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The last thing any bot, be they Autobot, Decepticon, or Vehicon would expect to see in this day and age was a sparkling. No young had been created since the destruction of Cybertron, as far as most were aware. To add to the surprise it was rare for any bots, femme or mech, to find their Conjunx Endura. Even back on Cybertron, it had been extremely rare. So for a simple flamboyant medic to somehow acquire both? Almost unheard of.
So when Knock Out had received the request from Starscream to join the Decepticons, he was understandably cautious. Consulting with his Endurae was almost of no help, since Breakdown was essentially fine with whatever decision Knock Out made. Starscream’s request was not a request simply to become a medic aboard the Nemesis, but to become their Chief Medical Officer. With the promise of protection and rank, Knock Out eventually conceded and decided to relocate their group to the ship, but he refused to brand the Decepticon insignia on himself, his Endurae, or his sparkling.
Unfortunately, since they were both ground vehicles and young Wildbreak had yet to transform at all, they were stuck driving to a meet up location with the ship. They would have taken the groundbridge, but since they had yet to gain security access or their new identification codes from the ship’s temporary leader, they were stuck driving. Since Knock Out was the much faster vehicle of the two, it was decided that he would go ahead of Breakdown and Wildbreak to meet up with the Nemesis faster. There, he could ensure that their positions and codes were secure. Hopefully, Knock Out would only need to perform medical care while they were settling in. Based on recent Autobot and Decepticon interactions however, they weren’t counting on it.
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The first thing Knock Out realized the moment he was brought onto the ship was how dark it was. Seriously, they could stand to clean up the place a bit. Some color or even some shine would most certainly boost morale. Crossing his arms in slight irritation at the realization, he turned to the unnamed Vehicon who stood by the entrance.
“Right this way sir”, the Vehicon spoke, gesturing down the corridor. Knock Out simply gave a nod of confirmation, waiting for the Vehicon- who was not winged, he noticed- to lead the way. Eventually they came to a stop outside a large door, no doubt leading to the bridge of the ship.
“Starscream is awaiting you inside, sir”, the same Vehicon stated. Gesturing to the door. Knock Out gave the Vehicon a coy grin before stepping through the doors. He was almost immediately met with a complaint on how long it took him to get there.
“It’s about time, Knock Out. I do not enjoy being kept waiting”, Starscream’s voice reverberated through the large room. Off to the side, Knock Out noticed Soundwave at the communication hub. He would have to talk to him before leaving the Nemesis for any missions. He turned his attention back to Starscream and began to walk closer to the slim mech with a sigh of annoyance.
“It was a long drive, Starscream. I’m still picking bugs out of my grill”, he said, waving his sharp servos in irritation.
“Yes, right, you’re.. One of those”, Starscream stated, turning to face the medic.
“Come again?” Knock Out asked, raising an optical ridge and crossing his arms. Whether the mech was referring to his vehicle preference or his choice of mechs over femmes, he wasn’t sure. Either way, it annoyed him.
“Never understood why any self-respecting Decepticon would choose automobile for his vehicle mode… when he could have flight”, the mech stated, circling around the back of Knock Out. Knock Out’s eyes followed the Decepticon. He knew what Starscream was implying, but he had been the one to call for him anyways. Knock Out was also technically not a Decepticon, but he was assisting them for the time being.
“I like the way I look in steel-belted radials”, Knock Out instead responded, with a cocky smirk gracing his face plate. Plenty of ‘bots questioned his choices, but he didn’t care as long as he looked good in the style. His current style was definitely one of his favorites. Bright red with gold accents and silver flames, shined by meticulous care. He even used human car washes from time to time and wasn’t afraid to admit that humans could invent some useful items. Not that his sparkmate seemed to care enough to go through one himself, but Knock Out would take the wins where he could get them.
