-1Sweet Child of Mine - 8
A/N: Okay, here's part of what everyone's been waiting on - the back story… how and why did Sideswipe change. Chapter 1 we see him as the loving mech he's always been, totally devoted to his twin… Chapter 2 is the same… and then he starts to change… so, the question on everyone's mind is why… what made him change? Well, in the real world we would probably never really know why a normal, gentle person becomes an abuser but in this world, well, you're about to find out why and how…
Two months after Stormfire came online…
Sideswipe woke that morning to find Sunstreaker still sound asleep at his side, arm thrown over the red twin almost possessively. Sideswipe leaned over and brushed his mouth against Sunstreaker's helm, brushing fingers along his sides as he did so. Sunstreaker's optics slowly came online and he whimpered softly as he did so. Sideswipe's fingers slipped into the nearest crevice and brushed against wiring there. Sunstreaker groaned again, his full attention now on his twin.
Sideswipe shifted enough that he was leaning over Sunstreaker, dropping his head just enough to drag his dental plates against the yellow warriors neck. Sunstreaker groaned and pulled his twin closer, fingers digging into side plates and brushing against wires. Sideswipe groaned back and pressed even harder against Sunstreaker.
They would have both done so much more except there was a crash in the living room and the both groaned, pulling away from each other and moving quickly to avert any further disasters. Stormfire was sitting in the middle of the room with a pile of data pads on the floor with her. Sunstreaker chuckled softly as Sideswipe moved to start cleaning up the mess.
"Sorry," Storm said softly and Sunstreaker moved closer to her, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.
"No problem. They're just data pads." Storm nodded as Sunstreaker helped Sideswipe finish picking them up. Sideswipe grinned at him, kissing the yellow mech softly.
"It's kind of a good thing she did that," he said softly. "I'm supposed to see Ratchet so he can clear me for duty again. That fall I took the other day rattled him and he's being all overprotective." Sunstreaker chuckled.
"Go see the doc then. I think Storm and me will head down to the rec room and find some games to play or something." Sideswipe nodded, kissing Sunstreaker again then turning to kiss the top of his daughter's helm.
"Be down there later." He turned and walked out of their quarters and headed for the infirmary. The doors slid open and he walked inside. He didn't see Ratchet and frowned slightly.
"Hey, Ratchet? You in here?" He heard noise and turned as Red Alert came in from the adjoining office. "Hey, Red. You seen Ratchet? He said he wanted to do a final check on me before he let me go back on duty." Red Alert nodded, moving closer to Sideswipe.
"Yes, he left me a note about that. Seems he got called to take care of something with the humans. It shouldn't take me too long. He wanted to do a quick bio scan and then an inter-cranial scan which you'll have to be offline for, but again, won't take long. I should have you out of here in half an hour or so." Sideswipe nodded and grinned.
"Sounds good. I told Sunny and Storm I'd meet them down in the rec room afterwards." Red Alert nodded slowly.
"Well then, let's get this done and you can go meet them." Sideswipe nodded and followed Red Alert to an exam table, sitting on it and letting Red Alert push him down onto his back. He let his optics dim and Red Alert picked up a scanner, moving back over to the red twin.
"I'm going to go ahead and take you down. I'll complete the scans and then you can be on your way." Sideswipe nodded as Red Alert reached beneath his chest plates and pushed a switch that was there. Sideswipe's optics flashed once then dimmed until they were offline.
Red Alert looked at Sideswipe for a moment and his features twisted into something angry and malicious as he did so. He set down the scanner and reached into a port on his arm where he often stored syringes and such. He pulled out what looked like a small chip or port and looked at it. While he didn't believe in harming others - the medic's oath and all - this was something he was doing for the red twin's own good. What he was doing with Sunstreaker was wrong. Red Alert knew it, even if no one else would speak against it. Red Alert didn't like drastic measures but he'd use them if it made things right again.
He moved to Sideswipe's head, removing locks and bolts that kept his helm in place over his central processing core. Once inside, Red Alert quickly placed the chip where it went and closed up the helm once more. He ran a bio scan and a neural scan to make sure Sideswipe wouldn't notice the new programming. Confident that everything was working fine, he flipped the chest switch once more and Sideswipe slowly came back online.
"Lay still for a few minutes," Red Alert told him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I'll write up the report and then you can go."
"Thanks, Red…"
Present Time - back at Autobot base
Ratchet allowed the twins to stay in the infirmary while he ran a thorough scan on Stormfire, giving her small amounts of energon as he did so. She took them, watching her fathers as Ratchet did his work. Sideswipe stood just behind Sunstreaker, arms wrapped around his twin, chin resting on Sunny's shoulder, both of them watching Ratchet examine their daughter.
On the other side of the room, Prime watched the twins, frowning slightly. Something was really wrong. He didn't understand how Sideswipe could be so angry earlier… angry enough that Mirage had feared he would harm Sunstreaker…and now be so calm and so close to his twin. None of it made sense, but he'd ordered the restraining order. He was going to have to separate them…
"Prowl," he said softly. The sub commander approached him, stopping just next to him. "Not in front of Stormfire, but once they are outside the infirmary, I want them separated. Sunstreaker can go with Ironhide and Sideswipe can go back to their quarters. No doubt Ratchet will keep Storm here over night. We can find another set of quarters for Sunstreaker and Storm tomorrow." Prowl nodded slowly.
