Grimlock bolted up when he heard the Alchemor's alarm going off, "Aww, I was having a good dream."

"We better go see what's going on," Bumblebee said as he got up and got his armor back on.

"How much do you want to bet that it's Ripjaw and his group?" Grimlock asked as he put on his armor.

"I'm sure it is."

Sure enough, it was Ripjaw and his group. Bumblebee decided to take Grimlock, Thunderhoof, and Steeljaw with him, he hoped that they would be able to capture the opposing Dinobots. They go out to take care of Ripjaw and his group, "Hope we can catch them all this time," Bumblebee stated as they went to the area where the Dinobots were spotted.

"Don't worry, Bumblebee, we'll get'em. All we need is a little teamwork and a lot of punching," Grimlock said with a big smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ripjaw, Patchy, and Amberblade were searching for Energon. Patchy kept glancing at Amberblade and Ripjaw, wondering how long they had been fragging each other. Lucky. He thought bitterly. Shaking his helm he walked a few feet away to see if he could find any Energon.

"Got a problem, Patchy?" Ripjaw asked him.

"N-no, boss, just thought I'd look over here," Patchy pointed in the direction he was walking in.

"Keep a look out for the Autobots."

"Yes, sir," he saluted as he walked on. With a sigh, the Dinobot kept a lookout for the Autobots, "Why can't he keep a lookout for the Autobots? I get the Energon while he stays at base and frags the scrap out of Amberblade," he muttered to himself. "If anything I should be calling the shots."

"Am I sensing some jealousy?" Thunderhoof asked as the Autobots revealed themselves.

Patchy yelped as he turned to face Thunderhoof, "What's it to you?" He growled as he lowered his helm.

"Give it your best shot, kid," Thunderhoof said as he made a stance. Patchy let out a loud battle cry as he charged toward Thunderhoof.

Amberblade's ears perked up as she looked in the direction Patchy had gone in, "Sir, we have company," she growled as she got ready for whatever came their way.

Bumblebee and Steeljaw came running out and got ready to fight. Amberblade let out a hiss as she bared her fangs at Steeljaw who was snarling right back at her. Bumblebee got into a fighting stance ready for whatever Ripjaw throws at him. Amberblade and Steeljaw were soon locked in a battle of fangs and claws.

Ripjaw snarled as he charged at Bumblebee with his jaws wide open. Bumblebee jumped to avoid his jaws and hit him on the helm with his Decepticon Hunter. Snarling in pain, Ripjaw clamped his jaws down on Bumblebee's leg swinging him into a tree. With a grunt, Bumblebee fell to the ground. He got back up and went for another attack, this time to the legs. 

Ripjaw moved his legs out of the way as he snarled in anger. Raising his massive claws he quickly brought them down. Bumblebee moved out of the way in time and jabbed him in his side. With a growl, Ripjaw was about to slam his tail into Bumblebee but was cut short when he heard a growl of pain. Turning his helm he saw Steeljaw's claws dug into the joints of Amberblade's front leg. 

With an enraged roar, Ripjaw charged towards Steeljaw, knocking him off of Amberblade with his tail and sending him back into the forest, landing on top of Patchy. With a low growl, Ripjaw gently picked up Amberblade and took off.

Steeljaw growled as he got up off of Patchy, "Boss, why'd you leave me?" The Dinobot whimpered as he looked in the direction that Ripjaw had gone in.

"Your teammates left you behind," Bumblebee said as he walked up to Patchy with his gun drawn.

"Time to take you in," Thunderhoof says as he puts the Dinobot in stasis cuffs.

"Why do you think Ripjaw took off like that?" Grimlock asked out loud.

"He seemed to be concerned for the femme's well-being," Bumblebee replied.

"Probably because you hurt his little frag buddy," Patchy muttered bitterly.

Grimlock and Bumblebee stopped when they heard what Patchy said, "What?" They asked in shock.

"Yeah, they've been fragging. Don't know how long though."

"By the way he acted when she got hurt, I think there's more than just fragging," Bumblebee stated.

"They love each other," Grimlock spoke softly.

"What? Ripjaw in love? I can't see that," Patchy and Thunderhoof said together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amberblade winced as Ripjaw gently placed her on his berth, "What about the Energon?" She asked softly.

"Never mind that, I just want you to be well."

"Thank you, sir."

"Transform and let's have a look at that," Ripjaw said as he transformed himself. Transforming, Amberblade seethed in pain as she held her shoulder.

Ripjaw looked at it, "That Wolf-Con got you good, you'll have to be careful with this shoulder."

"Yes, sir."

"You can stop with the sir."

"I'm sorry, sir-- Ripjaw," she whispered his name to herself.

"That's it, just call me by my name."

"Ripjaw, what made you join Thunderhoof back then?"

"I was working for his father and I promised his father I would look after Thunderhoof and follow Thunderhoof as I followed him."

"What happened after that?"

"We worked together for a little while then we got separated when the cops started arresting us."

"I'm sorry that happened."

"So am I. And now he's running with the Autobots."

"What do you think happened?"

"My guess is that femme he mated with changed him."

"You mean that wolf Predacon?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you," she whispered as she wrapped her good arm around him.

"For what?"

"For opening up, for helping me," she replied softly as she looked at him with a small smile.

"You're welcome."

Slowly closing her optics, Amberblade fell into recharge. Ripjaw laid her down on the berth and then laid down next to her. "Love you... Ripjaw," Amberblade mumbled in her sleep.

Ripjaw looked at her in shock. She loves me? "Love you too, Amberblade," he whispered. She moved closer to him, nuzzling him as she slept. He held her tight as he watched her sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is your hideout?" Bumblebee asked Patchy once they were at the scrapyard.

Patchy turned his helm away, "I'm not telling you anything. What makes you think I'll switch on Ripjaw?"

"The fact that he left you to get caught isn't enough?"

"Do you know what he does to snitches? He'll hunt them down and beat them into a pulp, and that's him when he's feeling merciful."

"It's amazing he treats you guys so poorly and yet you guys refuse to turn on him," Bumblebee stated.

"Must be fear, they're all afraid of him," Strongarm put in.

"That's exactly what it is." Thunderhoof sighed as he crossed his arms.

"Of course, if you had a boss that beat you into a pulp every time you made a mistake you would be fearful too," Patchy stated.

"Did he do that with Amberblade too?" The former crime boss asked as he took a step closer to the Dinobot.

"Sometimes."

"What would he do if you made a mistake? How would he punish you?"

"He would beat me up, throw me around."

"What he does is mere child's play compared to what I used to do," Thunderhoof whispered as he got closer to Patchy's face.

"What did you use to do?"

"You sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

Placing a servo on Patchy's helm Thunderhoof started whispering in the mech's audio. His face quickly turned as if he was going to be sick, the Dinobot let out a mixture of a whimper and a choked sound.

"Must be telling him something horrifying, Thunderhoof," Bumblebee says trying to hold back a chuckle.

"It's pretty bad. But I'm not going to tell you guys," Thunderhoof said as he stood up.

"So, do you want to cooperate with us now?" Bumblebee asked Patchy.

Patchy let out a whimper before his optics rolled back into his helm and his body fell back with a thud, "And there goes another one," Strongarm stated.

"I didn't think he was gonna pass out," Thunderhoof said as he scratched the back of his helm, "Normally they start begging me not to do it."

"Well, you made this one pass out," Strongarm said with a slight chuckle.

"Guess we'll have to look the old-fashioned way," Grimlock spoke up.

"Guess so," Bumblebee responded with a shrug.