YAY! Finally done! Well, for my 15th birthday I got Atorie-tan, this laptop, and I couldn't transfer my files until YESTERDAY (I also got the complete 1st and 2nd seasons of TFA and a TFA board games XD)! So I wrote a lot of it today. Okay...this is REALLY long. Longer than Degrees of Seperation, so bear with me, okay? Its also a bit more depressing in my opinion. This is a sequel to Degrees of Seperation and a somewhat sequel to One 'Bots Trash (meaning, you really need to read DoS to understand most of this, not so much OBT). Some of the end feels kind of awkward to me, but I was having a lot of trouble writing it. This was the best I could do, I'm sorry! Well...try not to write much here...please enjoy and review to see what I can do better!

The entire street was buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Everybot was deep in conversation with the `bot next to them. Jetfire had never seen so many `bots crammed into one space. He could barely lean forward without touching his twin. Though the both of them were very fond of company and practically lived off attention, the crowd made them a bit uneasy. It was their first time in public since they had their accident that led to their modification.

They hadn't exactly expected anybot to recognize them or anything; Project Safeguard had been kept very quiet. But the lack of acquaintances other than Elite Guard members, sciencebots, and the now-famous Earth team caused the feeling of isolation in the midst of so many `bots. Jetfire wondered if any of his friends from before would even know who he was now. It was a thought that had come up before when he first became the jet he now was. Not that it bothered him too much. As long as he had his brother, he was fine.

Picking up thoughts about him through their 'twin telepathy', Jetstorm turned to look at him.

Jetfire enjoyed the fact that his brother and he had a connection that many would call "paranormal". Unfortunately, it left no area for privacy in any matter. It was a gift…and a curse. Perceptor had said that he was trying to learn more about it. Hopefully, he would find a way to control it so that he could turn it off every now and then. Then, perhaps his twin would finally fall for one of his practical jokes Bumblebee taught him.

"It should being start soon now, should it not?" Jetstorm asked. Or at least, that's what Jetfire thought he said. All the other `bots were talking so loud, it was difficult to hear. Maybe it was actually, "Are you not thinking Chromia is hot?" Either way, Jetfire nodded. He had noticed that little femme when he returned to Cybertron.

Everybot knew why they were there, huddled in the street. At the end of the crowd was a stage, and in cycles, possibly nanoclicks, Optimus Prime and the rest of the Earth team would be standing on it. And there Ultra Magnus would declare him his successor and acting Magnus.

It was a very exciting event. Not only was Optimus going to be the youngest `bot ever to be named Magnus, but he would also be the most popular. This would mostly be on account to his recent victory over Megatron and what remained of his top lieutenants. This included Starscream, who had terrorized Jetfire's nightmares for a long time. Now the fear of meeting him in battle had been destroyed. They also delivered Cybertron and Earth, the former being deemed more important to the public than the latter. And, after Sentinel Prime had had his time around being 'Magnus', everybot on Cybertron was ready for a change in management.

Sentinel was probably the only `bot not happy about this new 'Magnus'. It made sense too. For one, he had tasted the glory of being successor for awhile and probably missed it. Secondly, he and Optimus weren't exactly the best of friends. Jetfire thought that they had made up after the incident on Dinobot Island and the rescue on the Elite Guard's ship, but apparently he still harbored bad feelings toward him. Jetfire knew that Sentinel had changed. Every bit of respect he had held for him had disappeared after his poor choices during his time as 'Magnus'.

The ruckus from the crowd began to die down. Lights illuminated the stage.

"It is starting!" Jetfire gasped. He had never seen a ceremony like this before. He was as excited as all the other `bots who had begun to whisper frantically to one another.

There was a scream as Optimus stepped onto the stage. He had been patched up since his sudden arrival on Cybertron. Before he had been covered with open wounds and looked rather tired. Now he looked much more presentable and well-rested. He still looked different in Jetfire's viz scanner though. He looked older, as if he had seen things no one his age should have seen.

Behind him came Ratchet and Arcee. Jetfire had never seen the femme before she showed up with the rest of the Earth team, but now she was like a celebrity. Apparently, without her Omega Supreme wouldn't still be here. All he knew was that she and Ratchet were very close. Maybe he would ask her to be his sparkmate.

They were flanked by the rest of the Earth team: Bumblebee, Sari, Bulkhead, Jazz and…Prowl. Jetfire cringed as he saw the lifeless shell that Bulkhead and Jazz carried in the case. Not so long ago he too had been on Earth. He had seen Prowl. He had fought with him. Helped him capture Decepticons. Had called him a friend. And now he was offline. Jetstorm must have been feeling the same way, for he saw him shudder as well.

The `bots that had just entered the stage looked the most different to Jetfire. Bumblebee was holding on to Sari's hand, a look of concern on his faceplate. Sari was leaking profusely from her viz scanners, which Jetfire knew meant sadness. Jazz held himself solemnly. Bulkhead's head was hung. How it contrasted their usual happiness. But when they looked up at their leader, they instantly beamed. Even through the mourning of their close friend they were proud of Optimus.

The crowd hushed again as the looming figure of Omega Supreme landed behind the stage. The excitement was building up. Ultra Magnus would appear any nanoclick now! Though his own anticipation had dwindled at the sight of his offlined comrade, Jetfire was still anxious to see the ceremony.

A cold servo grabbed his shoulder and caused him to jump in the air.

What the slag vas that being!?

Jetfire heard his twin's thoughts coursing through his own. He must have received the same surprise he had.

"Hello, you two," said a very familiar voice, "Do you not know how to answer your commlink?"

Both of the twins held in their groans as they turned to face Sentinel Prime.

Jetfire found it hard to believe that he had once idolized the `bot standing in front of him. He had never really done anything worthy of their fanaticism. All he did was yell orders and call them names and be a jerk. And now, since Optimus had all the glory, it had only gotten worse. A lot worse. More names and more orders. Life in the Elite Guard was not as it used to be. Hopefully, with Optimus as 'Magnus', some things will change around.

He was expecting a response, and Jetfire quickly nudged his brother to answer.

"No, ve have much competence ven it is coming to commlinks." Jetstorm informed proudly.

