They say never judge a book by it's cover. Well, you'd be more than dead if you tried to judge me by my appearance. I maybe small, but I pack a mean punch if you mess with me and my team... Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude... hey there! I'm Windswept! And boy, have I got a story to tell you. Well, what are you waiting for?! Get over here and get ready for my adventures on Team Prime!
I do try my hardest on this story. Seriously I do. I've just had a small case of writer's block and I've taken some time to just stop and start seriously considering my future. With all the free time that I'm soon gonna come across in not even three weeks time, I'll try to update as much as possible then.
This chapter seriously would've been up earlier. But I had issues uploading the document and doing some massive rewriting in places to fix up sections of the story where I felt they didn't belong and or needed to be expanded upon further.
Thank you to Niceguymad for following this story.
- Transformers Prime does not belong to me. All rights go to the people and brands who were able to create this show.
- Windswept and the slowly growing list of OC's belong to me.
(Chapter Title: Sunny Job)
It's been about a week since the Scraplet infestation. Despite the damage we all received, we've pull ourselves together to regroup and clean up the mess the little pieces of scrap left behind. We've all managed to heal up pretty good too, despite the damage we all received from those little Scraplets, or the Arctic exploration in Optimus and Arcee's case.
Speaking of, I think I'm only one who's noticed that 'Cee and Optimus haven't really kept an optic off each other since their near-fatal expedition. At first I presumed that they were just keeping an optic out for each other in case they were more wounded than at first glance. But the more I've noticed it, the more I've become convinced that something happened out there.
But hey, it's not my business so I'm not going to bother them about it.
Still...
"Alright! Chores are done!" Miko interrupted me from my thoughts. I spotted her on Bulkhead's shoulder from the corridor. "Now can we do some dune bashing?"
"I don't know, Miko. Last time, I spent a lot of time picking sand out of my articulators. But there's a monster truck rally in town."
A sudden noise coming from the controls Ratchet was working at didn't allow Miko the chance to reply.
"Optimus! I'm receiving a signal from a restricted band." Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee and I walked up behind our medic as he continued, "It appears to be coming from a starship within the solar system." He typed something to get the signal to pop up on the screens.
I instantly realised what kind of signal it was, "It's an Autobot Identification Beacon!"
Jack spun around, "So there are other bots out there?"
"The masses scattered when Cybertron finally went dark," Arcee explained, "But 'Cons have been known to bait traps with false beacons."
"I turned up nearly two weeks ago and I haven't put a foot wrong!"
Arcee looked at me with a frustrated look when Star piped up. I only responded with a helpless and slightly amused shrug.
Starlight wasn't wrong.
"Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega One. Identify yourself," Optimus requested in an attempt to make contact with the signal.
"Me and my comrades have had warmer welcomes from Decepticon Combat Brigades."
"Wheeljack? You old 'Con Crusher!" Bulkhead suddenly barged past us, "What are you doing all the way out here?"
Wheeljack... I think I've heard that name before...
"Bulkhead? That you?"
"Dude, what's with all the security' round here? Someone's gotta know!"
My audio receptors picked up on the second voice immediately. His voice was familiar, very, very familiar. He was somebody I practically spent my growing up period with at Iacon. He was one of my closest friends and my partner, and someone who I considered my brother since we so many years each other's sides.
...But before the war for Cybertron was lost, he suddenly disappeared from Iacon. I immediately presumed the Decepticons had captured him for information while he was on one of his spy missions. And when he probably refused to give it up...
Oh my Primus.
"Sunburst!" I cried out happily, but I wasn't the only one.
How did Bulkhead know Sunburst?
"Windswept?" I heard Sunburst gasp in disbelief.
"Hey Sunshine," I greeted him with his nickname, "You better get your aft down to this rock we're living at!"
"Windswept, is that the one 'nd only?!"
The third voice wasn't hard to miss either. I knew her voice quite well too. She was another one of my close friends that I meet at Iacon. Rejected from the Wreckers, she came to us looking for a second chance to get out to the battlefield. We gave her that chance and I allowed her to fight by my side whenever we could. We weren't as close as Sunburst and I are, but we were still close partners.
"Aquastrike!" Starlight cheered with glee.
Starlight and Aquastrike had that friendship that Arcee and I had, but it ran deeper than that. Their sisterly relationship was one of the closest and most respectful partnerships I had ever seen. They never belittled each other about anything and they always fought side by side everywhere they went.
"Starlight! Oh Star, I've missed you so much!"
"Aquastrike, oh man, it's been a long time!" Bulkhead yelled out in glee.
Starlight and I exchanged curious looks.
How did he know Sunburst AND Aquastrike?!
Bulkhead must've been thinking the same thing. His optics moved off us to the screen, "Hey Jackie, the rock we're on is crawling with cons. How soon can you get here and even the odds?"
"Sometime tomorrow if I put metal to the pedal," Wheeljack answered.
"More bots are coming here! How cool is that?" Miko gushed excitedly on Bulkhead's shoulder.
"Wheeljack, Aquastrike and Sunburst," Optimus hummed. He looked like he was thinking their names over and trying to figure out who they were, "I know by reputation only. Can you three verify their voice prints?"
"Jackie's one thousand per cent the real deal, Optimus," Bulkhead nodded for Wheeljack.
"Aquastrike sounds like she hasn't changed to me," Starlight vouched for Aquastrike.
"Yeah, that's definitely Sunburst, Optimus," I spoke on behalf of Sunburst.
"We will send landing coordinates, Wheeljack. Safe journey to you and the others," Optimus bided.
"See you soon, guys! I'll make sure you get a proper welcome!"
The radio transmission was cut after Bulkhead's promise. Arcee walked up Star, Bulk and I with a look of amusement.
"So who's the boyfriends and the girlfriend?"
Bulkhead chuckled, "Me, Aqua, Sunshine and Jackie go way back. We were part of the same warrior unit: The Wreckers. Which means the 'Cons are gonna wish they had never found us!"
Weird. I knew about Aquastrike being part of the Wreckers for a time before Ultra Magnus shipped her off to Iacon. I don't know anything about Sunburst heading that way at all during the time we spent together at Iacon...
"Hold up a second." Starlight had her hands on her hips - ...dangerously close to where her knives were... - and narrowed her optics at Bulkhead, "Just how do you know Aquastrike, huh?"
"Wheeljack, Aquastrike and I worked together when we joined the Wreckers," Bulkhead explained, his voice souring slightly, "When Magnus came along in the middle of the war, he thought Aquastrike was better off at Iacon. I presume that's how you guys know her."
"Aquastrike chose to stay behind when the masses of Autobots and Decepticons began evacuating from Cybertron. We gave her the choice to join us, but she denied our request," Optimus informed.
I... guess that explains a lot.
"And Sunburst?" Starlight continued, "'Swept and I worked with him for as long as I can remember. Then he vanished suddenly and never reappeared."
"Sunburst joined the Wreckers during the later stages of the war," Optimus answered, causing the three of us to look at him, "From my known records, he was only there for a short time before Cybertron's core went dark."
Starlight and I nodded at each other in silent agreement. Optimus' and Bulkhead's words seemed accurate.
It's weird how some of our lives can instantly be connected with the snap of our digits...
NO ONE'S P.O.V
The sun began to set on another ordinary day. Through the clouds, the sky began turn into beautiful colours of pinks and blues, providing the beautiful sunset that was about to begin.
Of course, that was only if the Decepticons cared about Earth's weather.
"Wheeljack? What are you doing all the way out here?"
"Bulkhead? That you?"
"Dude, what's with all the security' round here?"
"Sunburst!"
"Hey Sunshine! You better get your aft down to this rock where living at!"
"Windswept, is that the one 'nd only?!"
"Aquastrike!"
"Starlight! I've missed you so much!"
"Hey Jackie, the rock we're on is crawling with cons."
"A war hero, huh?" Slipstream smirked, looking over at her twin while the conversation between the Autobots continued.
"We haven't much time," Starscream immediately decided, "Makeshift!"
