Heyo! School's currently in some deep snow so I'm feeling great! (Also, avoiding English essay) Thank you for being the great and wonderful reviewers you are; Lunarburst23, Xarine, The Silvernote, CastieLunaWinchester, Khalthar, Graceful-But-Forgetful-Writer, jgoss, ryannea . reed , lizy2000, xVentressx, Bee4ever, 8goose8, SapphireSpark, Guest, and 99luftballonsx.o.x!
Oh, and I've realized that CR's anniversary was this week! (Monday) *pops the confetti things* And I wanna do something special for it. Yeah I know, I've been so flippin' busy this week, with the quarter ending and all and classwork and homework. I think I'll write a One-Shot, and I have some ideas but I'll let you guys vote for it:
1. A little fluffy one-shot of Charlie and Sideswipe. (This will be before they get to base)
2. A glimpse into Charlie's life before she found Sideswipe.
3. A funny little one-shot of how Sideswipe got to Earth.
4. Or a peak into the future plot of CR. (But not too much, cuz some things got to be a surprise)
Which ever one you want, just type the number along with your review. That would be very helpful! This chapter was inspired by the song, "Count The Saints," By Foxes. Which is a great song you could listen to while reading if you'd like :)
Wow, is this the longest author's intro I've typed, or what?
Anyway, on to the story!
Chapter Twenty-Six: Count The Saints
(Charlie's POV)
My eyes fluttered open to the sounds of a smooth, expensive engine rumbling. Dark leather was all around me, and another smooth rev of the engine, before muffled voices. My blurry vision focused, and I realized I was inside of a car...Sunstreaker's car to be exact. I was in the back seats, with the raggedy blanket and a pillow as my companions. Familiar warmth spread under my thighs, and I was aware of the leather seats heating up.
Do back-seats even have seat warmers?
"Are you well, human?" The radio crackled, startling me slightly.
I calmed myself down, and examined my bare arms and legs. The bruises were no longer visible, and for once, I didn't feel a throbbing of slight pain every time I moved my limbs. Just to make sure, I stretched my legs out, careful not to mess up his clean and pristine interior, before pulling my arms above my head and stretching as well. I didn't stop until I heard the satisfying pop of the joints in my elbows clicking in place.
Sunstreaker made a disgusted sound. "Whatever you just did, don't do it again. Ever."
"Pop my joints?" I asked.
"Yes."
I hid my grin, lacing my fingers together and cracking them all. I could feel the golden Lamborghini shudder, and the engine growled loudly in warning.
I chuckled softly.
"You think this is funny?" He spat.
"Absolutely," I answered, before shooting out of my seat as the seat warmers rose to an unbearably hot temperature, "Hey, what the -OW!?"
Sunsutreaker's chuckle echoed out through the radio, and I winced as I rubbed, my unpleasantly tepid thighs. His laughter faded and turned into an annoyed growl as the passenger's door swung open, and Quickshift appeared in the front.
"Hey, you guys aren't havin' fun without me, are ya?"
"If you could call nearly getting the flesh burned off of you, fun." I muttered darkly, even though I was aware both Cybertonians heard me perfectly.
I timidly checked the temperature of his seats, and when they returned to the mild temperature I preferred, I collapsed back into the seat, the exhaustion from yesterday just now hitting me. I remember working on Sunstreaker until two in the morning, fixing minor complications and upgrading him with things I saw fit. I don't necessarily remember passing out in his back seat, but it if meant he was comfortable enough to have me back here, then I was all for it.
After all, it was one step closer to my goal.
"You get so much as an ounce of organic fluids on me and I squish you." He warned gravely, and I rolled my eyes.
"You've been threatening to squish me ever since you saved me. Yet, you haven't. I'm curious...have I grown on you?" I asked, the edges of my lips tilting up into a teasing smirk.
Sunstreaker grumbled lowly. "You are...tolerable. And more useful than originally expected."
I rolled my eyes, "Gee, thanks."
"But I still despise your kind." He finished, rather casually.
"I think the humans are pretty cool." Quickshift piped up, from his spot in Sunstreaker's passenger's seat.
"No one asked for your opinion, little glitch."
I groaned, "Can't you two get along? It is entirely too early in the morning to deal with your constant bickering."
Quickshift just rolled his silver eyes, before his lip-plates turned up into a grin that barely veiled his excitement, "So, you wanna tell her tha good news, Sunshine?"
Susntreaker gave a low growl for the nickname, "We're leaving."
My eyes widened, and sudden joy filled my chest and had my heart beating faster. "Really? We are?"
"Yes, I've managed to repair my navigational systems. Using the human's satellite I've pinpointed the location of the base. Luckily for us, they did not relocate."
