Disclaimer: Is that really necessary? *All Autobots nod* ...*sighs* Fine, fine. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and will never be mine. T_T
Author's note: Sorry it has been sooo long since my last update. Real life has been a pain in the aft. Now with X-mas around the corner it's even worse. I wanted to end the story with this chapter, but it was just not possible! So there will be a chapter 8 and perhaps a chapter 9.
Now I want to write a reply to my anonymous reviewer.
at: Too much talk not enough plot:
I appreciate constructive criticism. But you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Of course I can tell you the plot on one page, but then it wouldn't be a story. Not every line should be focused on the plot alone. The charas are what this story is about! Yeah, I can make the twins obedient, make Ratchet say Yes and Amen to everything and have Wheeljack make an invention that works just fine. A smooth plot! And then?
Yes, then they'd be out of character. For your information, this is called: Character development! Their behavior makes this story alive and not a boring report! And I think, I have a good guess on who you are. Let me tell you one thing: This was low! Even for you!
Please on with the story before my veins explode.
~o~o~o~
Chapter 7
By Misty Mina
A distraught Lamborghini stood outside of Inferno's quarters. His vents were trying to get enough air in to cool his engine down after he'd run here at full speed. Different thoughts were going through his processor. Why? Why would he do that? Why would he, ...just give up?
Red Alert got the new schedule for the week as well and when he saw that the twins had replaced his bodyguard, he felt like the floor would give in beneath his peds.
He needed answers. Now! Ratchet and his repairs could wait. First he'd pinged him, but Inferno didn't respond to that. So he knocked.
"Inferno?" Red called.
Still nothing. Was he avoiding him? ...Probably.
Even though it was not an emergency, Red Alert used the security override code to open the door. If the fire engine wouldn't talk to him willingly, then he would have to force him.
Inferno sat on his berth and judging from his dimmed optics, his thoughts were elsewhere. No wonder he hadn't heard the ping or the knocking. The Lamborghini approached the other slowly.
"Inferno?" He tried again, louder this time.
Startled by his visitor the fire truck flinched before focusing his optics on his friend.
"Red? How..." But Inferno stopped himself. He already knew the answer to that. Security override code! Had he really been so deep in his memory files that he hadn't even heard him enter his quarters?
The red mech shook his head. This encounter was long overdue. He should be prepared for it, but truthfully ...he wasn't.
There was an awkward silence. Neither of them really willing to break it. Breaking it meant changing the situation for the worse. Inferno looked down at the floor, trying to ignore his friend's gaze on him and yet, he could feel these blue optics on him. Confused and questioning him.
Red Alert didn't know what to say. Inferno was clearly uncomfortable with this. But tiptoeing around the subject wasn't going to get them anywhere. There was only one thing Red wanted to know.
"Why?" He asked, almost whispering it.
Inferno almost didn't catch the single worded question. It sounded so, ...broken. Guilt was rising in his spark. How was he supposed to answer that. What could he say to make him understand? To make him see that this was for the best? It was for him. For Red's sake!
Silence was the only response he got. No! He wouldn't take that for Inferno's final answer, so he tried again.
"Why?" He asked more urgently and louder this time.
"Why what?..." Inferno could already guess what Red meant.
The Lamborghini raised his servos up only to let them down a moment later in a helpless manner.
"Why did you resign your position? Why the twins? Why ...are you doing this...?" '...To me...'
It took a few kliks for Inferno to find the right words.
"I ...was neva a good bodyguard. Not now, not eva. ...The twins are betta than meh. They can 'andle tha job."
Red was taken aback by these words. What was the fire truck thinking? Had he gone down the path of depression without him noticing it? Some friend he was...
"Inferno that's not true! I couldn't wish for a better bodyguard. The twins are nice and great frontliners, but I doubt they could do a better job than you..."
The red mech couldn't stand it. Not Red's words, but the amount of trust in them. It was suffocating him.
"Wha do yah know?" Inferno asked sharply and stood up in one swift move. Red Alert knew nothing! ...Literally.
