Title: Regarding Sideswipe 1/?
Author: Leslie
Pairing: Sunny/Sides, Sunny/Prowl, Sides/Ratchet
Disclaimer: Not mine, mores the pity, otherwise we'd have seen 'em in the new movie. *sighs*
Summary: Sideswipe suffers massive injuries during battle. Can he be saved and if so, what will be the cost of that salvation?
A/N: Takes place a couple of years after the '07 movie and about six months after "What Hurts the Most". You don't have to have read that story to read this one, but it might help for some of the flashbacks and some of the later chapters.
Sunstreaker's POVIt was the last day of the month when I woke and turned my head just enough to see my still sleeping twin lying next to me. Six weeks had passed since I'd confessed everything to him regarding his memory loss and the deaths of Cliffjumper and Thundercracker; six weeks since my beloved twin had forgiven me and told me he would always love me. Honestly, I've never been happier.
And then we'd received word yesterday that Starscream had somehow managed to survive my suicide run. Soundwave had arrived with more Decepticons and Prime had reinforced his rules about us not patrolling alone. Ironhide had brought Lennox and his family to the base to keep them safe. Bumblebee had gone to get Sam, but they hadn't yet returned. Sides and I had volunteered to go look for them if they weren't here by late morning.
So, for the moment, I was content to lie here next to Side's as if there was nothing to do and no one to bother us. I let myself think back to the night before and smiled. I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately; the whole smiling thing. It was my twin's fault, too. Not that I was really complaining, mind you. I turned on to my side and reached over to let my hand rest against his chest. I could feel the vibrations of his 'breathing' as it were and it reassured me that all was once again right in our small little world of two. I scooted closer, wondering just how heavily he was sleeping as I let my hand move from his chest up to the area just below his jaw line. He shifted slightly, head turning just a little towards me and I slid my fingers further into that area and his optics slowly came online as woke.
"Sunny," he whispered softly, his hand sliding over mine, holding it still against that one place that I knew could do him so much damage and yet give him so much pleasure. It was a double-edged sword, so to speak, but he loved when I touched him there, much as I loved when he touched the exact same place on me.
"So, not as deeply asleep as I thought you might be," I whispered in return. His optics brightened considerably as he released my hand and I slid my fingers more securely around his neck. He tilted his head allowing me that access and, as always, I was amazed at the amount of trust he put in me, especially after the events of the past few weeks.
"I will always trust you," Sides whispered as if knowing what I was thinking; although, he probably did know. He's always been that way. We both have. He brushed his fingertips across my face and sighed contentedly as I tightened my grip around his neck and pulled him closer, my own optics I'm sure showing the heat I felt within my core.
"I know," I replied just before kissing him. But wherever such actions might have taken us was to be short lived when someone began banging on our locked door. I growled almost angrily and Side's slipped his hand between mine and his neck and slowly shook his head.
"We'll finish this later," he whispered before untangling himself from me and walking to the door, opening it to find Prowl outside. "Prowl? What's wrong?" I slid out of the bed and walked over behind him. Our sub-commander looked pretty upset.
"We just received a distress call from Bee. He and Sam are being pursued by Barricade and the Seekers…" We didn't even let him finish before we were out the door and down the hall.
"Transmit their coordinates to us," I shouted over my shoulder. "Who's going with us?"
"Ironhide and Ratchet will follow you shortly," he yelled back as we all ran down the hall towards the entrance to the base. "They are the closest to meeting you. Everyone else is either on patrol too far away or still in recharge."
"We'll get them," Sideswipe said as we reached the entrance and transformed into our alt forms and headed out, leaving Prowl in a cloud of our dust.
We were about fifteen minutes from Bee's last known position and I could only hope he'd managed to get closer. Ever since the truth had come out about all the things I'd done to keep Sides sane and safe, the 'bots in general had tried to get closer to me, but especially Bumblebee. I had found him one night, not long after I'd returned to sharing quarters with my twin, and the youngster and I had talked for quite some time…
"Hey, Bumblebee, you got a minute?" I asked, finding him alone in the common room late one night. The yellow Camero had turned his baby-blue optics towards me and had nodded, albeit somewhat nervously. I moved closer and sat on the table in front of him, bringing us to about the same eye level. "Listen, I know you've seen the vids from Sideswipe's memory banks and I know you saw everything I did back on Cybertron. First off, I want to apologize because if it weren't for me, you'd have never been hurt by Megatron."
