A Twin for a Twin
A/N: Special thanks toSaphireblu987, Mezzy-Pen and an Anonymous reviewer for the reviews! If you happen to be lazy to log in, plz just type in your username, that way if you have any questions I could reply. Thanks to Mezzy-pen for the fav! Thanks to Lunan and HarbringerLady for the alerts! If you alerted, fav, and reviewed as well, your name comes out once.
Over 450 hits! Awesome! Thanks everyone! I managed to cook up this chapter while I had the free time, I probably had a bit if trouble in how this worked out as how it would realistic.
Edited: 8th September 2010 (For grammar, spelling, punctuation mistakes).
Beta Readers: Khalthar and LunaeShark
A slight shorter version than the last.
As per usual...
Enjoy the Ride!
~ Chapter 4: Amends to an Autobot, A Human Connection ~
Con man Log Entry 1.04: Damage Control
Unknown location, On the way to Kansas City, US.
I could have run that night.
But I didn't.
I could not.
It was my dad's words that kept me there. A distant memory I remembered. It was one of his regrets in life I suppose and the reason why my family members are mostly Con men. You see, my family hadn't always been this way. My grandfather for one was a good man, worked hard, earnestly, honestly, and even helped others who were in need. He paid the bills on time, had served in the military for the war, he was everything my father and my uncles would have wanted for their father figure. But before he could truly enjoy his retirement, he was taken down by a greedy businessman that had support from a corrupt local governor. My father never told me how that person killed my grandfather, but it was clear that my family was stripped down penniless and chose to become Con Men.
When we were young, dad always said,
"When a person dies, never leave them dying alone. If you're the only one around, be sure to at least hear their dying wish. And if you can, fulfill it."
Not really understanding anything because we were young, Steve, Scarlet and I asked why. There was only a sad reply.
"Because we never knew what your grandfather had wanted. He died alone, with no one to ever hear him, and let him rest in peace."
The memory made me think a lot and it was the reason why I stayed with the alien robot that night. I was somewhat afraid that I would have broken my father's memories if I didn't. I went over to the robotic alien to check if it was alive. While I was searching for a heartbeat, I heard a humming sound. When I peered into its chest at what seemed to be its heart, I discovered it was a glowing ball of some kind of fire.
It was a relief it was alive, even if it did abduct me. What caught my attention the most was that it was calling out to someone called 'Sideswipe'. It was such an odd name. Perhaps it was something equivalent to English from the alien's language. But if anything, the way it called was something universal. It was a call for a family member. I don't know how I knew this, I just knew.
I suppose it did make sense in a way why it desperately abducted me out of the blue. I couldn't really imagine being alone on a different planet not knowing anything.
Perhaps some relations 'fixing' was in order.
~ Sky
Night Camping.
In the middle of nowhere.
With an unconscious alien robot.
Awesome. Note the sarcasm.
Not the worst or the best thing to do in life, but Skyler seemed to have accepted the fact that his life was either getting more interesting or it was going to be a major letdown. Being the positive guy that he was, he chose that perhaps he'd make the most out of it. For better or worse.
Out of sheer boredom and as well due to the lack of light, Skyler had lit up a camp fire just a few meters in front of the unconscious body of the alien robot. He knew for sure that the little fire wasn't going to help the bot at all, but Skyler felt more inclined to keep himself busy keeping the fire burning with what little wood he got from the trees nearby. Even if they were not exactly too far from the road, but they were out of sight of most vehicles due to the rock formation, and the young con man wasn't in the mood to move anywhere. He was already getting comfortable where he was.
While his laptop was for certain unusable, Skyler had always had a mini notebook that housed his entire links around the country. Numerous telephone numbers, cell phone numbers, private numbers, addresses, emails, sites, and even addresses with each their own specialties were all there. Inside it was a folded map of the US and his numerous fake IDs. With nothing to do, the dark brown haired youth searched for a tool he was looking for in his bag.
He took out a mobile GPS and put it on; making sure it was on scan mode to lock on the nearest 11 satellites to mark his bearings and put it down. Next he unfolded out the map to find the State of Louisiana on the map and the location of Kansas City. In times like this, a real mobile GPS was far more useful than the ones inserted into cell phone; at least the accuracy wasn't off by more than 5 meters. Beeping, the GPS then showed its coordinates to show where Skyler was. The young man then made a comparison.