This startled the other. "I, ...I..." Red stuttered. Why was his friend so angry all of a sudden?
"If it wasn't for meh, yah wouldn' 'ave tried tah steal that slagging Negavator! Neva would 'ave work with Screamer! Wouldn' 'ave been injured! YA'D STILL 'AVE YAHR DATA!" Inferno couldn't take it anymore. This open trust from Red, this innocence towards him. It was killing his spark, slowly and painfully.
When he came here, Red Alert expected many things. But never an outburst like that. He was frozen in place. Was that all true? Was Inferno just blaming himself? But, ...how, ...why,... It seemed like the questions were piling up instead of being answered. No, Inferno was being too hard on himself, that's what the whole thing was all about.
"That's not true! Don't blame yourself. You didn't..."
"I DID!" Inferno cut him off before the security director could reason with him.
They stared at each other. One not believing what they heard, the other trying to get the point across.
Inferno sighed in defeat. This would cost him dearly. But it had to be done.
"Each o' those times. ...I went agains' yahr orders. Ya told meh tha stay, ...and I left mah post, ...mah place besides yah. Yah told meh, tha go with yah and I went tha other way. ...Both times, yah got injured ...and almost deactivated. ...Som' bodyguard I am."
The confession was slow and each word shattered Inferno's confidence to look into Red's optics. He could imagine how the Lamborghini looked at him. With horror and disbelief. Not that his own reaction would have been any different. If he'd just heard that his supposed-to-be best friend had forsaken him more than once, he'd be horrified too.
He hadn't noticed that he looked down at the floor, not until small servos diverted his gaze up to meet the cerulean optics of the security director. But they were not looking at him with the expected horror or contempt. Instead there was understanding and something the fire truck would call affection.
To be honest, Red Alert had been surprised and yet he was glad. Now he understood the other's behavior, even though he couldn't remember what had happened back then.
Everybody made mistakes, some were grave, others weren't. To him it didn't matter what the fire engine had done, that much he knew. From what he'd been told just now, his old self had seen something in Inferno. Or he wouldn't have stayed with him. Red would be stupid to let him go because of past mistakes. Just looking into his deep blue optics told him of the shame and guilt the other was feeling.
"Don't I get a say in this? What if I don't want anyone else?" There was no annoyance or accusation in Red's words, just warmth and gentleness like rays of sunlight.
The question stumped Inferno. Had he ever asked? No, ...he just took matters into his own servos. But Red was a living, sentient being, with an own will and the freedom to make his own decisions.
"Even if this is all true, you're still here! You were there when I woke up, you helped me settle in, you comforted me and you care enough to get me the 'best' protection. What more could I ask for?"
The red mech was speechless. Had Red just forgiven him? Even if everything had been his fault, he still wanted him to be his friend? This was too good to be true.
"Don't look so surprised. ...If it wasn't for you, ...I wouldn't have seen my own mistakes."
What was that?
"Wha' do yah mean?" Inferno asked bewildered, still gazing into his friends optics. What was Red talking about? He'd never done anything wrong! Not in his optics.
"I mean, ...I have changed. For the better! ...I'm not that paranoid glitch-head anymore."
Suddenly the fire truck jerked his head back out of Red's hold. Scratch his last thought! Now he'd done something wrong. How dare he say something like that? Even if it was about himself? No one! Not even Red himself had the right to do so. Those cerulean optics had hypnotized him. Drawn him in and convinced him to forget everything except the two of them. He'd almost forgotten why he'd distanced himself in the first place.
Because this was not Red Alert!
Not the ever careful security director. Not his friend. Not his precious charge!
For a moment Red had thought Inferno finally understood that he wanted him and no one else. But then the other had turned around. Now he was giving him the cold shoulder. What? What did he say to upset him so much? He just said the truth, didn't he?
"Inferno..." He reached out to him, trying to turn him around. As if feeling his intention, Inferno stepped forward and out of reach.
"Don't ...jus' don't." It was not a command, it was a plea. For what he didn't know. Don't come closer? Don't say anything anymore? Don't call his designation like that?
'Don't pretend to be Red.' His processor helped out.
