there's a million&one ways
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A/N: . . .
replies:
autobot alythia,, it'll all make sense soon enough. c; i promise. && yeah, anna and screamer can actually not rip each other's heads off when they want too, lol. xD
starfire,, you're right that it's a code. :D as for the rest of your questions: those will all start to come together here in the next few chapters. ;3
robot521,, awe yes, anna is just as manipulative as screamer. xD && you're about 25% right. :3 -gives brownie point for trying-
trans 7.4.7 formers,, you'll be okay for now. xD the dialect will start to mak sense as the chapters progress. && i'm glad you enjoyed his secret!
yuki hikari,, how about a brownie point for trying? :3
tlcoopi7,, don't tell screamer that! O.O
cadence barrick,, -curls into tiny ball- make it stop! make it stop, lol! xD -waves white flag-
rvb freelancer tex,, yeah, letting the twins read twilight wasn't good. i dunno what anna was thinking. . && i dun care how similar they are. I love all reviews. c:
pairings: starscreamxannabelle vs. ironhidexannabelle; what a twisted little triangle of love.
disclaimer: i do not own transformers or any of them; they are rightfully copy-writed to their respectful owners.
"this-is-cybertronian-and-it-s-a-pain-to-type"
"this is com-link, or whatever the heck it is called these days."
centurion = 100 cybertronian years
cybertronian year = 932 earth days
orbital cycle = thirteen cybertronian hours
cybertronian hour = eight and a third earth hours
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The coordinates that Thundercracker had given him led Jetfire to a remote region just north of the American border with Canada. He could see why Thundercracker had chosen such a place; there were densely packed evergreens and a constant fog -- more importantly, not a road for miles. From his high perch, he could see a blue-tinted YF-23 Black Widow II sitting at the edge of a clearing. The shadows of the trees casted over the slick frame of the aircraft. Jetfire took a deep, nervous breath before descending. He landed as neatly as a Cybertronian could in such wet conditions. His optics watched as the seemingly harmless aircraft transformed into robot sentient.
Much like his superior Starscream, Thundercracker had a triangular chest with elongated arms, but their similarity stopped there. The blue seeker had a more human face like the autobots. He had a longer neck as well, perhaps to account for the human face. The seeker stood much more erect that Starscream, but Jetfire hypothesized it was from the different leg structures. Unlike Starscream who had more bird-like legs, Thundercracker's were thicker-more feline-like; the only similarity between them was they both followed more animalistic features. "Glad you decided to finally show up, Skyfire," he stated with slimy words. The natural husky voice made him sound all the more irritated.
"I've been busy," Jetfire explained.
Pop! He jerked his head towards Skywarp's form as it re-materialized out of the violet gas. "More like treachery," Skywarp hissed. His disappeared again. Only when another excited pop echoed in the humid air, did Jetfire realize it was too late. The mech grunted under the weight of the F-117 Black Jet Nighthawk. He stared at Skywarp's crayola orange-red optics. He held a childish, but menacing smile on his face. Skywarp was an almost exact replica of Starscream -- the most obvious being size. He was a good five feet shorter than Thundercracker -- who was two feet taller than Starscream. His appearance was smoother than either of his brothers'. He much more compact and heavily built body, but it suited Skywarp. Jetfire knew Skywarp didn't have a lot of processing units to spare, so he assumed Skywarp made up for it with his bronze. He bent down, and placed a firm hand on Jetfire's shoulder. "We don't spare our traitors," he spat hatefully and truthfully.
"Get off of him, 'Warp!" Thundercracker barked. The black mech regretfully walked off Jetfire. The blue seeker offered his hand to Jetfire, and helped him to his feet. The SR-71 Blackbird whipped Skywarp's lubricant from his face, giving the blue seeker enough time to raise his charged nullrays. Jetfire's optics widened, and predicted the trajectory of the high intensity plasma if it were to be fired; it wasn't good. "Ten years," he growled. "And not even a single message from you." He jabbed Jetfire in the stomach, but not enough to cause any damage. "I have the right mind to end your life right now, Skyfire."
The black mech walked to his brother's side. "You've got five seconds to explain yourself, Skyfire," Skywarp stated,
Thundercracker shot Skywarp a death glare. "Stay the hell out of this 'Warp," he warned. Skywarp crossed his arms, but refused to leave. "Where's Starscream?" he asked through clenched dental plates. "You said you'd bring him."