Skyler couldn't help but rub his eyes twice to look at the coordinates and what the map showed.
They were already near the Tennessee State border! Perhaps a couple of more miles, then they would be entering the city outskirts of Memphis.
Of course, Skyler did some calculations in his head. The gas station they stopped at and where the alien picked him up at the farm was still just outside town… but whole trip would have taken about more than five hours… But the whole trip would have taken more than five hours… The alien had managed to have traveled it in three hours before he fainted. Estimating the robot's insane speed and expert maneuvering through traffic, Skyler estimated they probably would get into the city in half an hour.
He wasn't kidding when he stated he was one of the fastest. Scary.
Silently, Skyler cursed himself for not really paying attention to the roads. But then he dismissed it, since everything was pretty much in a blur and they must have zoomed through a couple of towns without him feeling it. He only mentioned which interstate roads were to be taken to get there, and here he was.
Maybe now was a really good time to get all contacts that he could use when he got to Memphis. Perhaps someone with shelter, food, and a large secluded place would be good. Another person with links to the bank, and also he needed to see a weapons specialist if possible. He probably needed a gun once he was in the city, as it was also considered part of the top crime cities in the US.
But most important of all, Intel…and LOTS of it before he went to Kansas City in the least time possible.
Better safe than sorry.
Skyler glanced at the alien robot, who was still not moving. Looks like we'll be here a little longer. He found the numbers he was looking for in the mini notebook, flipped open his cell phone, and started to make a call.
If we're lucky, Uncle Basher's brother, Uncle Franz is in the city with Uncle Neil (his accomplice).
The young con man hit the call button and it was picked up by the person.
"Hello? Sorry to bother you at night, is this Uncle Franz?" Skyler asked, he paused a moment to hear a 'yes' on the line. "This is Sky, I'm actually on my way to Memphis and-"
Expecting the large reaction he was going to get, Skyler pulled the phone away from his ear about good lengths away. He let all the loud happy yapping going on for a few seconds, he just had to smile.
Good old Uncle Franz, he sure seemed to be happy one of his favorite 'nephews' was here to see him soon.
After it was done, he pulled his cell phone back to his ear. "Um- Yeah- I'll be there in the morning I think," Skyler said estimating a 'polite' time to drop by.
There was another buzz and questions.
The young con man sighed, "I'm in a real tight spot. It's Steve; he went M.I.A. since last month. I need help."
Sideswipe groaned in soreness on his berth of what happened to be the most painful spark pain he had ever received.
The silver bot looked at Ratchet, who was still hovering about the med bay, ever so delicately monitoring and scanning his condition every now and then. Still, he couldn't help but feel slightly woozy after the medic injected him with a drug through his energon wires. But at least now most of the ache was gone, just a few dull echoing throbs. He observed Red Alert recharging not too far away, in his alt-form of a Dodge Magnum SUV rescue vehicle. As for Jolt, the younger medic apprentice was mysteriously absent from the room.
Noticing his patient was now fully conscious Ratchet walked to the bot and hovered near him. "How are you Sideswipe?"
Sideswipe tried to sit up but Ratchet pushed him gently down again. "Sideswipe?" Ratchet asked again for a reply.
"I felt Sunny; he's alive… but…" Sideswipe said sure at first.
Ratchet optics were raised, "What is it, Sideswipe?"
Sideswipe gripped his chest plate below which his spark was and only could reply in a whisper, his face filled with a gaze of hurt, "He was in so much pain."
It was somewhat sore for Ratchet to hear that. While he had loathed all those times when the twins pranked with all their glory during the time the Autobots were together, to see Sideswipe in such a state and even hearing that Sunstreaker was suffering Primus knows where was something the medic had never wished for.
"If you could feel him, do you think he is nearby or on Earth?" the medic asked sternly, as he made more scans on the younger major twin.
"I… I don't know." Sides replied with uncertainty and remorse. "I can't feel the bond working well; it was only that sudden moment when I forced myself to find him through the bond. I couldn't feel him again after that."
Ratchet could not comment on that particular part, but he wasn't going to let his patient get worse.
Just as immediately Sideswipe's pain was on his face it was masked to the world, "How long before I can get to my duties?"
