Hi, everyone! This is Autobot Guardian, and I just wanted to let everyone know that I've decided to write some random one-shots for Transformers, and post them all as different chapters to a single title! I'll try to give each one a title referring to one of the twins, but I might need some help! Some of the stories are ones that I've already posted to my profile on Deviantart, so those who have seen them might recognize them! I was AirStrikeTF on that site, and I must say that having an alternate version of me that goes by that same name is quite cool! Now, this is one of my fanfictions from that site! I own nothing but the fanfic and my OC Lightburst! The other OC is called Pixie, and she belongs to my good friend ChaosDancer12!
0o0o0o0o0
A battle was raging. Brightly colored mechs fought slightly more darkly colored ones, and there were explosions everywhere. A white and blue mech suddenly became visible on the edge of the battle, after he had punched Soundwave in the face, knocking him out cold. The next explosion sent a stone arcing towards him, and it hit him on the base of the back of his head. Stunned, he struggled to keep his balance as he stood there, and he didn't notice when a mostly black Seeker fired a missile at him. Someone else noticed, however, and made a mad dash towards him. Mirage felt a fist connect with his chest, and fell backwards. He heard Cliffjumper yell "That traitor attacked Mirage!" He looked up, and saw a tall, golden yellow mech standing where he had been, moments before the missile made contact. The yellow mech took most of the blast, but they were both thrown quite a ways. Mirage looked around blearily.
"Sunstreaker? Where are you?" He shakily stood up, and noticed he had been thrown into the nearby forest. He navigated through the trees, ignoring the small burns he had sustained from the explosion that had thrown him there. It was starting to get darker, and the sky was starting to change from blue to shades of red, purple, and orange, with a bit of pink. I hope I find him soon. There's no telling if he's alive at this point.
0o0o0o0o0
As he lay in the small, peaceful clearing, feeling the energon draining from his body, the yellow warrior was facing the sunset, because that was how he had fallen. His body was wracked with pain, and he was starting to feel cold. He couldn't move, but he could still see. With nothing else to do as the life slowly drained from him, he watched the sunset. That would make a beautiful painting… if I live long enough to make it… He could feel a soft breeze, and he started to feel wetness all around him. Even without looking he knew what it was.
0o0o0o0o0
Mirage continued to scour the forest for the mech who had most likely saved his life. The sunset continued to bring forth more colors, but Mirage ignored it. He soon ended up in a small clearing, with a hill in the middle, and something immediately caught his optics. Energon… There, running down the side of the hill, was a small stream of pink energon. Sunstreaker must be on that hill! Mirage immediately ran up the hill, and stopped in shock when he saw the yellow warrior. Sunstreaker was lying in a pool of his own energon, his right leg slightly bent inwards at the knee, so his feet were nearly touching, and his right arm at his side, as his left arm was draped across his chest. Though it pained Mirage to do so, he went closer to see how badly the yellow warrior was injured. Upon closer inspection, Sunstreaker had a rent in his side where a particularly large tree branch hit him as he flew towards the clearing. His chest and abdomen were covered in burns, and there were several large holes where the blast from the missile had blown armor off. A few of Sunstreaker's internal systems were sparking, and there was energon practically everywhere!
"No… no, Sunstreaker…" Mirage fell to his knees near the warrior's head, and started to sob. He carefully lifted Sunstreaker's head, and lay it on his lap so that he might offer him some comfort. Sunstreaker's optics were dull, and he seemed to stare off into the distance, seeming not to register that Mirage was even there, were it not for the slightest twitch of his lips in an attempt to speak. Mirage looked at Sunstreaker, wishing that it were the other way around. "Sunstreaker, please don't die. You saved my life, but I don't want it to cost you your own." Mirage continued to sob, gently cradling Sunstreaker's head. They stayed like that for a while, and at some point, Sunstreaker's mouth opened slightly, and energon came trickling out. Mirage became even more worried. "Please, Sunstreaker, don't die. The team needs you… Sideswipe needs you… please, please live." Mirage didn't even notice when another Autobot approached, until he spoke.
"I was wrong about Sunstreaker…" Mirage looked up, and saw Cliffjumper standing a few yards away. He seemed as if the slightest touch would break him, shocked as he was. Cliffjumper came over, and sat next to Sunstreaker, and held his right hand. "I'm so, so sorry, Sunstreaker… I was wrong, I was wrong… please, don't die on us… you were always a better Autobot than I was." Cliffjumper also started to sob, remembering all the times he was mean to Sunstreaker, just because of his prickly attitude towards everyone else. I called him a traitor… why did I say that? Cliffjumper kept ahold of Sunstreakers hand, scared that it was slowly growing colder. Then, both he and Mirage saw Sunstreaker's optics were flickering slightly.
"No… no, no, no, no Sunstreaker, you have to stay awake! Please, don't give up!" Mirage started to sob more as he tried to keep the yellow warrior awake. If he loses consciousness now, he may never wake up again! The pool of energon beneath the fallen warrior kept growing, and where there was only one small stream flowing down the hill, there were now half a dozen. Sunstreaker kept gradually getting colder, and the two mechs with him kept begging him to stay awake, begging him to live. In the distance, they could still hear the battle raging. Optic fluid ran down the two mech's faces as they watched the yellow warrior growing weaker, unable to help him. Cliffjumper continued to beg Sunstreaker to live, apologizing to him the whole time about thinking he was a traitor. Mirage also begged him to live, also repeating that Sunstreaker had saved his life.
