Sirus's Beginnings

Alarms blared throughout the Autobot base signaling the troops to assemble in the command center. Their newest recruit quickly ran and stumbled into the room unceremoniously and immediately felt the intense burning gaze from one of the resident Autobots. Trying to avoid optic contact with the bright yellow mech, Sirus prayed to the grace of Primus the young Autobot did not have any laser implants in his optics. Shaking her head, she made sure to pay close attention to the screen and its pulsing signal.

Sirus stood in silence, recalling this morning's chat with the human children. They explained to her Hot Shot acted this way because he had 'trust' issues with an ex-Autobot yesterday, one that double-crossed them and went by the name of Sideways. She remembered while exploring the base, she ran into Hot Shot, who immediately turned heel the moment his optics landed on her. There it was again, the way he looked at her expressed his dislike (or distrust) for newcomers. Well, if she were betrayed, she would act the exact same way as Hot Shot. Who wouldn't? The other Autobots didn't seem to question her sudden arrival which was fine with her, but she just hoped that they all understood she wasn't a threat. Sirus wasn't Virus. She wasn't a calculative, killing machine with a serious dose of tunnel vision whose existence was justified by pleasing superiors and deeming herself a worthy warrior. Sirus shook her head.

The main monitor lit up displaying the vast desert. Only a couple of cacti were in sight, and the sun was high in the sky, scorching the sand. There was not a single definitive structure in sight other than a tall, rectangular-shaped rock plateau sticking out like a sore thumb. The Mini-Con signal transmitted signals from the North West direction and judging from its constant movement, one could only theorize the Mini-Con was on the move. Nobody wanted to assume the Decepticons had already grabbed their prize.

Sirus's optics focused onto the moving signal before a gut feeling forced her to speak, "I think we should go investigate."

Optimus caught on, fearing the worse. "Agreed. Let's head out men," The Autobots rushed to the launch gate hoping to retrieve the Mini-Con before the Decepticons got to it.


Today was the first time the Autobots saw double. Arriving on the scene, the Autobots immediately engaged in battle with the Decepticons. The Autobots, however, found out they were late in retrieving it. Sirus was the first one to break away from the group and looked up the moment her audio receptors picked up the sound of a high-pitched melodic whistle coming from the east. Turning her head, her optics narrowed at her sister who already had the Mini-Con in her possession. There, she sat at the edge of the rock plateau, swinging her legs like some youthful youngling. Clenching her fists tightly, her attention moved to the mech standing beside her; it was Sideways.

"Virus!" Sirus yelled. "Give back that Mini-Con! You don't have rights to own it!"

Like Virus would listen. The femme shrugged. The Autobots turned their attention to the newcomer. It was as Sirus described, Virus was identical to her in every way, minus their color palettes. The Autobots immediately raised their weapons at her. Scavenger crossed his arms.

"Well, well, well. I see you're still alive," Virus chirped gleefully, patting her newly acquired mini robot, she continued, "I thought you perished into space dust by now. Better luck next time, right, Sirus?"

Sirus's fists tightened watching her sister smirk.

Suddenly a shot was fired, "SIDEWAYS, YOU CREEP!" Hot Shot exploded.

Virus faced Sideways, shrugging dismissively. Looking away from the raging Autobot, Hot Shot was itching to fire another round. Sideways must pay for his betrayal. Staring into Sideways' optics, Hot Shot cursed himself for being stupid and naïve; of all the bots he met, he had to trust Sideways, a drifter, a Decepticon. Curling his fingers, if only he had known earlier Sideways would double-cross him, he wouldn't have trusted him in the first place. But, then again, how would anybody know Sideways's goal was to backstab him and the Autobots? Hot Shot blamed himself; everything up until this point was mostly his fault. Shaking his head, but he tried to justify everything was not entirely his fault; it was Sideways' fault as well! The young Autobot shook in rage, recalling the moment he was betrayed before he was severely punished by Demolisher and Cyclonus. He was lucky he returned alive.

Amused by the Autobot's flaring temper, Virus faced the enraged Autobot, "Do you have a problem with my comrade here?"

