The luggage compartment trembled slightly as the plane descended, preparing to land at Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C. A faint white light from the window crack shone onto Frenzy's small metallic body, now covered in dust and… pet hair from the hoodie he had stolen.
He sat curled up in a corner, arms crossed over his chest, his glowing eyes flickering weakly.
[12 hours… the longest 12 hours of my life…]
Throughout the flight, he had endured every minor disaster imaginable— the stench of animals in nearby cages, the constant hum of the engines, and several close calls with airport staff. At one point, a suitcase had rolled straight into his head, making him swear to curse this airline for generations to come.
But now… finally…
[THUD!]
The plane touched down on the runway with a violent jolt, making him spring up, yelling:
[WHAT NOW?! LET ME OUT ALREADY!!!]
He staggered to his feet, waiting for the cargo bay doors to open. The first rays of sunlight streamed in. Instantly, Frenzy slipped beneath the metal framework, slithering out like a ghostly machine.
—
Dulles Airport – Parking Lot
Frenzy leapt over a barrier, his small frame moving as swiftly as a squirrel. His glowing eyes scanned the rows of parked cars.
[He said Lot E… But this is Lot D?!]
He bolted forward in frustration, cursing in an untranslatable language. But just as he reached the far end of the lot, a red light flickered.
[Woop! Woop!]
The sound of a police siren—but not a human one.
Frenzy stopped. His body trembled with excitement.
[Barricade…]
A sleek black Saleen S281, bearing the words *"To Punish and Enslave"* on its side, slowly approached. Its red and blue lights flickered softly.
The door swung open.
[Get in.]
Barricade's voice was low, cold, yet familiar.
Frenzy didn't need to hear it twice. He dove straight into the passenger seat, his tiny frame bouncing onto the dashboard like a hyperactive ferret.
[DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I JUST WENT THROUGH?! I GOT LEFT BEHIND IN QATAR! STUCK IN A FREEZING CARGO HOLD! AND THEN—]
[Shut up.] Barricade cut him off.
[But I—]
[I said. Shut. Up.]
Frenzy grumbled but said nothing more. The car pulled out of the lot, merging into the traffic of Washington, D.C. After a while, Barricade spoke again, his voice lower this time.
[You did good. I didn't think you'd make it out.]
Frenzy hesitated.
[What… What did you just say?]
[You survived. That's what matters.]
A brief silence. Frenzy leaned back against the dashboard, his small eyes gleaming in the dim interior.
[Well… Yeah. Of course. I'm a genius.]
He folded his arms, trying to look smug, but there was a fleeting warmth in the air. He gazed out the window as towering buildings passed by, their lights reflecting off his metal frame.
[Hey… Barricade.]
[What?]
[I thought we were teammates… Why didn't you come with me from the start?]
Barricade was silent for a moment.
[Because I knew you could find your way. And I knew you would.]
Frenzy's eyes widened.
[That is the dumbest reason I've ever heard.]
Barricade let out a rare chuckle.
[Maybe. But you did it, didn't you?]
Frenzy didn't answer. He simply leaned back against the windshield, tilting his head up as if the gray sky above was reminding him of something.
His chaotic journey had ended—but he didn't know it was only temporary.
—
Frenzy sprawled across the dashboard, his tiny feet propped up on the steering wheel, basking in the small triumph of reuniting with Barricade. But the moment didn't last long.
Barricade suddenly slammed the brakes, skidding several meters before stopping abruptly. Frenzy lurched forward from the momentum, barely avoiding smashing his head against the glass. He growled, straightened himself, and looked around.
[Are we there?] – Frenzy squinted, unimpressed. [This place doesn't look like it deserves my talents.]
He looked down. Right beside him was a filthy drainage grate, emitting a stench so foul that he instinctively recoiled.
[For scrap's sake, Barricade, where the hell did you park?!] – He jumped up, flailing his arms as if something had just touched him. [Do you have ANY idea how disgusting this is?!]
Barricade remained silent. His engine rumbled slightly, but there was no response. One second passed. Then two.
Finally, in a tone completely unfazed by Frenzy's ranting, he spoke:
[Hey, Frenzy.]
Frenzy crossed his arms, eyes closed in frustration.
[What now?]
[I need the tracking device.]
Frenzy immediately bolted upright, his blue optics flashing rapidly.
[What device?]
[You know. The only tracking device I *haven't* 'accidentally' broken.]
[WHAT?!] Frenzy screeched. [THE TRACKING DEVICE…? WHERE IS IT?!]
Barricade paused for a moment, then exhaled heavily—if a car could exhale.
[Down the drain.]
[WHAT?!]
[I dropped it. In the sewer. Right here. Right now.]
A deathly silence filled the car. Frenzy blinked, his tiny frame frozen in place.
[You… You're telling me… that after 12 hours…]
[Yes.]
