Whewwwwwww, what a roller coaster it has been for me as of late! I realize I've been forever and a day updating this fic, but I do hope I still have readers! Life simply gets in the way sometimes- you all know how it goes. ^^; So, yeah... just as a general warning, things might get a little psychedelic in this chapter, and a bit of Cheshire logic is used, so if you find yourself scratching your head, thinking- "huh, that kind of makes sense, but I'm not sure how..." you're supposed to. Life's like that sometimes. Make of it what you will. ^^ Be warned; editing will come later, for now, it is late, and I need to sleep~
FunkyFish1991- Flip is Flip, my dear, but I would surely like to know who else you think he could be~ =3
Violetlight- Yeah, I'm on a mythos-kick right now, and it seems to be coming out in my writing a bit. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, though. ^^
Shimmershadow30- I'm so glad you liked Prima and Vector. They were a pleasure to write.
Shizuka Taiyou- I'll leave it up to you to decide what Prima and Vector were; far be it from me to tramp on anyone else's creative mind.^^
Figs- Wow! You read the whole thing in one sitting? That's incredible! I'm so glad I was able to entertain you so thoroughly! *w00t!*
Elita One- Yeah, Prima and Vector saved them. I couldn't very well have Sunny'n'Sides dying, now could I? :)
Bunnylass- YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! I'm so glad I could cheer you up with the last chapter! Gah, you have no idea how iffy I was about it- and then I get your reviews and I practically crowed out loud in the study hall! I actually read through the reviews several times, just to take in the full impact of it all... You certainly have a gift for blowing this humble writer right out of the water. As always, it was both a pleasure and an honour to receive such wonderful, in-depth, and enthusiastic reviews. It's love like that that makes writing these chapters worth it! *cosmic hugs*
Bluebird Soaring- You know me, my dear, always wanting to keep my readers on the edge of their seats. It wouldn't do me, or my stories, any good if things got boring. Sunny and Sides pretty much guarantee things won't get boring any time soon.
DitzyMusicLover- I'm glad I could get your mind reeling in a good excited way- I really do encourage for readers to come to their own conclusions in regards to certain things. As to where I sampled Prima and Vector's names from, you're right in that the original story surrounding Prima was that she was the first Prime, but Vector is in reference to Vector Prime. My story for them is a little different, so you're more than welcome to read.^^
The Copper Arabian- Lessons can be learned, but with the twins, they can just as easily be forgotten. xD
Lecidre- Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter! I know it was a little shocking to have Wildride kick Thrillride like that, there's simply no excuse for something like that whether the victim is male/female/or an it, but I wanted something that would capture readers' attentions, and it certainly seems I have with that. It's thrilling to hear that you liked Prima and Vector's appearances, and the enigma that has become Flip. I do hope you continue to enjoy the story! 3
Silveriss- Thanks so much! The eerier the better, I guess! XD
Rebell- Thanks you so much for the double-whammy of reviews, one for chapter 4 part II and one for chapter 4 part II. You're too kind, really. I'm so flattered that you enjoyed the last arc of the story! Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy what thrills this old writer has in store.^^
Read and review as you please, my friends. I would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. ^^
Surface of the Sun
Chapter 5
How?
How did two little sparklings, so small that they both could easily fit in the palm of a mech's hand, survive a drop that normally would have killed any other bot? Security Response had been astounded, the on-site medics didn't know what to make of it, and, sufficed to say, the Centaurie Tetrax performers were shocked to the point of speechlessness. As if they weren't already. Nothing could be said to the clamouring media drones other than it was some form of miracle. A miracle, if anyone had anything to say about it. The message was instantly broadcast across all networks- the famous twins survived a fall that would kill any normal mech! It was a miracle! Primus was looking out for them! It was the reason for every bot within the range of a transmitter to be glued to the view screen.
As for Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's take on their miraculous survival- they just looked to each other, shrugged, and would reply with the same words they had been told,
"You wouldn't believe us even if you told you."
Blindside's spectacular faint on planet-wide media the moment he'd caught sight of his twins alive was captured wonderfully by no less than a dozen different media drones. He was probably never going to live it down. While everyone scrambled to pick the bot up, medics swarmed the twins to inspect them in the minutest detail; there were probably going to be inquests later over the matter of the twins' continued custody and safety, but for now they were deemed functional, able to be returned to their troop. Despite Wildride's desperate wish to take his creations, he was in no condition to take the twins when they were offered to him. While he would have given anything to hold them, he was still trying to regain proper rhythm to his main pump and couldn't risk dropping them.
