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Ever since he was a sparkling, Blitzwing has always found the world of space, of planets and stars and galaxies covered in color populated by life beautiful. He thought the home he was living in was wonderful and that nothing could ever sour such sights to him. But one thing he could never understand as a sparkling, was how empty the vastness of space felt with no mechs by your side to explore it or talk about it with. Or how empty the entire world felt when you were alone, but it was something the jet was all too familiar with now.
As the decepticons had been chased off their home planet, the feeling of loneliness seemed to overtake them all, in the chaos and confusion, bots were separated. Shoved onto whatever colony or planet could take them while rations were scarce and their leaders tried their best to organize the mayhem: it was still largely unknown which bots had ended up where or whether or not there was any possibility of bumping into them again. One way or another, Blitzwing had lost the bots who he had once known and cared for; the only thing he had really hoped for was joining this little program that could help him socialize.
However, the environment of the ship Blitzwing and his team were on was hardly one of small talk and high spirits. The ride was bumpy and it wasn’t like most bots were here by choice, they were on a mission to search for a planet with enough resources and friendly locals to sustain the decepticons who still needed homes. With such a context in mind, it was no wonder the bots were all either sullen or bitter with their situation, none of them resisting the silence in the ship. Trying to cut through the thick, tense, and sad air Blitzwing decided to turn to the bot sitting right next to him and asked. “So… what’s your name, big guy?”
The mech, a purple and green bot, turned to him with a curious but friendly look. His two red optics lit up at the chance to break the silence. “My name is Lugnut, what is yours?”
With a click, Blitzwing’s demeanor changed and the part of him named Icy responded “Depends on who you ask. But mostly we just go by Blitzwing.” He replied, before looking to the bot on his other side, a pink seeker, as he sneered “They should call you heatwave. You’re making this already hot ship even hotter, by the time we land you’ll have melted us into scrap!”
Blitzwing heard the click of his face changing again and he huffed. “The planet we’re investigating has temperatures even higher than this, you spoiled sparkling! If you can’t handle it you best fly off now!” Hothead spat before whispering to Lugnut. “Who is that and what crawled up his tailpipe?”
The big bot tapped his chin with one of his digits as he thought to himself. “If my memory serves me right, that’s Starscream, and I wouldn’t be so hard on him, he’s had it rough. I heard his father was a commander stripped of his title after going against Megazarak’s orders.” Lugnut whispered and while out of the corner of his optic Blitzwing saw a very disgruntled Starscream narrow his optics at them, this time the young seeker stayed silent.
With another click, Icy was back and he simply sighed. “It’s been rough for all of us, hasn’t it… But I suppose we are doing better than our deceased soldiers…” He whispered, shaking his helm and leaning back. He paused as he realized how tense he had just made the air and the way Lugnut shifted uncomfortably. “yes, I suppose we are…” The large bot replied.
Everyone had gone quiet again and Blitzwing mentally slapped himself, luckily for him the ship finally came to a stop and as the door opened the few other bots exited alongside Starscream. Blitzwing was about to join them when he paused and realized Lugnut was still sitting in the ship, his nervous gaze fixated on the planet’s surface. It was covered in various orange and red-looking organic substances and due to being rather far from any nearby sun, it was very dark. A sickly green and purple mist also coated the planet, adding to an unnatural feeling the place had...
“Are you okay?” Random asked and Lugnut jumped quickly, getting to his feet and nodding. “Yes, I’m not a fan of how this planet looks… Or the dark…” He mumbled and Random smiled, suddenly taking Lugnut’s servo in his own. “Well, then I can light the way for you! Heehee! Now come on, I wanna see if they have any cute little pets here!~” He purred, lighting a fire within his other servo and running out of the ship, with a barely able to keep up Lugnut following him.
“Ohhhh~” Random purred as he looked at the sky of the planet, it was covered in pink and purple clouds made of some mystery liquid. “It looks like whatever is in those clouds will come raining down to the planet soon, we need to keep an eye on that…” Lugnut whispered and Icy paused, using the upgrade on his other optic to get a better look at the large liquid formations. He was surprised to find Lugnut was actually right, the clouds seemed to be getting darker rather fast as they merged and intertwined with each other.
“Wow, you’ve got quite the optic for details, you’re right it looks like we’ve only got a few hours before it starts pouring down on us… I wouldn’t worry about it though, the liquid stored in there is probably relatively harmless.” Icy reasoned and Lugnut smiled in such a soft, friendly way as he was complimented… Blitzwing couldn’t help but find it at least a little cute… Or maybe the isolation he experienced in the past few years was worse than he thought... “So in that case we should start looking for any kind of food source we can find or find some way to cool the temperature down…” Blitzwing continued trying to not get off track.
“You’re right, do you think any of these plants are edible?” Lugnut asked and without waiting for a response he reached out to pluck one of the smaller fungus-shaped plants on the ground. However as soon as he got close the plant suddenly exploded, sending pollen and some sort of liquid flying everywhere. Lugnut immediately stumbled back as the pollen and liquid covered part of his frame and his face changed from shock to disgust. “GAH- Blitzwing! Help me!” He exclaimed.