"I would have if there hadn't been complications," Jetfire snapped.
"Complications?" Skywarp inquired.
He ignored the nullray pointed at his spark chamber. "What the hell do you think you two are doing?" he asked hysterically. "Kidnapping Sideswipe is one thing, but going to the Lennoxes' residence?!" He pushed aside Thundercracker's arm. Skywarp immediately raised his own nullray to compensate. "Are you wanting to get yourselves caught by the autobots?"
The blue mech kept a stern face. "We had to motivate you somehow," the seeker explained.
"Where the hell is Sideswipe?" Jetfire asked sternly.
"We'll give you your precious autobot as soon as we have Starscream," Skywarp stated quickly.
"That makes it near impossible," the scientist retorted.
"We'll see how impossible it is when you're missing an arm," the black mech threatened.
Thundercracker stepped between the two mechs. He placed a hand on both of their chests. "Stop this now," he stated firmly. "There's no need to spill energon, Skywarp." His brother rolled his eyes as he glared at him. "If there's a reason why Jetfire didn't bring Starscream - " He glared at Jetfire. A fury was growing behind those optics, but unlike his two brothers, he had control over his rage. "Then it's probably a damn good reason. . . or it should be," he added danerously. "Now why don't you go check on Barricade, Skywarp."
"That cranky old bastard?" he asked. "You know what kind of mood he is in now?"
"I don't give a fuck what mood he is in, 'Warp," Thundercracker retorted. "Now go before I fry your circuits!" Skywarp made a childish face, accompanied by a screechy noise from his vocal processors. Before Jetfire couldn't comprehend what was happening fast enough. Thundercracker whipped around and grabbed his brother firmly by the underside of his wing armor. "You get your ass moving now, 'Warp," Thundercracker barked. "Before I have to move it for you." He released his brother, and Skywarp surprisingly listened. The shortest mech walked away, mumbling incoherent vile words to himself before he disappeared in a veil of violet ionized gas. Thundercracker let out a well deserved breath, before giving Jetfire the 'don't give me any bullshit' glare. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Skyfire," he stated. "Beginning with your excuse as to why you couldn't bring Starscream."
"I would have brought him to you," Jetfire reassured. "But bringing him to you would be useless." He paused, ready to be interrupted by Thundercracker, but the seeker merely folded his arms. "He's lucky to be alive Thundercracker," he explained. "Starscream's in critical condition. He needs a trained medic."
"I can repair him," the seeker informed. "I've repaired him countless times before."
"This isn't a simply fix-up," Jetfire clarified. "He's lucky he didn't die."
"Die?" croaked Thundercracker.
Jetfire nodded. "He had severe damage to his spark chamber the surrounding area from Ratchet's diagnosis. He also has no function of his legs, limited movement of his left arm, and no function of his wings as far as I can tell," he explained. "It's well beyond your capabilities, Thundercracker."
"Then what do you propose?" the mech inquired impatiently.
"Let me keep Starscream at the base so Ratchet can repair him," he answered. "Then when he is in a stable enough condition, I'll bring him to you. Then you can finish whatever repairs need to be finished, Sir."
"How do I know you'll bring him back?" he asked.
"Because I have recently informed Starscream about the plan," he replied quickly. "All I ask in return is that Sideswipe is returned to the autobots."
Thundercracker nodded. "By why are you so bent on having Sideswipe returned to the autobots?" he asked. "All he will do is cause more problems later on."
"But with all the autobots' attention diverted to finding Sideswipe; which means Starscream will not be repaired," he clarified. "And if he is - "
"I get it," he interrupted in an agitated voice. "Follow me." He leapt into the air, and transformed into his earthly disguise. The remaining black mech sighed. He too then jumped into the air as he transformed into an SR-71. Two identical clouds followed behind them, and was quickly accompanied by two sonic booms.
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Skywarp stood attentively at the opening of the cave, watching as Scorponok used the harpoon at the end of his tail to lash at the silver-streaking fish in the small creek. He folded his arms across his wide chest, before jumping down from the ledge. Rocks tumbled behind him as he slid down the slick, rocky slope. Yearling saplings snapped underneath his weight. The seeker slid to an easy stop before walking cockily towards the scavenger. He noted the increasing dead smell of freshly decaying fish. He pushed a tall evergreen out of his way, enjoying the snap it made. "Barricade kick you out too?" he asked. The six-legged mech didn't give the seeker so much as a glance. "Thundercracker did a good job on getting your tail back together." The scavenger targeted another fish with more ferocity than the last. "You're a dumb little creature, you know that?" he taunted. "No wonder Blackout's dead."
