Hi, this is ChaosDancer12 and I'm doing another collaboration with AirStrikeTF, so say 'hi' AirStrike!
Hi, everyone! I'm AirStrikeTF a.k.a. Autobot Guardian! Nice to 'see' you!
This collaboration was AirStrike's idea, she wanted to do a fanfic set in my Angel!Transformers universe that I introduced in '28 Pixies Volume Two'. It was during May 2017 and I agreed to it but after a while, I realised that it was a perfect prologue to the actual story (when I get around to writing it) so if you guys want to know more about it, I suggest checking out '28 Pixies Volume Two' for more information, since this prologue begins right after chapter 6 and before anyone complains and asks me why Sideswipe is awake when the other bonded angels of those who have been taken are asleep, it is because his sparkmate bond isn't the only one that he has, he also has a twin bond with Sunstreaker and a indirect bond with Prowl, these bonds were strong enough to bring him back and keep his spark stable so that it didn't give him any trouble due to the fact that his sparkmate bond is almost dead.
So, AirStrike, would you like to start the disclaimers?
Sure, Chaos! Please note that the Author nor her collaborator own the Transformers franchise. ChaosDancer12 owns this Angel AU, herself, some of the things that happen because of her ideas, as well as the OC's Pixie and Mizar. AirStrike, Yin-Yang, Crystalline, Huntress, and the ideas for some of the things that happen because of things that the Angels or Demons do, such as the flower thing, belong to yours truly, AirStrikeTF a.k.a. Autobot Guardian here on ! Is that all, Chaos?
Yes, so, please support the official release or you'll get a visit from the twins, in the middle of the night...
Sunstreaker: "Yeah, you better support it, or I'll help my twin bro prank you! And we will not be nice!"
Sideswipe: And all of our friends will help us to prank you!
Sunstreaker: Yeah!
Pixie: And I hope that you'll enjoy the story and please, do give us ideas for Sentinel's punishment, when we get our hands on him!
Sunstreaker looked up in alarm from the white sculpture he had been working on in the Afterlife, as a sharp bolt of pain and fear shot through the bond he had with his beloved Prowl. "Sideswipe! Prowl's in trouble!"
"What?!" Sideswipe dropped the photo album that he had been looking through. "How could have this happened?! His assignment is in one of the more peaceful parts of Cybertron!"
"We have to go help him NOW!" Sunstreaker's sapphire optics were getting paler by the second, as he spread his white-gold wings, and took off into the air. As he flew as fast as he could towards the gates leading out of the Afterlife, Megatron spotted him.
"SUNSTREAKER! SIDESWIPE!" Megatron yelled as Sideswipe flew pass him with his red-black wings. "Where are you two going?!"
"Prowl's in trouble!" Sideswipe yelled back at him. "So we can't tell Prime about it right now because he needs us!"
"I'll let him know! Now, hurry up and fly as fast as you can to Prowl! We can't afford to lose any more angels!"
"Already on it." Sunstreaker's voice had taken on a deadly tone, as he shot through the gates of the Afterlife like a missile, barely visible to those that could see him.
Sideswipe followed him through the gates.
As Sunstreaker shot through the skies of Cybertron, he ignored everything going on down on the planet, except for his destination. A small school in the city of Polyhex. With his angelic vision, he could see a pitch black mech pinning Prowl down to the floor of a classroom, with the youngling students all trying to hide under their desks. He was there within moments.
"YOU SHALL NOT HARM HIM!" Sunstreaker crashed through the window, his wings fading away as he hid them, and tackled the black mech off of his bondmate, extending his claws to tear into the mech who dared to attack an angel of Primus.
"Sunny!" Sideswipe yelled as he crashed through the window after his brother, his own wings fading away as he hid them too. "If you're going to get rid of that piece of scrap then do it outside where the younglings won't see it!"
He bent down to help Prowl up, only to yelp when one of the younglings bit his hand as she rushed out from under her desk to defend her teacher from the stranger. "You better leave him alone you big bully!"
Sunstreaker glanced over with near-white optics, and then threw the attacker out of the window... taking into consideration that the window was about ten stories off of the ground, he knew that, as injured as the attacker now was, the mech wouldn't survive the fall. Then, he rushed to the side of his bondmate, and knelt next to him.
"Prowl? Are you okay?" He carefully helped Prowl to stand, and let him get his bearings.
"I... I believe I am fine, Sunny. Thank you for coming to help me." Sunstreaker smiled warmly at his bondmate, and then hugged him.
"I'm just glad that you're safe..."
"Umm... Sunny, I hate to ruin the moment but..." Sideswipe pointed at the youngling that was now attempting to eat his hand. "...I have a little limpet stuck to my hand and she's trying to eat me."
The golden angel in disguise looked back over at his twin, and then his optics, which were rapidly regaining their sapphire hue, widened in shock.
"Sides... that's... that's PIXIE!"
Sideswipe looked at the youngling who had grown tired of trying to eat him and now, she was frowning at Sunstreaker, she tilted her helm to the side and spoke. "You guys have pretty wings..."
Sideswipe looked at his brother and his bondmate. "She doesn't remember us." He muttered to them in Ancient Cybertronian.
"How can she see our wings if she was turned into a normal Cybertronian? They're hidden!" Sunstreaker replied in Ancient Cybertronian, further confusing the other students in the classroom. Then, the school Security mechs burst into the room, and the twins looked at them warily.
"Who are you two?" The head Security mech asked. "And do you have anything to do with the black mech that attacked the teacher?"
"I've seen them since I was a sparkling." Pixie muttered. "Sire said that I was a Sensitive and I could see things that others can't."
"Could some of the other angels that got turned into Cybertronians be Sensitives too?" Sideswipe asked Prowl.
"I believe so, Sideswipe." Prowl then looked over at the Security mechs, and replied to them in modern Cybertronian. "These two saved my life. The yellow one, Sunstreaker, is my bondmate, and Sideswipe is his twin brother."
"I see, so your bondmate came to your rescue when he sensed that you was in trouble but how did he get up here? We didn't see him on the cameras."
"He climbed." Pixie said, she could sense that even though they looked scary, that they wouldn't hurt them. "My Sire said that bondmates can perform supernatural feats when they sense that the other part of their spark is in danger."
"Yes, that is true." Sunstreaker took this chance to jump in, and extended his claws. "It helps that I have natural abilities as well. I climbed up with my twin on my back, and we saved my bondmate. You may find that the black mech that was attacking Prowl is lying on the ground outside the window to your left."
"I see but this will have to go to court if he's alive after a fall like that, besides, anyone who scares younglings like this deserves what you did to him."
"You got that right." Sunstreaker retracted his claws back into his fingers, and then looked out of the window through which he had thrown Prowl's attacker. "You might want to get down there quickly. There's a crowd forming."
"As long as you promise to stay to keep an optic on the younglings while they wait for their Sires and Carriers."
"I promise, and so does my twin." Sunstreaker then walked over to where the younglings were just starting to come out of hiding, and sat down cross-legged in the center of the group.
Sideswipe nodded his head before he had his servos full with a femme youngling that was now using him as a climbing frame, giggling as she hung upside down.
The Security mechs left the room and one of the younglings looked at Prowl. "Teacher, can you tell us a story?"
Prowl smiled, and went over to sit down beside Sunstreaker. "This story that I am about to tell you is a legend, a legend about an artifact that most Cybertronians have forgotten about over the ages..."
One of the last students, an archangel by the name of Yin-Yang, had just been picked up by her creators, Jazz and Soundwave, leaving Prowl, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe with Pixie. The youngling had fallen asleep and she was now curled up in Sideswipe's arms with her head over his spark. "So, where is her Sire?" Sideswipe asked Prowl.
Prowl sighed, and looked forlornly at the little sleeping femme. "Her adoptive creator, Mizar, was recently killed by the disgraced Prime. I'm still trying to find a suitable replacement for him."
Sunstreaker looked at the little femme with sad blue optics, knowing just how painful it was to lose someone close to him. Then, an idea hit him. "Why don't we ask Jazz to take care of her?"
"Jazz should still be in the building." Sideswipe said. "And if that was who I think it was and if that child was who I think she was then she'll be protected as well and no-one will mind if we visit them to check up on her and Prowl, was Mizar a midnight blue, back and white Praxian with grey optics?"
"Yes, he was. Why do you ask?" As the two of them spoke, they didn't notice Sunstreaker slip out of the room with Pixie in his arms, intent on catching up to Jazz and Soundwave and getting them to take care of her.
"Because he became an Angel, I was passing by the Academy when I saw the newest recruits and one of them was Mizar!"
"That's splendid! When you go back to the Afterlife, will you let him know that Pixie is safe? I still need to finish teaching classes for the week."
"Of course I can and it's a good reason to get to know him because he is my father-in-law now!"
Just then, Sunstreaker came back into the room, a broad smile on his face. "Jazz and Soundwave agreed to take care of Pixie until the ritual wears off! Apparently, ol' Sounders and his little femme didn't want to be separated from Jazz, so they went into hiding to stay with him!"
"That will make Megatron happy, he got worried when Soundwave didn't report in one day and he was worried about the little femme as well!"
"Well, I guess that we should report back to Prime. He's probably worried about what happened." Sunstreaker went over to the window that he had smashed through upon his arrival, and turned back to face his bondmate. "I'll be back as soon as I possibly can, Prowl."
"I know you will, Sunny..." Prowl smiled lovingly at his bondmate, as the golden angel hid his form from the view of most Cybertronians, spreading his wings in preparation to take flight.
"And I think that I'll come too." The red angel hid his form from the view of most Cybertronians, spreading his wings in preparation to take flight. "Once I'm done with what I need to do after we report to Prime."
Together, the twin Angels flew back to the gates of the Afterlife, and saw that both Megatron and Optimus were waiting for them. Sunstreaker landed in front of the former, while Sideswipe landed in front of the latter.
"Greetings Megatron, Optimus. We bring news from Cybertron." Sunstreaker then smiled at the leader of the Demons. "Soundwave is staying with Jazz, and is now also taking care of Pixie alongside their daughter Yin-Yang. Also, Prowl is safe once more, and the mech that was attacking him has been dealt with. Have you yet received a pitch-black mech from Kaon?"
"We have." Megatron said. "Starscream and the rest of the seekers are taking care of him. They were not happy when they found out about what he did in front of younglings and thank you for telling me about Soundwave, it will make it easier to search for Sentinel if we have somewhere that we can use as a semi-permanent base that he doesn't know about. I will send Thundercracker later to personally update Soundwave on what he has missed while he was in hiding. How are the other angels doing?"