"24 hours rest, or you will not be leaving the med bay," the CMO sternly said, not giving any room for argument, and quickly went to the other side of the med bay to work on something else.
There was a growl from the younger mech, but Ratchet knew it was the normal reaction he could expect from him. He took a small glance back and saw that Sideswipe was lying on his berth again, resting. The medic sighed, wondering how much longer the younger twin was going to be like this. He was also having thoughts of making sure that Sideswipe did not attempt to force his way like he did all too soon. Ratchet was worried on the affects it would cause to Sunny, and the older twin's condition was not known.
:: Optimus Prime to Ratchet:: His leader's comm came in. :: How is Sideswipe? ::
:: Conscious and recovering, my Prime. :: Ratchet answered. :: Although there is something that is a mystery here. ::
:: A mystery? :: his leader's voice sound perplexed. :: What of? ::
As professionally as he could Ratchet said :: It seems when Sideswipe forced himself connecting his bond through his brother he received a static shock. It's a reaction that usually occurs when a bond is closed for a long time, although I have not seen one react so violently like those few hours ago. ::
:: So Sunstreaker is alive? :: Prime asked carefully, in his voice there was a sense of hope.
:: Yes, however, Sideswipe feels that Sunstreaker is very much in pain. We do not know how far he is or whether is in space or on Earth. That information of his location is unclear. We can only hope he is not in the hands of the Decepticons. ::
There was silence over the comm. link, Ratchet was aware Prime was in deep thought.
:: Have you have any news on the breach? :: Ratchet asked on another matter.
Optimus responded. :: Negative. It is only clear that Soundwave attempted to breach NEST's security, only to be stopped surprisingly by human hackers. ::
:: Human hackers? ::
:: Yes, an impressive feat that Prowl is rather unwilling to accept. :: Optimus said amused.
This of course made Ratchet worry for Prowl's 'special' condition. :: The fragger hasn't fried his circuits yet? ::
A deep chuckle was heard from the other. :: No, but he is close to. He's not happy either, since he still can not locate the hackers. ::
:: Order him to the med bay Optimus. Pit, I'd be lucky that he doesn't get an extensive damage repair. ::
There was a pause and then a response, :: He will arrive in the med bay in approximately seven minutes. ::
:: Thank you. Ratchet to Optimus, out. ::
A groan came from the unconscious form of the alien robot.
Skyler stepped a few feet back as the robotic alien's systems hummed to life. Even though he had plans to confront the bot, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. He was used to talking to it in its car form, and having something towering above you and talking to you was something not many people had experience with or counted around the norm. The young man hesitantly walked over slowly to make his presence known, at least in a non-threatening way and slowly locked his eyes on its optics.
It sat up using its arm for support.
"Uhh- Are you alright?"
There was that look again at him, being small and all. Not the Skyler was surprised, but he supposedly thought it was the same thing a human would do if they were talking to a stray cat or something. It was something to be expected of an alien that did not understand the human race.
"You could have run off, fleshy," it said simply.
Skyler replied back with a sigh, "I… I just couldn't."
"Why?"
Breathing nervously, he only said, "I know you abducted me and all. But- Well- Just because people may think I'm with the wrong crowd doesn't mean I'm heartless." Skyler then did a double take quickly, "Um- maybe in your terms 'sparkless'."
Sunstreaker did not really believe this was happening; this fleshling in front of him was actually forgiving the kidnapping? Such a weird species.
"I know you're a thief and a trickster, organic." Sunny stated a bit threateningly as he saw the puny thing wince. "But it doesn't explain why you couldn't have run off when you were so keen to do so before. You're not being specific."
Skyler couldn't help but feel like a 5 year old being told off by his mom. The bot read him like book! His cursed to himself and his heart sped up. At times like this, maybe telling the truth was a better method, even if it was the censored version of it.
"Ok, personal question." Skyler said swiftly though there was an evident growl. "Would you happen to have a family member called Sideswipe?"
Hitting a soft spot, Sunstreaker immediately lunged at the organic and grabbed it with his hand none too lightly squeezing it. "What do you know about him?" the Autobot snapped. "I never told you anything about him! Speak NOW!"