In a strange form of coincidence, Flip returned from wherever he had wandered off to, taking charge once more. With the twins in hand, easily shooing away the droves of bots that closed around them, he ordered Flicker to bring Blindside back online, and then ordered Blaze and Flashdance to see to Wildride until they were back on the upper level of the city. The orders were complied with automatically; Blaze and Flashdance drew Wildride between them, threading their arms beneath his, not a thought crossing their processors in regards to the mech's earlier behaviour; Flicker took Blindside by the ankle and shook him until the poor bot was rattling, but thankfully online.
"Are they okay? Are they okay? They're alive, right?" he kept asking on the way back up to the surface. From his spot cradled in Flicker's arms, he strained to get a look at his Creations, who stood on the tips of their feet to look back at their Creator.
"We're here. We're here. We're okay, Blindside. We're both okay!" they repeated over and over. When they stopped speaking, someone else would ask the same question, only to have the twins repeat themselves once more. Nobody wanted them to stop talking. Listening to silence was too much at the moment. If they didn't hear the sparklings' little squeaky voices, it was too much like having them at the bottom of the shaft again, so they made them talk instead.
Once topside, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were transferred into the arms of their creators the moment they were well enough to hold them. There were never two other being loved more in that moment than Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were. The four of them clung and cried. When the troop gathered around, it only intensified. Blaze's bulky frame blanketed them, his deep voice murmuring apologies. Thrillride scaled her mate's frame in order to weasel her way in, petting the twins, cooing to them that she never should have let them out of her sight. Flashdance crowded his way in, hugging whoever he could get his thin arms around, Clouddrift and Skyfly squirreling this way and that trying to get some love in, while Flicker loomed over them all, dragging his entire bulk over them in a too-big hug.
"I love you! I love you! I love you!" Sideswipe kept howling as he latched onto Wildride's faceplate. When he was transferred to Blindside, he clung even more fiercely, shouting as loudly as his vocal processor would allow. Anyone who got close enough, be it Flicker, Blaze, or Thrillride, was instantly latched onto and showered in crying declarations of love, which were heartily returned.
Sunstreaker was far more reserved, curled into a small ball in Blindside's palm. He stared up into the relieved faceplate of his Creator, and then looked to Wildride for further affirmations that everyone was where they were supposed to be. He looked to everyone's faceplates, to their colourful paintjobs and their deliriously happy expressions, and he cried, and he cried, and he cried.
When it was time to hit the transport ways for home, Flicker offered to carry both Creators and Creations in his carry hold so they could continue to be together. While sorely tempted, the offer was turned down in favour of having the twins strapped safely inside them, Blindside religiously taking Sunstreaker while Wildride took Sideswipe. There was a bit of difficulty manoeuvring on the transit ways as other bots, and damn persistent media drones, continued to follow them home; their bright paintjobs did nothing to hide them from overly curious fans and worriers. On Flip's orders, the rest of the troop flanked the twins to shield them from prying optics in hopes of cutting down on their increasing anxiety.
They couldn't make back to the coliseum fast enough. Up the entrance ramp and into the entry hall, they were met by the rest of the bots of the circuit anxiously peering over each other. Lightshow pried himself free of the crowd, reaching for his own Creation as the rest shifted into bipedal mode.
"Everyone's alright, yes?" he enquired, searching Flashdance's optics carefully, grasping the mechs long, neon hands.
"Everyone's fine," Flashdance assured, offering a small smile.
"You're fine, as well?" he pressed, leasing one hand to stroke over the mech's sleek head. His optics flicked to Thrillride's concaved abdomen and Blaze's collapsed olfactory sensor.
"Yeah, duh." He leaned up, rubbing his faceplate fondly to Lightshow's. In a low voice, he said, "Wildride never touched me- Flip calmed him down first." With that said, he leaned away, and in a louder voice said, "The twins came up without a mark on 'em. Medics said they ain't seen nothing like it."
Around him, his stuntmech brethren all breathed sighs of utter relief.