"Bluestreak was in the same school as Pixie, I saw him leaving the building when I looked out the window I threw the black mech through, and he was with one of my own charges. Bumblebee was with them as well. The femme taking care of them is a performer named Lightfoot." Sunstreaker brought up a spark-projection of his memory of what had happened, and it showed a rather pretty femme colored in bright pink and emerald green was walking away while holding the hands of two younglings that were painfully familiar to the group of them.
"Also, on my way back here, I saw one of Elita-1's charges taking care of Hound and Inferno. She's a Centaurian femme with an organic jungle pattern on her." Sunstreaker let the projection fade away, and smiled at the two leaders.
"But before Pixie was placed into the care of Jazz and Soundwave, she was with one of Prowl's charges, a Praxian named Mizar who is now one of our angels." Sideswipe said. "Mizar was murdered by Sentinel."
"Yeah, Prowl told us about it." Sunstreaker looked down at the ground sadly, his wings drooping.
"He is going too far." Megatron said. "We must stop him, I will join Starscream and the other Seekers and get the answers out of the black mech, we can not let Sentinel get his hands on those he cursed."
"And I'll go keep an eye on my charge, make sure that she's not targeted like Mizar was. You might want to alert Elita about the danger her charge Amazon is in as well." Sunstreaker spread his white-gold wings again, preparing to take flight once more.
"And I'll tell Mizar about his youngling, Prowl asked me to let him know that Pixie is safe and then, I'll join my brother."
Sunstreaker then took flight, heading off towards Cybertron.
Sideswipe headed for the Academy, he had a father-in-law that he needed to talk to.
When Sunstreaker returned to the Afterlife, he immediately went to see where his twin was.
He found his twin talking to a Praxian with grey optics. "And then the barrier collapsed and the poor idiot was left staring at a group of naked femme angels and demons on their monthly spa day. The poor fool didn't get a chance to run before they swarmed him, his 'Oh crap' face was priceless."
The Praxian started to laugh so hard that he ended up coughing.
"And who is this 'poor fool' you're telling the newbie about, dear brother of mine?" Sunstreaker came up behind his twin, a playful smirk on his face, and a fist resting on his hip.
"The one that was the reason why we met Pixie when we were sparklings!"
"You mean that mech called 'Highlight'? Yeah, he was always a bit mixed up in the head." Sunstreaker sat down next to his twin, and smiled kindly at the mech Sideswipe had been telling stories to. "You must be Mizar."
"Yes, I am and you must be Sunstreaker."
"Yep. Did my twin bro tell you about me?" Sunstreaker smirked, his white-gold wings flicking playfully on his back.
"Oh he did and he also mentioned something about high grade, strip poker and streaking."
At this, Sunstreaker's head whipped around to let him glare at his brother, a feeling of ire and warning flooding across to the red angel over their twin bond. "Did he now?"
"He did." Mizar smirked. "He even said something about love poems too but I asked him to stop talking about it, it's weird to hear about your sparkling before she became your sparkling, especially when high grade and streaking is involved."
Sunstreaker was just barely holding himself back from dragging his twin away by the wings at that point, but then tried to redirect his own attention back towards Mizar. "Well, did you hear about the time when Sideswipe got drunk and ended up being thrown into the brig by my own bondmate?"
"No." Mizar smirked. "But, I would love to hear more about it and any other interesting stories that you want to share with me."
"Well, this story takes place before we became angels, and we were in the Autobot ranks under the command of Optimus Prime himself. You see, we were frontline warriors, and we often used highgrade to drown our sorrows. Now, on this particular day, there was a party to celebrate my bonding to Prowl, who at that time was one of the SICs. Sideswipe had a bit too much to drink, and stripped off his armor, all of it, and jumped onto a table and started to dance." Sunstreaker was grinning at that time, a mischievous twinkle in his sapphire optics.
Mizar laughed. "And how did my little girl react to that?"
"She started to scream at him to 'put your fragging pelvic armor on right now!' Eventually, with the help of the rest of the guys who had their laughter enough under control, they got his armor back onto him, and Prowl promptly threw him into the brig for public indiscretion and public disturbance, with the underlying message of my twin brother having just about ruined our wedding after-party."
"But he didn't and with him out of the way, you could continue with the party and you had nice, lovely blackmail material on him for a late wedding present."
"Yep!" Sunstreaker snickered, and clapped a hand on Mizar's right shoulder. "I think we'll get along just fine!"
"Well, if you mentioned it as part of your best man speech when he got bonded to my sparkling then I think that I'm going to like you Sunstreaker."
"Oh, I did mention it. I've never let him forget about how he almost ruined my wedding after-party." Sunstreaker then stood up, and stretched. "I'm going to head back down to Cybertron. I promised my bondmate that I would visit him, and I also need to check on Pixie and the others."
"I need to get back to the Academy, it was nice to meet you two and tell Jazz if anything happens to my sparkling then I will find a way to hang him by the ankles, with the most embarrassing paint job that I can think of, in a public place. I've done it before to other mechs and I'll do it to him if I have to."
Sunstreaker nodded, chuckling, then lifted off into the air, and flew towards the gates of the Afterlife. As he flew, he caught the attention of one of the Seekers, Thundercracker.
"Hello Sunstreaker, I was about to visit Soundwave, do you want to come with me?"
"I was headed in that direction anyway, TC, so sure! Want me to show you where he and the others are living?"
"Yes, I would like that, it will make it easier for me if I have to do this again."
"Then come on, and do your best to stay invisible. I don't want any of the Cybertronians to freak out because they see a demon." Sunstreaker waggled a wing, and then flew through the gates, with Thundercracker following close behind him.
Soon, they had reached a small building on the outskirts of Polyhex, where there were few Cybertronians living close to it, and a familiar-looking black and white mech was clearly visible through the window. "We're here, TC. You see Jazz?"
"Yes, I can."
"Come on. Let's go knock on the front door." Sunstreaker swooped down into the shade of a crystal tree, and then hid his wings and became visible, appearing like a normal mech, as Thundercracker followed suit. The golden angel in disguise then went up to the door, and knocked three times in quick succession.
"What's the password?"
"Archangel, now let us in, okay?" Sunstreaker smirked, as he tapped his foot impatiently for the door to open. There was the sound of a slight scuffle behind the door, and then it opened to reveal Jazz and Soundwave standing in the doorway.
"Sunstreaker, Thundercracker: are always welcome." Soundwave stepped out of the way to let them enter, and the two visitors did so gladly.
"It's good to see you guys, you know." Sunstreaker grinned at Jazz, his sapphire optics twinkling.
"Pretty gold wings!" Sunstreaker was hugged by Pixie. "You're back!"
Thundercracker was trying not to laugh when he heard that. "Did she just say what I think she said?!"
Sunstreaker then glared at Thundercracker, and hissed. "If you say a word of this to the others, you will regret it."
Then, he turned his attention to little Pixie, and felt his angelic spark melting into a puddle of goop from the adorableness.
"And how are you doing, little Pixie? Are you having fun living with Jazz and his family?"
"Yeah! They're a lot of fun and they can see wings like me!"
"Yes, they can. I'm glad to hear that you are having fun, Pixie. Say, do you know where Yin-Yang is?"
"She's upstairs, I can get her if you want me to."
"That would be great, thanks, Pixie."
Pixie smiled and she let go of Sunstreaker before she rushed upstairs to get Yin-Yang.
Yin-Yang was in her room at that time, quietly playing with dolls that her mother, Soundwave, had made for her. They were angels and demons that her mother had made friends with in the Afterlife, and they reminded her of friends that she had made with them as well. Her favorites were those that looked like the Twins and their bondmates, though her new friend, Pixie, was confused as to why a doll that looked like her had angel wings.
"Yin-Yang!" Pixie burst into her room. "Pretty gold wings is here and he brought a friend and he wants to see you."
"Okay! I'm coming!" Yin-Yang quickly grabbed her Angel doll that resembled her father, and hurried downstairs with Pixie. When she saw the two visitors, she squealed in happiness, and jumped into Thundercracker's arms. "TC! You came!"
"Hello little one." Thundercracker said.
"TC, did you bring me cookies?" Yin-Yang looked up at the blue Seeker demon with hopeful purple optics that were hidden behind her visor.
"I did but your parents have to say 'Yes' first."
"Mom? Dad? Can I?" Yin-Yang looked at her parents, her visor sliding up to reveal her adorable, royal purple optics.
"Of course you can." Jazz told her.
"Permission: granted." Yin-Yang giggled happily, bouncing in Thundercracker's arms when both of her parents said that she could have cookies, and she turned her adorable optics onto the blue Seeker demon.
"Cookies, please?"
Thundercracker chuckled and he gave her some cookies.
"Yippee!" The little archangel in disguise hopped out of Thundercracker's arms with the cookies, and sat down at a little toy table, eating them off of a clean plate she took off of a stack of toy dishes.
"So, pretty gold wings, does crazy blue wings work with you?" Pixie asked.
Sunstreaker couldn't help but laugh at this, and shook his head. "Not usually, but sometimes we do."
"Oh, ok! And where is pretty black wings? Is he okay after what happened in class today?"
"Pretty black wings? You mean my brother?" Sunstreaker looked at the youngling with a confused expression, his sapphire optics sparkling.
"No, the pretty black wings with white tips, I wasn't asking about Sideswipe."
"Oh, you mean Prowl? He's just fine, and is getting ready to teach again."
"Yay! I like it when Mr. Prowl teaches us! He's better than the teacher that we had before him!"
"Heh, is that so, little Pixie?" Sunstreaker chuckled at the youngling, his sapphire optics sparkling with amusement.
Pixie nodded her head. "The old teacher was so boring that I fall asleep during the lesson while Mr. Prowl knew what to stay and to do to keep me awake!"
"It's weird to see her as a youngling." Thundercracker told Sunstreaker. "I still have problems remembering that they're not the Angels that I used to know. It's strange but I think that there was some positive side-effects to this ritual."
"Yes, it is difficult to remember that, TC, but we must do our best. It's been especially hard for those that were bonded, because there's a hole in their sparks that they can't explain. Jazz got lucky: Soundwave and Yin-Yang decided to live with him so that they wouldn't be separated, but many of the others weren't so lucky. We Angels still have charges to look after, and Soundwave is away from his family half of the time for his work as a Demon." Sunstreaker looked at the blue Seeker Demon with a sad light in his optics, and let out a sigh.
"But some of them did gain something from this, I remember that Pixie didn't have anyone to call her parents before and now, she has someone that she can call her parent, Hound has a chance to see the wildlife up close and personal, Inferno gets to learn new ways of calming Red Alert down and Jazz can raise his youngling."
"Yes, there have been some good things to come of this, but what if they are actually killed in this life, before the ritual wears off?"
"That will not happen! We will not let that happen, Sentinel will have to go through all of us if he wishes to harm them and that also applys to anyone else who tries to hurt them!"
