is up to me to be 'worked up about'. If you want to get to Cybertron in one piece, I advise you to get a grip of yourself."

"Yeesh, what's with the formal tone?" Blurr gave him a weird look. "Clobber! Back me up here! You know I'm not dangerous, right?" He turned to his friend with a hopeful look.

Clobber just stared at him in awkward silence. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she abandoned the idea at the last second and looked away. This actually hurt Blurr, who after a second frowned.

"Fine. Whatever! Get superpowers yourselves and then we'll see how good you are with them!" He snapped, turning around.

"Kid, hold-" Before Jazz fully reached out to him, Blurr disappeared in a flash. He run straight for the desert that could be seen in the near horrizon. After a second the Autobot lowered his arm, sighing. "-on... Maybe I was too hard on him."

"He's always like this." Clobber suddenly said, gaining his attention. "When we talk about his modifications, he gets all defensive and finds a way to escape."

"A sensitive topic, then." Jazz analysed.

"The worst kind. He's never going to admit it, but I know he's tired of this, too. I wish I could help him, but I'm not an expert myself." She said, raising her arm. The same one which could transform into a laser gun.

"An expert, you say..." Jazz hummed.

"Yeah. Someone who knows problem-solving formulas and, and physics, and uh... other smart stuff."

"Like a scientist..." Jazz murmured. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. After a second, he walked up to Clobber and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"You know Clobber. You may not be an expert, but you sure are a genius." Before she could ask what he meant by that, he returned inside.

-----

After a long runaway from the ship, Blurr finally stopped.

"Who does he think he is, ordering me around like that!" The first thing the young bot did after stopping was kicking a rock that was unfortunate enough to be near him.

"Stupid perfect Jazz and his stupid captain title. I'll show him! I'll show both of them! If it depended on me, I'd drive them all the way to Cybertron myself!" He continued mumbling as he walked forward. He had found himself at a desert-like area surrounded by buttes, mesas, and other kinds of tall landscapes that made it look like a maze. Still, he didn't seem to care.

After some time Blurr finally grew tired. The youngling looked around and spotted a big rock right before him, which he happily stepped towards. Leaning his back against it's cold surface, the youngling sat down and crossed his arms. He was about to sigh, when he suddenly heard a soft clicking sound which made him look up in surprise. He turned his head from side to side to scan the place for any life forms, but saw nothing and no one. He waited for a bit, tensing up...

When another click came, Blurr hurried back up and glanced behind the rock. Still nothing.

Feeling a little suspicious, he leaned away and tried to sit back down...

And that's when he saw a small round creature standing before him.

"Gah!" Blurr threw his back against a wall and raised his foot to squash it. The creature squeaked in terror, backing off and starting to shake. Seeing that, Blurr paused, then sucked in a sharp vent.

"It's okay, Blurr, just use your head before your fists." He reminded, calming himself. The blue mech put his foot back down and made his posture less intimidating. He made sure to keep his distance and the creature seemed to ease up as well.

"Heeey, little guy!..." He said with a nervous smile. "You're not a metal-thirsty monster, are you?"

Upon closer investigation, Blurr noticed a few more details about the small creature. It was a yellow and orange organic with a hard shell on it's back. The organic had somewhat of a bug look to it, with six eyes, long antennae on it's head and tail; and six small legs. It looked up at the blue mech curiously, not seeming to be put off by him at all.

Blurr decided to kneel before it and slowly, he started reaching his hand towards it. The creature arched it's back, but didn't attack yet, which the blue mech guessed was good. He stiffened when his hand was only moments away from it and it began touching it with it's antennae. The speedster didn't dare to move.

After a few minutes of inspection, the being seemed to make up it's mind. It tipped it's antennae to the side and chirped, pushing it's head into his hand as a sign of acceptance.

Blurr was completely shocked that it worked. Nevertheless, his smile widened and he couldn't help, but start stroking it gently.

"This is kinda gross, but also kinda nice at the same time!" He said.

After he removed his hand, the little creature looked up at him again at clicked a few times. Then, it jumped into the air and curled up into an orange and yellow ball. It rolled towards young mech and he rose his foot so it could circle him.

"Hey, I can do that, too!" Blurr exclaimed. He took a step back and transformed into his car mode. After he did that, the being started rolling away from him. He thought it got scared, but it stopped at a certain distance, as if it was waiting for the Speedster.

And then, it hit him.

The gesture seemed a lot like an invitation.

"No way." He chuckled. "You're challenging me for a race?"

The creature didn't react. It just kept waiting, which was enough for an answer.

"You're on, bug boy!" He said and his engine came to life. As soon as it did, the bug started rolling away, picking up a surprisingly fast pace. Blurr didn't wait to it to get far as he stepped on the gas.

-----

"Not that... Not that..." Back on the ship, Jazz was hanging out in his storage room. He was searching shelves, pushing things from one place to another, clearly looking for something.

After some time, Clobber walked in, seeing him kneeling on the floor and patting the floor. 

"Uh... what are you doing?" She asked.

"Looking for something I hid a long time ago. If my memory is not failing me, it should be somewhere over... Aaand, here we go!"

Jazz trailed off when he found something. That something was a loose metal plank. The Autobot carefully took it out and was met with a dark hole in the floor. Clobber got interested and stepped closer to him to see what was inside. She watched him pick up an old looking datapad and lift it up to dust off.

"What's that?" She asked.

"You're looking at an old journal created by a friend of mine." Jazz smiled, glancing back at her. Having a chance to get a better view, Clobber noticed that the device was covered in little notes with Cybertronian language.

"'Special Emergencies Only'..." She read out loud. "'Seriously, it's not worth it'?"

"I must've been in a funny mood writing this." Jazz said, standing back up. He pushed a button on it's top and after a few seconds it projected a hologram of a red mech with a telescope on his left shoulder and a light blue glass covering his left eye. Clobber let out a startled gasp.

"Clobber, this is Perceptor. The head scientist of the Autobots." Jazz introduced.

"Oh! Hello, mr. Perceptor, sir!" Clobber reached her claw towards the hologram, but it went right through it. She quickly withdrew it in panic. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!-"

"It's okay, it's just a computer program." Jazz assured.

[Hello, Jazz.] The hologram suddenly spoke, forcing all of the attention on itself. [If you're reading this journal, it means that you broke something by an accident again and require my assistance. I may just be a video program created by the individual named Perceptor, but I am positive that my cold, calculating spark is overjoyed that you need me. Even despite the fact that we're stellar cycles away from each other.]

Jazz's expression quickly grew annoyed with the condescending tone of a familiar voice. Clobber just stood there, smiling awkwardly, not really understanding what was happening.

[Feel free to search the database. I guarantee that it will have the solution to whatever disaster you've gotten yourself into this time.] The hologram continued and then the mentioned database unlocked on the screen.

"Now I remember why I wanted to throw this out." Jazz commented before starting to scroll through it.

"He, uh... He doesn't seem to like you very much." Clobber pointed out.

"Don't worry, the real Percy adores me. He's just a little mad about something that clearly wasn't my fault." Jazz claimed, then explained. "When you mentioned an expert, I remembered that I had this thing on me. Maybe we can find some do-hickey that will help our hot-wheeled and even more hot-headed friend with his speeding problem."

"You're... doing this for Blurr?" Clobber's optic widened.

"He may be a pain sometimes, but no young bot deserves to be left alone with so much burden on their hands." Jazz said, glancing at her. "So, what do you say? Wanna help me out?"

"I'm not really good with science... but Blurr is my partner. I'd do anythig for him." She said with confidence.

"Glad to hear it." Jazz smiled, then returned to scrolling and stopped at one blueprint that interested him.

"This one sounds promising." He said.

"I don't know, it looks pretty complicated." Clobber said, glancing at the screen.

"Please. How hard can it be?" Jazz asked before choosing it. The hologram spoke again.

[Ah, you need to build a slow-motion device. A classic in the book of engineering. Searching database for instructions now...] It said. In a matter of seconds it changed into a page with instructions. Then, apparead another one. And another. And another. And three new ones.

Jazz and Clobber hopelessly stared at constantly popping up pages with geniuent fear growing on their faces.

-----

Blurr finished another lap around a big mountain. At some point he stopped counting and just enjoyed driving around with the organic he encountered by his side; It was just on his tail and kept closing in. The insect had proven itself to be a worthy opponent on a race track.

After a few minutes, Blurr finally stopped and drove off the trail he set up. He transformed and started panting, supporting his upper body by his knees. The bug rolled closer and slowed down, as if trying to check up on him.

Without any warning Blurr let out a delighted cheer, startling it a bit.

"That was amazing!" He cried out of breath. The insect uncurled and straightened up. Blurr sat down in front of it with a huge grin on his face.

"I've never seen anything like you before. What are you, a wheevel or something? Heh, bug joke." He chuckled at his own pun. The insect didn't seem to get it. "Tough crowd? That's fine, I know a guy with serious case of terrible sense of humour."

After a second he placed his hand over his chest. "I'm Blurr, the fastest bot in the universe... I guess you can't say your name, so how about I give you a nickname?" The insect didn't do anything, so it propably didn't mind. "I was thinking about... Buggy! It's cute, catchy, and it rhymes with 'Buddy', which I think suits you perfectly!"

He reached out his hand and the bug leaned in, clicking happily. "Buggy it is!"

Eventually Blurr stood back up, stretching his arms.

"Okay, Buggy. Ready for another round?" He asked. Buggy sensed what he meant and curled up again. The blue mech transformed and took a starting position next to it.

"Oh three. One... three!" He shouted, flooring it.

Blurr managed to take the lead. However, their race was shortlived, because after mere seconds he heard a loud commotion behind him.

Worried, the youngling stopped and turned over to see what was happening. He let out a gasp.

"Buggy!" He cried, driving towards his friend.

Buggy fell off course and tripped over a rock, crashing on a nearby butte. Blurr transformed back and pulled out his friend from a hole it made.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking it over to see if it was injured. Suddenly the surface of the butte started cracking and he turned around, stepping back fearfully.

The damage spread further and further until it reached the top. A big chunk of rock started sliding out of it's place and falling right at them. Blurr zoomed out of the way and it fell, smashing into pieces. As it did, he shielded the bug from the dust that surrounded the area.

As soon as it settled back down, he looked back up to see the mess it left.

"Wow." He said in disbelief, putting Buggy back down. "For someone so small, you sure can cause a lot of damage."

After a second Blurr noticed that something started moving next to a rock that fell down. He glanced around and noticed that from the hole the chunk left started popping out small circular objects. They landed next to them and started uncurling into similiar organic beings as Blurr's friend. They immediately turned their attention to Buggy, making it squirm.

The blue mech watched in confusion as the insects began aggresively clicking at each other. It lasted for a few minutes, until the creature he was racing with visibly shrinked. It seemed remorseful for it's actions.

Then, another insect rolled in. It was bigger and it's colour was darker than the rest; He guessed it was some kind of leader. It clicked at the embarrased Buggy, making it look up. The bigger creature turned to the rocks, waving it's antennae. Suddenly it curled up into a ball and the antennae moved to the sides of it's form. It rolled towards the rocks and skillfully drove around them at full speed.

Blurr widened his optics in surprise. His buddy seemed to watch with full attention, before trying the technique for itself. It titled it's antennae to it's sides and started following the bigger one. Whatever this technique was, it seemed to help it navigate more around the terrain.

After some time, they stopped and both of them uncurled again. They clicked a few more times at each other, before the bigger one decided to leave and the other insects joined it's lead. When they were alone again, the insect returned to Blurr. The youngling kneeled and scratched the insect's back.

"Hope you learned your lesson, bud!" He said, and the bug chirped in response.

After a second Blurr took his hand and the insect excitedly started bouncing around him, making him laugh.

After his excitement died down, however, something seemed to change in Blurr's expression. He seemed to quietly realise something and went silent. Something that started bothering him.

-----

[-Once you joined all the cables, make sure to stabilise the connection between the opposite sides of the magnetic shield.] The hologram instructed. Clobber and Jazz were surrounded by spare parts and tools. Together they worked on machine of some kind, trying to follow the instructions before them as best as they could. Unfortunately, their qualifications overgrew their intentions and they found themselves stuck in the process of building.

[I would also like to acknowledge that you have chosen to repeat that fragment over twenty-two times since you started, which means you are having trouble. I predicted that this would happen and I let myself install something special, just for you, my dear less scientifically-oriented friend...] At first Jazz tried to ignore the hologram's voice, but then it spoke again and it was his breaking point. [Would you like me to activate the 'Training-Wheels' protocol?]

The Autobot sucked in a sharp vent, accidentally snapping the tool he was holding in half.

"I'm going to kill him!..." He seethed.

"Maybe we should use it? Blurr might be back soon." Clobber offered, trying to make a sense of a page she was holding.

"No!" Was Jazz's imemdiate response. "I'd rather jump into a smelting pool than give that self-absorbed egghead satisfaction!"

After he said that, the machine they were working on sparkled with electricity and exploded, making their optics widen. It fried in seconds, leaving nothing but smoke.

Jazz dropped his arms to the sides, sighing in defeat.

"... Pull up that protocol... And don't tell anybody."

-----

The long and exhausting day finally seemed to get to Blurr, who decided to lay down in the middle of the desert, eyes glued to the sky above. Buggy was right by his side, taking a nap. The youngling noticed that sometimes other bugs would skitter towards them as if checking up on them, before running into the distance and carrying on with their day. Such a thoughtful gesture on their end.

Eventually, Blurr looked down at his friend and placed his hand next to it.

"You're a really lucky bug that you have so many friends looking out for you." He spoke, waking the insect up. "It must be nice being a part of a species. I'm kinda jealous. No matter where I go, there's no one like me. It gets pretty lonely sometimes." Buggy blinked all four of it's eyes at him a few times.

"Don't get me wrong, I have a partner. Her name's Clobber, you'd love her, but... me and her aren't really the same. I'm kind of... How do I say it in a way that doesn't make me sound like a freak... One of a kind, I guess?" He shrugged, grimacing.

"I have this special power that lets me travel with the speed of light. It absolutely kicks back gear, but... Honestly, sometimes I think how it would be without it. I thought I knew how to handle it, most of the time I do, but when I mess up, I do it big time. Kinda like you did today. Except when I mess up, all I get is screaming and pitchforks. No one's there to show me what I did wrong, how to fix it, nada. I've met some folks who tried finding a solution to the whole situation, but they came and went and always had some kind of alterior motive. Real nasty pieces of slag in this universe, I'm telling you that."

The insect clicked, tilting it's head to the side. Blurr decided to gently scoop it up and raise it up so he could stare at it face to face.

"In a way, it's good. I'm a Rogue - we steal and cause chaos, on purpose and otherwise. People expect us to be bad and we're good at it. At the end of the day, if there's no one else who knows how to control my power, and I use it to be destructive, I'm doing it for a purpose. That means I'm doing it right... Right?" He asked with a smile. The insect just blinked at him, not seeming to understand his words. After a second Blurr brought it closer to give it a hug. "I knew you'd understand."

They laid like this for another minutes, until something started happening.

Something bad.

At first, Blurr noticed that other insects came rolling again. This time however, they seemed to be in a hurry. There were also certainly in a larger group. The thing that finally made the youngling aware of the incoming danger was the ground, which started shaking.

"Do you feel that?" Blurr asked, sitting up and letting the insect fall onto his lap. Suddenly, he heard a loud honk in the distance that made him gasp. He grabbed his little friend and run behind the nearest rock to hide.

It wasn't long until they head a horrifyingly loud screech of tires followed by low rumbling of the engines.

Two bulky cars pulled up near the crowd of fleeding insects. One of them opened their mask and revealed a cannon, which fired at a huge rock. It blew up into pieces, scaring the organics and making them roll in the opposite direction.

The second car moved and started chasing them. It didn't take long for it to catch up and then it started making donuts around them, gathering as many of them like a herding dog.

Eventually the car transformed into a familiar yellow Cybertronian. Without any warning he pulled out something that could've been best described as a blue crystal and threw it high in the air.

In seconds, it crackled with electricity before expanding into a barrier which trapped the organics completely.

The other car finally joined him, stopping and transforming next to him into a purple mech.

Blurr recognised them almost immediately.

The Stunticons.

"These losers again?" The blue mech grimaced in annoyance.

Inside of the barrier, except for dozens of yellow and orange bugs, was also a darker, bigger one. It was just as terrified as the rest. It was uncertain if these insects could feel anger, but if they did, it would explain why Buggy began growling. Suddenly it started wriggling in Blurr's hold and he couldn't hold it any longer. The insect landed on the ground and curled up, rolling towards the Stunticons.

"Buggy, no!" Blurr tried to stop it, but it was too stubborn to stop.

The little insect charged at the two attackers with full speed. It used the rocks around to get off the ground and went right for the purple Stunticon, Wildrider.

The unsuspecting mech felt a strong pain in the back of his head that made him cry out and fall face-first on the ground as he was hit. After that brave action move, buggy uncurled mid air. However, before it landed on the ground, it was caught by a yellow hand of no other than Drag Strip.

"Ow!" Wildrider shouted, grabbing the back of his head. Drag Strip just laughed at his pain, making him growl.

"Stupid insolent pest!" The purple Decepticon stood back up and pointed his blaster at the creature.

"Idiot!" Drag Strip pushed him away. "We're not supposed to kill these, each one is worth like a zillion shanix on the black market!"

"You wouldn't be singing the same tune if you were the one knocked out!"

"Good thing I wasn't, then!" Drag Strip smirked. Without any warning he was hit by a big rock in the back of his head and the yellow mech stumbled back. That made Wildrider laugh like a maniac. Suddenly a second boulder shot out of nowhere and crashed right into his face, making him fall on top of his comrade.

Buggy managed to release itself out of Drag Strip's grasp and it skittered away. Meanwhile, Blurr run up to the trapped insects and lifted them up. They were heavy, but not heavy enough to make him struggle.

Drag Strip finally got over his diziness and rose his head to see him.

"You?!" He shouted.

"Blurr Industries thank you for your generous donation!" Blurr saluted. Without wasting any more time, he threw the forcefield in the air and transformed. The insects fell on his roof and he kicked off, speeding into the sunset. The purple Stunticon pushed his comrade off himself and they transformed, starting their chase.

Wildrider's hood transformed away and his cannon came to life. He pointed it at the blue youngling and fired multiple shots.

Blurr jumped out of the way and barely dodged them. He tried to avoid the falling rubble as best as he could, but it still ended up landing all over his alt mode. Some of it fell on the forceshield, creating an unpleasant noise and making the insects inside click in distress.

"I'm trying my best here!" Blurr shouted at them.

"I have a clear shot!" Wildrider said to his partner, as his hood cannon pointed at the young mech.

"Damage at least one of them and Motormaster will have your head for it!" Drag Strip barked.

Suddenly, they heard a strange sound on their left. The sound, which kept growing in volume. It almost sounded like an attempt at a battle cry.

Buggy came rushing at them with full force, but instead of them, it steered to the side and collided with a nearby butte. The impact was so big that it's construction shook and after that a big chunk of it began falling.

The Stunticons noticed a shadow creeping behind them and they soon realised that a large boulder was falling their way. They yelped, driving faster as the rock shattered on the ground, barely escaping it.

Blurr saw everything in his mirror.

"Okay, Blurr. It's time to do what you do best." He said to himself, having an idea. His body started emitting blue energy and he zoomed forward. "Destroy!"

As soon as he kicked into his super speed, he completely lost the idea of where he was going. He ended up making a few sharp turns, changing the direction of his getaway a couple times, which made the Stunticons' job much harder to follow him.

After some time, Blurr felt the first impact on his hood, when he blindly drove into a small mountain. It didn't stood a chance against the strenght it was hit with and it fell apart immediately. The Stunticons split up and took a much longer way around.

"Yeah!" He cheered. However, when he tried to slow down, he found out that his breaks stopped working. "Uh oh..."

Blurr felt his body being bumped into and roughed up as he hit into canyon wall after canyon wall like an air hockey puck.

The Stunticons saw a blue blur flying from one obstacle to another, seemingly unable to break free. They decided to use this as an opportunity to strike.

Wildrider tilted his cannon up and fired a rocket at the blur. Luck wanted that Blurr was just driving by and the missile exploded right under his wheels.

The blue youngling was sent flying back, crashing on his hood that forced him to transform back with a pained cry. He had little time to get over it, because the forcefield with the squeaking insects landed next to him. Blurr forced himself up and hugged it closely, just in time to be shoved on his front as Wildrider and Drag Strip yanked on the barrier.

"Give us back the organics and we'll beat ya a little less than within an inch of your life!" Drag Strip snarled.

"Is that offer negotiable?" Blurr asked nervously. Wildrider rose his blaster in response.

The youngling already started panicking, when he looked up and saw that something up there started moving.

Buggy was on the top of a cliff, repeatedly bumping into a big stone that decorated it's edge. Upon seeing his little friend still backing him up, he calmed himself. He even managed to smirk.

"Hey, weren't you the guy I pancaked with a rock?" After a second Blurr asked, turning to Drag Strip. He visibly caught him off guard by that question. "Wow, your skincare is amazing. I can hardly see the scar from here!"

"Hey! I spent like a week trying to buff it for him!" Wildrider said, almost offended for not getting the credit.

"Don't talk to him, numbnuts!" Drag Strip retorted.

"Hope your buffing skills are maxed out, 'cause you're gonna need them in about fifteen seconds!" Blurr said, relishing the feeling of knowing something they didn't. Before the two Stunticons made sense out of his words, both had a strong urge to look up. As soon as they did, they noticed a huge stone falling right at them.

Wildrider screamed, pointing his shoulder cannon at it.

"No!-" Drag Strip wanted to stop him, but he already fired the biggest missile he had. It hit sooner than the stone collided with the ground, obliterating it into pieces. Small rock bits shot into all directions and the dust created a thick mist which coated their visions in seconds. Some of it got into their vents and made the cough violently.

Eventually the dust settled down and the two Stunticons tried to locate where Blurr and their caught insects were. To their horror, however, they were nowhere to be seen.

"So..." Wildrider said, scratching his back. "Who's gonna tell boss about this?"

And his partner glared daggers at him, not daring to answer that question.

-----

Buggy and Blurr, with a help of a big rock he found, kept smashing the surface of a barrier to find it's weak spot. Finally, they got to it and the mechanism fully gave up, setting all of the organics inside free at last. As soon as they were out of their prison, most of them scattered across the land and some needed some time to get used to the ground again. One of them was the big and dark bug. Buggy excitedly reunited with it.

A smile appeared on Blurr's face when he saw that they began chirping at each other. After a second he looked up and noticed that the day was almost over. He spent an entire day on the desert. Clobber and Jazz were propably waiting for him all this time.

"Well, that was fun, but I have to go now." He said, waving at the insects. He turned around to leave, when Buggy noticed that.

Blurr was thinking in how much trouble he might be right now, when suddenly he felt something bumping against his leg. He stopped and glanced down to see his organic friend gently headbutting him. It looked up with big, pleading eyes. Blurr didn't need a translator for that.

"Oh no. I'm not ready for this kind of responsibility." He said, kneeling before it. "I'm bad with pets and I don't want a sidekick. Besides, you heard these nutjobs, you're expensive. I'd propably end up selling you the first chance I got if you stuck around."

Despite his words, the insect clicked quietly, lowering it's antennae. Blurr hesitantly reached his hand towards it and gave it a little pat on the head. "Chin up, little guy. You don't need me as much as they need you. Protect them for me, okay?"

He requested. With the last scratch on Buggy's head, the youngling finally stood back up and continued walking and the insect watched him go.

The biggest organic chirped at Buggy as it calling it. It looked uncertain if it should follow, but eventually it obeyed, skittering up to it. They both curled up and rolled away, following the rest.

Despite being turned around, Blurr could sense that his buddy was already gone. He sighed deeply, before transforming and going back to where he originally came from.

-----

The ship was standing in the same spot as Blurr left it. When he finally reached it, it was already night.

The youngling parked behind it to avoid being spotted right away. He transformed back and was about to reveal himself, when he looked down and noticed just how dirty he was.

"Scrap!..." He murmured, quickly dusting himself off and removing the rest of the rubble from between his plates.

Clobber and Jazz were standing in front of the entrance, chatting. They seemed to be in a deep conversation, because Blurr gained their attention only by walking directly in front of them.

"Hey guys, your favourite troublemaker is back!" He said casually, hands folded behind his head as he walked up to them.

"Blurr!" Without wasting any time on greetings, Clobber lunged onto him and brought him into a tight hug he clearly wasn't prepared for. "Where have you been? We were so worried about you!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, partner." Blurr said, patting her on her back. After some time, Clobber finally released him.

"Good to see you back, kid." Jazz said with a smile.

"Is it?" Blurr questioned, raising an optical ridge at him. Before Jazz responded to him, he sent a discreet nod to Clobber. She nodded back with a smile and headed for the ship, making Blurr a bit confused.

"We're all here, so we can take off soon." Jazz continued. "But before we do, Blurr, I would like a word with you."

"Oh..." Blurr murmured, guessing what it was all about. Then, he rose his hands. "Okay, captain, I get it. I messed up. Let's just get it over with the lecture."

He expected that. He expected so much worse. However, Jazz managed to surprise him once again when Clobber unexpectedly returned.

"Surpriiise!" She sang, showing the other youngling a brand new blue visor in her claws. Blurr's optics went wide. She handed it to him and he started staring at it.

It seemed like gift, a shiny one at that, but Blurr didn't seem happy about it. In fact, he looked more confused than anything.

"What is that?" He asked.

"Back in my day, those were called 'visors'." Jazz nagged, crossing his arms. Then, he explained: "It has special modifications that will help you with your speed problem."

"We've made it ourselves!" Clobber beamed, placing her claw on Jazz's shoulder. "It was tricky and it took us an entire day, but we figured it out eventually!"

"You made this?... For me?" Blurr asked, seeing his eyes reflecting in the visor's glass. "I-I don't get it... Why? I don't have anything to give in return."

"You don't have to give anything in return." Jazz assured.

"Just take care of it and don't lose it, okay? I don't know if we'll be able to build another one..." Clobber said shyly, tapping her claws together.

"So you're really just giving it to me?" Blurr snorted, waving the visor in his hand. "You know, Jazz. For someone acting so smart all the time, you sure are a sucker for giving away free gifts like that."

"In that case, I'm a sucker..." Jazz said, smiling. He took the visor out of Blurr's hand. Then, he flipped it on the other side and slowly put it over the blue mech's optics. They connected with Blurr's helm almost immediately. "And you can truly call yourself the fastest bot in the galaxy now."

Blurr was completely at loss for words. Thankfully, he didn't have time to come up with any, because the visor activated with a ping. He moved his hands before him and saw just how slow his movements became. It was almost mesmerising.

"Try it out!" Clobber encouraged and Jazz backed off, giving a nod. Blurr gave them an unsure look, but after a second looked around. There was an area full of tall stones near them; He decided to go with it.

Still hesitating a bit, the Rogue stepped forward, before taking a starting position.

The rocks before him were almost perfectly standing in one row, each in different size and shape. He felt his fingers tapping against the ground, remembering all the times he failed to control his speed that day. On the other hand, he could still see Clobber and Jazz patiently waiting for him to start in the corner of his visor. The fact that they were still willing to try this with him awakened emotions that he couldn't quite understand. Still, it was somewhat comforting.

After a second Blurr exhaled air in his vents, curling his hands into fists and looking back on the track. And finally, with all the thoughts going silent in his mind, he kicked right into his super speed and run towards it.

The difference couldn't have been seen at first glance. Everything was moving fast, just like they always did. After a few seconds, however, Blurr felt a strange feeling, like it was getting slower, and more importantly, clearer. Soon, he felt like he was running at a normal speed. It was the first time he got to see the world around him like this in a full picture. For the first time, he got to see how much time he had left before getting closer to an obstacle. He circled the first tall stone one, two, three times, each time picking up pace. Then, he moved on to others. He had no trouble calculating the time needed to slow down and change the direction he was heading towards if needed.

Meanwhile, from Jazz and Clobber's perspective, they saw a blue trail of energy circling around the obstacle course without any breaks or problems. It seemed to be working.

After a second Blurr returned back to them.

"How did it go?" He asked, back turned to the track. "D-did I break it?"

"See for yourself." Jazz smiled and gestured behind him. Blurr turned around and to his immesurable shock, the obstacle course was still in one piece.

"Of course some practice is still needed, but for now, this should do." Jazz walked up to him and clicked the side of his helm; Blurr started seeing everything in the normal motion with the visor still on.

"You press this button to turn on and off. You can still wear it, even when you're not running. Visors never get out of fashion." The Autobot said, adjusting his own blue visor with a grin. Suddenly, the older mech heard a soft sniffling sound and he looked at Blurr with concern. "Are... you okay?"

"What-?!" Blurr said, his voice cracking. "Yes! I am! Why do you care?!" He felt the need to push the Autobot away.

"Are you crying?" Clobber asked, leaning closer to her friend.

"No, I'm not! Shut up!" Blurr shouted, covering his visor with his arm as he tried to surpress his sobs.

"Are you sure-"

"Yes, Jazz, I'm sure! Nova, you guys are embarrasing! Let's just take off already!" He shouted, tone cracking more and more. He retreated back on the ship to find some spot where he could have a moment of privacy, leaving the two behind.

"Do you think he likes it?" Clobber whispered to the elder mech.

"I think he does." Jazz said, leaning closer and offering her a fist bump. "We did it again, assistant. There's no science project we can't complete."

She pounded it proudly.

"Blurr, it's okay! You don't have to be embarrased!" After a second, Clobber decided to follow her friend on board. "Do you need a hug?"

"Leave me alone, Clobber!" Blurr shrieked, not even hiding his cracking voice anymore. Jazz couldn't help, but chuckle at that.

[Now, it wasn't so bad, was it?] Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice and his expression immediately soured. The Autobot turned around and saw Perceptor's holographic journal lying on the rocks nearby. The hologram was still on, as smug looking as ever. [I have to admit, I was beginning to doubt you, but you proved that I can teach anyone basic science! Now, how about rating my incredible help on a scale from one to-?]

Without any warning whatsoever, a flying rock crushed the device, making it go silent forever.

"Most satisfying service of my life." Jazz said to himself, dusting off his hands before following the two Rogues. The smile stayed on his face the entire time.

Chapter Text

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of Energon hitting the surface of a glass cube echoed through the cave. As soon as it was full, a pair of metal claws took them out of it's spot and lifted it up. Clobber looked inside, seeing her disorted reflection in the surface of the glowing liquid. After a second she turned around and met Jazz, who was carrying his own stack of Energon cubes. She hid the cube inside of her subspace and joined him.

"How did you know that Energon would be here?" She asked.

"During the war, Energon shortage was becoming a huge problem for both sides." Jazz explained. "We started hiding what we could afford, not just on Cybertron, but in outerspace, too. Apparently, some of the units landed on planets like this one and the vessels couldn't hold their containment. This is why Energon started growing naturally on some organic planets." He said, tipping his head to point at the Energon crystals growing out of the rock walls.

Eventually the two of them returned to the surface. Before they had even a chance to step into the sun, a bright flash of blue light zoomed before them and forced them to stop. Soon it faded as very excited Blurr stopped.

"Did you see that?" He asked, retracting his new visor back into his helm. "I ran around the entire planet three times and didn't crash once!"

"You're getting better at it." The Autobot approved. His ship was stationed right next to the cave, so the three of them didn't take long to reach it. As soon as Jazz and Clobber stepped on board and he placed his cubes down, Blurr jumped on the fellow Rogue and gave her a hug.

"Have I ever told you how smart and beautiful you are?" He asked.

"Just every once a week." She said, making sure he wouldn't fall. "Jazz helped too, remember?"

Blurr immediately zoomed back on the ground and headed for Jazz, who blocked him before he wrapped his arms around him.

"No need to thank me. Just let me know if you'll need anything else."

"Can I drive today?" Blurr asked, joining his hands together and making a cute face.

"Almost anything else." Jazz corrected, making the youngling frown. "Okay, guys. We should be ready to head off!" After he said that, Clobber rose her arm. "Yes, Clobber?"

"Can I go and get some souvenir rocks? I wouldn't be myself if I didn't take any."

"I don't know. I was hoping we'd pass this star system in less than three cycles."

"I'll be back before you know it." Clobber insisted, raising one of her claws and putting the other over her chest. "Ex-Decepticon promise."

Jazz gave her a look, but ultimately couldn't help but shake his head. "Fine, just make it quick."

Clobber's face brightened. She didn't waste any time and transformed, speeding into the distance.

Meanwhile, Blurr sneaked behind Jazz and rose his arms in an attempt hug him again.

"Unless you wanna end up on the floor, don't even try it." Jazz warned. Blurr pouted, backing off.

-----

When Clobber was in fair distance of the ship, she eventually stopped and transformed back.

"Now," She began, looking around with a raised claw casting a shadow over her face. "If I were souvenir rocks, where would I be hiding...?"

It didn't take long until she spotted the first rock. She decided to go up to it and pick it up to have a better look.

What she didn't realise was that the area she was in wasn't as empty as it looked. From the distant shadows casting by the nearby cave, a pair of white eyes were peeking at her.

Clobber hummed as she studied the rock and after a second dropped it back on the ground. Suddenly her audials picked up a sound nearby, making her jump. She turned around a few times, trying to see where it came from. Her eye eventually turned towards a nearby cave entrance. The only thing she found was another, rather large rock that propably fell from the ceiling.

That was enough for her to relax. She decided to come closer and have a look at it as well. The Rogue lifted it up and began her inspection, when in the corner of her eye, she spotted a faint light inside. Her focus quickly shifted onto that. Once again, started having a strange feeling about the place.

"Hello?" She called out. Nobody answered.

She considered returning to her friends, but her curiosity won and continued her way inside.

The cave ended fairly shortly after she entered, revealing a passage to a whole new area hidden between two small mountains. She found herself in a complete shift of scenery, because the whole place was covered from top to bottom in Energon crystals. They were growing all around a big broken rocket in the middle. It's glass was shattered and the Energon was growing out of it's stained surface.

"This must be what Jazz was talking about..." She said, stepping forward and studying the vessel. The closer she approached, the clearer she could see her reflection in it's crystals.

Whoever or whatever was stalking Clobber caught up to her. It hid in safe distance that allowed it enough view to have her within it's reach. It scanned her carefully, not making any sudden moves that would accidentally alarm her.

Unaware of the attention, Clobber focused on the crystals. They were very shiny and beautiful and she completely lost herself in them. That was, until she turned in the angle that allowed her to see behind herself and spotted a pair of white optics in one of the crystals.

"Aha!" She said, alarming the presence. Without wasting any time the fembot snapped back and was about to hit whoever was creeping behind her. She swore she heard a faint transformation sound, but she didn't dwell on it. Surprisingly, when she turned around, all she saw was her own face glancing at her.

Clobber took a step back, looking at yet another reflection of hers between two crystals. It followed her movement to the detail. She tilted her head to the side, it tilted it's head to the side; She rose her left arm, it rose it's right arm; She struck a scary pose, it did so as well. No matter how long she looked at it, it was just her reflection.

Lowering her guard, Clobber decided to turn her attention back to the rocket. Little did she know, the reflection didn't disappear after she removed herself from within it's reach. Instead, it's single optic moved and watched her leave, completely on it's own.

Clobber returned to the vessel. She decided to have a look inside and to her surprise, Energon wasn't it's only content. The next thing she noticed was that someone craved it's inner walls with some sharp object. There was not a single area not covered in long marks. In all honesty, it freaked her out.

Meanwhile, the reflection of hers was still present. It was standing completely still until it heard an unexpected noise. It looked up and saw a shadow above the mountains. The copy cringed and tried to hide in the cave's darkness.

Clobber was too distracted to hear anything. It was hard to tell if the strange shadow noticed her, but they didn't leave without making their presence known. They didn't stick around for long, but after they flew by, a small object came from the sky. It collided with the ground and made a tinking sound as it landed right under the rocket. The reflection could make out that it was a green and white ball. They knew exactly what it was.

The copy widened it's optic, glancing back at Clobber in newly found fear.

The youngling finally pulled back from the vessel, feeling uneasy with her new discovery. Without any warning she felt her arm being grabbed and saw her own self being the culprit.

"Wh-"

"Get down!" Clobber heard her own voice shouting at her. Before she answered, 'Clobber' pushed her back into the cave where she came from. When she was out of the way, she tried to follow her, but unfortunately she was out of time.

In just mere seconds, the ball exploded. The chain reaction was quick. First, the granade lit up, then it caught the Energon crystals in the fire, and finally, the blast happened.

Jazz and Blurr were still waiting inside of the ship, when they felt an explosion so big that it shook the entire board. They gave each other a quick shocked glance, before running out. Outside, they saw a giant cloud of blue smoke rising from the mountains.

"Clobber!" They both shouted in panic.

-----

Clobber had little time to understand what was happening before the explosion happened. She was blown away and hit her back hard against the rock wall, immediately hitting the stasis. The whole mountain shook and soon rocks started falling from the ceiling. In seconds, she was buried under the cave that got completely obliterated.

Blurr and Jazz arrived a few minutes later. They transformed back into their robot forms and started searching the place. Everything was a mess. The explosion completely toppled the area, with Energon pieces lying about everywhere and dust barely letting them scan their surroundings.

They jumped on the fallen rocks to have a better view and looked around.

"There she is!" Blurr suddenly said, pointing down for Jazz to follow. In the middle of the tumbled mountain was a big form of Clobber. It was standing up and coughing. Then, she eyed her less and much more severe looking injuries. The two mechs immediately rushed to help.

"Clobber?! Are you okay?!" Blurr said, grabbing her arm. 'Clobber' stiffened at first, bewildered by the unexpected touch. Jazz joined soon after.

"We're taking her back to the ship, now!" He said, grabbing her arm and wrapping it around his shoulders. Blurr did the same and they started dragging her back to the ship.

"Don't worry, Clob! You'll live! I'm not letting you die here!" Blurr assured, it was hard to tell if he tried to convince her, or himself. 'Clobber' didn't say anything. She was still too stunned about what had happened that she didn't protest. She let them guide herself all the way to their ship.

-----

The whole area grew awfully quiet. The blue dust finally settled on the fallen boulders and pieces of the now destroyed rocket. Everything was peaceful until the rubble started moving.

Clobber emerged from under the boulders, pushing her way out with her seismic generators. Once she was on the surface, she could finally take a moment to rest. The Rogue groaned and deactivated one of her arms to massage her back. It was still aching from the impact. After a second she looked up and saw the aftermath of the explosion.

"Whoops..." She murmured, then pushed away the rest of the rocks. The youngling put her claw on her head, trying to remember what transpired before she hit stasis. She could remember bits and pieces, but they made her head hurt even more. All she knew was that the area wasn't safe anymore. With that in mind, Clobber turned around and wobbingly started heading back.

"Blurr! Jazz!" After a few minutes she made it back to where they had parked. "There's someone on this planet! We need to get out of-..." She stopped when she realised that something was wrong. Namely, Jazz's ship was gone and so were the two mechs.

"Guys...?" She stepped closer and looked around. "Guys?! Come on, this isn't funny!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, because no one was there to hear her.

"They... left without me?..." Clobber murmured to herself in horror. After a second she shook her head. "No! I don't believe that! They have to be somewhere around here, I just need to find them!" With this bit of convincing, she decided to transform and fly around in search for her friends.

-----

"Never. Ever. Ask me to run off willy nilly like that ever again, understand?" Jazz said. He sounded mad, but tried to keep his calm tone.

The ship already left the planet's atmosphere and continued on their way. The Autobot and Blurr were just finishing patching 'Clobber' up. The damage looked serious, but thankfully, it was no direct threat to her life. "What even happened back there?"

"I..." 'Clobber' wanted to speak, but paused. She considered her next words very carefully. "... I found the Energon transporter you were talking about. I was not careful enough. I'm sorry..."

"The most important thing is that you're okay." Blurr said, relieved that his partner was still alive.

"And you're recovering just fine without stasis. I didn't know how resilient your systems were." Jazz stated.

"Of course they are! Clobber is the toughtest bot in whole universe! Right, partner?" Blurr said and patted her chest. She froze again, hearing his hand making an unpleasant hollow noise against her metal. She seemed to be taking it very personally that he just dared to do that.

"... Clobber?" The lack of reply made the young Cybertronian worry all over again. She closed her optic for a second, collecting her thoughts.

"Yeah..." She said eventually. "I've had worse."

-----

Clobber flew. She felt like she was drifting endlessly for hours now, but the ship was still nowhere to be seen. She had so many questions, but her goal kept her from confronting them in her mind.

Eventually the youngling started getting tired and transformed back, panting.

"Guys..." She murmured, slowly loosing will to continue looking. "Where are you...?"

It was really starting getting to her, but thankfully the universe seemed to have different plans. After a second Clobber noticed something in the distance. A blurr, really. She adjusted her vision better and finally saw big shape hidden behind a small mountain.

Clobber gasped, hope rising in her once more. She transformed and flew as fast as she could towards it.

When she reached it and transformed back, she expected to see a familiar ship. What she got instead wasn't far off, but still wasn't what she was hoping for.

It was a spaceship. A dark spaceship with red tainted glass, four wings and a what seemed to be decorative spikes all over it's hood.

"Uh..." She said, tilting her head to the side and raising an optical ridge. Despite the strange finding, Clobber wasn't picky. She walked around it and saw that it's doors were open. Either someone was inside, or she got lucky and whoever was with her was an idiot. She was willing to find out.

Clobber pulled out her laser and decided to walk inside. She constantly looked for any signs of life, but fortunately, there was no one to aim her weapon at. It was a strange ship, to say the least. Everything was dark, minus the corners covered in green and blue biolights. At some point she passed a wall with a whole arsenal of various scary torture devices and prosthetic replacements. This gave her shivers, but didn't make her stop.

Clobber continued scouting until she reached the captain bridge. Instead of a normal piece of glass covering the front window, she was met with a very advanced looking mother computer. It was turned off, so she couldn't see what was happening on the outside.

When she confirmed that no one was home, she retracted back her gun and pushed some random buttons on the console. That seemed to work, because the screen flashed to life.

"Please enter the password..." The automat requested.

"Password?..." Clobber looked down and noticed that a holographic keyboard appeared in front of her.

"Erm..." She tapped her claws together in nervousness before slowly moving them towards the keyboard. "Okay... How about 'darkness'?" She wrote. The computer made an abrupt sound that she guessed wrong, making her flinch. "'Weapon-enthusiast?'" She tried again. It made the same sound again. "'12345'...?" The cycle repeated. Clobber groaned in frustration and hit the console, making the hologram disappear.

"Fine! We're doing this the hard way!"

She went back to the weapon collection and picked one of the tasers. She gave it a test and it burst with a powerful enough wave of electricity that made her lean away. Then, she went back to the computer and rose her arm in order to jam it in. Before she did that, however, she noticed that she had knocked something out of it's place when she hit the panel. On the floor was lying a shining purple item of some sort.

Clobber lowered her arm and deactivated the taser, glancing at the small object. She decided to kneel and delicately picked it up to have a better look. After a better investigation, she realised that she was holding half of a broken Decepticon insignia. She widened her optic again, this time wider than before. Something in her mind made her open her subspace and start looking for something. She was busy with that and she didn't hear that someone else had entered the ship.

It was a tall Cybertronian wearing a long cloak that covered a good portion of his body. The figure casually placed the board he was holding on the ground and headed for the bridge, when he suddenly stopped and saw Clobber in front of the computer.

The Rogue pulled out her own half of a Decepticon badge to compare the two. They looked identical. Eventually she decided to bring the two closer until they touched and, to her surprise, it was a perfect fit.

"What?..." She murmured, confused as ever. Meanwhile, the cloaked mech creeped behind her. He changed a setting on his arm from hook to an electric baton with an intent to hit her in the back with it. Before he did that, he looked over her shoulder and saw the two joined pieces. The view made him stop and widen his optics in shock.

Soon Clobber peeled her gaze off her badge and had a strange feeling that she wasn't alone anymore. She turned her head just enough to peek behind her and immediately gasped. The Rogue turned around and pushed her back against the wall to get away from the mech as far as she could. The cloaked figure lowered his weapon and without any warning snatched both insignia pieces out of her claws.

"Hey!" She protested, trying to snatch them back. He ignored her and took his time to process what he was looking at. "Give it back, this is mine!"

"... Where did you get that?" He eventually turned back and asked, showing her her piece of the badge.

"What do you mean where did I get that?Where did you get that?!" She insisted, pointing at the second piece.

"I asked first!" He said, now taking on more of a warning tone. "Where did you steal it from?!"

"Steal it? A friend gave it to me!" Clobber defended.

"Likely story!" The figure said, pointing his baton at her again with a glare.

"I'm telling the truth!" She said, raising her arms and avoiding contact with the weapon. "Back when I was a Decepticon, I lost my insignia! My friend split his own so I wouldn't get in trouble!"

Her story seemed to penetrate through that terrifying gaze of his. He still looked angry, but now there was something else present. It seemed awfully like denial.

"This!... Is the only thing I have left of him... And I don't want to lose it." She admitted, words softening against her will. After a second Clobber extended her claw, wordleslly asking him to return it. The mech processed her thoughts for a second. Then, slowly, he returned it and she gladly took it...

And then he tased her side with the baton, making her shout. The wave wasn't as powerful as it could've been, but it still caused her pain.

"What was that for?!" She cried, grabbing her hurt side.

"You're... Not really Makeshift, are ya?..." He said, almost carefully.

"No?!" Clobber barked. "My name is Clobber!"

Her words struck the mech to his very core to the point where he was not responsing for a good while.

"... Hey. Hey! Are you listening?"

"What did you say your name was?" He asked, in need of confirmation.

"... Clobber?" She repeated hesitantly.

"Is your friend by any chance named Lockdown?" He continued. As soon as the name was mentioned, Clobber's entire frame lit up.

"You know him?!"

"He's..." His clawed hand gripped at the side of his hood, as if getting ready to pull it down, but that was as far as it went. He waited for something. Maybe for his courage to arrive, maybe for the right words he could form. But alas, he couldn't find any of these. He sighed. "He's a friend of mine, yes." He said, leaving his hood alone.

"Really?! Do you know where he is now?! Do you know if he's okay?! Did he ever mention me?" The last question might have came out too innocently.

"Questions later. Right now, all I wanna know is where Makeshift's at." 

"Who?" She tilted her head. 

"A shapeshiftin' Decepticon spy that went rogue durin' the war. They opened a bounty on him a while back and I was hopin' for some easy cash. Did ya see, or hear anythin' that would suggest his presence on this planet?"

"I think I'd know if I saw any Shifters-..." Suddenly Clobber recalled the events before she hit the stasis. She remembered seeing inside of the rocket, white eyes peeking at her in the crystal, and finally, her look alike pushing her out of the harm's way as the explosion happened. That allowed her to piece things together.

"... Oh no." She said.

"What?" The hunter asked.

"I think I know where he is!" Clobber said. "Jazz and Blurr took him instead of me and they're going to Cybertron! They might be stellarcycles away by now!"

"No prey managed to escape me yet." The bounty hunter said boldly. "Take whatever you have and get your aft back here. I'll give you a ride."

"Okay!" Clobber cheered and rushed out of the ship. As soon as she left, he started working on the console. Then, something hit him and made him stop.

"Jazz?..." He repeated, suddenly feeling horror washing over him.

-----

Blurr and 'Clobber' were sitting by the window, while Jazz was monitoring her health from afar. Blurr was pressing his forehead against the glass, looking at the passing meteorites with nothing but boredom behind his eyes.

"Do you ever get the feeling that space is just a constant loop where absolutely nothing happens?" He asked, expecting an answer he didn't receive. The young bot looked to his side to check what was taking his friend so long. The other youngling was looking down, curled and completely absent.

"Hey." He nudged her. "This is where you say something weird and existential that leaves me confused for weeks to come. Are you even awake?"

"One second, buddy." 'Clobber' said, without looking up. That made Blurr grimace. After a second he started tapping her on the shoulder. When she didn't respond, he continued doing that. His poking seemed to be starting to pay off, because she was geeting annoyed. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore.

"What?!" She burst, snapping her head to him. Blurr used that and with the help of his super speed, snatched what she was hiding.

"Aha!" He pulled it to himself to have a better look before she reacted. Whatever he was expecting, it definitely wasn't that. He was holding above his head a large metal book. "Huh?"

"Give that back!" 'Clobber' snapped, forcing the book out of his hand and hugged it to her chest protectively. Unfortunately, Jazz noticed it and walked over.

"What's that?" He requested to see. Clobber looked up at him, then at the item in her arms, before showing it to him. "Where did you get this?"

"I bought it a while back." She lied.

"With what money?"

"... Fine, I stole it."

"I think we've been over this. No stealing while you're travelling on board of my ship." Jazz reminded.

"Oh no, that was a very long time ago." Clobber claimed.

"Weird, I swear this is literally the first time I'm seeing this book." Blurr stated.

"Maybe I'm allowed to have some secrets, your clinginess." She leaned closer and gave him a smirk he just knew was more malicious than it seemed. He was so overwhelmed by it that all of his confidence completely shrinked.

"Ooookay..." He smiled nervously and moved away from her on the other side of the window. She didn't seem to mind. In fact, as soon as he was gone from her side, she returned to reading as if nothing happened.

After a second Blurr turned around to Jazz and gave him a concerned look. The Autobot sensed the same thing.

Something was wrong.

-----

The bounty hunter's ship was already in motion, following Jazz's trail. The cloaked mech was piloting, while Clobber was sitting next to him. They were quiet, until she grew bolder.

"So..." She started, gaining his attention. "How's Lockdown doing nowadays?" The topic really threw the bounty hunter into the conversation, wether he wanted or not.

"He's..." He panicked for a bit, but then collected his calm demeanor. "Fine. He's fine. Awfully busy."

"Is that why he left his badge with you?"

"Uh... sure. He's very sensitive about leavin' it alone."

"Aww..."

"Yeah. He's kinda weird, but at least he's useful. He made most of the stuff you can see on the ship."

"It does looks like something he'd make." Clobber said, turning towards the arsenal of weapons on the wall. "So, did he become a famous inventor like he always wanted?"

"Ha!" The bounty hunter bellowed with laughter. "He was lucky he got into the bounty huntin' business! His first bounty was a disaster! And don't even get me started on the leakin' accident!"

"Oh... Well, everyone makes mistakes. Me and Blurr made so many of them that we ended up banned on six planets!" She chuckled, but after a second noticed that he was giving her a weird stare. She stopped laughing and cleared her throat.

"... So..." The mech decided to change the topic. "You travel with an Autobot now?"

"Me and my friend Blurr, yeah."

"Some really darin' one, I hear?"

"Who, Jazz? Nah!" She dismissed him. "He's very into safety and rules and all that! He's a bit of a grump and he talks to himself a lot, but he's actually really sweet if you get to know him!" Clobber smiled at her claim. "Don't tell him I said that..."

"What rank is he?" The bounty hunter asked.

"Hm?" She blinked at that question.

"What was he doin' during the war? Field? Strategy? Leadership?"

"Oh... Jazz doesn't really talk about this stuff."

"... He doesn't?"

"Sometimes he mentions a story or two, but he likes to keep things to himself."

"And you're not at all bothered by that?"

"No? I mean, me and Blurr kept secrets from him, too."

"But... He does mention if he has some powerful enemies, right?"

"Enemies?"

"Let me get this straight. You're on board with an Autobot that can't be bothered to tell you if he has any history? An Autobot. Every Decepticon's target numero uno."

"Nobody's perfect."

"Clobber. What if one day he's gonna meet some really powerful nemesis, or turn you in to the Autobot forces as soon as you reach Cybertron, or... what if someone made a bounty on him and wants him and everyone he's associated with dead?"

"Okay, now you're just making things up." Clobber said, irritated. "You're a bounty hunter yourself, you'd know if someone made a bounty on him, right?"

The individual went dead silent. A few moments went by without him giving any signs of life. Then, a grip on his wheel tightened. He changed the direction of the ship and went off the trail they were heading.

"H-hey, you went off course." Clobber noticed, but he ignored her and continued heading in a different direction.

-----

"Alright, partner, time for fooling around's over!" Blurr said, kicking reading Clobber. She tried not to pay attention, but the uncalled for touch was really getting on her nerves. "You need to return to shape after the accident!"

"I'm good." She said simply.

"You'll be a lot better after one hundred and five excercise routines I'm coming up with as we speak!" He was insistent. She couldn't take it and groaned out loud.

"Fine!" She closed the book, rather aggresively, and stood up. She made it very clear she didn't want any of this.

"Okay, we'll start with a small warm-up!" Blurr said, stretching his arms. "Reach for the sky and steal some stars!"

She lazily pulled her arms to the air. "Great! Now do this!" He swung his upper body from side to side. She did it once for each side and that was it.

"Good! Now, uh..." He paused to think of another excercise.

"Wow, you're right! I feel so much better already!" 'Clobber' said with fake enthusiasm. "Now, if we're done..." She sat back down and picked up her book.

"Hey, come on! We're not done!" Blurr whined. "I thought you liked training with me!"

"Sure did. I'm just feeling more in the mood for doing something actually productive right now." She said, then waved off her hand dismissively. "Why don't you go and run up a wall or other things kids like do to nowadays and I'll play with you later?"

That snarky comment was enough to push Blurr's buttons. He was so upset that electricity run through his entire frame.

Jazz was piloting peacefully, when suddenly the lights around the ship started flickering.

"What the...?" He murmured, looking up in confusion. Then, he heard Blurr shouting:

"That does it!"

"Oh boy..." He knew what was coming. "Auto-pilot, on."

"You've been acting really off ever since we left! Accident or not, you're really taking this too far!"

"What's going on?" Jazz asked, walking up to them.

"Jazz, she's taking it too far, right?!" Blurr turned to the pilot and pointed accusatively at her. "She's rude, snobbish and all she does is isolate herself! She's never been like this and I'm worried!"

"Hey, it's okay, buddy." 'Clobber' assured, standing up. Her whole posture changed and she put her claw on his shoulder. "Even if I act like this, it's still me!"

"Buddy this, buddy that, do you even remember my name?!" He shouted in frustration, slapping her arm away and stepping back. That question really attracted Jazz's attention. It made something inside of processor click.

"You're upset, I can tell." She said. "The truth is... I just want some time alone, alright? There's been so much chaos lately and I just need a break. I'm going to make it up to you once we reach Cybertron."

Blurr tried to argue, but Jazz placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"I'm with Clobber on this one. She's been through a lot today and needs some time to recover." He said, putting on a big nice smile on his face. "Rest as much as you need, kid. Me and Thunderbolt will just hang out with each other for a while."

"Wh-" Blurr was about to ask who's Thunderbolt, but Jazz's grip tightened on his shoulder. He was surprised, but he understood that Jazz wanted him to stay quiet.

"That's wonderful!" 'Clobber' said. "Thanks for understanding, Thunder."

Jazz guided Blurr back to the bridge, leaving the fembot by herself. As soon as she was out of the picture, Jazz dropped his facade.

"What was that all about?" Blurr couldn't help, but ask. Jazz walked to the panel and typed in new coordinates.

"Blurr, I need you to stay close to me and away from her. We need to go back." He said ominously.

------

The bounty hunter flied around in search for some place to land on. Eventually, he found an asteroid and decided to station his ship on it. It was big enough for them to have some room, but not enough to call it an open space.

Clobber stepped out of the ship first and the bounty hunter followed her. As soon as she got a better look at her surroundings, she became extremely mixed-up.