His stinger stuck the dark clay mud, and dug itself a solid foot into the thick, sticky ground. His red optics traveled across his bug eyes. They narrowed hatefully upon Skywarp. He slowly pulled his harpoon out of the ground, and shook it to dislodge the mud. Skywarp returned the scavenger's death glare as mud splashed onto his recently cleaned armor. "You little, insect!" he growled. Skywarp raised a charged nullray towards the little mech.
Barricade, who had been sunny himself as usual on a ledge, jumped down. His two pairs of optics rolled simultaneously at the bickering mechs. He stalked towards them with a painfully irritated face. Baby rabbits raced back into their holes, fearful of what the black and white 'con would do this time. From the shadows of their holes and evergreens, they watched as the 'con stopped behind the seeker. "Enough," he stated; his statement more directed to Skywarp. The seeker watched him wearily from the corner of his optics. "I'm in no mood to listen to your immature, whiney-ass threats."
"That's a lot of talk coming from a groundling," Skywarp snapped.
"I didn't see you offer yourself up to die," Barricade spat. His sharp claws came together to form a point. "You're probably just like Screamer -- too cowardly to fight."
He turned himself around, ready to give the smaller 'con a knuckle sandwich. "Screamer is not a coward," Skywarp defended. "Look at yourself! Hiding on earth for fifteen years! Who's the bigger coward there?"
"If it weren't for me," the scout informed. "Then we would not know the current coordinates of Megatron's resting site." He straightened himself out, making himself appear bigger before the larger mech. He turned his head as two figures appeared from behind the mountain tops. "Look who's here," he said sourly. The mech moved away from the childish seeker as their temporary leader, Thundercracker, made preparations to land.
He transformed, and landed with only a small 'thump'. The blue seeker strolled towards them with his typical facial expression -- a sour scowl and calculating eyes. To contrast, Jetfire landed with both feet striking the earth at the same time. The surrounding evergreens shook in response to his rough landing. He walked slowly behind his superior like a puppy. He averted his gaze as the other 'cons became aware of his presence.
"Took you long enough, Teecee" Skywarp scoffed.
Thundercracker ignored his lesser companion. He looked over his shoulder to see Jetfire looming above him with hunched shoulders. "I'm going to grab Sideswipe," he announced. "Why don't you three make Jetfire look convincing to his "comrades.""
"What?" asked the scientist.
"The autobots won't believe you just walked into our make-shift base, grabbed Sideswipe, and left without any scratches," the seeker informed. "It's illogical." He began to walk away, and Scorponok followed the second-in-command seeker. "Besides," he said nonchalantly. "It'll only be a few dents." He stopped to look down at the scavenger. "Why don't you stay to monitor those two, Scorponok," he suggested. "Make sure that he'll still be functional enough to transport his "comrade" back."
The scavenger let out a disappointed growl. He watched Thundercracker long enough to see him disappear into the cavern. Facing the other two, Scorponok gave them an uncaring glance before walking back to the stream to decrease the fish population once more. The other two turned around to face a hesitant Jetfire. Skywarp, not having any control over his actions, flung his arm out, and struck the mech in the lower forearm. Jetfire recoiled, and took a step back to avoid another blow.
"C'mon, Skyfire!" he encouraged. "Teecee said you had to look convincing!"
The mech glanced towards Barricade, but loner 'con only folded his arms. "Thundercracker's orders," he muttered unsympathetically. The eighteen foot mech took a step back as Skywarp struck another blow to the mech. Jetfire grunted at another blow to his chest, but held his ground. "Don't look at me," Barricade spat. The larger much dropped his gaze, and stared at the newborn grass.
Barricade stood idly, going back and fourth from watching Skywarp to Scorponok. Occasionally his optics would stray to watch the nervous party of bachelor bucks. 'If only your counterparts were as scared of us,' he thought, referring to the humans. He heard of tumbling of rocks that announced Thundercracker's return. He walked forward, and pushed the overzealous seeker out of his way. Jetfire was severely hunched over with his optics barely online. Energon trickled out of Jetfire's chest, and was prominently the worst wound he sustained. Other minor wounds marked his body in various places. The large mech glanced down in relief. Barricade rolled his optics before connecting the tips of his claws to the top of Jetfire's head. The shattered glass pitter pattered off Jetfire's face as it fell to the ground. "This is why you wouldn't make it if it weren't for Starscream," he hissed.
