The yellow warrior was always one of the bravest warriors. He always cared for those he worked beside and fought beside, but he just had trouble expressing it, except in the most drastic of ways. Almost every time he went out onto the battlefield, he came back almost dead, sometimes barely hanging on by a metaphorical thread. Sometimes, it takes him weeks to recover, and, luckily quite rarely, sometimes over a year. Being a hero comes at a great cost.
"Sunstreaker, please report to my office." Optimus Prime held two datapads in his hands. As he waited for the yellow warrior to arrive, he started to wonder if this was such a good idea after all. He was sending both Sunstreaker and Mirage on a mission to figure out what the Decepticons were doing in the Andes Mountains in South America. Soon enough, the warrior came into the Prime's office.
"You needed to see me, Prime?" The warrior stood rigidly at attention in front of his leader's desk. Am I in trouble for something? I don't recall doing anything wrong that I haven't already been punished for. Why did he call me here?
"Yes, Sunstreaker. I am sending you and Mirage on a mission to the Andes Mountains in South America. The Decepticons are up to something there, and I want to know what. I've already told Mirage the basics, but these two datapads will give you everything you need to know about the terrain there, as well as what information we already have on what the Decepticons are doing, which is very little. You need to work together on this one. Understood?"
"Understood, Prime."
"Good. Take these, and give one to Mirage. You will depart in one hour. Dismissed." Prime gave Sunstreaker the datapads, and the yellow warrior left the room.
"Mirage? Mirage, where are you?" Sunstreaker wandered the corridors of the Ark, carrying the two datapads. Finally, he saw Mirage coming out of the rec room. "Mirage! I've been looking all over for you! You know that mission Prime is sending us on?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"I spent about 30 minutes looking for you, so we only have 30 more to get ready. Here, Prime gave me these so that we can learn what we can about the location. I'll probably need to get some gear from my quarters. Possibly even borrow some from Hound or Trailbreaker. I've already read one, so you need to read it as fast as you can, and get the gear you need, too." Sunstreaker gave Mirage one of the datapads, and went off to find what he needed.
"Wait! Where are we supposed to meet up with Skyfire?"
"In front of the Ark! As usual!" Sunstreaker's voice echoed down the corridor, and the yellow warrior turned a corner and went out of sight. Mirage looked at the datapad, and headed to his own quarters while he figured out what he needed to know.
Thirty minutes later, the two met outside of the Ark, and saw Skyfire just landing.
"Hey, guys! So, I'm taking you to the Andes Mountains, is that right?" Skyfire opened his cargo bay.
"That's right, Skyfire. And we need to get there fast, and arrive undetected. Think you can fly high enough so you can't be seen?"
"Does Prime have the Matrix? I'll get you guys there, no sweat!" Skyfire closed his cargo bay doors after the two mechs had gotten inside, and took off into the air. Soon, the massive jet was in the highest point of Earth's atmosphere, and was heading towards the Andes Mountains. "All right, guys, time for you two to go skydiving!"
"This is probably gonna hurt a little bit." Sunstreaker had one of Hound's parachute packs on, as did Mirage. Skyfire's doors opened, and the two mechs jumped out. After they counted to 300, they pulled on the cords, and they drifted down to the mountains. Luckily, both mechs were colors that normally appeared in the sky, so they were not seen by the Decepticons they saw milling about below them. When they landed on the other side of the mountain, they gathered up their massive parachutes, and stuffed them into their subspace, taking out the climbing equipment they had borrowed from both Hound and Trailbreaker. Sunstreaker went first, the chain they were using as a climbing rope making clinking noises between them.
"Sunstreaker, how much farther do we have to go?"
"From what I can tell with my scanners, we are almost at the top of the mountain."
"Remember, you have to stay hidden at the top, unless I get into trouble, all right?"
"I know, I know." Sunstreaker pulled Mirage up to the top of the mountain, and then hunkered down behind a boulder as Mirage activated his cloaking device and headed down the mountain. Sunstreaker was glad that there was quite a bit of shrubbery around the giant boulder, and used it as a screen as he watched the area below where he was hiding. So far, so good.
Not for long.
"Megatron, how much longer are we going to stay here?!" Starscream's shrill voice scratched in the Decepticon leader's audio receptors, and he had to resist the urge to clap his hands over them.
"We will depart when I so order, Starscream!" For good measure, Megatron whacked the Seeker upside the head, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt. The Cassetticon twins laughed at the sight of the Decepticon SIC lying on the ground.
"Alert: We have an intruder." Soundwave's computerized voice came from the surveillance equipment that was set up not too far away, and it had picked up Mirage's footprints suddenly appearing in the ground.
"Skywarp, Thundercracker, find him, and bring him to me!" Megatron had turned to face the two Seekers still standing, as Starscream was struggling to get back on his feet with his equilibrium destabilized.
Scrap. How did they notice me? Probably my footprints. I need to find a way to make it so my footprints don't appear too. Mirage attempted to go back up the mountain, but the Seekers grabbed him, and dragged him to Megatron. His cover already blown, Mirage turned off his cloaking device, which was the signal that he needed help. Hoping Sunstreaker was still watching, and was undetected, he tried to get out of the Seekers' grip.
"So, the Autobot spy was trying to sabotage us, was he?" Megatron stood in front of Mirage, looming over him. Megatron had a dark look on his face, obviously aggravated that his secret location had been found.
"No, I was just here to watch. There's a difference between watching and sabotaging." Mirage managed to keep his voice from shaking, and was glad that he sounded braver than he felt. Please hurry, Sunstreaker.
The yellow warrior's ice-blue optics narrowed as he saw the scene unfold halfway down the mountain. Silently, and being careful not to disturb the rocks under him, he went out from his hiding place, and made his way down the mountain. Suddenly, he saw Megatron shove Mirage away, and aim his cannon at the spy. All stealth forgotten, Sunstreaker barreled down the mountainside, and shoved Mirage out of the way, just as Megatron fired his fusion cannon. The blast hit Sunstreaker square in the chest, and sent him flying into the cliff behind him. He let out a cry of pain as he hit the solid wall of rock, and cracks went shooting up the cliff from where Sunstreaker had impacted. Mirage rushed over to Sunstreaker's side, and started to open fire on the Decepticons. However, neither Autobot noticed the danger from above them.
