Ep 1.5. The Day Care Center (Closed)

[Deleted]

There were a scant few things that could get Skywarp worked up and jolt him out of his...childlike and cheerful plus absolutely murderous at zero point seconds disposition. His darker moods tended towards sullen stewing and sulking but how long these lasted were as mercurial as Skywarp himself. He rarely held onto them for long, especially if he was away from whatever the source was.

However, he'd chosen to remain in Flatline's lab, which meant he was still exposed to the root cause of his current mood. So sulking it had been. Skywarp had ignored Flatline for the most part. Oh sure, he'd envisioned a dozen different ways to take down the spindly little mech should the worst come to pass but that had occupied Skywarp's attention for the first couple of minutes. The rest of the time he'd spent brooding over his time in the labs and the fate that had befallen his frame brothers.

Science types, as far as Skywarp was concerned, were not his friends.

...except when they made him toy drones to play with? No scientist had ever done that for him before. No one had ever done such a thing, period. It was new and Skywarp was woefully ill-equipped to respond to new things. In lieu of hoping for his processor to come up with something and adapt to every situation, Skywarp tend to rely heavily on his past experiences. Smashing things tended to be his default response simply because usually he was dealing with new things out on the battlefield but that didn't translate well in more social settings.

So when Flatline said the drone was done and expressed interest in continuing on this odd little venture between them to go test it out (and has sounded happy about it, too, of all things), Skywarp was caught flatfooted. He'd thought perhaps Flatline would thrust the toy into Skywarp's care and be done with it. Skywarp had, after all, been tardy and distracted and broken some of Flatline's things as well as intimidated the spindly mech. He'd most definitely not been on his best behaviour. Few mecha had the patience to deal with Skywarp for long and the big seeker thought he'd be ignored or shoved out the door as soon as the opportunity came up. Science types, particularly, oh they liked what he was, was extremely interested in his inner workings. But his dull mind and dim-witted thoughts meant they also liked him obedient and silent.

"But try to throw me off of the ship and you are permanently banned from my laboratories and I will never make anything for you again."

Skywarp almost didn't hear the first part of Flatline's sentence. He was far more concerned by the second part. It sounded like the spindly mech was actually open to the idea of making more things for the seeker! Slowly, Skywarp trundled off, after the mech. He'd been thrown, quite literally, into a loop, his processor running the words over and over again with great big Uncertainty hanging over Skywarp's head.

This was new territory Skywarp was venturing out here.

"Did you really mean it?" he wondered at last, in a small voice. "Would you make other things for me?"

[Flatline]

While it would have been logical for him to just throw the toy at Skywarp and send him off, Flatline had many reasons why he wanted to see this to the end. There was of course his pride wanting to see his creation function as it was intended, and the fact he wouldn't accept Skywarp's excuses if he stated it didn’t work. If the jet had come back and told him that the drone never even took flight, he would have been convinced the behemoth had broken it before even reaching the top of the ship.

That would start an argument and a half that needn't occur.

There may have been a bit of a side motivation as well, to try to see if he would dare teleport in front of him. Would he do the thing he denied showing him before or even speaking of? Woudl he slip up when his child like processor was occupied with more important things? Fingers were crossed in hope, and Flatline would be keeping his mouth shut as to not spur suspicion regarding that fact.

Another reason was that silence was... not appealing to Flatline. While he would like the absence of whining or stupid questions, sending Skywarp away, the fact was he had been a hatchling manufacture back in Cybertron when the planet flourished. He had plenty of experience with throttled unformed processors, and the idiocy of the little bundles of metal. The noise, while obnoxious at times, filled a void that had been formed by his many vorn alone in space.

It was familiar.

Flatline strode along with a smooth gait, his digitigrade legs carrying him with light taps of the heel point. He progressed through the darker corridor in the direction of the lift, intent to just make his way there only for Skywarp to bring up a question. The question was not particularly a surprise, and he glanced momentarily back in the direction of his shoulder, without turning enough to actually see the brute. This was for the best, for his expression was that of calm calculation, conveying a sneaking manipulation from the foundation he was putting in place.

