A Twin for a Twin Chapter 10, a transformers fanfic

A Twin for a Twin

A/N: Special thanks to Saphireblu987, Angelgirl227, Nightlightbee, CRAZY little Dragon, LaptopWarrior, Harm Marie, and dreamer for the reviews! If you happen to be lazy to log in, plz just type in your username, that way if you have any questions I could reply. Thanks to Sideswipe's Mechanic, Screamer's just a Screamer, and Savior Angel for the favs! Thanks tothepheonixqueen for the alert! If you alerted, fav, and reviewed as well, your name comes out once. I don't mind if you have anything in mind but don't wish to share it with others, so if you're not comfortable in writing a public review, I'm open to have feedback through PM.

We're over 3.200 hits for this fic! Always my biggest thanks to everyone for their awesome support and keep reading this fic! By the way, I've got some exams going on, so I won't have the usual one to two week update the least. So I'll be absent for a while. To make it up to you all, this chapter's pretty lengthy (This time an over 12.000 words chapter). Expect me on the third week or so for the next update!

Edited: 5th December 2010 (For grammar, spelling, punctuation mistakes).

Beta Readers: Khalthar and LunaeShark

Enough of me...

A long lengthy chapter for this one!

As per usual...

Enjoy the Ride!

~ Chapter 10: Out of Hand's Reach, Unwanted Unexpected Meeting ~

Con man Log Entry 2.05: The Rescue of a Twin.

Kansas City, Missouri, US.

The Flop.

The Turn.

The River.

They were the three steps in turning over the card sequence in a Poker game round, or in more popular terms, the beginning, middle, and end. To describe how everything has turned out to be, my situation in finding my brother was now on the 'turn' and heading towards 'the river'. Saying that I was worried was actually an understatement.

I was terrified.

Terrified that with the many 'what if(s)' or anything that could happen to screw up my plans to rescue my twin and the fact if I failed, my twin's life was on the line. It was final, and if I made any mistakes here I don't think this regret would be one I'd likely forget for the rest of my life.

The speed Sunstreaker was going did not help much to calm my nerves down. But I was thankful for it, even if I knew my body was screaming inwardly for its survival. All that was in my mind was finding my missing twin. My missing part of myself, the other half that made us whole as a family.

Not to mention I felt Steve's pain.

This time the drive was way faster than any conventional car could drive around. Despite the Autobot's speed remaining on average the highest he could reach without me fainting, we made what usually would take about four hours from Springfield to Kansas City in barely two hours.

While Uncle Neil's information clearly stated that Steve was in the industrial area, I made a quick trip to Steve's apartment. I was hoping that nothing in it was untouched. If it was true that the organization was dead on in wanting to know whether Steve was the hacker who defended NEST they were bound to start digging for clues. But Steve wasn't stupid when it went to keeping things safe. My twin's a thief as well, and I was certain he hid his most important possession before he went to the expo with Natalie.

His laptop.

Most of the data of the hacking was there and I was going to make sure I got my hands on it before any of those greedy people or any sort of authority had their hands on it. When I came into his apartment, it was a FREAKING mess. The whole place was searched by whoever had gotten Steve.

I knew I was running out of time.

Hang in there, bro.

I'm coming.

~ Sky

Small tables were overturned, books heaped in untidy stacks, furniture torn apart or not where they're supposed to be. Pretty much everything else had been scattered everywhere, all over the place. Astonishingly, the landlord had no idea it was in a mess, not to mention the bills were actually paid for. It was a smart thing that whoever wanted to know about his bother had been quiet in making sure that no one knew the place had been searched.

Skyler looked around with worry, noting all of the things they had taken.

So far, his bother's CPU was absent, including the LCD monitor. Even the television and other electronics were missing. If the cops had come in, they'd only suspect it was a regular burglary. He knew for one that Steve didn't have many things with him. The bedroom was also in a mess, but Skyler did not spend much time there, either. He needed get Steve's laptop from its secret hiding place.

The kitchen.

Yes, while many people hide their precious things in living rooms, study rooms and even in their bedroom, the kitchen is not a place many people would suspect, as many people - whether they are a part of the household or guests - come by to cook, grab a snack or eat. This kitchen was pretty normal for an apartment, the most unique thing was the landlord had some obsession with the 'Zen' stuff, so part of the wall by the built-in oven was covered with smooth stones. Knowing which rock was a fake and a button, Skyler pressed it, and it revealed a floor tile that was under the bin when closed.

Under the hidden tile was a small box that held an 11 inch screen laptop and external drive, along with various fake IDs Steve used.

Steve was never into big things, so the smaller the gadget, the more he actually took care of it.

Sighing in relief that the data was safe and the laptop was left untouched, he immediately grabbed one of Steve's remaining small bags in the room, put all the box's contents in, then made his way out of the apartment, locking Steve's door on the way. It wasn't hard for him to pick a door lock, so it was an easy task of re-locking it. It was a good thing there weren't security cameras in the apartment, the authorities didn't need to know he was here. For now, having the data was enough.

Blending in with the other people around the neighborhood, Skyler swiftly made his way back to Sunstreaker, who was now in a black Honda Civic alt-form. Perhaps wearing a disguise was a wise choice, seeing as his brother's place was in a mess there was no doubt the executors who barged into Steve's apartment would most likely expect him to come to the city. It was clear that disguises and diversions were now compulsory. He got in, closed the door and immediately touched the wheel to let the Autobot know they were leaving.

"Got your brother's laptop?" Sunstreaker asked.

Skyler nodded. "Yeah. But looks like whoever got him ransacked the place. I don't think they were ordinary criminals. We're lucky to find Steve's laptop untouched. I suppose they were trying to dig for more info."

"Why would a bunch of human criminals want your brother? I understand why the Decepticons would want you both since you're now a threat to their Intel," Sunstreaker voiced out. "It's not like you've done anything to the humans."

The con man sighed with a huff. "Any greedy person would like us for their own benefit, to try and scam the government." A pause. "It's not like the government is clean from its bad insides. Naturally if you hack for information in the right places there's plenty of blackmail material around." He then added, "Crime syndicates use blackmailing to survive. The government can't get their hands on them by law, since the government at times does break their own laws."

"Hmph," the Autobot grunted. That certainly explained how those con men existed, there was already a problem in the law system. "Do you have any idea where Steve might be?"

"Uncle Neil's Intel mentioned a group being held hostage in the old industrial area," Skyler said, indicating the spot on the paper map of Kansas City he had opened. "According to the map it's not far from where we are. But oddly enough there's a lot of traffic. It shouldn't take us long to get there, however."

Sunstreaker, noting that the road was getting crowded as he grew closer to their destination noticed something on his scanners. "We got authorities surrounding the place. There's a road diversion at the front. It's blocked."

Skyler blinked. "Huh?" His brows scrunched up in confusion. "You think you can scan the area? How many blockades are there?"

Doing so, the warrior bot stretched his scanners. What he found made him sure something was out of hand. "Skyler?"

"What is it?"

"It seems like a whole area is closed off. Not to mention the snipers on top of the buildings," Sunstreaker said, explaining his findings with a hint of discontent. "What now?"

Snipers in the middle of the city area?

Oh, crap.

That can't be good…

Upon hearing the new information, Skyler reset his course. "Head towards the diverted road. If we're close enough we can ask what's going on."

"You're sure about this?" the bot asked hesitantly. He was worried that the more interaction with authorities, the bigger the chance they would get in more danger later.

Skyler was slightly nervous. "I mean- Sunstreaker- How often do you have snipers in the middle of the urban area that are from the law enforcement? It's either some important dude like the president giving the orders or there's some big shit going on." The young man looked around the area. "I have a feeling it's the latter."

The Autobot checked his scanners again. "Heh, looks like I have to agree with you, human. Seems like there's evacuations of civilians in the area."