"Sunstreaker, you gotta stay awake! I'm sorry for everything bad I said about you, I was wrong! Please, please live! Don't die on us, the team needs you, your twin needs you!" Cliffjumper's sobs were getting gradually louder as he became more and more worried that Sunstreaker might not survive. Every time the two tried to contact the other Autobots, they were met with static. Most likely, Soudwave was blocking all communications. The two knew that Sunstreaker was fighting for his life, and as his optics flickered more and more, they knew he was losing that fight. By that time, so much energon had flowed out of him that they knew he couldn't have much left in his body. Desperately, Mirage took his meager medical supplies out of subspace, and hooked up a transfusion so that they could use their own energon to keep him alive longer, so that he might still survive. They knew that it was probably futile, but they didn't want to give up. Deep down, they both knew that Sunstreaker had always looked out for the other Autobots. He was one of their best frontliners. He had saved most of the Autobots multiple times, and they were always afraid of the fact that one day, he might not be there to save them.
Mirage kept sobbing, watching the flickers of light in the warrior's optics become fewer and farther between. "Sunstreaker, please stay awake! Please, don't die, not now!" He lightly brushed a leaf off of Sunstreaker's forehead, watching the warrior grow weaker. All the while, Sunstreaker's optics were fixed on the fading sunset. When Mirage checked his chronometer, he saw that about an hour had passed since they were hit by the missile. How much longer can he hold out? Finally, after a painfully long time, Sunstreaker's optics stopped flickering, and the light didn't come back on.
"Sunstreaker! NO!" Cliffjumper squeezed Sunstreaker's right hand tightly, as if he was hoping it would wake him up again. "No, not now! Please, wake up! SUNSTREAKER!" Cliffjumper started to sob even louder, knowing that the warrior could not hear him. He could tell that he was still alive, but for how much longer? He was unconscious, and very low on energon, and getting lower. They both gradually realized that the sounds of fighting had stopped, and when they looked up, they could see specks in the darkening sky fading into the distance.
"Prime! Ratchet! Anyone, please come in!" Mirage was shouting over his comm. link, desperation in his voice.
*Mirage, what's going on?! What's wrong?!* Optimus Prime's voice came back over the comm. signal, and Mirage relaxed slightly in relief.
"I'm sending you my coordinates. Please bring an emergency medical team!" Before the Prime could respond, Mirage sent the coordinates, and turned off his comm. link. Bending his head down to look at the unconscious form of Sunstreaker, still cradling his head, he started to sob again. "Sunstreaker, please hold on, just a little longer. Help is coming, just hold on long enough for them to help you!"
"Mirage… do you think he'll make it?" Cliffjumper looked at the other mech with tears in his optics.
"I don't know, Cliff. I just don't know."
0o0o0o0o0
As the Autobots made their way through the forest, heading towards the coordinates Mirage had sent them, they were all worried about what the emergency might be. They had sent some of the warriors back to base –Sideswipe included-, and most of the mechs left were medics and engineers. When they were almost there, they saw a small, flowing stream of pink energon on the ground. Optimus Prime's worry nearly quadrupled. I hope… He didn't finish the thought. They doubled their speed, and made it to the clearing in a short amount of time. They stopped, horrified, when they saw that the source of the energon was at the top of a hill, and that there was actually more than one small stream coming down. They could see Mirage and Cliffjumper at the top, and it looked like they were sitting, not standing.
"Mirage! Cliffjumper! We're down here!" Prime called up to them, and the two mechs' heads turned to face in his general direction.
"Prime, you all need to hurry! We're not sure how much longer he can hold on!" Prime felt his spark sink when Mirage said that. How much longer who can hold on? He hesitated, not sure if he wanted to see what was at the top of the hill, but then started up. The others followed, and when they reached the top, what they saw horrified them more that the sight of the energon running down the side of the hill. The entire top of the hill was practically covered in energon, and in the middle of it all was Mirage and Cliffjumper sitting with an unconscious form. Prime could barely see the golden-yellow paint that was on the mech, and he realized who it was that lay before them. No… not Sunstreaker… no! Prime rushed to the yellow warrior's side, and saw the horrible wounds that marked him. The other Autobots also rushed over, not caring about the energon they were getting all over their feet, and several of them starting to sob a little. As much as they all hated to admit it, they all cared about Sunstreaker, and knew that he would always do his best to save them. Ratchet immediately started to assess the damage, and he looked suddenly scared. Seeing Ratchet scared made all of the others scared as well.
"It's really bad, isn't it?" Cliffjumper looked up at him, fresh tears forming in his optics.
"Yes… we better hurry if we'll even have the slightest chance of saving him." Ratchet's voice was raspy, almost as if he, too, was on the verge of tears. How often have I patched him and his brother up? How many times has it been? Ratchet sent a signal to Skyfire to come for pickup, while the others prepared to transport Sunstreaker to a bigger clearing so that they could get him into Skyfire. The whole flight over, Mirage and Cliffjumper stayed at Sunstreaker's side, still begging him to hold on. They knew he couldn't hear them, but they did it nonetheless. Ratchet didn't try to stop them, especially when he heard Cliffjumper still apologizing to Sunstreaker for calling him a traitor. When they landed, Prime had already ordered Sideswipe to be confined to quarters until further notice. Prowl and Ironhide didn't question his orders, but they both wondered what Sideswipe had done this time. They shut Sideswipe in his quarters and changed the code for the lock so that only Prime's code would work on it. They also added in firewalls so that Sideswipe couldn't hack the lock. When they were heading to Prime's office, they passed Mirage and Cliffjumper in the corridor, and were shocked to see that their legs were coated in energon. After asking them several questions, most of which they refused to answer, they found that the two were heading to the wash racks. Prowl wanted to question them further, but the sorrowful looks on their faces stopped him. I wonder what happened… Suddenly, something started to make sense to Prowl. Prime had ordered Sideswipe confined to quarters, because something had happened to Sunstreaker, though they didn't know what. The thought sent fear into the two officers' sparks.
0o0o0o0o0
"Prime, has something happened to Sunstreaker?" Prowl was sitting across from his CO, Ironhide sitting on one side, and Jazz on the other. Jazz looked worried when he said that, but Ironhide beat him to it.
"Is that why ya' had us throw Sides inta his quarters?"
