Metal on the Mind 7
So the last chapter was pretty short. I hope this one turns out to be longer!
This chapter has a bit of history on Lilyburst and Rapturerun. Lilyburst and Rapturerun are my oc's. I'm probably just going to mention what they look like in the actual chapter. Sorry if anyone seems too OCC.
I don't own transformers, sadly, or Elita-1 wouldn't be with Optimus. For some reason I've just come to hate you.
I do, however, own Mowgli, Harmonia, and the two newest femmes on team prime.
Start
I headed down the hallway to the brig. I knew it was unlike me to be jumpy or nervous, but you don't know Lilyburst. It was a bit of a longer walk since I felt the need to keep checking for other bots. I finally made my way to the doors. Pushing them open, I trotted to the back few electrical cell blocks. Inside was just the mech I more or less wanted to see.
"Get up con, its morning." I rattled the bars.
The con looked up and stared for a moment.
"What the hell do you want Sunstreaker?" he snarled.
"Now Wildrider, is that any way to treat a visitor." I snarled right back venomously.
"If that visitor is you, I have no reason not to." He griped.
I snorted at the pitiful mech. He was part of a transformation team. I think he formed Menasor. Either way it didn't matter. He was reckless and as crazy as they come. He was going insane from the quiet in the brig. I found it funny that a con's one true fear is silence. But as my luck proved, the con was the only one I could yell at so I took what I could get.
"Enjoying brig time?" I asked casually and leaned against the wall.
"Where…in the pit did that come from?" Wildrider gawked.
"Out of my aft; answer the question." I snapped.
"No, I am not enjoying being squirreled away in the Autobot's basement." He said blankly.
"I can imagine." I hummed.
Wildrider just stared at me with no small amount of disbelief. His optics shone brightly with confusion. He opened and closed his mouth a few time before he just sat and stared at me.
"What are you staring at me for?" I asked stiffly.
"Autobot, usually I wouldn't give a damn about you, heck, I'd kill you if I could. But you're starting to worry even me. Are you okay? Didja hit your head…was it Ratchet?" he asked in a shaky voice.
"Actually I'm trying to avoid someone…" I grumbled and slid down to sit on the brig floor.
"Just out of curiosity, whom?" he asked.
"Lilyburst, my old ex."
Wildrider shuddered and nodded with an odd understanding. With a small gleam in his eyes he patted the floor, seeming glad he was safe inside the coldness of the cell.
"I see, and I don't blame you. I would tell you to suck it up, but seeing as it's Lilyburst, and most likely Rapturerun, hide as long as you need to." He said.
"You know her?" I asked.
"Sure do; she dated the leader of my combination team, Motormaster. I know how scary he is in person, and he was scared…it was beyond comprehension." Wildrider shuddered.
"How come?"
"We're all terrified of Motormaster. But for Motormaster to be scared of someone else, we thought he'd met Unicron in bot form or something." He mumbled the last part.
"Actually it wouldn't be that far off the mark…but, was it really that bad?" I tilted my head in hope.
"Motormaster was…had been with Lilyburst for a while before I began to understand why he feared her." He began.
"Wait, why are you telling me?" I grouched at Wildrider.
"Frankly, when it comes to Lilyburst, I think all mechs can say they share an opinion. We can all get along if it's about…her." He explained.
"True, not one mech can't be afraid of her. I met her in the Gladiatorial rings." I mused to myself.
"Motormaster would agree."
"What'd she do to him?"
"Lilyburst and Motormaster were sparring and Lilyburst was "creaming him" as the humans put it. She actually pinned hum down before-" I cut off Wildrider.
"Lilyburst 'switched', didn't she." I guessed.
Wildrider nodded grimly and fiddled his thumbs awkwardly.
I can honestly say she'd win if there were a contest for…Scariest Programming Glitch." Wildrider shuddered once more.
"What happened to Motormaster?" I asked, silently agreeing with my enemy.