Lightshow nodded, smiling. "That's good... we were so worried." Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were retrieved from within their Creators, and Lightshow was quick to move to them and press his forehead to theirs. "It's so good to see you two completely functional. Don't ever do that to us again, okay?"
"'Kay," they murmured humbly.
Flip drew Lightshow away, patting his hand soothingly. "I'm going to need you to do a little favour for me."
"Anything," Lightshow asserted.
"Such a good mech... If you would, please take the rest of the troop to the dormitories. You have all been up through the orn and night, and I'm sure you're tired-."
Lightshow brushed aside the concern in favour of enquiring after the wellbeing of his fellow stuntmechs. "And of the others- the twins, Flashdance...?"
"The usual suspects will be with me in the common room."
"I see, of course." A little unsurely, Lightshow glanced to Blaze; as second in command, it was usually Blaze's job to see that everyone was in their berths for recharge. Despite his concaved faceplate, the pyrotechnic director nodded encouragingly to help bolster Lightshow. "I'll be sure to have everyone in their berths," the lighting director murmured, turning to shoo his kin down the hall.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker watched the rest of their troop leave with a certain amount of envy. They were tired, confused, scared, a little grumpy, kind of in need of some energon, and really, really close to purging all over their Creators out of sheer stress. Now that they were home and everything was going to be okay, they just wanted to go to their room, curl up on their berth, and recharge for a couple orns. If that didn't happen soon, the tantrum the two of them were going to have was going to reach epic proportions.
Noting his twins' exhaustion, Blindside intoned a plea for their sake. "Flip, we're all tired..."
"The common room, please," Flip said, as if he never heard the protest.
"Flip-."
Blaze laid a hand to Wildride's shoulder before the mech said anything more. "Lead the way, director."
With a strangely distant smile, the mossy-green mech creaked his way down the hall. Through the maze of corridors and doorways, he guided the small group into the common room and allowed them to decide where to sit, taking the most prominent seat in the room for himself. The lights of the room had not been bothered with, leaving the skylight as the main source of light, letting the brightness of the city at night to filter in. Pale light from half-closed optics illuminated tired faceplates as everyone settled into their seats unsurely, their gazes tracing back to the twins more often than they should have.
Wildride helped Blindside to his seat, making sure his mate was settled, and then slid to the floor in front of Blindside's legs, allowing the twins free reign to the floor. For the most part, the twins did not move far. They were tired and woozy, choosing to curl up on the floor rather than frolic in the dark. Blaze and Thrillride bravely took up seats next to the star spangled mech and his tempered mate, each treating their injuries with delicate care. Flashdance, Skyfly, and Clouddrift took up various perches on Flicker, who hardly minded as he sank into the cool shadows in the corner of the common room, his heavy frame giving a tired sigh of relief.
They sat for an indefinite amount of time. While any one of them was free to consult their chronometers, they resisted for no other reason other than out of respect for Flip and his unnamed machinations. Even when they could not understand him, they trusted him. It was one of the few unwavering constants they knew in the universe.
Finally, when the old director had decided that the right amount of time had passed, bringing them to the cusp of a pink-skied dawn, he spoke, startling a few bots out of the drowsy daze they'd fallen into.
"Quite the orn we've all had," the old mech said absently, as if commenting on the weather.
"Yeah... quite the orn," Blaze parroted quietly, his solemn gaze falling to Wildride for an astrosecond before he moved to the twins, and then his optics drifted to the floor.
"I'm sure you're all wondering about what happened," he pressed in the same uncommitted tone.
"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker got dropped down a lift shaft, that's what happened," Wildride huffed tersely.
"They weren't dropped, they fell," Thrillride corrected, frowning.
"Same difference; they still hit the bottom, didn't they?"
To the spite in Wildride's voice, Thrillride had no defence. She sighed, looking away. "They came up unharmed; that's what counts."
"You're damn lucky they came up unharmed, or you sure as pit wouldn't have gotten off as lightly as you did," Wildride said darkly. It would probably be a while before he stopped throwing verbal barbs at them; he'd stop eventually, but not while the terror he'd just endured was still fresh.
Blindside was quick to reach out, both physically and ephemerally, and swat his mate. Anything to curb the attitude until everyone was recharged enough to handle it. "Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are both alright, and their fall was not Blaze's or Thrillride's fault, so if you don't stop being a glitch to them-."