"That is the big question now isn't it-"

The words rolled off smoothly, his gaze turning back ahead of them as they neared the lift.

"If you break more of my things, and get in the way of the jobs our Lord has appointed me, than I am not going to feel inclined to help you."

Easing to a slow stop, Flatline lifted his hand to press the lift button with a knuckle, waiting patiently for it to activate fully and travel to their current location.

"That said, if you don't mind helping me out occasionally by getting things or crushing an Autobot on my behalf, as well as just behave, then I don't see any reason why I can't continue making stuff for you."

He paused momentarily, his gaze snapping back to stare down Skywarp, his eyes squinting a bit as a thought crashed into him.

"As long as it isn't weaponry."

Sure, Flatline wasn't an idiot, he could mod together different parts from the scrap rooms into a gun of some kind, but he was no engineer like that. He couldn't make weaponry or similar things from scratch, and even if he could? He knew spontaneously slapping some rocket launcher onto this brute was probably something that would get him in trouble in the long run. Oh nooo... don’t blame the seeker who shot a hole in the side of the ship! Blame the idiot who gave the moron the ability to!

Harumph...

[Deleted]

Skywarp blinked large, untroubled optics at Flatline. The mech made it sound oh so difficult, like Skywarp had deliberately decided to break his stuff or would actively work against Megatron's orders. As if the seeker would do so.

Or at least, not intentionally.

"Of course I won't," he hurried to assure Flatline. He rocked back excitedly on his heels. "I'll be good, I promise!"

Good, subject to how well he remembered the specifics of this agreement. And for whatever a Skywarp promise was worth. That probably was the big question.

The lift dinged open and Skywarp fitted his large bulk inside. Oooooh...buttons. His fingers eagerly stretched towards them before he curled them back and restrained his hands next to his sides. Otherwise the temptation to press every single button in front of him would be too great and something told him Flatline would not be amused if they visited every other floor before finally reaching their destination.

"As long as it isn't weaponry."

Skywarp levelled a dull look at Flatline. He liked to think of himself as a finely honed killing machine with no need for improvement. Especially the sort that would put him at the mercy of a science type. "Why would I ask for weaponry?" he questioned with an exasperated tone. "I don't need anything to make me better. I'm already amazing."

[Flatline]

Flatline watched in dismay as Skywarp reached forward towards the lift buttons. He... was immensely grateful the mech showed restraint, and he let out a soft exhale through his vents he hadn't realized he held for a moment. It was always a good day when he didn't have to try to do an override so they didn’t visit every floor all the way up to the flight deck. He didn't know how long his patience could last getting to see every drab purple and black level from here to there.

"Well you did show interest in rocket launchers and flamethrowers at the onset of our conversation, so I only assumed that was something you were interested in and I had to make it clear I could not."

Eventually the lift reached the top and opened up to the flight deck hallway. It was short, more of a gathering area before the smaller bay door that would open up to the top platform of the Nemesis. It wasn't the primary troop load out area, but should provide more than enough room for testing this little contraption effectively. It was with this in mind, the medic walked to the doors and pressed a hand upon the controls, opening them.

Which... Flatline instantly regretted.

Wind from the higher atmosphere rammed down upon them instantly, a howling roar that to Skywarp may be normal and familiar, but to a grounder such as Flatline it was foreign and a bit scary. He KNEW they were up in the air, logically he was aware they were in a massive battleship way up past the clouds of the planet, but knowing it and seeing it firsthand were two entirely different things.

Quickly he activated the magnets that ran in his peds, the spindly legs letting off a faint crackling sound as the electromagnets clutched down onto the plated floor. Choosing to disable only one at a time, he made a very gradual and wary walk out into the open, where there was quite a good distance between the floor and the dropoff. While it could be seen as cowardice for him to halt only a short distance outside, he didn’t NEED to be too far.

"Alright then, so the intention of this game is simple!"

