#rescue bots rant

[dominolemon]

I love the fact any time Heatwave and Optimus talk to each other or have a moment it just looks like a father talking to his son and giving him advice

It’s wonderful to see

The adults are talking

[tfp-is-my-lifeblood-lol]

Can we talk about this Rescue Bots episode (Spellbound) because I need to appreciate how TERRIFYING it is??? Especially considering it's cannon in the Aligned Universe. This is some A+ horror.

Like damn, some of Griffin Rock's technology is more powerful than even the Decepticon's tech.

Can you IMAGINE if those creepy mind-control cell phones were used in TFP?

Legit mind control that effects humans AND Cybertronians?

And it's SO UNSETTLINGLY subtle, too. The victim's voices sound like their normal selves but just SLIGHTLY off. *shutter* The voice actors did such a good job.

Just IMAGINE that in Prime.

I feel like Optimus would probably be immune (because the Matrix of Leadership is goated) but can you imagine the Jasper Trio getting mind-controlled, and all their guardians + Ratchet know SOMETHING is off, but not what? Then, slowly, the mind control spreads to the Bots? Or vice versa, the Bots go first, and the humans are like: "Something's up with my guardian."

Kinda wild that Invasion of the Body Snatchers shit 100% exists in TFP's world. Felt like I needed to acknowledge that.

Is this gonna be my next TFP headcanons post? Feeling inspired.🤔

[mxxmx0h]

How come no ever talks about the fact that Heatwave was once a Three time Lobbing champ. Like, that's the only type of information we have of him when he was still in Cybertron. Well, other than the fact that he was a Fireman before becoming a rescue bot.

Mf drop his lore like it was nothing

[ashlovesrescuebots]

I wanna rant but I need your guy's opinions on this . Cody is a ENFJ and Bumblebee is a ESFJ . THIS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE , they're literally the same I can't .

I always knew they were my favorites for a reason . I just absolutely love the parallels between Cody and bumblebee . There's the most obvious one , aka the most sad one . Cause they are both pure good , and really the only way they did evil was under mind control + psychological manipulation .

But also there are also sweet parallels , like the father-son bond Optimus and Bumblebee , and Cody and Charlie have going on . It's more obvious in rescue bots because Chief is very open about trying to keep Cody safe trying his best to keep him off the Field , while Optimus has to have bumblebee on the battlefield but would still kill for Bumblebee; but when Bee's hurt he will ensure he needs to get better .

They hate being put down like their incapable of fighting/protecting but so much shit happens to them daily , Cody being caught in most dangerous situations and target of all the bad guys , whilst bumblebee gets targeted by all the bad guys and Targeted for the most gruesome shit ( bro legit got his t-cog stolen 😭 ) Also not to mention the youngest of the group . But if Cody was in a cybertronian station I bet he'd be a scout . ( Soldier when he's older )

+ extra not them both getting grounded at base lmao

[georgiesblurredbones]

Hi, As a Blurr FictionKin, I’d Like 2 State My(Very Long) Case(Rant) On Why

Is (By Cybertronian/Velocitronian Means) a Scared Teenager (And NOT a Self Serving Narcissist) And Shouldn’t Have Been Put On a RESCUE TEAM By Optimus.

And Why The Rescue Bots Shouldn’t Have Put So Much Pressure On Him (Looking At U Heatwave..) And Why Blurr Would Be Happier Not Being On a Rescue Team.

