Hello Dear Readers! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. For some good news, I have a new job! I was working so many part time gigs before I hardly had time to sleep, let alone write. But now that I have a somewhat stable income now, there are less things for me to worry about other than getting you more of this story. I'm still doing some extra gigs to make up for my cut in pay, but I should have a bit more time. I also have to catch up on all the fics I haven't been reading.
There was actually meant to be a lot more that what is posted but the next part needed a lot of editing and I feel like I've made you wait too long. The good news is that more is on its way.
A quick thanks to all the wonderful reviewers out there; (Anonymous), Rachel0424, ImpartingAbyss, RedwoodGinger, ScarletSea, Spoffen, Akari. Wolf. Princess, silverfoxkurama, and TomRiddlesTwin
A welcoming warmth bloomed in Erin's stomach. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying over Sideswipe. How long she'd been there, she didn't know and didn't care. All that mattered was that she had no intention of going anywhere anytime soon. By the earnest look in his optics, the mech was thinking along the same lines. His servos traced her sides, landing on her hips. The revving of his engine under her bare chest showed him to be excited for what was to come.
"Why don't you come down here and kiss me already?" he whispered.
"Gladly." Erin leaned forward and took his oddly soft lip plates.
She didn't have too much time to dwell on that little detail before a weight made itself known on her back. Sunstreaker splayed himself on top her. He was light. Was he smaller than usual? It didn't matter. What did was the nibbling on her neck as four sets of servos traced over her skin. What must have been Sunstreaker's digits snuck their way between her legs, setting off sensitive nerves, walking the line between pleasurable and ticklish. She buried her face in Sideswipe's shoulder, trying to hold back a fit of giggles. Naturally, the response piqued the yellow mech's interest and he pressed even further.
Managing to find a calming breath, she panted, "Are you going to tease me all night, or can we get to interfacing?"
"Patience." Sideswipe whispered softly. "We have all night to enjoy each other."
"We may not have another chance again." Sunstreaker added, nipping the top of Erin's ear.
That gave the woman pause. What? Why not? Before Erin could put sound to her thoughts, Sideswipe gently pushed Erin back up to look at her. He looked confused and answered, "Because this is just a dream."
A heavy lump settled in her heart. "It is?" No, it couldn't be. They were right there, she could feel them. It was warm and soft and… Soft? But, they were metal. Erin could sense hot tears forming.
"Don't you remember?" Sideswipe's optic ridges bent with concern as he caught her face between his servos. Servos far too small to be real. Just like the rest of the human-sized frame before her. "56, you murdered us."
The warmth was gone, overshadowed by the aching flair of grief in her chest. She was standing in the dark and the only sound was of her breathing. The ground burned beneath her feet. She back peddled, trying to escape but found herself standing on an ocean of energon. Familiar silver and yellow chunks of metal floated around. Each piece she knew. Sunstreaker's servo and audio fin, Sideswipe's optic and wheeled pede, all bobbing and sinking and rising in the glowing blue liquid. They were dead. She killed them.
The ocean below Erin gave way, submerging her in the toxic liquid. She knew what was coming next, just like in her other nightmares. She tried to close her eyes but found she couldn't as her own face appeared from the depths, expression furious and warped, ready to drag her down to her punishment. "Why do you always kill the ones you love?" the clone asked, head cocked in mocked curiosity.
Erin woke, flinging herself forward, her chest hitting something solid. There was no light. Her hands frantically groped around, trying to register where she was. She found a steering wheel and remembered where she had fallen asleep. Just then, a soft yellow glow emanated from the console display.
"Squishy, what's wrong?" Sunstreaker's voice murmured over the radio, sounding staticky and tired.
Sunstreaker was there. He was safe, and that meant so was Sideswipe. Erin forced down two calming breaths before daring to speak. "Sorry. Just a nightmare." She managed to admit in half-breaths.
There was a pause. Sunstreaker wasn't one to find his words carefully, he usually just spoke his mind with brutal honesty. For some reason it worried the woman. Then, sounding more alert, he asked, "Squishy, how often do you get these nightmares?"
Damnit. The last thing she needed was concern and sympathy. It only made the guilt worse; "It's nothing to worry about," she deflected, "I only get them on occasion. It's common for humans." She was certain the yellow mech was searching the internet for more details. Maybe he was waking Sideswipe. His windows were too tinted for her to see from so she didn't even know the time.
"You had one just a few days ago." The yellow mech sounded unconvinced.
"Two nightmares in a week is not a problem." It had actually been three, but Erin wasn't going to mention that. "I'm fine, really. Don't read too much into my weird organic things. You'll fry your circuits."