[Being left behind in Qatar…]
[Uh-huh.]
[Surviving a filthy cargo hold…]
[Correct.]
[And now you're saying… you need me… to dive into a SEWER to get it?!]
Barricade calmly replied:
[Yes. I need it right now.]
Frenzy's jaw dropped. If it could detach, it would have hit the floor by now.
[ARE YOU INSANE?!]
[No. But I am losing patience.]
[Frenzy! The Decepticon genius! The master of cyber-infiltration! The one who can break into any human security system! And you want me to go into… a sewer?!]
[Yes.]
[DO IT YOURSELF!]
[You're smaller.]
[That is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard!]
[But the most practical one. Get down there.]
Frenzy jumped up on the dashboard, waving his arms wildly.
[NO! I'M NOT GOING! Humans dump EVERYTHING down there! Food waste, trash, and PRIMUS KNOWS WHAT ELSE!]
[Do you want me to tell Blackout to drop you back to Qatar?]
Frenzy froze. The glow in his eyes dimmed slightly.
[...Traitor.]
[Good. Now get down there.]
Frenzy let out a long, dramatic sigh before crawling out of the car.
[I'll remember this… And you'll regret it.]
[Keep dreaming.] Barricade replied, amused.
Muttering curses in binary, Frenzy shot one last glare at Barricade before disappearing down the drain. Moments later, only his distant voice echoed from below:
[The greatest mind of the Decepticons… reduced to garbage duty. This is an outrage.]
Frenzy climbed down into the sewer, the sound of metal clanking against concrete echoing with each begrudging step. The murky black water surged beneath him, reeking so intensely that if he had a nose, he'd have surely vomited a few liters of machine oil. Green moss clung to the stone walls, nameless chunks of garbage floated aimlessly, and somewhere in the distance, a gurgling sound suggested that something had just risen from the depths.
[Oh, for frag's sake… What is this?!]
He lifted a foot, watching as the filthy water dripped off in slow, slimy trails—along with something that looked like… No. He didn't want to know.
[I am a genius of the Decepticons… the greatest data infiltrator in history! And now… now I'm wading through the sewage of these disgusting, inferior beings?!]
Frenzy shrieked, his high-pitched voice bouncing through the dark tunnel, startling a few nearby rats into diving into the water.
[NO ONE DESERVES TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS! No one! I should be standing aboard a massive warship in deep space! I should be commanding an army of drones, obliterating every human satellite! But no—]
He waded forward, only to suddenly lose his footing.
[OH SCRAP—!!!]
His shrill scream pierced the air as his small frame tumbled forward, plunging face-first into the foul water. He shot up immediately, thrashing furiously, sending filth splashing in all directions.
[THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!]
[Barricade… I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS!]
He muttered curses in binary, each one a wish that Barricade would one day rust from head to toe. His optics flickered as he scanned the area, desperately searching for the locator device.
[...Come on… Where is it? I know it's here somewhere… DON'T MAKE ME DIG THROUGH TRASH, SCRAP IT!!!]
He kicked a rusted can floating nearby. It went flying down the tunnel and disappeared into the darkness.
Frenzy stood still for a second, waiting. Nothing responded. But he still didn't trust this place.
[None of you understand my greatness… Stupid humans… Stupid Decepticons… STUPID BARRICADE!!!]
He grabbed onto a pipe, hauling himself over a narrow passage—only to jolt when something slimy latched onto his foot.
[PRIMUS, WHAT THE FRAG WAS THAT?!]
He flung the thing away, his small body trembling. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath—no, not really. It was just a habit he copied from humans. He calmed himself.
[Alright… just find the device… and I'm done… I'm done…]
Right then, his bright blue optics flickered. A weak signal pulsed from nearby.
[Hah… Finally found you, you useless piece of scrap…]
He sloshed through the sewage, snatching the locator device from where it lay against a rusted steel beam.
[Got it! Barricade, do you read me?! I've found it!]
[Good. Now climb back up.]
Frenzy looked around—the filth, the garbage, the overwhelming stench. He let out a strangled sigh.
[Yeah… I'm gonna remember this for a long, long time…]
And with a furious shake of his head, he trudged back the way he came, mumbling binary curses against every Cybertronian deity ever known.
Frenzy climbed out of the sewer, his small frame drenched in a mix of grime and machine oil. He slammed the locator device onto Barricade's hood with a sharp clang.
[THERE! HAPPY NOW?!]
He cursed under his breath, desperately trying to cleanse himself of the disgusting filth.
Barricade lazily flicked a servo, unlocking the car door for Frenzy—but he didn't get in. He stood there, blue optics blazing.
[Wait a minute…]—His voice was dangerously low—[Why didn't you just… message Soundwave and have him send another one?!]
An unsettling silence followed. Barricade shifted slightly, his headlights flickering awkwardly.
