Catalyst: Chapter Seven

Characters: Ironhide, Optimus, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Cliffjumper, Command Trine, Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Mirage, Perceptor, Bluestreak

Rating: T

Words: 595

Summary: Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Perceptor, Jazz, and Prowl have been keeping a huge secret. Literally.

Author's Notes: Last chapter. Any requests for what to write one-shots on for this AU? Or, really, anything? As long as it's Transformers.

::bond::

~comm.~

::~bond and comm. simultaneously~::

Thoughts

Ironhide stepped in front of Optimus protectively. "Where's tha rest of ya?" Only Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Cliffjumper, and the Seekers were visible. That didn't seem to bode well, and they didn't know why the Seekers would be there unless their former comrades were now allied with the Decepticons. It could go bad for them quickly if that was the case.

"Safe from you slaggers," Sunstreaker growled lowly, his fists clenching in anger.

Many of the Autobots winced visibly. It served them right in Catalyst team's opinion They had crossed a line that not even the Decepticons had – they were too honorable for that no matter what the Council had fed the Autobots. Those had been complete lies. They had been played off each other and it had gotten out of the Council's control after Praxus – far out of their control. It hadn't been the Decepticons that had gotten violent first after that.

"We do not wish for a fight this day," Optimus said, trying to placate the warrior.

"Yeah, well we didn't want one either," Sideswipe hissed at him. "If we had, it wouldn't have been that unfair."

"If ya'd just told us ya were gestalt, we coulda used ya bettah," Ironhide hissed right back at him.

"Used us?" Jazz's cry was heard by them all. "Ah thought we were mo' dan objec's ta beh used!"

"Shh, Jazz," Prowl murmured, leaning over and pulling the saboteur against his plating. "They just saw us as even less than we knew. I am sure you were thought of more highly than the rest of us."

"Even den, dey're still insultin' meh. Ah'm bonded ta ya mechs. Happileh."

"Can we please just get started with negotiations?" Huffer huffed. "My joints are getting dusty. Do you know how much that hurts?"

"What sort of negotiations are you thinking about?" Sunstreaker asked warily.

"We would like to have our medic, spy, security director, and tactician back."

"No. We aren't trading any mechs and especially not my gestaltmate or my brother," Sunstreaker said heatedly. "You'll have to ask Ratchet and Mirage yourselves."

"Ratchet, my friend, would you be willing to return to the Ark?" Optimus asked.

"No. Ya all were total glitches and ya still are! I would reformat the lot of ya into something useless!"

"Mirage?"

"And leave my bondmate? Pit no." He didn't bother to reappear as he talked. There was no knowing when fighting would break out between them and the Autobots. He didn't want to give himself away and it wasn't like they could pinpoint his position just by his voice.

/They got anything else to say?/ Thundercracker asked impatiently. He would rather be lounging in the base and laughing at Starscream's antics with Scrapper. He was the last of the three to find a bondmate and watching him court a mech was hilarious.

/They look to be 'scratching their helms'. They weren't expecting Mirage to be bonded. Probably not even that we were prepared or that we were going to greet them like this./

/Thanks Prowl./

Jazz glanced out at the assembled Autobots. He opened a comm. link with Ratchet.

….

Later that day he relaxed back against Perceptor with a grin on his faceplates. "Who knew that the end to the war could be brought about this quickly by just taking the CMO and CTO out of the equation?"

The black and white snorted. "Why do you think I never trained a successor?"

"That would be because you didn't want the hassle of one, Flutter. Now, Where'd Flit get to?"

"Bluestreak is probably with Red, Skywarp."