"Yes, Ironhide. When Mirage and Cliffjumper get here from washing the energon off of themselves, they'll be able to brief all four of us on what happened." As he spoke, the door opened, and the two mechs in question entered the office. The four officers were suddenly focused on them, and they started to feel nervous.
"Um… I guess you all want to know what exactly happened to Sunstreaker, so I guess I'm the best one to tell it." Mirage's voice was shaky, as if he would burst into tears at any moment. As Mirage told his story, the four officers became more and more upset, the thought of such a thing happening to one of their best warriors coursing through their minds. When Mirage was finished, the room was completely silent. The four officers were in shock. Sunstreaker had never put his life on the line for any of them before, not even Sideswipe. The realization of how much he truly cared for his fellow Autobots was almost too much for them to handle. And now, Prime thought, Sunstreaker's life hangs in the balance. As the humans would say, he's hanging by a thread. And what a fragile thread it is.
0o0o0o0o0
Ratchet was frantic. He wasn't mad at Sunstreaker for doing such a thing, not when he was in this condition. He had just gotten briefed on what had happened over the comm., and realized that Sunstreaker punching Mirage to get him out of the way had probably saved Mirage's life. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that he couldn't be angry at Sunstreaker for putting himself in harm's way again. He just wanted him to survive. As he worked on stabilizing the yellow warrior, he had hooked him up to an energon drip, and he knew that he had to plug the leaks first, or the new energon wouldn't do him any good. There was just so much damage… Ratchet felt himself running low on power. He had to recharge.
"Wheeljack! Come take over for me! I need some recharge, or I'll fall into stasis right on top of him!" When Wheeljack took over, Ratchet staggered over to his quarters, and he was out like a light the moment he was on his berth. Even in recharge, he kept seeing Sunstreaker's damaged body on that medical berth. He dreamed that he was trying to fix him, but the energon lines would burst open every time he tried to put them back together. He woke up after dreaming that he had told Sideswipe that his twin had died, and seeing Sideswipe's horrified, frightened expression. He no longer felt tired, but he felt like he had to get Sunstreaker back on his feet, or he would never be able to look Sideswipe in the optics ever again.
0o0o0o0o0
Optimus had just told the news to everyone in the Ark. Sideswipe was the only one who didn't know, and it was a good thing too. Everyone knew that if Sideswipe learned about Sunstreaker's condition, he would likely refuse his energon, and let himself waste away. As it was, all of the other Autobots were horrified when they learned that Sunstreaker could die at any moment. They all had memories of some event where Sunstreaker had saved their lives, and of the happy times when they had joked around with him. They all knew that Sunstreaker had always been a hero, but nobody had ever given him any recognition. On Cybertron, his name was almost unknown, except for tales of the twins on Earth that were notorious troublemakers. They all decided to make a report on all the times that Sunstreaker had saves their lives, and send it to Cybertron. They each wrote up the different instances in which Sunstreaker had saved them on separate datapads, and after everyone had recorded them, they copied them onto one datapad that had a high amount of memory space. The last report to be added in was Mirage's report on the latest lifesaving instance, about how Sunstreaker put his life on the line to save Mirage. At the end of the report, they all signed their names, letting whoever reads it know that they are true stories.
After the report was completed, they decided to send it along with the next transfer, which was to take place the very next day. When dawn had arrived, Blaster boarded Omega Supreme, with the datapad under one arm. In his left hand, he was holding a picture of him and Sunstreaker together at a party. They were both smiling, and Sunstreaker looked like he was having fun. In his right hand, he held a picture of Sunstreaker on that hill, his head in Mirage's lap, and Cliffjumper grasping his right hand, showing the truth behind the last part of the report. He was to give that picture and the report to Ultra Magnus, so that Sunstreaker might finally get the recognition he deserves. After saying good-bye to his friends on Earth, he and Omega Supreme left, bound for Cybertron.
0o0o0o0o0
"Ratchet, how is he?" Optimus Prime stood in the med bay, looking on as the medic worked, worry in his optics.
"Not good. It's taking a long time just to get his fuel lines back together." Ratchet was biting his bottom lip, trying to hold back his fears of being unable to save the yellow warrior.
"Just… try to save him."
"I am, Prime. Don't think for one moment I would let him die without trying my best to save him." Optimus left the room, and Ratchet continued to slave over Sunstreaker's internals, worried that he wouldn't be able to repair all the damage before his spark went out.
0o0o0o0o0
"Blaster, what is this?" Ultra Magnus looked at the things that the Communications Officer was holding, and his optics fell upon the picture in his left hand. "Is that… you and Sunstreaker at a party?"
"Yes sir." Blaster's voice was tinged with sorrow, which Ultra Magnus didn't miss.
"Did something happen?"
"Yes… he was badly injured, trying to save Mirage. Mirage is alive, but even Ratchet doesn't know if Sunstreaker will survive his wounds. Here's a picture of how we found him after Mirage sent us the distress call when the battle was over." Blaster handed Ultra Magnus the picture that he had been holding in his right hand, and Ultra Magnus's hand was shaking as he looked at it. So much energon everywhere… Then, he looked up.
"And what is on that datapad?"
"It's a report that the whole Ark worked on, telling about all the times that their lives had been saved by Sunstreaker. We know that his name is not that well-known here, and those who do know his name know him as a prankster and a troublemaker, not as the hero he truly is." Blaster handed Ultra Magnus the datapad, and left the room.
As Ultra Magnus looked through the massive report, he started to form an idea about the yellow warrior's personality in his mind. He could tell that he was temperamental, but deep down, he truly cared about the other Autobots. When he got to the last part of the report, his hands were shaking so badly he could hardly make out the words. When he finished reading the report, he had tears in his optics. We've been wrong about this Autobot this whole time… Immediately making the decision, he uploaded all of the information on the datapad to the archives, where all could read it, and then sent copies to every Autobot storyteller in Iacon. The name Sunstreaker would soon get all of the recognition the Autobot who bore it was due.