"That's not true," Bee said quietly, his voice still somewhat harsh and rough. I wanted to reach out but I'm not that kind of bot and he knows it; so do I and sometimes that hurts. "Sunny, I don't blame you for the loss of my voice. I blame Megatron. He wanted the location of our base, he wanted to know Prime's plan to save the Allspark and I wouldn't tell him anything. It was never your fault. You did what you had to do to save your brother and I understand that. It is the same thing I would have done to save anyone I cared for as much as you care for Sides."
"I wanted to tell you back then how proud I was of all you did to keep everyone safe and to give our comrades time to send the Cube out into space. I just… I couldn't say the words. I couldn't tell you… I mean, please understand. I'm a warrior, Bee. Had been for many thousands of years before you were ever created. Those words just didn't come easily for me, especially after all that happened to my twin." Bee nodded and it was what he did next that surprised me most. He reached out and placed one hand on the side of my face.
"You love your brother. You care for all of us around you. But you were afraid to show those feelings because the Decepticons used them against you at every turn. None of us got it, none of us knew what you'd put yourself through back then or even now more recently. We should have never branded you a traitor or a psychopathic murderer because you are none of those things. You're Sunny. That's all we ever should have needed to know…"
He had impressed me and he'd earned my respect and my protection that night. And now, he needed us and damned if I was going to let him or his human pet be hurt ever again.
Bumblebee's POV"Can't we go any faster?" Sam yelled at me as we drove across the desert and away from the Decepticons that were following us.
"I'm trying," I growled back, sending out a second signal to base hoping that someone was close to us now. "Bumblebee to Base, I could really use some help out here!"
"Hang on, Bumblebee," came Prowl's voice through my audio receptors. "The twins are headed your way and Ironhide and Ratchet are on their way as well. What is your status?"
"Getting my ass kicked at the moment," I replied sarcastically, though not untruthfully. "Sam is safe inside me for the moment but Barricade is getting closer."
"Hang tight, little one," Prowl replied. "You should be seeing the twins at any moment."
Years ago, hell, up until a few weeks ago, those very words would have brought fear upon my core, but recently, it'd been as if they'd taken over my protection and refused to let anything bad come to Sam or me. If the twins were coming, I knew we'd be safe.
"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are on their way," I told Sam, "and so are 'Hide and Ratchet." I knew if Ironhide was on his way then Lennox was probably with him. The older man, a soldier in this world, had become attached to Sam and Mikaela and was just as protective of them as we were.
"Yeah, well, they'd better get here soon 'cause that damn Screamer is right on our tale!" I sped up but my systems were beginning to overheat. I didn't know how much longer I could hold this speed. Just when I thought I would have to stop and fight, I heard twin yells of anger and saw the dust cloud that brought the two Lamborghini's into view.
"Head for the dunes, Bumblebee," Sunstreaker yelled as he transformed mid-spin and took to the air after a now transforming Barricade. "We got you covered." I watched as his twin, equally as impressive, transformed and launched himself at the now transformed Starscream. The Seeker's own brothers transformed and rolled into the fray leaving Sam and I clear to get away. I maneuvered us behind a set of dunes and Sam got out, giving me the chance to transform into my own robot mode. I watched the twins take on the four Decepticons but it wasn't a fair fight by any means. I turned and looked down at Sam.
"Stay here," I ordered before taking off after the group of fighting 'bots. I brought out my cannons and begin firing before I even reached the middle of the battle and managed to catch Soundwave in his knee, bringing him down. For a brief moment, Sunstreaker looked my way, nodded with a rare smile, and then turned back to Barricade. I heard sounds from above and looked up to spot Dirge just before Frenzy and Ravage jumped me from behind. Around me, the very world seemed to explode and I heard Sunstreaker scream and then everything went black…
Ratchet's POVIronhide and I sped through the Mojave Desert doing our damndest to find Bumblebee and the twins. I heard jets scream overhead going in the opposite direction and was almost run over by a police car that almost looked like Prowl.
"Barricade and the seekers!" Ironhide yelled out as they passed us but kept going and didn't bother engaging us in battle. That, right there, should have told me that we weren't going to like what we found. As we rolled into the area where the battle had taken place, it was Lennox who made the first observation.
"What the hell happened?"
What indeed. Ironhide stopped to let Lennox out as he and I transformed and Lennox took off to where Sam was sitting next to a damaged Bumblebee. Ironhide went with him and I turned towards the twins…
I knew then that we'd been too late.
