Megatron felt inconveniently large on the narrow street. But then, most planets seemed small after Cybertron.

Petricor's dense population only exaggerated it's small mass. The planet's cramped cityscape made all the more claustrophobic by it's many inhabitants. What wasn't densely built upon landmass -skyscrapers atop skyscrapers in precarious shapes and angles in desperate attempts to create more space- were endless green oceans. Too acidic to spawn organic life, corrosive enough to erode the edges of the bustling cities spilling into it.

No longer tolerant of cramped spaces, Megatron would have preferred to remain aboard the Nemesis in orbit. Petricor's thick, low lying clouds pressed down on him much like a passing ceiling. He made the conscious effort to relax his shoulders as he moved across the bustling sky bridge.

A passing group of tall, narrow, matte plated techno-organics brushed by him. He huffed in irritation. Audials picking up on their hoarse whispers-

"-lost their war-"

"-dead planet-"

"-Decepticon scum-!"

They had long disappeared into the crowd when he turned, fusion cannon humming readily.

Despite his less than reputable persona, the discord on the urban planet made it ripe for recruitment. Just enough Cybertronians had sought refuge on it's neutral grounds after the war, and plenty were beginning to suffer under it's growing shortage of resources. If ever there were a time to pluck those of softening resolves from their pacifistic roots, it was now.

It was midday but a distant sun and heavy cloud cover meant the streets were dark save for the dim glow of platform lighting. It reflected off Megatron's dusty armour, brightening his profile against the native techno-organic's darker silhouettes.

It was the only reason he caught a glint of sparkling crimson out of the corner of his optic, silhouette too obvious to be ignored.

A seeker.

-Hovering in the enclave of one of the buildings, watching the motions of he crowd. It's back was too Megatron, it's posture so, so familiar that he found himself drawn to it, optics snapping to those wings, the shape and the angle and there were too many coincidences for it not to be-

A surge of irrepressible fury had him marching across the street, closing the distance. Servo reaching.

The seeker suddenly turned, alerted by something, spinning on it's heel. It's face damnably, horrifically familiar-

Starscream, he thought, scowl instinctively pulling at his mouth, gaze sharpening as it met with uniquely angular crimson optics.

The seeker's mouth dropped open in surprise and Megatron realised, moments before swinging his fusion cannon up, that it wasn't. The face rounded with youth, the jaw too square, too masculine.

And about three times too small.

Megatron blinked. A sparkling. It was a sparkling.

He very nearly turned away; about to offer a gruff apology for frightening the little seekerlet, when it took a step back from him. Then two more, one servo drawing back as if reaching for a weapon.

"Megatron..." The sparkling breathed, optics narrowing with hate, face twisting into a sneer. Starscream's sneer.

He didn't speak at first. It had been years since he had last laid optics on his long gone traitor, but the resemblance was uncanny.

He shook himself from his nostalgia.

"Have we met?" He asked dangerously, forcing his tone to even out. Frightened sparkling's weren't particularly talkative and if there were seeker's here it was worth looking into.

But the seeker's face was void of any fear, his features twisted angrily.

"No, we haven't" it snapped, and Megatron watched it's optics track down his frame and back up again. Sizing him up, like he was an opponent in a fight. "...You look far shorter in person." The sparkling commented bravely. Or stupidly.

Megatron felt his optic twitch. He stepped closer, threateningly, jaw clenching. "Excuse me?"

Bright optics rolled towards the sky, "Deaf too."

It was a miracle the child had survived so long with a mouth like that. Megatron had no patience for disobedient sparklings. He'd be doing it's creators a favour really, if he pushed the thing off the edge of the city.

But It would survive anyway, sadly, thanks too those wings.

Still. He advanced quickly enough that not even the seeker's natural instincts could predict his fist curling around the edge of it's wing. To the youngling's credit, it didn't shriek.

"Where did you get such a smart mouth?" he growled, right servo keeping the seeker in place as his left squeezed the youngling's jaw, exaggerating an already venomous scowl, digits digging into soft, meshy cheek-plates.