"Then why haven't you been answering my calls?" Sentinel asked, annoyance obvious in the twitch of his faceplate. "I've only been trying for the last thirty cycles, you glitchheads!"

"Please be accepting apology, sir," Jetfire answered, "but perhaps it vas being on account of loud crowd? Signals are being very hard to catch ven it is noisy."

"I don't even care about your stupid excuses!" Sentinel placed a servo on the top of his head in exasperation, "Just come with me." He motioned for them to follow him out of the crowd.

"Vait…vat?" Jetfire was stunned at this sudden command to leave. The ceremony was just about to officially start. This was a one-in-a-lifetime chance! "Can ve not just stay to vatch?"

"Yah! Just being a cycle longer and then ve can come!" The two of them looked up at Sentinel and tried to make their viz scanners as big as possible. They had seen Sari do this to get things to go her way, and it had worked. Well…sometimes it had worked.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to miss Optimus's big moment. This is important." There was a malicious smile on his faceplate which told Jetfire that he would have probably found some way to make them skip the ceremony anyways. What a jerk!

Knowing he would use force if they didn't obey, the two of them trudged after Sentinel as he pushed `bots aside to get out of the crowd. Jetfire turned and took one last fleeting look at the stage right before they were out of sight. How he longed to see what would happen. Maybe there would be speeches done about Optimus. Maybe even some about Prowl. But now he had no chance of ever seeing it. Stupid work. Stupid Sentinel.

They followed him into the Elite Guard base. As they entered, Jetfire could've sworn he heard cheers and Optimus's voice carried by speakers of some sort. It was all quickly cut off when the door shut behind them.

Ve barely missed it…

Yah…I am knowing this…Jetstorm replied. His tone was solemn. But there is likely being good explanation.

Vith Sentinel, I am doubting that. He is the numbest of all numb nodes.

Jetstorm couldn't suppress the grin that came from that comment. Sentinel wasn't looking, and even if he was he wouldn't be able to find out what was so funny. It would probably infuriate him more, which would make the situation funnier.

The passed the small hall dedicated to the scientists who worked in the Elite Guard. Jetfire looked up to see Perceptor walking out of it.

Jetfire and Jetstorm were probably the closest `bots to the sciencebot except for Wheeljack, his close personal friend. They didn't blame anybot else for not liking him. He had purposefully drained himself of all emotional programming to keep himself intent on his work, which generally isn't a friendly motion. Or so he said.

Jetfire had always guessed that Perceptor hadn't completely removed all of his emotions. Perhaps he somehow missed a few on accident, because there were always hints of emotion in his monotonic voice and in his faceplate whenever he spoke with the twins. Wheeljack had also expressed his doubts of Perceptor's claims to be entirely emotionless. And he spent the most time with him, so he knew the most about Perceptor.

Jetfire raised his servo in greeting to the sciencebot and smiled. Perceptor looked up from the device he was holding. He seemed confused at the gesture (at least from what Jetfire knew about his 'emotions' problem) as he stared a few nanoclicks longer than needed. Jetstorm did the same, which caused him to stare more. Then, ever so slowly, he copied the motion. It was much more rigid and unnatural, but it was the thought that counted. He didn't smile, though. Jetfire didn't expect him to. He was actually surprised when he returned the greeting at all.

They left Perceptor standing there with his servo seemingly stuck in that position and continued to a small briefing room. Once inside, Sentinel shut the door behind them and looked them in the viz scanner.

"Okay, you downgrades, here's the deal," He started, "Although Ultra Magnus and the Council may have Cybertron thinking that Optimus had vanquished the Decepticons completely and all is well, that is far from the truth. We still have several `cons that we know are still active after their leader's fall. There is a certain colony called 'New Kaon' that we still haven't located that is the supposed `con HQ. We have received intel that it is destroyed, but that is still unconfirmed. A 'Team Chaar' that attacked some band of space bridge losers is unaccounted for…"

"So…are ve to be catching those `cons, sir?" Jetstorm asked, trying to skip Sentinel's speech and cut to the chase.

"Slag no," Sentinel grabbed a disc and inserted it into the main computer behind him, "You have been assigned to something less dangerous, since Optimus thinks that we shouldn't put younger `bots in risky missions that older `bots can handle. Let's see here…" He pressed a few buttons to bring up a file. As soon as it filled the screen, Sentinel's faceplate turned sour, "Slag that oil-slamming mudflap!!"

"Vat is being problem, sir?" Jetfire asked warily. Sentinel looked like he might blow at any nanoclick.

"Stupid new head of intel gave me the wrong file…again! Keeps trying to slip this one in…stay here, I'll be right back…" Sentinel growled as he trudged out of the room.

Jetfire stared at his brother. They had never seen Sentinel get quite so angry over something so trivial. Even his little quarrels with Optimus had never amounted to so much fury. His attention was soon brought to the file on the screen. What could be so important that the head of intel would try to sneak it into view of Elite Guard members? What could seem so unimportant that whenever it came up Sentinel just dismissed it? It was intriguing. Like it was calling out for Jetfire to read it.

It was a simple file of an intel `bot. His picture was on the top right corner. He had a bright blue color scheme and a look on his faceplate that suggested mild arrogance. Jetfire doubted that the `bot was actually arrogant in nature. He was just good at what he did and he knew it. Jetfire understood the feeling; he and his brother were faced with it every orbital cycle. It wasn't easy to be good at anything and not let some of it get to you.

His viz scanners fell down to where the text started.

Name: Agent Blurr

Faction: Intel

Structure Type: Speed

Current Status: MIA

Jetfire lingered on the acronym before him. MIA. Missing in Action. He had always wondered how a `bot could get a status like that. Usually it would be obvious whether a `bot was dead, alive, or captured. But how do you just become 'missing'? It boggled his processor. Instead of thinking about it more, he pressed on.

There was a long list of accomplishments and comments about this 'Blurr'. Almost all the `bots who spoke of him gave him top marks in his work, claiming him to be one of the best intel `bots in the Elite Guard. Though underneath these compliments, Jetfire sensed a bit of annoyance in their words about his character. Apparently, he wasn't very good at being social, though he tried. Almost came across as too eager to talk and make acquaintances. There was emphasis on his talkativeness.