0o0o0o0o0
In an underground base on Cybertron, a pink femme suddenly saw an information packet pop up on her screen. She looked through it, and was shocked when she saw the picture at the end. There were two Autobot mechs on a hill, with an unconscious yellow mech who was lying in a massive pool of energon. The yellow mech's head was resting on the blue and white mech's lap, and the small red mech was grasping the yellow mech's right hand. When she looked at the writing above it, she discovered that the mech was Sunstreaker, and that he had put his life on the line to save the blue and white mech, Mirage. She called all of the Autobot Femmes to the control room, and had them read through the report from Earth. By the time they had all read through the whole thing, they all had tears in their optics, and they were all shocked about what they had just read about one of the most notorious pranksters in the Autobot ranks.
0o0o0o0o0
"Prime, good news! Sunstreaker is going to live!" Ratchet had suddenly burst into the rec room, appearing haggard and tired, but more excited than most had ever seen him. When he had made his announcement, all of the Autobots in the room cheered and applauded, relieved that they weren't going to lose the yellow warrior.
"That is indeed great news, Ratchet!" Optimus Prime stood from where he had been sitting, and rested a hand on the CMO's shoulder. "Now, I think you should get some recharge. You look like you're about to collapse from lack of recharge."
"All right, Prime." Ratchet turned, and started to walk out of the room, but then collapsed when he had just taken his first step. Under the battle mask, Optimus was smiling as he carried the medic to his respectable berth. After leaving Ratchet in his quarters, Optimus went into the med bay, and looked at Sunstreaker. He still was missing sections of his armor, but he was no longer leaking energon, and when he looked at the spark monitor, his spark pulse was steady. Optimus gently touched the warrior's shoulder, then left the med bay, and went back to the rec room. He made a mental note to send both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to Cybertron for a well-earned vacation. He would ask for two or more warriors in return from Ultra Magnus, to make up for the twins while they were gone. He had heard about a triple-changer named Springer from Blaster once. Maybe he could get him to Earth. Also, possibly a young mech named Hot Rod. But he would do that later, when Sunstreaker was strong enough to travel.
0o0o0o0o0
Sideswipe looked up as he heard the door to the quarters he shared with his twin open, feeling a bit sad that he hadn't been able to contact his twin through the bond that they shared. He saw Optimus Prime and the two SICs enter the room, and he sat up a bit straighter.
"He's hurt, isn't he?" The three officers looked a bit disconcerted that Sideswipe had actually known this whole time.
"How did you know?"
"Really? Have you once again forgotten that Sunny and I share a split spark? I haven't felt anything on his end of the bond for two weeks now. As such, I know that he's unconscious in the med bay. I can feel that he's alive, but I cannot tell what his emotions are." Sideswipe looked down at his feet, not wanting to think about what it feels to be alone.
"Well, we wanted to tell you that he's going to pull through. Would you like us to tell you what happened?"
"I'd like that."
The three officers told Sideswipe what Mirage had told them. As they spoke, Sideswipe became even more tense, as they described how Mirage had been forced to watch Sunstreaker grow weaker, as he tried to offer what comfort he could to the mech who had saved his life. He was a little shocked when they told him of how both Mirage and Cliffjumper had begged Sunstreaker to stay awake, to stay alive. How Cliffjumper had apologized to Sunstreaker for calling him a traitor and being so mean to him. When the officers finished, he spoke up.
"So… how long until he wakes up?"
"Probably tomorrow or the day after."
"Good… Prime, is there something else you wanted to tell me?"
Optimus looked at Sideswipe, surprised that the red warrior could guess so much. "Yes, I have decided that when your twin is well enough to travel, that you and he are to take a vacation on Cybertron. You two have earned it, and I think you will be treated better there now than last time you went." Optimus handed Sideswipe a datapad, and then turned to leave.
"Prime, what is this?"
Optimus turned back. "It's a message from Cybertron, meant for you and your twin. It's from Ultra Magnus and his staff." With that, the three officers left.
0o0o0o0o0
Sideswipe looked at the datapad in his hands, and then turned it on. There were two files, and he opened the one labeled for him. It was a video recording that showed Ultra Magnus, a light blue mech, a colorful mech with a flame on his chest, and an old gray-green mech who looked like he could use a good paint job. In the background, he could also see another mech he recognized. Springer, the triple-changer.
*Sideswipe, we know that you two are coming. We have received a report from Earth on all the times your twin has saved the lives of the other Autobots there, and we have found ourselves with the need to apologize for thinking that you two were just pranksters. We also thought you two had not cared for your fellow Autobots, but after reading what your twin has done, we found ourselves at fault. We have shared the report with all of the storytellers in our ranks, as well as with the Female Autobots, so your brother is now hailed as a hero. They've also become more curious about you. Everyone wants to know if you have done the same things as he has, and I believe that you have. We all deeply apologize, and hope that you two enjoy your stay here in Iacon.* Ultra Magnus stopped speaking, and the other mechs on the screen one by one gave their apologies and assurances as well. It was a little hard to understand the light blue mech, because he talked even faster than Bluestreak did! Must be that mech that I've heard about called Blurr. Fitting name. He found himself wondering who the young, brightly colored mech was, who had a flame pattern adorning his chest. When the recording ended, Sideswipe put the datapad away in his subspace, to save it for when his brother woke up.
