Thank you so much for your patience! I'm pulling myself out of the weird unmotivated hole I was in but here is another chapter! As a thank you gift, I'll post a drawing of Azar. If you want to see it, it's on Wattpad! My usernames are the same.
Miles upon miles of unknown land were spread below me and I decided to pick a spot to hang out. Now, after flying for a good thirty minutes, it came to me that this was a bad idea. My wings carried me higher in the sky, eyes scanning the forest for anything interesting. Nothing. Just lots of trees and foliage and asphalt roads. Boring.
An aura of worry surrounded the two, or at least one of them. I could feel the tail wisps of it being so far from them. If I was going to take a guess though, it had to be Sides as Sunstreaker barely had any other emotion besides grumpy. Heh, like Ratchet.
Instinctively, my hand grazed over where the tingling originated from. My heart squeezed painfully as foul thoughts popped up. Everyone in my life leaves, either they no longer want to be around me or I'm forced to push them away from their safety. All I bring to this world is death and destruction. Well, Rue did design me to be that way so it's just irony.
As always, time slowly ticked on with the sun still held high in the sky. Its rays shining down with barely any warmth on this particular day. Clouds hung low and forced me to stay somewhat close to the twins. It would be useless to fly above the dark plumes.
Oh where would I take us? High in the mountains? To gaze down and around like the first place they brought me to. Or what about to a lake or river? The Columbia River did run nearby to Colville if I remembered correctly. That would be too much trouble during the day in the first place though. Too many people on a major river in broad daylight. Where seemed plausible to take them?
Screw it. My wings could lead us on where the wind would carry me. I closed my eyes the next moment, relaxed my arms, and gave complete control to nature. That would either lead to trouble or an amazing discovery.
On a later note, cold droplets sprinkled against my scales and caused my eyes to open. A gently smile adorn my face. It was snowing… I love the snow. I took this as a sign to stop and glanced down to see the twins were far in the distance, struggling on a back road to keep up. Crap, forgot about that.
I dove after them and circled above them, wings brush against the tree tops. Seethe rolled off the yellow Lamborghini who was trailing timidly behind Sides. What was he doing? Why was he driving so slowly? It was going to be midnight by the time we get to the spot Mother Nature chose.
Finally the two got close to the spot. I landed in front of them and furled my wings, content they were being used for a great length of time.
Sunstreaker was the first to transform in a swift, agitated way. Being this close to him, I could feel him seething quite strong now. I tilted my head to the side like a lost puppy and silently questioned the mech. Our gaze met and his resolve seemed to crumble until his brother transformed. The golden mech's anger returned in full force.
"Were you flying blindly or trying to lose us?" Sides questioned once the last plating slid into place. He tried to hide the hurt in his voice with a light joke.
"Not really either. I was letting the wind guide me but the snow interrupted that," I answered and held out my hand, palm facing skywards. Snow slowly drifted down to my limb and melted the moment the particles landed. The same smile from before returned, happiness bubbled in my chest from the snow.
Winter had to be my favorite season due to the snow and cold. The latter never bothered be to a degree, it depended on how freezing it was and how long I was stuck in that kind of weather.
Sunstreaker grunted, still seething for some odd reason. His twin glanced at him with a little smirk and bumped his shoulder into him. "Where are we going then?" Sides asked and watched me playing with the flakes floating down.
I shrugged and started heading in the opposite direction of where we came from. The crunch of the rocks under their tires nonverbally told me they were following me.
The snow relentlessly fell to the point the road had disappeared. I turned around to walk backwards and saw our footprints fading off in the distance since the snow was growing thicker. The cold caused the same coexistence energy to race throughout my frame.
Sides happily skated behind me and smile brightly down at me. The yellow twin was trailing slightly after us and glared angrily at every flake that got too close. He would also sometimes swat or shake off the snow accumulating on his shoulders. I laughed at his actions and controlled the snow nearby him to swirl around his frame, protecting him from the frozen particles.
Neither of us said anything but he did at least nod in appreciation. I grabbed a large amount of snow and dumped it on his brother. Mentioned bot stopped, mouth hung open in shock and eyes locked onto my frame. A prideful smirk graced my lips at the sight in front of me.
His twin tried to contain his laughter, main word: tried. Sunstreaker doubled over, burst out guffawing. Sides followed through with the yellow tin can but fell to the ground, sending a flurry of snow upwards.