So When The Bots And Some of The Humans Find Blurr And Salvage In Stasis Pods On Their Ship, Blurr Is The First One Awake, The First Thing He Does Is Hug The Bots Because He Believes He’s Back On Cybertron, But The Second Thing He Does Is Ask “Where’s Salvage? Is He Okay?”. Salvage Was The Loader of Their Ship While Blurr Was The Pilot, When Earth Had Meteors Raining Down On It, Salvage Saved The Cave People While Blurr Panicked And Ran Back To The Ship, Like Most TEENAGERS Would In a Type of Situation Like That(I Sure Asf Would Tbh). Sure, Blurr Was Selfish And Stupid To Run off Without Telling Salvage, But Salvage Also Had No Reason To Physically FIGHT Blurr Over It (Which He Canonically Did, Source; SALVAGE SAYING ‘We Fought’, And Salvage Marching Over To Blurr With Clenched Fists, Plus Ira[Cave Man] Running Out of The Ship In Fear). People May Claim Blurr Never Cared For Salvage, But He Very Obviously Did, When Salvage Was Taken Out of His Stasis Pod, Blurr Immediately Ran Up To Hug Him, Visibly Happy That He Was Alright. Blurr Wanted To Leave Earth In The Spur of The Moment Out of FEAR, If Blurr Truly Didn’t Care For Salvage, Then He Wouldn’t Be So Happy To See Him.

Now With Blurr Taking Credit For The Things He Didn’t Do (Saving The Cave People, Saving Salvage, Etc), That’s a Sign of Blurr Having Low Self Confidence And Even An Inferiority Complex, And Maybe Being Desperate For Attention, As a Lot of Young Teenagers Are Like, He Craves Attention Because of His Life of Being a Racer, Blurr Isn’t Used To Being Treated Like a Regular Bot. Blaming Blurr For Wanting Attention And Wanting To Seem Important Is Horrible To Do, He Behaves Young, Similarly Young To Cody And Francine From RB or Maybe Even Miko From TFP. He Lies Because He Wants To Be Seen As More Than Just That One Racer Bot.

‘But Blurr Is a Horrible Rescue Bot, I Don’t Blame Heatwave For Shouting At Him!’

Blurr Never WANTED To Be a Rescue Bot, He Wanted To Stay As a Racer, But Optimus Denied Him To Have Comfort In Familiarity, Saying Blurr Needed ‘To Give Earth a Chance’, Blurr Doesn’t Like Earth, He’s Obviously Not Happy, Keeping Blurr (Who Likely Has The Cybertronian Equivalent of ADHD And An Adjustment Disorder) On An Unfamiliar Planet Where He’s Uncomfortable And Sad, ISN’T How You Make Him Into a Rescue Bot, Blurr Should’ve NEVER Been Forced Into Being a Rescue Bot, All He Knows Is Racing, He Doesn’t Know ANYTHING About Rescuing, So For Heatwave To Shout At And Scold Him For Not Knowing How To Rescue(Even After Finding Out That Blurr Was Lying) Is Not a Healthy Training Tactic, It Made Blurr Hate The Idea of Rescuing And Earth More And More, Heatwave May Have Had Good Intentions But His ‘Good Intentions’ Caused Blurr Severe Distress. When Blurr Got Onto Their Space Ship And Tried To Escape Earth, That Was Because Heatwave Had Told The Chief That Blurr Had To Go, Which Was Blurr’s Last Straw, His Reason To Leave Earth. The Worst Part of All of This Was When He Arrived Back On Earth (After SAVING Griffin Rock From a Rogue Crashing Satellite That Could’ve Blown Up Both The Space Ship AND Blurr With It) The First Thing Heatwave Said To Him When He Got Back Was ‘I Don’t Know Whether To Hug You or To Yell At You’ DUDE HE ALMOST JUST DIED SAVING YOU GUYS WHEN HE REALLY DIDN’T HAVE TO ??????

The Point That I’m Making Is That Blurr Was Not All That Happy On Heatwave’s Team. When Blurr Showed Up On RiD2015, He Took The Blame For Sideswipe’s Poor Performance, Thinking That He Himself Was For The Blame of Sideswipe Knocking The Decepticon Into The Water And Letting Them Escape. Blurr Told Bumblebee On Screen ‘The Accident Was Totally My Fault, Bee, I Broke Formation To Drive Next To You’, Blurr Was Conditioned By Heatwave And The Rescue Team Into Believing Everything That Goes Wrong Is His Fault, Whether It Be Just a Malfunction of Technology or a Crash, Blurr Believes That He’s To Blame Because of How The Rescue Team Treated Him. Blurr Also Almost Dies In That Episode As Well, While Blurr Was Driving a Bomb Away From Bee’s Team, The Bomb Easily Could’ve Detonated And Killed Blurr On The Spot, But It Didn’t. Blurr Almost Dies Constantly But It’s Almost Never Taken Seriously, Always Used As a Joke Afterwards With The Rescue Bots And Brushed off With Bee’s Team.