“I take it Lord Megatron requires a laboratory assist?” He asked, walking with Starscream over to a room off to the side where Megatron’s body was currently held. He’d been summoned by Megatron before, when his wounds were too severe to be fixed by a simple patch job. The fact that Starscream was the one who reached out and made the offer, however, implied something massive had happened. Considering the explosion he had seen in the sky the other day, he figured that had something to do with the situation.
“You.. might say that”, Starscream responded, opening the door to reveal Megatron’s body. Knock Out was originally taken aback. To see the large and imposing leader of the Decepticons lying lifeless on a slab, with cables connected to the ship seeming to be the only thing keeping him alive was jarring. He had seen plenty of fatal wounds before during his time as a field medic, but it was still startling to see someone who was always putting on an aggressive and brave face in such a vulnerable state. Considering Starscream’s schemes, he was surprised to see Megatron alive at all while having a large hole in his chest. He determined that Soundwave likely had something to do with that.
“Whoa”, Knock Out finally voiced. He walked over to the data screen next to the slab, reading what the current injuries the Decepticon had. The hole in his chest, for starters. Brain activity was present, but the leader seemed to be in a state of temporary shutdown. There was clearly more going on than what the data reported. Now exactly what it was that was going on would not be easy to discover.
“Sadly, our inevitably former Lord Megatron has been like this for some time. But the crew took a vote and it was decided that an expert might put him on the road to recovery”, Starscream stated. That would explain why Starscream hadn’t just flat out taken Megatron off of life support yet.
“I’ve done plenty of bodywork Starscream, but I’m better at breaking ‘em than fixing ‘em,” Knock Out responded, changing his right arm into his drill. It was true that he fought more than repaired these days, protecting his group by any means necessary. He still recalled his medical training though.
“It would help if I had my assistant”, he grumbled, still slightly peeved that Breakdown had chosen such a slow vehicle. Sure, it provided more bulk and armor, but it had no speed. No finesse.
“I summoned both of you, where is he?” Starscream questioned, finally realizing that Knock Out had arrived first and without his partner.
“We were hot on a fresh energon trail when you called. Breakdown will show when he is through scouting it”, Knock Out replied. Sure, they had been looking for energon when Starscream had summoned them, but they had raided and claimed the supplies on the way. No use in letting Starscream know that Breakdown was even slower than himself when it came to driving, let him think he’s doing something more important.
“What caused this anyways?” He finally turned back to Starscream, his coy voice shifting towards a more serious tone, letting his medic tone take over.
“There was.. an explosion involving a space bridge where our Lord Megatron was caught in the blast”, Starscream responded, feigning concern. His tone wouldn’t fool anyone, let alone Knock Out.
“Right.. Let’s get him moved to the medbay so that I can have better equipment to work with”, he responded. Starscream nodded, calling over a few Vehicons to carefully move Megatron to the medbay, the cables attached to him moving with him.
Walking back out to the bridge, Knock Out sauntered over to Soundwave. He’d met the ‘bot briefly during the war on Cybertron, having provided medical care to his visor and wings in plenty of repairs. He was pleased to note that Laserbeak was still with the mech, knowing how close Soundwave was with the tiny drone. He gave a genuine smile to Soundwave as he turned to face him.
“Hey Soundwave. Long time no see. Still using a visor I see. Love the color by the way, black and purple suits you.”
Soundwave’s visor displayed a hand in greeting. He then gestured to the communications screen, in an obvious question.
“Yes, I would like my security and identification codes so that I can return to the ship via groundbridge if I leave. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good drive, but one can only drive through so many bugs and trees before their finish dulls,” he drawled, with a sigh. He already knew he’d be buffing out the obvious (to himself) scratches and wiping off the bug stains for at least one cycle if not more. Hopefully Breakdown would be able to assist after they put down Wildbreak for the night.