"Her optics glowed gold and she paused before she glitched and it activated her "Special Transformation"." He shook his head.
"The one where her mods warp," I guessed, "the claws, her mouth and her back struts."
"That's the one. I thought I'd seen it all. Cons can't be squeamish. But…every con has agreed that they never needed to know what that looked like." Wildrider mused, seemingly finished with our conversation.
I sat back against the wall, finished with the conversation as well. I was never the social type of mech. My mechs and femme creators had been seekers, hence the reason my brother and I had such an easy time in the air. But neither one of us really knew much about each other until we escaped from our castes to the pits of Kaon. See, I was put in the artist's caste where I grew up alone and in quiet with nobody else for a long time. In the legends of Cybertronian twins, I would have been the dark one who didn't want to live. I always wondered if I'd be different if I'd been in my brother's place as a bartender and the wayward castes. My brother never really had a caste so they stuck him wherever he was needed. He never stayed in the same caste for too long.
I was losing myself and it all started with Harmonia. I thought about her often nowadays. She'd changed my life as if it were a story in a book. Was it such a bad thing though?
*Sides…* I muttered through our bond.
*Sunny, I'm starting to worry about you.* Sideswipe replied immediately.
Where in the pit did that come from?
*Why is that?* I growled through the bond.
*You and I both know that as we got older we used our bond less and less. You've been pretty dependant on it lately. Some emotions have been leaking through.* Sideswipe admitted to me.
*Yeah, I've been in turmoil lately.* I clenched my denta.
*Sunny…you just admitted to feelings.* Sideswipe's voice wavered through the bond.
*So…?*
*Okay bro, not just Lilyburst and Rapturerun came to the base yesterday.* Sideswipe admitted.
*Okay, then who else?*
*Smokescreen and Rung came yesterday.*
*Smokescreen, the new bot came here before us remember?*
*No OUR Smokescreen.*
*The gambling one?*
*Who's also a psychiatrist…* Sideswipe trailed off in uncomfortable suggestiveness.
*Sideswipe, do you mean to say I need a therapist?*
*Ya know bro, I really love you…* Sideswipe rambled with giddy nervousness.
*Answer the fragging question.*
*Yes bro, I think you need help.*
*Sideswipe…* I said slowly.
*Yes...?*
*I'm going to slag you.*
*Ah, good to have you back Sunny.*
(Later that day)
I muttered profanities of every kind, earthly and Cybertronian, under my breath. Sideswipe would die once I found him. I knew my head had been out of sorts lately, but it couldn't have been that bad.
Could it?
With a shake of my head I entered the common room where the space bridge was. Ratchet was at the computer fiddling with it. Next to Ratchet, on the catwalk, was Raf. The small human, the youngest of team prime, was a computer and tech genius. Besides having Bumblebee as guardian and best friend, the boy had bonded with Ratchet. It seemed that things were really changing. Even the young girl from Japan, I think her name is Miko, was made an honorary Wrecker by Wheeljack.
I thought back. The humans influenced their guardians just as much as their guardians did for them. Was it natural to have some doubts about a charge? I thought about it. Maybe this was good. Harmonia had made me realize how much some people hated me and how I came off as, but that was my personality. I was naturally an anti-social mech who came to see the things other mechs did as silly.
I sighed.
So, what did she want exactly?
(Harmonia's p.o.v)
I tried to relax as my father drove my sister and I home. The data pads were shoved somewhat carelessly in my backpack that rested on the floor mats. My father had been very tense when he retrieved me from the hospital.
The drive home was silent and incredibly tense. When we pulled onto our driveway my dad cleared his throat for silence and to signal he needed to speak. It's not like he needed to though.
"Harmonia, I want to speak with you when we get home. Mowgli, you're not to eavesdrop. Am I understood?" he announced.
"Yes dad." My sister and I chorused.
I couldn't help but think that he sounded like he'd rehearsed that line.
