Chapter Text
The first week has come and gone without bloodshed.
Steeljaw and Ramulus no longer automatically try to kill anyone who gets too close, finally giving the residents of Nova Terra the chance to come and fawn over the sparkling. Underbite especially was taken, and with close enough experience in taking care of minicons, Fracture was promptly tasked with babysitting duty while Steeljaw and Ramulus tended to business with Saberhorn and Bumblebee.
Thunderhoof was the only one who didn’t participate in the festivities, but he had his reasons. Not that anyone could get an answer out of him, but some had their suspicions, and all pointing to the same thing.
After his daily check-in, Thunderhoof returns to his neck of the woods.
“Miss me?”
He doesn’t hesitate. Thunderhoof turns on his heel and swings. His fist punches straight through a tree, breaking it in half.
“Woo! Glad I dodged that!”
“I almost killed ya!” Thunderhoof exclaimed, massaging his knuckles. “Do ya have a death wish or somethin’?”
“I guess I could have kept my distance…”
Phantomjaw sidled on over to Thunderhoof and wrapped his claws around his neck.
“But where would the fun in that be?”
Thunderhoof scoffed and rolled his optics.
“Yous are so not your brother.”
Phantomjaw laughed. Soon, both mechs were locked in a desperate kiss, full of want and longing…
And then Phantomjaw’s ears perked. Thunderhoof thought nothing of it until his partner stopped his advances.
“What?” Thunderhoof asked.
“Brother says he saw my signal reappear and that we need to talk as soon as possible,” Phantomjaw said, reluctantly removing himself from the intimate embrace.
That was quick, considering I was just there.
Thunderhoof didn’t voice his thoughts, instead deciding to follow Phantomjaw, just in case.
“So, you’re back,” Steeljaw stated, optics narrowing and tail swishing back and forth. “Here to stay for as long as you promised, I hope.”
“Sorry, brother, but I still have a job to do,” Phantomjaw half-heartedly apologized. “Work doesn’t just stop , you know.”
“Oh, believe me, I do.”
Phantomjaw decides not to push his luck and instead changes the subject. His gaze lands on a small bundle of white curled in Steeljaw’s arms.
“I see the emergence was a success. May I?”
Steeljaw may be upset with his brother, but not enough to refuse him access to family. With a small nod, he allows Phantomjaw to approach.
“Aw, they’re so small! How adorable!”
Intrigued by Phantomjaw’s unfamiliar voice, the pup turns around and looks up. Tiny yellow optics blink.
“Hey there, little one!”
Phantomjaw reaches out to rub the pup’s helm, but Ramulus growls and pulls his mate and sparkling out of reach.
“I’m not going to hurt them, Ramulus,” Phantomjaw said.
“How can I trust you not to?” Ramulus questioned.
“Ram,” Steeljaw warned, flicking his tail tip against his mate’s legs. “My brother wouldn’t intentionally harm us. He’s actually quite protective, though not overly so.”
“Are you saying I’m overprotective?”
Steeljaw chuckled. He leaned over and nuzzled his mate’s neck.
“For you, I’m willing to make an exception.”
“Have you named them yet?” Phantomjaw interrupted.
“Not yet. We’re waiting for her to grow a bit before picking a designation,” Steeljaw explained.
“A femme, huh? Things are bound to be interesting.”
“Speaking of interesting …” Steeljaw followed his daughter’s gaze to Thunderhoof, who had remained quiet and at a distance. “Thunderhoof, you’re the only one left on the planet who hasn’t met her.”
“Ain’t interested,” Thunderhoof rapidly replied.
“Then why are you back all of a sudden? When I saw you barely an hour ago, you couldn't get out of here fast enough.”
“Yeah, that’s somethin’ that’s been bothering me. How’d you find out about your brother so soon?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I got a message from you a little while ago saying that you found out I had returned and that you wanted to talk to me,” Phantomjaw interrupted.
An uneasy silence fell upon the group.
“I didn’t send you a message,” Steeljaw spoke tensely.
Something wasn’t right.
“Hey, Phantom!”
Rounding the building, a blocky, black and blue mech with teal detailing and red optics makes himself known.
“Long time no see, mech!”
“Doubledealer? What are you doing here?” Phantomjaw questioned.
“What do you think?” Doubledealer chuckled. “I’m here for a job.”
“You are?”
“Yeah, but I’m afraid I can’t cut you in on this one. You see, I have to retrieve those two for a client…” He pointed to Steeljaw and Ramulus. “And considering your connection to them, I can’t allow you to get in my way.”
Doubledealer activated his weapons and charged Phantomjaw head-on. At the same time, other mechs were beamed down to assist in the capture and containment of their targets. Despite being outnumbered, Ramulus instantly jumped into the fray.
“Thunderhoof, get Steeljaw out of here!” Ramulus ordered before he was swallowed by the swarm of bots.
“Wait, Ramulus…” Steeljaw tried to protest.
“Oh no you don’t!” Thunderhoof interjected, grabbing Steeljaw by the arm and dragging him away. “I ain’t gonna let what happened last time happen again! We’re going!”
Unable to think of a way out, Steeljaw had no choice but to follow Thunderhoof.
“We’ll use the space-bridge to get off planet,” Thunderhoof said as they ran inside Comet .
“And the Autobots?” Steeljaw asked.
“Worry about ‘em later!”
The mechs quickly arrived at the terminal. Thunderhoof released Steeljaw from his grip and rushed to activate the space-bridge, but his servos were unsteady.
Focus, Thunderhoof, focus!
“Here, let me,” Steeljaw said, handing his sparkling over to Thunderhoof before getting to work on the controls. He pulled a lever and the portal burst to life.
“Finally!” Thunderhoof exclaimed, stepping closer to the swirling blue/green vortex. Engrossed in the sight, he barely heard someone sneaking up behind him.
“Apologies, Thunderhoof.”
Before he can say anything, Steeljaw shoves him through the portal. What Thunderhoof is greeted with on the other side is one long airdrop. He pulls enough sense together to tuck the pup into his subspace just seconds before he hits water and sinks far below the surface. The impact temporarily freezes his systems, preventing him from moving. Once his systems reboot and he is able to move again, Thunderhoof reaches out and grabs a hold of a jetty in the rock face of a ravine. Digging his hooves into any grooves he can feel, he hoists himself up and over the edge, then crawls a short distance away before rising to his full height and picking out bits and pieces of his surroundings: rocks, algae, and a myriad of aquatic animals.
Great. Not only am I back on Earth, but I’m stuck IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRAGGING OCEAN!
Thunderhoof circulates his vents the best he can underwater. He is tired, and after all that has happened, is far from being in the mood to deal with this scrap right now. Keeping his anger in check, he picks a direction and heads that way, hoping it leads to dry land.
Unfortunately, today doesn’t seem to be his day.
Thunderhoof grunts in surprise when he loses his balance. He quickly steadies himself and looks down. His left hoof broke through a crack in the ocean floor. He tries to pull out, but something hard and heavy lands on top, bringing him to his knees. He attempts to shake whatever is on him off, but only further entangles his antlers in the accompanying chain.
BLASTED PITS! CAN ANYTHING ELSE GO WRONG TODAY?
A boiling heat swirls around his entombed leg, crumpling his plating and burning the protoform underneath. Thunderhoof writhes in place, and while in such a distressed state, doesn’t notice the boat he nearly drags below the surface.