It took them some time to calm down. Sides got back to his wheels and shook off most of the particles. Some of it clung to his frame. I glanced at the two again then turned back around and headed in the direction we were originally going. "Hey, wait. What was that for?" Sides called after me. I spun around and sent a breeze of snow away from me. He kneeled down to be close to eye level with me.
The corner of my lips tilted up and I shrug once more without giving him a verbal answer. Being this close to him, his face just an arm's length away, had me subconsciously reaching out.
Something off to our right made noise and drew all of my attention from him. I sprang into action, wings partially unfurled, claws flexed, and canines bared. Whatever it was moved against some bush, rustling the branches and leaves. My eyes narrowed and wildly flickered over the general area.
Both of the twins reacted the same way and drew out their blades in a battle ready stance.
An armored body pushed pass the foliage. My eyes immediately found the Aztec symbol on their clothing and some of the tension in my shoulders washed away. "What does Aztec want now?" I snapped, clearly agitated, and stepped up to them.
Once close enough to them, an all too familiar scent wavered over. Oh shit. It was Jacob, Zayden's right hand man and his most loyal soldier.
Jacob took off his helmet, goggles, and face mask, showing off a stern expression. "This is where you fucking are? Out of all the places to hide, you picked the state above us," he grounded out and marched angrily the rest of the way.
At first, I thought he was going to smack me upside the head for running away. Instead, Jacob wrapped his arms tightly around me and dug his fingers into my sides. "Wait until your father gets here." At the mention of Zayden, I pushed him off of me and rapidly shook my head.
"No, he's not going to," I responded firmly and held him at an arm's length away. "I don't know how you found me but you must turn around and head back to Bend."
He found my order funny and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Sunstreaker, surprisingly. "And who do you think you are?" he growled and moved over to tower over us. Jacob picked up his gun and pointed it at his head.
"I should be the one asking you that." Jacob glanced over at me. "Are these two keeping you against your will? Because it they are, I have a team less than two minutes out." Double crap.
Protectiveness swelled in my chest for the second time today. Not a good day to threaten the twins, my fellow friend. I placed a firm hand on his shoulder and pulled him so he would face me. "No, Jacob, they aren't. They're… " I paused to find a word other than soulmate, " they're friends of mine. And I won't be going back to Aztec so we are leaving."
My good friend scoffed and securely grabbed my wrist. "You aren't going anywhere, Azzie. After Mia lost contact with you awhile back, we had no clue where you were." Wait, what? Mia double crossed me! "Your dad misses you, more than you know." My resolve crumbled but not completely.
I glanced over at Sides and Sunstreaker then back to Jacob. "Believe me, I know but we all know why I can't come back. And you're a douche bag for trying to guilt trip me. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be leaving." I kicked him hard in the stomach and sent him flying back into a thick bush.
Thankfully, the two understood it was time to go and took off in the direction we came from. I immediately flew up above the trees to scout out if we had trouble.
Betrayal washed over every other emotion. Mia had double crossed me… Why? She promised- that was my first mistake. Promises were always broken, especially by those you cared about.
Warm tears prickled at the corner of my eyes. Then it came to me, I was kind of glad that Jacob interrupted our little date. Because I probably was about to make a mistake that would forever change my life. Was I going to kiss Sides? At that moment in the past, it seemed I didn't have any control over any of my actions.
Who was I kidding? No one was forcing me to do anything then. My body was betraying me, falling into their tricks. Shortly after, my mind would soon follow. Then like always, they'll leave me just like everyone does in my life.
During my little mind rant, I spotted three swat style vehicles half roaring down the back road. Oh, you got to be kidding me! I swooped down low with my wings at half mast in front of Sides and Sunstreaker.
Power floored to my fingers, nearly freezing the blood circulation to them. Once we got close to the vans, I sent a wall of ice to block them off from us and cornered them to the right side of the road.
The twins skated harder after their given opportunity. They barely had any room to squeeze by them but were able to make it nonetheless. I headed back above the trees for extra height and located the road not too far in the distance. Just a little further.
Once they were able to get on the main road, the two were able to transform. Their rear ends fish tailed, tires having trouble to gain traction on the snow. After Sunstreaker almost running into a tree or two, we were heading in the direction of the base. I felt guilt rise in me though and glanced back, unable to see the swat vehicles anywhere.