"Ow, ow, ow!" the helpless young man shouted. "Ok, ok, ok! It's just- when you- fainted you were- calling out- to him- can you please let me breathe?" Skyler made it clear he was going to die if he didn't get some oxygen in his lungs as he gasped for air. Holy shit, bad timing to put gasoline on the fire.
While Sunny did relaxed his fingers more, he still kept his optics with a glare on the fleshling. "How did you know he was my family?"
This organic better have a good excuse.
Skyler gulped but he ended out in a desperate plea out of his mouth, "Well- If I was somewhere lost and think I was dying or fainting, the first thing I'd call for would be family." Afterwards, by reflex the young man only covered his head to expect a counter attack. But instead he was faced with silence.
Sunny was a bit stunned to hear the organic say that. But then again, he did pick this fleshling because it was not a dense one and it had skills. Intrigued to hear more, he asked again. "What does all of this have to do with my original question on why you stayed here and did not run off?"
"That's kind of hard to explain," the human said quietly. Knowing that he was going to be bombarded again, Skyler made a save, "Uh- If it's alright with you, can you unlock my laptop, give me 3 minutes to open it, and it will help me explain."
"Are you avoiding my question again, fleshly?" Sunstreaker accused.
Skyler snorted, "No, I'm not. It's just… Isn't it actually universal rule to offer a bit of yourself once in a while, before getting to know someone else?" He added in, "And I do have a name you know. It's Skyler, it's got nothing to do with flesh or organic, but I wouldn't mind if you called me a human. Do you have a name?"
Understanding an introduction was in order the bot only said, "Sunstreaker. A short version to Autonomous Robotic Organism would be Autobot. I'm a mech."
The young man blinked realizing the 'Superleggera' text had been replaced by Sunstreaker's name in the first place. It was possibly the reason why he moved in reverse without thinking and in surprise because Skyler had said his name without knowing it. Unexpected, the Autobot's hand turned to an open palm; he then plucked the bag that was lying on the ground and gave it to the young man. There was a slight boom of a sound and it ended abruptly.
"It's unlocked human," Sunny said sternly. "Three minutes and a good explanation. Hurry up."
The young man noted on what the bot said. Being at least called a human was an improvement, even if it wasn't by name. Perhaps the Autobot he was with now wasn't the one to really connect with people. Not wanting to waste time, his opportunity to survival, Skyler was feeling glad that his laptop was working perfectly right now and he went to find the specific file frantically.
Finding what he wanted, he expanded it to full screen and he faced the mech.
"Very well," Skyler exhaled a breath to prepare himself. "The reason why I couldn't and didn't run away was because I'm still on my mission to get to Kansas City. I'm searching for my only real family left. He's gone missing, I tried contacting him but I never got anything. His name is Steve." And with the explanation, he showed an enlarged picture of him and Steve on his laptop to the mech.
While all this time he followed Skyler around, maybe this was something that shocked Sunstreaker. In the picture two people were in it with one having his arm over the other's shoulder in a brotherly way. One of them was obviously Skyler, what Sunny didn't expect was to see that 'Steve' was identical to his brother. They were twins. Skyler was looking for his missing twin.
The human sighed, "It may sound weird but, I just couldn't get the feeling out of my head since he disappeared. I'm the older one and I should be the one to protect him, if he died or something it would be-"
"-like losing half of your soul." Sunstreaker finished.
Skyler blinked in awe when he heard it, "Yeah. How do you-"
"Sideswipe is my younger twin." Sunstreaker said clearly. "I've been trying to search for my kind, who are here on Earth. But the one I'm really searching is for Sides. We've been separated for eons. It's why I need to get to the military base in Nevada - they are there."
For what seemed to be a good deal of five minutes of silence, both human and Autobot were realizing they were both sharing the same sentiment all this time without knowing.
Uncomfortable with another wave of silence, this time it was Sunstreaker who started up the conversation with a sigh, "Aren't we going to continue to Kansas City like you planned, human?"
Smiling and thanking all the gods that existed, that the major hostilities were over, Skyler then explained, "We will be. But it's better to get some Intel before we go in, never know what enemies await. We're going to stop in Memphis for it."
Seeing over the situation, Sunstreaker also took it as a sign to warn the human of his own enemies. "Is it possible to arm yourself, human?"
This question of course caught the young man's attention, "Yes, was going to. Memphis is known for its high crime rates."
