Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro

Measures of Time: vorn = 83 years / breem = approx 10 minutes / orn = 14 days / joor = 6.5 hours

Note: It's been... quite a while since I added anything, hasn't it? To be honest, I got a bit caught up in a couple other projects - one of those being getting back on track with the 28 meme ficbits and another being trying to pass Beginning Latin Level I - and shuffled TFYC to the back burner for a little while.

However, I had a certain red 'bot who is doing his damnedest to make me love him (and it's working) decide to speak up on certain things he would make every effort to keep away from a certain seeker. And wound up giving me a 2000-word chapter.

Cliffjumper huffed in annoyance and glared at the (not a 'con if any of the Vos base longer-termers were to be believed) seeker youngling that was currently picking his way through the rubble of a fallen tower for Primus only knew what. The only reason the red mech was even in the same region as the waste of metal at the moment was due to three facts: he was scheduled to patrol the sector with Blue and the twins this shift, said twins had gotten permission to let the seekerling tag along this cycle, and Ironhide had given express orders not to make too many waves since Ratchet (and everyone else, it seemed) reacted badly when the youngling was unhappy.

No more than a breem ago, a couple of unidentified signals had pinged their sensors. The quartet briefly conferred to debate on who would go check the locations and who would keep an optic on Starscream – the youngling hadn't received full sensor upgrades as yet and therefore was unaware of the potential threat – and decided that since Cliffjumper was the most heavily-armed that he should stay behind in case something slipped past any of the others. The smallest of the four mechs hardly thought that fair (and what sensible bot wasn't armed these days?) but couldn't really argue the logic. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were lightly-armed melee fighters while Bluestreak was a sniper; they were the best-equipped to deal with a threat quickly and return before Starscream even realized there'd been a problem.

It didn't mean he had to like it, however, hence his dark gaze at the exploring youngling.

Still, it was almost fascinating, being able to observe the brat. The kid moved carefully through the rubble, moving aside pieces and examining one every so often before either tossing it aside or subspacing it for later. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the activity, and Cliffjumper half-suspected that the seekerling had just wanted to get out of the slagging base for a while; even he got bored if he didn't get to look at the sky from time to time, and in the dozen orns since his team had arrived the little slagger had only been outside twice counting now. And if there was one thing Cliffjumper knew from watching the 'con seekers, it was that they spent most of their time in the sky. Starscream walking everywhere was an oddity, but it seemed that he wasn't immune to the need to just be out in the open air for a while.

'Bluestreak to field base,' the sniper commed on the patrol channel, interrupting the mech's thoughts. 'I don't see anything here. Although I really wouldn't expect to see anything, since this is pretty much a dead sector aside from our base, and why would Decepticons be looking for anything in Vos, anyway? I know it used to be a pretty major city, but it's mostly destroyed now—'

'You heading back then?' Sunstreaker cut in over Bluestreak's ramble before it had a chance to build to a full monologue. 'I had a hit to my sensors again, no visual but I'm going to check it out before turning around.'

'Yeah, going now,' Bluestreak replied, not at all annoyed at having been interrupted. 'Shouldn't be half a breem.'

'Need some help checking, Sunny? I had a big nada over here like Blue,' Sideswipe asked.

Cliffjumper tuned the conversation out, doing a quick visual scan of the area and noting that Starscream had disappeared. For about an astrosecond he was annoyed that the little slagger had wandered off ('con or not, doesn't he know there's a fragging war going on?!) before cutting on his ranged sensors. The instant he did two signals screamed to life on his grid – one from within the tower ruins and one directly behind him.

Before he could activate even one of his cannons a blow connected with his back, knocking Cliffjumper across the demolished street and into the rubble. He onlined his optics again as a hand grasped his neck and lifted him painfully, his fuel pump sinking when he recognized the intruder as Blitzwing. There weren't many mechs that had the ability to frighten Cliffjumper – what he lacked in size he more than made up in bravado – but those few that did were 'cons, and the only one that made his energon freeze in terror was the insane triple-changer. A bot never knew from one astrosecond to the next how the mech would act, his mood changing from clinical detachment to burning rage to psychotic glee without warning.