As they got close enough to an officer that was guarding the area, Skyler rolled the window down and inquired about what was actually going on. Both the young con man and warrior bot did not like what they heard.

"Sorry sir, you're going to have to turn around here, there's a hostage situation in those buildings. Apparently there's a bomb planted as well," the police officer said. "A terrorist group's demanding some hackers show themselves by breaking the code they implanted in the bomb. This area's off limits to civilians."

Skyler's eye went wide as he froze.

WHAT?

"Steve?" Natalie looked at the other worriedly. "Are you alright?"

A slow reply. "Not…really," Steve said still trying to get used to the world of consciousness. The room continued to spin before his eyes. "…I heard everything, though."

Steve eyed Darren and Freddy warily - both of them were staring at their own computer monitors. While the guards of the place had been drastically decreased, he was certain they were watching from afar, making sure the hackers would do their job while under pressure.

And, boy, were they under pressure.

As having their own lives at stake last night had failed to draw out any confessions on whether they could decode or hack into the government, this morning they went on full assault. The hackers that had been eliminated as possibilities were taken and declared to be sacrifices, each wearing a vest with explosives tied to their bodies. A whole building block was declared as an explosion fest. The trigger was a timer, but the password was encoded in the style only Steve and Skyler knew. All four of them were cuffed on one hand, the chain tightly bound to steel chairs cemented to the floor.

If that wasn't enough…

Their kidnappers had planted a few bombs to start a fire in the area, and the clock was now ticking away. It seemed that whoever wanted the hackers were ready to kill their hostages if none of them happened to be who they were looking for. To any of those who were in the four steel seats, watching a large projector screen in front of them that gave a full view of their fellow hostages, it was a deadly situation. There was little hope for them, unless the real hackers came in and miraculously broke the codes. People's lives were at stake, including many innocents dwelling nearby.

Steve looked very carefully behind him under the pretense of stretching. Apparently there were only three goons guarding them. If anything, he wanted them out of there. Then he could take a chance and make his move. However, he was pondering on the chances he'd get caught and they would probably find out who he was right away.

Think! Think! Think! What would Skyler do in this situation?

Of course, he wasn't as creative as Skyler when it came to ideas, but he was the more practical type. At this point the chance of survival wasn't his alone. He knew it was time to seek help from the others. Not only to save himself, but he had to get the others out.

"Yo! Jeph!" Phil said as he showed his comm. link. "The communications are busted, man!"

Jeph checked his comm., testing it to find out his partner's words were true. "Got no reception or any response from Shawn on the outer perimeter. The cops couldn't have gotten here yet. These dweebs haven't even started typing!"

"Alright, you two. We head out and try to get in touch with the other guys and the boss." Marco ordered.

"What about those hackers?" Phil asked.

Marco rolled his eyes. "It's not like they can run away, they're cuffed to the spot and the car we stole didn't even have anything that worked to make it move. Get going!"

And with that they went out.

Seeing this as a chance to start his plan, Steve got everyone's attention, "Let's all try and break the code."

Darren, a very large bulky brunette guy, looked at Steve skeptically. "We only know how it partially works! Even if we did try it out countless times, we barely scratched the surface of the codes."

"It's way too hard!" The youngest shook his head. Freddy was only sixteen, his fear overwhelming him. "We'll never make it in time!"

Natalie, the girl with chestnut short wavy hair, looked at her partner with worry. "Steve-"

"We have to," Steve said evenly. "If we don't, many people are going to die. Those idiots are gone for now. Work with me! If we can figure out the codes, we'll all get out of this alive. If we don't-"

"You don't have to tell us," Darren interrupted. "We know." He set his hands on the keyboard, "Well, let's try it out. We've got barely an hour before everyone goes 'kaboom' and we're human steaks."

Freddy still looked uncertainly at Steve. "But what if we don't make it?"

"We won't know until we try," Natalie pointed out, backing up her friend.

Steve smiled at that. "Thanks, Nat."

"Don't mention it, I'm way ahead of you," the girl said as she had her hands on the keyboard, and she looked at the teen. "Give it a go, Freddy. We'll need all the help we can."

"Um- Okay, uh. I'll try it," the youngest gulped.

Finally Steve gave the command. "Let's go!"

Simultaneously, all the hackers started to type in hopes of breaking the codes to the best of their abilities. For this time, it was probably the first time in their life there was a lot at stake on their shoulders if they lost.

Behind them, Sideswipe watched with astonishment as the human Steve led his fellow hackers to try whatever they had in breaking the code. His courage had managed to give a bit of hope to the others. The Autobot was able to move again now as his systems had told him that his body wasn't locked anymore. However, he did get some minor dents thanks to Marco and his buddies, who had struck him in the same spots over and over as they had little success in trying to get to his driver's wheel. Seeing the situation was rather dire, Sideswipe let the humans keep on typing in hopes to break the code. He didn't necessarily need to expose his bi-pedal form unless there was a chance the building would collapse, something he was hoping wouldn't happen. Yet something bothered him deeply…

The communications of the human guards being wiped out seemed disturbingly familiar.

Sideswipe found he had guessed right when he then scanned out to find jamming frequencies in the area. They weren't strong enough to wipe out the computers the hackers were working on or even his own communication systems. All the same, it was a Decepticon signature.

:: Sideswipe to Big Boss. ::

:: Optimus Prime here. Hear you loud and clear, Sideswipe. We're on route to Kansas City. ::

That surprised the warrior bot a great deal. :: What's the big rush? ::

:: Several of the human media sources have reported the hackers are being held hostage. Are they true? :: the Prime asked.

:: Half true, sir. Four of them are still in the main base in front of me. There are a few small explosives around the building - enough to spark fire but not completely blow up the whole place at once. The crime syndicate plans to pressure them into breaking the codes. :: Sideswipe reported what was happening on his side.

:: Are your systems working properly now? ::

:: Yes, sir. ::

:: Very well. Keep an eye on the hackers from where you are; the Autobot team has been split into two groups. They were both sent in advance to Kansas City. Sergeant Epps is headed towards the buildings where the hostages are with Jazz, Jolt, Chromia, Arcee, and Flare up. Major Lennox is with Ironhide, Red Alert, and Prowl; they are heading your way. :: Optimus quickly explained the situation. :: With me are Ratchet, Mirage, and Hound. ::

The idea everyone was here left a bitter feeling in his spark that he wasn't able to complete his mission on his own. But he had something important to report. :: Big Boss? I think we have bad company. The guards left because their communications are being jammed. ::

:: Have you analyzed the frequency, Sideswipe? :: the Prime questioned.

:: It's a 'Con alright. :: Sideswipe said with distaste. :: But the jamming signal is weak. I have a feeling it may be one of Soundwave's little critter drones. ::

This of course made the Prime caution his occasionally impetuous soldier. :: Keep your guard up, Sideswipe. There's a good chance there are more Decepticons heading your way. Make sure to get the humans out of the way should you engage them. Optimus out. ::

:: Yes, sir. Sideswipe out. ::

A chance to finally make a move.

It was time to hunt some fleshlings down.

And of course get his main confirmed target.

Without much effort, Laserbeak with swift and stealthy ease glided down to the now empty area of the industry storage facility. The area was deserted as most if not nearly all of those primitive brained insects had focused themselves on the main event in the city area. At least the job was going to be far easier than the spy expected. The only problem he was most likely to face was inside.

The Autobot.

Laserbeak was not stupid when it came to dealing with the twins. Even one of them was capable of fighting five Decepticons and still end up victorious. It was the reason why many Decepticons would prefer fighting the other bots of their opposing faction; they both weren't the types to give any mercy. Especially the elder twin; he had a reputation of 'corpses first, talk later'. While it was odd that he was an Autobot with that attitude, he had harbored no decisions of joining into the Decepticons.

No matter.

Sunstreaker was dead.