Her casual tone fell on deaf audials. It was the first time Sunstreaker had seen through her ruse. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, almost sounding gentle.
The kind offer made her nearly choke up. Did she? On one hand, she didn't want the mechs to worry. On the other, Sunstreaker was a straightforward mech. Maybe he would say the right thing, tell her those dreams were pointless and she needed to get her aft back in recharge. "I..." Erin took a quiet breath. "I dreamt that you two died."
"We aren't going anywhere." He stated immediately with resolute. "Why would you think that?" Of course, he wouldn't immediately understand dreams. It wasn't like he had any.
"Nightmares aren't exactly voluntary." she explained curling herself into a more comfortable position on his seat. "They usually show what people are afraid of, however unlikely."
The mech seemed to take a moment to mull the information over. Briefly, Erin thought he would take that as it was, just another weird human trait he'd never care to understand. But he seemed determined to surprise her that night. "So, how did we offline in this nightmare?"
Oh. What should she say? An accident? A 'con? She already lied to them so many times, though. "Well. The thing is… I did it."
Erin waited for a response, but none came. "Nightmares don't make all that much sense anyway." She tried to wave the conversation away completely, not sure what to think of her friend's silence. "It's best to just ignore them."
"Squishy, I want to you listen carefully." He said, seeming to snub her attempts to move away from the subject. "There is no one Sideswipe and I trust more than you." He let the words sink in for a moment. Before she could respond, he continued, "You saved Sideswipe by luring those insecticons into a trap, you rescued both our afts in Texas and Washington, and you've given us so many chances after all the mistakes we, especially I, have made. You understand that, right?" Again with the gentle tone. It was too much.
Real tears started to form around Erin's eyes. She quickly covered her face, trying not to let Sunstreaker's sensors pick up on it. Those were the best and worst words for her to hear in that moment. Her throat was too dry for any response to come out.
"Primus, femme! What did I say?" Sunstreaker sounded exasperated and even more worried. "Sides is better at this slag than I am, do you want me to wake him?"
"No." Erin shook her head and regained her composure. She didn't need more guilt from their affection. "That's exactly what I needed to hear, Sunstreaker. Thanks."
For the first time that night, the mech seemed to listen to her request. "Promise me then, if something else is wrong, you'll tell me."
"I promise." She wasn't sure whether that was a lie or not. "Let's just put this to rest and go back to sleep. K?" Erin closed her eyes to show she was done with the conversation.
"Ok, squishy." He sounded like he wanted to add something, but instead said, "Rest well."
"Thanks, Sunstreaker." After a moment of thought, she asked, "Could you play some music? I think it would help me fall asleep."
Sunstreaker replied with a gentle, "Of course, squishy." Soon, a soft piano filtered through the radio. She felt herself relax just until thelyrics came through, making her eyes shoot open when she recognized her own voice singing a familiar lullaby.
"Is this me?" She asked the darkness that surrounded her.
"You wanted something to help you recharge, this is the most relaxing song I know." Sunstreaker stated matter-of-factly
"When did you record me singing?" she asked, incredulously. Did they always record her? "And is this piano from the original song?" She hardly ever sung with an instrumental.
"Sides added the rest of the music." Of course, he ignored her first question.
As conceited as it seemed to fall asleep to her own voice, she appreciated to thought too much to stop the yellow warrior. So, she muttered an awkward 'thanks' before letting herself drift off. Her last thought being, perhaps she should sing a little more often for the twins.
Sideswipe sat crouched down in silence having woken up far earlier than he wished. Of course, he did, Sunny's smugness was too strong to ignore. His brother was content in his alt-mode, precious cargo curled up in one of his seats. Sure, Sideswipe was happy, proud even, that his brother had come so far in trusting the femme. He barley minded her touch anymore and in certain cases, such as this one, sought it out. But this didn't stop to hot poker of jealousy from searing the silver mech.
His chromometer showed it was 0500, a cycle before they were to depart. The femme wouldn't likely pull out of stasis without prompting. Sideswipe had half a mind to do just that and collect his femme again. :You know: he said over the bond, :she's just gonna keep getting organic oils on you. I can take her off your servos.:
:Nice try.: Sunny shot back. :I'm comfortable just like this.:
:I think it's my turn to have Rin. Brothers should share.: He whined, sending pitiful sensations of coldness over the bond.
Sunny was unmoved. :She's not a toy to pass around and even if we were to take turns, you've had her far more than I have.:
:That's mostly when it's just me and her. Set aside your own time to spend with her.: Sideswipe argued. :Besides, I haven't even gotten my date yet.:
:You'll get that when you earn it.:
Sideswipe wisely chose not to mention how Sunny 'earned' his private outing with Rin.