Sunstreaker smiled sadly at this assertion from the blue Seeker demon, and looked at him with sorrowful optics. "There are still other factors to worry about, TC. Disease, accidents, and many other instances that don't have anything to do with an attack. One of my own charges nearly died because a plasma storm destroyed his house."
Thundercracker winced but Sunstreaker felt somebody tugging on his hand.
Surprised, he looked down, and saw Pixie looking up at him. "What is it?"
"I'll be fine Streak and everyone else will be fine too, you have to believe in us. We'll get through this and we'll be back home soon." She yawned. "Pretty gold wings, can you tell me a bedtime story?"
Sunstreaker stared at her uncomprehendingly for about a minute, trying to process what had just happened. 'Did she really just have a flash of her true Angel self flash through, only to disappear again?' Then, he snapped out of his shock, and picked her up.
"Sure, I'll tell you a bedtime story. How about a story about happy angels living in the Afterlife?" As he talked, Sunstreaker carried the youngling femme towards where Yin-Yang was directing him to take Pixie to bed. When he got there, he tucked the little youngling into bed, and sat down on the edge.
"Yes pretty gold wings! I would love a story like that!"
Sunstreaker chuckled softly, and then began to tell the story. "Okay, Pixie. Once upon a time, not too long ago, the Afterlife was brimming with happiness and joy. Not only was there peace between those who were once enemies, but they were good friends as well. Some of the Angels were once animal companions of some of the others, such as the twin Cyberhounds named Goldfang and Rusty. These two Cyberhounds belonged to the Angel twins named Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.
"Together with their bondmates, the twins would laugh and play with their loyal companions, as well as the others in the Afterlife. Some of the animals were also children of some of the Angels and Demons. One such Angel was named Blaster, and he had two Angel animals that were named Steeljaw and Ramhorn, a cyber-lion and a retro-rhino. Musical angels would play happy music as they watched the others play, and whenever one or both of the twins had to leave to watch over the Cybertronians, their companions would wait patiently for their safe return..." Sunstreaker trailed off, seeing that Pixie had fallen asleep. Smiling, he gently patted her on the head, and left the room. 'Sweet dreams, Pixie.'
"So, did you see what happened earlier too?" Thundercracker asked him when he rejoined them.
"Yeah. It was like the old Pixie was back for a few seconds, but then she was gone again." Sunstreaker felt tears prick at his optics, but tried to keep them hidden from his companion.
Thundercracker nodded his head. "I think that the closer they get to the age that they was when the ritual happened, who they used to be starts to come to the surface and merge with who they are now."
"Could you tell that to Optimus and Megatron when you go back? I still need to go see Prowl." Sunstreaker then smirked, and looked at the blue Seeker demon out of the corner of his optics. "Crazy blue wings."
"Yeah, I can do that." Thundercracker smirked. "Pretty gold wings."
Sunstreaker and Thundercracker laughed at their little jokes, but then Sunstreaker did his best to glare at the demon through his laughter. "Remember, tell anyone else about what Pixie calls me, and I'll tell them what she calls you."
"As long as you don't tell them what she calls me."
"Deal. I gotta go check on Prowl now, so I'll see you later." Sunstreaker headed up to the balcony, turned invisible, and flew off into the night...
When Sunstreaker reached the apartment building in Polyhex that Prowl was staying in for the week, he landed on the balcony, and, still invisible to normal Cybertronians, tapped on the sliding glass door.
"Sunstreaker." Prowl opened the door. "What did Optimus and Megatron say?"
"Megatron was the only one that said anything. He told me that he was going to get the info out of the black mech that attacked you, and he would also use Jazz and Soundwave's residence as a semi-permanent base here on Cybertron. How are you feeling, Prowl?" Sunstreaker entered the apartment, and became visible, putting a gentle hand on his bondmate's cheekplates.
"I'm fine." Prowl leaned into the touch. "Are Jazz and Soundwave okay with you guys using their home like that?"
"Yeah, they're fine with it." Sunstreaker smiled at his bondmate, happy that they were alone together.
Prowl smiled too. "So, is Pixie okay?"
"She's doing great, Prowl... but... there's something you need to know." Sunstreaker paused, and rubbed the back of his head uncertainly.
"Is she sick or did Sentinel find them?!"
"No! No, it's nothing like that, Prowl!" Sunstreaker waved his hands wildly to try to get his bondmate to calm down, then continued. "It's just... I saw Pixie... the REAL Pixie... resurface for a brief few seconds when I was talking to Thundercracker, and she was telling me that everything would turn out okay..."
Prowl calmed down. "Sunny..."
"Prowl..." Sunstreaker hesitated, not sure whether or not to ask, but then went on. "If I show you my memories of what happened, can I stay here for a while? With you?"
"Yes Sunstreaker, show me your memories and stay here, with me."
Sunstreaker then let their bond fill with the memory of Pixie's true personality surfacing for a precious few seconds, before reverting back into her present personality. Sunstreaker felt like he was going to cry again, like he almost had back at Jazz's place, remembering how much it had pained his spark to see his little sister's true self shine through, only for it to be taken away again.
"Oh Sunny." Prowl brushed away a tear that he saw forming on the corner of Sunstreaker's left optic. "It's okay to cry." Prowl was trying his hardest not to cry but even he could not stop the single tear that fell from his optics.
Sunstreaker couldn't hold back his tears any longer, and he hugged his bondmate, sobbing into his shoulder. Outside, it started to rain, though it wasn't the usual acid rain. For whenever an angel cries, it rains water.
Prowl hugged his bondmate and he let his tears fall. "We'll get through this, together because we have to, for ourselves and for those who are lost, far from home and unable to remember who they really are."
The golden angel couldn't speak through his sobbing, so he settling for nodding slowly, still crying into Prowl's shoulder.
Prowl hummed a tune that had been one of Sunstreaker's favourite lullabies when he was younger.
Slowly, Sunstreaker's sobs lessened, until he was asleep leaning against his bondmate, his systems softly purring.
Prowl carried his bondmate to his berth and he lay him down on it before he climbed into it, next to Sunstreaker.
"You gonna miss it, Prowl?"
"Yes. I'm going to miss seeing and teaching the younglings." Prowl smiled, it had been a peaceful week, well, if you didn't count what had happened on the first day. He and Sunstreaker was packing up his apartment, his assignment was over and he had to report to Optimus and Megatron.
"Hey, look on the bright side. We got to have some much-needed alone time at night for once." Sunstreaker finished packing the last box, and placed it into his subspace, a smirk on his face.
Prowl placed the boxes that he had been packing into his subspace and he smirked. "Indeed, I haven't felt this good for a long time."
"C'mon, Prowl, they're probably waiting for us." Sunstreaker smiled, and walked out of the door that led to the rest of the apartment complex so that they could properly check out of the building.
Prowl followed him. "So, what is Sideswipe up to? I haven't seen him since the incident in the classroom?"
"He's busy training the newbies at the Academy."
"Well, I hope that he doesn't overdo it again. Do you remember what happened the last time that happened?"
"Yeah. One of the former newbies accidentally got stuck on Cybertron for a while."
"And we had to go and bring them back."
"Yeah. And that was a major pain, trying to find that guy." Sunstreaker then paused, frowning, and unconsciously started to rub his midsection with his right hand.
"Sunny, are you okay?" Prowl asked him.
"I don't know... I just felt a bit weird for a minute there. Maybe I should see Ratchet when we get back."
"Streak?"
"Come on, Prowl. Let's get out of here. I really think I should see Ratchet when we get back, it might be something bad." Sunstreaker started walking again, still worrying about that weird feeling he had.
/BACK IN THE AFTERLIFE/
One of the new Angels, a femme named Crystalline, was walking on the pathway that led to the Academy, when she noticed a crystal flower like she had never seen starting to bloom by the path. It was black and white, with a few bright red streaks in it, and absolutely gorgeous.
"What kind of flower is this?" She knelt down to get a better look, when a shadow fell over her as someone came up from behind.
"You shouldn't touch that." Sideswipe told her. "Because when an angel, demon, or archangel is going to be born, a beautiful crystal flower blooms here in the Afterlife and on Cybertron."
"Really? I didn't know that..." Crystalline refrained from touching the crystal flower's petals, but continued to gaze at it in wonder.
"Yeah, anyway, everyone would know about this but it's a secret, we used to trust Cybertronians with this information but after what Sentinel did, we decided that it would be a secret and it will stay that way until we know that Sentinel has been dealt with."
"I really don't like Sentinel. I once performed for him, I was a performer, and he tried to make me his slave. I ran away with my crystal guitar." Crystalline then stood up, and looked at Sideswipe. "You won't tell anyone that I was late, will you?"
"No, I know how that feels, he took my bondmate from me. She was one of the Angels that he kidnapped using a ritual."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, now, hurry up. You're going to be late."
"Yes, sir!" With that, Crystalline spread her gold-tipped blue-green wings, and flew as fast as she could towards the Academy.
Sideswipe chuckled and he opened up the bond that he had with his brother. "Sunny, a crystal flower just bloomed by the path that leads to the Academy."
"... That would explain it, then."
"No way! Sunny, you and Prowl are going to be parents?!"
"Apparently. We had some... alone time together at night for the past week, so... yeah. What will Optimus say, though?"
"Sunny, don't talk like that! He's going to be so happy and he might call dibs on being a grandpa figure to the sparkling!"
"Heh, yeah, I guess you're right... but my little sparkling would still be in danger if Sentinel isn't dealt with by the time it's born!"
"Unless we can keep it a secret from him!"
/BACK ON CYBERTRON/
"Yin-Yang, Jazz, Soundwave!" Pixie yelled. "Come and see what I have found in the backyard!"
Soundwave and his family came out, Yin-Yang bouncing enthusiastically. "What is it, Pix?"
"I found this really pretty flower and I think that it's made out of crystals!"
"Soundwave: Would like to see." The blue demon in disguise went over to where Pixie was, and knelt down beside her. Sure enough, a gorgeous crystal flower was blooming on the yard, its petals colored in black and white with bright red streaks through them.
"Wave." Jazz said. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Jazz: is correct." He couldn't say anything else. It had been so long since he'd seen one of these... he hadn't even seen the one that had bloomed when he had first gotten pregnant with Yin-Yang, so he was amazed at it. Then, he finally managed to speak. "Flower: must be hidden from Sentinel."
"Yes." Everyone turned to look at Pixie when she spoke, her optics was glowing and she had a frown on her face. "We have to hide it from Sentinel, we can't let him find out about this because if he got his hands on this sparkling like he nearly did with us then we are so screwed. Let's dig it up and put it in a pot because we can take it inside and hide it in the house if the flower is put into one."
"I'll go get one!" Little Yin-Yang dashed back into the house, and came out a few minutes later with a flowerpot and a shovel. She gave them to her mother, Soundwave, who went ahead and dug up the crystal flower, placing it reverently in the relative safety of the flowerpot.