It wasn't like this one was going to last for long after the other was dead. Laserbeak figured it was better to just grab whichever fleshling was the hacker and give the darn insect to Megatron like he was ordered. Like his master Soundwave had said, engaging the scum in a fight wasn't really a wise choice. Ending up dead like Ravage wasn't really appealing to him.

But first…

He needed to put a few insects out of their miserable puny lives.

His intended target came on cue. This particular one was in charge of guarding the outer perimeter of the buildings. Laserbeak waited patiently before he stealthy hopped within the shadows of whatever there was to cover his presence. With this one dead, it was only a matter of time before he could advance further in. He deliberately flicked a stone at the man's feet, then waited for his reaction.

The red-eyed hunter sneered when the human caught the attention and walked to where he was, pointing a gun.

Foolish insect.

When the human was at the spot, Laserbeak moved with a blur, retracting some of his bladed wings.

The guard only stood in fear as he was confronted by a gigantic metallic falcon with bladed wings and red eyes. He shoved his arms in front of him to aim his gun.

To find out they were gone.

They were cleanly cut and on the floor leaking with red ooze.

Before the human could react or scream, Laserbeak with blinding speed pecked at the human's neck, cracking it to make an instantaneous kill.

Letting go of the insect in his beak, the Decepticon spy looked with predatory blood-lust at the building.

One down.

Plenty more to slaughter.

Sunstreaker grumbled his vents on the side of the road.

Why do I have to be the one waiting?

Oh, yeah. I don't FIT in those puny buildings!

The Autobot was pissed that Skyler had made the decision to try and rescue the fleshlings trapped inside the building, even though they had already confirmed that his brother was not with the other hackers. Shouldn't the human go after his own twin? What significance were the other hackers to him? Well, it wasn't like Sunstreaker had a choice in not following the human who was his guide as well his link to the fleshlings that his brother was with. The thought of parting with Skyler weighed heavy on the bot. Not only did the human have extended resources and links, he considered Sunstreaker a brother, despite their many differences.

At least the human was kind enough to leave a walkie talkie inside his interior if anything happened.

The frequency was set by the Autobot so no other human frequency could try and get in. Sunstreaker was on the task as a lookout if anyone got near the area.

Hurry up, human. I hate waiting.

After an easy task of scanning and other ways of getting around the blockade, and avoiding getting seen by snipers with Sunstreaker's help, Skyler was in an empty building that housed the electricity currents connected to the building the terrorists were using. He rapidly opened his laptop and managed to connect into the main security system of the place where the hackers were held. It wasn't difficult for Skyler to get into the connection as the buildings around the block area were connected to each other through the same system. The difficult part was avoiding the eyes of the cops and security cameras.

On his way, Skyler managed to shut a few of the cameras down, even erasing the backup recordings. He wasn't going to risk any more exposure, especially if these crooks had his brother. Sunstreaker may have not understood why he was risking himself in trying to help the other hackers, but Skyler just wanted to make up for the fact that their lives just weren't worth sacrificing for what he was responsible for. So what if they got interrogated by the police later on, at least they'd still be able to live normal lives despite the galactic war of alien robots right under their noses.

Even if he did managed to rescue Steve right away and ran for it, Skyler was very sure the news of the other hackers that died because of him would make him suffer more survivors' guilt. The deaths of his parents and his sister had been hard enough, he did not want to add more to the list.

~( Human, what are you doing right now? )~ A comm. came over the walkie talkie. ~( You done yet? )~ the usual impatient voice said.

Skyler rolled his eyes. ~( I've not even started yet, Sunstreaker. I just got into the security system of the area. Anything happening outside? )~

~( Nothing. )~ Sunstreaker said with a bored tone. ~( Looks like those fleshlings have a leash on the law enforcement about coming near the building. The streets are deserted. )~

~( Could you get anything from your scanners about what's going on inside the buildings? )~ the con man asked, typing away on his laptop inside the security system, having made sure his presence was not known by those controlling the surveillance of the building.

The Autobot couldn't see how that was important, but replied anyway. ~( Too many floors, human. I only can pinpoint how many humans in the building, not where they are precisely. )~

~( Every detail counts. )~ Skyler reminded. ~( If it's not precise then, give me an estimation. )~

Thinking he may have missed something, Sunstreaker asked, ~( What are you trying to do human? )~

~( Get those hackers out. )~ the young man replied. ~( If it's true the bomb's encoded with the hacking type I did with Steve, I'll have to decode it. )~

~( Skyler, I thought we're going to get your twin first! )~ the bot complained.

~( If my brother isn't there, then there's no doubt he's somewhere else. Steve wouldn't have wanted those other hackers dead either just because of what we did. )~ the human disagreed.

~( And their lives are worth more than your twin? )~ Sunstreaker ridiculed.

Skyler said with a stern voice, ~( Wrong. There's no such thing as an insignificant life. Theirs, my twin's or yours, I- )~ the young man paused catching his breath. ~( I don't want to regret if I got a chance to save their lives but I didn't use it. The worst thing a con man could ever do is to pass a chance when the time comes. So, Sunstreaker, please pinpoint their location.)~

The Autobot was shocked. This human in particular kept on surprising him.

~( Ugh. )~ Sunstreaker growled. ~( About thirty humans or so - hostages, I think - are in the middle of the building. Those fleshbags who are carrying weapons with them are on the top floor. )~

~( Thank you- )~

~( Don't mention it, human, and I mean it. )~ Sunstreaker grumbled with reluctance. ~( I'm only agreeing so you can get this over with. )~

Skyler looked at the walkie talkie, ~( I'll be done in a few minutes. )~ Knowing that his time was going to be short, he immediately hacked into the bomb systems the hostages were wearing.

What he found stunned him.

There were four sources of encryption that were trying to break the encoding. One style in particular he recognized without doubt.

It was Steve.

His twin was fighting this battle, too.

He was about to contact his brother via their code when he abruptly stopped, realizing something.

Why was Steve hacking together with three other hackers at the same time?

It then hit him.

His brother was still hiding his identity; he must have requested the others to go in at the same time so there was less of a chance to be spotted. Skyler knew at this rate it was a bad idea to join in, as he would be detected as an external force by the crime syndicate terror group. He wiped sweat from his face, quickly thinking up some sort of way he could help his brother without interfering with the decoding attempts as he noted that the coding through his program analysis told him that if he did interfere it would cut off time to the explosives. If he couldn't join in the internal battle, he might as well make it external.

External it is.

Opening up Uncle Nagel's hacking software, Skyler fingers blurred as he typed on the laptop. Hopefully whatever he was doing would be able to get their attention. First if not foremost, he overrode the security of the entire block area in the background. He soon got access to the security cameras that pointed to the middle floors of the building.

Soon the picture of eleven hostages and about ten people in black clothes with masks covering their faces came into view. They were in the lobby area, not anywhere near any windows to keep snipers from seeing them.

Smart.

But not smart enough.

Not wanting to make any bold attempts to the people in the security section, he fiddled with the elevators, making the doors close and open, accompanied by strange sounds. With caution and curiosity the ten people looked warily at the elevators. Then there was reporting going on through their receiver. What Skyler did note, however, was that they used some sort of Morse code that was embedded into the security system. The con man smiled as he found the codes with little effort. He sent a code that all members were to head for the top of the tower.

Stupidly, they complied and used the elevators.

And when they were all in, Skyler simply locked the elevators between floors so there was little chance that they'd get out. That took care one group; it was time to deal with the rest. Best thing was the building he had hacked belonged to some sort of small tech company, which made Skyler's job far easier as nearly the whole building was controlled by computers. It wasn't really much of a hassle to lock the people controlling the security area in their room and their boss – who happened to be on the top most floor – in his. Even the fire escape stairs were mostly computer oriented.

They were trapped.