[...Well…]
Frenzy narrowed his optics.
[Spill. It. Now.]
Barricade exhaled—or at least, made a noise like it.
[Look… telling Soundwave we dropped the device in the sewer would have been… embarrassing.]
[...]
Frenzy stood frozen.
[You… WHAT?!]
[You heard me.]
[YOU MADE ME GO DOWN THERE—]
[Yep.]
[—WADE THROUGH THAT DISGUSTING FILTH—]
[That's correct.]
[—JUST TO RETRIEVE THIS SCRAPPIEST FRAGGING LOCATOR—]
[Precisely.]
[—BECAUSE YOU… WERE EMBARRASSED?!]
[Not embarrassed…]
Frenzy slammed his tiny metal fists onto Barricade's hood.
[THEN WHAT THE FRAG WAS IT?!]
[Dignity.]
[YOU HAVE NO DIGNITY!!!]
[Exactly. But Soundwave doesn't need to know that.]
Frenzy staggered back, clutching his head as if trying to process a catastrophic data overload.
[Primus help me… I cannot believe this… You let me—] He took a deep breath, then shrieked,
[I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!]
[We're good now, right?]
[GOOD?! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT 'GOOD' MEANS!]
Frenzy lunged at Barricade, pounding his tiny fists against the hood while Barricade remained still, unmoved.
[Alright… alright… calm down, kid.]
[CALM DOWN?! I'LL CALM DOWN WHEN YOU'RE RUSTED AND YOUR CENTRAL PROCESSOR IS FRIED!]
[Frenzy—]
[NO! NO 'FRENZY'! YOU KNOW WHAT?! I'M CALLING SOUNDWAVE! AND WHEN HE FINDS OUT—]
[Frenzy.]
[WHAT?!]
[Get in the car.]
Frenzy glared at him for a long moment, as if seriously contemplating ripping out his circuitry right then and there. But then, he sighed.
[...Fine. But I'm never forgetting this.]
[Yeah, yeah. Get in.]
Frenzy climbed into the passenger seat, arms crossed, expression still brimming with resentment. The car rolled forward, streetlights casting reflections across its black metal exterior.
After a long pause, Frenzy muttered,
[You know this is called labor abuse, right?]
[Yeah. But you did great.]
[Whatever. I still hate you.]
Barricade chuckled.
[Feeling's mutual.]
The car sped into the night, leaving behind a sewer grate and a trail of binary curses fading into the darkness.
…
[Oh, by the way, heads up—we're going about 500 km/h.]
[Wait, what?]
___
Somewhere on the North American continent.
From a distance, one would see a police car speeding like a black blur tearing through the wind. But upon closer inspection… something was very wrong.
The car wasn't following any road.
Barricade tore through a forest without even slowing down. Trees were uprooted, branches shattered, and leaves scattered in all directions, as if a storm of steel had ripped through them. He plunged straight into a river, his wheels instantly shifting into propellers, transforming the vehicle into a high-speed machine skimming across the water.
Frenzy let out a terrified shriek as the car glided over the river like a monster clinging to the current.
Barricade reached the other shore without losing momentum. He shot out of the water, his wheels reverting to their original form the moment they hit the ground, grinding against the road and leaving long trails of water behind. Without so much as a pause, he kept going, as if nothing had happened.
[ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?] Frenzy screamed, sounding like he had just escaped death itself.
[EVEN THAT SLAGHEAD BLACKOUT IS BETTER THAN YOU!!!]
He clung to the dashboard, his claws scraping against it with a grating sound. His internal screen flickered wildly, flashing red speed data like an emergency alert.
[Stay silent.] Barricade replied, his voice deep and utterly indifferent.
Frenzy snapped his head toward the dashboard in front of him.
SPEED: 490 KM/H.
His jaw clenched, and he hissed through his teeth.
[Do you even have a concept of 'too fast' in your processor!?]
At that moment, Barricade launched off the ground.
For a split second, Frenzy felt weightless—then he realized Barricade had just driven off a cliff, with no landing in sight.
[FRAG!]
He screamed.
The car went into free fall for a brief moment.
Before Frenzy could even process his imminent demise, Barricade activated his gravity-shift system, landing so smoothly it was almost unsettling—like dropping off a cliff was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Frenzy gasped for air, gripping the dashboard as if it was the only thing keeping him from being flung out of the car.
[I SWE—]
[Calm down.] Barricade cut him off.
[CALM DOWN MY SCRAPPIN' GLITCHING AFT!]
Frenzy roared, before spewing out a stream of ear-piercing binary—every single line filled with curses.
But Barricade didn't care.
He kept going, unfazed by the chaos in the passenger seat. To him, this was just another drive.
As for Frenzy?
He swore on every last circuit in his body that if he survived until Los Angeles, he would never—ever—ride with Barricade again.
End of Chapter EX 1.