0o0o0o0o0
/Beep…/
/Beep…/
/Beep…/
Sunstreaker's optics slowly flickered on. His body was still filled with pain, but it wasn't as bad as before. He was staring up at the med bay ceiling, wondering what had happened. Then, it hit him. Oh yeah… the battle, I saved Mirage. But why did he and Cliff keep telling me to stay awake? Before he could think about it any further, he saw a femme walk into the room, dragging an unconscious Tracks behind her. Behind the first femme was another femme, this one with wings. He didn't recognize either of the femmes, and was a little nervous about how much might have changed in the time he was unconscious. The new Winged Guardian femme was mostly light blue, with some bright golden yellow, and some light blue-green. She had a lovely pattern on her chest, like Earth leaves pointing out and away from the triangle at the base of her neck, and the diamond right below it. The second femme was less noticeable, save for one feature. She had a medium pink visor. As he looked at the armor covering the other femme, he saw that it was mainly a dark greenish color, with two pink stripes running down it. She had two wheels on the backs of her ankles, and her helm was similar in design to Jazz's. She also had a pair of doorwings, though they seemed a bit smaller than normal, though perhaps that was because femmes are usually shorter than mechs (not including the Winged Guardians, of course. They are all tall.) He noticed that the shorter femme had some scarring on her chest, right over where her spark was, but he decided not to mention it. As the smaller femme dragged Tracks to a medical berth, the Winged Guardian walked over to him, carrying a datapad.
"Good, you're awake. It seems that my predictions were accurate when I tried to guess when you would wake up." The Guardian's voice was oddly musical, and it calmed whatever tension Sunstreaker had felt when she came over. It took a moment for Sunstreaker to find his vocal processor.
"Um… who are you?" The femme looked at him kindly.
"Oh, I forgot my manners. My name is Lightburst. I was transferred here by my eldest sister, Airstrike, so that I may learn more about this planet." Lightburst looked like she might be happy all the time, but after working with three Winged Guardians already, he knew that her happy exterior hid a savage, brutal fighting interior. All Winged Guardians, he knew, had fighting programming in them. He also knew, from a past experience, that it was not a good idea to put a Guardian under extreme emotional distress, or you will have a savage beast on your hands. He had found that all Winged Guardians had fail-safe programming that they revert to when it is clear that the Autobots would not win otherwise, and when they are under extreme duress from negative emotions.
"So… where's Ratchet? Isn't he supposed to be taking care of me?"
"He's in recharge. I practically had to knock him out for him to get some rest, because he would not go to recharge, even though he badly needed it." Sunstreaker had to hold back a laugh when he imagined the femme conking the CMO on the back of the head.
"What did you use?"
"Oh, this wrench I found nearby that had glowing blue lines in it." This time, Sunstreaker laughed out loud. "What's so funny?"
Still laughing, because of the mental picture that had suddenly popped up in his head, he struggled to reply. "Th-that's Ratchet's s-special wrench! B-Battle Star made it for him! Th-this is too good to be true!" Sunstreaker kept laughing, and soon, after Lightburst realized the hilarity of what she did, joined in with her own, melodic laugh.
0o0o0o0o0
All the way down the corridor, several mechs heard the laughing, and they all smiled at one another. They had never missed that sound so much than they had the past two weeks. Soon, some of them poked their heads into the med bay, and after the smaller femme explained what Lightburst had done, they laughed too. Even Prime joined in, because it was a little hard NOT to laugh at the idea of Ratchet getting whacked in the back of the head by one of his OWN wrenches… or ANY wrench for that matter. Some of the mechs came all the way into the room, and went to stand beside the berth that Sunstreaker was on. The first ones there were Mirage, Cliffjumper, and Sideswipe. The three of them told him, between laughs, how worried they had been about him. Suddenly, Ratchet came into the med bay, holding the back of his head with one hand. The room went dead silent. Everyone was holding in their laughter, and had some of the funniest facial expressions that they had ever seen. Little did they know, Red Alert was in the security room, recording the whole thing. This will make great blackmail material!
0o0o0o0o0
A few days after Sunstreaker first woke up he was able to walk around with a bit of assistance from his twin. As they went down the corridor to their quarters, the two talked about their usual topics: Jet Judo, pranks, how to make Red Alert glitch, and how to overload Prowl's logic circuits again. When they reached their quarters, there was a datapad on the keypad for the lock. When they turned it on, there was a message from Prime.
'Get whatever you want to bring to Cybertron, and say good-bye to everyone. Ratchet has deemed Sunstreaker fit enough to travel, and it is now time for that vacation I promised. ~Optimus Prime'
The twins looked at each other, and then entered their room. Sunstreaker sat on his berth, grabbing some of the things he could reach from there, like a few paintbrushes, and some canvas. Sideswipe helped him by getting some of Sunstreaker's paints, and handing them to him. Sunstreaker subspaced all of the things he was bringing along, and then he lay down to rest for a moment. He watched Sideswipe get some of his favorite things to bring along for the trip, like some group pictures of the whole team, and some of his pranking supplies. Oh, he wasn't going to use them, he just wanted to show them to some of the 'Bots on Cybertron. Sunstreaker smiled, then thought of something.
"Hey, Sideswipe, can you get something for me?" Sideswipe immediately turned around.
"Of course, Sunny!"
"You know that painting I made of all the officers sitting in that field of flowers, with the sun rising behind them?"
"Yeah! I'll go get it for you!" Sideswipe practically ran over to the room adjoining theirs, and opened the door. Turning on the light, he walked among the paintings, until he found the one he was looking for. It was covered by a cloth, but it had the date on it, and the name, so he knew which one it was. Rise of Officers was the name of the painting. Sideswipe had always thought that it belonged in an art museum, but they hadn't been to Cybertron in a long, long time. He carefully picked it up, and brought it over to his twin. After he closed the door to the secret art gallery, it was practically invisible. Sunstreaker subspaced the painting, and when they were both satisfied they had everything they wanted to bring, they went out of the room, Sideswipe mostly supporting Sunstreaker.
0o0o0o0o0
"Ultra-Magnus-a-rocket-is-coming-and-I-think-it-is-Omega-Supreme-which-means-the-twins-are-here-can-I-go-out-to-meet-them-please?" Ultra Magnus had to replay Blurr's words in slow-motion in his mind, just to figure out what he was saying.
"How about we all go out to meet them, Blurr?" Ultra Magnus stood up, and sent a silent message to all of the staff members to meet him at the landing platform. Without waiting to hear Blurr's response, he went out of his office, and walked calmly to the landing platform. Looking up, he did indeed see a rocket with the Autobot symbol on it.