"Fine, I'll mute it."
Clouddrift twiddled his long fingers, looking to the skylight as if searching for strength to stay online. When he looked to the director, he found him sitting with perfect patience, watching them with sharp, calculating optics. The aerial looked to his pastel wingmate, who shrugged, and then Clouddrift decided to try a plea before a fight broke out. "We're all on edge, Flip- some more than others. The twins aren't saying anything about what happened in the shaft, if they can even remember at all, so why don't you just let us get some recharge and put this orn behind us?"
The old mech hummed, almost chuckling, but the sound came out more like a dusty breath of air. "Oh, they remember. It's hardly something one is likely to forget."
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe pushed themselves upright, staring at Flip with canted heads. He was right, they were never going to forget what happened. Ever.
"You say that like you know something we don't," Blindside said unsurely.
"That's because I know many things you don't. When you've seen the things I've seen, it's hard not to." His gaze strayed to the twins once, winking. It wasn't the fact that he could see things they couldn't that frightened them the most, even though it did frighten them quite a bit, it was the fact that there were things that lurked beyond the range of sight that frightened them. The fact that there were things in the universe that couldn't be seen was a scary thought, indeed. It was good to know Flip could see them, because he would never let them get hurt by the invisible things. He was smart and clever and strange, but they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the old director would never let anything hurt his troop.
"I think, for the sake of everyone's peace of mind, you should all know what happened down in the lift shaft." Instantly, everyone's attentions were caught, their glazed optics snapping to rapt awareness.
Sunstreaker twittered, looking to his brother, and then to Flip. "You said to tell no one," he said confusedly.
"I know what I said, but I think an exception should be made in the case of family." He leaned down with an expansive groan, extending his pockmarked hand for the pair to climb on. At first, they were wary, but when he smiled his usual enigmatic smile, offering his hand as if it were a treat, they crawled over and pulled themselves up. "Even if they don't believe of word of it, at least they'll have the peace of mind of having one story to lean on."
Wildride frowned deeply, wishing for nothing more than to snatch his sparklings back. "What have you been telling them, Flip? What weren't they supposed to tell us?" He paused for a moment, something in particular coming to mind. "When did they have time to tell you anything?"
Flip pet Sunstreaker and Sideswipe indulgently, lulling them into purring balls of red and brown metal. "They never had time to tell me anything."
"Then how-?"
Flip raised his optic ridges expectantly, only to have Wildride trail off. If the director didn't want to tell, far be from any of them to try and make him talk. Instead, the old mech said, "I think what needs to be said should be said soon. In matters like these, it is best you come to your own conclusions without certain details getting in the way."
Blindside looked anxiously to the twins, who both happened to be currently dozing at the moment, and decided to try for another plea for the sake of everyone's sanity. "Can't this wait until after everyone's been given time to recharge? Look at them, they're so tired, and after the orn they've had-."
"Nonsense, they're fine for what needs to be said," Flip assured, jostling them awake gently, ignoring them as they whined. "If I were to let you all go off and refresh your minds, do you honestly think you would come back to listen with as open processors as you have now? No, you're better off listening now, than listening with your full faculties later."
"This is ridiculous," Flicker murmured to Flashdance, only to find that he hadn't modulated his vocal processor to a low enough pitch and was heard by everyone else.
"Ridiculous is a relative term," Flip intoned, thoroughly flustering the mech.
Sunstreaker sighed, leaning heavily against his brother, his optics crossed and dim; Sideswipe curled into the curve of Flip's palm, leaving his aft to stick up in the air. When Flip brought them close to his faceplate, whispering that it was their turn to shine, they began speaking as if under hypnotic suggestion. In murmured, mindless words, they recounted their fall, the spike that had come out of nowhere and undoubtedly saved their lives. Swaying gently, they spoke of the cavern they'd landed in, of the phosphorous lights and the sweet smelling breeze. A gentle prod from Flip had them changing tack, speaking of what became of them after the fall- Sideswipe's severed arm, Sunstreaker's shattered optic. Half in recharge already, they thought nothing of recounting the great being they had felt watching them, the creatures that had lurked in the dark. When it came time to tell of the strange being who'd come upon them and taken them to her home in the tunnels, and of her odd companion, something very, very strange happened. The older bots instantly tensed, taken by surprise. Thrillride let out a muffled gasp.
