Seeker, Lost, Please Return if Found
Decided its about time I start writing again, then found this in my mass of uncompleted fics. Polished it up a tiny bit, and here it is.
Prologue
Seeker trines were sketchy things. They formed or they didn’t. Someone could spend centivorns looking for their trinemates, while others found their trinemates and bonded before they had even reached maturity.
The royal trines, though always had to be full trines by the time they took up rule.
Vos could not be ruled by a single mech or a pair of mechs. It had to be three.
If ever a trine was only partially formed by the time they had to become Winglord and Wingmates of the Winglord, the Rite of the Storm Flight would be held, in which every unbonded, untrined, physically-able Seeker (and even a few aerial non-Seekers), would take to the skies during the Summer Storms in the most impressive display of aerial ability in hopes of snagging the attention of the to-be-Winglord.
Starscream had been to-be-Winglord for five vorns with his single trinemate Thundercracker. The Rite of the Storm Flight had been held three times, and each time he had been unsuccessful in finding his third.
They were without their third, and, unless they found him by their sixth vorn as the Heirs Apparent, they would be passed over.
They both knew that couldn’t happen. The Seeker in line after them, while he did have a trine, was incompetent.
They had one more chance. One more Rite to find their third.
Chapter 1: The Rite of the Storm Flight
Skywarp was bouncing excitedly. He could feel the electricity in the air, building, building, up and up. The storm would break soon, and every untrined Seeker would fill the sky with their wings.
He really had no hope of winning the Winglord and the Wing Second over -- he didn’t really have a good chance of even seeing them. He did, however, stand a chance of maybe meeting someone else, someone who was free and wanted a trine.
Not to mention he just really liked to fly in storms. The electricity added an element of risk every time he warped. Nothing really dangerous, but warp at the wrong -- or right -- moment and BAM! Lightning right to the spark.
With his warp generator, the shock was not enough to kill him, or even stun him for very long. The generator had made him used to sudden shocks, and his systems, unlike the average Seeker’s, were tougher, built up through hard vorns and thousands and thousands of warps.
And this time, this Rite, he would fly. The past three, he had been unable. The first, he was too young. The second, he had been injured, his warp generator glitching, making him unable to fly. The third, he had been unable to fly due to a lack of energy as it had been a hard vorn and he had come, like so many others, on hard times.
This vorn had been better, though, and he was going to fly.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
At the first hint of thunder, Seekers started taking to the skies. Hundreds, then thousands filled the stormy sky with metal wings. The booming of thrusters all but drown out the crackling thunder.
Skywarp stared up at them for a few long breems before joining in.
But he didn’t just ignite his thrusters and take off.
He disappeared in a flash of purple smoke. Thousands of feet above the City of the Seekers, one more appeared, black and purple blending in with the menacing clouds.
Skywarp whooped as he fell, slowly igniting his thrusters and running through his pre-flight procedures.
Then everything was warmed up and ready, and he was flying, through the storm, electricity crackling around him, thunder booming in his audios.
Then there was someone beside him -- pale blue with red highlights, swooping through the clouds, near enough to ripple their energy fields together.
The teleporting Seeker laughed. Someone to play with! With a twitch of his aerilons, he dove, spiraling down, down, toward the city far below.
And the blue Seeker stayed with him, right on his tailfins, then at his back, then his belly, always close enough to share fields. His flying was not overly fast or dexterous, but he was skilled, that much was certain. And strong! He was bigger than most Seekers, but the way he flew demonstrated a strength that few Seekers’ frames were capable of holding.
Then, as they swooped back upward, there was someone else. The way the white and red Seeker flew with the blue one, he knew they were already trined, but if they were dancing with him, they most likely did not have their third.
How perfect!
And this second Seeker... Where the blue was all strenght and power, this Seeker was speed and maneuverability and grace. He danced close enough to Skywarp to brush wings.
Skywarp practically stalled out. Brushing wings? These two were definitely courting their third.
Well, he was willing to play.
He would have smirked had he been in bipedal mode. As it was, he just rippled his field in a self-satisfied way. The other two pulsed back, curious.
But his warp generator was all warmed up and ready to go.
In a flash of purple, he was twenty feet above and behind them. Far enough away that they would no longer be able to sense his EM fields.
They stalled, both of them faltering in their flight-patterns, and Skywarp laughed again.
Then he was diving back in, and they pushed their surprise and stunned amazement at him, and then they were dancing again.
Chapter 2: Finding Third
::Starscream! I’ve found him!::
::What?::
Thundercracker dipped slightly in his flight as the loud screech came in over the comms. ::I think I’ve found our third!:: he sent back as he brushed up against the purple and black Seeker.
::Yes, I got that, but- Who? Where?::
::I don’t know who. I’ve never seen him before. But we’re flying above the Temple grounds right now.::
::I’ll be there in a second. Just let me ditch this idiot.::
Thundercracker snickered and went back to dancing with the purple mech. Starscream hated the suck-ups who tried to win him over.
They wove in and out of each others flight patterns, brushing fields easily, never tripping over each other. Then the purple Seeker dove, and Thundercracker followed, not bothering with the fancy loops and twists the purple Seeker and Starscream loved so much - he was built for long distance flying, for stormy weather, not for twirling around or doing the fancy moves that required so much flexibility.
