Chapter 36: Starting With The Spark
"Who do you think will make Prime's team?" I asked as everybody from my team had gathered around in a circle, sitting on the floor in the rec room because the power had gone out. Acid rain did that sometimes, it cut the power out. It was the power shortage Red Alert had warned us about earlier. The power would return once the generators started working again, when the acid rain ceases hitting on them. In front of us was a lamp, running on batteries, and it provided enough lighting for all of us to see each other as we sat in a circle formation.
"I'm hoping to get in." Hot Rod said cockily, almost one hundred percent sure he was going to get in.
"So is everyone else." Sideswipe interjected, retorting his every word ever since they met each other. These two made everything a competition. "But I know I'll make it."
"And how exactly do you know?" Arcee questioned.
"Simple. I just do." He shrugged, grinning charmingly at her.
"Gold, who do you think will make the team?" Bee asked me, looking at me in the optics.
"Yeah Gold." A chorus of questions were thrown at me. I was the one they all looked up to.
After a silence, I spoke my answer. "I don't know. We could all make the team."
"Well, not really." Bee said, correcting me. "I mean, Optimus can't take a lot of bots with him." Hopefully there'll be a team, it all depends whether Sunstreaker will be able to send the AllSpark into space. The team, along with Prime himself, would be going into space to retrieve the AllSpark. I don't know what the superiors told everybody regarding Sunstreaker's absence, but whatever they said had worked, because Sunny wasn't the topic. Ever. "I wonder what we'd be doing." He mused, putting a digit to his chin.
"Yeah, me too." I wondered, bringing my knees to my chest. "I sure would love to be in his team." I leaned my elbows on my knees in a relaxed, yet cool motion.
"Do you think we'll get arrivals soon? It's been almost half a stellar cycle since anybody joined us. I'd love it if somebody joined us, that'd be great! More acquaintances, more friends, more teammates, everything would be so much better!" Bluestreak excitedly said, adding in a clap of his hands. "I mean, I sure do wonder if anybody new will come, because you know, I'm getting used to all of you and not that it's a bad thing! It's a great thing if you ask me, I love it."
"Blue…" I started, but he just continued, and I ended giving a small sigh. There was more to his jabbering than he led on. I felt a sudden, yet gentle nudge on my right side and I looked towards the green colored mech that was sitting right next to me, on my right. It was Hound. "Yeah Hound?" I quietly asked as the rest of the team tried to listen to Bluestreak's prattle. At least they tried.
"There's some demons runnin' loose inside that boy." Hound whispered. "And sometimes I think they grab hold of him and won't let him go." My gaze went downwards on its own.
"You're right, Sarge." I said somberly. "He's the sole survivor Praxus's destruction." I looked back at the scene, how Bluestreak continued his yapping while bots rolled their optics.
"I heard you were a Praxian, as well."
"I am, but… But I fled with everyone else when we had the chance."
"So why did he stay back?"
I sighed, diverting my look from the bots. "He stayed back because he stood by his friend. By Springer. He wouldn't let him die alone."
"Springer… Frag, I knew the mech. Very rash, very eager, but a good warrior." Hound mused sadly. "Well, that's all I had to say. I mean, Bluestreak looks so peaceful, but he's been through too much."
"All of us have." I shook my head. "Talk may be cheap, but it keeps him sane. And if anybody wants to say otherwise, they can face me." I concluded.
"Me too. I may be an old rust bucket, but I'm sick of this war and all of this slag. So many beautiful lands have been destroyed, so many wonderful cities and all that is left are dark, barren wastelands. Cybertron, as a whole, is becoming one."
"There's not much we can do, Sarge." I heavily shrugged. "We're outnumbered."
"But not outranked and outclassed." I chuckled. "All we need is faith. And hope."
"I concur." I said, giving him a small smile.
He patted me on the back. "'Atta go, femme. Everything's better once you smile. Hey, I remember what my own mentor told me once, when I was in Iacon. 'A smile a day keeps Ratchet away.'" I laughed out loud at the remark as the rest of the bots noticed, and they looked at me.
"Oho, Gold, getting cozy with Nose, aren't ya?" Hot Rod smirked.
"What? Shut up, Hot Rod." I chuckled as the bots around me followed suit. "Don't make me remind you how cozy you were with Mirage." Then the bots laughed out loud.
"It was a joke!" Hot Rod angered instantly, hating the fact that he was the laughing stock. "I didn't know it was-"
"You thought it was Cee!" Sideswipe clapped him on the shoulder, from behind another bot, laughing. "Hah, I remember it clear as day!"
