As Prowl walked through the corridors of the Ark, he began to hear a very soft, quite annoying tapping sound under his feet. Pausing for a moment, he looked down, and the floor suddenly gave way beneath him. He ended up tangled in a literal web of chains, and his doorwings were stuck at an odd angle. He sighed, and commed Optimus.
"Sir? Could you please come get me out of a hole in the corridor leading to my office? And please bring some others with you. I seem to be a bit… tangled up." That last part was nearly a growl as he began to plot the punishment for whoever was responsible for this prank. Ten agonizing minutes later, he heard footsteps in the corridor above him, and he tried his best to get an arm free to help, but to no avail. "I'm down here."
"Don't worry, Prowl, we'll get you out of there!" Three heads poked over the side of the hole, and one was someone he was planning to punish later on. Optimus and the twins surveyed the situation, then disappeared back over the side.
"Prime, I think I might have a laser cutter in the quarters I share with Sides. I mainly use it on a low setting for etching, but I think that if I raise the power enough, it will cut through those chains." Sunstreaker's voice echoed from the walls of the corridor down into the hole, and Prowl felt his spark skip a pulse as he listened to the angry, yet concerned, tone.
"Go get it. Sideswipe, do you have anything that could help?" Prime's baritone voice echoed down, along with fading footsteps.
"I might be able to climb down and get him loose a bit more before Sunny comes back, but it depends on how tangled he is. I'm not sure if I could get him completely free without hurting him more than he possibly is already, though."
"Don't try to free him all the way, just give him a bit of room to move around so it will lessen the obvious pressure on his doorwings. He's probably in pain right now." Prowl started to wonder how Prime always seemed to know what he was feeling, then turned his thoughts back towards the fact that Sideswipe, who had probably set up the prank in the first place, was coming down to help. It didn't make any sense to his logic-set mind.
"Prowl, I'm coming down, all right?" Sideswipe's head reappeared over the edge of the hole, and the red warrior turned around, and carefully felt the sides of the hole to find places where he could hold on to. The red twin almost fell at one point, but the mass of crisscrossed chains were enough to catch his fall. It amazed Prowl how the twin managed to avoid being tangled in them, and noticed the expression of intense concentration on Sideswipe's face. Soon, the twin was walking on one chain that went close to Prowl like it was a tightrope that humans walked on in circuses. Once the twin was as close as he could get to the SIC, he reached out, and started to lightly tug on some of the chains wrapped around the doorwings.
Prowl couldn't stop the slight grunt of pain when Sideswipe accidentally yanked a bit too hard, and the twin looked up at him worriedly. "Did that hurt?"
"Only a little. Please continue with removing those chains." Prowl was an expert of hiding his own discomfort, but sometimes something slipped through. The SIC focused on how the twin was experimentally tugging on chains to see which ones were easiest to remove, and Prowl did what he could to help by pointing out where he could feel any chains that were particularly loose from when he first got tangled. Sometimes Prowl would make a slightly pained sound, and the red twin would worriedly ask if it had hurt him when he pulled on one of the chains, but the SIC would dismiss it and insist that Sideswipe resume trying to get as many chains as he could off of him. Then, they heard hurried footsteps coming down the corridor.
"Prime, I got the laser cutter! Want me to go down there myself, or should I let Sides do it?"
"I think it would be safer if you did it. You have a steadier hand."
"Right." The head of the yellow twin poked over the edge of the hole. "Sides, come back up, and I'll go down there to free him the rest of the way, all right?"
"Sure, bro! Just be careful, because some of those chains are really tight!" The red twin stopped tugging on the chains, and carefully walked tightrope-style back to the side of the hole. Once he had climbed out, Prowl saw Sunstreaker climbing down to get to that same chain that Sideswipe had been perched on.
"I'm coming, Prowl!" Sunstreaker walked along the chain with more confidence than Sideswipe did, and his pace was quicker as well. When he had reached the SIC, the yellow twin pulled a laser cutter out of subspace. "All right, try not to move, all right, Prowl?"
"Very well. I can't move that much at the moment anyway." Prowl kept himself as still as possible, and heard the laser cutter starting up. One by one, he felt chains falling away from him, and he could have moved if he wanted to, but he did not want to risk Sunstreaker accidentally cutting him. When the only chains left were ones that were not wrapped around him, but were actually supporting him from below, Sunstreaker turned off the laser cutter, and put it back into subspace.
"Prowl, do you think you can climb up on your own?"
"I do not believe so. When I fell, one of the chains jerked on my left leg so hard that the support struts were snapped."
"Slag it. I'll have to carry you then." Before the SIC could protest, Sunstreaker had picked him up, and settled him onto his back. On reflex alone, Prowl threw his arms around the warrior's neck, and he tried his best to keep his weight evenly distributed so that the warrior would not lose his balance and fall deeper into the hole. Once Sunstreaker had climbed high enough to get his head above the edge of the hole, Prime and Sideswipe lifted the SIC off of the yellow twin's back, and Sunstreaker was able to move more quickly to get himself out. Prowl soon found himself supported on his injured side by the red twin, and the two of them were walking towards the med bay, with Sunstreaker following behind like a worried mother hen.
0o0o0o0o0
"Prowl, it wasn't Sideswipe that did it!"
"Sunny, you would always say that, wouldn't you?"
"Prowl, Sides would NEVER do a prank like this!" The yellow warrior threw his arms up into the air in frustration. "Sides has his own set of rules for pranks, and rule number one is to never do a prank that would seriously hurt or even kill someone. He would never do a prank like that!"
"Who else do you know that even COULD pull off a prank like that hidden hole filled with chains?"
"I don't know, but it's not Sides! Why do you insist that it's him, when you know that he would never try to hurt you OR me on purpose?!"
"Maybe because he's the only one that could pull off something so complicated in secret?" Prowl was sitting on his berth with his left leg propped up on some spare pillows that were brought in, as well as in a splint.
"Slag it, Prowl! Why can't you just accept that not every prank is done by my brother?!"
"Why can't YOU accept that your brother is the most notorious prankster here?!"
"THAT'S IT! I'm out of here, Prowl! I'm going to my own room!" Sunstreaker stormed out of the SIC's quarters, and made the sliding door close so fast that it was equivalent in dramatization to a human slamming a hinged door when leaving a room in a rage. All of a sudden, Prowl felt remorse for what he had said. What have I done?
0o0o0o0o0
Sunstreaker stomped into the quarters he shared with his twin, and found them empty. Ignoring the calls he was receiving from Prowl, he grabbed his things, and stuffed them into subspace. In the bottom of one of his crates, he found an old box he hadn't opened in eons. Checking the contents, he put it into subspace as well, and then left the room. Tears started to stream down his face, and he started running as quickly as he could towards the entrance of the Ark.
"Sunny! Where are you going?!" Sunstreaker ignored the voice of his twin, and even went so far as to block of the twin bond between them. Hearing frantic footsteps behind him, he transformed, and drove as fast as he could towards the outdoors. "Sunny! Please, come back!"
