Chapter 5: Insanity
Sunstreaker's POV" Warning. Warning. Decepticon attack. All Autobots to the main level immediately."
Between the blaring of the alarms and the automated voice system, I woke a little disoriented. First, I wasn't in my own room or in my own bed and there was a mech lying next to me… Prowl. He sat up as the alarms grew louder.
"Not the way I wanted to say good morning," he said, sliding from the bunk.
"Me either," I answered, following suit. "I'm on my way topside. Check on Sides for me before you head up there, please?" Prowl nodded and I turned to leave. He grabbed my arm and I looked back at him.
"Stay in one piece." I nodded and he released me as I left his room and pounded down the hallways and headed for the entrance. Already outside engaged in battle were Prime, Ironhide, Mirage, Hound and Wheeljack. I knew Ratchet would be below in the infirmary and I was guessing Bumblebee hadn't yet arrived. The Seekers were on point with the cassettes not far behind. I took aim at Starscream and joined the fray. I saw Dirge fire his rockets at Prime and I fired off a couple of shots at him, hitting him in the chest plate and garnering his attention away from my now fallen leader.
"Ratchet!" I yelled into my comlink. "Prime's down, took two rounds to the chest, spark's still intact." I continued firing on Dirge who, along with Ravage and Rumble had me targeted for attack.
"I'm sending Prowl. You're brother's already managed to escape my clutches and should be up there already." For one split second, I lost my concentration at the thought that Sideswipe was somewhere in all of this mess. I turned and found him covering Prime, shielding our leader as best as he could while Ironhide and Mirage took on Starscream, Ramjet and Soundwave. We were getting our collective asses kicked. Bluestreak finally appeared with Bumblebee and I turned my attention back to my own problems. I knew Blue would keep an eye on Sides.
"Hey, Dirge," I taunted in a sarcastic tone of voice, "where'd you learn how to shoot? You couldn't hit a moving target if it stood still." The Seeker landed in front of me and I grinned at him slightly. This was one Decepticon I needed dead. I aimed my rifle at him and pulled the trigger just as I felt a shot take me out at the knee. I went down hard but kept firing and watched Dirge go down in front of me.
"Sunny!" I heard Sideswipe yelling my name and I looked over my shoulder to where he was still protecting Prime.
"Stay with Prime!" I yelled back even as I took another shot, this one to my chest. I turned back and found Scourge taking aim at Prowl who was standing next to Sides. "Prowl! Sides!" I yelled even as I managed one last burst of strength to launch myself from the ground and into the line of fire, taking the blasts meant for my twin and my lover. I felt myself falling, felt it when I hit the ground and I heard the firestorm that erupted around me. I heard Sideswipe yelling but my optics were fading and, try as I might, I just couldn't stay awake.
Sideswipe POVWhen I heard the alarms going off that morning, my first thought had been for Sunny because I knew he was front line and I knew he'd be right in the middle of everything. And when Prowl showed up in the infirmary to check on me, I knew Sunny had sent him. I wanted to apologize to Prowl, wanted to take back every thing I'd said to him, but he must have known, because he came over, put his hand on my shoulder and told me everything would be okay. And I believed him.
Then I heard Ironhide's yell that Prime had been hit and they needed help and I shot out of the infirmary so fast, neither Prowl nor Ratchet was able to stop me. I made it outside and over to where Prime lay unmoving. I used my own body to shield his from the blasts around us, doing my best to keep his spark protected. I watched Sunny go down when Dirge shot his knee out again and then Scourge shot him dead on in the chest. I was afraid for him. Prowl was suddenly beside me and then I heard Sunny yell and I looked up to see a yellow blur come in front of myself and Prowl and then he was on the ground and he wasn't moving.
Wheeljack made it over to where we were just about that time and so I left him to guard Prime while I went after Scourge and left Prowl to see to Sunstreaker. I don't even know if he stayed there with him. I was too busy trying to rip apart the Decepticon who'd injured my brother. I don't know what I did or how, but I was on the ground, straddling him while he tried to fight me off and I punched my fist through his chest plates, wrapped my hand around his spark and ripped it from his body.
"Sideswipe!" I knew it must have been Prowl because a second later he'd grabbed me and pulled me off the now dead Decepticon and was holding me, arms wrapped securely around my body, keeping me from doing anymore harm to anyone. Apparently, what I'd just done had brought a temporary halt to the fight.