Pixie smiled. "Soundwave, thank you for agreeing to take me in. I won't be able to stay out like this for much longer but I did manage to poke a hole in my bindings and if I am lucky, I might be able to break them before the ritual runs out."
"Soundwave: does not mind caring for Pixie. Pixie: has been a good friend to Yin-Yang and to Soundwave's family." The blue demon in disguise stood up, the flowerpot with the crystal flower in his hands, and looked down at Pixie. "Soundwave: hopes that Pixie returns to normal soon. Sideswipe: has not been the same since the ritual."
"I know, I'll try my best but I can't grantee that it will work." Pixie looked up at the sky and she sighed. "I miss him."
"Soundwave: understands. Pixie: should get to sleep." With that, Soundwave started to herd Pixie and Yin-Yang back into the house, the crystal flower still in the flowerpot he held in his hands.
Pixie nodded her head and she yawned, the glow disappeared from her optics and the tired youngling stumbled back into the house and into her bed, burying herself in her blankets.
Soundwave chuckled softly, and then went to the room he shared with his bondmate, placing the flower on the shelf above the window, keeping it out of sight of anyone that might look inside.
Sunstreaker and Prowl entered the Afterlife at a slower pace than usual, Sunstreaker gliding more than flapping his wings.
Sideswipe was waiting for them.
"Hey, bro..." Sunstreaker landed on the cloudy ground just inside the Gates of the Afterlife, Prowl beside him. "Do you know where Ratchet is?"
"Sunny, I was nice and I let him know that you're looking for him, he's in the Med bay."
"Good... Thanks, bro." Sunstreaker tiredly took to the air again, with Prowl and Sideswipe on either side of him, and the three of them flew towards where the Afterlife's med bay was.
"Ratchet." Prowl opened the door to the Med Bay. "We're here."
"Good. Sunstreaker, get on the berth and let's have a look at you." The angel medic with red-tipped white wings motioned towards a berth made of clouds that was surrounded by medical scanning equipment, and the golden angel complied instantly. Once he was on the berth, Ratchet came over, and started scanning.
Sideswipe brought out a video camera and he turned it on.
"Now... let me see... systems check out okay... nothing wrong with the programming... well, what do we have here?" Ratchet squinted at the screen, wondering if he was seeing right. Then, his cerulean optics widened in shock. "WHAT?!"
"Ratchet!" Prowl yelled. "What's wrong?!"
Sideswipe tried not to laugh.
"Well... it's not exactly wrong, per say... but it's definitely unexpected. You see... Sunstreaker's carrying." Ratchet's expression was a cross between elation and disbelief, the combination looking just plain hilarious.
"He's what?!" Prowl's expression was a cross between disbelief, shock and pure joy, Sideswipe crackled when he saw it.
"He's carrying, Prowl! We need to let Optimus and Megatron know as soon as we possibly can, so that they can arrange for Sunstreaker's charges down on Cybertron to be temporarily watched over by someone else."
"I can take care of them!" Sideswipe volunteered.
"Great. Go on, Sideswipe, let them know. I'll talk to the parents-to-be about what to expect during and after the carrying period."
"Okay and by the way, I saw the flower." Sideswipe said.
All of them stared at Sideswipe with open mouths, while the cheeky red angel dashed out of the room after snapping a few pictures.
Sideswipe crackled while he ran to where Optimus and Megatron were.
"Sideswipe, what has you so excited?" Optimus paused in the conversation he had been having with Megatron, looking over at the swiftly-approaching angel.
"Sunny's carrying so I'm here to tell you two that and I'll be temporarily taking over his duties!"
"WHAT?!" Megatron yelled.
"Sideswipe, is this true, or just another one of your pranks?" Optimus knew that, once, the red angel had tricked the other angels into believing that an angel, who he would not name, was carrying, only to find out that it was a prank.
"Well, if you don't believe me, ask Ratchet. He did perform a checkup on Sunny and that's how he and Prowl found out that he was carrying."
"Megatron, do you know what this means?" Optimus looked over at the gunmental-gray demon, his optics wide.
"We'll have a little one running around here." Megatron said. "But, we still have to worry about Sentinel, we haven't caught him yet and this puts the sparkling in danger..."
"We'll have to keep watch over Sunstreaker until the little one is born, and then guard the sparkling until Sentinel is dealt with, if he isn't by that time." Optimus' expression was grim, knowing full well the consequences that could occur if the disgraced Prime got ahold of a newborn Angel.
"Or a newborn Demon." Megatron said. "He could get his hands on one of them if we are not careful."
"I just count ourselves lucky that he hasn't discovered Yin-Yang's true nature as of yet."
"And that Soundwave is so good at hiding it."
"Yes. Soundwave actually has the most experience with hiding his own true nature, given that he's on assignment most of the time, so it is to be expected."
"So, if we are lucky then Soundwave found the crystal flower on Cybertron." Sideswipe said.
"Yes. Sideswipe, could you go visit Soundwave and his family, and see if they had found it?" Optimus looked at the red angel inquiringly, one optic ridge raised.
"Of course Prime and if he hasn't found it, then I'll go and look for it." Sideswipe said. "A recruit by the name of Crystalline found the one that bloomed up here and I had to explain to her what it was so I know what it looks like..." Sideswipe face palmed himself. "Sir, I think that my mate's instincts rubbed off on me."
"What do you mean, Sideswipe?" Optimus tilted his head to the side questioningly, confusion in his optics.
"Optimus, Pixie has what we would call a sixth sense, so, she used to be really good at reading other Angels and Demons and whenever I got her to prank with me she always ran for it before I could figure out that we had to run and it also manifested during battle, she was a sniper and she was good at it Prime.
"I can't really explain it but recently I've been having this bad feeling and to be honest, I've had it ever since I woke up and I can't make head or tails of it but it's been getting worse, I don't know what it means but I think something really bad is going to happen."
"Hmm... then we must be vigilant. Megatron, could you spare some of your most powerful Demons to guard Sunstreaker for now?"
"I can." Megatron said. "Starscream and the others are bored so an assignment like this should keep them busy for a few days."
"Good. Send them over to where Sunstreaker and Prowl are living near the Academy. Sideswipe, go see Soundwave and his family, see if they have the flower."
"Yes Sir!" Sideswipe said before he left and Megatron went to go and get Starscream and his trine.
/FOUR MONTHS LATER/
Pixie groaned as she fought her way out of her blankets. "What hit me last night? Did I play drinking games with Sides and the others again? I thought that we was banned from them after what happened last time."
She yawned and made her way to the kitchen. "Good morning Yin-Yang." She muttered as she grabbed a cube of energon from the dispenser.
"Morning, Pix! Why were you talking like a grown-up?" Little Yin-Yang looked at her friend in confusion, her three pairs of wings twitching.
"Because I am a grown-up." Pixie said as she unleashed her wings and drank her energon.
"But... you were as old as me yesterday!" Yin-Yang was thoroughly confused at this point, not knowing what was going on.
Pixie sighed. "Let's go and wake Jazz and Wave up, they should be able to explain what's going on, I could but I ramble when I have to do this sort of thing."
"Kay!" Yin-Yang then ran up the stairs to where her parents were sleeping in their room, Pixie following close behind her. "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! Pixie grew!"
"Really?" Jazz asked as he woke up and looked at Pixie who was now chewing on a Energon Cracker. "Oh, it seems that I'm not the only one!" Jazz unleashed his wings before he got out of the bed.
"Jazz: is back to normal. Pixie: is back to normal. Conclusion: ritual either permanently or temporarily nullified." Soundwave sat up in bed, his dragon-like dark blue and white wings spreading wide as he stretched them.
"It's temporarily Soundwave." Pixie said. "It's Null Day, it only happens once every one thousand years!"
"... Soundwave: just realized something scary."
"Oh no." Jazz said. "Wave, please don't tell me that you're thinking what I'm thinking..."
"Soundwave: will regret saying this, but will say it anyway. Sentinel: is able to perform ritual only on Null Day. Angels and Demons: in danger once more."
"Umm... would if make you guys feel better if I told you that the ritual Sentinel used to drag us down here has a time limit before it can be used again." Pixie said as she stared at the floor. "And that the time limit has not run out and he can't use that ritual but the only ones that he can do will last for the rest of Null Day and that whoever got dragged down can go home tomorrow while we'll have to wait for the first ritual to wear off..."
"Soundwave: has a suspicion. Possible: Sentinel will go after Sunstreaker and his unborn sparkling." Dead. Silence.
Pixie's left optic started to twitch. "Well, if he does that then I'm going to kill him."
"Soundwave: would gladly join in."
"Well, let's hope that Prowler or somebody else doesn't burst through our doors to tell us that Sunny's been kidnapped." Jazz said.
"Affirmative."
"Sunny's been kidnapped!" Sideswipe yelled as he burst through the doors.
"I think you jinxed it, Pixie." Yin-Yang, her purple optics wide behind her blue visor, looked from her parents, to Pixie, to Sideswipe, and back again.
"No, I think that it was Jazz or it could have been both of us."
"Most likely explanation: Sentinel orchestrated kidnapping of Sunstreaker."
Pixie smirked. "So, is anyone interested in coming with me to kick his aft and rescue Sunny?"
"Soundwave: would gladly take part. Sentinel: must be punished for threatening the safety of an angel not yet born." Soundwave stood up from the bed, anger flashing across his crimson visor, and his daughter flew up to perch on his shoulder.
"I'll help too! I might be young, but I can fight! I can also fly faster than Mommy can! I know I can be useful!" Yin-Yang's expression was set in determination, not wanting to be left behind.
Jazz cracked his knuckles. "And I'm coming too, I'm not gonna let my family have all of the fun."
Pixie smirked. "Alright then, let's do this."
"Yay! We're all going!" Yin-Yang bounced happily on her mother's shoulder, and then took off into the air in a flurry of feathers. "Let's go!"
Pixie crackled. "I can't wait to play snipe the idiot!" She followed Yin-Yang into the air. Jazz sighed and he looked at Sideswipe. "Well, aren't you gonna show us to where you think Sentinel is keeping Sunstreaker?"
Sideswipe nodded his head and he left the house, with the others following him.
With a groan, sapphire optics onlined, and immediately took in unfamiliar surroundings. With a start, Sunstreaker tried to sit up, but found that his arms, legs, and both wings were strapped down. "What the frag is going on?!"
"Hello Angel of Primus, I hope that you are enjoying your stay here."
Sunstreaker turned his head back and forth, trying to find the source of the oh-so-hate-able voice, until it settled on a blue mech standing on the other side of the room. With a snarl, the golden Angel tried to lunge at him, knowing that he was the source of all the problems the Angels had been having recently. "Not at all, Sentinel! Haven't you learned your lesson from the first time you tried to get an Angel as a bondmate?! Besides, at least half of the Angels you've captured thus far, myself included, are already bonded!"
