Author's Notes: Well, I started this fic in July and it is now January. Yeah, I officially jumped the gun on publishing that first chapter. That being said, I'm glad to get back to this story. Punch/Counterpunch was probably the only interesting thing to come from the short lived season 4 of G1. I love the concept, and hopefully this story will convey it in a way you guys like too. Thank you for reading, and please review :)

Chapter 2

Safety in Numbers

The group of about twenty Autobots trudged along the cold barren landscape of the metallic desert, some walking in bipedal form and others transformed into vehicular alt modes. The largest built members of the group kept to the edges to protect against ground attack while the minibots and sparklings kept to the center and watched for seekers.

Boxer, Radiance, and their 5 vorn old son Punch were among this group of transient Autobots. The Decepticons had attacked so many Autobot strongholds over the vorns that no one knew where they could possibly go for protection and energon, yet they kept marching in hopes of finding a place of rest.

/Hey Counterpunch, I'm getting tired. You want the body for a while?/ Punch asked his brother over their spark bond.

/And freeze our aft off? No thanks! You can keep it!/ Counterpunch refused.

For as long as Punch and Counterpunch had been alive the twins had been forced to learn how to coexist in their shared frame. Sometimes they would take shifts, while other times it would depend on which one found a given activity more fun. Sometimes they would argue over who's turn it was to use the body, while other times neither one wanted to use it. Their shared existence involved a lot of negotiation, arguing, and consolations; all of which could be heard by no one but each other. It made the adults in their lives think they were quiet, but in fact they spent most of their time talking over their bond.

The twins had seen other siblings that had different bodies, and sometimes they would wonder how such beings could live so far apart from each other. A split spark twin would cry out for its other when they were seperated, but Punch and Counterpunch never had to feel such loneliness since they were always together. It got annoying sometimes, but at the end of the orn they felt like they had an advantage over other sparklings.

Other sparklings however didn't feel that way. The mechlings were often bullied by others that felt like they were freaks for their conjoined sparks. Some had said they were worse than scraplets, while others said their carrier probably sparked Shockwave in order to birth such an abomination. The mechlings did their best to hide the hurt, but they couldn't hide it from each other.

Their creators never made them feel bad about it though. Their sire and carrier taught them how to fight, and once they got their first upgrade they would learn how to shoot. Counterpunch was excited, but Punch was nervous. As calm as Punch tried to be in front of their creators, Counterpunch knew his brother was generally very nervous at spark about everything. To be fair though, Counterpunch wasn't much better.

As the family of minibots continued to march near the center of the convoy, one of the mechs in the front shouted "Kalis! I see Kalis! Hey everyone, the city of Kalis is still standing!"

Cheers erupted from the group, for all had feared this city would be like all the others that fell to the Decepticons. Boxer picked up Punch and carried him the rest of the way even though he was tired himself. Punch was very grateful for their sire in that moment.

/Hey Counterpunch! Did you hear that? We're gonna get to see Kalis!/ Punch exclaimed through the bond.

/I don't like this,/ Counterpunch replied warily, /If the 'Cons didn't blow up Kalis, then that means they probably have forces in the city already. Punch, what if they attack us? We don't even know how to shoot, and we're too small to fight. Pit, we're smaller than our parents!/

/Oh, I hadn't thought about that.../ Punch wavered, /Um, uh, okay...we're in a big group, so we'll probably be okay. I mean, Sire and Carrier wouldn't let anything bad happen, right?/

/Um, sure. Of course they wouldn't,/ Counterpunch said in an effort to convince himself as well as Punch, /So, um...Do you mind keeping the body for a while? I'm not in the mood to sightsee./

/Sure thing, bro. I'm looking forward to it,/ Punch replied; his excitement returning, /I know it's scary, but it could also be fun. Maybe we'll even meet some new sparklings in Kalis that won't hate us. Then we can be best friends with them forever!/

/Everybody hates us,/ Counterpunch replied cynically, /We're better off alone. Just let me know if anything goes wrong, okay?/

/Okay./

As the city drew closer Punch leaned into his sire's neck cables and looked up at the buildings. They weren't as tall as the remains of downtown Iacon, but they looked prettier; mostly because they weren't destroyed and abandoned. It was clear that there were still mechs and femmes living here, and Punch couldn't wait to meet them. He only wished Counterpunch was as excited as he was.

Walking through the city, it wasn't hard to miss just how quiet everything was. The citizens didn't seem to want to leave their homes for longer than necessary. There were some cars brave enough to travel down the road, and even a couple bipedal pedestrians, but for the most part the group of wayward Autobots had the place to themselves.