Skyler released a relieved sigh since the danger was mostly gone. Now, he needed to get the hostages out. Noticing an electronic advertisement board in the room they were in, the young con man messaged them with a replaying text in a loop saying:

'YOUR CAPTORS ARE TEMPORARILY TRAPPED. USE THE FIRE EXIT TO GO DOWN & ESCAPE. BE CAREFUL NOT TO IGNITE THE BOMBS YOU'RE WEARING. YOUR FRIENDS ARE TRYING TO DECODE THE BOMBS. – PhilologusFurtaIndicium1'

Once Skyler was sure the other hackers had gotten the message he sent them and were convinced he was one of the true 'Furta duo' hackers, he waited a few tense minutes while they headed for the fire exits. He hoped that everything would go smoothly and his twin would see it happening and be able to escape as well. He closed his laptop and shut it off. The con man believed that he could leave the rest to his brother. Since Steve had been trying to decode the bombs without an IP geo-coding random locater, the coordinates to where his brother was rested in his hand and he typed it into his GPS to pinpoint the exact location.

~( Sunstreaker, you there? )~

~( About time, human. )~ Sunstreaker said. ~( You succeeded? )~

~( Yeah. )~ Skyler said, adding with urgency, ~( Can you pick me up? I got Steve's exact coordinates. We're heading over to the industrial area. )~

Sunstreaker had to admit he was proud to hear the young man had succeeded in hacking a whole building security. However, with the news of the human's twin's location, Sunstreaker roared his engines to life and headed towards where the human was waiting.

The Autobot only hoped that after everything Skyler had done that there was still enough time to rescue Steve.

Skyler's here! He's here!

Steve and the other three that had been trying to decode the bombs couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the electronic advertisement looping the message over and over. It was hope for them that their friends were able to escape the crime organization people currently trapped in the building. It served them right and now the four of them were more motivated than ever to break the code. Even better, the guards had mysteriously disappeared. They needed all the motivation they could get as the air was getting thicker with smoke by the minute.

To their utter horror, the flame ignitions had turned on.

It was a race against time.

The building was burning.

Steve looked worriedly as their youngest companion was coughing more than they were. He knew they were drastically running out of time. They all had to get out soon, or they were doomed. The con man looked to his partner in crime as he spotted something.

"Natalie, your hair clip!" Steve shouted. "Can you pick your cuff lock and ours?"

Natalie's eye went wide with realization. "Yes! Ok- ok- Hold on. I'll be with you guys in a second."

At times like this, Steve couldn't be happier that he and Natalie were con men with thief skills.

Thanks to Uncle Rusty they knew the best lock picking skills.

While they kept on trying to decode the bombs, Steve spoke, "Darren, how are you doing?"

"I feel like shit," he admitted as he answered his fellow hacker. "I've only decoded so little. I don't think I got anything to break all of these codes."

"Can I trust you with Freddy?"

This made Freddy stop typing but he was still coughing, "S-Steve?"

"It's opened!" Natalie cheered. She then went to Freddy's lock immediately. "Hold still."

Darren didn't like where this was going. "What are you-"

"I'm staying behind," Steve interrupted. "I think I know how to break these codes down. I'm entrusting Freddy to you."

"But the building's tearing down!" Darren argued.

"Look- The hacker PhilologusFurtaIndicium1 saved our other hacker friends, but it's not over yet. If I don't decode this, they die and all our efforts would be for nothing," Steve shot back. "Freddy, you have asthma. You have to get out of here first; Natalie and I will follow you guys later."

His twin had managed to save the other hackers, it was his responsibility as RecordatioFurtaCorona2 to finish things off.

Natalie then jogged over to Darren to unlock his cuff as Freddy stood up from his seat.

Sideswipe's alert systems of danger rang in his processor, and he watched as the first two that were unlocked eventually gave up the argument and left the premises, leaving him with the other two hackers to worry about. He silently prayed that the human succeeded in breaking the code. The smoke and dust inside the building was getting thicker. Amazingly, the computers that signaled the trigger for the bombs were miraculously still functioning, perhaps the underground wiring made it possible to keep functioning as it had its own energy supply that was not attached to the building engulfed with flames.

As Steve's cuff was unlocked, Sideswipe was amazed that this human somehow figured out the codes and he was unlocking the clips that held the vests of the hostages quickly.

"Steve!" Natalie shouted worriedly. "We have to get out NOW!"

"Just another three more levels!" Steve shouted back. "I haven't gotten to the part where the explosives are deactivated completely! Natalie, you have to get out now!"

"Not without you!" Natalie protested.

The con man shook his head. "No, you have to get to my twin, Skyler! Tell him to meet me on the other side of the building near the abandoned smelter chimney!"

Before Natalie could say anything, he held his hand up.

"Please, Natalie. You got to go," Steve said softly. "Your uncle wouldn't forgive me if anything happened to you."

She felt like her insides churned. It was her fault for investigating the stupid mark! She held the tears back from her eyes as she nodded reluctantly, making her way to where the others headed while she kept an eye back to her partner in crime.

Steve returned to his computer, coughing as he entered the last codes.

Explosives Fully Deactivated.

Just as he was going to breathe out in relief that it was over, a horrible screeching sound came from behind him.

Sideswipe's systems switched between the assault and defensive modes immediately as he went active. He clearly knew who it was.

Steve looked over, only to fall on his rear as the wall crashed down, revealing a metallic bird-like predator with red glowing eyes.

The con man looked to Natalie and screamed, "RUN!" Despite this, his friend only stood there, locked in fear.

Shaking his head, Steve stumbled back as best he could, but eventually couldn't move, clearly locked into fright as well.

Sharp talons lunged at him…

Natalie screamed, "STEVE!"

HOLY SHIT!

Sunstreaker heeded all the directions the human gave.

He couldn't help but panic as well, but kept it hidden from the human as at this rate, Skyler wasn't in a condition to think as clearly as he should be. The bot noted this when the human made a few mistakes about taking turns on the roads. Skyler wasn't your typical human to make mistakes.

"Human?" Sunstreaker asked. "You alright?"

The human was silent.

"Skyler?"

There wasn't a reaction from him as he was in a trance.

This time as he scanned the human, Sunstreaker said louder, "Skyler, what is WRONG with YOU?"

The method worked and the human was snapped back to reality, but Sunstreaker did not like it when the human shivered more than he had expected, though his scanners indicated it was from fear. The bot knew it wasn't Skyler's fear as he was nowhere near any sort of extreme danger. It had to be his twin's.

A choke came out, "Sunstreaker-"

"I know. On it," the bot cut off, letting the human ease down. "I get how you feel."

Skyler was speechless as the Autobot took in his fear. If there was anything to being a con man, the thing he hated the most was to show signs of weakness. Yet he guessed the bot understood him when it came to being the eldest of siblings, that he knew how the twin thing worked was a plus. He prayed that they'd get there in time.

Hang on, Steve.

I'm nearly there.

"CLANG!"

Steve covered his head as the clash of the huge metallic echo shook the area and felt like someone turned on large amplifiers as it resonated to his heart. Noticing he wasn't feeling any pain, he cracked an eye open, then two.

He literally gaped at what he saw.

Obviously he wasn't dreaming - the metallic bird was still looking at him hungrily with predatory red eyes. What he did not expect was to have a silver robot about fifteen feet tall, carrying huge twin blades, protecting him from the blow of the bird's talons.

Despite the fact adrenaline was pumping through his blood system, he couldn't move.

Oh God, oh God, OH MY GOD!

"RUN, HUMAN!" Sideswipe shouted.

Steve barely managed to scramble to his legs before he fell was far too confused to comprehend anything, even the fact that this other robot that had blue optics was trying to get him out of harm's way. Regretfully, he was locked to the spot. The hacker eyed the battle warily as he turned to see that Natalie had somehow managed to run to safety. Back to the battle, the two robotic beings clashed with each other for dominance but it was clear that the metallic bird was outmatched.

Observing that it was far safer to get away from the two giants, Steve focused himself to get his legs moving. However as he stood up, it was getting difficult to breathe. He ended up crawling on all fours through the combusted air, coughing hard.