"That will not stop me from getting what I want and what I want is the power of a god, a angel, a demon! Everything will belong to me!"
"Your lust for power makes you blind to the suffering you cause to both the residents of the Afterlife and the people of your own mortal realm, Sentinel. I cannot tell you how many times I've watched over crying children after you either put them through terrible torture or ripped their parents away from them. I am the Guardian Angel of the Young, for I was treated terribly when I was a mortal child." Sunstreaker's optics paled and flashed dangerously at the disgraced Prime, wishing so badly that he could make him pay right then and there.
"I think that you should behave Angel of Primus because you are carrying a child and I can end that life if I choose to."
Sunstreaker fell silent, secretly contemplating whether or not to use his Spark-Speaking ability to instantly summon an army of copies of him, since Sentinel obviously didn't know about his abilities.
"And if you do try something, do remember the last parent that tried to prevent me from taking what was mine, it was a pleasure to end the life of that Praxian and to destroy his life's work, to erase everything so that he didn't exist anymore."
"I already know that you killed Mizar. He is a good soul that never deserved what you did to him. Funny, though, that after you killed him, he became an Angel."
"WHAT?! Why did that piece of scrap take what was rightfully mine? I am the only one that deserves that honour, not him!"
Sunstreaker leveled him with a glare, and spoke in a harsh voice. "What someone believes he does or does not deserve does not impact upon what his reward in the Afterlife is. Those good souls become Angels, those who did vaguely bad things become Demons, and those who did heinous, unforgivable acts get eternal torment, like that black mech you sent after Prowl. He's currently enduring eternal torture courtesy of the Demons."
"I do not care about him, he was just a pawn that failed to do what was asked of him."
"Figures you'd be the type not to care about anyone..." Sunstreaker glared at Sentinel from where he was lying strapped down to some kind of table. He sorely wished that he could attack the mech right then and there, but the only weapon he could utilize at that point was his words.
Sentinel laughed. "I see that you will need time to come around, to see things from my optics, you will help me, even if I have to force you too."
Sentinel left the room, locking it behind him.
'Sides, Prowl... where the slag are you two...'
"Sunny..." Sideswipe muttered as he joined the others on a roof. "I can feel him."
"Where is he?" Pixie asked as she adjusted the sight of a rifle that was now too big for her, so big that she had to use it's tripod for the first time in a long time to help her use it.
"I don't know."
Pixie hummed as she stared through the scope, smirking when she found her target. "Do I have permission to play snipe an idiot?"
"Permission granted. Fire at will." Prowl glared coldly at the 'unsuspecting idiot' that Pixie was targeting, not able to find it in his spark to pity him.
The crackles that came from Pixie's mouth were loud, disturbing and they spoke of a long and overdue streak of revenge against the target, the first few shots were aimed very, very low before she moved onto his face.
"Good job, Pixie."
"Thanks Prowl, it felt good to shoot at Sentinel, I love Null Day, because I get to be me again!"
Prowl nodded, and then set up a communication with Megatron, who was still in the Afterlife. "Have you received one long-overdue slagger for punishment yet?"
"He hasn't arrived but from how close it was, you should go in and get Sunstreaker out now, he ran for it."
"Understood. Could you send some of your best Demons for backup, just in case?" Prowl was already on the move, invisibly flying towards the building, the others close behind him.
"They're already on their way."
"Good. I don't want to risk Sentinel's vengeful spark getting ahold of my family." Prowl kicked the door down, and stormed into the building, becoming fully visible so as to intimidate any of Sentinel's followers that they happened to come across.
Sideswipe followed him, looking like a red and black version of his brother, even with the green and pink fluffball on his shoulder.
Soon, they came across a pure white Cybertronian with bright green optics in the corridor, and Prowl backed him up against the wall and trapped him there with his wings. "I will only ask you this ONCE. WHERE. IS. MY. BONDMATE?!"
"He's down there, turn right then left!"
"Thank you. For your cooperation, you will be given a second chance. Turn your back on Sentinel and his followers, and you might gain your redemption." With that, Prowl released the white mech, and stalked off down the corridor. After following the mech's directions, he found Sunstreaker strapped down to a solid block of black metal, looking bored out of his mind. "Sunny!"
Sunstreaker's head turned, and when he saw Prowl, his sapphire optics brimmed with happy tears. "Prowl! You're here!"
"Sunny!" Sideswipe ran over and he started to undo the straps.
Prowl was also undoing the straps holding the golden angel down, and once they were all off, Sunstreaker sat up, stretched his limbs, and then embraced his family, sobbing in relief. "You came, you all came!"
"Yeah, we did." Pixie said as she climbed onto Sunstreaker's shoulder. "We'll always come for you Sunny, when you're in danger and you need us, we'll be there."
"Come, let's get out of here before anything else happens." Prowl helped Sunstreaker to stand up, and then they all took off towards the exit of the building.
Their way out was clear and they didn't have any trouble getting out of the building.
"What do we do now? I'm still trapped here on Cybertron for the rest of the day." Sunstreaker looked at his friends and family worriedly, unsure as of what to do.
"Can we spend the rest of the day as a family?" Pixie asked. "We could go to a restaurant."
"Sure, but nowhere with highgrade. I'm not allowed to have any." Sunstreaker hid his wings, just so that he seemed more like a normal mech going out to eat with his family.
"Me too!" Pixie hid her wings. "Where do you guys wanna go?"
"How about that one restaurant called Best of Polyhex? I've heard the food there is pretty good." Sunstreaker smiled, walking beside his family.
"I can back you up on that, I've been there before. Their food is awesome!"
"Let's go, then!"
Pixie giggled. "Tag!" She touched Sideswipe's hand. "You're it Sides!" She ran away from him.
Pixie burped. "Excuse me."
"No problem, Pixie. I'm just glad that they had the mineral supplements for Carriers here..." Sunstreaker smiled softly, a hand on his swollen abdomen.
Pixie squealed. "I can't wait to met my niece or nephew!"
Sunstreaker chuckled, and then paused, then smiled wider as he realized what was happening. "Prowl?"
"Yes, Sunny?"
"The little one is kicking."
"Sunny." Sideswipe said. "Can I?"
"Sure, Sideswipe." Sunstreaker took hold of his brother's right wrist, and placed his twin's hand on his sparkling bump. After a few seconds, a few light taps made contact under Sideswipe's hand. "Feel that?"
"Yes, I can. Hello little one, I'm your uncle Sideswipe."
A few more little kicks bounced against the inside of Sunstreaker's belly, right against where Sideswipe's hand was, as if the little unborn sparkling was laughing. "Heh, little one's really energetic."
"Well, I hope that I can play with the little one when he or she is older." Pixie sighed. "Can you guys video tape his or her's first big moments like walking or talking for me?"
"Sure, Pixie. I don't really think that Sideswipe or Prowl would have it any other way, though... they'd probably follow the little one around with a video camera practically all the time once it's born." Sunstreaker smirked, gently pushing his brother's hand off of his sparkling bump.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome..." Sunstreaker then yawned, the excitement of the day truly having taken a toll on the carrying mech.
"We should go now. Sunny needs his sleep." Sideswipe said.
"But where will we take him? Sentinel trapped him here on Cybertron for 24 hours, and there's still nineteen to go." Prowl looked worriedly at his tired bondmate, not wanting to leave him there alone.
"We could go to where I'm staying, with Jazz and Soundwave." Pixie hopped off of her seat.
"Sure..." Sunstreaker yawned again, his optics dimming slightly.
"Come on, Sunny, let's go..." Prowl helped his bondmate to stand, and their little family walked out of the restaurant...
"Sunny?" It was an hour before Null Day ended and Pixie walked to the yellow angel.
"Mmm? What is it, Pixie?" Sunstreaker looked at her tiredly from where he had been sleeping on a berth in one of the guest rooms of Jazz and Soundwave's house, his sapphire optics dim and half-closed. He was lying on his side, his left hand draped over his swollen belly, and his wings were half-covering him like feathery blankets.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Pixie stared at the ground.
"Sure, Pix." Sunstreaker tiredly sat up, and reached down, picking up the youngling-sized Pixie, and placed her beside him on the berth. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"
"You may hate me for saying this Streak but I don't want this day to end!" Pixie yelled. "Because when it ends, it means that I'll be shoved back into that small ball deep inside of my soul and the only thing that I can do is watch! I hate it! I. FUCKING. HATE. IT! And I can't do anything when you guys get into trouble and it hurts! It hurts so much and I just want it to stop Streak! I want to wake up and say that it was a nightmare but I can't! I'm stuck like this and I don't know how much longer that I can stand it!"
Suddenly, Sunstreaker scooped Pixie up into his arms, gently stroking her head with one hand, and holding her against his chest, where she could hear his sparkbeat. He even positioned his white-gold wings so that they surrounded her in a soothing warmth, the soft feathers brushing against her armor.
"I know it's hard, Pixie, but it's going to be fine in the end. Remember, younglings mature quickly, so it'll be over sooner than you think. It's all going to be okay..."
Pixie started to cry. "I wanna go home. I even miss Ratchet and the Demons, I wanna go home. I just want my life back, why did this happen to us? We didn't do anything wrong so, why?"
"I know, Pixie... I know..." Sunstreaker continued to stroke Pixie's head, starting to hum, the sound causing his chest to vibrate slightly, the sound and vibration intertwining with his sparkbeat to create a soothing melody.
Pixie wiped away her tears and she slowly curled up into a ball over Sunstreaker's spark.
The golden angel smiled softly, and then started to sing in a soothing voice.
When hope is gone
And daylight ends,
You will be safe
Here with your friends.
Their arms will keep you
Safe and warm,
Even when the world
Around you is torn.
Sleep, little angel,
You are safe with me
Don't give in to fear,
For safe you shall be
Even when the world
Is crumbling around us,
You will be safe
When you are with us
Be at peace, little angel,
For you are not alone.
You are safe here in my arms,
Your friends and family are with you...
Pixie smiled and slowly, she closed her optics and she fell asleep.
Sunstreaker smiled at this, and lay back down on the berth, this time with Pixie nestled safely in his arms, and soon fell asleep once more, a smile on his face.
"How long will this go on?" Prowl asked frantically, not wanting his bondmate to suffer so much pain. "He's been in there for twelve hours already!"
"I don't know Prowl." Sideswipe said, carefully reaching out to his twin through their bond. "I don't know..."
Suddenly, everyone in the waiting room froze when a loud wail reached their audios, but it wasn't the wail of pain coming from an adult...
It was the cry of a newborn sparkling!
Sideswipe gasped and he stood up, turning the camera on.
