Chapter Text
Starscream’s army hadn’t returned yet, and Jumpace was feeling more at unease at the sudden call to battle. Back in the early days of fighting, the Seeker would encourage Jumpace to battle, to fend for itself.
To fight.
To survive.
And that’s what the grounder did, becoming a fully-fledged Decepticon in the eyes of the High Command, even gaining the approval of Megatron. The Decepticon Leader was gone now, as Jumpace’s processor repeated Starscream’s explanation earlier, claiming himself the ‘supreme, eternal Leader of the Decepticons’.
Megatron, gone?
This was all happening too fast.
Jumpace took a glance at Skywarp, or what was left of him, only to quickly cringe away at the horrific sight. It didn’t want to abandon its comrade, but staring wasn’t going to do any good. So, it decided to take a deep vent, and look outside of the Ark, seeing mostly mountain and sky. And ahead was... nature? Jumpace had never been to a planet outside Cybertron before, so all of this was new.
At least the sky was a beautiful distraction, easing Jumpace’s processor to access deep into his memory core, to relive peace of the past.
~~~
“Here’s a good spot!” Jumpace announced as it hopped on its pedes, excitedly guiding its new flyer friends. It had been a few halves an orbital cycle since the three were made friends at this point of time, and the smaller bot couldn’t be happier. Life was shining brilliantly ever since it had discovered the shiny meteorite, dubbed ‘Chip’, which it left with its clan for safekeeping.
Jumpace could trust Cliffjumper and the others with its precious memento, even if its brother questioned ‘Chip’s’ origins. The dark cyan bot was so focused on spending time with its new friends, that it barely had the time to explain its absences from home, causing Cliffjumper’s concerns to heighten. But Jumpace promised himself that after the day’s outing, it’d explain everything.
With Jetfire and Ulchtar following, Jumpace led them to a peculiar looking bar. The front of the establishment had a big bright sign that read “MACCADAM’S OLD OIL HOUSE”, which caused the fliers to reset their optics in surprise.
“Here?” Ulchtar rubbed his chin in thought. “I haven’t entered Maccadam’s in quite some time...”
“Ulchtar,” Jetfire spoke up. “We were here not too long ago to celebrate our most recent expedition. You were quite intoxicated, remember? Or perhaps you couldn't. I do not blame you.”
“Thanks a lot, Jetfire,” the seeker huffed, now with arms folded. “Now Jumpace here is going think I’m an engex-nut.”
Jumpace couldn’t help but chuckle at the assumption. “That’s not true! Everyone deserves a good celebration every now and then, yeah?” It then led itself into the bar, as the others exchanged glances before following in.
Maccadam’s Old Oil House was an establishment for all, if you didn’t cause any fights within the bar, that is. Many would go here for celebration, some to wallow in sadness, but mostly for great drinks and good times. And as it was still early on Cybertron, the bar was quiet, which suited Jumpace’s needs.
The bot in question jumped and landed perfectly on a stool by the bar counter, grinning in delight. The fliers were quick to join their friend, though took in the surroundings, used to the noisiness of the establishment.
“I’ve never seen this place so quiet,” Jetfire commented. “Did something here happen lately?”
“Nahh,” Jumpace looked over to Jetfire with a smile. “This is just the downtime here. Which is perfect for me, as I need it to be, uh, not loud.”
“Not a fan of noise, eh?” Ulchtar asked as he rested his elbow onto the countertop. “Does that include musical events and the like?”
“Unfortunately, I was created with sound sensitivity...,” Jumpace frowned. “If I found the environment I’m in to be too loud for my audials, I get... overwhelmed and can even malfunction. So, loud concerts aren’t for me.”
“Malfunction?” Ulchtar asked in surprise. “Well, surely that can get fixed, no? If it’s a mistake in your system, it should be able to be repaired by any medic-bot.”
“Are you... suggesting I am broken?”
“Uh!” Ulchtar gritted his teeth before mentally cursing at himself for not being more sensitive with his words. “That’s not what I, what I meant to say was---"
Jetfire was quick to speak, hoping to fix the uncomfortable situation the three were put in. “What I believe he meant, Jumpace, is that if you have a condition like that disadvantages you from everyday life, it might be remedied through medical professionals.”
“But I’ve tried that already.”
Jetfire and Ulchtar looked to each other and then back at Jumpace, their optics filled with concern.
“And...,” spoke the Seeker. “Nothing happened?”
“No matter what kind of treatment I got, or fix, or anything...,” Jumpace let out a small vent, staring at its open servos, only to clench them into fists. “I still remain the same. A jumpy malfunction, useless and weak like a turbosect...”