The moment he reached the outdoors, he transformed, and started running towards the forest. He was putting on an old suit from the Golden Ages as he ran, and once it was on completely, he brought his arms behind him, and swept forwards past the lower parts of his thighs, his hands catching in two pockets that fit them perfectly. Hidden devices activated, and when Sideswipe was outside, Sunstreaker was gone. "Sunny…"
0o0o0o0o0
As the mech colored in ruby red, golden yellow, and black flew through the air, he was using a feature he had to flap specially-designed wings to keep aloft. The wings were exactly like those of an Earth bat or the mythical dragon, and his fingers were in special controls that allowed him to expand or contract how wide they were. His thumbs were free, and he wore a mask that was like an Earth dragon from medieval mythology. Finding a high mountaintop, he alighted on a rock, and brought his wings forwards. Sweeping them past the lower parts of his thighs, the controls on his hands disconnected, and the wings became indistinguishable from the rest of him. His emerald-green optics swept around the landscape, and fell upon a cave.
As he entered the cave on the top of the mountain, he was checking odd little devices on his arms and chest to make sure nothing was wrong. Once inside the cave, he took out a large lantern, and set it on the ground.
"I hope this still works…" The words were mumbled to himself, as the Cybertronian activated a component in his mouth that had not been used since Cybertron's Golden Age. Bringing his face close to the lantern, he sent a small spurt of fire from his mouth to the wick, and the lantern was lit. The mech coughed a bit as he sat up, and a few sparks came out of his mouth. "Ugh… I'm going to need to practice some more for that…"
His comm. unit was turned off, and he was now completely isolated from everyone else. He brought out some of his supplies, and stared for a long while at a picture he had packed with everything else. It was an image of a yellow and black mech standing with one colored in red and black, with a black and white Praxian mech standing between them. After he managed to tear his gaze away from it, he set the picture on a rock shelf, and set his bedding on the floor of the cave. After a few minutes of lying in the light of the lantern, he finally fell into recharge.
0o0o0o0o0
"Prowl, I can't talk with you right now!"
"Sideswipe. My office. NOW." The Praxian was walking with the help of a crutch given to him by Ratchet, the CMO, and was trying to herd a certain red hellion to his office for punishment.
"Not right now, Prowl! I have to go find Sunny!"
"I am sure he will be seen somewhere in the base today…"
"Prowl, HE RAN AWAY! I saw him running outside, and by the time I got out there, HE. WAS. GONE!"
"WHAT?!" Prowl gaped at the red twin, not caring if other mechs saw him. He just could not believe that the yellow twin had just up and left the base. "Well, he's coming back, right?"
"He took most of his stuff with him! I don't think he'll be back for a while, Prowl! I just HAVE to go find him!" The red twin started to run towards the exit, but Prowl grabbed onto his arm.
"I'll notify Prime, and send out Hound and Trailbreaker. They might be able to pick up his trail. You need to calm down." Prowl dismissed what he had originally intended to do, and started to make his way to Optimus Prime's office. In his processer, there was only one thought. This is all my fault…
0o0o0o0o0
Three weeks later, and there was still no sign of Sunstreaker. Prowl and Sideswipe had started to get increasingly worried about the yellow warrior, and the lack of information on his whereabouts wasn't helping. Prowl was sitting in the monitor room, watching SkySpy's visual feed to see if there was any sign of the yellow twin.
'ALERT: UNKNOWN CYBERTRONIAN SIGHTED NEAR NEW YORK CITY.' Teletraan 1's robotic voice snapped Prowl out of the daydream-like state he had fallen into, and the SIC immediately turned his full attention towards the monitor. There was a ruby-red, golden yellow, and black mech near the highway just a half-mile from the outskirts of New York City, and he seemed to be… dancing. There was a small crowd of humans gathered around a container near the highway, and they were occasionally throwing money into it. The mech was performing complicated, yet elegant, dances to Earth music. Suddenly, the mech swept his hands past the lower outside parts of his thighs, and seemed to suddenly sprout wings in place of arms. He rose into the air, and started to dance there as well. The humans started to cheer, and many were taking pictures. More money was thrown into the container on the ground, and as the songs kept changing, so did the style of airborne dance that the mech performed. As the last song ended, the mech spread his 'wings' as far as they could go to catch as much of the wind as possible, and tilted his head up, releasing a raging torrent of flames from his mouth.
"What in the name of Primus…" Prowl's optics were riveted to the monitor screen, as he watched the mech gently drift down to the ground, and the humans cleared a space for him, throwing a bit more money into the container before departing. The mech held his wings in front of him, and brought them backwards over the lower outside parts of his thighs, and the wings seemed to disappear and the original arms remained. The strange mech picked up the container of money, and set it into his subspace, then looked up at the SkySpy satellite. After a moment, he brought his hands forwards across the lower outside parts of his thighs, and his arms one again appeared to be wings. He raised them above his head, and brought them down with incredible power, immediately rising into the air. Like some majestic mythical creature, the mech flew away, and went out of sight. Prowl sighed, and relaxed again. When the mech had looked straight into the camera, it seemed as if he could actually SEE Prowl sitting at the monitor. It had been unsettling to say the least, and yet so, so familiar. However, even with his highly advanced logic center and battle computer, he could not put his finger on the reason why.
"Prowl?" The SIC nearly jumped when he heard the baritone voice behind him, and he swiveled his seat around to look directly into the optics of none other than Optimus Prime.
"Yes, sir?"
"Anything to report on the search?"
"Yes, actually. When SkySpy was travelling past New York City, it picked up a strange new mech that not even Teletraan 1 could identify." As the Praxian spoke, he swiveled his chair back around, and brought up a recording of the strange dancing mech. As the music played, the mech on the screen danced, most of the time in the air. At the end was the fire-breathing finale, and then the unsettling gaze directed at the camera. Beside him, Prowl picked up vibrations in the air that indicated that the Prime was shuddering.
"That is quite… unsettling. Yet, the mech seems somewhat familiar. Any thoughts on the matter, Prowl?"
"Negative, sir. I cannot figure out why this mech seems so familiar to me." Prowl turned off the recording, and switched back to the live feed.
"Well, keep working on it. I'll send out the Aerialbots to see if they can find him. This search has turned into a mystery."
0o0o0o0o0
"Hey, you guys see that?" The red minibot with horns pointed up into the sky, and the two mechs with him looked up as well.
"What are you- oh…" Jazz's voice trailed off, and Mirage simply gaped at what they were seeing above them. It was a sparkling ruby-red, golden yellow, and black mech with emerald-green optics flying above them. Then, they noticed the sound of jet engines as well. Before any of the grounders could react, a blue Seeker jet flashed by above them, following the flying mech.
"Come on! Let's find out what's going on!" Cliffjumper took off through the forest, and the other two followed him. All of a sudden, a cluster of small missiles exploded near them as the winged mech flew low above them. As Jazz looked up, there was a flash of recognition in the new mech's emerald optics, but it was quickly flooded with fear and concern. Another explosion caused Jazz to go flying away from his comrades, and he reflexively curled into a ball and covered his head, feeling pain shoot through his right leg. When he finally stopped rolling, he found himself lying against a rocky cliff, and there was a Seeker jet coming in fast.
