Sorry about the late update- I just got back to Mackay on Late Friday night, and wasn't able to update on the weekend or yesterday because of work and other stuff... then I found out that this chapter didn't save properly so I had to write it again from memory? Be prewarned: there was no editing, so expext mistakes and plot-holes are plentiful! I forgot all about the phone bots, so I'll be putting that in next chapter.

Is now a bad time to say that in an older version of this story, Jazz actually lived? But then I was reading through it and I had a brilliant idea, but it was only able to work if Jazz died :( but anyway... Familiar Strangers arc starting next chapter, I have a feeling you'll be enjoying it!

xxx

Autobot Firekat: thanks for the review :)

MissShelz: *evil cackle* you especially will like 'familiar strangers'! Not saying much more than that x) Don't be too worried about him- I can't exactly kill him off not even half way through the story. Thanks for your review, and all of them so far as well!

Annea101: thanks for reviewing :D

Becstar311: I loved Jazz too :( and look at what I said to MissShelz- I can't exactly kill Sides off, I'd have no story! :D

Navirra:Why thank you, that's what I aim for (sometimes... others its completely unintentional). There's a little cliff-hanger at the end of this one as well, though not as bad as the other one :D

airbender tori b: *bows* thanks for the review

marie faust: I seem to be getting a lot of comments about jazz (as expected) ;) Sideswipe's gonna be fine. I won't kill both of them off. Thanks for reviewing

sm1982: many thanks for the review, and here is your [late] update! :D

xxx

Wow, that is quite a few more reviews than I'm used to! Thanks to everyone who reads this story as well, and for the faves and alerts, etc.

Listening to: May it Be, Enya

"Sides… SIDES!" Sunny watched in horror as his twin collapsed and fell to the ground. He ran blindly to his twin, tears still in his eyes from the revelation of Jazz's death. He lifted his twin's head into his lap and as he did so, he realised something with a jolt. "R-Ratchet! He's not breathing!" The response to this was instantaneous. The humans all came running closer to the two, in their minds going through the basic CPR procedures. Ratchet immediately transformed. His alt mode appeared to be a little battered, which was better than some considering the battle they just came out of.

A blonde male jumped out of the hummer's back, slamming the doors to the side. No one had any time to wonder where he had come from, because he had quickly come and lifted Sideswipe easily, putting him on the raised stretcher in the back of the search-and-rescue hummer. Sunstreaker followed quickly, wanting- no, needing- to help his brother. Sideswipe was engulfed in a strange blue light, the man who had lifted Sideswipe into the hummer staring at the body.

The blue light turned off and the blonde swore. Sunstreaker jumped and glared accusingly at the man, because he could've sworn that he sounded like-

"Yes, it's me, Ratchet. Quit gaping, I'm going to need your help if you want your brother to live!" the man sharply said.

"What's wrong with him?" Sunstreaker asked weakly, clutching the sides of the metal berth so tightly that his knuckles went white. The doors snapped shut and Sunstreaker felt the vehicle start to move. Human-Ratchet had started sorting through the metal cupboards that adorned the walls around them. He pulled out a syringe, though Sunstreaker could not see its contents, because Ratchet's body was in the way. The medic threw a pair of rubber gloves at Sunstreaker, who just stared at them. Ratchet wasn't wearing them- why should he? But that rebellious thought was quickly washed away when doc-bot (though he was hardly a robot at the moment) glared at him, as if sensing his thoughts.

"In that compartment behind you, there should be an oxygen mask- get it out and put it on Sideswipe." Ratchet's words rang true, and he found the oxygen mask connected to a tank. He strapped the mask to his brother's face, and the tank automatically switched on. "And to answer your previous question," the medic said, unwrapping a needle for the syringe, "he's got a cracked rib which is putting pressure on his right lung, making it almost impossible to breath-" he started screwing the needle onto the syringe, putting and strapping something to the now thankfully breathing (though very unevenly) patient. It looked to Sunstreaker like an IV, but he knew it was probably something completely different thanks to Ratchet's advanced technology.

A screen flipped on, covered in cybertronian symbols and various graphs. The medic took one look at it and swore. "Lacerations near his left hip and thigh, making him lose a pit load of blood, and on top of all of that- a concussion!" Ratchet seemed furious, though Sunny knew it wasn't directed at him. He was scared, more scared than when they had faced Megatron himself. For him to lose his twin… it was painful to think about.

"Stay with me, Sides," Sunny whispered as he pushed his twin's hair away from his forehead. Ratchet was stitching up the cut on his thigh, with extreme precision and speed. "You promised that you'd stay, remember?" It felt like something inside of him was missing with Sideswipe like this, and it was painful and slightly maddening.