"What's it to you?!" Hot Shot fired another shot, aimed at Sideways's head. The femme swiped her hand in mid-air, erecting a force field that immediately extinguished the shot. "What?!"

Virus narrowed her optics. "Don't you even think of harming him,"

Throwing a dagger at in front of Hot Shot's feet, the gesture was a mere warning. Sideways scoffed at Hot Shot's bubbling anger. Aww, did he upset the little baby bot by backstabbing him? One by one, the Decepticons retreated leaving Sideways and Virus to look down at Hot Shot. Whispering to Sideways, the mech acknowledged her message and returned to the moon base, leaving Virus behind. The lone femme scanned her optics at the rest of the Autobots, those good-for-nothing goody-two-shoe robots whose aim was to bring peace and prosperity on Cybertron. That turned out well, didn't it? Cyber City, their capital, along with Mini-Con villages were in ashen ruins now overrun by Decepticons. The Autobots did a fantastic job at protecting their city and their populace. Last time she heard, most of the civilians were enslaved or melted for scrap metal. Some survivors were killed on-site, and femmes were transported to underground facilities. Sparklings were either destroyed or reprogrammed to become Energon-thirsty warriors. Oh, and let's not forget during the war, some of the executions were carried out by Shockblast and Virus and a handful of Decepticon Generals. It was glorious.

Virus's optics landed on Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, followed by Red Alert, Smokescreen, Scavenger, Sirus, and Hot Shot. Tch, nothing but a bunch of useless metal pawn pieces.

Recalling the dagger back into her wrist, the femme issued out a warning directly to Hot Shot. "If you're going to harm Sideways, you'd better consider the fact you have to go through me first."

And just like that, she was gone.


Back at the base, Optimus requested a meeting with Sirus who needed to do much explaining after their recent encounter with the Decepticons and the one called Virus. In the meeting room, Sirus stood with interlocked fingers and twiddling thumbs, thinking about what to say. The door suddenly slid open with Scavenger entering with arms crossed and quite frankly, unimpressed. Sirus lowered her head, optics cast on the floor. She sighed for a moment before he spoke.

"Before Optimus arrives, I want you to answer a few questions."

"Yes, sir…"

"Why is your sister siding with the Decepticons?"

She knew it. She knew Scavenger was going to ask her this. Shaking her head, she replied, "I don't know, sir."

Rubbing her arms, Sirus felt Scavenger's intense stare as he was known to do when she and Virus were mentored by him. Well, technically, Virus was mentored by Scavenger, not Sirus. Still, the mech played a significant role in their lives during the war; he taught Virus how to properly fight, and he taught Sirus Cybertronian history. Also, Scavenger was generous enough to introduce Sirus to Red Alert, providing him with extra hands in the med bay. Both sisters looked up to Scavenger during their time at the Autobot base because he cared for them more than anybody else did. While others were busy with base-related duties or were sent to war, Scavenger allotted time to teach the femmes or at least, spend a couple of astroseconds talking with them. Sirus dipped her head; it was without a doubt Scavenger was disappointed to learn Virus joined the Decepticons.

The sound of the hissing door snapped Sirus out of her thoughts; entering the room was Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots. It didn't help when her optics landed on Hot Shot. By the look of things, he continued to seethe. Turning her attention to Optimus, he questioned her about Virus's unnatural abilities.

Formulating a response, Sirus answered, "To be honest sir, I'm not really sure. I've only known her for so long."

"Please elaborate on 'so long,'" Optimus stated.

"During the war, I lost sight of her. As you may or may not be aware, we—or at least, Virus—were a part of the Autobot faction and when the war for the Mini-Cons turned for the worse, she disappeared." Sirus explained, recollecting her thoughts. "A-Anyway, I think the power you've all seen is Virus creating an electromagnetic field."

"Say what?" Hot Shot snapped.

"With an electrical discharge, she applies 'force' on airborne particles, binding negative or positive air molecules. She manipulated the consistency of the electric field. With that said, the constant change in the electrical field generates a force field as you all saw."

"Impossible!" Hot Shot roared.