"We're coming, Jazz!" The saboteur could barely hear Mirage's voice as the sound of the jet engine filled his audios. Suddenly, the flying mech tackled the jet out of the air, and somehow, the mech's wings disappeared, and he was grappling with the jet with his arms. The saboteur tried to stand, but the pain in his leg threatened to send him into stasis. Slumping against the cliff, he watched the aerial battle, trying to place where he had seen that fighting style before. All of a sudden, the new mech opened his mouth, and a torrent of flames poured out, and the Seeker dropped out of the sky. The flames ceased, and the mech seemed to sprout wings in place of his arms again. Flying now, the mech turned towards Jazz, and smirked.
"Who are ya', mech?" Jazz's voice was but a whisper, as the mech looked around, and then started to fly as quickly as he could towards the saboteur. Startled, Jazz tried to get out of the way, but the mech landed, and slid to a stop just in front of the saboteur's feet. The mech swept his wings backwards over the lower outside parts of his thighs, and the wings turned into arms again. He pulled Jazz up to stand on one leg, and then pulled the saboteur up higher, strapping the smaller one to his chest so that Jazz was facing the same way that the mech was. The mech brought his hands forward over his own thighs again, and his arms were wings once more. Flapping powerfully, the two of them rose into the air, and Jazz was starting to feel tired again. Just before falling into stasis, the saboteur noticed that the sounds of the battle were getting quieter. Then, nothing.
0o0o0o0o0
"Jazz, wake up." Who was talking to him? Onlining his visor, Jazz slowly made out the features of a lightly furnished cave, and a mech leaning over him. As the saboteur tried to sit up, a hand was pressed to his chest, keeping him lying on the ground. Was it the ground? It felt too soft to be a stone cave floor, or even a dirt surface. Turning his head, he saw a plain Cybertronian blanket, and realized that his head was resting on a Cybertronian pillow.
"What happened? Who are ya', mech?" Jazz was confused, and then noticed that the mech had done some basic repairs on his wounds. He hadn't just been wounded in the right leg, but also his left shoulder and his chest.
"Doesn't matter. For now, rest." The mech's voice was slightly familiar, but Jazz couldn't place it. It was deeper than the mech whose voiceprint was closest to it, so it couldn't be him. Besides, the two looked nothing alike.
"Fine. You're the Doc right now." Jazz relaxed on the makeshift bed, and he felt the mech poking around in his damaged leg. Strange… there was no pain, so he must have turned off the pain receptors. The saboteur looked around the cave as best he could just moving his head around, but the only things he could see was another chamber in the back, and a lamp near the back wall. He couldn't see what exactly was in the other chamber, but he figured that there was more in there then there was in the chamber where the mech was tending to him. After a few minutes, the mech stopped poking around in his leg, and stood up.
"Stay here. Don't move too much. I'll bring you energon." With those three simple sentences, the mech walked into the other chamber, and Jazz was left alone. He could hear the clink of metal in there, and soon smelled something that he hadn't detected since the Golden Ages on Cybertron. If he had been organic, his mouth would have been watering. It was the delicious smell of energon being prepared for a meal. After a few more minutes, the mech came back into the chamber, carrying a Cybertronian plate and a small cube of energon. The plate was heaped with food-prepared energon, and the energon was a bit more silvery than the military rations the saboteur was used to by that time.
"Ya' went through all that trouble fo' meh?" Jazz grinned at the mech, and was surprised when his 'host' set the prepared energon on a broken stalagmite, and walked the rest of the way over to the saboteur. Instead of replying to the question with words, the mech helped Jazz sit up and lean against a taller stalagmite, then brought the prepared energon meal over to him.
"Eat. I will bring you to the Autobots in the morning." With those words, the mech turned, and walked back into the other chamber. Not paying any heed to the departure, Jazz hungrily ate the energon-food meal, and drank the flavored liquid energon. He hadn't had anything that tasted that good since before the war, and he was going to savor every last bit of it.
0o0o0o0o0
When Jazz awoke the next morning, he immediately noticed the mech checking his wounds. Jazz smiled, remembering how good his meal the night before had tasted. Then, he remembered his situation. He was going to be taken back to the Autobots that morning.
"How soon 'till we leave?" Jazz was surprised when the mech simply glanced at his face, before returning to doing last-minute repairs on the saboteur's leg.
"Not long. We'll leave after I finish with this. You won't mind flying?" The mech glanced up at him again when asking the question, and Jazz grinned at him.
"Nope, I dun mind flyin' again." Jazz waited patiently as the mech finished repairs, and was confused when he went back into the other chamber. When the mech returned, he was carrying two boxes and a datapad. "What's that fo'?"
"I have news from Autobot Sunstreaker. This datapad and the larger box is for Autobot Prowl. This smaller box is for you to take. Will you make sure that Prowl gets his packages safely?" The saboteur was completely taken off-guard by the mech's words, and immediately recovered to take the packages from him.
"I'll do it fo' ya'. Jus' get meh back ta' base, an' I'll do it." Seeing the relieved smile on what little he could see of the mech's face, Jazz grinned back, and took the packages from him. He put them into subspace, along with the datapad, and looked up at the mech eagerly. "I'm ready ta' go!"
"Very well. I will get you there safely. I am sure that your comrades are worried about you." Carefully, the mech lifted Jazz up, and strapped him to his chest like he had the day before. The mech walked through the cave, and came out into the sunlight on top of a mountain. Jazz shielded his visor as it adjusted to the bright light, then looked in awe at the landscape. The mech was walking towards a sheer cliff.
"Wait, wait, you're gonna JUMP offa THAT?!" Just as Jazz was having second thoughts, the mech leaped, and they started to plummet towards the ground. Unable to help himself, Jazz freaked out, and screamed shrilly. Just seconds before they would have hit the ground, the mech brought out his wings, and the swooped up and into the air. Venting heavily from the rush of fear, Jazz tried to stop panicking.
"Did not expect that, did you?" The mech turned his head to look at the saboteur strapped to his chest, and Jazz smiled at him weakly.
"Not at all." Jazz finally recovered from the rush pf panic, and started to watch the landscape flash by beneath them. The mech did something with his legs, and Jazz started to notice that he was navigating better. Looking down, he saw that the mech's legs had metal-woven cloth stretched between them now, like the tail of a bird, and was using it to maneuver. The saboteur returned his attention to the ground flashing by, and noticed the Ark rising up in the distance. To Jazz's surprise, the mech somehow undid whatever he had done to make the metal cloth between his legs appear, and he landed in the forest near the base.
"This is as far as I go. Can you make it the rest of the way?" The mech's question was not in any way scornful, and it was full of regret.