"Are you sure this is where Jazz and Blurr are?" She asked, concern raising in her voice.

"No..." The bounty hunter replied. "But this is where you get off."

As soon as his words hit her, she widened her optic in realisation. She turned around and looked up at him in question.

"What?..."

"For now." He elaborated. "As soon as I take care of some unfinished business, I'm comin' back for you."

"B-but..." She stepped closer towards him and he turned away to avoid eye contact. "You said-"

"And now I'm sayin' that I'll take you to Cybertron myself." He continued. "It'll be easier that way."

"You can't do that! Blurr and Jazz! They'll-?"

"They'll what? Get you killed?" He suddenly barked. "Because that's exactly what you stayin' with them will lead to."

"What's that supposed to mean?!..." She shouted.

"It means that it isn't your fight!" He suddenly got in her face, making her lose her voice. "It never was and it never will be! Let the Autobot take care of himself!

"But-"

"Quit whinin' and soldier up!" The last sentence came out in a form of a deep rumble. Clobber found herself completely unable to respond to his accusations. She knew they were wrong, but didn't believe she could change his mind.

Finally, the bounty hunter started heading for his ship. The youngling, on the other hand, was silenced for a one more second and then her arms wandered to her chest. That motion made her remember something. Something that gave her an idea.

The bounty hunter was about to enter the ship, when he heard a concerning sound behind him.

"Hey, red eyes...?" Clobber said. She stumbled on her feet and then fell on her knees. "I don't feel so good all of the sudden..."

"Oh, quit the big crocodile tears." He groaned, turning around. "I'm tryin' to help! It's a luxury I don't reserve for just anyone, you know!" As soon as he said that, he saw Clobber grabbing her side. Unexpectedly, it started drippling with a vibrant blue substance. He immediately shut himself up. The individual rushed back to her and quickly inspected her side. His worries were confirmed, the Energon was leaking from between her inner plates.

"Slag!... Slag!... Slag!..." He whispered, completely horrified. "Alright, cyclops, hold on and pray to Solus it's not a serious bleedin'!..." He said and took her free arm, dragging her back onto his ship. He seated her on his captain chair and then hurried to the wall with the prosthetic replacements. He grabbed a medical kit and started shuffling through it. He was so focused on it that he didn't realise that Clobber quietly stood back up.

"I ain't a medic, but I can patch you up for long enough till we find a real one." The mech said, pulling out a piece of foil for her wound. Suddenly he heard the sound of energy buzzing behind him and he froze. He turned around and saw Clobber standing there with her seismic generators activated.

"I'm really sorry." She said before she punched him in the gut. The combined strenght blew him back and out of the ship. He landed a few metres away, rolling on the ground as he kept falling further.

Clobber rushed to the controlling panel and smashed it into activation. The systems were still online, so they reacted.

The individual unwrapped his cloak from his limbs and stood back up with a pained groan. Suddenly, he heard the engine coming to life. His ship closed it's hatch and prepared to take off.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me." He tried running back, but the ship's thrusters spat flames and forced him to step back. The vehicle took off from the asteroid in seconds, leaving the bounty hunter and returning on the trail.

-----

'Clobber' didn't move from her spot ever since the fight. This time no one bothered her, which was great. Everything seemed perfect, until she glanced out of the window. For some reason, the direction of the ship changed. They stopped moving forward and instead, were flying backwards.

"What?..."

Jazz and Blurr were sitting in silence on the bridge. The youngling was curled next to the Autobot and both of them seemed tense. Suddenly, they heard footsteps and Blurr jumped in panic.

"Shh..." Jazz shushed, then focused his attention back on the wheel.

"What's going on?" 'Clobber' asked, stepping onto the bridge. "Why are we going back?"

"We left a very important piece of the engine back on the last planet." Jazz said calmly.

"B-but..." The Rogue began, looking out of the window. She started getting anxious when she recognised the trail they had already passed. "Is it really that important? Can't we just take it from somewhere else or wait until we reach Cybertron?"

"We can't afford the risk."

"But we're in a hurry!"

"Why are you suddenly so against more travelling?" Blurr asked, frowning. 

"I just... I just don't want to go back there! It has bad memories!... Please, let's just forget about it!" She was getting more desperate with her begging.

"We won't be staying for long. Just sit back down and return to your book. " Jazz ordered. 'Clobber' glanced back at the window. Her fearful expression suddenly turned into a scowl and she clenched her claw tightly.

"I really hope you're right, Jazz. I couldn't take this much cruelty to the real Clobber." Blurr whispered to Jazz.

"I know. Trust me on this, I've been around Decepticons for years and this has 'Decepticon trick' written all over it." While they were talking, 'Clobber' walked really close to the captain seat. Without any warning she took them off guard by grabbing Jazz and forcing him out of the chair. Then, she threw him across the bridge.

"Jazz!" Blurr shouted, immediately standing up. He tried to attack her, but she was faster. She picked him up by his collar and then threw his back against the wall, pinning him with her arm. The look she gave him was nothing like the one of Clobber he knew anymore. Her optic went white and there was nothing but desperate anger in it.

"Turn this ship around, right now!" She demanded. Suddenly Jazz jumped on her back and used his hidden blade to pierce her arm. He struck her fairly deep, but she didn't even react. She just moved her head back to glance at him with a ridiculing look. Just then, Blurr swung and kicked her while she was distracted, making her drop him.

Clobber finally located and caught up with Jazz's ship. She flew the stolen vehicle closer and closer until she reached their tail.

The three of the Cybertronians broke into a wrestling match while trying to get to the wheel. Jazz and Blurr barely outmatched her, but what she lost in numbers made up with size and strenght. They attempted to hold her down at the same time, but she eventually outpowered them. She threw them off of herself and finally grabbed the wheel to turn the ship around. When the ship's direction changed and she tried to lead it away from their destination, suddenly it found itself blocked by another ship. The collision was eminent. One ship bumped into another, sending each other flying off course. Clobber's ship started spinning uncontrollably.

"Scrapscrapscrapscrapscrap!" She repeated, trying to stabilise the wheel.

'Clobber' did manage to stabilise the ship shortly after the crash. Without any warning a grappling hook grabbed her by her legs and she was yanked back. She fell on the floor as she was being dragged away.

Jazz transformed into his car mode and was using his grappling hook to pull her back while his wheels were driving backwards in place. The ship lost control and soon began dangerously balancing around the planet's atmosphere.

"Blurr, take the wheel!" Jazz ordered.

"Wait, really?" Blurr said in disbelief.

"Do it!" He insisted. Blurr didn't argue further and went for it. He grabbed the wheel and pulled it forward to keep it from falling. This is where his success ended, because he started unstably flying around without any clear direction.

Clobber eventually figured out how to stabilise the ship and she stopped it from moving altogether. She couldn't hold her relieved sigh.

"Are ya done destroyin' my ship?" Suddenly, Clobber heard the bounty hunter's voice booming from the computer's panel. She nervously looked around and saw the said mech on the monitor. He was floating on a board before the ship with crossed arms. He looked very disappointed.

Clobber gulped. She saw bounty hunter pressing a button on his arm. Without any warning he blinked away and in seconds found himself on board of the ship, right next to her.

"B-before you beat me up and toss to the endless abyss of space-!" She backed off. "I was going to give it back!"

"You just proved my point." He said, pointing at the ship on the monitor. "That Autobot has you wrapped around his finger! You would do anything for him at this point!"

"... Okay, you know what?" Clobber said with a newly found determination. "I would do anything for Jazz! Just like I would do anything for Blurr! I would do anything for my friends! Maybe if you were a good friend, you'd get it!"

"I am tryin' to be a good friend, you're the one who's makin' it difficult!"

"How's you stranding me on an asteroid being a good friend?!

"I'm not leavin' you for dead!" The individual shouted, strangely passionately. "How do you think Lockdown reacted when he learned that his only friend was gone?! That he failed you! If you can't stay out of harm's way for me, at least do that for him!"

"Don't you dare involve Lockdown in this!" Clobber retorted, catching him off guard. "I never felt like he let me down! Not even once! I could always count on him and that will never change! But Blurr and Jazz had my back for a good while now! If anything bad comes their way, I want to be there to return the favour! That's what I do best!" She said, crushing her fists together so hard that sparks flew around.

The bounty hunter didn't know how do respond to that claim. She could tell there was conflict behind those bright eyes of his, but she couldn't tell what exactly he was thinking. She didn't want to wait and find out.

"Now if you excuse me, my next stop is getting away!" She reached for the wheel. Before she grabbed it though, the bounty hunter placed his hook on it first.

"I..." He sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "I'm goin' to fly you close enough to get you on the ship. But after that, you'll be on your own. You understand that?"

"As long as I'm with them, I'm never on my own." Clobber stated.

'Clobber' snapped back and tried to force the hook to let go off her. That didn't happen and she soon changed her strategy. She blinked and released a scanning beam that hit Jazz. When she had what she wanted, her entire body fell apart. Metal skidplates were flying everywhere, changing places and creating a new shape. The grappling hook let go.

Jazz transformed himself and as soon as he did, he noticed that he was now looking at his own body as if looking into a mirror.

"Makeshift, was it? We haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. Or have we?" He commented. 'Jazz' just came at him with a roar and they broke into a fist fight.

The dark ship located itself on the trajectory of Jazz's incoming vehicle. The bounty hunter opened the hatch and Clobber walked onto it. She took a position and waited for the right moment.

"Hey, red eyes?" She turned around to face the mech for the last time. "Tell Lockdown that no matter where he is right now, I'm going to find him. One way or another."

And with that, she jumped. The ship found itself just under them and when she jumped, she hit a bull's eye. The impact made every passenger lose their balance for a second. The bounty hunter watched her through the monitor.

"... He knows." He whispered to himself sadly.

After a second Clobber lifted herself up and, holding very tightly, she crawled towards the roof's opening. Just as she did, she saw the bounty hunter's ship disappearing into the distance.

"What was that?!" Blurr asked, completely disoriented. Jazz was too and he opened himself for an attack. His double suddenly threw himself on him and pinned him to the ground.

"We can do this the easy way if you just tell the child to turn back!" He warned, trying to hold down his arms.

"Considering that you made me leave one of my passengers, the easy way was never an option!" Jazz stated. Suddenly they heard a commotion on top of them. Without any warning the ceiling hatch opened and Clobber came through it. They both stopped fighting and run away to clear a path for her. She safely landed inside.

"Hi guys!" Clobber greeted cheerfully.

"Clobber?!" Jazz and Blurr, who turned around from the wheel, shouted. Seeing her, 'Jazz' made a very impulsive decision to changed back to 'Clobber' and tried to hit her. Clobber quickly blocked her. Then, she used her free arm to punch her copy straight in the face. The double stumbled back, but didn't show any signs that it hurt. Clobber rushed back at her and she pinned her to the wall with her arm. She also activated her seismic generator, so her opponent wasn't able to escape. She tried to change her form, but she was unable to due to the pressure implied.

"Grab onto something!" Suddenly Blurr's voice came through. The ship suddenly hit rock hard surface and the whole board aggresively bounced off, making a very rough landing for everyone. Clobber freed her copy due to the impact as everyone ended up on the floor. Makeshift took a moment to ex vent, but then he realised something that made his spark drop. He looked out of the window and saw a disgustingly familiar surface of the planet he came from.

"No..." He said with horror in his raspy voice. "No! You're not going to leave me here! I won't let you!" He pushed Clobber off himself and run to the other side of the ship. Without putting much thought into it, he hid in the storage and closed the door he didn't know how to lock. Clobber returned to her feet, grabbing her head and groaning.

"Clobber!" Without any warning she was knocked over by a happy blue light of energy. She landed back on the ground with a laugh as she saw Blurr clinging to her chest tighltly. "ImsorryImsorryImsorryIshouldveknownthis wasacheapknockoffsoonerImsorry-!" He blabbered on.

"It's okay, Blurr! It's all okay!" She said, wrapping her arms around him.

After a second, Jazz offered her his hand with a big grateful smile on his face.

"Good to have you back, kid." He said when she accepted it. Once she stood up, he offered her a fist bump.

"Good to be back." She said, happily bumping it. After a second Blurr let go off her. "You won't believe the adventure I had today!"

Suddenly the group heard shuffling inside of the storage.

"Hold that thought, partner. First, we need to take out the trash." Blurr said, cracking his fingers with sinister glow in his eyes.

"Careful." Jazz put his arm before him. "He may be cornered, but he's still highly unpredictable. Who knows what's going on inside of his head right now."

Clobber glanced out of the window, seeing the scenery that drove the Decepticon spy insane. Something started not sitting right with her. She looked down, thinking.

"Blurr. Jazz." She said after a second, placing her claws on their shoulders. "There's something I need to tell you."

-----

The storage was dark and nearly claustrophobic. Makeshift could barely make out his surroundings. He was still in Clobber's form, but some of his body parts started returning to their previous state. He had no escape, so he just sat in the corner and waited for the worst. Finally, after a few minutes that felt like an eternity, the door opened. He shivered from the sound and shot back to face the crew.

Clobber was standing in the doorway, he was very aware that she was looking directly at him. Without any warning she made her way towards him with Blurr and Jazz following. Makeshift reacted by pinning his back to the wall, trying to keep the distance between them. Clobber stopped halfway and faced him.

"Hey..." She began. He was too scared to answer. "I'm Clobber. But you already knew that, right?"

"... What is this?..." He mustered out, feeling his entire frame shaking. He already dropped her voice and was using his real one.

"I'm just trying to start a conversation." She stated.

"Why?... To deepen the wound? Just get it over with!" When he shouted, Jazz rose his arm and was about to retract his sonic blaster. Blurr grabbed it and stopped him.

"No one's here to hurt you. I just want to talk. But, uh... Maybe you can stop pretending to be me?" She asked awkwardly. 'Clobber' looked at her arm and paused for a moment. Then, she closed her eye and began transforming back to Makeshift's original form. 

In seconds, Clobber saw a fairly tall dark Cybertronian with white optics. Spikes were growing out of most of his body and his mouth was covered by a protective plate. Had it not been for his skittishness, he would be absolutely terrifying to look at.

"Thanks." Clobber thanked politely. "Earlier today, you saved me from that explosion. Why? Wouldn't it be easier if you just took my place without anyone knowing?"

"... If I'm being frank, I didn't plan any of this." He admitted. Sensing that he won't be attacked, he sat on the ground and wrapped his long arms around himself. "But when the two of your friends took me, I didn't bother to correct their mistake. Finally... finally, I had a chance to leave that wretched planet behind."

"How long have you been here? I've heard you're not exactly on good terms with the Decepticons anymore..." She recalled. Makeshift seemed shocked that she knew that, but ultimately, he couldn't find a reason not to cooperate.

"I was a Decepticon spy, but most of my services relied on recruiting. During one of the battles, I was separated from my unit and injured. I used one of the Energon transporters to escape... No one came looking for me afterwards. I suppose they assumed that I deserted." He said, grabbing his head tiredly.

"Days slowly turned into months. Months turned into years... I could feel my sanity slipping with each passing moment..." After a second, he looked up. "All I wanted was to return home. I'm sick of this planet, sick of fighting, and most of all, sick of my reclusiveness." Blurr seemed to soften his gaze somewhat. Jazz remained high on guard.

"...I... apologise, young one. I tried telling myself I could come back for you once I had the means, or someone would find you, or..." He cut himself off when he glanced at her again. All of the excuses drowned in his voicebox and he hung his head in shame.

"... I get it... actually... I was abandoned too, once." Clobber said. "I was the lowest ranking Decepticon. Those like me were disposable... Very disposable. I still remember my last mission. We lost on the battlefield and... they didn't want me to come back... It was scary being on my own for so long and I don't want anyone going through that."

After a second she extended her claw to Makeshift, who slightly shifted in reaction. "Maybe it doesn't have to end this way. Maybe if you drop the lies, you could come with us. As yourself."

"... I..." Makeshift clenched his fist at first, but then he slowly moved his claw and placed it on the top of hers. "That would be wonderful."

Clobber gave him a bright smile for that.

"Jazz... I know it's a big ask, but maybe we could..." She started, looking back at Jazz.

"Kid, I need you to know that I'm very proud of you right now..." The captain began. "But you've gotta understand, this is a dangerous Decepticon spy. How can you be sure that we can trust him?"

"Well, you did trust us." Blurr pointed out. "And we tried to rob you the first time we've met."

"Yeah, but that's not..." Jazz stumbled on his own words. He made several gestures trying to make up some arguing points, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't come up with anything.

Eventually, he looked at Makeshift again, all curled on the floor, scared and with no one to turn to. He was fighting with himself for just a moment more, before sucking in the air and running his palms down his helm.

"I must be crazy..." He eventually said to himself, then pointed at Makeshift. "This better not be another trick, you hear? The kid just poured her entire spark to you. I can allow you on my ship, but you're on an extremely short leash.

"I don't think you comprehend how badly I need this. I am willing to accept any terms." Makeshift confirmed. 

"In that case, welcome onboard!" Clobber beamed.

-----

Makeshift sat by the window and picked up his book. He sighed carelessly, getting comfortable and continuing reading where he had left off. Not even a minute passed when he felt another presence. He looked to his side and saw Blurr staring at him with a worrying grin.

"What?" The Decepticon asked.

"Soooo..." Blurr said, sitting next to him. "Since you're a shapeshifter, can you turn into anyone?"

"With some limitations, yes." He replied, trying not to get annoyed.

"Can you turn into me?" Blurr asked, pointing his thumbs at himself.

"Why would I do that?"

"I always wanted to know what it's like to have a Doppelgänger, but I was too scared of them trying to replace me. You seem like a safer option."

"Ooh! Ooh! I have a question, too!" Clobber said, walking up to them and sitting by Makeshift's other side. "When you were me, did you change on the inside or only on the outside?"

"It's... too complicated for you to understand." The Shifter stated.

"Oh! Oh! What about our powers?" Blurr added. "Can we have a superspeed race one day?"

"No, that's too advanced." Makeshift said, now fully annoyed.

"Also, I heard that Jazz stabbed you in the back. Do you just not feel pain?" Clobber added.

"Wow! I never thought about it that way! If you, like, sink your hand into a smelting pool, will it hurt? Or will it just kind of start melting without you feeling it happen?"

"Are they always like this?" Makeshift asked, turning his head to Jazz who was standing on the bridge, looking all smug.

"24/7." He shrugged. "Better get used to it. They're gonna make sure you won't cause any trouble all the way back to Cybertron."

While the two continued arguing about the smelting pool thing, Makeshift couldn't help, but start having second thoughts about the whole ordeal. However, deep down he knew that this was the best option he had.

Chapter Text

Even the most destructive storms had to calm down eventually. With that being said, everything seemed peaceful on board of Jazz's ship. Everyone was staying in their own little spheres, busy with their own activities.

"He did what?!" Blurr shouted, having a small laughing fit.

"It's all truth." Makeshift said. He was sitting by the window, telling stories. His audience were Blurr and Clobber, who sat on the floor and listened intentely. "Soundblaster regularly spiked Megatron's Energon so he'd be more approachable. One time, he went too far and made him think he was a famous cube player. It did not end well."

While they were chatting, Jazz suddenly walked out of the captain bridge. He headed for the corner where he put his toolbox in and picked it up. When he was on his way back, the younglings noticed him.

"Look who finally graced us with his presence!" Blurr said.

"Good to see you too, Blurr." Jazz replied, stopping. "Makeshift's not causing you any trouble?"

"No, he's fine. He's telling us stories about the war and the Decepticons." Clobber said. "You wanna join us?"

"Nah. I'm pretty sure I've lived through most of these stories." Jazz said, then showed the star map in his free palm. "Besides, someone's gotta update our coordinates to the main computer."

"Okay." Clobber accepted. After that, Jazz walked back into the bridge. He went to his chair and took the metal pole that was keeping the steering wheel steady out. The Autobot sat down, turning on his MP3, which began playing a very nice tune. Humming along, Jazz activated the star map and got to work.

The music reached Blurr's audials. The youngling paused, a new thought coming to his mind. He entertained it in his head for a little bit.

"Hey, white eyes. Do you have any info on the Autobots, too?" He asked after a second. Clobber didn't seem to catch on where he was going yet.

"I did use to be a Decepticon spy." Makeshift claimed, then raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Blurr leaned closer, grinning, and whispered: "Can you tell us something about Jazz?"

Makeshift's optics widened at that question. Clobber let out a big dramatic gasp. Thankfully, Jazz was too focused on his work to acknowledge anything from the outside.

"Blurr!" Clobber whispered. "We promised to respect Jazz's privacy!"

"I am respecting his privacy!" He defended. "This is why I'm not bothering Jazz about it! No one said anything about third-parties!"

"... You... want to know more about that Autobot?" Makeshift asked. There was something different about his tone now. He sounded intrigued, but at the same time a little intimidated.

"You don't even have to go into detail, I just want to know what he was like." Blurr said. Clobber still seemed unsure. "Jazz never wants to talk about this stuff."

"I can't say that I'm surprised." Makeshift said. "Still, I didn't take him for a closed-off type. It's not exactly what I've heard from the other Decepticons about him..."

"What did you hear?" Blurr said, crossing his arms on the edge of Makeshift's seat. He was clearly determined to continue the conversation.

The Shifter had to take a moment to consider his options. He leaned forward and peeked into the captain bridge. He saw that Jazz was still distracted with the star map. The Decepticon leaned back, scratching his cheek. Then, he looked at the two youngling, confused and curious about the whole thing. Finally, he seemed to make his decision.

The Decepticon beckoned them to come closer. The two obeyed, scooting towards him.

"Have you ever heard of the Spec-Ops?" He asked in a shushed tone.

"... Yyyyyyyeeeeeessss?" Blurr lied. Clobber tapped her bottom lip with her claw, looking at the ceiling.

"I think I remember hearing that name before." She said. "Don't know what it meant, though."

"Special Operations." Makeshift explained. "An old Autobot division active during the war. They were responsible for some of the most dangerous missions. Covert operations, infiltration, sabotage. They were the best of the best."

"Ah..." Clobber expressed. "Wait, Jazz was a part of that?"

"Yeah, right." Blurr snorted. "Maybe in accounting."

"Oh no, he wasn't a part of the Spec-Ops..." Makeshift said, straightening up. His tone became more impactful with the next words that left his mouth. "He created the Spec-Ops."

Clobber went silent. Blurr fell silent as well. They both stared at Makeshift, not reacting to this revelation for a good while.

"... Pffff-!" All of the sudden they erupted with hysterical laughter.

Jazz turned off his music for a second and heard them laughing. He wanted to turn around and see what they were doing, when his console started flashing red.

"Warning!" The computer spoke. "An unindentified vessel approaching!"

"Strange." Jazz said. "We're not supposed to reach any planetary systems in another megacycles."

To say that Makeshift was a bit confused by the younglings' little outbusrst was an understatement. He was completely dumbfounded. After some time they finally seemed to get it out of their system and started calming down.

"Oh Nova!" Blurr wheezed and rubbed his weeping optics. "And I thought I had crazy theories!"

"You... seem to be having hard time believing me." The Decepticon squinted.

"Yeah, we don't believe you, because it's Jazz! Our Jazz! You're trying to make us believe he was some kind of super agent?!" Blurr claimed.

"I don't think you fully grasp just who you're dealing with. He may look and act innocently, but there's a good reason why we used to call him the most lethal Autobot alive." Makeshift continued. The word 'lethal' made the younglings stare at him as if he were a madman.

"His cheerful outlook is his most dangerous weapon. First, he uses his charm to get you to trust him. He lures you into a false sense of security with a big smile on his face. Then, he slowly proceeds to crack you open, without you even realising it. Your secrets, your weaknesses, they're not safe when he's around. Once he gets what he wants, it's only a matter of time until he finds a perfect opportunity, and bam!" Makeshift smashed his fist against his palm. "He stabs you right where it hurts the most!"

Jazz could already see the approaching vessel from the distance. From what he could gather, it was a spacecraft. A probe of some kind. The Autobot quickly grew suspsicious of it.

"Wow... You should write a book! Seriously though, you're really overhyping Jazz right now. I mean, we've been with him for a while now and I can count times I've seen him geniuenly happy on this hand!" Blurr said, pointing at his open palm.

"That's... hm." Makeshift hummed. "He must've developed some kind of new strategy, because that doesn't match his description."

"So... If Jazz was different back then, what happened?" Clobber asked, tilting her head. "Why is he like this now?"

"Even if I knew, I value my life enough not to get involved!" Makeshift said, growing somewhat irritated. "I suggest you do the same."

As the spacecraft drew nearer, Jazz could finally make out some of its details. It looked like a normal prode, though its shape was interesting. It was oval with four solar panels sticking out of its front, making it look like a bizarre flower.

The Autobot had never seen a model like that before. He still considered his options when his ship finally seemed to go into contact with the probe's scanners. After some time of inactivity, he saw its panels starting to flicker. He restrained himself from doing anything rushed. Although, he did start slowly reaching for his steering wheel just in case.

After a second, all its lights turned red. Then, its surface hissed out a cloud of smoke. Before he realised, the spacecraft was transforming. Its top opened and something stuck out of it. Jazz couldn't fully see, but he had the right idea what it could be. It was a cannon.

"Slag!..." Jazz didn't waste any time and he immediately took a hold of the steering wheel. He yanked it and made the ship move. Just in time, because the prode fired a charged beam. It missed.

"I think all of you went a little overboard." Blurr said to Makeshift. "Have you even met Jazz? He's a big pushover obsessed with keeping his crew out of harm's way at all times!"

As soon as this bold claim was made, the ship was yanked so hard all of them were thrown out of their seats. They crashed on the wall.

Jazz kicked in full-speed, but it was hardly the end of his problems. The spacecraft activated its jets and started chasing them. In the meantime, it continued charging and shooting energy beams in their direction. The Autobot tried to dodge as many of them as possible, but because of that, everything on board was flying. Especially his own crew.

"What's happening?!" Clobber shouted across the ship. She was holding onto the wall with one claw, while squeezing Blurr to her chest protectively with the other. Makeshift, on the other hand, was holding onto her arm to keep himself stable.

"Hold onto whatever you can! We're under attack!" Jazz shouted, fractically looking at the star map to find any potentail getaways. Their ship took a few hits, but managed to keep going.

The Autobot made a few flying maneuvers to lose the spacecraft. However, it was no use. Eventually the enemy transformed its lower section. It revealed a big missile. It was launched in seconds. Instead of directly hitting the ship, it went ahead of it. When the Autobot's vehicle found itself close to it, and Jazz hadn't spotted it yet, it exploded. Right in the heart of an asteroid trail. The force made some of them fall apart and change their trajectory. A big number of asteroid chunks was heading towards Jazz's ship.

Jazz tried to avoid it, but it was useless. The ship was subjected to the falling asteroids, getting smashed up and dented. The whole board held on, but they began falling over one by one due to the extreme turbulences.

"Shields-!" Jazz tried to activate the shields, but a sudden quake made him fall out of his seat.

The ship took a heavy damage. As soon as the asteroids stopped falling, it was immobilised by all the surrounding rock pieces.

The spacecraft caught up and once again began charging its weapon. Its light reflected in Jazz's visor, leaving the Autobot completely paralysed at the sight of the impending doom. It looked very much like the end of their journey...

However, by the force of some miracle, things took an unexpected turn. Before the final blow met with Jazz's ship, the mech, along with all his passengers, heard a loud honking sound. Without any warning a large vessel appeared out of nowhere and hit the spacecraft with its beak. The machine was sent flying, completely distracting its focus from Jazz's ship.

Jazz found himself at a loss of words at that turn of events. For the probe's misfortune, it wasn't the only company that would arrive. Just behind it, soon revealed itself another large battleship. It was slick, blue, and in a way it was shaped, resembled a large finned beast. On top of it was standing a group of Cybertronians. They all were wearing attire and symbols that could be associated with only one thing. The pirates.

Without any warning the group started jumping off the edge of their ship one by one. All of them except one tall and bulky pirate who instead observed their actions. The pirates transformed mid-fall into jets and began an aerial assault on the enemy vessel. They began circling it so it wouldn't escape. The spacecraft started charging its cannon again, this time aiming at the flying pirates. Finally, the biggest pirate decided to join them. Instead of transforming into a jet, he transformed into a beast former. He was a feeline-resembling creature with sharp claws and a huge pair of wings growing from its sides.

Letting out a roar, he jumped on top of the spacecraft. The first thing he did was sinking his powerful jaws into the cannon. In seconds, he ripped it out of its place. The vessel fought back with all its protocols, but soon the beast started tearing it apart. The rest of the pirates helped him by shooting at its weak spots.

Clobber and Blurr's heads finally stopped spinning. They both rose from the ground and massaged their still aching foreheads. After a second Blurr looked around. He quickly noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Makeshift?" He asked. Suddenly they heard a loud sound of pressing buttons and turned their heads around. Makeshift was messing with Jazz's pod. It finally opened its entrance and after a second he stepped inside.

"Online me after this is over!" He said, making a peace sign. In moments, the door of the station closed and a thick mist appeared behind the glass, lulling him into stasis.

"Okay, Jazz. Take it all easy like..." Jazz murmured, slowly moving the steering wheel, and thus the whole ship, backwards. "Stay calm, stay quiet, and they won't even notice you're here..."

As he tried to back the ship up, he suddenly found himself immobilised. He moved the steering wheel faster, from up to down and from down to up. Nothing happened. He looked out of the window and quickly noticed the source of the problem. The ship's wing was pierced by a harpoon attached to a metal rope.

"Double slag." He murmured. Suddenly the ship jerked forward, pinning him to his chair with all the force of the impact. They flew all the way towards the ship that bumped into the probe in the first place. Their crew shot a few harpoons and used them to pull them closer. None of the Cybertronians could tell what happened next. All they knew was that everyone bounced off, then again, and then they finally met the floor. For the second time.

"Everyone alive back there?!" Jazz groaned.

"Are we, as machines, truly alive in a sense that matters?" Clobber asked in return. No one answered her cryptic question, because suddenly the younglings heard a strange sizzling sound. They looked up and noticed that burn marks appeared on the ceiling.

They soon spread, creating a burnt line, which after a second turned into a circle. That piece of the ceiling soon fell out and hit the floor with a bang. It almost fell on Blurr, but thankfully Clobber managed to get him out of the way on time.

It didn't take long for whoever was on the other side to use the created passageway and get inside. Three shadows jumped down the hole one by one and pulled out their weapons. Upon closer investigation it was clear that they were another, different group of pirates. They also resembled Cybertronians. There were some key differences here and there, but they looked very similiar.

The three Cybertronian look-a-likes wasted no time and threatened the younglings by pointing their weapons at them. A sword, a mace, and strangest of all, a shovel.

"Kids!" Jazz shouted upon seeing them in trouble. Out of pure instinct, he grabbed the pole he used to steady the wheel, and charged to the back of the ship to the rescue. One of the pirates immediately spotted him. She attempted to punch him, but Jazz was faster. He dodged and then used the pole to hit the pirate in her arm. She cried out, which was normal. Although, Jazz found her limb to be strangely loose. He thought it was only in his head, until the pirate's arm suddenly popped out of its place. The moment the arm hit the floor, the whole ship fell silent.

"... Dude." Blurr said, grimacing.

"I didn't even use that much force yet-!" Jazz's defence was suddenly cut short when the dismembered arm suddenly lunged at him. It grabbed his face, muffling any response he could've had, and tackled him.

One of the pirates found out where the controlling panel was and opened the ship's hatch. Outside, the rest of the pirates were waiting.

Jazz, Clobber and Blurr were thrown out of their ship by the intruders. The hand finally let go off Jazz's face and he threw it away. After a second it rose from the ground and skittered back to its owner.

The Autobot could finally take a look at their surroundings. They found themselves on board of a ship that resembled a boat with big rugged sails. Its construction looked like it was stitched together with random scrap and barely holding on. The pirates' armors were just as messy looking, with melted on pieces of junk that shouldn't be a part of armor to begin with.

Jazz slowly moved his head around, scanning each individual. Then, he heard a strange clanking sound and his attention was forced onto the centre of the small crowd. Out of the pirates stepped out a huge figure. They headed towards them with arms folded behind their back.

From the first glance, it was another Junk covered pirate. However, somehow, this one seemed to have even more chaotic fashion sense than the rest. Almost none of the parts of her body looked like they belonged on a single bot. Her helm especially caught the Autobot's attention. She wore a pointy hat that could not be mistaken for anything but a proud sign of a captain.

The figure stopped before them, sparing each one a glance. There was something so cold and mercilless in her optics that made Jazz unspeakably intimidated.

"Looks like we found a tourist, captain Rum-Maj." One of the biggest pirates spoke, bringing his shovel under Jazz's chin. "A disgustingly shiny one at that."

"So it seems, first mate Detritus. " The captain responded, voice disturbingly matter-of-factly. The captain kneeled in front of the Autobot. Jazz tried to keep it together, unlike Clobber and Blurr who decided to glare at her. Rum-Maj didn't seem to care.

"What's your name, pretty bot?" She asked. Demanded, even.

"Jazz." Jazz replied, maintaining eye contact. "We're not looking for a fight."

"Yeah! Because we'd wipe the floor with you!" Blurr suddenly said, then let out a brave laugher.

The Autobot felt his soul escaping his body when the whole board gasped at that too bold of a statement. In response to it, Rum-Maj turned her head towards him so fast he was certain it almost made an uncomfortable cracking sound.

"What did the neon-berry just say?!" She shouted.

"Nothing! Pay him no mind, he's still in shock!" Jazz tried to salvage the situation.

"Oh, I'm in shock alright!" Blurr wouldn't let him. "In shock that this ugly wig of yours hasn't fallen off yet!"

Rum-Maj stood back up, turning to Blurr and growling at him. She was facing away from the Autobot now and Jazz made a discreet gesture at him to cut it out.

"Maybe that's why it smells so bad." Clobber joined, picking the wrong side. "She hasn't cleaned it in so long it started sticking to her head."

"Eeeew!" Blurr laughed. "That's so gross!"

The rest of the pirates seemed to grow annoyed with them as well. After a second their captain stepped closer and leaned down to the younger mech, making him stop. Differently from Jazz, he didn't show any fear.

"Aren't ya a cocky one." She hissed, showing off her sharp teeth. "Y'know what we do with little mouthfulls like that?"

"I dunno, make them captains? That would explain how you got the gig." Blurr just flashed a toothy grin at her. The captain didn't find it as amusing. The pirates around them moved, making Jazz lose all hope for any kind of civilised agreement he had previously held.

Without any warning the captain grabbed Blurr by the shoulder and pulled him up, holding him above her head. This view terrified the Autobot, making him pull out his hidden blades to defend Blurr. However, before he striked, suddenly Rum-Maj adjusted her drip on the youngling and pulled him closer. Instead of attacking him, she started giving him a nuggie. The youngling squealed.

"Ya little brat!" She cackled, making him laugh and playfully kick his legs in order to free himself from her grip. "Good to see no one's managed to shut that nasty trap of yours yet!"

"Noooo! Not the mighty captain fist!" Blurr giggled between his own whines.

Jazz stood there with his blades pulled out, completely perplexed. After a second the other pirates joined their laughter, startling him, lowering their weapons and gathering around the no-longer hostages.

"Rummy!" Clobber cheered, stepping towards the captain. After a second Rum-Maj put Blurr back on the ground and opened her arms, letting the younger fembot give her a hug. The pirates seemed to completely forget about the Autobot's existence as they started giving the two younglings a very warm welcome.

"Long time no see, star rascals!" Rum-Maj greeted, patting Clobber and Blurr on their shoulders. "What brings ya to this witherin' hole of a galaxy?"

"Oh, you have no idea!" The blue mech said. "It all started when me and Clobber lost our shuttle and-"

Jazz awkwardly cleared his throat, hoping that it would be audible enough for them to hear. It worked, because the crew sudddenly brought their attention back at him.

"Oh. Right." Blurr said. He zoomed back to the Autobot and wrapped his arm around him.

"Rummy, this is Jazz! He's going to take us to Cybertron!"

"Cybertron?" Rum-Maj raised her eyebrow. "I thought it was at war or somethin'."

"That's exactly what we said!" Blurr exclaimed.

Suddenly, something fell from the sky on the boat, interrupting their conversation. It was the space probe that attacked Jazz and his crew. A half of it, anyway. It was all banged up and offline. The crowd turned their eyes to the sky. The ones who dropped the probe were the winged feeline himself and his flying crew. The jets transformed mid-air and landed on the ground.

Their captain followed them, landing on his four paws. The beast stepped towards the other group, growling softly. As it was approaching, it startrd transforming. It made a few steps on its paws before finally landing on a foot and a metal peg. The bearded mech, the other captain, came toe to toe with Rum-Maj. Then, gestured at the vessel they brought.

"Just as promised. We got a bit carried away, but I'm sure you can still work with it."

"What, this? We could work with a potato attached to a microwave! This is barely an hour of work!" Rum-Maj said proudly. Jazz, Blurr and Clobber all stared at the broken spacecraft and just how easily it was taken down.

"So..." Jazz said, still trying to process everything that had happened. There was so much to unpack, but he started with the most glaring matter. "You kids are friends with space pirates."

"Not just friends, we're basically honorary members!" Clobber said.

"We met them somewhere in the beginning of our adventurous career." Blurr said. "Jazz, let me introduce you to the Junkions!" He said, zooming towards the crew and dramatically gesturing at them.

"They're a species related to Cybertronians made of scrap metal." Clobber added, placing her hand on the Autobot's shoulder. Then, she said, pointing at each of the crewmember:

"Those are Detritus, Nancy, Ashtray, Trashbin, Scraphook and Junkyard!"

Ashtray put her arm back in its place. After she did, she waved with it at Jazz. The Autobot awkwardly waved back, then looked at the other group of the pirates.

"What about those guys?" He asked.

"Oh... Actually, we see them for the first time, too." Clobber said.

"Those are our new business partners." Rum-Maj stated. "Brats, meet Thundertron and his jolly brigade of Star Seekers!" The tall blue Cybertronian took a bow.

"Friends of my friends and our friends as well." He said. When he noticed that his other companions didn't bow, he shot then a death glare. They immediately complied.

"And my companions are Cannonball, Starquest, Brimstone, Sandstorm and Anode."

Anode looked up and gave Jazz a glare. He immediately got weird feelings from her.

"The Star Seekers from Rum-Maj's pirate stories? I thought you said they were too crazy and unpredictable to work with." Blurr whispered to Junkyard.

"Yeah, well, its not like we had a choice, really." Junkyard confessed, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?" Blurr asked, now lost. Meanwhile, Clobber was looking around as if searching for someone. She counted everyone present and something seemed amiss to her.

"Hey, uh... Does anyone know where Wreck-Gar is? I haven't seen him yet." She asked. Rum-Maj's expression suddenly saddened. The rest of the Junkions grew silent.

"Oh yeah, weird. He's usually the first to come greet us." Blurr acknowledged.

"... Right... I guess we should fill ya in." Rum-Maj sighed, adjusting her hat on her eyes to avoid looking at them directly. The two younglings didn't yet understand what she meant, but it made them grow concerned. Jazz already suspected where this was heading.

-----

Rum-Maj took them to the lower decks into a small room that served as her office. There, she displayed a chest on her desk. There was only one thing in there and the three Cybertronians were staring at it currently.

Inside of the chest was resting a whiskered robot. Well, just a head of a whiskered robot. It's eyes were closed and there was nothing but peace on his face as he rested lifelessly.

"Wreck-Gar?..." Clobber gasped, covering her mouth. Blurr was just staring in disbelief. Jazz's worst speculations came true. He couldn't help, but share the sorrow the two of them were feeling.

"Kids, I'm... I'm so sorry." He stepped closer and put his hands on their backs in a comforting manner. "I know how hard it is to lose someone close... I'm sure he was a great friend."

"Ya bet your sweet cheek plates I was!" Another voice unexpectedly shouted from nearby.

"What in the Allspark?!" Jazz stumbled back in a sort of clumsy manner and away from the chest. The eyes of the dismembered head suddenly opened and the mech inside was now very much awake and alive.

"Clobby! Blurry! You're back!" The mech named Wreck-Gar started bouncing in excitement, laughing like a maniac. "You came just in time for the end of my beauty nap! If I could, I'd squeeze the lights out of ya!"

Suddenly Clobber picked him up and lifted him up so they could see eye to eye.

"What happened to you?! Who did this to you?! Do you want me to kill them?!" She blurted out. Blurr jumped on her shoulder and snatched him from her.

"See? I told you the short-people curse would finally catch up to you! Who's a Little Zippy now?!" Blurr said in delight, raising Wreck-Gar up like a beach ball. This just made the Junkion laugh harder. The whole scene forced a chuckle out of Rum-Maj, too. The only one that wasn't amused was Jazz, who couldn't help but gawk.

"Jazz! Jazz! This is Wreck-Gar! He's the coolest person we know!" Blurr said and tilted the mech's head so he could see the Autobot.

"Ooh, fresh metal!" Wreck-Gar cheered. "Welcome to our humble dwelling, my dear stranger!"

"Uh... hi?" Jazz said, still not knowing what to make out of this situation.

"Sorry for no heads-up, pretty bot." Rum-Maj said, making Wreck-Gar wheeze at the seemingly unintentional pun. "We Junkions are tougher than your average Cybertronians. Even if we fall apart, we keep kickin'."

"Y-yeah, I can see that." Jazz tried to smile, but he caught Wreck-Gar staring at him with a huge grin. He felt the need to step out of his sight range. The Junkion stayed fixated on the place he was previously standing at, not moving a bit.

"This is the reason why we put up with the Star Seekers." Rum-Maj said. "Y'see, a while back, we asked Wreck-Gar to guard our loot. While we were gone, he had a run-in with the Sharkticons. They took our treasure, and claimed Wreck-Gar's body as a trophy. Turns out Thundertron has his own scores to settle, so he offered to help. We're not picky, and we're gonna need all the help we can get. Especially since we know who the Sharkticons are minglin' with."

After she said that, she pulled out a dagger out of her desk and threw it across the room. It avoided the three Cybertronians, but pierced the wall behind them. She directly hit a poster hanging there. The poster had a symbol on it, a terrifying eight legged beast.

"Quintessons..." Jazz said, his words sounding heavy with the tension building in his throat.

"Wait, what?!" Clobber interrupted. "Quintessons as if these Quintessons?! The ancient aliens?!"

"The ones with long tentacles and sadistic tendencies towards all mechanical life forms?!" Blurr joined, just as baffled. "You said they went after naughty bots who didn't want to do their chores! They're real and would come for us no matter what?!"

"Pretty much! Welcome to the adult life, kiddos! It's disappointin'." Rum-Maj confirmed, then leaned closer and put her hands together on her desk. "I trust Thundertron as far as I can throw him, but at least he's been useful so far. The probe that attacked ya belonged to the Quintessons. They used it to search galaxies for mechanical worlds they haven't conquered yet. We're gonna repair and reprogram it so it'll take us straight to the little thieves. Then, it'll be a pirate business as usual."

"I have full confidence that you'll succeed, captain." Jazz said. "And we're really grateful for your aid today. We should be hitting the road soon, too." At his words, the younglings cringed.

"Oh yeah?" Rum-Maj suddenly had the biggest smirk on her face. "And what makes ya think we're letting you off the hook that easily?"

"... Pardon?"

"Dunno how you thought things worked around here, but we're not some kind of Good Samaribots flyin' 'round and rescuin' poor schmuks in need. We saved you, so you owe us big time!"

"Yeah, pretty bot! Haven't you ever heard of the pirate code?" Wreck-Gar chuckled in Blurr's arms.

"Pirate code?" Jazz repeated, confused.

"Jazzjazzjazzjazz!" Clobber suddenly caught him by the shoulders, then made sweet eye to the Junkions. "Can we have a moment of privacy, please?"

"Allowed." Rum-Maj said, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. Blurr jumped off of Clobber and walked up to Rum-Maj's desk. He handed her Wreck-Gar's head back, then, he zoomed away to his companions and they all joined in a huddle.

"Okay, Jazz, I know this is your first time getting rescued by pirates," Clobber began. "but you're kinda making us look really bad right now."

"Can anyone explain to me what is happening?" Jazz said.

"Remember how we wanted to take your ship after repairing you? Yeah, they taught us that. The Junkions follow a traditional pirate code." Blurr stated. "Once they save you, you're in their debt and they can choose however you can repay it. Being first timers guarantees you a bad time paying back."

"First time they rescued us, we were forced to clean the underside of the ship." Clobber said, shuddering. "Worst weeks of my life..."

"Okay... Any other ways to repay the debt, maybe? Don't know about you, but I really don't want to waste these couple of precious weeks on community service." Jazz stated.

"It's that, or we can start a mutiny and become captains ourselves." Clobber replied. "We tried that, by the way. Didn't really work."

"We still haven't tried digging an escape tunnel!" Blurr suggested. Both Jazz and Clobber shot him a glare.

While they were spitballing ideas, Rum-Maj and Wreck-Gar observed them from the distance. The Junkion's head titled itself to the side thoughtfully.

"Hey, Rummy." He said to his captain. She leaned down and he started whispering something to her audial. After he finished, she smirked.

"Oi! Autobot!" Suddenly she shouted, ending their conversation and making Jazz look back at her. The Rogues went silent and he decided to go back to her desk.

"How desperate are ya to get out of here?" She didn't sugarcoat anything.

"I wouldn't call it desperate, we're just on a really tight schedule." The Autobot clarified.

"So you're very desperate!" Rum-Maj confirmed. "In that case, how about a deal? You and the wonder duo help us take down the Sharkticons and return our treasure. In exchange, we'll not only forgive your debt, but also repair your ship! It'll be as good, if not better, as new!"

Judging by Jazz's expression, that offer completely caught him by surprise.

"I see you're interested. So?" She asked, extending her hand to him. He gave it a glance, before looking back at her.

"Are there any catches?" He asked suspiciously.

"It's either that, or the scrubbin' duty." She flashed him a predator-like smile. He suspected that this wouldn't be an easy task, of course he did, but what other options did he have? He turned back to the younglings and they seemed to be okay with that idea. Eventually he turned back around and made his decision.

"Deal." He said, accepting her hand. Her grip was uncomfortably cold and she squeezed him so hard that it sent shivers all over his body. It didn't last long, but when she finally let go, Jazz waited for her to turn around and began massaging his wrist.

"Does her grip always feels like death or is it just for the new guys?" He leaned closer to Clobber and Blurr.

"No, it's always like this." Clobber replied, to which Blurr nodded.

-----

After some time and a few more arragements, the pirates began preparations. The Star Seekers joined the Junkions and they started exchanging supplies, polishing weapons, and sharing battle strategies.

During one exchange, Brimstone came on the Junkion ship carrying heavy boxes. Meanwhile, Detritus was heading for the Star Seekers' ship. His vision was limited because of the same reasons. On their way, the two inevitably collided with one another, knocking each other's boxes out.

"Watch where you're going! Dumb trash compactor!" Brimstone snarled.

"Who're you callin' a trash compactor, ya poor excuse of a flyin' machine?!" Detritus shouted. The Star Seeker was the first to reveal his arm missiles. Seeing that, Detritus reached for his back and was about to pull out his battle shovel. Scraphook was a witness to this and he also prepared himself for an eventual confrontation. The rest of the Star Seekers, seeing it, wanted to come to the defense of their companion, but suddenly a big shadow flew past them.

Brimstone didn't see what was coming his way until the very end. The Star Seeker noticed that a big shadow appeared behind him. Terrified, he tried to withhold back, but it was too late. His optics met with Thundertron. The captain didn't hesitate and slapped his subbordinate with a considerable ammount of force. The Star Seeker fell under Detritus' feet, making him step back. The Junkion was both surprised and horrified.

"Behave!" Thundertron roared terrifyingly. The rest of the Star Seekers observed the situation for just a bit longer, but then returned to their work. After a second Thundertron faced Detritus. "I'm terribly sorry about that. Brimstone will clean this mess up."

"It's... no problem." Detritus managed. Scraphook visibly loosened up and returned to what he was doing as well. "Just don't try to claw our eyes out for any minor inconvenience, will ya?"

Brimstome sat down, massaging his face. He looked at the Junkion with so much undescribable anger that it almost made him feel intimidated.

Jazz, Clobber and Blurr were helping as well. They were carrying metal boxes from the lower deck to the higher level. They brought them near the metal barrels and finally put them down.

"Hey, Zippy!" Rum-Maj called. The three looked around and without any warning a metal rope fell on Blurr's head. The Junkion captain, along with Trashbin, Nancy and Junkyard were sitting on the arms of the mast. After a second she pointed at the ground where the wreckage of the Quintesson probe was laying. They tied ropes around it. "We need one more person! Tie that around the beacon and get over here!"

"Do I have to?" Blurr complained.

"Now!" Rum-Maj roared, making him squint. The youngling grumbled and picked up the parts of rope that fell on the ground. Suddenly Jazz laid a hand on top of it.

"Its okay. You two get some rest." He said, taking the rope from him and walking to the probe. He proceeded to tied the rope around it tightly. After he finished, he walked up to the pole. Pulling out his grappling hook, he shot it up. It tangled around the mast.

The Autobot grabbed the second end of the rope and started pulling himself up along with it. He found his footing on a mast's arm with Rum-Maj. Then, he threw the rope over another, higher mast and caught its end when it fell. He glanced at Rum-Maj and gave her a smile. She turned her head away, grabbing her own rope. The rest of the Junkions stood up and prepared for the life.

The group started successfully pulling the probe up. The younglings watched it being moved all the way to the highest point of the ship.

"You know, Blurr. The more I think about it, the more Makeshift's words start making sense." Clobber said.

"Maybe." Blurr said, then grinned to her. "I still think he was overexaggerating. Can you imagine Jazz as the most lethal Autobot alive?" She fell silent. "Didn't think so."

While Jazz and the three Junkions were working on the beacon, someone was observing them from the distance. Anode watched them tinker with its core from the Star Seekers' ship. She had a blaster in her hand. The pirate was running her finger along its edges all the while her mind was occupied by something. Something that was bothering her to no end. The Cybertronian was seemingly about to snap and point the blaster in their direction, when...

"Anode." Suddenly she heard her captain's voice and gasped out loud. Turning around, she met with Thundertron himself. He eyed the blaster in her hands, then the Anode herself, who grew very nervous. "What do you think you're doing with this blaster?" He demanded, voice strict and out of patience.

"This one?" Anode said, raising the blaster. She gave it a few pats. "I was just checking it before polishing. It's not armed..."

Thundertron suddenly swiped the weapon from her. While he began inspecting it carefully, she hid the blaster's ammunition behind her back. After a second she decided to dispose of it by letting it go abort the ship. When it fell out of the ship's gravity range, it started floating away, where no one could see it anymore.

"I see..." Thundertron purred after a second, giving the blaster one last glance. He threw it back at her and she managed to catch it. "In that case, you're free to continue." She was about to walk away, when suddenly Thundertron gripped her shoulder. She froze.

"And while you're at it," He continued, then reached for one of his shoulder plates. Both of them had exceptionally long and sharp claws that served as a part of his terrifying alt-mode. He reattatched it, and then dropped it in her arms. One of the claws almost came in contact with her face. She swallowed. "polish these for me, too."

"Aye-eye." She replied, forcing herself to stay calm. He finally let her go and she hurried away.

After some time, Jazz and the Junkions manged to attach their new beacon to the ship. Rum-Maj did the honours and activated it by joining two cables together. The red lightbulb on its top started beeping as it begun tracking the signal. After a second the beacon shot a beam of light in the direction of their destination.

Rum-Maj jumped down the mast and perfectly executed the landing.

"Junkions! Star Seekers!" She shouted to both her crew and Thundertron's. "We're movin' out!"

Rum-Maj went to the steering wheel and moved the ship in the beacon's direction. Cannonball was already on position and followed the other boat.

Soon the rest of the Junkions and Jazz also came down from the mast one way or another. Trashbin slid down, Junkyard jumped down as well, and Jazz helped Nancy out by using his grappling hook and bringing her down.

"Not bad for a newcomer!" Nancy said, hitting Jazz in the arm playfully. "But you could use some extra engineering classes!"

"I mean, if you're offering!" Jazz chuckled, retracting his tool. "I've been around for a long time now and I've never seen technology like yours before! And it's made mostly of scrap?"

"Aye. We believe in the great way of recyclin'." Trashbin said. "In what billions call trash, we bring out endless potential."

"That's mad impressive. I myself like being resourceful, so I respect that." Jazz said.

"Just remember not to cross the circuit cables next time. The results may shock ya!" Junkyard said, giving the Autobot a pat on the back. The three Junkions burst into laughter as they started walking away.

"Aha! Very funny!" Jazz shouted after them with a grin. "Jokes on you, I'm a very fast learner!" After a second he noticed that Blurr and Clobber were staring at him. Both were smirking for some reason.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." Blurr said. "Its just nice seeing you guys get along."

"Once the tensions fell, we've been much better at that." He said. "And I've gotta hand it to them, they're amazing at what they're doing."

"You should've seen their abstract structures." Clobber said, sighing dreamily. "Nothing makes you feel deeper connection with art than that..."

"Speaking of deeper, since you're a honorary Rogue now, we can show you all our secret spots on this boat!" Blurr said, wrapping his arm around the older mech.

"Aw, kids. You really don't have to-"

"Nonsense! Come on, spy boy! Our secret snack stash even Rummy doesn't know about is waiting for you!" Blurr exclaimed, encouraging the older mech to follow him.

"How about we keep it a secret by not announcing it to the whole board!" Clobber said, irritated. Jazz couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, that would be..." Suddenly, he paused. He replayed their conversation again and the bits of Blurr's last sentence started slipping in. He took a second to process it and then fully realised what he had said. The Autobot froze. "Wait... what did he just call me?..." He turned to face Clobber, but she was already gone. The younglings went ahead of him, chatting with each other about something he couldn't hear anymore.

Jazz didn't hide that Blurr's words threw him off. He suspected it wasn't just a random phrase that the youngling used to give him a stupid nickname. However, for the sake of maintaining the semi-peaceful atmosphere for the time being, he decided not to dive into it for now. There would be time to bring this up eventually. With head full of questions, the mech finally moved, slowly following the two.

-----

The pirates followed the trail of their beacon. During this time, nothing seemed to disturb them the whole way. It was almost like a sign. A quiet before the storm.

Both the Junkions and Star Seekers eventually reached unsailed territories. On board of Star Seeker's ship, Thundertron waited patiently. Sandstorm, in the crow nest, was scanning the area for any signs of movement around them to avoid a potential sneak attack.

Rum-Maj, while following the beacon's directions, kept her guard up at all times. She didn't want to miss a detail that could potentially lead her to her target. Looking around and keeping her instincts sharp, she finally was rewarded. She saw something a second ahead than everyone else.

Sandstorm looked out of his telescope and after some time, he eventually noticed a cloud of smoke in the distance.

"Captain!" He signaled to the rest of the two crews, pointing in the direction of the smoke. Everyone went to the right sides of their ships and looked out. They indeed could see another vessel ahead of them. A strange looking one at that. It was a bit smaller than the ones of the pirates. However, its most extinguishing feature was its design. It looked less like a traditional spaceship and resembled an animal. A giant metal shark, to be exact. It was slowly drifting forward, unsuspecting of the incoming threat.

"... That's our target?" Jazz asked, sounding lost.

"Yes, sirie!" Wreck-Gar said as Scraphook held him in his arms. "I saw them with my very own three eyes!"

"Why does it have a face?" Clobber asked.

"The Sharkticons are very on brand." Ashtray replied.