Frustration took over. Red Alert felt close to crying. Why couldn't Inferno just say what he wanted or what he was thinking? Why did he act like that?
"Why?" He cried desperately. "What is it you want?" Was it time? To figure this out? More attention?
Anything!
Red would give him anything.
A stupid question, really! Why couldn't Red see it? Wasn't it obvious? He had lost his own friend, ...his Red Alert. The one who relied on him. The one who looked out for him, ...for everyone. Who didn't take him for granted. Who made sure to put others safety before his own. Who threw himself into his job with passion just to make sure that the Cons didn't kill them in their recharge.
Inferno turned around. He'd reached his limit. Enough was enough.
"Wha I want? Yah really wanna know?"
Red Alert could only nod, too speechless and confused to do anything else.
"I want 'my' paranoid glitch-head back!" Inferno hadn't noticed he'd forsaken his accent to get his point across. Too angry, too frustrated and actually also too distressed to care.
With that Inferno stormed out of his own quarters. He just couldn't bear to be close to this, ...this ...imposter anymore. He meant every word of it, not even being embarrassed or ashamed that he'd claimed the old Red as 'his'. Slag it all, he was 'his'! His friend. His charge. His everything!
The smaller mech couldn't believe his audios. Had his crush just chosen his old forgotten self over him?
Yes he had...
It hurt.
Inferno liked him and also didn't like him at the same time. This not only hurt his spark, it also hurt his pride, his self-esteem and his processor.
Red Alert's peds were about to give in, when he heard the noise. There was something going on in the hallway. As security director, it would be his duty to check up on it, but at the moment he really didn't feel like doing his duty. He felt more like clawing his spark out in agony.
But that changed when he heard Sideswipe's voice. He couldn't make out the words, but it sounded panicked. The twins were in trouble and needed some help. Perhaps they got into a fight with Ironhide again. Those two, ...they would never learn. Thankful for the small distraction, he ignored his emotional pain and ran down the hallway.
~o~o~o~
It was no use, Sunstreaker couldn't be reasoned with. Sideswipe had his servos full with trying to stop his raging brother. Unlike his twin, he wanted to talk to Inferno first. He could still beat him up later if it was justified. But as usual, his personal 'Sunshine' chose the old-fashioned way to solve this problem. Hit like a mad truck and ask questions later.
The red twin did everything he could to calm his other half down. He went even so far as to stay in his path. A really stupid thing to do. Which was of course in vain. If Sunny was on a warpath, nothing could stop him
Sideswipe couldn't even comprehend his brother's anger. All he felt over their bond was raging fury. It felt like Sunstreaker's side of the bond was growing with whirling energy, ready to explode and be unleashed on an unfortunate victim.
In this case Inferno.
Just what in the pit had him so riled up? Not even fighting against the worst of the Decepticons had him so uncontrollably mad.
He had lost sight of his brother for a klik while they'd raced down the corridors in their alt-mode. A yellow flash and a red shadow on his heels.
"Sunstreaker! Don't!" He called out to him, hoping he would hear him.
When he heard a crashing sound it could only mean one thing.
Sunstreaker had found his target and was ready to eliminate it.
Sideswipe followed the sound and found his angry brother slamming his prey against the walls of the hallway. Judging from the surprised look on Inferno's faceplates, the fire truck must have been caught off guard. Or else he would have tried to fight back.
With a roar, Sunstreaker's first real punch hit the red mech's midsection. Inferno doubled over, trying to calm down his fuel tanks. The second punch landed directly on the left faceplate. The third, the fourth and fifth blow where aimed at different parts of the torso. Quick, strong and hurled in a murderous frenzy.
This had to stop!
Sunstreaker was serious and ready to tear the other's spark out.
Sideswipe transformed and threw himself at his brother, trying pull him away. But his other half didn't even seem to recognize him, he just threw him off. The red twin was not a weakling and normally, he could easily keep up with his brother. Yet he was thrown off as if he wouldn't weigh anything. He accessed their bond again, but he couldn't get pass the whirling madness.