The seeker tried to shake out of his grip, "Doesn't take a smart mouth to state the obvious!" He retorted through squashed lips.

Megatron gave him a little shove back as he released him. He was robbed the satisfaction of watching the brat stumble though. Blasted inherent seeker grace.

"So you know who I am," he stated, and cocked his weapon threateningly, "Who are you?"

The seeker glanced at the weapon, "I'm not scared of you."

"You should be." Megatron rumbled in his most fearsome voice, looming over the sparkling.

His display was met with a disgusted noise.

"Oh, what are you gonna do?" The youngling sneered, "Rust on me?"

The sparkling was sounding more and more like Starscream with every passing second. A knot began to form in the pit of his tank, growing larger and tighter with every familiar expression and insult.

An idea was jabbing him in the processor with increasing thought. He ignored it as best he could, thinking rather hopefully that maybe Starscream had offlined and this youngling was merely channelling his spark.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

"You brought Autobots into the system," the youngling tilted forward on his pedes to make himself taller, tone accusing. "They knew you were coming here and raided the city. They took my creator."

"Your creator..." Megatron murmured, processor aching with stress. His optics wandered away from the youngling's face to his wings again, the familiar length and angle.

"He used to fight for you," the sparkling continued, looking unimpressed, "Primus knows why. Left vorns ago. ...He mentioned you. Occasionally."

Megatron stared at the seeker. The seeker stared back.

Despite what this sparkling thought, Megatron wasn't an idiot.

"Starscream," he finally guessed, but knew without confirmation that it was true. He was unsureof his feelings regarding his former SIC's, his continued existence, his capture, that he had a sparkling.

"You're going to help me rescue him," The sparkling told him.

Megatron blinked himself out of his numb stupor.

"Oh am I?" He peered down at the sparkling and finally felt he was gaining an upper hand in the conversation. "I don't know what your creator told you, but he has no allies among my Decepticons."

"He is a Decepticon-!" the sparkling began to argue.

"He's a liar and a traitor!" Megatron snapped back, "and I and many others will be happy to hear of him rusting away in a cell."

"They'll torture him for information!" The brat snarled back, his pitch shifting into something more desperate, more Starscream-like. "He knows too much. Do you want the Autobots to gain that information? To embarrass you even more?!"

Megatron ignored him, turning away. None of this was his problem. Starscream was no longer his problem. His abandoned offspring certainly wasn't either.

"Starscream hasn't been in my command for vorns. Any information he has is outdated-"

"What about the military outpost on Mapier?" The youngling's shout made him pause. He glanced over his shoulder. "Or your fuel stores in the Duvan system?"

Megatron whipped back around, "How do you-?"

"Are you going to help me find my creator or not!?" The little firecracker of a youngling demanded, holding his ground even as Megatron stalked back.

"Fine," Megatron finally rumbled, deciding to humour the sparkling.

He was, after all, agreeing to 'find' Starscream. There was nothing stopping him from enacting some well earned revenge on the traitor after that. Perhaps he'd let his little one watch. That would certainly put the fear of the Unmaker into the brat.

"Now, did your pathetic excuse for a creator give you a designation?"

The youngling frowned at him for a moment, reluctant to share the information. "...Mission," he spat.

Megatron wanted to sigh. Really, he'd thought Starscream possessed a little more style.

"Do you know where they're keeping him?"

Mission's chest puffed out self-importantly, and now that Megatron knew, he really couldn't un-see his former second. "I do."

"Ah," was Shockwave's carefully cultivated response upon greeting Megatron at the bottom of the shuttle ramp and laying his lone optic on the upstart seekerlet marching behind him. "The recruitment venture was not as successful as we'd hoped, I see?"

Shockwave should have known him better than to start throwing sarcastic comments around at a time like this. Instead of taking his frustration with the situation out on his sub-commander though, Megatron had a far more suitable outlet.

"Get in the shuttle," he snapped at Mission, giving the brat an unnecessarily hard shove up the ramp.