Finally, Jetfire reached the section he was waiting for. A whole paragraph dedicated to his current status.

Blurr last contacted us from Earth after having complications with his mission due to apparent 'Allspark'-related issues. We have received no word from him since, nor from the Earth team that he was supposed to rendezvous with. We have only recently learned from the head of intel, Longarm Prime, that the `bot is missing. Unfortunately, we do not have the time or `bots to start a galaxy-wide search yet. As soon as the Decepticon threat dies down, we will begin the search.

It was dated and signed by Ultra Magnus. Jetfire peered at the date and saw that it was written shortly after their departure to Earth. That was long before Longarm Prime was exposed as a Decepticon spy and removed from head of intel. The report said he was supposed to meet with the Earth team. Did he complete his mission on that regard? Nobot on the Earth team had ever mentioned the `bot to the twins.

He scanned down and saw that another, much longer, paragraph had been added to the bottom of the file by somebot named 'Cliffjumper'.

I must admit that this is hard for me to write, but I realize that there must be a written documentation of this. I've already tried telling everybot and nobot believes me. Thus I hope somehow I can get this through to someone through this file.

Blurr is still alive. I hope.

Longarm Prime, better known as Shockwave, attacked Blurr when he found too much information about the Decepticon spy and crushed him into a cube. That didn't offline him however, and Shockwave was forced to use other means in order to get rid of Blurr. I am ashamed to say that I was those means. I threw the cube into the garbage disposal.

It took me awhile to realize what I had done, and even longer to convince the council of Longarm's traitorous ways. But they found out eventually. They still don't believe what truly happened to Blurr, though. He is still online, I know it. The garbage disposal's incinerator is out, so he is still down there somewhere, waiting. It is my duty as the new head of intel to save one of my agents. I only hope that whoever reads this will share my feelings.

Jetfire stared at the paragraph, reread it, then continued to stare. It sounded like something from a horror story. Being crushed into a cube and surviving? But surely it couldn't have been made up. If this `bot was the new head of intel he had to be competent and trustworthy. Then again…Longarm Prime was the head of intel once too…

Jetstorm noticed Jetfire staring at the file.

"It is not being important, brother. Sentinel is coming vith real mission file." He assured Jetfire.

But it was important. A `bot's life was at stake. What would he feel like if it was him, waiting to be saved?

Before he could think more on the topic, Sentinel came into the room, a satisfactory smile on his faceplate. He quickly wrenched out the Blurr file from the computer and inserted the one they needed.

"Here we go, sorry about the delay," Both of the twins knew that Sentinel was no more sorry about the delay than they were happy to be there.

Ve're sorry that it vasn't taking longer for you to get back. Jetstorm thought sarcastically. Jetfire bit down to stop from laughing.

Sentinel once again missed the telepathic hits at him and waited patiently for the file to load on the screen. Jetfire was amazed that he could do anything patiently. Once the screen brightened with the details of the mission, Sentinel began to speak.

"If you don't remember, on our journey back to Cybertron we had two of our `cons break out of our ship. We now have Lugnut in custody with his other lieutenants. But Swindle…" He lifted a servo to the screen as a familiar faceplate filled it, "…has recently been spotted on an asteroid field not too far from here. It is believed that he also stole a considerable amount of machinery from our ship. Your mission is to find him, capture him unharmed…if possible, and retrieve the stolen goods."

"That is not sounding too hard." Jetstorm smiled.

"Yah. It is being…'easy to the peasy'?" Jetfire tried to use a phrase he had heard the Earth team use once. It must not have been right, because his brother looked at him funnily.

"Well, I don't care what you think it is, because you are doing it no matter what. Now, go out. I'm sending you the coordinates as we speak."

Jetstorm flew a loop around some space debris as they ventured forward. They had been flying for at least two megacycles and they were finally close enough to see the asteroid field that was still miles in front of them. Sentinel had made it sound like the flight wouldn't be that long. Maybe he thought they wouldn't get so tired because they were somehow 'Super-jet-bots' or something. Well, he would need to learn otherwise. Let's see him driving all the way out here.

It really hadn't been that bad, but Jetstorm felt like taking anything and everything out on Sentinel. It was his fault that they were on a stupid mission. His fault that they missed the ceremony. His fault that he was in a foul mood. All his slagging fault.

The worst part of the flight so far was his twin's silence. Even his thoughts were distant and hard to pick up. That was a little scary. He had never felt so separated from his brother. But Jetstorm still knew what was on his processor. That file. Jetstorm had taken the liberty to read it as well. Something about a `bot that was MIA and somebot's claim that he was turned into a cube and thrown into the garbage disposal. Sounded like the story should've been thrown into the garbage disposal.

But Jetfire believed it, and seemed troubled by it. Hopefully not troubled enough to compromise the mission.

Jetstorm leaned to the side to avoid a small asteroid that announced their entrance into the field. Jetfire acted similarly as a space rock headed his way as well. Jetstorm wanted to break through this lack of communication, but he didn't know how. If Jetfire wanted to talk, he wanted to talk about that stupid file, and Jetstorm didn't want to discuss that. If anything, Jetstorm wanted to talk about his frustration with Sentinel, but he doubted that would be a long conversation. They would run out of bad names to call him in about five cycles.

They were well into the asteroid field, but there was no sign of anything online. Jetstorm looked ahead and found an asteroid large enough to hold a `bot or `con and still give them some room move.

"Let us be landing there and looking for Swindle from there." Jetstorm said. Jetfire didn't reply but followed him as he prepared to land.

Although he felt jitters as he touched the ground and transformed into robot mode, Jetstorm had also been dreading this orbital cycle. Ever since they had returned to Cybertron from Earth, his processor had been plagued with strange visions and dreams. Dreams that felt so real. They just kept repeating and repeating. It was always about him and his brother. About his brother dying in front of him at the hands of a Starscream clone.

Now Jetstorm knew perfectly well that that particular Starscream clone was locked up in the stockade and had little to no chance of escaping. He also knew that they were able to take him down rather easily on Earth. But it wasn't the `con that scared him. It was the possibility of losing his twin.