The Decepticon appeared on the bridge at his master's call, his spiky frame immediately standing before his Decepticon leaders and their second-in-commands. Soundwave struck out his clawed cable from his chest towards the Decepticon when the latter was close enough. Within moments, the Decepticon began changing into one of the three Autobot forms Soundwave had been scanning during the conversation replay. When that was complete, he began switching to another Autobot form, the same process carried out again when he switched to another Autobot.
"Well Rebecca, guess its' your lucky day," Slipstream decided, facing the floating human Decepticon, "You get the pick of the litter."
"See you soon, guys! I will make sure you get a proper welcome!"
Rebecca grinned slyly in response, clasping her hands together at the choice she now had to make, "The Autobot Bulkhead may know how to give a proper welcome, but so do the Decepticons."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
The sun was starting to rise on what was going to be a really good day. I couldn't contain my excitement! Two of my closest friends were coming! I was nearly shedding tears from the fact that were alive and okay and that they were coming home!
... Nearly...
Carly's picked up my excited mood and has obviously been affected by it, asking questions about my two friends excitedly.
"So what's Sunburst and Aquastrike like?"
I laughed in amusement. I had plenty and plenty of stories to tell her about my friends, and more. We were pretty close to base and it was nearing the time as to when Wheeljack's ship would land so story time was gonna have to wait. Since the ship was arriving pretty early, Optimus had us pick up the children at an earlier time. Poor Carly and Raf got an earful from their parents about leaving so early on a Sunday morning.
"Sunburst is the kind of Autobot that follows the rules. He's very strict on following them when he's around 'bots like Optimus Prime and Ratchet. But when he's with his friends, he really lets loose. He's so much fun to be around!" I explained excitedly about the Autobot that I considered a brother.
To be honest, I was more excited about his return more than Aquastrike's return. I still love her to pieces; I guess it's because I had more of a closer bond to Sunburst than I did with her.
"Aquastrike is literally a feminine version of Bulkhead. Without the girly squealing, of course, but I'm not kidding. She's rough, she's tough. You mess with her, chances are you're probably going to get a fist to the face," I explained as the doors to the base opened.
Carly laughed, "Miko's gonna love her then!"
I chuckled at her comment and was going to respond when when we drove into the main room. My brown-haired friend whipped off her helmet and jumped off my vehicle form to greet the excited Miko. I transformed and looked up at the monitors excitedly, seeing the ship nearing the landing zone.
"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone," Arcee announced.
The blue Autobot signal on the monitor was beeping as it continued making its' way to the co-ordinates we provided
"You think he and the others are here to visit?" Raf asked, looking up at the older humans.
"Maybe they'll stay!" Carly piped in, her eyes sparkling with excitement as they locked with Jacks. I smirked when I noticed that Jack's face lightened up at her happy expression.
I replayed the sentence my charge had said in my mind. I didn't know Wheeljack so I can't comment on behalf of him, but I sincerely hoped that Sunburst and Aquastrike would join the team. Not just for mine, Starlight's and Bulkhead's benefits, but for the team's. More firepower! More chance to end the war! More chance of finally getting my revenge on Slipstream!
...Hmmm, that sentence hasn't appeared in my mind for a little while.
Miko hummed beside Carly, "Have to find their own humans though."
"I don't think Ratchet would approve," Starlight mumbled beside me.
I only nodded in agreement - Ratchet apparently wasn't fused with the ones we already had...
"Groundbridge cycling up." Orange sparks appeared from the controls, causing most of us to jump at the sudden action. Ratchet frustratingly sighed and slammed down on the controls, "Blasted Scraplets! The equipment hasn't been the same since the infestation!"
He wasn't wrong - every time we used the Groundbridge, it would start sparking before failing to cycle up. And that wasn't the only issue we've had - some of the monitors have also been flickering on and off as well as the electricity all round. It's been difficult to try fixing the issues, but we haven't really had the time.
"So…Wheeljack and his gang are gonna land halfway around the world and then you'll bridge them here?" Jack asked with a confusing tone.
"We can't risk revealing the location of our base just in case the Decepticons are tracking Wheeljack's ship," Optimus explained.
While Optimus finished his sentence, Miko quickly ran off at the sight of Bulkhead pacing excitedly behind an annoyed Ratchet and near Starlight and I, Carly beaming behind her.
"Dude! I've never seen you so stoked!"
"And I've never seen you two so excited, let alone 'Swept!" Carly noticed beside her friend.
I was bouncing up and down on my feet in excitement while Starlight grinned from audio receptor to audio receptor. Careful Star, the wind might blow and your faceplates might stay that way forever.
... Or was that when you had a frown on your face?
"You're gonna love Wheeljack! We were like brothers!" Bulkhead explained with a grin.
"Aquastrike and I were like sisters! I'm so excited to finally sit down and relive some of our past fun!" Starlight grinned, dancing and spinning around.
"And Sunburst and I were those kind of siblings that tease each other about everything!" I smiled, raising my eyebrows in suggestion.
"Tonight, we are gonna party!" Bulkhead announced, pumping his fist in the air.
"HECK YEAH!" Starlight and I cheered, sharing high-fives with him.
"SWEET!" Miko and Carly also cheered, high-fiving each other.
Arcee and Bumblebee grinned at the excitement we were all sharing before the alarms began going off. We looked at the screens to see what was going on. Five red signals were rapidly closing in on the lone blue one.
"Bogies! Closing fast on Wheeljacks position!" Arcee announced.
"Con scum!" Bulkhead cursed, walking up to the screens.
Starlight and I exchanged a knowing look. Those Decepticons are gonna wish they never came after Sunburst and Aquastrike once they were finished with them...
NO ONE'S P.O.V
Deep within the Egyptian desert, pink and yellow colours were blending into the blue sky, signalling the suns rising for the day. Clouds floated by without a problem, providing shelter for the hot sand below. It was peaceful.
But not for long.
A Cybertronian spaceship appeared; the silvery-grey ship with small splashes of red was trying to escape the Decepticon drones shooting behind it. The ship moved left and right to avoid being hit by the enemy, still targeting the landing coordinates provided by Optimus Prime. The ship dodged most of the firepower raining down except for one blaster shot. It caught its' back left corner, grey smoke and orange flames immediately pouring out from the hit. Now out of control, the ship instantly pointed downwards and crash landed into the Sahara Desert sand.
The Decepticon jets wasted no time in following the skid marks the ship left behind, transforming into their Cybertronian forms. The first one in line activated his weapons, proceeding to stalk up to the damaged ship. His bravery was immediately unrewarded, being shot back to his team behind him from an Autobot blaster shot. The Vehicons immediately activated their weapons as three Autobots appeared before them.
The first Cybertronian that appeared was mostly white with green and red splashed on him. He was not as bulky as his friend Bulkhead, but he was also quite tall, probably the height of his friend. He had a red Autobot logo on his chassis, confirming his Autobot status. His blaster was activated on his right servo and was smoking lightly, indicating he was the one who fired that first shot that sent the Decepticon drone flying back to his team. He was Wheeljack.
The Autobot to his left stood proudly with her triple barrel blasters on both servos She was a few inches shorter than Wheeljack and had a chain wrapped around her neck, a topaz-blue butterbot (AN: Cybertronian butterfly) sitting just where her collarbones met. She was aqua blue in colour except for one black stripe stretching down to the middle of helm above her nose-plate and reached down to the join of her wings on her back. Her frame was as bulky as Wheeljack's and had black Autobot logos on her wings. She had five head spikes that formed an arch over the top half of her helm. Her deep blue eyes searched each of the Vehicons before her, ready to fight. She was Aquastrike.
The Autobot to her left stood with a goofy grin on his face, holding each of his battle axes that he pull out from his hilt on his back at each side. His frame was a dark yellow with a single white strip going up each arm on the outside, reaching near the Autobot logos on his wrists to the curve of his shoulders. He had a thick build similar to Wheeljack and at full height would reach Wheeljack's helm. His sky blue optics grinned at the sight of the Decepticons; it had been a long time since he battled his enemies. He was Sunburst.