Barricade stepped away, giving Jetfire the chance to see Thundercracker drag Sideswipe's ragged and beaten body. The autobot's left arm hung dangerously loose from his body, and threatened to break off. His legs, which were still bound by heavy chains, were coated in a fine layer of black dust. Thundercracker tossed the 'bot to the ground. Jetfire moved towards the red twin, and hesitantly lifted up his face. Sideswipe's battle mask had been ripped away. Puncture marks on either side of his cheeks dug deeply into the delicate internal circuitry. The right optic was missing, as well as an audio sensor.
Jetfire lifted up his autobot comrade into his arms, and avoided looking at Sideswipe's chest. He gave an uncharacteristic, hateful glare to Thundercracker. He kept his mouth tightly shut. "I expect you to hear from you," the seeker commanded. "And soon." He nodded, and jumped into the sky. Thundercracker looked towards Barricade. "When will the drone be ready?" he asked.
"Once it has enough energon, it'll start up itself," Barricade answered.
He nodded. "Good," he replied. Thundercracker turned to see Skywarp pestering the scavenger again. He ran his fingers down his face, and sighed. "Be prepared to relocate when we come back," the seeker inform. His lesser scoffed and said something inaudible. The mech walked towards Skywarp, and placed a hand on his brother's wing. "C'mon 'Warp," he said. "Let's go scout for a new base."
He flashed his brother a mischievous smirk. "Whatever you say, Mr. Boss-man," he stated enthusiastically. He quickly turned around and grabbed his brother by both of his arms. In a light violet flash, the two disappeared. Only lightly scorched grass gave away their previous location.
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The medical bay's tranquility was interrupted by the sound creaking, primitive groans. In a flash of red light, the seeker's optics came online with a diagnostic of his body's internal systems. His wounds registered with no improvement, but his energon levels were at sufficient, stable standards. Then he noticed it, or the lack of it. He sniffed the air, but his analyzers could not pick up on the human's hormonal ridden scent. Starscream lifted his hand, but she wasn't there. The seeker looked around the room. He couldn't possible have hurt her during his recharge, but panic set in. There was no sign of the insect's bodily fluids; which he came to the conclusion that she was in tack. 'Where the hell are you?' he thought bitterly.
It wasn't until he heard the sound of plastic breaking, did he looked under his right hand. A crush case of Tictacs had been murdered by the weight of his hand. The seeker curiously brought the container to a more comfortable view. He suppressed a growl as he read the horrid word 'mint'. He crushed the rest of the container into a tightly packed and disfigured oval shape. White powder coated the inside of his hands. 'Primus dammit,' he thought bitterly. He dropped the container and watched it fall back into it's original position. His optics caught notice of a small, yellow note. He plucked it from the table to examine the carefully crafted Cybertronian symbols on the paper.
'You have bad breath,' read the first line of hieroglyphics. Beneath it , the human had signed her name in english; he noted the reinforcement of the human's name 'Anna' by the two lines underneath. He rolled his eyes. "Fleshies," he scoffed. His eyes trailed to the last line. 'P.S. You still owe me that embarrassing secret.' The 'con smirked in satisfaction that the human did not recall his last words. 'Pathetic fleshy memory banks. . .' His attention was quickly diverted at the sound of elevated stress levels.
"Am I worth nothing to you guys?!" the human shouted; the voice clearly coming from Annabelle.
"Anna, we were only doing what we thought best for you," Ratchet justified. "We didn't want to put you under any more stress. . . Especially since you're clearly not functioning correctly."
There was definite pause, and the seeker wondered for a second if the human had decided to retreat. "If you guys took me serious for once, then we wouldn't be here," Anna snapped. "But no, you guys continue to treat me like I'm a protoform. Hell, you keep the twins more informed than me! And maybe you don't realize it Ratchet, but humans mature a lot faster than your race. So don't give my any of that bullshit that you're about to preach." Starscream smiled at the new knowledge that she wasn't feisty only with him.