"I think I can. Thanks fo' your help." Jazz limped through the trees, using the thicker ones to support himself, and when he turned back for a final look at the mech, he was gone. Filing away how little time it had taken for the strange mech to just vanish like that, Jazz turned back in the direction of the Ark, and continued struggling through the forest. After resting for what seemed like the millionth time to try and reduce the pain coming from his wounds, he reached the edge of the forest. There were several mechs milling about, including Sideswipe, who was doing target practice with some bulls-eye signs on rocks using his blaster, and the saboteur smiled in relief. "Hey, think ya' can lend an injured mech a hand?"
"JAZZ!" Instantly, a gray and silver Praxian was at the saboteur's side, supporting him so that he didn't put too much weight on his injured leg. "We were so worried about you! Where have you BEEN?! Mirage and Cliff said that one moment you were being attacked by Seekers, and the next a Seeker was going down in flames and you were gone!"
"Blue, calm down. Ah actually ended up on the top of some mountain somewhere with a strange mech ah've neva seen befo'." Jazz gave the Datsun a grateful smile, as Bluestreak helped him walk over to the Ark. Soon enough, more mechs had crowded around them, trying to offer what assistance they could. Somehow, word got to Ratchet that the saboteur had returned, and he was immediately ordered to report to med bay.
"You just HAD to go and get fragged up, didn't you?! Seriously, Jazz, you're just as bad as the twins sometimes…" The medic trailed off as he remembered that one twin was currently both AWOL and MIA. Trying to comfort the CMO, Jazz put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder.
"Well, ah've got some good news. Tha' mech that took care a' meh said that he had a message and a package for Prowler from Sunny."
"WHAT?!" The medic immediately wheeled about to glare at him. "And you didn't think to mention this BEFORE now?! Right now, Prowl is working himself into the ground with worry!"
"Whoa, hey, calm down, Ratch'! Ah've got the package an' datapad right here!" Jazz took the larger package and the datapad out of his subspace, and held them out to the CMO. "Ya' gonna give 'em ta' Prowler or what?"
"Give me those!" The medic snatched them out of the saboteur's hands, and rushed out of the room, leaving a very confused Jazz behind.
0o0o0o0o0
"PROWL! Prowl, Jazz is back, and he has news about Sunstreaker!" At the shout from the medic, the very exhausted SIC turned his head to look at the CMO with a hopeful look in his optics.
"Is Sunstreaker all right? And what about Jazz, where has he been?" Prowl's exhaustion was clearly wearing down on the stoic mask he usually had to cover his emotions. At that point, his worry and hope was clearly showing through.
"I'm not sure for either of those points, but Jazz received some items from a strange mech who said that they were from Sunstreaker for you." Ratchet gave the SIC the package and the datapad he had snatched from Jazz, and the tactician turned on the datapad hurriedly.
'Dear Prowl,
I know you are probably worried about me, but please, don't be. I'm not sure if you can forgive me for yelling at you like I did, but I was right in the fact that Sides did not play that prank on you. I don't know when I'll be back, but when I do come back, I hope that you won't still be mad at me. I convinced the mech who was to be holding this datapad and the package for you to make something special for you, since right now I am currently just wandering around the countryside. I didn't go too far away, because I didn't want to cause too much worry for you. I'll come back when I feel I am ready. Try not to worry, Copper.
-Sunstreaker'
Prowl set down the datapad with a sigh, and noticed that Ratchet had left the room. His gaze wandered over to the package beside him, and curiosity got the better of him as he picked it up and set it on his lap. Carefully opening it, a wonderful aroma arose from its contents, and he realized that, inside, there was an array of energon doughnuts that were baked not too long ago. Glancing around, he closed the box, and set it into his subspace so that the wonderful smell would not attract unwanted attention. He would eat them later.
0o0o0o0o0
The strange mech stood on the top of the mountain, just above the entrance to his cave. He was looking around, making sure that everything in what he considered his domain to protect was in order. Suddenly, his sharp optics caught sight of smoke rising in the forest nearby, and when his vision zoomed in on it, he saw that it was on fire. Growling to himself, he swept his hands past the lower outside parts of his thighs, and his arms became wings from hidden mechanisms on his suit. Leaping off of the mountaintop, he spread those wings wide, and prepared special contraptions that were hidden in the framework of his wings. When he swooped low over the burning part of the forest, he used his thumbs to press buttons, and a fine mist came out of a hidden compartment in each wing.
He repeated this many times, and eventually, the forest fire was stopped. With a satisfied nod to himself, the mech flew back to his mountain, and detached his arms from his wings, once more appearing to not have any hint of having the wings to begin with. Sweeping his gaze over the landscape again, he caught sight of a low-flying trio of jets headed away from his mountain. With a snarl, he once again activated his wings, and flew as fast as he could after them.
0o0o0o0o0
"Prime, the Decepticons are attacking a power plant near Portland!" Prowl swiveled his chair around to face his Commander, and the others in the room were immediately alert.
"We will stop them. Autobots, roll out!"
0o0o0o0o0
The Autobots arrived at the power plant to an unusual scene. Up in the air, a mech colored in ruby-red, golden yellow, and shining black was flying with wings that were attached to his arms, and actually employing hand-to-hand combat in the air. Megatron, his opponent, was trying to deflect the lightning-fast blows aimed at him, and at the same time trying to hit his opponent. And failing.
"You shall not prevail, Megatron!" The voice was oddly familiar, but deeper than they were used to, so they couldn't put a finger on who it was. The strange flying mech landed a wing-blow to Megatron's head, sending the gun-former plummeting to the ground. Megatron recovered, and caught sight of the Autobots.
"Optimus Prime! A new recruit, is he?" Megatron charged the Autobot leader, but was stopped by a sudden burst of flames that seemed to come out of nowhere. Looking around, the Cybertronians saw the new mech coughing, and sparks coming out of his mouth.
"That's… new…" Mirage was at a loss for words, only able to get those two out before he was attacked by the Cassetticon twins, Rumble and Frenzy. The battle was soon under way, and even though there was only one Autobot twin visible on the field, the new mech more than made up for the missing twin. Suddenly, Skywarp teleported right behind Prowl, and grabbed him by the doorwings. Using the thrusters in his feet, the Seeker pulled the SIC into the air, higher than most of the others on the field could go.
"Good-bye, Autobrat!" Skywarp grinned maliciously, and dropped the tactician. Prowl turned off his optics, not wanting to see the ground hurtling up towards him, but as he was falling, something caught him. He felt large, gentle arms wrap around him that were attached to metal cloth, and when he onlined his optics, he saw that the strange flying mech had caught him, and wrapped his wings around him.
"Climb onto my back. Safer there, and will let me fly." Prowl felt compelled to obey the firm order given to him, because of the seriousness in the mech's tone. Maneuvering carefully, the SIC climbed over the mech's right shoulder, and clung to his back. With impressive power, the mech raised his arm-wings, and brought them down forcefully. Immediately, the two were aloft, and Prowl could hear his savior grumble something that sounded like, "this slagging suit was never meant for battle…"
"What are you going to do now?" Prowl couldn't help asking the question, and just as the mech was about to answer, a laser shot past the SIC and hit the mech in the left shoulder. Immediately, they started to lose altitude.