"If you're trying to ruin our day, you're gonna have to try harder," Wheeljack challenged, a mouth guard sliding over his face. Sunburst twirled his battle axes in his hands and Aquastrike twisted her helm from side to side.
The battle was on.
The two Vehicons ahead of the pack fired first to their enemies. The three Autobots split apart; Wheeljack ran one way, Sunburst another and Aquastrike leaped into the air, all trying to dodge the blaster fire. The Vehicon closest to Aquastrike watched her fire multiple shots at him, using his helm as a landing zone as her foot crushed him. Behind her, Wheeljack and Sunburst leaped up, the former body slamming one of the Vehicons while Sunburst swung one of his axes at another, slicing the front of him. The spikes dug into the Decepticon, allowing Wheeljack to throw the drone he body-slammed on into him, throwing them both away.
More drones start flying their way, causing Aquastrike to fire multiple shots towards them, her triple blasters allowing her to use extra fire power. Wheeljack elbowed a Vehicon on the ground before leaping away to another, forward flipping over him. Sunburst used this as a distraction, knocking the drone away with use of his leg.
Wheeljack landed back on the ground, pulling an arm off the Vehicon he landed behind and kicking him away before slapping another twice in the face. He punched him, sending him backwards and landing in front of one lone Vehicon who had yet to be hit, let alone touched, by the Autobots. He looked at the trio of Autobots before him in fright.
"You 'Cons have grown soft on us," Wheeljack tormented, pulling out his swords from behind him. He looked at the two Autobots behind him, "This one's all mine."
The two Autobots nodded before they felt more blaster fire raining down on them. They looked up and quickly began shooting at the jets above them. While Wheeljack began his charge towards the lone drone on the ground, dodging his firepower easily. He was able to reach him and quickly began his attack.
Wheeljack instantly began swiping his swords at the drone, who jumped away from the sharp ends of the swords. The video feed pulled back, showing Aquastrike and Sunburst fighting the other drones with their blasters.
Slipstream watched with interest at the trio of Autobots that had just arrived onto the human-infested planet. Each of them were strong and weren't afraid to fight. But she couldn't help shrug at the interesting way their histories all managed to intertwine with one another.
Starscream decided enough was enough. If they didn't act now, they wouldn't be able to extract their plan when the rest of the Autobots would probably turn up to help the newcomers. He looked over his shoulder at Soundwave, "Swiftly! Before the Autobots arrive."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Bulkhead, Starlight and I stood in front of the Groundbridge tunnel. We were more than eager for it to come to life so we could go greet our newly-arrived friends.
Bulkhead turned around to face Ratchet, "Open the bridge, Ratchet! We're missing all the action!"
The sound of the Groundbridge switch being pulled down had me bouncing up and down on my feet again. The portal swirled to life in front us.
"I'll prepare sick bay!"
I laughed, along with Star and Bulk. Seriously Ratch?! Star and I definitely remember how Aquastrike and Sunburst fight - with precision, strategy and craziness!
"Who for? The 'Cons?! This is Wheeljack, Aquastrike and Sunburst we're talking about!" With that said, Bulkhead raced in the Groundbridge.
I shared an excited look with Starlight, who mirrored my facial expressions, and followed my teammate in the portal. This is it!
I leaped out onto this sandy terrain I believe was called the desert. Bulkhead had his blaster activated so I followed suit and brought out my twin blasters. I saw Starlight leap out onto the other of Bulk, probably with a knife in servo.
Offline Vehicon frames were strewn across the ground. I looked up from them to see a white, green and red Autobot stab a drone with one of his swords, sliding the weapon out from him quickly and letting the Vehicon fall on the ground offline.
"I taught him that," Bulkhead chuckled as we began deactivating our weapons.
A yellow Autobot pulled another 'Con off one of his well-worn battle axes, chucking the destroyed form away. And nearby him was an aqua blue femme swinging her leg around to kick her opponent onto the sand face first.
I smirked. That's our Sunburst and Aquastrike.
The red, green and white Autobot I presumed was Wheeljack began walking towards us with Aquastrike and Sunburst at his sides.
"Ever think I might need a hand here?" Wheeljack asked, putting away his weapons.
"What? And spoil the show?" Bulkhead scoffed.
"You missed one," Starlight warned with a smirk, putting a hand on her hip.
Sure enough, a Decepticon drone rose to his knees, his blaster ready to shoot... well he would've shot had Aquastrike not walked close by and simply slapped him back down with a backservo punch.
"Don' think so," She eyed up Starlight like she was trying to figure out how to greet her.
I was having those same urges with Sunburst. Seeing him standing at a distance ahead of me... he doesn't look like he's changed at all! He's still yellow, bulked-up, yellow, those sky blue optics looking at me with that familiar sibling fondness...
Did I say he still looked yellow?
"If this is all you got, then this planet is in bigger trouble then I thought," Wheeljack teased lightly.
Bulkhead, Starlight and I exchanged a knowing look. Then we raced towards them as quickly as we could, our excitement to see them becoming to much for all three of us to handle.
As soon as I got close enough to Sunburst, I leaped into his waiting arms, wrapping my own tightly around his neck as he spun me around.
I missed my brother so much. To have him here with us right now... I don't want this moment to end. We didn't say anything to each other... there was no need to. What we wanted to say, we would say back at base. But right now... now was just perfect.
"Watch the finish, you old wrecking ball!"
"Aqua, you're choking me!"
I laughed in both amusement and in happiness, hearing Wheeljack and Starlight laughing and barely spitting out their sentences as they were hugged by Bulkhead and Aquastrike. Hearing all this happiness gave me a little bit of hope. We could beat this war - as a team and as a family.
"I've missed you." My voice cracked with emotion as I whispered three words I've been meaning to say for ages.
"Missed you too, Windswept."
Sunburst only called me by my full name on certain occasions... Maybe this was one of them... maybe it's just because we haven't seen each other in years and he just wanted to make sure it was me...
Hearing him say my full name though... it felt weird...
When the Groundbridge appeared, we had to pull away from our reunions and return back to our base for Optimus to debrief the newbies. We all returned just in time. As Ratchet went to close the 'Bridge, orange sparks began spitting out and blue electricity cackled from the controls. The portal disappeared immediately, electricity cackling suddenly that had most of us leaping in fright. Ratchet only groaned as he looked over at us to make sure we had all made it through.
I glanced at Bulkhead greeting Sunburst with a hand shake - Although they worked together in the same team near the end of the war, I don't think it wasn't enough for Bulk to hug him like he had with Wheeljack. Starlight greeted Sunburst with a smile.
I turned my attentions to Aquastrike and held out my servo for her to shake. But she just looked down at me and smirked, her arms waving out like she was going to scoop me into one of her hugs.
Ohhhhh no...
"Oh... oh no Aqua!" I laughed nervously, backing away.
I couldn't run away in time to escape the bear-crushing hug she began giving me, spinning me around and whooping with glee. "Good to see ya again, Windy!"
I rolled my optics amusingly at the nickname for me. Aquastrike always had some sort of name to give us. Twinkle was Starlight's because of her talent when it came to her knives, Sourshine was Sunburst's because he was a 'spoilsport' in her terms. Mine just happened to be a shortened version of my name.
Aqua sat me back down on my feet, waving at everyone around in the room, "Hiya!" She spotted the humans and, I think her curiosity of them got the better of her, because she shoved her face literally into theirs...
Carly hid behind Jack, her hands lightly on his shoulders as they greeted Aquastrike with small nervous waves. Starlight and I shared a laugh.
"What are these?!"
Good ol' Aquastrike and her curiosity of literally everything. She hasn't changed.
"They're humans, the main species which live on this planet," Starlight replied
"Ahhhhh," She hummed, "Helloooooooo humans!"
"Aqua, they can understand you," Starlight laughed.
"Oh!" Aquastrike gasped in realisation, jumping back and rubbing the back of her neck, "Sorry! Didn' know."
"Don't worry about it," Carly shrugged off her initial fears of my... assertive friend.
