I apologise for the delay in this chapter, I had my focus diverted elsewhere and I needed to get it out of the way long before I return to this story. Born to Kill is not one of those regular updates. It comes and goes as it pleases depending upon my muse. Now is the time to update it again.

Well, I didn't expect much of a reaction to the last chapter because it was just the start. I suppose you can't ask for anything better than nothing at all. The last chapter was insanely brutal just to show that our favourite twins are NOT messing around. War is messy and sometimes you've got to make the ultimate choice in whether to win or lose a war.

Before you ask where these strange titles are coming from, they're all based off the Two Steps from Hell and Audiomachine bands who make great songs and they fit the themes of the chapters perfectly. Hopefully they do not sound too silly, but it was how I pictured the soundtrack to be for this story.


Chapter 2

The New World


This world, it was unlike anything he had seen before. Somehow, he felt like he had been sleeping for thousands of years and had now suddenly felt the urge to fight. The need to battle pulsed through his circuits like a subconscious thought, brushing against the need to live. And that was what he did as soon as he awoken. Even though his optics rested upon the black stranger, he sensed... a strange connection with him, but it long since passed and was pushed into the back of his mind.

No, the only thing that lay before him was the need to fight off what was threatening him. He sensed there was another close beside him, a golden figure with optics that glowed as blue as his own. He looked physically stronger than him, but he paid no heed to it. The only thing that mattered to him more than anything in the world was to satisfy his desire to fight, the need to have the blood of his enemies on his fingertips.

The moment he awoke, instinct kicked in and he rushed towards the large, bulky mech who was backing away in shock, speaking in a language that was almost foreign to him. He blocked all sense of hearing as he rushed at his target, optics flashing and his fingers twitched as he activated his swords that he had detected which had been buried for only a short period of time.

His companion got to the enemy first. In just one quick moment, his golden companion rolled forward once, getting onto his hands and knees before the brute and swept a leg right underneath him. The large mech landed upon his back and the other leapt upon him, throwing several punches into his already broken face.

It was strange how it was already been broken before the fight had even started.

That didn't concern him one little bit as he continued forward, bright blue optics flashing as he zipped up from behind the large being and grabbed him by the shoulder. He pulled his lips back into a snarl as he pulled his arm backwards, the silver sword glinting viciously in the beam of light. It was untainted by war and energon, but now... it was going to get its first taste of blood.

He drove his fist in an upward motion that caused the blade to punch right through the chest of the enemy. The bloodcurdling scream of the dying mech pierced through his audio receptors, and it satisfied him greatly. Energon splattered on his faceplates and his brother's.

Brother?

That word... it just came to his thoughts so naturally. It came without any warning. Did he even know what the word actually meant, did it have any purpose? He let go of the dead mech and the golden mech tossed him aside like he was nothing but dead weight and it clattered heavily to the ground.

"By the Allspark," a voice whispered from somewhere in front of them.

He swivelled his head around at the sound of the one who spoke, only to come face to face with several other mechs, four of them he believed. He eyed them suspiciously just as his brother stood up to his full height and his hands formed into fists in preparation for a fight.

The four mechs didn't look that dangerous, at least to him they didn't. His golden brother bared his denta plates in preparation for a fight. The other mechs tensed as well, immediately aiming their weapons at them should they decide to attack. He looked over at his brother and a strange feeling entered his processor, a voice speaking softly in the back of his mind, telling him to speak to the strangers.

Instantly, he understood what needed to be done.

He placed a hand over his brother's arms and the tension in his muscle cables left just as suddenly as it had happened. He stepped forward, head held high with a hint of pride in himself. He had killed and he was proud of that. He opened his mouth, and words formed on his glossa that he did not understand, "Are you friend or foe?"

The mechs hesitated, especially the big black one who looked almost as confused as his companions. He shook his head and placed both hands in front of the other mechs. They hesitated for a moment before they finally lowered their weapons. The blue and silver mech's chest heaved slightly, air escaping from vents upon his body. He took two steps forward and raised an arm out in greeting to the two brothers.

"We are friend," he answered in a tone the silver brother could not identify, "my name is Ultra Magnus. These are my Autobot brethren Ironhide, Springer, and Roadbuster. We mean you two no harm at all. We thank you on everyone's behalf for saving our lives from the Decepticons."

The silver brother looked down upon the mech he and his brother had slaughtered together. "Was that what this one was?" he asked, cocking an optic ridge and then looking up at the mechs who called themselves 'Autobots'. "He was a Decepticon?"

"Yes," Ultra Magnus replied, nodding.

"And where there is more Decepticons," the silver mech continued, "there are more battles."

He looked over at his golden brother, as though he was expecting an answer to come forth from him. He didn't know why he did, but he somehow sensed the connection between them, a tugging sensation that pulled on his subconscious. It felt warm and comforting all at once. It gave him reassurance as well as strength. He once again felt his spark pulse with that strong desire to kill, but it wasn't as strong as it had been before.

'What do you think, brother?' he questioned with his thoughts, reaching out to him with his spark.