“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I could go ahead and take Breakdown and Wildbreak’s codes as well. I’ll be meeting up with them later and it would save them a trip”, he continued, watching Soundwave turn back to the screen. Data flashed across his optics as his systems received and stored his codes. He watched as another flashed by, with Breakdown’s designation. He stored those in a separate file. A third set of codes arrived, being stored in the same file as Breakdown’s. It was obvious that Soundwave assumed Wildbreak to be an adult, judging by the code’s descriptions. It wouldn’t affect how they work, so Knock Out didn’t bother correcting them.
“Appreciated Soundwave. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go ensure Lord Megatron gets set up properly. Transmit a hello to Laserbeak for me”, Knock Out finished, sending a lazy salute towards the mech and the drone before walking off towards the medbay.
The walk through the hallways of the Nemesis was initially confusing and he was grateful that Soundwave had the foresight to send him a map of the ship, not that he’d tell the mech that. He noted on the map that his shared quarters with Breakdown and Wildbreak were directly adjacent to the medbay. He opted to pop briefly into the medbay to check on Megatron before exploring his new quarters, not that there was much he could do for the Decepticon at the time.
As soon as he entered the medbay, he immediately grinned with glee at all the tools he had access to. He wouldn’t even need to use his own sawblades if he didn’t want to (but he definitely would, it was easier to manipulate the saw that way). He entered the private room over to the side, watching as the Vehicons finished hooking up all the new cables and data screens. A brief glimpse over the screens revealed nothing new, so he left the small room and headed to his private quarters.
The room his trio had been provided with was large, since there were three of them. The main room consisted of a small lounge, with individual doors leading to three smaller rooms. A fourth door led to a bathroom and he was pleased to note the large mirror in the bathroom. It was taller than himself and easily cast the perfect light on all his angles. He made his way into the first room and pulled out his electroshock staff. He leaned it against a corner, deciding he wouldn’t need it until he was sent out on missions. There were a couple of energon cubes sitting in the lounge, likely as a sort of “welcome to the ship”, so he allowed himself to indulge in one while he waited for either a change in Megatron’s condition to be sent directly to him or for his partner and sparkling to arrive and join him.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for Breakdown to arrive, walking through the doors of their communal area with Wildbreak powered down in one of his arms. He walked forward with a grin, gently placing their sparkling into Knock Out’s awaiting servos. He pressed a chaste kiss to Knock Out’s helm before turning back to the door.
“Wait, where are you going?” He whisper-shouted, furrowing his optical ridges.
“There’s an energon signal Soundwave and Starscream want me to check out. I’ll only be gone for a few cycles max, promise”, Breakdown whispered in response. He gave the medic a grin before walking out, the door quickly closing behind him.
Knock Out sighed in exasperation. They hadn’t even been there for a mega-cycle and already Breakdown was being sent out on grunt work. Holding onto Wildbreak, Knock Out stood up and walked over to the smallest room. He gently laid the sparkling down on the provided recharge slab and pressed a kiss to his helm before walking back out the lounge.
Tapping into his communications, he sent a request to Soundwave to meet. After all, someone would need to watch Wildbreak while he and Breakdown were on missions and there was no way he was entrusting his sparkling to Starscream. He didn’t trust that scheming mech, regardless of how often Megatron seems to forgive him.
The silent mech arrived within a klik, clearly more familiar with the ship than Knock Out himself was. He hoped he’d memorize the map soon enough. Soundwave’s visor immediately displayed a question mark the moment he walked through the doors of their residence.
“I’ve got.. A favor to ask Soundwave. I know, I know. Just arrived and already asking favors”, he spoke dramatically, waving his servos into the air. He led Soundwave over to Wildbreak’s room and opened the door. The sparkling was still powered down inside, but Knock Out gestured for the mech to peak inside. Almost immediately, an exclamation mark appeared on Soundwave’s visor and he turned to Knock Out in surprise and confusion.
Closing the door and walking back over to their lounge, Knockout addressed Soundwave’s unstated question.