Ratchet, who had finished stitching and had bandaged up the leg tightly turned back to the syringe he was fiddling with earlier. "I can't fix his rib until we get back to the dam, and I'm already going as fast as I deem safe with a charge as unstable as Sideswipe." This seemed to upset the CMO but he continued working. Sunstreaker, feeling useless, turned back to the compartments behind him and searched through the contents until he found what he was looking for. Turning to face Sideswipe, Sunstreaker ripped open the packet and drew out the alcohol wipe. Softly, he wiped away the drying blood from his twin's forehead, taking extra care around the gash.

"Do you need any of my blood?" Sunstreaker asked shakily. Anything to help Sideswipe.

Ratchet shook his head and faced Sunny with the syringe in his hand. Inside was a pink liquid, so bright that it was almost glowing. It seemed strangely familiar to the human but couldn't say anything about it, because the medic talked before he could. "That won't be necessary." He lowered the needle to Sideswipe's arm after wiping an area with another alcohol wipe and inserted it into a vein, pushing all the liquid in. The unconscious twin spasmed, and Sunstreaker finally figured out what just went into his brother's system.

"That's-"

The search and rescue hummer stopped and the doors were flung open. Doctors and nurses were already there and helped Ratchet wheel the trolley with Sideswipe out. The screen switched off and Sunstreaker jumped out before the doors could close on him. He figured that Ratchet must have called ahead, because when they got inside and turned down a couple of corridors, there was an medical bay all ready for them. As far as Sunstreaker knew, one does not need to operate on a broken rib, and he was about to comment on it.

"Ratchet-"

"Yes, I know, but on the trip over I noted some glass and rock imbedded deep into his side, going through both skin and muscle. It does not require an operation, but I did not have the equipment I required. I didn't tell you, because I knew you'd worry. Now OUT!" Ratchet shouted, pushing him out of the room. Sunstreaker stared dumbfounded at the closed doors for a moment before cursing his head off at Ratchet, using insults and threats that would have even Ironhide cringing.

He paced outside the door for ages, time seemed like nothing to him. Sunny felt himself collapsing more every second until, finally he had nothing left in him and fell to the ground, burying his head in his hands. He had so many questions that he wanted Ratchet to answer, yet he was still busy with his critically injured twin. How the pit was he able to look and feel human? Why did he inject Sideswipe with-

"Za-Sunstreaker?" Sunny had been so unaware of his surroundings, that he didn't notice the group of humans who had finally arrived. Among them were Sam and Mikaela, Lennox, Epps, and a couple of soldiers. "Are you ok?" Sam asked. The teen himself was covered in dirt, sweat and blood and was limping slightly. The others were only a little better, though some of the soldiers had more noticeable wounds.

"What do you think?" the twin hissed in a dangerous tone. Sam stepped back and put his hands up in the universal 'I surrender' gesture. "Try cutting off your right arm and then see how you feel!" The saying 'if looks could kill' seemed very appropriate in this situation.

"That bad, huh?" Epps asked kindly.

"You have no idea…" Sunny whimpered and let his head fall back into his hands. Both of his soldier acquaintances approached him slowly on either side, as if he was a venomous snake ready to attack. Both reached out to put a hand on each of his shoulders, but the med bay door slammed open and out stormed human-Ratchet. Sunstreaker's head snapped up, waiting for any and all news on his twin.

"Sideswipe… should be fine," Ratchet stated, and Sunny visibly slumped in relief. "I removed all the debris from his side and started realigning the broken ribs, which should now heal at its own pace. Sideswipe lost a lot of blood, but I managed to… replenish it. After a lot of bed rest and no moving around, he should be back to normal." Ratchet's prognosis not only managed to relieve the distraught twin, but also his human friends and acquaintances. The medic studied the others briefly before stepping out of the doorway. "Most of you need patching up, come inside-"

"Hold up!" The shout came from a female, her voice and accent unique to the area, leaving no doubt as to who it was. Maggie, Simmons, Keller and Glenn (the last who was puffing a lot) skidded to a stop in front of the group. "Where is everyone else?" the Australian asked, looking around the area for the non-existent 'others'.

"They should all be in the former Allspark hanger, with my comrades, the Autobots," Ratchet answered her smoothly and the four stared at him.