"But you just saw it! Your shot was instantly vaporized the moment it came into contact with the shield!" Sirus argued. With fists tightened, Sirus has the audacity to snap at him, "What on Cybertron is your problem, Hot Shot?! Since I got here, you've been doing nothing but staring daggers at me! For your information, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Look what happened the last time we, or rather, I trusted someone. That scum Sideways betrayed us, and now the Star Saber is with them! Not to mention they gained a new ally!" Hot Shot exploded. Oh, he wasn't done yet. "Lo and behold, it's your sister! Keep the good news coming, why don't you?!"

Sirus clenched her fists. Hot Shot's outburst and irrational mood swings were royally getting to her sensitive wiring. "Don't associate me with Virus!" Sirus snarled, "We're two different entities. Sure, we look similar, but we're nothing alike! I'm here to help you win against her and the rest of the Decepticons!"

"That's enough, Hot Shot," Red Alert peacefully interrupted. Placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, he continued, "Sirus is on our side. She's my disciple back on Cybertron. You really have to stop and apologize to her."

Slapping the science officer's hand away, Hot Shot mumbled venomously, "Yeah, whatever…" With those words, he stormed out of the room.

Sirus expelled a sigh. She recomposed herself and turned to the rest of the Autobots, "Sorry. I shouldn't have exploded."

"It's alright Sirus," said Optimus. "He's going through a tough time now. We all are."

Sirus fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is it alright if I return to my quarters? I really don't feel like talking…"

"Alright, dismissed. When you feel like you're ready, you can come and speak to me."

"Yes, sir."


Dropping an aft full of metal onto her berth, Sirus shook her head, enraged by the sudden turn of events. It was always about Virus. Virus this, Virus that. Curling her fists, she released a defeated sigh. Turning to her subspace compartment on her leg, she reached down and pulled out a small rectangular box, fitted with a small screen and knobs. Carefully tuning it, she watched Cybertronian digits and alphabets whizzed across the screen. The device emitted soft crackling sounds as numbers began to rise then fall, then rise… then fall again. Staring at the recording device, she grunted; she was in absolutely no mood to record today's events. What was there to talk about? Her sister? Hot Shot's childish and irrational temperaments? Switching it off, she placed down the gray device beside her and laid down.

Dimming her optics, she scanned through her files, trying to locate the records about when the sisters appeared on the Autobots' doorstep. Sirus remembered being incredibly thankful the Autobots allowed them to seek refuge during the war; civilians had nowhere to go, and many perished in Decepticon raids and crossfires. Sirus and Virus had no intention of becoming scrap metal or Decepticon slaves. They pushed forward, propelled by their will to survive. All Sirus had was her sister and vice versa.

How long has it been since that day happened? That's over thirty-something million years ago, I think.

Sirus remembered the first time she entered the Autobot base with Virus by her side, shaken from the rampaging war echoing around them. They were greeted warmly at the Autobots' doorstep and without an astrosecond to lose, they were welcomed inside. The twin sisters walked through the empty halls, listening to the silence even if there was an intense war waged outside these metallic compounds. The more they walked, the more they realized they were the only two femmes on base. Until now, they haven't come into contact with other female Transformers. Where were they? Were they outside, in the rampaging war, dominated by gunfire? Or maybe they in the medical bay, patching up arms and legs or watching another life pass away?

While the sisters continued following the guard, the walls and floor suddenly rumbled. Sirus immediately crouched down, and Virus shielded her. Drawing a blade from her wrist, Virus scanned the area for the source of the sound. Were they under attack?! Listening to the sound of gunfire, the sisters eventually heard laughter from the guard; why was he laughing?! Gently placing a hand on Virus's shoulder, he explained they were walking pass the training facility. There was no need to be afraid, he reassured. Sirus remembered the guard then asking if the sisters had any weapons. Sirus nodded; she had a small pistol tucked away in her leg. She explained the weapon was only for self-defense. Other than that, she wasn't quite good with aiming, let alone, shooting and hitting a moving target.

