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Starscream soon fell into stasis again after the energon transfusion, and Megatron could only hope that it had worked. After several minutes, he drifted off too. Time passed; it may have been one hour, it may have been five. Nothing about Megatron's stasis was pleasant; everyone was shouting at him, in words he couldn't understand. Finally a loud call shattered the dream--

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Megatron bolted awake. It hadn't been a dream at all; it was Skywarp and Thundercracker he had been hearing, calling for them, maybe for hours, judging by how hoarse their voices were.

"OVER HERE!" Megatron hollered at the top of his lungs. "WE'RE OVER HERE!"

"Megatron? Is that you?" Skywarp suddenly popped into view, holding Thundercracker's arm. Apparently they both had been teleporting all throughout the jungle, searching for their lost comrades.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Thundercracker, breaking free of Skywarp's grasp and running over, Skywarp close behind.

"I am." Megatron stood up and dusted himself off. "I don't know about Starscream."

"Dear Primus, what happened?" asked Thundercracker, dropping to his knees and lifting up Starscream's head. "Did he die?"

"Well...I don't know," said Megatron. "You see, he got messed up pretty bad earlier tonight."

"Yeah, we've got that much figured out, thanks," said Skywarp, poking Starscream with a stick.

"Don't poke him, moron," said Thundercracker sharply. "Judging by what I see here...you ran into the Autobots?"

"They took all the energon except one--and that one they used to deliberately cause an explosion," Megatron explained. "Starscream took the majority of the damage."

"Well, why in the name of Primus didn't you call us?" Thundercracker demanded.

"I tried, but this is apparently a dead zone," Megatron told him. "I couldn't get a signal at all. And because of that, the Autobots caused an energon explosion that was meant to kill Starscream...and for all I know, they might have succeeded."

Skywarp knelt down next to Starscream and pressed his head to Starscream's chest then sat up, eyes teary with relief. "I-I can make out a pulse. Starscream's still alive!"

"Okay, you teleport him home," Megatron ordered. "Thundercracker and I will meet you in the med bay soon."

Skywarp nodded, grabbed his unconscious brother's arm, and vanished.

"They should be back home already," said Thundercracker. "C'mon, let's follow them."

With that, the two of them took to the skies.

...

When Starscream finally awoke, he had no idea where he was, and everything around him was blurry. All he was sure of was that he was in serious agony.

"What's going on?" he whined.

"Starscream, you're awake!" he heard someone exclaim, and it was Skywarp, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. The purple Seeker put his hand on Starscream's knee. "Sore?"

"Yes, very," Starscream mumbled. "What happened?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, you were hit by an energon cube that exploded like a touch bomb," said Skywarp shortly. "You're positively lucky to be alive."

Starscream, slowly coming to his senses, looked around the room. Instantly, he figured out that he was in the med bay; he was lying down on the repair table with a few blankets thrown over him, and a lumpy pillow had been placed underneath his head. Also, his whole body was apparently covered in clumsily applied medical tape.

"Wow, really?" said Starscream, shocked. "Thanks for saving me, Skywarp."

"I didn't do anything, really," Skywarp told him, standing up. "It's Megatron you have to thank."

"Megatron?"

Followed by Thundercracker, Megatron walked into the room then, with an awkward, almost gentle smile on his face (the most gentleness he was capable of, anyway). In his arms were three high-grade energon cubes; Thundercracker was carrying three, too.

"You're going to want these," said Megatron, setting the fuel down. "You lost pretty much all of your energon back there."

"High-grade," said Starscream in relief, picking up one of the cubes and downing it in one gulp. "I needed this."

"Isn't that better than those smoothie things?" asked Thundercracker.

"Yes," Starscream admitted.

"Well, you drink as much as you need to," Skywarp told him, patting him on the head.

Starscream couldn't concentrate completely on his next drink; he set it aside and aimed his glance downwards, not looking at anyone around him. "Skywarp says you helped me, Megatron."

"I did," Megatron grunted, shrugging. "I shouldn't have, but I did."

"Why?" Starscream, still not looking up, fiddled with the bedcovers, not knowing what to do.

"To tell you the truth, that's what I've been asking myself," Megatron muttered, sinking down onto Starscream's bed. "I can't explain it. I couldn't let you die there...I just couldn't. Not when you were at my complete mercy like that."

"And he should be drinking the energon, too," added Thundercracker. "Apparently Megatron gave you some of his own, just so you could last long enough that you might get help."

"Lord Megatron, I owe you my life," Starscream whispered.

"You're still pretty banged up, though," said Skywarp. "We're going to have a freelance medic come in and fix you up. I just met her when I was out getting a drink. And she's a Seeker, so her specialty is doctoring Seekers. Her name's Moonbeam, and she's really pretty."

Thundercracker spit out the energon he'd been drinking, spewing it all over the floor, then raised his hand. "Oh! Oh! Can I be hurt next?"

"Of course not," said Starscream, rolling his eyes.