"Ok, Sunshine, you leave me no choice."
He took a few steps back, then ran towards his twin only to tackle him to the side and away from Inferno.
Sunstreaker hit the floor hard with his brother on top of him. Sideswipe's worries were confirmed when a screeching and whirring sound came from the fire truck. His brother wasn't a frontliner for nothing and knew exactly were to hit to cause great damage. He stood up and was by Inferno's side in an instant.
"Hey, Inferno. ...C'mon say something!" The red Lamborghini was about to panic.
Inferno's faceplates showed nothing but pain and something was leaking out of his side. Also his engine sounded like it was about to give up. This was bad! If Prowl heard of this, both of them would be thrown into the brig and never see the light of day again. Fighting was one thing, but trying to murder a member of your own faction was much worse.
Sunstreaker got up. So Sideswipe was against him now? Well if it was like this, then his dear brother would suffer the same treatment! Blinded by rage, he moved to attack his brother. He didn't hear the pleas from his other half through their bond and maybe he didn't care.
"Sunstreaker..." Sideswipe couldn't believe it. His own brother, his other side, was about to attack him.
The yellow frontliner had lost the soft blue color of his optics and it was replaced with a hostile violet. When Sunstreaker lifted his right arm, ready to strike his own sibling, a red and white blur came right between them.
"SUNSTREAKER STOP!" Red Alert yelled, standing with outstretched arms in the yellow twin's path.
Sideswipe saw only Red Alert's back, ...but something was so ...familiar about that. Clutching his helmet something came up from the depths of his hard drive. Something he didn't want to remember ever again. He shook his head trying to get rid of it. No, he didn't want that. Didn't want to remember. But it came anyway.
He was crying. Why? Why did he do that? What had he done? The small sparkling held his servo. It still hurt were the bigger mech had smacked it away. That dark yellow color gleamed in the dim light of the room and it made the small sparkling shake in fear.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" There was another voice. He knew that voice. It belonged to someone he trusted. Chirping, he called for help in his own way.
Someone stood between him and his tormentor. Shielding him with their frame even though he was not so much taller than the sparkling.
"Don't touch him! I take his punishment!"
It seemed like this pleased the big mech. He lifted his arm to strike the smaller one. The silver sparkling just couldn't watch. Hiding his optics in his servos he just heard the noise.
Each slapping sound, each metallic clang made him flinch. And when it became silent, he didn't dare taking his servos away. He was in the dark. He was invisible now and it would stay like that. Don't look!
But, ...sparklings were naturally curious, so he took a tiny peak between his small fingers. His savior was lying on the floor not moving a bit.
It scared him.
Clicking softly, he crawled over the floor towards his hero. When he reached him, he patted his helmet, trying to get a reaction out of him. But when there was no reaction, a small agonizing whine left his vocalizer. He was about to cry again when a servo stroked his faceplates. Looking up his savior was awake and smiling at him.
"Don't cry. I'm fine. ...It's ok." No, it wasn't. The sparkling saw the pink fluid running over other's faceplates. It meant he was not fine. That much he knew.
Suddenly he was picked up and cradled in his hero's arms.
"As long as you two are save, ...I'll be fine."
It was too much. The memory messed up his data stream and his processor couldn't handle the emotional impact. Sideswipe's systems shut down and he crashed to prevent any more damage, just like Prowl's battle computer.
Meanwhile, Sunstreaker didn't move an inch. Red Alert was there, right in front of him. Telling him to stop,...but why? Wasn't he the one who had been betrayed by Inferno? And now by Sideswipe as well? He thought he was fixing the problem. If Inferno was too blind to see what he'd done to Red, then he didn't deserve him! And his dear brother happened to be in his way. So, he had to deal with the consequences!
Suddenly, the yellow twin felt the emotional pain and the crash of his other half through their bond. The rage he'd felt dissolved into thin air. The pain cleared up the haze which had blinded him through his rampage.
He recoiled in pain and agony. Spark-twins shared not only the same spark, they also shared the pain. While in battle, they could focus. Each of them blocking the bond. That way, even if one was heavily injured, the other wouldn't feel it. But now, the bond was wide open.