"Decepticons, RETREAT!" Megatron led the way as the Decepticons started to panic about the unstable cliff, and soon the Decepticons were out of sight. Puzzled, Sunstreaker looked around, and finally, looked up. Just as the first small pebbles came loose above him, Sunstreaker, in a burst of strength, shoved Mirage away from the cliff, and when Mirage looked back at him for an explanation, he saw the helpless look in Sunstreaker's optics, just before the boulders came raining down on the yellow warrior.
"NO!" Mirage rushed over to the pile of fallen boulders, and started to try to pull them off of the pile. He then remembered Skyfire was still circling in the upper atmosphere, and he sent the giant jet a distress signal, and a request to get help from the Ark. After receiving an affirmative, Mirage went back to trying to dig out his mission partner. Please, please be alive! Please be alive! After a few hours of digging in the pile of massive stones, Mirage struggled to pull more boulders off the pile. He had made very little progress, and he was starting to get low on energy. Then, his comm. unit crackled to life.
*Mirage, do you copy? Please respond!* Mirage's spark just about leaped for joy when he heard Optimus Prime's voice.
"Yes, Prime, I'm here! I'm halfway down the mountain, where the Decepticon activity was! You need to hurry, I don't know if Sunstreaker is still alive or not!" Mirage looked skywards, leaning against one of the boulders he had managed to move, and saw Skyfire's jet-form coming in for a landing. Mirage spared a glance at his surroundings, and saw that the Decepticons hadn't even bothered to take their equipment with them in their haste to leave. When Skyfire landed, his cargo bay opened, and Autobots came rushing out.
"Mirage, are you all right? Where's Sunstreaker?" Optimus Prime came to a stop in front of the spy, and knelt down to see if Mirage was injured.
"I'm fine, just low on energy. Sunstreaker's buried under those stones somewhere. I tried to dig him out, but I didn't make much more than a dent in that pile."
"We'll get him out. Don't worry." Optimus then straightened up, and turned to Ironhide. "Ironhide, can you start drilling?"
"Sure, Prahm! Stand back!" Ironhide extended a drilling device from his right forearm, and walked over to the pile of stones. Bracing himself, he started up the drill, and plunged it into the boulders in front of him. The other Autobots soon joined in with the digging, with the exception of Mirage.
"I found 'im! Over here!" Jazz shouted excitedly when he uncovered Sunstreaker's right arm, and soon the others came over to dig in that area. Ironhide retracted his drill, because they didn't want to take any chances of damaging Sunstreaker more than he already was. When they finally uncovered him, the first thing they noticed was a trickle of energon coming from his neck. The next thing they noticed was that his legs and left arm were completely crushed. They carefully extracted him from the pile of stones, and laid him down on the ground. Ratchet quickly checked his vitals, and vented air in relief. Sunstreaker was still alive, but he needed medical care as soon as possible.
"Let's get him back to the Ark. I don't have the tools I need here." Ratchet took a stretcher out of subspace, and Ironhide helped get Sunstreaker onto it for transportation. The Autobots loaded all of the equipment the Decepticons had left behind into Skyfire, and then got Sunstreaker inside as well. Soon, they were headed back to the Ark.
After a few hours, Ratchet came out of the med bay, looking worried.
"Ratchet, is something wrong?" Optimus Prime put a hand on the CMO's shoulder, causing Ratchet to look up at him.
"Well, there's good news, and there's bad news. The good news is, Sunstreaker's going to live. The bad news is, he may never fully recover from this. I know his vocalizer will mend with a lot of time, but his legs and left arm… he may never be able to use them again."
"What?!" Optimus Prime recoiled as if he had been zapped. Sunstreaker is one of my best frontliners, so we can't afford to lose him!
"Prime, Sunstreaker's motor relays are almost completely shredded, and there are a multitude of cracks and stress fractures on the protoform itself. The best thing we can do for Sunstreaker at the moment is to make him as comfortable as possible, and hope for the best." Ratchet reopened the door to the med bay, and walked back in, with Optimus Prime following close behind him.
"Isn't there anything you can do to ensure that he will regain the functions in his arm and legs?"
"Sadly, no. These kinds of injuries are rare, but more often than not, they make it so that the bot cannot have his full range of motion anymore. The only thing that can heal these injuries is time, and sometimes even that doesn't work." Ratchet pointed at a screen that showed a scan of Sunstreaker's protoform. "These joints in those three limbs are extremely stressed, and won't move without help any time soon, if ever. Also, the support struts are damaged as well."
"How much time are we talking about, Ratchet?" Optimus tried to hide the worry in his voice, but some of it was plainly heard.
"Months, possibly over a year, if it heals at all. Prime, Sunstreaker may never be able to fight ever again. Please, listen to my advice, and have the others make Sunstreaker as comfortable as possible. The stressed parts of his support struts and joints will be painful for him when he comes to, and he might also be dazed for a while." Ratchet put a hand on the Prime's shoulder. "Prime, it's what's best for Sunstreaker right now."
"I understand, Ratchet. I thank you for all you have done for Sunstreaker. When he wakes up, would it be possible for us to move him to his quarters?"
"I believe it would be safe for him. Just be sure that everyone else understands what Sunstreaker needs right now, all right?" Ratchet's voice was uncharacteristically gentle, fully informing Optimus about the weight of the situation.
"I will, Ratchet. Just… make sure he will wake up." Optimus turned, and walked out of the med bay, glancing back once before he left the doorway.
In the middle of the night, a pale, ice-blue light flickered on in the med bay. Sunstreaker's gaze was confused, and unfocused. He tried to sit up, but out of all four of his limbs, only his right arm moved. Turning his head to get a better look at his surroundings, he saw that Ratchet was slumped against his desk, deep in recharge. The yellow warrior tried to call out to him, but his vocalizer wasn't working. Instead, he used the fingers in his right hand to tap against the medical berth. The noise woke Ratchet up, and the CMO rushed over to Sunstreaker.
"Good, you're awake. Now, I'm sure you want to know why you can't move much, or why you can't talk, so I'll try to explain it to you. When you were buried by those boulders, your legs and left arm were crushed, and a sharp rock went right through your vocalizer. Long story short, you may never be able to use your limbs again, but your vocalizer will heal with plenty of time." After hearing the news, Sunstreaker's head fell back onto the medical berth, as the reality of his situation hit him. He was crippled, possibly for life. After Sunstreaker turned his head back to the CMO, Ratchet saw tears on the warrior's face.