"Hey, Jackie! Come here! Meet my other best buddy, Miko! She can wreck with the best of us."
Miko waved at the newly-arrived Autobot, "Hiya!"
Wheeljack walked up to the girl as close as he could. I could see Bulkhead watching with a nervous look and I couldn't help but bite my lip. I hope 'Jackie' got along with Miko almost as well as Aquastrike did with the others...
"You keeping Bulkhead out of trouble?"
"I try, but trouble finds us anyway."
Wheeljack grinned at her response and looked at Bulkhead approvingly, "We're gonna get along just fine."
I glanced between Carly at the top of the stairs and Sunburst opposite her. I bit my lip and settled my optics on my brother figure, "Sunburst, this is Carly. She's... an important friend to me."
Sunshine bent down a little to my human friend's height with a straight face so I couldn't tell what he was thinking, "Keeping Windswept sane, I hope?"
Carly slowly nodded with a smile forming, "Sane? Windswept's saner than anyone else in this place!"
A smirk appeared on my brother figure, "I highly doubt that, but if you're an important friend of my little sister here, then you're important enough for me to believe you."
I sported a mixture of confused and annoyed on my faceplates. Since when have I ever been insane?
...Actually, never mind. I don't want an answer to that...
Optimus walked up to the group from behind, probably wanting to greet our, hopefully, new recruits. Wheeljack, Aquastrike and Sunburst turned around to greet our leader when they noticed him approaching.
"Optimus Prime," Wheeljack greeted.
"The big guy himself," Sunburst gasped, a little bit starstruck.
Aww Sunshine.
"It's a privilege, sir!" Aquastrike immediately saluted to him.
"Likewise soldiers," Optimus responded with a glance at the trio, "What have you to report from your long journey?"
"Been bouncing from rock to rock searching for signs of friends or foe," Wheeljack reported, looking over his shoulder at Bulkhead.
"And now we find both!" Aquastrike beamed, patting me and Starlight on her backs. We were immediately flung forward at the contact. Our small frames have always been unable to handle Aquastrike's... brute strength...
"We are few but strong. We have suffered losses. But we have grown." Our leader looked over at Jack and Raf, indicating how exactly we have grown over the last few weeks, "And we would relish welcoming three new members into our fold."
Optimus Prime, is that a small smile appearing on your faceplates?
"We would be honoured," Wheeljack smiled back, looking between Aquastrike and Sunburst.
"Then let's get this party started!" Bulkhead immediately declared, slapping Wheeljack on the back. The pair turned to each other and chest-bumped with a warrior cry.
"Oh joy," Ratchet moaned quietly at the Groundbridge controls.
Yeah, your sour mood is not gonna dampen the party that's about to begin, Ratch!
NO ONE'S P.O.V
"The moment Makeshift passed through their Groundbridge, we lost his tracking signal."
The Decepticons' plan to swap out one of the Autobots with their secret Decepticon shifter Makeshift had been a success. Although it was difficult given that they had to manage to swap in Makeshift without arising any suspicion from their Autobot friends, their Decepticons drones had performed admirably for once, sending their Autobot prisoner to the Warship immediately.
So while Starscream spoke, he, Slipstream and Soundwave were making their way down to corridor to greet their Autobot prisoner. And to see whatever information they held within them they could get out.
"The Autobot base is no doubt heavily shielded to prevent us from locating it..."
"Do not stress yourself over this mission, Starscream," Slipstream advised as they reached the end of the corridor where the holding cell was, "I have complete faith in my loyal friend." Greeting the Vehicons guarding the door, who straightened up at the sight of their Decepticon leaders and their second in command, they opened the door to the dark room, "Besides, our 'inside' man is already inside."
Being held up by purple cackling bonds, the captured Autobot began looking up at the sound of the doors closing behind the trio of Decepticons that entered.
"Ahhh Sunburst," Slipstream greeted with an evil smile, "It's been years since we last saw of each other. I hope you've been well."
"Tell Megatron he's fragged in the head if he thinks Bulkhead and Windswept won't sniff out your 'loyal' friend."
Immediately Starscream picked up on two things. The first thing was that Sunburst and Slipstream were well aware of each other. He heard of the amount of Autobots his sister had murdered over the few times she managed to slip into Iacon and bomb the site. By the sounds of it, their tones suggested that she had hurt, or possibly killed, someone that Sunburst was close with. The second thing he picked up on was the fact Sunburst still believed that Megatron was still leading the Decepticons.
Somebody was going to have to give him the news. It may as well been him, "Haven't you heard? Slipstream and I lead the Decepticons now."
"You, Starscream?" Sunburst scoffed in disbelief, "I can imagine Slipstream. But you!"
Starscream growled in frustration. Just about everyone had their full faith and confidence in Slipstream. But the second his name was also mentioned as being co-leader, everyone laughs in his face! He went to retaliate, readying his claw to strike the Autobot. But his twin sibling got a hold of his wrist before he had the chance.
"Makeshift is very good at keeping up appearances, Sunburst. He only needs to fool your friends long enough to open their Groundbridge from within so that we may finally storm the Autobot base and kill every Autobot in sight."
On the top deck of the Decepticon warship was an army of Decepticon troopers, waiting for their next move...
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"Come on, Jackie. Show me what you got!"
The party was instantly in full swing. With Miko providing her rack- I mean, music from her guitar, everyone was already off doing their own thing. Aquastrike and Starlight were immediately catching up on the journey's each of them had been through, Raf and Bumblebee were watching Miko play her guitar, watching her get into her music while Arcee, Jack, Carly and I just watched the boys get reacquainted.
And by reacquainted, I mean throwing a giant metal ball between the three of them.
"Nice lob," Bulkhead complimented Wheeljack when the ball was thrown to him. He looked over at Sunburst, lobbing the ball over to him.
"So what's this about?" Carly asked from her position at the edge of the ledge beside Jack.
"It's called lobbing," I answered as we watched the ball get passed to Wheeljack and then back to Bulkhead.
"A favourite pass-time on Cybertron. Especially among the warrior class," Arcee explained.
Lobbing was a favourite past time that was shared between Sunburst, Aquastrike and many others of Iacon. They used to lob around a round metal ball similar to the one the boys were throwing around back forth all the time. Starlight and I would normally watch them lob it around and make smart-aft comments towards them. It would start up quite the stir...
... Those were the days...
"Come on, Raf!" I looked down at Miko still playing her guitar, looking at the boy excitedly, "Show us some moves!"
"Oh, alright." Adjusting his glasses, Raf stood up and instantly started dancing.
Jack broke out in laughter, "Of course!"
"The Robot!" Carly cheered, pumping a fist in the air, "Go Raf!"
Bumblebee whirred as he watched his human friend dance, eventually joining in and copying his moves. I could hear Ratchet moan in disbelief while he still worked at the 'Bridge controls... I bet you could never dance like Raf and Bumblebee, Ratch...
"Where's Optimus?" Jack asked behind me.
"Didn't he say something about a drive?" Carly questioned with hum, looking at Jack.
Arcee and I exchanged a nod, speaking softly to the humans between us, "Primes don't party." Nothing more needed to be said on that topic - Jack and Carly got enough of a hint.
"Coming at ya!" Bulkhead yelled, lobbing the ball over to Sunburst near the entry tunnel.
Sunshine tried to desperately to catch it, but Bulk had thrown it too high. We watched the ball smash into the wall above before falling down near the Groundbridge controls just as Ratchet ducked out of the way.
Uh-oh.
"You know, I am attempting to perform sensitive calibrations here!"
"Sorry, Doc. Guess we're a little charged up," Wheeljack apologised with a simple shrug.
"You built this bridge from scratch, huh Ratch?" Sunburst asked, walking past the medic with the lobbing ball in hand.
"I did."
"That's quite a feat of engineering."
Ratchet looked up, a small wave of confusion crashing over his face before joy took over, "Yes, Sunburst. It is." He was probably happy about getting some appreciation for the work that he does around here.
Don't we appreciate him enough?
I glanced at Bulkhead and Wheeljack shrugging at each other at the conversation. I zoomed my optics in, watching Sunburst narrow his optics at Ratchet behind him.