"I don't know. There's something about it that I don't like..." Jazz stated.

Rum-Maj pulled out her own telescope to have a look at the enemy crew. She spotted at least twelve Sharkticons on board. Seven were wearing protective armors, one was a tank. She also spotted one tall Sharkticon standing by the steering wheel. He had an eyepatch on his left eye and a big metal black hat on top of his head. There were many scars decorating his body, marking the countless conquests he was a part of.

"Hammerbyte." She murmured. Lowering her telescope, she couldn't help but smirk. "Enjoy your fancy boat while ya still can."

After a second she made a waving gesture to the other ship. Thundertron saw it and nodded in response. He turned around to Starquest and gave her an order to get ready.

Scraphook started handig out weapons to the crew, including to Clobber and Blurr. Clobber got a laser club and Blurr got a grey sword. Jazz was not interested.

The two ships made some distance between each other as they started picking up pace while approaching their target.

Meanwhile, on the Sharkticons' ship, the crew was completely clueless. That was until a scrawny Sharkticon who was mopping the floor accidentally knocked over his water bucket. He cursed under his breath, before kneeling to pick it up. He returned on his feet and looked inside to see how much water he had left. He was about to curse himself for the second time, when something in the corner of his eye suddenly caught his attention. He looked to the side and noticed two ships lurking in the darkness of the cosmic abyss.

"Uh... captain?" He turned to his captain, Hammerbyte.

"Are you finished mopping?" Hammerbyte asked dryly.

"Not yet."

"Then what are you waiting for?!"

"I think we're about to be attacked."

"Oh, sure!" Hammerbyte rolled his optic. "Yesterday it was the black hole, tomorrow it'll be the giant space snail! I already fed three interns to the Quintesson Prosecutors, don't think you're immune to- Oh..."

The one-eyed Sharkticon turned to face him, but then he noticed two approaching ships. He didn't need to ponder much who these were. After a small pause, Hammerbyte turned to face his crew.

"Everyone in positions!" He ordered and all of the board was alerted. His crew scattered.

The Junkions could see that the shark started turning. Not only that, but after gaining some speed, began heading in the opposite direction.

"Oh no, you don't!" Rum-Maj said. Rolling the steering wheel as fast as possible, she threw them into the chase.

"Don't let it get away!" Thundertron ordered, joining the Junkions. By the time they picked up pace, the Sharkticons already managed to kick into high gear.

Hammerbyte tried to lose them. But no matter where he went, the Junkions would follow. The shark flew straight forward, they flew straight forward. The shark made a sharp turn, they made a sharp turn. It tried to lose them in the meteor trail, the Junkions blasted their way out, allowing the Star Seekers to go through. Eventually the pirates began catching up. As soon as they did, they moved into another part of their plan.

The Junkions prepared the harpoon cannons. The crew of the Star Seekers' ship had them ready as well. Without wasting any time, they fired them at the opposing ship. Two of the Star Seekers' harpoons and two of the Junkions' harpoons managed to pierce the tail of the ship and connect them to each other. The Sharkticons felt the impact and were now aware that they were dragging both ships behind them.

"What are you fools waiting for?!" Hammerbyte roared. "Cut the ropes!"

The crew did as was told and immediately rushed to deal with the unwanted visitors. Sandstorm, Anode and Starquest transformed into their flying alt modes and flew to the enemy ship. They carried out an aerial assault by shooting their missiles at them. The Sharkticons run away from them and hid behind everything they could find, such as metal boxes, barrels, or even their own captain.

The tank Sharkticon stayed. He activated a long pole which started crackling with electricity. He waited for the right moment and then threw the stick towards them. Anode and Sandstorm broke their formation to get away, but Starquest accidentally touched the stick and was electrocuted on spot. She crash landed on the board of the ship, completely paralysed. This allowed the Sharkticons to escape their hiding and reach the battle stations on both sides of their ship.

The shark's skin folded apart and revealed a set of turrets. Shortly after, they opened fire. Both Star Seeker and the Junkions' ship were open to laser bullets and their crews had to scatter. Rum-Maj tried to maneuver around them as much as possible.

"Bring out the big guns!" She ordered.

The Junkions brought out a couple of cannons which they installed on the left side of the ship. On command, they fired a series of cannon balls made of folded together scrap, which directly hit the opposing ship. Jazz, Clobber and Blurr were running around and helping to arm the cannons as much as they could.

"Hey, you two!" Suddenly they heard Trashbin, who was lighting up the cannons. "Be of use and make sure the ropes won't get cut!"

"Aye-eye, Trashy!" They both saluted and rushed towards the front of the ship. Jazz wanted to follow them, but he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his collar and lifted off the ground by Detritus.

"You're still needed here, pretty bot!" He said.

Nancy, Scraphook and Ashtray already began moving onto the ropes. Two Sharkticons were trying to cut them with their swords, but suddenly they were stopped by the laser beam that almost hit them.

Clobber was standing on the other side with her laser arm raised. Blurr was there, too. He started making funny faces at them.

The Junkions managed to jump on the Sharkticon's board and immediately started attacking them. They pulled out their weapons, more or less conventional looking. On the other side, the Sharktions had their electric sticks. The Star Seekers, who were flying nearby, transformed back and aided the Junkions.

The whole deck turned into a battlefield. The two teams first tried to take down the Sharkticons with armor. Nancy was fighting with one of those, when the biggest Sharkticon sneaked behind her. He tried bashing her head with a hammer, but Clobber slid in and blocked him with her club. Then, Blurr zoomed in in his alt-mode and buttheaded him.

It took him some time, but Thundertron also joined the battle eventually. He transformed into his alt-mode and roaring, he charged straight at Hammerbyte from the air. Hammerbyte screamed, seeing him incoming. The Star Seeker tackled him to the ground and pinned him there.

Wreck-Gar was rolling along the board of the Junkions' ship from one end to the other. At some point he rolled by the cannon and ended up right in Trashbin's hands.

"We're out of ammo!" Jazz said to the Junkions, looking away from the cannons.

"Use me! Use me! I can be your ammo!" Wreck-Gar enthusiastically offered.

"Sorry, Gary. Not this time." Detritus said, patting him on the top.

"Aww..." Wreck-Gar said, disappointed. The first mate glanced at the enemy ship. The Junkions and the Star Seekers were so caught up in the battle that they didn't see the scrawny Sharkticon with a mop sneaking towards the ropes. He took both of them and started biting them with his jaws. Detritus' optics widened.

"He's gonna separate the link!" He said, picking himself up and transforming into a thrash hauler. With no time left to lose, he sped in the direction of the connected ships. Trashbin wrappped his arm around Wreck-Gar tightly and followed, transforming into a scooter and chasing after him.

Seeing what was happening, Rum-Maj wasn't going to sit back either.

"Hey, captain!" She shouted to Jazz. "Be a dear and substitute for me, will ya?" Not giving him time to answer, she took her hand off the steering wheel and left her post. In response, the whole ship tilted down. Jazz, petrified, immediately run up to the steering wheel and stabilised it back.

"Wait! You're leaving me here?!" He suddenly realised. The Junkion captain already tranaformed into a motorcycle and headed for the front of the ship. "Hey! I can't stay here! The kids might need me!" Unfortunately, his pleas fell onto dead ears.

Eventually, the Sharkticon managed to cut both of the ropes. He chuckled, mouth still full of shredded metal when he did. Suddenly he heard loud roars of the engines. The two ships were still close to each other, so Detritus and Trashbin used their ship's surface as ramps and jumped over to the metal shark. They fell on top of the scrawny Sharkticon, who let out a little pathetic sound as they crushed him.

Now that they finally broke free from the Junkions, the Sharkticons' ship started flying up and away from the boat in an attempt to lose the Star Seekers as well. Rum-Maj was not about to give up, though. She drove to the edge of the ship. When she was finally running out of the ground to drive on, she used the same ramp as the two of her pirates did. She jumped while the shark was still heading up.

The Junkion transformed mid-flight and then reached for one of the pouches on her belt. Seconds after, she pulled out a blade. A chipped, yet extremely sharp looking dark grey blade that she was proud to use. Without any warning she stabbed it into the shark's skin. She made a rather long cut while falling down, before supporting the blade with her clawed arm and finally halting herself.

Soon, the shark, along with the Star Seekers's ship, ascended into the level Jazz couldn't reach with the Junkion boat. All he could do was speculate what was happening up there at the moment.

"Please be careful..." He said, full of anxious thoughts for his youngest passengers.

Back on the Sharkticon ship, Rum-Maj climbed all the way up to the higher deck where the Junkions and Star Seekers were fighting. As soon as she got there, she noticed Anode. She was up against one of the Sharkticons with heavy armors. The Sharkticon was clashing his sword with her blade and forcing her to move back with every strike. Eventually her back hit the handrails and she was blocked.

The Shakrticon brought his sword down, but she caught it with her blade at the last second before meeting with her head. The Shakritocn chuckled darkly. He started pushing forward, trying to break her defences. Anode felt herself slipping and his sword was getting dangerously close to her forehead. She struggled immensely to keep herself holding on. Then, her sword started breaking. She panicked, not exactly knowing what to do next.

A few more seconds and her sword would've broken in two. Without any warning the Sharkticon was pulled back. Anode groaned, feeling the weight being lifted off of herself. Rum-Maj grabbed the Sharkticon by the fin on his back. She started spinning him around, and around, making him cry out in distress, before throwing him across the board. She hit a group of Sharkticons that spotted her and was heading her way. All of them were tackled. Anode stared in shock at that.

"You okay, green bean?" Rum-Maj asked, walking up to her and dusting off her hands.

"I'm fine..." The Star Seeker said, looking over her sword. There was a big dent in its side. "Wish I could say the same about my weapon."

Rum-Maj spared a glance at the broken weapon. Then, she reached for her other pouch and pulled out her own blade. It looked just as well-made as the one she was wielding at the moment.

"Here." She said, handing it to her. Anode stared at the sword in her hand in disbelief.

"You're... giving me your sword?" She asked.

"You need to fight with somethin'! Obviously, you're gonna give it back!" Rum-Maj stated. Suddenly they heard Junkyard crying out. The captain looked around to see him on the ground while a group of Sharkticons were kicking him. Rum-Maj rose her second blade and then glanced at Anode.

"Shall we?" She asked with a smug grin. Anode gave the blade one more glance, before looking up and nodding to her with a smile. They both charged into battle with a fierce cry.

Finally, the Junkions and the Star Seekers began overpowering their enemies. They threw them one by one to the ground, kicking their weapons away. Anode and Rum-Maj were fighting back to back against a group of surviving Sharkticons.

One of them tried to electrocute Anode, but she quickly turned around and let Rum-Maj block him. Then, she kicked him away. Anode, meanwhile, used her new blade to strike the three Sharkticons before her. They blocked her with their electric sticks. After a few seconds, all three of them fell apart, electrocuting their owners. They collapsed, completely stunned.

Clobber and the tank Sharkticon entered a sparring match. Even with her height, he was towering over her. But despite that disadvantage, she had something he didn't.

Blurr suddenly appeared between them, holding a shark-shaped metal wallet.

"Oh, cool! I haven't had this one before!" He said.

"That's mine!" The Sharkticon shouted, recognising the object. Because of that, he got distracted. When he tried to strike her, Clobber caught his fist. Using her chance, she activated her seismic generators and punched him right in the gut. The Sharkticon went flying.

Blurr zoomed in and offered her a well-deserved high five. Clobber accepted, but forgot to turn off her generators. Blurr was blown away with a startled yelp. Realising what she had done, Clobber followed him, apologising over and over.

Hammerbyte tried to struggle in Thundertron's grip. No matter how hard he tried, the winged feeline just pinned him to the ground harder. The Sharkticon really couldn't do anything but stare into the fangs of a beast on top of him. Soon, he heard footsteps. He looked up with his one good eye and noticed approaching Rum-Maj.

"Well, well, well." She said, stopping and playing with the tip of her blade. "The hunter has become the hunted!"

"I'm gonna have your heads for that, Rum-Maj!" Hammerbyte spat. He grew to regret his words when Thundertron started growling at him.

"You already stole a whole body and you're not satisfied with that?" She snorted.

All Sharkticons were neutralised by this point. Their weapons were taken away and they cowered under the feet of their conquerors. It was a real sight to witness.

Feeling the powerful moment getting to her head, Rum-Maj turned to both crews and rose her blade.

"Victory is ours!" She claimed. The Junkions and the younglings cheered with her. For some reason, most of the Star Seekers seemed indifferent about the triumph. Anode was about to step out of being included, but the Junkions worked faster. Detritus grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in, including her in the joyful celebration. Despite her own character, she soon found herself comfortable enough to cheer along with them. Even if it earned a few side-eyes from her own crew.

"Alright! Now, let's get down to business!" Rum-Maj said, turning back to Hammerbyte. Thundertron got off of him so she could have more space to work with.

"Show the way to your vault!" She demanded coldly, shoving the tip of her blade towards his throat. Meanwhile, the other captain transformed back.

Hammerbyte just growled at her, but slowly accepted his fate. Careful not to make any sudden movements, he started standing back up with his arms raised. Then, he headed in a direction of the entrance to the lower deck. Rum-Maj and Thundertron followed.

The captains walked down to the lower level where they thankfully found no more Sharkticons hiding. Hammerbyte took them to the deepest part of the ship.

There, they saw what they came for - a big vault. Shoving him, Rum-Maj gave the captain a clear order to open it. The Sharkticon moved forward and stopped before the vault. There was a scanner hanging on its entrance. He leaned down and let it scan his working eye. The system processed for a second, before granting access to enter. The vault's doors loosened and the Sharkticon grabbed it. Rum-Maj, in her anticipation, decided to get a little closer. Finally, the Sharkticon pushed the entrance open, allowing her to peek inside.

The Junkion didn't really know what she was expecting, but after getting a glimpse of what was inside, she definitely expected more. To her confusion, they were met with an empty space. The only item in the vault was a broken metal cup in the corner.

"What is this?" She demanded, poking Hammerbyte in the back with her sword. All this time she was so laser-focused on the Sharkticon that she left herself open to the potential sneak attacks. Without any warning a tip of an electric stick met with her back. In seconds, she was electrocuted by a powerful paralysing wave. Thundertron was the one who dealt the blow.

Rum-Maj let out a scream so loud that even the upper board could hear it.

"Rummy?!" Clobber called out in dread. No sooner than she shouted that, Sandstorm used the apprehended electric stick to make her meet her friend's fate. Before any of the Junkions and the Rogues realised what was happening, they were taken down one by one by the Star Seekers. Anode was the only one who didn't carry out the task. Quite the opposite. She watched in horror as the events before her played out.

After some time, Thundertron and Hammerbyte returned to the surface. The Star Seeker was dragging Rum-Maj behind him by her head.

"I gotta hand it to you, Hammerbyte." He said, then threw Rum-Maj towards the rest of her fallen comrades. "You play a miserable victim rather masterfully."

Hammerbyte growled at that comment. Then, he faced his crew, who began getting up from the ground.

"Sharkticons! Set a new course!" He ordered. "The Quintessons await their special delivery!"

Chapter Text

"Thundertron!" Despite Rum-Maj being paralysed, she could still talk. She was facing Thundertron on the side that she was thrown onto. "Are you malfunctionin'?!"

The Star Seeker captain walked over to her. He decided to humble her by kneeling down.

"Sorry, Maj, we forgot to mention... Upon closely reconsidering our deal, we came to the conclusion that it wasn't satisfying enough." He said with an unnerving smirk on his face.

"It turned out that the Quintessons had a pretty interesting counter offer. All we have to do is find them a couple new toys to play with and they'll make sure the whole universe will cower before us!"

"Seriously?!" Detritus joined. "You sold yourselves out to get some fancy titles?! Have you people no dignity?!"

"What's the use of it if it doesn't provide any goods?" Starquest said, then kicked his head to shut him up.

By that point, the whole scheme was off. The Star Seekers completely abandoned the Sharkticons and insead focused on the Junkions. They helped with picking up their paralysed frames. As two bigger Sharkticons were about to get to Clobber and Blurr, they suddenly heard white noise coming from their audials.

"Heeey, kids! I can't hear any fighting anymore!... Did you get the Sharkticons?" Jazz's voice came through after a second. Both of them somehow became even more rigid when Thundertron halted upon hearing it.

"Ah, yes. I forgot about the Autobot." He mused. After a second he turned to Brimstone and a few Sharkticons, making a small gesture while ordering: "Sink the ship."

"No!" Blurr and Clobber immediately protested.

"Clobber? Blurr? Is my signal reaching you?" Meanwhile, Jazz tried to contact the Rogues from the Junkion ship. However, his efforts seemed meaningless. He wanted to tell himself that they were fine, he really did, but his expression betrayed his worry.

The Autobot was about to call again, when suddenly, he saw the sky above him lighting up. He looked up and saw that a bunch of stars, shooting stars, appeared. They seemed to be approaching his position and approaching fast. Jazz narrowed his eyes to see better. He swore he had seen something similiar like that a couple of times during the war. Unfortunately, the closer they got, the more he managed to recognise the incoming objects. They were a rain of armed missiles.

Jazz's optics widened.

Quickly, Jazz distanced himself from his position. Seconds after, the first missiles hit, exploding the steering wheel into pieces. Jazz fell over on his stomach with a pained grunt, covering his head with his arms. The assault was far from over and soon another projectiles started explosing all around him.

The Autobot didn't know what was happening, but he could tell when he was no longer welcomed. He looked back up and noticed burnt holes in the deck that the missile had left behind. In all the chaos and destruction, he noticed a glimpse of silver painting on the lower deck. It was on the other side of the ship so he couldn't see it too well, but he did manage to recognise it. It was his ship, and thus, a chance presented itself.

Jazz was abruptly reminded of his current position when the whole board shook violently. The rockets increased in numbers and the whole thing was falling apart.

Picking himself back up, Jazz transformed and stepped on the gas. Two missiles hit the macht, making it tilt and then start falling. The Autobot maneuvered around it, avoiding the beacon that led them into this situation in the first place, before he raced to the other side. When he was close, he avoided another missile by transforming back, feeling the heat of explosion on his back. Sliding across the floor, he he fell inside the hole.

He skillfully landed on the roof of his ship and noticed that the opening through which the Junkions had come through was still not patched yet. Jazz entered his ship through it. Once he was inside, he wasted no time and rushed to the captain seat, activating the main panel.

"Computer, raise shields!" He ordered.

"Scanning... They will not be enough to fully protect the ship from the incoming danger." The computer reported.

"Proceed!" Jazz shouted, hitting the panel with his fist. The computer did as it was told and the ship was surrounded by the force field. The Autobot activated its engines and rose it just enough to be levitating off the ground. Then, without a warning, he drove it forward, penetrating the boat's wall.

The Junkions' ship began falling apart from the damage it took. The Sharkticons made them and the two younglings watch as it was slowly being devoured by one explosion after another. They gave Rum-Maj the front seats for their own sadistic pleasure. The spectacle ended after a few minutes, with one final blast that finally wiped out their boat off the surface of space.

"Jazz!" Blurr and Clobber shouted desperately. The rest of the Junkions were just as devastated, watching the wrack of their former ship falling into the cold abyss of space while constantly desintegrating into rusty particles. Rum-Maj bared her teeth in anger.

"You'll pay for this..." She growled. "Every single one of you will pay!"

Anode winced at the raw anger in her voice. She couldn't look Rum-Maj in the eyes so she turned away. Others just laughed at that threat.

"If we were in any other circumstances, I'd admire your spirit." Thundertron chuckled. Without any warning, he slapped her across the face and sent her flying towards the rest of her crew. She fell on top of Junkyard and Nancy, then slid onto the ground.

"Rummy!" Wreck-Gar rolled all the way up to her to see if she was okay.

Blurr and Clobber were glued to the sight of the ship going down with their captain on it. Neither of them had anything to say, even Blurr stayed silent this time. They were stuck looking for any sight of either their ship or Jazz, but neither could find anything. They were gone.

Soon, the Sharkticons and Star Seekers began moving the Junkions away. While Cannonball was taking care of Rum-Maj, he reached for her blade and looked at himself in its reflection. He slid it in his own sheething before returning to the task. It was only a matter of time until someone got interested in the Rouges, too. Blurr was taken away first by Thundertron himself.

"Let me go, you captain murderer! My vengeance will be bloody! Bloody, you understand?!" Not being able to do anything beyond that, the blue youngling shrieked. That didn't leave the slightest impression on the pirate.

Clobber was to be taken next. She was grabbed by the big Sharkticon and Brimstone, but before she was taken, she used her last opportunity to glance at the Junkions' boat. Her sorrowful expression soon shifted, however.

The fire began settling down and everywhere were flying pieces of junk. Among the debris, the Rogue saw a tiny green ball of light. Its movements were not this of a typical floating trash, it was coordinated, steered. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, not giving away the position it was heading towards. A spark of hope returned to Clobber, her smile replacing her sadness for a brief second before she was dragged away as well.

After thee Junkions were stored under the ship, Hammerbyte gave an order to move out. They activated the engines and started heading East.

Meanwhile, in a fair distance, Jazz's ship was still under the protection of the forcefield. However, it began flickering and soon it had to be taken down. The captain was sitting in his chair, trying his best to calm his ventilation system. He managed to escape in one piece and avoid the destruction of his vessel. Those were the good news. Now, for the bad ones.

The alarm blared and the console started flashing red, showing a major malfunction. Jazz glanced at the message on the holo-screen that showed the damaged areas of the ship, then looked out of the front window. He saw that the Sharkticon boat started moving. Moreover, he noticed that the Tidal Wave moved alongside it. For now, Jazz's head was in too much of a rush to ponder about it. All he knew was that he couldn't do two things at the same time.

Thankfully, he remembered about a stasis pod on the end of the ship.

Driving across the board in his alt mode, he reached the end in a speed of light. He transformed back right in front of the pod with a small slide. Without wasting time, he punched the button.

The pod opened with a hiss after a second. A large cloud of mist released from the inside and soon Makeshift stepped out of it. The Decepticon let out a huge yawn. Without any warning, Jazz tip-toed and grabbed him by the arm.

"Hi, buddy.- Had a good rest?- Good.- I need your help." He said quickly, starting to drag the confused bot across the board.

"I was having a good rest, for your information. Did you get rid of- by the Allspark!" As soon as they reached the bridge, Jazz pushed him towards the wheel. Makeshift noticed that there was no pilot behind it and immediately grabbed it. "What's going on?!"

"I'll fill you in later! Now, stay here and follow those ships without getting spotted!" Jazz ordered, pointing outside the window.

"Are those... pirates?" Makeshift narrowed his white eyes in confusion. "What happened when I was in stasis? And where's the rest?-"

"Follow them!"

"I'm following! Calm the frag down!" Makeshift had to push all of the following questions onto the back of his head after the way Jazz barked at him. He turned the wheel and started following the boats. Meanwhile, Jazz grabbed a toolbox and kneeled under the panel, beginning the repairs.

-----

The two ships led Jazz and Makeshift past the meteor field and to the open space. By then, the Autobot had managed to fill the Decepticon in on their current situation.

Jazz stood up from the ground and wiped the remaining oil from his forehead. After a second, he turned around and walked up to the seat that Makeshift was currently occupying. He was almost too tall to fit into it, so he had to pull his limbs as closely to his chest as he could. He looked out and saw the ships finally stopping.

They stopped as well. At first, nothing was happening. Then, a glimmer of something shiny appeared in front of the Sharkticon ship. It was a silver, smooth surface of some kind. Soon, it began expanding to impressive proportions, filling in the empty space before them.

The Autobot finally understood that what was surrounding them was not a fabric of space as he previously thought. In seconds, the surface turned into a shape, and eventually, the forcefield that kept a gigantic battleship camouflaged disappeared. It had an odd shape, reminding him of a Quintesson symbol. He could easily place a bet who it belonged to.

After a second, the entrance opened and the Sharkticon's ship flew inside. Strangely enough, the Tidal Wave remained outside. Unexpectedly, the battleship opened a side panel and a long tentacle-like rope emerged from it. It attached to the ship via magnets on its end and kept the ship immobilised. Thundertron and his Star Seekers flew out and entered through the same opening as the Sharkticons' ship. After a second, Jazz stepped back, gaining Makeshift's attention.

"What is your plan, exactly?" He asked hesitantly.

"Don't have one." Jazz admitted, kneeling on the floor some distance away from his captain chair. "I'm just going in and getting our friends back."

"Fantastic." Makeshift murmured. The captain moved his hand across the floor until he felt an uneven surface. After a second, he pushed open a secret door and looked inside. There, he found what he was looking for. He reached his hand inside and then pulled out a single thing, a metal chip. He held it between his fingers as he sadly stared at it.

"And here I thought those days were behind me..." He sighed. There was a hesitation on his face for just one more second before he caught it in his palm and then continued shuffling through the pile.

He pulled out two magnetic rings which he attached to the underside of his boots. He pulled out a long cable and opened his left arm, inserting it inside. He opened his chest and put the metal chip inside, snapping it into an empty slot right above his spark chamber. When it slid into place, his visor flashed green, then red, then back to blue, before returning to its normal self. The rest of the items seemed random, but he pushed them inside of his subspace nonetheless.

Finally, he stood back up, stretching and making sure everything was in its place.

"Fly closer." Jazz ordered as he rolled his arms.

"What?!" Makeshift disbelieved his own audials. "They're going to see us!"

"Not that close. Not yet, at least. When I'll give you a signal, you'll come and pick us up." The Autobot stated, completely unbothered by the possible stakes at hand. Makeshift, however, did not share his sentiment.

"Who do you think you are to order me around? You're not Optimus' right hand bot anymore, you can't force me into any of this!" Makeshift snapped. In that heated moment, he didn't realise the unfortunate slip of his tongue. Jazz paused. Immediately, he took the Decepticon's words into consideration and then pieced things together.

"So you were the one who told them." He said, frowning. Only then did Makeshift realise his mistake.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said defensively, avoiding his captain's glare.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't." Jazz hummed. Instead of keeping an angered expression, however, the Autobot seemed to have other plans how to handle the situation. Unexpectedly, he smiled.

Makeshift started feeling nervous all of the sudden. His state only worsened when Jazz stopped right next to him and wrapped his hand around his shoulders.

"You know, Makey. Can I call you Makey?" He started in a friendly voice. Makeshift was both completely terrified and impressed how sweet yet still geniuent it sounded. The Decepticon couldn't help, but feel like he was in a grasp of a venomous snake.

"I think we started on the wrong note, you and I. You've said some bad words, I've said some bad words, but at the end of the day, we both want the same thing. Why don't we forget about the past and try to settle our differences for a bit, hm? If not for our sake, at least let's do it for our kids."

"I didn't agree to babysit-"

"Unless there's something on your spark you want to share that's really bothering ya. This is a no-judgement zone. In fact, I'm no saint myself! You're impressively well-versed in my history, maybe you recall the 'infamous accident' of a hidden Decepticon shuttle in the Crystal City?" He said, then suddenly made Makeshift look at him. Jazz tipped a side of his visor and left optic met the terrified two. Something in Autobot's gaze seemed to darken, or maybe it was Makeshift's own rising dread. In any case, the Decepticon felt like he was beginning to shake.

After a few intense seconds, Jazz finally released him. His posture dramatically changed and the Decepticon seemed to shrink.

"... I'll wait for you." He finally managed.

"I'm so glad we could sort this out!" Jazz said, never changing his friendly attitude.

The ship flew closer underneath the giant battleship. Jazz made some final adjustments in his body before stepping out of the bridge.

"Wish me luck!" Jazz shouted to Makeshift on his way. After a second, he rose his arm, pulled out his grappling hook, and shot it through the hole in the roof. He didn't even wait for an answer, he pulled himself up and was gone in seconds.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Makeshift quietly contemplated his fate.

Jazz's hook got attached to the nearest meteorite flying by. Pulling the rope all the way, he swung and jumped on top of it. He looked up and noticed more of them approaching. Jumping from rock to rock, he managed to get higher.

Finally, he pushed himself off the rock, and mid-air, he activated his magnet boots. He reached the metal tentacle and his feet immediately glued to it. Thankfully, it didn't seem sentient. The Autobot started running up that 'brigde' all the way to its root inside of the ship. He stopped, just as he was about to enter and scanned his surroundings. Nobody was in sight, the area was clear.

"Hang on, guys. Your captain's coming." He murmured, before slipping inside and entering the enemy territory.

-----

Upon arriving on the battleship, the Junkions were transported to the prison level and placed in a cell. The effects of their paralysis had finally worn off and they were free to move again. Clobber was using this opportunity to activate her seismic fists. However, whatever field was placed around that cell, it made that impossible. Others either sat on the cold floor, or on the benches that seemed even colder.

"Whose bright idea was it to put trust in the blasted Star Seekers?!" Junkyard commented.

"You can thank our fearless captain for that one." Nancy sassed, pointing her thumb at Rum-Maj. The captain was the only one leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She didn't look like she was listening.

"Oi!" Detritus immediately stood up from his bench and came over to Nancy. He leaned down to her with a dangerous scowl. "That's still the captain you're talking about! Keep your attitude in check!"

Nancy stood up and cracked her fingers. "Or what? You'll make me walk a plank?!"

Both looked ready for confrontation.

"Enough!" Rum-Maj suddenly came over and separated them. "Last thing we need is fightin' among our own!"

"You know what we need right now, captain?" Nancy didn't let that stop her. "A way out and that's probably not happening for a long while!"

"You guys need to lighten up a little." Blurr chimed in, gaining theirs and Clobber's attention.

"Oh, like you're so optimistic, speed demon?" Junkyard challenged.

"Yeah, we're open to any suggestions." Scraphook stated. It made Blurr blow a rasberry in amusement.

"Please! You think I have a plan? All I'm saying is that it's been a while since our last run-in. Enough time to practice my pickpocketing skills." He said, then circled his hand and dramatically revealed a flat piece of metal. It was an access card. Judging by the ID photo, it belonged to the giant Sharkticon they had faced before their capture. The whole cell looked at him in shock.

"Ha! I knew there's hope for ya yet!" Rum-Maj said, snatching the card off his hand.

"Great, we have a key." Nancy stated, pointing at the wall across of their cell. "Now what? The controling panel is over there and we're all right here! We can't use our legs!"

"Then why don'tcha use your head instead?" Detritus offered. Suddenly, the group seemed to realise something. Their attention fell onto Wreck-Gar, who was holding a stick in his mouth and absently carving doodles on the wall. The Junkions and the Rogues all exchanged glances.

-----

"The lure worked perfectly." Thundertron claimed. Hammerbyte and all of the Star Seekers were standing on the battleship's bridge. They appeared to be having a call. "We managed to capture the Junkions and a few Cybertronians."

The two captains were speaking to a holographic projection on the wall. Their caller was a large Quintesson with multiple faces. Each one represented a different emotion. Currently, they were speaking to the neutral face.

"Excellent!" It spoke. "We knew we made the right call to trust you with this mission!"

"Yeah, yeah, it all went a-okay." Hammerbyte grumbled, massaging the side of his jaw. "Did you really have to roughen us up like that?"

"I'm sorry," Thundertron purred, flashing his fangs at him. "is the bait not supposed to look realistic?"

"Oh, I'll show you realistic, you winged furball!" Hammerbyte warned, reaching for his sword in its sheath. The Star Seekers immediately reacted by pointing their weapons at him.

"Silence, fools!" Suddenly, the normal head was replaced by a different one. It was the face of anger, which roared across the whole bridge. The sheer power of its might froze everyone on the spot. As soon as they went silent, it changed again. This time it was a calm face.

"You and your Star Seekers have proven yourseleves to the great Quintesson Council." It carried on, adressing Thundertron. "Your request of becoming our enforcers is going to be looked through upon your arrival."

"Thank you, Your Honour." Thundertron bowed. Hammerbyte couldn't help, but roll his eyes, crossing his arms.

"And we are looking forward to it!" The face changed into a smiling one. "Especially since you will be providing us with not one, but three Cybertronians! It's been a while since we had any of them!"

Thundertron was eating all the praise up, up to the point where the Quintesson mentioned the number. He immediately sobered up, so did his Star Seekers and so did Hammerbyte.

"Three?" He repeated as his crew glanced among each other in confusion.

"The scanners we put in your ship sense three new sources of Energon." The serious face made its return just to clarify. Suddenly, it rotated back to the angry one.

"Are we speaking too quietly for you?!" It demanded.

"Uh... Your Honour?" Hammerbyte joined. "We only have-!"

Without any warning, Thundertron stomped on his foot. Hammerbyte made a surpressed squeal, shutting himself up.

"-We only have a few hours before we reach the randevu point!" Thundertron assured with a performative cheerfulness. "We will be there shortly with all the Junkions and Cybertronians!"

"You better be." Suddenly, the face changed into something that didn't resemble any emotion, but looked a lot older than the rest. It's voice was gravely and unpleasant to listen to. "You don't want to disappoint us."

Then, it quickly disappeared behind a smiling face that laughed maniacally before hanging up. As soon as they did, Thundertron dropped his act. He removed his foot from Hammerbyte's. The Sharkticon grabbed it and started massaging it with a tear in his eye.

"Moron!" The Star Seeker captain said. "Who taught your people to shoot?!"

"Yours didn't get the job done either!" Hammerbyte retaliated. After a second, Thundertron turned around to face his crew.

"Find the impostor and bring him to me!" He ordered.

"Aye-eye!" The crew erupted. They rushed out and scattered, all except for Anode who stayed behind for a second. Thundertron snarled at her.

"I said go!" He thundered, finally making her leave.

-----

Meanwhile, somewhere else on the ship, Jazz found his way into the vent system. Going through it and looking down, he found a crate located under himself. There, he could see a room. It looked important. A Sharkticons was sitting behind a desk and observing a big monitor. He had a good guess what it was.

The Sharkticon had his legs on the panel as he snacked on a pack of metal nuts. He was looking at the monitor where the shots of different cameras were present. He saw the Star Seekers and other Sharkticons erratically running around the whole board, which propably meant they already knew he was there.

The peeping Sharkticon looked bored. He struggled just to keep his eyes open, but they were lazily fixated on the screens nevertheless. He looked from the hallway, to the bridge, and to the prison level. He was about to move on, when suddenly, something forced him to stop and focus on the prison level. He was immediately more alert.

Trashbin and Detritus were standing in front of the cell, in the angle where the camera was facing. They weren't doing much, just stared with arms behind their backs. There was no sound, but he could tell they were whistling innocently.

The Sharkticon hummed, looking closer. He noticed the movement behind them which he assumed were the rest of the captured group. He reached his panel for the microphone to call Hammerbyte. Before he hit the button, however, he heard a click and then the lights turned off.

"What the-?!" He never finished his surprised yelp, before he went silent as the room filled a sound of crushing metal. After a second, the lights flickered back on. Jazz was the one who flipped the light switch on the wall. The Sharkticon, on the other hand, was out cold on the floor. The Autobot walked past him.

"It's rude to spy on others." He mused to the unconscious form, before leaning against the computer. He scanned the monitors before spotting the prison level with suspicious looking Junkions. He couldn't tell which way to go, though.

The Autobot decided to have a closer look. His arm suddenly opened and a long cable extended from it. It found a connecting port and attached him to the system. Jazz's visor flickered green. Gigabytes of data reflected on their surface as he went through every bit of information he received. Eventually, he found the schematics.

After a few minutes, he could hear metal footsteps outside of the room. Jazz sped up the process, and soon, he had the whole thing downloaded.

The automatic doors opened and a few Sharkticons, Starquest and Anode barged inside. All they saw was the guard on the floor and an empty room. They also noticed that every single one of monitoring's screens spat static. They were out of commision.

"The cameras are down!" One of the Sharkticons commed. "I repeat, the intruder took out our cameras!" They all left the room as quickly as they entered. Anode was leaving last. She was reluctant to follow and perhaps this was the reason why she heard a commotion above her. She looked up, but saw nothing. Wondering about something, she turned back to the room to have a better look. Then, she saw a vent crate on the ceiling.

-----

After some time, Jazz finally left the vents. They led him deeper into the ship's mechanism, and eventually, he found himself near the main reactor. It was a technology beyond his comprehension, a machine neither organic nor mechanical powering the entire thing.

The Autobot tried to walk past it, hoping that it wouldn't infect him or anything. Thankfully, nobody seemed around so all he had to do was find another vent and-

Jazz heard a blaster charging. He snapped his head to the side in startlement, his entire systems running cold. Anode came out of the other side of the reactor with a blaster raised at him. The Autobot flinched a bit, and she immediately rose the weapon higher. Her expression suggested that he should stay down. Jazz glared, then slowly rose his hands to the air.

"Anode! Did you check the sector?!" Without any warning, a booming voice of the Star Seeker captain came out of her comm link. Jazz clenched his jaw, realising how badly he had screwed up.

"Anode?! Do you copy?!" Thundertron repeated. Anode was still intensely fixated on Jazz and remained like that for the following few seconds. Then, however, she used her free hand to respond.

"The sector's clear!" Was her reply. "No signs of the intruder!"

Jazz lowered his guard, mostly because he was so taken aback by that report.

"Keep looking! As soon as you find anything, don't kill! Injure if you must, but bring him alive!" Her captain ordered.

"Aye-eye!" She said, then hung up. After she did that, she wanted to turn her attention back to Jazz. However, she quickly realised that something was amiss. He was gone.

She had very little time to react. Without any warning, she felt impact on her arm. Jazz suddenly found himself next to her. The Autobot forced her blaster out of her hand before he pushed her. He neutralised her by pinning her back against the strange core that started pulsing upon the impact. Jazz held her like this, his hidden blade against her throat.

"Talk. Now." He demanded coldly. Now was her turn to raise her hands in defeat.

"I'm not your enemy." She managed calmly.

"Then tell me what's going on! Where are you taking the Junkions and my crew?"

Anode's expression softened with guilt.

"... The Quintessons?" Jazz guessed.

"... Yes." She replied. Miraculously, he gave her time to explain herself. "Thundertron wanted power, they promised him more. We had no idea what he was planning, we didn't have a say on the matter!... You're here to free them, right? I'll take you to them."

"I know where to go."

"But to free them, you need someone from the staff. Or someone affiliated." She stated.

"I'm sure I could figure something out..." Jazz claimed. His blade was touching her metal now, making her venting system shut down. She tried to look confident. Usually, she was calmer in situations like that. However, Jazz was something she hadn't seen before. He was a smaller bot with seemingly no edges to make him look threatening. Yet, the more she stared into his expressionless visor, the more of that confidence was leaving her body.

It all lasted for another minute, the eye contact never ending, and then, Jazz took his blade away. Seconds after, he stepped back. Anode didn't realise how much tension was building inside of her until the Autobot let her go.

Her blaster landed under Jazz's feet. While she was busy regaining herself, he picked it up and poked her back with its tip.

"But you saw me, so now you've got no choice." He stated. She really couldn't do much outside of keeping her hands up as he led her forward.

-----

"Almost there!... Almost!..." Rum-Maj grunted. She was holding her detached arm out of the bars. The Junkions made a chain out of their limbs all the way to the troublesome panel. The last arm was holding Wreck-Gar's head, who was holding a card between his teeth.

"Wouldn't it have been easier if you just went with the arms?" Blurr asked, standing on the side with the rest.

"Yeah, but he asked to be included very nicely." Trashbin stated.

The Junkions tried to hold their limbs steadily, but it was hard to keep a straight line. Eventually, Wreck-Gar found himself within arm's reach to the panel. He leaned towards it, trying to slide it across its screen. The chain supporting him kept missing it, going to the sides instead.

"Work with me, or so help me!" Rum-Maj growled in warning. The crew focused more on the task at hand, and eventually, the chain straightened up. Wreck-Gar was now face-to-face with the panel. The Junkion's head smiled and then he slid it across its screen with one quick swipe. The panel flashed yellow in response. Suddenly, the bars lost their power and desintegrated into nothingness. They were free.

The Junkions and the Rogues cheered. Wreck-Gar joined their celebration, but jumped so high that the impact made the hand supporting him drop to the ground. The connection fell apart soon after.

"Good job, Junkions! Put yourselves together and we're goin' for Wreck-Gar's body!" Rum-Maj ran up to and picked up Wreck-Gar from the ground with one hand. Blurr and Clobber helped the Junkions find their missing limbs. The fembot checked one last time and noted that she could activate her powers again. Once they had everything reattached, they headed for the exit.

"Wait!" Clobber suddenly shouted, making others stop. "Jazz could be here soon! Maybe we should let him find us!"

Everyone turned to her, going quiet.

"Little cyclone..." Detritus began, sighing deeply.

"No, no! You don't get it! I saw a big glowing thing escaping the explosion! It must've been Jazz!"

"Maybe it was just some flying debris." Nancy said. "Physics work weirdly here in space."

"But-!"

"Clobber, I'm really sorry for your loss." For the first time, Rum-Maj looked sympathetic. "Really, I am, but we've gotta keep movin'. You can crash with us for a few days if you need time."

"No! Stop saying it like that! Jazz will come back and I'm not moving until he does!" She frowned, turning away from them. Blurr decided to do something about it.

"They're right, partner." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. She shook him off.

"You think I'm crazy, too, right?!" She asked. "You don't actually believe that after all this time, Jazz would go down under so easily?!"

"Of course I don't believe that!" Blurr confessed. "Jazz is too stubborn to be blown up, but if we want to see him again, we've gotta leave this flying fish market!" She tried to look away, but he grabbed her by the arms and made her look him in the eyes. "You know if you're staying, I'm staying. You wouldn't want that for me, right?"

He was right, she didn't want that. She huffed, defeated. Before she moved, though, she decied to look back at the empty cell one last time.

"... Sorry, Jazz." She said, then turned back to the rest.

-----

After some time, the vent crate in the prison room was kicked out of its place. Anode stepped out of it, first, and then Jazz followed. He was still pointing the blaster at her.

As soon as she took a look, she froze. Jazz looked over her and was met with an empty cell.

"You said they'd be here!" He said, bringing the blaster to her back.

"This is where we left them!" She defended. She looked inside of the cell and, after a second, saw something. It made her change her expression into a confused one. Jazz saw it and followed her gaze.

Inside of the seemingly empty cell was laying a colourful object of sorts. The Autobot looked back at Anode and silently told her to move forward. They went inside of the cell so he could have a better look at the thing. Upon closer investigation, he recognised it as a blue rock. It looked familiar.

"Clobber's rock collection..." He said, then carefuly leaned down to pick it up. The rock had something carved on it. In a very messy handwriting, he made out words 'safe', 'escaped', and 'Junkions'.

"Thank the Thirteen." Jazz placed his hand over his spark chamber, sighing in relief. He was about to turn the blaster back at his hostage, when he suddenly realised that his hand was empty.

Without any warning, Anode swung the blaster at him and hit him in the face. He stumbled back, hitting hit back against the wall next to the entrance. When he looked back again, the Star Seeker was pointing the weapon at his chest.

"You think I wanted to serve the Quintessons?!" She began. "Thundertron rules us with an iron fist! Ever since he struck that deal, I've been trying to find a way out!"

Jazz was keeping his guard up, looking for a way to escape this predicament. Thankfully, he didn't need to think for long.

"Your friends are not safe as long as they remain on this ship." She stated. She lowered the gun, and then, to his shock, offered it to him. "More the reasons to keep moving."

The Autobot looked at her, as if she just grew a second head. Carefully, he reached for the blaster, and took it. He was met with no struggle.

"I know you don't trust me." Anode continued. "I don't blame you, but you don't have a lot of options."

"What guarantee do I have that you won't backstab me on the back?" Jazz asked a very important question. In response, Anode looked down at her belt. Wrapped around it was Rum-Maj's blade. She squeezed its handle.

"Pirate's honour. I need to take it back where it belongs." Jazz scanned her quickly, seeing that her remorse seemed geniuent. He let out an ex vent. Then, he gave her an inviting hand.

"Good enough, I guess." He said, while she took his hand. "But try anything and I'll personally start learning the pirate code just so I can punish you accordingly." If he was trying to make a threat, he failed to make it seem like anything more than a jab. Anode gave his hand a glance, before accepting it with a nod.

-----

The Junkions had no idea where they were going. They wandered aimlessly through the hallways, hiding from the Sharkticons running around.

They were about to turn left, when suddenly, Rum-Maj halted everyone. Just in time to avoid two Sharkticons walking in the direction they were about to go. The crew stilled, trying not to make a sound. The Sharkticons were clearly busy, because they were carrying various items that partly limited their vision. Unlike others, they were in no hurry at all.

The two pirates passed them without spotting them. Once they were away in a safe distance, the group loosened up.

"Look!" Blurr whispered, pointing at the Sharkticons. They obeyed and noticed that something was sticking out of the left one's pile. It was shiny and looked very expensive.

"I think they're going for the vault." Blurr added.

"One way to find out." Rum-Maj said, then made a hand gesture for the Junkions to follow her.

Meanwhile, the Sharkticons continued running around their ship. Some in groups, some on their own. One of them was approaching the Junkions' position. Before they noticed any of them, a small rock bounced off their back. They turned around and then saw a white and black bot disappearing behind the corner.

"Halt!" They shouted, chasing the shadow. They disappeared behind the corner as well. Seconds later, a bright light beamed from it.

A few minutes later, another group of the Sharkticons was running by. The Sharkticon guard came out of the corner and they stopped in front of them.

"The intruder ran thay way!" They said, but their voice sounded different. Nevertheless, the group ran in the pointed direction. As soon as they were alone, Anode came out of the Sharkticon as if through a hologram. She stared at them in shock. After a few seconds, the projection disappeared and Jazz was standing behind it.

"I didn't know you could do that." She said.

"That's comforting to hear." He replied, then suddenly pushed her to the wall. He held her there while pinning his own back against it. His front lights continued emitting the strange light. Another group of Sharkticons passed them, but they went completely unnoticed. Once they were safe again, Jazz released her.

"What is this trickery? Hypnosis of some kind?" She continued.

"Nah, I'm too dumb for that. Just some advanced light manipulation, my speciality and a little inspiration from a dear friend of mine." He said. Suddenly, his form flickered and then multiplied. Before her were now standing four Jazzes.

"Let's make sure they're too busy to notice that the Junkions are missing." He said, smiling and giving her thumbs up. All of the other Jazzes mirrored his movements perfectly.

-----

The Junkions prowled the two Sharkticons for some time. They didn't find any guards on their way, which may have been unusual, but they wouldn't complain. Eventually, the Sharkticons reached their destination, a giant safe door on the back of the ship. They hid behind the corner and saw one of them reaching for the access card. He placed it on the panel, opening the doors. They stepped in and disappeared out of sight.

Tip-toeing, the Junkions followed them to the vault. As they stepped inside, they were immediately blinded by its contence. The vault was full of riches, gold, jewelry, or other expensive objects such as beautiful furniture and paintings. Piles upon piles of them. Blurr's mouth near began watering at the sight.

"I'm gonna be sick." Nancy said, disgusted.

"Focus." Rum-Maj said. "Our treasure must be somewhere in this ocean of tackiness."

"Let's not waste any more time!" Blurr exclaimed, taking a head start. Before he dived into one of the piles, Clobber grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him off the ground so he wouldn't run off.

Meanwhile, the two Sharkticons were on the other side of the vault. They were just finishing setting the expensive objects into their new places. The Junkions hid behind the nearest piles. They looked around, and finally, hope returned to their eyes. They saw a huge pile of scrap rotting away in the corner.

"There it is." Scraphook murmured. The two Sharkticons were ready to leave, when they suddenly stopped by the huge scrap pile.

"Eegh." One of them said with a grimace. "This monstrosity's still here?"

"Captain said loot's a loot, right?" The other replied.

"Yeah, but this is taking space for something more valuable. Hey, hey look! Look at this!" She said, picking up a piece of scrap and turning to him.

"Guess who am I. 'Oooh! I'm a stupid trash bot! I love collecting useless junk!'" She said, waving it in the air. The other Sharkticon cackled. The Junkions watched with little to no amusement. Blurr and Clobber sensed the atmosphere becoming heavy around them. The bigger Rogue decided to slowly back off, pushing Blurr along with her and leaving them be.

"'Oh noo, what's that? A lone piece of junk? I bet I could find it a friend!'" The Sharkticon continued. Without any warning, she chucked it at the trash can across the room. She hit a bull's eye. "'There! Right in its place!'"

The two Sharkticons roared with hysterious laughter. The sound echoed through the whole chamber, which muted every other sound in the area. When it started dying down, it was too late.

Suddenly, they felt someone tapping on their shoulder plates. Confused, they turned around and immediately felt their spirits leaving their bodies. Behind them were standing the Junkions with captain Rum-Maj on the lead. All of them were staring at them with daggers in their eyes. Some even began cracking their fingers.

"Aw... nuts..." The other Sharkticon murmured, wide eyed.

"Blow the sharks down, fellas!" Wreck-Gar, who was held under Trashbin's arm, shouted. On his command, the Junkions dogpiled the Sharkticons, completely overpowering them in combat. They started kicking, biting and beating them up. Nancy even went as far as to climb on the treasure piles and perform an impressive diving elbow drop on one of them.

-----

A Sharkticon screamed as they tried to throw a spear at Jazz who was waving at them. The weapon went right through him and penetrated a wall instead.

A few other Sharkticons tried to dogpile a Jazz who just stood by the wall and kept grinning smugly at them.

Two other Sharkticons were chasing around a running Jazz, who no matter what they did, was always outrunning them. They entered a dining area and stopped when they realised that he was gone.

"Where'd he go?!" One shouted, looking around. Suddenly, the other backed off from his companion. Instead of the other Sharkticon, he saw Jazz staring at him in confusion.

"Cybertronian scum!" He sneered, taking a swing of his hammer.

"What're ya doing?!" Jazz screamed in panic, in the gruff voice of his partner. Not thinking much about it, the guard whacked him in the head. That immediately knocked him out. As Jazz fell lifelessly on the ground, his image glitched. As soon as it collided with the cold floor, his Sharkticon companion reappeared.

The guard stepped back in fear, weapon raised. He backed off to the wall. Suddenly, a hand came from the shadows and karate chopped him straight in the weak spot. It took him out cold and he was down as well. Anode stepped out seconds after. She looked up and saw Jazz hanging from the ceiling by the vent crates. He jumped down and joined her.

Before they said anything, the doors of the room creaked. Jazz impulsively looked around, seeing Hammerbyte forcing them to open fully himself. He growled, scanning the room. Anode was about to raise Rum-Maj's sword, when Jazz signaled with a wave to stand down. She obeyed.

The Sharkticon captain stomped inside, two blades in his hands. He saw his pirates on the floor and snarled.

"'Go look for the impostor, Hammerbyte'. Who does he think he is? This is my ship, not his!" He murmured to himself, forcing the two to back off as he prowled by. "Can't wait to take the Autobot's head and throw it straight at his smug feeline face."

"Your bosses don't seem to be getting along." Jazz whispered when he determined that the big Sharkticon wouldn't hear him.

"No kidding. They've been at it ever since they had to join forces" Anode whispered back. "Hammerbyte thinks Star Seekers are gonna replace him."

"Interesting..." Jazz hummed, a worrying grin spreading across his face.

Hammerbyte walked over to the Sharkticon laying by the wall and analysed them briefly. After a second he stood up and turned around. He started heading for the exit, when suddenly, he heard a loud slurp. He immediately whipped back. Jazz was sitting at one of tables, legs up, fully relaxed and sipping from one of the mugs filled with Energon.

"Hey." He said once he saw that he got his attention, raising the mug with a smirk.

He left Anode fully cloaked by the wall. She kept gesturing at him angrily, mouthing various colourful insults his way. Hammerbyte wasted no time. He pounced at the Autobot, knocking over the tables and knocking him on the floor. The mug was shattered, but all Jazz could do was continue staring calmly.

"I don't know how you survived, but you're not getting away this time!" The Sharkticon captain snarled.

"Yeah, I figured that much." Jazz wasn't able to move much, but he managed to shrug. "Welp! Take me to your leader, I guess."

"... That's it?" Hammerbyte asked, raising an optical ridge. "You infiltrated our ship just to turn yourself in?"

"Nah, my plan was to free your prisoners and ride into the sunset while singing shanties, but now I know it was a stupid idea." Jazz confessed. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"I... well. You're a lot smarter than you look!" The big Sharkticon stood back up, holding Jazz by his scruff like a misbehaving kitten. Then, he tapped the side of his head. "Hammerbyte here! The intruder has been apprehended! Situation under control!"

He hung up and then reached for his blade, bringing it to Jazz's neck. "Now... what should a suitable punishment be?"

"How 'bout a slap on the wrist for baby's first pirate crime?" Jazz asked innocently, one hopeful eye shimmering behind his visor.

"A funny one! Good, I love breaking the spirits of the likes of ya! They always think they can mess with us and get away with it!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... By the way, just wanna say, it's such an honour to be on the same boat as the scariest pirates in the universe. Literally, when I first stepped in, actual chills ran down my spine." Jazz gestured from upper to his lower body.

"Ah, a flatterer, too. I don't blame ya, scallywag. We Sharkticons love nothing more than to bring misery to other worlds!" Hammerbyte cackled, full of himself.

"Sharkticons? Nah, I meant the Star Seekers!" Jazz was really enjoying pegging him down a notch, perhaps a little too much.

"... What?" The Sharkticons' brow furrowed.

"I've got to spend with them only half a day, and let me tell ya, that's gonna leave a mark in there." He said, flicking his own helm.

"You were on the same side." The Sharkticon stated.

"Crazy to think about it now."

"The Sharkticons have brought a lot more worlds to their knees! Didn't that good for nothing Rum-Maj tell you who we work for?!"

"You seem really upset that I don't."

"I'm not! I'm just... a wee confused here."

"To tell you the truth, I turned myself in because I was too scared to think what Thundertron's gonna to do me when he finds me. Sorry if it makes you feel bad, I'm sure you're plenty terrifying yourself."

Without any warning, Hammerbyte slammed him against the wall, finally making him groan. Anode was gone.

"Thundertron doesn't compare to me!" He growled.

"The Quintessons seem to think otherwise." Jazz said. Judging by the Sharkticon's twitching eye, he hit a nerve.

"He's just a temporary novelty! He doesn't have the experinece that I have!" He defended.

"They already turned you into bate, do you think they'll suddenly change their mind? I think you don't. I think you know that Thundertron is in the spotlight now. He's bossing you around like he owns the place and you can't do anything about it. Maybe he'll leave, eventually, but by that time, your glory days will be long over. You're holding onto the last straws of hope before it completely fades away. And then, you'll be only good for one thing..." He paused and put up his two fingers between Hammerbyte's wide eyes. He pretended to shoot, while maintaining direct eye contact with the other.

"Target practice."

Suddenly, Hammerbyte roared, slamming him against the wall again and bringing his blade to his face. It was so close that fresh Energon began running down his cheek.

"You're just trying to turn me against my masters!" He spat. "Keep talking, but nobody's gonna take my place! Maybe I should teach you a lesson you'll never forget before handing you to the rest of your little friends!"

The blade moved, he was going for the visor. Anode sprung into action. She left her hiding and bashed Hammerbyte's head with a metal chair.

She put so much force into it that the Sharkticon lost consciousneess immediately. He lost his grip on Jazz and he safely returned on his feet. He caught the Sharkticon's massive body as he fell forward.

"I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one!" Anode shouted angrily.

"I am, for what it's worth." He said, resting Hammerbyte on his back as he kneeled before him. "When he wakes up, that conversation's gonna eat away at his brain like a colony of Scraplets at a parade of metals."