"You're lucky you're out of reach, Sideswipe." Rod growled at him, but his growl died out in the laughter of the other bots. Eventually, he embraced the atmosphere, laughing with the rest of us. Times like these were memorable, but I was slightly brought down by the fact that I couldn't share them with Sunny. I missed him and maybe, just maybe, I started to love him.
"That joke was brilliant, Raj." I said, laughing alongside Mirage, who was next to me, on my left. "Who made it up?"
"Cliff and I did. Although Cliffy here wasn't up for it, so I had to go and do it myself. Primus, it was hilarious!" Mirage laughed.
"And what's funnier is that we all saw it!" Cliffjumper laughed.
Life was nothing if you didn't have friends to share the good times with. I knew that now.
Three joors later…
"Sides, whoa-Sideswipe, calm down!" I shot up from my berth, running over to him as his pained gasps woke me up. "Hey, hey-whoa!" I tried to calm him as he sat up abruptly from his berth, his optics wide. He was panting with fear. I took his hands into mine so that he would stop shaking. "Calm down."
He looked at me with optics wide with fear for an eternal moment. Poor fella. I offered a tentative smile. "Goldstreak… Oh Primus." He brought his hand to his face, shaking his head.
"It's that nightmare again, isn't it?" I softly said, letting go of his other hand to gently grasp his shoulder.
He shook his head as if abashed. "Every night… I just can't recharge normally anymore." He put his silver cover over his face, trying to hide it.
I bowed my head, not knowing how to help my best friend's brother. I gently took the cover off his face, offering him another tentative smile. I let the cover fall onto his lap. "Wait here, I'll be back soon. Don't do anything stupid." I eyed him as I hurriedly walked out of the quarters, leaving the door open. I ran straight into the refueling area and grabbed a cube, filled it with warm energon and rushed back to the quarters. I had been doing this for the past quartex.
I closed the door behind me, looking up at Sideswipe. "You know, you don't have to do this." He said as I sat by his berth, giving him the warm energon into this hands.
"You did it for me." I said as he slowly started to drink it. I used to have traumatic nightmares as well, and right now, I was only returning him the favor. He had such a good spark, like his brother, and I was indebted because of his caring actions, even if they occurred joors ago.
"Yeah, but still." He sighed, staring through me, so wound up in his thoughts. Thank Primus Sunstreaker wasn't seeing this. "It's been five joors. Five joors. Almost half a stellar cycle, Gold. And I… I can barely feel him how much he's distanced himself from me."
"But he's still there, Sides. He'll always be there." I inclined my head, looking at him sadly.
"Just… how long have we been in this storm? The mission's been going on for joors and I don't know if it's gonna end soon. I don't know how far he's come. I don't know anything and it's killing me!" He said exasperatedly.
"At least you know he's alive." I said, putting my hand on his forearm. "And that's good enough."
"No, it's not good enough!" He raised his voice and looked at me. "I don't know what they're doing to him! They could be depluming him, lopping him even!"
"You're forgetting this is Sunstreaker we're talking about. He would never allow that." I tried reassuring him, honestly, but it seemed to be all in vain.
"But he's among Cons, Gold… You don't know what they'll do to him."
"Exactly, and neither do you." I gently said. "Come on, it's two and a half in the morning, I can still see the first moon." I said as I glanced through the window.
"If I fall into recharge, I'll just end up waking up again."
"Isn't that the point?" He chuckled. "Sides, I'm here, nothing is gonna happen."
"You know what I think?" He pointed a finger at me with the hand he used to hold the empty energon cube, as he lied down on the bed, resting himself on his elbows. "I think you've taken the role of being my guardian instead of me being yours."
"Hey, if the time comes…" I shrugged with a smile, taking the empty cube from his hand. "You're my friend, Siders. I'll always have your back."
"I like to hear that." He smiled charmingly at me. "I might even try to recharge now."
"You do that." I smiled, getting off his berth and putting the empty cube on the ground and then I slid into Sunny's berth. His scent was completely gone from it, for mine had taken over.
"'Night Gold."
"'Night Sides." I said absently, putting the golden cover over myself as I let the time slip. I just wanted Sunny to come back home. The longer he's gone, the more I miss him and it's undeniable, as it was before, I know I'm still in love with him. It was horrible being in love in the time of Great War, like now. I don't know if he's gonna come back alive, but there was something so special when I was around him. It was the feeling like I knew him for eons.
It was like he was the one. But perhaps I'm a silly femme for thinking like that. I only read stories about the one true love and I always liked to believe that I would find mine, but let's face it, what are the odds?