"Lock wings." The mech wasn't directing the words at Prowl, rather, he seemed to have given a command to his suit. Immediately, the mech's arms were released from the wings, and the wings stayed outstretched in the air. Prowl noticed the mech do something with his legs, and they started gliding around in circles. Looking back, the SIC saw metal cloth stretched between the mech's legs, and it was acting like the tail of an Earth bird. As the mech angled his legs, they maneuvered around shots fired at them, but they were slowly losing speed. Looking forward again, Prowl saw the mech tending to his shoulder, and frowning.
"Are you all right?"
"Not bad. Can still fly." Short and to the point. Prowl could sense that the mech wasn't telling him the truth about his condition, but decided not to press him further. Suddenly, the mech reattached his arms to the wings, and started flapping again. He was building up speed, and when Prowl looked back, he saw why. Closing in fast behind them was Thundercracker, the blue Seeker.
"Can you out-fly him?"
"No. I don't have jet engines. He's probably looking for revenge for last time." The mech had a grim expression on his face, and Prowl realized what he had said.
"What do you mean by…" He never got to finish what he was going to say. The Seeker behind them fired at the mech Prowl was riding on, and scored a hit on his side. The mech let out a pained sound, and they started to fall again. Despite his injury, the mech twisted around, and wrapped his wings around the SIC again, this time protectively. As Prowl stared into the mech's optics, he noticed that they were filled with worry and regret, as well as concern.
"This is gonna hurt…" The mech's voice had changed. It was no longer so deep, and Prowl could nearly put his finger on who it was, but before he could, they hit the ground. They went rolling, and while the SIC remained unharmed, he could hear the pained sounds coming from the mech's vocalizer. There was a tearing sound, and they finally stopped rolling. Prowl could hear the pained gasps from the mech who still had his wings wrapped around him, and tried his best to comfort him. He could hear the sounds of battle fading farther away, and the mech slowly released Prowl from the grip of his wings. They were in the middle of a forest, and there was a trail of destroyed trees and energon behind them, as well as a trench marking where they had been rolling. Looking down at the mech, he noticed that he had put away one of his wings, and was grasping at the mask on his head.
"Are you all right?"
"Prowl…" How did the mech know his name? Stunned, the SIC watched as the mech slowly and painfully removed the mask from his head. The optics were no longer green, rather, they were a familiar shade of cerulean. Instead of having a dragonesque head, it was exactly like…
"SUNNY!" Thoroughly panicked now, Prowl grasped Sunstreaker's now-free hand, and cradled his head. Not caring about the tears running down his face, the SIC tried his best to calm himself down. "Sunny… why did you hide this from me?"
"Can't… everyone… have their… secrets?" Speaking between pained gasps, the warrior gave Prowl a weak smile, obviously trying to comfort the SIC.
"But why hide it from me? Why, Sunny?" Prowl tried to find a logical reason, but couldn't find any.
"If you… had known… before… now… would… you have… believed… I could… dance?" Sunstreaker made a valid point. The SIC realized that the twin was embarrassed to admit that he had been a dancer, and knew that it was no big deal at all, really.
"No, I guess I wouldn't have." Prowl then saw the energon starting to pool around the wounded mech. "Hold on, Sunny, I'll call Ratchet. How bad is it?"
"Nngh… don't… know… my internal… diagnostics… not working…" Sunstreaker shifted a bit out of discomfort, and locked dim optics onto the SIC. "Help… get… suit… off…"
"Of course." Prowl sent the request for help and their coordinates to Ratchet, then started to help Sunstreaker out of the flight suit, following the warrior's directions as best he could. As he removed more of the suit, he saw more and more damage that the warrior had taken to save him. When he had gotten half of the suit off, the other Autobots arrived.
"SUNSTREAKER?!" The collective gasp came from all of the Autobots that had just arrived, but upon seeing the state the warrior was in, Ratchet recovered from his shock, and rushed over.
"What the slag happened, and where the slag have you BEEN?!" The CMO started helping Prowl get Sunstreaker out of the flight suit, and once they were done, started to stabilize the warrior.
"Cave… on top of… mountain…" Sunstreaker's voice was getting fainter, and the pool of energon around him was getting larger by the second. Prowl hovered over him like a worried mother hen, and Ratchet started to get worried as well.
"We need to get him back to base NOW!" Ratchet's tone told the others that this was serious, and rushed to help. Ratchet transformed, and opened the doors on the back of his alt mode. "Get him inside! I'll take him back!"
"Right!" Ironhide and Prowl carefully lifted the wounded warrior, and deposited him gently in Ratchet's ambulance-form. Once the two were out, Ratchet slammed his doors shut, and sped off in the direction of their base. Turning back to face the others, Prowl saw them gathered around the energon-covered remains of Sunstreaker's flight suit. Seeing Sideswipe drop to his knees beside it, Prowl went over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"When did he get this?" At the gentle question, the red twin looked up, tears in his optics.
"He-he made this when he started taking a side job during the Golden Ages. He crafted this with his own two hands, and it actually worked the very first time he tried it. But… it was never meant to be used in battle. It was meant solely for performances." The warrior reached out, and lightly touched the mask that Sunstreaker had worn to conceal his identity.
"What about the fire-breathing?"
"Also meant for performances. You saw how he was coughing out sparks, right?" Prowl nodded. "Well, he hasn't used that component for eons, so it's kinda on the fritz after every time he uses it. It was an upgrade for when he was to do a dance called 'Predacons Rising', and he was always the dragon Predacon."
"I see. And why did he keep it a secret for the entire war?"
"He had a reputation to keep. Now, I'm not sure how the others will think of him. He's smarter than he lets on, Prowl. Especially considering that he had rigged this suit to have different components for special effects." To prove his point, Sideswipe pulled one of the wings so it was outstretched, and pressed a button. Immediately, glowing dust burst out of a hidden compartment in the wing, and hung in the air.
"That is… quite impressive."
"Yeah. We also had to hide it so that Wheeljack didn't try to take it apart to see how it worked." Sideswipe smirked, and Prowl made his decision.
"We will take this back to the Ark, and when Sunny recovers, we will allow him to repair it, if he can." Prowl gathered up the remains of the flight suit, and put them into his subspace. The last thing he picked up was the mask, and upon close inspection, he realized that Sunstreaker's optics had only appeared green because the lenses on the mask were a golden yellow. Once every bit of the suit was salvaged and put into his subspace, the SIC transformed, and drove in the direction of the Ark.
0o0o0o0o0
By the time the other Autobots arrived back at base right behind the SIC Prowl, Ratchet had already gotten Sunstreaker into the med bay, and was currently working at a rapid pace to stabilize the mech.
"Come on, Sunstreaker, you're too stubborn to just give up like this!" The CMO was grumbling under his breath, hoping against all hope that the mech would pull through. Working quickly, Ratchet managed to seal off all of the places where energon was bleeding out of the warrior, but he was still in a critical condition. Hearing a tap at the window, Ratchet looked up, and saw Prowl looking in with an openly worried expression on his face. Deciding to ignore the SIC, the CMO went back to trying to revive the unconscious warrior.