“How interesting, the plants have a defense mechanism, that implies there is some sort of life on this planet that feeds off them… I wonder if the other bots have made any similar discoveries yet…”
“Blitzwing!” Lugnut whined in distress and Blitzwing chuckled, casually walking over to the panicking bot and wiping off the strange liquid and pollen. “Such a sparkling.” He teased and Lugnut frowned. “We’ll see whose the sparkling when it’s your turn to discover something new about this planet… We have a mission you know!” He grumbled and Blitzwing’s smile only grew in response.
“Yes, we will see~”
As the two continued on the planet, Blitzwing took note of the fact that the sound of scurrying and hissing could be heard in the distance... It supported his theory that they were absolutely not alone on this planet, but the real question was how friendly the locals were and whether or not they could get along with a bunch of cons living here…
“Perhaps we should start exploring deeper into the forest, there’s clearly some kind of organic life here and we need to make sure they’re friendly.” Icy whispered to himself and Lugnut glanced at him nervously before nodding reluctantly. “That clicking noise they’re making feels ominous, we should get ready for a fight.” Lugnut whispered back as the two of them changed direction into the forest. Blitzwing didn’t say anything as they walked into the forest, he was expecting the second they stepped into the foliage for the organics to show themselves, or to hear the sound of them running off or threatening them… But there was nothing, besides distant movement and gentle clicks and hisses.
As they walked through bushes and mushrooms and looked between the trees there was nothing, not even a glimpse at the creatures was given to them… “What on earth is with this disgusting, confusing planet…” Lugnut whispered and Blitzwing had a bad feeling there was something more to the aliens on this world…
“Do you think they’re hunting us…” Blitzwing asked and Lugnut froze his two wide optics looked at him with horror. “Hunting us? What do you mean hunting us, we’re too big to be hunted!”
“I’m just saying, it would make sense as to why we can’t find them, they’re hunting waiting for us to let our guard down-” Blitzwing jumped as suddenly something ran by his feet. He didn’t get a chance to look at it before something tiny and clawed grabbed onto him, not hesitating Blitzwing began to shoot at the creatures, attempting to freeze them in ice. They were far too fast to hit though and the dark only made it worse.
“Blitzwing! I need help!” Lugnut yelped, barely dodging the attacks from the creatures as they jumped at him. “I don’t have anything I can use against them! Do you have any ideas? They’re too fast to hit!” Hothead hissed attempting to use his fire to ward off the creatures.
“Then I know what to do! Brace yourself!” Lugnut called out and before Blitzwing could ask what he meant a bright light blinded him, dust and organic debris flying everywhere as a huge explosion consumed the two mechs.
When Blitzwing opened his optics and stood up he found his processor was pounding and his frame ached, he looked around only to see him and Lugnut were in a crater of the bigger bots creation. “What in the name of Primus was that?!” Hothead spat, getting up and trying to wave away the dust and pollen in the air away from him. “That was my punch of kill everything or P.O.K.E, our fellow decepticons sometimes just call it ‘The punch.’” Lugnut explained, casually getting up and brushing off the debris that had fallen on him. “It was one of my best moves back in the pits of Kaon”
“And you didn’t feel the need to warn me before you did that?” Hothead huffed glaring at Lugnut as he climbed out of the crater. “I gave you all the warning you needed.” He replied, before reaching his hand out to Blitzwing. “I could not disagree more.” Blitzwing huffed, taking Lugnut’s aid regardless. “Then we must agree to disagree.” Lugnut said with a shrug and Blitzwing found himself stuck between getting angry, laughing, or trying to figure out just why Lugnut acted the way he did… “Just…. Warn me next time.” Icy huffed and Lugnut looked at him curiously before the two mechs continued on their way, both a little curious about what was going on in the other's head…
As promising as the planet had seemed on the surface Blitzwing and Lugnut had sadly deduced that it was nowhere near sustainable, the plants were light and made of mostly liquid and pollen, plus the organics were angry and fierce. They seemed incredibly fast and as Blitzwing and Lugnut headed back to the ship they saw Starscream helping bandage up an old, blue and white mech’s leg. It was gently dripping with energon and neither of them had to think twice about what caused it.
“You guys see those organics?” Starscream asked and the two of them nodded. Starscream just sighed looking down and shaking his helm. “This planet is a dead end too, with the plants barely having anything that could fuel a bot for more than six klicks and organics capable of damaging us. There’s no way anyone could live here…”
“That's not taking into account how unbearable the heat is.” Lugnut grumbled and Icy turned to him with a frown. “Is it very hot? I didn’t notice… Though admittedly your hand did feel really warm…” Lugnut’s optics went wide and he shifted uncomfortably. “Er- well I do not think, I know what you mean by that…”
Blitzwing tilted his helm as Lugnut looked away, his face turning a deep shade of pink, he was confused before he looked to the other bots who were giving Blitzwing a mixture of curious and amused faces. Hothead quickly felt his own face heating up and he huffed glaring at the bots as one of them giggled softly. “Not like that! You mechs are a bunch of sparklings! We were just using the buddy system so we didn’t get lost!”
“I don’t recall the buddy system requiring hand holding.” Starscream purred. “But being fair, that’s a pretty fail-safe way to make sure you don’t lose each other. After all, I’m sure none of us wanna stay on this wretched planet any longer than we have to…”
As the other bots mumbled and nodded in agreement Blitzwing settled down, sitting among them and looking to Lugnut, making eye contact before he quickly sat down too. “So, we are in agreement, we must get the ship ready to leave?” The big mech asked and Starscream shook his helm, “No, we should stay the night at least, those clouds seem rather ominous, and if they turn to storm clouds while we try to leave the planet who knows what will happen.”