Their combined skill and fighting abilities had made the two of them an unbeatable team so far. And cocky. What if this arrogance would lead to one of their destruction? Could he live without his brother? They had always been together. They shared more in common than any other `bot in existence. In the dream he knew he couldn't. In the dream he would always offline himself.

But surely if they stayed together everything would be fine. They were very capable fighters. They had never lost before. They had even been in an equally-matched fight with Optimus Prime. Or was he 'Optimus Magnus' now? Jetstorm didn't know. He hadn't seen the ceremony nor had he received word that it was completed.

Yeah…they would be fine.

Brother, stop staring off space. Swindle could be being anywhere.

Jetstorm frowned as he realized that he had been so captive in his thoughts that he had not been paying attention. He turned to Jetfire who smiled. Good. That was at least an optimistic communication, whether verbal or non.

Yah, yah! Got it.

Jetstorm hoped he didn't come across as too annoyed. He was angrier at himself for dazing off than his brother for bringing him back to reality.

So…how are ve to be finding him?

That was a good question. Jetstorm thought for a moment. He didn't want it to come to this. He had just been stressing to himself how they had to work together. But there was no other way.

Ve vill have to be splitting up.

Okie to the Dokie. Vell then…I'll be going-

Jetfire was cut off by a shot that flew right past both of their faceplates.

"What the slag!?" Jetstorm cried out, completely abandoning communication through telepathy. Another shot. This time it clipped his shoulder. Jetstorm winced as he fell to the ground in shock.

"Brother!" Jetfire's viz scanners widened. He had felt the blow as well.

Jetstorm's servos instantly went to the wound. Only a bit of energon seeped out. It was only a very small chip out of his chassis. Whoever was shooting wasn't trying to offline anybot. Yet. It was obviously just trying to scare them off. A warning. And what `con in this area would want to scare two junior Elite Guard officers off?

He pointed in the direction of the shots.

"He is being that vay, brother!" He shouted, "Ve must be cutting off all means of escaping!" Slowly, he raised himself back onto his stabilizing servos. The hit really hadn't been that bad. He could fight through this minimum amount of pain. What was most important was capturing Swindle. Jetfire looked like he was going to object, but Jetstorm waved him off. He transformed back into his jet mode and flew off toward the shots and, hopefully, Swindle.

The terrain before him was very rocky, easily concealing anybot. No doubt Swindle was cowering behind one of the rocks right then. It reminded Jetstorm of Earth a little bit. Unpredictable changes in the ground in height and consistency. The complete opposite of perfectly formed Cybertron. He wasn't sure which one he liked more. Cybertron was his home, but Earth had become a somewhat second home.

He didn't have time to think about that. His viz scanner caught a blur of purple from a crevice in the rocks. No sooner had he seen it than another shot pass by his wing. And this time, it was a lot larger. Swindle wasn't messing around anymore. He was playing a different version of the game.

That was fine. Jetstorm could play it too.

He raced forward, dodging several other well-aimed attempts at his life. At the rate he was going, he would be able to break through the rocks in no time. Then he would easily disarm Swindle and…

"Wait!" The `con slithered out from behind the rocks, his gun still trained on Jetstorm, "Land now or I'll have to sell you as spare parts."

His faceplate was hard to forget. Usually a cocky but likeable smile was plastered over it, but this time he looked worried. A bit anxious. That didn't change his hold on the gun however. Swindle was determined and his threat was not empty. Jetstorm obeyed, reverting to robot mode. Jetfire landed beside him, hiding a pair of stasis cuffs behind his chassis so Swindle couldn't see them.

Be stalling him. I vill put him into stasis lock.

Okay. I vill try.

"Don't be doing anything you vill regret…" Jetstorm began. He knew it sounded lame but if he got Swindle talking he could distract him enough to not notice Jetfire.

"What are you talking about? I never regret anything!" Swindle looked perplexed. Then he peered closer at them, "Hey, aren't you the two junior officers from the Elite Guard ship!? I remember you two! Fell for my Sonic Jammer 3000 trick." At this he flashed the smile he was known for. The twins remembered this as well, but it didn't make them smile, "Oh! I know why you are here now! Want the merchandise I snagged from the ship!"

"Yes, yes ve do. It vas very important uh…merchandise that you vere taking." Jetstorm replied. Swindle relaxed and lowered his gun slowly. Jetfire carefully slumped behind his brother and out of sight. Now Jetstorm just had to keep the `con occupied.

"Okay then! That makes things a lot easier!" He smiled again, opened his compartment, and stuck a servo in, "I think I have a few of them left. I'll have to apologize; some of the pieces have already found a new home. But I'm sure you will have enough energon to seal the deal for the rest of them, because you realize, my friend, that…"

At this point, Jetstorm tuned out of Swindle's sales pitch. To make it appear that he was still listening he would simply nod when Swindle paused. He gave the same kind of fake-attentiveness to Sentinel all the time. While he had Swindle talking, he had to find out where Jetfire was. And if he was close to clipping those stasis cuffs on the `con.

Jetfire, I am not being sure how much longer I can…

Is okay, brother. I am…almost being…

Suddenly, Swindle turned around and slammed the butt of his gun into Jetfire's chestplate. Jetstorm flinched as he saw his brother fly back into a rock behind him, the stasis cuffs flying out of his servos. From what he could tell, he had only been nanoclicks away from capturing the `con. He felt the frustration going through Jetfire's processor. But Jetstorm wasn't frustrated. He was afraid.

"Ah. Tried to pull the old distraction trick on me, did you? Well you must think I'm pretty dense to fall for that. I knew that you were coming up behind me. Did you really believe that I would let you out of my viz scanners for a nanoclick?" Swindle was proud of his accomplishment, as obvious in his tone and faceplate. But instead of finishing his work as Jetstorm feared, he turned back to look at him. "Never pinned you for the deceptive type. Didn't know Autobots had it in them. Oh well. Since I know where you stand now, I guess I have no choice." He faked a sigh, then aimed his gun at his head.

Jetstorm didn't even have time to scream.

Jetfire walked quietly down the hall of the stockade. He had never actually been in the facility before, but had heard a lot about it. Dark. Scary. Practically impenetrable and inescapable. Full of the scum of the universe and such. So, of course, he had been pretty excited to go in and see it for himself. If only he had been going on happier circumstances.