"I am sorry, Sunstreaker. There is nothing I can do to ensure that you will be able to fight again. However, with luck, you will regain your full range of motion in over a year." It almost shattered Ratchet's spark to tell the warrior this, especially when he saw the warring emotions of hopelessness, fear, and helplessness in his optics. Just then, Optimus Prime came in, just like he had done every two hours before that.
"Sunstreaker! You're awake!" The Prime rushed over, and gently squeezed the warrior's right hand. When Sunstreaker looked at the Prime's optics, they told him, as plainly as if they had been spoken, how worried he had been about him. Trying to be reassuring, Sunstreaker returned the squeeze.
"Prime, it is safe to move him to his quarters now. I have already prepared a wheelchair for this. I'll bring it out, and then you can take him to his quarters, all right?" Not waiting for an answer, Ratchet went into the room next to the main part of the med bay, and came back out pushing a Cybertronian version of Chip's wheelchair. Being as gentle as possible, the two carefully got Sunstreaker into the wheelchair, and Optimus then pushed him out into the corridor.
"Sunstreaker, I am sorry you got hurt. It's my fault. I shouldn't have sent you on that mission." Optimus Prime's voice was edged with regret and worry, but then he felt a hand on his own right hand. He looked down at Sunstreaker, and saw that he had lifted his right arm to bring his right hand behind his back, and was now resting it on his leader's hand. Sunstreaker was obviously attempting to smile for the Prime, but Optimus knew that he was faking it. However, the warrior's obvious attempt to calm the fears and worries of his superior officer brightened the Prime's mood slightly, and they soon arrived at the twins' quarters. Optimus knocked on the door, and waited.
"Who is it?" Sideswipe's voice was muffled, but the tears he was obviously holding back seemed to seep into his tone.
"It's Optimus Prime and Sunstreaker. Ratchet said that it is all right for him to stay in his quarters." Optimus was relieved when the door opened, revealing a very tired Sideswipe.
"Sunny! Don't worry, I'll take it from here, Prime, though I might need some help to get him onto his bunk." Sideswipe let the two of them in, and he and Prime worked together to carefully get Sunstreaker onto the bottom bunk of the twins' berths. Sideswipe then walked to a trunk, and brought out what looked like an old blanket from Cybertron.
"Sideswipe, where did you get that?" Optimus pointed to the blanket in the red twin's hands, and Sideswipe's mouth ticked up a notch into a weak smile.
"It's one of the only things that Sunny and I have from our days as younglings. We… we had been sparked by two murderous parents. We sometimes heard them talk about some vague older sibling, but not very often. They forced us to kill others. We were unwilling assassins. But we couldn't fight back. They would make sure we did our job by sending out only one of us at a time, telling us that if one failed, the other would die. It was their way of saying, 'Fail, and you lose the one thing you care about most.' We hated it. We would always try to find a way to escape. Finally, somehow, our caretakers –I dare not even call them our creators- were captured by the law enforcement, and forced to tell them where they kept us. At the time, Sunny and I were wrapped up in this very blanket, huddled in the basement. We were scared when these strange mechs and femmes came into the room, but they quickly calmed us. After they asked us questions about how our parents treated us, they were horrified. They had heard that our parents were cruel to us, but they had never imagined that they would use their offspring as assassination weapons.
"We were taken to an orphanage. They had let us keep the blanket, and we were soon accepted into the lives of the other orphan younglings. Soon, the orphanage sent Sunny and me to school, and we went there together. We were in the same classes at the same times, and we were never apart from each other. We met Prowl and Jazz there, too. We became friends, and pretty soon Sunny and I became the top students in the gladiatorial classes we were enrolled in. The mechs and femmes at the orphanage knew that we had violent personalities after being treated so badly by our parents and they had paid the extra credits to get us into those classes so that we could let off some steam. Sometimes I wish that Sunny and I were still in that orphanage, in that school, with our friends…" Sideswipe's voice trailed off as he covered Sunstreaker with the blanket, save for his head. When Optimus got a closer look at the blanket, he saw that it was patterned like a galaxy, except it was faded from being used for all those millions of years.
"You seem to have kept this blanket in extraordinarily good condition, considering how old it is." Optimus looked up at Sideswipe, who rubbed the back of his head with one hand.
"Yeah, we like to keep a link to our past lives. Not so much the being youngling assassins, but more of the time after that, when we had real friends, and others who cared about us. Nobody minded that we used to be true killing machines, because we had changed. We never liked stabbing others in the back. We prefer honest fighting, actually. We're not really the kind of bots to sneak around in the shadows and kill others from a distance." Sideswipe looked at his twin, who had fallen into recharge. Optimus saw the loving look in the red warrior's optics, and remembered that twins always love each other.
"I know what you mean, Sideswipe. I better head to my quarters now, it's almost midnight. Rest well."
"You too, Prime. I'll tell you more tomorrow." Sideswipe waved to the Prime as he left, and then climbed up to the top berth to recharge above his brother.
"WHAT?! What do you mean I'm being transferred to Cybertron?!" Sideswipe had gotten a call early in the morning, and had to report to Prowl's office.
"Just what I said. And since Sunstreaker is not fit to travel, another Autobot has been assigned to stay with him in the quarters the two of you share while you are gone. Do not worry. He will be taken care of." Prowl continued to read the datapads that contained the transfer information.
"Tell me, WHO is going to take care of my brother?!" Sideswipe slammed both palms onto Prowl's desk, leaving two hand-shaped dents in it.
"Jazz is. He's one of Sunstreaker's closer friends, so he'll be able to know what Sunstreaker needs more than the others will." Prowl set down the datapad, and clasped his hands together. "This is not open for debate. Those on Cybertron requested you and Sunstreaker, but we had to pull more strings than I liked to get permission to let him stay here for his recovery, and they will not grant us any more leeway to keep you as well. We are already sending back War Bird to take Sunstreaker's place on the transfer, but they won't let us substitute any others. I am sorry." Prowl's optics held pity in them, and Sideswipe felt like he had no more things to say to Prowl about the transfer. He had already known he would not succeed, but he still had to try, for Sunstreaker's sake.
"All right. I guess I'll go get packed. Jazz can use my bunk while I'm gone, I won't mind." Sideswipe turned, and left the room. Prowl looked at the dents in his desk with a sigh. I need to get a better desk sometime. One that WON'T get dented too badly when an angry warrior hits it.
Sideswipe helped Jazz move his things into the twins' shared quarters. He had already packed his own things to take to Cybertron, but he was leaving the galaxy blanket for Sunstreaker to use.
