-The Nemesis-

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again." Knockout murmured, holding Cascade close to his chassis as he walked down the corridor with Breakdown at his side.

Breakdown nodded in agreement, still ticked off that the Autobots had the nerve to take their sparkling from them a second time. Once Cascade got older, he would learn how to protect himself properly. Megatron had already taught him how to dislocate a joint or break a mech's wrist, but there were other things that Breakdown would teach Cascade himself.

Knockout opened the door to the Medbay and stepped inside, waiting for Breakdown before closing it.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to teach you a few moves you can use to defend yourself." Breakdown rumbled, rolling his shoulders slightly and glancing at Cascade.

"Isn't he a little too young to be learning how to fight?" Knockout asked, raising an optic ridge at his sparkmate.

"It's never too early to start, Knock. Besides, he already knows how to shoot a gun. So why not teach him a few fighting techniques?" Breakdown replied, chuckling slightly and bending down to kiss Knockout on the helm. "He'll be fine."

Knockout sighed, allowing a small smile to spread across his face. "I guess he will. You'll be teaching him and I trust you with my life."

"I'm glad that you do, now come on. Let's get a decent recharge before Megatron comes barging in."

-1 year later-

"Daaaaad!" Cascade yelled, strolling into the Medbay with a datapad in hand.

"Which one?" Knockout automatically replied, chuckling slightly as he looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, oops... Breakdown!" Cascade snickered, looking around for the navy blue mech.

Over the past year, Cascade had grown tremendously. He was around the age of a human teenager, but in Cybertronian terms. He still wasn't as tall as Breakdown, but he was pretty bulky like him. His armor had some curves to it, especially around his hips and thighs, just like Knockout. He was pretty lean and agile, a mix of both Breakdown and Knockout's abilities.

He had taken a liking to shooting guns and always begged Breakdown to take him out for target practice. Breakdown often sparred with him to help him with certain moves, but he always let Cascade win.

"Yes?" Breakdown finally replied, poking his head out of their berthroom and raising an optic ridge.

"Look at this sweet alt-mode!" Cascade said, walking over to his sire excitedly and showing him what was on the datapad. "It's heavy duty, but it's also fast! I want to get an alt-mode like this!"

Breakdown bent over and looked at the datapad, grinning slightly and chuckling. "He has your taste in sweet rides, Knockout." He snickered, gesturing for Knockout to come over.

"Really now?" Knockout grinned, strolling over to them and looking at the datapad. "Ah, he does! That's a nice choice, Cas'. Do you really think you're ready for a real alt-mode?"

"Yeah! Sire said I was and I'm tired of walking everywhere! I wanna drive!" Cascade replied, giving Knockout a pleading look to try and convince him.

"C'mon, Knock. Let the kid have some fun. You can even teach him how to race!" Breakdown joked, making Knockout flick him on the helm.

"Absolutely not! I will not have our sparkling going out at night and racing with those humans! Besides, that was years ago." Knockout rolled his optics, a grin still on his face. "I might teach him a few tricks, but that's it!"

"I'm not a sparkling anymore, dad." Cascade whined, huffing slightly and looking up at Breakdown.

"You're still our little sparkling, kiddo. Always will be." Breakdown chuckled, rubbing his knuckles on the top of Cascade's helm affectionately.

"Daaaaaaad..." Cascade pouted, though he was still grinning like a sparkling who was about to get an energon sweet. "C'mon, Knockout. Please?"

Knockout thought for a moment before sighing. "Fine. Just promise me you'll follow our rules,  alright?" He said, hugging Cascade tightly.

"I will, I will!" Cascade giggled, hugging Knockout back before letting go. "When are we going?"

"I'll take you out tomorrow night when the humans are recharging in their.... what are they called again?" Breakdown asked, looking expectantly at Knockout.

"Houses, Breakdown." Knockout snickered, rolling his optics in amusement. "Be careful of the Autobots. They've been pretty trigger-happy lately."

"Yay! You guys are the best!" Cascade exclaimed, hugging both Knockout and Breakdown and smiling.

-The following night-

The parking lot of the dealership, which was filled with brand new cars, was dark and quiet. That is, until a swirling blue portal appeared out of thin air and two large robots stepped through.

"Okay, take a look around real quick and pick one. I don't want to stay out here in the open for too long. Oh, and try not to step on any cars. The humans will not be pleased and the Autobots will be on our tailpipes in no time." Breakdown mumbled, trying to keep his voice low as he gazed at Cascade. His one yellow optic glowed gently against his dark frame, illuminating his face.

"I'll be careful." Cascade whispered back, blinking as he glanced around at the rows upon rows of cars. This was so exciting! He slowly made his way between the rows of cars, his pedesteps shaking the ground slightly no matter how quiet he tried to be.

He paused when a nice car caught his optic and he grinned, taking a knee and examining it. "What about this one?" He asked softly, looking up at Breakdown.

Breakdown turned from keeping watch, narrowing his optic slightly to get a better look in the darkness. He smiled and nodded. "Good choice, kiddo. Remember how to scan it? It's just like I told you."

Cascade took a moment to think, eventually remembering how Breakdown had explained it. "Okay... stand up.." he mumbled, rising to his full height and facing the vehicle of his choice. "Look at the car and.... little beams come out of your optics?"

"Yeah, they should go automatically. Just think about scanning the car and changing into it."

Cascade nodded, looking back at the car and sighing. 'Imagine me as that car...' he thought, opening his optics and gasping slightly. Two beams shot out of his optics and scanned the car's exterior and interior instantly, analyzing every little piece and downloading it into Cascade's processor. "Whoa! That was so cool!"

"Right? Now, transform." Breakdown said, walking over to Cascade to make sure he wouldn't get stuck or something. "Knockout told you what a T-cog is, right?"

"Yeah. Some organ that allows us to transform and change shape. He showed me one, once." Cascade replied, grimacing at the memory. He was a bit squeamish when it came to medical stuff and he almost purged his tanks when Knockout had shown him the T-cog.

"Good. Kind of like when you scanned the car, all you have to do is put your mind to it and think about your parts changing into that car." Breakdown said, putting a hand on his hip and watching closely. "Here, let me show you."

Cascade nodded, turning and watching his sire. Breakdown transformed into his alt-mode with ease, his parts changing and whirring into their correct positions. Within seconds, he sat before Cascade in his alt-mode.

Breakdown transformed back, stretching his joints slightly and smiling. "See? It isn't that hard. C'mon, you can do it."

Cascade sighed, feeling a little better now that Breakdown had shown him what to do. 'Just transform, easy enough..' Without even putting much thought to it, Cascade's parts immediately started changing and folding into place on their own. Soon, he was an exact replica of the car in front of him besides the paint job. "I.... I did it! I did it, Dad!"

"I knew you could do it, Cas'! Now come on, let's go back to the Nemesis. I'm sure your carrier is worrying his little head off again." Breakdown chuckled, walking back towards the open groundbridge.

Cascade transformed back, still invigorated by the strange feeling of his parts moving like that. He loved it! He couldn't wait to go driving with Breakdown and racing with Knockout!