Prowl had to take a step back, as the doors swung open, and Ratchet stood grinning beyond them.
"Congratulations, Prowl, it's a femme!" The medic said, his red-tipped white wings twitching on his back. "Come on in."
Prowl ran inside, and found Sunstreaker lying on the cloud berth, cradling a cooing little black and white form in his arms, and smiling tiredly down at it. Little black and white feathered wings with thin red tips on all the feathers were waving slowly and randomly in the air, and there was a beautiful cyber-wolf with white and black crystal armor lying on the floor next to the berth. The Cyber-wolf had crystal-feathered wings colored the same as the little femme's wings, and thin red lines traced along its face.
Sideswipe followed them inside and he was followed by a fully grown silver Cyber-wolf, who had the eye color of the Angel that she was bonded to and green tips on her ears and tail.
"She's beautiful Sunny." Sideswipe cooed at the sparkling. "Hi little one, I'm your Uncle Sideswipe, your Aunt Pixie couldn't be here because of the actions of a really bad mech but she does love you and she can't wait to meet you."
The little sparkling turned her head towards the red angel's voice in curiosity, revealing beautiful cobalt-blue optics and crimson red markings on her silver face that matched those on the face of the Cyber-wolf on the floor next to the berth! She cooed happily at them, smiling.
"Sunny... those markings..."
"I know.." The gold angel said, smiling softly, "Like the outline of a cyber-wolf's face... they're beautiful..."
"Yes, Sunny." Prowl said, now petting one of the sparkling's wings, "They're beautiful..."
"Yeah, they are." Sideswipe said as the older wolf walked over to the younger one and she started to groom it.
The young wolf struggled to get away, yipping and whining in a way that could easily be translated to "no! No bath!"
The older one pinned it down, growling in a way that could be easily translated as "Yes! You do need a bath! And don't even think about running away from me!"
The pup continued to struggle, until finally giving up and starting to chew on the older wolf's paws.
The older wolf ignored this and she started to bark at Sideswipe, Sunstreaker started to laugh when he had figured out what she was saying.
"Hey, Strange Red Thing that is bonded to my angel, the pup is hungry, feed it!"
"Sides, go get some low grade energon for the pup," the gold angel said, still laughing.
"What did she say?!" Sideswipe asked. "And what's so funny about it Sunny?!"
"Oh, she just called you the 'strange red thing bonded to my angel,' and ordered you to feed the pup," Sunstreaker said, trying to control his hilarity. Prowl burst out laughing now, smiling widely.
Sideswipe frowned and he turned around to leave the room to get the energon.
"Sunny, what will we name her?" Prowl asked, finally controlling his laughter. The gold angel looked thoughtful, then smiled.
"Huntress. She'll be named Huntress."
"And what about the pup?" Sideswipe asked as he returned with energon. "What name will it have?"
"We'll call her Loyalty," Prowl said, smiling.
"I like that." Sideswipe said as he placed the energon in front of the pup before he started to cough harshly, placing his hand over his mouth but he was unable to stop the energon that fell through the gaps between his fingers.
"Sides?! Are you ok?! What's happening?!" Sunstreaker cried out, eyes wide in horror at the energon that came from his brother's mouth!
"No..." Sideswipe muttered, ignoring his twin. "It can't be... I'm not ready to go back into that sleep. I won't go back! I won't! I won't leave Sunny and the others alone. I can't..."
"Sides..." Sunny handed his daughter to his bondmate, sitting straight up in bed and opening the bond between him and his twin even wider than it already was. Pulling his brother into his arms, he sent all the love and strength he had for his twin through their bond, and he could sense their sister, Blueflare, doing the same from somewhere else in the Afterlife.
Sideswipe could feel them and he felt the crushing pressure in his spark lighten up, he sent a weak pulse of emotion through those bonds and he rested his head on Sunstreaker's shoulder. "I'll be fine Sunny... I just... need to rest a bit... Thanks bro..."
"You're welcome..." Sunstreaker said, still holding his brother. He could sense Blueflare flying their way, the pulses she was sending to Sideswipe growing stronger as she came closer. "It's gonna be ok, Sides..."
"I know...I know..."
Then, Blueflare walked into the room, the razor-sharp edges of her armor and feathers visibly dulling as she willed them not to harm anything she touched, and the different shades of blue her frame was colored in almost making it seem like she was made of flowing water when she moved. When she came over to her two younger brothers, she sat down next to Sunstreaker on the bed, and pulled both of her brothers into her arms, blue-green optics shining with worry.
"And I'm here for you both, Brothers of my Spark," she said, her voice slightly musical. "I shall lend you my strength as well... As will Drift... We are family, and we stick together..."
"Thanks sis..." Sideswipe said before he felt a very faint pulse of emotion from a bond stretched to it's breaking point. He tried to reach back through that bond but it slipped away as quickly as it had come.
"Sides?" Blueflare asked, seeing a slightly-pained expression on the red angel's face. "What is it?"
"That stubborn little..." Sideswipe started to say before tears started to roll down his cheeks.
"Oh, Sides..." Blueflare said, pulling him closer, and resting her head atop his. "You know how she's always wanted to be able to see you... no matter what happens..."
Then, she remembered something she had wanted to tell them, and started to smile. "Sides..."
"What is it sis?"
"I was in the archives earlier today... and I found something. Something no one else has realised about the ritual. And about me."
"What did you find?"
"Apparently, my spark-fire ability is able to BURN away the effects of the ritual... and, as you all know, I am one of the strongest pyro-sparks to exist." Blueflare smiled broadly now, and continued, "And since I am now an Angel, my powers have increased."
"It may not be that easy sis, even if you found the ritual that he used." Sideswipe said. "He could have adjusted the ritual so that it won"t work or he could have put in a failsafe if anyone did try to remove the ritual"s effects that way, it would kill them instead of freeing them and you know that each ritual has a unique side effect, depending on who and what used them, what if that fragger's unique side effect is to prevent the use of abilities like spark-fire to free them?"
"I've already checked it out. I also seem to be able to sense discrepancies in rituals... nothing was changed. If I use my spark-fire on the Angels, it won't harm them, but it would completely erase the effects of the ritual on them, returning them to normal!"
"But something's telling me that it's not going to be that easy!" Sideswipe said. "It's screaming at me! Telling me that we're missing something and that we need to know what it is before we can think about bringing them home! Could it be possible that after he casted the ritual to drag them out of here, he cast another one? Because whenever I go to check on Sunny's charges and the other ones, I've never seen them use their powers! What happened to them? Because even when we have to disguise ourselves as Cybertronians, we still can use our powers, and they cannot.
"And you know what happens when two rituals are mixed together, you can tell where they start and where they end, but they hide everything else. That did happen to me and you guys do remember how long it took for them to wear off.
"And what if the second ritual was one that is not in our archives?"
"The second ritual WAS in our archives, Sides..." Blueflare said, looking slightly insulted that he would assume she hadn't checked. She WAS a guardian of scholars, after all! "And I found that the ritual that Sentinel used was the one where it would block their powers while it was active, even spark-born abilities. However, the one he used on Sunny was a weaker one; he could still use his spark abilities, though he chose not to, probably to protect the sparkling. Also..." she leveled a glare at him, "I feel quite affronted that you would think I hadn't checked the ENTIRE archives to try to prove my theory; you know me!"
"I KNOW!" Sideswipe yelled at her. "But something's telling me that it's a bad idea!"
"The one known as the Angel Sideswipe is right."
Everyone turned their heads to look at the strange being that had appeared out of nowhere. "The Former Prime's actions have damaged reality, fate and the very core of Cybertron. To bring them back now will damage them even further, Lord Primus would not be able to handle it and the action of breaking the seals will only draw attention to them and being those loyal to The Disgraced Prime to their doorsteps."
"Hmm..." Blueflare said, now contemplative. "Would there possibly be a way I could assist in restoring these? You know that my spark-fire is similar to the energy Primus emits; maybe it could help? You ARE able to predict that, are you not, Fate-Weaver?"
"I can but I do not know how long it would take, I can predict every single outcome but one of the taken angels was one of my Chosen and part of my blessing was passed onto her mate when she was taken." The being started to play Cat"s Cradle with threads. "And so, part of my predictions are hidden from me, your help will be welcome and in a few months, we can bring some of the Adult angels home because of your help, but those who are younglings and sparklings must stay on Cybertron until they are fully grown again, for their own safety."
"Then I shall assist you all," Blueflare said, standing up. Turning to Sideswipe, she said, "Brother, keep the family close. You never know when you might need them."
"I will and I'll try." Sideswipe told her.
"Thank you." The being said, smiling. "I wish that we can bring them in the way that you wanted too but we cannot. Not yet..."
"Just tell me what I need to do, Fate-Weaver." The blue angel said, walking over to the small being.
"I need to take you to see Primus first." The Fate-Weaver said. "But before I can do that, I need to collect something. It's my responsibility to collect the string of Fate that is created whenever a new life is brought into the world."
"Of course, Fate-Weaver. Would you like me to give you a lift?" Blueflare knelt down, laying her hand palm-up in front of the little being.
"I would like that." She climbed onto the hand.
"So, how was the angel that you blessed?" Sideswipe asked the Fate-Weaver.
"Sideswipe, you have met her before?" Blueflare asked, bringing the Fate-Weaver over to where Huntress was cooing in Prowl's arms.
The Fate-Weaver laughed as she started to draw out what looked like a black and white thread with red streaks from Huntress. "You figured it out didn't you? Even before I could reveal her name, you knew, because of what was passed to you when she was taken from us."
"Yeah, I did." Sideswipe said. "It's your blessing that lets her speak sometimes, to break through the seals and to be who she used to be, for a little bit."
"Pixie, of course," Blueflare said, lowering the little being to the floor once the string had been retrieved. "Is it time to go, now?"
"Yep and Sideswipe, beware of falling boxes, fluffiness will follow."
Blueflare chuckled softly at her brother's bewildered expression, and gently touched the tip of one finger to the Fate-Weaver's little hand.
A portal opened before them, directed by the Fate-Weaver.
Blueflare walked through with her, both of their forms fading away...
They reappeared in what had to be the Well, the place where Primus lived.
Blueflare removed her fingertip from the being's hand, wings twitching as she looked around in curiosity.
"Yeah, this is it. This is home." The being sadly looked at the cracks decorating the walls.
"This is horrible..." Blueflare said, summoning some spark-fire into her hand to see better. To her astonishment, however, the core pulsed brighter when the blue flame flared into existence, and the crack she was studying started to mend a little. "What's..."
"If the conditions are met and the need is great enough, spark-fire can heal and repair those who need it, including the places of existence that normal Cybertronians can't see."
"So... I'm essentially... healing Primus?" Blueflare asked, increasing the flames to travel up her arm. The crack in front of her vanished completely, and the core glowed brighter.
