C.M.D: Here comes some more crack at y'all this update (and just a sprinkling of angst~) and I'm so excited to share! Why yes, I'm a bit biased toward this fic due to childhood nostalgia, but also Sky-Byte is the biggest dork ever who needs all the lovin' he can get~
"That was a disaster. No, it was a thousand times more catastrophic than that- it was sheer incineration!," Sky-Byte whined, hunching over the computer terminal with a pitiful sniffle. "Eons we have fought against the tyrannical Autobots and now, at the cusp of Lord Megatron's great victory, I am afflicted by sentimentality! I can't break free of it; I need his surrender, nothing else will cure me. Oh, a shame I bring upon all Predacons..."
"And who can I speak of this to? No one!," the mech cried in dismay, smacking the terminal in his dramatic performance. Snivelling, Sky-Byte lifted his bowed helm, fingers brushing at the reconnaissance images he had pulled up on the screen. Even the blurry shots of Side Burn made his neural net crackle with delight and a heat to build in his interface array.
"Oh, sweet youth... If you were but a Predacon, I'd have already made you mine! We would be an unconquerable duo and my recharges would be so much sweeter with you in my grasp," the shark vented longingly, almost pressing against the computer now. It wasn't long before he was weeping pathetically again.
"But you pull away from me in revulsion," he blubbered, "Your Autobot brethren have taught you no appreciation for the Predacons' perfect physique! So how am I going to bring you to the fold as my mate, before the rest of those blasted no-gooders get torched, if you find me so hideous?!"
Face buried in his arm, Sky-Byte loudly lamented the fateful string of events that had brought him -a proud, wise and strong warrior of the highest Predacon order- to be laughably smitten by a young Autobot. And actually insulted by his love interest, to boot! There couldn't possibly be any other being in this whole universe who was as badly criticized by a mere word during a sparkfelt confession! Before Sky-Byte was able to ramp up into a full-blown pity session, a cerulean helm was poking itself into view from around the terminal.
"Lieutenant Sky-Byte!," Dark Scream chirped in greeting. He took a full step back as the taller mech jumped in alarm (releasing some unwarrior-like sounds in the process), barely managing to stay upright as he turned to the new arrival in a panic.
"D-dark Scream, wh-what are you doing h-here?," Sky-Byte anxiously asked of the squirrel.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you writing in your diary again?" Though the smaller Predacon sounded sincere, he still leaned slightly to the right; attempting to look past the white mech with large, curious optics.
Flustered, the shark spun back to the computer and slammed a series of buttons; hitting Dark Scream's little snout in the process and buying himself a few, precious astroseconds to hide the files he'd been looking at. "N-no, doing nothing o-of that sort," he lied, facing the beast-former with an uneven grin.
Small claws tapped at his nose experimentally, giving a low hiss at the dented plating. "Oooookay," the cerulean mech replied, shuffling back a few inches with a mild frown. He was quick to brighten up again once out of the perceived danger zone. "Have you thought up some brilliant plans to usurp those usurpers? I have some ideas if you need an additional perspective. O-or I'll be happy to fly out and gather you some more intel! We're gonna use that Side Pain as bait or something again, right boss? Ooh, I can't wait! Please let me help. Somehow. Anyhow!"
"O-oh, ehhh...," Sky-Byte chuckled nervously, screaming on the inside. He'd been so preoccupied with setting his meeting up with Side Burn (and selecting his best works for the wooing, grooming, stress-eating, then grooming again...), that he had clear forgotten about coming up with a passable excuse for his isolation from the rest of the squad. He couldn't have the secret get out- especially in the midst of such failure!
"W-well, yes and no!," the larger Predacon continued quickly, his genius processor whipping up a lie on the spot. "I have a few good, exceptional ideas in mind but I have not finished piecing together the finer details as of yet."
"I'd love to involve you in the preparations of my new scheme," Sky-Byte added, leaning in closer to the squirrel as his vocalizer dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "But I can't risk certain audio receptors overhearing. You understand, of course."
"A super secret plan with a lot of forethought put into it?! You really are a genius!," Dark Scream gushed, bouncing forward in his excitement. Sky-Byte hastily leaned back, uncomfortable with the way the smaller Predacon's optics were sparkling. "When will it be ready? Do you need more data? I want to be the first to know what horrible nasty things we're going to do!"
By Unicron, this conversation was going on too long!
"Y-yes, yes, I'll summon you first when it's time. But we cannot speak of it anymore until then! S-so, uh, maintain surveillance o-on that idiot Scourge and his Commandos and I'll g-get back to you... Later," the shark finished lamely, hoping that his ruse would hold up.
It seemed to work, as Dark Scream nodded his helm vigorously, giving a merry "You got it, boss!" before the squirrel scurried back off into the recesses of the Mega-Star.