:By the way, the squishy woke up last night from a nightmare again.: Sunny added.
Genuine concern set in. Another one? :Why didn't you tell me sooner?:
:She didn't want to make a big deal out of it.: He explained, emotions over the bond failing to match casual his tone. :She went back to recharge alright.:
As he had already done before, Sideswipe did a quick sweep over the World Wide Web for something they could utilize. :The internet had a lot of slag about nightmares, I can't sort out which of it is useful.: He said, frustrated. That was why he preferred asking Rin such questions. She was trustworthy and straightforward. :They do seem to say they usually happen when a human's worried about something.:
:She told me it was about us offlining.: Sunny added. :She somehow blamed herself.:
:So she's worried about us?: The silver mech wasn't sure whether he should feel concerned or touched. :I don't want her terrorizing herself or anything, but it's kind of nice to know we're on her processor.: he admitted. :But what can we do about it?:
:We should let her come to us.: Sunny stated firmly. :The fact that she told me what happened this time shows that she trusts us. We should have faith that she'll let us know if something is really bothering her.:
It made sense, but the silver mech didn't like letting a problem like that lie untouched. Sideswipe's next comment was interrupted by pinging from Hatchet. :We do need to get going soon. I guess we'll let it slide for now.: he said, displeased with the conversation's end. :Wanna wake her?:
:Fine.:
After a few moments, Sunny opened his door as a tired Rin emerged. She stretched with an unsatisfied look on her soft features. An alt-mode seat probably wasn't as comfortable as a real berth. Unless it was his own seat, of course.
"Morning sweetspark." He greeted.
Her eyes met his optics for a moment, and Sideswipe thought she was going to say something, before she paused and her expression changed, cheeks becoming a shade of pink. She put on a smile, smaller than he had hoped, and simply said, "Good morning." Quickly, she turned away.
Sideswipe wished he had a Cybertronian's guide to Humans data pad. Changing color could mean stress, anger, embarrassment, or any other number of things. "Everything alright?" He chirped, trying to mask his worry.
Sunny transformed, having to crouch low to avoid hitting the ceiling.
"Everything's fine." She shrugged, clearly not wanting to go into any detail. "How is Bluestreak? Did Ratchet say anything about the surgery?"
He allowed the change in subject. There was no need to overwhelm the femme. "Hatchet said he's stable. But there's a lot more damage to fix. You'll have to ask him for details on the way back. We leave in less than a cycle."
"Alright." She stretched, a loud 'pop' sounding from somewhere on her that nearly stopped Sideswipe's spark. But she seemed content and relaxed. Primus, this human was going to send him to the smelter early. "In that case, I'm gonna take advantage of the showers here." She swung a tiny set of keys around her digit. "Why don't you two go ahead and check in with Bluestreak and Ratchet?"
"Are you sure? We can just wait outside for you." He offered, not wanting to leave the femme alone in an unfamiliar place."
She raised an optic ridge. "What? You think I can't shower without a babysitter?"
"Sides is just talking out of his aft." Sunny interrupted before Sideswipe could stumble through a response. "We'll meet you on the tarmac."
A mental push was enough to knock Sideswipe out of his thoughts and get him to follow his twin.
:I know you want to be protective of the squishy, but she can take care of herself just fine. Do you really want to offend her by questioning that?:
"Of course not!" Sideswipe argued aloud before switching to the bond. :I can't help but be concerned.:
:She'll be fine. Primus, you should know by now she's not made of fragging glass.:
Sideswipe let the subject drop as they reached Bluestreak and The Hatchet. The youngling was sitting on the ground, facing away from them, while Hatchet scanned his helm. The gladiator's tank churned. Was something wrong with Blue's processor?
When the medic turned towards them, though, his expression was neutral. It was probably nothing too serious, then. "Where is Ms. Brook?" he questioned. It wasn't lost on the mech that Hatchet had assumed she would be with them. By the wave of annoyance coming from Sunny, he caught on as well.
"Using the wash racks." He answered honestly with a shrug. Turning his attention to Blue, he managed to catch a curious look from Hatchet out of the edge of his optic. "Hey, Blue. How're you holding up?"