The guard turned to Virus, who ejected who sharp blades from her wrists and beneath her four wings. Virus explained to the mech she and Sirus were engineered as civilians. However, Virus took the liberty to slightly alter her physical form to incorporate weapons to protect herself and her sister; it was the only way to ensure their survival from the Decepticons.

The times spent with the Autobots were considered dull at best; Virus was placed on surveillance duty, and Sirus worked in the med bay. Sitting in a chair, Virus's optics scanned each flickering monitor, watching the Autobots stroll through empty hallways, using the recharge berths, or training. The femme was intrigued with recruits training under the mech they call Scavenger. It was rumored he was a seasoned veteran and was highly respected amongst the Autobot ranks. One day, Virus dragged Sirus to one of Scavenger's training sessions. The femmes entered the training facility (much to Sirus's protests) and hid behind large steel containers on the balcony. From above, the twins watched Scavenger instruct the recruits how to shoot moving targets by demonstrating a couple of examples. Standing up, Virus carefully inched towards the railing, intrigued by Scavenger's words of wisdom. Little did she know, she leaned a bit too far and without realizing it, she fell forward.

"VIRUS!" Sirus shrieked and bolted out of her hiding place.

Virus instinctively flipped in mid-air and landed perfectly on her heels. And then, there was silence.

"Oops," Virus said sheepishly and wheeled around to the many optics that bore into her, "I'm sorry, I was watching you guys train and—"

"What's your name?" A large framed mech approached her with arms firmly crossed his chassis. Virus turned to him, locking onto his stern features, age-old optics, and sturdy frame.

She stood up and replied, "Virus."

He looked up to the place she fell from and back at her. "That was a long way down… My name is Scavenger, and I run this training facility. That was an impressive save you did there, considering you managed by landing perfectly on your feet. We could always use a soldier like you. New recruits are always welcomed."

"Really?!" Her optics lit up brightly. "I'll be honored!"

Many didn't like the idea of a battle-hungry recruit training with them. Many recruits thought Virus wanted attention, (which she did) but she proved herself to be a formidable opponent. During Sirus's free time, she swung by the training facility to watch her sister train with the recruits. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Virus was definitely enjoying herself. Sirus watched Virus jump, dodge, and flip, jump some more, use her weapons, slice here, and shove there followed by the occasional taunt. Every so often Virus's movements would hiccup, forcing Scavenger to pause the training session and instruct her with tips on how to improve her footwork or stances. Virus nodded, taking everything into account. The recruits and Sirus realized Scavenger has been particularly harsh on Virus and never once praised her. The mech continued to push her, forcing her to succeed, and understand the meaning behind combat and why it was done.

Scavenger was ruthless during the training sessions; no recruits including Virus were spared during their one-on-one sparring sessions. Those who managed to achieve the highest scores faced off with Scavenger at the end of training session. The idea was simple; the first one to knock Scavenger down won praise from the mech. Until now, no one has managed to knock him down or even land a since scratch on his armor. Once the recruits were defeated, Scavenger called for their attention; he reminded the recruits war was not a game. The mech explained simply it was about life, death, and survival in between. Once he relayed his message, they were dismissed.

When Sirus wasn't at the training center, she was placed in the med bay aiding the injured. She saw the wounds of war and the unsightly sights forced her engines to churn. She worked alongside Red Alert after Scavenger introduced her to him. The mech wasted no time teaching her must-know vital lessons: How to perform Energon transfusions, mold pieces and solder pieces of armor together, replace optics, and so forth. When it came to fixing weapons, Sirus stayed away from it. She knew she would wire something wrong. Her fear of weaponry consumed her. The young femme would imagine trying to rewire or fix the plasma cannon and in the end, it would explode upon the user the moment he left the med bay. This wasn't in her department! Weapons and such were forwarded to Red Alert, who knew what he was doing. Sirus was going to stay with aiding the injured, thank you very much. The main reason why she didn't want to touch weapons was that she was clumsy and a walking disaster. She knew it, Virus knew it, and Red Alert slightly knew about it.

The only thing wrong with the picture was the fact initiating conversation with him was similar to talking to a wall. What was there to talk about? War? Casualties? The Decepticons? Like Red Alert, work was the only thing that kept her from going insane.