"Something wrong with it?"
"I didn't care for the way it sounded this last jump. I put it in shutdown."
"What if you need to use it?"
"Oooh, I can't interrupt the defrag process without causing irreparable damage."
Sunburst took a few steps, "So, uh, how long will the defrag take?"
"A few hours if we're lucky," Ratchet answered, looking at Sunburst, "Maybe longer." With a shrug, the medic looked back at the controls to resume his work.
While the boys went back to lobbing the ball around again, I narrowed my optics at Sunburst again. He and Ratchet had known each other for a decent amount of time - Ratchet popped into the medical hospital for the wounded near Iacon on occasion when a seriously injured had arrived. They discussed a few things over the time of the war, but they had never discussed anything like engineering before. In fact, I'm pretty sure Sunburst knows nothing about engineering.
Hmmm, something's not right.
NO ONE'S P.O.V
While the full moon shone brightly behind the Decepticon Warship, inside was a different story. Its' dark and dull walls compared well with the frustrated Starscream, who was looking at the monitor. He was waiting for Makeshift to make contact.
"Makeshift still hasn't opened their Groundbridge! Or otherwise transmitted their coordinates!"
"His disguise may have been flawless. But it won't fool the Autobots forever," Slipstream agreed, "However, he may be just taking his time to set into the base to gain the Autobot's trust. Fear not Starscream, Makeshift will be doing whatever he can to not raise suspicion at the Autobot base."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"So there we were. No communications. Low on 'nergon. Surrounded by 'Cons. So what does Wheeljack go 'nd do?"
So eventually, the boys gave up on lobbing that metal ball around after nearly throwing it into Ratchet's Groundbridge controls a few more times after the initial hit. They decided to share some old Wrecker stories with Aquastrike, who was quite disappointed at first when the boys jumped straight into a few stories after she had left them. But when they began discussing one of the earlier, Aquastrike was eager to tell her side.
Bumblebee stood beside Arcee and I while Wheeljack leaned on the opposite side of him with Sunburst. Starlight sat cross-legged on the ground in front of 'Bee as our reunited friend and Bulkhead stood ahead of all of us to tell the story.
Aquastrike began to crack up with laughter and looked at Wheeljack, "Tell 'im, bro!"
"What I d-"
"What Jackie does best of course!" Sunburst suddenly crowed, slapping his friend on the shoulder. He must have zoned out for some reason...
Bulkhead and Wheeljack exchanged a strange look at their old friend before the former continued with a laugh, "Jackie chucked his only grenade smack into the main heat exchanger!"
"Yeah. Seemed like a good idea at the time," Wheeljack shrugged with a 'that's-what-I-do-best' tone.
"The joint went supernova!" Aquastrike gushed, throwing her bulky arms up.
"Awesome!" Miko cheered in delight. She was with Raf, Carly and Jack on a crate nearby.
"Yeah. I'm still picking shrapnel out of my backside," Bulkhead grumbled, scratching his backside.
"I'm not surprised. Given the size of your backside," Arcee smirked teasingly.
Ouch.
"You want some ice with that burn, Bulk?" Bumblebee buzzed with a laugh.
"There it is. Jackie's signature. One grenade; one shot."
Sunburst had quickly zoned out again. I think he was starring at the Groundbridge controls again. His optics have been locked on that thing since his conversation with Ratchet. I pressed myself off the wall and stood in front of my brother figure now that Aquastrike and Bulkhead's story over - I didn't want to be rude.
"Sunshine, are you alright?" I asked, waving my servo in front of his face.
Sunburst blinked and glanced down at me, "What?"
"You weren't this quiet on the ride here," Wheeljack told him, "Is something up?"
So it wasn't just me who had noticed his sudden change.
"You don't seem like yourself," I added softly.
"What do you mean?" Sunburst asked, standing to full height and taking a step forward towards me.
I took a few steps back at his sudden movement... That was weird...
"You seem…distant," Bulkhead answered carefully.
Sunburst looked away from all of us with a sigh. I could tell from the look on his face that he was becoming aware that he hadn't been getting into the party as much as everyone else lifted his helm towards Bulkhead, "I've been stuck under a roof for too long, I guess. I should go topside before I go stir-crazy."
"I have patrol later on tomorrow morning, You can come with!" I offered, trying to get him to brighten up a little.
"Let's go now!" Sunburst decided, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me over near the tunnel.
Red flashed in my mind, kind of like a warning light. Something was wrong, The grip on my wrist was too tight. The feeling of suffocation hit me. I dug my heels into the tiled floor to stop Sunburst from dragging me further.
"You wanna break up the party now?" Aquastrike asked in disbelief.
I slipped my hand out of his loosening grip and looked up at him, "Come on, Sunburst. We still have many stories to tell!"
"How about you tell them? You guys clearly love telling stories more than I do," Sunburst insisted, looking down at the humans, "How about Miko and Carly here show me around the base?"
'Don't let them go with him,' My helm began whispering to me. 'Something's wrong. He's not right in the helm...'
"Well, yeah, sure, Sunshine," Bulkhead nodded at the request of permission, looking at me.
...Maybe Sunburst just needs a walk to clear his helm. Maybe all this is too much for him. Maybe the girls can help talk his way out of this slump he's in... Yeah that's it...
"Go ahead," I finally answered.
With an excited look, Miko and Carly quickly leaped off the cube holder, directing the yellow Autobot towards the Groundbridge tunnel
"Tour starts now! Do you play any instruments? Can you fly? Have you thrashed more Decepticons then Bulkhead?" The further the trio disappeared into the corridor, the quicker Miko voice faded away.
"You guys alright?" Arcee asked with concern.
"Yeah..." Bulkhead slowly began, "Just out of sorts, I guess."
"What about you?" Starlight asked, bumping my shoulder with her own.
I blinked, slowly turning to face her. I faked a smile and nodded, "Yeah I'm fine."
"Don't tell me you're jealous," Arcee lightly teased us.
I shrugged, "What's there to be jealous about? So what if Carly's making a new friend? Big deal!"
"Something... Something's just not right about Sunburst," Bulkhead finally said the sentence that I was waiting to hear all night.
"You see it too, huh?" I asked him.
"Guys? Really? He's travelled galaxies. You both haven't seen him for centuries," Arcee argued, walking up beside us, "He could just be rocket lagged or…bots do change, you know?"
"Oh no, not Sunburst," I instantly retorted back, the tone in my voice turning dark and stubborn.
Sunburst doesn't change. No matter what he's been through, not once has something horrible changed his outlook on things. And trust me, he's been through a lot.
"He wasn't like this on the ship." I instantly glanced at Wheeljack when he spoke. He shrugged at the attention, "He was more of a smart-aft then he was distant."
I looked down the tunnel he had just left in with the human girls, "Then something is definitely wrong."
NO ONE'S P.O.V
He had to get out. He had to break free of the bonds. He to get to the Autobot base to save his friends, as well as the ones he was supposed to meet, from the Decepticon shifter who had taken his place.
He had to! Now!
It was no use, his fighting did nothing but grab the attention of the Vehicon guarding him. The Decepticon turned around and walked up to his Autobot prisoner, pressing his activated blaster against his face.
"You're not going anywhere, Autobot."
Hang on. Maybe he could make this work in his favour.
Sunburst took his chance, wrapping his legs around the drone's neck. This caused the Decepticon to start shooting rapidly in all sorts of directions in a panic.
"Do you drones ever shut up?" Sunburst grumbled, guiding the Decepticon into the perfect angle to make him shoot at the control panel holding him in his bonds.
Within moments, the real Autobot known as Sunburst had the drone shooting at panel, deactivating his bonds. He dropped to his feet, the dead drone collapsing on the floor nearby, and began his escape from the Decepticon warship.
"So, I guess that's it. Energon stock pile, power-board generator, armoury."
"Everything you need to blow the joint sky sky high."