As I approached them, Sunstreaker, badly damaged and leaking energon from several places, cradled his graying brother in his arms, rocking him gently and whispering softly to him. As I drew nearer, I realized it wasn't just whispered words of nonsense. He was singing to his brother. I knelt before them both and reached out, my fingers gently grasping Sunny's chin and raising his gaze to mine.
"How bad are you hurt?"
"Not as bad as him," he whispered as tears flowed down his face. "Please, Ratchet, I can't lose him." I looked down at Sideswipe and was fairly certain I wasn't going to have a choice in the matter. I turned around.
"Ironhide! Call Prime and get him out here immediately. I need transport for Sides."
"Already done and they're halfway here." I didn't ask who 'they' were. I didn't care. I turned back to my twins.
"Where's he hit?" But Sunstreaker turned Sideswipe's head a little and I realized I didn't need an answer from the yellow mech. Much of the back of Sideswipe's head was missing or damaged severely and he was leaking pink and gray energon from the wound. Another wound to his chest showed lots of damage but not nearly as severe as the head wound. I quietly did what I could to stabilize the red twin all the while talking quietly to his brother.
"Where are you hit, Sunstreaker?"
"Uh… left leg, back and right arm." I glanced beneath his unconscious brother's form and found that his left leg wasn't just damaged; it was missing from the knee down. This had not been just another run of the mill battle. "They knew we'd come," he whispered softly, his fingers brushing softly down the side of his brother's face.
"What do you mean?" I asked as I continued working to stabilize Sideswipe. Ironhide stayed with Bumblebee but at least the youngster was awake and not in serious danger.
"They went after Bumblebee knowing Sides and I would come for him." I looked up at that and saw the sadness in his blue optics and realized he honestly believed what he'd just said. I had no chance to reply before Optimus, Prowl and Wheeljack arrived on the scene. I was glad Optimus had seen fit to bring Prowl. I had a feeling that once Wheeljack and I tried to remove Sunstreaker from his brother, we'd have a fight on our hands. Wheeljack came my way as Optimus checked on Bumblebee and Prowl kept his gaze on the skies, watching out for our safety.
"How bad is it?" Wheeljack asked softly as he approached.
"We've got to get him back to base," I said as I discreetly pointed out the wound to Sideswipe's head. 'Jack nodded and turned towards the approaching Prime.
"We need your trailer, Prime," he said quietly as Prime knelt down to see what had happened. Prime nodded and looked up at Sunstreaker.
"We need to get Sideswipe back to base, Sunstreaker," I said softly but the yellow mech didn't seem to hear me and I looked at Prime. "Get Prowl over here." Prime knew better than to question my orders where the twins were concerned and so without another word, he signaled Prowl to come over. Prowl took one look at the twins and for a moment I thought he was going to lose it but he pulled back up his walls and knelt just behind Sunstreaker and rested both hands on the yellow twin's shoulders.
"Sunstreaker, I must ask you to listen to me. Can you do that, please?" Sunstreaker nodded almost absently. "Good. Ratchet and Wheeljack need to load Sideswipe into Prime's trailer and get him back to base, but we need you to let go of him so we can do that. Will you do that for us, please?"
"I don't want to lose him," Sunstreaker whispered and, at that moment, he sounded younger than Bumblebee, who had managed, with Ironhide's help, to make his way over to us as well.
"I know you fear for him, but in order to save him, we must return him to base," Prowl explained as one would speak to a human child almost. "Every moment we spend here takes another moment away from your brother." Apparently, that was all Sunny needed to hear. He looked up at me and nodded once.
"Take him," he almost pleaded. With Prime and 'Jack's help, we lifted Sideswipe carefully and laid him in the back of Prime's trailer. Prime transformed and began to head to base. I turned back to Wheeljack.
"Get Sunstreaker stabilized and get him back to base. I'm going with Prime so I can begin working on Sideswipe." Wheeljack nodded and I transformed and headed after Prime.
We traveled silently and fast, knowing that Sideswipe's life was on the line and that, if we lost him, we would most certainly lose his brother. I was not going to let that happen.
Prowl's POVI was left with the broken Sunstreaker leaning against me as Ratchet and Prime drove away. His left leg was gone from the knee down, his back panels were heavily damaged and his arm was dented and bruised. To my right, Bumblebee sat on the ground, paying no attention to his own injuries as he took Sunstreaker's hand in his and held it tightly. Sunstreaker didn't even seem to notice.