Why Do I Believe Blurr Is a Teenager? Simple, He Behaves Very Similarly To Sideswipe, Who’s Described As a Teenager/Young Bot In Many Episodes of RiD2015 And Was Described In Season 4 As ‘Being Moved Around From Home To Home’, Like a Foster Child. Both Blurr And Sideswipe Are Careless At Times, Immature, Dislike Authority, Like Going Fast, And Are Implied To Be Teenagers Who Never Asked To Be On Earth In The First Place.

It Isn’t Blurr’s Fault That He Doesn’t Know How To Rescue, It’s Heatwave’s Fault For Not Teaching Him Properly or Trying To Understand Blurr’s Situation, It’s Optimus’ Fault For Not Listening To Blurr’s Complaints, It’s The Rescue Teams Fault For Treating Blurr Like He’s a Bad Person For Not Knowing How To Rescue. The Only Living Beings To Treat Blurr With Respect And Listen To Him Is Cody, Sideswipe And Bumblebee’s Team.

In Conclusion, Blurr Never Wanted To Be a Rescue Bot, It Was Just The Circumstance He Was In, And The Conditioning He Was Put Through To Make Him Think He Always Wanted To Be a Rescuer, When All Blurr Really Wanted To Do Was Race And Have Fun.

Thanks For Coming 2 My Ted Talk ;3

[megaemprezzz]

Besties idk what I'm meant to be doing here ngl

[rescuebabiesau]

For The Record-

I don't normally let discourse within the fandom bother me too much because ultimately does it add to your life? No. But this personal situation I found myself in lately felt like it needed to be acknowledged.

I recently had someone comment several times over several months (I have since blocked them) on one of my fics about how frustrating it was to them that so many other people were "Shipping Wrong."

The fic in question was One Scary Night Alone, and it has some very, very light Whirl/Hoist in it, if you can even call it that. Like, the two just have a brief moment of being alone and checking on each other after what happened, not considered romantic and more just close friends... and this person decided that this was cause to complain because it wasn't Hotshot comforting Whirl.

According to them, because Hotshot is obviously the protagonist, that means that Whirl's destined to be with him and not anyone else.

I tried to be courteous and explain that everyone is free to their own opinions, but they were insistent that everyone else was wrong for having differing opinions. That having Whirl and Hoist be close was against canon (hello, they canonically work together making an "Earth Stuff Collection") and so to have them interact like that was wrong.

First of all, protagonists don't always get the girl. Read more books if you think that's true. Secondly, these recruits are not adults, they are children and thus aren't necessarily going to be looking at each other as potential romantic partners, even if sometimes the earliest signs of crushes are there.

To put the topping on the cake, after months of this, they then said "I wrote this story, but you shouldn't read it since you're obviously pro-Whirl/Hoist, but I would ask that you spread the word about it to the rest of your followers."

...Excuse???? After scolding me for months about how I was wrong and needed to accept your way of belief, you ask me to promote your story without even reading it myself???

Like Dude, get a better hobby than harassing artists and then expecting favors from them.

All I'm saying is that if you like two characters together and someone else likes a different pairing, that's okay. You can still enjoy the media and your own perceptions of things, even if that perception isn't perfect to the canon.

[makiruz]

I generally like things shamelessly, but being reminded that one of my favorite Transformers shows is not just for children, but for babies is a bit embarrassing

(Not gonna stop watching Rescue Bots, though)

[bi-oxy]

I want more Whirl Fanfics...

I ship Whirl with everyoneeee... nghh... mainly in no particular order...

-Sari Sumdac

-Scorch

-HotShot

-Hoist

-Wedge

-Glow

And even freaking BrushFire bc SHE SPUN HER PROPELLER SO GAY LIKE IM LIKE AAAAAAAAAAA

why is Whirl so shippable with everyoneeee???