With that statement, it was true that the human was not aware of the war. "That was not what I was talking about."
"Huh?"
"Listen human, the reason why the Autobots are here on your planet because there is a war in my race. We have Decepticons as our enemies. They are like I am, but the will not hesitate to kill you if they see you." Sunstreaker warned. "And if they wish to capture you they will make your death long and painful."
Skyler didn't like hearing that, "So they're here to take over the planet?"
"Yes."
Welcome Sky, you've just joined in the intergalactic robot war game!
Autobots VS Decepticons
Where's the exit?
There isn't any!
CRAP.
"We wouldn't be 'bumping' into them while we travel to Nevada won't we?" the young man hoped.
Sunny with a tone of hatred said, "Doubt it. I intercepted one of them when I landed on this planet. But the fragger ran away, though there's a chance he might come after me again. I was injured and taken by that 'tow truck' to other fleshling's garage mistaken for a stolen car."
Well, that made sense now on how Skyler was the one who ended up being tasked with doing the alien's paint job. "I guess I'll be getting some extra firepower when we get into Memphis," he said, already thinking and making plans. "How did this war started anyway?"
And with that, Sunstreaker explained a very short-hand version concerning the All Spark and how it found its way on Earth, the battle in Mission City, to recent events the bot recalled happened in Egypt. When he was finished, he didn't expect to see the human to look so angry because of it. It was clearly there in his body language, his fists were clenched until they were white, his face was serious and murderous.
"What's the matter, human?"
"It's all clear so now," Skyler said taking a breath to calm his nerves down, as he knew it was not best to lose it. "I only knew all this time that my parents and sister died in Mission City because of terrorists. I didn't believe it. So it was because of the Decepticons, and Steve is all I have left."
Sunstreaker was about to say something about it but he was stopped by the human.
Skyler looked at the bot squarely in the optics, "Thanks for telling the truth, Sunstreaker. It's more than enough and it's one huge weight off my back."
The Autobot did a slight nod and pressed on to important matters. "Shall we head to Memphis now? Dawn is coming."
"Yeah."
Watching Sunstreaker's transformation to a car with fascination, Skyler packed his laptop into his bag and headed over once the Autobot was done. The car door opened and he got inside (this time in the driver's seat), and put his seat belt on.
There was a growl of annoyance from the car.
"Sunstreaker, what's wrong?" Skyler asked worriedly.
"Pit, I got dirt all over me again. Stupid planet having dirt and moisture at the same time!" Sunny exclaimed.
This time the young man laughed freely without worry.
"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?"
Skyler stopped and went back to a relaxed composure, "You. But I think we both need a clean-up. Don't worry, when we reach Memphis I have 'uncles', or what we humans call extended family. We're not related by blood but still are family. It's a shelter for us, so it's a wash and wax when we get there, promise."
"I'll hold you to your word, human. At least that's something to look forward to," Sunny snorted as he was now zooming back to the main road.
"I'll do what I can and help when I can."
Sunstreaker knew there was more to that, "With what?"
"Everything," Skyler plainly said. "Humans have a saying, 'The Enemy of my enemy is a friend. I'm pretty inclined to help you out."
"Revenge?" Sunny asked the most obvious thing.
"Yep, but more than that," Skyler hinted.
Sunstreaker didn't say anything to let the human know he was listening in.
"Look, we're both in ironically in a similar situation. So, you help me find my twin brother in Kansas City and he's coming with me when we travel to Nevada. In return, I'll help you find your kind, get to them, and help you find your twin if he's on Earth by any and every means necessary."
"You sound serious, human."
"I am serious, mech." Skyler replied. "Call it a 'twin for a twin'."
Perhaps it was that moment that Sunstreaker understood about how his leader Optimus Prime had said in his first transmission that humans were 'More than meets the eye'. This human in particular which he kidnapped not too long ago was now an ally. Maybe it was the reason why the Decepticons were always driven back all this time, it was because the Autobots had support from the humans.
"Deal," Sunny called it even. "Which way is the shelter?"
"Head for the largest bridge and use that way," Skyler pointed.
"On it."
Out of general curiosity Skyler thought of something, "Say, Sunstreaker?"
"What?"
"You and Sideswipe are twins, so… did ya ever pull pranks on the other Autobots?" Skyler asked mischievously.