"No, really, I think I broke my arm last week," Thundercracker insisted. "I might need help taking a bath for a few months."

"Thundercracker, how many times do I have to tell you?" Skywarp said. "If you're injured, it does NOT count if she has to bathe you, no matter HOW cute she is."

"Well, I should at least be given a little mouth-to-mouth, then." Thundercracker crossed his arms.

"Besides, TC, would you like to know what she asked me when I met her?" Skywarp asked him smugly.

"Oh boy, would I," said Thundercracker sarcastically.

"She asked me if I would have an energon smoothie with her later." Skywarp grinned. "You don't happen to still have their number?"

Thundercracker hollered out a jealous obscenity and tackled Skywarp down onto the floor. Skywarp punched him in the face then struggled against him, both of them yelling. Finally, Megatron walked over and pulled them apart.

"Seekers really do have to learn to control their promiscuous natures," he told them sharply.

"Oh, that's embedded so deeply in our coding, there's no way you could even try to control it," Starscream said jokingly. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Thundercracker and I were uncles within this year..."

Megatron growled in frustration, and Skywarp shrugged.

"That aside," he was saying uncertainly, "I-I guess we never know our true personalities...until we're tested."

"Whatever that means," Thundercracker muttered, but Starscream grabbed the blankets and stared up at Megatron.

"I-I'm sorry I called you a total fail," he told Megatron, his voice even shriller than usual. "I never really meant it."

"And I'm sorry I hurt your wings," Megatron said back calmly. "I won't do it again."

Starscream smiled tentatively and nodded.

"Aww," said Skywarp, bending down and giving Starscream a tight hug.

"Aww," said Thundercracker, joining the group hug and yanking Megatron down with him.

"I love you guys," Starscream whispered, sounding almost tearful as he said it.

"Can we please STOP this?" said Megatron irritably.

Everybody pulled out of the hug, but Thundercracker grinned. "I guess you were right about one thing, though, 'Warp."

"What?" said Skywarp.

"Megatron and Starscream really did bond over this mission, just like you said," Thundercracker replied.

"Woah...he's right." Starscream looked legitimately shocked.

"Yes, we bonded," said Megatron.

"I think I'm gonna barf," said Starscream, and clapped one sky-blue hand over his mouth.

"And if anyone needs me, I'll be washing out my mouth," Megatron added weakly.

Megatron rushed out of the room and Starscream shuddered a little, lying back onto the pillow.

"Some things never change," said Thundercracker, shaking his head, and he and Skywarp both burst into laughter.

-the end-

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Starscream soon fell into stasis again after the energon transfusion, and Megatron could only hope that it had worked. After several minutes, he drifted off too. Time passed; it may have been one hour, it may have been five. Nothing about Megatron's stasis was pleasant; everyone was shouting at him, in words he couldn't understand. Finally a loud call shattered the dream--

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Megatron bolted awake. It hadn't been a dream at all; it was Skywarp and Thundercracker he had been hearing, calling for them, maybe for hours, judging by how hoarse their voices were.

"OVER HERE!" Megatron hollered at the top of his lungs. "WE'RE OVER HERE!"

"Megatron? Is that you?" Skywarp suddenly popped into view, holding Thundercracker's arm. Apparently they both had been teleporting all throughout the jungle, searching for their lost comrades.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Thundercracker, breaking free of Skywarp's grasp and running over, Skywarp close behind.

"I am." Megatron stood up and dusted himself off. "I don't know about Starscream."

"Dear Primus, what happened?" asked Thundercracker, dropping to his knees and lifting up Starscream's head. "Did he die?"

"Well...I don't know," said Megatron. "You see, he got messed up pretty bad earlier tonight."

"Yeah, we've got that much figured out, thanks," said Skywarp, poking Starscream with a stick.

"Don't poke him, moron," said Thundercracker sharply. "Judging by what I see here...you ran into the Autobots?"

"They took all the energon except one--and that one they used to deliberately cause an explosion," Megatron explained. "Starscream took the majority of the damage."

"Well, why in the name of Primus didn't you call us?" Thundercracker demanded.

"I tried, but this is apparently a dead zone," Megatron told him. "I couldn't get a signal at all. And because of that, the Autobots caused an energon explosion that was meant to kill Starscream...and for all I know, they might have succeeded."

Skywarp knelt down next to Starscream and pressed his head to Starscream's chest then sat up, eyes teary with relief. "I-I can make out a pulse. Starscream's still alive!"

"Okay, you teleport him home," Megatron ordered. "Thundercracker and I will meet you in the med bay soon."

Skywarp nodded, grabbed his unconscious brother's arm, and vanished.

"They should be back home already," said Thundercracker. "C'mon, let's follow them."

With that, the two of them took to the skies.

...

When Starscream finally awoke, he had no idea where he was, and everything around him was blurry. All he was sure of was that he was in serious agony.

"What's going on?" he whined.

"Starscream, you're awake!" he heard someone exclaim, and it was Skywarp, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. The purple Seeker put his hand on Starscream's knee. "Sore?"