/This place is spooky,/ Punch told Counterpunch, /You're lucky you don't have the body right now. I can tell all the adults are nervous./

/Told ya,/ Counterpunch replied smugly, but mostly to mask his own growing concerns.

"Boxer," Radiance whispered to her spark mate, "We need to break away from the group to get some energon for the sparklings."

"We can't afford to get seperated," Boxer countered, "If we get lost we'll have no protection. As it is we have to keep reminding the bigger mechs to not stomp on us. I'd rather not have to have that conversation with a 'Con."

Radiance groaned in dismay but conceded his point. They would just have to wait until everyone stopped, and then see if any of the city dwellers would trade them any of their meager items for some energon. They had walked for orns through that barren landscape, and by now most of the fuel reserves had run dry. There was barely enough left for another few joors.

"Hey, you two!" A white and red ambulance-former femme called out to the two minibots, "Mind if I walk with you? My group is switching out to guard the edges of our little troupe."

"Oh, um, sure ma'am," Boxer replied compliantly despite having no idea who the femme was.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners?" The femme replied apologetically, "We haven't actually spoken since this trip began. My name is Measure, and I'm one of the medics that escaped the fires of Nuon. I've been traveling with you guys for about two deca-orns with my colleagues. I didn't catch your names?"

"I'm Boxer, and this is my lovely bondmate Radiance," Boxer proclaimed proudly.

"Nice to meet you both. Hopefully we'll get- Oh my goodness! You have a sparkling!" Measure squealed as she saw the sleepy form cradled to Boxer's chassis, "How did I not notice this cute little guy before? Oh, just look at his yellow and blue paint, and his little digits! Aww! How old is he?"

"Five vorns," Radiance told her.

"Wow, he looks so much younger! I guess he would though. Minibot sparklings are the cutest sparklings!" Measure gushed, "I haven't heard him yell or play or cry once! You two have obviously raised a very considerate mechling."

"Yeah, they've always been quiet," Radiance nodded as she looked down at her son, "Say, you're a medic, right? Do you know Rung?"

"Mm," Measure half-grunted-half-sighed, "Rung was killed two vorns ago. He was trying to reattach a severed leg on the battlefield. The 'Cons killed both him and his patient. I wasn't exactly close with him, but we had worked together before. He was a good mech. Why do you ask?"

"Because he delivered our sons," Radiance replied somberly.

"Oh, you have more than one?" Measure asked, perking up at the mention of the sparkling again, "Where is he?"

"Right here," Boxer replied as he lifted Punch up slightly for her to see him.

"No, I mean the other one," Measure corrected him.

"They're both here," Boxer explained, "Rung had to do an emergency procedure to save our sons. Two sparks, one body. Their names are Punch and Counterpunch, our precious twins."

"Two sparks in..." Measure gasped, unable to believe what she just heard, "How did they survive that?"

"Well enough," Radiance replied vaguely, practically daring Measure to say anything more.

"Oh my goodness..." Measure whispered as she stared down at the little bundle of confusion, "...Your little guys have overcome so much. They're going to be great warriors someday."

Radiance and Boxer relaxed on hearing those words, relieved they wouldn't have to knock some sense into another bigot. Punch opened his optics a little then, and Measure squealed again at seeing his pretty blue gaze.

"Um, who is this, Sire?" Punch asked quietly, his voice raspy from just coming online.

"This is one of our fellow Autobots from the convoy, son," Boxer replied gently, "Her name is Measure, and she is a medic."

"Hello, ma'am. My name is Punch. Pleased to meet you," Punch said as politely as he could manage, though he was still a little unsure around the new femme.

"Nice to meet you too, little one," Measure replied jovially, "Listen Boxer, Radiance, I know a small motel here in Kalis that takes in refugees from other city-states. Would you like to go with me? My group is going to go there too, and the more the merrier."

"Well..." Radiance wasn't sure.

"Do they have energon? The boys need to refuel, and I could go for a snack myself," Boxer interjected.

"Oh sure," Measure replied with a smile.

The parents looked at each other, and could feel over the spark bond that they both needed a rest. They agreed to go with Measure and her medic friends to the motel. Punch couldn't help but stare at the buildings as they walked around town. The spires of silver and rose gold were beautiful in the light of the setting sun, and the skies were clear of any nasty old seekers.

When they got to the motel room it wasn't fancy, but Measure told them they could have the whole room to themselves while she went back with her friends. When Punch saw the triple changer sized berth he leapt out of his sire's arms and jumped up and down on the berth! They rarely had a berth, especially a big one, so this was an opportunity Punch couldn't pass up.

