The battle was fierce.
Many Autobots and Decepticons lay by the sidelines, wounded, dead or dying. As sad a sight as it was, it was the usual scene. Never something you ever really numb to, but something you grow accustomed to… something that hurts less every time… but only just.
It was the kind of sight that made Sideswipe sick to his preverbal stomach. He hated seeing this… after, during, before, he hated it no matter which way he looked at it. It reminded him too much of battles that he lost friends in back on Cybertron.
The only comfort he found was that his brother hated seeing it as much as he did; Sunstreaker was just a bazillion times better at hiding it than he was.
The twin warriors cruised around the battlefield, helping pick up the pieces of the Autobot casualties and fatalities, and the Decepticon ones that no one bothered to collect. It stunned the red and yellow sometimes, how little the Decepticons cared for each other.
"Sideswipe!" Said a voice from across the field.
The twins both looked up. The voice had belonged to Ratchet, the Head Medical Officer, privately known to the twins as Senior Cranky Pants on the bad days, Primus in a Nissan Van on the good.
"What, Ratchet?" Sideswipe responded, shooting the medic a questioning glance.
"Grab that for me, will you?"
'That' happened to be a downed Decepticon, laying half under a large rock on the far side of the battleground.
Sideswipe looked between the Decepticon and the medic a few times, noting that it was pretty much the last thing to be picked up and the other Autobots could be seen on the horizon, heading for the Ark.
The red warrior looked at his brother, who shrugged, before returning his gaze to Ratchet. "Yeah, kay."
Sideswipe headed over, and Sunstreaker moved to help him, but Ratchet's voice sounded yet again, holding him back. "Hang on an astrotick Sunstreaker, I need you to help me with this over here."
"Fine, fine." Sunstreaker huffed.
And so, Sideswipe headed over to the Decepticon all on his lonesome.
The red melee warrior strode over and had a look at the Decepticon. A perfect example of Megatron's ability to provide the Autobots with laser fodder, indeed. This poor guy was probably one of the rankless grunts that the higher ups tossed in their direction before doing much else themselves.
Upon quick inspection, Sideswipe realised that the Decepticon wasn't a seeker. That instantly earned him points in Sideswipe's book, considering seekers were the most annoying thing to have ever have stood in Megatron's shadow. No, this guy looked like he had some sort of all-terrain vehicle as his alternate mode… and he had a sword attached to his right arm, which was pretty much the only part of him in decent shape; the blade was still sharp.
Sideswipe crouched next to the Decepticon. To move him, he'd have to move the rock, he decided, and the rock was probably too big for him to move on hi-… What the…
His lamentations were cut short as he noticed movement from the 'Con. A grimace? Was he still alive?
"Hey, 'Con." Sideswipe asked. "Are you dead or what?"
The Decepticon cracked his optics open. It pleased Sideswipe to see they weren't the usual red colour of most Decepticons. No, indeed, they were a pale green. Pale, but dull… and not giving off much light. He probably couldn't see very well.
"Looks like you're not dead after all." Sideswipe said to the wounded mech below him.
The Decepticon grimaced again and flinched, before moving his mouth weakly. Stupidly, Sideswipe knelt down and leaned closer to the Con, trying to hear what he was saying. Instead of words though, Sideswipe heard a pained grunt, before hearing a SHING and then, the sound of shattering glass and tearing metal.
He also felt the sting of a blade cutting across his face, and the splash of his own Energon on his cheeks.
And the next thing Sunstreaker and Ratchet heard was a loud screech of pain.
