UndeSided (I know its misspelled, shut up)
Requested by BLITZ KRAZI 1.
Also, I'm doing a little poll here folks. Should I keep posting on Friday or would another day be better? I understand that not everyone has access all the time and I just wanted y'all's vote on which day would be best all around for posting. I know a LOT of people post on the weekends and there's a chance that since there's so much, my updates can and have been lost. So, should I change it to another day so there isn't as much posting and there's a better chance the system wont be clogged and alerts missed? I was thinking TUESDAY myself, but whatever day gets the most votes will be my new update day.
I'm LEAVING IT TO YOU READERS! SO EVERYONE LET ME KNOW WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING and the next posting will be the day that gets the most votes. Mystery here...
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I sit and stare at the screen. The object of my attention is split in two just like the bane of my existence. Why, in the name of Primus, did the infernal twins get stuck wearing Autobot sigils? Where is the justice? Prime should have had both of them deactivated vorns ago, but still they plague my waking moments and some of my charging ones as well.
Many a time I have woken in a strange place, with a berth partner who most certainly wasn't there went I went to charge. And there were the rare times that I woke up next to either twin. Sunstreaker would offer his usual sneer before removing himself from my side. Sideswipe would hug me close and make lewd comments that earned him a stint in the brig.
Which was where both twins were currently stationed.
Again.
How can either keep functioning in an army where every servo is needed and yet they still test my patience and nerve function and get thrown in the brig? Sideswipe has informed me of his running tally for multiple things he believes is worthy of notoriety.
I've had to take up monitoring the troublemakers myself, seeing how they've offlined Red Alert so many times, it's unhealthy. And Sideswipe has a tally for that too.
The mech is deranged.
I have tried to appeal to Prime but he merely waves off my suggestions and tells me to keep up the good work in keeping them in line. Last time he made such a comment I reminded him of the hundred thousand incidents that filled both service records. Prime was flabbergasted and had the audacity to laugh at some of my finer points. I found no amusement in their sheer volume, nor their content.
I stare at the monitor on my desk, my workload temporarily forgotten. What is it about these two? Why do they vex me so?
The occasional prank is fine. I see no problem in soldiers blowing off their 'steam' as the humans put it. But to cause pain and mayhem, destruction and irritated circuits, without point or reason, just too simply enjoy it? Well, I just don't understand what makes those two function. Jazz said it was because they have 'free spirits'. I reminded him that most of their time is spent behind bars.
Their actions are counterproductive to the desired outcome.
They sit on their berths, a perfect mirror image of each other. I've tried putting them in the same cell and each time ended in disaster and extensive repairs. They can't be together during incarceration. Makes me wonder how they can survive living in the same quarters.
That is a puzzle.
On the occasional time I've had to incarcerate one, some how, inevitably the other ends up outside the guilty's cell. There's been several instances where the bars were deactivated and both twins ended up sharing a berth, their innocent frames in perfect contentment.
Strange.
They fight and argue and force me to take action, separating them and keeping them apart. But yet, even when so jailed, both lean against the wall, as if the metal isn't there and fall into charge in identical poses.
My attention is drawn from my musings when both twins lay down on their berths, pressing themselves against the wall where the other resides on the opposite side. They power down into charge, a peace settles on their faces, giving them such an innocent, childlike quality.
Which goes to prove the point of how looks are deceiving.
Both are troublemakers and have driven many mechs, myself included, into a raging frenzy. I'm ashamed to admit to such a slip of my control, but there's just something about those two that drives me to distraction. More than once I considered assigning them to different sectors or teams. And each time such a thing was possible, against my better judgment I prevented their separation, even rallying to their defense.
I wonder why?
Certainly one alone would be better to handle than both together. They feed off each other like parasites, which in a way, they are. Their annoying behavior and lack of morality make them undesirable as someone to share a command post.
But then again, I'm reminded of the times that one has been injured. The Pit Maker himself couldn't keep the twins apart. Ratchet fumed over their antics, but everyone realized it was for show. He cared for the two on a more personal level. Which was odd, because they tormented him almost as much as myself. And though I'm loathe to admit it, their dedication to each other is admirable. When one's life hangs in the balance, the other is close by. Admittedly, I have never witnessed such raw display of open fear as when I gaze upon the face of the one keeping vigil. I've seen bondmates waiting for word of their mates survival. I've watched creators and sparklings alike as their loved ones terminated.
But there is something different with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
Something… indefinable.