At the moment, it seemed the colder persona was in charge as Blitzwing peered at the minibot with mild disinterest. That didn't keep him from maintaining an almost-crushing grip on the smaller mech's neck nor did it stop him from pressing just a bit harder to pin him against a wall. "Lose something, little rebel?" the triple-changer asked almost conversationally, the look in his optics never wavering.

Even if he was terrified, Cliffjumper wasn't going to crumble easily. "What do you want, Decepticreep?"

"Just some information," Blitzwing replied, still displaying an almost clinical manner as he lifted one shoulder in a brief shrug. "A trifle, really. If you would be so kind as to give me the location of your base, the access codes to gain entry, and the whereabouts of a misplaced seeker, I may see fit to allow you to return to your fellow soldiers" – the word was sneered and for the briefest of moments the vengeful persona glared darkly at him before lapsing control back to the cold one – "either in one piece or with minimal damages."

Had it been any other Decepticon making this request, even Megatron himself, Cliffjumper may have been hard-pressed to say no. He was leery of a seeker in their ranks, even a youngling, no matter how atypically he acted when compared to others of his kind.

But with this 'con asking the questions, the only thought that passed through his mind was the fact that Starscream was a youngling and would likely have his mind splintered beyond repair if given over to the psychopath for however long it took to get to the Decepticon stronghold in Darkmount... if Blitzwing even left immediately. Chances were good that the triple-changer would want to play a little first, and the sort of activities the three distinct personae enjoyed weren't the type that a sane mech would subject a youngling of one-hundred twenty vorns to.

Cliffjumper's azure optics met the Decepticon's red ones, fear overshadowed by the sudden protectiveness he felt and the desire to spare at least one innocent in this war. "Rust in a scrap heap."

There was no warning; one moment Blitzwing was peering at the red mech with cold optics, the next he had torn Cliffjumper's right arm free from the socket and was tossing it aside with a snarl. "Wrong answer," the angry persona growled, tightening his hold on the other's neck. "Let's try this again, you little waste of space. Where's the youngling? And consider your answer carefully. You only have three limbs left, and then I'll start going for internals."

"You must be deaf as well as ugly," Cliffjumper replied, his words somewhat strained as his systems flared in agony. He ignored the pain, focusing all his attention to the decision he'd made to keep the youngling out of this Decepticon's grasp. It would probably be the deactivation of him, but with any luck Blue or the twins would make it back in time to keep the slagger from tracking down Starscream once done 'questioning' him.

Blitzwing's expression darkened and he grabbed Cliffjumper's left arm tightly. Before he could do more than tense his servos to tear the limb free, a hunk of metal collided with the side of his head, knocking the triple-changer off balance and forcing him to drop the rebel. Cliffjumper's optics darted towards the source of the flying rubble, spotting the seekerling just as he hurled another hunk of the tower at the Decepticon.

"Leave him alone!" Starscream hissed, glaring at the larger adult mech and crouching low to the ground; Cliffjumper recognized the move as one he had seen the 'con seeker trine do before they would launch themselves into the air after a brief landing. It seemed that Starscream planned to take to the sky if Blitzwing tried to come after him, and the small red mech sincerely hoped he would head straight for the base if he did. It was still a closely-guarded secret, and the youngling would be safe once he hit the perimeter.

'Just go, kid,' he commed the youngling urgently. 'This fragger won't give up easily, I'm down to one weapon, and you're unarmed. Get out of here.'

'If I do, he'll offline you and Ratchet'll be torqued,' came the quick reply, the youngling's optics never leaving the 'con.

'He'll be even more torqued-off if you get yourself slagged! Now beat it!'