Hearing the beeping signaling an emergency stop, Ratchet tiredly sat down in the chair next to the medical berth, and let out an explosive sigh. Giving a wave to Prowl, the CMO signaled that the SIC could enter the med bay.
"Is he going to be all right?" The SIC had barely entered the med bay when he dashed to the side of the yellow twin. Prowl gently brushed his fingers across the mech's forehead, looking like he was just about to cry.
"He'll be fine, but he needs a lot of recovery time. I can't believe he was able to keep this a secret for so long, especially considering all you went through together for practically your whole lives. I seem to recall that you, the twins, Mirage, Jazz, and Red Alert grew up together in Iacon Tower, am I correct?"
"You are. You should know, because you were there too. The twins moved to a nearby complex when they were just barely into the adult stage, however, and after that, I am not sure what all they did. I know that Sunny became an artist, for I went to a few of his art shows. I mostly lived in the Tower, as did Mirage, but I believe that Jazz knows more about what the twins did after moving out, because he became their next-door neighbor." Prowl sighed, then sat down in the other chair near the medical berth Sunstreaker was lying on.
"I'm surprised that Jazz didn't know about Sunstreaker's flight suit." Ratchet tapped his forefinger against his chin thoughtfully, then it looked as if something had clicked in his mind. "I think I know. Jazz once told me that, during the last few years before the war, Sunstreaker would disappear for days or weeks on end, and he would come back just as abruptly as he had gone. At those times, I would often hear about the 'Sky Dancer', who was also known as the 'Dragon Mech'. I believe that they and Sunstreaker were one and the same."
"That is a very logical train of thought, especially considering the new evidence we have of what Sunny would do in his spare time. You don't think that…" Prowl trailed off, remembering how Jazz had described the mech that had tended to him on the mountain had looked like.
"I do. I believe that Sunstreaker's personal belongings are still in that cave in the mountain. We need Jazz to lead a recovery team there. He's probably the only one besides Sunstreaker who knows where it is."
0o0o0o0o0
"Hey, Skyfire, thanks fo' lendin' a hand in tha' search." Jazz was clinging to the top of the giant jet-form of the massive mech, looking at the ground to see if he could find any familiar landmarks that would lead him to the mountain.
"Not a problem, Jazz. After all, Sunstreaker is one of the few who actually accepted me in the beginning. I owe it to him, and to you." The jet flew over a river, and something in Jazz's memory banks clicked.
"Turn back! Ah remember seein' that riva' on tha' way ta' tha' Ark!" At the saboteur's request, the jet took a Banking turn, and started to circle above the river. Jazz swept his gaze over the surrounding forest, and saw a burnt area. He didn't remember seeing that before, but it looked recent enough to have happened after he was returned to the Autobots.
"See anything else familiar, Jazz?"
"Nah, ah think ya' need ta' fly lower. You're flyin' higher than 'Streaker did." The jet flew lower, and Jazz was able to get a better look at the forest.
"Now see anything?"
"Yeh. Ya' need ta' fly towards tha' burnt part a' tha' forest. That's the direction 'Streaker flew from when he was bringin' meh back." As the jet flew towards and over the burnt part of the forest, Jazz caught sight of something among the burnt skeletons of the trees. "Hold it! Can ya' hover here?"
"Sure." Flying low enough to just barely skim the treetops, Skyfire hovered just on the edge of the burnt part of the forest as Jazz leapt down to get a closer look. What he found stunned him.
"He musta dropped this." Jazz picked up what looked like a scrap of white and black metal cloth, which appeared to have been cut out of a larger piece. Putting it into subspace, Jazz used his grappling hook to swing himself back on top of the giant jet, and they continued on their way. Inside Skyfire, Sideswipe and Bluestreak were waiting to see if they could find the cave that Sunstreaker had been living in for the past month. After a few more minutes, Jazz saw a mountain and a cliff side appearing in the distance. "There! That's tha' place!"
"You sure?"
"A' course ah'm sure, Skyfire! I neva' forget a place where ah almost plummet ta' mah death!" Jazz pointed at the cliff, and he could hear the jet snickering at him. "What's so funneh?!"
"Just the image of you and Sunstreaker diving off the cliff and you freaking out about it."
"Jus' get us there, Fire." Once they were at the top of the mountain, Skyfire landed, and the two mechs inside exited, while Jazz slid off of the jet. Looking around in the snow, Jazz tried to remember where the cave was. Seeing an irregularity in the snow, he walked over there, and recognized the impressions of Sunstreaker's faded footprints. "Ova' 'ere! Ah found tha' trail!" Not bothering to make sure the others were following him, Jazz hurriedly followed the faded trail of footprints, and soon found the cave where Sunstreaker had tended to him when Jazz still hadn't know that it was him.
"This is the place?" Skyfire eyed the entrance warily. It was just big enough for him to fit in, but he had no idea how small the tunnels inside were.
"Yep. C'mon, let's go inside." Jazz led the way inside, and navigated the tunnels by memory alone. Stopping occasionally to let the others catch up, they soon arrived at the chamber in the cave where Jazz had been given first aid by Sunstreaker. Now able to get a better view of the room, he saw that there were various repair tools on rock shelves in the cave, as well as unlit lanterns, now that their flames had burned themselves out. However, one light still remained. Following it, Jazz found himself in the chamber he had never gotten to see the inside of.
"Hey, this must be where Sunny was sleeping!" Sideswipe had followed him in, and was looking around in awe. "I actually had no idea he even HAD some of this stuff!"
"That's surprisin'." Jazz was a bit distracted as he looked around at the colorful items all over the chamber. There were spinning multicolored decorations hanging from stalactites on the ceiling, and there was a single lit lamp on a rock shelf. All over the place were paintings, as well as a few tapestries woven from the same material Sunstreaker's suit wings were made from. There was a closed box leaning against the wall, and Jazz walked over to it, curiosity getting the better of him. "What's in 'ere?"
"Jazz, are you sure you want to look in that? It could be something Sunny wants to keep secret!" Sideswipe tried to stop the saboteur, but too late. The box was open, and the contents revealed. "Primus…"
"Ah think we should keep this a secret 'till 'Streaker wakes up, doncha think?" Jazz closed the box again, and set it into his subspace for transport.
"I agree, Jazz. I think Sunny should be the one to give it to him." Sideswipe and Jazz started to pick up everything in the room, and putting it into subspace. Jazz had already taken pictures of what the room had looked like when he had just entered the room, so they could accurately show the others what the room had looked like. He had also taken pictures of the other chamber, so they now had an accurate image of the layout of where Sunstreaker had been living. Once everything else was put into their subspaces, Jazz took the still-lit lamp down from the rock shelf it was resting on, and carried it out.
0o0o0o0o0
"Yeah, Ratchet, Sunny was the one who gave Jazz that awesome patch job!" Sideswipe was showing the medic the pictures of the cave chamber where Sunstreaker had done first aid on the saboteur, and had deposited the repair tools on the CMO's desk.