He fished around in his processor to find his brother's thoughts. It shouldn't have surprised him when he came up with nothing again. It had only been about his twentieth time trying. All his efforts just got him static and his own voice shouting to himself, unheard to anybot else. He just had to accept the facts. According to Perceptor, things wouldn't be the same for a long time.

"Finally…" Jetstorm sighed as they reached the end of the hall. Jetfire smiled. Although his thoughts were no longer readable, he could still tell when his twin was impatient.

Jetstorm had been on edge the whole orbital cycle. But who could really blame him? He had just barely survived a mission gone severely wrong with tight bandages around the top of his head and an ongoing massive processorache to prove it. Even Jetfire didn't poke fun at his ridiculous headdress, not only because he knew that would give him an excuse to hurt somebot but also because he knew that those bandages were the only thing keeping his brother online. Without them he would leak out most of the energon he had left.

Jetfire mostly blamed himself for his brother's current situation. It had been his stupid idea to try to distract Swindle. He should have known it wouldn't have been that easy. Sure, he forced the stasis cuffs on the `con in the end, but only after he watched Swindle shoot Jetstorm at point blank. Perceptor still marveled at how he survived the whole ordeal.

The only thing that truly bothered Jetfire now was the disappearance of their twin telepathy. Even after Jetstorm had regained consciousness he had been unable to converse with him without actually speaking. Perceptor had arranged a diagnostics with the both of them later that orbital cycle. For now they had bigger things to deal with.

The room they had entered was small and dark, close to the descriptions of the stockade that Jetfire had heard prior. In the corner was an orange energy cell that held the forms of two `cons. There was a barrier between them, probably to keep them from planning a way out or slagging each other. Though it was impossible for them to break out. They either had to have powerful weapons, which were confiscated before their arrival, or somebot from the outside spring them loose. And like that was going to ever happen.

Singing reached Jetfire's auditory sensors and he almost asked where it was coming from. He should've known.

"Po pi po pi po po pi po! Po pi po pi po po pi… Eeeeeee!"

Blitzwing was dancing in the left half of the cell while singing random lyrics at the top of voice synthesizer. He looked relatively happy considering the fact he was locked up with no hope of ever being free again. Then again, he was in his random mode and insane. Maybe this was his idea of fun.

Jetstorm walked up to the cell, seemingly unfazed by the loud singing, and faced the other `con.

"Vat is it you are wanting so bad, Swindle? You are realizing that they don't grant permission for seeing prisoners unless it is being important." He asked, his annoyance clearly showing.

Swindle looked tired. He had only been in the stockade for a few orbital cycles, but being roomed with Blitzwing must've taken its toll on him. Jetstorm noticed this, and Jetfire could see pleasure in his faceplate. His brother deserved seeing his enemy in this state and enjoying it, but it still felt uneasy.

"You two have got to let me move cells! I can't stand this anymore! The same song, over and over again!" Swindle forced his servos on his head as Blitzwing started a verse.

"Sar nome omae suki daro? Yasai juice! Watashi ga kime ta ima kime ta…"

"By the Allspark, if I stay here one more cycle I'm going to fry all my circuits!" He almost whimpered.

"And that vould be bad thing?" Jetstorm asked, amused. "Look, even if ve could let you change rooms, how are ve knowing you vill not use it as means of escaping?"

"Uh…the honor system? Aren't you `bots all about trust and stuff?" He gave a weak smile.

"Dakara nonde watashi no yasai juice. Kakaku wa nihyaku en!"

"Not ven dealing vith Decepticons." Jetfire said, officially entering the conversation.

"Hey, I don't pick sides like that! I may wear the insignia, but it's the energon that counts!" He assured.

"Vell, even if you aren't truly a `con, your past actions say otherwise." Jetfire countered.

"Soiya! Soiya! Dosse! Dosse!"

"Yeah, so I've made a few mistakes before…"

"A few!?" Jetstorm erupted, "Selling Megatron major weapon, being critical part in hijacking our ship, shooting me in the head!? That is only being 'few'?"

"O-Okay…maybe not just a few…" Swindle backed away from the edge of the cell and cowered. "But if anything, you guys are more Decepticon material than me."

"Maroyaka yasai juice. Fuwa fuwa yasai juice. Ichiban osusume nano wa midori no juice!"

"Vat!? Vere are you getting that conclusion?" Jetfire asked angrily.

"Well let's see; you two are jets, made from Decepticon coding. I'm a humble SUV which simply chose a side, not programmed from one. You lied and tricked your way into capturing me on that asteroid. I simply shot at you. As you can see, that makes you much more Decepticon-like."

Jetfire resisted the urges inside to say something spiteful to the `con. He had heard many other `cons and `bots alike used the facts that they were jets to make comparisons to them and Decepticons. Optimus Prime and Ratchet had even attacked them when they first arrived on Earth only because they saw them flying. Although the Autobot Elite Guard insignia was plastered all over them, the whole jet factor overruled all physical evidence.

"Vegetable na! Seimei afureta! Anata mo ima! Yasai no juice wa suki ni naru!"

"Will somebot shut him up, please!?" Swindle cried as he slinked farther away from the barrier separating the two `cons, "I can't hear myself think."

"Aww…but I was just starting up ze second verse…" Blitzwing pouted.

"And I was just about to pound my way through this barrier and slag you myself." Swindle scowled. He turned back to the twins, "See what I have to deal with all the time? It's unbearable!"

"Like ve care." Jetstorm rolled his viz scanners.

"And surely you are vanting more than new cell." Jetfire accused. Swindle looked appalled but then smiled.

"You got me, you smart junior officers, you!" He teased, "Okay, so yeah. I want out. Like, out out. I still have some business to take care of on Pz-Zazz. Surely you can do that for me, right?"

"Slag no! Vy vould ve ever help you?" Jetstorm asked.

"Perhaps I would have something that would…change your opinions."

"You can be sticking it up your gearshaft, Swindle, because vatever you are having ve vill not…" Jetstorm began, but stopped and stared at Swindle. Jetfire noticed this and looked as well. Swindle was rustling around in his chestplate as usual. This didn't seem peculiar at first, until he realized the circumstances.