But then again, what if this storm ends? What if the War ends and... and I don't see Sunstreaker ever again? Or if he comes back, but isn't the same bot? I don't know what I'd do then. I'm so helm over pedes for him that I can barely focus at times. But at night, I love to let my processor and its thoughts wander. Because imagination is all I have left and I'd be damned if I didn't use it.
With closed optics, I imagined what I would do when Sunstreaker got back. I would jump into his arms, lock them around his neck, he would twirl me around, we'd kiss, we'd laugh… it would be just like old times, only better.
With a content, yet small smile, the last of my thoughts ended as I fell into recharge. I sighed sadly as my last thought traversed through my helm.
Sunny, where'd you go? We miss you a lot. It seems like it's been forever since you've been gone. Please come back to us.
XxXxXxXxX
Fragging Decepticons, I'll fragging cut them in pieces, then fry them over a bonfire, feed them to the-
Sunstreaker angrily thought as he scrubbed the floor with a hard brush. It was degrading, being on his knees, rubbing a stain out of the floor, but he was so close to finding the AllSpark and where it had been stationed. He was alone in a dark room, one of many which were used for illegal gambling across the Nemesis. It wasn't unknown that these rooms were used for such purposes, but nobody did anything about it, so long it didn't affect the efficiency of the cause, which it didn't. Most of the time.
He scrubbed until the ground became impeccably clean. For the first time in his life, he envied the ground because it was cleaner than he was. His once pristine golden paint was now turned to a black one with purple accents. His optics were turned red. He was a Decepticon, but only on the outside. Inside him beat the immensely brave spark of a true Autobot warrior, one that was loyal to his fault to the Autobots. That was a choice he made a long time ago and that was a choice he would stand by forever. He never went back on his decisions.
He was so close. He couldn't fail now, not when he was somewhat accepted in the ranks of the Decepticons and he no longer looked even remotely like an Autobot.
There had been a nasty fight in this illegal gambling storage room, and Sunstreaker had been asked, well, more like coerced, into cleaning it. Energon had been spilt and if Soundwave decided to randomly patrol the Nemesis, they needed the evidence gone.
He was internally surprised with how things ran here. Bots weren't helpful or nice, they were all morose and aggressive. Everything was doom and gloom and it made him sick. The purple walls were making him sick, too. Everything made him sick here.
As he finished up with scrubbing the floor, he heard footsteps come behind him, clinking slowly against the metal floor as they came closer to him. He turned his head and in doing so, landed himself a swift kick to the head, forcefully turning it to the side. Internally he angered, wanting his swords to slide out and slice the piece of scum that dared touch him.
He stood up and glared at the black shadow on the ground, even though he knew the real figure was behind him. He also knew full well that the left side of his face had been dented. The pain told him, and so did the warnings on his HUD that followed.
When he turned around to fully face him, somewhat being just as tall as the dark figure, he noticed that the figure did not come alone. There was a winged figure, followed by a Con somewhat smaller in size than him, a Minicon and a cybercat, all of which he was too familiar with from when he was an Autobot.
Well, he was still an Autobot, but the Cons didn't know that.
"Good evening, femme bot." The malevolence on the purple Seeker's face was inevitable and his venom dripping voice was in fact predictable. He had specifically come here to mock him, perhaps even offline him.
Sunstreaker spat on the ground he had been cleaning up until now, but he didn't care. He had to get rid of the energon that was piling inside his mouth from when his plates ruptured when the Seeker had kicked him. "What do you want?" He growled out, glaring at the Seeker and the rest of the fellow Decepticons in front of him. He was greeted with a couple of snarls and his hands formed into fists at his side.
"Me?" He mocked innocence, casually and slowly circling around Sunstreaker like a prey. "Why, I just want to-" He suddenly teleported and Sunstreaker couldn't see him, even when he turned around. But he could feel the rash push from the back, one that threw him at the rest of the Cons, where his face was greeted with a painful fist punch in the face from Barricade. "Play a little, is all." The Seeker evilly finished.
Sunstreaker fell to the floor on his chest, trying to concentrate. He was outnumbered and that was never a good thing, especially with a Con that could teleport. He needed to trick him.
Just as his proximity sensors blared, he dodged another kick by rolling on the ground on his flank, swiftly getting up on his pedes. "This isn't playing." He growled out, barely containing himself from lunging at the Seeker. He couldn't lose his cover and put the mission into jeopardy.
"By Autobot standards?" The Seeker shrugged as Sunstreaker could hear a feral snarl directed at him, most likely from Ravage. "I wouldn't know. I'm not a traitor." He said the last word as if it was the most forbidden word to utter.