The other Seeker didn’t seem to care, though. He just moved around Thundercracker, twining fields every time he brushed past.
They pulled up together, the Wing Second of Vos spiraling a few times, the purple mech spiralling with him, and Starscream was there, dodging in and out between them, looping and twisting and generally being Starscream.
::He is, TC,:: the Winglord said, and Thundercracker could hear his glee. ::He’s our Third. I can feel it!::
:I can, too.::
It was about then that Starscream gave a little partial twist to brush their wings together. The other Seeker’s engines sputtered. Then he pulsed a surge of satisfaction at them. Another strange ripple filled his field, and then he was gone. Just gone!
Thundercracker faltered beside him, and Starscream felt his engines sputtering in shock.
::What the frag?:: the Winglord shouted over their private link.
::No idea! Where’d he go?::
And then he was swooping in behind them, field pulsing playful mischief.
Again, their engines sputtered slightly and the purple Seeker pulled ahead.
::A teleporter!:: Starscream said a moment later. ::We’re going to trine a teleporter!::
TC gave a sharp cycle of his thrusters, engines whining loudly, and pushed himself forward. ::Indeed. Now. He has shown us his gift -- it is time we show him ours.::
The blue Seeker roared forward, and, as he passed their companion, let out a mighty sonic boom, the sound thundering through the air around them.
The purple Seeker barely faltered, just dipping into an excited spin away from Thundercracker, curving and spinning up to fly at his other side.
Then Starscream was looping, around and around and around, at dizzying speeds, his Primus-sparked gift slightly more subtle than his companions.
They danced through the sky for joors, through lightning and wind and thunder and the other Seekers filling the sky.
Chapter 3: Aaaaaaand... He’s Gone
Skywarp could feel himself flagging slightly. His energy levels were dropping rapidly -- these two Seekers he was dancing with were good! They actually challenged him, but he could keep up with them like he could with no one else.
But he was running out of energy.
And they had never attempted a comm link...
Skywarp was slightly disappointed in that. He thought the wing-brushing had indicated a serious interest, but if they did not want to contact him...
Abruptly, the purple Seeker didn’t feel like flying anymore. A couple quick calculations done with a processor few believed he possessed, he decided he had enough energy for one last jump home. If they didn’t want to talk to him, then he didn’t really want to give them his address!
So, with one last puff of purple-tinged smoke, he was gone,
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Starscream and Thundercracker circled for a moment, expecting the purple Seeker to come catapulting back as he always had, but he didn’t. Another trine soared by, the three mechs weaving back and forth together, but no purple Seeker.
::What happened?:: Starscream muttered quietly after a breem of no return.
::He’s just... gone.::
::Why?::
::I... I don’t know.::
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Skywarp vented as he settled on his berth in his tiny room, a small energon cube in his hand.
Thrust, Ramjet, and Dirge were still out flying. He didn’t mind. His employers, while rude and stupid at times, had been kind enough to hire a Seeker off the streets. He did the odd jobs around the lower level Towers apartment the trine lived in, and in return, they gave him energon, a place to stay, and a very small salary.
He was happy for it, but there were times...
He had just spent joors dancing with two other Seekers. He wanted his own trine, his own home.
With another sigh, he fell into recharge.
Chapter 4: Seeker, Lost
All they had to go on was a color scheme and the feel of his fields. One could be shared. The other, not.
So they put out a notice. They wished all untrined black and purple mechs to come to the Aerial Palace.
Slowly, they filtered through. Many were very obviously temporarily colored. Many genuinely colored.
None, however, were the Seeker they were looking for.
“Fragit, Thundercracker, where is he?” Starscream growled as he paced their common area.
The Elder Seekers were bothering them -- they wanted a third for the Wingleader.
And now, they couldn’t find him. He had simply disappeared, vanished into thin air, and was now nowhere to be found.
How could this have gone so sour? He was their third! They had felt it! They had both felt it, and he had danced with them, he had brushed wings and shared fields for joors, through most of the Storm Flight, and then had simply left!
“How, TC?” Starscream asked as he turned back to his trinemate. “How do we do this?”
Thundercracker straightened, moving away from the wall he had been leaning against. “He... won’t come to us...” the blue Seeker said, frowning.
Starscream’s pout turned into a grin. “So we go to him.”
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
The two of them spent a moment simply enjoying the open air, swooping and twisting around each other. They did not waste too much time, though. They had their third to find, after all. So, after a few quick twists to loosen up their wings, they started flying with determination and purpose.
::How are we going to find him, Star?:: Thundercracker asked as they curved gracefully and began a loop of the city.
::We fly until we see him. He’s got to get up here sometime, eventually. He is a Seeker.::
::That’s your plan?:: Thundercracker said skeptically as he gave a short, mid-air twist. ::Stars, there’s plenty of sky to hide himself in. We could fly for a vorn before seeing him.::
Starscream slowed, coming in to drift right above his Wing Second. ::I know. But what else can we do, TC?::
The blue Seeker thought for a moment. ::What ways are there of finding a mech who does not want to be found?:: he said, almost to himself.