“I don’t know if you didn’t see my leg son, but we don’t exactly know what’ll happen if we sleep here either. It takes something far stronger than a cybercat to slash somebot’s foot open like that.” A croaky, raspy voice suddenly said and Blitzwing turned to the mech, his frame was bulky and big, he looked like an ex gladiator, that or he was a solider. He had a few battle scars scattered on his frame and his white paint resembled ice.
“Don’t call me that you rust bucket, besides if you’re confident we should take off right now perhaps you could fly up there and see what that liquid does. Just remember how far away the nearest actual medic is.” Starscream hissed back.
“Why don’t we just send someone up there? We have plenty of flyers here” Blitzwing asked and Starscream huffed turning and glaring at him. “Because I already decided we’re staying here until the clouds pass!” Starscream spat and Blitzwing felt his face change as Random giggled with amusement “ahaha!~ I think the atmosphere is getting to Starscream’s helm!~”
The young seeker clenched his teeth and Lugnut looked between the mechs before getting up and raising his servo. “I shall go ahead and see if the clouds will harm us!” He declared loudly, causing Blitzwing and Starscream to look at him. “ I’ll join Lugnut, just in case something happens.” Icy said, following Lugnut as he walked away from the ship.
As they got away from the others, Blitzwing turned to Lugnut who was looking at him with a subtle grin. “What is that look for?” Hothead asked and Lugnut chuckled. “Nothing, I just appreciate your drive to make sure I’m okay… Us cons have to always look out for each other, but perhaps not so eagerly...”
Icy felt his face heat up a little before he chuckled looking away and giving a playful shrug, “Heh, that’s just what you think, this was just my elaborate plan to escape Starscream~” He purred and Lugnut tilted his helm. “Of course, whatever you say… Blitzwing…”
Without another word, Lugnut transformed and took off into the sky, with Blitzwing quickly following after him. “Whoa! You’re rather fast in the sky aren’t you?” Random asked and Lugnut chuckled again. “Yes, my bulky build means more engine power! But your jet form is probably better for navigating such messy skies…”
“Eh, a small part of me wishes I was forged a tank, I wonder sometimes what it must be like to have such power and bulk!”
“I can tell you right now, It is not as easy or wonderful as it looks being so big. But my strength is what makes me such a great asset to the decepticons and our leaders! I would not change it for anything.”
Blitzwing, best as he could, smiled at Lugnut as the two of them approached the clouds. “Alright, are you ready for this?” Blitzwing asked and he saw Lugnut hesitate before answering “Yes, I believe so…”
“Great! Let’s go!” Random suddenly declared, launching himself into the clouds and ignoring Lugnut as he cried out for him to wait. Lugnut, despite his anxieties, quickly followed him, bracing himself for something, anything to go wrong as he did. However as he sped on he soon found himself hovering above the thin layer of clouds, looking at the stars and galaxies that painted the sky just above them.
“See! I told you it was probably fine!” Blitzwing purred, circling Lugnut in the air. Lugnut taking in the fact they were perfectly unharmed simply hovered over the clouds before bursting into laughter. “Ahaha! I guess you were right, Blitzwing! Wonderful job! I can see you are wonderful company after all!” He exclaimed, looking to the beautiful night sky, decorated with galaxies and stars.
As it shone down on them, Blitzwing found himself not looking at the sky but instead the way the light gave him a much better look at the details and colors on Lugnut’s frame. The seams and shine of his alt form looked lovely under the starlit sky.
“We should return to the others and inform them that the clouds are harmless.” Lugnut noted and Blitzwing felt himself snapped out of his thoughts. “Aheh well I suppose so~ but surely a few more klicks up here won’t hurt…”
Despite his nature and his judgment, Lugnut actually agreed.
As the two of them flew in the sky together, bathing in the starlight and each other’s company, the gentle sounds of the planet became more soothing than creepy. They had both been quiet for a while when Lugnut spoke up. “You do not need to answer should you not want to, but I have been wondering, about what you said on the ship… Were you speaking from experience?”
Blitzwing stayed quiet before Random took over and answered. “Yes, I had recently lost a friend of mine to the autobots. I didn’t mean to make the air so tense, it’s just been very hard to get off my mind…”
“I can imagine it is… I am sorry that happened… It’s always tragic to lose another comrade...”
“It’s alright…”
“But we will rise up from such tragedy, that’s what we always do as cons... I’m sure one day, you will avenge them...”
Blitzwing chuckled, he agreed with Lugnut... But he knew he didn’t need to verbalize that... Something between the two just made unspoken words easier to understand.
It also made the sound of twinkling from the stars above, just all the more magical...
Funny how that works...
The two of them stayed silent after that, despite what they had been discussing, Blitzwing felt the silence was comforting. There was nothing Lugnut could say to make his pain go away but having the strange mech by his side was enough to make him feel better. Something Blitzwing hadn't even taken notice of, however, was how much more colorful the stars seemed now, the seeker scanning the skies with a gentle feeling of warmth and scanning Lugnut’s frame with the same.
Sadly, they couldn’t stay there forever. “It’s about time we head back down. the others need us... And so does our home...” Lugnut spoke softly and despite the feelings inside Blitzwing, he agreed.