There was an arrogant laugh through the speakers. "Nearly all the time and we drove them mad."
So, human twins do play pranks as well.
Highly beneficial.
"Well go on, spill." Skyler urged and added, "We could trade pranks."
Perhaps this human he chose was the best one out of the lot.
"Yes we could," Sunny chuckled and started on one of his favorites that targeted a certain strategist of the Autobots, Prowl.
Secretary of Defense John Keller was a very busy man.
Try as he might to find them, apparently the hackers that had been their saviors in defeating a Decepticon intelligence officer from the NEST security breach had disappeared as quickly as they came without so much as a trace that it even made Optimus' second in command Prowl, who was a very talented strategist, feel appalled. Yes, he was proud that humans could come to rival the Cybertronians, but the older man could not help be worried about who might have been the hackers. They did create somewhat of a show if not a major gossip online amongst other hackers, as it was a history in breaching national security under five minutes by the Decepticon.
But that wasn't the main show.
It wasn't until two unknown hackers not known from which source had come in and encoded in a very complex if not extremely random encryption that was very difficult to discern even by the government intelligence officers. Many had expected that they were taking the opportunity to attack the government along with the Decepticons for an easy picking. However the security firewall was suddenly beefed up into something they had never seen before. After what seemed to be the most intense ten minutes of an all out hacker war of Soundwave versus the hackers, the hackers were victorious in the end.
But they never found the hackers, and that was the real problem now.
Over two months into the search, it was fast becoming a lost cause.
Glen Whitman and Maggie Madsen with their team were constantly checking through many hacker websites on the off chance that they might get to find any clues. The two were now officially working under him since Mission City '07. So far, the only thing that was known about the two hackers were their usernames, PhilologusFurtaIndicium1 and RecordatioFurtaCorona2. Many of the hackers online had dubbed them the Furta Duo, perhaps the only similar thing they had in common amongst the two usernames.
Finding them was actually the least of his worries, the fearful fact of what might happen if the Decepticon Soundwave went after them was far more frightening.
From the stand of the central intelligence room of the Pentagon, watching many teams of Intel officers working around the clock to find them, John Keller was aware there would be many more sleepless nights for them.
About a half an hour later of driving…
They soon arrived in a more plentiful area of where the humans lived. To Sunstreaker, he presumed that it was probably where humans with a more elite status would live. It was very smart living among them when his human's family was the thieves themselves. Yet, maybe there was more to what the whole place looked like. Another few seconds, they entered the gates of what seemed a large sized house.
In front of the house, was a large tall and well built African-American man.
Skyler parked in front of him, got out, and gave the man a hug.
"DAMN, BOY! That is some SWEET ride you got there!" Uncle Franz shouted as he shifted his sunglasses down to see the car. "Where and how did you steal that? I missed you little rascal."
Sunstreaker noted that humans can be very loud. Frag it. This one in particular hurt his audio receptors.
"Missed you too. I didn't steal him," Skyler smiled, "More of he stole me." Alien abduction would be more like it.
Franz of course only stared at Skyler knowing he wasn't going to get any more clues than that. "Mmm, Well, at least you haven't gone rusty, Sky. Park the sweet guy in the main garage. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes."
"I stole you? That's your explanation?" Sunny exclaimed as Skyler got in.
Skyler shrugged, "It's not like he's going to believe I got kidnapped by an extra terrestrial being. He's a hard core facts person, he's not gonna buy it."
As they drove off into the garage area, Sunstreaker commented, "Never thought humans were loud enough to hurt my audio receptors."
"You're telling me?" Skyler laughed. "I still keep my cell phone about a meter away from my ear when he does that. Turn over there, and head down."
Sunny did so to find out he was going down two floors. "So it's an underground garage?"
"Nope, even better," the young man said. "It's an underground warehouse, garage, and equipment facility."
As Sunstreaker rolled in the place it was probably big enough to fit a small army of humans in there. He took in the numerous cupboards that he scanned to find weapons, various materials, explosives, costumes and many other tools. They even passed about 12-20 cars parked before they found an empty slot at the end of the line. And there they waited for Franz.
Stunned Sunny could only say, "You have very resourceful Uncles, you know that? Your family doesn't seem to be ordinary thieves."