We finally pulled into the driveway and parked. Mowgli, actually not wanting to listen in for once, darted cautiously into the backyard to 'busy herself'. My dad and I walked into the house and he sat down at the dining room table and pointed to the seat on the right side. I gulped and sat down.
"Harmonia, I'm worried about you." My dad said.
"W-why?" I asked.
"Well, for one, you've almost broke curfew every night for about two weeks. For two you're never around home anymore. Finally for three, you always seem to come home with a new injury." My dad's voice got louder as he went on.
"I've been busy…" I tried to say.
"Busy?! You've been busy! Harmonia, imagine my surprise when I receive a phone call from work saying that my daughter was nearly killed. What am I supposed to do about that? Nobody can seem to give me a reason to why you were like that in the first place! Explain it to me Harmonia. I'd love to hear the explanation." My father intertwined his fingers and waited for an explanation.
"You'd never believe me if I told you." I said.
"Try me." my dad challenged.
"An alien attacked me." I said angrily, what in the world could he know. He was being smug like he'd be able to understand. It pushed me the wrong way.
"That's all I needed to hear." My father leaned back in his seat and relaxed.
I stared at my dad in shock as he just leaned back in his seat. Okay, what was going on? I just kinda stared at him. I say an alien attacked me and he just says 'That's all I needed to hear'…had my dad lost his mind. He could at least say something or like move. I looked at him as I slipped from my thoughts and found him lighting one of those special cigarettes that were made of water and air.
He'd been trying to quit for a few months now. At least our house didn't smell like tobacco anymore.
"Um, dad…are you feeling alright?" I asked shakily.
"I feel fine Harmonia. Why do you ask?" he replied.
"I just admitted I'd been attacked by an alien and you're acting all casual like it happens all the time." I cried.
"You think I didn't know about them?" my dad asked me.
I stopped from speaking as my next rant caught in my throat. I wasn't expecting that.
No, I wasn't just 'not expecting it', I was floored.
"Come again?" I asked.
"Mona, I work for Genesis. Genesis is a science division of the government. I've been on the Cybertronian case for about a year now. They won't share their biology with us but they will share their metal properties and some storing advancements." My dad explained.
"Storing advancements?" I asked.
"You know the Sim-card in your phone and the gigabytes of storage in your laptop? Those are storing advancements that came from them." My dad shrugged.
"So you know about the Cybertronians?" I gawked.
"Yes, I will admit I didn't believe and thought the government was doing another cover-up from us, until one visited. His name was Wheeljack and he was the one who was supposed to help us with the studies." He went on to tell me.
"You're not a scientist though; you work at the mall, as the manager." I declared and leapt to my feet.
"You really think so?" my dad asked me.
"Yes, yes I do." I announced with confidence.
"Well, let me explain it to you." My dad smiled with a smug knowing smile.
I gulped and reseated myself. I had a really foreboding feeling.
(Two days later) (Sunstreaker's P.O.V)
I grumbled to myself as I sifted through the storage room. There had to be something for me to draw on…or with for that matter.
The sense of unease and turmoil was still present, yet it seemed to be at the back of my processor. I'd been avoiding my brother for a few days after he'd mentioned the Smokescreen we'd known since the first days as Autobots and even a while before.
Smokescreen was always wary around my brother and I. He'd made the mistake of putting us in the same counseling session a couple of times. He'd been dragged into the fights…literally, we weren't allowed out of the brig until Ratchet could find two replacement arms and a new codpiece.
That was a long time ago though and we'd patched things up with him over time. He wasn't any less wary of us though.
My mind was set on a new task though. I needed an outlet for the moment which meant I needed drawing stuff, paints and a canvas if possible.
"What are you doing here Sunstreaker?" a voice came from behind me.
On instinct I whirled around, fangs gleaming and cannons flaring readily for battle, and attacked in the direction of the voice. I faltered and tried to avoid hitting the bot once I saw him.
It was Optimus.
The boss bot smiled and swiftly grabbed my arm as I was in mid flight, yanked me by my arm, lifted me into the air, and brought me down hard on the ground on my face.