::What?::
::What about the Enforcers?::
There was a moment of silence between them.
::Enforcers?::
::Why not? You are Winglord.::
::And they do owe me, after that... fiasco... with Redwing and all.::
::They do hate Redwing.::
Starscream gave a little laugh. ::Indeed. They do not want him as Winglord.::
::Time to call in that favor?::
::Time to call it in.::
Chapter 5: Warrant
It was when the Enforcers on the side of the road started glancing at each other and him that he started getting worried. He had been in trouble before, back in those harder vorns. He had been clean for a while -- since he started working for the Conehead trine -- but he was known by the Enforcers, and not in a good way.
Reluctant to draw attention to himself by running, flying, or warping away, Skywarp continued to look through the energon treats the vendor was displaying.
“You,” a voice said at his shoulder a moment later, and the purple Seeker yelped and jumped to face the speaker.
The Enforcer was standing right behind him, his partner a few steps back.
“Um. Can I help you?” Skywarp asked sweetly, giving his best kicked bumblepuppy expression.
“You are Skywarp, correct?”
The purple Seeker gave a nod and glanced at the second Enforcer. “Yes. What’s it to you?”
“We need you to come with us, please. And no warping. We know you’re living with the Coneheads.”
Skywarp just gave another nod. Figured. He wasn’t sure why they wanted him, but... well, there were plenty of things he had done in the past that could possibly warrant an arrest, if anyone cared to do it.
The Enforcers flanked him as he walked down the street, only talking when giving him directions.
As they walked, Skywarp thought.
He could warp away -- there wasn’t anything he knew of that could hold him or prevent him from warping. The problem was, they could go to the Coneheads and tell them he was wanted, and they would no longer support him.
Then he would be right back in the same situation he had been before, the one that got him where he was now.
Or.
He could go with the Enforcers.
That wasn’t a very attractive option. He was once one of the gutter mechs who survived on stolen goods, and they knew it.
But, if it wasn’t anything serious, he could keep his job with the Coneheads, keep out of the gutters, stay alive a little bit longer.
So.
Best chance was going with the two black and white Seekers.
And anyways, if it seemed like it was going wrong, he could always warp away before anything horrid happened.
They led him on a twisting route through the tangled streets of Vos. As a city composed of almost entirely aerials, streets had never been a high priority. Those in the better districts, where visitors and ambassadors stayed, were a bit better, but outside of the wealthier areas, the roads twisted chaotically, their surfaces were bumpy and uneven, and if you weren’t familiar with the disorganized lay-out of the city, you would be lost within moments.
As it was, Skywarp knew exactly where he was. He had survived long ago only by knowing where he was and what was going on around him.
Not to mention this area was one anyone who lived on the streets made sure to know. Not a good idea to be captured by the Enforcers, then get lost running away.
He hadn’t been here in a long time, though, so he kept his helm and optics moving. Everything was so familiar, yet... foreign at the same time. He hadn’t been here in over a vorn, and, while everything was almost exactly as he had last seen it...
He had changed. He knew that, understood that.
Once inside the Enforcer’s Station -- a hulking, massive building that looked sturdy enough to survive an air strike -- the two black and white mechs flanking him led him to a portion of the station he was very familiar with; the brig.
Skywarp huffed as they led him into a cell.
“Can you at least tell me what I’m in for?” he asked as he sat down on the hard, flat berth with a pout.
The Enforcers exchanged a glance. “Nothing, really,” the darker of the two said, and at the purple Seeker’s incredulous glanced, explained. “We... A friend of ours called in a favor. Wants to see you. Heck, we know you can get out whenever you want. We aren’t even going to lock the door. It just seemed like this would... attract the least attention.”
Well, Skywarp had to give them that. Seekers from the slums were in and out of the brigs daily. One more wouldn’t really catch anyone’s optic.
But, even so... “Who?”
The darker colored Enforcer twitched his wings. “Who what?”
“Who’s your ‘friend’. The one who wanted me in here.”
“I... I’m not supposed to say.”
Skywarp raised an optic ridge. “Oh. Well, then maybe I don’t want to stay.” He made to rise, pushing himself slightly off the berth, even though he really didn’t need to if he was going to warp away.
“No!” the Enforcer that had been quiet up until that point exclaimed, jumping forward slightly, wings folded back, arms out, as though to grab the purple Seeker before he could disappear. “Please! He will do nothing to harm you, but if you are to disappear on us... He would not be happy. With us.”
Skywarp hid a smirk as he sat back down. They knew he could leave. They wouldn’t forget again. “Well, then who is he?”
“We are not supposed to tell!”
“Why not?”
“He- We don’t know! We were told not to tell you who he was!”
“Well, that seems rather stupid. I mean, I might be more inclined to stay if I knew-”
“If you thought about it,” a shrill voice interrupted, “I bet you’d be able to figure it out.”
The Enforcers jumped. Skywarp twitched, and the programming that controlled his warp drive gave a lurch.
“Hush, Stars. They said he was slow,” another voice said as two Seekers stepped out of the hallway and into the brig. The voice was deep and rumbling with a faint trace of humor coloring the tone.