Maybe it has something to do with their unique physiology. Being spark split twins may have unknown side affects. Though I don't hold much weight to emotions and find them to be more detracting than helpful in a situation, there is something inside me that breaks when I see either twin's face, standing by the bedside for their bleeding and shredded brother. The look of loss and terror made my own spark falter. I would never admit such things aloud, but in the company of my own thoughts and musings, I'm at liberty to be honest.
Perhaps that is why I do not assign them to different teams.
Out of curiosity I bring up the twins files and read over the basic information. Fighting in the illegal gladiatorial circuit for an extended period. No recollection of previous employment, nor records of their younglinghood. It was as if both were built to fight, right off the assembly line.
Oh. Now there's a thing.
Of course that scenario was a high probability. Though the gladiatorial rings were considered illegal, that label was mainly for show. The influential boasted of stopping the trade and eliminated the fighting rings to preserve life. In reality, they were the biggest supporters and even the Primes of old had been known to allow mechs the chance to the All Spark where they could rebuild their forces. If they suffered heavy losses and earned favor with the social elite, there was the chance to replace their ranks to continue the games.
Events that surround the twins escaping the gladiatorial circuit are still a mystery as both refuse to discuss what happened and Sunstreaker's temper becomes especially volatile. Though no one would begrudge them for doing what was necessary to escape, they refuse to talk about it, even to Smokescreen. He has offered many times and each time was met with intense resistance and even violence. The one time I had made it mandatory, they had proceeded to trash Smokescreen's office and spent the next cycles in the brig, where they remained true to form, perfect mirror opposites with a wall dividing them.
OH.
How could I have missed this before?
However the twins came into existence, whether by expecting creators or by a fight mogul hoping to swell his ranks, they were never alone. Being one spark split into two bodies gave them the disadvantage of having to be near each other lest they suffer physical pain. I've witnessed such a thing a few times before. When duties demanded the twins be separated, they functioned for a short time before falling into a severe depression and painful lethargy that rendered them immobilized. It was like their sparks were draining away, their will to live fading as they couldn't sense their other half. A couple of times it had been close, and after the last time, Prime ordered that both never be far apart. He didn't want to lose the best warriors we have over something as trivial as separation. Perhaps that is what stays my own servo in separating them?
My optics is drawn to the monitor again and the two slumbering forms on the screen.
They could suffer such torment and ache, having their other half of their soul removed so far from them. It must be agony. One minute they can feel the other and then the next, cold, dead, silence.
They are unique. They are trouble. But they are also quite the conundrum.
Why cause such dissent that I must put them in separate cages? What drives them to be so disrupting they must be locked away?
Like the mountain falling on me, realization hits.
The twins lived most of their lives in the gladiatorial rings. They were used to the incarcerations. And if their original master knew of their unique condition, forcing them to separate could have been used as a correctional means. No wonder they huddled so close together during charge. They can't consciously be together for an extended period of time, both being individuals and needing their space and privacy, but they also need each other. Being sent the brig is a way to be apart, yet close.
There was also the chance that they were kept in isolation due to their sparks, or maybe just as precaution on their master's part. Even after al these vorn and different planets and duties, the twins revert back to the time when they were mere property. They acted up, gained their master's attention, and then sent to solitary, where could enjoy peace and quiet and simply be with their own thoughts. They could have solitary, and yet companionship.
Not to mention that their punishment detail always ensures they are in neighboring cells. I would never space them too far apart to serve out their sentence. In the past, I've even had cell mates moved so the twins could be near each other, lest they suffer unnecessarily.
I'm amazed by this little insight, but I won't share it. Not with Prime. Not with Smokescreen. This was something that I had to learn for myself, and something they will have to come to realize if they ever take the time to ponder the puzzle that is our resident twins.
My datapads call, the duty roster needing augmenting due to the two of my mechs now serving a one week suspension for painting everyone's sigils to the Deception purple. No one was thrilled by the prank, especially since human dignities were due to arrive for a 'meet and greet'.
I know that both twins will be restless when they wake up, and I intend on ensuring they think twice before pulling such a prank again. I know the lesson wont stick but I can still imagine their compliance.
Perhaps I will shorten their stay? Now that I realize their underlying need for solitude and though it's hard to define, they need someone to tell them to remain in a cage. Their freedom was something that was foreign and disconcerting. They needed structure. They needed guidance. They needed someone to put them in their place and to lock them away when everything became too much.
I don't recall reading such a thing in my job description, but I will happily accept this new role.
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Is that what you had in mind my dear?
Reviews are loved and answered and the next chapter will is another request! Gotta get these things out the door! It's a fire sale! LOL