"Now, Jazz, please remember…"
"I know, I know, no loud music. How many times have you told me this by now?"
"Hopefully, enough. Ratchet said that loud noises could upset him because of how sensitive his headfins are right now. Some of the rocks had dented them, and they are still more sensitive than usual." Sideswipe glanced over at his brother, who was in recharge with the galaxy blanket over him.
"Don't ya' worry, Sides, I'll take good care of him. I AM one of his few true friends here, ya' know! And friends take care of friends in need." Jazz carried a box of his music CDs to a corner, and set it down.
"Well, I just want to be sure. He's my brother, Jazz, the only family I have." Sideswipe walked out, and came back in with some of Jazz's bedding in his arms "I didn't know you had musical note blankets and pillows!"
Jazz chuckled. "Well, I haven't really used them that often since coming here. But they're some of the few things I have left from Cybertron."
"Same with that blanket Sunny is using right now." Sideswipe glanced at his brother again while he put the blankets and pillows on the top bunk. "That blanket is the only thing we have left from our earliest years. That's the blanket the Enforcers found us wrapped up in when we were taken from our cruel, sadistic parents. You may find this hard to believe, but our parents used us as weapons of assassination. We had no choice but to obey them, because they knew that the one thing we didn't want to see hurt was each other. They would send out one of us, and keep the other as incentive. I was happy when they were arrested, and then executed for both murder and child abuse." Sideswipe went back out of the room, and came back in again carrying some more of Jazz's belongings. "How much stuff do you have?"
"Not too much. Hey, and I feel sorry for you two. Your parents sound like they could have been Decepticons if they lived to join in the war. You two are lucky to have been taken from them by those Enforcers." Jazz went out of the room, and came back in with a single item, a crystal wind chime. "This is the last of it. Thanks for your help, Sideswipe."
"No problem." Sideswipe then checked his internal chronometer. "Whoops! I gotta go board the flight to Cybertron! I hope I come back soon, Jazz!" Sideswipe grabbed his two crates of belongings, and ran out of the room. Jazz watched him go, and then turned to look at the room.
"Well, I guess this is where I'm staying for a while."
Jazz awoke the next morning on the top bunk in the twins' quarters. He poked his head over the side to check on Sunstreaker, and saw him staring back at him. Jazz smiled.
"Looks like you're feelin' a little better, Sunstreaker! How about I help you go to the rec room for some energon?" Jazz smiled when Sunstreaker gave him a slow nod, and then scrambled off of the top bunk to get the warrior's new wheelchair. He brought it over to the bunk where Sunstreaker lay, and then contemplated how to get the warrior –who was bigger than Jazz- onto the wheelchair without him dropping him. "All right, I think I can do this."
Jazz carefully got the wheelchair into a position where the part the feet rested on touched the berth, and then activated the brakes on it so it didn't roll away. Then, he helped Sunstreaker sit up, and carefully pulled him into the seat of the wheelchair. Jazz pushed the yellow warrior out of the room, and brought him to the rec room. When they arrived, a lot of the other Autobots in the room turned to look at them.
"Sunstreaker! You feeling all right?" Bumblebee came over and rested his right hand on Sunstreaker's right arm. The warrior made an effort to talk, but finally settled for a simple nod. A lot of the other Autobots then had worried looks on their faces.
"Hey, Jazz, why is he in that wheelchair?" Hound came up to them, and stood next to the saboteur.
"He can't walk, or move his left arm. Vocalizer was damaged too, but that'll heal with time." Jazz brought Sunstreaker over to an empty table, and went to get energon for the both of them. While he was over there, a few of the Autobots moved from where they were sitting to be at the table Sunstreaker was at.
"Sunstreaker, are you sad that you can't fight anymore?" Bumblebee sat in one of the chairs next to Sunstreaker's wheelchair, and looked at him worriedly. The yellow warrior gave a sad smile, and nodded his head. Bumblebee gave Sunstreaker's right shoulder a gently, sympathetic pat, and then Jazz came back and sat on Sunstreaker's left side.
"Here ya' go, 'Streaker." Jazz slid on of the energon cubes in front of the yellow warrior, and then started to drink from his own cube. Sunstreaker picked up the cube with his right hand, and also started to sip the energon. As the two had their energon, the Autobots who had moved to their table started to talk amongst themselves, discussing things like melee training, parties, and other common topics like that. After Jazz and Sunstreaker had finished their energon, Jazz checked his internal chronometer, and saw that it was almost time for Sunstreaker's check-up in the med bay.
"Jazz, where are you two going?" Bumblebee hopped off of his chair, and started to follow them.
"It's time for Sunstreaker's check-up in the med bay. He's gonna have one every other day, to check on his recovery. Ratchet said that it's required." Jazz continued to push the wheelchair down the corridors, and soon arrived at the med bay, with Bumblebee following him.
"Jazz, bring him in." Ratchet's voice came out of the med bay, and Jazz opened the doors, and pushed the yellow warrior into the room. Bumblebee followed them in, and stood near the door.
"Should we get him onto a berth, or leave him in the wheelchair?" Jazz moved to stand next to the wheelchair, and Ratchet stood in thought for a moment.
"I think it would be best to get him onto the medical berth for today, but we can try it with him in the wheelchair next time, all right?"
"All right. I'll help you get him up there."
"I'll help too!" All eyes in the room turned to look at Bumblebee, Jazz and Sunstreaker having forgotten that he had followed them in.
"Bumblebee, what are you doing here?" Ratchet raised an optic ridge at the yellow minibot, who walked over to stand next to Sunstreaker.
"I wanted to help Jazz take care of Sunstreaker. No matter how much everyone else denies it, Sunstreaker really cares about all of us, and I'd like to return the favor." Bumblebee was obviously not going to give in, and Ratchet let out an exasperated sigh.
"Fine. You help Jazz lift his legs, and I'll lift him by the shoulders, got it?"
"Got it." Both Jazz and Bumblebee had answered at the same time, and they moved to prepare to lift Sunstreaker's legs. Ratchet nodded after getting in position to lift Sunstreaker by the shoulders, and the three of them quickly lifted the warrior up, and got him onto the medical berth.
"Jazz, I'm curious to know how you got Sunstreaker into the wheelchair this morning by yourself." Ratchet started to hook up diagnostics equipment, and then turned his head to look at the saboteur.