Sky-Byte gave himself three kliks before he collapsed against the computer- all liquid, no limb. That had been too terrifyingly close of an encounter. He was going to need to invest in a sturdy lock if he ever wanted to reminisce privately about his lovely, lil' Side Burn again!
xxXxXxx
It was an electric shock that awoke Side Burn. Blinded with panic and immobilized by crushing pain, the Autobot struggled to lift his helm; several kliks passing before he could make sense of the dark walls around him. He was underground or in a cave, he noted belatedly, the sickly light from a glowstick on the barren floor highlighting dips and crevices on the uneven surface. And it was wet. Water dripped from the walls continuously, creating little puddles all across the cavern floor, leaving the air humid and heavy with the distinct sent of salt. The entire set was hard on the intakes.
With a strangled groan, Side Burn managed to claw himself up into a sitting position. Doing so caused a spike in his agony and he was quick to see why. His left leg was practically crushed: the knee joint was indistinguishable among the rest of the broken plating, pieces of his shin relocated upwards or hanging loosely over nauseating gaps in his frame. You could see right inside to his bare piping... And though there were remnants of dried energon around the wound, there seemed to be no fresh liquid pumping out of his mangled leg. Another survey of his frame revealed minor scuffing on his chestplates complete with a couple laser burns, along with some other minimal dents that had been recently popped out. Primus he was badly beaten...
But how, or when, did that happen?!
Water sloshed somewhere out of sight, red optics searching blearily through the overwhelming shadows to pinpoint the odd source of the sound.
An astrosecond had barely passed before he was shoving himself up against the nearest wall, a shout escaping him. "You! I should have known this was your fault!"
The shark paused in his flight, shuttering his optics slowly before he transformed; partially hunched over in bi-pedal form to keep from scrapping his helm fin on the low ceiling. "You're awake. I am glad to see it," Sky-Byte said, ignoring his companion's scathing remark.
Side Burn fumbled for a gun that wasn't there, settling for scooting a few more centimetres away from the Predacon despite his neural net screaming in protest. "You better keep your filthy servos off of me, jellyfish! I'm warning you!"
The older mech grimaced at both the threat and name-calling. "Then I suppose it was good that you were unconscious while I made emergency repairs. Otherwise you would be greying in a pool of your own energon by now," he said neutrally, turning away from the dodge viper.
"What the slag did you do to me?!," Side Burn demanded, leaning forward to study the open wound again. He could just barely make out the decent patchwork on his energon lines within.
"I did nothing but save your life," the shark grumbled softly, fiddling with some objects out of sight. "The Autobots and the Commandos were clashing; you were almost crushed entirely by Ruination before he tossed you into the sea. You would have been decimated by the following missile barrage if I hadn't scooped you out of there."
Bits and pieces of the recent battle came back to Side Burn then. He didn't know what was worse: almost dying at the hands of those brainwashed fraggers or being rescued by the Predacon. "I didn't need your help; my friends would have found me!," he snapped.
"They are still locked into combat right now. The others would not have been able to help you until it was too late." There was a little 'woosh' and when next the taller mech stood, it was to reveal a small fire burning, the young flames expanding as they dug into their pile of dry wood.
Immediately, the cave was that much brighter and that was when the Autobot realized how cold he was.
"Your core regulator is possibly damaged from the skirmish as well," Sky-Byte said, stepping back and gesturing at the building fire with his claw. "Come, warm yourself up. Do you require more energon? I might still have half a ration left..."
Side Burn refused to budge though. "What is with you?!," he questioned accusingly. "You're a Predacon: you're supposed to be trying to offline me, not saving my bumper and reading me horrible love poems! I don't know why you won't give this up but you're not gonna force me into anything, you creep!"
Sky-Byte paused in the middle of pulling a small canister of energon out, glancing at the Autobot with an unreadable expression. "I would never force you," the older mech replied, his hushed words stunning the dodge viper into momentary silence. "You may call me a villain but I am no monster. I'm disappointed you would think of me like that."
The blue mech didn't know what to say. "Y-you're the one thinking g-gross things a-about me," he eventually stammered out, arms crossed over his chestplates like a petulant sparkling.
"If you weren't an Autobot and I, a Predacon, would you proclaim it disgusting?," the shark asked curiously, holding the canister above the flames as he rolled it about slowly.
"We-well, that's c-completely diff-"
"I do not see how it could be," Sky-Byte interrupted sourly, glaring into the fire he'd made. "Cybertronians have always seen us beast-formers as lesser beings to them. We're viewed as pets, or property, or wild, thoughtless creatures- not privy to the same rights as them. If I had tires, you wouldn't feel the need to mock me so in rejection, and our war would not have begun at all."
