Disclaimer: I own Nightstride and Starlight. That is all.

MAJOR NOTE* In the process of being gutted, pulled apart, put back together, and rewritten.

This is my first ever story on FFnet. I couldn't let it go. I've finally decided to take the thing apart and totally rework it, write it better if possible.

Original was published in: 2009

I think it's time to go through it and rewrite it.

Point of view has changed It will be first point of view, from Nightstride.

Why did I keep her name? I couldn't let that go either. I was so tempted to just change her name, to scrap it and put in another. I couldn't do it.

Mistakes are my own.

Pairings: NightXSideswipe, StarlightXSunstreaker

Nothing will really change but at the same time...lots of stuff will probably change.

oooo

Landing

The landing was rough, it hurt upon impact and I could feel the energon leaking from small wounds on my body. The sound of shifting gravel beneath my body could be heard and it dug painfully into my wiring. My helm ached miserably and I cringed from the light piercing my optics. A groan off in the distance came to my audio receptors and I hauled myself up a couple inches off the ground, needing to make sure my sister, my twin, was alright.

She was all I had left of my family and I was not going to lose her.

"That landing fragging hurt!" a voice protested and I found myself sagging in relief, my helm thumping back onto the ground as I heard my sister complain. The fluctuating feeling of our twin bond shifted and I finally encouraged myself to sit up, to move. We couldn't stay in one place for too long.

Forcing my limbs to move, I finally found myself upright, pedes digging into the dirt and holding my weight. My optics fell upon the figure ahead of me, her slim frame that was blue and black accents stood out against the green background behind her.

She was stretching, arms reaching high above her body to get the kinks from the landing, out.

Shifting my helm, I proceeded to work my neck cables, feeling the ache in them from just standing there.

"Ready Starlight?" I called out to her, shaking out some gravel that had wedged itself underneath some armor. Starlight gave an affirmative and I found a smile coming across my face. With a need to find a way to hide, we quickly set out, searching for some form to scan and transform into.

It didn't take long before both my sister and I had scanned a Bugatti Veyron, a sleek sports car that had caught our immediate attention.

I folded in on myself, parts moving and shifting before I took on a black car with neon blue accents. It had taken mere seconds to transform and revving my engine, I pulled out onto a road, my sister following right behind me.

It would take a bit of time before we would be able to reach Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots.

Oooo

It was the harsh sound of a jet flying overhead that I found myself scanning the area, having internally cursed myself for not scanning for enemies. I had forgotten that Decepticons were also upon Earth, even if it might not seem like it.

Starlight's transmission over the twin bond had me mentally flinching.

It was a Decepticon, and it was headed straight for us, having picked up our signal. Starlight was the first to swerve off an exit, heading for a deserted place that we could confront the being and not leave utter destruction in our wake. We didn't need that as soon as we had landed.

My tires squealed as I came to a stop and gears shifted, pulling back and moving into their rightful places before I stood to my full height, watching the sky for that Decepticon. Starlight stood right next to me, her optics narrowed as she shifted closer to my side. We were twins, we were taught how to fight together and we fought for each other. We protected one another.

It was just how it has always been.

The jet came shooting over the tree tops, low and fast. It took seconds before it slammed into the ground before us, already in his bipedal mode. He was tall, and intimidating to both of us.

"What do you want, Decepticon freak?" Starlight spat, a dark scowl taking over most of her face.

The silver Mech sent a warning snarl at the two of us and I backed up, closer to Starlight. No decepticon could be trusted. It was a given rule.

My fists clenched at my sides and I tried to keep myself looking weak, unable to defend myself or my sister. If he underestimated us, our attacks might give us an advantage.

"All I want is to pick off new Autoscum that happens to be appearing on this disgusting planet!" he snapped at Starlight, who scowled and finally fell into a fighting stance, arms up, close to her body, and feet spread out to keep her steady.