"I just got the wheelchair so that the platforms where his feet go are touching the side of the berth, an' then I put on the brakes for all of the wheels. After that, it was just a matter of getting' him into a sittin' position, and pullin' him into the seat." Jazz moved the wheelchair out of Ratchet's way, and stood off to the side.
"Very impressive. I didn't know you were that strong. Sunstreaker's a bit over a foot taller than you, and also weighs more than you do." Ratchet looked at the readout on the diagnostics, and started to take notes on a datapad.
"What are you doing now, Ratchet?" Bumblebee tried to see what Ratchet was writing, but he wasn't tall enough.
"I'm writing down what the readings are to include in both the medical records and my report to Prowl." Ratchet went to another diagnostics screen, and wrote down the readings for that one as well. After writing down the readings of the other three screens, Ratchet set down the datapad, and unhooked the cables for the diagnostics equipment from Sunstreaker. "Well, you're recovering a little better than I anticipated, but still a long way from fighting, and it will still take a while for you to be able to talk again." Sunstreaker nodded slowly, and looked slightly relieved.
"So, is it time to take Sunstreaker back to his quarters now?" Bumblebee walked over to stand next to the warrior, and placed a hand on Sunstreaker's right shoulder.
"Yes, you can get him back to his quarters now." Ratchet waved a hand at them in a shooing gesture. Jazz repeated the method he used to get Sunstreaker into his wheelchair that he had used to get him off of his berth, and once again seated the warrior in said wheelchair. With a wave of good-bye, Jazz pushed Sunstreaker out of the med bay, with Bumblebee in tow behind him.
After the saboteur and the minibot had gotten Sunstreaker back onto his bunk in the twins' quarters, they sat down on the top bunk, and started to read some datapads on how humans help their disabled individuals.
"Hey, Jazz, look at this!" Bumblebee pointed to an article on a human whose legs are too weak to support her, but is seemingly standing on her own at first glance. A second look showed that she is wearing metal braces to give her legs support as she walked. "Think we could do something like this for Sunstreaker? I mean, if it works for humans, wouldn't it also possibly work for an Autobot?"
"Maybe, but this person is still able to actually move her legs without the braces. Sunstreaker can't. Still, I'm gonna take some notes on this, and save this picture for future use." Jazz took a blank datapad out of his subspace, and used a cable to link it up with the one with the information on it. He took the picture of the girl wearing the metal braces, as well as the diagrams of the braces included in that same article. He then wrote down all of the most important details in the article, and saved it for future reference.
"Hey, Jazz; think that Sunstreaker will ever be able to walk again, with or without some kind of support device for his legs?" Bumblebee looked up at the SIC, and saw a small frown on his face.
"I don't know, Bee. All I know is that we can only hope for the best." Jazz continued to scroll down the screen on the first datapad, and found a similar brace for one's arms and hands. "This looks like it could come in handy later on." He did the same for this article as he did for the one on leg braces, and saved that file as well. After a few more minutes of reading, they felt something tapping on the bottom of the bunk. Bumblebee poked his head over the side to look at Sunstreaker.
"What is it, Sunstreaker?" Bumblebee watched Sunstreaker use his only working hand to motion to where his fuel tanks were located, and then to his mouth. "Let me guess… Oh! You need some energon?" Bumblebee was rewarded with an enthusiastic nod.
"I'll get 'im some. Bee, ya' think that ya' could keep him company while I get him a cube?" Jazz set aside the datapads, and jumped to the floor.
"Sure, Jazz!" Bumblebee climbed down, and pulled up Sunstreaker's painting stool to sit next to the warrior.
"Thanks! I'll be right back!" Jazz went out of the room, leaving the two yellow Autobots alone.
"Jazz! Why don't you stick around? We're going to have a party soon!" Blaster had grabbed the SIC's right arm as he walked past him on his way out of the rec room.
"I can't, Blaster. I need ta' take care of 'Streaker, an' I don't think it would be good for his health ta' come ta' a party with him in this state." Jazz shook Blaster's hand off of his arm, and continued out of the rec room. When he arrived back at the quarters he was temporarily staying in, he saw Bumblebee and Sunstreaker reading a story together. Then, Bumblebee looked up, and saw Jazz coming in.
"Jazz! I was just reading one of the stories that the humans wrote with Sunstreaker! Before now, I didn't even know he LIKED human stories! From what I can tell, his favorite author is Kathryn Lasky." Bumblebee returned to reading with Sunstreaker, while Jazz came over and handed the yellow warrior the cube of energon he brought for him. Sunstreaker gladly took the cube in his good hand, and started to drink from it.
"So what's this one called?" Jazz came over to look at the writing on the datapad.
"It's in the newest series called 'Horses of the Dawn', the one called "Star Rise". It's book number two." Bumblebee continued to read the story with Sunstreaker, and Jazz found himself reading along as well. It was a strangely captivating story, in Jazz's opinion. Full of adventure, uncertainty, some real history, and a lot of courage and bravery. Jazz could pick out several different instances where the main characters showed bravery and compassion, and felt that he could relate to a few of them, even if they WERE horses.
"Are many of this author's stories focused around animals?" Jazz looked over at Sunstreaker, who nodded with a smile on his face. Jazz took a mental note to read books written by this author more often. They had just gotten to a part where one of the horses had been roped by a human the horses referred to as an Iber, when they heard a knock on the door.
"I'll see who it is." Bumblebee hopped off of the side of the berth, where he had been sitting next to Sunstreaker to read the story with him. He walked over to the door, and opened it to reveal Bluestreak standing outside. "Blue! What brings you by?"
"I wanted to give something to Sunstreaker. I found it in the training room, and it had his name on it. I promise I didn't look at whatever was written or saved on it, ok?" Bluestreak took a datapad out of his subspace, and gave it to Bumblebee. After smiling at Jazz and Sunstreaker, he turned around, and walked back into the corridor, and went out of sight.
"Well, here you go, Sunstreaker." Bumblebee walked over to the warrior, and handed him the datapad. Sunstreaker looked extremely relieved to see it, and set it into his subspace. Then, he pointed back at the datapad that Jazz was holding, and Bumblebee sat back on the berth to read with them some more.
After a full two weeks had passed, Sunstreaker's legs and left arm still showed no sign of regaining their motor functions, or even giving him any feeling in them. Sunstreaker continued to be carted around in his wheelchair by Jazz, and was getting a little tired of it. Now, he was in his wheelchair, at a table in the rec room.
