Tentatively Alive~

Wh--

I am not functioning at a high enough level to process-- oh Primus I sound like TC.

… Oh.

[Skywarp makes sure that Smokescreen doesn’t hear the way his breath hitches, and hes sincerely glad they’re talking over comms, not over a video comm, or Primus forbid, in person.]

It’s… It’s nice to hear from you, Smokey.

…. Even if your jokes haven’t improved from last we talked! How’s.. How’s Cybertron? It’s. Uh. Been a while since I’ve been home.

It’s nice to hear from you, Warpybutt.

You know, I was never good at not mingling with ‘Bots. So long as Cybertron is being rebuilt peacefully...

[He trails off, seemingly lost in thought, though eventually he shakes himself back on track]

I would.. appreciate that a lot, honestly. I need to recharge and figure out my energon situation, but once I’m back on my feet expect me to harass you non-stop!

[…50%]

Skywarp wondered where he was. He didn’t remember too much, but he knew his spark felt broken, felt weak, so he had run. Jetted off to space to the furthest point he could manage away from Cybertron to get away from anything his spark was trying to pull him towards.

[…70%]

But it had been so long, and even a mech in stasis had to wake up eventually to scavenge for energon to keep up the stasis. It had been far too long.

[…90%]

His systems weren’t functioning as they should. He almost swore he could feel Starscream through their old trine bond, gently coaxing him to come home - to come to Vos.

That couldn’t be.

[…100%]

[System Reboot: Complete]

[Systems functioning at 47%]

Skwarp blinked open his optics, the normal bright red now reduced to a dull maroon, his once pristine armour greyed, dusty and dirty. A mech edging on the side of offlining, but a mech who desperately didn’t want to die. He survived a war, he wasn’t going to die such a pathetic death and not before seeing–

His trine.

He wanted to see his trine one last time. He remembered a foggy dream, a hazy memory from his stasis, and in his tired haze, he didn’t think as he opened his spark to his trine bond, letting them both know he was coming home.

A few years of stasis was nothing to a millennia of war. Even out in the cold harshness of space, Skywarp still knew where he could find Vos. His home was permanently his compass home.

He stretched out his frame, grumbling something akin to a yawn as he shifted and looked blearily at his self diagnostics that told him he wouldn’t be able to make it home.

Starscream’s priorities had to shift after the war. He was given a city to rebuild and new mechs stepping forward to help him. Starscream became responsible for everyone who chose to settle in Vos, and it was his duty to create a home not just for himself and his conjunx, but for all of them as well. Sadly, attending to the individual needs of his trinemates was something he lacked the time and energy to do. While Thundercracker found a similar way to cope with all he’d been through, burying himself in the work of building Vos anew, Skywarp couldn’t so easily move forward.

Starscream wasn’t so terribly surprised when he and Thundercracker noticed his disappearance. Though their initial desire was to chase him, they knew that with his unique ability, Skywarp was the most difficult mech to catch. They had a duty here now, and they couldn’t abandon their home to chase their trinemate all across space. So they dared to hope that Skywarp would come back to them when he was ready.

Though Starscream had failed to keep his trinemate close to him, he did maintain one promise. He’d never closed his spark to his trine again, and it would remain open for Skywarp, always letting him know he was there and waiting for him to come home.

When he finally felt something in response, Starscream was sure it had to be his imagination or maybe just something from his bond with Steve. But no, it didn’t feel like his conjunx. It felt far too far away, but it was there. As soon as he realized what it was, he told Thundercracker. He knew the older Seeker didn’t need any more false hope, but he had to know Skywarp was still alive out there and listening for the both of them.

His bond to Starscream was there, and his bond to Thundercracker - although more strained - was still there. His bond to Sunstreaker, however, had long since cracked, and broken. He grimaced as the pain from a broken bond threatened to overwhelm him, but he took a big breath, and pushed the pain down to the bottom of his spark, trying to forget, trying not to let it bleed through his trine bond.

Bonds were a difficult thing, and he was... honestly just glad to be alive after that entire debacle. Venting a sigh, he looked over his self diagnostics one more time and determined he could probably get close enough to Cybertron to comm Starscream, somewhat embarrassed to try communicating through their already established bond.

His warp drive could probably handle it. Probably. Maybe. Mostly, he just didn’t want to transform for fear of not being able to transform back. An irrational fear, but he was very, very tired, and while transforming came naturally, he learnt to warp before he learnt to shift into a jet.

He took a breath, and curled his form as small as he could manage, before warping as close as he could manage with a loud VOP!

He could see it - he could see Cybertron, and he knew he was definitely close enough to comm, close enough to possibly even land, but fear stopped him. He tightened up his bonds, not enough to close it entirely, but enough that his raw emotions wouldn’t bleed through. He wasn’t very good at this, anymore, it seemed.

Hesitantly, he activated his comms, to the same old line of communication that Star could usually be found on, to the same old line of communication that Skywarp used to actively avoid in favour of babbling through their bond.

<< ... >>

He froze, unsure what to say, before eventually gathering his courage. Starscream hadn’t immediately gotten angry at him through their bond. Maybe he wouldn’t be mad through comms.

<< C- come in, Starscream? It’s..Skywarp. Though. I guess. You knew I was coming, right? Seems a little pointless to be like haha hey! I’m here! >>

He groaned, running his servos down his faceplate. He was bad at this. He was the laugh it off and not think about it mech, not the really good at emotions mech.

<< ... I’m uh. I’m home. Has much changed in terms of layout..? I don’t want to warp into a wall or something. That sure would be embarassing, ha! >>

He forced a laugh.

Wh--

I am not functioning at a high enough level to process-- oh Primus I sound like TC.

I–

… Smokey. My comm systems have been offline for over 3 earth years now. Were you just watching your comms waiting for me to get back??

[If Smokescreen were to listen, however, he would hear the laugh that Skywarp stifled. He got got.]

... Yes? You’re my friend! I wanted to make sure I could hear from you again, Warpwarp. And I wanted to get you.

[Skywarp makes sure that Smokescreen doesn’t hear the way his breath hitches, and hes sincerely glad they’re talking over comms, not over a video comm, or Primus forbid, in person.]

It’s... It’s nice to hear from you, Smokey.

Wh--

I am not functioning at a high enough level to process-- oh Primus I sound like TC.

... Smokey. My comm systems have been offline for over 3 earth years now. Were you just watching your comms waiting for me to get back??

you’re not dead either???

I was also shocked and surprised and maybe a little disappointed to discover that I am in fact alive.

okay but seriously you’re like the third person i’d written off as dead that’s popped up on the datanet so far

.. Uh. I dunno. I just woke up like this, I haven’t heard anyone. Does that mean I’m a terrorcon though because I’m down for that. Maybe I can spook some mecha.

Starscream quietly listened to his trinemate, continuing to idly rub his servos over his arms. “Ah, Thundercracker helped you? I must thank him when he arrive. I’m glad you were in good servos.” He finally took a good look at Skywarp’s wings when he mentioned them. It didn’t take him long to figure out the significance on those different colors. It made him smile a bit. “I was such a fool to think you would have forgotten us.” His servos moved to run his digits along the two stripes. “They look great.”

Skywarp returned the smile. "I'd never forget. Even if you--" He stopped himself, a servo moving over his spark.

"Online or.. offline. I'd never forget you."