"Who are you?" Simmons asked rudely, raising an eyebrow. "Never seen you before in my life." The agent's obnoxious tone caused Sunstreaker's skin to crawl when he looked at the man. Something about him just irked him, even now he was 'trusted'. Mind you, Sunstreaker still hadn't forgiven him for abducting him and Sideswipe. And now that his mind was back on that subject…

"Why did you inject him with-" Sunstreaker tried asking Ratchet but the medic knowing the question before it was asked interrupted once again. It seemed to be a habit of his.

"Because it was necessary!" Ratchet all but screamed and Sunstreaker arched two dark eyebrows.

"But I thought you said it was toxic to humans!" This had been troubling him ever since he figured out what was injected into his brother.

The other humans watched the two like it was an exciting tennis match though they had no clue of what the two were arguing about.

"It is!"

"Then why-"

"Because you two are different!" Ratchet finally snapped and Sunstreaker stood up, shocked at first, but then anger replaced that.

"Yeah, people have been saying that about us our whole lives, but not in so many words!" Ratchet recoiled at the admission. The twins never spoke about their school problems with the Autobots, in fact, they hardly ever talked about school at all. If they spoke about it at all, the twins would say 'ah, it's all good', or 'it's going great!' The truth was, while they were 'popular', the twins were talked about behind their backs, and they were aware of it even in primary school. Mostly it was just their 'oddness' or the fact they were abandoned that people whispered about, but as they grew older, the rumours and insults harsher and the two started to care more. Sideswipe hid his hurt behind a mask of carefreeness, pretending to be the hilarious, class clown. Sunstreaker, however, built walls of indifference and showed a cold personality to all but his twin. Sam and Mikaela were more or less aware of the whispers and though they did not contribute to them, they didn't stand up for the twins in front of their friends.

The medic took in a deep breath, comming Prime and Ironhide about what he found out, the two Cybertronians assuring that they would be on the scene in a minute "Why didn't you say anything?" Though the conversation started getting personal, the others only moved to let medics through with stretchers carrying the injured. It was almost like a car crash. They wanted to look away but they were just riveted to the sight.

"Because-"

"Because Sunstreaker and Sideswipe rely only on each other with issues like this, and to them, that's enough." Really, was everyone going to interrupt him? Now Ironhide was doing it… wait- Ironhide?

Sunstreaker turned in the direction of the voice and saw two men walking towards the group. The who Ironhide's voice came from was shorter than his companion, but made up height with muscle. His nose was flat and crooked, like it had been broken multiple times, and his face was scarred in many places. His lips were downturned in a slight scowl which seemed natural while his dark brown hair was straight and fell slightly into his ice blue eyes. The man wore full army outfit- cargo pants, large, padded jacket and combat boots. What made his outfit different to the others was the colour- black instead of the camo pattern made him seem all the more menacing, the only difference being in the bright silver of his dog tags which were shown around his neck. He was downright threatening, and immediately everyone registered that this man was not someone to mess with.

The other was very tall, reaching almost 6'7". He was younger than his friend, seeming almost in his early thirties, while the first was in his late forties, early fifties. His royal blue eyes were kinder but had a strange depth to them which spoke of both wisdom and hardship. Spiky black hair covered his head but kept clear of his eyes and forehead. He wore slightly worn jeans that were tucked into black combat boots, a dark blue button-up shirt which was left open covered up a red sweatshirt that had a black Autobot symbol on it. It reminded Sunstreaker of-

"Ironhide," Optimus' voice scolded the black-clad soldier from the body of the tall man, as the two approached him.

"H-how?" The two humans really did remind Sunstreaker of Ironhide and Prime, but how were they human (and Ratchet too, for that matter)?

"That's not really important, I'll explain it later," Ratchet dismissed. "Now I can talk to you with Ironhide and Optimus, alone," he put an emphasis on the last part, and everyone else watching took the hint.

"Whoa, wait! Are you Ironhide as in big, black, bad-ass weapons specialist Ironhide who turns into a giant robot?" Sam asked, making the connection for the first time. Mikaela, Epps and Lennox also stopped from their retreat, curious.

"Affirmative," the black soldier confirmed with Ironhide's gravelly voice. "Now get going, you four, we need to talk to the youngling." There was a tone of threat in his voice and the others heard it, running into the med-bay to get their wounds treated. The weapons specialist grabbed Sunny's forearm and dragged him down the hall, the other Autobots following. No matter how much the twin struggled, Ironhide's grip remained firm. They finally ended up in a room filled with tools of all kinds, it was the dream workshop of many.