“Wait, hold on there a klik,” Ulchtar slightly raised his voice, leaning closer towards his smaller friend. “Who designated you such foolish terms?”
“Uh, just some bots who don’t like me, haha...”
“Do not listen to such drivel, Jumpace,” Ulchtar narrowed his blue optics, staring down at the bot before him. “You should never accept such unimaginative verbal abuse to get yourself down. You are not a malfunction, nor are you useless.” He huffed and then sat up straight. “Besides, turbosects may have weak defensive systems, but they’re not useless.”
“Huh...?”
“They’re quite important for Cybertron’s ecosystem,” replied Jetfire as he placed a reassuring servo on Jumpace’s back. “They clean our moons’ gears with their miniscule mouths, eating away at debris.”
Ulchtar nodded. “So, not only calling such wonderful creatures useless is a lie, but there shouldn’t be any negative aspects in being compared to something so beautiful.”
“B-Beautiful...?” It didn’t know why, but upon hearing Ulchtar compliment the small, green critters, Jumpace felt a skip in its spark, as its faceplate warmed up. It knew it was talking of the mechanical bugs, but... Somehow, the horned bot felt it was towards it.
“Mhm,” replied the seeker with a smile. “They have purpose, as does everything in the world, Jumpace. Perhaps Jetfire and I could show you them up close one day, though we’d need an excuse to venture to either Moon Base---”
“AND SINCE WHEN DO YOU NEED PERMISSION FOR ANYTHING, ‘TARRY?”
A sudden voice boomed from behind the three, with two bots approaching that looked like Ulchtar in design. One donned blue paint, the other purple, with their presence causing the other three to quickly turn around in unison, as they all recognised the voice of...
“Thundercracker??” Ulchtar was surprised to see his fellow brothers-in-arms approach. “And Skywarp? I thought you were at the pictures!”
Skywarp scoffed. “Disagreements arose. I wanted to witness some exciting action flick! But nooooo! TC here wanted to see this weird soft romantic-”
“Be quiet, ‘Warp!” Thundercracker growled, he didn’t want others to know of his secret softness for heartful films. “We’re here now, and...” The blue bot then moved his attention to Jumpace before him, who seemed to be frozen in fear.
“Ohhh, well if it isn’t the little groundpounder!” said Thundercracker as he knocked onto Jumpace’s horned helm, causing smaller bot to whine. “Still trying to reach the heavens with your dumb jumps?”
Ulchtar and Jetfire were quickly surprised at the Seeker’s actions, only for Jetfire to carefully pry him away, with Ulchtar checking on Jumpace's status with worry.
“Hey, what are you-?”
“Jumpace is clearly uncomfortable with your actions, Thundercracker,” replied Jetfire, as he held the bot in question. He pointed towards Jumpace, seeing the smaller bot rub its helm. “Why did you approach our friend like that?”
“Ugh, ‘cuz the bugger is a dirtkisser, duh! Now, release me!”
Jetfire obliged and freed Thundercracker from his hold, though frowned at the Seeker’s attitude and name-calling.
Ulchtar stood from his stool as he put 2-and-2 together and realised the situation. Thundercracker was one of the bullybots Jumpace had vaguely mentioned! It made sense to him, knowing how his fellow Seeker looked down at ground-bounded Cybertronians, an unfair judgement in Ulchtar’s optics. Skywarp most likely had a servo in the mockery, as well, knowing how much he’d love to pull pranks. As he approached his fellow fliers with folded arms, he spoke.
“Thundercracker. Skywarp. Have you two been the ones constantly harassing Jumpace here?”
“Noooooo.”
“Yes.”
“Skywarp!”
Before the purple and blue coated Seekers could bicker, Ulchtar cleared his vocaliser loudly to gain their attention. “Shame on the both of you, honestly.” Ulchtar tapped his digits on his folded arms, giving a stern look with his optics. “I know you two like to pick on others, but perhaps leave it as a friendly gesture towards ones you have befriended, not those you consider lesser than you.”
“But it’s all in good fun!” Skywarp raised his arms in defence, knowing the fun never applied to the victim of his tomfoolery, despite directing his optics at Jumpace in hopes of peer-pressured clarification. “Right?”
“Um...,” Jumpace frowned, now stuck between a rock and a hard place. If it spoke the truth, the bullies were bound to come back in secret to mock it more. But if it lied, it’d be seen as weak in front of its new flyer friends. “I don’t know.”
“In other words,” Jetfire frowned, placing a considerate servo on Jumpace’s shoulder again. “You don’t find it fun that Skywarp and Thundercracker bully you, I can hear it in your vocaliser.”