"How do you know those designations?" she asked carefully.
Sideswipe wiggled to his side, peering down at her with lazy optics. "They told us," he replied softly.
Flashdance, the only one not to react, grumbled in annoyance. "Does it matter?"
The femme shot him a sharp look. "It matters." She turned to the twins once more, looking to them with beseeching optics. "What were they like? What did they do?"
The sparklings exchanged looks before Sideswipe murmured, "Prima was the first to come, and Vector was the one who fixed us... They took us to their cave-thingy in the tunnels. It was really big... but, I guess, so were they- at first..."
"Primus," she breathed, hands clasped over her spark. The wonderment that flooded her was enough to make Blaze feel lightheaded. "Did... did you really see them?"
"Yeah," Sunstreaker said, nodding slowly. "They disappeared real quick, though. There were only statues left behind."
The news only seemed to thrill Thrillride more, leaving the other bots in wonderment. She dared to whisper, "How many?"
"How many what?"
"How many statues, brightspark?"
"Oh, um- thirteen, I guess."
Thrillride looked to her mate, then to Wildride and Blindside, and they look as thoroughly gobsmacked as she. When they appealed to Flip, he returned their expressions with one of utter placidity. He was nether surprised, nor affected in any way by the news. Oblivious to the significance of Prima and Vector's true identities, the twins remained in a slightly mystified daze, wanting to recharge more than anything.
Blindside made a small, unconscious noise. "There's no way they could have known that, unless..."
Flashdance made an impatient noise, which was quickly smothered by Flicker. When the neon mech was able to wrestle free of his larger captor, he leapt to the floor and marched between Flip and his stuntmech brethren. "What's the big deal about those designations?" he asked, short on patience as his exhaustion grew.
"They're special," Thrillride informed reverently.
"How? The little runts could have heard those designations from anywhere."
"Not very likely. They're not in circulation anywhere. I doubt any bot would try and use them," the femme countered, frowning.
Flashdance was undaunted. "Then maybe the twins landed on their heads and their memory banks were corrupted. Everything they just told could be nothing but a patchwork of different memory files. It's happened to all of us before."
Blaze shook his head. "Not for something like this. They'd need to know the designations and the 13 statues beforehand for them to be misfiled in the fall. I doubt any of us would have thought to tell them anything of the old stories." Glancing amongst themselves, they confirmed that none of them had even thought to mention the old legend.
"I don't get it- what's the big deal about them knowing some old designations, anyways? What does it matter if they somehow met some musty old bots at the bottom of a hole, which I highly doubt they did?" the young mech pressed. Impatience was evident across his faceplate.
"You're too young to understand," Flip intoned.
"I'm not a youngling anymore!"
Flip waved the detail off. "The Council stopped including the information in sparkling downloads a long time ago because there was no scientific proof of it happening." He sighed deeply, optics dimming. Obviously he did not approve of the measure. "They're always trying to streamline your knowledge to make the most efficient citizens they can, and yet only succeed in making you less informed than the generation before."
Sideswipe caught on to the implication, puffing up. "Are you calling us stupid?"
"No, little one, I'm calling you victims of progress."
Not quite understanding that, Sideswipe looked to his brother, who had just as much understanding as he, and they both mouthed an "Oh."
Flip sighed. "In these times, everything must be scientifically proven and catalogued before it can be true, and that which cannot be explained is left behind." He paused, considering a new train of thought, and then addressed Flashdance directly. "Tell me, do you know of Primus?"
The mech shifted, shrugging. "It's just a designation we say, isn't it? Or- ah... wait," as a thought occurred to him, he paused to catch it and think of the best way to propose it. "He's supposed to be some kind of god, right? Primus and Unicron and all that slag."
Flip laughed, while the others looked away, hiding mixtures of amused and pitying smiles. The twins remained curious of the subject, and so stayed as awake as possible to hear the answer.
"There are enough nameless gods in the universe without making up a new one," Flip informed, his voice indulgent. "There are plenty of bots across the planet that subscribe to believing in a god, but I would hope you resist such a temptation. Flashdance looked disgruntled.
