Big Brother

Storm/Lazer and Thundercracker

(Stories: Hidden Secrets & Shattered Happiness)

Storm stood on a cliff that looked out at the ocean, a storm was coming she could feel it in the air as the wind rushed past her. She looked down at the water and couldn't help but smile at how it reflected her…feelings so well, calm and peaceful on top but below a churning mass of water. She looked up into the sky seeing dark clouds forming, the wind was picking up speed almost as if it was trying to push her away but she stayed still.

Things had calmed down since Skywarp's visit, Starlight was recovering well and was expected to wake in a few days which relived her greatly. There was just one thing that left her in turmoil and that thing or should that be Cybertronian was beneath those waves. She sighed sadly as she saw and heard the clouds crackle with thunder.

"Brother." She said quietly, "we may not be like the others but that doesn't mean I don't miss you." A heavy rain descended and Storm finally took her gaze off the sky and towards the horizon her optics beginning to tear up, she shook her head in an effort to shake them off and transformed heading out towards the ocean.

The heavy rain bashed against her body as if trying to force her down into the watery depths below while the wind tried to push and overturn her. She didn't know where she was going nor did she care at this point, all she wanted was to get away from this feeling of pain that had nestled in her spark since Starlight began to recover. Hours past and still she flew on through the rain and harsh wind almost daring it to continue with its attempts to overthrow her. Her systems were telling her that she was low on energon but still she continued on trying to out run the pain that had suddenly caught up with her as she cried on the inside, before she passed out the last thing she remembered seeing was the blue of the ocean.

Storm felt a soothing hand upon her head, the touch felt so gentle, so caring and loving it reminded her of… "Thundercracker." She gently whispered before she knew it.

"You need to be more careful, Lazer." A gentle voice said.

Gradually Storm onlined her optics and saw the blue seeker leaning over her. Believing herself to be dreaming the femme's optics dimmed for a moment before brightening once more, sure enough there was Thundercracker, her brother, leaning over her a small worried look on his face. She reached up to touch his face and was quite surprised when it made contact and didn't go through, also that he'd placed his hand over hers a small smile now replacing the worry on his face. "Am I dreaming?" she asked quietly.

"No Lazer, you're not dreaming." He replied.

She gave him a confused look, "But how can you be here? I have to be dreaming, it's the only way."

"We've been following you." Another voice said gaining the femme's attention. Storm sat up with the assistance of Thundercracker and saw Skywarp at a little away from her, she looked around and saw lots of trees with a clearing about a meter off. She looked back at Skywarp more confused than ever. "It's a strange occurrence when a single Autobot flies out across the ocean and refuses to stop or even realise that they're being followed." He explained. Storm once again looked around, if Thundercracker and Skywarp were here then that meant that…

"He's not here." Thundercracker said knowing who she was looking for. "It's just the two of us."

"How?" she asked as she looked back at the blue mech.

"Let's just say that Starscream got himself in a little trouble with Megatron and is…out for a while." Skywarp explained almost chuckling. "Of course it didn't help TC's spark any when he saw you suddenly drop out the sky like that." He ignored the glare his trinemate gave him at revealing that information.

"Sorry." Storm muttered looking away from them both.

"Lazer, why were you that far out? What were you doing?" Thundercracker asked concerned.

"You can't have been on a mission or you would have had that other flyer with you." The black seeker mused.

"No, I wasn't. I was trying to run…" she stopped not wanting to explain why she was out in the middle of the ocean miles from anywhere. She only half knew the answer herself so how could she explain it to anyone else.

"Run? Run from what?" Thundercracker asked growing more worried for his sister as the conversation went on. When she didn't respond he held her hand only for her to look even more away from him. "Lazer, please. Tell me what's wrong." Again he got no reply. He moved slightly so he could gently turn her head to look at him. "Please." He pleaded quietly.

The white and ocean blue femme looked into her brother's optics for a moment before pulling her head out of his grasp and look down at their hands. "Pain" she almost whispered "I was running from the pain." she told him sadly.

"You're in pain? Who hurt you? Where's your injury? I'll tear them apart!" Thundercracker ranted suddenly enraged that somebody dared hurt his sister.

"TC." Skywarp called out sadly gaining the mech's attention. He saw realisation dawn on his trinemate and a deep sadness enter his optics before he looked away.

"Oh." He said releasing her hand and missing the upset look in her optics. "I'm your pain."

Seeing the awkward silence that descended on the two siblings Skywarp though he'd change the subject slightly. "How's Starlight doing?"

Storm looked over at the black mech and gave a small smile, "she doing great thanks to you. Ratchet says she should up in a couple of days."

"I didn't do anything." Skywarp grumped folding his arms across his chest and looking away.

"That's not true, you saved her life." She began "something I failed at." She said sadly as she stood and turned her back on them.