"Vasn't all of your possessions being confiscated ven you got here?" Jetfire queried. Swindle looked up and smiled again.

"Ah yes…well, what they won't know hurt them. I mean, how could they possibly have found all of my storage dimensions? No, I kept the most important ones a secret. The ones that have all the real merchandise…" He rummaged for a nanoclick.

"Oooh! A secret! I promise I won't tell!"

"Put a clamp on it, three-faceplate. I'm looking here." Swindle snapped, irritation changing his normally cool and collected manner.

"Ve should be telling somebot about this…" Jetstorm said aloud as he watched Swindle continue to search in his compartment.

That made sense. What Swindle was doing by keeping his storage dimension a secret could help him escape. He could have some kind of weapon or device that could break through the cell. Then again, if he could do that why was he asking them for help? And why was he still there? Obviously, he had no weapons in this certain dimension.

"No, vait. Let us see vat he has." Jetfire insisted, curiosity taking over. Jetstorm sighed but said no objection.

"Ah! Here it is!" Swindle announced victoriously. "Now don't be alarmed, young `bots…what you are about to see may take some time to process…" The `con reached into his compartment and pulled out…a blue cube of crushed metal.

Jetfire stared at it, wondering if his earlier curiosity was all for nothing. It didn't look special, just some hunk of meshed pieces from some garbage disposal somewhere. You find those all the time backing up the…

Wait…the garbage disposal…

He peered closer at the cube and gasped, taking a step backwards as he did. The color scheme of the metal was the same as Blurr's. The `bot who was MIA. The `bot whose file had once filled his processor with interest. The `bot who supposedly was crushed into a cube. A cube very similar to the one that was right in front of him. No…it was the same cube. It had to be.

"I know this will be hard to believe, but this an Autobot who found Shockwave after he had woken up on the wrong side of the recharger."

Instantly every doubt that was in Jetfire's processor vanished. He had been right! Swindle had just confirmed his own thoughts. The `con knew about Blurr. And he knew exactly the kind of bargaining chip he was dealing with; somebot's life.

"I zought zat Shockwave had the cube! Lugnut told me about it." Blitzwing interjected, turning to his icy personality.

"Like I'd really just give something this important to a Decepticon like Shockwave? No, I scammed him out of it and kept the real one. I knew it would come in handy if I made contact with the Autobots, and it looks like it will get some good use now." Swindle explained.

"I do not sink zat Shockwave would be very glad to hear about your scam!"

"Shockwave is headed for offline row. I don't think he will be needing a blue cube there. Unless he would use it the way I am."

"As a bargaining cube?"

"Brother, it is being the `bot from the file!" Jetfire hissed to his twin while the `cons were distracted. Jetstorm turned and looked doubtfully at Blurr.

"That? No. That file vas just being joke. No `bot can be surviving…"
"You want to see his spark?" Swindle interrupted, pushing the cube up to the cell wall.

"No I do not vant to see spark, because there is no spark in the cube!" Jetstorm shouted, causing Swindle to cower back again.

"How can you be sure, brother, unless you…" Jetfire began, trying to get Jetstorm to see how painfully obvious the truth was. It didn't work.

"Look, if the scam-con has gotten you and thick stupid processor to believe him, that is being your problem. Maybe Perceptor can be fixing it later. But I vill not be fooled like you!" His twin retaliated. As soon as he had spoke his viz scanners had widened in realization of what his words had meant.

Jetfire felt like he had been slapped in the faceplate. If the situation hadn't been so serious and Jetstorm not agitated, he would have thought that he was joking, as they sometimes did. Siblings were created to call each other names. But this was different. He had meant it and wanted it to hurt, though now he obviously regretted it by the way he looked.

He didn't believe him. He was latched on to his own opinions and wouldn't waver. No matter what Jetfire would say, his own twin wouldn't believe him. And if his twin wouldn't believe him, who would?

"Jetfire…I vasn't meaning…" Jetstorm began to apologize. But Jetfire wouldn't hear it.

"Save it for somebot who can understand it vith unthick processor." Jetfire retorted, and promptly ran out of the room.

"Well, zat was awkward!"

"What did you say?" Perceptor asked, looking up from the diagnostics he was performing.

He hadn't expected the twin to speak to him, considering his unnatural silence during the whole procedure, so his audio sensors were not turned up all the way. But the young `bot had apparently spoken, and repeated himself, several times. Perceptor had finally noticed the `bot staring up at him from the examining table to put two-and-two together.

It had been a long orbital cycle for the sciencebot, and he was only starting on his first important diagnostic. There was still work to be done on stabilizing Omega Supreme after such a quick and unsound open-spark surgery. He had been impressed by Ratchet's on-the-spot job, but it wasn't good enough to keep the ship online for such a long term. Hopefully the work he and his team had started would help.

And then there was the matter of the space bridges. Optimus Magnus had proposed the idea of somehow upgrading the system and schematics so that it would be near to impossible for a Decepticon to create one themselves, dare say use one. Perceptor had contacted the apparent top space bridge technician on Cybertron, a `bot by the name of Bulkhead, to start working on a blueprint for the design.

The council was also deliberating on whether or not Cliffjumper should remain the head of intel and receive his rank of Prime. It was true that he has the most knowledge about the agents and missions through his previous job as secretary, but he lacks competence and self-control. On more than one occasion Alpha Trion has caught him drinking oil on the job or searching for some `bot in the garbage disposal. They had granted him the role of acting head of intel immediately after Longarm's true loyalties were revealed, but that was merely based on the necessity of such a role to be filled as soon as possible. Now they had to reason whether he was worthy of holding such a title.

But the most important issue thus was the `bots' want for a reinstatement of 'offline row'. The council had outlawed the practice shortly after the end of the Great War. But now that they once again had high-level security Decepticon prisoners at the stockade, prisoners who had personally affected this generation, the call to bring back the procedure was large. Especially for the public execution of Megatron and Shockwave, who had dealt the most damage. But the council was not yet sure whether this would help or worsen the current situation with the remaining Decepticons.

