• “Vanished!? What do you mean he just vanished!?”

    “H-he wasn’t in his cell! So I went in to look and-”

    “You idiot! That mech had a cloaking device! He must’ve slipped out when you opened the door!”

    “I wasn’t told that! I’m so sorry sir I-I-”

    “I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses! Report to Napalm immediately! Tell him PM003!”

    “Y-yes s-sir…”

    Crimson optics flashed with anger as a comm. link flew across the room, connecting with the far wall and smashing into a million pieces. As the pieces clinked onto the ground, the dark silver tyrant stood, heavy footsteps walking over to the door and walking out, the panel swishing closed behind him as he exited the room and headed down the hall.

    All the while, two lighter red optics watched curiously, black and purple wings twitching as a teleportation device came into play, the jet disappearing in the darkness…

    “Ow!”

    “Hold still! I can’t get this joint in whilst your squirming Starscream!”

    “I would be able to hold still if you wasn’t hurting me your dolt! Ow!”

    “There. Got it”

    Starscream huffed, pulling away from his blue and white wing mate, twitching his white wings in irritation as he stood and walked over to a counter to collect a cube. Thundercracker just sighed, standing and heading for the door. As he walked over to it however, it swished open, a black and purple blur being the only thing he saw before he fell backwards, the third jet falling with him.

    “Skywarp for Primus sake what the heck is wrong with you!?”

    “Megatrons coming!”

    Starscream looked up from his cube, glancing slightly at the two sitting on the floor as they spoke.

    “Why is he coming here?”

    “I’ll give you one guess… that silver mech escaped from the cells and the guard said he didn’t know he had a cloaking device, and guess who was meant to tell him…”

    His faceplates hidden from the others, Starscream bit his lip. He could feel their gazes on the back of his helm, his wings rising slightly. He knew he’d forgotten to tell the sentry something about that mech, but at the time it had completely passed his CPU… probably because Megatron had hit it against the wall that afternoon…

    “We need to get out… you know he’ll include us if we’re in here”

    “But we can’t just leave him here…”

    “I know Thundercracker, but if we don’t… he’ll come looking and take out everyone in the way… including us… and it’ll make it worse…”

    The red and white jet swallowed some more of his cube nervously as his wingmates spoke in hushed whispers, thinking he couldn’t hear them. He knew what was coming, and so did they. It was the same thing every time something went wrong; ever time a battle was lost, every time a prisoner escaped. No matter what, it was always his fault in the tyrant’s cold and sparkless optics…

    “We better move then…”

    All three of the jets looked up as the sound of heavy and angry footsteps sounded from down the corridor the clicking and whirring of a fusion cannon being attached filling their audios. The two jets stood as Starscream turned. All three of them exchanged sad but nervous glances. Thundercracker nodded once at Starscream, which he returned, before the two of them dashed out the door, their lighter footsteps soon being drowned out by the louder ones heading up. Starscream sighed, throwing back his helm as he finished his cube, tossing the empty cube into a waste dispenser sitting in the corner before he calmed his trembling frame, picking up a blanket from his berth and quickly shoving it under.

    The steps gradually got closer and closer, and the jet couldn’t hide his nervousness any longer. He’d tried to keep it hidden, but as the sound echoed nearer and nearer; he found it harder and harder to control his fear.

    ‘You should be used to it by now’ He told himself over and over, trying to ease his shaking frame as he downed his third cube of highgrade, quietly hoping that this ‘lesson’ wouldn’t leave him as bad as the last one. He’d learnt that if he begged, pleaded or fought back, the punishment was worse. So this time, he’d decided that he wouldn’t beg, he wouldn’t plea, and he defiantly wouldn’t fight back. He just hoped that Megatron would get bored of him before his glossa slipped…

    The jet jumped and looked up as the door burst open, a beam of light the only thing he saw before pain shot through his entire sensor net. Not being able to keep silent from the unexpected attack, the seeker cried out in agony, vision blurring, the silver tyrant grabbing him by the neck just as he lost consciousness…