"Passengers: disembark." The voice was deep, ringing out after the rocket landed. A door opened, and a conveyer belt came out from under it, and formed a ramp down to the ground. Two extremely similar mechs stepped out onto the conveyer, the red one mostly supporting the yellow one. When they reached the ground, Ultra Magnus stepped forwards to stand right in front of them.
"We have been eagerly anticipating your arrival. Word came to us from Earth about your heroic acts, Sunstreaker, and we now hold both you and your twin in a higher regard than before." Ultra Magnus extended his hand in a friendly greeting, and Sunstreaker wearily shook it in return.
"I'm just glad that I was well enough to come so soon." Sunstreaker looked around, and smiled at the gathered Autobots. "So, where will we be staying?"
"We have a suite reserved for you in Iacon Tower. It hasn't been in use recently, and I think you'll like it." Ultra Magnus motioned to a colorful young mech with a flame pattern on his chest. "Hot Rod, would you show these two the way there?"
"I would be glad to, sir!" Hot Rod eagerly motioned for the two to follow him, and he led the way to the tower. They walked, since Sunstreaker still wasn't strong enough to transform, but Hot Rod didn't mind. It gave him more time to talk to the twins.
"So, you two are from Earth, right? I've always wanted to see it, ever since we first got word of its existence." Hot Rod walked slower than he normally would, so that the twins could keep up. He didn't want to risk either losing them in the crowds, or making Sunstreaker's condition worse by making him go faster than in comfortable.
"Yeah, we're from Earth. Nice planet. The humans make some really good car wax." Sunstreaker seemed more than happy to tell about his time on the organic world, and that made Hot Rod excited.
"Awesome! So, are the humans really as small as I've heard they are?"
"Yep. Step on one, and they go squish. We have human friends, so whenever they're around, we watch where we are putting our feet." Sideswipe seemed friendly enough as well. They were both being kind to Hot Rod.
"Wow. Never heard of creatures so tiny before. So, what's the Prime like?"
"Oh, he's a good leader. He knows who can do what, and since we are practically programmed as warriors, we're on the front lines most of the time." Sunstreaker smiled a little at this, as if remembering something good about his leader. "Prime is a bit squeamish about killing, though. Can't say I blame him. He used to be a cargo loader at the docks. He never fought until he was injured so badly in a surprise attack that they gave him what is now his current body. That was when he became the Prime in the first place." Sunstreaker was getting a little tired. "How much farther?"
Hot Rod looked at him worriedly. "Not too much farther. The Tower is right there, and most of the distance from here will be going up. We have lifts, so you won't have to walk so much." Hot Rod led them into the Tower, and the twins gaped at the interior. The Tower hadn't looked like much from the outside, but on the inside, it was very impressive. There were mechs pretty much everywhere, most performing some task or another, and there were several levels that they could see from the ground.
"How big IS this place?" Sunstreaker's awe was evident in his voice.
"It's big enough to host all of Iacon and more if the city is under attack." Hot Rod led them to the nearest lift, and they stood on it as it rose up to the correct level. Stepping off, the twins followed Hot Rod to a door relatively close to the lift. Opening it with the code the twins used on Earth, Hot Rod, let them in, and the twins stood in the doorway, shocked, when they saw how nice the quarters were. Sure, their quarters on the Ark were big, but even when they added the secret art gallery to their main room, their quarters only filled about three-fourths of this setup. There wasn't just one room, either. There was a main room, a small section for getting energon from, their own private wash racks, a spare room, and one bedroom with two berths in it.
"We heard that you two prefer to recharge in the same room, so we moved the berth from the spare room to the bigger bedroom." They snapped out of their shock and looked at Hot Rod when he spoke. "D-do you like it?"
"Yeah, we like it." Sunstreaker managed a smile, and then he yawned. "I think I should go claim my berth and recharge. I can take my things out of subspace later." Sideswipe helped him to the bedroom, and then came out alone.
"He was out like a light the moment his head touched the cushion. So… do I have an assignment or anything?"
Hot Rod was a little startled at the question. "No, you don't have an assignment. Prime made it clear that you two are not to work unless you want to."
"Great! Hey, when do you go back on duty?"
"Ultra Magnus told me that after I get you two to your quarters, I have the rest of the day off. Right now, I don't need to be anywhere."
"Awesome! Hey, let me teach you how to play some Earth video games!"
"Games?" That was all Hot Rod could say before Sideswipe pulled him into the main room. Sideswipe took some kind of device out of his subspace, and looked at the screen in the room to see where he could plug it in.
"Oh! Right, I need to use the adapter to be able to plug this thing into the newer models." Sideswipe pulled out a smaller device that had two different sides to plug into. He plugged the cord of the first device into the designated spot on one end of the smaller device, and then plugged the smaller device into the screen. He activated the first device, and a strange-looking background appeared on the screen. "Hey, wanna do Guitar Hero, or Rock Band 3?"
"Um… I don't really know what those are…" Hot Rod shuffled his feet uncertainly.
"I'll plug in the things for Rock Band 3 then!" Sideswipe took some more devices out of his subspace, and started to set them up. One of them he placed in front of a metal chair, and it had four different-colored circular pads on it, and there were two metal sticks lying on it. The other he knew what it most closely resembled. He had seen a picture of a human guitar that Blaster had, and he once tried to play it, but with little success. He watched as Sideswipe plugged the cords from the two devices into the first device, and turned them on. "Here, do you want the drums, or the guitar?"
"How do you play the drums?"
"Here, I'll show you!" Sideswipe sat down in the chair, and picked up the sticks. "See these? They're drumsticks." He tapped on one of the pads, and the screen changed. He tapped a few more times, and the screen changed to a scene with a lot of humans, and five lines leading to the bottom of the screen. "Watch this!" Music started to play, and then colored lights started to come down the spaces between the lines. Sideswipe began to tap the pads that had the same color. Soon, the colored bits came faster and faster, and Sideswipe tapped the pads faster as well. Soon, the song was over, and the screen gave him his score. "Woo! High score!"