"And how is making him even angrier going to help us?" She asked skeptically.

"Oh, it will, trust me. I'm gonna make sure of that. In the meantime..." The Autobot opened a panel on his arm, switching to a camera setting. He gripped Hammerbyte's upper half and lifted it up to bring his head next to his. Then, he positioned the camera towards him.

"Smile for the camera!~" He sung, smiling widely. Then, his device snapped a picture with a bright flash.

-----

The Junkions were stacking their subspaces with as much scrap as possible. Nancy brought two treasure chests she had found among the treasure, and along with Trashbin, were filling them up with whatever didn't fit.

"Anyone sees Wreck-Gar's body?" Rum-Maj asked, looking around.

"Found it!" Scraphook announced, resurfacing from the scrap pile. He was holding a headless body of a slightly smaller Junkion in his hands.

"Hey! I know that guy!" Wreck-Gar let out a delighted cry in Detritus' grip.

Blurr was nearby, discreetly attending to the other treasures. He tried on the jewelry and admired himself in the crystal mirror that he found lying around.

"Alright, Junkions! We're outta here!" Rum-Maj said, throwing Wreck-Gar's body over her shoulder. Blurr let out a little disappointed sigh, before starting to take everything off and shoving it into his subspace.

After a few minutes, the Junkions and Rogues gathered with their loots. They headed for the vault door, making sure nothing would fall off. As they walked, Detritus heard faint jiggling sound coming from Blurr. He shot him a glare.

"What? It was already stolen!" Blurr defended.

"Your lack of standards continues to astound me, lad." The Junkion stated.

Scrapper and Nancy started opening the vault's door, when suddenly, they froze. Starquest was about to enter inside, when he saw them out of their cell and carrying all the scrap metal out.

"Oi!-" Almost immediately, Scraphook and Nancy closed the vault's door. They pressed their backs to it, holding it closed as they heard banging on the other side.

"Block the door, now!" Rum-Maj ordered, picking up a heavy statue of some weird looking alien nearby. The Junkions began moving the treasures found in the vault and started making a barricade. Clobber and Blurr helped, too. After a few minutes, they finished. The knocking and banging on the door only intensified as the Star Seeker's backup arrived.

"This will slow them only for so long!" Rum-Maj said. "We need to find another way out!-"

Without any warning, they heard a loud commotion. They turned around and saw that Clobber used her seismic powers to make a huge hole in the wall.

"Found one!" She said, pointing with a smile.

"Good thinkin', little cyclone!" The Junkion captain patted her on the shoulder as she walked past. The Junkions ran towards it and passed to the other room one by one. It was a weapon storage and three other Sharkticons were present. They were too startled to do anything about the group running by and then smashing through another wall.

When Starquest and two of the guards got through and followed them through the wall, they finally picked up the weapons they were polishing and joined the chase.

The Junkions continued their run through the battleship. Clobber was on the lead, taking down the walls and providing them a further escape route. The more they did that, the more attention they brought upon themselves. Soon there was a small army of one Star Seeker and many Sharkticons chasing them.

Eventually, Clobber smashed her last wall. Before she went through it, she suddenly halted. The Junkions fell on her and she supported herself with her arms and legs not to fall through the hole. On the other side was nothing but the darkness of space.

"We're going back!" Detritus shouted. As they were about to turn around, they saw Starquest and the Sharkticons finally catching up with them.

"Back to the cell, you mean!" The Star Seeker said, pulling out his blade. On his cue, swords, flails, hammers, or even bazookas appeared in the crowd. The Junkions had no weapons to defend themselves with. Clobber stepped out and activated her seismic generators, glaring at them.

Without the warning, the room went dark. A choir of panicked Sharkticons cried in startlement.

"What's going on?!" Scraphook shouted.

"Does it matter? Scram!" Rum-Maj ordered. Then, there was a sound of loud banging, pained shouts and crushing metal. After a few minutes, the lights flickered back on and Starquest, as well as the group of Sharkticons, were laying mangled on the ground. Their weapons were missing.

In the next room, the lights were just fine. During their rampage they didn't notice that they had found themselves in a room filled with staticy monitors. Out of the blue, their screens flashed and got their attention. A map appeared on them with a red x marked on the opposite side of the ship.

"Might be a trap." Detritus said.

"It's an x! It has to be more treasure!" Wreck-Gar claimed.

"Well, if Wreck-Gar thinks so!" Rum-Maj grinned, pointing at the monitor. "This is where we're heading!"

-----

"We've lost the sight of the Junkions!" One of the Sharkticons commed Thundertron, who was still on the bridge. The Star Seeker captain slammed his fist against the console.

"Then you better return it before I'll get my claws on ya!" He threatened, then turned on his heel and started heading for the exit.

"We're gonna reach a randevu point in twenty minutes." One of the Sharkticons nervously pointed out. "Do we stop the ship?"

"Keep moving forward or I'll grill your fins!" He shouted, before entering the chaos-riddled hallway. A few minutes after he left, Hammerbyte returned. They noticed him immediately.

"Stop the ship!" He ordered. The Sharkticons stared at him.

"But captain Thundertron said to keep course."

"Who you're gonna listen to, wings-for-brains or your captain? We're not showin' up to the Quintessons like this!"

The two exchanged a look, but then turned back to the panel and proceeded. Hammerbyte went the other way. As soon as he was in safe distance, his form flickered and Jazz and Anode appeared in his place.

"This is going way easier than I thought." He mused.

"We're nowhere near safer than befor... Ah, slag." Anode trailed off, looking behind him. Jazz turned around and immediately regretted it.

Through the window, they saw something in the distance. At first glance it seemed like a black hole, a swirling matter with pitch black centre. However, they were already close enough to make out some pieces of construction. It was a space bridge, but different from their Cybertronian technology. The two could only guess where it would take them once they made contact.

"We're closer than I thought..." Anode murmured softly. It was a rare moment where Jazz saw pure fear on her face. He could tell she was geniuenly terrified of the Quintessons. Despite everything, it made his stomach squeeze.

"We're almost out." He followed the urge to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, feeling her plating loosening up in that place. "Just need to do one last thing and then you're free."

There was a brief storm on her face. A part of her wanted to reject his compassion, but the other one tried its hardest to believe him. What she knew for sure was that they couldn't afford any more stalling. As soon as she looked back at him, her expression hardened again. She was back.

The two started running down the hallway, the sinking feeling of time they had left running out on the back of their minds.

-----

The entrance was blown to pieces. The Junkions followed the map and found their desination which was behind the doors. They all barged inside and saw a hangar of sorts. It had a collection of various Sharkticon ships presented in front of them. They more resembled the one Jazz was flying than the pirate ship of Hammerbyte. Of course, they had shark faces painted on their fronts.

"A treasure indeed!" Scraphook cheered. They ran up to the first available ship. Trashbin messed with its exposed cables, and soon enough, the hatch began opening. They were about to enter, when suddenly, a blade flashed from the darkness. One of Rum-Maj's missing blades.

Cannonball slowly stepped out of the ship. Behind him, a group of Sharkticons with electric sticks was following his steps. The Junkions backed off. Clobber held Wreck-Gar in a defensive grip.

"Another ambush!" Nancy shouted as they reached for their weapons. Suddenly, five other ships' hatches opened as well. Inside, the rest of the remaining Star Seekers and a big number of Sharkticons stepped out and surrounded them.

At the same time as that was happening, Jazz and Anode entered the hangar through a different entrance. They found themselves on a platform above the hangar where they saw the whole thing.

"Slag!" Jazz cussed, glancing down. Suddenly, the two heard a feral roar. Anode gasped before she pushed Jazz out of the way. Thundertron dropped on them from the above, trying to get them with his claws. He was in his secondary form already.

"You thought we wouldn't expect you to run for this room in order to leave?" He purred, feeline snout curling into a nasty smirk.

Still rolling, Jazz headed towards the edge. He managed to grab onto the edge before falling off. Now, everyone from the lower level could see him.

"Jazz?!" Clobber and Blurr shouted, looking up.

"Took him long enough!" Wreck-Gar commented, while other Junkions gaped.

Thundertron focused on Anode. He growled as he stalked towards her, making her scramble back from her sitting position.

"After everything I've done for ya lot, that's how you repay me, Anode?" He accused.

"You've done nothing but dishonour our names! Quintesson bootlicker!" Anode spat angrily, but it was clear she was just hiding her rising dread.

"Oh, to be so young and idealistic again." He flashed a toothy grin at her. Then, he rose his head from the ground and proceeded to pounce on her. She managed to roll out of the way, immediately returning to her feet and heading towards Jazz.

"Your resistance is futile!" Thundertron cackled, letting her pull him back up. "Go ahead and try, but we should be approaching the gateway to the Quintesson planet right... about..."

He paused dramatically, expecting something to happen. There was nothing. He looked around and everything remained as it was. Even the Sharkticons and Star Seekers seemed unease, as if something was wrong.

Thundertron reached with his paw to the comm link.

"Why aren't we passing the gateway?" He asked in annoyance.

"Captain Hammerbyte told us to hold on until all intruders are captured!" A Sharkticon pilot replied.

"He did what?!" Thundertron thundered.

"You've got to be kidding-" Anode was muted by Jazz, who put a hand over her mouth, grinning.

"Leave it to the fragging Sharkticons to screw up!" Cannonball groaned from the lower level.

"Hey!" One of the closest Sharkticons poked him with an inactive staff. "Watch the tone! You're on our ship and we listen to our captain!"

"Start the ship and don't stop at any cost! That's an order!" Thundertron said, hanging up.

"Looks like we still have some time after all." After a second, Jazz straightened up. He took a few steps forward, leaving confused Anode's side. "Just enough to negotiate a better deal."

"Oh, yeah?" Thundertron stared at him warily. "And what makes ya think we wanna negotiate when you're right here and cornered?"

"'Cause as much as I wanna see you lot put in your place, a part of me really feels for your subbordinates. You'd gone and made a deal behind their backs and now they're gonna pay for it horribly." After a second, he looked down. "I'm already helping Anode out of this mess, you don't have to follow this fool either!"

The Star Seekers all murmured between each other, but it was more to mock Jazz's offer. Their captain gritted his teeth.

"Who do you think you are to talk to us is such manner?"

"I'm just a fellow captain. Now, don't get me wrong, pirates are still pirates in my eyes, but I've seen the lengths of which Rum-Maj went to help her crew member. Her friend. The Junkions are lucky to have her on the steering wheel. I can only hope that I'm being an ounce as good of a captain to my crew as her. You, though? There's a handful of things that grind my gears more than selfish tyrants like you."

"Cute." Thundertron licked his lips. "Now, here's how it's gonna go: You can scream, punch and kick as much as ya want, but in the end, it won't make a difference."

At those words, Jazz just smiled.

"I think I'll test that theory." Without any warning, he transformed his speakers and hit Thundertron with a sonic blast. The winged feeline roared, immediately being blasted onto the other side of the platform. The music didn't stop and it echoed through the whole hangar.

Underneath, Clobber decided to take action as well. She activated her seismic fist and punched Cannonball in the stomach, pushing him and a few Sharkticons away. As he flew, he let go off Rum-Maj's weapon. She quickly picked her belonging up and then rose it. It was a signal they needed.

"Junkions, to arms!" Rum-Maj shouted. The Junkions let out a battle cry, beginning their attack.

Thundertron shook himself off and roared at Jazz. Anode joined the Autobot's side, pulling out Rum-Maj's blade.

"One last thing to do, hm?" She said to him.

"Think of it as the universe's way of telling you to go out with a bang!" He replied, readjusting his visor. Seconds after, Thundertron pounced on them again.

The Junkions fought as one as their enemies approached. When one attacked, the other had their backs and fended off any strikes aimed at their blind spots.

Clobber managed to clear the way for herself and Blurr by smashing the ground and causing a seismic wave, blasting their enemies away. While she concentrated most of the bigger Sharkticons' attention, entering an unfair wrestling match with them, Blurr was zooming all around and knocking over whoever was near. He managed to take down Brimstone that way.

"Clobby, throw me! I want to have some of that fun, too!" Wreck-Gar said, bouncing on her back.

"Are you sure?" Clobber asked.

"Throwmethrowmerhrowmethrowme-!" He insisted. Clobber obeyed and held him like an olimpic ball. She threw the screaming head right at the middle of the battlefield.

Blurr was caught by one of the bigger Sharkticons that held him above the ground. He was about to be electrocuted with an electric stick when Wreck-Gar's yelling head came out of nowhere and crashed on his face. The pirate stumbled back, immediately falling unconscious. Blurr landed back on the ground and immediately caught him.

"Thank Nova for my thick head!" The Junkion cackled, making Blurr chuckle.

Swing. Blast. Dodge. Roll. That's how the fight between Jazz, Anode and Thundertron looked like. Jazz rolled back and made way for Anode to slash at the feeline. He dodged, then tried to hit her with his metal wing, but Jazz swung his leg high and kicked it away. The motion looked strangely similiar to a dance routine. She retaliated and slashed at her ex captain again. The music from Jazz's speakers never stopped, giving the fight somewhat of a musical accompaniment. The Autobot used it to coordinate his movements.

Each movement, each hit, each clash of metal fell under the beat of his music. Anode didn't care to follow it as much, but it did give her a way to read him and be more sound in battle with him. It gave them a certain advantage against Thundertron.

He dodged left. She dodged right. He blasted. She defended. They switched. Rinse and repeat as the claws came. He defended while she striked Thundertron's side, finally reaching him.

Suddenly, he transformed his lower side and his peg leg revealed itself. It's tip opened and she dodged before he shot a bullet at her. Then, she quickly grabbed his leg and held onto it tightly so he wouldn't finish his transformation. He tried to shake her off, but then Jazz came closer and started performing an impressive sword dance with his hidden blades. Thundertron was fast enough to dodge his swings, but due to his limited movements, he gained a couple new cuts.

"Did you know he could do that?" Rum-Maj asked, looking up at what was happening on the platform. A Sharkticon was about to run into her, when Clobber came by and punched them for her.

"Our Jazz? Never!" She replied.

One step back. Swing. Right. Left. Right. Strike. Finally, Jazz made a miscalculation in his attack and was caught by the massive paw. It tore through his hood and made him cry out from pain, the force of it pushed him back and shut down his music. He slid across the floor, and after a second, he hit his back against something. Someone. He looked up, but before he saw the face, he knew exactly who it was. Hammerbyte stomped on his scratched hood and pinned him to the ground.

"Ya little menace!" He growled. Thundertron swung his peg leg to make Anode fall of, but she held on. Suddenly, he yanked her so hard she finally gave in and rolled across the platform. Thundertron transformed and stood on two legs. He stepped towards Hammerbyte, fury in his eyes impossible to miss.

"Who gave you permission to stop the ship?!" He growled.

"What?" Hammerbyte asked, confused. Thundertron didn't give him time to explain. He yoinked him closer by the plating of his chest so he could face his furious snarl.

"Thanks to you we're runnin' late! How you fish baits managed without us for so many years is beyond me!"

"You got smoked in the engine room or somethin? I've no clue what you're prattlin' on about!"

"I can't imagine you do! Now, you're gonna be a good little fishy and finish the impostor! We'll give away Anode in his stead! Then, you pray that I'm not gonna tell the Quitessons that you've disturbed our mission!" He let him go and began walking towards the doors to control the situation downstairs.

Hammerbyte was speechless. Nevertheless, he turned to Jazz and rose his blade to finish him off. Jazz, however, was calm as ever. In fact, he was smirking.

"What are ya laughin' at?" Hammerbyte barked. As his response, Jazz suddenly rose his hand and pointed two fingers between Hammerbyte's eyes. He mouthed 'target practice' as he pretened to shoot.

Those two simple words were enough to set off an eminent ticking bomb.

Hammerbyte stared at him in disbelief. Then, all the bitterness, anger and hatred he'd been holding all this time resurfaced from the deepest parts of his being, making him shake and clench his fists.

Thundertron was almost off the platform when he heard Hammerbyte.

"Hey, 'captain'! Let me show you a shortcut to the lower level!" It was followed by the rushed metal footsteps. Before Thundertron turned around all the way, he felt a strong impact hitting him. Hammerbyte tackled him, making the two of them fall off the platform. They both landed on one of the ships' roofs, stopping the fighting in the hangar.

Hammerbyte grabbed the Star Seeker's head and started slamming it against the metal roof.

"This!-" Slam!

"Is my-!" Slam!

"Ship!" Slam!

"I'm the top shark here!" Slam!

Thundertron reached behind him and managed to get a hold of his arm. Snarling, he rolled them off the roof, softening his fall with Hammerbyte's body. Then, he started punching. Hammerbyte wouldn't give in that easily and they started wrestling on the ground.

"Oi! Get that crazy shark off our captain!" Cannonball shouted.

"You get your tomcat off our captain!" A Sharkticon nearby retorted.

"Nobody calls our captain like that and gets away with it!" Brimstone said, pointing his weapon at the Sharkticon. One thing led to another and soon Sharkticons and Star Seekers turned against each other.

The Junkions and Rogues stepped back, watching everything in awe. Meanwhile, Jazz used his grappling hook so he and Anode could come to the lower level. They landed behind the group.

"Hey, guys!' Jazz called, making them quickly turn around. He only managed to retract his grappling hook before Blurr and Clobber came running towards him.

"Jazz!" They cried cheerfully. Before they tackled him with a hug, though, Jazz wanted to prepare for the impact when suddenly his body cracked in several different planes. He groaned, faltering and holding his injured hood. The younglings were startled by that.

"It's okay! Jazz is fine!" He assured, raising his arm. "I really should've done some warm up before."

The two decided to support him nonetheless. Anode wanted to help as well, when suddenly, she felt eyes on her. The Junkions were glaring at her furiously. It was a miracle they hadn't turned their weapons at her yet.

"It's cool, pirates! She's not the bad guy!" Jazz said as the two Rogues helped to straighten him up.

"Fool us once, shame on us!..." Detritus said.

"Fool us twice, say goodbye to your life!" Nancy finished. Rum-Maj was just an observer in this whole situation. She was the one Anode was focusing on.

"I don't expect your forgiveness." She said, stepping closer. She took a hold of Rum-Maj's second blade and presented it to her. "All I want is to make things right."

Rum-Maj reached out and took her final blade, sheathing it in its rightful place. The threatening stare remained, but something softned in the captain's eyes.

Suddenly, the alarms on the ships blared, startling the group. The Star Seekers' explosions and Sharkticons' electricity zapping made them deaf to it.

"What was that?!" Blurr asked.

"The gateway!" Anode said. "We're readying for the pass! We have to leave, now!"

"We're not gonna hack into any of these fast enough!" Scraphook said.

"You don't have to! Follow me!" Jazz said, running towards the opening hatch. He quickly hacked onto the system with his cable and opened the doors. To everyone's shock, they saw Jazz's ship flying right under them.

"You're still gonna repair my ship, right?" Jazz asked Rum-Maj. The captain nodded. "Then, jump!" He said, bouncing towards his ship, landing on its roof. Blurr and Clobber were next. Jazz moved out of the way and let them land on the vehicle. The Junkions followed their lead.

The dark electric pulse began running through the battleship as it started passing the portal. By the time Detritus jumped and was caught by Rum-Maj and Trashbin, the giant battleship disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

-----

The battle aboard was ongoing. The Star Seekers were flying around and avoiding sticks, rockets and everything else that the Shartkicons threw at them. Thundertron and Hammerbyte were still wrestling for dominance. The fight was so vile and intense that they didn't notice a huge hologram appearing nearby.

"What is this tomfoolery?!" A familiar terrifying roar made them all stop at once. Horrified, they slowly turned towards the source of the noise. The Quintesson judge manifested itself in front of them, the angry face staring daggers at them.

"Y-Your Honour!..." Thundertron trailed off as he quickly scrambled to his knees. Hammerbyte and the rest of the both crews followed.

"You are late." The rational head spoke calmly.

"And you've made a mess of our toys!" The crazy head cackled angrily, looking around the hangar.

"Better for you if the Cybertronians you have promised are in better condition!" Angry face finished, waiting for the report. Thundertron felt his systems running cold. He glanced at Hammerbyte, who gave him a glare.

"I'm sorry, Your Honour, but I wasn't in charge of this mission." Hammerbyte said, straightening up on his kneeling position a bit with a smirk. Thundertron, for the first time, looked horrified. He smiled nervously as he lost himself in the squinting face of the angry Judge.

-----

"I saw that nobody was guarding it, so I cut the ropes that connected it to the Quintesson battleship." Makeshift explained, leaning against a macht with crossed arms. He was talking with Jazz, Anode and Detritus as everyone else was occupied with peacing together Wreck-Gar's body. They were onboard of the Tidal Wave, with Jazz's ship parked on the back.

"Sorry about what happened to your previous ship." Jazz said to Detritus

"Eh. We don't tend to get too attached to them." The Junkion shrugged. "We're gonna do a little redecorating and it'll stick. Would've been a lot worse if we lost one of our own."

They glanced at Rum-Maj and Nancy taking a break from building and talking to each other. They exchanged a few words after which they nodded and gave each other double high fives. Whatever tension between them arose on the enemy ship had been resolved.

Finally, Wreck-Gar's body was finished. Clobber had the honours of reattaching the head. She swirled it until it was fully in and then everyone stepped back. At first, Wreck-Gar just moved his arms and legs for the test. Then, he let out a delighted squeal and swirled around.

"Finally! I'm a real boy!" He said, suddenly standing on his arms. The whole board cheered. Wreck-Gar didn't waste any time and ran up to Clobber and Blurr, hugging them tightly. As soon as he finished, he ran up to amused Rum-Maj and also hugged her. "It's good to be back!"

"Good to have you back, too." Rum-Maj said, patting him on the back. Finally, he let go. On his quest to hug every single person on the board, he finally came face to face with Anode. The smile immediately disappeared from his face.

"Ah, yeah. I forgot" Rum-Maj said, steeping towards the former Star Seeker. "What are we gonna do with you?"

Anode's expression became remourseful. She bowed her head.

"I understand if you want to punish me. Whatever you want to do, I deserve it."

"Well, I'm glad we agree on that! We'll see what the pirate code has to say about it." Rum-Maj said, then snapped her fingers. "Detritus! Open a tab for the gal!" Detritus came to her on command. He pulled out an old school calculator and started adding in numbers. "Ten million years for betrayal, minus a few days for comin' to our rescue, add saving from losing her head, plus helping her escape. That's gonna be about..." She leaned and Detritus showed her the results.

"Eesh!" She cringed. "Yep! That's gonna be a lenghty debt! You're gonna be spending a lot of time with us! Possibly the rest of your days!"

Anode began reading between the lines and she realised what the captain was really saying. She couldn't help but smile widely. Rum-Maj smiled back. Suddenly, Wreck-Gar pounced on Anode and squeezed the living daylights out of her.

"New friend!" He shouted, while she was surpressing pained squeals.

Jazz couldn't help, but watch the scene with amusement. Makeshift removed himself from the scene to head for their ship when Blurr and Clobber could finally join him. The three of them began leaning on the barriers of the ship, observing the passing meteors.

"Phew!" Blurr said, throwing his head back. "We haven't had an adventure like that in ages!"

"You two did good out there." Jazz said, smiling.

"We did good?" Clobber said. "You were the one who survived an explosion!"

"Yeah, you know. Couldn't really fit dying in my schedule." He said, as if it was nothing.

"Jazz, you sneaky Turbofox, you!" Suddenly, Jazz felt Blurr wrapping his arm around him. "You never told us you were a superspy! I mean, makes sense, but you never told us!"

"Why would you want to keep that a secret?" Clobber joined. "You were amazing!"

"There's a lot of things about me that should stay a secret." Jazz said. Then, he grew worried. "Does... this change anythig?"

"Are you kidding? Of course it does!" Blurr said, unwrapping his arm and leaning into his face. "You just graduated from our extremely boring captain to the second coolest person we know!"

"Speaking of," Clobber joined. "What was that crazy dance-battle sequence you did?"

"Oh no, you kids saw that?" Jazz asked, squinting. They nodded. Jazz groaned into his hands. "I haven't had a chance to practice in ages! I'm so sorry you had to suffer through my B material!"

"That was your- okay, now you're just pulling our legs! You've made dance look this deadly and you call it B material?!" Blurr said.

"And you didn't believe he was the most lethal Autobot." Clobber gave him a smug grin.

"You see him kill anybody on that ship? No? Then that still doesn't count." Blurr said, supporting himself with Jazz's head while he was still hiding behind his hands. Then, he leaned down to face the older mech. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"No, Blurr, I didn't. I hope I'll never have to resort to that again, just like I had to resort to returning to my old ways." Jazz said after Blurr let him go. "I don't know what you think of me after today, but it was a one-time thing. Something I needed to do to help you out of a bad situation. It has to stay that way."

"Does it really, though?" Clobber asked. "You seemed like you were having fun out there."

"Yeah, honestly, it looked good on you. I always knew, coach, I always knew you were a little crazy!" Blurr said, bumping his arm.

"I know you two are trying to be nice, but-"

"Do we ever?" Clobber raised a valid point. Jazz paused, trying to think of a counter argument, but alas, he found none.

"You... really don't mind? Even if I'm not exactly all that you pictured me to be?" He asked.

"Nope."

"Nu uh." They shook their heads.

"... And you won't mind if I let some of the old Jazz out every now and then?" He asked again, just to make sure.

"Why would we be?" Blurr asked. Jazz run his hand up and down his arm, a soft smile forming on his face.

"You know what? Maybe I'll keep some of the old party tricks after all. It did feel good to do things my way again." He confessed.

The two Rogues cheered.

"We've got a dancing superspy on our side!" They shouted loudly, making him wince.

"The whole universe doesn't have to know that!" He chuckled, holding onto his audials.

"Yippie to the dancing superspy on our side!" Suddenly, the fourth voice shouted and startled all three of them. Wreck-Gar found himself by their side, crazy look on his face.

"Hey, Wreck-Gar." Jazz began, a bit awkwardly. "I can see you're feeling better."

"I feel like a sun about to destroy all life in the universe!" He giggled. "I need to do something with all that energy and I like the way you're thinking, pretty bot!" The Junkion opened his subspace, wiggled his fingers and then shoved it inside. He pulled out an instrument, an accordeon, and started playing a catchy polka tune. "We're gonna dance till our legs fall off!"

He began dancing across the ship while playing. That exchange left Jazz completely stunned.

"He plays an accordeon?" He asked, strangely out of breath.

"He does." Clobber confirmed.

"I saw him leading a band this one time." Blurr stated.

"You okay, Jazz?" The bigger Rogue asked.

"Nah..." Jazz said, looking as the Junkions dragged Anode to dance with them to Wreck-Gar's music. "No matter what I do from this point on, I'll never be as cool as him."

Chapter Text

Green.

It was all he saw after opening his eyes. For some unknown reason, he found himself surrounded by a thick green substance. It felt sluggish on his metal plating, disgusting even. He attempted to move, but he realised that he was restrained.

Looking down, he couldn't see his limbs. All four of them were stuck in some strange black tubes, preventing him from leaving his green prison.

Suddenly, a shadow passed before him, making his head snap in alarm. Before him? No. Outside. The other side of his containment. Moments passed and the shadow passed by him again. It was big. Bigger than him. Scary.

Then, to his horror, it stood right in front of him. Finally, he saw it: the bright red orb. Sinister, calculating orb with nothing but bad intentions. He wanted to leave, get away, but he couldn't.

After a second, he felt his arms beginning to ache. The orb observed every twitch, every reaction that his body made.

Without any warning, he felt a shocking sensation in his sparkchamber. The tubes holding his limbs lit up and then the feeling spread across the rest of his body as well. Every bit of him was overrun by the sensation. It felt incredible. It felt powerful. It felt dangerous.

It felt too much.

He heard faint alarms going off in the background and his vision shook a bit, but no matter what happened, the red orb kept watching. Did it enjoy seeing him in pain?

At some point, the green substance started boiling. The pressure inside of him kept rising, and so did his fear. He needed to do something. He needed to move. He needed to get out.

Get out.

Get out!

Get out!

He needed to run!

The pressure inside of him burst. So did everything else around him.

-----

"Gah!" Blurr shot awake, gasping desperately. Looking around, he saw that he was still in a small space, but not small enough to make him panic. He was back on Jazz's ship. More specifically, in the small room where the ship's power source was kept.

The youngling slowly sat up from the floor, shaking and hyperventilating. He touched his spark chamber, which was sparkling due to the electric pulses going through it. He reached with his free hand towards the stand supporting the large Energon crystal and used it to help himself up. As soon as he was on his wobbly legs, he let go off the stand and pressed his back against the wall.

Vent in. Vent out. Vent in. Vent out.

He finally caught a steady rhythm and his chest began dimming. Eventually, it returned to normal.

Sigh.

Blurr relaxed when his spark calmed down and he slid back onto the ground.

While he was trying to gather his strengths again, the stand he supported himself with started pulsing with blue energy. Unknowingly to him, it went straight to the Energon crystal resting on it.

-----

Clobber and Makeshift were sitting on the back of the ship, both reading datapads.

After a few minutes of blissful silence, Clobber heard a muffled groan. She looked up and noticed that a vent crate near her was being pushed open. Blurr's upper body emerged from it, trying to squeeze himself out. With one strong pull, and an annoyed grumble, he finally left the small space and plopped next to his friend.

"You're up early." She commented.

"Yeah, well..." Blurr said, massaging his neck. "You can thank Mr. Recharge Paralysis for that one."

"Another nightmare?" She asked, lowering the datapad and hushing her voice so Makeshift wouldn't hear. "The same one?"

"Yep." Blurr confirmed, putting stress on the 'p'. "Same old one-eyed freak just staring at me."

"As a one-eyed freak myself, we don't claim him." She assured with a claw on her spark. It made Blurr snort.

"Nova, are you a sight for sore eyes." He said, leaning against her and soaking in the comfort of her presence. It was a nice little moment of peace that, inevitably, was cut short.

Suddenly, the alarms blared across the whole ship. Makeshift and the younglings got startled by it, immediately returning to their feet.

"Warning! Major malfunction detected!" The computer reported.

"What's going on?! We're under attack?!" Clobber commed Jazz.

"I've no idea!" Their captain responded, turning the wheel. "Hang on, we're having an emergency landing!"

-----

Thanks to the quick reaction, the ship didn't go up in smoke. They found the closest, thankfully populated planet to see what was happening.

Jazz was inspecting the core from up close. Its colour was brighter than usual, with its centre entirely turning white. The Autobot decided to touch it, but as soon as he placed his hand on its surface, he was unexpectedly zapped.

"Son of a-!"

"You okay there, Jazz?"

Jazz immediately pulled back and hissed. Before he cussed out all Thirteen Primes in alphabetical order, Clobber's voice reached him. Waving his arm to make the pain go away, he rose the scanner in his other hand and started analysing the crystal from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, Clobber, Blurr and Makeshift were waiting outside the ship. The planet they had landed on was of organic origin, the one where everything seemed smaller.

Its surface was dark blue, including the small patches of grass growing around them. They had landed near a city, just in case, but they hoped mingling with the locals wouldn't be necessary.

After a few minutes, Jazz came out of the vent. He jumped down and Clobber caught him, returning him to the ground.

"Not good." He said, showing them a scanner in his hand. All readings were on the red scale, or almost getting there.

"Do we know what's caused this?" Clobber asked.

"No clue, but it looks like the crystal is overcharged." Jazz stated. Blurr's entire body ran cold, a realisation hitting him. "I'm not qualified enough for this. We need an intervention from a real specialist."

"You don't have a spare?" Makeshift squinted.

"I used to have one, but it's a little hard to keep it a spare when you're trying not to get killed by multiple Decepticon fleets." Jazz retorted.

"You've been flying around all this time and it didn't occur to you once to buy a new one? The face of the Spec-Ops, everyone! I can hardly believe we've lost to you!" The Decepticon spy said, gesturing at the visibly annoyed Autobot.

"Do you have any idea how expensive ores that size are outside of Cybertron?" He replied. 

"Uh... hey." Clobber rose her claw and awkwardly chimed in. "Back to the topic. If we lose that core, does that mean that we'll be-"

"No!" Jazz immediately interrupted. His tone was close to a shout, which caught the younglings off guard. "I'm not letting that happen. I'll go to the city and ask around. Maybe they know someone who can help."

"An organic specialist on everything Cybertronian? I refuse to believe you're that optimistic." Makeshift said.

"We need to take action, so unless you have a better idea, I'll be on my way." Jazz retorted. After a second, he transformed and drove off, leaving the three behind.

-----

The trip to the city was a short one. Jazz drove inside the opened gates and stopped with screeching tires. He startled some of the nearby citizens that distanced themselves from him at once.

The dominant species of the planet appeared to be biologically connected with bugs, more specifically, with beetles.

They were bipedal, but had big eyes, crazy hair, three claws for hands, as well as a variety of colourful exoskeletons covering their whole bodies. They were wearing costumes with long two-fingered boots and various head accessories that depended on each of them. Some wore hats, hair pins and some had nothing.

Jazz quickly transformed and turned to the closest citizen who was barely reaching his hip. His translator immediately picked up their language and enabled him to talk to them.

"Excuse me, I need help!" He requested, kneeling. The pedestrian was in the company of two smaller individuals with clear exoskeletons. They looked at him in wonder. "My ship needs repairs, are there any mechanics specialising in Cybertronian technology nearby?"

The little ones squeaked in excitement and tried to get closer, but the bigger one started dragging them away.

"Oh, okay, have a nice day..." Jazz said, then stood back up and moved on. As he ventured deeper into the city, he didn't have time to look around that much. However, he did note that certain buildings were different from the rest. They were coated with familiar metallic surface, which sparked hope in him.

"Sorry, do you have a moment? I need- okay, have a nice day."

"I need a mechanic, yesterday, and- have a nice day, sorry."

No matter who he asked, the citizens were trying to avoid him. They were too busy with their own activities such as shopping, presumably going to work, or cleaning the streets. He spent five minutes going around the place and asking for help, but no matter how friendly he was being, people of the planet didn't seem to trust him very much. Not that he blamed them.

"Alright, Jazz, chill." At some point he started pacing around a small mountain in the heart of the city. There was a lot of murmuring around him as some of the citizens observed him from afar.

"Time is something you don't have and you'll go nowhere like that." After a second, he grabbed his head, feeling the hopelessness of the situation getting to it. "Think, mech, think! You always know what to do! If you fail, you can kiss Cybertron goodbye and drag the rest of the crew with you!"

"Excuse me, giant metal one!" Jazz's spiraling thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a soft voice. He looked down and saw the organic in a fancy body suit. "You are looking for a Cybertronian expert, yes?"

Jazz's visor lit up with startled hope.

"Yes! Primus, yes! It's an emergency!" He babbled out quickly.

"There is someone who could help you. You see these?" They asked, gesturing at the familiar metal structures around them. "That's his work."

"Where can I find him?"

"Right here." Another voice spoke, unnanounced. This time, Jazz's translator didn't pick up anything. Whoever had made their presence known was speaking his language.

The Autobot turned around. Before he said something in response, his whole body went into a lockdown. He saw a group of locals. Jazz managed to recognise that he had asked most of them for help before. At first, they had refused, but now they were standing around a large individual and explaining something to him in their own language.

The said individual's colours were primarily white and yellow, with green wings on his legs, arms and the red helmet covering most of his head. He was made of metal, just like him. Most importantly, however, was that he had a badge on his arm. A proud, red badge. The former Spec-Ops couldn't help, but stare.

"You're..." He managed as the giant approached him. When he stood next to him, he had to look down at Jazz to meet his visor.

"A Cybertronian, yes. More importantly, an Autobot." He said with a smile, offering his hand. "I've got to say, you don't get to meet living legends every day. You may call me Jhiaxus."

Jazz felt his spark skipping a few pulses. After a second, he accepted the hand and shook it.

"Hi." He said, a little dazed. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect... Any of this, actually."

"I can't blame you. Now, about that emergency. It'll be an honour to help you, Jazz, sir."

"I'll be honoured, too!" Jazz said and his second hand clasped over their connection. "Something's really wrong with our Energon core!"

"I see..." Jhiaxus hummed. "In that case, we'll be needing my instruments. Bring your core to my lab. It's the biggest building on the east side of the city, really can't miss it. I'll go ahead and prepare everything."

"Great! I'll be right back!" Jazz said and immediately transformed. He stepped on the gas and drove out of the city. The organics looked among themselves curiously as he was leaving, before returning to their every day lives.

-----

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Blurr repeated, slamming his head against Clobber's arm. "I broke the core!"

"You didn't know this would happen." Clobber tried to comfort him. "How many times have you recharged in there and nothing came of it?" Blurr gave her a dragged our groan in response. "Just take your zappy back and everything will be fine!"

"I don't know how!" Blurr said, throwing his bothersome hands. "If Jazz didn't blow a gasket before, this will be the day!"

"I'm sure if you just explain everything to him, it'll be fine." She stated. "And it's not like you destroyed it, you just charged it a bit!"

"You did what?!" Makeshift overheard their discussion and barked at them.

"I didn't mean to!" Blurr cried.

"I swear on Starscream's rusty turbines, if we end up not being able to leave, I'm going to hurt you!" The shapeshifter pointed.

"Try it and I'll tie your limbs like a pretzel!" Clobber threatened, poking the Decepticon in the chest to push him away. That didn't impress him at all.

Suddenly, they heard a roaring engine in the distance. Soon, they saw a car speeding towards them. Jazz started transforming even before he stopped, but managed to land in time and without trouble.

"I've got someone!" He said with a big smile.

"Frag off!" Makeshift was in complete disbelief.

"Thank Nova..." Blurr let out a huge relieved sigh. Clobber patted him on the back.

"No time to waste, help me remove the core!" He requested. Clobber started lifting both him and Blurr back into the vent.

-----

There really was no way of missing it. Jazz and the Rogues arrived to the east side of the city where they found their giant building. Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise, but it held strong resemblence to a house typically found on Cybertron.

Clobber was holding the buzzing crystal in a protective wrapping as Jazz knocked on the doors. Suddenly, they pushed themselves open, making him step back a bit.

"This brings back so many memories." The Autobot mused with a smile as he stepped in. The Rogues followed.

"Are all buildings on Cybertron this fancy?" Clobber asked, looking around. "And bright?"

"Most, yeah." Jazz said. "You'll get used to it."

The former Spec-Ops walked ahead of them, allowing them to have their own, slower pace.

"Can you imagine we might live in something like this one day?" Blurr whispered to her.

"Yeah, wild." She responded. He rose his brows in worry again.

"Even if the core can't be repaired, maybe this can be just as good as the real Cybertron?" He wondered.

"Chin up, blue boy." She said, poking his side with her free claw and making him squirm a little. "Nothing we haven't fixed before. You'll see, everything will be fi-"

"Hi, we're here!" Jazz said, leaving the hallway and entering the main room. There were several big machines taking most of the space and a big Cybertronian working on one of them.

"Yep! Yep! Just a few more seconds!..." Jhiaxus waved his hand. After a second, he stopped typing on the panel. "Aaaand, done! Alright, you can place the core on the prepared spot and we'll see what's the problem-!"

When he turned to face the new arrivals, his eyes eventually locked with Blurr and Clobber's. The three of them stood rooted in place, shock present on all their faces.

"Yeah, I could barely believe it myself." Jazz said, walking up to Clobber. "Come on, kid, let's get this set up."

Clobber was unable to look away from Jhiaxus for a good while. Eventually, however, she had to snap out of it. Not saying a word, the Rogue hesitantly helped Jazz carry the crystal to the machine. Blurr was left to stare at the big individual on his own. He felt his hands going to his spark chamber, a familiar fear settling in. It was a miracle he didn't start trembling.

Jhiaxus' shocked expression began changing, slowly and painfully. His teeth gritted and his hands clenched into fists, looking like he was seconds away from erupting.

It was official. Blurr was going to die there.

-----

After some time, the group managed to plug the core into the machine with several wires.

"-After I got separated from my unit, I didn't have a choice but to stay on this planet." Jhiaxus explained. While the machine was working, they all stood behind its panel. "It wasn't as big of a loss as I thought it'd be. The Aklutheens gave me a space to live, and in return, I improved their living conditions as much as they let me. I advanced their technology, buildings, and presented them with more desirable energy sources."

"What rank were you in the Autobots?" Jazz asked. "I'm having trouble recalling seeing you before."

"That may be because I was a scientist, not a fighter. A shut-in one at that." The white and yellow Autobot explained, then chuckled. "Forgive me if I may be so bold, but I've heard you didn't have the best reputation among this demographic."

"Lies and slander!" Jazz protested, albeit lighteartedly.

The younglings were strangely quiet the whole time. While the two older bots were focused on their conversation, Clobber noticed that Blurr was playing with his fingers. A few weak bolts of lightning were runing between them. He was getting more anxious with each passing moment.

"Can we be excused for a second?" She suddenly rose her hand and asked. "I forgot something from the ship."

"Okay." Jazz said, getting ready to leave with them. Blurr looked up at her, pleadingly. She understood.

"Oh, no, don't worry! We know where to go!" She stated.

"You sure?" Their captain asked.

"Yep! We don't want to interrupt your boring conversation about war and... stuff!" She said. Blurr was quiet, but he nodded. Before they left, he saw Jhiaxus staring daggers at them just for a second. He had to ignore it.

They left the laboratory and drove all the way to the ship. Both of them were quiet the whole time. As soon as they found themselves by the vehicle, they finally transformed. When they determined that they weren't followed, they began screaming. The wind carried the sound through the whole area.

"How is he here?!" Blurr shouted, starting to nervously pace around.

"I don't know!" She shouted back.

"How is he still alive?!"

"I don't know!"

"We're so dead!" He groaned, pressing his back against the ship and hiding his face in his hands. "He's going to kill us! Kill us and then stitch our detached parts together and make an ugly monster!"

"Is the core fixed yet?" Without any warning, Makeshift peeked out from inside the open hatch and asked, making them aware of his presence.

"Do you mind? We're trying to have a meltdown in peace!" Blurr shouted.

"Believe it or not, I can hear that." Makeshift said, circling his claw inside of his audial with a grimace. "Either tone it down, or go have it somewhere I'm not! Or better yet, get back to fixing your own mess!"

"You could help sometimes, too, you know." Clobber joined.

"I am." The shapeshifter claimed proudly. "Who do you think guards the ship when all of you are gone?"

"With these scrawny arms?" Blurr asked, moving his arms from side to side and mimicking the movements of a puppet on a string. To prove a point, Makeshift rose his left arm and transformed it. In seconds, it became bigger and turned grey and black. They saw the infamous fusion cannon attached to its top which in itself was bigger than half of the former spy's body. He maintained intense eye-contact with them as he slowly retreated back into the ship.

"... You know... he didn't look that angry!" After a second, Clobber tapped her claws together, obviously in denial. "Maybe he learned to forgive and forget?"

"Clobber, I love you like a sister I never had..." Blurr ran his hand down his face. "But tell me, how do you forget getting blown up inside your own house?"

"He almost killed you, so I say we were even!" She stated, then paused as she was forced to face the gravity of the situation. "We should tell Jazz."

"Ghck- Are you kidding?! No, we can't tell Jazz!" Blurr protested, gaining a confused look from his partner. "How do you think he'll react if he learns that we almost killed a guy, not to mention an Autobot? He'll never trust us again!"

"He was the one who tried to use you!"

"I know that, you know that, but that doesn't matter. Who do you think he'll believe more: two rowdy thieves who also almost got him killed, or a frickin' Autobot, champion of the bug people?"

"Jazz is not like that."

"And how do you know that?"

"I just do."

"Partner..." Blurr suddenly grabbed her by the arms. His expression was hauntingly serious. "We've got a good thing going with Jazz. We literally just added him to the Rogues, I don't want to mess this up."

She wanted to speak, but the look he was giving her made her lose her words before they even came out. He let go.

"It's okay. Jhiaxus will fix our scrap and we'll go our separate ways. We won't have to see him ever again." He claimed.

"I still don't like this." She said sadly.

"Me neither, but it is what it is. Promise you won't snitch?" He requested. She was still unsure, but then she sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but you're not leaving my side. Even for a second." She conditioned.

"Cross my spark, hope I won't die?..." He swore and forced himself to grin.

-----

"No, unfortunately. You won't find any replacements on this planet."

Leaving the hallway, the younglings saw that Jhiaxus and Jazz hadn't moved from where they had left them. They tried to enter quietly, so Jhiaxus wouldn't hear it, and ended up overhearing their conversation.

"-Your core's stable for now, but I still have to determine what kind of power surge it took." The scientist stated. "And most importantly, what was the cause."

"We've been flying for a while without any stops." Jazz said. "Even with our defences, the ships's been exposed to a ton of radiation and magnetic storms."

"A likely hypothesis." Jhiaxus agreed. "But there's not enough evidence to neither confirm, nor deny. Whatever it is, it's a very powerful source that infected it."

The Rogues didn't pick that at first, but as they got closer, they heard a strange repeated sound. Then, they noticed that Jazz's foot was rhytmically tapping against the floor. They had never seen him doing that, which sparked some confusion. It took them a second to realise, thought, that in a lot of cases, it was a nervous tick.

"We're back!..." To avoid the horrible implications of their captain showing this much concern about something else than their safety, Clobber announced their return. The two Autobots turned around, and Jazz immediately smiled. His foot stilled.

"Did you get what you need?" He asked casually.

"Yep!" Clobber said cheerfully, pulling out a datapad. "I was just getting to the good part!"

"How's the core?" Blurr asked, trying not to give away his guilt.

"Stable." Jazz started. "But it looks like we'll be staying on this planet for some time. Thankfully, Jhiaxus here said that if we put our minds together, it'll be much quicker."

"That's great!" Blurr exclaimed. "What do we do?"

"For the time being, I'm stepping down from the captain position." Jazz said, gesturing at Jhiaxus. "Our new friend will call the shots until the core is repaired. Can I count on you to follow his orders?"

"... Sure!..." The two barely managed to smile without showing their growing discomfort.

"It's been a while since I've had any assistants..." Jhiaxus gave Jazz a grateful smile. Then, just seconds later, he turned to the younglings and discreetly gave them a smirk. "This should be most productive."

They both felt chills running down their spines.

-----

Jhiaxus sent Jazz to the other room to do some complicated task and he and Clobber were left alone with him. They were assigned with flipping the switches on the console and watching whether the core changed colours. There was some more sophisticated way of explaining it, perhaps, but as far as they were concerned, that was the gist of it.

Blurr flipped another switch that didn't really do anything. Out of the blue, he feel eyes on him. He looked at Jhiaxus, who was standing on his left, and his suspicion was proven right. The white and yellow Autobot was staring at him, constantly analysing his movements.

"What are you looking at, jaw-mouth?" The blue Rogue didn't want to stay silent about it.

"Those are synonyms." Jhiaxus answered, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Whatever, what do you want?"

"Is hostility your default response to those who try to help you, or is it just reserved for me?"

"Oh, yeah, you sure helped me the last time." Blurr said sarcastically, flipping another switch and taking his gaze off him to glance at the core. "I'm still a destructive force of nature, but at least now I know how it feels to be inside an atomic microwave."

"I had no idea the machine would overheat."

"But then you did nothing to stop it. You're sooo lucky that planet didn't have any insurance companies, because our lawyers would've obliterated you."

"Ah, but you almost got the job done yourself. I had to crawl out of the remains of the very thing I've been building from scratch since thousands of years. You left me with practically nothing."

"What? You expect me to feel sorry for you now? Oh, boo hoo! Poor Jiji can't play with his toys anymore! His only crime was almost killing a kid, because he needed his power for world domination or something!" Blurr said, spreading his arms in an overexaggerated sarcasm. That made the Autobot frown.

"For your information, advancing worlds that are less technologically fortunate than us is a noble goal! Not that Shockwave's creation would understand..."

Blurr looked like he was about to retort, when suddenly, Jhiaxus spun and got in his face, causing him to step back a little.

"Make no mistake, I have my strong suspicions what happened to your core. You were the one who sabotaged it." Jhiaxus purred. It wasn't a question.

"It was an accident." Blurr said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, yes. It seems to be your favourite explanation to everything." Jhiaxus spat straight venom at him. "Accidentally damage the core. Accidentally get chased off a planet. Accidentally ruin someone's whole life."

Suddenly, they heard a disruptive commotion. Clobber smashed her fist on the console. She didn't damage it, but the noise served its purpose and it shut him up. She was giving Jhiaxus a warning glare. He glared back and then leaned away.

"I see that your Decepticon warrior is eloquent as ever." He continued, but minded his tone.

"That 'Decepticon warrior' can still throw you through the wall and make it look like an accident." She retorted.

"I don't doubt that." Jhiaxus said with a smile. After a second, he finally stepped back and started heading for the other side of the console. "I just wonder what your new captain would say about all this."

Blurr felt his systems running cold.

"You wouldn't dare." He said, clenching his fists.

"Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. It all depends on you." He said and started typing something. After a second, he pointed at Clobber. "Go to the other room and tell Jazz that we'll be beginning the process shortly. And you." Then he pointed at Blurr, smirking. "That'll be enough trouble for today. Utilise that bothersome speed of yours and clean the floor."

"He's not doing that!" Clobber protested, baffled by the audacity. Blurr placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay." He told her. In seconds, he had his visor on. Jhiaxus smugly grabbed the mop from the floor and extended his hand. Blurr zoomed by and took it. As he ran around and left the polished floor behind, Clobber was staring daggers at the Autobot who just returned to his work with satisfaction.

-----

After a while, it was time for their experiment. They gathered in a safe distance behind the console and put on the protective helmets. The cables attached to the core ran across the floor, connecting it with an opened container of some kind.

"We sure this thing will survive?" Jazz asked.

"It's the strongest container that I own. Beginning in three... two..." Jhiaxus said and everyone braced themselves. He pressed a big red button and activated the machine.

The biolights sprung to life, the electicity crackled, and soon, the crystal began reacting to its environment. It's surface lit up and that's when the wires activated. They began leading the energy corrupting it out and transporting it all the way to the container.

However, during the process, there was too much energy gathering in the fragile lines. The consequence of that followed shortly after, as before it reached the container, the wires suddenly exploded. All Cybertronians stepped back. Jhiaxus quickly turned off the machine, making the core go silent again.

"Fire detected!" The computer said. A small pole rose from the ground and sprayed the flames with fire extinguisher foam. Everyone took off their protection and Jazz looked on the results on a datapad. He glanced at the rest, slowly shaking his head.

"I'm afraid there's too much unfocused energy at play." Jhiaxus stated, making Blurr hang his head.

"There has to be something else we can do." Jazz couldn't accept defeat. "Maybe we need stronger cords?"

"Those were the strongest." Jhiaxus said. "If there is a solution, I don't see it yet."

"Yet. That means there's still a chance." The captain said, then put the protection back on. "We keep going until the solution finds itself. Come on, goggles back on! We're trying again!"

"... I think that's enough for now." Jhiaxus went behind Jazz's back and took the protection off of him.

"I..." Jazz looked like he wanted to argue, but then glanced back at his crew. He couldn't read them, but it was clear that they were uncomfortable. He calmed down immediately.

"... Right... You're right." The Autobot said, slumping onto the console. The kids were taken aback by that. They never saw their captain being so... lost.

"It was a long day. You can stay the night if you want." Jhiaxus offered, placing a hand on Jazz's back.

"Nah, we've gotta check on Makeshift." The Autobot said, patting his arm, which was retracted after a second. "Thanks for trying anyway. And, uh... sorry about your equipment."

"No real damage was done." Jhiaxus assured.

Meanwhile, Blurr decided to closely inspect the Energon crystal. Nothing had changed and he couldn't be any more mad about it

"Why didn't that work?" He murmured to himself. The machine may had been turned off, but the electricity was still running from the broken cords. The youngling was about to leave, when he suddenly felt strange tingling. Looking down, he widened his eyes. He didn't realise that he stepped too close to the wires and the electricity clung to his legs. Panicked, he quickly stepped back.

The blue static kept flowing through him, not being able to return to his sparkchamber. Clobber saw that and went over to him.

"What's happening?" She whispered.

"I don't know!..." Blurr whispered back, trying to stomp the sparks away. "Get it off!"

She didn't think twice before trying to reach out to him. Just as quickly as her claw got close, it got electrocuted.

"Ow!" She backed off and shouted. Unfortunately, this attracted the older mechs' attention.

"Everything alright?" Jazz asked.

"Y-yeah, sure!" Blurr chuckled, straightening up and forcing a smile. "I'm just... really desperate to get out of here and stretch my wheels!"

"Ah..." Jazz said. Technically, that wasn't a lie.

Jhiaxus, unfortunately, noticed that something had changed about Blurr. The energy was still running through the youngling, but it seemed to calm a bit after zapping Clobber. The white and yellow Autobot squinted in suspicion, mind going somewhere worrying. He didn't stay there for long, thankfully.

"He can go drive for a bit outside of the city, right?" Jazz asked him.

"As long as he doesn't endanger anyone." He responded. He knew exactly what to say to twist the knife in Blurr's spark.

-----

The trio stepped outside. The first thing they noticed was that the night had fallen by then and the streets were completely empty.

As they walked through the city, Jazz was being quiet. It was nothing that the Rogues weren't necessarily used to by now, but it seemed different this time. The atmosphere around him was heavy.

"You... okay, coach?" Blurr dared to ask after a second.

"Hm?" Jazz's helm perked up. "Yes, just thinkin'... You?"

"Getting ready for a night jog!..." He forced a chuckle out of himself, rolling his shoulders. Clobber refused to say anything, even if she really wanted to. The silence got awkward really fast and Blurr considered his next words carefully. "I'm sorry... that things turned out that way."

"Don't be." Jazz said, waving him off with a grin. It looked geniuent, but seemed off. "You heard the big guy, we haven't exhausted all options. If one thing doesn't work, we try another. Rinse and repeat until we find the right one. That's practically what science's about."

"Sounds about right-"

"It doesn't." Blurr tried to keep the conversation lighthearted, but Clobber's low tone caught him off guard. Judging by Jazz's expression, he was taken by surprise as well. Clobber was facing the ground, refusing to look at either of them.

"Kid?..." The Autobot immediately reached out to her and for a second Blurr held his breath. "What's wrong?"

She glanced discreetly at her partner, who silently begged her not to say anything else.

"I think I'll go on that jog, too." She murmured eventually, crossing her arms and quickening her pace. Jazz and Blurr watched her head for the gates. Then, horrifyingly, the older mech turned to him for answers.

"I've no idea either." The youngling lied, shrugging. The Autobot was hesitant to speak, and soon decided against it. He continued walking forward, and when his back was turned, Blurr dropped his facade.

-----

A few hours later, a blue car was zooming across the land with the speed of light. It stayed away from the resided areas and instead focused on the landscapes. The planet's surface was a bit strange, most of the ground was flat with the exception of natural rocky arches standing everywhere. The car used them as an obstacle course. It drove past every single one of them, sometimes a few times.

Finally, the car turned around and started dashing for the city. It reached it in seconds and then spotted a growing dot ahead of itself. When a dot turned into a big figure, the car slowed down to the normal speed and began transforming.

Blurr pushed himself off the ground with his hands, somersaulted, and then safely landed in front of Clobber.

"How did it go this time?" He asked, putting away his visor.

"No sign of destruction, as far as I can tell!" She stated, looking at his track. After a second, she smiled at him. "You're getting better at this."

He returned the smile and fist bumped her.

Unexpectedly, they heard slow clapping. They turned around, and to their shock, they saw Jhiaxus. He was pressing his back against one of the stoney arches, giving Blurr a small applause.