"If you took a deep breath, Annabelle, then you'd see it the way I see it," the medic replied; his calm tone slowly being eroded into an irritable pitch.
"That's the problem Ratch'," the human retorted. "You only see it through your point of view. If you for once saw it through my perspective, then you'd understand."
"That still does not justify a good enough reason to bring him back," the autobot stated bluntly.
"Then what justifies your decision to condemn him to death?" Anna spat. "If I recall correctly, you guys are suppose to be "good" guys. . ." The bickering duo was close enough that he could hear Ratchet's internal systems humming angrily. "Or are you guys just big hypocrites?"
"You know you weren't the only one not informed," the mech argued; changing the subject back to it's original dispute.
"Who? Twenty-two?" the human growled. "Big fucking wood-pi-do, Ratchet! You're comparing me to a scum-bag asshole like him?" Starscream sneered at her pathetic insult. 'You'd think she'd be a little more creative like she is around me,' he thought callously. "Where the hell are you going?" she called after him. The seeker leaned back as he saw the first sign of Ratchet's arm. "You get your ass back here, Ratchet!" Anna yelled. "This is not over!"
"I'm not going to give you a fight, Anna," the medic answered as he walked into the medical bay. Ratchet closed the doors behind him before Anna could wiggle her way into the room. With a frustrated groan, the mech cast tired look towards Starscream. "She's a feisty little thing when she's angry," he said matter-of-factly.
'Welcome to my world,' he commented to himself. He narrowed his optics suspiciously upon the walking medic. His hands naturally gripped the table's edge as Ratchet approached him. "What are you doing here?" he hissed. The autobot ignored the seeker, but turned abruptly as he made a pit-stop to search for an item. 'Just stay there,' he thought. 'And no one will get hurt.' His hopes quickly dwindled as the medic pulled out an ominous looking-box from one of the high-shelves. 'Primus, damn him to hell,' he ordered as the mech came towards him again.
Ratchet set the metallic box onto the table next the seeker. "Anna has apparently taken a liking to you, Screamer," he stated plainly; the seeker deduced this to be what humans referred to as "small" talk. Ratchet glanced at the 'con, before rummaging through the box. "Never thought she'd be the type to find comfort talking to a stranger over one of us." The medic pulled out a circular device. Tiny symbols were engraved onto the steel gray surface.
"She may think the same about you," the seeker retorted.
The yellow 'bot made fake smile coated with a half-laugh. "I guess you would know," he replied.
"I would," he stated smugly. The growing smirk on his face was whipped away as Ratchet reached for his head. Starscream grabbed the medic's wrist. "I never gave you permission to touch me!" he growled. The medic winced as the seeker tightened his grip. "What the hell are you trying to do anyway, slag?"
Ratchet tried to yank his hand away from the seeker, but the unique design of the seeker's hands (with a thumb on either side of his three middle fingers) made it difficult to escape his grasp. His blue optics glared at the seeker. "You're obviously suffering from an internal programming error," he stated, trying to keep his tone at an appropriate level. "Since your systems have not begun to repair themselves on their own, it leads me to believe you have more untold damage than I predicted." He paused, giving Starscream a well-deserved stern glare. "If you let go, I will be better able to diagnose the problem, Screamer." The 'con released his grip, but made sure his protested snort was loud enough to be heard.
The yellow mech reached forward to implant the device on the light gray circuit leading from his chest to his neck. The 'con shifted to avoid being pricked by it. "No one touches me," he snarled.
"I'm not going to harm you, Screamer," Ratchet stated.
He sneered. "Like I'm going to believe that," he retorted. "You can't hide it, Ratchet -- you have it out for me just like the others."
The medic was appalled at the accusation. "I have not done anything to harm you, 'con," he informed. "If anything, Annabelle and I have been the only ones not bent on your immediate termination." He set the device down onto the table. "Now if you choose to remain in an unstable condition, I will not fight you; but as an experienced medic, I highly advise letting me analyze your basic functions."
The 'con couldn't argue with the medic's logic, but his ego fought against the seeker's logic chip. "Fine," he muttered irritably. He kept his optics trained on the medic, never once letting his optics show anything but resentment. A low rumble echoed from the seeker's vocal processors as the device pricked his circuit. Warning systems flashed as the medic pressed the device farther into the circuit. It was unnerving at best to have someone not of his trine have their hands close to his neck.