[wildlygay]

A discussion about carrying in transformers rescue bots fanfiction.

I know this is gonna be a long post, and I’m so sorry. But I kept getting ticked off and needed to tell someone who would listen about this.  So, i’m reading a fantastic 2020 rescue november on a03. (I’ll dm you the author if anyone wants it.) and there’s a bladewave carrying fic in it. The premise of it is that Blades wants time-off because his sparkling is gonna come soon and Heatwave finds out about it that way and gets so happy that they’re gonna be a family. It’s all cute fluff right? My stupid ass thought that Heatwave was the one carrying, and then I realized it was blades. Not heatwave. I have read way too many rescue bots/rescue bots academy fanfiction, and I have noticed a pattern. When there is the term carrying involved, the authors (no shade to them some of the fics are amazing.) always pin the role of ‘carrier’ to the cuter smaller bot, not the ‘big strong brave mech’. It happens everytime. Now I ranted to my friend on discord about it (here’s the screenshot)

My point is, I’m plain tired of the ‘big stronger brave mech’ never carrying. The possibilities, the situations. It would be amazing, but alias they always pick Blades, or chase, and I have only seen one of these; Quickshadow.   C’mon. Put the role of carrying on heatwave, or boulder. Don’t be a coward.  Give heatwave carrying roles. me, oh I always pictured him a mother hen to the recruits, it makes perfect sense. heatwave is the one that is around them the most, it’s adorable. Most would describe him as a dad. Unpopular opinion but I see him as the overprotective mother hen that would protect his kids with his spark.  Part 2 here Ok thanks for coming to my tedtalk, if you wanna keep this going feel free to reblog and all that jazz, i’m making a new tag for things like this. Likes are appreciated. 

[mainenorth]

Since you are a Heatwave fan, I'm having thoughts about him being a dad to Cody

That's all

hi

Fun facts: Heatwave’s been my favourite character since I watched RB in like 2016?? I’m also a Heatwave fictionkin.

OKAY TO ACTUALLY ANSWER: heatwave has always been fatherly to Cody and he’s shown to be responsible to children (i.e. the robot baby) he would definitely adopt him if nobody else could.

although he already has so much shit on his plate bc he’s always shown as the bad guy whenever the rb writers need someone to yell at the other bots for while also being constantly undermined by OP with his OWN TEAM and having to save Griffin Rock every week

overall, Heatwave would be Cody’s dad

[dominolemon]

I just finished re watching Reacue bots and all I want to say is…I WANT TO SOBB

I remembered this to be a really good show but I didn’t realize how much it would hold up even until now like how they did this show is absolutely perfect

The plot, the dialogue, the character designs, the personality, the music shall I go on? This show was way better then I remembered it to be and I’m so happy I over heard my sister re watching it cuss without her I wouldn’t have-

I havnt been the biggest transformer fan because it’s more of my sisters thing but this show made me do a 180 because now I feel like I wanna re watch all the shows

I know I do still have to watch rescue bots acedamy but I’m honestly sad I finished re watching the show because now I wanna re re watch it just to sob again- like I’ll be honest if something irl happens I won’t back a eye but if something happens to fictional character or a show ends I will sob, I need to mentally prepare to watch rescue bots academy because I think it’s the only show I havnt actually watched yet and I’m scared and excited at the same time

But like I’m gonna be so sane about it, the last thing I have to add to this small rant is

Quickshadow and Heatwave supremacy suckers💥💥

[the-robot-talker]

I find it funny that everyone forgets im colorblind. I know the names to the colors, but i dont know the colors to the names. Like for instance

Red? As in red hearts, red cherrys, red roses

Yeah i see blue. Have a scale compassion of normal vision vs mine

Their all side by side so ya don't get confused. The normal colors are the first images when ya swipe.