“Hey! I’m not slow!” Skywarp protested before his processor caught up with him. That was... That was the Winglord! And the only one who would dare talk like that to the Winglord was the Wing Second.
But... There was something else. Their paint. Those colors seemed so familiar.
Then they took another step forward, close enough to stretch out their fields and brush them with Skywarp’s.
The purple Seeker jumped as the red and white and the blue Seekers grinned triumphantly.
“Finally,” Starscream said. “You do realize how long it took us to find you, right? And how much the Elders have been pestering us to find you? Primus! I didn’t realize how difficult it was to find just one mech!”
Skywarp just stared. They were the Seekers he had danced with? He had flown with the Winglord?
And the Winglord had chosen him?
Chapter 6: Trine
Skywarp followed Starscream and Thundercracker back to the Royal Aerie in a daze. Unlike when following the two Enforcers, they did not walk; they flew. Thundercracker was a strong, solid presence to his right. Starscream flew ahead. Skywarp could tell the white and red Seeker was slowing himself down for them. It showed in the way the Winglord intermittently twisted himself into tight, fast corkscrews as they flew.
The purple Seeker would have gleefully joined in most orns, but at the time, he was too stunned, too shocked, to do much more than keep himself in the air.
The guards at the Royal Aerie saluted as they landed. Skywarp stumbled as he followed the Winglord and the Wing Second.
He couldn’t help puffing his armor out in embarrassment. Of course he would trip.
He didn’t take in much of the palace as he was led to the Royal Suite. He just followed.
Then he was being gathered up into strong, blue arms, pressed against a warm chassis, with another, smaller chassis pressed up against his side.
Thundercracker. Hugging him and Starscream at the same time.
For a moment, he remained stiff. Then he slowly relaxed. Their fields wove together, entwining until it was almost impossible to distinguish where one ended and the other began. And, unlike how he might have felt this close to anyone else, he felt... right. Like he fit here. Like this was where he was supposed to be.
He relaxed even more, his optics dimming and his engine idling in a low pur.
“Next orn,” Starscream murmured next to him. “Next orn, we fly, and we become Trine.”
“I like the sound of that,” Thundercracker rumbled.
Skywarp just chirped happily and snuggled closer to his Trine.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
As promised, the next orn, the three Seekers gathered on the very top of the Royal Aerie the next orn. The Elder Seekers were gathered on a balcony a few levels below. They, along with whoever happened to look up at the time, would witness the bonding of the Winglord’s Trine.
They took off together and soared up and up into the sky. High enough that they would be little more than shadows against the brightness for those observing.
There they looped around and around each other, brushing wings, tracing hands over each others’ armor. Skywarp felt like he was vibrating in the air. They flew so perfectly together. As though they had flown side by side since they were sparklings. Starscream was clearly the fastest, the most nimble, Thundercracker the strongest. Skywarp added a bit of spontaneity and unpredictability to their flight pattern.
Together, they would be -- they were -- unbeatable, uncontestable.
Their flight lasted for a joor before they finally finished dancing and began to rise.
Higher and higher they flew, until they were almost out of the atmosphere. There they stopped and hovered.
::Ready?:: Starscream asked with a grin.
The other two Seekers nodded, matching grins spread over their faces. They were ready for this, even having only known their third for only an orn.
Chest plates parted slowly, easily, and the three drifted together. Their sparks sent out searching tendrils, and, within klicks, the bright orbs of light were intertwined.
They fell together. Slowly at first, then faster. Flickers of flame danced around their frames as they dropped back through the atmosphere, though they did not get hot enough to cause any damage. Lower and lower, closer and closer to the ground, their sparks still entwined, they fell.
Eventually they pulled apart, sparks separating, thrusters roaring to life again, wings twitching and fluttering.
They spiraled around each other as they swooped out, just above the highest spires of Vos.
~Yes!~ one of them screamed across their new bond, and the other two sent back their agreement. For if they flew well together before, they flew as one now. Thundercracker could feel what it was like to dip and swoop and twirl as the lighter frames did. Starscream could feel the sheer jolt and joy of a warp. Skywarp could feel the strong confidence that came with being the steadiest, largest frame in the sky.
And because they knew exactly what the others were thinking and feeling and doing, they could do exactly what was needed to stay close, to stay side-by-side, to fly together in perfect formation.
Two words whispered quietly through the bond. Trine. Finally.
Epilogue
Skywarp was hanging upside down from the light fixture.
Starscream vented. Thundercracker, who was standing beside him, stared, baffled.
“Skywarp?” the Winglord of Vos asked after a long moment of staring.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing on the ceiling?”
“Everything looks so different from up here.”
“That’s...”
The blue Seeker gave a small chuckle. “No one ever said having a third would be easy. Sure you don’t want to throw him back and hand over the title to Redwing?”
There was a loud, “Hey!” from the ceiling, then a pop, and Skywarp was standing beside them. “I resent that!”
The two Seekers that had been standing on the floor to start with exchanged glances and began to giggle. Skywarp joined them with little hesitation. Thundercracker wrapped his long arms around the other two, pulling them into a warm hug in the middle of the Great Hall.