And now he was working on the assignment that was the most personal to him. Project Safeguard had always been different. Something special. And it was where he finally realized he had not completely deleted all of his emotional programming. Wheeljack had noticed that shortly after the project started as well. Perceptor denied it continually but knew it was true. When he first saw those two `bots which he had helped restored, something in his processor gave way. And no matter how many times he tried to delete it again it wouldn't work.

So, unfortunately, the current situation secretly horrified him. Jetstorm was almost offlined in a brute attack, and now suddenly their 'twin telepathy' anomaly no longer works. Both the challenge of the events and the risk were high. Jetfire was currently being worked on, but so far Perceptor could find nothing out of the ordinary with his circuitry or programming. Perhaps it is the other one then…

"I vas saying, 'how do you know if you are doing right thing ven it seems wrong but you know it is right?'" Jetfire repeated his question again.

Perceptor blinked, processing all of what the young `bot was asking.

"I still don't fully comprehend…"

"I vant to do the right thing, but a wrong must be done to accomplish it."

"Ah…" Perceptor frowned, "I believe you are referring to an organic term known as 'the ends justify the means'. Put simply, in order to achieve a right any matter of action is acceptable as long as that right is gained in the end." Jetfire seemed to mull over this, then laid his head back down on the examination table.

"And this is being acceptable among organics?"

"It matters on the opinions of the organic. Some agree while others differ."

"I see…" Jetfire mumbled. Perceptor shook his head and continued with his work.

The thoughts of what could be going through the `bot's processor was frightening.

"W-What are you doing?" Swindle asked.

"Is your offer from before being good still?"

"What are you talking…oh the cube…" He smiled, "Yes, no other customers have come to me about it.

"I am villing to take you up on it. But you must go out quickly or they vill be finding you." Jetfire slammed his servo into the control panel on the side of the energy cell. Instantly the orange container dissolved from around the two `cons. "Leave the `bot on the floor."

Swindle stared in amazement and reached out his servos to make sure the cell was really gone. When he realized that this was no illusion, he retrieved the cube from his compartment.

"Here you go, as I promised! See? Trusting a `con isn't that bad." He laid it on the floor and gave it a good pat.

"Don't make me regret it." Jetfire warned.

"I won't. Now, how will I be getting out of here without getting caught again?"

"I vas figuring Blitzwing vould have some idea." He motioned to the other `con whom Swindle had apparently forgotten existed.

"I may be able to sink of something…" Blitzwing rubbed his chin.

"Slag no! There is no way I'm going anywhere with that-" Swindle began to protest.

"Eureka!" Blitzwing exclaimed. Quickly, he shot up several blasts of fire which melted through the ceiling above them, "Going up!"

Before Swindle could get out of the room, Blitzwing grabbed a hold of him and turned on his rocket boosters.

"No. No! Put me down you glitchhead! What do you think you're…!" Swindle screamed, flailing against the bigger `con. His struggling didn't help.

Jetfire watched with a smile on his faceplate as Blitzwing, still holding on to Swindle, flew upward through the newly made hole and out of sight. He could still hear the arms dealer screaming almost a cycle after they had left. Hopefully other `bots would hear and see it too so that they wouldn't get too far. He would take it into his own servos but he had to make sure that Blurr was okay.

He walked over and picked up the cube. As soon as he touched it he felt warmth that no other ordinary piece of slag would provide. It was a warmth that signified life. A warmth that often characterized a spark. After turning the cube around in his servos for a nanoclick, Jetfire located the life source Swindle had referred to.

It was pulsating an eerie blue light out of a crevice in the side of the metal. Normally this would creep Jetfire out and he would've probably dropped the cube to get away from it, but the spark had a completely different meaning now. It wasn't just some gross squishy part in a `bot's chassis. It was the only thing keeping this `bot online.

There was a noise behind him and Jetfire could feel the cube hum as if it were trying to tell him something. He froze, unsure of what to do. Actually, this was about where his great and glorious plan had stopped in his processor. He had no idea how he was going to get out of serving time in the stockade or how he was going to get Blurr to Perceptor before then. No doubt the `bot who was coming in now was a guard who had heard some of Swindle's poorly unmuffled screams.

"I vas afraid you vould do something like this…"

Jetfire could almost feel his spark jump out of his chassis. This couldn't be happening! He slowly turned around, Blurr safely in his servos, and faced his twin.

"Oh, so you are knowing how thick processor `bots are doing things now, huh?" He retorted. Jetstorm winced at the reminder of his earlier comment.

"I vasn't meaning that, brother!" He protested. Jetfire scowled. It didn't matter if he meant it. He still said it. You couldn't take that back.

"Yah, vell…it's too late to apologize."

"You setted Swindle and Blitzwing free, then? All for cube?" Jetstorm asked accusingly, pointing to the empty cell.

"It is being a `bot, brother! Look! Right here! A spark! If you had been villing to listen earlier you vould have seen it!" He turned Blurr around so that his spark was clearly visible. Jetstorm stared at it in amazement, then turned away.

"So…he vas telling truth…" He muttered. "I'm…sorry…I should have…"

"I vas already telling you, it is too late!" Jetfire shouted. He was angry. He felt it burning inside of him, just like the flames he possessed. Almost out of control. "I expected you to support me, the one `bot I could always be depending on, and you failed! Nothing you can be doing vill change that!"

Jetstorm continued to look at the cube with wavering viz scanners. Jetfire knew his words were cutting into him deeply. But it was the truth. He had to hear it. He had to know how he was feeling right now. He had to know the effects of his lack of action. He had to pay for what he did. He had to feel worse.

"I-I know…Jetfire…I vasn't focused on…vell…it vas Swindle, and…" Jetstorm tried to explain. Jetfire wouldn't have it. There were no excuses in this matter.

"Shut up!!" He screamed, dropping Blurr in the process. There was an eerie echo as the cube bounced off the floor. Jetfire felt a twinge of remorse at not being careful with the `bot, but he knew that he must have been bumped around a bit more all those orbital cycles in the garbage disposal.

"B-but…Jetfire…!" Jetstorm began.