"Wheeljack, could we speed this along, please? I believe our boy is going into shock here." Wheeljack nodded as I turned to Ironhide. "Ironhide, take Lennox and Sam back to base. They will be safer there should our enemies decide to come back and finish their attack."
"I'd like to stay with you and make sure Sunstreaker stays lucid," Lennox said quietly. I thought for a moment then nodded slowly before turning to our youngster.
"Bumblebee, can you transform?"
"Slowly, but yes," he answered quietly.
"Go with Ironhide and get Sam to base. We will be there shortly. You need to be looked over and Perceptor will no doubt have time to spare if he is not busy with Ratchet." There are times when the younger 'bot has but to turn those baby blue optics on me and I melt but he knows that now is not such a time. I have team members injured and I am in no mood to repeat my orders.
"Take care of him," he whispers before moving aside and transforming back into his Camero form. I watch Sam slide in through the passenger door as Lennox sits down and, although much smaller than Bumblebee, takes what he can of Sunstreaker's hand in his own and holds it tightly. We watch Hide and Bee take off and I turn back to Wheeljack.
"How long until he can be moved?"
"He should be able to transform and I can tow him back. It'll be slow and tedious, but we'll get him there, make no mistake." I nodded as Wheeljack transformed and turned so I could get Sunstreaker attached. I glanced down at the injured mech lying against me.
"Sunstreaker, I need for you to transform so that we can get you back to base. Can you do this for me?"
"I don't understand," he whispered softly and for a moment I thought he meant that he didn't understand what I'd asked him to do. "I don't understand why this keeps happening…" He trailed off and transformed without another word. With Lennox's help, we get him hooked up to Wheeljack and I transform and Lennox climbs inside. We head out of the desert and back to base. Sunstreaker says nothing during the drive and that bothers me more than it should.
"He's awfully quiet," Lennox observes when we are halfway back to base.
"Yes he is," I answer quietly. "I fear what will happen if we lose Sideswipe."
"Me too," he answers and then grows quiet once more. As we reach base, I see Bluestreak waiting for us and I have to wonder if we've arrived to bad news. We transform and Bluestreak and I balance Sunstreaker between ourselves, carrying him to the infirmary, Wheeljack and Lennox behind us. Inside the infirmary, Ratchet and Perceptor are working away on Sideswipe while Bumblebee rests in a bed on the other side of the room. Bluestreak and I set Sunstreaker on a table and leave him to Wheeljack's care. I motion Bluestreak to stay with the yellow mech as I move closer to the table where Ratchet works on the red twin.
"How bad is he?" I ask quietly.
"Bad enough," Ratchet answers grimly. "His core keeps trying to go offline on us. I've had to restart him twice already."
"Do what you can," I say before turning back to where Wheeljack is working on Sunstreaker. It is then that I notice his head has turned to stare at his brother and I move so that he can see more clearly. A few minutes later, Wheeljack administers a sedative and Sunstreaker's optics darken in sleep. I sigh heavily and sit down to wait…
It is several hours later before Wheeljack has finished the repairs on Sunstreaker's leg and moved on to help Ratchet and Perceptor with Sideswipe when I hear a faint argument begin.
"We're going to lose him," Wheeljack says quietly.
"I refuse to let him go. There's got to be another way to save him." Ratchet is angry, hurting and not willing to let go of the red twin. I don't blame him.
"There is not much more we can do for him," Perceptor adds almost tonelessly. "His cpu banks are severely damaged and his core doesn't have the strength to heal the damage done to his body. He's lost a great deal of energon, and replacement is taking far too long."
"Can you do an organ transfer to save him?" This comes from the human, Will Lennox, who has arrived with Sam and Ironhide. Ratchet turns to him slowly.
"What do you mean?" the medic asks. I turn to face the human, curious as well.
"When humans are damaged this badly, doctors can give them a new heart, or kidney or liver in order to save them and they can go on to resume their lives once more. Isn't his core kinda like our heart?"
"It's similar," Ratchet answers, "but the problem is, replacing the core isn't like replacing a heart. Sideswipe's core holds all of his memories, all of his code, all of who he is. His body is severely damaged."
"Build… new body…" We all stop and turn to see Sunstreaker doing his damndest to sit up on the bed. Ratchet goes to him and looks him over quickly.
"What are you saying, Sunny?" he asks the yellow bot quietly. Sunstreaker looks past Ratchet to his dying brother and I see the fluid in his optics.
"Remove his core, keep it on full support and rebuild his body." Ratchet looks over his shoulder at Perceptor.
"Would that work?" Perceptor nods slowly.