/Hey, I wanna try it!/ Counterpunch butted in.

/In a breem, Counterpunch. I won't hog the berth forever, I promise,/ Punch assured him.

Boxer laughed at his little sparkling's antics. He and Radiance wrapped their arms around each other and watched with fondness as their mechling's form changed and Counterpunch started jumping on the berth too. It was a rare moment of respite for the struggling family, and both creators couldn't wait for the war to be over so that their little ones could have more moments of joy like this.

Counterpunch had kept the body for the rest of the night. He was the one that got to taste the energon that night, and he was the one that fell asleep in the huge berth with their parents. Punch didn't mind. Well, he did want to try the energon, but other than that he was just glad his twin was happy.

They both recharged peacefully for most of the night. When they woke up it was still dark, so they assumed they had managed to online before their creators. Counterpunch yawned and stretched, and then felt of his still recharging brother's spark and of-

Wait.

What the-?

/Sire? Carrier?/ Counterpunch called out over the bond, but he couldn't feel anything.

/Counterpunch? What's going on?/ Punch asked groggily over the bond.

/I can't feel Sire and Carrier!/ Counterpunch shouted in near panic, though no one outside their bond would hear anything, /Wait a breem...Punch, I don't want to scare you, but I don't think this is our motel room./

/What do you mean? Where are we? Where's Sire and Carrier?/ Punch asked; perplexed and frightened.

Counterpunch took a good look around the area. It was dark alright, but not because it was nighttime. In fact, there were no windows in this room. It was a dark closed-off room with steel brick walls, a blanket in the corner, spilled energon on the floor, chains on the walls, and a large heavy steel door.

/Punch...I think we're in jail,/ Counterpunch whimpered over the bond.

/There are no jails anymore,/ Punch pointed out, /Unless...maybe it's a dungeon. Maybe we were captured by the Decepticons and we're gonna die. Do you see anybody?/

/No. Let me try the door,/ Counterpunch replied quickly.

Counterpunch pushed at the door and tried to find a latching mechanism. Sure enough though, there was no way to open it from the inside. They were trapped. They had been captured.

/Do you think Sire and Carrier are in the dungeon too?/ Punch asked hopefully.

/I...don't know,/ Counterpunch replied helplessly; on the verge of tears since he still had use of the body, /We would feel them if they were just in prison. Punch...I don't wanna say it, but I think they're...dead./

/No!/ Punch wailed over their bond, /Counterpunch! They can't be gone! They were just there! We would've felt them if they died!/

/Maybe not,/ Counterpunch reasoned, /We were in recharge, and you've always said I could recharge through the rampage of Unicron. Maybe we just...didn't feel it. Maybe it happened fast and they didn't suffer. I mean, it's not a comm signal. The Decepticons can't block a bond. If they were still alive they'd be in our sparks, but they're not. So that means...we're alone./

Just then, a door opened and in walked three small mechs, about the size of the twins' creators. They all looked alike with green blue and white paint, but one had a circular lens on his chassis. Counterpunch didn't know what they were, but he was scared. He knew this place was bad, and those red optics on the triplets were not comforting at all.

"Come with us," The mechs all said in unison, which furthered the creep factor, "Our boss wants to see you."

Counterpunch grew more nervous by the klik as the trio of like-minded Decepticons stepped toward him to take him away. If he let them grab him they wouldn't just kill him, but they would kill Punch as well. Counterpunch couldn't let them get away with this.

The sparkling rammed his helm into one of the Decepticon's abdominal struts and took his gun when the 'Con staggered backward. Counterpunch pointed the gun first at one minicon and then another, not knowing how to actually shoot but hoping he could bluff his way out of the situation.

"Big mistake, runt," One of the Decepticons said, before another one of them shot Counterpunch in his right knee joint.

Counterpunch fell to the ground, unable to support himself, and two of the camera-formers grabbed him by his arms and dragged him away. Counterpunch struggled, but their grip was too strong for him.

/I'm sorry, Punch,/ Counterpunch whispered despairingly into the bond, /I couldn't save us. We're gonna die./

/Well, on the bright side...at least we'll get to see Sire and Carrier soon,/ Punch tried to say consolingly, but the sorrow was clearly broadcast over the bond.

The minicons led the sparkling through the halls for several breems until they made it to a large room with beautiful clear windows overlooking a cliffside. Counterpunch turned to look out the window so he could forget where he was, but that turned out to be a big mistake. He could see in the distance a city on fire, with seekers flying around it like angry vultures. The colors of the towers made it unmistakable...that burning city was Kalis.