"Now youngling," Optimus said, "Ratchet will explain to you the real reason we didn't hand you over to the authorities when we found you seventeen years ago. Sunstreaker froze for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"When I first scanned you," Ratchet started, "I found there were several abnormalities in your blood. You did not have the required amount of white blood cells that was healthy. Instead, there was energon." The medic paused, letting that sink in. "From what I had downloaded, I knew that human's blood did not contain energon. So instead of handing you two in, I informed Prime of my findings and we decided to raise you, in order to monitor the energon levels in your blood.

"By the time you were seven, all of your white blood cells were completely obliterated, and in it's place, energon. Yet your bodies continued to function normally, with only your increased agility and speed to show for it. Shortly after that, the energon started demolishing your red blood cells. Because energon is more acidic than human blood, your veins and arteries began to collapse, before the energon coated them to make them thicker and tougher, but in doing that, the energon changed in appearance slightly. While it may seem you bleed human blood, it is actually energon. I've noticed recently that it's now started on your heart, making it more efficient, but changing it in ways that I cannot tell yet.

"Yet that is not the strangest part. You see, all energon, like blood, is different, which helps tell the differences between all Cybertronians. Yet yours and Sideswipe's 'blood' is exactly the same." Sunstreaker processed all of this shocking information to come out with one conclusion.

His voice shook with both anger and slight depression. "Y-you mean to say… you only kept me and Sides for you own personal… pet science project?" The harsh tone made the three intimidating (even as humans) Autobots cringe and back-track slightly.

"That's not what- hey youngling!" Ironhide tried but Sunstreaker had already stormed out of the room.

He could feel the tears from rejection running down his face yet Sunny ignored them, and everyone else who he passed in the hallway. His cool behaviour practically chilled the med bay by twenty degrees when he entered and everyone managed to keep their distance (though it was not far enough). Sunstreaker stormed to the berth that held his brother and plopped down onto the chair next to him, feeling like he had nothing left in him. The teen grabbed Sideswipe's hand in his own and squeezed tightly. His brother was his only source of comfort, but he was unconscious and injured. To the cynical twin's absolute surprise, his brother squeezed his hand back, albeit weakly.

Sideswipe felt someone squeezing his hand, and that someone could only be Sunny. He squeezed back as hard as he could (though it wasn't very hard at all). The boy opened his eyes slowly, letting the light filter in. His surroundings were unfamiliar and he was about to ask his twin about it, but one look at his face spoke volumes. "What's… wrong, S-Sunshine?" Sunny seemed different to him, like he had heard something horrifying or life-changing and would never be the same.

Sunny tried to glare at him but it didn't have the normal heat behind it. He was just glad his brother was awake. "You know, if you weren't critically injured and hooked up to an IV, I would beat you up for calling me that," the yellow-tipped twin informed him seriously, squeezing his hand again. Sideswipe gave him a look, so Sunstreaker backtracked a bit. "It's just, everything piling up. I mean, first finding the Allspark, then everyone getting dragged into battle, losing Jazz, almost losing you, and now…" he trailed off, looking more depressed than before he started.

"Now what?" Sideswipe urged gently and Sunstreaker stared into eyes identical to his own. He spilled everything that happened since Sides stopped breathing, not even leaving out the part at the end when he stormed away from the three Autobots before they could finish explaining.

"I just… how could they do that to us, Sides?" Sunny finally finished. "And not to tell us all the important stuff that might have been good to know if we suddenly drop dead 'cause our bodies weren't working properly?" Sideswipe had sat in silence through his twin's recount, nodding and squeezing Sunny's hand in all of the appropriate places. He sat contemplating all that he learned in the same quiet, and Sunstreaker worried that while he heard what he told him, he didn't listen.

"I think… they were trying to protect us," Sideswipe said after a while, making Sunny look lost. "I mean," he elaborated, "J-Jazz (he stuttered over the name, the fact he was de- offline not sinking in) would've told us if we were about to die or go into a coma or something. They just (he took a shaky breath, his rib making it hard to talk) wanted us to have a relatively normal childhood. We wouldn't have had one if we were constantly worrying about the fact energon was replacing our blood, and if they sent us into a foster home or something, doctors would've noticed something was different and sent us off to be studied under a microscope." The more Sunstreaker thought about it, the more Sideswipe's words rang true.

"Still," he huffed, crossing his tanned arms across his chest like a kid, "they should have told us sooner! I'm not talking to them."

Sideswipe raised an eyebrow. "The silent treatment is a bit ch-ch-ch-childish," he yawned, wincing as his lung pushed against his rib. He brought the covers of the berth up to his chin with his free hand, closing his eyes. Sunstreaker stayed by his side until he fell back asleep and even then he would not leave.