"Most impressive." He said, grinning.

"You're stalking us now?!" Clobber shouted, preparing her seismic generators. Blurr froze in place, unable to move.

"I'm just here to talk." Jhiaxus claimed. "About your core."

That gained Blurr's attention. Clobber, while still having her defences up, slightly lowered her claws. The Autobot decided to approach them, folding arms behind his back.

"I have a theory. The energy inside of your body is unstable on itself. That's why the wires weren't enough to get them inside of the container." After a second, he gestured at Blurr. "When you found yourself just within the right distance, the energy returned to you."

"I couldn't get it back inside..." The youngling said, placing a hand over his chest. "It just got stuck to me."

"Indeed. You are unable to take the energy you expelled back, but maybe that's not neccessary. Perhaps all that's needed is a conductor."

"Why don't you go tell Jazz about it?" Clobber asked. Jhiaxus gave them a smirk.

"Because this particular method will not come without a price."

"There we go..." Clobber groaned and Blurr frowned.

"So that's what it's all been for. You still want my power." He said.

"And you want my services. I see this as a fair transaction. You see, after you took everything from me, I came to this city to try and rebuild at least a fraction of what I've lost. It had nothing, at first, but now, it takes benefits from my Cybertronian influence. I've got plans, not just for the city, but for the entire planet. I want to improve its infrastructure further, however, the resources at my disposal are far too limited for now. I need your power. Just a bit, really..." Jhiaxus paused and shot him a glare. "You already selfishly hoard so much of it as it is."

"You think I wanted to be born like this?!" Blurr stepped forward. He was getting heated. "I have nothing but power to give, but when I do, people hate me!"

"Yes, I remember." Jhiaxus hummed. The sound became infuriating to hear. "The planet where we've first met. Its residents tried to banish you, but I was the only one who stepped in your defence."

"Because you had something to gain!" The youngling snarled.

"But I tried nonetheless, which is more than anyone has ever bothered to offer you. No matter how you look at it, you owe me."

Blurr wanted to talk back, but Clobber placed a claw on his helm. That calmed him a bit.

"He owes you nothing!" She barked. "You've had you shot and you almost killed him! End of story!"

Blurr was really glad that Clobber was with him. Unfortunately, her intervention only angered the white and yellow Autobot.

"Alright..." He began, trying to control his voice. "I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but it seems I've got no choice."

He stepped closer and Clobber shielded Blurr with her arm, just in case. The massive Autobot leaned down and bare straight into their sparks with his cold optics.

"I'm going to tell Jazz there's nothing I can do for him." He said.

"What?!" Blurr left Clobber's side. "You slimey-!"

"Accept my deal, or nobody will gain anything from this." Jhiaxus said, leaning and looking down at him. Blurr's defensive expression lost its sharpness. "The two of you are merely byproducts of this war. You've never known, or even been to Cybertron your entire lives. Your captain, on the other hand, has and misses it with all his spark. So much so that the very idea of not seeing it again eats him from the inside. Do you really want that for him?"

Blurr bared his teeth at him, but that didn't leave the slightest impression on the other. His fists clenched and his energy ran through them. That cursed energy that got him into this mess in the first place. Feeling its heat all over them, he felt his walls coming down. Jazz didn't deserve this. It was all his fault and the older mech was about to pay the price.

Gradually, the youngling's body calmed. He looked back at Clobber.

"Blurr... don't." She pleaded, already knowing the answer her partner was about to give. The Autobot was waiting for the final decision the whole time.

"... Just a fraction?" Blurr asked, facing him again.

"That's all I need." Jhiaxus stated. A quick exhale and a hard swallow, and he was ready.

"Deal." He said and Clobber shut her optic tightly, hanging her head in defeat. The youngling offered Jhiaxus his hand, which he accepted. Without any warning, he was struck by electricity running through it and he withdrew immediately.

"Very mature." He said, massaging his hand.

"Just wanted to offer a taste of what you're asking for." Blurr said, far too pleased with himself.

-----

It was still night when Jhiaxus took them back to the lab. This time, he led them deeper inside. Clobber was holding the core, warily looking around. Blurr was walking beside her, hugging himself. He tried not to think of the last time he let the Autobot experiment on him, but it was getting progressively harder.

Finally, Jhiaxus led them to a room on the other end of the lab. It was smaller than the main one. Strangely enough, it was decently lit. Just enough to see what could only be described as a giant empty water tank taking the centre of the room. It was tall, rectangular, and had clear glass.

"Wow. No exits and a giant instrument of torture in your basement." Clobber deadpanned, carefully placing the core down. "It already feels safer than the last time."

"There's an exit over there if you needed." Jhiaxus pointed at the wall on the other side of the machine. There indeed was another automatic door waiting for them.

Blurr stared at the tank with big, worried eyes. Clobber saw it, and while Jhiaxus was setting the core down on a stand and plugging it to the machine, she walked up to him.

"Say that you're having second thoughts and we're outta here." She whispered, placing a claw on his shoulder, snapping him out of it. "We can try other things. We can find a different way to power the ship."

"No, we can't." Blurr said, gripping the claw tightly. "Just once, I want to be able to fix what I broke."

After a second, Jhiaxus returned to them.

"It is time." He said, showing him the wires in his hand. For the first time since they got there, Blurr didn't hide his fear. He refused to turn around and show it to his partner, so he put on a brave face and stepped forward.

The blue youngling and the Autobot stepped into the tank and began plugging Blurr to the machine. His arms, legs, his head, and of course, his spark chamber. After they finished, Jhiaxus stepped out and headed for the controlling panel where Clobber was already waiting impatiently.

Blurr gave a quick glance at his arms and legs, seeing if everything was properly attached. After a second, the opening to the tank closed, separating him from the rest. Everything was fine until he felt his boots getting wet. Looking down, he noticed that the tank began filling with water.

"Hey!-" He shouted and rose his leg, startled. "We didn't agree to this part!"

"It's a neccessary element of the procedure!" Jhiaxus claimed, already annoyed. "Do you want to do this or not?"

"Watch your tone." Clobber threatened, then turned to Blurr. "It's okay! I'm right here with you!"

"Right... You're here with me." Blurr repeated. Taking a deep breath, he let the water rise and slowly absorb him. When it finally reached his head, he closed his eyes shut and felt himself sinking entirely. After he opened them again, he found comfort in the fact that the substance surrounding him was clear. He could perfectly see the two Cybertronians standing outside. Jhiaxus leaned down and started typing on the console.

"Focus on containing the energy!" He said. "No matter what happens, don't let it leave your body!"

It was the only warning he got before he felt a shocking sensation all over his body. He let out a startled gasp, feeling like he was about to fall, but managed to recover just in time. Outside, Clobber instinctively stepped forward, searching if he was okay.

Blurr caught his vents and closed his eyes.

"Focus." He told himself. "Focus..."

The sudden feeling passed and instead he felt pressure in the areas where the cables were connected.

Meanwhile, Jhiaxus and Clobber observed that Blurr's core finally lit up. The scanners began going crazy. The Autobot reacted. He sent a command to the console and activated the Energon crystal.

It began like the last time, with the energy being beginning to flow through the cables. However, instead of exploding, it did travel all the way towards Blurr through one set of the wires connecting them. He immediately felt his lost power running all over him. He focused on keeping it in check. Whatever the water surrounding him was, it indeed helped him with the task.

His sparkchamber crackled, blue energy getting more dangerous. Thankfully, it seemed perfectly contained. In seconds, another set of wires activated. The electricity was channelled outside of the youngling and the tank, and into the waiting container. A stable connection was formed.

The power was being drained from the core, going towards Blurr, and then redirected towards the container. For a second, Blurr felt like it was getting too much. He tried to focus, tell himself that it would be worth it in the end. For Cybertron. For his partner. For his captain, who deserved to go back home.

Finally, the holographic screens reported that the core was showing optimal results and Jhiaxus stopped the process. Blurr felt relief washing over him as the pressure disappeared. He looked outside and saw that the Energon crystal returned to its normal glow.

"We did it..." He whispered, feeling like he was about to explode, this time with pride.

"We did it!" Clobber cheered.

"We did..." Jhiaxus said, looking at Blurr. The youngling's overjoyed expression fell when he saw that cold gaze again. The rest of his already barebone feeling of security disappeared. Suddenly, he was trapped, tangled by the restraints and held in a containment again.

Jhiaxus sent a new command to the panel. Blurr felt the pressure returning, faster this time, and much stronger. Without any warning, he felt like he was struck by the thousand lightnings. He screamed.

"Stop! You have your power, let him go!" Clobber got over her shock and shouted, horrified.

"Not until I say I have!" The Autobot said uncaringly. "I'm still taking only a fraction! He won't even notice it missing!"

"I said enough!" Clobber roared. She was about to activate her seismic generators, but he was faster. He spun around and caught her arm. Then, he used his free hand and slapped her on the back. She felt a jolt of electricity running through her and she cried out, falling to her knees.

"Not this time." He said, focusing back on the blue youngling. Clobber weakly looked up from the ground and saw Blurr's silhouette thrashing under all the blinding lights. She needed to do something. Anything! Her plating began shifting, as if trying to transform. There was a device on her back that kept blocking her from doing so.

The pain, his deafening scream, and his optics that theatened to burst from both his energy overflowing his systems and tears. It all caused Blurr's processor to flash visions of his entire life before them.

He remembered the time he was surrounded by the green substance, the explosion, and what came after it.

Looking for his creator on an abandoned asteroid. Confusion, fear, and the uncontrolled dashing.

Seeing Clobber for the first time. She was scared and startled, whereas he was curious and ecstatic.

Being chased off from his first ever planet, along with his new friend. He didn't even remember what for, just that it was his fault.

Accidentally hitting a power grid, causing a power crisis on an entire continent.

The pain and shame of constantly bumping into things that desintegrated upon coming into contant with him. Bad things, but good, too.

The growing frustration and the first time he caused damage on purpose. He punched an electric sign and made it explode, causing a getaway for Clobber and himself to flee from authorities.

The stealing and causing trouble for petty reasons, ignoring the pain of being rejected over and over again.

He remembered all the people who hurt him for his gift. His scrambled mind was able to focus only on a handful.

The conditional kindness of Jhiaxus, his near death experience and Clobber fighting his way out, causing the explosion.

The greed of some Decepticon that attempted to rip out his spark so he could distribute it for profit.

A group of organic scientists that they'd turned for help. They ran out of the building when their fragile systems overloaded from the alien energy and they'd never seen them again.

A small group of metal life forms that tried to get him to join a terrorist organisation. They tried to kill them as soon as they deemed him too damaged to control.

Finally, the core. The core and Jazz's panicked state that he tried so hard to mask. The thought of the Autobot losing faith in him scared him the most out of all these experiences.

Blurr couldn't hold it in anymore. He felt like he was about to be torn apart. Not as intensely as it once was, but still enough to cause him agony. He needed to endure it.

Must escape.

No.

Must stay.

It's the only way.

It would be over soon.

It had to be!

The static around him was getting too intense and he couldn't see what was happening outside anymore. The tank started cracking, not enough to start leaking, but it was getting there.

Clobber tried to transform again. The device flinched. She did it again. Again. Again. Finally, the device was moved to such an angle that one weak shift of her plates caused it to fall off. She was free again.

Jhiaxus continued the experiment, trying to capture as much energy as he could into the container. He saw a moving shadow way too late, and before he fully turned around, Clobber shoved him aggresively on the wall. Turning back to the panel, she decided to smash it, this time with the intent to break it.

"No!" Jhiaxus was instantly back on his feet and shoved her away, but the damage was already done. The machine began losing it's power. Slowly, way too slowly. Blurr's spark pulsed and his body gave up. He released a huge blast, shattering the tank. Jhiaxus and Clobber were pushed back by the impact. It took less than a second for it to be over.

"Blurr!" Clobber called out, jumping back on her feet and rushing to her partner's aid. The lights were flickering wildly, the electricity was dancing everywhere, and it seemed like most of the power in the room was out. She found Blurr laying on the cold floor, wet and barely conscious. She scooped him into her arms and looked him over. He looked back at her. Thankfully, his optics were back to normal.

"You..." Suddenly, they heard a low growl. Clobber started backing off when she saw a huge figure incoming. Jhiaxus was stomping towards them with an angry scowl. "You meddling, unruly nuisances! Look what you've done!"

Clobber looked to her side and saw the container where Blurr's energy was captured. At least what was left of it.

"You've ruined everything!" When he got close, he kicked the container at the wall, breaking it. Clobber wasted no time. She transformed and got away before he caught her. Blurr was sitted on her back, so she had no trouble with the next part of her escape plan.

Crash!

She drove into the wall and made a hole in it. Jhiaxus snarled and tried to chase after her, but the automatic doors were out of commission. He could hear her speeding away. Uncontrolled, the scientist slammed his fist against the doors and let out a terrifying roar. Clobber heard it behind her, which only caused her to speed up. Jhiaxus was about to continue his tantrum, when he noticed a giant glimmering object in the flickering room. He remembered about the core. It was toppled over, but no longer radiating with unstable energy. Gritting his teeth, he decided to walk up to it.

-----

Jazz left the ship early in the morning. He wanted to head for the city, when he noticed a white and yellow jet approaching. It transformed mid-air and landed in front of him. It was Jhiaxus with a bag over his shoulder. The first thing Jazz noticed was that he was covered from top to bottom with burn marks.

"Hello, Jazz."

"By the Allspark, are you okay?!" The Autobot immediately asked, terrified by his state.

"I am fine." Jhiaxus nodded. "I decided to try something different to fix the core. It was a dangerous procedure, so I deemed that it would be best to carry it out myself."

"Geez, mech, you can't just endanger yourself like that!" Jazz said and tried to support him, just in case he was going to fall. "What is it with you scientists and coming up with the most creative ways to go out?"

"It was a risk I was prepared for. A risk that, thankfully, paid off." Jhiaxus claimed, pushing himself off Jazz and offering him the bag. The Autobot captain scanned it before accepting it. When he looked inside, he gasped. He quickly glanced back at the bigger mech in shock.

"You didn't..."

"I did." Jhiaxus grinned. Jazz looked back inside, just to double check. The yellow and white Autobot cherished how his face immediately lit up.

"Oh, thank Primus..." He let out a relieved sigh. Then, without any warning, he grabbed Jhiaxus' hand and started shaking it aggresively. "Jhiaxus, you crazy scraplet spawn! I could hug ya!"

"That won't be necessary." Jhiaxus chuckled.

"You've no idea how much this means to us!" Jazz exclaimed. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you!"

"... You know." Jhiaxus suddenly said. "Since you're offering, I think there is one thing you could do... Would you by any chance have one more free spot on your ship?" He finally asked. Jazz blinked, surprised by the request.

"You want to return to Cybertron after all?" He asked. "I thought you made this planet your home."

"I did grow attached to it, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss our home planet." He said, softening his gaze. "I understand if it's too much to ask..."

"I mean..." Jazz bounced on his feet, thinking. "It is getting a bit crowded in there... I'm going to have to ask the rest how they'd feel about this."

"Naturally. May I return in a few hours to learn your final verdict?"

"Yeah, of course." Jazz accepted.

"In that case, see you then. Right now, I'm in desperate need of a shower." And with that, Jhiaxus transformed back and flew away, leaving Jazz with the bag.

-----

It took the Autobot some time to install the crystal again. When he was done, he retreated to the bridge. The Autobot sat there hesitantly, spark aching as he was turning on the ship.

Deep in vent. Ex vent.

Reaching the point of no going back, he finally activated the ship. The reports about the malfunction were gone. Everything returned to normal. He quickly turned the ship back off and stared down at the panel.

"It worked..." Jazz murmured, covering his mouth with his hands. Then, his entire body had a reaction and he stood back up, laughing.

"It worked!" Makeshift was just passing by when he heard the shouting. With a smooth slide, Jazz left the bridge and noticed the Decepticon's presence. His happiness was too uncontrollable at that point and he wouldn't let him escape. The former spy stiffened and rose his arms in defence to stop the Autobot from whatever he was planning. He felt embarrased about that reaction in seconds, because Jazz just grabbed him by the arms and started spinning both of them around.

"You can't keep this ship down for long, baby! We're back in the game!" He exclaimed.

"Let me go!" Makeshift tolerated this only for a few seconds before freeing himself. Jazz didn't give any push back. The Decepticon cleared his throat, dusting off his arms. "Yes, great, finally. I can't wait to leave."

"I need to tell the kids!" Jazz said, rushing past him.

"Don't even remind me." Makeshift sighed, massaging his forehead. He couldn't help, but follow him with his gaze. "You do know what's caused this crisis in the first place, right?"

"Hm?" Jazz walked back to him. He had a look on his face that told Makeshift that he wasn't listening.

"Blurr. Blurr was the reason why the core was infected." He stated. Jazz stared at him for a second, then shrugged.

"Yeah, I know." Was his response.

"And you don't intend on punishing him at all?"

"I'm not punishing him for something he had no control over. We're gonna have to work on that, though. Can't have this becoming a regular thing."

"Autobots and their soft sparks..." Makeshift grumbled under his breath.

"Sorry if that disappoints you, but it usually takes a lot more to make me act on anger." Jazz opened the storage where he expected the kids to be, but to his surprise, it was empty. He couldn't find them anywhere else either.

"They went on a morning walk, or something?" He asked, briefly scanning inside.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them since yesterday." Makeshift's words made Jazz freeze.

"What do you mean since yesterday? They weren't with you?" The captain turned back, frowning at him.

"Thankfully not." The Decepticon said. "Last time I saw them, they were having a screaming match outside of the ship."

"And you didn't think to tell me sooner?" Jazz asked, approaching him again. His expression became deadly serious.

"You seemed busy." The Decepticon shrugged. Jazz couldn't help but squint at him, but on the inside, he was kicking himself for not seeing that something was amiss on his own.

-----

Clobber managed to find a hiding spot for her and Blurr in an alley barely large enough to hide both of them. While she kept watch, the blue youngling was recovering, curled up by the wall. After determining that nobody would bother them, she took a risk and left the post to check on him.

"Are you hurt?" She kneeled, making her voice as soft as possible.

"No." Blurr shook his head.

"Good." She sighed in relief. "... Are you okay?"

Blurr paused. Suddenly, his breath hitched and the first sob escaped him.

"No..."

Before Clobber could do anything, Blurr buried his face in his arms and more sobs followed. The bigger Rogue didn't respond. Instead, she sat next to him and curled as well. She didn't know whether she should touch him, or let him be.

"Why couldn't I just be a normal failed expriment?..." He whined through his tears. "Why couldn't I just be normal period? How many times do we have to go through this?"

"... I don't know." Clobber said, leaning closer and wrapping her arm around him. She didn't say anything else. He gripped whatever he could find of her tightly and pressed his head into her.

"He'll never let that go and now we can't even leave! He'll tell Jazz and he'll turn against us, too!" He hiccuped. "When I'm not trying to be the destroyer of worlds, all I'm good for is being a stupid battery! That's all I've ever been worth!..."

"You're worth everything to me." She whispered, giving him an assuring squeeze. She felt her own optic growing hot and tears threatening to spill.

"Kids?" Suddenly, they both froze. They turned around saw Jazz stepping into the alley. Blurr immediately pushed himself off Clobber, wiping the rest of the evidence that he was crying. The Autobot immediately had this stupid look of concern on his face.

"Why are you here? What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing. Can't a bot just curl in a corner every once in a while?" Despite his voice still being a little rough, Blurr immediately jumped into defensiveness.

"Blurr, no. This has to stop." Clobber stated. "It's better if we tell him."

"Tell him what? You know something? I don't." Blurr wouldn't give up, but at least now Jazz knew that was a lie.

"Blurr..." The Autobot began.

"I meant it when I said you can let me know if you needed anything. I know I probably didn't give you the best impression of myself since we've met, but I do care. And I will listen to whatever it is that's bothering you. Is it okay to ask you to trust me?..."

Blurr found trouble speaking again. He glanced at Clobber, who only nodded. Eventually, the youngling sighed.

"... Fine..." He murmured. "We'll tell you."

-----

They sat Jazz down and told him everything. They spared him the gritty details, but managed to paint the picture of the last two days just fine. The Autobot kept his word and listened attentively, not once did he interrupt. The younglings couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not.

"... And then you've found us and that's the whole thing. Blurr's life story 101." Blurr finished, giving a weak attempt at humour to ease the situation a bit.

Jazz was sitting before them, unresponsive. Sometimes they really wished they could see through that visor of his, because they couldn't for the life of them tell what he was emoting at the moment.

"Jazz?" Clobber asked worriedly. Blurr just hung his head, hugging himself. "We're sorry. We're so, so sorry about everything. Blurr didn't do this out of malice, I promise-"

"Let's go." Suddenly, Jazz cut her off. He stood back up, finally revealing a very angry grimace. The two couldn't help, but stare. "Come on. We're going back to the ship."

Blurr felt like someone shot him in the spark. Nevertheless, he had been already preparing himself mentally to accept his fate. Clobber was more reluctant, but she came to terms with it soon enough as well. They both stood up, neither of them dared to say anything in response, and Jazz started leading them back to their ship.

-----

When they finally arrived some time later, the Rogues entered the vehicle first. Both looked like they were waiting for their captain to tell them to pack up and never come back. Jazz was the next to enter, when suddenly, he heard a jet engine roaring behind them. He already knew who it was and it immediately soured his mood ever more.

The three saw Jhiaxus landing in some distance from the ship. He was all cleaned up and walking casually, as if nothing had happened.

"Stay here." Jazz said after a second, then went out to meet him. The Rogues didn't understand what was happening, but decided to observe the situation.

Their captain approached the fellow Autobot, stopping him from coming any closer to his vehicle. Jhiaxus began speaking and Jazz crossed his arms. They couldn't hear the words that were spoken, but judging by the body language, Jhiaxus was in high spirits. Was he excited for something? Whatever it was, Jazz finally cut him off. The white and yellow Autobot's expression became confused.

Then, they noticed that his posture began drastically changing. He responded to their captain, raising his hands. Maybe he was trying to plead, or explain something? Jazz remained still as stone, unbothered and unsympathetic. Jhiaxus wasn't shouting, but he evidently rose his tone. The black and white Autobot then rose his hand, and it magically shut the larger individual up. Jhiaxus didn't seem to like the next words that came from his mouth.

To the Rogues' further confusion, they started arguing. It all lasted for some time, both parties seemingly getting heated up. Then, without any warning, they saw Jhiaxus making a sudden move. It was his final mistake. Jazz reacted with two blades quickly slipping out of his sleeves. The kids gasped, completely caught off guard.

Jhiaxus seemed, too, because he took a few steps back and widened his eyes. Jazz stood there with the weapons out for some time. He was turned around, so Blurr and Clobber couldn't see his face. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing.

Finally, seeing that he had nothing left to lose, Jhiaxus took a few steps back.

The kids could see the hot rage on his face, but Jazz's presence made him keep it in check. The bigger Autobot threw his hands in defeat, turned on his heel, and then started walking away. Jazz watched him transform and fly back to the city.

Blurr and Clobber stared in shock at the scene. After a few minutes, Jazz returned. His blades were hidden again at that point.

"Blurr..." The Autobot began softly, apologetically, reaching for Blurr's hands and taking them into his own. "I've got no words to tell you how sorry I am for this. I should've seen that something was wrong... This won't happen ever again."

"... Why?" Was all Blurr managed to think. "He's an Autobot, like you."

"It doesn't matter. If you're a bad person, you're bad. Your association won't change that." Jazz said.

"But... It was all my fault!" Blurr was on the verge of tears again. "We always get you in trouble and he's a hero in here! Why believe us over him?"

Jazz's expression grew horrified.

"Did I make you feel like I wouldn't believe you?"

"No, I-!..." Blurr took his hands away from him. "I don't get it... I-I just don't."

"I told you he's not like that." Clobber said.

"But, I..." The smaller Rogue was stumbling on his own words. Suddenly, Jazz tapped his shoulder, gaining back his attention. The Autobot offered no words. However, he did spread his arms in hope to offer something else.

Blurr stared at him in complete awe. He felt his body trembling more and more and his eyes becoming hot. Stepping closer, he accepted and threw himself at his captain. He hugged him tightly, immediately burying his face into his shoulder.

"There we go..." Jazz murmured with a faint smile, wrapping his arms around the youngling for the first time. The whole thing felt surreal to Blurr, but not in an unpleasant way. After a second, Clobber decided to join them. She hugged both of them and they stayed like that for as long as possible.

-----

Finally, the ship left the planet and returned to space. They were just leaving the orbit when Blurr joined Jazz on the bridge.

"Hey, coach?"

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to say that, uh..." The youngling paused, then sat on the ground next to the captain chair and pressed his back to the panel.

"Thanks for... you know. Not kicking us out." He managed. "Even though I kinda deserve it."

"There's nothing to thank me for." Jazz said. "I just wish I'd seen it before you were pressured into risking your health for a dumb piece of rock."

"Wow, when you put it like that it sounds really bad." Blurr gave a weak laugh that died seconds after. "... Anyway. I was wondering if... do you..." He sighed and braced himself. "Do you really think there's a place for me on Cybertron? Even with... all of this?"

"If there's one place in the whole universe where's every kind of unusual, it'll be Cybertron." Jazz claimed.

"The last time I've heard that was on our fourth banned planet..." He murmured. "Sorry, I know I should be more grateful. I'm excited to see where I come from, but... I think Jhiaxus was right about one thing, I wasn't created there. I don't know what to be excited about exactly. Heck, I'm not even sure if we won't be banished because of me."

Jazz turned his attention back on the road, thinking. After a second, he smiled.

"Blurr." He called. "How supersitious are you?"

"What-stitious now?" Blurr rose his ridge in confusion. Jazz looked back at him with a grin.

"Are you familiar with the concept of a 'pinky promise'?" He asked, raising pinky up. Blurr stared at him in disbelief.

"You're serious." He said slowly.

"So you are familiar." The Autobot replied.

"Of course I'm familiar, what are you, fifty?"

"I guess there's some youthful spirit in me after all." He said, then wiggled the finger. "Come on."

Blurr rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation. He faced Jazz again, raising his own pinky.

"I pinky promise that we'll do everything it takes to get this under control before we reach Cybertron. As long as you're a part of my crew, we'll go through thick and thin together if we have to."

"Even if I mess up big time? You know, all these other people tried and failed miserably. I don't want you to be disappointed."

"As long as you let me know. A captain looks out for his crew no matter what, especially in the times of need."

Blurr, despite everything, smiled a little.

"Okay, captain dark past and serious frown. We have ourselves a deal." He said and hooked his small finger with Jazz's, making it official.

Chapter Text

"I've had it!"

An empty cube of Energon flew at the wall, breaking into thousand pieces and making a commotion. Despite not being anywhere near it, the bounty hunter couldn't help but flinch at the sound.

The ship was dark outside of the biolights and computer screens illuminating some parts of it. His caller still had trouble seeing him outside of his outline. It was leaning against the panel with its forehead pressed against his hook.

"It's been weeks and you still haven't finished the bounty we gave you! While you were over here slacking off, that insolent Autobot laughed in our faces as he kept getting away! Worst of all, he laid a hand on my Stunticons!" Motormaster said, then dragged startled Drag Strip and Wildrider to the screen. "Look at them! Drag Strip lost his only chance not to be completely ugly for the rest of his life!"

"I'm tellin' you this every time you call me, I need more time." The bounty hunter said calmly. He decided to look away for a second and check a small computer on his left. It contained an open file. "I've faced my fair share of big shots, but even they had their weaknesses. The guy you gave me is a complete enigma! I need time to think through my strategy, gear, not to mention the way I'm goin' to transport him to ya. You can't rush these things if you want to get the job done!"

"First you make excuses about chasing some lost Decepticons, now this?! What kind of bounty hunter are you?!" After a second, his optics became cold. "I'm starting to wonder whether this is all just a series of unhappy coincidences, or if you're stalling on purpose... You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

That semi-mocking comment made the bounty hunter squint.

"Listen here, Motor-brain." He said and pointed his clawed finger at the screen.

"There wasn't a single bounty I haven't completed yet. That's 'cause I know what I'm doin'. When I say I need more time, that means I need more time. You don't like that? Find another bounty hunter, though I guarantee I'm the best one you can afford!"

For a second, he saw Motormaster's eyes flaring with anger. Then, he unexpectedly calmed himself.

"Very well, Lockdown. Have it your way. You have some extra time to do whatever you feel is best..." Suddenly, he leaned closer to the screen, much to the other's discomfort.

"But you better make every second count... Expect to hear from us soon! Let's hope that you'll have anything but excuses next time!" With that last threatening remark, the call ended.

As soon as it did, the bounty hunter yelled. He punched the panel, though not with enough force to damage it. That little outburst was suddenly interrupted by a ping from another computer. He looked to his right and saw a report coming from a space station in a nearby planetary system.

The bounty hunter straightened up. At first, he tried to push a red button for ignore. However, he stopped himself before he did. He reflected quickly, then he did it again. All of his thoughts were telling him not to, but Motormaster's words kept echoing in his mind.

Was he scared?...

Despite his best efforts, a small part of him won over. After a while of hesitation, he finally pushed a green button next to the red one. The screen flickered and started tracking the signal.

-----

"Good evening, creatures of the Universe!" The colourful spotlights lit up and pointed on a stage in the heart of an enormous marketplace. A small humanoid robot with long green ponytails was floating around it. "Welcome to Nomad IV, the biggest trading space station in the whole wide galaxy! My name's Artemis!-"

"And my name's Moon!" After a second, another robot jumped out from behind her. He was shaped like a hare with yellow and blue accents. Both of them were holding microphones.

"We're your guides, mascots and lovable hosts!" They said in unison, flying around their audience and making a show of themselves.

"We're happy to see so many new customers and or business partners!" She said, floating right.

"If you have something to sell and you know how to sell it, this is a place for you!" He added, floating left.

"You folks don't know it yet, but you are in luck to have come here for this exact day! That's because-!" She began.

"Just today, we're going to host a special event for all of you!" He finished, reuniting with his co-host on the stage.

"Inspired by the very exciting customs from several organic worlds, we will hold our very own hunting game!" She announced.

"But since pouching is considered illegal around here, we created a safe, family friendly alternative!" Moon joined.

"Ths rules are simple: Our dear friends have spread Lucky Charms all over the market!" Artemis said and the screen behind them displayed several colourful cubes. Pink, grey, gradiant blue and green, with red spots, and silver.

"Each one of them is worth a different sum of shanix! If you find one, the cash prize is yours!" Moon said.

"Make sure to look extra carefully!" Artemis added. "Because if you do!..."

"You just might find the one of a kind Golden Charm!" Moon finished, swirling in the air. The screen switched pictures and revealed a golden cube.

"There's only one in the entire station!" Artemis said, then Moon returned and hugged her shoulders. She pouted at him for that. "If you find it, you will win the main prize! That is-"

"Half a million shanix!" Artemis interrupted, accidentally pushing him away and exploding with excitement. "So buy, sell and keep a lookout!"

"And most importantly, have fun!" Moon added, a bit out of synch with his co-host at the end.

Jazz, Clobber and Blurr avoided the crowd that had formed by the stage and walked past it. They were more focused on the gigantic market they had found themselves in. Anything was enough to distract the two young Cybertronians, from shapes and colours, to stands and shops in various sizes.

"What's that?" Blurr asked, zooming all around Clobber and Jazz. "What's that? What's that?!"

"I've never been to a place like this before!" Clobber said, completely out of breath. "Are we even able to afford anything?"

"We're not looking for things to buy." Jazz said, facing them. "We're here to earn money."

"What?!" They cried in unison, looking at him as if he grew a second head.

"I know, I know. Not the surprise you were expecting." Jazz waved his hands. "You've gotta understand, we all have our needs. I can't keep paying for everything forever. Especially now since, and let's not sugarcoat it, I'm poor as dirt."

"You know what would be way easier?" Blurr asked. "If we just stole. From the richest stands, they have it too good in life anyway."

"And that's why you'll be coming with me today." Jazz said, pointing at Blurr. Next, he turned to Clobber and pointed at her.

"Clobber, you'll be team two. You and Makeshift will- What are you doing?" He suddenly paused when his third crew member finally caught up. As he stepped towards them, organics, mechanical and other aliens alike made way in fear. The younglings turned around and screamed as well.

Behind them stood a tall grey and black Decepticon, the most infamous warlord in the entire universe. The only thing that was amiss about him were his eyes, which instead of crimson were completely white.

"You didn't think I'd go out in my own skin in a place this crowded?" Megatron asked, but his voice was gravely and all wrong. It was Makeshift.

"You're scaring everyone off." Jazz told him.

"And that's a bad thing, because?..." Makeshift questioned. The Autobot just stared disapprovingly, crossing his arms. The Decepticon rolled his eyes and then his body began transforming. He turned into a black-red Seeker who was significantly smaller and less threatening.

"Happy?" He asked, presenting himself to the captain.

"Better." Jazz nodded, then carried on. "Like I said, Clobber will go with Makeshift. We're looking for quick and easy gigs. Practically anything you can think of should be in this market, so there's a lot to choose from. Can I count on you not to cause any trouble?"

"I'll do my best!" Clobber said, saluting.

"Thank you." Jazz smiled at her, then turned to Makeshift, expectantly.

"... What?" The Seeker asked.

"Now's your turn to promise." The captain insisted sternly.

"You better focus your own charge." The Decepticon said, pointing behind Jazz where Blurr was supposed to be standing. The Autobot turned around and saw that the youngling was already missing.

"Scrap!" Jazz said. He briefly looked back at the two as he started running and yelled: "Stay out of trouble! I'm trusting you!"

And with that, he was gone. Clobber turned to Makeshift, who already looked resigned.

"Do whatever you want, just don't embarrass me." He said to her, beginning to walk.

"Of course!" She exclaimed and followed him. "I'll be the least embarrasing person you know!"

With their assignment in mind, they began walking around and looking for jobs. As they were passing, they didn't realise that they were being watched.

A black drone was keeping an eye on them from the air. The video of its camera was showing on a cloaked figure's arm. Lockdown was looking over some tools a few stands away. After a second, he put down a wrench he had grabbed and moved. He decided to step into a group of the tallest aliens in order to blend in.

-----

The market seemed to have no end. If one was not careful enough, they'd get lost in the shops, stands containing every wonder in the universe, or in neverending crowds. Lockdown wouldn't let that scare him. He moved to a less crowded area and found himself by a tent made of some web-like material where a large organic alien with six arms was selling Petro Rabbits.

Only a few seemed brave enough to come closer, which was perfect for him. He moved between the cages of the sleeping beasts and kneeled. Looking out, he saw Clobber and Makeshift talking to some big two-headed mechanical nearby. They had their backs turned to his postition.

Lockdown felt his arms shaking as he reached for something on his cloaked back. Then, he pulled out a sniper rifle.

"Quick and painless." His voice quivered while he whispered. He struggled to arm the weapon and make sure it was silenced. "Quick and painless. Quick and painless..."

Once he finished, he took aim. He chose the black and red Seeker Makeshift to be his first target. He still felt his finger twitching on the trigger, no matter how hard he tried to calm it. He forced himself to stay still. He had to.

Taking a somewhat shaky breath, he mustered enough will into his hands. Finally, it took him only a second to pull the trigger.

The rifle silently fired a deadly laser at the Decepticon. The next events were quick.

The shot was taken. However, before it reached its target, a metal vase came out of nowhere and shielded him. The vase violently desintegrated upon contact. The explosion attracted attention of everyone, including the two targeted Cybertronians. Lockdown widened his eyes. The explosion awoke the Petro Rabbits, making them shriek when they saw him. Lockdown avoided getting stabbed with their spider legs. Quickly, he removed himself from the scene. Just in time for their handlers to arrive and start calming them down.

Everyone moved away from the small explosion. Suddenly, a pink cube flew out of it and landed under a sluggish alien's single foot.

"Congratulations!" Without any warning, Artemis and Moon appeared out of nowhere and flied down to the alien, shaking their hands.

"You've found our first Lucky Charm!" She stated.

"Since you got the pink one, you get ten thousand shanix!" Moon finished. The alien was too much in shock from everything to react in any way.

When Lockdown found himself in a safe position, he saw that the crowd had already calmed down. Makeshift and Clobber lost their interest and moved on to the different shop. He scanned the scorched remains on the ground, trying his hardest to figure out what had happened.

Looking around, he noticed a stand nearby that sold similiar metal objects. When the emotions fell, he decided to walk over to them. The first thing he did was slam his fist on the desk, startling the antropomorphic cat selling them.

"Were you the one who threw that vase?!" He demanded.

"N-no, sir!" He stuttered. "It was bought just a second before it exploded!"

"By who?!"

"A-another member of your species, I believe!..." The cat smiled nervously, pointing with a shaky paw at him. "He was the one who threw it!"

Lockdown paused at the information he just received. Looking up, he didn't notice any other Cybertronians on the area.

"Where did he go?" The bounty hunter turned back to the vase seller.

"I-I don't know! Everything happened so fast!"

Lockdown slammed his fist again, making the cat hiss in startlement and dive under the desk. He left the stand and decided that Clobber and Makeshift wouldn't be his first victims that day.

-----

Jazz walked around the stands, searching. After a few minutes, he finally found Blurr. The youngling was sneaking on the stand owners and discreetly inspecting what goods they were offering. At the moment, he was fixated on a particular stand with jewelry. Before he knew, Blurr lost himself in the big jewels and shiny metals reflecting beautifully on the artificial lightings of the station...

"Found anything interesting?" The youngling jumped when he suddenly heard Jazz. That broke him out of his trance.

"I was just looking!" Blurr stated, dancing on his feet and facing his captain who appeared right behind him.

"I can see that." The Autobot smiled charitably. "How about a little window shopping with me after we do what we came here for?"

"Why would we buy windows? Are ours broken?" Blurr squinted in confusion.

"I'll explain later." Jazz said and started leading him through the crowd.

"How do we even convince them to give us a job?" Blurr asked. "In case you forgot, I'm not exactly an honest working bot."

"A part of this trip is gaining experience." Jazz claimed. "Don't worry, getting a job is the easy part. Keeping it, now that takes effort. Ready to challenge yourself?"

"I guess."

"Then watch and learn." After a second, Jazz walked up to one of the smaller stands and began talking to a large bird-looking organic. Blurr sat down on the ground with crossed legs, letting him work his magic.

After a few minutes, Lockdown located them. He saw Jazz still talking to a stand owner while Blurr was drawing with his finger on the ground. He made sure to keep a distance between them and himself and started looking for anything out of ordinary. His drone was scouting the area where he couldn't.

Nothing seemed to be happening for a good while, when suddenly, it picked up something. A large metal silhouette of another Cybertronian appeared on the camera. Blue and grey paintjob with red accents here and there. They were standing by a small space intended for the trashbins and restrooms. He appeared to be talking through a communicator. Lockdown's optics narrowed in suspicion.

"Excuse me, what time is it?" He was suddenly asked by a colourful Cybertronian-adjacent alien who noticed him staring at his arm. The bounty hunter swung his hook in front of their face, making them flinch. They decided that it was not worth it and slowly backed away.

Meanwhile, the mysterious Cybertronian was still on the communicator. He looked over his shoulder when he heard Artemis and Moon shouting 'Congratulations!' at another customer who found their Lucky Charm. Momentarily, he returned to his caller.

"Four, just like you said." He whispered, standing casually with a hand on his hip.

"Two Decepticons, one unindentified and one rogue Autobot... No, they don't seem to be armed, but I can never be too careful... Yes... Understood. I'll give you a call after the threat has been neutralised. Over and out." He said and klicked the communicator off. He wanted to leave, but when he was passing by the restrooms, a clawed hand suddenly emerged from its doors and pulled him in.

Lockdown didn't even bother to turn the lights on. His vision allowed him to see the shape of the person whose front he immediately pushed to the wall and held there. He was not a small bot by any means, but he still managed to outgrow him by an entire head.

"You parked in the wrong garage, bud." Lockdown growled, holding his hook against him. Unexpectedly, he noticed the person's top of the head moving and he saw a ball of energy quickly charging. Lockdown dodged at the last second before blue laser shot him.

The person he captured used his distraction against him. He put a leg between Lockdown's and tripped him, getting away. The bounty hunter fell on the mirror, breaking it with his metal forehead. Thankfully, nothing but his pride seemed to be harmed. The cloaked Cybertronian regained his balance.

"You must be Lockdown." The other mech said. "The new hotshot bounty hunter who already made quite the reputation for himself."

Lockdown looked back at him and squinted, trying to see him a little better. His night vision adjusted enough for him to finally notice the details he missed the first time. The other Cybertronian had two laser guns strapped to his right arm and to the top of his head. However, the thing that attracted his attention the most was the colourless outline of an insignia on his chest. That accursed insignia that seemed to follow him everywhere he went.

"Of course you're an Autobot." Lockdown groaned in annoyance.

"I'd ask what you're doing here for pleasantries' sake, but I think we both already know the answer."

"Then you also know what'll happen if you keep interfererin' with my business." To make an impression, he switched out his hook with an electric baton.

"Your business gets in the way of my business, so I'm afraid it can't be helped." The other mech said calmly, starting to move. Lockdown moved as well to prevent him from running. "I've made a promise to someone very important and I don't intend on letting them down."

"Wish I could say the same thing..." The cloaked bounty hunter tried not to laugh. "But job's a job. Also, I was here first."

"You still have a long way to go. I'll let you in on a little secret, one bounty hunter to another." The other said, a grin forming on his face. Suddenly, he rose his arm. "It doesn't matter who's first, but who's fast enough to claim the prize."

And with that, he used his laser gun to shoot at the ceiling. In seconds, a fire alarm went off. Before Lockdown could react, he was sprayed with a thick layer of anti-flames foam.

One of the organics was about to enter the restroom when the blue Autobot burst through the doors and ran away. They stepped back in startlement, looking at him leaving with wide eyes.

Seconds after, Lockdown emerged from the restroom, gasping and coughing. The whole room was overflowing with foam. His roar was mixed with a gargling sound that came out of his voicebox. Apparently, the substance got in there was well. He finally noticed the organic gaping at him.

"What are you lookin' at?!" He growled with a voice still strained and he tried to walk out with the rest of his dignity. Unfortunately, the other bounty hunter was nowhere to be seen anymore.

As if things weren't bad as they were, now he had to watch out for the competition.

------

Clobber and Makeshift were talking to a much smaller techno-organic who was selling something that seemed like exotic snacks.

"You sure there's nothing we can do?" Clobber asked Makeshift. The stand owner replied in a language she didn't understand.

"He's sure." The Decepticon said, frowning. "I'll spare you the exact words he used."

"Oh, okay..." She sighed. "Can you thank him for giving us time anyway?"

Makeshift turned back to the techno-organic and said something rather passionate in their language. The alien looked baffled and started shouting at him. Clobber widened her eye, feeling like something happened that she didn't understand.

"Let's look somewhere else. Somewhere more civilized, hopefully." Makeshift said, grabbing her by the arms and starting to drag her away. She started walking on her own seconds after, not questioning what had happened.

"How many stands did we go over now? I've lost count on the third." The Rogue asked.

"Five." Makeshift replied. "Who would've thought that the Decepticons don't have the best reputation."

Suddenly, they were brought to a halt when someone stood in their way.

"Hello, my friends!" A Cybertronian greeted them cheerfully. It was the blue bounty hunter. However, the Autobot insignia on his chest was missing. "I couldn't help overhearing that you have a job-related problem!"

"And what about it?" Makeshift eyed him suspiciously.

"You're looking for a job, and I'm looking for employees! Maybe we can help each other out!" He said with an award-winning smile, gesturing.

"What kind of a job?" Clobber asked.

"I'll tell you everything on the way!" The mech said and started pushing the two of them forward. "Come, the more we stand here, the less sells we make!"

The two discreetly exchanged weird looks, but ultimately they let him humour them.

Little did they know, they were being watched from afar. Lockdown's drone was following them. Its owner was sitting on a bench.

"And he wanted to teach me how to do my job? Clobber's not dumb, not to mention the slaggin' spy right next to her!" He murmured to himself, then chuckled. "Looks like the problem's gonna solve itself real fast."

He watched the Autobot bounty hunter leading Makeshift and Clobber towards some secluded area on the back of the station. Suddenly, the camera started glitching. Lockdown sobered up immediately. He tried tapping on his arm, but soon he lost control of the device. The drone started falling. Before it hit the ground, the screen went off.

"What?!" Lockdown shouted, flabbergasted. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the picture back on. Instead, he activated the drone's tracker. It was being dragged to that secluded area where the Autobot was going towards.

Lockdown wasted no time and followed the signal.

-----

There was a lone corridor that was most likely meant for the station's staff. Thankfully, Lockdown managed to get there before Clobber and Makeshift. Looking around, he concluded that the corridor was empty. He carefully stepped into it.

Just when he was about to take a turn, he suddenly stopped. He took his foot away, seeing that he almost stepped on a line on the ground. A trap. Lockdown stepped back and then looked up. Finally, he saw his drone laying on the ground just ahead.

The bounty hunter gasped in horror. He avoided the line and ran up to his device, kneeling. He carefully picked it up and started examining it.

"Oh, he went too far." He said in a tone full of vengence. "Does he have any idea how much this all cost?!"

Lockdown flipped it on the other side and saw that the drone's underside was already opened and loose cables were sticking out of it.

"Oh, thank Primus. I can still fix this..." He murmured, then his hook switched to a repair tool. He used it to gently lift the inner flap. As he was pushing it open, for some reason, he heard a growling sound. Before he did as much as make a confused grimace, a single shiny orb jumped straight at him. In that milisecond he saw the teeth, the claws, and most importantly, the green scales.

Lockdown let out a startled cry. He stumbled back right into the line on the ground. The trap was set into motion, a cube cage was created, but since it had no one to trap inside it desintegrated within seconds. Lockdown was thrashing around, screaming and trying to get whatever was on him off. Meanwhile, the growling creature was attacking him with a broken lever.

Makeshift, Clobber and the other bounty hunter arrived on the scene shortly after. They were about to enter the corridor when they heard the commotion. The blue mech froze in dread.

"What was that?" Makeshift asked.

"T-that's just a part of the job! Not to worry!" He assured them, then started stepping back. "If you just give me a second, I'll go deal with this!" He said and then ran into it. The two stayed still for a few seconds.

"Am I crazy or did he also set some alarms for you?" Clobber asked after a second.

"Yes, but he's no Decepticon." Makeshift deducted. "The guy's probably just some harmless conman. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't waste my time on those either."

"I'm glad we agree." She said and then they decided to leave.

Lockdown finally managed to get a hold of whatever was attacking him. Not wasting any time, he peeled it off his face and threw it. The lizard-like organic flew across the corridor with a roar. Suddenly, the blue mech slid in and caught it before it hit the wall.

"What is that?!" Lockdown said in all his disorientation, rubbing at his face and readjusting his hood.

"This is my partner, Slizardo." The other mech introduced, letting the lizardman climb onto his arm. He was on the smaller scale of organic species, with a long tail and green scales covering all of his body. There was a black eyepatch on his right eye, and a long scar running behind it. He was wearing a mix of metal armor and a cloth that covered his midsection. He almost looked like a techno-organic with all the technology covering him. Slizardo hissed and three fins on his head flared with him.

"What kind of bounty hunter are you?!" Lockdown demanded, finally regaining himself.

"Devcon, at your service! We specialise in hunting and bringing Decepticons to justice." The mech said, then tapped his chest. The Autobot insignia shone into life once again. Slizardo moved onto his shoulder, holding onto the broken level threateningly. "That doesn't mean we will turn a blind eye on any Autobots. The one you're after has broken the protocol, so he must be punished as well. I hope now you understand why our assignment is so important."

"Good for you... Y'see this?" Lockdown asked, raising his drone and showing it to the other. "I'm gonna rip out your circuits for every missin' part!"

Slizardo made a bunch of snarls in response. The cloaked mech didn't understand a word.

"You have to forgive my friend, his translator is broken and he didn't have time to fix it." Devcon said politely. "He said that if you actually took proper care of it, he wouldn't have had to try upgrading it."

"Tell your weird dog to stop barkin' at me. Someone'll think it's rabid and put it down." Lockdown sneered.

"Better watch your mouth, Junior." Devcon frowned, pointing at Lockdown. Slizardo just seemed amused. "You might just as well end up on our list, too."

"I ain't scared of a pair of fake bounty hunters! You wanna take my job, you gotta get through me first!" He said and he switched the tool for an electric baton. Devcon sighed.

"Fine." He said, then pulled out something. A pair of stasis cuffs. "If we have to, so be it."

And with that, they charged at each other. Punching, stabbing, dodging, kicking, everything was on the table. Every time Lockdown got close, Slizardo had a chance to hit him in the head with the broken lever. The younger mech quickly realised the difference between their fighting styles. The other bounty hunter was doing everything by the book. His punches, kicks and swings were calculated and within rules of a clean fight. Sometimes he had to avoid his attempts at cuffing him. Granted, with Slizardo's constant interventions it was more of a challenge, but he was managing just fine.

Lockdown, on the other hand, was constantly aiming for his weak spots. When the other threw a hit, he tried to hit back where it hurt the most at the moment. He wasn't afraid to throw any risky punches, because he knew Devcon wouldn't go for any blind spots. It didn't make him any less prideful either. Out of the two, his strategy looked far more reckless.

"You can tell you're an Autobot." Lockdown commented as he made distance with them "Everythin' has to be neat and tidy with y'all!"

"And to fight dirty, you need the right experience! You obviously lack in that department!" The other bounty hunter said. Suddenly, the doors of the staff room opened. A worker saw them and froze. They had completely forgotten that they were still pretty much out in the public.

"Outta the way, ugly!" Lockdown decided to got for it. Pushing the staff member aside, he ran inside.

"Hey, you can't go there!" They tried shouting after him hopelessly.

"We are terribly sorry for this inconvinience! We promise to pay for any damages that may occur!" Devcon said and Slizardo saluted to them. The staff member was too stunned to say anything.

The other workers tried to stop Lockdown. A roup gathered to restrain him, but he quickly deployed his flying board and jumped on it. He took off, just in time for Devcon to catch up.

"Ha!" Feeling cocky, the younger bounty hunter turned around and started flying backwards, shouting: "Too bad that Autobots can't fly!"

At this taunt, Devcon transformed into a spacecraft, landing Slizardo in a passenger seat, and then taking off. Lockdown widened his eyes.

"Blasted Decepticon propaganda." He murmured before trying to get away.

Slizardo pulled something from under the seat and aimed it at Lockdown. It was a net gun. He fired a few shots, but the younger bounty hunter maneuvered around them, dodging as the blasts exploded into electric nets that decorated the room instead. Lockdown reached from under his hood and dropped a few metal balls at them. All of them exploded in seconds, creating a thick smokescreen around them. They restricted Devcon's vision so it was only a matter of time until he lost control of his alt mode. Slizardo had to hang on.

While he was frantically flying around, Lockdown tried to get away. However, the smokescreen turned out to be a double-edge. By the time he was passing the cloud, Devcon flied out of it. They had a collision and were sent flying straight at a huge window in the room. The glass broke and the two of them fell out.

Slizardo was quick. He put a breathing mask that covered his whole face and jumped off Devcon. While people inside began panicking, he aimed his net and started patching up the hole as much as he could.

-----

Blurr's upper body was laying on the desk.

"Remind me again what we're supposed to do here?" He sighed deeply.

"Prepare refreshments." Jazz said. He was standing next to Blurr and pouring various fuels into a long metal cup.

Their stand was located on the other end of the station with a beautiful view of the stars. As they were working, Lockdown suddenly flew on his board into view.

"Out of all the supposed things we could be doing right now." Blurr complained, unaware to the scene behind him. Suddenly, the cloaked mech flew out of the picture as Devcon swooped in and chased him. "Am I going to be like you when I'm old, too? Bland and boring and passionless?"

"You don't get the art that comes with this profession and it shows." Jazz stated. Lockdown came back into view. His hook was transformed into a blaster as he shot at the other bounty hunter. Devcon charged at him. Suddenly, he transformed and pushed him off his board. They both landed just above the window.

"This may come as a surprise to you, but I actually used to do something like that before the war." Jazz said after a second. That made Blurr a little more awake.

"No way." He said.

"Yes way. Check this out." Jazz said, picking up the cup and putting a lid over it.

Then, he quickly pulled out two other cups and began working. He was shaking, mixing, and adding fuels with speed even Blurr had trouble following. He was laser focused on what he was doing and he missed how Devcon's upper body squashed on the top side of the window. The bounty hunter was then pulled back by a hook. Seconds later, Lockdown's back was pressed to it. It seemed like they began rolling on the window, trying to get the upper hand.

Jazz finished mixing by pouring the drink into a prepared star-shaped glass and passing it to the cashier, saying: "Order up!"

"Wow... I mean!" Blurr tried to quickly retract his statement. "I could do that! Watch!" Before he did anything, Jazz placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Could you really?" He asked.

"... No, not really." Blurr groaned, looking away.

"Want me to show you?" The Autobot asked.

"I won't stop you if you decide to do that." Technically, that was a yes. Jazz smiled.

"Watch what I'm doing. Carefully." He said and grabbed one of the cups. Blurr got a hold of the other one in a similiar fashion.

The bounty hunters disappeared out of sight again.

Lockdown was shoved on the ground aggresively. Devcon restrained his arms and legs by laying on top of him.

"I don't think you realise what kind of threat you're up against!" The older bounty hunter said. After a second, Lockdown managed to overpower him and kick him back. They both returned to their feet, raising his fists. "That Autobot has taken down more dangerous Decepticons than you could in your entire career!"

"Wrong, I do know that!" He said as they entered a fistmatch. "What do you think I've been doin' all this time except preparin' for the gig?"

"And you're okay with killing two kids that are with him?" Swing. Kick. Dodge. Strike. Slide.

"I'm doin' them a favour!" Step back! Dodge! Swing! Swing! Swing! "Better to give 'em a quick death over whatever you freaks have planned for them!"

"I said they are young, not innocent! Something you should understand more than anyone!" Punch!

Lockdown punched Devcon in the face. He was trying to finish him off with his blaster, but then he was hit in the arm by a laser. He cried out and covered the hit spot.

Slizardo returned. He was holding two laser pistols aimed directly at Lockdown.

"Why do you let your dog hold so many firearms?!" The younger bounty hunter baffled. Slizardo growled at him.

"He has three enginer's degrees!" Devcon said, just as angered.

After a second, Lockdown noticed that his board fell out of his back and was laying right behind Devcon. A stupid idea came to his mind. As they came closer to try and surround him, they didn't notice the tiny red dot right under Lockdown's covered face lighting up near his audial. His flying board picked itself up from the ground and floored it back towards its owner. Slizardo looked up and widened his eye.

Before Devcon grabbed Lockdown's hook, the lizardman started grunting.

"What?" The older bounty hunter didn't have much time to react before he was hit in the head by the board. Lockdown rose his hook and grabbed onto it, tagging along. Slizardo shouted and ran up to Devcon to see that Energon started pouring from the back of his head.

Lockdown landed some distance away from them. Seeing that the lizardman began aiding the Autobot, he wasted no time. Using his laser, he burnt a hole back into the station. Then, he grabbed his board and jumped inside. He landed on one of the stands which was completely totalled.

"Oi!" Its owner shouted, raising a blaster.

"Add that to these fine gentlemen's tab!" He said, pointing his thumb at the hole. Hiding his board again, he left without saying another word and ran into the crowd.

