A Catch in the Side
AN: My muse has sequestered herself under my bed and refuses to come out. This is something that I polished off to fill in until she can be lured out again. If I can't come up with something next week, I'm not going to beat myself up trying to scratch out something that I consider 'subpar'. And if I cant get the creative juices going, then I'm taking a month off to recharge the batteries and coax the muse into cooperation.
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"I'm not going to say it," Sunstreaker said, feeling something brush against his ankle.
"You already have," Sideswipe answered, his voice gruff with annoyance.
"The seekers will never see us coming, he says," Sunstreaker recited for the umpteenth time in the past two hours. "The camouflage paint jobs will allow us to blend into the sky. They'll never expect us."
Sideswipe grumbled, the loose sand beneath his pedes shifting and causing him to lose his balance on the small sandbar. He sputtered, dropping below the water line in a fit of spray before resurfacing, spouting the water to his twin. Sunstreaker tried to get away from the offending spray but his own balance was lost and he tumbled off the sandbar. He returned to the surface and clambered back onto the thin strip of sand and shifting rock before finding his footing once again.
The water lapped around the two Lamborghinis, adding insult to injury. A seagull glided overhead, its call a mocking cry to the two boiling Autobots who were struggling to stay above water.
"Camouflage paint," Sunstreaker half muttered, half growled. His fist lashed toward his twin but with the water adding friction, Sideswipe was able to duck the blow in time. Sunstreaker missed, overbalanced and went tumbling into the ocean again. He grabbed Sideswipe's foot and jerked, pulling his brother under the water with him.
Sideswipe let out a squawk as he was dragged under. He kicked and flailed, hoping to connect with his twin but Sunstreaker was already finding his footing on the sand once again. When Sideswipe resurfaced, he took a slap to the face.
"Idiot!" Sunstreaker shouted, causing the gull to send out an alarm.
"It was an honest mistake!" Sideswipe shouted back. He rubbed the side of his face as he stared indignantly at his twin. "I just didn't think it through."
"Obviously!" Sunstreaker snapped, sinking lower in the water and glaring over its glassy surface. "Camouflage indeed. Painting ourselves like the humans who hunt and then launch into the sky to attack."
"It's still a good idea," Sideswipe said in defense of his brilliant, but slightly off kilter, idea. "Camouflage would work."
"Not to look like a forest! The sky isn't green you idiot!" Sunstreaker barked, feeling something rake along his ankles. Whatever was brushing against him was certainly interested in his pedes. He understood why. They were quite nice. And now that the black, brown, and green paint was dissolving, his gorgeous golden self was shining through. Thank Primus he used a water based paint for the failed endeavor. He was annoyed he didn't use super glue in Sideswipe's paint job.
"Minor miscalculation," Sideswipe amended, feeling seaweed caress his leg. He stepped aside, trying to get away from the annoying seaweed that slapped at his plating.
Sunstreaker snorted, his mood turning even sourer when he noted the clouds starting to block the sun. Figures. The duo paint themselves to look like forests, attack seekers, who saw them coming, and got ditched in the ocean several miles from shore. They had taken refuge on a small island, its only scrubby palm being ripped up and tossed into the ocean by Sunstreaker's temperamental hand, only to have the tide come in and cover the small sanctuary. Now the water lapped just below their shoulders, storm clouds were forming overhead, and their locator beacons had been disabled by their impromptu oceanic landing. So the rescue crew was going to have to do it the old fashioned way.
It was going to take decades to find the two wayward Lamborghinis.
"I have an idea!" Sideswipe announced, his face alight with stupidity again.
"You're an idiot!" Sunstreaker snapped, glaring daggers. "Stop trying to use what little processing power you were granted on something so complicated as trying to think."
"No, this is a really good idea," Sideswipe said, not perturbed in the least. "I can get my locator beacon active if it can dry out. So I'll climb up onto your shoulders, dry out my systems, then call for help. It's simple!"
"No, you're simple," Sunstreaker said with a flat voice.
"It will work! And if my systems don't dry out in time, and there's a plane, I can signal them," Sideswipe said, convinced of his own genius. Waves lapped against his chest, signaling the brewing storm. "They won't be able to see us if we're submerged. We have a better chance at getting spotted if we're out of the water."
"You're not getting on my shoulders," Sunstreaker said, bristling with the idea of having to elevate his twin out of the foul cold waters. He hated water, especially salt water.
"But I need the height," Sideswipe whined, kicking out at whatever touched his pede. He hated seaweed. He hated the thick driftwood that loomed ominously around them. He had already screamed once about a giant alligator trying to sneak up on him in the water. Sunstreaker had laughed himself silly and made a mental note to fill their quarters with drift wood the next time Sideswipe annoyed him.
"I'll get on your shoulders," Sunstreaker said, not wanting to scuff his paint any more than what was going to be necessary.
"But it was my idea!" Sideswipe whined again, glaring at his twin. "I want to be on top."
"Who do you think would have a better chance at gaining attention?" Sunstreaker asked, nodding toward the deep blue surrounding them. "Blood red or bright gold armor on blue ocean?"
Sideswipe took a moment to ponder then grumbled, relenting to allow his brother to climb onto his shoulders. It took some finagling but Sunstreaker was able to find purchase on Sideswipe's shoulders. The gull called overhead, circling low over its potential perch.
Sunstreaker pulled his gun out of subspace and shot it.
Sideswipe flooded their bond with gratitude. He wasn't in the mood to put up with an aerial threat.