As the two mechs walked back to Starscream and the others, Blitzwing had once again taken a hold of Lugnut’s hand. He hadn't used his hand to light the way, as Lugnut now seemed much more comfortable on the planet now, and maybe Lugnut was wondering why they were still walking together like this or maybe he hasn’t noticed, either way, Blitzwing was grateful the big mech didn’t seem to mind…
“You two sure took your time, for a second I was convinced the clouds just evaporated you.” Starscream grumbled and Blitzwing mostly just ignored him, simply standing beside Lugnut as he happily announced: “The clouds are safe for flying! It is now we should make sure no bot is being left behind and that we have truly decided this planet is not safe for decepticon life!”
Starscream rolled his optics, gesturing to the ship as he mumbled “We’ve already decided that Lugnut, no bot is missing trust me… Now come on, I’m ready to get out of here.” Without leaving any room for debate, the pink seeker stood up and went into the ship, the other bots following. The older bot with the injured leg huffed looking to the two younger cons holding hands and shaking his helm. “Star’s got some nerve talking to you like that, I sure don’t remember them volunteering to do such a dangerous job... Good job you two.” He said, giving the two of them a polite nod before joining the others. Lugnut and Blitzwing were last to enter, as they gave each other a friendly smile before joining the others.
The ship was sadly the same as it was before, it was bumpy and not the most comfortable ride, but as Blitzwing watched the stars go by, he realized how much more beautiful they seemed in contrast to the planet they were just on. Or perhaps what gave them their shine was the fact Lugnut hadn't let go of Blitzwing’s hand and in fact as they had taken off…
He intertwined his digits with Blitzwing’s and allowed the seeker to rest his helm against his shoulder. Perhaps, that warmth, that comfort, was what gave the stars their beauty.
The sky of New Kaon was covered in stars and galaxies, distant planets, and the few moons the planet had. Almost every moon and nearby planet were full of decepticons now and Lugnut had no idea how to feel about it. On some level, it was nice to see the decepticons healing and finally finding homes for their people, on the other, it was far from the proud cities and monuments they had on Cybertron. Even their new capital was quickly built and even more quickly filled with cons desperate for homes. Walking through the streets, Lugnut was filled with sympathy for his fellow cons as they stumbled around, those who weren’t anxiously running or flying somewhere were staring at the ground, exhaustion, and stress clear on their face and frames.
Lugnut just tried to keep his head high, remind himself of the proud decepticons he saw back on Cybertron, and remind himself he was one of them. They would reclaim their glory days, no matter what came in their way. Lugnut smiled as he thought to himself and not looking where he was going, he continued on his little stroll.
‘I wonder what our glorious leaders will do once we have secured homes for the remaining decepticons. Surely stability would return and therefore we could plan for a counterattack…’ Lugnut thought to himself. ‘I might even be able to stay on a planet for more than a few months… Get caught up on what’s happened or meet the locals or-’
“Lugnut?”
Lugnut paused as he was called out to, looking around for the culprit his optics settled on the bot he was about to stumble into.
“Blitzwing?”
With a click, Blitzwing’s jagged smile greeted Lugnut and the smaller mech suddenly embraced him. Lugnut stood there for a bit, not processing he was supposed to hug back before his smile returned and he wrapped his arms around Blitzwing.
“Soooo, what are you doing here?~” Blitzwing asked with a cheeky smile.
“I’m on break right now, but I’m here to help with construction, I was told by commander Starscream my strength was needed. Ever since then I’ve been bouncing around from planet to planet… What are you doing here?”
“I’m assisting in a few interesting… Projects you could say, I was about to head to the archive for some important information for them… Care to join me?” Icy asked.
“I don’t have anything else to do.”
“... So?”
“Yes, I would love to assist you!”
As Lugnut began following Blitzwing he heard the seeker chuckling to himself, Lugnut wasn’t sure what he found so funny at the moment, but it made him smile regardless…
As the doors to the archive opened Lugnut gasped quietly, the walls and floor were made of quite simple cheap material, but the cons who built it still found a way to make it look beautiful. There were fancy carvings on the walls and floor and the array of datapads of all shapes and sizes added color to it.
“Here we are, hopefully, they have what we need to continue our work…”
“What do you need to continue your work?”
“Just some T-cog graphs and studies, for medical reasons.”
“Why wouldn’t they have that here?”
Blitzwing paused and shrugged as he began to walk around the archive, going quiet as Lugnut followed. All of Blitzwing’s personalities perplexed Lugnut in their own way, when the blue one was in control he moved with purpose and was quiet, looking around with a blank expression. Lugnut would think he had forgotten he was there if it wasn’t for the occasional glance he gave him. Random was the one he understood the most; he was just really excitable and really emotional, his expression always readable and his mood almost always jolly. Random was quite prone to random hugs and affection however, if Lugnut didn’t know any better he’d say random had taken quite the liking to him… But Lugnut was sure that was just him misreading things again…
Hothead however was the most confusing. At first, Lugnut thought he was nothing more than the name implied, a bot with a temper problem but there was so much more to him…
“Blitzwing look at that minicon over there, is he okay? He looks asleep…” Lugnut asked and Blitzwing looked over to see a small purple minicon sleeping with his helm on a pile of datapads as if he had fallen asleep mid-reading. His one red optic was dimmed and the worn look of his frame and certain unnatural seams... He looked like he’d just come out of a hospital visit for a terrible accident...