And the trine lived happily ever after.
Prologue
Seeker trines were sketchy things. They formed or they didn’t. Someone could spend centivorns looking for their trinemates, while others found their trinemates and bonded before they had even reached maturity.
The royal trines, though always had to be full trines by the time they took up rule.
Vos could not be ruled by a single mech or a pair of mechs. It had to be three.
If ever a trine was only partially formed by the time they had to become Winglord and Wingmates of the Winglord, the Rite of the Storm Flight would be held, in which every unbonded, untrined, physically-able Seeker (and even a few aerial non-Seekers), would take to the skies during the Summer Storms in the most impressive display of aerial ability in hopes of snagging the attention of the to-be-Winglord.
Starscream had been to-be-Winglord for five vorns with his single trinemate Thundercracker. The Rite of the Storm Flight had been held three times, and each time he had been unsuccessful in finding his third.
They were without their third, and, unless they found him by their sixth vorn as the Heirs Apparent, they would be passed over.
They both knew that couldn’t happen. The Seeker in line after them, while he did have a trine, was incompetent.
They had one more chance. One more Rite to find their third.
Chapter 1: The Rite of the Storm Flight
Skywarp was bouncing excitedly. He could feel the electricity in the air, building, building, up and up. The storm would break soon, and every untrined Seeker would fill the sky with their wings.
He really had no hope of winning the Winglord and the Wing Second over -- he didn’t really have a good chance of even seeing them. He did, however, stand a chance of maybe meeting someone else, someone who was free and wanted a trine.
Not to mention he just really liked to fly in storms. The electricity added an element of risk every time he warped. Nothing really dangerous, but warp at the wrong -- or right -- moment and BAM! Lightning right to the spark.
With his warp generator, the shock was not enough to kill him, or even stun him for very long. The generator had made him used to sudden shocks, and his systems, unlike the average Seeker’s, were tougher, built up through hard vorns and thousands and thousands of warps.
And this time, this Rite, he would fly. The past three, he had been unable. The first, he was too young. The second, he had been injured, his warp generator glitching, making him unable to fly. The third, he had been unable to fly due to a lack of energy as it had been a hard vorn and he had come, like so many others, on hard times.
This vorn had been better, though, and he was going to fly.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
At the first hint of thunder, Seekers started taking to the skies. Hundreds, then thousands filled the stormy sky with metal wings. The booming of thrusters all but drown out the crackling thunder.
Skywarp stared up at them for a few long breems before joining in.
But he didn’t just ignite his thrusters and take off.
He disappeared in a flash of purple smoke. Thousands of feet above the City of the Seekers, one more appeared, black and purple blending in with the menacing clouds.
Skywarp whooped as he fell, slowly igniting his thrusters and running through his pre-flight procedures.
Then everything was warmed up and ready, and he was flying, through the storm, electricity crackling around him, thunder booming in his audios.
Then there was someone beside him -- pale blue with red highlights, swooping through the clouds, near enough to ripple their energy fields together.
The teleporting Seeker laughed. Someone to play with! With a twitch of his aerilons, he dove, spiraling down, down, toward the city far below.
And the blue Seeker stayed with him, right on his tailfins, then at his back, then his belly, always close enough to share fields. His flying was not overly fast or dexterous, but he was skilled, that much was certain. And strong! He was bigger than most Seekers, but the way he flew demonstrated a strength that few Seekers’ frames were capable of holding.
Then, as they swooped back upward, there was someone else. The way the white and red Seeker flew with the blue one, he knew they were already trined, but if they were dancing with him, they most likely did not have their third.
How perfect!
And this second Seeker... Where the blue was all strenght and power, this Seeker was speed and maneuverability and grace. He danced close enough to Skywarp to brush wings.
Skywarp practically stalled out. Brushing wings? These two were definitely courting their third.
Well, he was willing to play.
He would have smirked had he been in bipedal mode. As it was, he just rippled his field in a self-satisfied way. The other two pulsed back, curious.
But his warp generator was all warmed up and ready to go.
In a flash of purple, he was twenty feet above and behind them. Far enough away that they would no longer be able to sense his EM fields.
They stalled, both of them faltering in their flight-patterns, and Skywarp laughed again.
Then he was diving back in, and they pushed their surprise and stunned amazement at him, and then they were dancing again.
Chapter 2: Finding Third
::Starscream! I’ve found him!::
::What?::
Thundercracker dipped slightly in his flight as the loud screech came in over the comms. ::I think I’ve found our third!:: he sent back as he brushed up against the purple and black Seeker.
::Yes, I got that, but- Who? Where?::
::I don’t know who. I’ve never seen him before. But we’re flying above the Temple grounds right now.::
::I’ll be there in a second. Just let me ditch this idiot.::
Thundercracker snickered and went back to dancing with the purple mech. Starscream hated the suck-ups who tried to win him over.
They wove in and out of each others flight patterns, brushing fields easily, never tripping over each other. Then the purple Seeker dove, and Thundercracker followed, not bothering with the fancy loops and twists the purple Seeker and Starscream loved so much - he was built for long distance flying, for stormy weather, not for twirling around or doing the fancy moves that required so much flexibility.