"Sunstreaker, want some energon?" Jazz held two cubes in his hands, and gave one to the warrior when he nodded. As Sunstreaker drank the energon, he listened to the conversation he had absolutely no hope of joining, due to his inability to speak.
"I heard that the 'Cons are actually taking a break for once!"
"I wonder why."
"Who knows? Maybe ol' Megs just got tired of shovin' his soldiers around, an' decided to have some down time for a while." Jazz smiled, and the others smiled as well, knowing that Jazz was joking, as usual.
"I've heard that he's actually got something going on in the Congo, but it's just rumors. Not sure whether to believe them or not." Blaster leaned over the table.
"Blaster, where'd ya' hear that from?" Jazz looked at Blaster, managing to look perplexed, despite having the visor over his optics.
"I've been listening to human radio stations. I was bored, and I wanted to hear what was going on in the lives of the humans. I heard someone interviewing a distressed woman, who said that a giant black panther ran through her backyard, nearly killing her dog. It was a woman who lives near the Congo. And I'm talking about the rainforest, not the river." Blaster turned on a recording of the interview, and their internal translators confirmed what Blaster had said, when they listened to the voice of the distressed woman.
"I guess we should alert Prime, huh?" Jazz turned his head to look at Blaster, who nodded.
"Too bad you can't come. You need to watch over Sunstreaker, take care of him. It's your current job, as well as your promise to Sideswipe." Blaster put a hand on Jazz's shoulder. "Don't worry; you're doing a good job of it, though."
"I know. I'm just a little sad that Sunstreaker's legs and arm aren't workin' yet, so that means…" Jazz trailed off when he saw Sunstreaker staring at his feet. The yellow warrior completely ignored the stares that were suddenly directed at him, and reached down with his right hand, and lightly touched his right foot. When his fingers brushed against the metal, his optics widened in shock.
"Sunstreaker? What is it?" Blaster moved his seat a little closer to the wheelchair, but he was completely ignored by the warrior. Then, Sunstreaker's attention shifted to his left arm. Then, Jazz caught the excitement in Sunstreaker's optics.
"Sunstreaker… are you able to feel anything in your arm and legs?" Jazz waited for a reply. I hope my suspicions are right! I hope he's startin' to be able to feel his limbs again! His spark nearly leaped for joy when he saw Sunstreaker nod his head, and continue staring at his arm. Then, Sunstreaker started to focus on his left hand entirely, and everyone watched him. Suddenly, the fingers on the warrior's left hand twitched a little, and everyone gasped with surprise. Everyone in the rec room heard the commotion, and started to ask the 'bots at Sunstreaker's table what was going on. When told the news, they started to talk with one another, and someone went running out of the rec room to spread the news.
After a few minutes, a white and red mech came running into the rec room, and pushed his way through the crowd to stand next to Sunstreaker.
"Ratchet! He's starting to be able to feel his legs and arm again! He was even able to move his fingers a little!" Jazz had a grin that threatened to split his face in two, and Sunstreaker was smiling almost as wide. There were tears of joy in the yellow warrior's optics, and Ratchet couldn't help smiling as well.
"Well, that means we've hit a lucky break. In every medical record I could find, if a 'bot starts to regain feeling in any disabled limbs, he'll have a full recovery, if given enough time." Ratchet took out a scanner, and ran a few scans of Sunstreaker's left arm and his legs. The scans showed that there was a bit of activity in the sensor network again, and that meant that he was able to feel dull sensations, but it would get stronger until it was back to normal.
"Hey, Ratch', I think I might have somethin' we could use for 'Streaker when he's able to move his legs, now that we know for sure he'll be able to sometime." Jazz held up the datapad that he had taken notes on two weeks ago, and gave it to the CMO. "It's a few things that tha' humans use for their disabled individuals, and allow more movement if the limbs can move even a little bit. It gives support to weakened arms and legs." He watched nervously as Ratchet read through his notes and looked at the images and diagrams he had found.
"I believe that this might work. I'll have to use some trial-and-error to get a design that will work for an Autobot, but I think we can do this. Just so you know, I'm keeping this datapad." Ratchet turned, and went out of the room before Jazz could protest.
"I can't believe he just did that." Jazz sat back down, feeling a little confused and slightly angry. However, that anger melted away when Sunstreaker used his good arm to hug him. Sunstreaker was trying to convey how much he appreciated all of Jazz's help, and Jazz understood. "Aw, you're welcome, 'Streaker. What are friends for, right?"
Sunstreaker nodded, and released Jazz from his hug, with tears of joy in his optics. Sunstreaker then started to focus on his legs again, and was clearly trying to see if he could move them at all yet. Both of his feet twitched slightly, and Sunstreaker slumped back in his wheelchair, clearly tired from his efforts.
"I think it's time for someone to get some recharge." Jazz stood up, and wheeled the tired warrior out of the rec room, Bumblebee following once again. After they got Sunstreaker on his berth, Jazz covered him with the galaxy blanket that Sideswipe had told him was so special to the twins, and made sure that Sunstreaker was comfortable. Jazz checked his own internal chronometer, and saw that it was about time he got some recharge himself. "I'm gonna get some recharge too, Bumblebee. Ya' still gonna be campin' out in here?"
"You bet I am! I really don't want to be away from Sunstreaker when he's still so defenseless like this. If a 'Con decided to attack the base, he wouldn't be able to defend himself very well." Bumblebee went over to where he had brought his own bedding, and curled up with his pillow and blanket. Jazz climbed up to the bunk above Sunstreaker, and was in recharge just moments after lying down.
A few days later, Jazz woke up after hearing a loud CRASH. He poked his head over the side of the bunk he was on, and saw Sunstreaker was actually on the ground, instead of his berth. After the initial shock, Jazz realized that the warrior had been trying to walk on his own, even though Ratchet hadn't finished the leg braces yet. Currently, said warrior was trying to get back on his feet, eventually resorting to using the berth as leverage and support. When Sunstreaker was standing up again, Jazz tapped him on the head, causing him to look up.
"Sunstreaker, you need to rest. I don't want to have to take you down earlier than your usual check-up today, just because you fell down so many times you jarred somethin' loose, all right?" Sunstreaker's response was to sit down on the bottom bunk, and carefully pull his legs onto said berth to lie down again. Sunstreaker reached out to his rack of datapads with his right arm, and grabbed one at random. Jazz smiled as the warrior turned on the datapad, and then heard Ratchet's voice on his comm. unit.