"You didn't fail!" Skywarp suddenly burst out surprising the two flyers and have them look at him. "If anyone failed Solarflare it was me."

"But you made up for that by…"

"Whatever you say, Lazer, he won't believe you. He's too convinced it's his fault she nearly died." Thundercracker interrupted.

Storm sighed, "Please don't call me that, Thundercracker. It…it reminds me too much of… what I…lost." Turning away from him.

Curious Thundercracker placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, "and what have you lost?" he asked.

"I…lost myself…and my brother."

"But I'm right here." He said walking around until he was standing in front of her.

"Are you?" she asked looking at him "are you there when I need someone? Are you there when I need the comfort of family? Have you been there to defend me when others accuse me of things? Been there when I needed advice?"

The blue seeker went to answer only to sigh and look away, "no." he replied quietly.

"Even though you're here now doesn't mean anything. It only makes my pain for you worse because I know you can't stay. That I may have to shoot you down one day." She began "I cannot live with that fact anymore, Thundercracker. I can't! It's tearing me apart." Tears were starting to make their way down her face.

"You've carried this burden to yourself all this time? Never told anyone about it?" Thundercracker asked partly shocked at what he was hearing as he looked back at the femme.

"I couldn't. I couldn't tell anyone, who would I tell?"

"Solarflare or Lightning?" the blue mech offered.

Storm turned away from him, "Lightning had enough to deal with and Starlight…" she glanced over at Skywarp. "she has enough with all her…panic attacks. How could I tell her? I was suppose to be the strong one, the one who kept us all together."

"So you kept it hidden from everyone and let it eat away at you." Thundercracker concluded to which he received a nod. He gave a small smile and pulled the femme into a hug. "Then cry, cry until you can't cry anymore." He told her gently as he held her "And I will tell you how to forget me."

The femme looked at her brother a moment before bursting into tears, releasing all her pain and torment that she held locked in inside all these years. She cried into his shoulder holding him tightly scared that he would leave before she was ready.

An hour had past and Thundercracker held onto his sister just as tightly as she was him, gently rubbing her back in comfort. He was unaware that he had been crying himself, he felt a hand on his arm and looked over at his trinemate seeing small sad smile on their face. "We have to go." Skywarp said. Sighing Thundercracker gave a nod and looked at his sister whose sobs had turned into sniffles. "Storm." He said softly. He got no reply or movement "Storm." He said a little louder. Slowly the femme looked over at him and he grudgingly let her go pulling himself out of her embrace and trying his hardest to ignore the broken look on her face that would almost instantly have him take her back in his arms.

"Do not think of me as we were back then. Think of me as I am now, a Decepticon who needs to be taken down like any other."

"Think of us like that." Skywarp said surprising the femme and having her look over at him. "you once told Thundercracker that his sister was dead, now's the time to show it. Both of you, we will not get another chance like this now that Megatron knows who you really are to us."

Storm looked back over at her brother for a moment before looking away, she wanted to do that and primus she had tried hard but she just didn't think she could do it. Not now that he had offered his comfort to remove her pain.

"Storm." Thundercracker said seeing the femme's hesitation "you and Starlight must do this in order to survive." He could still see that she was clinging to a tiny piece of hope that this…encounter might all happen again. He looked away his hands curling into fists that shook in frustration and annoyance. He finally looked back at her and said, "we were the ones who planned the raid on the settlement."

"What!" Skywarp cried out unable to believe what Thundercracker was saying. How could he tell such lies, they would surely hate…the black seeker sighed inwardly. It was something their sisters held onto, something that…scarred them deeply, he remembered the fierceness in Starlight's own optics when he had got to talk to her alone that one time and how she had almost shot him for it had Thundercracker not turned up, and by admitting to the attack it ensured that this situation would never happen again.

The leerjet looked at the blue seeker instantly shocked by his confession and saw the harshness in his optics. She shook her head, "no, it isn't true." She said "Skywarp, tell me it isn't true!" she pleaded as she looked over at the mech only to see him sadly look away from her. "No. No, I won't believe it! I…" she stopped seeing a sad hurt look that now replaced the harshness of earlier in Thundercracker's optics. "I…do believe it. It was the two of you that destroyed our home, our friends…the ones we loved." She sighed and started to walk away only to stop a little way off and lookup at the sky through the trees. "Thundercracker." She got no reply but knew he was listening, that they were both listening. "Tell Lazer's brother she has… had a message for him. Tell him that she said thank you and that…that she loved him, with all her spark. Tell him she said goodbye and she'd never forget him." She continued on walking.

Thundercracker went to follow her but was held back by Skywarp. "She…" he began looking at the black mech.

"I heard her, TC. She's doing exactly what her brother told her to do, think of him as a Decepticon that needed to be taken down like any other."

Thundercracker sighed and looked back at the white and ocean blue femme as she entered the clearing and flew off. "Goodbye…Lazer."

(END)