"Calm yourself and deactivate you programming Sunstreaker." Optimus ordered.
"My apologies," I snarled, "don't sneak up on a Kaonian and it won't happen." I bit out as I tried to deactivate my programming.
Kaonian programming sucked sometimes. We immediately attacked those who were stupid enough to sneak up on us, even if it wasn't always the intention.
"Sunstreaker, walk with me." Optimus said.
"Like I have a choice." I muttered.
After receiving a cuff upside the head for disrespect I fell into an uncomfortable step next to Optimus. The Prime remained silent for a while before clearing his throat quietly for my attention.
"I've noticed you've still been out of sorts lately." Optimus murmured thoughtfully.
"So have you." I replied, keeping up with comments.
"I have not." Optimus denied.
"You have too." I said.
"Never mind that," Optimus said harshly with a hint of annoyance, "I have another matter to discuss."
I said nothing and waited for him to go on. Optimus took a steady breath.
"I believe you should take up on your twin's suggestion, seeking counseling with Smokescreen isn't a bad idea." Optimus said quietly.
I groaned. "I don't need counseling." I growled.
"Maybe you don't but I understand that Smokescreen is one of the few bots you will talk freely with." Optimus said in a commanding tone.
"That list is short for a reason." I muttered.
"Look, Sunstreaker, I've scheduled an appointment with you and Smokescreen in an hour and you with stay there until you have less stress weighing down your processor. Don't say a word and I will resort to force if you try to skip." Optimus gave up the nice act and got to the point.
"Whatever, I'll go to the stupid session then! You bots can't just leave me alone." I snarled.
"You're just lucky that Harmonia made you realize your predicament and not one of us. You might be worse off if that was the case." Optimus growled.
Sunstreaker turned away. He hated the thought of counseling with Smokescreen but what choice did he have?
"Optimus, you need a break," I said at last, "You're starting to worry the other bots with your attitude."
"Excuse me?" Optimus double took.
"You're acting anxious and flighty lately and the others are starting to worry. Get some recharge and a cube of energon before I call in Ratchet." I said to end the conversation and walked away.
(One Hour Later)
I stood outside Smokescreen's "office". It really wasn't an office at all, it was his berth room. We were running out of room in the base. We'd need a new one if this kept up. I kinda stood there for a moment before knocking.
I felt really stupid.
The door slid to the side, revealing Smokescreen, the one Sideswipe and I knew. He smiled thoughtfully at me before standing to the side to let me in. I reluctantly did so and took in his appearance.
He looked exactly like the littler Smokescreen.
"Why do you look exactly like the kid with your name?" I asked.
"Not sure, I hate it as well." Smokescreen shrugged.
"Get a different alt mode." I said with a dreary sigh.
"I'll consider it." Smokescreen nodded.
Smokescreen passed by and sat on his berth and looked at me.
"So how do you want to go about this?" he asked.
"What…? Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine. You're a bit different to work with is all." Smokescreen explained.
"Oh, how so." I snarled.
"Sunstreaker you never just talk about anything, you sit there and stare at me like you want to kill me. Most patients pour out their problems. You don't do that…at all. This time, I'd like to keep my door wings the way they are, so I'm asking you what you want to do." Smokescreen told me.
Finally I snapped, Optimus said I had as long as it took. I leaned back against the wall and sat down. I rubbed the side of my helm in mental exhaustion. I had too much to think about. It took me a minute to think of my reply but finally I answered.
"I need to ask a few questions first." I told him.
"Then let's begin." Smokescreen sighed.
Finish
Sorry, so, so sorry! I apologize for an extremely long wait. I'm terrible at updating aren't I?
So next time, Sunny's session with Smokescreen, the older one, and Harmonia's dad's explanation takes place.
Also we get a taste of Lilyburst and Rapturerun.
But it doesn't end there.
I'm not saying anything else…besides please review! I'll be sure to PM and get back to any questions!
Ja ne for now,
Songbird O.o