The other Seeker didn’t seem to care, though. He just moved around Thundercracker, twining fields every time he brushed past.
They pulled up together, the Wing Second of Vos spiraling a few times, the purple mech spiralling with him, and Starscream was there, dodging in and out between them, looping and twisting and generally being Starscream.
::He is, TC,:: the Winglord said, and Thundercracker could hear his glee. ::He’s our Third. I can feel it!::
:I can, too.::
It was about then that Starscream gave a little partial twist to brush their wings together. The other Seeker’s engines sputtered. Then he pulsed a surge of satisfaction at them. Another strange ripple filled his field, and then he was gone. Just gone!
Thundercracker faltered beside him, and Starscream felt his engines sputtering in shock.
::What the frag?:: the Winglord shouted over their private link.
::No idea! Where’d he go?::
And then he was swooping in behind them, field pulsing playful mischief.
Again, their engines sputtered slightly and the purple Seeker pulled ahead.
::A teleporter!:: Starscream said a moment later. ::We’re going to trine a teleporter!::
TC gave a sharp cycle of his thrusters, engines whining loudly, and pushed himself forward. ::Indeed. Now. He has shown us his gift -- it is time we show him ours.::
The blue Seeker roared forward, and, as he passed their companion, let out a mighty sonic boom, the sound thundering through the air around them.
The purple Seeker barely faltered, just dipping into an excited spin away from Thundercracker, curving and spinning up to fly at his other side.
Then Starscream was looping, around and around and around, at dizzying speeds, his Primus-sparked gift slightly more subtle than his companions.
They danced through the sky for joors, through lightning and wind and thunder and the other Seekers filling the sky.
Chapter 3: Aaaaaaand... He’s Gone
Skywarp could feel himself flagging slightly. His energy levels were dropping rapidly -- these two Seekers he was dancing with were good! They actually challenged him, but he could keep up with them like he could with no one else.
But he was running out of energy.
And they had never attempted a comm link...
Skywarp was slightly disappointed in that. He thought the wing-brushing had indicated a serious interest, but if they did not want to contact him...
Abruptly, the purple Seeker didn’t feel like flying anymore. A couple quick calculations done with a processor few believed he possessed, he decided he had enough energy for one last jump home. If they didn’t want to talk to him, then he didn’t really want to give them his address!
So, with one last puff of purple-tinged smoke, he was gone,
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Starscream and Thundercracker circled for a moment, expecting the purple Seeker to come catapulting back as he always had, but he didn’t. Another trine soared by, the three mechs weaving back and forth together, but no purple Seeker.
::What happened?:: Starscream muttered quietly after a breem of no return.
::He’s just... gone.::
::Why?::
::I... I don’t know.::
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Skywarp vented as he settled on his berth in his tiny room, a small energon cube in his hand.
Thrust, Ramjet, and Dirge were still out flying. He didn’t mind. His employers, while rude and stupid at times, had been kind enough to hire a Seeker off the streets. He did the odd jobs around the lower level Towers apartment the trine lived in, and in return, they gave him energon, a place to stay, and a very small salary.
He was happy for it, but there were times...
He had just spent joors dancing with two other Seekers. He wanted his own trine, his own home.
With another sigh, he fell into recharge.
Chapter 4: Seeker, Lost
All they had to go on was a color scheme and the feel of his fields. One could be shared. The other, not.
So they put out a notice. They wished all untrined black and purple mechs to come to the Aerial Palace.
Slowly, they filtered through. Many were very obviously temporarily colored. Many genuinely colored.
None, however, were the Seeker they were looking for.
“Fragit, Thundercracker, where is he?” Starscream growled as he paced their common area.
The Elder Seekers were bothering them -- they wanted a third for the Wingleader.
And now, they couldn’t find him. He had simply disappeared, vanished into thin air, and was now nowhere to be found.
How could this have gone so sour? He was their third! They had felt it! They had both felt it, and he had danced with them, he had brushed wings and shared fields for joors, through most of the Storm Flight, and then had simply left!
“How, TC?” Starscream asked as he turned back to his trinemate. “How do we do this?”
Thundercracker straightened, moving away from the wall he had been leaning against. “He... won’t come to us...” the blue Seeker said, frowning.
Starscream’s pout turned into a grin. “So we go to him.”
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
The two of them spent a moment simply enjoying the open air, swooping and twisting around each other. They did not waste too much time, though. They had their third to find, after all. So, after a few quick twists to loosen up their wings, they started flying with determination and purpose.
::How are we going to find him, Star?:: Thundercracker asked as they curved gracefully and began a loop of the city.
::We fly until we see him. He’s got to get up here sometime, eventually. He is a Seeker.::
::That’s your plan?:: Thundercracker said skeptically as he gave a short, mid-air twist. ::Stars, there’s plenty of sky to hide himself in. We could fly for a vorn before seeing him.::
Starscream slowed, coming in to drift right above his Wing Second. ::I know. But what else can we do, TC?::
The blue Seeker thought for a moment. ::What ways are there of finding a mech who does not want to be found?:: he said, almost to himself.