"So, can we start off easy so I can get the hang of the drums?"
"Sure!"
They played the game for the rest of the day, and they had a blast. All too soon, however, it was time to put it away, and go to recharge.
"See ya, Hot Rod!"
"You too, Sides!" They waved to each other as Hot Rod left the twins' suite, and went back to his own quarters. Sideswipe recharged peacefully, knowing that his brother was near.
0o0o0o0o0
When morning came, Sunstreaker was already sitting up on his berth, taking his things out of subspace. He set all of his paints and canvas on the shelves by his berth, and placed his wax on the small table next to his berth. The last thing he took out was the painting he had brought along. Do they even have art museums or art galleries anymore? He carefully placed the covered painting on the shelf closest to the head of his berth. Then, he heard a ping as he got a message saying that someone was at the door.
"Sides, hey Sides… WAKE UP!" Sideswipe jolted out of recharge when his twin yelled at him.
"What is it, Sunny?"
"Someone's at the door."
"Why don't you get it?"
"I can't walk on my own yet, remember?"
"Oh, yeah…" Sideswipe stood up, and walked out of the bedroom to the main room. He opened the door, and saw the blue Autobot called Blurr at the door. "How can I help you?"
"Hi-I'm-Blurr-and-I-would-really-like-to-hang-out-with-you-guys-I-don't-have-anything-to-do-today-so-I'm-free-to-do-activities-with-you-guys-can-I-please-come-in?" Sideswipe flickered his optics, remembering how fast Blurr talked from the recording that he had received on Earth a week ago.
"Ok… I guess you can come in…"
"Thanks-you're-a-real-pal-I-think-we'll-be-great-friends!" Almost faster than the optic could follow, Blurr dashed into the room and looked around. "Wow-this-place-is-great-hey-where's-Sunstreaker?"
"Sunny's in the bedroom. He can't really walk on his own right now. I'll go get him." Sunstreaker walked to the bedroom, and saw Sunstreaker waiting for him. "Hey, Sunny, someone wants to see you. Well, he came to see both of us, but he didn't see you out in the main room, so I offered to help you in there."
"Sure." Sunstreaker started to push himself off of the berth, and Sideswipe rushed over to support him. With his twin's left arm around his shoulders, Sideswipe helped Sunstreaker to the main room. Blurr caught sight of them immediately, and rushed over in, well, a blur.
"Wow-it's-so-great-to-meet-you-I've-heard-all-about-you-from-Ultra-Magnus-and-it's-truly-an-honor-it-really-is!" Blurr had to control his speed so that he didn't accidentally damage Sunstreaker while shaking his hand.
"Um… nice to meet you too. Hey, I got an idea." He turned his head to face his twin. "Sides, could you help me over to that chair, then get some of my art supplies?"
"Sure, bro!" Sideswipe helped him over to said chair, then went to the bedroom, and came back with some brushes, paint cans, a blank canvas, and an art stand. Blurr watched with wide optics as Sideswipe helped his twin set up the art supplies.
"Now, Blurr and Sides, can you stand next to each other and act like you're best friends? Just get into a position like you're hanging out, and hold it." The two mechs did as they were told, and Sunstreaker got to work. They stood that way for about half of an Earth hour, and Blurr was getting impatient.
"How-much-longer-do-I-gotta-stand-still-like-this?!"
"Hold still! I'm almost done!" Sunstreaker had to make an extreme effort of will not to snap at the speedy Autobot. "There, I'm done with you two. I'll finish up with the background, then I'll show you."
"Can't wait to see it, Sunny!"
"Wait-he's-an-artist-I-didn't-know-that-how-is-he-an-artist-I-haven't-seen-an-artist-in-a-long-time-how-is-he-an-artist?!"
"He was an artist long before the war. He made paintings for art galleries, and the higher-class bots always paid well for a painting done by him."
"Done!" Sunstreaker turned the art stand around, and the two mechs gaped at the picture. Sunstreaker had actually managed to make the background a cross between Earth and Cybertron, with Earth-like trees that were made of metal, and crystal flowers that looked suspiciously like Earth flowers, all in the middle of a Cybertronian park in a city. In the middle of the painting, under a metal willow tree, he had painted Sideswipe and Blurr in the positions they had chosen. Sideswipe was in the process of giving Blurr what humans termed a noogie, and Blurr was bent down trying to get away, and both of them were grinning like idiots.
"Sunny, this is amazing!"
"This-is-awesome-he-actually-painted-me-in-a-picture-with-his-twin-I-can't-believe-it!" Blurr was practically dashing around the room in disbelief. Sunstreaker smiled.
"Yeah, I gotta say that this is one of the best paintings I have ever done. It takes some creativity to combine two different worlds." Sunstreaker looked at the new painting proudly, then moved it and the stand to the side to let it dry. "Hey, Blurr, you wouldn't happen to know someone called Kup, would you?"
0o0o0o0o0
The old mech was in his off-duty hours, reading a datapad, when suddenly a blurr of Blurr stopped right in front of him.
"Kup-the-twins-want-to-see-you-they-said-that-they-wanted-to-meet-you-because-of-something-Optimus-"
"Hold on, kiddo, you're saying that the twins want to meet ME?!" Kup was astonished. .Why would two high-caliber mechs was to meet someone like me?
"Yes-they-want-me-to-take-you-to-their-quarters-right-now-so-that-they-can-meet-you-as-soon-as-possible!" Without another word, Blurr grabbed Kup, and ran towards the twins' quarters.
0o0o0o0o0
"How long do you-" Sideswipe suddenly received a ping signifying that someone was at the door. He opened it, and was pleased to see Blurr standing outside with another mech.