“Yes, he is mine. He is Wildbreak. Anyways, the favor that I need. I need someone to watch him while Breakdown and I are on missions and frankly, you’re the only ‘bot on this ship I would trust with this task”, Knock Out stated, gesturing towards Wildbreak’s door. He was prepared to make an argument on why Soundwave should watch the sparkling, but was surprised to almost immediately get a thumbs up on Soundwave’s visor.
“Really? Just like that?” He asked, raising an optical ridge in disbelief. He was further surprised for Soundwave to display a smiling face on his visor. Guess Knock Out and Breakdown weren’t the only ones happy to have a sparkling around.
“Appreciated Soundwave, just.. Don’t let Starscream near him”, he advised. Knock Out received another thumbs up from Soundwave before the ‘bot left, returning to his post at the communications hub on the bridge. Now all that was left was to wait for an update on either Megatron’s condition or Breakdown’s return.
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Approximately one groon later, Knock Out was summoned to the bridge. He peeked in on Wildbreak to ensure he was still powered down (wow that sparkling must have been exhausted from the trip) and grabbed his electroshock staff before answering the summons.
As soon as he walked onto the bridge, he spotted Breakdown, Starscream, and Soundwave all gathered around. Soundwave was displaying an image of a statue on his visor.
“Not interrupting anything am I?” He asked cooly, putting his servos on his hips as he sauntered over to the group.
“Not at all, doctor, we’ve just discovered from Breakdown here that the Autobots may be going after an energon harvester”, Starscream replied, filling in Knock Out on what he had missed.
“Mhmm, that’s definitely it”, Breakdown stated, pointing at the image on Soundwave’s visor.
“Then I’m afraid Megatron’s well-being will have to wait. It’s harvest time”, Starscream stated, gaining that scheming look in his eyes that Knock Out is all too familiar with.
“Knock Out, Breakdown, I want the two of you to obtain that harvester by any means necessary”, Starscream turned to them. Knock Out quickly got annoyed by how fast Starscream seemed to claim leadership over the Nemesis.
The duo nodded and Breakdown turned to leave via groundbridge. Knock Out turned to Soundwave and lowered his voice to a whisper so Starscream couldn’t listen in.
“He’s in his room, still powered down”, Knock Out whispered to Soundwave who nodded an affirmative. An image appeared on his visor, showing a perfect view of the still sleeping Wildbreak. Knock Out was concerned that there were cameras in their rooms, but wasn’t at all surprised.
He turned to Breakdown with a cocky grin on his face, which Breakdown returned. A groundbridge opened in front of them courtesy of Soundwave. With a sarcastic salute to Starscream, Knock Out transformed into his alt form and drove through the groundbridge, quickly followed by Breakdown.
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The drive to the museum was fast, but Knock Out complained to Breakdown the whole way. Breakdown listened to his partner, used to his complaints, but finding it endearing how much he cared for his paint anyways.
“I mean, I just finished cleaning the bugs off my grill!” Knock Out exasperatedly exclaimed as he hit yet another flying insect. Breakdown chuckled at him, causing Knock Out to bump him in feigned irritation.
Once they arrived at the museum, Knock Out and Breakdown quieted their engines as best they could and turned their headlights off. Knock Out approached first, turning on his headlights and revving his engine before driving up next to the shining red and blue semi truck, which was obviously Optimus Prime. He let out a wolf whistle upon seeing the shine of the truck’s paint job and wheel rims. He dimmed his lights as he approached.
“Sweet rims. 24 gauge? You’re real heavy duty. Just like my friend here”, Knock Out stated flirtatiously (earning a brief grumble over his and Breakdown’s private line). As soon as he finished admiring the truck’s paint job, Breakdown turned his lights on and came barreling down at them. Knock Out could sense that Breakdown’s intensity of his speed was fuelled by his irritation with Knock Out’s flirting. Knock Out would have rolled his optics if he could in that mode, Breakdown knew that Knock Out was a dedicated partner despite the flirting.