Laserbeak back away, realizing he had no chance of winning against the Autobot warrior. At least he was almost certain that the human by the name of Steve Knight was able to crack the codes of the human hackers that blocked his master. Time would tell whether he was actually one of the hackers, for the Decepticons planned on breaching NEST very soon. With a fierce screech that made the Autobot wince as his audio receptors rang, Laserbeak retreated, hopping as he spread his wings, then flew out of the building. It would be best to leave the city before more Autobots arrived.

Sideswipe growled, "Lousy buzzbeak." The coward drone would most likely report this incident to Soundwave. Just as he was about to complain more, the warrior heard coughing noises, drawing his attention back to the human that was on the floor struggling to breathe.

Steve's eyes watered. He was in need of oxygen, badly. At this point he couldn't fully stay awake anymore and his body collapsed on the ground. All he could remember was the sight of two large blue optics staring down at him before the world went black.

The bot made no hesitations in grabbing the human and tucking it into his interior as the whole place was starting to crumble down. Once he was fully ready in his alt-mode, he sped his tires until they squealed on the floor and jumped out of the hole that the 'Con made as the whole building finally gave out.

"That was way too close," Sideswipe muttered.

"Skyler…" the human inside him mumbled weakly.

As he drove out, Sideswipe reprimanded himself as he scanned the human, hoping that he wasn't injured that badly. There were various injuries - bruises, cuts and, so forth - and his sensors indicated the human inhaled too much carbon dioxide in his respiration systems. He quickly made a call to the closest medic he could get to.

:: Sideswipe to Red Alert. ::

:: Red Alert, responding :: the younger medic answered.

:: I have an injured human inside me that's presumably one of the hackers. :: Sideswipe reported. :: Where's your location? ::

:: Heading your way, but perhaps it's best to treat his injuries in a secluded place away from any dangerous area. I'll send you the coordinates. :: Red Alert replied. :: Send in the health scans you've done to me 'Swipe. I'll need the data to treat the human. ::

Sideswipe did what he was told and wondered about the location of the coordinates, :: Red, isn't this place a bit out of town? ::

:: Got orders from Prime. :: the other said lightly. :: Red Alert out ::

The warrior bot had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He sighed; he had some issues when it came to medics. Speaking of medics, he was in deep slagging trouble with the 'Hatchet' and he knew it. Oh, Primus. He was officially screwed! Not only did he bring an injured human, but he forced himself through the twin bond that Ratchet had strictly forbid him to.

Frag it.

:: Optimus Prime to Sideswipe ::

:: Sideswipe here, sir. ::

:: There is news that the explosives attached to the hostages were fully deactivated. Which of the hackers is responsible? ::

:: I've got the hacker, sir. :: Sideswipe reported. :: He's injured and unconscious; most injuries are due to the crime syndicates' interrogation he was submitted to. I'm on my way to Red Alert's meeting point. ::

The Prime noted this and then he asked :: Did you encounter any Decepticons? ::

There was a growl coming from the warrior bot's side, :: Got into a fight with Laserbeak. The rusty drone was after the human hacker who succeeded in breaking the codes. ::

:: And what of the other three other hackers you reported? ::

:: They all escaped. :: Sideswipe said. :: The hacker that's with me stayed behind to make sure he decoded all the codes until the explosives was fully deactivated. ::

:: What is the human's name and how old is he? :: the Prime asked.

:: Steve Knight. 21 years old, sir. ::

This surprised the Autobot commander, as the hacker was probably just a year older than Sam. The fact that he broke the codes of the hackers who had blocked the breach into NEST was something that would change his life forever. :: Bring Steve to the rendezvous point immediately. Ironhide is already enroute to the industrial area with Major Lennox to cover the place. Prowl and Simmons are on the other side of the town to fix any problems that the other hacker has caused. ::

:: Other hacker? :: Sideswipe asked.

:: It seems the real hacker who blocked the breach, PhilologusFurtaIndicium1, came in, and locked the crime syndicate in the building in the lifts and various rooms. :: Optimus explained. :: He/she was responsible for freeing the hostages from the building. ::

:: Did they find the hacker? :: Sideswipe asked curiously.

:: By Prowl's report, it seems not. :: The Prime said. :: I'll be with you in three hours. Prime out. ::

:: Yes, sir. Sideswipe out. ::

The Autobot swerved to the next street over by taking a shortcut to where the medic was. The mission wasn't so bad since he had a hacker with him, although the part where Steve's twin was most likely looking for him made Sideswipe a bit sorry for the human that they were going to be separated.

Sideswipe shook himself out of it.

He was only following orders.

But on the inside he was seeing himself being separated from his twin Sunstreaker that fateful day on the battlefield.

"Steve!"

Skyler's heart was racing.

Am I too late?

"Steve!" he yelled until his voice was hoarse, looking for his twin in the burning buildings that were not too far away. He desperately called his brother again but received no reply. Frantically he walked around to find anything that would lead to his twin. The air was boiling hot as the building previously serving as the main base of the terrorist group was burning in a steady but fiery blaze.

The con man jogged around the street to find a bloody corpse of man.

Skyler regretted what he saw and turned away.

He nearly threw up.

What normal sane person wouldn't when they saw a body with arms cleanly cut on the floor with his head turned to 360 degrees. The smell was making him feel worse. Skyler stumbled over to a wall to focus his bearings again.

Holy crap, what was THAT?

It made him panic more as something might have happened to Steve. Yet his thoughts were focused on what had happened to the man. Then, there was something else on the other side of the building on the floor. Skyler thought it was another body, but it turned out it was an unconscious girl. As he focused his eyes he realized who it was.

"Natalie!" Skyler yelled, running to her unconscious form. "Natalie! Are you okay?" He shook her a few times, then decided she was going to be out for some time.

"Human, have you found your brother?" Sunstreaker said, now in his bi-pedal form.

"No, but I found Natalie, who was supposed to be with him," the young man indicated the girl in his arms. "What are you doing out of alt-mode?"

Seeing the bot's twin blades out of their normal sheathed position made the human cautious.

"There are dead human bodies all over this forsaken place. All the dead ones are those crime syndicate members," Sunstreaker replied. "Whoever did it is gone." He transformed back to his Honda Civic alt-mode. "Never hurts being prepared."

"Uh…"

Skyler's attention went back to the girl, "Natalie? You ok?"

Natalie tried to see who it was, and realized the person was in a disguise of some sort. "…Steve?"

The con man shook his head. "No, I'm Skyler. Where's Steve?"

In an instant she grabbed onto Skyler in a hug. He nearly fell down under the sudden shift of her weight.

"Whoa!" said the elder twin in shock. "What happened? Where's my brother?"

"Skyler- He- There was this huge robot thing and-"

Even though his heart was sinking to the bottom of the pit of his stomach, he needed to know more. He put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "What did it look like? Can you describe it to me? Easy, nice slow breaths."

She calmed herself down but tears were already flowing out. "There was this really huge robot bird with red eyes- He attacked Steve and-" she choked again as she coughed, trying to clear her throat.

Skyler felt like someone just punched him in the gut. Shit, a Decepticon attacked Steve? Shit, shit, shit!

Sunstreaker who was near them was dangerously growling without making an effort to quiet down. The 'aft Laserbeak killed those other humans.

"…but- another one- hic- saved him- it was silver- had blue eyes- had two blades- changed from Corvette Stingray-"

"WHAT?"

Of course, the mysterious voice coming from nowhere shocked the human girl. Skyler, however, knew who it was.

"What happened then?" the con man pressed, drawing Natalie's attention away from Sunstreaker.

She shook her head to focus. "They fought, but the bird flew away. All I remember after that was the whole building collapsed and Steve was taken by the silver robot."

This time Skyler felt weak, "He's gone? Steve's gone?"

Damn it. I failed!