Sideswipe leaned towards Sunstreaker. "What's a god?"
The brown sparkling shrugged. "I think it's a kind of swear word."
"Flashdance, I think it's best you sit down and let Flip speak," Thrillride said gently, scooting over so the mech had somewhere to sit.
Flip set the twins on the arm of the chair, and then stretched himself out with a creaking groan. "You two listen up, as well- I don't want you missing out on such a valuable lesson."
"Okay," they murmured reverently.
He nodded. "Now, every story has a beginning, middle, and end, but the very beginning of this story has long been lost to time, and so we begin after the beginning, with two brothers at war with one another. We don't know where they came from, or how they came to be at war with each other. All we know is that there was Primus, and there was Unicron.
"The battles between them raged for eons, spanning galaxies, and eventually they grew tired of war, but could not rest while the other survived. Unicron, who thrived on chaos, became a being who consumed worlds in order to survive and fight. Primus was his antithesis, thriving on life and creation; when he came to rest, he could not leave the universe unprotected. Instead of consuming planets for energy, he made from himself 13 of the first sparks to pilot his planetary form, all of whom could be summoned at will to battle against Unicron. We know these 13 sparks as the Original 13." He suddenly paused, thinking of the possibility of what he could say next. Something caught his optic from beyond the skylight, an unseen thing that made him quirk a wry smile, deciding for him what he was to say next. "While their true names and functions have most likely been lost to time, we would know them as Prima, the first Prime; Vector Prime, the keeper of space and time; Liege Maximo, the tactician; Alpha Trion, the engineer; Boltax, the warrior-."
"Nexis Alterna, the scout; Zion Prime, the keeper of peace; Xerxia, the fierce; Sophio, the protector-."
"Thank you, Flicker," Flip intoned pointedly.
"Oh- sorry... they were my favourites," Flicker laughed embarrassedly, while the aerials on his shoulders laughed at him.
"As I was saying, the remaining of the 13- Centauron, the Seer; Maccadam, the wise; Omnitrix, the guardian of life, and lastly Psi, the guardian of entropy." Flip looked to the skylight again, seeing dawn's beauty with a certain amount of peace.
The twins ogled at each other in exhausted awe. Those had to be the coolest designations and functions ever.
"They fought for eons more. Sometimes horrible, blasted battles that razed the skies to flames and ash. But, eventually the 13 succeeded in destroying Unicron's planetary form. The final battle had been so fierce that Primus was left to rest as he was, and the 13 were left to wait until the next time they were called upon." His ancient optics slid to Flashdance. "You see, Primus is not a god, he is a warrior. A planet."
Blaze canted his head gently to the left. He was old enough to have been the recipient of the old stories in his downloads, but something about Flip's version was different. "Some of those details weren't included in our downloads... how do you know them?"
"The same way you are finding out; someone told me," Flip answered lightly. Though if someone were to ask who told him, the answer would undoubtedly be interesting. "Of course, there's no scientific proof of any of this, so it's up to the individual to decide whether it is real or not."
Flashdance, as it so happened, was inclined to think the latter option. "I'm with what Flicker said early, this is absolutely fragging ridiculous. You don't honestly expect me to believe that this planet is not only alive, but it's really some giant recharging being, and that he has some kind of disembodied sparks floating around waiting to pop into existence and serve him? Come on! That's the biggest load of slag I've ever heard!"
Blindside looked scandalized, and Thrillride bristled, about to protest, only to have Flip speak first.
"That's your choice in the matter. There's nothing more to be said."
That didn't seem enough to sooth the irritated mech, drawn to the end of his tether as he was. He swung around to the rest of his troop. "I can't believe the rest of you are buying into this," he admonished exasperatedly. "Don't you see? None of that could have ever possibly happened. They're just stories- that's why the Council is cutting them out; they're useless fairytales. I can't believe we're buying into the stories of two sparklings who aren't even a vorn old yet- they probably made the whole thing up because they have no idea what really happened down there. They were probably offline the whole time!"
"We weren't!" Sunstreaker objected testily, though he was ignored.
Wildride eased up from the floor, looking a little cagey. "I don't buy into any of this Primus stuff either, Flash, but you have to admit that it's a pretty wild story, even with what Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are saying."
"It's a story, Wildride, just a story."