Mission huffed loudly, wings flicking. He threw his helm back, olfactory sensor in the air, and glided the rest of the way up the ramp. Megatron's denta ground together.

"Lord Megatron," Shockwave began to drone in his audial sensor, "I am aware of your penchant for stray seekers, but I must object to-"

"Shut up, Shockwave," he strode into the transport after the youngling. He could feel the beginnings of a processor ache forming behind his optics. Or perhaps it was because he'd been staring at Starscream's actual living, breathing spawn for too long.

Speaking of it...

"Out," he snapped, pointing at the youngling when he found Mission sitting in the shuttle's cockpit. In the pilot's seat no less.

"I can fly."

"I don't care if you can, you aren't."

Mission gripped the controls and didn't seem inclined to budge, gazing back with steely determination.

Megatron snarled in impatience, and his servo found, with great satisfaction, a scruff bar between the youngling's wings. Mission didn't verbally emote his objection, but Megatron felt his light frame shake with the fury of it. He tossed him towards the cabin before Mission could act on vile behaviour inevitably inherited from his creator, do something like attempt to claw his optics out.

Mission straightened himself up, glowering at Shockwave as the Sub-Commander passed him, eyeing him curiously.

"Sit down and be quiet," Megatron threw back as he dropped into the Commander's seat, Shockwave settling into the pilot's position next to him, servos moving across the shuttle's controls swiftly.

By some miracle Mission did as he was told, strapping himself into a passengers seat with as much attitude as it was possible to muster, muttering unsavoury things about Megatron, the shuttle, Shockwave's optic, and anything else that seemed to come to mind. Megatron fixed his gaze out the viewpoint, silently willing the shuttle to ascend all the quicker through the planet's dense acidic clouds.

The Nemesis lay hidden in the shadow of one of Petricor's colonised moons, awaiting his return. Although he'd been gone less than too cycles it's dark, looming hull had never looked so much like home.

"That's your flagship?" A condescending voice commented from the back.

Megatron forced down the sudden urge to murder.

"The Nemesis was Cybertron's finest," an oblivious Shockwave was quick to defend his High Commander's pride and joy. "There isn't another vessel like her in all the universe. The fastest, most durable-"

"-Ugliest," Mission piped up again.

That Shockwave couldn't physically form expressions made it all the more impressive that he was able to emote so much shock and offensive at the sparkling's comment. He looked to Megatron for backup, but his leader was too busy devising a mental list of the most unpleasant places he could lock the youngling when they finally boarded the ship.

Soundwave awaited their return in the hanger-bay, flanked by a rather bored looking Ravage. Megatron had hoped Shockwave would be the only other victim to witness the walking horror that was an exaggeration of all of Starscream's worst qualities stuffed into an innocent looking seekerlet, but it sadly wasn't to be.

He took a firm hold of Mission's scrawny arm before the shuttle ramp lowered, just to ensure the little hellion wouldn't run off to reek havoc, and dragged him out alongside him. Mission didn't think much to this treatment.

"Release me!" He demanded hauntingly, tiny digits digging painfully into Megatron's larger servo. "You're going to ruin my armour, you uncivilised-"

Megatron never heard the end of the insult as they came to stand before Soundwave. Mission fell silent, optics landing on Ravage and widening only slightly, finally giving some evidence of childish curiosity. Megatron's grip unconsciously loosened.

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave inclined his helm, as composed as ever. His visored gaze levelled with Mission's, and after a pause, he extended his servo. "Designation; Soundwave."

Mission took it, displaying manners Megatron would never have expected to see. "Mission," he introduced himself, chin lifting superiorly.

"Autobot's are in the system," Megatron explained to Soundwave before they could distract themselves with the unwanted sparkling. "And I have been... informed that they could hold delicate information."

Soundwave nodded, "Request; deploy unit to identify and dispose of security breach."

Megatron felt Mission stiffen beneath his servo and repressed the urge to cringe as he said, "It's Starscream."

To his credit, Soundwave barely reacted. "Acknowledged."