*Jazz, get Sunstreaker down here. I want to see if the braces I just finished will work like the ones the humans use do.*
"On our way, Ratch-man." Jazz ended the communication, and jumped off of the bunk. He brought Sunstreaker's wheelchair over, and Sunstreaker was already sitting up expectantly. Datapad aside now, the yellow warrior grabbed the edge of the bunk above him with his right hand, and, with help from Jazz, got to his feet, and sat down in the wheelchair. Giving the saboteur a thumbs-up, the warrior smiled as Jazz pushed him down the corridors to the med bay. "Ratchet, we're here!"
"Good. Now, I may have to use the adjusting feature I put in these to get them to fit his arm and legs properly, but I think that they'll work." The CMO stepped away from one of the medical berths, revealing three shining, silver-painted devices on it. Two of them were opposites of the same model, but the third was more complex. It was the third one that Ratchet picked up first, and brought over to Sunstreaker. "Now, this might feel a little strange, and I admit that I haven't tried these out on an actual Autobot yet, but I think it'll be fine."
Sunstreaker watched Ratchet fit the brace around his left arm, adjusting it a bit to accommodate his arm length and width, and making sure that it would bend properly with his arm. The most intriguing part was when Ratchet started to fit the end of the brace to the warrior's hand, with several outside joints making up the braces that fit around his fingers. It had little straps, and Ratchet had to make minute changes to the length and width of the finger-braces so that they do not hinder his movements. When the CMO stepped away, Sunstreaker just sat there for a moment, looking at the new brace that was now strapped to his arm and hand.
"Well? Aren't you going to see if it works?" Ratchet's voice was full of nervousness and anxiety, but also with hope. Jazz and the CMO watched Sunstreaker, as, carefully, the warrior started to move his arm around. Before putting the brace on, his arm was too weak to move much at all, but now he was bending it, moving his fingers, and marveling at how easy it was to move his arm and hand now. Then, with a sudden feeling of boldness, the warrior used his left hand to pull a particularly heavy box of art supplies out of his subspace, and lifting it above his head using just that hand.
"Can I see how heavy that box is?" Jazz took the box from Sunstreaker when it was offered to him, and grunted in surprise when he had to use both arms to hold it. "Man, that's heavy! What do ya' got in this thing?!" Sunstreaker reached over with his left hand, and plucked it from Jazz's own two hands like it weighed no more than a pillow.
"Well, looks like the arm brace works, and far better than I anticipated! Now, let's try the leg braces." Ratchet had Sunstreaker put the box away, and then brought over the leg braces. The leg braces were less difficult to strap to the warrior's limbs, but they needed to be adjusted more than the arm brace did, because of how long Sunstreaker's legs were. After they were firmly strapped on, Ratchet stood back, and waited for Sunstreaker to try them out. "Go on, try to stand up."
With a determined expression on his face, Sunstreaker moved one foot, then the other, and then practically leaped out of the wheelchair, and landed nimbly on both feet. Suddenly, he swept Ratchet up in a big hug, tears of joy in his optics, and squeezing the CMO tight.
"Ok, ok, I know you're happy, Sunstreaker!" Ratchet was laughing a bit as he said this, tears forming in his own optics as he realized that he had just given Sunstreaker the ability to walk before his legs were fully healed on their own. Ratchet found himself hugging Sunstreaker back, not caring if anyone saw his kinder side. "I'm glad that they worked, Sunstreaker! I only wish I could help you use your vocalizer sooner as well." Those words gave Jazz an inspiration. After the CMO and the warrior had stopped hugging each other, Jazz went up to Ratchet, and whispered something in his audio receptor. After a quiet conversation, Jazz turned to Sunstreaker.
"Hey, does your radio still work, 'Streaker?" When Jazz saw the warrior nod his head, he smiled. "You could use that to talk with! You could piece together what you want to say from recordings you have of different things that happen on the radio!" Jazz smiled when he saw Sunstreaker's expression brighten even more, and suddenly found himself being hugged, with his feet a full meter off the ground. "All right, all right! Hey, aren't you gonna try it? Try to tell me somethin' all right?"
Sunstreaker put Jazz down, and started to think about what to say. He had wanted to say so much during the time he had been mute, and now that he had found a way to communicate better than using his version of charades, he didn't know what he wanted to say. Then, he settled for just five words, pieced together from what he had heard on the radio in his spare time.
{Thank you for helping me.} When Sunstreaker heard those words come from his radio, he hugged both Jazz and Ratchet at the same time, causing both of them to laugh in surprise. Right after Sunstreaker had put the two of them down, Prowl came into the med bay with a doorwing hanging at a strange angle. When the other SIC saw Sunstreaker wearing the new braces and actually STANDING UP, he stopped in surprise. Then, he heard mismatched words from Sunstreaker's radio. {Hi Prowl! Surprised to see me like this?}
"Sunstreaker? How are you doing this? I know that Ratchet must have finished the braces, but what…" Prowl was cut off when Sunstreaker went over to him and scooped him up in a big hug, and put him back down again. "…What…"
"He's been doing that to those who have helped him greatly in some way for the past few weeks. Now, Prowl, come over here, and let me take a look at that doorwing." Ratchet walked over, and practically dragged the tactician over to a medical berth, while Jazz and Sunstreaker went out of the med bay with the now-empty wheelchair, should they ever need it. After leaving the wheelchair in the twins' quarters, Jazz and Sunstreaker raced each other to the rec room, suddenly stopping when they nearly ran into Optimus Prime.
"Jazz, Sunstreaker, why are you… running… through… the… corridors…" Optimus stared at Sunstreaker, not noticing the braces on his arm and legs. At least, not until Sunstreaker lifted on leg and pointed to the bands of silver-colored metal strapped to it, and then at the brace on his other leg and his left arm. Optimus stared at him, and suddenly found himself being hugged and lifted by Sunstreaker, who was a good 5 feet shorter than he was! Optimus found himself laughing, and had Sunstreaker put him back down. "Sunstreaker, I am so glad that Ratchet was able to make working braces for you! Did he find any way for you to talk yet?"
{I have started using my radio to speak.} When Optimus heard the sound of the radio, he didn't care that it was a mismatch of different voices and tones, all that mattered was that Sunstreaker was talking… in a way.
"It's a good thing you have found a way to communicate for now. I am glad you can use so many things to help you. Tell me, where did you all get the idea to make the braces anyhow?" Optimus gestured to Sunstreaker's legs and left arm, where the bright bands of silver-colored metal were plainly seen against the warrior's golden yellow paint job.