"Hey, you're the ones on Earth, hurting humans!," Side Burn shouted, quick to jump on something more familiar to him.
Sky-Byte looked up at the dodge viper, his expression pinched with a note of sadness. "...I," he vented, turning his attention back to the canister of energon as he pulled it from the flames, "I don't wish the humans any harm whatsoever. But we cannot leave until Lord Megatron succeeds in the mission that brought us here to begin with: the capture of Fortress Maximus. We'd already be gone if it weren't for the Autobots' meddling."
"Here," he added, stepping forward and offering the warm energon to the blue mech.
Side Burn took the canister but did not drink. "You're crazy if you think your scum-chums give a flying frag about the humans. Megatron has openly fired on them multiple times!," he said. "And what about you converting those protoforms? Or all those times you put Koji in danger?!"
"Well, I-i, I wasn't-," Sky-Byte began, swallowing down the rest of his excuses at Side Burn's glare. "...I have grown to admire the boy. Same as you. I wouldn't will harm on you both now. Is that so unbelievable?"
"Yes," the Autobot answered harshly.
The shark visibly deflated at the response. Silence fell between the pair for a long time; Sky-Byte standing by the fire miserably, while Side Burn continued to sit in muted irritation. Finally, there was a chirp from the Predacon's wrist.
"...the battle has ended. The Decepticons have retreated," he announced flatly.
"Bet it was Magnus that sent them running," the blue mech grinned. Sky-Byte gave a noncommital grunt, almost appearing gloomier at the mention of Prime's brother. Side Burn canted his helm a little at that. Why would that get the most negative reaction out of the shark and not any of the things he said prior?
Stomping the fire out, Sky-Byte was quick to transform, swerving about to hover near the injured mech. "Drink your energon and hold on tight. The currents are strong down here."
"And where are you taking me now?," Side Burn demanded snippily.
"To the Metro city pier," the shark replied.
The dodge viper nearly swallowed his glossa. "Seriously?!"
The beast-former did not respond any further. Realizing he was being waited on, Side Burn eventually drank down the cooling energon, feeling stronger for it. It still hurt when he tried to reach for the shark's body, until Sky-Byte dropped lower, giving the Autobot a chance to drape over his back, clutching a fin in each servo for stability. As soon as he was sure the younger mech was secure, the Predacon dipped slowly into a large puddle on the cavern floor.
It wasn't a puddle, Side Burn realized as he was pulled gently through a narrow tunnel, but an underwater passage. With slow, methodical movements the pair swam through the tight space, almost brushing the ragged walls but managing to avoid any damage. Then soon enough, they were out in open waters again.
Side Burn held tighter to the base of Sky-Byte's fins in alarm. The Predacon had been right! The ocean currents were absolutely brutal at these depths and at any moment, the dodge viper was worried he was going to be ripped away from the beast-former's frame and smashed against the rocks below. As if aware of his passenger's woes, Sky-Byte broke out into a frenzied swim, weaving around obstacles and debris fluidly; twisting and dipping against the current's crushing force to help push the Autobot's weight back onto his frame anytime he shifted the slightest.
Side Burn always boasted that he was the fastest thing on planet Earth but here, in his element, the shark was the true master of speed. The way he avoided dangers with hair-splitting reactions and just broke through the criss-crossing network of underwater streams through sheer strength... Well, to put it bluntly, the younger mech was in awe. And though he'd never say it aloud, it was a pretty amazing experience being on this end of the shark.
It didn't take long for Sky-Byte to swim back to Metro City; easing into a gentle pace, he slowly let the pair lift towards the surface until they broke through the thin barrier. At once, Side Burn felt gravity hit his frame with full force and though he struggled not to slip off the Predacon's sleek plating, Sky-Byte showed no sign of being bothered by the same sudden shift in weight.
"Here," the shark declared quietly, flying over the docks and landing on his belly. At this height, it allowed Side Burn to just slide into a sit on the ground, without trying to stand or hobble off of the other mech's back. "You should be safe enough here to call the others for help."
"U-um, well thanks, I guess," the Autobot said sheepishly, releasing the Predacon's fins. Primus, was this awkward.
The shark lifted several inches of the ground as per usual, the tip of his snout turning towards the blue mech at his vocal gratitude and no more. With a muttered reply, Sky-Byte was diving back into the ocean and disappearing out of sight completely.
No doubt about it, Side Burn thought in perplexion, the Predacon was definitely in a mood.
C.M.D: Don't ya just love a pair of moronic dorks who don't understand good communication or how to self-reflect? lol I sure do! Stick around to see more updates on these two goobers horrific crash into love!
Be kind; give me your mind~ REVIEW, please?