Hothead's expression changed to one Lugnut couldn’t describe. “He probably just misses his home, I heard that Prion used to have the largest archive in cybertronian history…”
“Prion is the home of the minicons isn’t it? Did the leader break his declaration of neutrality in the war?”
Hothead looked down. “Prion used to be the home of the minicons…”
Lugnut felt his breath get caught in his throat. He felt like he knew why Blitzwing worded it the way he did. Yet Lugnut couldn’t truly believe an entire planet could be destroyed, not even in a war as destructive as the Autobot-Decepticon one. “No such weapon exists capable of destroying an entire planet! Had their energon farms been destroyed? What made the planet uninhabitable?”
Blitzwing sighed and shook his helm gently. “You’re right, no such weapon existed capable of destroying an entire planet a couple years ago, Lugnut... But the autobots created one, some sort of Omega project...”
Lugnut was about to ask for clarification when he saw the minicon at the desk shift. He quietly looked over to Blitzwing and the other mech shook his helm before walking away. Lugnut turned to follow him, but not before giving a sympathetic look to the minicon behind them as he left.
“Blitzwing, are you sure we’re getting closer to the datapads you need?” Lugnut asked and Blitzwing hummed softly. “We’re headed towards the biology section so I believe so...”
As the two of them continued, Lugnut paused before turning to Blitzwing with a curious look. “You know you never mentioned why you needed all this stuff.”
Blitzwing stopped what he was doing.
Lugnut gulped quietly, as he heard Blitzwing’s face change a few times as he waited.
“Blitzwing?”
Blitzwing suddenly jumped as if he only now remembered Lugnut was there. “Sorry I spaced out for a second... It’s just for a sort of... Science experiment”
Lugnut smiled. “Secret. Got it. I won’t tell anyone.” He purred and Blitzwing glanced at him with a smile. “Thanks, I promise it’s a secret with the decepticons best intentions in mind.”
Lugnut laughed. “It had better be! Now is not the time to be fighting our own. We must stick together to get through such difficult times.”
“You truly are full of wisdom aren’t you?~”
Lugnut puffed his chest out with a frown. “Don’t give me that smile you know I’m right.”
Blitzwing paused before his face clicked to Hothead who rolled his optics. “I wasn’t mocking you bolt brain you... Never mind, come on. Now that I have these I have the rest of the day off. and I don’t plan on spending it trying to get you to take the hint.”
Lugnut felt confused as Hothead huffed and walked away, but he opted to not dwell on it and instead be happy to spend the rest of the day with him. After all, Lugnut had grown quite a liking to the seeker.
As much as Lugnut longed for the older cities on Cybertron with their tall strong structure and proud aura. He had to admit the new Kaon looked rather lovely when you took a moment to really inspect it’s details; the care put into it by people who felt so hopeless for so long... Perhaps he had misjudged it, or perhaps walking through the streets hand in hand with Blitzwing made it feel better somehow...
“So, where do you want to go now?”
Lugnut jumped as Blitzwing spoke, he turned to the other mech before shrugging. He had just kind of been wandering aimlessly with him, not really wondering where Blitzwing was taking them until now... “I just... Assumed you would decide where we’d go, I haven’t spent a lot of time here so I don’t know the area.”
“I haven’t either but I’ve heard of a few pretty good spots... Can I treat you to some dinner or I guess food in general. To be honest I already lost track of time ahahahaha!~” Blitzwing purred, giggling happily.
Lugnut smiled and nodded happily. “I’d love to do that with you...” And as the two began to walk through the streets a strange thought entered Lugnut’s mind... Was this, a romantic outing they were having? Was he reading it wrong or was Blitzwing holding on just a bit too tightly to his hand, his smiles too warm and Lugnut’s spark beating too fast to say this was merely two friends going out together?
Lugnut wasn’t sure, but he was sure whatever the two of them were doing, it would be wonderful.
“So, what’s your taste in fuel? I could go for anything right now, so consider it my treat tonight.”
Lugnut gulped and looked down, he wasn’t sure what he wanted currently, just that he was hungry. “I could go for anything right now, I’m not very familiar with most of the places around here though. Construction paychecks aren’t the best, sadly...” He murmured.
Blitzwing looked at Lugnut curiously. “Have you tried asking for a raise? You’ve been working so hard recently, I think you deserve one.”
“I do this for the Decepticon cause, not for the money, I can get by on subpar fuel. I need to help the cons in need...”
Icy shook his head gently. “You still deserve to be rewarded for all your loyalty.”
His face changed with a subtle click. “Of course I have to do all the work of making sure you have some fun in your life! What do you even do when I’m not around?” Hothead huffed and Lugnut smiled with a little shrug.
“I just do whatever is asked of me. I’m more of a ... Follower than a leader.” Lugnut admitted and Hothead narrowed his optics before nodding. “I kind of noticed... So you want me to just take you wherever I like?”
Lugnut nodded. “I would be delighted just to have more time with you. I... Missed you after our first meeting, maybe that’s silly. I know we’re not very close and yet...”