::What?::
::What about the Enforcers?::
There was a moment of silence between them.
::Enforcers?::
::Why not? You are Winglord.::
::And they do owe me, after that... fiasco... with Redwing and all.::
::They do hate Redwing.::
Starscream gave a little laugh. ::Indeed. They do not want him as Winglord.::
::Time to call in that favor?::
::Time to call it in.::
Chapter 5: Warrant
It was when the Enforcers on the side of the road started glancing at each other and him that he started getting worried. He had been in trouble before, back in those harder vorns. He had been clean for a while -- since he started working for the Conehead trine -- but he was known by the Enforcers, and not in a good way.
Reluctant to draw attention to himself by running, flying, or warping away, Skywarp continued to look through the energon treats the vendor was displaying.
“You,” a voice said at his shoulder a moment later, and the purple Seeker yelped and jumped to face the speaker.
The Enforcer was standing right behind him, his partner a few steps back.
“Um. Can I help you?” Skywarp asked sweetly, giving his best kicked bumblepuppy expression.
“You are Skywarp, correct?”
The purple Seeker gave a nod and glanced at the second Enforcer. “Yes. What’s it to you?”
“We need you to come with us, please. And no warping. We know you’re living with the Coneheads.”
Skywarp just gave another nod. Figured. He wasn’t sure why they wanted him, but... well, there were plenty of things he had done in the past that could possibly warrant an arrest, if anyone cared to do it.
The Enforcers flanked him as he walked down the street, only talking when giving him directions.
As they walked, Skywarp thought.
He could warp away -- there wasn’t anything he knew of that could hold him or prevent him from warping. The problem was, they could go to the Coneheads and tell them he was wanted, and they would no longer support him.
Then he would be right back in the same situation he had been before, the one that got him where he was now.
Or.
He could go with the Enforcers.
That wasn’t a very attractive option. He was once one of the gutter mechs who survived on stolen goods, and they knew it.
But, if it wasn’t anything serious, he could keep his job with the Coneheads, keep out of the gutters, stay alive a little bit longer.
So.
Best chance was going with the two black and white Seekers.
And anyways, if it seemed like it was going wrong, he could always warp away before anything horrid happened.
They led him on a twisting route through the tangled streets of Vos. As a city composed of almost entirely aerials, streets had never been a high priority. Those in the better districts, where visitors and ambassadors stayed, were a bit better, but outside of the wealthier areas, the roads twisted chaotically, their surfaces were bumpy and uneven, and if you weren’t familiar with the disorganized lay-out of the city, you would be lost within moments.
As it was, Skywarp knew exactly where he was. He had survived long ago only by knowing where he was and what was going on around him.
Not to mention this area was one anyone who lived on the streets made sure to know. Not a good idea to be captured by the Enforcers, then get lost running away.
He hadn’t been here in a long time, though, so he kept his helm and optics moving. Everything was so familiar, yet... foreign at the same time. He hadn’t been here in over a vorn, and, while everything was almost exactly as he had last seen it...
He had changed. He knew that, understood that.
Once inside the Enforcer’s Station -- a hulking, massive building that looked sturdy enough to survive an air strike -- the two black and white mechs flanking him led him to a portion of the station he was very familiar with; the brig.
Skywarp huffed as they led him into a cell.
“Can you at least tell me what I’m in for?” he asked as he sat down on the hard, flat berth with a pout.
The Enforcers exchanged a glance. “Nothing, really,” the darker of the two said, and at the purple Seeker’s incredulous glanced, explained. “We... A friend of ours called in a favor. Wants to see you. Heck, we know you can get out whenever you want. We aren’t even going to lock the door. It just seemed like this would... attract the least attention.”
Well, Skywarp had to give them that. Seekers from the slums were in and out of the brigs daily. One more wouldn’t really catch anyone’s optic.
But, even so... “Who?”
The darker colored Enforcer twitched his wings. “Who what?”
“Who’s your ‘friend’. The one who wanted me in here.”
“I... I’m not supposed to say.”
Skywarp raised an optic ridge. “Oh. Well, then maybe I don’t want to stay.” He made to rise, pushing himself slightly off the berth, even though he really didn’t need to if he was going to warp away.
“No!” the Enforcer that had been quiet up until that point exclaimed, jumping forward slightly, wings folded back, arms out, as though to grab the purple Seeker before he could disappear. “Please! He will do nothing to harm you, but if you are to disappear on us... He would not be happy. With us.”
Skywarp hid a smirk as he sat back down. They knew he could leave. They wouldn’t forget again. “Well, then who is he?”
“We are not supposed to tell!”
“Why not?”
“He- We don’t know! We were told not to tell you who he was!”
“Well, that seems rather stupid. I mean, I might be more inclined to stay if I knew-”
“If you thought about it,” a shrill voice interrupted, “I bet you’d be able to figure it out.”
The Enforcers jumped. Skywarp twitched, and the programming that controlled his warp drive gave a lurch.
“Hush, Stars. They said he was slow,” another voice said as two Seekers stepped out of the hallway and into the brig. The voice was deep and rumbling with a faint trace of humor coloring the tone.
