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Jetfire figured he should feel smug that it took four Aerialbots to knock him out of the sky, but it was specifically four Vosian frame types; so it didn’t feel like a fair fight, even if it had only been one despite their smaller size to him. Vosians were just a few lines of code removed from Animatronians, making them dangerous with their built in claws and fangs, and in the case of the Autobot Vosians, incredibly feral and petty especially compared to the rest of the Autobots.
He’d been ambushed as he took shots at the grounders. Skywarp had knocked him off balance by warping around him, and had taken out a clunk of his leg. He couldn’t say if it had bit through him, or if it had warped the very matter away, just that the action hurt. Blitzwing had frozen the servo holding his blaster while he’d been doubled over by that, and Thundercracker had further disoriented him with a loud crack of sound. Skywarp and Blitzwing had begun arguing with Thundercracker in the heat of battle about using his ability.
Jetfire had attempted to use their distracted state to fly off and regroup. Vague thoughts of finding a cliffside or rock to crack the ice fought their way up, sitting just below the ringing in his processor and all the error messages about his leg. He instead blacked out some time between Sunstorm smashing his weaponized guitar over Jetfire’s helm and where he woke up on the ground.
There wasn’t any sounds of battle, not even in the furthest distance his audials could pick up, and Jetfire was left with the sneaking dread that Megatron had called a retreat.
And left without him.
Jetfire knew his place. The Decepticons needed transport and a heavy hitter. His presence just meant they saved resources building something to do what Jetfire could already do. They had likely assumed he’d eventually make his way back. The Autobots rarely took him prisoner due to the logistics of holding him.
He pressed his commlink, finding only static back at him. The hit to the helm must have busted it.
Jetfire tried to sit up to get a better look at his leg, but the world spung and he was forced to lay back down. He moved his leg slightly and could only wince at the pain and the new wet feeling as energon trickled out of the wound.
Hopefully not enough to bleed out from, but it was evident he was going to have trouble getting back to the Nemesis by himself.
Something snapped, as if stepped on.
“...Hello?” Jetfire risked calling out.
The trees nearby rustled and cracked, and Jetfire turned his body, hoping it was one of his fellow Deceptions, or at least one of those fascinating Earth creatures he was studying in private, but at the low, mechanically growl, he had a sinking dread in his tanks that it wasn’t.
A theory that was confirmed when a clawed servo pushed a tree out of the way, pushing up its roots. What a waste.
It was a Vosian, but none of the four that had taken him out. Not one of his Seekers though, they lacked the plating of the Earth planes that Megatron had insisted all the Seekers take. “Decepticon.” The Vosian hissed it like a slur, pushing slightly out of the treeline. “You’re still online.” They looked directly at Jetfire’s damaged leg. “Barely.”
“I’ve certainly had better days.” Jetfire noted, inching away slightly. Not that it would help much.
Something changed in the Vosian's face at Jetfire's seeming cowardice.
There was a yelp as the Vosian tossed something -someone- from behind them. Sunstorm landed in a crumpled pile near Jetfire’s peds. “You stupid slaggin ornament, ugh, there’s no honor in this!”
Sunstorm made a sound, somewhere between a whine and a purr. “Stars, he’s just a Decepticon!”
“And?!” The mystery Vosian stepped out of the treeline, flurrying out their wings. “Just because Megatron says a few fancy words about oppression, it doesn’t mean we’re not all just bots caught up in his and the Prime’s stupid love affair.” The Vosian stepped down in front of Jetfire’s leg. “This must hurt.”
“...it doesn’t, I swear.”
The Vosian rolled their optics. “Don’t play tough with me, Decepticon. I’m going to help you because I am embarrassed my family is full of idiots, and then you go on your merry way.” The Vosian made a clicking sound, and Sunstorm responded with a lower sound, but got into a crawling position beside the Vosian. “I’ll set the lines and then you will solder the wound shut.”
“Hey,” Jetfire tried to sit up again, but the balance issues struck once more. “Don’t I get a say in this, Autobot?"
“No.” The Vosian prodded at the wound. “Did Warp eat him? What is wrong with everyone lately. I clearly spend too much time in the lab and not enough time putting the fear of the unmaker into you all.”
The Vosian dug their claws into the wound and Jetfire winced for the few seconds of agony but before everything suddenly felt a lot better. That was until the Vosian chirped at Sunstorm, and Jetfire’s leg lit up in renewed pain as Sunstorm melted the metal. Jetfire blacked out once more.
When Jetfire woke up again, the Vosian was at his helm, staring directly down at him. “Welcome back, sleepy head. Sunstorm’s gone now, it’s just you and me.” The Vosian pulled away. “I really am deeply disappointed by their actions, but especially your own comrades. Not a single one has come back for you!”
“Decepticons…” Jetfire struggled for words, but he wasn’t sure if it was the helm-ache or his own doubts. “...Look after one’s self.”
“Sounds lonely. You’re Jetfire, right?”
“Yes, and you are…? I don’t think I’ve seen you on the battlefield before.”
They were a pretty sight, their frame a mix of blues and reds and white. Impressive wings that probably worked amazingly in the sky. Jetfire’s spark softened the more he looked at them.
“Starscream. I’m purely a scientist, so I always stay in the Ark. Until today.” Starscream leaned closer, their blue optics narrowing. “They came back boasting about taking down a shuttle and they sounded worse than Sunstreaker on a good day. This is war, not comedy club.”
Jetfire didn’t know what to say to that. He could move his leg without too much pain, so he could say one thing. “Thank you.”
Starscream smiled. “You’re mighty polite for a Decepticon.”
“You’re pretty mean for an Autobot.”
Starscream dismissively waved a servo with a quiet laugh. “Sunstorm will walk it off. And maybe one day Skywarp will find where I hid its comic books.” They then placed a hand over the symbol on Jetfire’s chest. “I’ll stay with you until you’re good enough to head back to your faction.”
Jetfire… liked the sound of that.