The yellow frontliner sank to the floor clutching his helmet the same way his twin had. It took only a few kliks, then he crashed as well.
Now Red Alert didn't know what to do. What in Primus name had happened just now? Sunstreaker was, ...no, had been in a rage. Sideswipe was trying to help Inferno and had crashed. And Inferno had been damaged badly, most likely by Sunstreaker.
And now?
Now, the twins were out and Inferno was about to go into stasis lock. Not really able to handle the situation alone, he followed protocol and opened his comm. link.
"Prowl, we have a situation here. I need Ratchet, Wheeljack and Hoist in hallway B-265 immediately!"
~o~o~o~
"The two slagheads should be fine and Inferno's damage looked worse than it actually was."
Ratchet had just finished the repairs on the fire truck and left the twins in First Aid's care. The smaller medic had enough practice with crashed CPU's, (Thanks to Prowl.) it was no problem at all. What really puzzled him was that the two crashed almost at the same time. He would have to ask for the reason, ...maybe he could use it to shut those two up if they became too much again, who knows?
Red Alert took this all in with an absent look on his faceplates. It made the CMO wonder what the other was thinking. But he guessed Red was as confused as he himself was. Just what had happened in that hallway? From Inferno's injuries, he could tell this was Sunstreaker's work only. Sideswipe was not part of it. Which meant the twins weren't thinking the same thing or were having a dispute. Unusual in itself. Ok, they argued ...a lot, yet they always agreed when it came to fighting.
Red's silence was annoying. Now really, the old Red Alert would have thrown the twins into the brig by now. There was nothing! No anger, no fussing over the fire engine, not even the threat to never let 'those pranksters' out of the brig ever again.
"A Cred for your data"? Ratchet asked. But was met with a puzzled frown. Obviously, Red had forgotten some basic things as well.
The medic's systems gave a hiss of air, which could be either interpreted as a sigh or a huff.
"I mean, what are you thinking about?"
At first, it seemed like the security director didn't want to tell him. But when Ratchet was about to leave Red to his own thoughts, he heard the unsure voice of the smaller mech.
"I'm confused, ...and ...I think this ...is my fault." Red's voice was soft, almost guilt-laden.
"Why do you think that?" Now this was something Ratchet hadn't expected.
The Lamborghini glanced to the side at the berth were Inferno lay, then looked back at the CMO.
"When I heard the noise, I thought the twins were in trouble. But when I arrived, ...Sunstreaker was about to strike ...his own brother. When I tried to stop him. ...They both crashed."
This was something Ratchet couldn't explain either. Sure, there were occasional fights, but nothing too serious. If Inferno's state was any indication, then Sunstreaker was about to take his twin apart.
Ratchet was so deep in his thoughts that he almost failed to hear Red's question.
"He'll be fine, won't he?" Looking up, the medic saw that Red's gaze was on the recharging fire engine.
"Yeah, he will. Our Sunshine here, did some damage to Inferno's water tanks. It wasn't lethal." What Ratchet didn't mention was that it could have been much worse if the water had flooded the spark chamber instead of the vents. No use in agitating Red.
The treatment in itself was easy and painful at the same time. Removing the water tanks was easy enough. The painful part was to get the water out of the vents and engine. He had to sedate Inferno for that or he might have bolted out of the med bay.
Ratchet gave the water tank a scrutinizing look. It would take a while to search for the cracks and to repair them. Perhaps Inferno would be better off with a new one. Sunstreaker certainly knew where to hit even when he was furious. Which brought him to the next question.
"Say Red, do you know why Sunstreaker lost his temper?" If the fire engine was a minibot, Ratchet wouldn't even have to ask.
"Perhaps, ...because of the new schedule, but I'm not sure."
A new schedule? Sunstreaker rarely paid attention to the schedules. Most of the time, he didn't even care what his duty was, except when it could possibly ruin his paintjob. So why, ...wait a second. It was just a guess, but maybe...
"Did Inferno quit?" It was blunt, short and right to the point. Typical for Ratchet.