So I don't see the bots as their normal color schemes, they all look more...well, yeah idk what word to use for that. But yeah, im an engineer who is colorblind, the Mini bots Jetstorm and Slipstream found out when Jet pointed out a pink car that was in the junkyard. I decided to mess with them and say 'Thats green clearly.' I am kinda learning a few colors right names, but i given up because there is to damn many.

So it was a funny argument, and Bee overhead and said 'Shes colorblind' and i had to explain. Either way, it was funny to mess with them two.

[mxxmx0h]

Saw the transformers one movie and decided to re-watch RB sinces, its been years

Anyone else noticed that Bumblebees little ears move.

LITERALLY WATCH THE WHOLE EP AGAIN TO SEE IF HE MOVES THEM AGAIN

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME

[yanderedrabbles]

Yandere YouTuber

Short drabble request for @labodabi

I see him as a commentary YouTuber. Always on podcasts talking about the latest fashion or TV sensation. A good looking guy, always perfectly groomed and styled. Falls into that soft boy category - fluffy hair, lots of sweaters, a rescue cat that's always in the video out-takes. Approachable, comforting.

You interact for the first time when you make a video response to one of his controversial takes. You're no established youtuber, your channel doesn't even have any videos before you post about him. You don't add any fancy graphics or music. Just you and your slightly busted ring light, ranting at him for totally misrepresenting your interest.

But people are totally into it. You're passionate. You're funny. You're a breath of fresh air compared to the over produced, over budgeted videos that crowd the homepage.

He invites you on his podcast. Secretly, he expects you to back down. Be camera shy. You're just a no name with a phone camera and he's a guy who gets a million views within a day of uploading. It's got to be intimidating, right?

Nope. You're just the same in person as you were in your video. Not scared to challenge his opinions, not afraid of the lights and team of editors. When the video finally goes out, people eat it up.

User17899: OMG THE CHEMISTRY

sakura blossom: theyre so cute together im putting money on a hard launch in a week or two

YouTube Daddy 69420: he's so into them. just look at his eyes

And with such a great response, it's only natural that you get invited on again. That you start featuring in his full length videos. That he starts tagging you in every Instagram post.

You have no intention of being an influencer. But damn if the money isn't good. If the PR packages aren't sweet.

You move to the same city as him. Let him teach you the ins and outs of the biz. And he eats it up. Takes every opportunity to be your 'internet big brother.'

Yeah, right. Some sick big brother he is, going home and jerking it to pictures of you together. Shooting all over his screen just so it lands on your face. A real great guy.

It's only when you start build your own following that the toxicity really comes out. He wants you reliant on him, on his fame. Having your own channel blow up is just annoying. It gives you too much leverage - you don't need him for views anymore, you can walk away whenever you want. He can't stand it.

That's when he starts being sneaky about things. Starts hitting your videos with copyright infringement and DMCA takedowns the second you go live. Starts contesting your monetisation. Starts using bots to mass report your posts. All anonymously of course. Or through a shell company. Hey, he's been in this biz too long to make a rookie mistake.

And when you're at your wits end, when rent is due and you're broke from trying to get your videos back up, that's when he steps in. Says you guys can collab and he'll give you more than half of the sponsorship money.

Smiles all sweet and charming when he leans in and says, "There's lots of ways to pay me back, so don't worry about it."

You naive thing. He was never going to ask for money in return. No, what he wants is much harder to come by and all the sweeter for it. You think just 'cause he seems like a good guy that he's nice all the way through? That wearing nail polish and doing mud masks on cam makes him any less of a man? Any less hungry? No way baby.

And when it's time to pay up and he's pushing you to your knees, fingers practically ripping his belt buckle loose, you think he's going to stop just because you ask him to? When he has you exactly where he wants you? No matter how polite he is on the surface, he's still just a man.

[radioactiverats]

Mentor Starscream x seeker!reader (13/?)

More timeline jumping :,) After you sneak off to learn first aid from Ratchet, but before you get beat by Megs.

Starscream gets taken captive by the Autobots - and doesn't expect the rescue party to be a party of one.

---

From your shared berth, you sleepily watch Starscream prepare for his mission.