Finally, Clobber and Makeshift managed to find a job. They worked at a stand with literature and attented to the thousands datalogs on the display.

"Huh. They have one of my favourites." Makeshift mused as he took a datapad off the shelf. Clobber looked over his shoulder as he onlined it. It was about artpieces across countless worlds, from sculptures, paintings and some other unconventional methods of artistic expression.

"Wow, so many pictures." She hummed.

"Indeed. What about you, did you find something? A nice colouring book, maybe?"

"Unfortunately, no, but I was thinking about buying this after we earn enough money." She said and showed him a metal-covered book.

"A theory on how all mechanical life came to be." Makeshift read out loud. "I think that one's a bit too depressing for your taste."

"Actually, we had a shared copy back in my unit. Nobody else wanted it, so it was technically mine." She stated, then patted her stomach. "I liked the feeling of existential hollowness it left after reading."

Makeshift wasn't sure what made him stare more. Her supposed knowledge, or the jovial tone she used to describe the experience.

"Excuse me!" A new customer called after a second.

"I'll take that one." To escape that situation, Makeshift went over to them. Clobber was about to return to dusting off the books, when something suddenly caught her attention. A familiar cloak flowing in the crowd. She recognised it almost immediately.

"Red eyes?" She said in surprise. She wanted to follow it, but the tiny alien that employed them started beeping at her. This she could understand. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm getting back to work!"

She started cleaning again and her boss returned to business. As she dusted off the shelves, she couldn't help but scan the crowd one last time in hope of finding that piece of cloth again.

-----

"Congratulations! Silver Charms are not so easy to find!" Artemis and Moon found yet another winner, someone who resembled a Junkion but not any of Rum-Maj's crew.

"Your reward is a hundred thousand shanix!" Moon said and the Junkion cheered, throwing her arms in the air.

Lockdown ran past them, almost bumping into the three.

"Stop that criminal Decepticon!" After a second they heard a distant voice. Devcon finally caught up and flew past them in his alt mode, leaving them shocked.

Lockdown led him away from their targets and headed for the lifts. He went into one and tried to punch the buttons, but Devcon and Slizardo caught up. The blue Autobot transformed and jumped after him into the small space where he began wrestling with him.

Lockdown managed to overpower him and push him onto the panel where he accidentally pushed every single button. The doors closed and the lift began going up.

A group of aliens were waiting on the upper level. When the doors opened, they cried in surprise when they saw the fight inside. Devcon was restricting Lockdown's arms while Slizardo was beating his leg with metal knuckle dusters.

"Your hook doesn't make for a good weapon, does it?" The older bounty hunter commented.

"Says the old man with a gun strapped to his head-!" The doors closed.

When the doors opened on another level, they were in a different position. Lockdown threw Devcon over his shoulder, landing the bounty hunter on the ground with a loud thud that shook the whole small space. The doors closed.

The people waiting for the lift on the next level immediately ran away when the doors opened and revealed that all three were charging their blasters at each other. The doors closed, unclear whether they fired or not.

A few levels higher and they finally reached their last level on top of the station. Lockdown was thrown out of the lift as soon as the doors opened and landed on the ground. Devcon walked out barely standing, with Slizardo panting on his shoulder. The younger bounty hunter wobbled as he stood back up. Devcon reloaded his arm gun and shot in his direction a few times. Lockdown ran out of the way and hid behind a pillar. He started shooting back with his arm blaster. Slizardo jumped off the Autobot's shoulder and they separated. Lockdown focused his fire on Devcon, so he ran into a safe spot where he could hide as well.

"How long are you plannin' on keepin' this up?! Things would be so much easier if you just let me be!" Lockdown shouted. He tried to shoot again, but as he looked out of the pillar, a laser almost hit his face. He hid back, waiting for a better moment.

"Criminals or not, I can't let you kill them!" Devcon retorted, looking for his partner who seemed to have disappeared. "Just because we're bounty hunters doesn't mean we have to be heartless!"

"Get off your high horse! Some of us don't have the luxury of choosin' our bounties! We've gotta keep the business runnin' somehow!" Lockdown said and finally fired again.

"I know that tone all too well!" Devcon said. His voice became somewhat sympathetic. "I used to fight it every day! Even if you're a Decepticon scum, you still have your conscience! You should listen to it more often!"

Somehow, that statement got him more riled up than anything the older mech had said to him that day.

Devcon decided that he had enough sitting ducks. Using a moment of peace, he rolled out of his hiding and shot at Lockdown again. The laser avoided the pillar but got a part of the younger bounty hunter's hood. He widened his eyes and shrinked, trying to put out the small flame that appeared in the aftermath.

The chances of escaping were slim due to no windows and no exists except for the blocked lift. He looked around and then noticed one more thing, a hole in the ground. There was some kind of machinery with a golden chain that descended to whatever area was on the other side.

Lockdown saw his opportunity. He pulled out something from the inside of his cloak, another smokebomb, and threw it at Devcon to distract him. Then, he booked it. He ran up to the edge and grabbed the chain, jumping down. Despite the temporary distraction, Devcon was close behind and jumped after him.

The two of them found themselves on a giant golden ball. It was serving as a fancy chandelier that illuminated all levels through a massive gap between them.

Devcon tried to hit him, but Lockdown spun them around and he missed. They tried to make each other fall while the people from the nearest levels watched as the shadows danced around the walls.

At some point the chandelier was swinging too much, so much so that it reached one of the levels. People who were too close ran away in panic as the two mechs got dangerously close to the edge.

Finally, Devcon managed to get a hold of Lockdown and he pushed both of them on the said level. Before he restrained him, the younger bounty hunter shot at him with his hook blaster. The angle was wrong so he ended up shooting the ceiling instead. A big chunk of it fell out of its place and began falling down on the frozen in fear customers. Devcon gasped in horror seeing that. He left Lockdown alone and rushed over to them. He caught it before it hit anyone, shielding the group from the falling rubble.

Lockdown collected himself after a second. Just in time for Devcon to put the piece down and focus back on him. He tried to shoot him again. However, people began running around when he exchanged fire with Devcon. The older mech tried to aim, but there was too much movement around Lockdown. The younger mech noticed his struggle and looked around at the mayhem.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me." He snickered.

"This area is too populated!" Devcon shouted at him. "Keep it between the two of us!"

"Sorry, gramps, but I'm a machine of war! And ya know what they say about innocent casualties!" Lockdown said and rose his blaster. Did he mean what he said? He wasn't sure himself, just that he finally found his rival's weak spot.

Without any warning, he fired blindly at the crowd. Not a second had passed before Devcon came swooping in and moving them out of the way.

"Whoops!" Lockdown used his hook to cut the ropes supporting a giant display statue depicting Artemis and Moon. Devcon was soon there and pushing the statue back so it wouldn't break.

"You're not going to get away with this!" Devcon shouted as Lockdown ran past him.

"Oh, I think I will! You know why?" He asked as he was on the edge again. He turned around and dramatically spread his hands to spite the Autobot for the last time. "'Cause in real life, it's the bad guys who get the last laugh! There's nothin' you can do about it!"

Suddenly, Slizardo appeared behind him. He flew up from wherever he came from on a jetpack and pointed some cannon at Lockdown. The younger bounty hunter didn't notice him in time. The lizardman released a pair of shocking cables that reached his exposed back. An electric shortcircuit ran through him and he screamed in pain. Lockdown stumbled back, shaking as smoke was coming from his frame. Slizardo didn't catch him in time and he leaned over the edge.

Lockdown felt himself falling all the way down. Thankfully, he used his hook to grab onto whatever surface he could and he ended up scraping the downside of the chandelier.

Meanwhile, all the way on the lower level, Jazz and his crew were walking back to their ship.

"That's it? All this work and this is our pay?" Blurr asked. They all finished their jobs for the day and met up to count their savings. Makeshift and Clobber were paid about six shanix, while Blurr and Jazz, four each.

"I think we're getting scammed." Clobber stated.

"It was just one day." The Autobot stated. "I was hoping we'd get more, but we've gotta understand that this is how working... well. Works."

"How long until we'll get enough money?" Blurr asked.

"I was thinking about staying a few days to try out different jobs... Now I think a week, two tops. Then, if we don't have enough, we'll improvise." Jazz said, not so enthusiastic himself.

The crew passed by a huge fountain with pink water. Jazz stopped by it. He decided to pick one coin. The rest didn't know what he was planning until he blew on it and then flippes it into the fountain.

"What are you doing?!" Makeshift barked at him.

"We won't be able to buy anything for that kind of money anyway, might as well make it useful one way or another." The Autobot shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Clobber asked.

"It's said that if you throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish, it'll come true." Their captain explained. The younglings exchanged a look.

"It's a superstition." Makeshift stated. "It actually won't come true."

"How do you know? Have you ever tried it?" Blurr asked.

"Well, no, but-"

"That means you don't actually know that. I'm giving it a try!" The youngling grinned.

Clobber still looked unsure. She held her shanix close, not wanting to give them up.

"Here, you can take mine." Jazz offered and she hesitantly accepted.

"I wish for lots of money." Blurr said, holding one shanix before him with two hands.

"I wish for that, too." Clobber joined.

"Technically, you can't say what you're wishing for... We'll keep it between us." Jazz winked, pressing his finger against his grin.

"What a wonderful idea, just teach the younglings to throw away their hard-earned money- Yup, there it goes! Straight to the bottom." Makeshift complained as Clobber and Blurr's coins hit the water as well. "I hope you're proud of yourself."

Lockdown gasped, still feeling the effects of his electrocution. He could hear Devcon shouting something above him, but his brain was still fuzzy. His hook was penetrating the golden surface of the ball, allowing him to hold on. Still disoriented, he tried climbing back on top. His feet scraped at the construction, breaking off some of it.

The higher he got, he suddenly found a piece that came off way too easily and he slipped. Groaning, he dug his claws to support his hook and stopped himself from falling. The piece remained in place, but barely.

Slizardo flew down and swapped the blaster for his net gun.

"That's right, Slizardo, hold him where he can't escape!" Devcon said and tried to get down.

He was surrounded. The ground was too far, so were the levels. His position prevented him from pulling out his board again. By all means, this was the end of the road.

Devcon grabbed onto the chandelier and extended his hand to Lockdown.

"You're outnumbered, Junior." He said. "Please. We've caused enough trouble for one day."

Even with his hood on, the other could feel the hot stare of the younger bounty hunter. Then, suddenly, the red optics closed and disappeared out of sight.

"Yeah, yeah..." He sighed, then used his free hand to quickly reach out. He placed it in Devcon's open palm and the other took a firm grip of it.

"Wise choice." He said. "You're coming with us."

"Nah." Just as Lockdown expected. "You're comin' with me."

Without any warning, he retracted his hook. His foot slipped on the same moving piece of the chandelier that finally fell out of its place. Then, the gravity took over and Lockdown began falling, dragging Devcon along with him. Slizardo tried to react fast enough and released a net that missed but got a hold of Lockdown just barely. Due to the distance, the lizardman ended up tangling in the net as well.

To avoid a grim end, Devcon quickly transformed. Immediately, Lockdown grabbed onto him tightly and wouldn't let go. Slizardo was being dragged behind by them.

Jazz and his crew heard the commotion and turned around just in time to see two colourful shapes barely avoiding crashing on the fountain and then flying away into the distance.

"What the-"

"Ow!" Without any warning, a golden cube fell from the sky and hit Clobber in the head. It bounced off it, then the edge of the fountain, only to finally land right in Jazz's hands. The group stared at it, utterly confused.

"The Golden Charm has been found!" Artemis suddenly jumped out of the fountain, startling everyone but Jazz.

"Looks like it!" Moon said as he suddenly jumped out of from under a hat of an unsuspecting customer. The four Cybertronians suddenly found themselves under a golden spotlight. There was also a fanfare coming from the speakers along the sound of clapping crowd. Clobber tried to hide behind Makeshift, who looked like he wanted to run himself.

"That wasn't an easy task!" Artemis said, flying to them. "To be honest, we didn't expect anyone to find it so quickly!"

"Or at all!" Moon added, joining her.

"Which makes your victory all the more special!"

"I'm sorry, what's happening?" Jazz couldn't help but ask. Artemis suddenly grasped his cheeks and brought him closer to face her.

"You, sir, just won the main prize in our hunting game!" She shouted, then released him. "Half a million shanix goes to you and your lovely family!"

"Here's a photo for commemoration!" Moon said and pointed a camera at all of them. Artemis striked a cute pose, while Jazz and his crew looked nothing short of bewildered.

"A superspy and a magician?! Jazz, you can't keep doing this to us!" Blurr shouted, shaking Jazz by the arms and making him drop the charm.

-----

The bounty hunters blindly flew into a hangar where all spaceships were held. They got way too close to some of the vehicles before finally coming close with the ground. Lockdown fell off Devcon and the other transformed to avoid crash landing.

"Do you have any idea how many people could've gotten hurt because of your stunt?!" He roared. "That was the last straw! I was being patient with you, but no more!"

"That's great, gramps." Lockdown said, casually pillowing his arms behind his head. "Anyway, it's been fun. We've had a good laugh, but now I've got a job to get back to."

"The only place you're going is jail!" Devcon said, charging his laser guns again.

"Oh, really?" Lockdown's smug grin could be practically heard in his voice. " And you'll take me there all by yourself?"

Devcon froze. Suddenly, he heard a distant roar and looked up. Slizardo was tangled in an electric net that he failed to throw. He was stuck on the antenna of one of the bigger ships. Suddenly, the machine started taking off and flying out of the hangar.

"You've got a choice." Lockdown said to the visibly distressed Devcon. "You either wanna save your partner, or catch me-"

Before he even finished, the blue Autobot transformed and flew after the ship. Lockdown stared, watching how both spacecrafts left the station through the gigantic gates. He was in awe at how fast he'd made up his mind.

"... Alright." He said, backing off.

-----

Lockdown quickly left the hangar. Jazz and his crew were still by the fountain, talking and trying to figure out what had happened. The two mascots seemed to had finally left them alone.

Lockdown hid somewhere where no one would disturb him. Now with Devcon out of the way, he could focus on what he came there for. Pulling out his sniper rifle again, he aimed...

"We didn't play any game." Jazz argued. "I don't think we deserve it."

"So what?" Makeshift said. "We didn't steal, they just gave it to us."

"Yeah, but... How did this happen?"

"Does it matter?" Blurr chimed in. "We worked, gained experience, and now we have the money! That's the gist of it, right?"

"And we don't have to stay here for longer than neccessary." Makeshift gave a very good point.

"I guess..." Jazz sighed, rubbing his neck cables. "Man, lotteries confuse me."

"For the first time, we can take something and they won't chase us for it. I never thought I'd see the day." Clobber stated.

"That means we're moving places! How great is that?" Blurr said, holding Clobber's arm and bouncing. "Next thing we know, we'll be opening our own business and choosing which poor people to hire!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She laughed and picked him up, letting him sit him on her arm. Then, she looked at Makeshift who already had an idea what she was planning. Before he leaned away, she pulled him close as well. He groaned while Jazz observed from his position, amused.

Lockdown saw them huddling closer. All the targets he was supposed to kill were in one place, it would be a clean shot.

He'd done it once, he could do it again. He aimed. His hands were less shaky than the last time, it was a perfect opportunity.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited...

The angle was perfect, his focus was flawless, all he had to do is pull the trigger. To shoot the three while their guard was down. While they were celebrating with each other...

"Darn it!..." His concentration broke. He lowered the rifle.

-----

After a few hours, the group finally returned to their ship. They had bags and containers with rations, tools and whatever caught their eye that day. They all talked with each other, sharing experiences and stories from their jobs. The ship flew away, leaving the station.

Lockdown observed them getting away once again from a distant asteroid. He couldn't help, but take his hood off. He ran his hand down his tired face, along his permament black stripes that decorated most of it and his scarred lip.

"Weaklin'." He scolded himself. As much as he hated to admit it, however, he felt a sense of relief deep within his spark.

Suddenly, his comm link rang. Lockdown pressed his forehead into his hand, taking a deep breath.

"What?!" He picked up and shouted. His entire face flared dangerously.

"Someone's having a day." The voice on the other end spoke. It was Motormaster. "I'm assuming you don't have anything good to report."

"If you're callin' just to berate me, I'm hangin' up."

"On the contrary! You see, we've just made a discovery that could potentially solve both our problems!" Motormaster claimed. Lockdown's expression softened slightly.

"I propose a new contract! All you have to do is lure our targets to these coordinates. We'll take care of the rest."

In seconds, the new data was downloaded. The bounty hunter was familiar with that place. Lockdown gritted his teeth, thinking. A new conflict appeared before him, but he was too exhausted to ponder about that one. Ultimately, he let go, closing his eyes.

"I'll do it." The words barely came out of his mouth.

-----

"Once again, we're so sorry for all the commotion. On the bright side, it might be a sign to hire actual security to this place." Devcon said as he handed a bag of shanix to the station's staff. Two representatives were glaring at him with crossed arms. One of them snatched a sack of shanix from Devcon's hands and started walking away, not saying a word. Devcon sighed and then started walking back to the fountain.

Slizardo was waiting for him there. He was tinkering with a metal box on his hip. After a second the lizardman punched the box once. Sparks came out of it. Two. It spat static. Finally, the third time was the charm and the device started working.

"Finally." Slizardo's translated voice came out of his mouth. It was deep and rough. He looked up as Devcon approached him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like I'm glad that I'm cold-blooded, especially out in space." Slizardo made a grumbling sound. "It was my fault we lost them. I should've been more careful."

"You should've." Devcon agreed, sitting next to him. "Nevertheless, I am glad no harm was done to you."

Slizardo smiled for a second, then his expression became serious.

"The boss isn't gonna like that." He thought out loud.

"Probably." Devcon said. "But I've had my priorities and I don't reget a thing. We'll find them again."

"Yes, we will." Slizardo stated. Then, he pulled out an oval device. A scanner. "While the rookie was busy trashing you around, I snuck a tick on the big weird one. Since they're heading for Cybertron, no matter where they go, their roads will eventually cross with the HQ. When they'll get close, we'll be waiting for them."

Devcon stared at the device, surprised as much as impressed. Then, he smiled.

"I knew I could count on you." He said.

"And don't you ever forget that!" Slizardo grinned and pointed a claw at him. After a second, Devcon scooped him into his palms.

"A lot of work ahead of us! Let's get going!" Devcon enouraged.

"I don't think they'll be there that fast, Dev. Why don't we call it a night?" Slizardo offered, patting his thumb.

"Evil never sleeps, so we can't either."

"Maybe for you metal heads is easy to say, but we organics have our needs, too. Speakig of, the pub over there looks very tempting. I've heard it offers the best pequodian cephalopods in the galaxy." Slizardo said, licking his lips. Devcon huffed in amusement.

"Alright. Small break, then we'll continue serve justice!" He said, placing Slizardo back on his shoulder. The organic sat down and got comfortable as the mech walked through the neverending market.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Somewhere in the corner of an unknown galaxy far away from Cybertron, a proud Decepticon warship soared through space. Other vessels, and allegedly even the comets themselves, ran away from it to avoid getting obliterated on the spot.

The warship was dead silent. There were no soldiers to be seen, except for one place outside. There were two Decepticons standing on the colossus's roof. They seemed to be tinkering with a projector of some kind.

One of them was Clobber. Her body was marked with far less scratches and she still had a Decepticon insignia on her left arm. She was in the company of a smaller green Cybertronian with an insignia on his chest. He was the one who was doing most of the work while she held onto the machine.

At some point, he felt the device tilting towards him and it startled him a bit.

"Steady!" He told her, immediately making her readjust her grip.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She apologised quickly. A few more finishing touches and then he finally stepped back.

"Aand here we are!" He said and helped her set it down. He pocketed his tools back into his belt.

"Hooray! We did it!" Clobber said, throwing her arms in the air. After a small pause, she added: "What did we do?"

"This, my friend, is the future of all holo-projectors!" He said, leaning against and patting the projector's top. "I overheard that the higher-ups needed the old one replaced, so I decided it might be the right time to try and climb up the ranks!"

"I'm sure they'll love it!" She said with a smile. "So, we're done here?"

"You're in a hurry?"

"We should go back now."

"It's a power down period, Clob, nobody's gonna come lookin' for us."

"The more time we spend up here instead of recharging, the less effective we'll be later. Maybe you don't have to leave the ship, but I've got a mission." Clobber stated sternly. He nodded to her, but his focus momentarily shifted onto whatever was behind them.

"Whoah..." He gasped with his red optics widened. Puzzled, she looked around to see what was happening.

In a far, far distance, they saw a vortex. It looked small from their position, but neither of them suspected it was anywhere near its actual size. There was a bright ball in the heart of it from which gas was escaping from the bottom and the top. Everything was happening rather fast.

The green Decepticon watched the vortex with wonder. After a second, he grabbed Clobber's arm.

"We should take a closer look!" He said.

"Lockdown." She warned.

"No, seriously, just a moment! Trust me." He said, trying to pull her forward. Clobber, albeit still hesitantly, let him lead the way. They got to the edge of the ship and observed the phenomenon.

The vortex seemed to be speeding up and becoming brighter. More time had passed, and finally, something happened. The clouds, the vortex and the light all came together into one powerful explosion. The two Decepticons felt the need to step back, but they were safe from their position. They watched in shock as a five edged shape formed in the distance.

Clobber ended up even more enthralled with the scene. Despite light mercilessly assaulting her optic, she couldn't help but keep staring.

"Bet we wouldn't have been able to see it from the inside." Lockdown whistled, then adjusted his tool belt. "Alright, a promise’s a promise! We can head back now!"

He expected an enthusiastic agreement, but when Clobber was silent, he looked back at her. "You alright?"

"... Y-yeah, just..." The bigger Decepticon began, never taking her eye off the light. "Do you ever wonder how big the universe is?”

“... Pretty big?” He asked carefully.

“Yes, but if you actually lived in it. All of those populated planets we pass every now and then. I wonder what life is like down there. Most aliens probably don’t have to deal with the Autobots. Was Megatron ever at a point where he had no battles to fight? If we win, do we get to know what that’s like? Because I think I’d like that very much…” After a second, she realised her words. She looked back at her friend with an anxious grimace. "I shouldn't talk like that, should I?"

"What, scared that I'm gonna report you for daydreamin'?" He asked, couldn't helping himself but looking amused.

"Some Decepticons backstabbed each other for less..." She said quietly, ashamed of even thinking that way. Then, she felt a smaller arm wrapping around hers.

"Not those Decepticons." He assured her with a smile. He reached inside of his subspace and after a second pulled out one half of a Decepticon insignia. Clobber seemed to pick up the que and she reached for hers. They brought the two halves together, joining it into one full badge.

"Two sides of the same coin." Lockdown began.

"One unbreakable bond." Clobber finished with a smile.

"Partners in crime forever." He said.

"Just partners, we talked about this!" She protested. "You're making us sound like criminals!"

"I mean... you did insist we should stay and watch the stars during our power down." He gave her a grin.

"No, I didn't! Take that back right now!" She said, suddenly grabbing Lockdown and pulling him off the ground. He just laughed.

Clobber could still feel herself holding him in her arms, even as the memory began fading. Instead of the illuminating light of a newly born star, she saw thousand star-shaped shadows dancing on the walls around her.

The youngling blinked back to reality. She was back on Jazz’s ship, more specifically, his storage. She was holding a piece of cloth in her right claw and her lamp under her left arm. Clobber remembered that she had been cleaning the item and accidentally turned it on.

The Rogue couldn’t help but sigh, the sense of nostalgia still fresh in her mind. Suddenly, she heard the doors of the storage opening. Looking up, she noticed that someone turned on the lights as well.

Jazz was standing by the doors. He had his back turned to her, looking around outside as if trying to see if no one was around. When he entered inside, he finally noticed her.

"Kid?"

"Jazz?"

The words left their voice boxes at the same time, immediately making things awkward.

"What... are you doing all alone in the dark?" He asked after a second.

"Oh, you know. Sitting. Polishing this lamp. Sometimes thinking." Clobber smiled, patting the lamp in her arm. "You?"

"... Safety inspection." He quickly came up with an excuse. She gave him a weird look.

"You're a safety inspector of your own ship?" She asked.

"Don't have to be one to see the mess." Jazz said and then looked around. "Yep! It's gonna be a solid B+ on the overview!... Alright, see ya!” He said and stepped back, closing the doors. Clobber was left alone and now also confused.

Outside, Jazz pressed his back against the wall and slapped himself in his forehead. Without any warning, he heard an alarm blaring.

"Thank Nova." He muttered before heading back to the bridge.

-----

The Autobot had returned to his seat and began working on the panel to determine what was going on. In the meantime, Clobber, Blurr and Makshift joined their captain on the bridge.

"We've received a distress signal of some kind." Jazz said eventually.

"Another Autobot?" Blurr asked.

"Doesn't say." He mused, then looked up. "What's weird is that it came from just right ahead."

The crew followed his gaze. The closer they got to the source of the signal, the clearer they could see their target. A black planetoid. They were finally at the reach where they could see a red flickering light on its surface. Whoever was holding it seemed to have spotted them as well.

There was a tall figure standing on the planetoid. They had a burning flare coming out of their arm instead of a hand. The crew noted that they were wearing a long cloak covering their whole body. Clobber gasped, immediately recognising them.

"Red eyes?!" She shouted. "Guys, that's the bounty hunter that helped me get back to you!"

"The one who stranded you on an asteroid?" Blurr reminded.

"Yeah!" She admitted way too enthusiastically. The rest of the crew exchanged a glance.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Jazz said and then faced forward.

The bounty hunter outside started waving the flare when he saw the incoming ship. As soon as it landed, Clobber was the first to step out and rush to him.

"Oh. It's you." Was all he said as the flare went out and he lowered his arm.

"Red eyes!" She cheered. The rest of the crew was right behind her. "Hi, it's been a while! What are you doing here?"

"Tryin' to get back to my house." He stated, switching the flare back to his hook. That statement surprised her a bit.

"Why? Something happened to your ship?" She asked.

"Primus knows at this point, but better not." The cloaked Cybertronian said, then tsked. "When I get my hands on that poor excuse of a bounty hunter!..."

The response set some alarms in Clobber's brain. She had a feeling she knew who he was talking about.

"Hi there." Unexpectedly, Jazz chimed in. "The name's Jazz and I'm the captain of this vessel. We didn't have time to meet before. Is there a problem?"

"Nah, hitchin' rides from strangers is my favourite pastime activity." The bounty hunter jabbed. "Of fraggin' course there's a problem! An idiot friend of mine asked me to borrow all of my arsenal for a bounty! Said that he'd buy me my own mansion once he's done!"

"Lockdown took your whole ship?" Clobber asked, worried. "What kind of bounty was he after?”

“He wouldn’t tell me, but apparently a lifetime opportunity of his. Couldn’t stop yappin’ about it for a month.” The cloaked Cybertronian said and spread his arms. “Somethin’ big and spectacular, he said!”

“And you let him go on his own just like that?!” She asked, frowning.

“I was bein’ stupid and greedy! Besides, I’m not his babysitter!” He retorted. While they were arguing, Jazz decided to lean towards Makeshift and Blurr.

"Do any of you know who Lockdown is?" He whispered.

"Clobber’s friend back when she was a Decepticon.” The youngling whispered back. "We spent some time looking for him before we started adventuring. They seemed close. Maybe not as close as us, but-”

"Don't tell me you fall for it." Makeshift suddenly said, not bothering to keep his voice down. "A bounty hunter who went after me before conveniently appears just as we’re about to pass. He's most likely trying to capture me again!”

"Sorry to disappoint, long legs, but that ship's long sailed. You're worthless to me now." The bounty hunter claimed.

"Suuuure." Makeshift said, still sceptikal. "So that ‘friend’ of yours. Mind giving us some more information to work with? Or did you not think that far ahead?”

“All I know is that he went to some old Autobot facility. I’ve seen it in his documents.” The bounty hunter said and scratched under his hood with the hook. "Data retrieval or somethin’ the other? Garrus-9 was its name. Apparently not that far from here."

"Strike one, hot shot. There's no such thing as Garrus-9! There are Garrus-1, 2, even 8, and they’re all located on Cybertron! There was never such a thing as Garrus-!..." The Decepticon spy’s smug look evaporated once it rested on Jazz. The name seemed to work like a secret command because the Autobot fell eerily silent. They couldn't make out his exact expression, but they could tell things weren’t good.

"... How long has your friend been gone?" The captain asked after a second. He could hear Makeshift sucking in a vent and then muttering 'come on!...' to himself.

"About two, maybe three days?" The bounty hunter said. “You have no idea how mind numbingly bored I am!”

"Why? Is that bad?" Clobber asked, not hiding her worried tone. Jazz just looked at her. The words he chose to respond with were far from calming and he ultimately decided saying nothing would be much better. He turned to the bounty hunter.

“Get in. Your friend needs you.” He said.

-----

The ship almost immediately took off. They were quickly flying by the star trail, but instead of Cybertron, they were heading somewhere else.

"It's not always that I get extremely confused. Most of the time I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm extremely confused right now." Makeshift said. He, Blurr and Jazz were on the bridge while Clobber and her 'friend' occupied the back of the ship. "Why are we flying to this mysterious Garrus facility this way?"

"That's what you're most concerned about?" Jazz asked, piloting.

"Obviously not, but I have to start from somewhere!" Makeshift retorted.

"Hi, long time fan, first time caller." Blurr joined and raised his hand. "What's Garrus exactly?"

"It’s a system of Autobot-run detention facilities for Decepticons." The shapeshifter said. "Last time I checked, there were only eight of them."

"Your material is outdated." Jazz said. "All of the Garruses had to be relocated during our evacuation from Cybertron. The prisoners who put up the most of the fight were tranquilised and put in stasis until they built them a brand new playground. They decided on a high security space station which only a handful of Autobots knew about, including me.”

"That's..." Makeshift said, turning around and looking at the bounty hunter sitting in the back. "That's awfully brave of you to mention in front of most likely two Decepticons."

"Won't make a big difference now. Garrus-9 had to close..." The captain sighed heavily. "Abruptly. The last thing we received from the station was the transmission about a prison break. I know the chances are low, but deep in my spark I always hoped that the Autobots there managed to escape in time..."

The Autobot couldn't see it, but something in Makeshift's eyes softened with an unclear emotion. He faced the ground. Blurr couldn't really understand it, but even he felt that saying just about anything would be highly inappropriate at the moment.

At the same time, the bounty hunter was sitting on the floor and absently staring at the wall. He didn't notice at first that Clobber scooted toward him.

"You okay, red eyes?" She asked. He gave her a questioning hum. "You seem sad."

"And how can you tell?" He asked.

"I just can." She said and then placed her claw on his arm. "Don't worry, we'll find Lockdown."

"All I want is to get my ship back." The bounty hunter said and shook her off himself.

"Sure." Clobber doubted, then faced the wall. “... I’m scared of losing him, too.”

The cloaked Cyberfronian turned his head away from her, avoiding further eye contact. The rest of the road was spent in silence.

-----

Finally, they arrived at the Garrus-9 station. More accurately, what was left of it.

It was an enormous facility. Dark, riddled with decay and barely holding together. It had holes in its walls. From the first glance some of them were made by explosions, but the rest weren’t as clear.

Going down, Jazz steered the ship into one of the bigger holes. He landed in what appeared to be the remains of a hauntingly empty hangar.

The hatch opened and Jazz, the Rogues and the cloaked bounty hunter walked out of it. Makeshift was standing by the entrance with his arms crossed, unwilling to go any further.

"We could really use an extra pair of hands out there." Jazz told him.

"You huffed too much space dust if you think I'm going into one of the most infamous Autobot prisons I didn't know existed until today." The Decepticon said, squinting.

"Fair enough." Jazz said, then faced the rest. "I know I’ve said this many times before, but-”

“We need to be careful.” The younglings finished for him.

“‘Alert’ is the word I wanted to use.” He stated. “We don’t know if any of the prisoners are still around. As soon as we locate Lockdown, we grab him and we don’t look back.”

"You read my mind." The bounty hunter said, switching his hook into a blaster. He didn't even wait for the rest, just headed for the exit. Blurr and Jazz glanced at Clobber. She shrugged.

Ultimately, they decided to follow him to the empty hallway. The only source of light was the stars shining through the fluorescent glass which the walls were made of. Jazz looked around and immediately found a panel on the wall.

"This should help us out a bit." He said before releasing his arm cable and attaching it to the source. After a second, the lights turned on. Only some of them, but it was expected at this point.

They went right and began searching the place with careful steps. So far, they had no encounters with any hostiles. All they saw going room to room were different stages of decay they had found themselves in. Signs of fight, broken furniture, more burn marks on walls and floor, and even faint stains of Energon.

Finally, they reached the heart of the station which was a gigantic prison block. It was where the real fight had taken place. They saw torn to shreds cells, shattered stasis pods on the higher level, and worst of all, piles of grey metal bodies laying on the floor.

The group slowly stepped inside, guards raised to their fullest. Jazz looked at the walls and spotted a bunch of small dots stuck to them. The cameras. Even after all this time, they had their red lights turned on.

“Maybe the cameras caught something.” He said. “I’ll check them out. You go ahead and keep a lookout. Yell when you find anything or if something… nevermind.”

They nodded and after a second scattered. Clobber went ahead with the bounty hunter, while Blurr decided to check the higher level. He found the stairs and started climbing.

Before Jazz went to find the main computer, he walked up to the corpses. He couldn't recognise who they were, but their insignias remained the same. Two Decepticons and three Autobots. Each had holes in their bodies, most likely made from lasers or some sharp objects. The captain couldn’t help but hang his head. His visor went dark for a good while.

Blurr passed each pod on the higher level. They were all broken, shattered, and some of them were even missing. He counted about ten of them. He was about to move on to the eleventh, when he suddenly noticed something. A few stasis pods away, one of them was emitting a strange blue glow. Losing focus on the previous ones, the youngling immediately skipped to it.

The pod in question was the only one that still seemed intact. Had it not been for it, Blurr would’ve never realised just how gigantic the containers in that facility were. It was filled to the brim with a strange blue substance that prevented him from seeing if anyone was inside. Blurr decided to knock on its surface.

“Lockdown? You’re inside?” He asked, analysing the reaction inside. “I don’t think you’ll find any data to retrieve in there!”

Nothing happened.

Discouraged, Blurr pulled back to move. Suddenly, he spotted a symbol on the bottom of the stasis pod. It was a connection of triangles forming into some pointy silhouette. There was a circular void in the middle of the symbol. Blurr's optics widened upon seeing it.

Clobber was walking with the cloaked bounty hunter. She was looking around nervously, trying to avoid stepping on any of the Autobots and Decepticons on the floor.

"Lockdown owes me so much for this!..." She murmured.

"What's the matter?" Her companion asked. A hint of mirth appeared in his eyes and he started holding his blaster behind Clobber's back. "Afraid that the ghosts of these Autobots are out to get you?"

Without any warning, he gave one of her wings the lightest of pokes. It still made her jump terribly.

"No!" She protested, slapping the blaster away. "It's just.... unnerving! This is a very unnerving place to be at! You probably can't relate since you love all the gloom and doom!"

"It might come as a shocker, but I'm not thrilled to be in this flyin’ graveyard either." He said more seriously this time.

"Right... I'm sorry." She apologised. When they reached the end of the block, she finally noticed something. The Rogue ran forward, giving her partner only a second to realise it and he chased after her. She found another hallway at the end of the block. There was a five-armed star shape engraved on the wall.

"Lockdown was here!" She said, her spirits immediately going up. Behind her, the bounty hunter looked a lot worse.

"How... Do you know that?" He asked, like he didn't know the answer.

"I just do, like I did with the badge! Come on!" She said and took her turn to lead. He tried to reach out to stop her from going in, but ultimately decided against it. He swallowed hard and followed her inside.

"I have so much to tell him!" She mused as they walked. "Maybe Jazz will let him go with us to Cybertron?"

"Why would he want that?" The bounty hunter asked.

"That way we can start all over! Me and him and Blurr now, too! We can finally have a normal life together!" She was close to cheering.

"... Normal life?" He asked, shaking his head. "Cyclops, there's nothin’ normal about folks like us.”

She paused, looking at him in surprise. Then, she continued. "I guess... But we can invent our own normal!”

“I really don’t understand where you get all that optimism from.” The cloaked Cybertronian said. “Cybertron is destroyed after like a billion years of war. I’m pretty sure it was dead at some point, and besides… The Autobots won.”

“I know.”

“And that doesn’t concern you?”

“I mean… Obviously. But I think they’ll understand our position! We didn’t exactly have a saying on how we were born, right?”

“Like that would stop them. You’d have to work really hard to earn their trust, that is if they won’t shoot you once you land on their planet.” He said bitterly. Without any warning, he grabbed her by the arm. They both stopped and he faced her. This was the first time she saw sympathy in his eyes.

“You don’t have to take that risk. There’s plenty of habitable planets out there. Even if you mess up on one, you can just move to another like nothin’ happened… I think you’d make a great bounty hunter.” He said. She stared at him, taken aback. However, that feeling soon passed and she became pretty uncomfortable.

“Thanks?…” She began, then carefully withdrew her arm with an awkward smile. “Really, I think I’m good. Absolutely no offence, but I think I'd prefer taking the risk over everything you’ve just said.”

“And what if I’m right?” He asked, now impatiently. “Do you at least have a plan B?”

“I don’t think I’ll be needing one. I trust Jazz and his friends. I want them to trust me, too.”

Something inside of the bounty hunter twisted.

"You're too kind." He told her suddenly.

"Thank-"

"It wasn’t a compliment. Those like you are the easiest to take advantage of."

She grimaced in confusion. Before she retorted, they suddenly sensed movement ahead of them. They looked in that direction and unexpectedly saw a shadow running down the hallway.

"Lockdown?!" Clobber shouted, immediately starting to chase it. The bounty hunter didn’t follow her this time. He stood still, almost enchanted, until he heard a crackle of electric charge followed by the Rogue’s scream. He closed his eyes shut, trying to distract himself as he heard a heavy thud seconds after.

-----

Jazz finally located the main computer in the corner of the prison block. He stepped closer and wasted no time. The Autobot connected his arm cable with the closest slot he could find, making his visor turn green, and he started searching. After some struggle with the old beaten up system, he eventually found the camera footage. He spared himself the possibility of seeing the guards' last moments of life and skipped right to the recent material. He decided to deal with the investigation later.

The cameras showed that the place had been like this for years and years, with no signs of movement anywhere to be found. Despite that, he kept looking. Finally, he spotted a shadow on the footage. He stopped skimming and played the recording. Jazz wasn’t really sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn’t this.

The shadow grew bigger and split into several different silhouettes. Then, their owners came to view. The Stunticons.

Motormaster shouted something at his underlings and they scattered. Before disappearing in the darkness, Drag Strip walked over to one of the Autobot corpses and kicked it. After a second, the Stunticon leader turned around and started speaking to someone. They were standing in an angle inconvenient to the camera, so Jazz couldn't make out who they were.

Once Motormaster finished speaking, he turned around and headed out of the block. Then, his speaker came out. It was the same cloaked bounty hunter that travelled with them to that facility. The last thing the Autobot saw was him going all the way to the corridor at the end of the block and starting to carve a star shape on the wall. Jazz quickly unplugged himself and reached for his comm link.

"Kids?" He whispered. "I don't mean to alarm you, but I want you to meet me by the doors as soon as possible."

The Autobot started stepping away from the computer. Without any warning, a blaster swung from behind him and tried to hit him in the back of the head. Jazz dodged in time and then whipped back to high kick his attacker.

Wildrider stumbled back, but then charged back at him with full force. Jazz dodged a few more attacks before pulling out his blade and stabbing the Stunticon’s foot with it. He screamed in pain.

Blurr was still focused on the stasis pod until the scream reached his audials. After a second, he heard a strange crackle somewhere nearby.

An electric charge came out of the darkness. The youngling put on his visor and zoomed out of the way, avoiding getting hit. He charged and punched at whoever shot at him. He reached them and made them fall under one working light. It was Breakdown.

Blurr climbed on the barriers and tried to jump down to the lower level. Unfortunately, he was suddenly grabbed and thrown back right under the broken pod. He saw a big shadow running at him. The youngling zoomed out of the way.

Suddenly, the big stasis pod with blue liquid moved. Blurr had little time to realise that it was falling right at him. Panicked, he caught it and tried to prevent it from crushing him. The youngling gasped, struggling to keep its weight steady. To make matters worse, he saw a pair of yellow legs coming towards him. He struggled to look up and saw Drag Strip's scarred, nasty smirk.

"I've been waiting a long time for this." He said, aiming his blaster. He committed to the task and shot Blurr without remorse. The Rogue shouted as he was hit with what felt like a thousand jolts of electricity. His grip loosened on the pod, and when he began falling, so did the pod. Breakdown pulled him out of there in time and the container crushed the barriers, sliding down onto the lower level.

The commotion of crushing metal and liquid spilling everywhere reached Jazz and Wildrider.

"Kids!" The Autobot called out instinctively, losing his focus. Wildrider used his chance. He punched him two times. Then, while Jazz was distracted, he grabbed the back of his helm. The captain struggled, but the Stunticon managed to drag him back to face the computer. The last thing Jazz saw was the console panel approaching fast and then darkness, accompanied by brief but unimaginable pain.

-----

The sound of his own groan woke him up. The dark emptiness before his eyes started fading and soon he felt his vision returning. Slowly but steadily, he saw a grey blur that soon shaped into the cold metal floor. Jazz blinked a few times and he could see again.

The Autobot made another, slightly louder groan and rose his head. He wanted to move, but to his surprise, something was preventing him from doing so. He was on his knees with arms tied behind his back. Both them and his legs were restricted by cuffs.

Clobber and Blurr were kneeling right next to him. They were beginning to awaken as well.

The group found themselves in a completely different location. They were still on Garrus-9, but instead of a spacious prison block, the room was much smaller. Judging by the broken equipment, medical tools and separate rooms with different symbols on their doors, they were in a medical wing.

Once the Autobot and the younglings became fully aware of their surroundings, people around finally took interest in them. Motormaster, Breakdown and Drag Strip stepped closer while the cloaked bounty hunter remained on the sidelines.

“Finally.” The Stunticon leader said with a smirk. “I was beginning to worry that those morons snuffed you out already.”

Before Jazz could come up with any sort of reply, he and the Rogues heard the sound of incoming footsteps.

Dead End and Wildrider finally joined the rest, carrying another prisoner into the wing. It was Makeshift. They threw him under their feet where he landed before Jazz. His limbs were tied as well and the Energon was dripping from his forehead. The shapeshifter looked up and joined eyes with Jazz.

"I told you." He growled at his captain.

"Comfortable?" Motormaster began, kneeling before them and supporting his cheek.

"Energon's getting into my eye." Makeshift said with one eye closed as his life force ran down his lid.

"I'm not talking to you, traitor!" The Stunticon leader barked and then faced Jazz. "I'm talking to you. Are you comfortable, old friend?"

"Would be a lot nicer if I could move." Jazz said with an innocent grin. He squirmed a little. "And I really need to scratch my back right about now. If you don’t wanna assist, can you at least untie me-?”

"You better be! Because I'm paying a good shanix to teach you a lesson!" Without any warning, Motormaster grabbed him by the front and pulled him up. He stepped away, separating Jazz away from the rest. "Did you honestly think you could humiliate us in front of everyone and face no repercussions? Keep getting away over and over again while you were at it? Well, this time, there's nowhere you can run from our wrath!"

"Really don't wish to rain on your parade..." Jazz struggled a bit to keep the neutral tone. "But I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Don't you?...” Motormaster hummed. Then, he glanced at the cloaked bounty hunter. “Uncooperative as you were, it looks like I have to applaud you for your secrecy. Be that a deliberate action, or completely accidental.”

Jazz paused at these words, trying to piece something in his head. "... Ah, frag." His face scrunched after a second, a realisation hitting him. "Since when was he after us?”

“Pretty much since the marketplace!” Wildrider confessed with amusement.

The Rogues and the shapeshifter widened their eyes. However, as shocked as they were about the news, neither Blurr nor Makeshift felt it settle in as hard as Clobber. The bounty hunter’s and her eyes met. She tried looking into them for answers to all of the questions that piled up in her brain. Unfortunately, he almost immediately averted his gaze. This only twisted the knife already deep in her spark. All she could do was begin to stare at the floor and attempt to understand things on her own. Seeing her state, Blurr suddenly frowned.

"Oh, whoopee! You have Mr. Hook on your side now!" He said with more anger than confidence. "That just means another guy asking to have his teeth kicked in! We still have a literal one bot army and a shapeshifter!”

"Don't drag me into this!" Makeshift told him in annoyance. Meanwhile, Jazz seemed both shocked and terrified by the youngling's words. The Stunticons just roared with laughter around them.

"Laugh all you want, but you’ve made a huge mistake! No matter what you throw at us, it'll just end like always! With us flying high up and you laying heads down in the dirt!" Blurr finished.

"Yes, of course! I'm sure you'll keep trying to the very end!" Motormaster chuckled. Suddenly, the Stunticons moved. The cloaked bounty hunter picked up Makeshift from the ground, Dead End and Wildrider picked up Clobber and Drag Strip threw Blurr over his shoulder.

They threw them into one of the opened rooms with a red triangle symbol. Clobber first and then the rest. The door creaked very loudly as it was being closed. Suddenly, they saw a piece of the door sliding open. Wildrider was looking at them through the hole, cackling at them.

Motormaster returned Jazz back on the ground some distance away from the cell.

“Breakdown!” He called after a second. Breakdown walked up to him, holding something in his hands. His grip was tight and he kept shivering. He quickly passed the item to his boss and then stepped into a safe distance. The Stunticon leader smirked and pressed the thing against Jazz's visor. It was a vial. "Do you know what's inside?"

Even if he didn't want to, Jazz could perfectly see the vial's contents. It was a light brown sparkling dust. The Autobot always knew that Motormaster was insane, but never to this degree.

“I’m guessing you do.” The big Decepticon didn’t even wait for his response, moving his hand away. “It’s common knowledge that you Autobots had a tendency of catching a rust plague during the war.”

“Only the one distributed by the Decepticons’ slimiest.” Jazz said with a forced smile. “The difference is that it was handled by the professionals. Open that thing and we’re all heading for the holy scrapyard.”

“Oh, don’t worry! We’re completely safe!” Motormaster swore, then pointed at the room where the Autobot’s crew was kept. “Dead End scanned this place to see whether it would withstand the symptoms of rust plague. Thanks to your Autobot friends, it very much can! I’m afraid I can’t say the same about sound isolation.”

He was about to draw back, then Jazz spoke again.

“Okay, let’s say you did some research. No way did you guys extract this much all on your own. It would've killed you long before you got your grabby hands on it!”

"I've got connections." Motormaster said, swaying the vial from side to side, probably to provoke a reaction. "The one I bought that from gave me a big nice discount when I told them who I wanted to treat it with."

"Man, I angered another one? Can I get a name to send them an 'I'm sorry' card?"

"Like Pit I'd-!... Oh! Ohohoh, wait a second!" The Decepticon immediately stood back up. "You're stalling! Did I finally get the calm and collected Jazz to feel desperate?”

"What? No, you didn’t.” Jazz lied. "That's a really big assumption and frankly I don't like it. You should spend less time guessing what others really think, you'll be way happier with your life-"

As he went on and on, Motormaster looked up at Dead End and nodded. The Stunticon nodded back.

"-Seriously, you think we'd have history by now, but I feel like we barely know each other. I'm hurt. I'm genuinely, utterly- Hmph!" Without any warning, Dead End went behind Jazz's back and suddenly grabbed him. He placed a piece of magnet over the Autobot's mouth, preventing him from saying anything else.

“That’s better. I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” Motormaster said to the rest, then rose the vial up. “I propose a toast! To the pathetic end of our enemy and all his associates! May their deaths be long and agonising!”

“To their long and agonising deaths!” Every single one of the Stunticons cheered. That made Motormaster laugh.

“In moments like these, I remember why I love you guys so much! Oh, and Jazz…” The Decepticon looked down at the Autobot. His expression became serious. “I want you to know that this is all your fault.”

That low half-whisper finally broke the spy’s facade. With that, Motormaster headed for the locked room. Jazz felt his spark pounding harder and harder. His mouth started moving on its own, letting out a series of unrecognisable sounds as the Decepticon opened the vial’s top.

Seeing what was about to happen, the bounty hunter brought his hood onto his eyes and started heading for the exit.

"Do what you gotta do. I’ll be waitin’ for my payment on your ship." He said as he walked past Jazz. Suddenly, Motormaster stopped. He looked back at Dead End and Drag Strip who were the closest to the entrance.

Before the bounty hunter was able to leave, they stood in his way and prevented him from escaping. He turned around and gave Motormaster an angry glare.

"Our business isn't quite done yet, bounty hunter. You should do the honours and pour the rust in!" He stated, offering him the opened vial from a distance.

"What?" The cloaked Cybertronian asked.

"You have functioning audials, yes?" Motormaster jabbed. "Take this vial and finish the job once and for all. Then, we'll pay you."

"We had a new agreement!" The cloaked Cybertronian said. "My job here's done!"

"You don't even have to do anything, you just move your wrist a little and bam! They're dead!" Motormaster said, dipping the vile towards the ground slightly. Jazz let out a muffled protest, but thankfully nothing happened. "Do you want that extra bonus or not?!”

The Stunticons all prepared their weapons. It was a threat. The bounty hunter’s anger bubbled. He felt beyond insulted.

Meanwhile, two white eyes were peeping at them from the door's opened lookout.

"What do you see?" Clobber asked as he was laying on top of her.

“Whatever this is, it looks like we have some time.” He whispered and rolled off the youngling. He quickly inspected the door and determined that the years of not being used took a toll on them. He saw their chance.

“Alright. I can’t exactly brag about ever escaping from one of the Garruses, but I knew a guy who made it his whole personality once.” He stated. “There’s a chance that we can apply enough pressure to blow the doors out. Clobber, we’re going to need your seismic attack.”

“It’s not working! This stupid bracelet is blocking me!...” Clobber said, turning around and showing him the cuffs.

“Stay like this. I’ll see what I can do.” Makeshift said. He turned around as well and tried to tinker with the restraints. Unfortunately, both his unfavourable position and limited movements only worked against him. He started making small frustrated noises as he tried to find practically anything.

“Stop squirming!” He whispered.

“I’m not!” She protested silently. "Some Decepticon you are!"

Blurr saw him work and get progressively more frustrated, feeling his body beginning to twitch. The gravity of the situation seemed to be finally getting to him. It didn't help that he was in a very, very claustrophobic place and the cuffs were uncomfortably squeezing his limbs.

Suddenly, he felt a weird tingle on his hands. Looking down at his legs, he finally noticed blue electricity running through the cuffs. The youngling widened his eyes in realisation.

"I think I have an idea." He whispered to the others. "You have to stress me out!"

"What?" Clobber squinted.

"I'm serious, you have to stress me out!"

"Isn't this situation stressful enough?!" Makeshift lowered his voice but it didn't lose its bite.

"Try telling that to my spark!” Blurr retorted. "Do it!"

"Mighty Amalgamous..." The shapeshifter muttered, shaking his head. "If we don't get out of here, we're going to die! That means no Cybertron and no more adventures! And I’ll die mad at you!”

The Decepticon's words worked. Blurr felt more jolts of electricity focusing on the cuffs.

"If we don't get out of here..." Clobber tried to contribute, too. "... I can't. I don't want to hurt you!"

"If we don't get out, Clobber will die here!" Makeshift added. That finally did the trick and the cuffs were electrocuted. They fell off, releasing his hands and legs. The youngling grinned in triumph. Then, he crawled and used the rest of the electricity to free them as well.

Outside of the cell, the tensions were constantly rising.

"Well?” Motormaster asked impatiently, still holding out the container. “Are you going to do your job, or is there a reason why you don’t want to?”

The bounty hunter just kept glaring at him. All Jazz could do in this situation was stare forward, which really annoyed him. Suddenly, he noticed that something inside of the cell behind Motormaster started glowing green. The Autobot understood what kind of disaster was about to happen. He began shouting with the muzzle on.

"You stay out of this!" Wildrider shouted.

"Maybe he’s finally begging for mercy." Drag Strip offered. Jazz's voice became even louder and he began wildly gesturing with his upper body towards the doors. The bounty hunter was the first to notice the threatening glow. He pieced the dots together.

"Move out of the way, you idiot!" He shouted.

"What?" Motormaster asked. Suddenly, the door exploded behind him. Thanks to the warning, he managed to get out of the way just in time. So did the rest of the Stunticons. The door broke through the wall and landed in the hallway.

The Stunticon leader stumbled a bit, holding onto the vial very tightly. Its contents thankfully remained inside.

Without any warning, Clobber charged out of the room with a battle cry. She rammed into the bounty hunter, throwing him on the wall.

Breakdown and Wildrider tried to move. The former was close to Jazz, so the Autobot used his opportunity and threw himself under his legs. Breakdown tripped and accidentally took Wildrider down with himself.

Drag Strip yelled as he tried to kick Jazz, but then a blue blur jumped on him and pushed him back. Blurr landed on the ground right next to his captain.

Motormaster was about to join the action, when he heard a transformation behind himself. He turned around and immediately backed off, seeing his own angered self with white optics emerging from the cell. Makeshift cracked his fingers, having nothing but malicious intent in the Stunticon leader’s form.

Blurr used the opportunity to free Jazz by touching his cuffs and letting the jolts of electricity do the work. The older Cybertronian stood back up and removed the muzzle from his mouth.

"We need to take that vial away from Motormaster! If he spills it, them’s the breaks!” He said, gasping.

"On it!" Blurr said and ran towards Motormaster.

A fight broke out between the two giants and everyone around them. Motormaster tried to avoid Makeshift's punches while also keeping the vial away from him. Suddenly, Blurr zoomed in and snatched it from his hand.

"You little thief!" Motormaster barked before receiving a knuckle sandwich from his double. Dead End and Breakdown tried to take the bottle away from Blurr, but he avoided them. The substance inside dangerously shook.

"Not all at the same time! You don't want me to drop it!" The youngling said.

“We’re trying to survive too, you stupid punk!” Dead End said, failing to catch him. “The top’s laying here somewhere, give it to us and we’ll close it!”

“Nah, I’m good! I’ll find it myself!” Blurr said. He jumped over the black and red Stunticon, slapping him in the head, and then ran away from Breakdown.

Meanwhile, Clobber was entirely focused on the cloaked bounty hunter. Every time he evaded her attacks, she ended up making dents in walls and the floor from how hard she was trying to hit him.

"Traitor!" She roared as he blocked her with his hook. She withdrew and blindly aimed her punches at him again. He didn't seem interested in striking back. "I trusted you! Lockdown trusted you! When he finds out about this-!”

"What makes you think he doesn't know already?!" He retorted. "It's nothin' personal, just another way to make a livin'!"

He made some distance from her, but instead of chasing him, Clobber picked up the nearest table and threw it at him. He switched his hook to a laser sword and immediately sliced it in half.

Blurr ran around with the Stunticons tailing after him. Out of fear of letting the rust plague out, he couldn't use his super speed to get away. Drag Strip tried to jump him, but the youngling ducked. While he had his eyes on the floor, he finally noticed a plastic top of the vial.

"Even if you survived today, you'd just die from someone else's hands! That's just how you were built!" The bounty hunter argued, avoiding Clobber's fist and then grabbing onto her arm. Without any warning, he spun and threw her whole body onto the ground. He finally counterattacked and tried to jump at her with an electric baton. She rolled out of the way and stood back up.