I FAILED!

What kind of older brother am I?

DAMN IT!

Skyler gripped his hands until his fists were hard and white. He looked to the ground as he closed his eyes in frustration. If he'd only gotten here quicker! If only…he was here. If anything he hated about himself that day was being a complete jerk for not getting to his brother when he was in trouble fast enough. The con man felt sick like someone pushed aspirins down his throat, leaving a bitter aftertaste.

Sunstreaker, who had been watching the human's reaction upon finding that his twin was out of his reach, felt a horrible feeling in his spark. To him, watching Skyler like that was an unfriendly reminder of how he'd gotten separated from his own twin. While he'd always turned away from those who mourned a separation of a loved one, this time he couldn't. This was because he knew what it felt like. He quickly pondered on the mention of the other Autobot, could it possibly be his own twin? There was a rarity when it came to Autobots using blades.

The Autobot flashed his lights to get Skyler's attention.

Catching this, Skyler stood and said, "Natalie, I want to tell you something. It's important, so don't freak out too much, okay?"

She looked into Skyler's eyes, worried at first but nodded.

"Sunstreaker?" he looked to the car.

"Here, human."

Natalie nearly jumped as she heard the car speak.

"It's alright! He's friendly."

A snort came from the black Honda Civic.

Skyler held her. "Natalie, I won't let harm come to you. I want you to tell me if the car that was silver looks like the one we're looking right now. You understand?"

"Okay," she said softly as she fearfully watched the car.

"You can transform," Skyler said.

As Sunstreaker shifted and changed to his bi-pedal form Natalie couldn't believe the similarities between this robot and the silver one, now that she was seeing this one in its large 'humanoid' like form. Even the blades were the same. The only things that made him different were his car base form and color.

"Did the mech look like me?"

Not knowing what else to say, a small nervous squeak came out, "Yes…"

"Sides was here, then," Sunstreaker turned as he looked towards the building.

Natalie, completely confused, looked to Skyler for answers. "Skyler? What's going on? Why is this robot with you? Why-"

"He's an Autonomous Robotic Organism. Sunstreaker is mech, Steve and I did some hacking that caught their attention…" Skyler trailed off.

"You're PhilologusFurtaIndicium1?" the chestnut haired girl disbelievingly asked. "Then Steve is-"

"RecordatioFurtaCorona2." The con man interrupted. "Did he stay behind to deactivate the hostages' explosives?"

"Yeah," She softly said. "But what's he doing with you?" Natalie pointed to the bot.

"That's none of your business, femme!" Sunstreaker said.

Natalie wasn't going to give up a fight. "Skyler's family!"

What surprised her and the bot was when Skyler stepped between them. "STOP IT! ENOUGH!"

Skyler tried calming himself down to no avail. When was the last time he lost control of his temper? He only remembered briefly that was during the funeral of his parents and sister.

"You're both family. Don't make this worse than it already is," Skyler sighed, staring to the ground as his face was still burning in anger. "Please understand, I just lost my twin."

The two first stared at each other before turning to the troubled twin.

Before there was any conversation that started between them, the sirens of police vehicles alerted them.

"Crap, the cops!" Skyler said.

Sunstreaker grumbled as he swiftly changed to his alt-form. "Hurry up! We need to get out of here!"

The con man made a swift grab for the girl but she held to her place.

"Natalie?"

Natalie looked at Skyler, "They're probably looking for the hackers who were held here. I'm going to stay."

"What? But-"

"Skyler! Steve wanted to come looking for you before he was taken. He knew you were looking for him!" Natalie protested. "You have to go. I'll buy you some time and I promise I won't tell anything about robots or that you guys were the real hackers."

"Natalie…"

She then looked to the car, "Sunstreaker?"

"What, femme?"

While it was odd to be called a 'femme', she only said, "If you're family to Skyler, you're family to me. Take care of him. Make sure he's safe."

Sunstreaker couldn't really believe the notion but replied with a huff, "Way ahead of you, femme." The fact she smiled and bowed to him afterwards made him uncomfortable.

Was this how the Grifter family worked? He never expected this sort of reaction.

She hugged her grifter family member again and said, "I'll see you later, Sky. Keep searching for Steve. You'll find him, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, be careful," Skyler said.

"You too."

And with that, she left towards the sirens. Skyler could only stare at her back hopelessly.

"Skyler-"

"I failed, Sunstreaker," the con man said bitterly. "I couldn't get to my twin in time."

Sunstreaker was quiet for a moment, then said, "You failed. But you don't regret the lives you saved. He's still alive and knew you were coming."

"But-"

"You did what was right, Skyler." Sunstreaker said, making sure the human got the message clearly. "You're strong."

Skyler was stunned at first. Yet, after a moment went by, he nodded and softly smiled, "Thanks, mech."

"Hurry up and get in!" the bot ushered the con man. The young man quickly got in and buckled his seat belt.

Sunstreaker sighed as he scanned the area to find the right streets to take in order to avoid being seen by any police cars. Even while he was doing this, his mind wondered on the last time he heard those words. It was ironic that they never came from a warrior. All those eons ago he was forced to face the facts that war was on his doorstep. It was those words that kept him alive and how he managed to protect his twin.

He wondered what his paint master would think of his situation right now.

Both the human and Cybertronian left the scene without a problem.

However, problems have a knack showing up when the least you suspected them to.

Sunstreaker abruptly stopped, forcing the human inside him to gag on his seat belt.

"Sunstreaker! What was that for?" Skyler complained.

"Scanner's shown something. Scrap! Ironhide's here!" Sunstreaker replied in a serious tone. "He's with his human partner as well."

The young man's jaw dropped, "WHAT? You don't think-"

"They must have detected the crime syndicate's hacking simulation system," Sunstreaker finalized.

Of course that wasn't the only thing he figured out, there were many things he wanted to know about how his faction was doing. The whole area was surrounded by a couple of more blockades. Slag all those humans! The only way out was through the weapon's specialist's road. Plus, detecting that sort of hacker simulation wasn't really Wheeljack's or Hound's style. He concluded that the Autobot Strategist, Prowl, was on Earth.

Am I seriously going to go against ALL OF THEM?

My OWN Faction.

Oh, PIT.

Sunstreaker feared that things didn't end up the way they did. "Human? It's better if we give in ourselves."

"Huh?" the human stared at the steering wheel, flabbergasted. "But what about Sideswipe? If Soundwave knows you're alive, even if I did reach my twin, Sideswipe will suffer for it!"

"But my brother took your twin!" the bot argued.

"Look- Sunstreaker-" Skyler said with a heave, "Whatever happened back there just happened. Alright? I don't blame Sideswipe at all, it's not his fault. Didn't we agree in the first place that we're going low profile?"

The Autobot growled, "You're safer with the Autobots as well!"

Skyler shook his head, "Even if we did get back with our twins, it doesn't solve how your spark isn't acting the way it should be to Sideswipe. What if there was a possibility that even your medic Ratchet doesn't know how to fix your condition? The only lead we have is Soundwave."

"Why are you so persistent, human?" Sunstreaker bickered back.

"Because your life and Sideswipe's life is on the line, and the only way to fix it is to get the 'Con officer and beat the living hell out of him!" the con man said with conviction. "We've gone this far and still managed to keep ourselves hidden. I'm not backing out now, not when the mech that gave me the chance to get back at the Decepticons and is willing to keep me safe even though his own life is in danger because of spark tampering. As long the chance is there, I'll take it, and make it work."

If Sunstreaker was a human, he would probably choke in embarrassment with all he just heard.

How could he have been such an idiot?

He let fear get to him!

Sunstreaker was glad he had met with this stubborn human who was a con man.

Did a human just remind me that there was always another way?

Pit, I'm giving up so easily. And I thought I was strong.

"Heh. Looks like my servos weren't working well, human," Sunstreaker admitted, none too easily. "I take my words back."