"Well, he did an outstanding job. These tools also look like they've been kept in exemplary condition. Tell me, where did he learn how to repair others?" Ratchet's voice showed that he was purely curious about the tools and Sunstreaker's skills, and Sideswipe was happy to indulge him.
"Well, you see, Sunny and I used to take a side job as gladiators for arenas, and more often than not, we came away pretty slagged up. Sunny taught himself how to repair, so he always took care of us. He probably would have given Jazz a complete repair job, but he didn't have enough resources, especially considering what we found in the room he was obviously sleeping in…"
"What did you find?" Once again, that innocent curiosity.
"I can't say. Jazz and I agreed not to tell anyone until Sunny woke up. We decided that he should be the one to unveil it." Sideswipe smiled apologetically at the CMO. "Sorry."
"It's all right. I'll just have to wait to satisfy my curiosity." Ratchet turned his attention back to the tools on his desk. "Tell me, where did he get these tools?"
"He built them. We didn't exactly have enough money to afford the standard tools, so Sunny used what he knew from watching you in your med bay when we were younglings to build his own." Sideswipe was practically puffing up with pride for his brother.
"That is quite impressive." Ratchet gently moved the tools to the side of his desk. "I'll tell you when he wakes up."
"Thanks, Ratch'." Sideswipe smirked at him, then walked out of the med bay to put Sunstreaker's things in the room they shared together.
0o0o0o0o0
"Nngh…" Bright cerulean optics flickered on, then flicked off quickly as they were flooded with light. Turning them on dimly to let them adjust to the light, the yellow mech tried to remember what had happened.
"Sunstreaker?" At the sound of the voice, the yellow twin turned his head in that direction, and saw Ratchet sitting in the seat beside the berth he was in. Huh, so he was in med bay.
"Ratchet?" Sunstreaker's voice was a bit shaky, but at least he was speaking. "Wha-what happened?"
"You tried to die on me, you slagger!" The medic felt compelled to whack the mech in the head with his wrench, but seeing as he had only just woken up after five days in stasis, he refrained.
"Prowl! Is he… is he all right?"
"He's fine. It's yourself you should be worried about." The medic went over to check the healing wounds on the mech's frame, and Sunstreaker started to sort out his memories.
"I guess you guys know now, huh?"
"Slagging right we do." Ratchet saw the mech wince at his harsh tone, and mentally reprimanded himself.
"Did… did Jazz take you guys to where I was staying?"
"He only took Sideswipe, Blue, and Skyfire with him. And they say that they found something interesting there, but they won't tell anyone about what it is. It's driving me nuts!" Ratchet sighed internally out of relief when he saw the faint smirk on the warrior's face. So they didn't lose the mech's personality from the blow to the head when he had that crash-landing.
"That's a relief. I don't want too many others to know about it before I give it to Prowl."
"It's a gift for Prowl?" Ratchet leaned in closer with a hopeful look on his face. "Tell me what it is? I promise I won't spoil the surprise for him!"
"Ratch'. No. Just no. You'll have to wait." Ratchet visibly wilted from disappointment, then perked up again.
"What about your flight suit? Prowl has been holding it, or rather what's left of it, for you. He's hoping that you might be able to salvage and repair it, but he won't let any of us near it, because he feels that he must respect your wishes to not let anyone but you work on it."
"That's good. I'll have to see what state it is in before making any decisions, but I DEFINITELY don't want Wheeljack tinkering with it. I am seriously a bit paranoid about what would happen if he got his hands on it…" Ratchet internally shuddered, imagining just a few of the many outcomes that would happen if Wheeljack somehow got ahold of and/or tried to replicate it.
"I would probably be the same way, Sunstreaker. Do you feel strong enough to be moved to your quarters? All of your personal belongings were returned to that room."
"I think I can make it with some help." Sunstreaker, with quite a bit of effort, sat up on the berth, and slowly slid off to stand up. Meanwhile, Ratchet was sending a message to Jazz and Sideswipe over the comm. to let them know that the yellow twin was awake. Not two minutes later, not two mechs, but three rushed into the room. At the front of the group was Sideswipe, with both SICs following close behind.
"Sunny! I was so worried about you!" Prowl managed to get in front of Sideswipe, and took hold of the yellow warrior's right hand to help him stand.
"Hey, Prowl. Forgive me?" Sunstreaker looked down at the SIC with hope and fear conflicting in his optics.
"Yes, Sunny, I forgive you." Prowl gave Sunstreaker the smallest of smiles, then returned his expression to the stoic mask he kept up when he was among others. Sideswipe came up on Sunstreaker's other side, and supported him as well.
"Thanks, guys. Well, Ratch' says that I need to stay in my quarters. Think you guys can help me get there?" Sunstreaker smirked at them all, and started to take a step forward.
"Of course we'll help you, Sunny!" Sideswipe and Prowl fell into step beside the warrior, each supporting him on their respective sides. Jazz followed close behind, ready to assist if he was needed. When they reached the twins' quarters, Sideswipe shifted how he was supporting his brother so that his right hand was free to key in the code to open the door. Once they were inside, Sunstreaker wearily sat down on the couch they had procured from Cybertron just before he had run away. Looking around, he saw everything in place, along with the large box from his cave leaning against the side of the couch.
"Hey, Prowl, I got you something while I was gone." Sunstreaker reached out with one shaking arm, and took hold of the box, struggling to pull its surprisingly light weight closer to him.
"You got something… for… me?" Prowl came over, and stood next to the box. The box was about the same height as the SIC, and appeared to be able to fit him inside of it if he positioned his doorwings properly. The tactician watched as Sunstreaker pushed the box open, then stared in shock.
"I made it for you. I used a hologram projector that Hound gave me to help me figure out how big I needed to make it, and I fashioned it so that it would accommodate your frame type. Unlike my own, this one is built to withstand the strain of battle, and has extra features specifically for battle." Motioning to the box, Sunstreaker had a hopeful look on his face. All Prowl could do was stare, for inside the box, there was a suit that resembled the one Sunstreaker had worn while he was AWOL. However, this one appeared to have stronger armor, and it had special features on the back and the mask to accommodate his doorwings and chevron. The design was also smaller than the one for Sunstreaker's suit, and the torso area had a different shape. It was painted in pure shining white and sparkling ebony black, with bright ruby red accents. The lenses for the optics were sapphire blue, and all in all, it was a beautiful creation.
"Sunny… I-I don't know what to say! You made this for me?" Prowl turned his gaze to the clearly exhausted yellow mech, and Sunstreaker nodded to him.
"I'll show you how to use it once I fully recover and repair or rebuild my own suit. I might even make myself a whole new suit that is better suited to battle than my old one. By the way, where is my old one?"
"I have it right here." Prowl took the tattered, energon-covered remains of the flight suit Sunstreaker had worn out of his subspace, and gently set them on the floor in front of the golden twin. Immediately, Sunstreaker picked up the suit, and made a pleased sound when he found it was still holding together.