"Sideswipe-I-brought-Kup-like-you-asked-me-to-he's-been-asking-me-why-you-wanted-to-meet-him-I-don't-know-why-though-so-I-just-brought-him-here."
"Yeah… why DID you have him bring me here?"
Sideswipe smiled. "We have something to show you. It's something we brought from Earth. Come in, come in!" Sideswipe let Kup into the main room, and Kup immediately saw Sunstreaker resting in one of the chairs, a newly finished painting drying beside him.
"He-he's a PAINTER?!"
"Yep! But that is just preparation for what he wanted to show you." Sideswipe left Kup's side, and walked into the bedroom.
"So, you're Sunstreaker?"
"Yep."
"Heard you almost died."
"Yep."
"Can you say anything other than 'yep'?"
Sunstreaker thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Nope."
"Wow. They were right. You DO have a great sense of humor!" Sideswipe had just come back into the main room, and had caught the last part of the conversation. Kup noticed he was carrying something wrapped in cloth.
"What is that?"
"What Sunstreaker wanted to show you." Sideswipe handed the wrapped-up object to Kup, and waited.
"Um… ok." Kup looked at it for a moment, and noticed that there was writing on the cloth. 'Rise of Officers.' He carefully unwrapped it, and when the cloth fell away, Kup gasped. He was holding a painting of what looked like all of the officers from the Ark sitting together in a field of flowers, with the Earth sun rising behind them, the sky all sorts of different colors. "You painted this, Sunstreaker?"
"Yeah. I had always planned on bringing it to Cybertron, so that it might end up in an art gallery or museum, but I'm not sure if any still exist."
"We still have one small art gallery. Want me to file a request to Ultra Magnus for you?"
"I'd like that."
Kup carefully wrapped the painting back up in the cloth, then handed it back to Sideswipe. He waved good-bye, and left the room. Blurr had already gone.
0o0o0o0o0
A few days after Kup had filed the twins' request to place the painting in the small art gallery in Iacon, the painting was relocated. Mechs and femmes alike gathered in the art gallery to view the unveiling of the new addition. They started to whisper to each other when they saw Sideswipe assisting Sunstreaker to the front of the crowd, to join Ultra Magnus. The commander had ordered an escort for them, so that Sunstreaker would not accidentally get hurt moving through the crowd. All of the Autobots in Iacon had heard about his heroic deeds by this time, and they were all amazed that he was there with his twin. When they reached Ultra Magnus, Sideswipe helped his brother sit down in a chair placed there for that purpose, then took the painting out of subspace, and handed it to him. Ultra Magnus smiled at the obvious care the twins felt for each other.
"Fellow Autobots, we have come here today to reveal a great work of art! You all have heard the name Sunstreaker by now, and know this: he was not always a war hero. We used to think he was just a prankster, but that was wrong in not one, but several ways. Before the war, he made art for a living. During this war, he's been trapped on a planet called Earth, and he has made many paintings since he first crashed with the others on the Ark. He is a soldier under Optimus Prime himself, and works with some of the finest mechs to ever be sparked. Now, finally, at least some of Cybertron can see what it's like on Earth without even going there. This painting, which shall be revealed shortly, shows how closely the officers of the Ark work together, and we have two others showing both friendship between two planets, and beauty that this brave warrior saw on that faraway planet, even when on the brink of death."
Sideswipe put one arm under his twin's arms, and pulled him to his feet. Using him as support, Sunstreaker went over to Ultra Magnus, and placed the wrapped painting on the pedestal next to him. With both twins working together, they unwrapped the painting, and the cloth fell away. The entire crowd gasped in awe, seeing all of the officers currently on Earth gathered together in a colorful field of flowers, with beautiful colors in the sky behind them, seeming to be joking around with each other, and in the middle, was Optimus Prime himself. Then, taking another painting out of subspace, Sunstreaker placed it next to the first, and the crowd was even more in awe this time. It showed two mechs who had lived most of the war on different worlds acting like best friends. Sideswipe and Blurr both looked happy, and were messing around in the middle of a background that looked both familiar and alien to them. Then, the crowd realized that, somehow, Sunstreaker had combined the surroundings that he was familiar with on Earth with the surroundings of Cybertron. Finally, Sideswipe took the last painting out of subspace, and set it next to the other two. Taking the cloth off of this one, the crowd gasped in awe, as they suddenly felt like they were seeing through the optics of Sunstreaker himself as he lay dying on that hill. In slightly softer colors than the other two paintings, they saw the beautiful sunset, fringed by trees at the bottom, and the slight outline of the top of a blue head at the top of the painting. They remembered the stories, and realized that it was the Autobot Mirage looking down at the mech who had saved him, begging him to live. When they looked a little closer, they saw irregularities in the sunset where some sections were different colors. Then, one femme spoke up.
"What are those things in the sky?"
Sunstreaker, who was sitting back in the chair they had provided for him, smiled. "Those are the clouds, sweet lady. The clouds on Earth are particularly beautiful at sunset."
The crowd continued to whisper amongst themselves, and then they all applauded Sunstreaker's artwork. Even if he should die tomorrow, or the day after, or any day after that, he would now be remembered as more than a prankster, or a warrior. He was now known as what he really was.
0o0o0o0o0
"Ahhh… as nice as it was back on Cybertron, there's nothing like being back at home base!" Sunstreaker stretched his arms up in the sunlight. He was now standing fully on his own power, and walked down the ramp with confidence.
"It's good to have you back. It's also good to see you feeling so much better." The rest of the Autobots who lived and worked in the Ark each came up and welcomed him back. He saw some new mechs standing apart from the others. That must be Springer and the little one they called Wheelie. He smiled at his friends, and then walked back to his own quarters. It felt pretty good, being known throughout the Autobots ranks on Cybertron as a hero, because he would not be forgotten. And it felt even better, knowing that some small part of Earth had made it to a place where others who could not go could see it. But no matter, now, he was home.