“No, I understand... I feel the same way... You are oddly charming to me, I really enjoy spending time with you... So let’s stop standing around and get to somewhere we can sit down and start talking once I get something to eat!” Random exclaimed, taking Lugnut’s hand and guiding the large mech down the road, cackling the whole time.
Lugnut felt unprepared for the night ahead of him, but he was also excited for more time alongside the strange jet...
“Can I ask where we are going?” Lugnut questioned and Random giggled before coming to a sudden stop. Lugnut left stumbling as he nearly ran right into the seeker. “We’re going to this place with great energon! I love the sweetness of the drinks there! But they have so many I’m sure I’ll find a new favorite by the end of the night heehee!”
Lugnut couldn’t help but smile, Randoms giddy energetic nature was so contagious sometimes. It was one of the things that made him even more excited to do this.
With a click Icy was in control, he gave himself a little dust off before he turned to the building Lugnut assumed was their destination and headed forward. Lugnut gulped before following him, resisting the urge to grab on to the seeker’s hand as they walked inside.
The restaurant was considerably fancier than Lugnut had first thought it was gonna be. The walls were a dark blue with a simple yellow trim outlining various patterns and decor. It was clear that the place had recently been built and the new feeling of it all made Lugnut feel better about the unfortunate situation the cons had all found themselves in...
“To new beginnings huh?” Hothead purred and Lugnut nodded following him to one of the booths, where the two of them sat across from each other. It was now Lugnut was really starting to wonder whether or not he’d just been tricked into going on a date... Not that he really minded... He just wish he could get a straight answer without potentially making things awkward.
“You know Blitzwing, you sure do have a way of making strong impressions in a short amount of time...”
Blitzwing looked at Lugnut with a wary and nervous expression, taking his optics off the menu for just a moment before he looked down. “Yes I’m... We... Are very aware of that... I hope it’s not too overwhelming to be around us...” Icy mumbled and Lugnut quickly shook his helm.
“No I hadn’t meant it like that! I meant it is wonderful the way you have such a strong presence... That I truly find you sticking out in my mind as a very memorable mech, despite how short our meetings have been.”
Blitzwing raised an optic ridge at him and Lugnut had to take a deep breath before he continued. “I... Actually really understand what it’s like to have a lot of bots find you overwhelming or unpleasant to be around... I find a lot of peers aren’t very friendly towards me about my loud voice or my dedication to the Decepticon cause. They often find it quite annoying if anything...”
Icys original expression quickly melted into one of sympathy and understanding. “I was afraid that was the case... I find those traits to be very endearing parts of you... the voice in particular always made me feel just as excited as you always seemed to be...”
The smile the two shared made them both feel a lot better and there was a silent comfort shared between the two of them...
When their energon arrived, Blitzwing didn’t even hesitate as he picked up his cube and smiled at Lugnut warmly. “Cheers to being outcasts?”
“Cheers to being proud outcasts.” Lugnut purred and the small clink of their energon cubes sealed their blossoming relationship. It just felt so nice for both of them to find such wonderful company...
“So, what are you planning to do after you're done taking all these jobs in the name of the Decepticon cause Lugnut? Are you gonna become a farmer or move in with your family maybe?” Icy asked and Lugnut shook his head.
“I don’t have a family anymore, they perished a while ago... I don’t have much of a plan but I’m sure our leaders will find somewhere I’m needed. So... My plan is whatever our leaders have planned. What about you?”
Blitzwing tapped his fingers against the table. “My plans are really complicated... most of all I’m gonna be assisting in the.... Defense of our new home... Using science of course I don’t want to return to the battlefield any time soon...”
“Is that because of the bot you mentioned losing?”
“Yes... Yes it is...”
“May I ask who they were? I don’t think I need to ask what happened to them but... I would like to understand more of your grief...”
Blitzwing paused, shifting slowly before they nodded. Hothead started first. “Astrotrain was their name... We were soon to be conjuxed when the war broke out. We were so close, ever since we met working at this old bar together. They were a waiter, I was a bartender... It was meant to be a temporary position for us, nothing more than a way to get a paycheck but...”
Random continued “Well I got attached! Haha! Suddenly I found myself sticking around for my friend until we became more than that! We moved a bit fast, sure, but I was so excited and-and...”
Icy finished, looking down and staying silent as Lugnut took in everything they said. Icy didn’t need to say anything more, Lugnut knew what had happened after that...
“I’m... So sorry Blitzwing, I wish I could do something to make it better.”
“You already have... In a way...”
Lugnut paused looking back up to Blitzwing and tilting his helm. “You have given me someone to talk to after I lost them... I haven’t had that in a while."
Blitzwing found Lugnut’s struggle to express himself very cute, the way he slowly smiles to him, clearly struggling to think of the right expression to show after such an intimate moment... It was cute... Very relatable too... Blitzwing always found his struggle with his multiple personalities being one he couldn’t voice very often... Many were very put off just by the multiple faces, let alone them all being their own bot, at least in a way.
Lugnut didn’t seem to mind it however, maybe it was because he was used to being outcast from others too, maybe he just didn’t think much of it... Either way, Blitzwing was happy to have a friend after all this time, even if Lugnut wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He certainly was the kindest.
With a big smile, Blitzwing raised his energon glass to Lugnut gently hitting his glass with a purr. “To better days! Whether we face them separated or together...”
“To better days! After that, better years! Which we will both create in the name of our glorious leaders!”