"Set coordinates for our new sector." he ordered instead. "Shockwave has the details. We should find our... old acquaintance there."

"Starscream's youngling?" Soundwave asked before he could leave.

Megatron didn't have to ask how he'd guessed. He released the seeker, gesturing for Soundwave to take him in his place.

"Deal with it," he growled, stomping off in the direction of the bridge, "And keep him out of my sight."

Having had many himself, it was safe to say Soundwave was fond of sparklings.

"If any of you touch my creator I'll make sure you all live to regret it."

Even those with more... eccentric personalities.

He wasn't the least bit surprised to be receiving threats from a sparkling that shared coding with Starscream. The loyalty however, that was something he certainly hadn't expected.

He gazed down at the angry little face, more petulant than menacing, and couldn't find it in him to rise to the bait.

"Your creator will not be harmed."

Mission folded his arms across his chest, kicking at the floor as he walked beside Soundwave, "Why should I trust a drone like you?"

Ravage hissed quietly in protest, but Soundwave waved him down, reminding his creation through their bond that he was only a youngling. "Lord Megatron will keep his word."

The response he received was a loud snort.

Soundwave led him to the corridor housing the officer's quarters, where Megatron, Shockwave, and he himself resided. And once long ago so had Starscream...

He stopped outside the vacant room and began entering the code.

"So this is where you're going to lock me up?"

"Negative," Soundwave stepped back as the door swished open to the reveal the former Air-Commander's residence, just as Starscream had left it all those vorns ago. "These were your creator's quarters."

Any distrust Mission seemed to have held fell away as he stepped over the threshold, wide, youthful optics taking in the cluttered furniture and busy shelves. Soundwave waited patiently, watching him run his digits across a dusty datapad.

"The door will remain locked." He informed the youngling, braced for the hateful glare he received in response.

"For my own safety?" Mission sneered, "I can take any one of you."

"Precisely," Soundwave decided to humour him. "The crew must be protected."

Mission didn't look like he was used to having people agree with him. He was stunned into silence as Soundwave stepped out of the room and sealed the door behind him.

Gamuur wasn't far from the system Petricor belonged too. The Autobot's must have been reluctant to drift too far from their Decepticon targets. Mission wasn't exactly the most cooperative of sources, so Megatron had no idea just how long Starscream had been held, what information he might have already given them, if he was even their prisoner- or just acting on yet another treacherous whim.

His data-banks dragged forth the last memories he had of the traitor, unforgettable and infuriating, dredging up so much unprocessed rage that it could keep him up at night even now, no outlet, no closure.

Fragging seekers, he thought resentfully, his memories that much keener thanks to the visual reminder that was his former SIC's spawn.

"Lord Megatron, we are clear to enter the system."

He waved a servo absently, "Proceed," he muttered grumpily.

Soon enough the system's most prominent planet, Tergar Dare filled the viewport. It's brownish- orange surface plain and unassuming. Megatron glowered at it. He was down there. Somewhere.

"Autobot spark-readings detected on the surface, Lord Megatron."

Megatron spun away from the viewport and swept past the monitors. "Weapons online," he commanded, "Assemble the landing party."

"Fraggit." Mission hissed to himself, servos buried in the hole he'd torn into the bulkhead, struggling to reconnect the frayed wires of the sealed doors.

His creator had clearly tampered with the locking mechanism in the past, making a simple override hack impossible. And despite being somewhat cleverer than the average Decepticon, it was taking Mission longer than he would have expected to undo the massacre his creator had committed against the wiring.

Luckily, the cluttered mess of his creator's quarter's hid many a tool for his disposal. Most interesting were the modified null rays hidden behind a fake row of data-files on a shelving unit.

"Creator," Mission let himself smirk as he attached the slightly oversized weapons to his armour. "Never change."

He blasted away another piece of the bulkhead for better manoeuvrability, and finally found the wires he'd needed. The doors shuddered open an inch or so, and Mission prised them apart until there was just enough room to squeeze out.