Red Alert resembled a gaping fish, but eventually got a hold of himself.
"Did Prowl tell you?" That was the only explanation.
The medic had to resist the urge to take his wrench and smack the fire engine silly. He leaned slightly against an empty berth right next to him.
"No, ...but I know my patients." He answered in a weary voice. How was he supposed to tell Red what he suspected?
Whatever Ratchet had to say, Red was listening. His attention was focused on the tired looking CMO. If anyone knew what was going on with Inferno, then it would be the medic in charge of the med bay.
"Red,..." He started.
"Inferno is a... practical mech. If things work, they work! If they don't, then he makes them work, ...or so he thinks. He doesn't really question why, how or what. ...That goes for everything. His duties, his life and relationships." Ratchet chose his words very carefully.
Red nodded hesitantly, not really sure if he fully understood or liked what he was being told. It was good enough for Ratchet.
"What I mean is, ...Inferno makes things more complicated by trying to solve them in his own way. ...Something went wrong and he is trying to fix it. Without really thinking of the consequences. In short, he is his own, greatest enemy on this planet!" Ratchet crossed his arms over his windshield. Hopefully he got the meaning across.
In some strange way, it made sense. Inferno avoided Red. Did things he wasn't asked to do. Made decisions by himself without asking anyone for advice. But this revelation brought up a new problem.
"So if he doesn't really know what he is doing, ...then how do I find out?" It was complicated, but he had to know. He just had to.
Oh Primus slag him, this was harder than Ratchet thought it would be.
"That's not the point! He knows what he's doing. He just thinks that everything he does is right, even if his basic programming says differently. Inferno's lying to himself and actually believes it. And that's where the problem starts."
A beeping interrupted their discussion. It came from the twins, mostly from Sideswipe's berth. Ratchet walked over to them and checked the monitors. The lines on his monitor showed that they would wake up any klik now.
"Right on time." Ratchet muttered.
~o~o~o~
Sideswipe heard Ratchet's voice, but at the moment, the only thing on his processor were his memories and his twin who was calling out to him over their bond. He opened his side and let his twin in, curious to see what the other wanted from him. He felt a wave of guilt and apology, Sunstreaker was sorry for his actions, but didn't dare say it out loud.
"Sunny..." He tried.
"I'm here." Came the immediate reply. He didn't even seem to mind the nickname. Another sign that Sunstreaker was just as distraught as he was.
"I've seen him!" His brother had to know.
The yellow Lamborghini had felt Sideswipe's terror and fear, but he hadn't been able to see the reason. Sideswipe had to share the memories out of his own free will.
"Who?" Normally a dumb question, but he really didn't know whom he meant.
"...Red Alert. He was there Sunny. He was with us!"
Sideswipe sent his own, newfound memories to his brother. He still shuddered in fear of what he'd remembered.
After seeing what Sideswipe had experienced, Sunstreaker understood his other half's feelings. How? How could he have missed this? Why couldn't he remember? Where had he been?
He felt his red twin slip away from his own consciousness. A sign that Sideswipe was about to enter the online mode. He followed slowly almost hesitantly and he only knew why, when he came out of recharge. Because as soon as he onlined his optics, he was greeted with a wrench to the helmet. ...Well he guessed he deserved that, so he didn't complain.
Ratchet stood next to his berth, waving his wrench in a threatening way.
"Now, tell me one good reason why I shouldn't hand you to Prowl! It's bad enough that you tried to scrap your brother. But what were you thinking when you attacked Inferno? Ah wait, let me guess. ...You weren't thinking at all." He almost hissed the words out.
This wasn't good. Ratchet was angry and he had every right to be. Sunstreaker sat on the berth and hung his helmet in shame. No back-talking, no angry outburst. He accepted everything.
Red Alert approached the angry CMO.
"Please Ratchet, I think this is enough. We won't get any answers like this." Protecting him like he did with Sideswipe? Sunstreaker couldn't think of a reason why he deserved such kindness. The old Red Alert wouldn't have listened to his excuses, much less stand up for him. He had to admit that in some twisted kind of way, he missed the old Red Alert. The yellow mech knew how to deal with harsh words, the brig or any punishment Red could've dished out. But he didn't know how to handle so much kindness.