Yes... They would both use their skills to build better years for the cons ahead. Surely after all this hard work... They would find the next few years getting better for them as well...
The moon above Blitzwing’s head was blue and shone with a sort of sorrow. The planet he was on was largely unfamiliar to him, it had simply been where he was told to go to receive more fuel for whatever it is Blackarachnia had in mind after the... Experiment he underwent went wrong... He hated just about everything about his situation right now. If he was being honest, he was in a body that felt unfamiliar. It was covered in parts he didn’t know how to use and felt alien to him.
He felt alien to himself and now to everyone around him...
He hated the way they stared... Looking at his frame like it was some puzzle to be solved. Trying to figure out what he transformed into... Not even he could answer them when they asked... Blackarachnia said eventually she would figure out how he would transform now. But it’d take time and worse of all, she would have to prod at his T cog to figure it out...
Blitzwing shivered. He didn't want to put his life into the hands of her of all people again... but it seems Blitzwing was destined to spend more time on her operating table. She was the only person who had even a slight understanding on how Blitzwing’s body had adapted to the triple changer procedure.
Until then, he couldn’t even transform into a jet anymore... Attempting to do so would just result in injury for him...
Whatever, Blitzwing needed to just get what he needed and leave as soon as possible. The quiet gave him too much room to think and considering how few cons lived here it was unlikely the silence would be broken by anything.
He couldn’t even fool himself into thinking it was someone else’s fault this all happened to him... He knew the risk... He took it... He just wishes that he could somehow undo it now...
But now... Now that he was even more strange then he was in his days as a sparkling, it was unlikely anyone would ever want anything to do with him... He was a freak among freaks, an outcast among outcasts...
Fated to be alone forever... But now it was not because of a condition he couldn’t help, it was due to his own reckless actions...
He felt like he would never know the true beauty of the stars again... The love present in a galaxy you could explore with someone by your side...
That was until while walking through the rocky streets of the newly built city Blitzwing saw a very familiar shape sitting on a bench and looking sadly at the ground.
“Lugnut?”
Blitzwing stared at the figure as he turned around to look at him, five unfamiliar optics looked back at him and his helm was a strange shape, it was hard to tell where his mouth was and where his neck ended. He had this hunched look to him and for a moment Blitzwing thought he had the wrong mech until the same voice he heard all those years ago called out.
“Blitzwing? I-is that you?”
The voice was recognizable, but so strange as well... It was Lugnut’s voice, but not the powerful and loud voice he used in the gladiatorial pits, nor when talking about the decepticons. It was tired, soft and Blitzwing wondered what could have had happened to break the proud, strong mech so badly...
Not even the pits of Kaon had done this to him...
“Yes... Yes it’s me... W-what happened, are you okay?”
Lugnut paused, he closed his eyes, all five of them and seemed to be struggling to remember whatever event led him to look and feel like... This....
“I-I don’t entirely remember, I had made a plan with this, orange charming old mech, we were going to strike back against the autobots for everything that happened but things went wrong, he threw me under the bus! Then the autobots they-they...”
Lugnut shrunk into himself, he looked frightened and as though he were in pain. Like he was reaching so hard for something out of reach, it was straining on him.
“The autobots did this to you?” Blitzwing asked, he felt fury rise in his processor, of course they were to blame for this! In a way they had been to blame for all of this! Though Blitzwing wanted to ask more about the charming mech who left Lugnut to suffer such a terrible fate, he had a feeling Lugnut would’ve named him if he could. Whatever the autobots did... It seemed to have affected not only Lugnut’s appearance but his mind. He was almost surprised Lugnut even remembered him considering how dazed he seemed...
“Yes... Yes they had, I didn’t think there was anything more they could do to me after all this but...”
“We were both wrong...”
“... What happened to your frame?”
It was the question Blitzwing had dreaded answering and clearly Lugnut knew that as he quickly added “Not that you have to answer... I understand if you can’t...”
“No, it’s okay, it was my own fault either way, we were messing with things we shouldn’t have been, trusting a bot we shouldn’t have... We underwent a operation in an attempt to gain a new alt mode, we had hoped it could make us powerful, maybe so we could turn the tides of our battle with the autobots and-and...”
Blitzwing looked down to himself again, a mismatch of unfamiliar alt mode parts, the ones he recognized were all in the wrong place, making sure that he couldn’t even transform back into a jet. He had broken himself down and built himself again but all wrong!
‘No... Blackaranchnia had done this to me... It... It was her fault... Not mine...’ Blitzwing told himself, trying to wash his hands of the blood that bled from a future where he was whole. Yet he knew inside whose hands had truly killed his happy ending.
It was ones of metal, with no hint of anything organic in there... No warmth or flesh... Which was probably the only thing Blitzwing could tell himself to assure himself he wasn’t irreparably broken. Not in the way she was... As awful as that was to say...
“it sounds like it could’ve been very promising... I don’t blame you for trying it... I’m sure I would’ve too...”
“Oh but you should, it was a ridiculous idea, I was so stupid to think I could handle such a project and now I look like this. Broken and disgusting, there is nowhere I belong anymore, I can’t even turn into a jet anymore! I may as well not be cybertronian anymore, let alone be of any use to the cons like this... I’ve scrapped my once healthy and wonderful frame and all for nothing, now I have nothing and no one and it’s all my fa-”
Blitzwing froze as he was cut off by the feeling of Lugnut wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his neck gently. “That’s not true... You have me... And I have you... You don’t have nothing, you have nothing left to lose and a friend who will never leave you... Never again...”