"Bee and I found out about how tha' humans help their disabled individuals when we were looking up that topic. Those who could barely use their arms or legs had braces to help them move them and give them the strength to support themselves." Jazz walked up to the Prime and nodded to him, and he and Sunstreaker stepped around their leader, and started to race again.
{When we get there, what do you think their reaction will be?} Sunstreaker was going slower than he could, just so that he did not have an unfair advantage against the SIC. When they came to the rec room, they slowed down, and had a sort of conversation, one with a normal voice, one made up of recordings of different voices and tones. When the other Autobots heard this, they turned to them, and stared.
"Sunstreaker?! How are you walking?!" Mirage ran up to the warrior, and stared at him in awe. Then, they heard the strange voice made up of recordings of a multitude of different voices again.
{Jazz gave Ratchet the idea to make supportive braces for my arm and legs. They work like a charm!} Sunstreaker proved it by hugging the spy, and lifting him up into the air. Mirage laughed.
"All right, you can put me down now!" After Sunstreaker put the spy back on the ground, he went over to the energon dispenser, and brought back two cubes, one for Sunstreaker, and the other for Jazz. When the two said mech took their cubes, they thanked Mirage, and gratefully started to drink from them. Though it was strange hearing Sunstreaker using his radio to talk, they were just glad he had found a way to communicate with them.
{Hey, think I could get a few of you guys to come down to the training rings with me? I want to get used to wearing these braces when I'm moving around.} Sunstreaker was looking around while he pieced together different voices from different recordings he managed to get while he was internally listening to the radio while drinking his energon. When he said that, several Autobots looked at each other, and willingly volunteered.
"I'll go too, Sunstreaker. I'd like ta' see what ya' can do now that you're a little outta practice." Jazz put a hand on Sunstreaker's right shoulder, and together, they went out of the rec room, followed by Cliffjumper, Brawn, Tracks, and Ironhide.
"Look out!" Everyone quickly turned their heads to look above them, and saw a Seeker diving towards them. The Autobots had moved their training session with Sunstreaker outside where there was more room, and it seemed to have attracted some attention.
{I'll take care of this!} Sunstreaker leaped up into the air, and landed heavily on the back of the jet. Using the boosted strength the brace on his left arm gave him, he punched a hole in the Seeker's left wing, while holding onto the right wing with his right hand. The Seeker in question was Thundercracker, who, in turn, tried to throw the yellow warrior off by executing a triple barrel roll. Sunstreaker clung to the jet's back like an Earth burr, and didn't even shift position. What unnerved Thundercracker the most was that the Autobot didn't make a single sound with his vocalizer, and made him even more determined to get him off. Suddenly, in a sudden act of boldness, Sunstreaker grabbed the edge of the blue jet's left wing with the braced arm, and half tore it off. His flight completely going haywire, Thundercracker started to spiral to the ground. Just seconds before impact with the ground, the yellow Autobot jumped off, and landed neatly on the ground, his weight on both feet, and standing.
"You got 'im, Sunstreaker!" Jazz ran over to the yellow warrior, and quickly checked on the structure of his new braces. Not even a scratch. They heard a groan, and looked at the blue Seeker that Sunstreaker had brought to the ground. Thundercracker had transformed, and was holding his head. They saw Ironhide walk over to him, and he cuffed the Seeker's hands behind his back.
"I guess I'm your prisoner now, huh?" Thundercracker's voice was edged with pain, and they could plainly see the energon leaking out of his left wing.
"Yep, an' now I'm gonna take ya' ta' Ratchet, an' then ta' the brig." Ironhide gave the Seeker a push, and took him inside the Ark. The Seeker was sure to get an interrogation, and possibly even an offer to join the Autobots.
{It's been TEN MONTHS since I had to start using this radio and these braces! When will I be able to use my OWN voice and my OWN limbs without having to have supplemental devices to help me?!} Sunstreaker was careful to use the parts of recordings that most accurately exposed his irritated mood. He was tired of wearing the braces, and tired of having to pull words from recordings just to say even the simplest of things.
"You don't have to use them for much longer, Sunstreaker. From these diagnostics, you are almost able to use your vocalizer again, and you will soon be able to stand and lift things on your own." Ratchet showed Sunstreaker the datapad with the readings on it, but the warrior just vented air in frustration.
{You don't know what it's like for me every slagging day! I have to first put on my arm brace just so that I can put on my leg braces! And all day I have to take words from the countless recordings I've gotten just to talk! Even now, I'm going through hundreds of recordings just to tell you how I feel about this!} Sunstreaker was beyond irritated by now. He was getting close to a full-blown rage. {And it doesn't help that my brother has been on Cybertron this whole time! How long is he going to be up there?!}
"He's going to be back in two months, Sunstreaker. He was sent up there for the duration of one year. That was the agreement we had to make with the Autobots back home." Ratchet tried to placate the warrior, but it wasn't working.
{You say that CYBERTRON is home?! Ratchet, I've been on this mudball planet for so long that THIS is my home now! I don't feel like I even BELONG anywhere else!} Sunstreaker finally got sick of the conversation, whacked the CMO in the back of the head, and stormed out of the med bay. Ratchet could swear he saw black smoke coming out of the top of the warrior's head, like in those silly cartoons and comics their human friends like so much.
"Primus have mercy on anyone who crosses his path today…"
After two months had come and gone, Sunstreaker leaped with joy when his legs felt like they were back at full strength. He tried running without his braces, and didn't even fall down once! Then, he felt his vocalizer coming back online after one year of needing to use his auto-repair systems.
"YES! I can use my own voice again! Now I can DELETE all of those slagging recordings I had to make!" Sunstreaker was jubilant at the sound of his own voice. Just then, he heard the rocket engines of Omega Supreme landing outside, and dashed out of the Ark. When he got outside, the rocket had just landed, and there was a red figure standing in the open hatch.
"SUNNY! You're ok!"
"SIDES!" The brothers ran towards each other, and crashed into a laughing, fighting, tangled heap on the ground. "Sides, I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Sunny! And I'm glad you're all better!"
"Heh, I only just got out of the braces today! I can also finally use my own voice again!"
"What?"
"Long story. For now, let's just go kick Jazz out of our room. Bumblebee too. They're nice guys, but it's a little hard being in the same room with them for a little over a year!" Sunstreaker and Sideswipe finally got themselves straightened out, and they went back into the Ark with one arm over the other's shoulder in a brotherly companionship.