"Autobots’, other bounty hunters’, maybe even your closest friends'!" He said and tried to stun her, but Clobber kept defending herself and attempting to strike back every other time.

"Definitely not yours'!" She said, finally hitting him in the face.

"It doesn't matter!" He said, hitting her back. "You're trusting! Soft! Too nice for your own good! That's a weakness!"

Suddenly, she was hit with the electric baton. She cried out and he pushed her back, letting her kneel down.

The bounty hunter approached Clobber. The baton kept sparking, but instead of finishing her off, he leaned down.

"I gave you many chances to prevent this outcome!” He spat. “And you turned down every single one of them to stay with a dead man!... Was it worth it?”

"... Well… He did show me how to use this." She said. Without any warning, the bounty hunter heard shifting gears and then felt something hot pressing against his chest. It was a charging laser.

Blurr ran, missing Breakdown's arms that almost caught him, and charged at the two giants. When he was close, Blurr lowered himself and slid under their moving legs. It was just in time because Motormaster almost stomped on him. The youngling captured the top and immediately clogged the vial.

"I've got it!" He cheered across the room, now free to shake the container. Without any warning, Drag Strip pushed him and took it from him.

Blurr jumped on him with intent to scratch his face, but Drag Strip held him back. Then, he threw the bottle at Dead End who caught it. When the youngling tried to chase after it, Drag Strip grabbed him and pushed him onto the ground.

"Boss!" Dead End shouted and prepared to throw the bottle.

"Coach!" Blurr shouted as the vial began flying. Jazz, who was fighting Wildrider at the time, saw it. He swiftly weaselled his way out of the Stunticon's grasp, turned towards him and blasted him with his speakers. Then, he transformed and chased after the container.

Motormaster and Makeshift saw the vial flying across the room. Wasting no time, they wrestled each other to come on top. Finally, however, Motormaster overpowered Makeshift and forced him out of the way. Jazz jumped and transformed mid-air, swinging onto Motormaster's extended arm and trying to get a hold of it as well.

The bounty hunter quickly grabbed onto Clobber's arm. She stood back up and they began struggling. She tried to aim, while he was trying to move it as far as possible. Then, suddenly, they accidentally fired a shot.

The laser flew across the room, avoiding every single Cybertronian, and then Motormaster's arm stood in its way. Blurr, Makeshift and the Stunticons held their breaths.

The laser hit Motormaster's arm. He cried out and moved both it and Jazz away. The vial missed. In less than seconds, it collided with the wall and inevitably shattered. The whole room froze.

The effects were instantaneous. From what started as a small brown stain on the wall, the rust plague began rapidly spreading. In just a few seconds, it covered the entire wall and only kept going. It moved onto the floor and the ceiling. A big chunk of it broke from its place and began falling, right at Dead End who was paralysed in fear.

Before it hit him, Motormaster ran up to him and picked him up. He pulled him out of there just in time. The ceiling made a hole in the floor and the infection started spreading from there as well. The Stunticon leader placed him back on the ground as they all began backing off.

"Run!" Jazz commanded.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Motormaster snarled, then shouted: "Retreat!"

Nobody had time to argue. They all threw themselves at the exit and ran, leaving the medical wing to rot away and fall apart.

The two groups reached the crossroads of the station. The Stunticons and the bounty hunter managed to arrive first. As soon as they left one of the hallways, they suddenly stopped. The group turned to the bounty hunter.

"Sorry, friend!" Motormaster spoke. Without any warning, he grabbed the startled Cybertronian and pulled him off the ground. "Basic survival instinct! You know how that goes!"

He said and then threw him back where they came from. The mech crashed right into Jazz and his team as they tried to leave and tackled them. The Stunticons transformed and then turned left into another hallway.

"Hey!" The bounty hunter shouted after them, aggressively waving his hook. "You poor excuse of a steamroller! I'll come for that money anyway!"

"Serves you right." Clobber said as she helped Makeshift and Blurr stand back up.

Jazz looked around. He didn't recognise any of the paths before them and there were no panels he could hack into. He could try his luck and pick a corridor blindly, but the faint smell of rust was already reaching him. Instead, he decided to turn to the cloaked Cybertronian.

"Which way is our ship?" He asked him urgently. The bounty hunter stared at him, a mixture of surprise and defiance behind his eyes. "We can talk about what happened later, right now, our priority is to survive! Something tells me Motormaster's not coming back for you, so we're your only chance!"

The cloaked Cybertronian thought about it for a brief moment. He sighed.

"This way!" He shouted and gestured at them to follow him into the right hallway. As they disappeared into it, the rust caught up. It began spreading in different directions from the crossroads.

The whole station began slowly falling apart. The sector where they had been imprisoned was the first to be completely torn off. It was floating away, slowly disappearing out of existence.

One ship with Decepticon markings managed to fly out of Garrus-9 at the last second and disappeared in the distance. All the while, the other group ran through the maze of hallways, led by the cloaked bounty hunter.

"Your ship should be about-... Scrap." He murmured as he suddenly halted. So did everyone else. As soon as they passed the next corner, they saw the rust already spreading there. The disease was still beginning to devour, but it looked like they wouldn't make it.

"Where else do we go?" Jazz asked,

"... Nowhere. That was the only way." The bounty hunter said. This was the answer the crew was fearing the most. Unfortunately, they didn't have much time to come to terms with it because they heard another construction collapsing. Thankfully, the cloaked Cybertronian still remembered one detail about the facility.

“There’s one last thing we can do! They had a station with escape pods nearby!” He claimed. “I don’t know if they function, but…”

“We’re dead if we don’t try anyway!” Jazz said.

“What about the ship?” Clobber asked. “We’ll just… leave it?”

Jazz paused. Looking back at the corridor getting more infected, and then back at his crew, the decision was obvious to him.

“We don’t have a choice.” He said with a heavy spark.

"Not if I can help it!" Blurr said and put on his visor. "Get the pods, I'll get the ship!"

"Kid, no- No!” Before anyone could stop him, Blurr zoomed towards the partially rusted hallway. He managed to squeeze himself just in time to be able to pass. After he was gone, Jazz patted himself and understood something. The key to the ship was gone. He grew horrified by that realisation.

Suddenly, the sound of banging against the metal surface woke him up. The bounty hunter was standing by a different corridor and hitting his hook against a wall.

"Follow me if you wanna live!" He said. Both Jazz and Clobber were nearly paralysed with their anxiety. Makeshift decided to do something about it.

"He'll be fine!" He told them, grabbing their arms and hurrying them after the bounty hunter. They didn't have to be encouraged for long and soon picked up their own pace.

-----

Blurr managed to arrive at the hangar before the rust. The hatch was still open so he jumped right inside. Slowing down, he arrived at the bridge and placed the key in the panel. The systems went online.

"Take us out of here!" He said.

"Warning! Systems picked up a huge amount of radiation nearby!" The computer reported.

"Yeah, no slag! Move it! Move it! Move it!" Blurr ordered, yanking on the wheel.

"Please start the engine." The computer responded calmly. Blurr pressed a bunch of buttons and moved a few levers. Nothing happened.

"Okay, autopilot!" He said.

"Voice not recognised. You need permission to turn on the autopilot."

Blurr shouted in frustration, slamming his head against the panel. Without any warning, the youngling felt the ship shaking and he had to hold on. The vessel fell into the floor which had split under it.

The youngling looked out of the front window and saw a reason behind it. The rust finally caught up. The place started falling apart even before it was touched by it. Outside of the floor, the hole in the wall became significantly bigger than before. Blurr could see the asteroids flying just outside the station.

Blurr finally found a way to turn on the engines, but it was far too late. The ship was immobilised. As an act of desperation, he turned on his super speed. Everything slowed down for everyone except him.

Now that he had some more time, he started to think of his options. He looked outside, seeing how much time it would take for him to free the vessel. Then at the panel, thinking that maybe he could come up with something. Maybe some boost, or a forceshield, or-

Then, he looked before himself. The rust was nearly there and the hangar just kept collapsing. He was out of time. The blue Rogue clenched and unclenched his hands a few times. His gaze wandered from the ship to the rust as he silently debated with himself. Then, he glanced at the back of the ship. He understood that there was only one decision he was the most confident to make. A decision he would hate himself for from now on.

Finally, Blurr stepped back. His expression twisted in sadness before he started zooming around the ship.

-----

Jazz and the rest reached their destination. The door was slammed out of its place when Clobber used her seismic generators on it and everyone ran inside. The room had about five stasis pods. They looked old and they couldn't tell if they were even functioning. Nevertheless, Jazz quickly found the main operating computer and hacked into it. One escape pod came online. There was silence for some time and then another pod joined it. That was it.

Makeshift immediately chose a pod for them and ran inside. Clobber was about to go in next, but then she stopped.

"We can't leave without Blurr!" She said, turning around.

"Clobber!" The Decepticon spy shouted desperately.

"You three go, I'll stay and find him!" Jazz said and joined them.

"I'm not going anywhere without my partner!" Clobber protested.

"If neither of you gets in, I'm flying out myself!" Makeshift warned, threatening his finger on the launch button inside of the pod.

The bounty hunter glanced at the door and saw that the rust already took the rest of the hallway. They were next. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist.

Clobber wanted to argue further, but then the cloaked Cybertronian came up to her.

"Get in." He told her dangerously.

"I'm done listening to you, red eyes! Stay out of this!" She said. The Rogue tried to push him, but he just grabbed her arm.

"I'm not askin'!" He growled. "Do yourself a favour and stop lookin' for Lockdown! He doesn't wanna see a weaklin' like you anyway!"

Suddenly, he pushed her towards the pod. She cried out, but didn't give up the fight. As she was trying to grab onto the bounty hunter, she missed pretty much his whole body. She did, however, get the edge of his cloak.

Jazz was standing practically behind her, so when she fell inside, he did as well. They both crashed on Makeshift, making him stumble back onto the panel. They accidentally pushed the launch button and the alarms inside blared.

"No!" Clobber quickly collected herself and tried to leave. The doors of the pod began closing, but before she tried to keep them open, she looked at the bounty hunter again.

For a whole second before the entrance fully shut, she saw a ghost of her past right before her. A familiar face in an unfamiliar body.

The bounty hunter stood there, completely frozen and exposed. Even as the doors closed, the two couldn't pry their eyes away from each other. ‘Red eyes’ was gone and in his place stood Lockdown. Bigger, spikier, but even with the black markings on, Clobber recognised his face immediately. She was still gripping his hood.

The whole thing felt like an eternity, but lasted less than a few seconds. The pod was launched and the Cybertronians managed to escape. Lockdown rose his hand, not really sure what he wanted to do with it, but then sobered up. His expression became razor focused again and he rushed to the other pod.

-----

Blurr found a metal case while running around. Everything that didn’t fit in his subspace was placed inside of it.

He collected a few datapads, Energon, the star map, some tools and as much shanix as he could grab. He also made sure to take some personal belongings. Clobber’s rock collection, her lamp, as many of Jazz’s things as possible. At some point the youngling picked up the electro-bass and attached it to his back.

When he finished, he placed everything by the entrance, picked a crowbar, and then returned to the bridge.

"Computer, where does Jazz keep his diaries?" He asked.

"Under the panel. It's the black box between the main circuitry." The computer informed him.

"Thanks! And I'm sorry!" Blurr kneeled and prayed the panel open with the crowbar. Inside, he found what he was looking for almost immediately.

Meanwhile, the rust outside finally reached the front of the ship and began devouring it.

Blurr grunted as he tried to pull out the black box with the help of the crowbar. A few sparkles came out, then a loud short circuit, and finally, he was pushed back with the box in his hands. He stood back up, but before he left, he noticed Jazz's picture. The youngling reached out to grab it. As soon as he took it, the panel turned brown.

"Gah!" He stepped back in startlement, holding the picture close. He turned around and zoomed to the back of the ship. Finally, he collected everything and dipped. Not slowing down, he took one last glance back at their ship. He watched it rust and fall apart faster than he thought was possible. Soon the ship, along with everything else he didn't manage to pick up, was no more.

-----

From their position, Jazz, Makeshift and Clobber could see the last moments of Garrus-9. The flying graveyard completely fell apart, the last of its corridors and rooms detaching themselves. The rust wiped out traces of any history and people that were ever onboard.

The three of them were staring out of the windows in all possible angles, searching for any signs of Blurr and their ship. They battled the bad thoughts and kept a lookout even when everything seemed to end. Then, suddenly, Clobber gasped.

"There!" She said and ran up to the entrance. She saw a blue blur of energy jumping from asteroid to asteroid, moving higher and higher until it reached their level. Clobber punched the button and opened the pod, spreading her arms wide. In seconds, the blue blur crashed onto her and she caught it. Sliding back, the youngling managed to catch Blurr. The contents of the metal case he was holding spilled on the floor.

"Blurr!" She cried out, hugging him tightly. "Thank the Allspark!"

"Don't touch him, he might be infected!" Makeshift said, distancing himself from the two as much as his surroundings allowed.

"What were you thinking? You could've died there!" She said, taking his arms and inspecting them for any signs of rust. He let her, seemingly absent.

"I..." The blue youngling said after a second with a haunting stutter in his voice. "I couldn't save the ship... I tried, but... This is all I could take..."

Jazz inspected everything that the youngling had brought. Among all the items, he saw his electro-bass and his picture. To say that he was taken aback that the youngling took time to save them was an understatement. The captain was beyond words.

Suddenly, they heard faint but frequent tapping. Makeshift was holding onto his head, claws tapping against his own metal.

"I knew this would happen…" He began, finally taking away his hand from his face. He was furious. "I knew, but you had to bring us here. You just had to play a hero and try to save a blasted Decepticon, like you didn't already know what would happen!”

He was directing his anger at Jazz. The Autobot was about to respond when Clobber suddenly cut him off.

"Calm down! We didn't know we were being hunted all this time!" She barked at him. Blurr had nothing to say. He kept hugging onto Clobber tightly.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Makeshift roared. "It was so easy to just mind our own business! We've lost everything! We're never reaching Cybertron now, unless as empty husks found after drifting in space for thousands of years!"

While they began arguing, Jazz seemed to have distanced himself for a moment. Looking back at the window, he tried to imagine that the particles of his ship were somewhere down there. It had endured so much during all of their travels, but it finally met its match. His spark squeezed with a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Loss.

The voices became louder and the argument escalated. The tensions were at the highest. Jazz looked back at his crew, tired, scared and divided. They had no aim, and no plan. Just each other. No. They still had him.

Jazz stood up.

There would be time for him to feel bad. Now, his crew needed him.

"Everyone, please!..." He began. "This is your captain speaking. Can I have your attention?"

His voice managed to break through the yelling. Makeshift, Clobber and finally Blurr all looked at him.

"The situation is... not great." He continued. "In fact, this is probably the worst thing that could've happened to us... But we can't give up now! We've come too far to just lay down and let the universe take us!”

"But the ship..." Blurr said softly.

"We're all going to miss it." Jazz nodded. "We've made so many memories in it. Visited countless worlds. Made new connections." He glanced at Makeshift who just looked away. "Right now, what matters the most is that we're still together. I'm still your captain and you're still my crew, that remains unchanged." Clobber and Blurr exchanged a look.

"Rest, grieve if you need to, and then we'll put our minds together and come up with what to do next. Remember about all the hard times behind us, heck just recently we’ve saved a planet! We can do this. If you don't trust me, trust in each other. We will find another way."

Jazz's words seemed to resonate with the younglings. The tensions didn't fall, but they seemed pacified enough. Makeshift still avoided any contact with the rest. Clobber and Blurr huddled closely, silently staring at the windows and watching the asteroids pass by.

After a second, Jazz sat back down. He, on the other hand, focused on the items on the floor. He tried to think how he could put each one of them to use. His thoughts were scattered all over the place, but he had to focus.

He let this all happen.

He needed to fix it.

Chapter Text

The old oil lamp on the table was barely enough to make up for the overwhelming darkness of the room. It was by no means a new occurrence, in fact, he grew accustomed to it by now. He could already hear the muffled shouts outside, meaning others were up. He needed to make it quick. 

Jazz looked down and stared at a recorder in his hand. It was made out of the parts of his ship’s old controlling panel. There were a bunch of new colourful cables sticking out of its sides which he always got his fingers tangled in, but he was just happy the single most important part stayed intact. 

The Autobot didn’t even realise his leg was bouncing the entire time. After a second, he stopped it and took a deep breath. 

Click.

“Captain log number 1468. It’s been a while since I’ve made one of those.” Jazz leaned in and rested his upper body on the desk. He made sure to lay down in a way he wouldn’t knock his only source of light over. 

“A lot’s happened since the last entry, but I couldn’t find time to record it all. I’ll try to make up for it now…”

“As we were finally getting closer to Cybertron, things took a left turn. We were lured by the Stunticons and the bounty hunter they hired to the remains of Garrus-9. A lot of you will scratch your heads and ask ‘what the heck is Garrus-9’, but… Maybe I’ll make a separate datalog about all my dirty secrets just in case- umm…” Jazz paused to clear his throat. 

“We were imprisoned and almost killed by a vial of rust plague Motormaster was carrying with himself. We escaped with our lives, but it came with a great price. I’m sorry to report, but the notorious Garrus-9, as well as our ship… they were both destroyed…” The Autobot paused and swallowed before finishing the last sentence. The words barely got through his voicebox. 

“After the fact, our escape pod thrashed us around the cold of space without any direction.” Jazz continued, recalling the events that had happened after Garrus-9.

He remembered that he and his crew had tried to search the star map for all possible planets they could’ve landed on. Unfortunately, they had ended up drifting away from every single one of them before figuring out how to make the pod follow their instructions. He still remembered all of the shoving and pushing resulted from the lack of space and their remaining belongings cluttering around. 

“Primus knows we tried, but no matter what we did, we couldn’t escape our circumstances. Of course, that was until…”

One day, everyone had been sitting in their own microscopic corners when the pod suddenly shook. They had felt the vehicle tilting sharply and then the group had landed on the walls. 

It turned out that they had been pulled in by a big magnet.

“We didn’t expect any rescue, so seeing some old friends was a welcoming surprise.” The doors of the shuttle had been removed from its hinges. The group had looked up to see several shovels, pans and other blade-adjacent items pointed at them. 

The Junkion pirates had quickly recognised them. Jazz could still see the priceless confusion they had painted on their faces.

“Rum-Maj and her pirates let us stay onboard their new ship. And by letting us stay, I mean they put us to work as a payment for saving our lives.” 

He recalled the first task they had given them. The Junkions dropped buckets, mops and wax tubes in his, the Rogues’ and Makeshift’s arms. Rum-Maj and Detritus both had pointed at the floor at the same time, giving the group a clear order.

“Tomorrow, we’ll have been here for three weeks. We’ve been making the best out of that time.”

A week or so ago, Blurr had finished his mopping duty. After he had heard the cuckoo clock which was decorating the mast, he had dropped the mopping stick and didn’t look back. 

As he had been heading for his room, he’d suddenly spotted Jazz in the distance. Blurr had flinched and then hid behind big barrels as soon as possible. 

“I don’t really see Blurr outside of work that often nowadays...”

The youngling had peeked out after a second and saw his captain disappearing outside of his seeing range. Making sure that he wouldn’t return, he’d sat on the ground. Pressing his back against the barrels, Blurr had faced the floor sadly. 

“It’s a little strange, but I’m not that worried. Despite everything, the kids have history with the Junkions. Not all of it is bad.”

Blurr had suddenly realised he wasn’t alone. He’d looked to his side and saw Wreck-Gar sitting right next to him. He hadn’t even seen him coming. The Junkion had smiled at him, holding a homemade kite stitched together out of several sheets. The youngling's eyes had immediately sparkled.

“Everytime I think back on it, I realise we could’ve ended up somewhere far worse. At least here, we can have nice moments from time to time.”

Blurr and Wreck-Gar had gone on top of the mast. The blue Rogue had stood on Wreck-Gar’s shoulders as he tried to make the kite fly. Truthfully, the small rocket attached to it was doing most of the work, but the Junkion kept encouraging him to keep it up.

“Out of all of us, Clobber is taking the situation the worst. Blurr told me bits and pieces about her connection to that bounty hunter. If that’s the case… man, I really can’t blame the poor kid. Between work, the Junkions are trying to console her. At least that’s what I think they’re doing…"

Three days ago, on the poop deck, Clobber had laid on a bed made out of scrap. Junkyard had been sitting right next to her on a separate stool. He had been holding a few metal cards.

Adjusting the fake glasses with a moustache that he’d been wearing, he’d held up one of the cards to show it to her. 

"What do you see in this picture?" He had asked. The card was white, with a light brown smudge splattered on it.

"A skull." She’d said unsurely.

"What about this one?" The Junkion pirate had continued, flipping another card with a different smudge.

"A crab." She’d replied.

"What about this one?" He’d said and flipped another card. This smudge had an arch shape. It looked like a bow. Or a part of an anchor. Or…

Or a hook…

Clobber had frozen seeing that one for a second. Then, she’d seen red. In no time at all, she'd got off the bed and, without any warning, threw it across the board, screaming. In a blind fit of rage, she’d started kicking, throwing and punching everything that had stood in her way.

While the sounds of crashing and roaring continued in the growing distance, Junkyard had looked at the card that set her off.

"Yeah, I think finger nails are weird, too." He’d mused to himself.

“As for me, I’m doing what I always do. Trying my darnest."

Jazz remembered standing on the front of the ship. He had looked at the star map and tried to determine where they had ended up. He had been writing everything on a datapad they had generously given him.  

“I may not be a captain at the moment, but once I’m back behind the wheel, I’ll need to know where to go. So I’ve been tracking our current whereabouts.”

He’d returned there the next day and did it again. 

And again. 

And again. 

Every day, he would go there and write down details about their location. The ship was flying away every couple of hours, drifting in places Jazz would never go to normally. In his mind, he was counting how much progress they were losing. 

The only source of comfort came from looking up at the star trail. No matter how far they were getting, it stayed consistent throughout the whole time.

“Of course that’s not all I have going for me right now. When I have the time, I spend it with my new friend, Anode. She still feels out of place with the Junkions sometimes. That’s when I step in and lend her an audial.”

“Every now and then they exchange limbs with each other.” Anode had said as they sat on the empty boxes. “It was pretty disturbing at first. One time I tripped over Scraphook’s detached leg as it was being passed onto Ashtray.”

“Wow…” Jazz had said in response. Then, he gave her a grin. “I never knew the Junkions would have hollow legs.”

Anode had glanced at him, perplexed. 

“That was the best you could think of?” She’d asked.

“Good jokes cost an arm and a leg in this economy and I’m a poor, poor mech.” He’d said in response.

She had given him a light punch, but the grin that had spread on her face was unmistakable. He couldn’t stop smiling about that fact for some time.

“We’ve seen better days for sure, but that’s just a temporary setback. Only a couple of days separate us from our final payment and we’ll be free to go. Then, we’ll take the first opportunity to stand on our own legs and resume our original goal.”

“We’re not giving up, that’s the most important part. We won’t rest until we see the hopefully blue metal ground of our home planet.” Jazz rose from the desk, giving the recorder something not quite like a smile. 

“The rest are starting to have doubts, but hey, what do they have me for? Those who listen to this recording know that we did it and all this now is just silly thinking. Even if it’s just one person. How else would you get your curious hands on my logs if we didn’t get to Cybertron eventually?” The Autobot said as lightheartedly as one could, but there was another small pause. 

“For anyone still worried out there, I didn’t survive the war just to stumble back on my way home. I could do that, I can do this as well. Captain log: End.” He said and turned off the device. As soon as he did, he couldn’t help but keep his visor fixated on it. The Autobot didn’t look half as optimistic anymore…

Jazz finally left the room and walked onboard the ship. He had a metal can in his hand which he took a long sip from.

“Look who decided to show up!”

Detritus commented, passing by with a broom in his hands. “I was beginnin’ to think you were avoidin’ the broomin’ duty!”

“Ah, my favourite. Thank you for that.” Jazz said, taking the broom from him. The Autobot started walking, observing the Junkions making various sculptures of scrap around him. It didn’t take long for him to reach the other end of the boat and climb the stairs where his own crew was. Clobber and Blurr were polishing the steering wheel. 

“Morning!” Jazz greeted, gaining their attention. “Sorry I missed the roundup.”

“Astray heard you monologuing again. She assumed you were either talking to your recorder or lost your mind.” Clobber said. “Rummy didn’t seem to mind either way.”

“Had a lot on my mind. Now it’s all cleared out and I can work properly.” The older Cybertronian said and positioned the broom on the ground. He took one long sip from his can, but little did he know, Blurr was sneaking behind him with mischief in his eyes.

Without any warning, the youngling snatched the can out of his hand with one very swift movement.

“Slowpoke.” He grinned before taking a sip himself. He almost immediately spat it out. “What is this stuff?!”

“My own mix.” Jazz said and Blurr peeked inside of the can. “Visco, mercury, and a couple more off-brand fuels.”

“Did you actually make rocket fuel? There’s no way that’s good for you!”

“I’ve been making these since the war. Nothing happened yet.” Jazz said, beginning to swipe. Blurr looked inside again. This time, Clobber decided to take a peek herself. The two of them couldn’t help but glance at the Autobot, somewhat disturbed. 

The whole day was spent on doing various tasks all around the boat. As soon as Jazz finished brooming, he and the Rogues were sent to clean the hull. They buffed out the places where meteor had hit or scrubbed off any ice particles. 

Meanwhile, on the man deck, Trashbin, Nancy and Scrapbook were sitting on the empty barrels. Makeshift was standing in front of them. 

“Alright! Alright! Turn into the smartest guy you can think of!” Nancy said, giggling. Makeshift glared, but obeyed. He began transforming and soon turned into Shockwave.  

“Now turn into the dumbest guy ya can think of!” Trashbin told him. The shapeshifter changed again and now looked like Starscream.

“Change into me!” Scraphook requested. The former spy did as he was told and soon there were two Scraphooks onboard. His audience of three began clapping. 

“I’m starting to miss the abandoned planet.” Makeshift mused dryly.

Some time later, Clobber was made to participate in something the Junkions called a ‘team building exercise’. They had her stand inside of a hand-drawn circle with a metal ball on top of her head. Rum-Maj and Anode were standing some distance away from her. The captain was holding a bow and an arrow. 

“If you wanna be a part of my crew, you’ve gotta learn to blindly follow my orders. Literally.” Rum-Maj said, then handed her a blindfold. “I’ll give ya instructions where to aim and you’ll shoot.”

“Is this safe for her?” Anode asked, looking worriedly at the youngling. 

“It’s not supposed to be. The point is that you don’t wanna miss.” The captain explained, then turned to Clobber and shouted: “Just like the last time, little cyclone! Cover your big pearl!”

Clobber frowned and then covered her eye with her arm. 

Then, finally, they had to polish every little piece of scrap on the ship. Makeshit had joined them for that task. Every time they thought they were done, the pile was becoming smaller, the Junkions would come and bring in more stuff. Every time, the four Cybertronians looked completely sick of it. 

Finally, they reached the end of their day. After several long hours of work, Jazz, Makeshift and the younglings collapsed onto the big boxes also serving as chairs. Blurr was practically hanging from the two of them lifelessly.

When they thought they could finally rest, they heard an accordion starting to play. Makeshift and the Rogues growled, covering their audials in an unspeakable rage. 

Wreck-Gar came out to the higher deck and started playing. Had the sound not been hammered into their heads, the tune would be considered addictively catchy.

“Do you have to do this every time we finish working?!” Blurr fumed.

“When’s the best time to party if not after work?” Wreck-Gar exclaimed, swaying to all sides around the place. 

“Does it have to be the same song every time?!” Makeshift asked. 

“Yup!” Wreck-Gar exclaimed and then bounced onto the other side of the board to dance with other Junkions. While they were distracted, Clobber leaned towards Blurr and Makeshift. 

“Do you think they still haven’t discovered our secret earplug stash?” She whispered to her friend. 

“They didn't.” Anode suddenly said, making others turn to her. The pirate held out a bunch of small earplugs and offered them to the three. They took them without question.

After a second, Anode looked around and spotted Jazz near a barrier of the ship. He was staring at a distant star trail, checking his datapad. 

“Jazz?” She asked. 

“In a moment...” He said. He finished writing as quickly as he could and then faced her. “What’s the problem?”

“I was trying to see if you needed ear plugs.” She said, showing the tiny bubs to him. 

“Oh… It’s okay, I like that tune.” He assured. “Sorry, I need to…”

Jazz squeezed his way between her and the younglings. He tried walking past Anode. The pirate couldn’t tell if it was his posture, or something in his voice, but she sensed that something was off. She didn’t dare to comment on it, but it kept lingering on her mind as he left. 

After some time, Jazz walked up to Rum-Maj. The captain was leaning against the barriers, laughing at the dancing Junkions all around her with a cup filled with some strange black liquid. 

“Captain.” He greeted politely. “Can we talk?”

“You want somethin’, pretty bot?” She asked, taking a long sip. 

“I’ve been doing some math-”

“Good on ya.”

“... And I’ve noticed that we started getting further from that star trail.” He explained, pointing outside of the boat. “It began two cycles ago and it kept consistently happening." 

“That’s just what happens with ships, you make ‘em move. I don’t know what else to tell ya.” The pirate captain shrugge with her arm.

“Let me rephrase it…” Jazz rubbed under his visor. “Where are we going in the next couple of cycles?” 

“Depends.” Rum-Maj hummed. “We’ve already been hangin’ out on this side of the galaxy for too long. We might leave in the next two, maybe three days or so. Detritus said he wanted to visit the Klovian System again, we might head there.”

That was the answer Jazz was dreading. 

“Can’t you do that after our debt is paid?” He asked. “The Klovian System is a part of a completely different galaxy!” 

“That sounds like a scrapload of not our problem. Now, scram! I’m enjoying my break!” She said, finishing her cup.

“But-!”

Jazz wanted to argue, but she shot him a death glare. He went completely silent. If one didn’t know any better, he might have even looked hurt… 

Hurt was not even beginning to describe what Jazz was feeling. 

After some time, he returned to his crew. However, instead of joining them by the boxes, he looked out of the ship and observed the floating asteroids. The Autobot let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of his head. 

“What did she say to you?” Makeshift noticed his presence immediately. Jazz cursed him and his perceptiveness. 

“Nothing.” The Autobot said. “Just a casual convo between two captains.”

“And yet you seem uneasy.” The former Decepticon spy claimed. 

“Uneasy? Me?” Jazz let out a snort, but his fingers began drumming on the barrier. “No, that’s not how I roll. You of all people should know that.”

“... Yes…” Makeshift answered carefully. 

Meanwhile, Wreck-Gar’s song finally came to an abrupt end. The Junkions cheered and clapped.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Wreck-Gar said, taking a deep bow. “All these positive reinforcements and valid criticism made me inspired! Today, I’m gonna try something new!” He said, then pointed at Anode. “Limey! I need you to be my backup instrumenter!”

“What?…” Anode blinked.

“He wants you to play with him.” Detritus murmured, leaning towards her.

“Oh... I don’t play any instruments.” The former Star Seeker stated apologetically.

“I can teach you!” Wreck-Gar said. He bounced over to one of the piles of scrap laying about and started rummaging through it. After a second, he pulled out a big shiny Algarian electro-bass.

Both Makeshift and Jazz gaped at the way it was forcefully yanked from between old armor and some unclear household appliances. Then, the former Decepticon spy slowly retreated to the back, staring at Jazz wide-eyed the whole time. The Autobot began silently observing what was happening to the instrument. 

“Hey, that’s borrowed! Even we can’t use it!” Clobber barked, noticing what they were up to. 

“Sorry, Clobber. You know the rules.” Rum-Maj said. “Everythin’ you own is ours until further notice.”

“I don’t know if I should.” Anode said as Wreck-Gar gave her the electro-bass. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Don’t worry, neither did I!” Wreck-Gar beamed. “Let’s just push all the buttons until it makes noise!”

Jazz’s hands clenched into fists. He was so close to both of them, but he tried to stop himself from whatever impulsive thought was on his mind. 

“Guys, seriously! This isn’t funny!” Clobber insisted. 

“I promised I’d take it back to whoever it belonged to!” Blurr added. 

“And ya will! We can always repair it! Maybe even add some improvements!” Scraphook offered.

“Come on, green bean! Our audience is waiting!” Wreck-Gar said and prepared to play his accordion again. Anode hesitantly readjusted her grip on the electro-bass. She paused, looking at the board with the buttons. Her hand slowly moved towards them…

Without any warning, the electro-bass was forced out of her grasp. 

“Don’t touch that!” Jazz shouted, holding the instrument away from her. 

It was like time itself stopped working. The whole deck grew silent, nobody dared to do as much as twitch. Even when he calmed himself and realised what he did, the damage was done. 

Jazz couldn’t decide what was worse - the Junkions all gawking at him, shock and disbelief on full display? Even Wreck-Gar and Rum-Maj were staring. 

Or maybe it was the way Makeshift was hiding behind the boxes, only poking out the top of his head. He looked completely terrified seeing the Autobot like this. 

Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way both Clobber and Blurr saw the whole thing. Poor kids, he’d never seen them so shocked, and worst of all, so worried.

Worried about their own captain. 

Jazz was staring back, gaze switching between them. Finally, it all became too much. Gripping the instrument still in his hand, he stepped back, and then, he quickly retreated, leaving everything behind. 

The doors of his dark room opened and he slammed them behind himself. He didn’t even turn on the lamp. He just walked across, his biolights guiding him, and he retreated to the farthest corner of the quarters. There, he found a beat up locker in the wall that was supposed to be his closet. 

“You’re nothing but trouble.” He said, opening the locker and then giving the instrument a glare. Even with no light on, his blue lights perfectly reflected in its surface, including his visor. 

“Would’ve been so much easier if you stayed with Prowl, but naaah - Shove it into my hands and wait till I lose it! Why did I even agree to take you in the first place?” 

Right after the question left his mouth, he heard a few knocks on his door. He froze.

“Jazz?” Blurr’s voice came through. 

Jazz’s breath hitched, his anger replaced with newly-found urgency. He rushed over to his desk and turned on the oil lamp. 

Next, he ran up to the locker and was about to shove the electro-bass in. Before he did so, though, he stopped himself. Instead, the Autobot put it in as carefully as handling porcelaine. He gave it one last look before he closed the locker. 

Finally, Jazz headed for the door and opened it. He saw Blurr standing behind it. 

“Is… this a bad time?” The blue Cybertronian asked, rubbing his arm.

“Why? Did you hear something just now?” Jazz asked instinctively.

“Hear what?”

“Good.”

“... Okay.” Blurr decided to let it go and stepped in. “Wreck-Gar is really sorry for whatever he did. He promised he’ll make it up to you.”

“That’s sweet of him, but it’s nothing. If anything, I should be the one apologising.” The former Spec-Ops assured. 

“Yeah, well… If that’s any consolation, Clobber is yelling at them right now. You wanna get back with me and watch?” The youngling offered with a somewhat nervous grin. It was all it took for Jazz’s face to brighten up. 

“I don’t understand how anyone could hate you two.” He said. 

“One of the greatest mysteries of the universe!” Blurr chuckled with a little shrug. However, that didn’t last long. “Seriously though, maybe you should take a break. We can cover for you if you’re not feeling alright.”

“Appreciate the offer, but there’s no need. We got only a couple of days left anyway. Speaking of which…” The older Cybertronian said, then stepped towards his desk. He reached inside of his subspace and pulled out the star map. He threw it on the table, making it activate, and revealed the holographic map. Blurr joined his side. 

“I have to start easing back into the role of your nagging captain.” He claimed, sliding his finger across the projection and making the stars move. Blurr couldn’t help, but stare at that with an almost hypnotised look. 

“Our old trail is unfortunately no longer an option, but if we leave soon, I can cook up a new one.” He sajd.

“Right!… Leave.” Blurr was pulled out of his trance momentarily. He laughed as his eyes darted around the room. Jazz could sense the edge in his tone. 

“Don’t worry, kid. This time, I’ll make sure we’ll reach Cybertron for real.” The older Cybertronian claimed, offlining the star map and retracting it. 

“Can we help somehow?” The youngling offered. 

“Nah, don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Jazz reassured. 

“You do?” Blurr sounded genuinely surprised. It only added salt to the injury. “No offence, but you’ve been acting a bit weird lately… I mean, even more than usual.” 

“I know that I wasn't exactly at my best, but I used to deal with so much worse back in my Spec-Ops days. You said it best yourself…” The Autobot said, gesturing at himself with a dramatic swipe of his arm. "I’m a one bot army."

Something inside of Blurr’s head clicked. He widened his eyes in realisation. 

“Jazz, I…” He stuttered. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, that’s good! I may get into bad situations a lot, but I also know how to get out of them. That’s the single most important thing you should know about me.” Jazz said and placed his hand on the other's shoulder. “I’ve got this. Okay? We’ll be out of here before you know it.” 

Blurr looked down. Something was still bothering him. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I just…” Blurr sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault we’re stuck here! I should’ve saved your ship, I… should’ve been faster…”

Jazz felt his spark squeezing in his chest. 

“Hey… Look at me.” He placed his second hand on his other shoulder. Blurr obeyed. “That’s not true, you hear me? We would’ve lost so much more if it weren’t for you. None of this was your fault.” 

“It still feels bad.” The youngling murmured. 

“I’m sure it does…” Jazz understood… “Y’know, kid. Maybe there is something you can help me with.”

That immediately got Blurr’s attention. 

“I need you to make the best out of our remaining stay here. Dance, sing, climb up a mast if you want to. Do something just a little crazy.” The older Cybertronian said, pinching his fingers. 

“What about you?” The other asked.

“I’ve got plans.” Jazz claimed, stepping back and landing his hands on his hips with newly found confidence. “Big plans.”

“Like what? Wait, no, don’t tell me. ‘It’s classified’.” Blurr air-quoted.

“You're catching on fast.” The Autobot winked. “Now quit staring at me with those big sad eyes and go have some fun! That’s an order!”

“Okay, captain, oh my captain!” Blurr saluted jokingly with a fake serious expression. Although, it became very much real seconds later. “But after we’re back in action, you’re taking a break! We’ll glue you to the couch if we have to!”

“Sounds great to me!” He chuckled.

Blurr turned to leave. The smile on his face put Jazz in a good mood finally. However, as soon as the door closed, he was left alone again. To distract himself, the former Spec-Ops reached for the datapad from his subspace and began scrolling through it. 

He didn’t do it for long, seeing how far they had drifted from their original trail. The Autobot looked up from it after a second. There was nothing but pure fire burning behind his visor.

“Absolutely not!” Rum-Maj denied. She was sitting at the desk in her new office. It was not nearly as decorated as the last one, but she was already working on the interior.  “At least not without a solid fee!”

“Oh, come on, it’s just a couple of days!” Jazz argued, standing before her. “We’ve already worked our backsides off for you!”

“Even if we let you go early, then what? Y’all grow wings and fly away? Or did ya think we’ll be your little taxi service and take you all the way to your beloved rock?” 

“Actually, that was gonna be my second request…” Jazz said, tangling his fingers together. Rum-Maj scowled at him. 

“I’m not asking this just for myself! Can’t you do it for Blurr and Clobber’s sake?” He defended. 

"There's only as far as our generosity can go.” The captain said, beginning to carve a piece of rusty metal with a knife. “Now, if you don’t have an actual reason to be here…”

Jazz surpassed an annoyed groan. 

“Fine…” He said, leaning on the desk. That gained her attention back. “What do you want me to do?”

“Pardon?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Let’s make another deal. In exchange for you taking us to Cybertron, I’ll do whatever you want. Want me to get into another space battle? I’ll fight. Want me to jump into a black hole? I’ll do a flip. Desperation doesn’t begin to describe how badly we need this. Please. One captain to another.”

Rum-Maj was in complete awe at his offer. She put the knife and the carved piece on the desk and fully faced him.

“Anythin’?”

“Name your price.” Confirming that he was serious, the Junkion scratched her chin. 

“Don’t know what the code says about that one, but a willing participant sure is hard to resist.” She admitted. “I guess… There’s this one thing-”

“Deal.”

“Pump the brakes, racer bot! Let me finish first!” Rum-Maj growled in warning, then bent under her desk. “It’s a job even we’re scared of, so don’t get your hopes up.” 

After a second, she climbed back up with something in her claws. It was a tiny silver coin.  “We’ve been doin’ some monitoring in the area and we discovered something interestin’.”

As she spoke, she dropped the coin on the desk. Momentarily, it split apart and revealed an orange holographic screen. Jazz looked closer and saw a picture of some kind of spaceship graveyard. All of them looked destroyed at least to some capacity.

“A treasure cove like that doesn't happen very often. However, those are the last pictures taken before we lost contact with our drone. It could just be flying rocks hittin’ it by accident, but we’re not mindlessly jumping into action since last time.” She said, tapping on one of the sheets of her swords. The Autobot took his eyes off the screen and faced her. 

“We could use a scout. You’d make sure it’s safe for us to go in, and in return, you’d get to pick one. We’d fix it if needed, and turn a blind eye when it’s gone.” She continued. “Whether it’s worth the risk is dependent on you. That’s my only offer.”

“... Let me tell you something, Maj.” 

 Jazz began. “If the pirate career somehow doesn’t work out for you, you would do wonders in business. The jobs nobody else wants are my specialty.”

“You’re a stubborn one, ain’t ya? Can’t say I don’t respect that.” She gave in and stood up. The captain headed for the doors and said: “If you’re serious about this, meet me at the main deck in two hours. Bring every tool at your disposal.” 

She said and she left. When she was gone, Jazz turned back towards the pictures. He began studying them very carefully. 

Something about his posture eased up. Finally, he had something to work with. 

The door of his room swung open and Jazz barged in. Turning on the lamp, he began scanning his surroundings. He didn’t have much, but that wouldn’t stop him. Not now.

The first thing he did was grab every tool in his proximity. They were scattered all around the place in various spots - screwdrivers under the metal bed, wrench in the far corner of the desk, an oil canister and a couple more strange looking tools on the barely holding together shelf. The last thing he grabbed was his MP3 which he began playing. 

The soothing electric sounds were accompanying him as he sat down and began working on himself. He checked the magnets on his boots, which were working fine. He transformed his speakers away and made sure every little screw was properly adjusted. He oiled up every joint in his body. 

To test if everything was ready for action, he transformed from robot mode, to car mode, and back to robot mode. Then, his sonic blaster, to his speakers, and back to his normal unarmed self. Each time, he measured every second his transformation took to finish on the panel on his arm. 

Using a piece of smooth metal he found somewhere on the boat, he began sharpening his hidden blades. 

Next, he searched every corner of his quarters. He took the tools, hiding them between every little spot between his transformation seams. He found places between his arms, legs and even back plates. Then, he took his datapad and flipped it on its back. He used his sharpened blade to pry it open and revealed its insides. Jazz took its battery, cables, and everything he could find that he deemed useful. 

On the way out of his room, he walked past his desk and snatched the oil lamp standing on it. Rum-Maj did tell him to bring every tool at his disposal. 

Jazz finally left the room with some extra time to spare. The Autobot wanted to use the rest of his time for extra preparations, when suddenly, he heard an explosion nearby. 

Alarmed, the Autobot looked around. He relaxed when he saw what this was about. 

Clobber was sitting on the poop deck, completely alone. She was surrounded by a pile of rocks on one side and piles of junk on every other. 

Jazz decided to approach her. He watched every step and move he took, not to accidentally trip or make something fall. Thankfully, he was graceful enough to accomplish that. 

“Clobber?” He called. The bigger Rogue didn’t react to him at all. All she did was reach for the pile of rocks and picked one from the top. Without any warning, she threw it overboard. 

The stone got stuck in the nonexistent gravity of space and began floating. Jazz was about to question it, when abruptly, the stone was hit by a laser and disintegrated upon contact. 

The laser came from Clobber’s laser hand. The only reaction it got from her was a barely contained grimace.

“Why are you destroying your rock collection?” The Autobot couldn’t help but ask.

“Only from the planets I visited to search for Lockdown.” She said, then rose another one up. It almost looked like a sponge. 

“This one had funny pink clouds…” Throw. Shoot! She picked a big red one.

“This one had fire snakes which gave me hugs and second-degree burns…” Throw. Shoot!

Jazz noticed one of the rocks laying away from the pile. He picked it up and offered it to her.

“Need some help?” He asked.

“No, this one can stay. It’s where I met Blurr.” She stated.

“Oh... Okay.” He said, putting it back down. After a second, the Autobot sat next to her with legs crossed. 

“We haven’t really had time to talk, huh?” He began. “... How are you holding up?”

“You’ve got more eyes behind that fancy visor. Use them sometime.” She snapped at him. 

“Right… Sorry, stupid question.” He grinned awkwardly. Her gaze lost its sharpness momentarily.

“... No, I’m sorry. I know you’re also having a crummy day, I just… I can’t stop thinking!” Clobber groaned.

Jazz looked behind him for a second. It was only then when he noticed that one of the piles had something familiar stuck in it. It was Clobber’s starry lamp. The object was sticking out of the junk, its top bended as if someone had punched it. After a second, he noticed that it was wrapped around some dark cloth.

“Junkyard’s sessions aren’t working?” The Autobot asked, facing her again. 

“He means well, but all he does is make me more angry. I’m trying to move on, I really am, but… how can I? He was my best friend! He promised we wouldn’t end up like all those other Decepticons! Was he lying? Did someone force him? Was…” She shrunk into a ball. “Was I really that bad of a friend?...” 

Jazz wasted no time and placed a comforting hand on her arm. 

“I’m not going to pretend that I know the answer.” He said softly. “What I do know is that it wasn’t your fault. Sometimes bad things happen outside of our control.”

“Well, my whole life’s been outside of my control!” He jumped when she suddenly jerked forward. Clobber stood up and began angrily stomping back and forth. 

“I never asked to be a Decepticon! I didn’t want the whole universe to hate me! The only thing I ever wanted was to belong somewhere! Anywhere- Nova knows I can’t be picky! And now my friend who I thought wanted the same thing almost got me killed! I hate this! I hate him! I hate that stupid, stupid faction!”

Without any warning, the bigger Rogue kicked the remaining rock pile with a roar. Jazz had to lean back so he wouldn’t get in the way. 

The stones flew into various directions before slowly disappearing into the emptiness of space. Clobber panted, feeling the heat slowly evaporating from her. She avoided eye-contact with the Autobot. 

“Why couldn’t I just be like you?” She murmured. “Everyone likes you…” 

Jazz had to take a long pause. He wanted to say something, but he hated himself for not knowing what. 

After a second, he stood up as well and followed her. She felt a grip on her arms. Jazz put her claws into his hands and that made her finally face him. 

“Don’t.” He said as quietly as a whisper. “Don’t be like me, or anyone else for that matter. You don’t see it now, but I promise you are enough.”

“Lockdown doesn’t think so…” 

“Slag Lockdown, then.” Clobber’s optic went wide at Jazz’s bluntness. “If that’s how he really feels, then he better stays out. You deserve better friends.”

“... I’m still so angry…” She shut her optic tightly. 

“I figured…” After a second, Jazz let go of her and began searching himself. “I know it’s not much, but usually, this helps me when I’m in all types of moods.”

Finally, he pulled out his MP3 and presented it to her. 

“No.” She stepped back instantly, horrified. “I-I can’t take it.” 

“Of course you can. Here.” He put the device in her claw. Then, he reached out and started typing on it. “You can pick whichever song you want. I’m pretty sure I’ve got every album in the universe.”

Momentarily, he took his hand away. Clobber hesitated, but then gently tapped the screen. She did so a couple of times until she felt confident that she wouldn’t break it. 

“... Knights of Cybertron?” She read after she found something. 

“Ah, classic.” Jazz smiled. “Cliffjumper took me to their concert once.”

Clobber decided that she wanted to check it out. She played it, and suddenly, they were both blasted with an electric heavy metal song. She quickly paused it. 

“Yep! Just as passionate as I remember!” Jazz said, digging his finger into his audial. 

“It sounds… exactly how I feel right now.” Clobber said after a second. “I think I like it.” 

“You can borrow it for as long as you like. Just make sure the Junkions won’t find it.”

“I promise to take good care of it!” She said, finally smiling. 

“I know you will, kid.” He smiled back. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

He was about to leave, but she had a sudden thought.

“Jazz?” She called, making him turn back around. “We’re… leaving soon, right?”

“Yeah. I’m… working on it.”

“Things… will be fine, on Cybertron, right? The Autobots aren’t going to think I’m a Decepticon and try to hurt me… right?” 

“... No. And I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

She sighed in relief. 

“Thanks! I can always count on you!” 

He was still smiling, but a knot formed in his stomach after hearing that.  

An hour later, the majority of the Junkion crew gathered on the main deck. The only missing members were Wreck-Gar, Junkyard and the Rogues. Jazz couldn’t help, but feel relieved about that fact.

The pirates quickly noticed his presence. Nancy and Trashbin were preparing a big cannon of some kind. 

“I’m ready.” He told them. Rum-Maj walked up to him. She eyed him one final time, confirming there was no going back, before handing him an old walkie talkie.

“Inform us about everythin’ you find up there.” She ordered, then added: “We’re giving ya our brand new safety belt to make movin’ around easier. If things get too heated, and only then, we’ll pull ya back.” 

Anode stepped in with the belt in her hands. Jazz was surprised to see that it had buttons, flickering lights and fridge magnets of various shapes and sizes all around it. He decided it would be best not to question its effectiveness until the first test run. 

“Are you really sure about this?” Anode asked privately.

“Just give me the belt.” Jazz requested, extending his hand. She still had some reservations, but ultimately, she did. The Autobot clasped it around his waist and its lights flickered dimly.

The Junkions made way as Jazz headed for the cannon. Astray and Detritus helped him climb all the way up its brim and then placed him in the bore. He slid all the way down on his own.

The Junkions stepped back. Rum-Maj grabbed her blade and raised it to the sky. 

“Get ready!...” She shouted. Trashbin carefully moved closer, pulling out a controlling remote with a cannon drawn on top of it. 

“Has anybody seen pretty bot?” Suddenly, Wreck-Gar found them. He was scribbling on a piece of metal plate. “I need to ask him what kind of oil he prefers on his apology pie-”

“Fire in the hole!” Rum-Maj finally shouted, cutting air with her blade. Trashbin pushed the button and a loud boom sounded through the entire upper board. 

Jazz shouted, feeling his body thrashing all around as he was launched straight at his target. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for his belt to activate. It created a magnetic shield around him that allowed him to fly all the way towards the graveyard without drifting away into space. 

Seeing that he was safe, the Autobot calmed down. He decided to take on a more aerodynamic position and focused on keeping his body straight. 

As soon as he neared the ground, he saw that he was heading straight for the remains of another pirate ship. Jazz curled up in himself, shielding his face with his arms. Like a cannon ball, he hit a bull’s eye, totalling half of the board in the process. He only stopped at the beak and almost fell off. 

The Autobot groaned, struggling to stand back up. The protective shield evaporated in seconds. He fought off his dizziness with a shake of his head and then glanced back at the Junkion boat. They were still close enough for him to see Nancy, Trashbin and Astray all raising big white cardboards with numbers. 

Nancy gave him 9.

Trashbin gave him 9.5.

Ashtray gave him 3 and a very unimpressed look. 

Jazz’s left eye rolled behind his visor. Everyone was a critic… Momentarily, he focused on the task at hand. 

The Autobot began exploring the area. He jumped from ship to ship, inspecting each one thoroughly. Some were burnt. Some had torn-off parts of constructions. Some were only a quarter of what they once were. There were even some that, concerningly, had some big claw marks on them. 

When he was walking on some cruiser, he looked out and saw quite the view. He could best describe it as one ship eating another, much larger one in the distance. He decided to change his direction and head there. 

Jazz climbed on a broken mast and jumped on board of the smaller ship. He couldn’t recognise whether they were of Decepticon or Autobot origin. However, by the construction alone, it was clear that they were both Cybertronian. 

Suddenly, his walkie talkie erupted with stasic.

“We’re waitin’ for your report.” Rum-Maj’s voice came through. Jazz pushed a green button on the device and brought it to his mouth. 

“Destroyed ships everywhere you look.” He began, looking around. “There’s rust, decay and it smells pretty bad, too.”

“Write that down.” Run-Maj tilted her head towards Detritus. He pulled out a comically big notebook and began writing with a pen. “How much junk are we talkin’?”

“Probably a city’s worth.” Jazz said as he cleared his way from the rubble. He entered a dark hallway and turned on his front lights. 

“Lots of sad stories here. The two ship I’m on right now seem to be the worst.” 

“What about any unwanted company?”

“Nothing so far. It’s pretty peaceful, actually. Maybe you were right about that asteroid.”

“Keep lookin’ anyway.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jazz peeked inside of each room he encountered. Most of them were in a state beyond repair and some weren’t even there anymore. Those ships must’ve been here for a long time. The flying particles and parts of constructions were everywhere. 

The Autobot still had a few rooms ahead of himself, but he focused on one of them. Something caught his attention and he decided to step inside. 

The source of light was coming not from his lights, but this time, from a giant hole in the wall. It was another cluttered barely-room at this point. And yet, it was different from the rest. 

Jazz halted, pausing his journey. His entire system went through a hard reset after seeing what was inside. 

“It can’t be…” He murmured, staring forward in dumbfoundness. 

“What are ya mutterin’ about over there?” Rum-Maj’s voice brought him back. 

“I found something...” He said, disbelieving his own voice. He was face to face with a giant metal ring in the middle of the half-missing chamber. “I can’t believe this… It’s a spacebridge!” 

“Alright, great!... What’s a spacebridge?” The pirate captain asked. 

“Our ticket to Cybertron!” Jazz didn’t mean to cheer, but at the moment, it felt right to do so. Even to laugh a little. The Autobot wasted no time and ran towards the ring. He circled it a couple of times, seeing what he was working with. Behind it, he even found a controlling console. It looked old and damaged. The burnmarks on its sides suggested a fight. 

“Looks rough, but it’s a survivor! If I get enough Energon, I’ll be able to teleport inside of Unicron himself! You have no idea how lucky we are!”

“Better keep all that excitement to yourself. You don’t want us to get interested. Over.” She warned. 

“Sorry. Over.” They hung up and he focused back on the spacebridge. He practically dropped to his knees and began searching for some kind of opening. He didn’t have to look for long as he found a partly rusted away access door. He prayed it open with ease, revealing circuitry inside. A hint uncertainty appeared on his face as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. 

“It can't be that hard to activate.” He told himself. Jazz’s sides transformed and he pulled out the tools from them. He reached for the panel. 

“We can smelt some of these constructions and use them to decorate the ship.” Trashbin offered as the crew was discussing what to do with all the new resources.

“I’ve always wanted one of those figurehead things on the bow.” Rum-Maj said with crossed arms and a thoughtful smile. “Wreck-Gar, wanna be a template?” 

“Of course! It’s been my dream to grow a fishtail ever since I was a baby toaster!” Wreck-Gar exclaimed dreamily.

While they were talking, Anode kept her keen eyes on the graveyard. She couldn’t pinpoint where Jazz was at the moment, so she tried to search for any movement or source of light. She seemingly found what she was looking for in the darkness from under the wracks.  

However, she thought longer of it. Her intuition was telling her something. 

“Uh… Nancy?” She called. Nancy walked over to her to see what was happening. Anode’s suspicions were tragically proven true when the usually loud crewmember’s expression turned grave. 