"See," the medic said as he removed his hands. "That wasn't bad at all." He lifted up the box, and carted it over to an adjacent table. "You must have some good friends," the medic said, more to himself than to the 'con. He looked towards the seeker. "They've kept you in good shape." The seeker remained silent as the medic had predicted. "So who is it? Thundercracker?" The medic sighed. 'No wonder he didn't have very many friends growing up.' "How's Skywarp doing? Did he ever get his memories back after the incident?"
"What are you wanting?" Starscream asked in a displeased tone.
"What's wrong with Annabelle?" he asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about, auto-slag," the 'con said innocently.
The medic's tired optics strained to glower at the mech. "I'm not in a mood to play games, Starscream," he stated. "I'm trying to be civil here. As you are aware of, I could hack into your systems and discover it myself, but I prefer cooperation."
"Wouldn't that be breaking Code 134?" the seeker inquired smugly. "Information shall only be obtained via hacking if it is confirmed that the obtained enemy has information that could be used to stop an attack or be used to free autobot prisoners of war. Then, and only then, will the current leader of the autobots, his chosen advisors, and the Council of Ancients decide whether or not hacking will be an appropriate course of action. Any unauthorized hacking shall be perceived as an unnecessary act that can and will be tried appropriately." The medic stood in awe as the seeker recited the code perfectly word for word. His egotistical smirk grew at Ratchet's wordless comeback. "And you don't want to break the code do you?"
The mech looked back at his box. "You used to be such a good 'bot," Ratchet said solemnly. "Always there to help when called upon." He fiddled with a spare saw head, looking over it's edges. Starscream's optics were trained on the blade; he was not sure whether Ratchet was making a threat, or just conveniently inspecting one of his numerous tools. "I have to admit, I'm shocked that you won't help me now," the mech confessed. He placed the blade down. "Especially when we have something in common -- Annabelle."
Starscream chuckled. "She's just a pathetic squishy," he informed. "Nothing more than a poor excuse for entertainment."
"For being poor entertainment, you really seemed to enjoy her company," the medic argued. The seeker began to open his mouth, but the medic beat him. "We were keeping an eye on you two." The seeker's previous confident face melted to an emotion resembling pure humility. "And you're not the only one who thinks she's not bad for a human." Starscream's face, had he been human, would've been drained of any and all color.
He quickly regained pushed his humility aside. "What do you want?" he growled.
"Annabelle is not in a good mental condition," he explained. "And she refuses to speak to us about what is troubling her, but you - " He looked hopefully towards the seeker. "She's trust you for some unknown reason. I would like you to be a medium. Whatever she tells you, you can tell me; then I can begin to help Anna."
"So. . . " he said. "You want me to betray Anna, and sell her secret to you?"
"You sound surprised," Ratchet replied. "I would've thought this to be right up your alley." Starscream glowered at the medic, but held his tongue. The seeker wasn't sure whether he felt insulted or praised. He watched as the door suddenly opened, and to his dismay, walked in Jetfire with a red twin in his arms. "Jetfire!" he exclaimed. His blue optics scanned up and down the black mech's damaged plating as he set Sideswipe onto a berth.
"I'm okay, Ratchet. Just a few minor wounds," he assured. "It's Sideswipe I'm worried about." He moved back to give the medic room. "I found him unresponsive, and he has yet to come online." The medic nodded. Jetfire looked intently at Sideswipe's emotionless face. He took a hard swallow of guilt as he looked at Ratchet. "Will he be okay?"
Ratchet had begun to run a diagnosis over the external damage. "I won't be able to tell till I look at his internal damage. But if I can put Jazz back together, then I can put him back together." Jetfire nodded. "I should be asking if you'll be okay."
"It's just a few dents, and my systems have already begun to repair the minor internal damage," Jetfire explained. "I can buff whatever plating needs to be buffed out later."
"If it's that way," Ratchet spoke. "Will you be willing to look into Starscream's internal regenerative and defensive functions? I have a hunch that either he's suffering from a virus or possibly a core malfunction." The medic lifted up Sideswipe's left arm to examine the disconnected cables, wires, and hydraulics. "You wouldn't have to do it this instant, but after you get yourself fixed up."
"Of course, Ratchet," the mech answered.