Stopping a short distance away, Breakdown chose to fire a rocket at the museum instead of ram the truck. He didn’t want to risk causing a scratch on Knock Out’s paint and have to hear him complain the entire night afterwards about it. Optimus, of course, transformed into his robot form quickly to catch the rocket and prevent it from hitting the museum instead. The rocket pushed him back enough that the glass was still cracked anyways, but not shattered.
While Optimus was distracted checking on something inside, Knock Out transformed into his own robot form and grabbed his electroshock staff. He waited for Optimus to turn back to him to give him a smirk and jab him with the staff, causing the Autobot to cry out in pain before walking forward a few steps and collapsing.
Knock Out wasted no time and leapt onto the Autobot’s leader’s back, pinning him to the ground with a grin. He stabbed Optimus with the staff again, this time in the neck so he had better access to his internal cables. As he held the staff against the cables, he flashed his headlights at Breakdown, giving him the all clear.
Immediately, Breakdown began to speed over to them, intending to run over the Autobot as he barreled into the museum. Unfortunately, his ram was stopped by the appearance of two other Autobots, the young yellow and black camaro named Bumblebee and the older, but still young blue motorcycle named Arcee. He fired a rocket at the approaching car, causing Bee to transform back into his robot form as the rocket struck. He also fired a rocket at Arcee, but her smaller form was more difficult to hit. Even so, her slide to avoid the rocket sent her careening into Bumblee, who was starting to get up. The collison sent both ‘bots flying to opposite ends of the parking lot.
A third autobot appeared on top of the museum, the dark green SUV named Bulkhead that Breakdown had briefly tousled with earlier in the day. Instead of firing a rocket at him, Breakdown opted to transform into his own robot mode and attack Bulkhead head-on since they had a form of rivalry. Unfortunately, his punch sent the massive ‘bot flying backwards, crashing into Knock Out and sending both of them crashing into the pillars and windows of the museum. Breakdown flinched slightly, knowing Knock Out would never let him hear the end of it. He could already hear cries of annoyance from their personal comm. channel.
Not only did this have the unfortunate side effect of irritating his partner, it also freed Optimus Prime from Knock Out’s staff. A fact that Knock Out was quick to point out over their channel, with cries of alarm quickly replacing those of annoyance. He stood up with his staff in hand, running at the still-downed leader, but was backhanded as he tried to leap onto his back again. Knock Out scraped against the parking lot asphalt as he slid from where he impacted.
Glancing up, Knock Out spotted Soundwave in jet form, holding on to the harvester they had gone there to collect.
/Wait, if Soundwave is here.. Who’s watching Wildbreak?!/ Knock Out shouted over his and Breakdown’s comm. channel. Breakdown looked up and spotted Soundwave as well. Both partners looked at each other with faces of alarm before quickly transforming into their vehicle modes, speeding off as quickly as they could to the rendezvous location if they had been separated.
Arcee quickly pursued them. Knock Out knew he could shake the motorcycle easily, but Breakdown could not. He was about to turn around and ram the Autobot, but Breakdown had a rocket leftover and shot at her, causing her to slide out of control. Both ‘bots immediately sent out an emergency groundbridge request and were relieved the moment it appeared.
The second they were through the portal, however, Knock Out transformed back into robot mode and stormed up to Soundwave, who was still holding the golden harvester and had groundbridged himself back as well.
“I asked you for one favor, Soundwave, one! If you were with us, who was watching Wildbreak?!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Soundwave’s only response was to display the camera feed of Wildbreak’s room again and then a thumbs-up. Knock Out calmed slightly at this and he felt Breakdown lay a servo on his left shoulder pad. Glancing back at his partner, he emitted a large gust of air from his vents in a sigh. At least Soundwave was watching him remotely. Once Wildbreak woke up, Knock Out knew that wouldn’t be possible. Wildbreak simply had too much energy to leave him alone.