"It's just some run-of-the-mill recon task," He sniffed, clearly having deemed it inferior to his abilities. "As usual, better done under the cover of night." He goes through weapon checks with a scowl. "I don't understand why this couldn't have been relegated to anyone else. Even the Delta Squadron could do this. Fly over the coordinates, report back on what you see. But what our glorious leader says is law, hm?"

And tonight's law was apparently for Starscream to carry out the task alone.

"If you deem such a task beneath you, Starscream," Megatron had drawled, "that must mean you're more than capable of handling it yourself."

You'd added that to Starscream's ever-growing list of grievances against your supreme leader. He'd stormed back that night and ranted and raged himself into a near-catatonic state.

"I know that I sometimes say things I shouldn't when Megatron comes up with an exceedingly stupid plan," He'd hissed, "but I didn't even do anything that time!"

"Sounds like a trap to me," You'd said offhandedly, from where you were perched on the berth. Starscream had frozen mid-step then, pacing interrupted by your statement. You both knew Megatron had something against Starscream. Enjoyed tormenting him at every opportunity, but something wasn't adding up about this mission - you were just surprised that Starscream thought the same thing.

"Megatron still needs my abilities," Starscream said carefully. "You may be right, but I doubt he's going to actively attempt to be rid of me at this juncture."

You offered to come with him, but Starscream immediately shot your idea down. "And what if it is a trap? You get yourself captured as well? Absolutely not."

So, you see him off at the door. "Be careful, okay?"

He smirks. "What, are you doubting me?"

"...You know what I mean."

On seeing your expression, he caves.

"Alright, alright. I promise to be extra careful. Satisfied?"

You nod, placated. "I'll save you a cube."

Starscream gives you an affectionate pat on the helm. "See that you do."

Only the next morning, he isn't back. It's not uncommon to encounter unexpected delays in missions, you try to convince yourself. Maybe he found something really good and got held up on the bridge with mission reports.

But deep down, you know that's not it.

It's only when you return from afternoon training to see the cube still on his desk, untouched, that you begin to panic in earnest.

Knockout has a servo to his comms when you burst into the medbay. His optics dart to you, expression frozen. You immediately know that something must have gone terribly wrong.

"What is it?" You say shrilly, rushing to him. "Tell me!"

"Woah, okay. First, let's stay calm, alright? It won't do any good to work yourself up into such a state-"

"It's Starscream, isn't it?"

Knockout grimaces, and without warning, hoists you bodily up to sit on a medical berth. He leans in, effectively caging you against his frame so you couldn't squirm away to do anything rash. Your spark drops. That bad?

"Megatron's got bots working on it. So what I'm about to tell you, you promise not to do anything impulsive?"

You nod, terrified of what you're about to hear, yet desperate to know.

Knockout ex-vents loudly.

"Starscream's been taken captive by the Autobots."

"What?"

Knockout ex-vents again, turning his optics to the ceiling.

"He said it was just some easy recon mission!"

"Things happen," Knockout attempts to soothe you. "The Autobots aren't like... Decepticons. They won't treat him too badly. And like I said, Megatron's got bots working on getting him back. So just sit tight, okay?"

You do relax a bit at the reminder of how the Autobots treat their prisoners. If anything, your previous experience in the Autobot base tells you that Starscream's probably not severely injured, if Ratchet has anything to say about it. But somehow, you're not entirely sure about Megatron.

Before setting off, Starscream had narrowed the mission coordinates down to a sandy, desert-like area. You'd gotten a strange feeling, then. Desert? Like where you got picked up by Bumblebee? But then again, Terra had many deserts, so you reluctantly put your hunch down to uneasiness and nothing more.

Now, you weren't so sure. Your optics slide to Knockout, who's still staring at you apprehensively. Maybe your 'conspiracy theory' was best kept a secret for now. Maybe Megatron would have him back in a few days. Maybe Starscream would manage to escape. Maybe you were just overthinking it?

You proceed to overthink it for a few more days, and by the end of the week, you've lost all patience.

"Surely we're not this incompetent!" You rage, your pacing wearing a hole in the floor of the medbay. "It's been a week!"