The golden brother stood silent for what felt like astrominutes, never taking his optics off of the one called Ironhide. Eventually, the silver brother felt the response as he felt it deep within his chest, sending waves of coldness and excitement. 'I think,' he said, 'that we should stick with these... Autobots, or whatever they call themselves. They might actually be able to tell us why we have woken up in this chamber.'

The silver brother nodded in agreement and turned his attention over to the Autobots. "We will come with you," he told them, tossing his head and flexing his fingers a bit, his blades humming eagerly for more energon to be stained upon them.

He should be well aware that showing too much of his bloodlust would make things worse than they already were, but he hardly cared. He was proud of the fact that he had had a chance to make a kill. It was worth every ounce of energon spilled upon this very floor.

Ultra Magnus cleared his vocal processors and motioned to the brothers to follow him and the others. They then headed out of the Allspark Temple, leaving the bodies of the fallen enemies for the drones to clean up. As they walked through the halls, the silver brother glanced over at his brother, noticing how he had barely spoken a word since their awakening. The only words he had spoken were during their sparklink. Maybe he had not found his voice yet? It was a question that would have to be answered soon or else they would not be able find names for themselves. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what his name was, he just needed an astrominute to think a little bit longer.

As they finally stepped outside the temple, his optics widened in amazement at what lay before him.

The world was nothing like had expected, but it certainly sent his bloodlust on a fritz. Bodies lay everywhere, some in many pieces that were far too difficult to identify. Smoke billowed from burning buildings, flying Cybertronians swooped down on remaining enemies, using their plasma bullets to finish them off once and for all. But it was the sky that drew his attention. Instead of being clogged with smoke and flames, he could scarcely make out a bright blue with two burning balls of light hovering above them. Never before had he seen such a marvellous sight and it was enough for him to sense the wonder through his sparklink with his golden brother.

'I could paint a whole picture with that,' his brother told him over the link. 'I don't know why it makes me feel this way, but perhaps it could come in handy later.'

The sound of clicking told the silver brother that the other had taken an image of the sky with his optical sensors. How he had managed to figure that out was beyond his understanding, but he made a quick note to ask him later when the time eventually came.

"Welcome to Cybertron, young warriors born from the Allspark," a deep baritone voice spoke, causing the brothers to whirl around and almost drop their mouths in surprise.

Heading towards them, covered in energon, dings and dents in his red, blue and silver armour, was a Cybertronian unlike anything they had seen before. He was much taller than them, roughly the same height as Ultra Magnus, but with kindly look in his facial features and his bright blue optics. If the silver brother could use one word to describe this mech, it was 'magnificent'. The broad antennas on the sides of his helmet were angled in an upward position, but strangely there was no mouth. Where was it?

Ultra Magnus, Springer, Roadbuster, and Ironhide stood at attention and saluted him without hesitation, causing confusion amongst the brothers. The mech smiled a little and saluted back. "Optimus Prime, Sir," Ultra Magnus said, lowering his arm and relaxing his stance. "What happened? You look like slag."

Suddenly the flat thing on his face split apart to reveal a firm, straight mouth. Oh, so that was a battlemask! "Megatron is what happened," the mech identified as Optimus Prime replied, looking down upon the energon on his shoulder and chest. "We got into a fierce tangle, but when Ironhide reported of what had become of the protoforms, he and the Decepticons retreated back to Kaon."

The silver brother leaned in close to Ironhide, and asked, "Who is that?"

Ironhide rumbled softly, something that he couldn't quite understand, "That is Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. I am sure you noticed the aura about him?"

The silver brother nodded. "He has this... quality about him that draws me to him, as if I know that he accomplish anything with that strength of his. I can... feel it in my muscle cables that he is a good mech and that he is someone to have on your side, and that he can promise you protection."

"Good optic," Ironhide replied as he stepped closer to Optimus and outstretched his hand to him. The other mech smiled again and took his hand, shaking it slightly. The silver brother didn't understand the concept of it, but he supposed there was a purpose behind it. "I am glad to see you safe, Optimus."

"And you as well, old friend," Optimus answered and lowered his gaze somewhat, his tone becoming heavily grave with sorrow. "I am sorry for the loss of your team."

Ironhide nodded, although his face appeared to be completely emotionless. The silver brother assumed that before coming online, the elder mech had lost his team. Whatever happened, it had to be running deeper than one originally expected.

"Optimus, Sir," Ultra Magnus spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "These are the protoforms that awoke from the Temple." He gestured to the two brothers

Optimus swivelled his head around to glance over at the two mechs who had been standing so patiently, waiting for him to take notice of them. The corners of his inner optic shutters angled downward a notch, but the silver brother noticed it in an instant despite his inexperience to read emotions. No experience yet, but in due time, he would. Optimus took a few steps forward and the mechs moved aside to allow him to get a good look at them. The brothers remained perfectly still as Optimus looked them up and down, walking around them to get a good look at their features.

It seemed only astroseconds before he finally stopped in front of them, a stoic expression upon his faceplates, none of them could tell what he was thinking at all. "You were the ones who took care of the Decepticons in the Temple?" he asked suddenly.