Twenty minutes went by before Sideswipe shifted, causing Sunstreaker to frown and grasp his brother's helm for support.
"Stop moving," Sunstreaker snapped, feeling a breeze kick up over the ocean. The storm was getting closer. Waves occasionally came to tickle under Sideswipe's chin, though the general water level seemed to have dropped a couple of inches. The storm was going to be a big one.
Being submerged didn't bother the twins, having no real use for oxygen. But being underwater for an undetermined amount of time while keeping all vents shut down and no cooling ventilation was very uncomfortable. Not to mention that the rise in temp meant that certain delicate systems would be affected. Glitches formed if the heat became too much for the body to take.
"Something's touching my ankle," Sideswipe said, getting a mouthful of sea water as reward. He spit out the offending liquid and twitched, trying to rub one ankle against another to ward off the itch.
"It's the seaweed," Sunstreaker said, having had it to wrap around his own pedes when the island first started to sink beneath the tide.
"It's slimy," Sideswipe said, feeling it slither around his ankle that reminded him of the bots with tentacles on Cybertron. Those mechs always terrified him.
"It lives in water. Of course it's slimy," Sunstreaker said, rolling his optics and grasping his brother's helm as the ruby warrior moved unexpectedly again. "And hold still! My circuits are almost dry!"
"I'm trying," Sideswipe snapped back, wincing when Sunstreaker dug his digits into the edges of his helm.
"I think I can get out a signal," Sunstreaker said, watching as his HUD started to return to normal parameters and not fill his vision with red lines. He knew there was damage and several systems were compromised. Being out of the water had not only helped to dry out his circuits, but he had been able to open his vents and release some of the heat that had built up. Now, his systems were waking up one by one, the danger to their operational function disappearing in vapor.
"Try the comms," Sideswipe said, closing his mouth quickly as a wave came up and tried to gain entry. He narrowed his optics at the surrounding waves, daring them to make another attempt.
"I may only have enough energy for one burst," Sunstreaker said, knowing his reserves were getting low. He didn't have a chance to properly refuel this morning before painting his ingenious brother and himself and being called to action.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sideswipe asked, noting the waves were starting to gain altitude and courage. One had the audacity to splash into his optics.
"A written invitation," Sunstreaker snapped back, sending the databurst. Static filled his senses for a couple of seconds, the transmission echoing in his audios from the oncoming storm.
"Did it go through?" Sideswipe asked, hearing the resounding ping in his internal comms. A wave came up and slapped his cheek before receding to halfway down his chest. The Autobot sigil peeked across the top of the water like a sprite, watching the world with impish delight.
"I don't know," Sunstreaker admitted, feeling his vents flutter in an attempt to rid themselves of any remaining water. "I think so. But with this storm building, its difficult to say. It could have bounced back our signal or it could have gone through. There's just no tel…."
Sunstreaker's explanation was cut short as Sideswipe scratched at his ankle again. This time a wave decided on a sneak attack and grasped his shoulders, giving him a rumbling shake. Sideswipe overbalanced with his twin's weight and toppled forward, his brother sailing over his head to perform a spectacular face plant into the water. The wave receded, pleased with itself.
Sunstreaker tumbled in the undercurrent, his equilibrium thrown off with the chaotic tossing. He expelled a heavy gust of air, hoping to rid his vents of the unwanted liquid that had slipped inside when he went under. The action stabilized him, allowing him to get a bearing on up and down. And to glare at the guilty pedes of his twin that were a few meters away. Along with an unexpected discovery. With a sneer Sunstreaker fought his way to the surface, spewing water like a fountain and looking for his brother.
Sideswipe let out a squeak upon seeing Sunstreaker's face. He knew what that meant.
Termination.
Sideswipe turned to make a retreat but in the middle of the ocean, there wasn't anywhere to go. He turned in slow motion to face his twin as Sunstreaker took the few steps toward him.
"I love you, Bro," Sideswipe said, giving his most charming look.
It didn't work.
Sunstreaker's arm arched from the water. Before Sideswipe could register the action, something large, slimy and gray slapped him across the face. He sputtered, blinking his optics, trying to center his dizzy world, when Sunstreaker withdrew his hand again. The guilty Autobot recoiled, staring at the object that impacted his face and was startled to find his brother holding a limp and dazed shark by the tail. As Sideswipe zeroed in on the strange object, Sunstreaker lashed out again, planting the hapless animal right between his brother's optics.
"You want to know what's been itching your pedes all this time?" Sunstreaker shouted, arm drawn for another assault.
"Sunny! I .." Sideswipe tried to speak but Sunstreaker lobbed the unconscious animal at his twin.
Beating, berating, emphasizing his words with a slapping shark, Sunstreaker ranted and raged as the building storm. When the Autobots found them half an hour later, it was to find a cowering Sideswipe with Sunstreaker brandishing the remains of his organic weapon. The shark's skeleton made a grinding noise as it scratched across Sideswipe's frame, the pieces falling off and drifting away like flotsam. Sideswipe made a mad escape toward Jetfire's hovering form, Sunstreaker hot on his tailpipes.
When both were inside, Sunstreaker threw the remains of the shark at his twin. The carcass bounced off of Sideswipe and landed with a splat at Prowl's pedes. Prowl sighed, a door wing twitching.
It was just a typical day in the Autobot ranks.
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Reviews would be loved and let my muse know that she is still needed.