To everyone's surprise, Ratchet actually did back down.
"...Fine. Just this once. I think there is something we all have to discuss. Right, Sideswipe?"
The red twin had a traumatized look on his faceplates. All Ratchet had to do was to put two and two together. If Sideswipe had a 'painful' flashback, then Sunstreaker had been caught in the resulting, emotional backlash. Perhaps it was the only thing that could've stopped Sunstreaker's rampage.
"But first things first!" Ratchet knew what he was doing. Sideswipe was not ready to take another emotional blow yet. He needed distraction and his twin as well.
"You two!" He pointed at the twins.
"Go to the storage room and get me a few cubes of medical energon, low and high grade. At least ten cubes of each!"
This time, Sunstreaker did protest.
"What? This will take us at least a cycle!" Each of them could only carry four cubes at once.
"So? See this as punishment! I want 'all' cubes in my med bay and this in one go. Meaning, you'll walk only once!" It meant Sunstreaker had to pick up a few cubes, walk with them to the next hallway. Then drop them, walk back and get the rest, until he had all cubes in front of the med bay.
This caught Sideswipe's interest as well, since the CMO mentioned the both of them. He pointed to his twin. "Why do I have to share his punishment?" It was meek, but still a protest. The medic made it sound like he had attacked Inferno as well. It was quite the opposite and this was the thanks he got?
Ratchet gave the twins a smug look.
"What? I thought twins shared 'everything'? So now, you will share the punishment as well!"
Red Alert frowned and tried again to placate Ratchet.
"Is that really necessary Ratchet? Sideswipe tried to help." He pointed out. Why was Red so pit-bent on protecting the twins? He was acting like one of those overprotective femmes who spoiled their sparklings rotten.
Oh no, Ratchet could only be persuaded once and this was when he didn't chew out the yellow racer like he deserved.
The medic pointed to the ground. "My med bay, " He started, then pointed to himself: "My rules!" For Ratchet, the discussion was over. The twins had no other choice than to agree. If not, then the grouchy mech would tell Prowl in every detail why Inferno wouldn't be on duty for a while.
Grumbling they both got up from their berths. The sooner they got this done and over with, the sooner they'd be of the hook. When they left the med bay, Ratchet chuckled slightly.
"This will keep them busy for a long time. So, ...I remember you asked me something. About how to get that slagger of a fire truck to talk."
Red Alert could only nod dumbly. How come Ratchet was able to change his mood in a matter of kliks? Had he always been like this?
The medic walked up to Inferno's berth and took a syringe out of his subspace.
"Have you noticed that whenever someone just blurts things out, in fear, panic or anger, ...it's always the truth?" He readied the syringe.
When Red recalled their argument in Inferno's quarters, he had to agree with Ratchet. But what was he trying to tell him? Wait, what was that syringe for? No, he wouldn't...
"Don't you dare drug him!" He commanded sharply. As security director he stood with Ratchet on equal grounds, or even higher.
"It's not a drug. It's more of an antidote for the sedative." Ratchet was shocked that Red would actually consider that he as CMO would hurt his patience, ...badly. Well, Ironhide was an exception, but it was necessary. Otherwise, he wouldn't stand a chance against the weapon specialist.
"...You wake him up?" Surprise was written all over Red Alert's faceplates.
"Not quite. He'll be semi conscious and slip into recharge again later. The sedative affects his data stream. He won't be able to lie to you or himself. To lie, ...he has to think." Ratchet gave him an evil smirk. "So, ...we won't give him the chance to think! High grade has the same effect, but I prefer this method. No processor ache the next day and no energon poisoning. He'll fully wake up later and think it was all a dream."
Ok, now he knew what the medic, ...the evil medic was trying to do, but this still wasn't right.
"Wouldn't that be like, ...taking advantage of him? I mean, he doesn't know what he's saying!"