The young man smiled at the bot. "It's called freaking out, mech. We all have our times. You helped me, I help you back."

Sunstreaker cleared his processors and scanned the ones guarding the exit to the blockade again. "That's odd, there's some old fleshling asking for a private transport vehicle. Seems like the fleshling by the designation of 'Will' is arguing with him."

An idea came into Skyler's mind. "Sunstreaker, you and me, lookie-loo, now!"

"NO WAY!"

Skyler looked at the bot accusingly. "Sunstreaker, it's the only way out!"

Scrap.

Why does Primus make me go through this?

"Fine, human!" Sunstreaker cried out with regret. "But if we get caught, YOU'RE responsible for this!"

"If we do get caught, it's not like you'll get to pulverize me either. They'd probably separate us in an instant. Not like I like doing it either, Sunstreaker," Skyler argued. "It pretty much tests our disguises to the limit."

Sunstreaker huffed. "Enough talk, let's get this over and done with."

"Let's," Skyler nodded as he got out of the Autobot and opened his bag to get the right costume.

The warrior bot prayed they weren't going to be found out.

Maybe praying to the Greek God of Liars and Thieves the humans called 'Hermes' was a good idea right now…

William Lennox rolled his eyes and he was very sure the loudly growling engine of the Topkick beside him was a sign that Ironhide was starting to get angry.

An angry, trigger-happy mech was not the sort of thing any human would want to experience.

He slightly cooled his nerves down as the old Chinese man in front of him kept on yapping.

Where was Prowl and Simmons when he needed them?

"Is it not difficult to just make a call and get a taxi for an old man?" the old man protested in a thick Asian accent while he stomped the ground with a walking stick. "You army people have large black monster trucks like those, and even technology, and you can't just make a simple phone call? What's with that awful noise coming out of the truck! Are you trying to make me deaf?"

Will cringed as the situation got worse in a second. The other soldiers weren't helping as they were both staying far away as they could from an angry Ironhide in disguise. Bad luck for Will, the old man he was with now was hardly a person to negotiate or reason with. He was very sure that the old man was still going to give a good fight. Where on earth was he going to get a taxi in a place like this? He scratched his head.

"Sir, we'll give you a ride in one of our vehicles and get you to-"

There was a swift swipe with the walking stick and a yell.

"Ouch!" Will said nursing his foot where the old man whacked it.

"Young people these days! Can't even give some respect to the elderly," the old man grumbled. At first he wanted to complain but something caught his eye.

"Taxi!"

Will did a double take, there's a taxi in the middle of the operation? He thought the area was cleared!

The taxi driver opened the door as he helped the older man by opening the passenger door and guided the old man in.

"Hey!" Will complained. "This area's supposed to be cleared!"

The major looked at the taxi driver that was chewing bubble gum, wearing glasses, and had a thick beard. The driver looked at him with an odd expression, then said with a thick Yankee accent, "What's goin' on anyway?"

"There's an accident. The old industrial area's on fire. The whole area's been advised that civilians aren't allowed in. How did you get inside?" the Major was clearly curious.

The other chewed his gum and shrugged. "I was asleep, Army Man. Been in the taxi the whole night."

"And you didn't notice the sirens and smoke?" Will asked.

"I sleep like a corpse," the taxi driver admitted. "But customers give a good wake up call, you know."

Major Lennox raised an eyebrow at that.

"ARE YOU KEEPING ME HERE ALL DAY?"

The major cringed as he looked from the old man to the taxi driver, "He's all yours." It was better not to make the already angry weapons specialist tempted to shoot the old coot down.

"Customers are the kings, Army Man," the taxi driver said as he chewed on the bubble gum.

"Yeah, just go," Major indicated the exit of the blockade.

The taxi driver wasted no time in getting to the wheel and drove off.

The Topkick harrumphed, "Lousy old man thinking he's old and has to be 'respected'. It would have been easier if I could just shoot him to end his misery."

"Ironhide," Will sighed, telling the Autobot it wasn't proper.

But before Ironhide got to say anything in response, a soldier came to them, "Major, sir! We've found dead human bodies; apparently they were ripped apart by a large force."

Will did not like what he was hearing.

Great, just what he needed, more paperwork to do.

"Ironhide, what do you make of it?"

The black monster truck snorted. "Just got a comm. from Optimus. Sideswipe battled with Laserbeak, one of Soundwave's minions. It's most likely his work."

He knew he was going in for a long day. Will hoped Simmons and Epps had better luck than he did.

After dropping off the old man, Skyler and Sunstreaker decided they needed to head out of town.

"Well done, Sunstreaker," Skyler commented. "Your first successful con of using the lookie-loo."

Sunstreaker growled, "I'm NOT proud of it!"

"Why not?"

"I just conned my own faction and they don't even REALIZE it?" the bot complained. "What's happening to those bots? Their circuits are beyond damaged!"

Skyler shrugged, "Good acting skills plus the old man was a good diversion for Ironhide, and it kinda made it a super lucky escape for us. Even your scent might be covered with all human waxing, plus with me I don't think he would expect you're a Decepticon. Decepticons don't even want humans inside of them."

"Tch, doesn't change the fact I'm in this crappy alt-mode for another three hours," Sunstreaker sighed, annoyed with his taxi form. "Why did I agree to this anyway? Pit! I can't believe I let the old geezer fleshling in ME! GAH!" The bot then muttered about how disgusted he was and how the old man kept on poking the walking stick on his interior incoherently.

The con man sighed in turn. "Well, mech, the other Autobots might be still hanging around in the area. You're meant to be missing to them, right? We might as well slowly get out of town and head to Kansas. We'll have to lay low for a while to dig for some Intel."

The bot was rather skeptic. "And how is that going to help us?"

"It's not a bad thing to listen in on the news going around the underground," Skyler explained. "We might get some dodgy or weird rumors that can lead to the Decepticons. You never know what information you can get, even Uncle Neil's finding out about NEST was also from asking around. We'll keep on heading towards the NEST base in Nevada, though."

"You know, human, by the time the military find out Steve's the hacker they will come after you," Sunstreaker reminded. "That metallic bird 'Con the femme mentioned is Laserbeak, one of Soundwave's minions. He knows your brother, which means he knows you. It's both Decepticons and the military after us."

"…I guess so."

The human was silent for most of the ride later on, as he was focused on his small book of contacts and only directed the Autobot on which the roads to take. Sunstreaker was well aware the human was trying to get out of his guilt trip so he could somehow make up for not getting to his brother sooner. Yet, the Autobot was highly surprised the one that took him was Sideswipe, out of all bots.

Was Primus doing his puppetry on them?

Pit yeah.

Agreeing with the human did make sense that he was not known to be alive in the first place was safer for him and his twin. With his spark bond not acting the way it should be would make things difficult if he went back to base. It was true what Skyler had said, what if Ratchet couldn't help him with what Soundwave did to him? Perhaps there was more to what the human was saying than he could have ever thought.

"Skyler?"

"Yes, Sunstreaker?" the young man answered.

"What are you planning to do if we did somehow get Intel on the 'Cons?"

"We keep hunting down Decepticons while Soundwave is after me. If he's greedy enough for revenge he'll send in a few." Skyler said. "And if he's a true surveillance type of person, then we'll keep offlining whoever he sends after us. Sooner or later he'll have to check it out on his own."

"You plan to drag the fragger down to Earth," Sunstreaker concluded. "Not bad, human."

Skyler nodded at that. "Bingo. It's not that Megatron will keep on tolerating his failures. At some point, he'll be ordered to investigate."

"Plus you're avoiding the authorities as well," Sunny added.

The con man also nodded to that. "Yep, that too. Crazy isn't it?"

"But you're still hiding something from me," Sunstreaker said accusingly. "Spill it, human."

"… Well, I've been thinking…" Skyler trailed off.

"And?"