“Captain!” She alerted others after a second. The Junkions walked over to the barrier and looked out. Every one of them had a similar reaction. 

Meanwhile, Jazz was trying to manually activate the spacebridge. He flicked switches and connected old cables together. A few sparks came out of the panel upon his efforts. That would’ve given him motivation to go on, had it not been for the walkie talkie that unexpectedly came to life. 

“Rum-Maj to pretty bot! Abort the mission!” Rum-Maj’s voice came through the radio. 

“Hold on! I think I’m doing something here!” Jazz picked up and replied. 

“Jazz, listen to her!” Anode’s voice joined. “You need to get out of there! Now!” 

That got the Autobot somewhat more concerned. He was about to close the panel back, when suddenly, he stopped... Looking through the hole in the wall, Jazz noticed something drifting just outside. It was quite large, with a blue glimmering surface.

Even though he told himself that it was not possible, it was a big Energon crystal. The mineral drifted lazily between the wrecks, dancing in the emptiness of space like on a playful breeze. 

Jazz, not having the slightest clue what was going on, decided to cautiously follow the crystal. He left the two joined Cybertronian ships and jumped onto an open bridge of a nearby bow-shaped cruiser. He walked down its length, making sure to keep up, and came to a halt when he got to the doors which were pulled out of its hinges. He grabbed onto its wall, looking out.

There was nothing but a dark hole ahead. He could see the further ships being enveloped by its shadows, Energon crystal lighting up bits and pieces of their build. 

After a second, Jazz decided to reach into his subspace. He pulled out the oil lamp that had served him so poorly during all this time. Lightning it up, he threw it ahead. 

The lamp was drifting farther and farther, heading towards the floating Energon crystal. Its green light shone at the nearest floating scrap pieces, but then began losing to the suffocating darkness around it. 

Green light. Darkness. Green light. A destroyed ship. Darkness again. It must’ve happened at least several times before the object neared its target. 

What seemed like an eternity after, the lamp finally reached the crystal. There seemed to be the most darkness around it. The lamp got very close, then with an inaudible ‘tink!’ bounced off the Energon. Its trajectory changed and it flew to the side. 

Jazz counted the time he guessed it would light up again, but it didn’t seem to be the case. He thought the glow finally succumbed to its opposing force, but he was mistaken. 

The lamp lit back once more. When it did, the only thing Jazz saw were teeth.

The Autobot gasped, immediately stepping back. No sooner than he had his revelation, he heard a hollow, piercing shriek. 

An enormous body shot like a rocket straight in his direction. Without any warning, it collided with the ship he was on, making him fall. 

Jazz looked behind himself. The first thing he saw was a giant fish-like maw full of sharp teeth biting into the ship’s construction. The Autobot was violently thrashed around from wall to wall. It lasted for some time, and then, the monster yanked the vehicle upwards.

The Autobot flew out of there through one of the holes. He cried, being thrown all the way up. Thankfully, he was pushed onto another wrack instead of falling into the abyss. This one was split in two. Unfortunately, he hit the ceiling and bumped his head. 

Thanks to the belt, he was able to fall on the floor right where the split was beginning. Jazz grabbed onto his aching head and rose up. At the last second, he managed to transform and escape onto the other half, before the monster bit into the place he was standing on just a second ago. 

Outside of his perspective, the Junkions could see the monster better. It had a serpent-like body with front paws ending on fish fins and claws. There were four antennas on its head, which ended on something that resembled Energon crystals. Its ugly fish face had giant black eyes, and of course, that nightmarish mouth that was currently biting through the steel walls of the wreckage and making them fall apart completely. 

“Energon eater…” Detritus commented, watching the beast squirm around the fallen vessels and trying to chase Jazz. “I’ve never seen one so big.” 

After a second, Rum-Maj stepped back and called Jazz.

“Buckle up, pretty bot! We’re bringin’ ya back!” She shouted.

Jazz managed to squeeze into a tight space and dive inside another pirate ship with a broken mast. The Energon eater almost got him, but before it impaled itself on the broken pole, it turned around and retreated. 

The Autobot gasped for the atmosphere around him, using his temporary break to respond. 

“No, wait!” He said quickly. “I can’t leave this now! Give me more time!” 

“You don’t get a say in this! That’s not your ship to go down with!” Rum-Maj barked.

Jazz went silent for a second to process the answer he received. After a second, he decided that he didn’t like it at all. 

“Be ready to hit the steerin’ wheel at any second!” Rum-Maj said. The rest of the crew readied other cannons, shoving in as much scrap as they could find.

“Fire!” Their captain ordered, raising her blade again. 

At her command, the cannons sounded. The creature was unaware of the attack until cannon balls hit its body. Some of them fell apart and became floating junk, but some of them exploded into fireworks. The Energon eater shrieked at them, but then a firework exploded in front of its face and scared it off. 

Jazz was observing the whole thing and noticed that reaction. Suddenly, he felt a strange fluttering on his stomach. The belt he was wearing came to life. Its lights flickered in all possible colours and it began to buzz. 

“Find a barrel or somethin' and get in!” Trashbin’s voice told him through the walkie talkie. The Autobot didn’t have to search for long, because there were old metal cases all around him. He must’ve hidden inside of a storage. After a second, he rushed to them and picked out the biggest one. 

However, before he got inside, he suddenly stopped himself. His visor wandered back at the two Cybertronian ships that were a fair distance away from him now. He saw that the Energon eater retreated in their direction, finding a hiding spot in their shadows. 

Jazz glanced between them and the metal case. He intended to do it only once, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from between the two of them. The conflict in his mind brewed, but then, it all stopped. 

Something inside of him snapped, and from there on, Jazz saw no other option.

“... I’m ready. Bring me home.” The Autobot reported after a second, before the line went completely silent. Trashbin pushed the button on the controller.

After a few minutes, they saw a yellow dot lighting up in the heart of the graveyard. It started getting bigger and bigger, heading straight for the pirate ship. It slipped past the Energon eater undetected. 

Finally, the Junkions saw a bright energy ball heading their way. There was a closed metal case inside of it. 

They braced themselves. Rum-Maj, Detritus and Wreck-Gar caught the ball. The impact pushed them back, making their feet scrap against the metal floor and let out a very ugly screech. None of them fell down. 

The force shield gave out and vanished, leaving them with just the metal case. The three Junkions carefully put it down. Unfortunately, when they opened it, there was only disappointment waiting inside. Anode shoved Detritus out of the way to have a look herself.

Jazz wasn’t there. The only thing that got transported was the walkie talkie which had their belt neatly wrapped around it in a bow. 

“That blasted fool!” Rum-Maj yelled, punching the deck.

Chapter Text

The Energon eater eventually shook off and fully recovered from the unexpected assault. It let out a low growl and then flew out of the shadows. The creature began prowling around and slamming into the ships that found themselves on its path. One of them fell apart upon contact immediately, drifting away.

Jazz saw a part of the wing heading for his hiding spot. Thanks to his magnetic boots, he managed to turn around without trouble and began running in the opposite direction as the wing’s sharp edges began cutting the surface he had been standing on. He felt the vessel falling apart right behind him, so he sped up.

When he got to the edge, the former Spec-Ops didn’t hesitate to jump off, right onboard another ship right under the previous one.

Shriek!

Jazz nearly went deaf from how close the sound was. The Energon eater emerged behind him and tried to eat him. It bit into the boat and into the Autobot’s head…

Only for him to disintegrate.

Not feeling any Energon in its mouth, the monster began looking around and searching for its prey. It waited a few seconds, but then got bored and flew away.

Meanwhile, Jazz was hanging upside down from one of the drifting parts of the split ship. When he got the chance, he released his grappling hook and grabbed onto a rusty pole nearby. Then, he swung, before jumping off and hiding behind a barely standing steel wall of some unrecognisable construction.

Jazz’s vents were going overtime. His visor dimmed after a second and he remembered how to calm himself.

Deep invent…

Cold, calculated focus washed over his systems. He decided to peek outside, seeing that the Energon eater was still distracted. He was far from the spacebridge by now, but thankfully, so was the beast. Scanning it, he noticed a few more details about his enemy.

One: The Energon eater had shallow scars. Some fresh and some old.

Two: Going around, it avoided crumpled areas. When it collided with the ships, it was aiming for their dull parts.

Three: Its antennas were flying everywhere. Its tips looked and glowed just like the real Energon crystals. Or maybe… They were real.

Jazz focused on the antennas.

“Energon.” He repeated the thought that appeared in his mind. After a second, he decided to move. The Energon eater finally headed for his current hideout. It kept bumping into every obstacle, trying to sniff him out.

Suddenly, it heard metal footsteps on a ship right next to it. It moved its head and saw a silhouette running. It growled, making its antenna flare. Without any warning, a giant claw swiped at the direction of the figure as if trying to cut him to ribbons. Jazz kept running, but as the claws were about to reach him, he suddenly turned towards it.

Without any warning, he exploded, causing a big eruption of fireworks. The sound and the light scared the predator, making it shrivel and shake its head.

Some distance away, a quick transformation revealed a set of speakers. A soundblast was aimed at the flying space debris. The Energon eater turned towards the sound, but it was too late. A part of a wreck collided with it. Its sharp edges skinned its side, making it let out a pained roar.

In a second, it spotted Jazz just ahead. He was jumping from one vessel to another. The angry beast tried to strike him again, this time, with its antenna. The same thing happened: an explosion of blinding fireworks, which caused it to slither away. Then, a big ball of junk hit its other side.

The beast began circling, searching for the unseen opponent.

Then, it saw him.

Them.

From various parts of the graveyard, the Energon eater saw multiple silhouettes of Jazz leaving their hiding spots at once. They were retreating in all possible directions.

The monster growled, then roared again. Its four antennas, claws and tail began tearing the place apart. Jazz after Jazz ceased to exist. Each one was placed in a specific way, so when the monster striked, it got impaled on something sharp. It didn’t let that stop it.

Finally, it was about to swing its tail at one of the last Jazzes and he quickly rolled out of the way. The tail hit hard, but once it began retracting, Jazz used his grappling hook and grabbed onto it. Curling in himself, he allowed the limb to swoop him off his feet.

Jazz’s speakers blasted another soundwave attack behind himself and it helped him to take a bigger swing. Before he knew, he was activating his magnets, transforming and driving towards the monster’s head on its back.

The Energon eater started swiping at itself, trying to shake him off. It almost did, but Jazz transformed, jumped over its claws, and then returned to driving ahead. When he was close, his front window flickered green.

After a second, some of the nearby ships’ systems came to life.

“Warning!”

“Warni-ng!”

“Warn-!” Shkt!

“A ho-stile vessel-

“- vessel approaching!”

“Activating-!” Shkt!

“-Defense protocol activated!”

Multiple broken, glitched-out computers spoke one after another.

At once, the ships around them fired with everything they got at the Energon eater. Rusty missiles, weakened lasers, falling apart projectiles. The creature shrieked, trying to cover itself. This wouldn’t do it much harm, but at least it was distracted.

Jazz finally came close to one of the closest antennas he could reach. It kept yanking in all directions, almost hitting him in the head.

The Autobot avoided it once, before he jumped on it. He landed right next to the crystal. The Cybertronian grabbed onto it tightly before pulling out his hidden blades. He knew that he lacked the strength to cut it with only one move. Instead, he dug both of the weapons into the skin.

It caused a reaction and the Energon eater made a sharp turn. However, Jazz was expecting it. Without any warning, he used his blades to pull the antenna up. Right in the range of an old turbine they were heading towards.

The Autobot looked away immediately. In no time at all, he heard an ugly slicing sound, followed by a shriek that almost made him turn off his hearing. When he looked back, he saw that he was no longer attached to the Energon eater. The antenna, or what was left of it, was drifting into open space. The crystal was right before him.

“Yes!” Jazz cheered. It was too bad that in his small celebration, he lost track of the Energon eater.

Without any warning, the monster emerged from the darkness behind him. With just one swoop, it swallowed Jazz and the crystal whole.

“You know what I think? That Lockdown guy is so jealous of you!” Blurr claimed, placing a hand on Clobber’s arm. The younglings and Junkyard were walking up the stairs onto the main deck. The bigger Rogue was avoiding eye contact with both of them. “You’re strong, smart and way more beautiful in and out! He must’ve betrayed you because he was trying to feel better about himself!”

“Blurr, I haven’t gotten to punch anything in three hours. The more you talk, the harder it gets to resist the itch!...” Clobber said, gritting her teeth tightly.

Their doomed conversation was abruptly brought to an end when the shouting reached their audials. They halted.

“What was that?” Blurr muttered.

“Probably just Wreck-Gar experimenting again.” Clobber rolled her eye in annoyance.

“... Nay. Not this time.” Junkyard said, staring ahead. The two were almost caught off guard by the seriousness he was displaying, both in his tone and on his face. Suddenly, the Junkion ran. The two followed obediently after a second.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach the scene. Rum-Maj and others were running around urgently, shouting or bringing over seemingly random scrap. The whole crew was now reunited.

“I don’t want excuses! I want him back on the line!” Rum-Maj growled while Ashtray and Trashbin were tinkering with some new device at her side. She turned around to face them. “Do you have anythin’ yet?!”

“We’re trying! We’re trying!" Trashbin said as he shuffled through a metal catalogue of various scrap sculptures. The Junkions were trying to build something, failing, and then reassembling and trying again. Wreck-Gar was running in circles, babbling about ‘it’ being his fault.

“What’s going on?” Blurr asked. They all barely reacted when the two Rogues and the missing Junkion joined them.

“Good, the reinforcements are here! Help them or so help me!” The captain barked.

“Aye-ey!” Junkyard had no idea what was happening, but he jumped over to them and joined their efforts.

“We need to fire more cannons!” Anode shouted.

“And aim where?!” Rum-Maj gestured at the Energon eater swimming in the ocean of colourful lights in the distance. “We might hit that stupid pretty face by accident!”

“He’s going to die without our help!” Anode retorted.

“It’s my fault! It’s my fault! I should’ve apologised earlier!” Wreck-Gar kept repeating.

Clobber and Blurr glanced at the graveyard. The Energon eater had slowed down its movement and rested on top of one of the old cruisers. The explosions and vibrant lights around it were unmistakable, but they had to pause and rethink. There was no way that…

It took them a second to accept the truth and their optics widened.

“Wait…” Blurr began unsurely.

“Jazz is in there?!” Clobber shouted. “With that monster?!”

“The idiot brought this upon himself!” Rum-Maj snarled. “Said it was the only way for ya to get to Cybertron!”

At that news, the younglings looked at each other, very much horrified.

Jazz onlined to the steady rhythm of his own systems. He groaned, slowly raising his head. In seconds, he registered that he was laying on something shaggy and pretty slimey.

Quickly, he remembered what had happened and snapped out of it. The first thing he ought to do was search for the Energon crystal which thankfully was nearby. Its blue glow was illuminating the sharp teeth and the pieces of wreckage that had been swallowed along with him.

However, that light was fleeting. The crystal was moving up and down and Jazz quickly realised that it was dangling from an edge. The Cybertronian’s stable vent rhythm hitched. He shot from the ground as soon as possible and threw himself at the crystal.

The Energon began falling into the dark pit, but didn’t get far when Jazz grabbed onto the antenna still attached to it. He gasped, swiftly pulling it back into safe distance.

His peace didn’t last long because he sensed movement just above him. He looked up and immediately slashed the air with his hidden blade. The Autobot cut a blue glowing rope which was stalking him from the above.

The ceiling began acting weird, to say the least. Its surface began splitting apart in places and released more of these long glowing ropes. They began progressing towards Jazz at large.

The Cybertronian tried to defend himself from them, cutting them one by one. He had a feeling at some point, or rather, a need to look back and see if the crystal was alright.

The horrifying realisation hit him that he got way too distracted. Three of the blue strings completely ignored his presence and instead went after his loot. One had already attached itself to its surface and the other ones were in the process of joining it.

“No, no, no, no!” He muttered desperately. Jazz bolted towards the Energon and cut the ropes, severing their connection with the crystal. He managed to save it, but the price he had to pay was severe.

The Autobot was so busy saving the crystal that he let some of the strings too close to his comfort zone. He reacted when he felt one really close but swung his blade too fast too late. In seconds, he felt something wet attaching to his chest and sticking really tightly.

A painful surge of energy shot through his entire system. The Energon lines on his arms, legs and neck began progressively getting more visible with every agonising second. Jazz couldn’t stop it. He choked on his own scream as his Energon was being drained from his body.

He focused through the pain for one fleeting moment, and with a shaking hand, cut the string. As soon as the connection was lost, Jazz collapsed onto the crystal. His vision became blurry for just a second which made looking forward more difficult. Unfortunately, the one thing he could see clearly were more glowing shapes already beginning heading his way.

Jazz panted. With a hazy mind, he began searching his body, looking for anything that could help him. After a second, he pulled out the chips he took from the datapad out of his subspace.

The ropes were getting closer, keeping the sadistically slow pace. It gave the Autobot time to pull out his arm cable and connect it to the chips. Whatever he did with them, the metal parts soon began overflowing with energy.

Then, Jazz dug one of his blades into the energon crystal, cutting off a shard from it. He grabbed it, keeping the overcharged chips away, and then threw it towards the teeth.

After a second, he finally aimed and threw the chips in the same direction, then rolled out of the way with the rest of the cut antennae. The particles soon found themselves between the Energon shard. The energy buzzing from them created some sort of field around it, making its electricity run through it as well. The piece began glowing more intensely.

Meanwhile on the outside, the Energon eater was still resting. Without any warning, its entire maw was electrocuted. The monster squawked, releasing a puff of smoke from its mouth, and then spat out everything it had been holding inside.

Jazz was launched across the graveyard, maybe even faster than when he was in the cannon. He was holding onto a flat metal plate, keeping the crystal close.

This time, he didn’t have nearly as soft of a landing. He crashed into several floating piles and then made a hole in one of the ships, falling into the lower deck.

The Cybertronian coughed a fit through the smoke and dust that began flying everywhere. No words could describe the pain he was in at the moment. His blue veins were still visible and he was completely covered in space debris. The only bright side was that he continued holding the crystal.

The creature growled, more mad than ever. It threw itself back intk the chase after the Autobot. As it was flying, the cut in place of its missing antennae disappeared. It was healed with the help of the Energon it had extracted from Jazz.

The former Spec-Ops could still feel his head spinning, but he didn’t care. He wrapped the Energon crystal around his grappling hook’s line, then tied it to his back. He could hear his enemy already getting close, so limping, he tried to find a way back to the spacebridge ship.

The Junkions worked together to create a drone with weapons sticking out of it - swords, blasters, and a few hammers. They were almost done with its constructions when Rum-Maj stepped in.

“What are you doin’?! That thing’s way too small to send it out!” She said, pointing at the drone that was about as big as a tall Cybertronian.

“We don’t have enough parts for a really big one!” Ashtray reported.

“Then quit wastin’ time and start buildin’ until the parts give out!” The captain shouted.

Meanwhile, Clobber and Blurr were observing the mayhem. They saw the Energon eater tottalling the place, knowing it was chasing their captain. The voices of the pirates behind them were not giving them any comfort at all.

“It’s going to be too late by the time they’re finished!” Detritus said, standing by Rum-Maj’s side.

“It’s all we can do.” Rum-Maj tsked bitterly. Those words settled deep within both of the younglings. Caused them nothing but anger. However, unlike with the Junkions, the feeling of hopelessness was absent. In fact, the only thing they heard was a call for action.

“All you guys can do…” Blurr said suddenly, facing them with a determined expression.

“But not us!” Clobber followed his lead.

“Out of the slagging question!” Rum-Maj whipped back at them, causing her entire crew to freeze. Even Wreck-Gar stopped running in circles. “Have you seen the size of that goliath?!”

“Our captain needs us!” Blurr protested.

“It’s his own fault he’s in there!” The captain argued. “I’m not lettin’ you two get hurt because of him!”

“We’ve been through worse together!” Clobber said. “And Jazz never left us! Now it’s time we returned the favour!”

Nobody dared to step in between the Rogues and their captain. The Junkion all looked in different directions just to avoid even the slightest confrontation….

All except for Anode.

“Ya must have space foam between your earholes if you think-!”

“Let them go.” The newest member of the crew's voice suddenly joined. Rum-Maj snapped her head towards her immediately. The Junkions were staring at Anode, baffled.

“What’d you just say, green bean?!” The captain demanded.

“They want to be with their captain.” Anode looked at her bravely, then added: “Sticking together is the Junkion way. Even at the end of the world.”

Rum-Maj seemed to go through a parrade of emotions. Fury, even betrayal... But then, something began softening. The more she kept staring at the unblinking eyes of the former Star Seeker, the more the power was beginning to shift.

Jazz hopped over the rubble, wheezing. The Energon crystal shook harder with every second, which didn’t help his stress metres in the slightest. He continued running while trying to stabilise the rope wrapped around his back better. The Energon eater still hadn’t found him, which allowed him to search for the spacebridge ship.

“Almost there!...” He motivated himself, despite not being able to see his target.

He stopped by the cliff between two ships and braced himself. Before he jumped, however, the ground under him erupted. The tall shape emerged from inside of the cliff and destroyed the ships and sending the Autobot flying back.

It finally found him.

Jazz rose his head from his position on his stomach. No matter what he’d do, he wouldn’t be able to get away this time. The monster seemed to know that, too. Without wasting more time, it charged straight at him. Jazz decided he’d rather not watch that and shielded himself with his arms.

Before the giant maw closed on him again, suddenly, a hovercraft flew by with a battle scream. It hit the Energon eater’s head so hard it pushed it out of the way, making it whine in surprise.

At this point, Jazz could barely keep his eyes open, but even then, he looked back up. He saw the hovercraft transforming and flying back at the monster. It was Clobber.

“Jazz!” Before the Autobot could fully process the horror of her presence, a blue blur stopped right by him. Blurr kneeled, retracting his visor and grabbing onto his captain’s arms. He was wearing the Junkions’ gravity belt.

“What did that ugly fish do to you?” The youngling asked and Jazz knew he was staring at his still visible lines.

“What are you doing here?!” He demanded, refusing the help in getting up. He moved onto his knees on his own. “It’s dangerous!”

“You don’t say???” Blurr gestured behind them in an exaggerated manner.

Suddenly, the two of them felt a quake. Clobber had deployed her seismic generators as she fought back against the Energon eater. The weaponised waves were going off one by one and some had reached them. Blurr almost jumped when he felt Jazz’s unexpectedly strong grip in his arm.

“Go back!” He ordered.

“What?! No, we’re not leaving without you!”

“Kid, you don’t get it! There’s a spacebridge here!” Jazz claimed. “If I can get it running, we could be on Cybertron in less than a few hours!”

Blurr fell silent, eyes going wide.

Clobber was pushed back and landed on a debris asteroid. The Energon eater was pushed back as well. It regained its balance and stopped mid-graveyard. It roared terribly. Clobber roared terribly back. The creature flew back at her and she had her seismic generators ready.

After a few seconds, Jazz and Blurr heard a huge commotion just outside the wreck.

“Go!” Jazz ordered, struggling to stand up. “I need you to trust me one last time! I can do this!”

“No, you can’t!” Blurr’s sudden protest caught him off guard. “Look at you, you’re barely holding yourself together!”

“Our medics can fix me up! They can’t if we’re still stuck in space!”

“They can’t if you’re dead either! The risk isn’t worth it!”

“The risk is always worth it!” Jazz finally shouted, making Blurr back off. “You are worth it!”

After a second, he whipped back and tried to move. His limbs screamed from pain, but he kept going.

“I can do this.” He implored. “I have to do this or the whole journey was for nothing!... All of this will be just a bad memory. You won’t have to feel sorry about my ship ever again.”

He was so focused on keeping his body in a straight line that he didn’t notice a missing metal plate in the floor. His foot fell into a hole and he tripped.

Jazz gasped, but before falling, or worse, damaging the crystal… he was caught. Blurr held him tightly, preventing him from tumbling down.

“Coach… Come on. You know you’re smarter than that.” He began. “This isn’t even the first time we’ve lost a ship. It hurt as much as it did because it was yours.”

“... I want you to know what our home looks like.” Jazz murmured. It was such a simple sentence, yet after he’d said it, his head involuntarily collapsed.

“We do, too. But if that’s what needs to happen, if we have to start from scratch… I won’t mind sticking around for a while longer.” The youngling said, then offered the Autobot a smile. “No matter where we’re heading, as long as we’re together, we’ll figure it out, right? Like a captain with his crew.”

The Autobot tried to say something in return once or twice, but he couldn’t find any words. He wanted to, but-

Suddenly, a strong quake snapped him out of it. Blurr’s hold on him tightened as he prevented him from falling over again.

“But maybe we should get out of the lair of the big scary monster first!” Blurr said urgently.

“I… don’t know if I can transform like this.” Jazz admitted, with some reservation.

“You don’t have to.” Blurr said, letting go of him and beginning to transform.

The Energon eater tried to get to Clobber, but instead, collided with a nearby chunk of some cruiser and sent it flying towards her. The bigger Rogue quickly dealt with it by smashing it, creating a big mess.

While the metal pieces were floating all around her, she deployed her laser and aimed at the monster. She shot it a couple of times. Some lasers hit the rubble instead of the Energon eater, but she counted at least three direct hits.

Meanwhile, the blue car was driving from ship to ship with Jazz on top of it. The Autobot was holding very tightly onto its roof, trying not to fall off. Since there was not much that he could do from that position, he observed the battle going on right next to them.

He saw Clobber shooting at the monster. A pang of anxiety arose within him when her lasers were doing little to stop it from charging at her. Thankfully, she seemed to take notice of that too. When the beast was approaching, she aimed under it. It was unclear what she fired at, but she caused an explosion which consumed the shrieking Energon eater.

The blast radiation reached them as well. Blurr’s car-mode shook for a bit, making the youngling let out a startled cry. Jazz held tighter. He looked up to keep track of the rest of the confrontation, when suddenly, he noticed something in the distance.

There it was, the ship he was looking for. The inactive ring of the spacebridge was already smiling at him on the inside.

The weight of Jazz’s back suddenly became heavier. His spark ached, knowing he had to abandon what seemed to be the last hope of them ever reaching Cybertron.

And yet…

The Autobot remembered the original deal he struck with Rum-Maj. Glancing around the graveyard, he saw abandoned ships of all kinds. They were even worse now that they had tampered with them, but they were still there. Maybe, just maybe, not all was lost… The gears in his brain started working overtime. A crazy idea came to his mind shortly after, but now that Clobber and Blurr were on the scene, he was more confident with executing it. Or at least trying.

“Blurr!” Jazz called out after a second, pointing ahead. “I’m gonna need you to drive towards that ring!”

“Wow, am I really that bad at pep talk?” Blurr asked.

“That ain’t a ride for us!” Jazz claimed.

The Eneron eater charged at Clobber again. She was too slow this time and didn’t punch it fast enough. Without any warning, the beast whipped around and whacked her with its tail. She was launched backward and crashed in one of the wrecks, which split in half.

The pain resulting from the impact actually made her stop this time. She looked back up after a second, nothing but pure wrath in her eye.

She exchanged her laser for her seismic fists again, then grabbed the nearest chunk of rubble and threw it at her opponent. Her weapons gave her projectiles a much needed boost that made them faster and crash harder on her enemy’s skull. She kept doing that, all the while the blue car was nearing towards the spacebridge ship in the background.

Blurr finally reached their destination. The second he stopped on board the vessel, Jazz hopped off him and rushed towards the ring. The blue Cybertronian followed his footsteps once he transformed back. Both of them ducked behind the opened panel. The elder Cybertronian handed him the tools and the two of them began messing with its circuitry.

Clobber transformed in order to hover out of the way as the antennae whipped in her direction. Before she had a chance to fully transform back, one of her arms began sticking out of her alt-mode and she grabbed onto the whisker. It thrashed and yanked the youngling around for a while, but eventually, she fully transformed back to her robot form.

Without any warning, she dropped onto the Energon eater’s back with all her weight which actually threw it off balance. With another shrieks piercing her audials, she kept punching. Seismic blow after seismic blow, Clobber gave the beast’s back everything she had. With each new hit, she kept screaming her mind off. All of the frustration and pain she felt during all this time was finally leaving her. She kept at it, not caring whether she would fall off or not.

“We need to connect it to the power source!” Jazz deduced, taking off the crystal and placing it on the floor. “There should be a big dark cable lying around! Find it!”

Blurr hurriedly looked around. Then, his gaze wandered behind the panel and his expression immediately turned aghast.

“Uuh!…” He almost gulped. Jazz followed his eyes. Behind the panel, there was laying a big black cable fitting his description. The problem was, it was cut.

“Scrap!” Jazz cursed, patting his body from up to down. “I don’t have anything to cover this with! We need to search other ships and find a replacement!”

Blurr looked at Clobber. She was still screaming and punching the Energon eater, pushing herself to her limit. Momentarily, his vision fell on his own hands. He faced a minor conflict at that moment, but after a second, he curled his fingers into fists.

“... No, we don’t.” He finally said, making Jazz pause.

Clobber started panting. Her punches sped up and her voice became raspy. She wanted to tear that thing apart. She wanted it to feel her pain. It needed to pay for what it did - Everything! She felt emotions so intense she was burning up. That heat reached her optic, which, unknowingly to her, began flickering with soft orange light.

A few more waves of his tools and the spacebridge’s panel made a couple of sparks. Those few sparks seemed to be it until Jazz punched the box’s side. It immediately kickstarted the whole system and the holographic screens appeared on top of it. The Autobot threw himself on his feet and connected his arm cable into the right slot, beginning to vigorously type on the projected keyboard.

Meanwhile, Blurr was holding the two parts of the black cable, standing a considerable distance away. He was sitting on top of the Energon crystal.

“You sure about this, kid?” Jazz had to make sure.

“Yeah! Just, uh… You might want to take cover!” Blurr warned.

The sound of her metal hitting against something deafened her to everything. The world stopped existing just for a moment. The monster itself stopped existing just for a moment. Just for one moment, it was only her and her white rage.

It had the shape of Lockdown’s hooded face.

His red eyes were mocking her with every moment.

“Clobber!” And just like that, the moment had passed. Clobber came to her senses when she heard Jazz’s voice in her comm. Her eye returned to normal. “Lure the Energon eater towards us! We’ve got a plan!”

With a sobering gasp, Clobber remembered why she was there in the first place. Bowing her head, she noticed that even after everything, the damage she’d made was quickly disappearing due to the regeneration of the monster. The Rogue was disappointed, but at least her violent urge was gone.

The Energon eater was flying out of control all around the graveyard. Without any warning, Clobber yanked it by its remaining two antennas, making it scream, and pulled on them where she pleased. Her grip was strong enough to change the monster’s temporary trajectory and guided it towards the spacebridge ship.

Jazz slid his hand across the controlling panel, making the machine sing. Blurr already felt an electric charge building inside of his spark. He tightened his grip on the two cables, making sure not to drop them.

Clobber held onto the Energon eater for as long as she could. Suddenly, it made one sharp jerk of its head, and finally, she slipped. The monster felt that as well and threw her with another unexpected head motion.

The Rogue flew towards Jazz and Blurr, crashing on the wall right next to them. The wall behind her folded itself like a sheet of paper and trapped her inside.

Blurr could really feel it now. The energy was dancing all around him, both from the cables and the Energon crystal. He was the centre of it all. Even though it wasn’t the first time it happened, only now did he realise the unexplainable weirdness of the whole process. He could best describe the feeling as if someone was tingling him with warmed-up irons. Even with the feeling growing, he closed his eyes and stayed calm.

Jazz waited for the right moment. The Energon eater was coming in hot. Hotter… His visor was completely locked on it…

The Energon eater opened its toothy maw. It was seconds away.

Click!

The Autobot activated the machine. Blurr braced himself as the electricity struck him. It didn’t hurt, but it sure felt a lot.

Suddenly, a huge portal appeared right in front of the striking Energon eater. It was too close to turn back, so instead, it fell right into it. Its long body kept going in and in, until finally, its tail pushed itself onto the other side.

Jazz hit the turn-off button the second it disappeared. The machine began shutting itself down, and so did the spacebridge. The portal fell apart before it had a chance to properly close. It collapsed in on itself, making a very bright explosion of light. The Cybertronians turned away, shielding their eyes.

The remaining energy spread through the cosmos in a spectacle of colourful waves. They lit up the entirety of the graveyard like a miniature, thankfully not as harmful sun. The Junkions would see it all the way from their boat. It lasted for just a couple of minutes, but they found themselves rooted in place some time after that as well.

“I’ll be discontinued…” Rum-Maj murmured as she and her entire crew stared speechless…

“They did it!” Wreck-Gar was the first to cheer for them and soon others followed his example. The loud applause erupted around them, the Junkions were bumping into, hitting and shaking each other. Anode could finally take a breather.

The wall that Clobber had crash landed into made an unpleasant scream when the bigger Rogue pushed it apart so she could free herself. Groaning, she returned to her feet with the support of the rubble around her.

“Clobber!” After a second, Blurr ran up to her. She felt him grabbing her arm. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah…” She replied, holding onto her head. “I’m good, just…”

The youngling blinked her yellow optic, realising something.

“You know what? I feel pretty good.” She said, smiling. That didn’t last long because another realisation hit her almost as hard as the Energon eater. “What about…?”

A sudden cough alarmed them. Jazz was trying to rise from the controlling panel he had collapsed onto. Momentarily, he saw that the two were looking at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He apologised, wiping his face.

After a second, Clobber and Blurr stepped towards him. Jazz could see so much fear but also relief in them it was almost unbearable. The blue Cybertronian was the first to start directly approaching him. The Autobot finally straightened up and turned towards him. When Blurr gradually began closing distance between them, almost hesitantly, he knew exactly what was coming. Jazz began spreading his arms in invitation, lips twitching upwards just a little bit…

Only for him to feel his shoulders being squeezed.

“Do that again and I’ll dismantle you myself!” Blurr shouted, throttling the life out of Jazz’s already barely-functioning body.

“What were you thinking?!” Clobber joined. The blue youngling released the elder Cybertronian so his partner could shove him. “Do you have a death wish?!”

“Honestly, Jazz, you thought you could take all that on your own?! Egomaniac much?!”

Jazz had little choice but to listen to the scolding, even as it got incomprehensible as the two kept overshouting each other. He was frozen for a good while, taking it all in. While they kept going, he could feel something alleviating from him. With that feeling rising, his posture began to slip.

The first snort escaped him soon after. He tried to stop the rest and cover his mouth with his hand, but ultimately, it did little to suppress his laughter. The Rogues stopped, having no idea what was going on.

“What’s so funny, old man?!” Blurr demanded.

“Sorry- Hah! Sorry. Just that…” Jazz tried to compose himself. After a second, he grinned and gave them finger guns. “The students become the masters, eh?”

The two thought for a moment. Then, they understood.

“Uuuuugh!” They both wailed in agony.

“Whyyyy did you do that to us?!” Clobber whined.

“Being responsible sucks!” Blurr added.

“Right?! I had to deal with that all the time!” Jazz shouted back.

Suddenly, they heard a commotion. The sound of propellers made them all look up. The drone that the Junkions had been building was floating above the graveyard, slowly drifting forward. After a second, Jazz huffed.

“Looks like our ride is here.” He claimed. “Come on, Rum-Maj’s got a big paycheck waiting for us- Hey!”

The Autobot yelped when he suddenly felt big claws wrapping around him. Without any warning, Clobber threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“You think we should tie him?” Blurr asked her.

“No, I’m pretty sure he knows every knot in existence.” She replied. “Maybe he has a turn-off button.”

“If he did, he uninstalled it a long time ago.” Blurr replied.

“Oh, ha-ha. Knock yourselves out.” Jazz said. Suddenly, he felt Clobber begin to move. All he could do was dangle from her shoulder as the two headed towards the drone.

“What if we freezed him?” Clobber offered again. “Worked on you that one time, didn’t it?”

“Maybe. Wait! Wait! Let’s just put him in the Junkions’ giant magnet!”

“Seriously, kids, put me down. This ain’t funny anymore.” Jazz tried again, beginning to thrash in the youngling's hold. It did little to help him regain his freedom.

“And we need to search him, just to make sure he won’t try to get out.” Clobber said yet again.

“Yeah, good point. Let’s just Jazz-proof the whole ship at this point.” Blurr agreed.

“Kids!” Jazz shouted, but he was ignored again. That unsuccessful negotiation continued throughout their entire return.

Some time later, the graveyard was bustling with life. The Junkions parked their ship close, and scattering, began extracting the scrapped ships and whatever else was left of them. Trashbin and Junkyard even brought wielders which they used to melt down the parts that were too big to carry.

Piece by piece, construction after construction, they were getting more and more materials.

At the same time, Rum-Maj was walking alone and inspecting the ships. After a few minutes, she found herself next to a barrier and jumped overboard. The Junkion came through a wall of another ship’s ceiling and landed on a stable ground with a huge thud. Standing back up, she began looking around, curious about her finding.

The captain saw a bridge. At least, that’s what it looked like. There was a lone chair stationed in the middle of the room. Just a level down, there was a controlling panel with empty seats. About four stations.

After finishing scanning the place, Rum-Maj pulled out a strange–looking digital camera and started snapping photos.

Jazz was looking out at the working Junkions from aboard their boat. He made one sudden movement in order to find a better observing position, when suddenly a crackle of energy reached his audials. He sighed.

“I was just trying to find a better sitting position!” He said, turning his head to the side and facing Blurr’s stink eye with annoyance. The youngling squinted after a second. He pointed both of his fingers at his eyes and Jazz’s visor a few times, before pulling back.

The Autobot was sitting on a big sunbed surrounded by Energon cubes. The lines on his arms and legs began gradually losing their glow and returning to normal. After checking on his captain, Blurr returned to Clobber and Makeshift who were sitting some distance away and playing cards provided by the Junkions.

All Jazz could do was press his back against the bed. Not really knowing what to make out of his forced retirement, his visor began slowly losing its glow. Before he fully drifted off, something suddenly fell on his lap and startled him.

“Best I could find. Let us know when to start renovatin’.” Rum-Maj said, passing by right next to him. Jazz watched her leave for a few seconds and then picked up a bunch of holographic pictures. His crew noticed that he was looking at something and in seconds gathered around him. They saw an old Cybertronian ship. No association, as far as they could tell. It had holes, singular patches of rust, and very ugly creme-coloured walls.

“We’re supposed to be flying in this from now on?” Makeshift was the first to comment.

“It’s better than not having a ship at all.” Jazz said, but he himself struggled to find any positives in the offer.

“It’s so big…” After a second, Clobber said in amazement while looking at how many doors were in the hallway. “With all these rooms, maybe we can finally have our own living spaces.”

“And I could race there without a problem!” Blurr added cheerfully.

“Wait…” Clobber looked closer. Then, she gasped. “Blurr, it has a refueling station!”

“What?! I’ve always wanted to have one! We can have breakfasts together at a real table!”

Jazz looked back at the pictures. With their perspective in mind, he shed a whole new look at the place.

“Yeah… I see what you mean.” He nodded after a second. “It’s a bit of a fixer upper, but we might just make it work.”

The three looked at Makeshift expectantly. He shot them a glare, but then, he sighed.

“As long as it flies, I suppose.” He finally replied.

“Looks like it’s decided, then.” Jazz grinned, swiping the surface of the pictures.

Finally, the renovations were ready to begin.

Upon closer consideration, and some much needed discussion, the Cybertronians decided to join the Junkions in their efforts. Both crews stood in front of the ship that was being pulled out from the rest of the rubble by the giant magnet. All of them had tools and metal pieces that would be used in the construction

Wreck-Gar was standing in front of the gathering. When Rum-Maj saw that the magnet did its work and pulled the vessel out, gently as if handling an egg, she gave him a nod. The Junkion’s whole face smiled. He raised his arms along with the accordion he was holding.

Very slowly, he pulled the instrument apart and made a prolonged noise.

With that opening, the work began.

There was certainly a lot of it. The two groups scattered and began cleaning the halls from the rubble, pouring some kind of substance on the rust patches and making them disappear, fixing the walls, mopping and everything in between. All the while, Wreck-Gar was accompanying them with a catchy accordion tune. It was something completely new, something that inspired rather than annoyed. The Junkions seemed to think so, too. Throughout the halls echoed the clankings of pipes, the tinking of tools, the stomping of feet and the clapping of hands which all contributed to the beat.

Jazz was completely in his element. He nodded his head to the rhythm while he was patching up the floors in the ship’s medical bay they had no idea they had.

Blurr walked into one end of the hallway, giving the corridor a dangerous glare. After a second, he transformed and revved his engine. Activating his slow-motion device, he zoomed all the way through it.

He drove straight, in zigzags and took some very risky-looking turns. Wreck-Gar, Junkyard and Rum-Maj were busy with their own duties, but they all felt a big draft passing by them. A bunch of flying thrash flew by seconds later.

Clobber also felt it and saw the objects missing her and she couldn’t help but follow them with her gaze, laughing.

When Blurr reached the end of the road, he transformed. He fell out of the ship’s opened entrance and grabbed onto its underside, beginning to hang from it. All of the rubble that followed him fell out of the ship and began drifting into the abyss.

In the meantime, somebody else was just as busy. Anode’s hands shook as she held one last piece of rust-covered block. She was trying to put it on top of a construction of some sort. The former Star Seeker finally gathered her courage, and after a second, put it in its place between an old heater and a big cup. When it didn’t collapse upon contact, she slowly backed off and joined the Junkions who were with her - Nancy, Ashtray and Thrashbin.

The three of them studied the construction - a statue made entirely out of junk. It had six arms covered in broken lights and other things. Anode glanced at them somewhat nervously as they began analysing her first artpiece. The group tilted their heads from side to side a couple of times, squinting judgmentally. The green pirate began getting worried.

Suddenly, her anxiety was lifted when Nancy wrapped her arm around her with a huge grin. The other Junkions also came closer and cheerfully began cheering for her. When the new Junkion felt Ashtray’s fist on her helm, she couldn’t stop herself from chuckling.

Makeshift had already picked a room for himself. It was one of the bigger quarters of the ship. While he was in the process of dusting off its sparse furniture, mostly a recharge hug and a big shelf, he could hear the laughter coming from just outside of the room. He shook his head, before returning to cleaning.

Jazz arrived on the bridge and immediately felt optimistic when the automatic doors opened for him. He had to dance around Junkyard who was fixing the ship’s electric panels on the floor, then found himself right by his new captain chair. It was much bigger than his old one, more important somehow.

However, looking around, he felt like it was way too empty. That’s when he saw Rum-Maj and the Rogues painting the walls metallic black with their mops. Some of the paint from Clobber’s ‘paintbrush’ fell on top of Blurr’s helm. The blue youngling yelped, then shot her a glare. His revenge was imminent because he purposefully splashed her arm.

The bigger Cybertronian turned to him and it was his cue to start running. She followed him and they began clashing their mops like swords, accidentally getting the paint all over themselves.

Jazz chuckled with his entire shoulders at that. Then, he glanced at the ceiling which had already been patched up. He noticed that it had a similar structure to the Ark - a circle-shaped bridge and pretty steep roof. In a moment of reminiscence, he suddenly had an idea.

He walked over to Detritus who was dusting off his hands after fixing the controlling panel. The Autobot beckoned him closer, and once he got to his level, he began whispering to his ear.

After a few minutes, Jazz found himself on top of the Junkion first mate’s shoulders. Both of them were holding the mops and coating the ceiling with blue and grey paint. Seeing that, everyone present started picking up the mops and joining in. Wreck-Gar leaned down and took a hold of two, offering one to Rum-Maj. She smirked and accepted it.

Jazz showed them all a holographic screen with the image he wanted them to paint. He oversaw the process through to the very end, until the last small boop of the mop to fill in one tiny spot. Once the job was finished, the Autobot returned to the ground. Everyone was dirty with colourful paint, but they looked at their masterpiece with satisfaction.

However, neither Blurr nor Clobber seemed to be quite done yet. The younglings suddenly grabbed Jazz’s arms and began dragging him out of the bridge. He was confused by that, but he let them drag himself along.

They took him outside of the bridge and led him to some seemingly empty corner. Once they reached their destination, they finally let him go. Jazz once again found himself speechless when he saw what they wanted to show him.

In one of the corners of the ship, there were doodles all over the walls made with what appeared to be cyber pens. They presented them and the adventures they had together.

Their first encounter and the fight with the giant worms turned into a baby giant worm’s rescue.

Their fight with the Stunticons and the liberation of the marketplace.

Their encounter with Makeshift. However, instead of their battle with him, the picture presented Clobber, Jazz and Blurr holding hands with the Shifter while confetti was flying everywhere.

Their fight with the Sharkticons and Star Seekers in the hangar. The younglings made sure to draw Jazz and Anode looking cool while they fight-danced with Thundertron on the platform above.

Them saving the planet along with Cliffjumper and Prowl by carrying out the flyt eggs out of the proximity of Decepticon deathmachine’s cave.

Of course, Clobber and Blurr also had to include the latest addition - them bravely fighting the Energon eater and making it go through a groundbridge.

Jazz started dumbfounded at the wall for a very long time. Suddenly, Blurr bumped his arm and pointed down. There was something else.

Right under all these adventures, there were Cybertronian letters painted at the bottom. They read: ‘the crew’. It already had one blue hand imprint and one black claw imprint.

Jazz looked at his own hand which was still covered in silver paint. He glanced at the younglings as if asking for permission. The two nodded enthusiastically. The Autobot had no idea how to process any of the things that happened to him recently. All he knew was that for this one day, he was the happiest Cybertronian in existence.

Turning back towards the wall, he pressed his own palm between the two. He pulled back after a few seconds, leaving his silver imprint behind.

Finally, the ship was good as new. At least as good as new as it could get. Its holes were filled, systems replaced, and rust practically gone. All in all, it looked solid.
The Junkions returned the Cybertronians’ belongings in three big crates. Everything, including the tiniest trinkets they had no idea were even taken. Jazz was just getting ready to move his stuff onboard of his new ship, when suddenly, he bumped into Wreck-Gar. After a second, the Junkion revealed whatever he’d been hiding behind his back and showed it to Jazz with a big smile. It was a metal case. Judging by the shape, it was for an electric bass. It had a colourful exterior. At first, Jazz thought it was paint, but upon closer investigation, he concluded that the case was very much made out of manufactured metals stuck together in a clean perfect mend.

“For you!” The Junkion beamed.

“Aww, thanks. You really didn’t have to.” Jazz smiled back, accepting the gift.

“I did have to.” Wreck-Gar said, holding onto his waist with both hands. “It’ll be easier to carry that instrument from now on!”

“I appreciate it. You have no idea how.” The Autobot decided to test it out. He threw it on his back and wrapped his arm around one of its handles. Despite the size, it seemed pretty easy on his posture.

“Take good care of it.” The Junkion said. Suddenly, his voice strangely softened. “And yourself, pretty bot. I hope that someday, we can play in a duet.”

Jazz froze immediately. After a second, he looked at the other, wide-eyed.

“A musician can recognise a fellow musician from a mile away!” Wreck-Gar grinned, tapping the side of his forehead. His business with Jazz seemed to be over, because after a second, he walked away. The Cybertronian was left alone. Some kind of storm raged behind his visor for only a moment. Then, he eyes the case once again and nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Blurr was taking a sweep around his old room for the last time. He made sure he didn’t leave anything behind, and when he finished, he moved to the hallway of the Junkion ship. On his way, he noticed that Clobber’s room was open. After a second, the youngling walked over and peeked inside.

“Clobber?” He called. Just as he suspected, he found his friend inside. Clobber’s room was definitely too small for a bot her size. It was normal for Blurr, but claustrophonic for her. However, unlike any other room, hers had a window. The blue Cybertronian caught her looking out of it.

“Just wanted to let you know that I’m ready. Are… you okay? ” Blurr asked, stepping inside and glancing at her worriedly. He decided to shut the doors behind him.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She answered. “I think I finally figured it out.”
The bigger Rogue turned around to him. That’s when he noticed that she was cradling her starry lamp in her arms. Its top was still very much bent, but it looked like she had recovered it from the pile.

“No matter how hard I try, I can’t get Lockdown out of my head.” She confessed, facing the ground. “I thought forgetting him would help me, but maybe that’s not what I need.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, making her look back up.

“Maybe I’m so angry not because he betrayed me, but because how things ended between us, you know? I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him, tell him everything I wanted to tell him. Maybe what I need is some closure.”

“Oh… Right.” Blurr nodded, but seemed a little lost by her words. “So, you have a plan or something?”

“Maybe not a plan, just an idea.” She mused. “Lockdown is still out there somewhere. It’s only a matter of time until we get another bounty on our heads. I’ll keep a close watch until I find him. Then, we’ll talk. I’ll try to be honest and tell him exactly how I feel. And then…”

Without any warning, Clobber’s seismic generators turned on. It took only one collision of her claws, and in seconds, the lamp was squashed. Blurr gasped in startlement, clearly not expecting that. The former Decepticon let the broken pieces fall out of her hands and rain on the ground. The stars became nothing but dust and burnt embers. The light that once shone so bright flickered for the last time until there was nothing left.

“I’ll kill him.” She finished coldly, leaning close to Blurr. “No more Lockdown, no more trouble.”

Something was different about her voice. It was full of venom, dangerous. In a way, it almost sounded sinister-

“That’s the spirit!” Blurr suddenly exclaimed. “Remove those bad influences from your life!”

“That’s right!” She chuckled, rubbing her back shyly. “Old Clobber, finally learning to stand up for herself, huh?”

“About time! I’m so proud of you!” He said, wasting no time and throwing himself at her. She wasted no time and caught him in her embrace. They two younglings hugged and Clobber smiled. Even as the broken lamp elements were laying everywhere around them…

Finally, everything was all set. Makeshift walked onboard the closely stationed ship without looking back. Clobber was right behind him. She took a moment and waved to the boat itself before she disappeared inside as well.

Jazz was standing in front of the hatch. Anode was with him.

“I guess this is it.” She began. “I have to get used to not having you around all over again.”

“You don’t actually believe this is the last time we meet, right?” Jazz replied.

“I guess not. Not even death seems to be holding you down.” She huffed in amusement. After a second, she looked down and saw that he was extending his hand to her.

“Congrats and good luck in the new chapter of life.” He said with a smile. She returned it momentarily.

“Likewise… pretty bot.” She accepted his gesture after a second and they shook on it. It was a brief thing and they were separated once more.

“As soon as Blurr says his goodbyes, we can hit the road and-” Jazz’s next words were suddenly interrupted. Blurr almost ran into them, but managed to avoid them at the last second. He was holding a bunch of random items that were spilling from his arms.

“Starttheshipstarttheshipstarttheship!” He shouted and ran straight into the ship, confusing the two Cybertronians.

After a second, they heard an uproar of multiple voices.

“Get that scrawny thief!” Rum-Maj’s voice thundered as the pirates were running at them. It didn’t take long for the captain and the new Junkion to piece together what was happening. Jazz and Anode stared at each other.

“You have ten seconds.” She told him, but kept grinning.

“Fair.” He replied, raising his arm. He released his hook inside of the ship, never breaking eye contact. Without any warning, he was yanked inside and the hatch swiftly closed behind him. Seconds later, the powerful engines roared to life. It was without a flare, but still enough to cause an impressive boom. Before the Junkions reached the barriers of their boat, Jazz’s ship already began lifting itself up.

Seeing that they were about to take off, Rum-Maj threw her blade onto the ground with an angry snarl.

“Hey, Rummy!” Unexpectedly, someone was calling to her. The captain looked up. Clobber was standing out of one of the ship’s windows “Once we settle on Cybertron, will you come to our homecoming party?”

“... Sure?” Rum-Maj shouted back an unsure answer to the youngling’s innocent question.

“Great! Love you thaaaaaat much!” Clobber said and spread her arms widely. Suddenly, she pulled back and closed the window behind herself.

Abruptly, the ship finally moved. It took off and started flying away from them as fast as possible. It was impressive how an old thing like that could reach that speed in a short amount of time. Rum-Maj stared at them for a good while as they were disappearing out of their view. However, she snorted after a second and shook her head.

“Little star rascals. How could I ever stay mad at them?” She mused, losing all of her bite. The rest of her crew seemed to share her sentiment.

Jazz entered the bridge where the rest of the crew was already waiting for him. Makeshift was sitting at the steering wheel, Clobber on the left and Blurr on the right. The Autobot couldn’t help but eye the new captain seat. He could still smell its paint after the renovations. However, outside of that, something else seemed to be making him hesitant to sit in it.

“Well, captain?” He was suddenly called by Blurr. “What’s the plan now? Only for today, I can even take a lecture.”

Jazz couldn’t help but smile. Finally, he gave the seat one last glance before sitting down.

“I guess a few words won’t hurt.” He admitted. “We’ve lost a lot of progress during our stay with the Junkions. The good news is, now we can start making up for the lost time. I can’t exactly say how long it will take to reach Cybertron or how dangerous the road will be. Anything can happen.”

“I know one thing that’s going to happen.” Clobber joined, then grinned at Blurr. He returned it without hesitation.

“You read my mind.” Jazz confirmed. “So… Before we settle on Cybertron for good, who’s ready for one last grand adventure?”

“Yes, sir! We are!” The younglings cheered, making Makeshift flinch. The Shifter put his head in his hand when the two started laughing to each other, already discussing what may lurk ahead.

Jazz listened attentively, trying to follow their theories. Unfortunately, he lost track somewhere between Clobber’s fighting an army of extremely tiny robots and Blurr’s meeting with a talking space octopus. Instead, the captain looked up and let his mind wander. His spark emitted a pleasant heat at the sight, and with time, he finally felt his body relaxing.

The entire bridge’s ceiling was covered in black paint, contrasting with other light grey walls. There, right in the middle, was a painting they made together. It was Cybertron, just like Jazz had remembered. Its bright silver and grey lands, its brilliant blue rivers and seas, and of course, the buildings of every colour in existence.

With each day, they were getting closer to it. Trial after trial.

Now, more than ever.

They felt like they were heading home.

TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON CHASE WILL RETURN

Chapter Text

Clobber and Blurr’s hug was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Are you two done packing?” Makeshift asked from the other side. “I want to leave as soon as possible and never think of any of this again!”

The Shifter was waiting just outside of the room with crossed arms. After a second, Clobber opened the door.

“Sorry. We’re ready to go.” She said. Without any warning, Blurr squeezed past them and started running.

“You guys go ahead! I’m gonna say goodbye to Rummy!" He claimed, heading in the opposite direction. In seconds, it was just the two former Decepticons.

“Meet you on the main deck.” She said to him, smiling. The bigger Rogue headed for the stairs. She seemed more confident than during these couple of weeks. Makeshift believed that he was sharing her sentiment,

The Shifter was about to join her, but before he even made a step, he gave the room an impulsive glance. Immediately, he spotted the mess under the window. Makeshift blinked. He turned back to face Clobber, but she was long gone at this point. His white eyes narrowed suspiciously now. After a moment of consideration, he decided to step into the room.

Makeshift walked over to the broken pieces and stood in front of them. He scanned them briefly, before going on one knee to have a better look. His hand searched the pile, sweeping between metal, shattered glass and something that gave him the strangest feeling of familiarity,

Finally, he made up his mind. Reaching out, he carefully picked up one of the bright triangular shards. He brought it close, then flicked it a couple of times in his claws, analysing its paint and edges.

He kept at it for some time. Then, the Shifter lowered the broken piece back onto the ground. He watched as it fell out of his claw and fell on top of the pile. Something kept him in that position for longer than he intended, eyes completely locked on the broken lamp…