He began, trying to distance himself from how high they were, and yell loud enough that he could be heard through the howl of wind. He plucked a few things on the small drones control panel, making a few other tweaks to its systems before the small propellers on either side revved to life. It pulled a bit in Flatline's hands, trying to wiggle free.

"I want you to try to capture this drone!"

After that, he let go of the object, and it instantly shot up and into the air before zipping off to the side to try to escape its own impending doom. The drone should ideally stay within a few mile radius of the Nemesis, the small tracker implanted within keeping it close to home, but it also had enough basic intelligence to recognize anyone that approaches it as a threat and to try to escape.

"If you can!"

Here's hoping the childish brain of the seeker finds this amusing and not juvenile.

[Deleted]

"That's the only science I'm interested in," Skywarp corrected. "It's the only science worth knowing. Obviously. Everyone knows that."

The elevator pinged open and Skywarp skulked out behind Flatline through the doorway. He'd lingered inside for a brief moment, it was enough to give into the desires that had possessed him when he'd first stepped into the life, which was to press every shiny button there was.

His delay had allowed Flatline to pull ahead and continue on to the flight deck door. Skywarp cocked his head to the side as the big, heavy doors pulled open, allowing in a blast of cold, howling wind that swept into the hallway.

Excitement sparked inside the seeker. While Flatline magnetised himself to the floor, Skywarp merrily threw himself forward and cheerfully skipped out onto the flight deck.

"Wiiiiind!" he trilled happily, chasing around for where the air currents were strongest, buffeting the seeker the most. Easily amused, Skywarp wasn't even aware that he'd continued to merrily chant "Wind, wiiiind, wiiiiiiiind".

"Alright then, so the intention of this game is simple!"

The big seeker had almost forgotten about Flatline at this point. There was wind and the wide open sky. He could be off flying instead of messing around with a spindly little grounder who did boring science. A strong gust of wind against Skywarp's legs had caught his attention and directed it down his body. Skywap had been, in fact, examining his feet when Flatline started talking. For some reason, he was possessed by the inane urge to wriggle them. Even though, you know, they lacked the joints and flexibility required for such a thing. And never had.

"I want you to try to capture this drone!"

But organics could do it and Skywarp was jealous about their toes. Clearly this was a great injustice the universe had dealt him.

A small, distant part of Skywarp's mind had noticed Flatline was talking at him. However it was summarily ignored in favour of the all important task that was musing about toe wriggling and the lack thereof. Justice needed to be enacted for this grave oversight. But where could Skywarp even begin?

"If you can!"

The challenging note in Flatline's voice finally penetrated Skywarp's immense distraction. Someone was being smug nearby. Someone was being smug at him. This couldn't stand. He needed to fix it immediately.

Skywarp raised his head and peered over his shoulder, optics narrowed into a glare.

The drone was small and was already out of Flatline's grasp. The seeker's keen vision had managed to catch a brief glimpse and a flash of metal before it zipped out of view. For a moment, Skywarp was still as he starred blankly at the last location of the drone, not comprehending the situation at all.

He cut an...interesting picture. Skywarp's right foot had been placed forward and his shoulders were hunched over from his examination. Then he'd lifted and twisted his head round to look behind him. Aaand the seeker wasn't moving at all.

Then all at once, everything came together for Skywarp.

The drone...he was meant to be chasing it! That's what they were up here for, why the spindly mech had come along!

Skywarp lurched into motion, he ambled gleefully up to the edge of the flight deck after where he'd last seen the drone. Then he leapt off and let himself plunge down. The roar of the wind changed as he hurtled into freefall. The rush was exhilarating. Almost neglectfully, Skywarp slipped into his alt and took control of his fall. The jet gunned his engine and ascended, flying to catch up with the side of the Nemesis, which had drifted forward while he fell.

"Here droney, droney," Skywarp crooned as he searched the air for where the drone had ended up during his (rather long) distraction.