True to his word, Sunstreaker did not talk to the Autobots for a whole week (and was still going strong), even going so far as to avoid them entirely (which was easier said than done). Sideswipe, however, went out of his way to talk to Ratchet when he came over to do check-ups. Ironhide also occasionally came in to complain to Ratchet about something, and Sideswipe talked to him when he was nursing bruises from flying wrenches (because while they were holoforms, they could still feel pain), but after the first few visits, Ironhide got a clue and stopped coming to whine. They rarely ever saw Optimus, because he was always in meetings with different heads of governments, trying to set up some sort of alliance and come to an agreement. Instead, Sam and Mikaela, and sometimes Will and Robert kept them company. Sam kept pestering the two with questions ('Where did your blades come from'… 'How come the Autobots look human'… 'What was it like growing up with the Autobots'). Sunstreaker had answered the first one by activating one of his blades and hovering it right in front of Sam's throat, threateningly ('if you ask one more question, I swear…').

Mikaela was more interested in the personalities of the bots when they weren't surrounded by humans or had an important mission to complete. It was entertaining telling her and Lennox and Epps about the different times they had, sometimes funny stories, and others, fluffy family fun (Sideswipe did all the talking, Sunstreaker just sat and glared at a wall). One day, Lennox and Epps had begged -though they wouldn't call it 'begging', per se- to show them his cannons in action, without them being fired at decepticons who wanted to destroy the whole planet. Holoform-Ironhide had led the two out to a separate hanger, where his real body was waiting. The soldiers came back, grinning and bouncing around like kids who had just eaten a bucket-load of sugar at a fair-ground.

One individual, however, spent his time researching and checking facts. He had overheard the twins' conversation in the med bay a week ago, and had decided to do something about it. He was close to making a breakthrough with his research, but had decided not to tell the twins until he was absolutely positive (and had figured out an appropriate price for all the trouble he went through).

Another week had passed and all of the soldiers and civilians were allowed to go home, all sworn to secrecy. Bumblebee had gone with Sam, and it was one less person for Sides to talk to (Sunny still treating them with silence). Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were stuck at Hoover Dam, having no home to go to. Much to their delight, their cars were delivered and were sitting in a hanger close to the med-bay. Negotiations were almost closed, but it was confirmed that there would be an Autobot-human alliance, and the Cybertronians would get a permanent base of operations where they can interact with humans as well –the location was as of yet undecided. The subject of the twin's guardianship was still in negotiation, but those were troubled waters. At the end of the week, Sideswipe was finally permitted to move about, but under strict orders from Ratchet to take it easy.

The first thing he did was go with Sunstreaker to see their cars. Sides wasn't well enough to drive yet, but Sunny allowed him to ride with him as he took his car for a quick couple of laps around ther hanger. It was the most fun the red-tipped twin had in ages. Being stuck in bed had left him with more than enough time to brood, especially about Jazz's death. That was still a sore topic for the both of them, so they avoided talking about the Saboteur.

When Prime came into the med bay the next day and told the twins they were allowed of base, Sunny and Sides jumped at the chance (Sunny managing to not say a word to the leader). Sideswipe jumped into his own car and started the engine. Ratchet who was passing by, scowled but otherwise didn't say anything. Sunstreaker started his own engine and followed his brother out of the dam. They were last in the procession of vehicles, zooming across the state. Sunny kept strict surveillance on his brother in case he dropped in speed by even a couple of miles. But Sideswipe made it to the outcrop they were led to without stopping. Bumblebee was already there, Sam and Mikaela lying on his hood. The two parked on either side of them and stepped out. Sideswipe staggered slight over to Sunny and sat down on his car's hood. For once, Sunny did not complain about the paint job. He sat next to his twin and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Reckon Bee appreciates his new job as a lounge?" Sides whispered into Sunny's ear. Said twin looked beside him and saw Mikaela straddling Sam, the brunette's hands on her waist. Sunstreaker quickly turned away as Sideswipe sniggered at the horrified look on his face. Yellow pushed red gently in revenge, ever mindful of his condition.

"Jerk." The twins watched as Optimus transformed and stood on the edge of their little outcrop, looking over the scenery, a beautiful sunset framing the picture. The two knew he was preparing to send a transmittion to remaining Autobots floating around in space. The semi-trailer transformer put his servos on his hips and gazed at the sky.

"With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting."

And both twins fell off the hood of the car as they actually heard the transmission.

Hehe I love cliff hangers... even though this one is just a ledge rather than a cliff. Hope you all like the twists! This one wasn't as long as the other one, but I hope it lives up to expectations :D

Until next time,

Greentree Frog