All heads turned to the door to the bridge as Starscream entered. There was a pleased grin adorning his face as he observed the trio.
“Finally. With this harvester we will be able to collect more energon than we could get through mere.. mining”, he said with a grin, taking the harvester from Soundwave.
“Come, doctor, Breakdown. We have some energon to harvest”, he continued grinning, walking through a groundbridge as Soundwave opened it. Knock Out and Breakdown shared a brief glimpse and Knock Out looked back at Soundwave. Soundwave merely showed them the camera and a thumbs up again. A puff of air sounded through his vents and Knock Out turned to follow Starscream, with Breakdown on his heels. A small squadron of Vehicons also followed them out, since the Autobots would no doubt come looking for the harvester.
“Hey, I was here earlier”, Breakdown mumbled as they stepped through, standing near Starscream. Knock Out glanced around with a slight look of disgust, the place was covered in dirt and crumbling ruins. Not a place for a shiny vehicle like himself.
“Why move mountains now when we have a motherload of energon right here for the taking? Courtesy of this gift from ancient Autobots” Starscream exclaimed. Knock Out rolled his optics and crossed his arms. The fact that Breakdown was obviously here earlier and that this was clearly the place the picture that led them to the museum was located, it would make sense that this would be the first place the Autobots looked. He wasn’t going to tell Starscream that though, he should learn for himself.
“Ah actually, Commander Starscream, it was a gift from Breakdown and myself”, he smirked, gesturing to his partner standing slightly behind him. Even though Soundwave had technically been the one to grab it, they had the difficult task of distracting the Autobots and his pride shone through of this fact. Knock Out was surprised he was even able to hold down Optimus Prime as long as he had, since the ‘bot faced off against Megatron on a regular basis.
Starscream turned towards them and aimed the energon harvester their way. Both Knock Out and Breakdown flinched back. Hadn’t Starscream just invited them to the Nemesis? Was he really going to drain their energon mere groons after inviting them? Knock Out hoped that Soundwave would manage to watch after Wildbreak in their absence. Or at least find someone who could.
As Starscream activated the harvester, however, it passed between the two of them and hit an unsuspecting Vehicon behind them. Knock Out released a breath through his vent as he realized Starscream was probably only intending to scare them. Looking up at Breakdown, he noticed that his partner was doing the same. They both turned simultaneously and watched in horror as the Vehicon was drained of his energon.
“All that energon is just a tiny vessel”, Starscream said. Both ‘bots turned to face him, slightly horrified by what they saw. Vehicons didn’t grow on trees, yet Starscream treated them as merely canon fodder. Knock Out glanced at Breakdown with a grimace, wondering what they have truly just gotten themselves into.
“Those ancient Autobots never missed a trick, Lord Starscream”, Knock Out chuckled at him nervously. Starscream aimed the harvester their way again, seeming to relish in the way that both of them flinched back and covered their faces.
Peeking out from between his servos, Knock Out slowly uncovered his face seeing that Starscream had once again aimed it their way only to scare them. He grumbled irritatedly through his private channel to Breakdown again. Starscream’s power trip would surely come to an end once Megatron woke up and Megatron would surely be quick to remind Starscream of his true place.
They watched fascinated as Starscream harvested old energon crystals. What Knock Out would give to be able to study the harvester and potentially replicate it. Now that he had access to a lab, it would be much more possible for him to actually do so given the chance.
Hearing thumping and a vase shattering behind them, both Knock Out and Breakdown turned to face Bulkhead. Knock Out was surprised Bulkhead had actually managed to get this far into the excavation site before being noticed while being such a large mech.
“Back for seconds?” Breakdown asked, transforming a hand into a hammer. Knock Out withdrew his electroshock staff and both ‘bots ran at the Autobot.