[Flatline]

Flatline raised a brow when Skywarp implied that the only good science was the type revolving around bombs and armaments. He could point out so many ways that this is unfeasible and completely out of line, but this was someone he assumed had the brain power of a young hatchling that had only gotten a few frame upgrades since being sparked. Trying to argue it was pointless, and the words held no true weight for it was just words to fill space.

Ignoring Skywarp's childishness as best he could, Flatline continued with his task. He did notice the brute not seeming to pay attention however, and it bothered him on a core level, though he held his tongue. Despite efforts, he almost interrupted what he had been saying to snap and get the attention he felt he deserved, but Skywarp seemed to tune in when the challenge was issued and the drone had been set free to zip off into the clouds.

Watching from the safety of the flight deck, Flatline waited until Skywarp had launched off to go into pursuit, before he... lowered. The motion was slow and a bit shaky, the wind howling past him in angry snarls from the speed and altitude of the massive vessel. He planted both of his hands down flush with the metal surface, and magnetized them as if he no longer could trust his peds to do the task assigned to them.

Being lower also made him feel more structurally sound. He was top-heavy by a long shot, and challenging the currents to be kind was an exercise in losing balance and falling. Forget the fact falling was actually near impossible... the medic was so far from the edge that he could stop, drop, and roll around like some kind of idiot having a seizure and he wouldn't even come close to the death drop. But he could see the drop from where he was so it felt much closer.

Grounder problems.

Meanwhile Skywarp would cut through the clouds with ease, streaking a path like a knife that made the wind scream as he went. The drone didn't seem to be within sight anywhere, having flicked off into the billowing masses of clouds that rolled around at a languid pace. After some time though, the small apparatus couldn't remain hidden forever, and frankly wasn't smart enough to try.

The tiny spec of black bobbed out and into the open, twitching and flinching one way or the other to fight along to keep up with the lumbering titan of a ship. Eventually it appeared to stabilize, and drifted casually. It would continue to remain casual until Skywarp got too near.

[Deleted]

Skywarp really didn't need to track the drone by sight. His sensors would easily pick up a floating bit of metal, hiding within the clouds. Closer to the Nemesis, however, the signal would be muted by the much larger metallic mass. But just because he could do that didn't mean that he would. Where was the challenge in taking the quick and easy option?

His search carried him up and back over the flight deck. Skywarp was still scouring the sky ahead when his attention briefly dip towards below him and what Flatline was up to.

He paused.

And completely forgot what he was doing.

The spindly mech had flattened himself against the surface of the deck as if...as if...Skywarp twisted himself out of his alt mode, engaging his anti-grav thrusters so that he hovered gently in the air. He angled his feet and tipped his body forward so that he'd keep moving slowly with the warship. The seeker tilted his head as he tried to make sense of why Flatline was hugging the floor.

...maybe the spindly mech was scared…?

Scared?

OH.

Grounders!

The seeker laughed. ::Heeeey:: he commed. ::Are you afraid? Scared of falling off?::

::Scared of heights, maybe?::

[Flatline]

Flatline remained lower down towards the hull of the ship still, his digitigrade limbs tucked and folded tightly beneath his lower body, while hands were splayed out over its surface a decent distance from one another to be able to combat any changes in air currents. He didn't plan to be moved anywhere anytime soon, and would be rooted in place until the Drone was retrieved or destroyed. Really, he was prepped to remain there and watch, only Skywarp had other plans.

::I will have you know that normal heights do not compare to being countless miles up into the air where death isn't immediate, it is a long agonizing trip all the way to the jagged ground below!::

He paused.

::Or sea!::

Flatline did not like the ocean. Granted, he didn't seem to like a lot of things. He disliked this, and that, and most everything in-between, but the ocean one actually had some merit to it considering the Decepticon had awakened from stasis submerged in this planets saltwater ecosystem. It was not fun, and he didn’t care to repeat it, though... to be fair... if he fell from the Nemesis into the sea, chances are he'd be obliterated on impact so he wouldn't need to worry or be overly concerned about sinking into the dark depths and needing to hike out for miles.