"And the bond?" I found myself blurting out before I could stop myself.
I could feel him visibly tensing, mainly because I was still inside of him. for a long moment, he didn't say anything, and I immediately regretted bringing Sideswipe up. As much as I wanted to know what happened, I shouldn't have brought up a sensitive subject. The twin bond was a whole lot weaker because of the long absence of each other, and I remember Sideswipe talk about how they had to strengthen their bond again. It was far more fragile than either twin liked.
"I can't feel him." Sunstreaker answered, snapping me out of my musing.
Quickshift shot me a perplexed look, but I stared down at my lap, "Oh."
I really did want to see him again. The guilt was eating away at me, getting to a point where he was showing up in my dreams. Out of all the pandemonium that quickly engulfed my life, Sideswipe was something of an anchor that held me down, and kept me from spiraling off into insanity. His spirit was always warm, welcoming, and caring. He always managed to cheer me up somehow, and cared for me in a way that was almost like a guardian.
And I cared for him too. I wanted him to be safe and happy, and I made a promise that I'd help him reconnect with his twin. And I wasn't about to break it.
"You really care for him...don't you?" Sunstreaker suddenly spoke up again. His voice was soft, and sounded slightly uncertain.
I looked up at the dashboard. It was an old habit from being in Sideswipe so much. It was familiar, but at the same time distinctive. "Yeah...I really do."
"Would you sacrifice your life for him?" He sneered, but I ignored the bite.
I just took a deep breath and answered, "He's done it on many occasions for me, so I would return the favor."
"What about your family? Wasn't it the idiotic reason for you coming here in the first place?" He spat.
My heart lurched at the thought of my family, but I pushed it aside.
"You'd risk separating yourself from your family permanently for an alien's life?"
"Yes." I was surprised how firm and sure I sounded. I didn't even miss a heartbeat, answering without really even processing the question all the way.
After all I've done to keep my family safe, I'd risk it all to save Sideswipe? I'd risk my own life?
Of course I would, because he'd do the same thing for me. Even though Sunstreaker is here, he'd do it. Because that's how much he cared. It was rare, but when Sideswipe became fiercely protective and caring for something or someone, he wouldn't stop. Ever.
And it was something that I deeply admire about him.
I let out a soft sigh, muttering aloud, "This is going to sound crazy, but I'd give about anything to just hear him call me schlemiel again." Quickshift crawled up beside me, leaning into my side softly, and let out a soft rumble from his tiny engine. I gave a small smile, rubbing between the tiny antennas mounted on his head.
"We split up," Sunstreaker said again, after a long period of silence, "The detonation device was planted somewhere in the heart of the city and Optimus ordered us to split up and look or it, we didn't have long until the city would be blown sky high. I was tracking an irregular energy signal when I stumbled upon you in that Con's hand. At first I looked away, I didn't even wanted to save you. I thought if you perished, then maybe Sideswipe would realize how futile and senseless you humans really were. But then I knew how much it would affect Sides. As much as I hated it, you meant a lot to him. Your death would leave him agonized, and it would plague him forever, knowing that he should've been a better guardian to you. So I saved you, for Sideswipe's sake. I killed the Con, and I hid you in this warehouse. It was far enough away from the battle that you'd be safe from discovery.
When I returned, it was in the midst of battle. Sideswipe and Jazz had found the bomb, and needed help disarming it. I knew how to make one, that would short the bomb our and disarm it, and in the momentary lapse of awareness, Dead End snuck up on me. I barely managed to move out of the way, and the fragger got me in the hip plate. We were running out of time, and they knew it. I killed that spawn of a glitch, but he did manage to get a couple of wounds on me. I gotten to the location, most of the Autobots were holding Con's back while Jazz and Sides tried to work the thing. It was one pit of a bomb, but we managed to disarm it just in time. We thought we'd won, we thought it was over, but that slagging Seeker wouldn't go down without a fight.
Sides and I were getting him good too, taking shots at his wings and slicing through his armor, when all of a sudden, the slaggin' ground splits. It split right between Sides and I, leaving me on the other side with that glitched Seeker. Sideswipe tried to get over, but the crevasse was too wide, and it was too risky to jump it. I told him I'd take care of him and what you humans call an earthquake happened next, taking us all off balance, and the Seeker suddenly had the upper hand. He transformed into the air, and dropped a bomb before jetting out of there. Lucky for us the glitch had a terrible aim and it landed in the abyss the split ground had created. But it wasn't a normal bomb, it was an electronic countermeasure. Not only does it disrupts communication transmissions on any frequency within a three mile-radius, but it feels like your helm is about to slaggin' blow up when you're Cybertronian. The abyss took the worst of it, but I was close enough to get blown back into a building, my systems shorted out and left me in stasis."