"I'd say don't do anything stupid… but knowing you, I'll just have to back you up." I finally murmured, sending Starlight a withering glare. My sister always had a tendency to jump first.

The armor half way up my inner arms moved back and two curved blades slide out, almost like a human's trench knife. My feet ripped up grass as I slid them apart, pedes digging into the soft blades as I found purchase, getting ready to launch myself forward.

The mech growled before his arm shifted and whined as the cannon charged up. Starlight was already ducking and surging forward while I followed close behind her. We were meant for speed and quick assassinations. We were meant for quick brawls, to take out our opponent in the least amount of time possible.

We were assassin bots. In and out, our jobs done in the least amount of time possible.

The first shot grazed Starlight's shoulder, but she twisted, rolling upon the ground and shifting to get back up. All the while, I had already launched myself into the air, to keep out of her way and to keep the pressure on the bot.

Two attackers that just kept coming were frightening to deal with. It intimidated and could send some bots running.

My curved blade had barely touched him before I pulled back, lurching myself away and to the side as the cannon fired once again. Starlight came in low, snagging a couple of wires and severing them with her small scalpel device.

The wounded cry was all we needed to hear to know that our enemy was hurt, would be panicking, and would be vulnerable.

I came in with another attack, a high kick that sent him stumbling back before taking a hit to the thigh, energon welling at the jagged hit. The decepticon hissed, obviously not doing too good before his optics flashed hatefully.

"This isn't over!" and his thrusters filled the clearing before he shot off into the air, transforming as he went.

Starlight, who had a sniper program in her, quickly transformed her arm and aimed. The almost white energy shot, clipped the jets wing and sent it off course for a second before it kept going.

"I almost had him.." she murmured and I could literally feel her disappointment. My optics shuttered before a sigh left my air vents. Leave it to Starlight to be devastated at not killing the con.

We stood there, cooling down from the fight before I shifted, running my servos through cooling energon that ran down my left thigh before grimacing at it.

"I think we should contact Optimus Prime now… at least get the coordinates to the base." I mentioned and Starlight merely nodded, sending her approval over the bond.

"Ratchet is going to have a field day with seeing us…" Starlight suddenly stated, looking at all our wounds. "There is only so much I can do without actual tools to repair our damage with."

With a defeated sigh, I finally opened up the communications link and waited, seeing if Optimus would either answer, or if my signal was in need of fixing.

"Optimus Prime, who is this?"

Relief washed through my system, my spark suddenly feeling lighter that I was finally in contact with another after so long with only my twin.

"Hello, Optimus Prime. This is Nightstride and Starlight, reporting in. We've just landed and we need the coordinates to the base you are residing in."

I was met with stunned silence before Optimus finally answered me back.

"It is…a great surprise to hear from you two again. I am relieved that you two have made it here. I look forward to seeing you two once again."

I was given the coordinates right after and Starlight stretched out another kink in her back, glancing at me as I rotated my left foot to see if it affected my thigh. It made it sting and ache, but I was alright.

"Let's go. We haven't seen Ratchet and Optimus in centuries." Star finally said, nudging me forward and slightly tugging at some of my armor, eying it with critical optics. She always worried about my health and I, hers.

We were twins, we knew what bothered one another, we've been with each other since we've been sparked.

When my tires finally shifted from soft grass to hard paved road, I found myself unable to wait and see other Autobots. We've been away from others for so long, that it feels like we were finally going back home in a sense.

Thinking about Cybertron, our home planet, caused a dull ache to rise up. I haven't seen it in so long, and the last time we had, it had been in utter chaos.

Time drifted by, working our way through human traffic when I picked up on a signal that I hadn't felt in quite a long, long time. It wasn't one that I actually wanted to pick up either. Scratch that, one that I wanted nothing to do with, at all.

"Barricade…" Starlight hissed over our bond. We've known him for so long. He was there, on Cybertron, we've fought him, and we were both equally weary of him.