"We brought the sparkling, sir!" The minicons reported in unison again, making Counterpunch shudder.

"Seriously?" A dark green seeker asked in a snobbish accent, "This is the sparkling you spoke to me about, Measure? It's a minibot."

Counterpunch looked up to see that beside the dark green seeker was the medic from their caravan; Measure. She was standing beside the seeker, yet her body language bespoke of her desires to drape her arms around him and play with his audials and wings. Counterpunch was young, but even he knew a horny glitch when he saw one.

"You don't understand, Acid Storm sir," Measure replied, her voice much huskier than before, "This sparkling is very special. He's a split spark twin."

"Twins may be rare, but that hardly qualifies a minibot for the Decepticons," Acid Storm replied coldly, "I cannot recommend sparing the life of this useless thing. Reflector, you may kill it."

"Yes, sir," The Reflectors replied as they dropped the sparkling roughly on the ground in front of Acid Storm.

"No, you don't understand!" Measure shouted, now growing worried that the sparkling would be killed, "I didn't mean that kind of twin, sir!"

Counterpunch knew those shutterbugs would execute him and his brother if he didn't do something and quickly. As the head Reflector aimed his gun for the sparkling's helm, Counterpunch gathered all of his strength and rolled on the ground, knocking over the Reflectors like bowling pins!

Counterpunch then grabbed one of their guns and fired it at the nearest Reflector; hitting him in the arm. The recoil of the shot actually knocked Counterpunch on his back, and he quickly rolled over on his elbows so he could army crawl away from the Decepticons.

"Grab him!" Acid Storm ordered Measure and a couple other mechs in the room.

It was pandemonium as the Decepticons tried to grab the slippery sparkling, and Counterpunch was having trouble evading them since his right leg still couldn't support his weight. Punch sent him waves of encouragement and concern over the bond, and knowing his brother was there gave Counterpunch the strength he needed to keep running and fighting for their lives.

Counterpunch was kicked by a seeker, he couldn't see which one, and he was knocked into a corner; stars dancing around his helm. He shook his helm to clear the lights away, but that only caused shooting pain through his helm. He blearily looked up to see the Decepticons surrounding him, and he lifted his gun up in a final desperate attempt to keep them at bay. If their lives weren't in danger, a sparkling holding a gun almost bigger than him would've been strangely adorable.

Before the Decepticons could make good on their execution threat, however, there was a shattering of glass as the large bay window broke open and several Autobots ran in to attack the 'Cons!

"Autobots!? Get them!" Acid Storm ordered.

With those words bedlam broke out between the two warring factions. The guns were loud and the punches were almost louder as metal banged against metal. Counterpunch was scared and unable to move due to a combination of his injury and fear. He huddled up in a corner and focused only on Punch's spark within his body. To avoid thinking of their certain demise he just pretended that nothing existed but their sparks and the void between them.

"What the-?" A strange voice asked above them.

Counterpunch was jolted out of his denial as a large servo grabbed him and picked him up. He screamed and tried to reach for the gun, but it was too far away. He looked up into the white faceplate and blue optics of his captor, and heaved rapid intakes as he tried to process what was happening. Blue optics. That meant Autobot. Autobots meant safety. This was a rescuer.

"Don't worry little guy, I'll get you outta here," The big truck-former assured the sparkling.

Counterpunch's processor didn't know how to handle the trauma without his parent's love to assure him, so he tried to find something else to focus his distressed mind. He decided to try to memorize the appearance of the Autobot holding him. Okay, this guy was big, and red, with a black helm and a white faceplate. His helm almost seemed to sport white angel's wings, and his backside had a ladder poking out of it. That meant fire rescue. Okay, so he was the heroic type. Good to know.

/Counterpunch, are you okay? You seem calmer,/ Punch inquired.

/Yeah, I'm fine,/ Counterpunch replied less than convincingly, /There's an Autobot here. He's saving us. We're gonna be okay./

"Wow, you sure are a quiet sparkling, ain't cha?" The Autobot asked Counterpunch as they ran out of the building and into the fiery night, "Well don't you worry. We're gonna take you someplace safe. My name's Inferno. What's yours?"

Counterpunch didn't answer him right away. He hated introductions. If he only gave his own name then Punch would have to awkwardly introduce himself later, but if Counterpunch tried to explain that he was two people the mech might want to hurt him or give him back to the Decepticons. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Nothing was always safer.

"Can ya talk yet, little guy?" Inferno asked gently.