"And when you do - " He placed the arm down, and began to peal away Sideswipe's chest armor. "Take him out of here. He'll be uncooperative." Starscream curled his hand into a tight fist. He loathed how they talked about him as if he weren't in the room. The seeker turned to glare his old brother, but Jetfire was already leaving the room.
The door closed behind the scientist, and without Starscream watching him, he sighed. His sensors picked up the unique radiation of spark, causing his optics to travel towards the source. A disheveled and depressive looking Sunstreaker stared at him with large, uncertain optics. Dried mud clung to his golden armor, and the leftover streaks of dry water coated his windows. "Is he back?" Sunstreaker asked. He spoke softly, trying to hide the weak and vulnerable tone of his voice.
Jetfire nodded. "Yes," he replied bluntly.
The yellow twin moved forward, and outstretched his hand. He looked to the ground as he tried to swallow his pride. "Thank you," he muttered; his words barely audible. The black mech pushed the hand aside, and brought the 'bot close to him. Sunstreaker wrapped his arms around the mech, as he used him for support. He buried his head into Jetfire's arms, too ashamed for acting weak, but not strong enough to regain his pride. The scientist glanced up to see the rest of the autobot team lined up at the end of the hallway. Their faces were stern, but weak smiles had begun to grow on each of them.
Jazz and Bumblebee broke away from the group, and both stood behind the yellow 'bot. Jazz placed a hand on Sunstreaker's back. "C'mon bro," he said. "Let's get you some energon."
Sunstreaker moved away from Jetfire, and shoved Jazz's hand away. "Don't touch my armor," he growled weakly. "You'll ruin my paint job." He pushed passed Jetfire, and began walking towards his quarters. The silver 'bot looked at Bumblebee, and his fellow lieutenant nodded. Jazz followed Sunstreaker's steps first, followed by Bumblebee.
Jetfire turned around to see Ironhide grabbing his forearm. "You did real good today," he spoke. "Real good, soldier." The general released the jet's forearm, and walked away, leaving only Jetfire and Optimus Prime.
Their leader walked proudly towards the 'bot. He stopped five away from him. Jetfire's face became morbidly grim as Optimus stared at him with proud eyes. "I know many have questioned your allegiance to the autobot cause and me," he stated. "But I always knew you were a good 'bot deep down; and this only confirms it, Jetfire."
"Please, Sir," he protested. "I - I do not deserve your praise."
"Nonsense," Optimus replied. "You risked your life to save Sideswipe. That takes a lot of courage and loyalty to do something like that. I'm grateful to have you for a soldier."
He looked down at the ground. He could feel a pit in his spark filled with guilt, and the pit was growing. A sick, heavy feeling filled his chest. "Sir, they won't stop," he informed. "They know were Annabelle and her family live, and they will soon know where we live too. I need you to rethink your decision to keep Annabelle away from the base."
"How do you know this?" Optimus asked, his tone serious.
"I picked up on Skywarp's warping signature," Jetfire explained. "I thought it might've been lightening, but as you know, we sent Ironhide to pick Annabelle and Sarah up. I did that because I did not know whether it was him or not. Upon retrieving Sideswipe, Skywarp threatened to make short work of our humans next time." He looked up at Prime. "I do not care whether we keep Annabelle and her family here, or relocate them somewhere else in the meantime, but we cannot let them leave unprotected."
He nodded. "Annabelle only has a few weeks left of school," he stated. "We can keep her here, and have Sunstreaker take her to and from school. I can have Ironhide transport Sarah to her day job. Once Annabelle is done with school, we'll discuss more permanent options."
"Thank you, Sir," the scientist thanked.
"You take it easy now," Optimus ordered. "You've done enough good today." Jetfire gave a weak nod, and watched as Optimus walked away to join Ratchet in the Medical Bay. He stared at his feet, wondering how everyone believe him. 'It's just not right,' he thought to himself. He lifted up his head and said, "I know you're there Anna."
She emerged from around the corner. Her head was held low, and the color from her face drained. "I didn't mean for this to happen," she whispered. "If I'd known - "
"Anna," he interrupted. "This kind of events happen. The war was bound to come back to Earth. I'm actually surprised that one of the twins hadn't come across one of the seekers before hand." Jetfire lifted Anna onto his shoulder. "From what Ratchet had told me, Sideswipe disobeyed an order. Nothing you did put him in this situation." He began to walk towards his room. "How about I give you a crash course in buffing out armor?"
"Whatever," she replied back emotionlessly.