He's done some major damage to the both of us and half the time we were lucky to have even come out alive in the end.

Not far behind Barricade, I could pick up the silver mechs signature. It was small, suppressed, but still there. He had gone for backup.

Starlight and I sped up, our tires digging into the tar beneath us and lurching us past humans that were obviously following the speeding law. They stayed with us, further back for quite a while before veering off, falling back and obviously not wanting to draw more attention towards themselves. It was hard for the two of us to calm down though, expecting to be either ambushed or outright attacked.

I kept silent as we made our way towards our destination.

Oooo

I could feel the sun bearing down on me, hot and annoying. It felt like I was overheating, my cooling fans working double the amount than what they would usually work. The paved road was also uncomfortable to my tires, sensitive nerves picking up the heat and feeling like small pin pricks that slowly made them numb because of being over exposed.

Starlight's discomfort filtered over the bond and I could feel my patients slowly slipping away. I was annoyed, hot, and wanted to just sit down in a cool area and lounge.

"Ratchet might be out to get us, when we get there." Starlight suddenly piped up, interrupting the silence. She could probably feel my annoyance, my thinning nerves. She always tried to keep me from feeling like that if she could.

Ratchet and Optimus were mostly the only bots that knew about us. Ironhide, I'm sure has heard of us from either one of them. The reason we were kept quiet about, was because of our abilities. We focused on silent killing. Infiltration.

The less who knew us, the less chances of being compromised during a mission.

When I could finally make out a base in the far distances, I felt relief, and anticipation. It wasn't often that we would be seeing many Autobots in one place.

The gates opened as we drew near and, pulling in, I found my optics taking in military personnel to the many Autobots standing around. My spark was fluttering in its chamber, nervous, and I could feel Starlight's nervousness as well, sending a reassuring feeling towards her and quickly getting one back.

Starlight was the first to shift. Her components moving and clicking into place before I initiated the change as well. With a shift and some stretching, we stood before our Faction.

"Optimus Prime." I saluted, instantly recognizing our Leader. Starlight saluted him as well before he inclined his head.

"It is great to see you two once again." He greeted before gesturing towards everyone. "This is Nightstride and Starlight, Femme Twins and assassins for the Autobots."

I could see the surprise in many optics before I recognized Ratchet, who only scowled before greeting us.

We were introduced to Ironhide, weapon specialist. Then to Bumblebee, the scout with Sam and Mikaela, his two human charges. And last but not least, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who were twins as well.

I found my optics lingering on Sideswipe, spark speeding up before I moved on, not wanting to think about it right now. I knew about spark mates, but all I've known, all my sister and I've known, was war. We were sparked during the middle of it, somehow surviving to term and quickly brought to a safe house, raised in secret. Our Parental units didn't make it past our first century. That was still considered sparkling years.

It was the whistling of something flying through the air that caused me to jerk and take down Starlight, staring wide optic at Ratchet as a wrench hit the ground close to our heads. I hadn't expected him to attack, but it really didn't surprise me.

My spark was throbbing from the sudden energon rush before Starlight suddenly pushed me off, snarling and looking utterly displeased.

"What the frag Ratchet?! Is that how you greet us after centuries of not seeing us?"

I merely scowled as I pushed myself to me pedes, flinching at the jagged wound that had crusted over with energon. I really hated that silver mech right now.

Ratchet grumbled before his optics took in my wound, swiftly scanning my frame before snapping towards my sisters. We were in for a lot of repairs and there was nothing we could do to get away from him.

As Ratchet demanded the two of us to the med bay, I couldn't help but glance at the other pair of twins, optics taking them in and watching as they spoke to one another over their bond. It was quite easy to tell, for I had the exact same bond with my sister. They kept glancing at us, optics lingering before looking away.

With a heavy intake, I let it out slowly before following Starlight to the Medical Bay. Might as well deal with Ratchet now than later.