"Neither am I." Sunstreaker kept his swords inside, but sensors high on alert. He had to be prepared for anything. He hadn't been in the Con ranks for five joors to let it all fall into waste now, because Skywarp wanted to make him look bad.
"No, 'course not. You just abandoned your cause to join ours." He nonchalantly replied as he and Sunstreaker glared at each other. It was disturbing how similar their paint schemes were, black frames with purple decals and two pairs of red optics glaring at each other deadly and untrustingly. "Why's that, femme bot? They fragged you too much back there?" He mocked.
"We should offline you." Barricade crackled his knuckles. "We don't take lightly to treacherous scums."
He wanted to retort. Oh, he wanted to retort so bad and strip them off of the living slag that made them function. He would have tormented them all to no end, but he couldn't. For the sake of the mission and all life on Cybertron. For his Goldstreak's life. And his brother's.
"I'd like to see you try." He tempted right back. Decepticon pretender or not, he wouldn't lose his pride. Not now, not ever. If he was going down, he'd be going down in a fight, and no other way.
"Look Barricade, he wants to see us try." Skywarp laughed right in his face, nudging his cohort in the side with his elbow.
"Pathetic cretin." Barricade confirmed with a low growl.
"Hey Cade, can I get a few kicks outta him?"
"Stay put, Frenzy." Barricade growled at him, giving him a sharp look downwards. "Nobody invited you two here, anyway."
He got a feral snarl from Ravage and a couple of curses from Frenzy, but the Minicon and cybercat were ignored by both parties.
"Watch this Barricade." Skywarp cockily said, appearing behind Sunstreaker as the purple light from his teleportation ceased to exist as quickly as it came into view. He pushed Sunstreaker down to the ground, but Sunstreaker was ready for it. He did a somersault and got on his pedes quickly, the sounds of metal against metal clinking and thudding on the ground. Skywarp reversed his thrusters and pointed their ends towards Sunstreaker. He turned them on as they blared fire for a short amount of time and Sunstreaker had to dodge in order to not get burnt, and possibly have half a limb molten.
"You're fighting against one of your own!" Sunstreaker bellowed at Skywarp. "You slagging treacherous filth!"
"Funny how you talk about treason," Skywarp charged at him, but was too fast for Sunstreaker to avoid. He crashed right onto him and then into a wall, where the Decepticon pretender slid to the ground. But he quickly got up, ire spreading through his energon lines, fueling him and his anger. "When you yourself are a traitor."
"I'm a true Decepticon, Megatron approved of it!" He got back up on his feet. It took a lot more than that to bring him down.
"I don't care what Megatron approves of!" He growled, punching Sunstreaker, denting his chest badly, causing the inside circuitry to be nastily scrunched up together. "You are still an Autobot!" Sunstreaker wanted to dismantle and destroy him, but attacking an Elite Seeker was not among his mission's objectives. That, and it would have brought more harm than good to the mission and his cover.
"I'm not!" He roared, lunging at Skywarp, his Kaonian programming kicking in as he locked his servos around the Seeker's neck, trying to suffocate him, keeping him in a tight chokehold as his victim struggled. "I will never be one of them again!" He snarled into his audio receptor.
But that's when Ravage had jumped on his back and started tearing the black metal panels that created his outer shell. Frenzy and Barricade soon joined him as Sunstreaker had been locked in a four to one death match. He wasn't surprised, Decepticons were known for not knowing how to fight fairly and with honor.
But he didn't mind. In fact, he welcomed it. He knew he could take them down, for he had been one of the very few survivors from the Pits of Kaon. With or without honor, he could defeat anyone, regardless of anything, so he started doing that. Firstly by grabbing Ravage by the tail and shoving him into Skywarp's face. He grabbed Frenzy by one arm and threw him into a wall with brute strength. And Barricade had tackled him to the ground as the two bots rolled on their flanks.
Barricade landed a strong punch into his abdomen, shoving the air out of his tanks. But Sunstreaker collected himself quickly and jabbed his two digits into Barricade's optics, sending him flying back off him. Sometimes, you had to go back to being primitive.
He quickly stood up, going for a lunge at Barricade. At that moment, Skywarp appeared behind him, getting him in a headlock, stopping Sunstreaker from leaping at the Decepticon scout. He tilted Sunstreaker's head painfully, to the very limit and he kept it there. One more move, one simple crack and he his neck would be broken, and with that, he would be offline, Sunstreaker knew it. His life depended on the sole decision of the Decepticon Seeker.
And knowing his luck, and how his spark beat erratically from adrenaline and fear for his life, he knew this was not going to turn out well.
Written:
20.06.2014.