Each of them went to a different side of the Autobot, with Knock Out running at Bulkhead’s right side and Breakdown at his left. Knock Out twirled his staff, noting curiously how the electricity actually made a gorgeous light show when the trick was done. Both ‘bots eventually turned and ran at Bulkhead, who ducked at the last second, causing Breakdown to hit his partner right in the face plate with his hammer. Knock Out and his staff went flying, with Bulkhead unfortunately grabbing his staff and turning to shock Breakdown with it, jabbing it into his chest plate.
Knock Out could sense his partner’s pain at the continued shocks over their personal channel, but the hit to his face plate staggered him more than he would like to admit. He got to one knee and looked up, seeing Starscream using the harvester on Bulkhead. His optics widened in shock as Bulkhead got up and started walking to Starscream, even with the harvester still draining him of his energon.
While Bulkhead was distracted with Starscream, Knock Out got to his pedes and quickly sped over to Breakdown. He yanked the staff out of his partner, listening to the vent of relief from the shocks stopping. He held a servo out to Breakdown and yanked him to his own pedes.
Knock Out relished in glee as Bulkhead slammed Starscream’s head into the cliff behind him, but lamented the loss of the harvester as it was thrown into the distance before blowing up. He would have had such a fun time picking it apart for potential replication.
Approaching the downed Autobot, Knock Out activated his staff again. He would enjoy shocking Bulkhead relentlessly, as he had done to his own partner.
“Well he’s a glutton for punishment”, Knock Out noted to Breakdown, who grunted in affirmation. Both ‘bots stared down at Bulkhead, but their attention was quickly diverted by the sound of a groundbridge opening behind them. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Arcee leapt through, immediately taking aim and firing upon the two ‘bots who held their arms in front of them for a meager amount of protection.
“Fight?” Bulkhead asked his partner.
“Mm, drive”, Knock Out decided, both robots quickly transforming into their vehicle forms and driving off, leaving Starscream to the Autobots. Dying by protecting a lost cause was not in their job description.
They called for a groundbridge, quickly driving through and landing on the bridge. Starscream followed them briefly after through a different groundbridge. Transforming back into robots, both Knock Out and Breakdown were pleasantly surprised to see Soundwave walk over with a small navy and red sparkling clinging to his leg.
Immediately, all tension left Knock Out’s body as he reached towards Wildbreak to relieve Soundwave of his babysitting duties. He whispered a quick “thank you” before walking away from the bridge towards their residence, Breakdown on his heels. He could hear Starscream sputter and rage behind them, but they ignored him. It was his own idiocy that cost them the energon harvester.
As they got back to their room, Knock Out placed Wildbreak on the floor before walking into the bathroom. Turning this way and that, he noted the large amount of dirt and scratched paint that would have to be cleaned and buffed out later, respectively. Breakdown meanwhile sat on the floor, attacking their sparkling’s ticklish spots with his dull servos, grinning like a madman in the process. Wildbreak squealed with laughter and swiped at his father’s arm with his sharp servos.
Knock Out and Breakdown had been pleased when Wildbreak had formed, a result of their combined sparks along with ample fertile land to utilize. He had emerged quickly, in only a few weeks. His face plate was a dark orange, with light yellow eyes obviously inherited from Breakdown. His navy coloration and frame was also from his sire and there was little to indicate that Knock Out was his dam. The most that Wildbreak had inherited from Knock Out was his sharpened servos and patches of red scattered throughout the navy coloration. Personality-wise, Wildbreak had definitely inherited his dam’s love of flashy vehicles and often demanded to be buffed and shined whenever Knock Out went through his own routine. Knock Out grinned, confident that his sparkling’s first vehicle would be either a muscle car or a race car, as opposed to Breakdown’s more military-style truck.
Returning to the lounge, Knock Out grabbed a wet rag and began wiping himself down. Once he was confident he was clean enough, he turned to Breakdown and held out a buffer, grinning flirtatiously. Breakdown rolled his optics, but took the buffer anyways. Knock Out sat down in front of him, taking his place messing around with Wildbreak while Breakdown slid behind him and turned on the buffer.