"The term we use is Con Man or Con Men if it's plural." Skyler explained. "Not 'Con as in Decepticon, the name exists since the late 1800s so it doesn't come from your enemy. It's an abbreviation for Confidence Man. Higher class of thieves you could say."
"So what does your Uncle Franz and Uncle Neil do? They don't seem to be the ones who do the actual stealing." Sunstreaker noted knowing how lavish the house looked from the outside.
The young man paused for a moment before he continued, "Uncle Franz is a weapons specialist as well as an explosives specialist. His role is more of the one doing the blowing up to places where you can't get to and usually for diversions in getting out of the heist for the exit strategy. Usually it's a more detailed and planned out heist done in a larger group, takes more time, but usually the goods are higher in the stakes."
Sunstreaker was impressed. I kidnapped the right human after all. He then asked, "How about your Uncle Neil?"
"He's a Fixer."
"Fixer?" confusion evident in the sound of the car radio speaker. Humans needed to get fixed?
"Another term con mans use for suppliers." Skyler said. "You need it, he gets it. Information, costumes, tools, other contacts etc. You can probably now guess why there are a lot of other things around here apart from the weapons."
"Hmm. I see."
Franz was coming down by the stairs. Skyler quickly got out of the driver seat and asked Sunny, "Do you need anything?"
"That wash and wax would be good right now," Sunny said in a lower volume.
Skyler chuckled at that. "Other than that?"
Sunstreaker swiftly said before he couldn't talk anymore as the other human was approaching. "Any classified information on my kind."
"Alright, I'll see what I can find. Rest up; I'll be back in a few hours with everything. Take care of my laptop, I'll leave it with you," Skyler whispered to the car and immediately scooted and dragged his uncle away from it, saving Sunstreaker from inspection.
"I prefer that the car doesn't get touched." Skyler said rapidly getting Uncle Franz's attention away.
Franz of course looked at his 'nephew' in confusion, "Are you becoming a car junkie?"
"I could use a jet water pump, car polish, and wax later on," his so called nephew said playfully. He went to other matters. "Is Uncle Neil home?"
"Upstairs, boy."
Silently thanking Skyler yet again for not getting into trouble with other humans around him, Sunstreaker eased himself down knowing he was at least a lot safer underground than on the streets as he scanned the two humans went up the stairs.
He then went into recharge.
Autobot Mission Log Entry 1.04: Understanding a Human
Planet Earth, City of Memphis, Tennessee, US.
I suppose this was what was Big Boss telling about how these 'humans' were 'more than meets the eye'. It was really unexpected how just a few hours ago we were glaring at one another and now we're allies. Pit, we're trading prank plans!
Yet, maybe the real reason we came together like this because we were both suffering the same thing. I wasn't sure how a human twin bond actually worked since they didn't have sparks like a Cybertronian, but Skyler's way of describing the loss of his twin was the same. We are both looking for the same missing person, our twin. The way he had promised that he was going to do everything to search for my twin was amazing, even sure of it. In a way it was like a boost of hope I had so long ago lost in finding Sides that I realized protecting this human was going to be my most important task.
Having a human with me was probably the best distraction I've had from the so called 'organic' muck I had been worried about. I'm actually having thoughts of not caring that the others would find it a hilarious thing for me having a 'pet'. Well, they could laugh all they want or care. It's not like they'll expect a 'human' prank to be played on them when I get back. The little puny thing is a creative little bugger; I think I'll get Sides to join in if and when I find him.
Franz's place was very resourceful no doubt, the human had weapons and materials for them in what seemed to be his 'garage', which to normal humans would be like an underground bunker below some elite housing. The size of it was probably enough for me to stand in my bi-pedal form without bumping my head on the ceiling. The other human Neil wasn't in sight yet, but I probably shouldn't expect any less. I guess Skyler wasn't exaggerating the fact that he had good networks wherever he went.
Regrets abducting a very resourceful human twin?
Only in the beginning.
Not now.
I think I'm going to like my stay on Earth.
~ Sunny
TBC…
M.I.A = missing in action
And there you have it!
Hope everyone enjoyed this installment! *winks*
Please drop by a review, constructive criticism, opinions, suggestions are gladly accepted. I want to hear what all of you think!
See you in the next chapter!