The silver brother took one step forward to get a closer examination of the Autobot leader. Just like him, he was covered in energon, but it was not the blood of his enemies, but rather injuries that had been inflicted upon him from someone big enough to tangle with him.

He finally spoke, but his tone was calm for someone so young, "That we are. We are the brothers who were born from the Allspark. We do not know why we were online, but we knew for certain that our mission was to destroy them before things escalated too quickly. We killed the one called Breakdown who was threatening the lives of the others, that is why you see the energon upon our chassis. It is not energon from injuries, but rather from our slaughtered enemies."

"For ones so young," Optimus rumbled softly, "you were able to kill them without any hesitation. Do you feel any remorse for making your first kill?"

The silver brother shook his head. "Why should we?" he asked. "We have no regret and no fear for what we had done. Some part of me is satisfied that the enemies are dead, and yet another part of me thirsts for more energon. We knew what to do, but it was only for a brief moment before the fight wore out of us. We are inexperienced, yet an inner part of ourselves knows how to fight."

Optimus looked over to his golden brother, frowning a bit. "You do not speak," he stated. "Why?"

"He has not found his voice yet like I have," the silver brother replied coolly. "I shall be his voice until he can discover it. I discovered mine purely by instinct. He will find his when he is ready. I can relay words for him from our sparklink."

"So you are twin brothers, then?" Optimus questioned.

"That we are," the silver brother answered. "Yet, we have no names to call our own like you do."

Optimus glanced over at the golden brother and then back at the silver brother. He then switched his optics over to the others and stared at them for a moment. The silver brother wondered what they were discussing. Did they have sparklinks like their own? Were they related? He watched as Ironhide nodded in Optimus' direction and his facial features shifted to surprise. He frowned and then looked back over at them, not saying a word at all. He then motioned to Ironhide to come forward. The black mech obeyed and stood before the three of them, never taking his optics from Optimus.

"Ironhide, you have seen the brothers in action," Optimus said, addressing the three of them with a calm voice, "you would obviously know what would be best for them. Give them their warrior names, names that they should be proud of and will forever remember for the rest of their lives until the day they return to the Well of All Sparks."

Ironhide tilted his head downward in a formation of gratitude. "Thank you, Optimus," he said. "I will find names that will suit them."

He turned to the brothers.

"I have thought long and hard of what you should be named, and I hope you will find them to your liking, Brothers of the Temple." He gestured to the golden brother. "You shall be named Sunstreaker, for you are as gold as the closest sun." He turned to the silver brother. "And you, silver one, shall be called Sideswipe, for you move fast and you strike fast. Carry those names with pride."

'Sunstreaker...' the golden brother whispered through the sparklink. 'I like it. It makes me feel... gloriously handsome and strikingly appealing to those who look upon me.'

"Sideswipe has a good ring to my abilities," the silver brother agreed out loud. Then he tossed his head high with pride and confidence. "We gladly accept our names and shall bear them like any warrior should. Thank you, Ironhide."

Optimus nodded with satisfaction and rested his hands upon the two brothers' shoulders. "Then we welcome you, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, to the Autobot cause. We will present your faction symbols once we get back to base, but for now..."

"Optimus..."

The Autobot commander turned to face Ultra Magnus. "What is it?" he asked, a tiny hint of worry in his tone.

"I do not mean to interrupt, Sir, but we need to return right away. Prowl has sent me an emergency call, saying that the Decepticons are making an attack upon our base."

Optimus' optics widened in complete horror for the first time since Sideswipe had met him. It was the first time he had shown absolute worry. The moment those words of Ultra Magnus's had reached his audio receptors, the bloodlust in his body and processor began to burn again and his swords hummed loudly with excitement. He reached out for Optimus' arm, gripping it tightly. "We will gladly provide assistance to you however we can," he said, trying to keep his hunger in check.

"We will need all the help we can get," Optimus said, nodding in agreement. "Do you know how to transform?"

"We have fair knowledge of how to transform," Sideswipe replied. "It is in our programming."

That seemed to be enough to convince Optimus. He then motioned to the Wreckers. "You will go on ahead of us," he ordered firmly. "Let Prowl know that we are on our way with special backup. Ironhide and myself will guide the twins to Headquarters since they do not know the way. Remain in com-link contact at all times. Understood."

"Yes, Sir!" the Wreckers replied and they transformed into their vehicle forms, speeding on ahead to try and get to their destination as quickly as possible.

Once they were gone, Optimus turned to face the twins, determination in his optics. "Follow closely and do not stray far from us," he said firmly. "We need you at your best if we are to fight off the enemy."

"We will do our best," Sideswipe said quietly. He couldn't exactly confirm that they would follow orders to the letter. Their job was very simple: get in and kill as much as possible to get numbers down low enough for the Autobots to finish the job. That was what the warrior inside of his processor was telling. Kill and kill until the opportunity presented itself.

"Then I will lead the way," Optimus said, "you and Sunstreaker will come behind me while Ironhide guards the aft. Let's roll out!"