The hallways were silent, the low thrum of the massive ship's hyperdrive absent, indicating they'd come into orbit somewhere. Hopefully Tergar Dare, if Megatron had truly kept his word.

From what little Mission could remember of military warship layouts the bridge wasn't far from his location. Which meant the hanger was in the complete opposite direction. And that's where he needed to be.

He slipped into the expansive hanger undetected, sliding into a crouch behind a stack of packing crates. Peering over the top of them he could see a group of seekers with varying colour schemes, looking much alike his creator. Mission wondered which of them had been Starscream's trine.

"Skywarp!"

Mission jumped, ducking instinctively at Megatron's sudden shout. There were sounds of scrambling, thruster heels running across durasteel, immature laughter...

Mission poked his helm over the crates again to see the hulking figure of the Decepticon Commander gesturing angrily at a grinning lilac seeker. They were speaking, but Mission wasn't close enough to hear much more than the low rumble of their deep voices until -

"-Screamer's alive!?" The seeker exclaimed.

Mission didn't have to guess as to who this 'Screamer' was supposed to be. He made note to later repay that seeker for his disrespect. No wonder his creator had left this undisciplined mess of a faction.

The sound of igniting thrusters echoed in Missions's audial sensors. He glanced up in time to watch the seekers leap out the open hanger and flip into a transformation sequence, blasting away from the Nemesis and heading in formation towards the looming orange planet. He was surprised to then watch Megatron do the same.

Odd, that his creator had never mentioned anything about the old warlord being flight-capable.

Mission waited to be sure it was clear before following. His thruster's weren't fully developed enough to keep up with the Decepticons, but he knew the coordinates for the Autobot base regardless. He would let the grunts do most of the leg work dispatching the Autobots and hopefully Megatron would be distracted enough in the fight that he could simply grab his creator and run.

If Skywarp were to be honest with himself, he wasn't really surprised to hear Starscream was still alive. Not really. He could still remember an overcharged Megatron bellowing about it -that day they'd all realised Starscream wasn't coming back, for real this time. Remembered him throwing his high-grade at the wall, drunk and raging-

"- that traitor's still alive somewhere!" Megatron had snarled, denta bared, fists curled, "I want him found! I want him dragged back here screaming-!"

It had been an upsetting time for him, Skywarp guessed.

He couldn't deny that he, personally, didn't want to punch Starscream in the face a couple hundred times after he just up and left everyone. Not that he would ever have counted Starscream a friend. It wasn't like life hadn't gotten easier without their esteemed Air Commander shrieking in their audials and riding everyone's afts.

Still, he was entitled to miss him.

The Autobot base came into view on his scanners. He glanced across at Thundercracker, who had been the very definition of stoic since Megatron had mentioned their ex-trine mate. Bottling emotions up was never a good way to deal with them, and Skywarp was willing to bet Thundercracker wanted to punch Screamer a hundred time's harder than he did.

And he wanted to punch him pretty hard.

Armour still glowing from the heat of breaking through the planet's atmosphere, Megatron sent through the command to strike. Skywarp swung around, lining himself up before releasing four missiles straight for the base's power converters. They were joined by two dozen more.

The explosion was spectacular.

He flew straight through it, thruster's reversing to slow his descent. He landed heavily in a circle of ash and flaming rubble, weapons already locked onto three different targets stumbling for cover in what used to be the base's entrance.

He shot one in the helm, another in the chest. Thundercracker landed, pedes first, on the third.

"Do you have a location on the prisoner?" Megatron's voice crackled over the coms, barely audible over the deafening roar of thrusters, explosions, and gunfire.

Thundercracker threw himself behind a half collapsed wall for cover. Skywarp followed suit, tucking his wings in close to protect them from stray blaster fire. He sent out a short range scan, searching for spark signatures compatible with seekers.

"Found him?" Thundercracker casually armed a grenade and flung it in the direction of the defending Autobots. The ground shook.