Miko and Carly were close to ending the tour of Autobot Outpost Omega One, the home of the Autonomous Robotic Organisms. Sunburst walked behind them, pausing as he looked around. The tour still didn't answer many of his questions. Now was as good time as any to ask them.
"Where's this bunker located exactly?"
"If I told ya, I'd have to rip out your spark chamber," Miko answered dangerously, turning around to face the Cybertronian.
The Cybertronian closed his mouth, unamused and a little bit threatened by the girl's tone.
Carly laughed nervously, looking over her shoulder, "Ignore her. We're outside of Jasper, Nevada. Though, I don't think that'll mean much to you."
"It doesn't, really," Sunburst hummed, hesitation evident in his answer, "So uh, any way out of here besides bridging?"
"Why?" The Cybertronian paused in his step when he realised the humans had paused in their walk, looking up at him with curious and sad eyes.
"You're not planning to leave already, are you?" Miko asked. Then a grin returned to her face, walking back the way they came from, "Come on. I'll show ya."
As Sunburst turned around and followed Miko, Carly couldn't help but notice how strange the Cybertronian was becoming. First he wanted to know all about the Groundbridge from Ratchet, then he was zoning out when the storytelling began, and now he's asking about the location of their base and if there was another way out of the silo.
Something was odd about him. And deep down, she very well knew that she wasn't the only one noticing it.
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Wheeljack and Aquastrike continued talking about how Sunburst was his strict self back on the ship and how he always had a smart comment to make to and about Aquastrike.
"Almost there." I heard Ratchet mutter about the Groundbridge controls.
Wheeljack, Aquastrike, Bulkhead and Starlight were talking about my brother figure like they knew him forever. What do they know about Sunshine? Sure he maybe strict and has a smart-aft mouth on occasion. But they don't know how his walls break down when he's with me - he could tell me every little thing he had never said to anyone, not even with those he considered family. His strict self covers up the witty and lovable side of him - he hides who he truly is so the Decepticons can't dig into him to find his weakness.
There was one time where that happened... and it basically changed our lives at Iacon.
"Guys, listen. I know Sunburst better than all of you combined. I practically grew up with him. I'm know how he behaves and that behaviour does not show who he really is!"
"Windswept, you need to calm down." Servos gripped my arms, pausing my sudden outburst. Starlight was looking at me with worry, "You haven't seen Sunburst since Iacon. You even thought he died when he left! Maybe the things he saw with the Wreckers changed the way he acted around us."
Starlight could be the voice of reason at times, but this was one time that I knew she couldn't be. Sunburst has never changed. Nothing has ever affected him before.
"Hey." We all turned around, seeing Sunburst reappear from one of the corridors with Miko and Carly jogging in front of him. He paused when he saw Starlight's servos around my arms, "What's going on?"
A sudden memory came over my processor... Primus... I know how to tell if this was the same Sunburst or not...
"I was just about to tell these guys about Raindrop's death."
Raindrop was an Autobot scientist that worked closely with Alpha Trion. He, Sunburst and one other, were the first to welcome me into Iacon with open arms. I was only starting my reach into adulthood when I had arrived. He and Sunburst were brothers in arms. But the longer I stayed at Iacon, the closer me and Raindrop quickly got.
During a suicidal battle, I suffered a shot to the back. Raindrop had just run out to help me when he was shot and murdered by a missile shot at him from the Decepticon I was fighting. The missile had gone straight through him and he off-lined in my arms. Even if we could get him back to the medics, they wouldn't have been able to save him. His death was a major blow to the Iacon team - we were all distraught by his passing... I don't think we all ever recovered...
Sunburst later decided to take some personal time off the field. Only days later, he disappeared, making us think that had gone to get revenge only to join Raindrop in the AllSpark...
"That's... uh, that's a heck of a story."
"Yeah, it is," I whispered, my voice close to cracking, "Tell it."
"Talk, talk, talk! How about AFTER we go off-roading?" Miko suggested like she wanted to change the mood.
"Miko, stay out of this!" Bulkhead warned.
"'Swept?" I looked behind me. Aquastrike was frozen in place with Starlight rubbing her arm. The aqua blue femme looked at me with pleading optics, "Don' make 'im tell it."
When Aquastrike was first sent to Iacon, one of the first friends she made was Raindrop. The two became close over time and she ended up with deep feelings for him. Who knew huh? A brief Wrecker and an Autobot scientist isn't really your normal pairing, but hey, we all wanted them together. It was a shame he didn't feel the same way. When Aquastrike heard of his death, she went into shock for a while, but she eventually came back and wanted to fight on his behalf.
"I'm not sure I-"
I snapped around towards him. "You were there, Sunburst!" I took a threatening step towards him, "Tell it!"
Sunburst reacted nearly violently, copying me and taking a threatening step towards him, "Fine! If you want me to recount my friends death, then I will!" He looked around at us, "A team of Decepticons lead by Slipstream started attacking Iacon. Alpha Trion sent Aquastrike, Raindrop, Windswept and I out to fight them. One of those 'Cons got lucky and got a shot at Raindrop when he ran to help Windswept after Slipstream shot her. The 'Con get a clean shot straight through him and he died in her arms. Thanks to Whirlwind arriving on the scene, we all managed get out of there without any more deaths." He rubbed his face with one servo, trying to get rid of all the emotion in his face.
I allowed a tear to slip down my cheek while the base went quite. A wave of emotions were crashing over me - that was a lot harder than I thought. Hearing his death again, it made my body nearly shake as the death replayed in my mind. Oh gosh... maybe this really is Sunburst. My brother figure... Maybe he was chang-
"Oh Whirlwind." Sunburst reached his servo reached the rock formation wall. "Primus, I miss her so much." Then he looked at me, "You happy now?! Is that what you wanted to hear? Isn't that how it all happened, Windswept?"
'Thanks to Whirlwind..." Why did that sound so wrong to he-
Wait a minute...
...Wait a fragged minute...
"Yeah that's how it happened, alright..." Sunburst let out a sigh mixed with relief and emotion. I narrowed my optics on him, "Except for one crucial thing."
Sunburst's mouth was agape at my suggestion.
"Whirlwind wasn't there."
Ratchet gasped behind us, muttering something as I heard him stop his work on the Groundbridge controls. The humans exchanged shocked looks while everyone around us stayed silent.
I looked at Aquastrike and Starlight behind, the latter looking like she was trying to restrain the former with one servo on her arm. Both of them looked angry... just like I was.
"When that Decepticon killed Raindrop, Aquastrike responded in a violent rage, remember? She nearly killed Slipstream! But we held her back and we retreated as fast as we could. Remember that?" I asked him with a deadly tone. When he froze up, I continued, "When Whirlwind and I escaped the Decepticons when we were younglings, we split up to cover more ground. We never met up again. While I ended up Iacon with you the first to greet me, I never got to see Whirlwind again." I took a threatening step towards the Cybertronian, "So tell me, 'Con, who are you, and how do you know of my sister?"
Got ya, you Decepticon bastard.
"Wait, 'Swept, does that me-"
Sunburst slammed me out of the way and into the rock wall. When I heard a lot of screaming and panicked movements. I looked up at the Decepticon in Autobot armour in front of the Groundbridge. He was holding something in his ser-
"CARLY!" I screamed in realisation.
"Stay back!" The Decepticon warned, holding my friend tightly in his grasp, "Or I'll squeeze her into pulp!"
We stood in a defensive position, unable to do anything that could involve my charge quickly being squeezed to death in the Decepticon's hand. Ratchet went to take one step towards the Groundbridge, but 'Sunburst' took a threatening step towards him.
I wasn't the only one freaking out more than everyone else. Jack, Miko and Raf were terrified of the fact that any second, Carly could die before them and they weren't able to stop him.
My Energon curled with rage.
I had to save my friend.
"Sunburst! What are you doing?" Miko demanded
"That ain't Sunburst, Miko!" Aquastrike yelled.
"Decepticon coward!" Wheeljack growled.
"Let the girl go and face us!" Bulkhead challenged angrily.
"Don't fret. Plenty of fighting to come," The Decepticon taunted.
"Is there a REAL Sunburst?" Jack asked worriedly, looking up at us.