"Yes, very," Starscream mumbled. "What happened?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, you were hit by an energon cube that exploded like a touch bomb," said Skywarp shortly. "You're positively lucky to be alive."

Starscream, slowly coming to his senses, looked around the room. Instantly, he figured out that he was in the med bay; he was lying down on the repair table with a few blankets thrown over him, and a lumpy pillow had been placed underneath his head. Also, his whole body was apparently covered in clumsily applied medical tape.

"Wow, really?" said Starscream, shocked. "Thanks for saving me, Skywarp."

"I didn't do anything, really," Skywarp told him, standing up. "It's Megatron you have to thank."

"Megatron?"

Followed by Thundercracker, Megatron walked into the room then, with an awkward, almost gentle smile on his face (the most gentleness he was capable of, anyway). In his arms were three high-grade energon cubes; Thundercracker was carrying three, too.

"You're going to want these," said Megatron, setting the fuel down. "You lost pretty much all of your energon back there."

"High-grade," said Starscream in relief, picking up one of the cubes and downing it in one gulp. "I needed this."

"Isn't that better than those smoothie things?" asked Thundercracker.

"Yes," Starscream admitted.

"Well, you drink as much as you need to," Skywarp told him, patting him on the head.

Starscream couldn't concentrate completely on his next drink; he set it aside and aimed his glance downwards, not looking at anyone around him. "Skywarp says you helped me, Megatron."

"I did," Megatron grunted, shrugging. "I shouldn't have, but I did."

"Why?" Starscream, still not looking up, fiddled with the bedcovers, not knowing what to do.

"To tell you the truth, that's what I've been asking myself," Megatron muttered, sinking down onto Starscream's bed. "I can't explain it. I couldn't let you die there...I just couldn't. Not when you were at my complete mercy like that."

"And he should be drinking the energon, too," added Thundercracker. "Apparently Megatron gave you some of his own, just so you could last long enough that you might get help."

"Lord Megatron, I owe you my life," Starscream whispered.

"You're still pretty banged up, though," said Skywarp. "We're going to have a freelance medic come in and fix you up. I just met her when I was out getting a drink. And she's a Seeker, so her specialty is doctoring Seekers. Her name's Moonbeam, and she's really pretty."

Thundercracker spit out the energon he'd been drinking, spewing it all over the floor, then raised his hand. "Oh! Oh! Can I be hurt next?"

"Of course not," said Starscream, rolling his eyes.

"No, really, I think I broke my arm last week," Thundercracker insisted. "I might need help taking a bath for a few months."

"Thundercracker, how many times do I have to tell you?" Skywarp said. "If you're injured, it does NOT count if she has to bathe you, no matter HOW cute she is."

"Well, I should at least be given a little mouth-to-mouth, then." Thundercracker crossed his arms.

"Besides, TC, would you like to know what she asked me when I met her?" Skywarp asked him smugly.

"Oh boy, would I," said Thundercracker sarcastically.

"She asked me if I would have an energon smoothie with her later." Skywarp grinned. "You don't happen to still have their number?"

Thundercracker hollered out a jealous obscenity and tackled Skywarp down onto the floor. Skywarp punched him in the face then struggled against him, both of them yelling. Finally, Megatron walked over and pulled them apart.

"Seekers really do have to learn to control their promiscuous natures," he told them sharply.

"Oh, that's embedded so deeply in our coding, there's no way you could even try to control it," Starscream said jokingly. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Thundercracker and I were uncles within this year..."

Megatron growled in frustration, and Skywarp shrugged.

"That aside," he was saying uncertainly, "I-I guess we never know our true personalities...until we're tested."

"Whatever that means," Thundercracker muttered, but Starscream grabbed the blankets and stared up at Megatron.

"I-I'm sorry I called you a total fail," he told Megatron, his voice even shriller than usual. "I never really meant it."

"And I'm sorry I hurt your wings," Megatron said back calmly. "I won't do it again."

Starscream smiled tentatively and nodded.

"Aww," said Skywarp, bending down and giving Starscream a tight hug.

"Aww," said Thundercracker, joining the group hug and yanking Megatron down with him.

"I love you guys," Starscream whispered, sounding almost tearful as he said it.

"Can we please STOP this?" said Megatron irritably.

Everybody pulled out of the hug, but Thundercracker grinned. "I guess you were right about one thing, though, 'Warp."

"What?" said Skywarp.

"Megatron and Starscream really did bond over this mission, just like you said," Thundercracker replied.

"Woah...he's right." Starscream looked legitimately shocked.

"Yes, we bonded," said Megatron.

"I think I'm gonna barf," said Starscream, and clapped one sky-blue hand over his mouth.

"And if anyone needs me, I'll be washing out my mouth," Megatron added weakly.

Megatron rushed out of the room and Starscream shuddered a little, lying back onto the pillow.

"Some things never change," said Thundercracker, shaking his head, and he and Skywarp both burst into laughter.

-the end-