Counterpunch gave no answer, either verbally or through body language. He just couldn't handle the scrutiny at the moment.

It took almost a joor before the rest of the Autobots came out of the Decepticon stronghold. Inferno had sat on a bench with the sparkling in his lap the entire time. The sparkling didn't speak to him, yet also didn't cry or complain. Inferno was just grateful they could save this one. There were so many more sparklings in Kalis that had died either with their families or alone and abandoned.

Inferno kept his arms wrapped protective around the little bundle in his lap just in case the sparkling decided he felt like running away, but oddly enough the sparkling never offered to leave his side. The Decepticons had probably killed his parents, and now the little fella needed comfort from an adult he could trust.

When his friends came back, Inferno started to get up to greet them, but then remembered the sparkling in his lap and had to carefully lift him up so the little one didn't wake up. Inferno felt the sparkling shift and heard him moan in discontent, so Inferno placed him gently on the bench he had been sitting on and took a thermal blanket out of his subspace to wrap over the child. The sparkling snuggled in, and Inferno smiled at how tiny the dark blue sparkling looked in there.

"Inferno!" Red Alert called out to his second in command, "Where have you been? We needed backup in there!"

"I'm sorry Red, but I had an emergency," Inferno replied apologetically.

"What kind of emergency?" Trailbreaker asked curiously.

"I found a sparkling!" Inferno blurted out; unable to contain his joy, "The 'Cons were gonna hurt him, but I got him outta there. He's under that blanket over there. Just a little thing. Probably a car-former. Possibly a minibot. He's so tiny."

"Wow, that's incredible!" Trailbreaker declared happily, "A survivor from the massacre in Kalis. Wonder why Acid Storm wanted him so badly..."

"No clue, all I know is he doesn't talk and he's very well behaved," Inferno told them, "Red, I know this broke protocol, but I couldn't abandon the sparkling."

"No, no, you did the right thing," Red Alert assured him, "So, where are we going to send him?"

"I dunno," Inferno shrugged, "I guess I could keep him until we find him a better home. Ironhide is raising Bumblebee in Iacon, so maybe we can take the little guy back with us to Helex and raise him ourselves."

"ASparklingInOurUnit?" Blurr asked incredulously, "ButWe'reSoldiers! ThatDoesn't-"

"He needs us," Inferno interrupted the blue speedster, "I wanna keep him. What do you say, Red? Will you allow it?"

Red Alert touched a servo to his chin in thought. He knew it was dangerous to have a sparkling with them, but at the same time it was becoming unsafe to have a sparkling anywhere. At the very least he knew his personal security systems were better equipped to spot danger than any other sentry system on Cybertron. He could protect a sparkling, and he knew his team was capable as well. Inferno was caring and brave, Trailbreaker was fun, Blurr could keep up with anything a sparkling threw at him, and Grapple and Hoist...wouldn't get in the way.

"Alright, Inferno. I'll allow it," Red Alert said softly as he nodded, "Just remember, he's your responsibility."

"Thanks, Red," Inferno replied sincerely.

Inferno led the way to the bench where he left the sleeping bundle of joy and the others followed him and whispered to each other about what they might expect. The team was excited to see what kind of mech they could raise the sparkling to be. Perhaps one orn he might even become an Autobot himself.

Inferno lifted the thermal blanket, only to see a rock where the sparkling had been.

"He's gone!" Inferno exclaimed in shock, "Quick, search the area! We're looking for a dark blue sparkling with yellow accents and blue optics! Go!"

The Autobots started searching for the sparkling in the hopes of protecting him from the Decepticons. Under the bench however, were two blue optics staring as they watched the Autobots' forms get smaller in the distance.

/Are you sure this is a good idea?/ Punch asked uncertainly, /They seemed nice./

/We have to go to Kalis and find our creators, and those 'Bots would just get in our way,/ Counterpunch argued, /Besides, we thought Measure was an Autobot and she wasn't. We can't trust them. We can't trust anybody. Other people will just get in our way. We can make it on our own./

/I hope you're right, Counterpunch. I'm hungry,/ Punch replied pitifully.

Once he was certain they were gone, Counterpunch left the safety of the bench. He was getting tired as his self repair systems were draining his energy to fix his knee joint. He sighed, and then transferred the body back to Punch. Punch was smart and would be able to hide just as well as Counterpunch, so he trusted his brother with this task.

The two-in-one sparklings set off into the crystal forests outside the fortress. They could fit into areas other mechs couldn't, so they knew they wouldn't be followed. From this point on, they were on their own.