Honestly, the deepest points of the ocean here would be rather alarming for that fact alone. Sinking like rocks, unable to swim, needing to slowly walk and climb back to a mainland and hope that Energon reserves could be maintained to get you there. Opening a ground bridge was out of the question, and if a tether was long enough to reach? Then you were close enough to shore that the hike wouldn't be a concern. Alas, here Flatline was, clutching to the roof of the ship, mulling over the worst case scenario while being laughed at.

::Shouldn’t you be focusing on your task? Or are you giving up!?::

Squawking this back through comms as well as verbally in his annoyance, the medic's voice tried to pitch up to carry better. The words were muffled and blurred from the winds that howled past. It robbed the clarity of sound, but it would still be audible all things considered because it was pared with a comm.

The Drone was puttering along as happy as could be, not showing any distress or concept that it understood it was in death's gaze effectively. This said, it kept its meager sensors keyed up for anything coming at it however, from Cybertronian to thrown object or gunshot. It didn’t want to be hurt, and just wanted to continue on its merry way.

[Deleted]

All Skywarp heard from Flatline's words was blah, blah, blah, heights are scary. And with that, every single impulsive and mischievous impulse he possessed sparked to life. All thoughts of behaving himself fled from his processor as though he'd never had them in the first place. His fingers twitched with restless energy.

What to do, what to do-

::Shouldn’t you be focusing on your task? Or are you giving up!?::

Hmm…drone or Flatline? Drone ooooor Flatline? Flatine? Drone? Or Flatline? Maybe the drone?

Nope, Flatline.

The seeker vanished in a flash of light and reappeared a short distance away above the cowering grounder, still hovering in the air. Once the desire to cause some mischief had gotten into him, Skywarp had completely forgotten about discouraging Flatline's interest in his warp drive. Immediately, one large servo shot out and grasped Flatline's elbow, not attempting to pull or wrench the mech off the Nemesis's deck, merely gripping him.

Then Skywarp -and Flatline by extension- vanished again.

They would appear not very far away from where they had started, indeed Skywarp had elevated them only a few feet in the air from their original positions. He was not about to take them out to the open air without permission but he wasn't above messing around with what he considered was a relatively harmless prank.

[Flatline]

All of his work, all of his efforts, all of his attempts to make a toy for the childlike behemoth, were thrown out the window instantaneously as Skywarp got other ideas. Flatline would have had half a mind to protest, to scream angrily and demand things. He may have made silent resolutions not to do something like this again, or to argue further about the fact Skywarp had wanted this, but... none of his thoughts came to completion, as his entire world changed in a few brief moments.

Red optics trailed after the jet, watching to see if he was going to zip off and try to get back on task, or if he was going to continue berating him. It felt like he just blinked once. His optics shuttered for the briefest of moments to recalibrate, only for Skywarp to be missing when they opened. He thought the clunky seeker must have dipped off into the clouds to retrieve the drone, only instead he felt a presence behind him that turned into a grip on his arm.

Flatline had not put much stock in Skywarp's claimed ability, and as such when he felt a large hand suddenly grab him, he thought it was Megatron or some other large commander who was about to rip into him for being out here without permission. He didn't know if there was a specific rule, but he would not be surprised if there had been. It is because of this Flatline tensed up, starting to turn, barely seeing a glint of paint color, before his entire world changed and his sensors went into a complete spiral.

What he had known was up was off center. What wind he had felt on his plating, was suddenly coming from a different direction. The Nemesis beneath his feet and hands had torn away and was replaced with thin air, causing the magnets to clutch and bite into nothingness. Gravity, that had rooted him in place, now served to make him fall down towards the ground to pivot from his elbow that had been gripped.

Flatline panicked.