Sunstreaker paused for a moment, "I onlined in rubble. About a third of the city was destroyed, and my comms were slag. What's worst was I couldn't even feel Sideswipe anymore. It was gone, shattered, and my frame was so numb from the explosion that it couldn't feel the burning pain in my spark. Your government and military was already on the scene, and I dragged myself out of the rubble, going to the only place I could think of."
"The warehouse." I muttered somberly.
"Yes," Sunstreaker answered a moment later, "And I stayed there, welding most of my wounds, and tended to your wounds. It wasn't until approximately three Earth days later that you had woken up."
My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, "I don't understand. After the explosion...they just left you?"
"I was buried seven feet deep in rubble. I doubt that they would've found me, especially since most of their systems were shorted out, and they needed to leave before the military came in."
"Oh." I said softly.
"I'm telling you this to prepare yourself." Sunstreaker said.
I nodded slowly in confusion, but carefully crawling into the passenger's seat.
"I'm ready." No, I wasn't.
Quickshift hopped out of the Lamborghini and pulled the lever. The screeching sounds of the metal warehouse filled the air, but I wasn't as excited as earlier to finally leave the warehouse. My stomach rolled at the dread waiting to come. I already witnessed deaths of innocents, and I wasn't sure how much more I could take. Once the doors fully opened, Quickshift hopped into my lap, and Sunstreaker's holoform appeared in the driver's seat.
He looked almost identical to Sideswipe's, the only differences being his golden, almost yellow hair that was extremely curly and fell to his neck, and the deeper, cobalt eyes. The engine revved loudly, and we were off. It was sometime in the middle of the day, because the sun was gleaming brightly in the sky. Dark spots clouded my vision, and I blinked several times before they cleared. Absolute horror washed over me as I stared at my surroundings.
Buildings were crumpled and charred, the glass shattered and in the streets. Trees were in the roads, and smashed into other buildings as well. Large, unusual cracks ran through the streets and sidewalks. Cars were strewn all over the place, flipped over, inside of buildings, and some manged to get stuck in the large cracks. There was a bookstore up ahead, I remembered it because it was the one my parents took me to all of the time. Half of the roof was missing, the windows were all shattered, and a large Semi was in the center of the building, laying on its side. I couldn't take it anymore, I squeezed my eyes shut. If I stared at the horror any longer I would throw up.
This place, this city...it was horrendous.
So many emotions swirled inside me; fear, horror, sadness, agony, and anger. I didn't register myself crying until tears began to slip down my cheeks, and I didn't wipe them. It was the boy in the school uniform all over again, and all I wanted to do was break down into a sobbing mess. Quickshift squeezed my hand in a comforting way, but I couldn't find any comfort in it, not when I was in the wake of death and destruction.
I choked on a sob, and Quickshift just squeezed harder. His wide silver eyes filled with sadness as he shook his helm. The tears didn't go away, even when we were out of the destruction and back on regular roads again. I understood why Sunstreaker said to prepare myself, and the tears only came harder.
My eyes snapped open, and I jolted up, looking around my surroundings frantically. I relaxed when I found myself still in Sunstreaker's Lambo, but frowned when I realized I was laying in the backseat again. The flourescent lights had me wincing again, and I rubbed my eyes, letting out a soft groan. Quickshift appeared from the passenger's seat, and he crawled over to the back with me.
"Hey Charlie, you alright?"
I nodded, "Yeah," And then I looked out the window, "Why are we stopping? It's still daylight."
"Sunstreaker went ta get some gas and food for ya." Quickshift answered.
Oh. I shifted uncomfortably in the backseats, before rolling my shoulders, "I'm gonna go use the restroom."
The radio crackled on, and I knew Sunstreaker was about to protest, but I was already opening the door, "Do you want me to lubricate on myself?"
He gave a grunt, "You have five minutes. And then you will meet me at the register."
"Okay." I mumbled, getting out and shutting the door. I felt lightheaded, but pushed it aside as I continued to walk to the convenience store. The wind picked up, and I rubbed at my bare arms and ignored the slight wobble to my walk.
"Charlotte?!" A soft voice uttered in shock.
I froze, my heart nearly jumped into my throat.
It couldn't be.
I turned on my heel, and was engulfed in a warm hug. All present thoughts left my mind as I hugged her back, my legs gave out and we fell to our knees, still hugging each other tightly. Without warning, tears rolled down my cheeks as the familiar lilac scent swarmed my senses. I knew she was crying too, by the way her shoulders were shaking and her grip was tight around my waist.
"Oh, my baby. My sweet girl!" She wailed.
"Mom." I said softly, my voice wavering.
Now I'm really excited, everything is starting to fall into place! Thanks for reading, and remember to vote!