The sniper gave him a confused look before saying in Cybertronian, -Sorry, I don't know the native language yet. I want to, but Ratchet said my processor received damage to my download stem, so I can't do artificial mass data transfers. I can't get a new alt-mode either. I'm excited for him to fix it, the alts on this planet are amazing. Can you believe an organic species designed them! Ratchet says they are really intelligent, for organics, and they have to be if one can understand our language. They can't even download information! Though, it couldn't speak it. Ratchet said it's because their organic bodies can't adapt to articulate that well. But it's vocalizations were really pretty anyway! It's like it was making music with its voice. Do they all sound like that?-
Sideswipe let the youngling ramble on a bit. His energy and enthusiasm were things he hadn't realized he'd been missing. -I'm sure Hatchet will have you fixed up in no time.- The nickname earned him a growl as Sideswipe easily missed the wrench flying by his helm. -And we'll make sure you get the best alt out there. -He continued on, regardless of the medic's annoyance. -And the organic is 'Erin'- he explained first using her English name, -the best translation is Island, though. She'll understand if you call her that. Also, she's our partner in combat.-
Bluestreak did little to hide his surprise. Pretty much what Sideswipe would expect from anybot at that point. The chatty mech was wise enough not to question it, though, especially with the challenging glare Sunny provided.
-Enough about that- Sideswipe waved the subject away, -got any news from the great beyond?- He did his best to put a casual tone to the question, but the subject was a serious one. Bluestreak arrived alone, something his guardian would never allow.
The look on Blue's faceplates was enough of an answer. -Smokescreen and I were separated. We were at an the Quaron outpost with Ultra Magnus and Blur. There was almost no energon left and we couldn't take on the Decepticon attack. I was captured and I don't know what happened to the others. I managed to escape and steal the liquid landing armor and jumped as we entered the atmosphere, which is why my landing was off. A lot of the armor burned off too early as well.- he gestured to the scorch marks along his frame, accompanied by Hatchet's field welds.
-Why would the 'cons take you alive, especially with an energon shortage? - As relieved Sideswipe was that the youngling was online, it wasn't in the Deceptions' nature to show mercy.
-I'm not sure, sorry.- He quickly apologized, not that there was any need to. -They didn't talk around me all that much. In fact, most of them hardly spoke at all. They didn't seem to like each other very much. -
Sunny, failing to match Sideswipe's gentle tone, asked, -What happened to the 'cons that took you? -
-I don't know. - Bluestreak lowered his helm. -But I managed to do some damage to the ship. There was this big seeker, I think his name was Octane. He came into the pod where I was held and tried to drag me somewhere. I managed to slip away and found my rifle. I shot their navigation array before escaping.-
-Good. You kept your helm and got out of there. Smokescreen would be proud. - Sunny replied, though there was concern evident over the bond, for both their missing comrades and Blue's condition.
Bluestreak's wings perked at the older mech's praise. -We got Prime's message two stellar cycles ago and were trying to consolidate enough fuel to make it here. The others are probably trying to make their way here still. And if we got the transmission, then more autobots must have as well! Has anyone else arrived? How many 'cons are here? I hope there aren't too many. I mean, I know it's our jobs to fight them, but it's kind of unfair to the inhabitants of this planet that there would be many decepticons around. They seem too small and fragile. Ratchet says we are in a military alliance with them and they fight with us. Of course, that makes sense since you have one as a partner. Do they have some kind of cool ability they use against the 'cons? Smokescreen said some organics have armor-melting acid. Do they have that? They don't seem to have too much armor themselves.-
-Slow down there, Blue.- Sideswipe chuckled at his sudden enthusiasm. -No, humans don't have acid.-
'They're just squishy meat sacks. - Sunny added with a disgusted mutter.
-That may be true,- Sideswipe mentally shoved his brother with a metal image of their femme, -but humans are brave and quick learners.-
-They may be comparatively primitive,- Hatchet cut in, -but their species, which is far younger than ours, has managed to innovate at an unprecedented pace. Even during our golden age, our technology didn't advance as quickly as theirs is right now. Given another hundred vorns, they could even surpass our technological abilities. And that would be without our aid. While their combat abilities are weak, but there are certain exceptions. We also help advance their firepower with energon-based weaponry.-
-That's incredible!- Bluestreak beamed.
-They're still just meat sacks.- Sunny repeated.
"Even Rin?" Sideswipe challenged in English, earning him differing looks from Hatchet and his twin.
"Shut up, fragger."