His frazzled sensors and the belief he was falling off the ship had him snap his limbs up and around to grapple onto the closest thing to him. In this case, it was Skywarp himself. The medic's free arm crooked around the behemoths knee to grapple at the plating, and his digitigrade limbs snapped up high and wove around his ankle in such a way the sharp black edges were grinding between panels to root themselves. Flatline went as far as to have his secondaries click and scrabble at the shin, while his gripped arm flexed and flared its fingertips out at the air. His magnets had boosted to full power, locking his feet and hand down onto Skywarp's leg which probably felt really weird.

"What happened!? What is going on!?"

Flatline had a death grip on the other Cybertronian, and refused to let go until his world made sense again and the gyroscopes in his torso stopped fritzing.

[Deleted]

It was safe to say that Skywarp...had not been expecting this.

Then again, Skywarp had not thought far ahead in what he was doing at all. He'd been gripped by the impulse 'hey, wouldn't it be funny if I…?' and acted on it. What Flatline would do in response had not factored into the equation.

Having the spindly mech clamp onto his leg with his magnets was a total surprise. Flatline was fortunate that his panicked scrambling hadn't upset Skywarp's balance. Oh, they were hovering quite nicely now but the slightest tilt, one anti-grav thruster tipped down a little bit more than it should and they'd be in for quite the ride.

Instead, Skywarp gazed down in bemusement for several seconds at Flatline. His leg tingled unpleasantly where the magnets were engaged and he made no attempt to pry the other mech off him nor answer Flatline's questions. Instead, Skywarp simply cut power to his thrusters.

Gravity was quick to reestablish its hold on them. It was a short fall back to the surface of the flight deck. Flatline would undoubtedly feel the clunk when Skywarp's large feet hit the floor. The big seeker was still watching the other mech with a puzzled air.

"Heeeey," Skywarp said. "I'm going to need my leg back. Unless you really do want to play King of The Battleship with me while I go fetch that drone."

[Flatline]

Flatline's systems struggled, but soon he started to root himself in reality once more. His gyroscopes equalized, the receptors there quit thinking that gravity decided to change on him, and his vision re-focused upon the new setting with crystal clarity. His new stability however, had been met with another fall, though this one was far more literal.

Clutching so hard he'd probably have to recalibrate his digits so that he could perform the minute motions needed as a medic, Flatline's horrible experience continued. The shriek of terror he wanted to screech got lodged in his throat, and felt like it bent the components there, so that he just made a soft subtle noise paired with a grunt upon the jarring impact. This was not his finest day.

What had happened? He had been rooted down, he was stable, and watching Skywarp do what he was doing, but then the seeker had vanished and the entire nemesis twisted in place. Obviously this was wrong, the entire ship couldn't move so far in a fraction of a second, which brought up other concerns. He questioned if he had blacked out for some reason. Was there a horrible glitch he experienced? Was there a problem? His chronometer was still going along happy as can be, and his systems weren't telling him he had encountered any real issues other than his momentary confusion.

Was... was Skywarp telling the truth?...

As the behemoth spoke, Flatline seemed to pull out from his thoughts, looking up and only then fully realizing what he was doing. The fear he had felt, was being gradually replaced by embarrassment, though the confusion could not be taken away so easily. With a peeling motion like trying to tear the protective covering off of a new screen, Flatline managed to pry his hands and legs free, placing the peds down upon solid ground... or... ship... once more and taking a short step back.

The magnets in his feet were active again, and he straightened up to try to preserve whatever dignity he could. This was a tricky element since he had shown such cowardice a moment prior, and clung to a fellow Decepticon like a scared child.

Flatline took a moment then, trying to line up any other explanation he could come up with for why things had happened like they had. He tried checking his systems a few more times, plotting out ailments to look into later. He challenged physics in his processor, and how the ship could have lurched violently suddenly. ANYTHING but what was so obvious. Finally, he relented, and had to ask the stupid question in the form of a statement.

"...You... Teleported me..."

[Deleted]

Mercurial as Skywarp's moods were, his confusion was quick to melt and he gave a pleased leer once he recognised that he'd frightened the ever living spark out of the spindly mech. At some point during the previous moments, he'd forgotten that Flatline had magnetised himself to the deck because he was scared of heights. The mech could not have been expecting Skywarp's actions and no doubt the sudden shift in gravity and location was disorientating to someone not accustomed to it. Hence, all the clutching to Skywarp's leg.