"He's being held underground," Skywarp cringed as he read the scan. That was cruel, even for Autobots. He hoped he hadn't been captive long. "There are too many guards. I can't warp us down there without backup."

Thundercracker began relaying the information to Megatron, and Skywarp busied himself with unloading an entire power cell at a crumbling pile of rubble he knew a minibot was hiding behind. Neither of them noticed the huge orange tank come racing around the corner.

Skywarp heard the engine rev just in time to fling himself to the side. "TC!"

His trine mate opted for shooting at the thing rather than getting out of it's way. Two shots glanced off the altmode's reinforced armour, and with a furious roar of acceleration it rammed straight into Thundercracker, crushing his slender frame against the collapsing wall.

Both he and the wall crumpled.

Skywarp scrambled to find his footing. The tank was unfolding itself out of it's vehicle mode, the turret changing into a weapon large enough to rival Megatron's fusion cannon. It's glowing barrel swung around to level with his face.

The low whir of the weapon charging was interrupted by a high pitched whistle. The tank looked aside, panic suddenly written across it's face. It began to turn to defend itself against another attacker.

The missile landed at the tank's pedes and tore through him gruesomely. It destroyed his legs and sent what was left of him cartwheeling through the sky. Skywarp watched his frame sail away appreciatively.

His saviour landed with a graceful skid amongst the Autobot's charred remains. Somewhat distracted by Thundercracker's still unconscious frame, Skywarp did a double take.

"Who the-?" He squinted at the unfamiliar seeker. Weren't those Starscream's null rays? "Who the frag are you!?"

The sparkling sneered, optics rolling towards the ceiling. "A little gratitude might be appreciated." He announced hauntingly.

Skywarp stared, optics nearly bulging out of his helm, as the smaller seeker seemed to do the most perfect Starscream impression he had ever seen. Servos on slender hips, helm thrown back, olfactory sensor high, lips curled nastily...

"Sta' ream?" Thundercracker's heavily slurred voice called.

Skywarp disregarded the Screamer-imposter for the moment whilst he moved to help his wobbly trine mate up. He tutted disapprovingly at the state of Thundercracker's abdomen, the armour collapsed inwards, his tank likely ruptured. He would live.

"'hind you," Thundercracker weakly gestured, half draped across Skywarp's shoulder.

Skywarp whirled, weapon charged, ready to shoot at whatever it was. Only, by the time he'd even caught sight of the threat, the sparkling had already shot it clean in the helm. All with the sort of casual ruthlessness Skywarp had only ever seen Megatron use before.

"Um...?"

The sparkling ignored his confusion, instead demanding, "Do you know where they're keeping Starscream?"

"Hey!" Skywarp pointed angrily at him, "I'm not answering any of your questions until you answer mine first! Who are you?"

The youngling scowled at him, "it's of no consequence who I am-"

"The Pit it isn't!" Skywarp snapped. What business did a sparkling as young as this one have in a war zone. Looking for Starscream no less. He opened the channels of his com-link. "If you won't tell me, maybe you'll explain yourself to Megatron-"

The seeker's optics's brightened, frame stiffening. "This has nothing to do with-"

"Megatron," Skywarp was already hailing his high commander, "There something you're gonna wanna see-ARGHHH!"

The youngling flew at him. Skywarp dropped Thundercracker carelessly in his haste to defend himself against an onslaught of tiny, sharp claws.

"You'll regret that!" The youngling snarled.

Megatron had been in the middle of blasting an alternative point of entry into the base when Skywarp's voice came crackling over the com. He caught some of it-

"-something you're gonna wanna see-"

-before the channel roared with static and disconnected. Megatron huffed, attempting to raise the seeker again. There was no response.

Megatron would rather not end up losing one of his best seekers in an attempt at reclaiming one of his worst. They would be better off converging on Skywarp's location at the entrance of the Autobot base.

There was a lull in the Autobot reinforcements, so it was just quiet enough for Megatron to hear the commotion before he came across it himself. Thundercracker prone but conscious on the ground, and Skywarp swearing loudly as he appeared to be in the middle of losing a wrestling match against-

"You!" Megatron bellowed, stepping over Thundercracker and plunging a fist into the fray. His servo found that all too handy scruff bar and he yanked Mission off Skywarp.