It hurt. Both from Mia betraying me and that I had to forcefully remove myself from the situation. Again. The first time was already hard enough, the second was worse but with the help of anger, it was an easy choice. But why would Mia double cross me? I guess it's for the best that I no longer have any ties with her or anyone else with Aztec. This strengthened my thought process of you can't trust anyone.
Instead of going back to base, the twins took a few turns to a spot off the beaten path. Sunstreaker was the first to transform with his brother following less than a second after. I had yet land and stared longingly in Jacob's direction. Hot tears poured down my face, expelling some of my anger.
My claws dug into the palm of my hands, drawing blood. The substance dripped down but the physical wound was the least of my worries.
A raging hurricane of emotions tumbled around inside my mind. Heat and cold battled for dominance, both wanting to be released for destruction, for payback. I shuttered at the thought, nearly losing altitude, and hovered silently, tearfully.
Sides and Sunstreaker were quietly standing below and seemed unsure on how to approach me. The former reached out timidly but was nowhere near to touching me as I was floating above the tree tops. His twin acted like an idea struck him and bent down, both of his hands scooping up a handful of snow. What was he up to?
I changed most of attention to him but still gazed sorrowful into the distance. A ball of snow and some rocks pelted my side, nearly making me falling out of the sky. My eyes snapped onto the bot who did it and wanted oh-so to glare at him but I didn't have the right mind set to do so. I huffed, shook myself free of some leftover flakes, and landed to put some distance between us.
The snow on either side me started to be stained with my blood from the self inflicted wounds. Blood rushing around my ears droned out many of the softer noises of the surrounding area. All I wanted to do was scream and shout and let it all out.
Instead of throwing a fit, I collapsed onto my hands and knees, tears melting the snow when they fell. My heart longed horribly to be in the arms of Zayden, to hear him call me his daughter, to listen to how much he loves and adores me. But… I probably would never have that again because this war was going to be the death of me, literally.
A semi warm, metallic hand gingerly rested on my shoulder. My gaze was brought up to Sunstreaker who held a small heartbreaking look. He sat carefully on his haunches and balanced well on his wheels.
My hands grabbed pitifully at the soft snow but found no comfort. I gazed over my shoulder back up to Sunstreaker and contemplated my next movement. Would it be wrong? Would it mess up everything between the three of us? But I needed comfort, right now.
I twisted around and latched onto any plating in reach on or near his chest. Tears streamed down my face and the blood on my hands stained his armor. It didn't matter to me though, I needed this, I needed a hug, I needed comfort.
Sunstreaker stood like a statue, unmoving and tense. I realized a few moments later he wasn't returning my sentiment and pulled away. Except, the mech reciprocated and carefully wrapped an arm around my shoulders, mindful of the two extra appendages there. I broke and dug my claws into the grooves they touched, holding on for dear life
Sobs raked my body and were the only sound besides his breath and the hum in his chest. All of the pain that was hidden deep came pouring out.
None of us said a word or made a sound, including Sides.
The bot in my grasp grunted yet stayed still and ran a soothing hand in the limited area between my wings. His actions were lulling and helped calm me down to a few hiccups.
After he reduced me down to subtle hiccups, I unclasped my claws from him and waited from him to do the same. Yet, Sunstreaker made no movement besides the gentle stroking. I cleared my throat and ducked under his arm, knowing he probably wasn't happy with me.
Stupid! Stupid! I mentally smacked myself for being so much of an idiot. At this point, I might as well spill my life story of torture to them with the way we're going… But it felt good to cry like that, again, something neither would ever know. A horrible sign of weakness and both experienced it and one of them was in the middle of it.
My bloody palms still stung, especially with the snow getting in the wound. I stared down at the two red, partial hand prints in the snow. "Azar?" Sides voice gently brought me back to the land of the living. My gaze drifted over to him, a little blurry from my crying fit. "What do you need?"
In an instant, the answer came to me and passed my lips before I could stop it. "I need… a hug." Even with the pain coming from my hands and chest, I needed another thing to ground me.
He tilted his head and glanced over to the yellow mech. Blood smeared his shoulder plates as he still knelt and gaze fixated on me. I felt in the slightest bad for what I had done to his plating from my sudden outburst. "A hug?"