No matter what dignity Flatline tried to reclaim, it was too late, Skywarp had witnessed it. It cheered the big seeker up immensely, relishing in his own power and knowing that he could reduce the mech to sheer terror at a moment's thought should the seeker desire it. Skywarp was practically bouncing, his good mood overriding the thought of everything else.

He didn't even deign to reply to Flatline's statement. "You should have seen yourself," Skywarp chortled. He grinned. It was a sharp and unfriendly smile. "I've got to do that again sometime."

With that, Skywarp was up again, launching himself off the flight deck and slipping into alt mode. He was going to find that drone, this time for real.

[Flatline]

He was TELEPORTED!

That wasn't... it shouldn’t even be possible!

The process of teleportation itself was within Cybertronian hands. They could Ground Bridge absolutely tremendous distances in fractions of moments, permitting them to access things in minutes instead of years of travel. It was possible, and it was a thing, but it was also a stationary device that more often than not was immense and needed a tremendous amount of space for all the components. It wasn't a small tool that could be attached to a wrist or lodged into a spare cavity in the torso, what Skywarp was proposing indirectly, was systematically implausible with current technological advances.

To compress everything down into such a small scale, would require a large power source, immense processing power, and a huge void in the inner cavity of the Cybertronian that would be packed so tightly with technology that it wouldn't really leave room for the important bits... like a spark... or a tank...

He... he needed to look inside...

But his immediate concern should be keeping himself in place.

"NO! Nononono... you most definitely do not have to do that again!"

Flatline yelled this out while taking a few shaky steps forward after Skywarp as he launched up and forward off into the sky. The medic's hand was lifted, a pointer outstretched to jab into the air as he shrieked this, punctuating his words with a sharp stab of the slender blade. He had mixed thoughts about calling this out, because it could either keep him safe if Skywarp listened, or it could antagonize another teleport.

If a teleport was coming though, Flatline was trying to brace himself and be a lot more aware of his surroundings. He wanted to recognize what it felt like, and what the process entailed when he wasn't muddled in complete terror. He wanted to be brave about it, but... chances are he would just panic again.

Even now his spindly little legs weren't very steady, his hocks were trembling in a way that made it seem like the thin joints no longer wanted to play nice with his weight. He just couldn't get them to hold still, and while it didn’t impair his ability to truly stand, or balance, it was bothersome and a 'tell' on his heightened anxiety.

[Deleted]

Flatline's words were soundly ignored. As far as Skywarp was concerned, the spindly mech had lost that round in the battle of wills and thus forfeited any rights to make demands of the big jet. He didn't look back, if he had, the seeker would have been pleased to notice how unsteady Flatline's legs were. Further recognition of the grounder's anxiety would only lower Skywarp's opinion of the spindly mech, so perhaps it was in Flatline's best interests that he was ignored.

Skywarp's search took him up the side of the ship, then to the front. It was...territory he'd already covered before, not that he cared, but while he'd been messing around with Flatline, the drone could have changed position, so it didn't hurt to re-search the area. Nothing. He wavered up and down as he flew, making sure that the drone wasn't just lurking out of his vision by being obstructed by the ship. Skywarp cast a few scans to the clouds surrounding the ship but his sensors picked up nothing.

The back then. The seeker flew along the side he hadn't covered on his way to the front. Again, he found nothing until…

Skywarp rounded the back of the ship and then he caught a glimpse of a small something lurking in the air near it, not attached the ship. His pace had been sluggish while he was searching but now, at the sight of his target, the seeker gunned his jets and accelerated after it.

The big seeker, however, was not particularly agile in the air and hadn't a hope of replicating any tight turns that a smaller flyer would be capable off. The chase would be...interesting and a test to see how long he would find amusement in the simple act of chasing the drone before the impulse to destroy it arose.