Mission took a piece of Skywarp with him.

"FFFFR-"

Megatron prised Skywarp's aileron out of Mission's tiny evil claws and tossed it back at the purple seeker. He held the youngling cautiously aloft, mindful of his own extremities as Mission growled angrily and swiped at him.

"How did you escape the ship?" He demanded. If he returned to find the little monster had pulled a 'Starscream' and blown the Nemesis half to Pit in some calamity of a breakout, it's creator was certainly going to suffer the repercussions.

"Oh please," condescension marred Mission's dark face. "Hardly an escape. I hope you don't plan on taking any real prisoners when your fossil of a warship can't even contain a civilian youngling."

"You're using the term 'civilian' rather generously, don't you think?" Megatron dropped him carelessly, helm inclining towards the wreckage Mission had created, including his too best seekers.

"Or maybe your army is just as pathetic as my creator has always told me." He sneered, "and you Megatron. I don't know what he ever saw in you-"

"Will someone please," Skywarp interrupted, hauling himself and Thundercracker off the filthy ground, "Tell me what the frag is going on?! Is that Starscream? He scratches like Starscream-"

"No!" Megatron and Mission snapped in unison. Megatron glared at the youngling.

Skywarp was staring between the two of them, optics wide.

"I don't have time for this!" Megatron barked, shoving the sparkling away from him and focusing on Skywarp. "Do you have a location on your Primus-damned trine leader or not?!"

"Yeah sure," Skywarp shook himself, "he's five levels below. In what looks like holding cells? There are a lot of guards..."

"They're nothing but unseasoned amateurs!" Mission announced unnecessarily. "This isn't the first time I've battled Autobots. I can take them."

Megatron barely found the restraint to not smack the seekerlet around the helm. "You think yourself more capable of incapacitating an entire base than my seekers?"

Missions's expression was nothing short of smug, "I know I am-"

"They've called for reinforcements-" Skywarp's voice interrupted again.

As tempting as it was to finish this argument and put Starscream's youngling in his place, there were more pressing matters. Such as the approaching gunfire. He reached out and took Mission by the scruff bar, yanking him against his side harshly enough it nearly choked the seeker.

"Ack-!"

"Move!" Megatron ordered, lifting his fusion cannon and sending one supercharged blast in the direction of a fast moving Autobot convoy.

Ramjet was blasting his way through the wrecked entrance of the base, making a path for the seekers following him. Skywarp grabbed the still disoriented Thundercracker and dragged him in after him as Megatron provided cover fire, half shielding Mission with his larger frame.

An explosion from further inside the base alerted Megatron to the Autobot guards. But it was getting difficult to keep track of his Decepticons with actual demon spawn clawing viscously at his forearm.

Patience wearing thin, he hoisted Mission up so that they were optic to optic. "Stop. Now." He rumbled, giving him a warning nudge with his smoking cannon.

Mission wasn't the least bit intimidated, whacking the fusion cannon away with the back of his servo, "Let go of me!"

"Lord Megatron, we've managed to seal off the east and west corridors." Thrust's voice over the coms announced. "The holding cells should be directly beneath us."

"Hold them off!" He bellowed, optics scanning the flurry of activity for any sign of purple wings. He eventually spotted Skywarp off to the side, patching up a much more focused looking Thundercracker with a temporary sealant. "Skywarp, take us into the cells."

The seeker glanced at his trine mate, "You coming, TC?"

Thundercracker nodded, wincing as he stood. "Dibs on shooting Screamer first."

Mission made a noise of angry protest.

"There will be time for that later," Megatron took Skywarp's shoulder. "In and out. We've wasted enough time as it is."

The words had barely left his mouth when the smokey atmosphere of the corridor vanished in a flash of bright purple. He refocused his optics in the much darker lighting of what appeared to be the Autobot's brig.