"It might, but we still have to consider the possibility that he may remember nothing when we bring him back online. It would be like raising a child."
"I'll take that chance," Sunstreaker said quietly yet authoritatively. I stood and walked over to him slowly.
"Do you understand what it will do to your brother?" Sunstreaker looked at me and I knew he understood.
"I won't lose him," he said almost angrily. I nodded and turned to Ratchet.
"Remove the core and I'll begin working on materials and coding immediately." Ratchet nodded and returned to his place at Sideswipe's side. I turned back to Sunstreaker. "Rest and we will all do what we can for him." I patted him on the arm and left the infirmary. I was bound and determined that we would save the red mech and everything would be okay once again.
Sunstreaker POVIt took them almost three weeks to rebuild Sideswipe's body. I watched as much as Ratchet would let me. I spent a good deal of time just sitting next to where his core was being kept, talking to it, much as I'd done long ago for a sparkling whose name escapes me now. He didn't survive the last Great War… but I was determined my brother would survive all of this.
At the end of the fourth week, Prowl came to my quarters and knocked on the open door before stepping inside. I looked up from the sketch I was working on and stood slowly.
"Is everything okay?" Prowl nodded slowly.
"Ratchet has requested your presence in the infirmary. I informed him I would come and bring you to him myself. I believe he is ready to transfer your brother's core into his rebuilt body."
"Then let's get going," I say as I start to move past him. He reaches out and grabs my arm. I stop and look at him. "What?"
"I want you to be prepared for anything, Sunstreaker," he says softly. "I do not wish to have you spend the night in the brig for any reason. Do we have an understanding?" I nod slowly. "Good." He releases my arm and we walk quickly towards the infirmary where Ratchet is waiting for us.
"Good, you're here," he says with a weary smile. "I'm going to transfer your brother's core into his rebuilt body. Now, we don't know if or when he'll wake, but I thought you'd want to be here."
"Thanks, Ratchet," I answered, moving closer and taking a black hand in mine, holding it tightly. "We're ready whenever you are." Ratchet nodded and turned, lifting the core carefully and turning to slip it into Sideswipe's chest. The core slides into place and I watch the spark shimmer and grow slowly, attaching itself to imperative parts and starting up Sideswipe's vital organs once again.
"Monitors all look good," Wheeljack reports as Ratchet nods slowly and begins to slowly close Sideswipe's chest plates. I squeezed my brother's hand and watched everything carefully.
"Just a little longer, bro," I whisper softly. "You'll be back with us soon." Ratchet finished his work and looked over at Wheeljack for another report.
"Well?" he asked softly.
"Looks good. All his systems are coming back online, his major organs are all responding to the code. I think he's going to pull through, Ratchet." I watched the medic smile and turn back to us.
"He'll be okay, Sunny," he says and I nod slowly.
"Thank you, Ratchet."
"You're welcome." He looks down at Sideswipe and gently brushes his fingers across the top of my brother's head. "And you, you red hellion, try to stay out of trouble from now on."
"O…kay…" comes the harsh whisper that causes all of us to stop and wait. After another moment, blue optics begin to slowly shimmer into being and he blinks a couple of times before focusing on me. "I… I know… you…" he whispers and I nod slowly. "Sunny."
"Yeah, bro, it's me."
"Where…?" he trails off, his gaze finding Ratchet. "Who are you?" he asks, and I pick up on the fear in his voice. "Where am I?" I begin to hear the tone of voice and it scares me. He sounds so… young. I look over his prone body to Ratchet who slowly shakes his head.
"You're on Earth, inside Autobot headquarters," Ratchet answers slowly. There is a look of fear on Sideswipe's face as he turns back to me.
"Sunny, I'm scared. I want to go home."
"We are home, bro," I answer, worried now. What's happening?
"Uh uh," he answers and I am reminded of the little human girl we'd met not long after arriving here on Earth. He sounds like… a child…
"Sides, look at me, okay?" He looks up at me and I see the pure trust in his optics and I am lost. "What do you remember last?"
"I don't know," he whispers. "Sunny, I wanna go home. Please, can't we go back to Cybertron? Can't we go home?"
At his plea, I turn away from him and let the fluid in my optics flow down my face. Whatever we'd done, whatever I'd allowed Ratchet and 'Jack to do, they'd kept Sides alive, but they'd given him back to me with the understanding of nothing more than an autobot child…
TBC… so, like it? Hate it? Let me know so I can either continue or not. Thanks!