“Mmm.” Jumpace nodded, shameful of its feelings. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologise, Jumpace. Let us see how Ulchtar will address this with his friends.”
“So,” Ulchtar continued. “You two better cease your behaviour towards Jumpace. It is now a friend of mine and Jetfire’s, and we won’t tolerate any attacks on it. Understood?”
Thundercracker and Skywarp exchanged glances and nodded, knowing it was for the best to cease their torment towards the grounder. If their fellow brother wished for it, they would oblige. They didn’t desire any bad energon between each other and agreed on the terms.
“Yeah,” Skywarp pouted. “Okay Ulchtar.”
“Fine,” Thundercracker rolled his optics. “But really, ‘Tar? You befriended a grounder?”
“How is that a problem?” the seeker in question asked with a raised optic ridge.
Fortunately for everyone present, Thundercracker couldn’t respond with a valid answer. He didn’t hate bots who couldn’t fly, per se, he just found himself superior to them because he could fly. With the blue Seeker’s lack of response, Ulchtar gave a warm smile and approached his friends with a welcome hug.
“Let us not fight any further, my brothers.”
While the Seekers agreed on a resolution, Jetfire kept Jumpace company as they watched.
“Would you look at that,” the larger shuttle smiled. “They reconciled quickly. It seems you won’t be bothered by those two anymore.”
“It seems so.” Jumpace tilted its helm. It wondered to itself, how could something like this be solved so quickly? Ulchtar’s bond with Skywarp and Thundercracker must’ve been so strong to change Jumpace’s treatment rather quickly. And he clearly cared about Jumpace, a well.
Ulchtar was a really nice guy.
“Oi, grounder,” Thundercracker was quick to distract Jumpace with a sudden approach. “Erm, ‘Tar says I oughta apologise to you, so, uh...” he hissed between his dentae, having not used to owning up to mistakes. “So, sorry for teasing you for like, existing.”
“Me too,” said Skywarp, though his demeanour was more friendly than Thundercracker’s. “Sometimes things just get so boring around here, and it’s in a Seeker’s circuitry to have a sense of pride over our wings.” He then gestured to his metallic wings, shaped the same as his brothers. “So, sorry about all...that.”
Jumpace looked between the two. It could tell they were apologetic, in their own unique way, and wanted bygones to be bygones. “Okay, I forgive you both!”
“Oh,” Thundercracker reset his optics in surprise. “That was quick.”
“I try not to hold grudges,” Jumpace waved its arm. “And if you keep your words, I’m sure we can be great friends!”
“F-Friends?” Thundercracker almost choked on static upon hearing Jumpace’s words. “With a grounder?!”
“Give it a chance,” Jetfire suggested. “Jumpace may not be able to fly like us, but it has a keen sense of sight and can leap high enough in the sky that one may mistake it for flight.”
“Hmm, but you can’t soar into the sky with mere jumping.” Thundercracker made his way to stand between Jetfire and Jumpace, leaning down towards the grounder.
“See, with flying, you gotta---”
“Wait an astrosecond,” Skywarp gasped at the countertop, noticing the lack of glasses present. “No one ordered any drinks?! Come on, I’m paying! Hey, barkeep!”
It wasn’t before long that all five bots were enjoying their share of engex, laughing and smiling in conversation. Thundercracker expanded Jumpace’s mind with the technicalities of soaring as a Seeker, as Skywarp begged Ulchtar to allow him to put on the jukebox on, but Ulchtar did not want “It’s Raining Mechs” blasting through his audials, suggesting Skywarp find a different song for once.
As for Jetfire, he was just happy to listen to the conversation as he sipped his engex, keeping an optic on his friends. But for some reason, Jumpace felt he was being focused on quite a lot by Jetfire, with warm smiles exchanged.
This was enough to make the horned bot’s face burn and spark feel lighter, but it didn’t know why.
It was probably the engex.
At least, that’s what Jumpace initially thought at the time.
~~~
“What was that?!” Jumpace’s daydreams were disrupted upon seeing an explosion in the distance. It was bright out, but smoke began to fill the sky. Oh, how it hated loud sounds, but the war forced it to get accustomed to the noise, as it trained himself to treat gunfire and blasts like background noise to survive. It didn’t mean it was ‘cured’ of its sensitivity though, as the noise still bothered him from time to time, and could cause panic at random.
It looked ahead, noticing large smoke erupting from a distant area.
“Must be fighting the Autobots...”
Autobots. Autobots...
Wait.
"...I hope he survived."