Blitzwing was unaware of the conversation, his gaze locking onto the seekerling with that cool detachment once more overtaking his faceplate. "I would be willing to consider that option," the mech said evenly, the other two personae flickering across his expression briefly before he continued, "if you concede to turn yourself over to the proper alliance. You are a seeker; ergo you should be a Decepticon by rights."

There wasn't an astrosecond of hesitation in the reply: "Go 'face yourself."

A furious growl slipped from the triple-changer's vocalizer and he lunged for the seekerling. Starscream had been expecting as much and launched himself into the air, passing over the mech's head and landing lightly on the opposite side of the street; he cast his optics to one side for only a moment to apparently search for another make-shift weapon, but it was just long enough for Blitzwing to act. The Decepticon rushed for the youngling again, catching him off guard and catching hold of one ankle as the mechling attempted to escape once again. Using Starscream's own momentum against him, the triple-changer whirled around and flung the youngling at a partially-collapsed wall a few meters away from where Cliffjumper was struggling to regain his footing.

As Starscream slumped to the ground, dazed from his collision with the wall, the triple-changer stalked over to him and pinned him in place with one clawed hand. The anger in his optics was replaced not with detachment but with a sort of gleeful interest; Cliffjumper noted the change in demeanor and clamored to his feet, slumping back against the wall as a wave of dizziness due to energon loss hit him. The 'con barely glanced over, a twisted smirk on his dermaplate as he immediately dismissed Cliffjumper as a possible threat to his plotting.

"Get your hands off him," the minibot snarled, only to receive another absently amused smirk in response.

"Why?" he asked, the slightly higher pitch in his tone indicating that the third – and possibly most dangerous – personality was in control now. "He's a seeker, right?" Blitzwing looked back at the dazed youngling and clicked his glossa against his teeth briefly. "And a very pretty seeker, too. Much prettier than any of the trine," he added, his free hand tilting the youngling's face up before dropping to roam over the white mech's torso searchingly.

Cliffjumper snarled and tried to push away from the wall to no avail, too weak from the fluids leaking steadily from where his arm had been. "Stop!" he growled, horrified at what the other mech intended to do. "He's practically a sparkling!"

"Everyone has to grow up sometime," was the response, followed by a chilling laugh. The sound was cut off abruptly by the impact of a laser blast, knocking Blitzwing away from the youngling. Cliffjumper looked in the direction the bolt had come from, relief flooding his systems as he spotted a blank-face Bluestreak lining up his sights to fire off another shot if necessary; from the furious gleam in the sniper's optics, it seemed that he'd arrived just in time to see what the 'con had planned for the mechling.

"I'd strongly suggest you leave," Bluestreak said coolly, finger relaxed over the trigger as he lined up his next shot. "Because you have about a quarter-breem until that youngling's brothers get here, and if they don't drop you, his creator will."

All three of the triple-changer's personae flickered briefly across his faceplate before settling on the detached primary. "This isn't over yet," he said before shifting to his flying alt mode and taking to the sky, barely clearing the ground before Sunstreaker screeched into view. Sideswipe was directly behind his twin, although where the gold twin fired a few shots after the retreating Decepticon the red one rushed over to the collapsed seekerling.

Only now did Cliffjumper relax, slipping back to the ground as the world around him grew dimmer. He could hear Blue and Sunstreaker trying to get his attention, but it sounded very far away. The minibot managed to glance over to make sure that Starscream was relatively unscathed before letting his systems slip into emergency stasis.

Kid shouldn't have to deal with this slag, he thought just before he shut down. We all gotta keep it away from him for as long as possible....

End Note: This does not mean that either CJ or Blue is suddenly going to be best buds with Star; it just means that at least Jumper is going to start thinking of Star in terms as a somewhat innocent bystander in the whole thing and will reserve passing judgment until the screaming one is of age. Until then, though, he's just a kid and the more people looking out for him to keep individuals like Blitzwing away from him, the better.