-Anyway,- he continued with an amused grin, -humans can be… odd. But we're better off with their help against the 'cons than without it.-
-Cool! I can't wait to meet more.- Bluestreak was nearly bouncing with enthusiasm. -Do they all understand Cybertronian?-
-No, actually Island is only one of two.- The silver mech explained, using Rin's Cybertronian name. -The other is a sparkling under Ironhide's guardianship. You'll meet her soon enough. But as for your remaining questions. The other mechs we have are Prime, Prowl, Jazz, Que, and Bumblebee.-
-Wait, I thought Jazz offlined?- Bluestreak asked with a mixture of confusion and awe. -That's what the message said.-
-There was an… inaccuracy.- Hatchet explained, clearly signaling to the twins to avoid the subject. -Jazz is fine.-
-That's good. And what about the 'cons?- Blue continued, missing Hatchet's glare.
-Aside from the ones that potentially arrived with you,- Sideswipe continued to answer, -Starscream, Shockwave, and an insecticon called Hardshell.-
-And Mirage.- Sunny added with a growl.
Blue twitched, apparently sensing the menace coming from Sideswipe's other half. -What about him?-
-He's a fragging traitor.-
-Wha-
-We don't know for sure if he joined the 'cons.- Sideswipe explained, trying to send calming waves to Sunny before he damaged anything on the base. -We haven't seen him since he deserted us. But he's not the only one we've lost.- He explained, knowing it would be better to tell Blue sooner than later. -Arcee and Wheeljack both offlined.- The mech gave a moment for the sniper to absorb the new information before continuing, -I know it sounds bad, and it hasn't been easy, but we've made an impact on them as well. In just the time we've been here, we took out Sideways, Mixmaster, two insecticons, and a seeker named Skywarp.-
As Sideswipe spoke, Bluestreak's features shifted from shock, to concern, to sadness, and finally hope. -Do you think we can end the war soon? There's so few 'cons left.-
-That's the hope.- Sideswipe replied, not wanting to dash the youngling's optimism. -Do you know how many might have made it on earth with you?-
-Well, you already know about Octane. He was huge, though! Nearly twice the size of Thundercracker!-
Sideswipe's spark fizzled in anger. Of course the pit-faced fragger was on Earth. Hopefully the traitor burned up in the atmosphere, but when were they ever that lucky? -Who else?- he managed to say without growling. Sunny, on the other servo, did emit a low guttural sound.
-I didn't recognize the other two. There was a grounder and another seeker.- Bluestreak started to describe them but soon stopped to stare at something behind the twins.
Sideswipe turned to see Rin approaching. "That was fast, did you miss me?" he teased.
Rin, unexpectedly, didn't flat out ignore his comment, but instead glanced away. "So, how's Bluestreak?" she asked without looking at anybot.
Hatchet, seeming oblivious to Rin's sudden change in topic, answered, "He'll be fine. I've done what I can for now. The rest will be up to his systems to heal naturally."
"Good." The femme said, seeming to regain some of her natural demeanor. Finally turning to Blue, she gave him a kind nod.
That was all the invitation the youngling needed to bombard her. -Hi! It's good to see you again. I never thanked you for finding me, so thanks! Oh, and that music you made last cycle was amazing, so thanks for that as well! Sideswipe said you, him, and Sunstreaker are teamed up together, that's cool! I've been in the same unit as the twins, but we hardly crossed paths during combat. I'm a sniper and my guardian said it was too dangerous to be on the front lines. How do you do it? You're really small and look soft, no offense! I've never seen an organic lifeform before. I've heard of them of course, but never been on an organic planet. Are you the only dominant species on this planet? I haven't seen any more of your kind yet, are there many around here? Sides said its really rare for your kind to understand us but I'd like to meet others anyway.-
Rin seemed focused on every word coming from the small mech. As soon as he finished speaking, she glanced over to Sunny. "Ok, I got, like, seventy five percent of what he just said." She muttered, already pulling out her data pad. Sideswipe barely managed to suppress a laugh.
It seemed Bluestreak had quickly taken a liking to Rin. And the femme appeared to warm to him as well. Sideswipe couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. It took him orns to get Rin to even entertain the idea of working with him and Sunny. And even longer to become friends. But, on the other servo, the youngling needed good company. Even better, it seemed Rin was taking an oddly gentle approach with him. She had a kind smile on, and was patient with his rambling. Sideswipe couldn't help but wonder where this side of her was when she was watching over Annabelle. Perhaps she was better with younglings than sparklings. Either way, it was bitter sweet seeing how well the pair got along.
Soon, it was time to board the plane. Bluestreak managed to terrify both pilots when he rushed up to greet them, spouting 'hellos' in Cybertronian. When Hatchet finally corralled him onto the plane, he sat in front of Rin, asking her any question imaginable about the planet and the creatures that lived on it. Erin managed to answer all his oncoming questions and at least acknowledge his other comments.
At least she was relaxed, any issues from the night before or that morning seemed to be forgotten.