Knock Out flinched from the first touch of the buffer, some of the scratches still being sore since they were still fairly fresh. Wildbreak noticed the flinch and immediately stopped giggling, instead reaching up to grasp his dam’s face with a look of concern.
“It’s alright, my little wild ride. Your dam’s just a little sore from his work”, he smiled faintly, grasping his sparkling’s servos in his own.
“Sorry about that Knock Out, I know most of these are probably from my own miscalculations”, Breakdown muttered, eyes downcast. Knock Out turned his head to look at his partner before smirking.
“Oooh miscalculations. That’s a big word, Breakdown”, he sneered playfully. Breakdown only grinned, relieved that he was forgiven quickly.
The trio sat in silence with only the buffer making noise as it smoothed over Knock Out’s frame for a few kliks before a yawn interrupted their peaceful group. Knock Out stared down at Wildbreak who was falling asleep again. He wondered briefly how long Wildbreak had been up with Soundwave by the time they had arrived back from the ruins.
“Tired already my little wrecker? You’ve been sleeping for so many groons I was starting to grow concerned!” Knock Out exclaimed, staring at his sparkling in mock horror, dramatically putting the back of his right servo on top of his helm and closing his eyes. Wildbreak giggled before yawning again. Peeking open an eye, Knock Out grinned at Wildbreak. He knew the move had been long and rough and the sparkling was likely experiencing some form of jet lag. He tapped Breakdown’s leg, asking him to turn off the buffer so he could briefly tuck in their sparkling.
Breakdown grinned and nodded. Knock Out picked up Wildbreak and walked quietly to his bedroom, placing him on the recharge slab.
“I’m not tired, dad”, the sparkling tried to protest, a yawn betraying his true exhaustion.
“Right. And I’m not the shiniest vehicle on this vessel”, he retorted playfully, earning a chuckle from Wildbreak.
“With all of those scratches, you might not be”, Wildbreak retorted, smirking evilly. Knock Out stared at him in horror.
“Betrayed! By my own sparkling!” He cried dramatically, falling backwards onto the end of the recharge slab, just below Wildbreak’s legs. He sat up with a grin before turning to Wildbreak.
“Rest now, my evil little wrecker”, he smiled, patting Wildbreak on the helm. Knock Out placed a chaste kiss on the top of his helm before walking out. A small “goodnight” followed him out the door.
He turned to his partner, who was now sitting up on one of the lounges, but still holding the buffer in his hand. He held a data pad in another, obviously waiting for Knock Out to finish.
“I do hope you’re not looking at other vehicles”, Knock Out said playfully, draping himself over his partner. Breakdown just grinned at him, so Knock Out sat bolt upright.
“Oh my God, are you actually?!” He shrieked quietly, aware of their sparkling in another room.
“Of course not. I’m just messing with you. It’s the report of today’s mission. I’m filling in what’s missing”, Breakdown chuckled. Knock Out’s face plate went flat and he stared at the ground. Breakdown, sensing something was wrong, put down the buffer and the data pad.
“What’s wrong?” He implored, using his servo to lift Knock Out’s chin and stare him straight in the optics.
“Do you think we made the right choice?” Knock Out asked.
“Do you think I should have turned down Starscream’s offer? Or maybe turned to the Autobots for resources and protection?” Knock Out continued. Breakdown vented in exasperation.
“I think that you made the best choice available at the time. Besides, none of us are branded Decepticons. We can leave any time we like if we think we’re getting in too deep”, Breakdown said, patting his partner and cupping his face plate in his servos.
“I suppose you’re right. For now we’ll stay. Now how about you finish buffing out tonight’s adventure? Then we can see about finding our own way to wind down”, Knock Out smirked, tone going from serious to flirtatious and cocky in a heartbeat.
Breakdown just rolled his optics, setting down the datapad and turning on the buffer.