Blitzwing paused, letting the words sink into his mind, it was all so cheesy and yet somehow exactly what he had wanted to hear... When Lugnut said he’d never leave Random couldn’t help but laugh and then he couldn’t help but cry as a smile nearly split his helm in two and his laughter could be heard throughout the little planet they were standing on.
“Haha! Oh Lugnut, you just can never let such rough circumstances get to your decepticon spirit can you?” He purred hugging the larger mech back who responded with a response far more honest than Blitzwing expected.
“Actually... I had, before I heard you speak such nonsense, I was listening to the same kind of words echoing in my processor, but when you speak them I realize how untrue they are. We have seen the worst this world has to offer and maybe we will continue to...”
Icy huffed. “Gee thanks, that sure does make me feel better to hear things might get worse...”
“I wasn’t finished! But that only means we will get stronger with every struggle and know that whatever lies ahead of that, cannot be worse than what we have already seen! That is the true ways of the decepticons, after all, things have gone from bad to worse, but we shall prevail! No matter what! It’s only in our nature to thrive.”
Lugnut paused as he clicked his two claws together, seemingly realizing he can’t clench two digits into a fist...
“We will rise above this. Won’t we?” Lugnut asked, looking at Blitzwing with a frown...
“Yes, we will Lugnut, I promise...”
“The autobots have not seen the last of either of us... And neither have the stars or galaxies that surround us...”
“Look to the bots who stand beside me, my fellow decepticons, they are the brave soldiers I have chosen to assist in my quest for the allspark!”
Blitzwing had been tuning out most of Megatron’s speech waiting for their queue to straighten their backs and draw attention to themselves. As he did just that, he almost couldn’t believe he was actually here... Standing alongside Lugnut and a few other bots, about to take part in one of the most important events in the history of the decepticons.
The search for the allspark, the most important relic in all of cybertronian history, the only thing they needed to find to truly turn the tides of this war.
He had never seen Lugnut with a bigger smile on his face, it had been a few years now of the two of them living together, they had started dating just two years ago. With anyone else it probably would’ve felt much shorter, but with Lugnut with how much they knew each other’s souls in and out with just a few conversations, it felt like centuries. Maybe it was just Blitzwing being lonely, but he trusted Lugnut and they held an affection for each other he never felt before.
He only fell more in love seeing him smile like that.
Lugnut must’ve felt the same way because his dorky smile only got more joyful when he caught Blitzwing’s affectionate gaze. The two of them nodded to each other playfully and proudly.
Nothing could rob Blitzwing of the feeling of joy in his spark, not even the all too familiar techno organic femme standing beside Lugnut, who kept a cool calm stare, throughout the entire event. Next to her was a mech who held the opposite demeanor, a small purple minicon who seemed to be shaking subtly at the start of the ceremony and now looked like his legs couldn’t support the weight of his frame anymore. His singular red optic was wide with fear and yet he seemed desperate to fake a calm friendly demeanor whenever his gaze met with Blitzwing’s.
He was honestly struggling to not laugh at him, he wasn’t entirely sure why Megatron even let such a young and obviously anxious mech be a part of such an important mission, however... Blitzwing’s spark sunk as the thought came to him... It might be because the minicons are few and far between ever since their home was destroyed and no other bots could do what they could.
Best not to press on him about it, though Blitzwing did wonder if it was merely his memory playing tricks on him that the mech kind of reminded him of the sleeping minicon Lugnut and him caught at the library... If it was, it wasn’t hard to imagine his motive for being here, who wouldn’t want revenge after such a horrible event? Especially one caused by an action so obviously planned and unexpected... What the autobots had done to his kind was cruel and heartless, there was no doubt about that.
What the autobots had done to all of them was cruel... That was why they were here, united and ready to do anything to make this mission successful. It was only in their nature after all.
“... And with their help I shall make the autobots pay for everything they’ve done to us! To our people. to our friends and family! We shall prevail! We shall do what we always do after tragedy and rise up!”
And with that decepticons from any and all places cheered, shouting and crying with pain and joy... With anger and heartache their voices became one. That was the power they would use to crush the autobots, the ability to put aside their vast differences and come together as one in powerful raw emotion.
His soon to be crew mates also cheered, with all their might they cheered, Blackaranchnias blank bored expression turned to one of rage, so did the small minicon’s as he raised his claws to the sky. But Blitzwing was so sure that out of all of them it was him and Lugnut who shouted the loudest. For the sorrow of their future robbed and their past pride gone, for the sorrow of being broken and put back together painfully. For no longer being the people who met all those years ago...
But most of all they shouted in hope for what their future could be now that they had each other, a conjux endura ritual, living together in a lovely house and maybe even a family of their own one day.
They shouted for the short term future as well, the future of exploring a vast and lovely galaxy together, with stars shining with love and affection and the ability to endure the coldest of voids in between them through each others warmth.
They’d fight tooth and nail for that future, securing it for future cons and themselves.
After all whatever came their way...
They were both sure it couldn’t be worse then what they had already endured.
That night, the stars shone brighter than ever...
Even the galaxy seemed to shout in unison with them.