"Yes, Primus is the core of Cybertron, no, he is Cybertron. His soul has grown to the point where he can separate from his body and be in two places at once."
"But... if he's in this state..."
"When the angels were taken, so was some of his power, Primus sleeps for now but with your help, he will awaken and everything shall start on the path that will bring it back to what it used to be."
"Then... Then I will give him as much strength as I am able!" the blue angel cried, right before her entire body became engulfed in an inferno of blue flames! All of the cracks in the walls glowed before vanishing, and the core glowed so brightly that it was almost blinding!
The being smiled and covered her eyes with her left arm, she could feel the spark-fire leaking from the room and spreading across the well.
Blueflare continued to let the spark-fire inferno blaze, until she was finally forced to stop from exhaustion. However, the bright glow of the core continued.
"Thank you, Angel Blueflare." The Fate-Weaver said.
"You are very welcome, Fate-Weaver..." Blueflare said tiredly, sitting down. "Will Primus be able to act, now?"
"Yes, he shall." The Fate-Weaver said before the room started to shake and the light was drawn to the centre of the room, taking the shape of a mech.
Blueflare hastily got to her feet, then kneeled before the mech, saying, "My Lord Primus, it is an honor..."
"The honour is mine, for what you have done, so rise Angel Blueflare." Primus said before he turned his attention to the Fate-Weaver. "And you, little Weaver, did you think that I would not notice the time that you put into this? The permanent damage that you have done to your eyes predicting the future? The act of bring Angel Blueflare here?"
The Fate-Weaver was silent.
"Lord Primus, what are you saying?" Blueflare asked as she rose to stand again. "What has happened?"
"I'm a apprentice." The Fate-Weaver said. "I had just got the job a few vorns before all of this happened and the things that I did, predicting the future, bringing you here and some of the things I did while I searched for a way to help, they are what Masters do, because of the side effects that are attached to them, because they know how to negate them but... but I couldn't do what they were doing! Sit around and wait for somebody else to fix the problem!
"Because if the Disgraced Prime could do this to Angels, he would eventually move onto the Demons, the Fate-Weavers, Primus himself and I refused to let that happen, so I did what I could do to help, even if it meant that I caused permanent damage to myself."
"That is a noble sacrifice you have made, Fate-Weaver," Blueflare said, then looked to Primus again. "My Lord, what happens now? Do you not have others that might join us in searching for the Disgraced One?"
"I do and they have sensed my return, they are heading this way right now." Primus said. "But while that happens, I believe that some Master Fate-Weavers need to learn a lesson, I think that stripping them of their titles and returning them to when they were apprentices and giving a certain apprentice her Mastery a few vorns early should do the trick."
"Indeed they do, Father," said a new voice, and everyone turned towards the speaker, only to see a large group of tall, colorful, winged femmes approaching, led by one whose helm had black wing-like ornaments on either side of her face, her frame colored in black, royal blue, and a rich purple, her emerald green optics swirling with countless emotions.
"Lady Airstrike! Great Winged Guardians!" Blueflare said in astonishment, quickly kneeling in reverence. She had, as a mortal, revered the Goddess and her sisters.
"Hi Airstrike." The Fate-Weaver said, messing with her Cat Cradle again. "So, how much trouble am I in? You were the one to bring me here..."
"You are in no trouble at all, young one. In fact, you are to be commended for bringing this Angel here... speaking of which..." The eldest of Primus' daughters turned to Blueflare, softly smiling. "Rise, Angel Blueflare. I greet you as a friend, not as a Goddess. You restored my father, and I thank you."
"It was the least I could do for Lord Primus, My Lady," Blueflare said, rising to her feet. Airstrike chuckled softly.
"Father, I believe this brave Angel deserves a reward for her actions; don't you agree?"
"Yes, I do." Primus said while the Fate-Weaver smiled. "Would you like to be the one who chooses that reward my daughter?"
"If you are in agreement, Father..." Airstrike said wryly, "I believe that we should make Angel Blueflare the Keeper of the Healing Fire, a Herald of Primus. With her talents and abilities, I can plainly see she is fully worthy of the power I wish to bestow on her."
"And it will help her in the days to come." The Fate-Weaver said.
"Then proceed my daughter, with my blessings." Primus said.
"Thank you, my Father." The eldest Winged Guardian said, drawing an ornate silver box from her subspace, the latticework dome starting halfway up revealing a flickering blue-white and gold flame inside. Then, she commanded, "Angel Blueflare, step forward."
Blueflare, not able to find the nerve to speak, did so, and knelt before the Winged Guardian, whose expression was serious now.
"Angel Blueflare, you have been found worthy of this: the Healing Fire of Cybertron. Should you accept it, you shall no longer be a simple angel, but a Herald of Primus, and the weilder of the Healing Fire. Do you understand what we are asking of you?"
"I... I am to take on a greater role, to heal and watch over Cybertron... burning away corruption within the sparks of others and replacing it with a healing light..." Blueflare said, staring into the flame. She was saying what the flame itself was telling her... what the flame demanded of her. "I am to be a harbinger of restoration... of rejuvination... and to do the will of Primus and the weak and broken of Cybertron..."
"Yes. Now..." Airstrike said proudly, unlatching the latticework containing the flame. "Now... Become one with the flame, let it wash over you, and accept your new power."
With that, she opened the box, and the flames within burst out, engulfing Blueflare, and causing her to glow blindingly as she was reformatted! When the last of the glow faded away, the flames becoming absorbed into Blueflare's armor, she was... changed.
While she was still colored in shades of blue, new armor had formed on her wings and frame as well: flame-like in appearance, and colored in blue-white and gold, while her wings had turned into fire... the Healing Fire. Gold flame outlines traced over her helm and on her cheek plating, and her blue-green optics were a few shades paler.
She was beautiful... and awe-inspiring.
The Fate-Weaver grinned. "I can't wait to see her baby brother's reactions to this, because they'll be beating mechs off with sticks to get them to leave her alone!"
Primus chuckled before he patted the Fate-Weaver on her head, watching as a chain belt appeared around her waist.
Blueflare looked over, still trying to adjust to the fact that she was now a little bit taller because of the reformatting, and asked, "What does that chain belt represent, My Lord?"
"Her mastery." Primus said as the Fate-Weaver stared at the chain belt, running her fingers over a few threads that dangled from the belt. "It helps that those of the Fate-Weavers who have chosen to bless someone to be in close contact with the Fate strings that belong to their chosen, because of how close it ties them together."
"I see," the blue Herald Angel said, now looking to Primus. "What am I to do now, My Lord? Go back to the Afterlife, and watch over my niece?"
"Yes." Primus said. "We shall let you know when it is safe to start bringing them home."
"But not all at once." The Fate-Weaver said. "Because it will draw the attention of the Disgraced Prime and his followers, it's like we're putting up a sign saying 'Here they are, come and get them!' which would be bad. It's best to bring them back a few at a time, but eventually attention will be drawn to this and when that happens, they'll start looking for a way into the Afterlife, taking their attention away from Cybertron, giving the younger angels more time to grow up again, your healing fire will be able to help them but even though their souls are old enough to be adults, their current bodies come with all of the weaknesses that a youngling or a sparkling has when it comes to a spark and how much it can handle."
Of course, My Lord; Fate-Weaver," Blueflare said, bowing low and spreading her fiery wings wide. Then, using her newfound power, she created her own flaming portal, and walked through to the Afterlife.
When she came out the other side, it was in the hospital room where her brothers, brother-in-law, and newborn niece were still gathered. Sideswipe was the first to see her.
Sideswipe's jaw dropped when he saw her. "Sunny... I think that we're going to need sticks now."
Sunstreaker looked over, and whistled. "Yep. Might need to give one to Drift, too."
"It's nice to see my baby brothers so concerned for my well-being," Blueflare said, laughing lightly. Her flaming wings were unfolded a little, as she was still getting used to them, and the gold on her helm and cheek plating seemed slightly luminous. "I have restored Primus to his full strength, and have been given a... well... a Promotion. I am now the Angel Herald of the Healing Fire."
"That's awesome sis!" Sideswipe yelled. "And we can use the sticks to chase away any potential suitors Huntress may have when she gets older, unless you and Prowl have something special for that bro!"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Sunstreaker said, sharing an evil grin with his bondmate, before looking back to Sideswipe. "We've got it covered."
"Can I help?" Sideswipe asked with an evil grin.
"Sure!"
"So, what else happened sis? Did you see anything interesting?"
"Well... the Fate-Weaver became a Master, and..." Blueflare hesitated, then blurted out, "I met the Winged Guardians!"
"Wait, hold on a minute!" Sideswipe yelled. "You MET the Winged Guardians, the Goddesses that you have admired since you was a sparkling?! Sis, that's awesome!"
"Yeah, it kind of is," Blueflare said, smiling. "It was the eldest, Airstrike, who granted me my new power. Primus said they would call me when it was time to start bringing the others back..."
"So... You are now a direct link to Primus?" Sunstreaker asked, optics wide.
"I can't wait to see everyone's reactions to this!" Sideswipe said. "Where's my camera?!"
"I have it here," Prowl said, holding up the requested item. Blueflare chuckled.
"Yes, I am virtually a direct link to Our Lord Primus, my brother. I am now no longer just an Angel, but a Herald of Primus, and the Keeper of the Healing Fire."
Sideswipe took his camera and he checked the battery life on it.
The battery was still at half power, and there were a few videos of Huntress on the data chip.
Sideswipe cooed at the videos.
"Sides, didn't you want that camera for something else?" Sunstreaker asked wryly, glancing at their sister. Blueflare was smirking, her flaming wings now twitching a bit from amusement. The constant motion made the flames fan out a bit more, though they never burnt anything they happened to come into contact with.
"Oh!" Sideswipe looked up. "I was cooing for those of the family who cannot be here right now... can we move onto the reactions right now, please?"
"Yes," Blueflare said, smirking. "Would you like me to pose, dear brother?"
"I just want you to smile."
"Very well," Blueflare said, a charming smile forming as she leaned on the wall, her flaming wings still twitching a little.
Drop.
Dead.
Gorgeous.
Sideswipe smiled and he took pictures.
"So, who will these be going to?" Blueflare asked, straightening once more. Her wings were still twitching, but it was obvious she couldn't help it.
"Drift!"
"Here we go..." The blue Angel Herald sighed, smirking. She knew what his reaction would be.
Sideswipe sent the photos to Drift.
Only two minutes later, the white mech with red detailing came flying in through the open window, his gold optics widening when he saw Blueflare. Feeling humorous, she said, "Honey, I'm home!"
Sideswipe took pictures of Drift's face before he started to laugh.
The others started to laugh as well, except for Drift, who was frozen in shock.
"Hey Drift!" Sideswipe yelled. "Is anybody in there?"
