The fall to the ground was unexpectedly much farther than it'd been with other jumps . . . while not being far enough for Thundercracker to try to catch himself by engaging his thrusters. He hit the ground hard, unable to keep his feet and winding up on his aft.

"Frag."

Climbing back to his feet quickly, before anyone could see him like that - hopefully no one already had - he took a quick scan of his surroundings. He was on the side of a mountain. Above him was a ridiculously bright temple, a veritable beacon. Huh. And over his left shoulder . . . a mech? Thundercracker turned...

...and backpedaled, both arm rifles powering up as a reflex. Frag, this is exactly something I don't need! Being caught alone mere meters from Optimus Prime was never a good thing. He could always take to the air and just leave, but from this proximity, there was no way the Autobot leader could miss him, and the mech's powerful ion rifle could easily knock him from the sky.

He supposed he could always try teleporting.

...on second thought, maybe he should just take his chances with the Autobot.