I miss you... [Book 1]

Hello stranger!

-A few days later-

"Okay Cas, do you remember what we said you have to do when we go outside?" Knockout asked Cascade, who was sitting in Breakdown's arms as he packed some energon for the trip.

"Stay wif you!" Cascade squealed, clapping his hands.

"Good! And what else?" Knockout giggled, admiring how cute Cascade was.

"Umm.... no talk to stwangers!" Cascade exclaimed happily.

"Great job, sweetie!" Knockout cooed, Kissing Cascade on the cheek. He turned to Breakdown and watched him finish up packing. "You have everything?"

Breakdown nodded, placing the pack of energon in his subspace. "I think so, you sure Megatron allowed us to do this?"

Knockout rolled his optics and sighed, beginning to walk out the door. "He said we could as long as we took our 'annoying brat' with us. Apparently Cascade was annoying him to the breaking point." He slipped his hand into Breakdown's and held it gently.

"Hah, that's funny. At least we won't get the scrap beaten outta us for leaving." Breakdown chuckled, bouncing Cascade in his arms as they neared the groundbridge controls. "You excited, lil buddy?"

Cascade giggled and hugged Breakdown's arm. "Yeah! Wanna go outside!" He cheered, his different colored optics gleaming happily.

"Alright! Knocky's gonna bring up the groundbridge portal so we can go outside." Breakdown chuckled, watching Knockout fiddle with the controls.

Soon, a swirling teal portal appeared before them in the room.

Cascade tilted his head and stared at the mesmerizing object, wondering what it was. "What that?" He asked, looking up at Breakdown expectantly.

"That's a groundbridge, we use it to travel." Breakdown replied, following Knockout as he walked towards the portal.

Cascade hid behind Breakdown's armor as the portal enveloped them and transported them to their destination.

-Forest in Jasper, Nevada-

The portal appeared in the middle of the autumn forest and Knockout stepped out first, followed by Breakdown and Cascade.

Cascade peered over Breakdown's armor curiously and gasped when he saw all the different colored leaves falling off the trees. "Want down! Wanna s'plore!"

"Okay, I'll let you down. Just remember to stay close and call us if you need us." Breakdown smiled, bending down and setting Cascade on the ground.

Cascade looked at the leaves under his pedes and giggled, crunching them as he stumbled around.

Breakdown stood back next to Knockout and sighed, watching Cascade awkwardly run around trying to catch a leaf. "I'm so glad he turned out perfect." He mumbled, sighing in content.

Knockout smiled and leaned against Breakdown's shoulder. "He got the perfect genes from his parents."

"Oh stop it." Breakdown giggled, blushing a little bit and playfully shoving Knockout.

"What? I like flattering you. You're so cute when you're flustered." Knockout snickered, pushing Breakdown back and kissing him.

While they were busy teasing each other and kissing, they had failed to notice that Cascade had wandered off.

Cascade chased the unknown flying object in front of him, his tiny hands trying to snatch it out of the air. It's bright colors made it easy to spot every time it landed, so Cascade followed it wherever it went.

He giggled, chasing it around a bunch of trees and a boulder. He didn't realize that he was steadily growing farther and farther away from his parents.

When he grew tired and stopped chasing the weird object, he glanced around for Knockout or Breakdown. "Bweaky? Knocky? Hewwo?" He called out, but no answer.

He started to get scared and kept on walking, hoping he would eventually find them again.

He stumbled upon a clearing filled with bushes overflowing with wild berries. He got distracted by them as he squished them eagerly between his fingers. He was having so much fun that he didn't notice the approaching Autobot scout team, led by Optimus Prime himself.

Now, the Autobots probably didn't remember the whole incident with Breakdown when they let him go in the cave. That being said, they definitely didn't know that Cascade belonged to them or the Decepticons.

"Optimus, our scanners aren't picking up anything!" Arcee huffed, pressing a button on her forearm and letting it dangle by her side.

"You just aren't trying hard enough. Look, mine already picked up something nearby... looks like an energy signal.." Bulkhead mumbled, turning in the direction that Cascade was located.

"Follow that signal, it could lead to a stash of energon." Optimus commanded, following Bulkhead towards the source of the signal.

Meanwhile, Cascade was busy 'painting' himself with berry juice to make his armor look cool. He giggled and splattered more berry juice onto his face, licking it with his tongue.

His head perked up when he heard pedesteps and he got excited. "Carrier! Sire!" He shouted when he saw a flash of red and blue, running towards them from the bush.

When he got a better look at them, he realized that they weren't his parents. And they didn't look too friendly to him. He knew Knockout had told him not to talk to strangers, but maybe these bots would help him find them. "Hewwo, stwangers!" He said cheerfully, waving his berry juice-covered hand.

Optimus raised an eyebrow when he looked down at the sparkling in front of him. It's optics were different colors and it's armor was covered in berry juice. It was impossible to tell whether it was an Autobot sparkling or a Decepticon sparkling.

Only one way to find out.