“Hey! I’m not slow!” Skywarp protested before his processor caught up with him. That was... That was the Winglord! And the only one who would dare talk like that to the Winglord was the Wing Second.
But... There was something else. Their paint. Those colors seemed so familiar.
Then they took another step forward, close enough to stretch out their fields and brush them with Skywarp’s.
The purple Seeker jumped as the red and white and the blue Seekers grinned triumphantly.
“Finally,” Starscream said. “You do realize how long it took us to find you, right? And how much the Elders have been pestering us to find you? Primus! I didn’t realize how difficult it was to find just one mech!”
Skywarp just stared. They were the Seekers he had danced with? He had flown with the Winglord?
And the Winglord had chosen him?
Chapter 6: Trine
Skywarp followed Starscream and Thundercracker back to the Royal Aerie in a daze. Unlike when following the two Enforcers, they did not walk; they flew. Thundercracker was a strong, solid presence to his right. Starscream flew ahead. Skywarp could tell the white and red Seeker was slowing himself down for them. It showed in the way the Winglord intermittently twisted himself into tight, fast corkscrews as they flew.
The purple Seeker would have gleefully joined in most orns, but at the time, he was too stunned, too shocked, to do much more than keep himself in the air.
The guards at the Royal Aerie saluted as they landed. Skywarp stumbled as he followed the Winglord and the Wing Second.
He couldn’t help puffing his armor out in embarrassment. Of course he would trip.
He didn’t take in much of the palace as he was led to the Royal Suite. He just followed.
Then he was being gathered up into strong, blue arms, pressed against a warm chassis, with another, smaller chassis pressed up against his side.
Thundercracker. Hugging him and Starscream at the same time.
For a moment, he remained stiff. Then he slowly relaxed. Their fields wove together, entwining until it was almost impossible to distinguish where one ended and the other began. And, unlike how he might have felt this close to anyone else, he felt... right. Like he fit here. Like this was where he was supposed to be.
He relaxed even more, his optics dimming and his engine idling in a low pur.
“Next orn,” Starscream murmured next to him. “Next orn, we fly, and we become Trine.”
“I like the sound of that,” Thundercracker rumbled.
Skywarp just chirped happily and snuggled closer to his Trine.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
As promised, the next orn, the three Seekers gathered on the very top of the Royal Aerie the next orn. The Elder Seekers were gathered on a balcony a few levels below. They, along with whoever happened to look up at the time, would witness the bonding of the Winglord’s Trine.
They took off together and soared up and up into the sky. High enough that they would be little more than shadows against the brightness for those observing.
There they looped around and around each other, brushing wings, tracing hands over each others’ armor. Skywarp felt like he was vibrating in the air. They flew so perfectly together. As though they had flown side by side since they were sparklings. Starscream was clearly the fastest, the most nimble, Thundercracker the strongest. Skywarp added a bit of spontaneity and unpredictability to their flight pattern.
Together, they would be -- they were -- unbeatable, uncontestable.
Their flight lasted for a joor before they finally finished dancing and began to rise.
Higher and higher they flew, until they were almost out of the atmosphere. There they stopped and hovered.
::Ready?:: Starscream asked with a grin.
The other two Seekers nodded, matching grins spread over their faces. They were ready for this, even having only known their third for only an orn.
Chest plates parted slowly, easily, and the three drifted together. Their sparks sent out searching tendrils, and, within klicks, the bright orbs of light were intertwined.
They fell together. Slowly at first, then faster. Flickers of flame danced around their frames as they dropped back through the atmosphere, though they did not get hot enough to cause any damage. Lower and lower, closer and closer to the ground, their sparks still entwined, they fell.
Eventually they pulled apart, sparks separating, thrusters roaring to life again, wings twitching and fluttering.
They spiraled around each other as they swooped out, just above the highest spires of Vos.
~Yes!~ one of them screamed across their new bond, and the other two sent back their agreement. For if they flew well together before, they flew as one now. Thundercracker could feel what it was like to dip and swoop and twirl as the lighter frames did. Starscream could feel the sheer jolt and joy of a warp. Skywarp could feel the strong confidence that came with being the steadiest, largest frame in the sky.
And because they knew exactly what the others were thinking and feeling and doing, they could do exactly what was needed to stay close, to stay side-by-side, to fly together in perfect formation.
Two words whispered quietly through the bond. Trine. Finally.
Epilogue
Skywarp was hanging upside down from the light fixture.
Starscream vented. Thundercracker, who was standing beside him, stared, baffled.
“Skywarp?” the Winglord of Vos asked after a long moment of staring.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing on the ceiling?”
“Everything looks so different from up here.”
“That’s...”
The blue Seeker gave a small chuckle. “No one ever said having a third would be easy. Sure you don’t want to throw him back and hand over the title to Redwing?”
There was a loud, “Hey!” from the ceiling, then a pop, and Skywarp was standing beside them. “I resent that!”
The two Seekers that had been standing on the floor to start with exchanged glances and began to giggle. Skywarp joined them with little hesitation. Thundercracker wrapped his long arms around the other two, pulling them into a warm hug in the middle of the Great Hall.
And the trine lived happily ever after.