"Of course there is! But our boy must have been taken captive and replaced by this phoney here during the battle when we arrived," Wheeljack summarised what could've happened.
Makeshift nodded at the theory, "Oh, indeed, and I expect Lord Starscream and Lady Slipstream to be making sport of him."
NO ONE'S P.O.V
The Vehicons waited patiently for their the next order on the deck of the Decepticon Warship. They weren't allowed to move a single inch out of their stance. They had to be ready for an upcoming battle.
But how far away was that battle?
"Are you certain we are at the coordinates we supplied to Makeshift?" Starscream asked Soundwave, who nodded at him in response.
"Why's he taking so long then?!" Rebecca whined with a bored tone, yawning.
"Maybe my team gave your dude such the hero's welcome, he got the warm fuzzies and decided the Autobots were the better side." The Decepticon leaders quickly spun around at the voice.
Sunburst was approaching them.
"How did you get out your cell?!" Rebecca angrily questioned.
"Do you not see you are vastly outnumbered?" Starscream tormented.
"Do you not see the dumb Decepticon drones who might vastly enjoy me pound some dents into you?" Sunburst retorted, preparing his fists.
"DESTROY HIM!" Slipstream commanded.
The Vehicons raced to the Autobot at their female leader's command, blasters firing shots towards their enemy. Sunburst smirked, pulling his bronze-coloured twin battle axes out from the hilt on his back. As the blaster fire rained around him, the Autobot let out a warrior cry and charged towards the Decepticons. He put his battle axes to good use immediately, reflecting some of the firepower from them back to the dumb Decepticon drones he referred them to...
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
We watched with baited breath as the imposter began typing commands in the Groundbridge. I kind of sighed in relief – with the defrag process of the controls, the Groundbridge wouldn't be powering up a little while longer. That meant that we would had some ti-
The defrag process suddenly sped up.
The frag?!
The 'Con must have typed those commands in to sped it up and complete it so he could use the Groundbridge.
Scrap!
"About time." When the Decepticon pulled the lever down, the portal came to life in front of us.
There was no doubt in my mind about two things - one was he was going to go through that 'Bridge with my human friend, and the second was that waiting on the other side of the portal were one or two people we did not want to see.
I gulped nervously at our predicament. At least the Groundbridge now works without a hitch...
NO ONE'S P.O.V
Sunburst wasted no time during his battle with the Decepticons. While his battle axes were still reflecting blaster shots back into the crowd, he knew that it wouldn't be long that he would have to put them to a more proper use and start slicing the Vehicons.
Starscream narrowed his optics at the Autobot. This one wasn't stupid, unlike some of other of his enemies he had meet during the war. If he wanted to get rid of this one before he overcame them and returned home, the male leader of the Decepticons knew he had to get rid of the enemy immediately. Enraged, he fired a missile at the Autobot.
Sunburst failed to see the missile coming, landing right before his feet and exploding. Through the black smoke and orange flame, the yellow Autobot flew backwards. He managed to land onto his feet and wait for the Vehicons to come to him. One of them charged up, but the Autobot stabbed him in his torso, spinning him into the next one in line. Using the growing pile of Vehicons as a lift, he jumped on top of them and leaped towards the Decepticon that fired the missile at him.
He used him as landing zone, hitting him with a warrior cry. He was ready to take his anger out on the Decepticon when a swirling blue and green portal appeared behind the strewn Decepticon bodies. He smirked..
"What do we have here?"
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Carly continued struggling in the Decepticon's grip, trying to pull herself out of his servo desperately to escape him. The more she failed to do so, the more panicked she became. I was freaking out for her. I needed to save her before that 'Con exited the base!
We slowly moved towards the 'Con when he started walking backwards to the open Groundbridge.
The 'Con however, raised the servo that wasn't holding my friend up, "Let's get this party started!"
That's it!
I balled my servos into fists and prepared to fight him. But suddenly, a yellow figure flew through the 'Bridge and onto the imposter. The force made the 'Con lose his grip on Carly, who began screaming when she was in the air. I wanted to desperately try catching her, but she was too high for me to reach. A servo reached above me and caught me friend. Oh thank Primus!
Her saviour was Wheeljack, who was putting her onto the ground. The humans took turns checking her over and hugging her when they thought she was safe. Can I get a hug in next?!
I looked at the imposter-con lying on the ground. My optics looked up at the mech who had knocked him down. He looked EXACTLY the same as the imposter. Is he Sunburst?
I didn't want to assume it was...
"I'd shut that hole before the rest of the party turn up."
NO ONE'S P.O.V
Slipstream helped her brother to his knees, weakened by the blow Sunburst had landed on him before he had escaped through the Groundbridge. She had fired a missile at the retreating figure, but he had dodged it and used the blasts' force to propel himself into the portal.
Energon pooling at the corner of his mouth, Starscream looked up at the still open portal before him and gasped, immediately yelling the next order for his Decepticon army.
"ENTER THE GROUNDBRIDGE NOW!"
The Decepticons didn't mess around, following their leader's order and beginning their charge. But just as two Vehicons were close enough to leap in, the portal swirled shut with no Decepticons being able to race in after the Autobot.
Starscream screamed in frustration. His Decepticon army was so useless!
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Ratchet did what he was told, but my optics remained focused on the two yellow mechs now standing opposite each other with their bronze-coloured battle axes. They immediately began circling each other around the Autobot logo on the floor of our base. Starlight, Aquastrike, Ratchet and Wheeljack were on the opposite side of Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee and I. The humans were down near our feet.
I punched my fist in my palm. I don't know if this yellow mech that just came through the portal was the real Sunburst, but I still wanted to give this phoney one a piece of my fist for threatening my friend.
No one messes with Carly. No. One.
Battle axes blocked my view suddenly. "Ugly's mine."
The two yellow mechs charged forward at each other, their battle axes clashing with orange sparks flying at the metal contact. Over and over and over again, their bronze-coloured weapons clashed...
"Which one's the real Sunburst?" I looked down at Raf adjusting his red-rimmed glasses.
Miko pointed around at the figure she believed was Sunburst until she became confused,"I lost track!"
By Primus, I had no idea who was who either! I'm not gonna lie - it's too much yellow!
Each figure lost a battle axe during the fight. One mech scratched the other's wrist as a distraction before kneeing him in the stomach armour. The hit caught him off-guard and lose grip of his weapon. It was snatched off him before he was slashed at with the axe. He collapsed to the ground.
The imposter had the battle axe held to him, the spikes barely touching the cables of his neck. The guy holding the axe looked over at the Groundbridge controls, "Ratch, get the switch! The trash is overdue!"
"Allow me." Wheeljack smirked and reached down to the imposter still on the ground.
NO ONE'S P.O.V
Angered by his incompetent army, Starscream curled his hand into his fist, ready to address the troops when the blue and green swirling portal appeared behind his army and in front of five Decepticon drones that had charged at the original portal.
To see the Decepticons drones BACKING AWAY from the Groundbridge, and the troops behind them that did nothing except for standing there, Slipstream growled in disbelief, "What are you waiting for? GO!"
Immediately, the troops raced towards it, the first few leaping into the portal.
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Wheeljack held up the imposter above his helm as the Groundbridge opened up. He spun around with a warrior cry and threw the 'Con into the portal with ease.
That's one problem taken care of.
I glanced at the yellow mech in his place. Was this the real Sunburst?
NO ONE'S P.O.V
As soon as a Groundbridge portal reappeared, the Vehicons wasted no time in obeying the commands to enter it. But when they saw what was flying towards them, they had no choice but to race back out immediately, crashing into the group of Vehicons that had been waiting to enter the portal.
Makeshift flew helplessly into the air, slowly making his descent downwards. And his target?
None other than Starscream and Slipstream themselves.
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Wheeljack and the yellow mech eyed up the Groundbridge portal like they were making sure that there weren't going to be any more Decepticon imposters, or any other Decepticons for that matter, filing in.
The yellow mech complimented Wheeljack proudly, "Nice lob."