"Behind you!" Mission's voice cried.

Megatron turned, dropping the youngling, but the red Autobot had already fired. It caught him in the right shoulder. The charge he'd built in his fusion cannon evaporated. He thought he was about to be struck again, when a volley of shots went off from just below him.

The Autobot fell backwards in a heap.

Megatron looked down to see Mission smugly blowing wisps of smoke from the tips of his null rays. "You're welcome," the sparkling smirked.

Megatron's mouth twitched. Primus help him, he was starting to like the little brat.

"Go find your creator," he said gruffly, giving him an push in the direction of the cells. Mission needed no encouragement, taking off at a run.

He was about to order the remaining seekers to watch the door when he noticed the look they were giving him.

"His creator?" Thundercracker whisper-shouted. "As in Starscream?"

"Clearly." Megatron snapped, as if it hadn't been a surprise to him as well.

"When did that happen?!" Skywarp burst out. "Did you know?"

Somewhat peeved at the interrogative tone they were using, Megatron quickly found himself losing his temper. "Of course not. How could I?"

But Skywarp was equally as agitated, "Well, he's obviously your-"

They were interrupted when Mission came running back towards them, face flushed, optics wide. "He's not here!" He shouted, vocaliser crackling on the last word. "The cells-! They've all been- They must have abandoned- and they- they took-"

Starscream, Megatron finished to himself. He exhaled heavily, faceplates tightening into a frown. They'd been too late...

Skywarp dropped to his knees with a sympathetic noise, hyperactive caretaker protocols overriding what little sense of self-preservation he had. Mission predictably slapped his open arms away.

"I don't want a hug!" He yelled, small frame shaking with pent up emotion. "I want my- I want..."

"We should go," Thundercracker's deep voice drew Megatron's attention from the youngling. "If they've already taken Starscream there's nothing for us here but more Autobots."

"I'm not leaving without my creator!" Mission's fierce, watery optics pinned Megatron with a look of utmost betrayal. "You swore to me! You gave me your word-"

A blast from up the corridor signalled the arrival of unfriendly company. Megatron went to reach for Mission, but the youngling jumped aside.

"If you won't help me I'll find him myself!"

Megatron snarled. Where had this youngling inherited his naive loyalty from? It certainly hadn't been Starscream. "Fine. Stay. Get yourself killed-"

"No!" Skywarp shouted in a rare show of disobedience, "We're not leaving one of our own-"

"He's not one of ours," Megatron gestured angrily.

"Yes he is!" The seeker insisted, and without preamble grabbed the seekerlet by the wing. A unit of Autobot's scrambled into view just as Skywarp's warp drive jolted into action and pulled them out of harms way. They vanished in a blinding flash of light.

Megatron's pedes landed on cool durasteel, rather than the sun warmed dust of Tergar Dare. But with Thundercracker's injury and Mission's disobedience, Megatron couldn't fault Skywarp for making the decision to retreat.

Not everyone seemed to agree however.

"Cowards!" Mission snapped, nearly knocking Thundercracker over as he shoved past him. "That might've been our only chance and now-" he pointed angrily at Megatron. "Thanks to you they could be anywhere in the galaxy."

Well the little monster certainly took after it's creator in attempting to blame him for everything.

"I've warned you once already," Megatron stalked towards him. "Do not take that tone with me."

He might as well have outright challenged the youngling. He could see Mission's bad attitude forming like it was a physical thing, chest puffing out, back straightening, optics sharpening, mouth twisting into a sneer.

"You can shove your warnings right up your-"

"Alright enough!" Thundercracker interrupted quickly. Likely because he correctly predicted he'd been about to witness an infanticide had Mission been allowed to complete that sentence. "We will find Starscream. We will."

Mission stared between them all. Angry. Suspicious. Disbelieving. Before twisting and marching out of the hanger bay.

Megatron felt himself deflate. He'd forgotten how draining dealing with someone like Starscream could be. "Follow him," he waved a servo after the sparkling. "And for Primus's sake, put him somewhere secure."