"Soundwave's hacking was rather coordinated when he was trying to get into NEST," the young man explained his thoughts. "It sucks up data, kinda like a vacuum or a sponge. I still don't understand a few things how he's able to resonate it with sound frequencies as well. I suppose that's where his name comes from-"

"Condensed version?" the bot went to the point.

Skyler shrugged. "I'm trying to figure how to reverse it."

"Are you going insane, Skyler?" Sunny asked agape.

The con man snorted, "There's a thin line between a genius and a mad man, mech. If there is a way to reverse the type of hacking Soundwave uses then there might be a way to vacuum his data instead. Maybe by doing so, we can get Intel on nearly everything on the Decepticons, and that includes what he did to you."

Sunstreaker was stunned in silence yet again. Yet he shook himself out of it, he should have expected that from the human since he wasn't the ordinary type.

"It's not going to be that easy, human. Even many Autobots failed in the past."

Skyler nodded to that. "I didn't say it would be. I might end up dying trying, but I believe in taking chances. It may take time, but that's how long cons work. You plan the unpredictable with the far-fetched, bet big, and you take the house. You with me?"

The bot laughed. "Do you think I've got a choice?"

"You do, you know," the human reminded.

"I wouldn't miss it," Sunstreaker truthfully said. "I think it's about time we got our own show on the road. Your brother's safer with Sides. If he's lucky, Prime might make my twin your brother's guardian."

"Guardian?" Skyler asked. "Like a bodyguard?"

"Something like it," the bot said. "I don't like how it works though since it's a part of our programming."

The young con man was highly curious. "How so? I mean- How does it work?"

"Hmm," the Autobot thought for a while. "It's like an attachment bond, like it works instinctively. When bots become a 'guardian' to someone else it's stuck inside them, like an instinct to always protect their charge. You saw in those photos beforehand how Sam Witwicky and Leo Spitz had 'Bee and those bot midgets as their guardians. Supposedly one bot can't stay away for long from their charge. So it's usually the Prime's orders."

"It's similar to how a twin bond works?"

"Yep."

Skyler sighed as everything that happened today was a LOT to take in. He made a mental note to maybe if he ever got to meet with their commander he'd request Sunstreaker to be an exception. He certainly didn't want the bot to be forced into something he wasn't comfortable with as he already had done enough. Heck, he was very sure that on this journey Sunstreaker would be forced to do things he unmistakably detested. It was the least he could do for the mech.

"Sunstreaker?"

"What?"

"We're heading for Topeka, Kansas," the con man decided. "There's a good number of family members there. We'll lay low from the 'Cons, Autobots, and the authorities for a while before we keep on moving west."

Sunstreaker then realized it. "You've been planning to get to Nevada all along. Haven't you, Skyler?"

The con man smiled, "I thought we'd head over to the military base there a bit later on. But… I've been thinking of giving Uncle Reuben a visit, if we're lucky we might bump into Uncle Rusty and Uncle Danny. Plus, that way we could dig up things that are happening in the government."

"Do you plan to join in their big con?"

"Depends how much info on the Decepticons we can get and if any are after us," the young man said with calculation. "I doubt it, but it may turn to a last resort thing. I'm pretty empty handed as it is now. Everything so far was exactly planned for Kansas City. My brother is with your twin, which went out of my plans. It sucks, but I'm back to the drawing boards about our way to Nevada."

The bot sighed with a sarcastic remark, "Add in more problems with humans and 'Cons alike that are after us, you're going to have to make more backup plans. We're slagged from all sides, no doubt about that."

"If there's a will, there's a way, mech," Skyler reminded. "Life is simple, but figuring it out is the hard part."

"Can't argue with that one, human," Sunstreaker commented.

Skyler went back to ticking back the contacts in the book he held in his hands. At times he would look out the window, wondering how his twin was actually doing. He may have failed to save his brother that day, but possibly the Gods or whatever deity that was there had different plans and there eventually be a time when they would meet. For now, letting his brother go to somewhere far from him yet all the safer was a good thing at least. Steve had probably suffered enough from being interrogated by the crime syndicate, Skyler doubted the military were going to try and easily break his twin when it came to a mental battle. Skyler believed Steve would somehow make it.

All Skyler could do now was to hope for the best that both him and Sunstreaker would reunite with their younger twins.

It would be sometime before the reunion.

But that was the prize worth the risks.

Take care of yourself, Steve.

And somewhere in his heart, he hoped that Sideswipe watched over his twin.

Autobot Mission Log Entry 2.05: To Con an Autobot

Planet Earth, Enroute to Topeka, Kansas, US.

For the first time in my entire life, I never would have believed I was doing a con on an Autobot.

Primus, I conned my OWN faction!

Pranks? Yes, it was a norm.

A con? This was a first for me.

Not to mention, I just played dumb in disguising myself as a 'normal' taxi and Ironhide just let me go like that.

Have the Autobots gone BLIND or something?

I suppose the theory that Skyler posed was correct. Considering I've been with humans too much I guess my scent is the same as the other cars around the whole town. Ugh, I can't believe I'm actually writing this, but… Maybe for the first time I'm actually thankful that I was reeking of human scent which turned out to be my lifesaver.

Frag it.

This journey is SO making my processors GLITCHED!

It's already an insane oddity that my circuits haven't fried yet.

I probably wasn't going to be surprised by the end of it; I'm going to stay in the med bay for over a month with the Hatchet.

UGH.

The human Skyler was with no doubt disappointed in himself. From that afternoon until late at night, as we headed over to the State of Kansas, he was mostly quiet, checking and re-checking things in his book of contacts. I was fairly certain he was blaming himself over the fact he couldn't get any faster to where his twin was when the other needed him the most. He was pushing himself forward because he wanted to make up for his failure somehow, whatever it took. Not that I blame him, I mean, who would have thought it was my twin Sideswipe who was the one who actually saved his twin?

I couldn't blame my brother either; he probably was following orders from Big Boss.

While at that time I was ready to give up and try to re-join with the other Autobots, Skyler's resolution in keeping my presence on Earth a secret was what surprised me the most. He didn't blame Sideswipe for what he did in taking away his twin; on the contrary, the human was trying to protect both me and my brother from Soundwave. To say how it compared to the way he considered me as a brother went beyond of what I ever expected from humans.

Astonishing, EMBARRASSING, but TRUE… An organic was reminding me that there was always another way.

The idea of giving up was just alien to him, even if I clearly saw that his pride had recently been stamped on, flat to the ground.

There are simply no words I could describe it with.

But how did everything 'fit in' and just 'happened' in the right places?

Now I was certain, Primus somehow had plans for us. I'm not sure what they were, but it had to do with everything that has happened so far.

So our journey continues. I was going to continue in fooling my own faction as well as the 'Cons. Skyler was going to play hide and seek with the human authorities and the Cybertronians as a whole. It made sense in a way that it was better that we were separated from our twins for now. Sooner or later the 'Cons and the human authorities will know that Steve was the hacker who blocked the breach. It was a definite that Skyler was going to be hunted down as well.

So we shared the fate of being the hunted for now… But to a con man like Skyler, it can only last for so long.

The way he mentioned about luring Soundwave to Earth, I knew it was only a matter of time before the tables would turn.

For the con man never hunts, as the prey usually comes to the con man voluntarily by greed.

And if anything is greedy, the Decepticons are.

A Con Man with a warrior Autobot vs. the Decepticon Intel Officer

Who was going to win?

I was sure I was going to find out.

~ Sunny

TBC…

Wow, I never expected to write that much. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I went all out after my cliffhanger. LOL.

Sideswipe takes away Steve leaving Skyler empty handed...

Laserbeak runs away but there's other plans?

NEST is targeted for the next hack...

Will Skyler and Sunstreaker get a shot at Soundwave?

What will happen?

We'll find out in the next chapter...

If you really liked this chapter and enjoyed it, do drop a review and share your thoughts on this! :D

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See you all in the next chapter!