"I said 'Shut up'! You are thinking you are better than me! You are thinking that you can be making this good vith your words because you are better! But you…are…wrong!" Fire began to consume his chassis as he spoke. The anger spurred them on. It made them stronger.

"Brother, your flames!"

"Now you are thinking I cannot control myself!?" Jetfire gritted his teeth, " I vill show you my flames!" He saw his brother's faceplate begin to pale in fear.

And then he pounced.

Jetstorm reacted quickly and extinguished the fire with a flurry of wind before Jetfire collided with him. But he wasn't able to push his twin away. The force of the lunge rammed both `bots into the wall. Jetfire didn't relinquish his hold on his brother the whole time. He knew now that he shouldn't use fire attacks on him, as he would counter all of them with his own air attacks. He should've figured that in the first place. Thus, it was left to servo-to-servo combat.

The punches were swift and powerful. He aimed for all the areas that he knew would hurt the most. Every time he hit he felt his anger subside. But as soon as it was over it raged up again. Why was his brother so inconsiderate? Why wouldn't he be there for him? Why wouldn't he believe him? And why wouldn't he fight back?

Another blow, and Jetstorm toppled over and landed on the floor, not too far from Blurr. He didn't even try to get up. Energon was trickling out of several small gashes in his chassis. It was his fault they were there. He wouldn't fight back. Wouldn't even try to defend himself. Jetfire stood over him and frowned. What a waste of time.

He lifted his stabilizing servo to hit him once more, when he saw his faceplate. He stopped, and lowered it back to the ground.

Jetstorm was leaking oil out of his viz scanners. Just like Sari was at the ceremony. The sight made Jetfire sick. The pain. His brother's pain. He used to be able to feel it. When he was shot by Swindle, he could feel it. Why couldn't he feel it now!?

"I-I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Jetstorm cried, tensing as if he was to be hit again. "Vat…vat has been happening to us…?"

Jetfire felt numb. And sick. Like a virus had crept inside of him and was messing around with all his circuitry. What was he doing? Why was he hurting him? Sure, there was a misunderstanding, but after the apology, it should all be better, right? That was what they had been taught. What the Autobots had taught them.

Regret filled his spark. He found himself keeled over on the floor, oil leaking out of his viz scanners as well. He grabbed hold of Jetstorm's servo and squeezed it, making sure he was there. Jetstorm wouldn't stop wailing that he was sorry. Jetfire couldn't reply. His thoughts consumed him. He was that close to offlining his brother. How could he live without him?

Swindle had been right. He was more like a Decepticon.

Perceptor Log

With the help of Wheeljack and Red Alert, I have been able to create a design for the protoform that will be Blurr's new chassis. That will probably be the most easy part of the whole operation. The difficulties will arise when trying to transfer the spark to the new protoform. I do not think it is remotely impossible, but it will be difficult. This is the least of my worries, however.

We had always been aware of the Decepticon coding that still resided in Jetstorm; the simulation had proven that. But now we have overwhelming proof that Jetfire's programming contains the same coding as well. And I still haven't been able to find any way to reverse it without completing wiping their previous programming and starting over from scratch. But that is not a favorable option nor an appropriate one.

We cannot ignore the problem set before us. So far we have witnessed the two of them be a danger to others, each other, and themselves. We have also seen that they are aware of their rapid changes in behavior, and that they are not content with it.

I have a theory that the bane to the Decepticon coding and their odd bond, 'twin telepathy' as they call it, has a connection. In the simulation, Jetstorm didn't display any Decepticon-like behavior until Jetfire was offline, and thus their bond terminated. I wouldn't have realized this was the case until recent events. For unknown reasons even to me, their 'twin telepathy' has, hopefully, temporarily been disabled. And since then both of the `bots have had hints of Decepticon coding in them.

I'm planning to meet with Wheeljack and Red Alert next orbital cycle to discuss this further and input my theory into the mix. I can only hope that we will come up with a solution, and soon.

Yay! I'm glad you made it this far and beared it through (is that a saying XD?)!

I thought I really did good with the dialouge this time around. Especially Blitzwing, Sentinel, and the twins. I found out through this though that I officially suck at writing anything about the main cast. That was the worst scene I think I wrote this oneshot. And I tried to write a story about the main cast (Meaning of Sacrifice) and that sucked XD. I should stick to secondary and minor characters. They have better stories to write anyways.

References to real stuff: In the start there is a line about the twin telepathy that says 'It is a gift...and a curse'. I wrote a line very much the same in Degrees of Seperation. This is a reference to the TV show Monk, one of my favorite American shows ever. Its Monk's catchphrase, even with the '...'. The song Blitzwing sings in the stockade is called 'Po Pi Po' sung by the singing VOCALOID program Miku Hatsune, written by Lamaze-P. Its about a crazed Vegetable Juice salesman who is forcing you to buy and drink vegetable juice. I wanted to do another song by Luka Megurine the vocaloid called 'Maguro Tabetai' (I want to eat tuna) but I couldn't find the lyrics. Then I wanted to do 'Pantsu wa Kaeshite' (Give me back my pants) by Len Kagamine, but couldn't find those either. So I had to deal with another crazy song XD There is also a direct ref to the song 'Its too Late to Apologize' by whoever sings that in a line by Jetfire. I like putting song lyrics into dialouge XD

I kinda explain why Perceptor was so OOC in the last fic. Well...I didn't know that he apparently 'deleted all his emotional programming' back then, so I wrote him the way you see him in the comic 'Rise of Safeguard', where he actually has a few facial expressions that depict fear anxiety concern and relief. Now I justified it by the fact that he is apparently faking it XD

This was kinda depressing...But I like writing emotional stuff like that.

I have 3 more oneshots plannes as sequels to this 1) A Blitzwing oneshot requested by Vif119 that takes place directly after he flies off with Swindle (whee!) 2) A Blurr oneshot where he is...well finally BLURR and not the humming blurrcube. I won't say much more here but it also involves some issues in this oneshot that concern a certain Shockwave... and 3) and Jettwins oneshot where I will hopefully resolve their Decepticon coding issues. If you have any ideas for this, please offer them to me. I'm not quite sure what it will be about yet XD

But before I start on those I have to update my Avatar stories and animate a bit. Well...until then, thanks for reading and please review!