"Sweet Primus," Knockout mutters under his breath, wearily spinning round from his desk to face you. "You're just like him."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Knockout says smoothly, ignoring your suspiciously narrowed optics. "What were you saying?"

You stalk over to his desk, and Knockout groans internally. Nothing good can come of the grim set of your intake.

"Knockout, something is wrong."

You turn away, and Knockout grimly watches as you do another few laps of the medbay. It's only a matter of time before you come up with an idea that will get yourself killed. Three... two...

"I'm going to get him myself."

...one.

Knockout groans. "And how do you plan on doing that? Look, I know you care about him and all, but listen to yourself. You're talking about taking on the enemy faction alone - and might I add that Starscream is an exceedingly valuable prisoner?"

"But no one's looking for him!" You burst out. "If I don't go, no one will!"

"It's a suicide mission," Knockout warns. "Think about what Starscream would say."

"Well, he's not here, is he?"

"I'm serious!" Knockout snaps, throwing his servos up. "Starscream's most likely alive, but if you try to break him out, it'll be seen as an attack on the Autobot base. I'm not worried about his survival, but if you attack first, you're a dead mech for sure. And did you realize that you're woefully unarmed? Even their scout has those..." Knockout's faceplate crinkles with distaste. "...knife hands."

"Then give me a weapon," You plead. "I'll take my chances."

Knockout stares at you, speechless.

"You're out of your processor. Don't be so willing to throw your spark away," He hisses.

Your helm dips as you stare at his pedes.

"...I don't have anything going for me if he's not around," You say softly. "The way it looks, we're either going to die in this war, or die trying to get out of it. I'll take my chances."

You don't dare raise your optics, but eventually, Knockout sighs.

"I've got some older null rays from a recent repair," He says tiredly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

He looks over his shoulder at you. "It'll hurt."

"It will...?"

Knockout laughs, but it's bitter.

"Of course it will. How do you think they're powered?"

"I... I always thought it was an external weapon."

But now, thinking back, you'd always marvelled at how smoothly Starscream handled his weapons. Almost like... they were a part of him.

"Most cogged bots have some kind of weapon," Knockout says. "But if you want upgrades, or to permanently add another weapon, it needs to be fused to your energon lines."

Oh.

Your grimace says it all.

"Look," Knockout says gently, "you don't have to do this."

You shake your helm, denta gritted as you climb onto a medical berth.

"You know as well as I do that if our roles were reversed, Starscream would come for me."

---

As a high-ranking military officer both in the Vosian Air Forces and the High Guard, Starscream was no stranger to being captured. However, it was the first time he'd been captured by the Autobots since the civil war had started.

He paced his cell restlessly, a snarl low in his vocaliser. His internal chronometer told him it had been a week since he'd been captured. Admittedly, the Autobots' treatment of POWs was way better than that of his own faction - his cell was clean and he was given rations three times a day. He almost wanted to scoff at how the Autobots' moral code ranked above their dwindling energon supply, but as things stood, he wasn't complaining.

A week. Surely the Decepticons weren't that incompetent - he'd trained a good portion of them himself. Which led to the only other possible conclusion - your voice echoed in his processor.

It had been a trap.

Starscream snarled, slamming a servo against the wall of his cell. He should have known something was wrong from the very beginning - this was clearly a test of some sort, to see whether or not he'd outlived his usefulness.

Megatron wasn't coming for him. A week of waiting had made that abundantly clear. And he was still stuck here, not for lack of trying - but the Autobots had apparently discovered some ancient Cybertronian technology on Terra that allowed them to craft Enforcer-level containment. As much as Starscream hated to admit it, he was practically powerless on his own.

But even if making it back to Megatron didn't matter, there was still you. He'd promised you.

Starscream gritted his denta.

You were the only one who actually cared about him. The thought of you worried out of your processor unsettled him deeply.

Not only that, but a lot could happen in a week.

What if you'd crashed during training? What if you were being bullied?

What if... what if Megatron had decided to eliminate you, too?