"I can repair this. The wings are largely undamaged, and most of the damage was just to the outer plating. I'll need some supplies though…"
"They will be provided." Prowl stepped forward, and lightly brushed his hand over the warrior's left cheek. Sunstreaker looked up at him, and saw that the SIC's optics were filled with joy and wonder.
"Make that a promise, Copper?" Sunstreaker smirked, already knowing what the answer would be.
"It's a promise. Everything you need to repair your flight suit will be provided for you." The SIC went back to looking at the suit Sunstreaker had just given him. "I still don't know what a proper thank-you for this suit would be."
"Just helping me get the materials for repairing mine is thanks enough, Copper." Sunstreaker had already taken a small welding device out of his subspace, and was carefully repairing the few rips in the wings of his suit. Watching in awe, the other three mechs couldn't figure out where the rips had been in the wings once the warrior was done with them. Sunstreaker went on to start repairs on the torso of his suit, but started growling when he saw that there were large portions missing from it. "Slag. Looks like I'm going to need quite a bit of supplies to completely fix this fragging thing."
"Just write up what you need, and it will be supplied to you." Prowl handed the warrior a blank datapad, then went back to admiring the flight suit Sunstreaker had made for him.
"Hey, Copper, why don't you try it on?" Sunstreaker motioned to the suit with the welding tool he still held in his hand, a smirk on his face. Prowl looked at him in surprise, then had a thoughtful expression as he considered it.
"I am not sure I know how to put the suit on. I have not had anything like it before." Prowl shrugged helplessly, but was surprised when Sunstreaker set the welding tool, datapad, and damaged flight suit aside, and stood up, using the large box as support.
"I'll tell you how. Just get it out of the box." The next hour and a half were spent with Sunstreaker giving the SIC directions while the other two mechs watch the tactician just about transform into a dragonesque creature. Once the suit was completely on, Jazz and Sideswipe stared in awe, while Sunstreaker nodded in approval.
"Prowler, looks like you've got a new toy to play with." Sideswipe smirked at the SIC, while Prowl turned nervously towards Sunstreaker.
"Did I put it on correctly?"
"Yep. You sure did, Copper." Sunstreaker sat back down on the couch with a sigh of exhaustion. It had been a long day, and he was still recovering.
"When are ya' gonna give 'im lessons ta' fly?" Jazz was practically bouncing up and down in excitement. "An' can ya' make one fo' meh too?"
"Jazz, one thing at a time. Before I make any more suits, I'm going to repair mine, all right? Also, I cannot teach Prowl to fly until I fully recover from my injuries and completely repair my suit." Sunstreaker went back to fixing up what he could on his suit, after completing the list of materials he needed to completely fix it.
"I think you could at least tell Prowl how to activate his wings, Sunny." Sideswipe gently nudged his twin, who let out an aggravated sigh.
"Sides, I cannot exactly leave my room right now, and he wouldn't be able to fully extend his wings in here, all right?"
"Fine."
"It's all right, I can wait." Prowl started to take off the flight suit. "I will wait to show this to the others as well."
"Fine by me. Just please tell Ratchet before not knowing drives him insane."
0o0o0o0o0
After around five months had come and gone, with the whole Ark wondering if Sunstreaker even existed anymore, he finally came out of his room. He was still a bit shaky, even after months of rest and recovery, but he was there.
"Well, look who FINALLY decided to come out." Cliffjumper's usual stinging way of speaking caused the warrior to almost wince, but he caught himself, and continued to the rec room. When he got there, the first one to notice him was Prowl, who hurriedly stood up to assist him.
"Sunny, you should be resting." The SIC took hold of one golden yellow hand, and looked up at him with a concerned expression.
"Copper, I've been resting for the past five months. I think that if I had spent any more time in the same room, I would have gone mad." The yellow mech smirked at the SIC, then walked slowly towards the table that Prowl had been seated at. When he sat down, he gave a soft sigh as his legs thanked him for giving them a break.
"Sunny, would you like some energon?" The SIC sat down next to Sunstreaker, his doorwings perked up, revealing to the warrior that he was ready to assist where needed.
"Nah, had some in my quarters. I kinda got back into the hang of energon preparation when I was caring for Jazz when I was on that mountain, and I've been practicing. I dug up some of my old recipes, and found some that are actually good for bots recovering from accidents that leave them injured. I figured that, since it works for that, it would probably work for those wounded from battle. Ratchet told me that I'm actually healing faster than he expected." Sunstreaker took a box out of his subspace, looked around with a smirk, and opened it. Immediately, the room was filled with a tantalizingly delicious aroma, and every pair of optics in the room were suddenly turned in his direction.
"What IS that?!"
"Smells good!"
"Can I have some?"
"When did you make it?"
"Please give me some, Sunstreaker!"
"Everyone, please calm down." The SIC, calm as ever, looked around the room, and saw Sideswipe just coming in, then freeze.
"Sunny… you actually started preparing energon again?" The red twin quickly made his way through the crowd, and looked into the box. Inside, there was an energon cake with the words 'Happy Creation Day, Ironhide!' on it. It was artfully decorated, and there was even a realistic energon-frosting blaster at the top of the words.
"Yeah. I didn't think that Ironhide remembered what today was, so…" Sunstreaker picked up the box, and held it out to the red Weapons Specialist. "Happy Creation Day, 'Hide!"
"Sunstreaker, you-I-thanks." The red mech took the box, tears forming at the corners of his optics. "Ah didn' think that anyone remembered anymo', so I just stopped remindin' ev'ryone." Ironhide then noticed the electrum-plated knife in the box beside the cake, and carefully took it out. Smiling, the Weapons Specialist sliced the cake, and took the slice with the gun on it for himself. Immediately, everyone else claimed a slice for themselves, and someone ran out of the room to tell everyone else. Soon, there was a full-blown party in the rec room to celebrate Ironhide's Creation Day, but Sunstreaker had to leave early, because he was still recovering. Prowl opted to go with the warrior, gently guiding him back to the quarters the warrior shared with his twin brother.
"Sunny, that was a very nice thing you did for Ironhide. I am surprised you remembered his Creation Day, when everyone else had forgotten." Prowl's voice was soft, as the turned down the corridor that led to the twins' quarters.
"I remember everyone's Creation Days, Prowl. I've never forgotten, even though everyone else has." Sunstreaker looked down at the floor as they walked. "It's like that one human femme told us, Prowl. Everyone needs something to hope for. I remember Creation Days, because, somehow, they give me hope that this war will have to end sometime. What was that human's name… oh! I remember! Her name was AirStrikeTF!" Sunstreaker turned to his door, and keyed in the code. When he turned the lights on in his quarters, Prowl could see the now-repaired flight suit hanging on the wall, giving the appearance that it was never damaged in the first place.
"So, it's fully functional again?"
"Yeah. But don't get the idea that you'll get to learn to fly any time soon. Ratch' says that I'm still not strong enough to even attempt to fly again yet." The twin ran his fingers along the edges of the mask hanging on the wall, then turned to lie down on his berth. "I'm tired. See you in the morning, Copper."
"Sleep well, Sunny." The SIC turned off the lights, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
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TO BE CONTINUED...