Wildride ran a hand across his faceplate; he loved Flashdance like a little brother, but his patience was spent, and debating thruths was not the way he wanted to spend the orn. "Sure, Primus and all that could just be a load of slag, but why argue with a pair of sparklings. They've said what they thought they'd seen, and that's the story they're sticking with. Maybe they really did meet Prima and Vector Prime, who knows? There was no one else down there with them to say otherwise. Does it really matter if they're right or not?"
"They could have picked those designations up from anywhere. They probably hit their heads on the way down, some memories got scrambled, so even if they think they're telling the truth, it could all be a load of slag. I'm willing to bet a vorn's worth of my credits that the only monsters down in that lift were them." He gestured sharply to the twins, and then left for the dormitories with a despairing snort. He didn't care if Flip made him scrub the entire coliseum with both hands tied behind his back, he just wanted to get out of there.
When it looked like Wildride was about to give chase to tear a strip off the mech, Blindside caught him, holding him fast. "He's young- let him go. We should really get the twins to their berth, and then get some recharge ourselves." The calming waves he was enforcing upon his mate's spark ensured that Wildride would not argue.
"Practise is cancelled for today, so enjoy the orn to get as much recharge as you can," Flip announced, his gaze lingering momentarily on the twins before he left.
Their quarters in the coliseum had a delightful window set into the north wall, catching the orn's light and bouncing it off the metal walls within. Normally, it would have been a pretty sight, but considering all the twins wanted to do at the moment was recharge, the light was pretty darn distracting. Caught in that annoying place between waking and recharge, exhaustion to the point of delirium but unable to engage the proper subroutines, they were left to let their minds wander, which was not necessarily the best thing to do on a good orn.
Sideswipe rolled to his side, pillowing his head on his arm. A barely audible sigh drifted from his vents. "Hey, Sunstreaker?" The brown sparkling didn't answer, remaining curled in a tight ball, but Sideswipe knew he was awake regardless. "Those things they said about Primus... you think they're true?"
Finally, Sunstreaker rolled over, his faceplate downturned. "It sounded stupid to me."
"But you saw Prima and Vector."
"Yeah, sure, they exist, but I don't know if I want to believe our whole planet is supposed to be one great big recharging giant. We're supposed to be this super advanced awesome species that have lived for a really, really long time- don't you think someone would have noticed they were living on a giant by now?"
Sideswipe flopping to his front, sprawling on the cool metal of their berth. "When you put it that way..." he sighed. "It's just, who else could it have been? That metal spike came out of nowhere, you know? And I know you felt him watching- something had been watching us. I know you felt it- I felt you feeling it."
"You did not feel me feeling it," Sunstreaker grumbled stubbornly.
"Did too! You felt that big thing in the dark staring at us, and you can't lie, 'cause we're twins, and I know when you're lying."
Unable to deny that, Sunstreaker rolled away with a defiant huff. "It was just a coincidence, Sideswipe. We're not even a vorn old- what do we know about the world?"
Just as stubborn as his brother, Sideswipe made an angry twittering noise. "Or maybe we woke him up, somehow. Maybe we woke Primus up, and he decided to help us."
"That's dumb. If Primus really was the planet, then he has a bazillion Cybertronians living on him. Why would he wake up for two little bots like us, huh?"
"I don't know- everyone always tells us we're special," Sideswipe shrugged. "We could be the kind of special that giant recharging planet-things take interest in."
Sunstreaker snorted, mulling in his foul mood. "We're not that special."
"Sure we are- ask anyone. Wildride, or Blindside, or Flip, or Ratchet, or Jetfire, or anyone would say we're special."
"Not everyone calls us special," Sunstreaker intoned darkly, curling into a ball once more.
Sideswipe frowned. "Who doesn't?"
"Flashdance."
The red sparkling flinched, feeling the lash of hurt that flared from his brother. "Oh yeah..."
"We're NOT monsters," he asserted sharply.
"'Course we're not."
"But he keeps calling us monsters- he keeps calling me a monster!" The hurt that continued to roil from his spark was enough to cause Sideswipe to recoil a little, struck by the want to help his brother, but unable to think of anything to help. Nether words nor astral caresses seemed to help the ornery brown sparkling.