Starscream had to get out of here. Staggering to his pedes, he scanned the cell for any weak points - perhaps, even after using his null rays, he'd still have enough in his reserves to fly -

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Starscream whirled around, intake bared in a snarl.

Ratchet.

"Medic," Starscream snarled. "Come to put me out of my misery?"

Ratchet's faceplate scrunched in disgust. "Of course not. I volunteered to deliver your ration, but now I see that I've come at the wrong time."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand!"

"Actually, I think I do." Ratchet's gruff voice had softened.

He seemed to hesitate for a klik, though.

"...I'm assuming you know about... about the...?"

"The what?" Starscream spat.

"You have a student, don't you?" Ratchet hedged.

At mention of you, Starscream stiffened, hackles rising - not unlike one of those Terran creatures that the children had once brought to base. Kot. Cat?

"What's it to you?" He hissed, wings flared.

...Okay. It was clear that you hadn't told him about sneaking off. To the Autobot base. That made sense. But evidently, Starscream still hadn't found out about your little jaunt to Ratchet's medbay.

Ratchet ex-vented. A frame-deep, weary ex-vent. He was way too tired to deal with this scrap.

"Forget it."

"Forget it?" Starscream shrieked. "You can't reveal that the Autobots have knowledge of my student and tell me to forget it!"

"Keep your fragging voice down," Ratchet snapped. "And it's just me, not the Autobots."

"You? What the frag are you -"

"Shut your intake for a nanoklik and calm down," Ratchet interrupted. "Your systems are going absolutely haywire, and it's not because of the cell." Ignoring Starscream's protests about being scanned, he steamrolled on. "I'm sure you're worried about your student, correct?"

Starscream fell sullenly silent, refusing to answer.

"No?" Ratchet pressed. "I was going to offer to comm Knockout for updates on them, but if you're not concerned, then -"

"Wait, medic."

Starscream ex-vented heavily for a klik, servos clenched into tight fists. "Yes. I do want to know."

Ratchet regarded him silently, taking in his lowered helm, hunched shoulders, trembling wings. Primus, Ratchet thought. He really does care.

Eventually he ex-vents. "Fine. I'll let you know."

Ratchet pushed the energon cube into Starscream's cell, but hesitated just as he turned to leave.

"You know that kid would do anything for you, right?"

"I don't need you to tell me," Starscream snarled, but his spark clearly wasn't in it.

Ratchet's reply is cut short by a strange scraping sound at the ceiling of Starscream's cell. Following Ratchet's confused gaze, Starscream whirls round just in time to see flakes of concrete crumble off the top corner - and suddenly, he's thrown back by an explosive blast of searing heat.

Starscream groans, but he abruptly hears something that stops his systems short.

"Sir!"

What the frag. Starscream stumbles to his pedes and viciously bats the clouds of dust away.

What the actual frag.

"Cadet? Is that really - how - ?"

"Sir, it's really me!" You say frantically. "Come on, let's go-"

"Backup?"

"No, no backup, it's just me, so we really, really have to go - oh. Hi, Ratchet."

As the dust clouds clear, the Autobot medic comes into view. Ratchet's staring at you both, an incredibly constipated expression on his faceplate. This had to be divine comedy. He groans.

As soon as he saw that it was you, he knew that it wasn't going to be a real fight, but...

"Kid, did you really have to blow the roof in?"

You cringe. "Sorry."

Starscream watches your exchange with equally mounting confusion and horror. "What is the meaning of this?" He shrieks. You wince. You'd forgotten the situation you were in.

"How in Primus' name do you know each other? And why... are those null rays? What have you done to yourself?!"

You groan. "Can you ream me out later, when we're not, I don't know, in the middle of the Autobot base?"

Unfortunately, the base's alarms chose that exact moment to go off. "Frag."

"Language!" Starscream snaps.

"Okay, okay. Um. I'm actually sorry about your roof, Ratchet."

Ratchet just groans.

You mentally promise to send him another gift basket as you blast an even bigger hole in the roof, grab Starscream's servo and jet the hell out of there, just in time.

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