As time went by, many Autobots, especially the recruits didn't appreciate Virus very much. They would enter the med bay and talk and convince Sirus (through a miracle) talk some sense into her sister into withdrawing from the training sessions. Though at times Sirus had to laugh on what the trainees had to say about Virus.

"Your sister is has a few screws loose, you know that?" said one of the trainees as he sat on the berth with an arm extended. Sirus nodded, opening up the bot's arm to find loose wires inflicted during training or… from Virus. "She's crazy I tell you,"

"Tell me about it. I had to live with her for all these years. Surprisingly I haven't gone insane yet." Sirus chuckled.

The trainee released a small laugh then followed by a sigh, "There was a mock battle today and was she ever serious. The moment she heard Scavenger's command, she went haywire. Literally."

"Well," Sirus said reattaching wires, "She takes combat very seriously. Sadly enough, she loves the idea of battle… It keeps her busy, I guess."

"Hmph, sounds like a Decepticon to me."

"Please don't think like that. She embraces combat because…" Sirus paused for a moment then continued, "She had to defend and fight enemies off when we were younger. You see, both of us are orphans. The only thing we have left is each other. Although, I think she's crazy too hey, she's my sister. I need her and vice versa. I heal her wounds so she can continue fighting for both of us."

Well, this was awkward. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

Sirus smiled and closed the arm panel, "It's alright. Well, without her I wouldn't be here! She saved us many times from Decepticons, and I'm grateful for that. And yes, you're right; she does have a few screws loose!"

The two shared a laugh before the trainee returned to his training session.

"Virus? Virus?" Sirus knocked on the door. "Hey, are you in? It's your turn to take the—" The door slid open. Sirus entered and found an empty berth with a datapad on it. It read:

Goodbye.

And that was the last time Sirus ever saw Virus. Nobody knew where she went; it was as if she disappeared into thin air. Many thought Virus was a Decepticon spy. Suspicions arose, and many began to think Sirus was a spy as well. Bots who entered the med bay refused to seek help from her and as a result, many began distancing themselves away from her. He tried to convince the Autobots Sirus was no spy, but his words of concern and reason fell on deaf audio receptors. Red Alert had to set them straight many times, but he knew, what was said, hurt. Sirus tried her best to mute their whispers, mumbling about her being a traitor, and labeling her a Decepticon scum. No, they were wrong. She wasn't a Decepticon; she was an Autobot, like them.

It was not long after Sirus overheard Optimus and Scavenger discussing Scavenger's departure to spy on the Decepticons by joining their ranks. Sirus hid behind the wall and hoped Scavenger would find Virus before something terrible happened. No, Sirus shook her head, Virus had the tools to survive but what if she fell into the hands of the Decepticons? What if her overconfidence proved to be nothing more than a death sentence? What if she was… dead? So many what ifs, it made her engines churn in anxiety.

A day before Scavenger's departure, he entered the med bay requesting to speak with Sirus privately. Scavenger blatantly confronted Sirus about eavesdropping. She honestly didn't mean to! She thought she would get a lecture about the bad behavior, but none came.

"Don't worry, I'll find your sister for you. She's a strong femme, she can handle herself."

"I know, but Virus gets very cocky at times. She thinks Decepticons are toy soldiers."

Scavenger weakly smiled at the comment. "Toy soldiers are we? Well, aren't we all?"

Latching onto his arm, the young femme pleaded, "Please Scavenger, please find Virus. Find her and tell her to immediately come back! Tell her that I'm going to deliver a well-deserved lecture!"

Patting her head, he told her what she wanted to hear, "I promise I'll tell her just that."

And look what fate did to her; Virus reappeared, siding with the Decepticons. Virus wasn't herself… She was different. On the outside, she looked the same, but she's not the same on the inside. Her sister, once sweet and caring was transformed into a cold, non-caring individual. Sure, there were times she was boastful and annoying, but she would never think of committing crimes or backstab anyone. It wasn't in her nature. What happened to her? Powering down, Sirus prayed to the grace of Primus the deity would protect her sister; the last thing she needed was to lose the only family she had left.