He sounded the same, fought the same, behaved the same, and he definitely looked the same. But I was still unconvinced as I walked up to him.
"Sunburst?" I didn't even recognise the whisper that came out of my mouth.
The yellow mech with the white stripes looked at me, his optics softening. There was a familiar fondness about them, more so than the imposters. His servo suddenly gripped my shoulders, a cheeky grin playing on his lip plates.
"When were you gonna invite me to this party, 'Swept?"
I couldn't help the grin on my face.
Welcome home, Sunshine.
NO ONE P.O.V
As the Groundbridge portal to the Autobot base swirled shut, an angry Starscream got up and looked down at the Decepticon shifter that had just landed on him and his sister.
"Please tell me that you at least learned the location of their base."
"Indeed, Lord Starscream and Lady Slipstream," Makeshift answered as he stood to his feet, rubbing his mouth, "It is in a hidden bunker just outside of-"
Something started beeping, causing Slipstream to hold out a finger to the shifter to get him to pause in his sentence. The beeping noise wasn't too far away, she could tell. The Decepticon co-leader glanced down to Makeshift's hip where the sound was emanting from. Her optics widened at the sight she found.
An activate grenade.
Starscream spotted the flashing colours at the side of the Decepticon, immediately running from the scene. "RETREAT!" Slipstream grabbed the floating and confused Rebecca beside her, also fleeing.
Makeshift was also confused by why the Decepticon leaders were transforming and flying away from him. That was until he looked to his hip to find the grenade on his hip flashing with a bright red.
"Oh no."
Those words were to be his last as the grenade exploded in a flash of blue, taking out any of the Vehicons standing too close.
Slipstream wasn't too pleased with her 'loyal' friend.
"MAKESHIFT! YOU FOOL!"
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
The party lasted well into the night and early into the next morning. By the time the drama was all over with, it was already way past midnight and too late for us to take the kids home WITHOUT waking up their probably worried parents. So they came up with the excuse that they were all doing projects at a mutual friend's house and they hadn't realised what the time was until it was way too late into the night.
Still bright-eyed and well awake, the humans were getting the party re-fired again. Now with a backing track to play to, Miko immediately began strumming her guitar. Raf was dancing away quickly with Bumblebee and Starlight joining in behind him. Jack and Carly were dancing together – yes, I said TOGETHER – and laughing, especially when she twirled around in his hands.
"It's like a recurring nightmare." I heard Ratchet moan in frustration.
I looked over at Arcee in amusement, smiling even bigger as she shook her helm in disbelief of the younger Autobots and our human friends.
I discovered that I wasn't the only one looking over at Arcee. Optimus, who had returned late into the night to find us still chatting away and having fun, too was looking at her shaking her helm.
Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Sunburst and Aquastrike were surrounding my leader. I bit my lip at seeing Aquastrike - I felt bad for bringing up Raindrop's death. It was an event that a lot of the Iacon team never really recovered from, but none more so that Aqua. It's a wonder really that she's managed to stay being herself.
I walked up to my aqua blue friend and patted her wrist to get her attention, "I'm sorry that I had to bring up Raindrop's death. I just knew something wasn't right."
Aquastrike gripped my shoulder with a small smile, "It's okay Windy. I know dat was hard for ya too. Good thin' you got a pair of good optics, huh?"
I let out a small noise between a laugh and hum at that statement. I hadn't spoken about Raindrop's death like that in a long time. Sometimes it's best to not keep things all bottled up like that...
"Now that you're part of Team Prime, we need to pick out a vehicle mode for you. I have some ideas," Bulkhead started grinning, elbowing Wheeljack knowingly.
"Uh…about that, Bulk. Now that my ship's repaired, I'm itching to know what else I might find out there."
"Wait! You're leaving?" Miko exclaimed as the humans raced up to us with Arcee, Bumblebee and Starlight behind them.
"Why?" Carly asked.
I don't think Wheeljack had the spark to answer, so Bulkhead replied in his place, "Because some bots never change." He even had a small chuckle too.
Wheeljack smiled at him before looking over at Aquastrike and Sunburst, "You two coming with?"
Starlight and I exchanged a look of worry. We didn't know whether they would stay to be honest. Sunburst literally got the welcome from hell and maybe Aquastrike wasn't feeling up to sticking around and battling the drama that was coming in from the Decepticons. Maybe 'Bots do change...
Sunburst looked my pleading optics, attempting to fight the so-called puppy dog look I was giving him. Finally, he groaned, covering his optics, "Fine! If I stay, will you stop?!"
Did he really need an answer to that question?
I leaped into his arms as an answer anyway, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly.
"Maybe I should stick around too," Aquastrike hummed, "This place aint' so bad. And the humans are so adorable!"
Of course Aquastrike was keen on more battles from our enemies!
As Sunburst set me down on my feet, I watched Wheeljack look at Aqua in fake disappointment, "Oh, and here's me worried about you repeatedly attempting to tell me how to fly my own spaceship!"
"I'm gonna miss ya too, Jackie-bot," Aquastrike smiled softly and sadly, exchanging a hand shake with the white, green and red Autobot, "But with this neck lace hangin' 'round my neck-" She gripped the butterbot bead tightly with her other servo, "-You'll never be too far from my mind."
That sentence hit me hard. Aquastrike's been wearing that small blue butterbot necklace since for as long as I could remember. I think she said it was a gift from her brother to remind her of him every day.
Wheeljack was her brother.
Our histories were twisted together once again.
"Wheeljack, know that you always have a haven here," Optimus reminded him.
"Jackie never stays," Bulkhead sighed as he began patting him on the back, "But he always comes back." The two exchanged a smile before fist-bumping.
When Wheeljack signaled that he was ready to go, Ratchet was quick to bridge us back out to the desert where Wheeljack's ship was resting and waiting. The four humans as well as Bulkhead, Arcee, Bumblebee, Aquastrike, Sunburst, Starlight and myself joined him to say our farewells.
"There's room for two, Bulk. Even with a backside like yours." Bulkhead turned to face Wheeljack at the offer, "Who knows what we might find out there? Some of the old crew?"
Bulkhead looked to be mulling it over like he wasseriously considering the offer. I'd miss him if he did leave. He was our muscle afterall, but we wouldn't be lacking as much now that we had Sunburst and Aquastrike here. Still, that big brother aura might disappear in base if he were to go.
I saw him look at Miko, who began rubbing her arm in defeat like she knew he was going to choose Wheeljack over her. Carly wrapped an arm around her shoulders as if she was silently reminding her friend that we were all still gonna be here.
I don't think that'll be enough for her though...
Bulkhead started chuckling, looking back at Wheeljack, "Sounds like fun, Jackie. But my ties are here now..." The bulky mech looked over his shoulder at us, "With them... with her."
Miko beamed instantly at the words that Bulkhead wasn't going anywhere. By the looks of it, I believed that the choice he was given was something he knew couldn't topple what he had been given here on Earth.
Wheeljack smiled and nodded in understanding, looking around the green former Wrecker, "Anything happens to my favourite Wrecker or my sister, or Sunshine here for that matter, I'm coming after you."
I grinned as Wheeljack playfully teased Miko and Carly.
"We'll take good care of them," Miko promised as she and Carly whipped out their phones, pointing them at Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Aquastrike and Sunburst, "Now say cheese."
FLASH
And so, we are introduced to two more OC characters. I suppose that you didn't see that coming at first, but then again, based on the original chapter title, you had to have a feeling that something interesting was going to happen. Whenever I see someone rewrite this episode for their own series rewrites, they normally take that as an opportunity to introduce already known characters. I just felt like a change was needed (That, and I'm not too overly familiar with the Transformers universe as a whole. I didn't want to write in a character and be judged for something that isn't quite right with them).
(And now, if you can excuse me, I've got some binge watching to do on the new DC Universe streaming site... Hmm, there's a few shows I've been watching on there lately... Maybe in the future, I'll be diving into some Young Justice writing too!)
Follows/favourites/reviews make me want to continue writing.
Thank you for reading.
(Last edited: 11/07/2019)