"You really think we need to do this?" he asked softly.
"Yes," Prime answered gravely.
"All right." Prowl moved away from Prime and waited patiently. Ratchet finished his scans and turned back to the twins.
"She's fine," he said with a smile. "A little exhausted and energon deprived. I want to keep her here overnight and no, you two may not stay here all night. I want her to rest. I want the two of you to go back and rest as well. Understood?"
"Sure, Ratchet," Sideswipe said quietly.
"Yes," Sunstreaker answered softly, pulling away from Sideswipe to walk over and wrap his arms around their daughter. Storm returned the hug, nuzzling against her father as she did so. She didn't want him to leave but knew that when Ratchet made a decision, no one would change his mind. Finally she let go of him and he pulled back, kissing her on the forehead gently.
"See you tomorrow," he told her softly. She nodded and he stepped back as Sideswipe came over and hugged her as well. Storm returned the hug and kissed Sideswipe on the cheek as he pulled back.
"Love you," Sideswipe told her gently. She smiled and nodded as he moved back to Sunstreaker's side. He took Sunny's hand in his own and Sunstreaker seemed to lean against him as he did so. They moved to leave the infirmary and Prowl glanced over at Prime who nodded once. Prowl moved, Ironhide following him. In the hallway, the two moved towards the twins.
"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe," Prowl called out to them. The twins stopped, turning towards the sub commander and their creator. Sideswipe frowned, stepping in front of his twin.
"What's going on?" he asked quietly. Ironhide moved around Sideswipe, taking Sunstreaker's arm, pulling him gently away from his twin.
"Wait… what…" Sunstreaker began, not fully understanding what was happening. Ironhide kept holding him even when Sideswipe turned towards them. "Sides…"
"Sunstreaker… Ironhide, what are you doing?" It was all the time Prowl needed since Sideswipe had turned his back on the sub commander. Prowl moved, grabbing both of Sideswipe's arms and pulling him back towards him. "What the frag!" Sideswipe yelled now.
"Ironhide," Prowl said quietly. Ironhide nodded, pulling Sunstreaker with him away from Sideswipe and back to his quarters. Sunstreaker struggled, fear evident in his optics. Sideswipe watched him.
"It's okay, Sunny… I swear…it'll be okay. I will come get you. I promise you." Ironhide took Sunstreaker with him around a corner leaving Prowl with Sideswipe as Prime exited the infirmary and came into the hallway. Sideswipe saw his leader and slowly shook his head.
"What's going on?" Sideswipe asked, an angry edge to his voice. Prime came closer as Prowl continued holding the red twin tightly.
"I've issued an order of restraint against you," Prime said quietly. "You are to stay away from Sunstreaker unless an officer is present with you. You will be allowed to see Stormfire so long as myself, Ironhide or Prowl are in the room as well. You can return to your quarters but Sunstreaker will not be there. When Stormfire is released she will be released to Sunstreaker and they will be in separate quarters from you. I want you to submit yourself to Ratchet tomorrow for a full medical scan and you'll be talking with Smokescreen three times a week until we work through this."
"Work through what?" Sideswipe asked, smirking slightly. Prime stepped closer to the young warrior.
"What you're doing to your twin," he said quietly. "You've never hurt him like this before. You've never caused him harm simply because you could. You need help. We want to fix this so you can go back to him and your daughter." Sideswipe looked at his leader for a moment longer then nodded slowly, his head dropping down slightly. He relaxed against Prowl's hold and Prowl loosened up a little against him.
"Sides, look at me, please," Prime said softly. Sideswipe slowly looked up at him and Prime saw the pain in those optics and he knew he'd made the right decision. "No one wants to see bondmates separated, Sides. But you can't keep hurting him. You know that."
"I know," he whispered softly. "Primus, I know… I'm sorry…" he whispered softly. "I don't understand why it happens… it's like… like blind rage or something. I don't know…" Prowl let go of him and came around, resting a hand on the side of Sideswipe's face.
"We know, Sides. None of this is like you. We just want to help so… follow the restraining order for now and let's see what Ratchet says tomorrow. Okay?" Sideswipe nodded slowly and Prime stepped back.
"Prowl, take him back to his quarters. Sideswipe, understand this; you will be under guard until further notice. That means, someone will be with you at all times until I can be sure you are not a threat to yourself, your twin or your daughter." Sideswipe nodded slowly.
"I understand," he said quietly. Prime nodded.
"All right. Go on." Prowl turned, taking Sideswipe's arm and leading him away. Prime sighed heavily and turned the other way. He'd talk to Sunstreaker tomorrow. He knew the yellow warrior was with Ironhide and that the weapons specialist would take care of him for now.
TBC… short chapter this time. More next chapter… which, btw, the last chapter didn't get as much notice… hope I'm not scaring anyone off… please review… it keeps me writing. Thanks.