"I just need a hug. Something to tell me this is real, that I'm not making this up." My voice shook nearly as much as my hands. All I needed was another grounder. Internally, it felt right to be held by both of them; of course not at the same time.
Sides smiled knowingly and vigilantly wrapped his arms around my waist. I was shocked at first, not entirely thinking this was the way he was going to go but relaxed against him. The bot wasn't done though and lifted me off of the ground completely. My wings were pressed against my back, unable to steady myself. I latched onto him in surprise and felt him gently pressed his cheek to mine.
For being stuck in the cold for over two hours or more, his face was surprisingly warm. I purred lowly and allowed for him to hold me for some time.
The snow storm started to ease up with it power. Our tracks had been covered, including the blood which I was thankful for. My hands still lightly ached, though not as much as they originally did.
I patted his shoulder to silently tell him to let me go. Sides gave me one last squeeze before letting my feet touch the few inches of snow. My legs were half asleep from being suspended in air and trembled under my body weight. The mech didn't leave me alone just yet and used his pointer finger to pet the area between my horns. If it wasn't for what he had done for me the last half hour, I would've spat a glob of acid venom at him.
My crying fit helped release some pent up emotions and solved some of my problems, for the moment. What had happened to me will never go away and will forever be a haunting reminder. But at least I had these two for the time being. A shoulder to cry on, literally.
"Are you feeling better?" Sunstreaker questioned off to my left. This time he was standing with arms at his side. I had nearly forgotten he was there. Our eyes met and a semi familiar feeling blossomed in my chest.
An embarrassed smile adorn my features. "Yeah, I do. Thank you, both of you." My gratitude for them came easier this time. But all good things come to an end. The blood on his shoulder plates stuck out like a sore thumb. I timidly approached him and motioned for him to kneel down.
Sunstreaker listened, a little hesitant. My hand grazed over the partially dried blood on his left side. I summoned water to get rid of both of the marks. During the middle of washing off the substance, my eyes glanced up to the mech.
His gaze had settled on me, observing me silently. I didn't know what to do and returned back to ridding the blood off of his frame. Thankfully, my long, brown hair blocked out my view of the mech and gave me some privacy.
Once done, I noticed that Sides also had blood on him and requested the same thing from him. Sides knelt down next to the yellow iron giant and leaned on his hands for better access. "Sorry about the blood," I mutter lowly, red dusting my cheeks and spreading to other parts of my body. A physical sign of my embarrassment.
Out of the corner of my eye, the corner of Sides' mouth tilted up in a carefree way. "It's alright. What happened anyhow?" He ran the tip of his fingers between my horns, drawing a short purr from me.
At first, I was going to stay silent and let the snow answer him but decided against it. "My emotions got the best of me. A friend of mine betrayed me and it… of course hurt," I answered mentally tired and finished up. My eyes flickered between the wounds, noticing they were already healing.
Sides took my hand in his and watched me wash away the drying blood. Four little incisions were revealed to the world. He ever so gently ran a finger over the marks, drawing a hiss from me. "Please be more careful next time," he sound like was on the verge of begging.
Like always, my answer was: "no promises. I don't make promises." Unlike anyone else, he wasn't satisfied and gripped my wrist a little harder.
"Promise me. Please." Now, the mech was begging for me to pledge for something I had no control over. I shook my head, silently telling him I couldn't do that. Sides pulled me towards him, making me stumble. "Please, Azar. We don't like seeing you hurt." I sighed, knowing it was useless to argue against him as he seemed relentless.
"Alright, I promise. Now could we head back, it nearly night." With the thick clouds still hanging low, it blocked out a lot of light and made the short day even shorter.
Both of them peered up at the darkening sky and glanced at one each other. "Sure, this time though, don't fly blindly," Sunstreaker poked fun at me. I knew that and chuckled with a 'yeah.'
Before the two stood up to transform, I embraced the tranquility that hung in the surrounding air. The complete opposite from what it usual felt like between the three of us.
Sunstreaker was the first to convert back into his vehicle form and take the lead. His twin trailed behind him with me taking to the sky, gliding easily over the trees. I felt at peace for the time being. Internally though, I knew this wouldn't last long and had to suck in all the happiness I received before things return to normal.
Me on the streets, fighting a losing battle.
And them, fighting an alien war that has spanned over millions of human years with human military assisting their kind.