"B-Blueflare?!" Drift stuttered, still staring at his bondmate. The blue Herald Angel chuckled.
"Yes, Drift, it's me."
Sideswipe crackled. "You should have seen your face Drift. It was priceless!"
"Blueflare... you're..." Drift said, still in shock, not registering Sideswipe's words.
"Drift... it's just a promotion," Blueflare said wryly, flaming wings fluttering a little.
"Hey guys, I think that Drift needs a bit of percussive maintenance."
Sunstreaker smirked, picked up a small metal box from nearby, and chucked it at Drift. It hit him squarely in the back of his head, and he snapped out of his daze, crying out in pain.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"You needed a bit of percussive maintenance." Sideswipe said with a smirk. "You were just standing there and you seemed to have a problem with your words."
"Wipe that smirk off of your face." Drift mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.
"Nope. I'm not going to do that."
"Sideswipe..." Drift said in irritation, now glaring at the red angel.
"What?" Sideswipe did his best to look like an innocent mech who had nothing to do with what had just happened to Drift.
"Stop smirking like that. You are no more innocent of this than Sunstreaker is for throwing it at me."
"Sunny threw it? But I didn't see him do it." Sunstreaker could feel mischief and glee coming from Sideswipe's side of their bond.
"Boys, just calm down," Blueflare said, grinning.
"Okay..."
/SEVERAL YEARS LATER/
"So, we're graduating collage now." Pixie said to Yin-Yang as she put items in her subspace pocket. "And we're moving out, I can't believe that it's happening to us."
"I know, right? I'm gonna miss Mom and Dad... but someone's got to keep an optic on you, Pix!" Yin-Yang laughed, her tri-fold back fins twitching in amusement. She had changed a lot in the many years that had passed by after the destruction of the disgraced Prime, transforming from a cute little sparkling into a beautiful femme with an elegant design that was accented by a mobile metal headpiece that covered almost the entire right half of her face like bangs. She rarely retracted her visor, wanting to hide her violet optics, but that didn't stop her from pursuing her passions of music and dancing. "So, where were you thinking of us moving to, Pix?"
"I don't really know." Pixie shrugged her shoulders but she didn't believe that the disgraced Prime was gone, something was telling her that he was still out there. Pixie had changed from the crybaby youngling she had been into a graceful femme that seemed to be one with the wind, drawing attention to herself wherever she went and like Yin-Yang, she rarely retracted her visor. Pixie never went anywhere without a weapon on her but that didn't stop her from living her life. "Kaon has too many memories for me and something's telling me not to go near Icaon, for now, but Praxus looks good and there is the option of staying in Polyhex."
"Isn't Praxus where Prowl was from?"
"Yeah, it is. My Sire came from Praxus too so I've wanted to go there for a very long time."
"Cool! Hey, I've been looking at apartments available for rent in all of the major cities, and I found some really good ones available that overlook the Praxus Gardens! Sound good to you?" Yin-Yang pulled up the images of the said apartment complex on her datapad, and showed them to Pixie. The apartments were in great condition, and some of the images showed the views from several different balconies, showing the Praxus Gardens that the complex was built beside.
"These look lovely Yin-Yang! Which one do you like?"
"I like this one, apartment number 310, the tenth one on the third floor. It's got the best view of the gardens and the stars, plus the fact that it's one of the biggest of them all! It's got three bedrooms, a single washracks, a room for the preparation and consumption of energon, and three other rooms for us to decide the use of! We can use the third bedroom as a guest room!" Yin-Yang pulled up the images of the exact apartment she liked best, and let Pixie scroll through them.
"And you can see the legendary crystal gardens from it too!" Pixie pointed out the spires of crystal on one of the photos for apartment number 310.
"Yeah! So, should I send an application form for it?"
"Yeah, you should."
"On it." Yin-Yang took her datapad back, and started typing rapidly, the tri-fold head finials on either side of her head flaring and relaxing intermittently. After about three minutes, she looked up with a broad smile. "It's submitted, and already approved! We're able to move in at any time!"
"Yes! Let's go and tell Jazz and Soundwave about this!"
"Yeah!" Together, the two of them ran out of their shared room, and found Yin-Yang's parents sitting in companionable silence at the dining table. "Mom! Dad! We've found a place to move to!"
"That's great news!" Jazz said. "Where is it?"
"It's in that new apartment complex overlooking the famous Praxus Crystal Gardens! We got the one with the best view, apartment number 310!" Yin-Yang passed her datapad with the info over to her father, letting him and Soundwave look through the data.
"It's beautiful."
"Soundwave: Agrees." Soundwave was looking over his bondmate's shoulder, studying the images.
"Yeah, you two are really lucky to find it."
"We've already gotten our application for the apartment confirmed, so we're able to move into it at any time." Yin-Yang smiled broadly, as she retrieved her datapad from her father.
"I still can't believe it." Pixie said. "That we're adults now but it feels like nothing has changed."
"Yeah... except for our height, frame structure, age, education..." Yin-Yang smirked as she counted the different points in which the two of them had changed on her fingers.
"Work experience, part time jobs, looking after sparklings and younglings..."
"Yeah, I'd say that we're not really the same femmes anymore, are we Pix?" Yin-Yang grinned at her best friend, her head finials twitching in amusement.
"Yeah..."
"Well, we better finish packing, so we can go ahead and move into our new place."
"Okay!"
The two of them went back up to their shared room, and finished up their packing. Soon, they were on a transport headed for Praxus.
"So, Pixie, what kind of job do you think you'll be looking for?" Yin-Yang was sitting down next to her friend, a metal suitcase clutched in her hands.
"I don't know." Pixie stared out of the window. "But I think that I'll learn how to get around Praxus first, before I get a job."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Yin-Yang smiled at her friend, her tri-fold back fins twitching.
"And you can come with me if you want to."
"Sure!" Then, before they could say any more, a voice came over the transport's P.A. system.
/Attention all passengers, we are approaching our destination. Please ensure that you are secured for landing, and thank you for traveling with the Cybertron Transport System./
"Guess we should strap back in."
Pixie nodded her head. "Yeah, let's go back to our seats."
The two femmes secured themselves in their seats, and held onto what little luggage they had out of their subspaces, while the transport shuttle started to jerk as it entered the slightly-turbulent atmosphere above Praxus.
Pixie shut her optics and she prayed that it would be over soon.
After a few minutes, the shuttle came to a stop on a landing pad, and the other passengers got up and started to move towards the exit.
"Come on, Pixie! Let's go!" Yin-Yang unstrapped herself, and stood up, waiting for her best friend.
Pixie opened her optics and she unstrapped herself from her seat. "Is it over?"
"Yeah, Pix, it's over. Now let's get off of this transport before it takes off again!"
Pixie got up and she started to walk to the exit.
The two of them stuck close together once they came across the busy crowds, and Yin-Yang immediately started looking for the transport station exit. "Pix, do you see where we need to go to find the way to street level?"
"It's over there!" Pixie pointed out the exit. "Come on, let's go!"
The two femmes squeezed through the crowd, and soon had gotten into what was basically the Cybertronian equivalent of a public bus, and they were soon on their way to their new home.
"So, Pix, what's the first thing you're going to do once we get unpacked?"
"Sleep! That's what I'm gonna do!" Pixie said before she rested her chin on her hand and she looked out of the window.
"And so, the wheels of fate start to turn once again, an old wound opened so long ago will finally be healed and those who are lost will return home, back to where they belong..."
The being scribbling in her data pad looked up to see the ball of strings that hung above her start to unravel, her eyes widened and she flung her datapad and her stylus to one side before she got up and she ran out of the room. "AirStrike! Lord Primus! The Strings of Fate! They're unraveling!"
The purple, black, and dark blue Winged Guardian looked over from where she had been conversing with her father, Primus, her emerald optics wide with shock.
"This cannot be happening!" Then, she called down another corridor. "What is the state of Reality?!"
Another being ran out of that corridor, holding a mist-filled crystal globe in her hands. "It is holding, but becoming slightly uncertain!"
"What does this mean Lord Primus?!" The being asked him.
"Hmm..." The deity looked thoughtful, his expression grave. "The actions that the disgraced Prime took to try to gain the power of the Angels and Demons are having worse effects on Cybertron than we expected. However, I shall warn my Angels and Demons that the time of the return of their brethren is upon us."
The being bit her lip. "Guys, I have something to tell you about the disgraced Prime, his String of Fate, it hasn't been cut and the only way for a String to be cut is for it's owner to die..."
The second being gasped in horror. "That's why reality is becoming uncertain! The disgraced Prime is still alive, but bodiless!"
"I request permission to read his Datapad of Life." The first being said. "Because if I can find out what is keeping him alive, I can arrange for somebody to 'accidentally' come across this information so they can warn the others."
"Permission granted. Please proceed."
The first being nodded her head before she ran down the hallway to where the Datapads of Life was kept, her humanlike form made her stand out from the others as she scanned the index. "Okay, the disgraced Prime, where is he?"
She found his datapad right at the back of the library like room, on the highest shelf and she turned it on.
The second being contacted the first over her mystical comm. unit. *What did you find, my friend?*
* I can't find anything about how he managed to survived, the Datapad of Life has glitched. I can see the information that says what he did but I can't read it...*
*Maybe I should try to take a look, try to change the reality of what happened to the Datapad?*
*I'll bring it to you, I'm on my way back.*
*Okay.*
The being made her way back to Primus and AirStrike. "Here it is." She handed the Datapad over to her friend.
"Hmmm..." The second being's eyes flashed bright blue, and the datapad glowed to match. "The reality of this datapad is... severely warped. It's going to take time to fix this."
"AirStrike, do you know how long it will take you to fix it?"
"Hmm... the damage is pretty extensive... I'd say about two Cybertronian weeks, give or take a few days."
"I think that time is against us, something is going to happen, the Strings of Fate, I can retie them but I can only give you a few days before I have no choice but to sit back and let Fate run it's course."
"Then I cannot take any time to rest. Prepare the strongest coffee you can find."
"And I shall find several cans of that energy drink that I like." The first being said before she dashed off to prepare a pot of coffee and grab a pack of energy drinks.
"This nightmare is coming to an end, but there is still a chance that things can go wrong. This journey is coming to an end...
"No...
"This journey has just begun and no-one knows when it will end, not even me, I can't see how it will end, I can't even see how it began but I do know one thing...
"Sentinel will not win! I won't let that happen and no matter what happens to me, I will make sure of that.
"Because I am the one responsible for this, this is my doing, my fault and I have to fix this."
So, over a year later, inbetween our personal lives and various other commitments, we end up with this but this is not the end of the tale, I have in a notebook the first two chapters of the story that comes after this written up and so, I hope to see you there, someday but for now, this adventure has only just begun...