"Come on, Sunstreaker- he doesn't mean it... I think he just tries to have fun with us. Everyone knows we're not monsters."
"I don't like it," Sunstreaker growled. "I wanna teach him a lesson."
This seemingly caught his brother's attention, his little red head perking up. "What kinda lesson?"
"I don't know- I just wanna teach him a good lesson!" Sensing the sudden quirk of mischief from Sideswipe, Sunstreaker rolled over, peering over at his brother with undisguised curiosity. "You thinking of something?"
"Yeah."
"What?"
"A lesson." He grinned, the smile catching in the dawn-light and glinting. In a flash, he was up and scooting across the berth, taking his brother's hand and tugging him up. If this was the one way he could help his brother, than so be it. They were brothers; they'd do anything for each other, even if it meant getting into untold levels of trouble. "Come on- we're gonna teach Flashdance never to mess with us."
"How?"
"You'll see."
Hopping the short distance from their berth to the floor, they skittered to the door and slipped out. The dormitory hall was eerily quiet, more so than usual. Whereas there was generally some noise coming from down the hall where a few bots would be up and chatting quietly while the others recharged, everyone was out cold now. No good-natured whispers, no laughing, no muffled sounds of two bots interfacing. Aside from the occasional snort from a caught vent, the coliseum was rendered in absolute silence.
As if guided by some unholy form of mischief, Sideswipe took his brother down the hall and to the left, then down a right, another right, through to another wing of the coliseum, and finally to a storage room whose door was covered in splashes of paint.
"The paint room?" Sunstreaker questioned.
"Yep." When the unspoken plan finally dawned on his brother, Sideswipe grinned from audio receptor to audio receptor. "Come on- choose your weapon."
Their weapon of choice: microbot-sized inking brushes, which they filled to the brim with black paint. Feeling rather impish, and strangely confident with a paintbrush in his hands, Sunstreaker led the way back to the dormitories. From experience, they knew where most of the bots in the circuit liked to recharge best, and with whom they often shared a berth with. It changed often, for those without sparkmates. Flashdance, however, was usually found in the closest room to the end of the hall. True to form, when the twins stuck their heads in to have a peek, they could instantly make out their victim's neon-coloured paint in the gloom. The windows were thickly shaded in this room, so the only light came from a gaggle of bots in the corner, all of whom were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.
"Okay, we gotta be quiet," Sideswipe whispered, trotting over to stand in the shadow of Flashdance's berth.
"We gotta be quick, too. Someone might come online at any breem," Sunstreaker reminded, surveying a nearby performer suspiciously. They were up the tiny ladder and onto the top of the berth in astroseconds, readying their inking brushes with the concentrations of masters. Sunstreaker was the one to take the first strike, finding himself deviously giddy as a thick black line appeared across Flashdance's bright arm. Sideswipe scribbled for a bit, colouring most of the mech's right leg black with incomprehensible doodles. In an act of pure defiance, they consulted their Cybertronain glyphs directory and did their best to write out a single-word message across the mech's chassis:
-MONSTER!-
And then Sunstreaker happily drew all over Flashdance's slack faceplate, laughing quietly while he did. Adding the finishing touches to his masterpiece lesson, Sunstreaker was only tugged away by Sideswipe, who had somehow managed to get a hold of the thin cable that tugged down the room's shades and stuffed it in the nearest mech's vents. The moment the poor bot cycled his vents, the cord would release, and the shades would flip up, waking everyone to the bright glare of the orn.
"We gotta go," Sideswipe urged, optics sparkling. He didn't seem one bit drowsy anymore; he was in his element.
"One more thing," Sunstreaker insisted, taking both inking brushes and stuffing each up the open cavities of Flashdance's olfactory sensor. "Okay, now we can go." They scrambled down the ladder as fast as they could, content to think that Primus, or some other great watching being, was keeping an optic open for them as they scampered back down the hall to their room. Through the door, up onto the berth, they tumbled over each other excitedly, laughing with abandon. With their optics set on the door, they waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Finally...
"Nyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The sounds of panic and chaos instantly filled the hall as the circuit came alive to the horrified shrieks of Flashdance as he came online and got a good look at himself. With the lesson learned, messaged delivered, the twins were finally able to drift off into a contented recharge, lulled by the sounds of a job well done.