Ratchet growled a bit in frustration. Where was the Red Alert who hoarded blackmail material to keep them all in check? He pointed the needle of the syringe in Red's direction.
"Listen, you want answers and here is the chance to get them. You don't have to tell him that you know and you'll understand what he's thinking. Then you can work from there and fix this mess. I'm getting a processor ache already from seeing you both racing around the subject."
Red Alert's faceplates heated up. Was he so obvious? Apparently... So what to do? He was dying to know everything, but it still wasn't right. Then again, if he didn't do anything, then everything would stay the same. Maybe even worse after Sunstreaker's attack.
What to do?
Letting out a huff of air, Red nodded his consent. Inside he felt horrible for doing this, but it was really his last resort. He didn't want for things to remain awkward between them..
Ratchet injected the antidote into one of the main tubes in Inferno's neck. Then he put the syringe away and went to the doors of the med bay. What was the medic up to now?
"Where are you going?" Red Alert asked confused. Didn't Ratchet want to stay?
"Wheeljack needed my opinion on something. What, I don't know, but I hope it doesn't blow up. The twins won't be back for awhile, so this will give you some ...'privacy'." With that the medic left the med bay and went to Wheeljack's lab.
Red Alert stared at the closed doors. Now he could understand the patients who wanted out of the med bay as soon as possible. This felt like being in the brig. Well, he dug his own grave, it was only fair that he dealt with this alone. Turning around, Red saw how Inferno's optics flickered on and off as he was about to wake up.
~o~o~o~
The storage room for the medical supplies was squeaky clean and Ratchet always made sure it stayed that way. However, it didn't make the punishment any easier for the twins. The cubes were behind a few boxes of medical tools. They had to move everything out of their way before they could get to them.
An odd silence filled the room. Neither of them wanted to start a conversation. Sideswipe because he was still shocked over what he'd been through in his sparklinghood and Sunstreaker because he couldn't believe he'd acted this way. Livid, unreasonable, ...abusive. This was what hurt the most. Without knowing, he'd acted like the one who'd abused his brother. Who was he anyway? Their Codewriter? It had to be like that. That would explain his own behavior.
He was the same. Aggressive, uncontrollable, a coward who struck others, ...an abuser.
Like Creator, like Creation.
He had apologized over their bond, but only emotionally. Usually, this was ok for Sideswipe and yet, this felt more hollow than anything else, at least for Sunstreaker. This, ...was not good enough, not this time. Making up his processor, he walked over to his twin.
Sideswipe had just moved the last box out of the way when two arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. The sudden touch made him jump slightly, but he calmed down instantly. It was his brother. Only his brother. He was in the base, he was safe, ...he had an adult frame.
He knew, snuggling or tender touches weren't in his brother's nature. Yet here he was, being embraced by his other half like ...like ...a scared sparkling. He reached up and gripped Sunstreaker's wrist joints, anchoring himself to his twin.
"'Sides..." Sunstreaker started.
He spoke in a soft voice, not even trying to mask the guilt he felt. Sideswipe was listening. It was rare for his yellow twin to talk after they had a fight. Last time he'd just run off, not bothering to show up for a whole earth day. What he heard next shocked him more than the memory had.
"...Forgive me." The yellow Lamborghini buried his helmet in his twin's shoulder.
Not: 'I'm sorry' and not 'I didn't mean to'. Not the common apologies one would say and Sunstreaker usually didn't say any of them. He was not asking, he was begging for forgiveness. Something Sideswipe was so sure his brother wasn't capable of. Until now.
The red bot tightened his grip on the wrist joints. Not enough to hurt his other half, but enough to tell him that he understood. He relaxed and leaned his helmet against Sunstreaker's.
"...I always do." He felt the arms around him tighten as well in response.
Sunstreaker didn't know what he did to deserve a brother like Sideswipe. But whatever it was, he better made sure to keep it up.
~o~o~o~
tbc.
Twins-cutiness! *_* I must admit there are times when I'm jealous of twins. I want a twin too! (But my Dad says the world couldn't take two of me. XD ) The story is still going on and I hope I'll see my loyal reviewers next year as well.