Then I heard Ironhide's cannon's wind up once more and the Seekers transformed and took to the air as the remaining Decepticons also transformed and fled. I struggled against Prowl when I saw Dirge lying nearby, trying to repair himself enough to transform and leave. My anger so overwhelmed me that I fought Prowl off, shoving him hard enough that he lost his grip on me. I ran over to where Dirge lay and as he slowly came up to his knees, I punched through his chest plates and ripped his spark out as well. His eyes flashed once, twice, and I saw the look of confusion on his face just before his optics darkened forever.
The last thing I remember after that, was Prowl whispering that he was sorry and feeling myself lose consciousness…
Prowl's POVI do not know what has happened or why… well, that is not entirely true. I do know why. Sunstreaker, who is a front line warrior and always has been, did his job. He put his life in harms way to save his commander, his sub-commander and his brother. That is his job and I have always known that. Lately, though, I have come to hate him for it, especially today.
And Sideswipe… what in the name of Primus was he thinking? I suppose that is the problem. He was not thinking. He saw his brother go down, saw only that he was losing his twin and he acted. He ripped the sparks out of two Decepticons and might have gone after more of them had I not stopped him when I did. He is sedated now, strapped to a gurney in the infirmary while Ratchet fights to save his brother. Prime is awake now, somewhat alert and has been briefed on what has happened. Ironhide suffered a few minor scrapes, as did Mirage. Wheeljack is finishing up the repairs to Prime's chest plate and Perceptor is working on Ironhide. It is quiet in here. Everyone knows things are touch and go…
"Prowl." I look up to find Bumblebee next to me and I give the mini-bot a quick once over to be sure he is not injured as well. He and Bluestreak arrived a little late on the scene, but anything could have happened. He looks to be in one piece so I finally meet his gaze and give him my attention.
"Yes, Bumblebee?"
"Are you okay?" I nod slowly then sigh heavily and shake my head. "I didn't think so. Maybe you should sit down?"
"Thank you, Bumblebee, but I need to be here for now. I want to make sure Optimus is back online before I settle. I also want to make sure the twins are stable before I go." The thoughts lingering in my mind go unspoken because once spoken, they cannot be taken back. I fear that I will lose Sunstreaker, either through this selfless act or by order. I know Prime is aware of our relationship now. Some part of me knows that Sunstreaker threw himself into harms way to save Sides and me. Saving Prime was part of it, too, but it wasn't his first priority and therein lies the problem. That should have been his only priority and we all know it, but none of us will say it.
"Prowl," Bumblebee whispers softly and I have to lean in closer to hear him. "It's okay to worry about the ones you love no matter what anyone else says or thinks." I turn to look at him and those baby blues catch me once again and I have to smile. He should know…
"Thank you, little one," I answer softly and he smiles back at me then returns to Prime's side. If there is anyone more dedicated to our leader than the little one, then I do not know who it would be. Prime looks over at him and gives him a quick reassuring smile before turning his gaze back to me. I catch his glance and nod once. I know we must talk.
As time passes, Ratchet becomes less rushed and anxious and I am beginning to hope for the best. Ironhide and Mirage have long since gone now, Perceptor is in recharge and Wheeljack is doing the rounds of the rest of the base just to make sure no one was missed. Prime has sent Bumblebee back to Sam and now sits with me as we wait for word on Sunstreaker.
My gaze travels back and forth between Ratchet working on Sunstreaker and an unconscious Sideswipe strapped to a gurney. Is this my fault? Am I to blame for what happened here today?
Prime's POV"It's not your fault, Prowl," I whisper, laying my hand over his, jolting him out of his thoughts. He looks up at me for a moment then nods and looks away. "It's his job to protect others and it's part of his moral make up to protect the ones he loves as harshly and completely as he can."
"It does not mean I have to always approve of his actions," Prowl replies after a moment. I nod slowly.
"That is true, however, you will cause yourself nothing but pain if you do not stop and see him for what he is before you become too attached to let him go." He does look at me this time and I give him a half-hearted smile. "I've known for awhile and I've said nothing so long as it didn't affect anyone's job."
"And now?" I could almost hear the fear in Prowl's voice. He'd already lost so much; Jazz's death hit him hard after he arrived to find his bondmate dead at the hands of Megatron, his spark destroyed in the kill.
"Now, I think perhaps things need to be re-evaluated, especially after what Sideswipe did in defense of his brother. It was nothing short of murder, but it was in the midst of battle and it was in defense. He didn't start the fight. As Ironhide has said, he merely finished it." I watched Prowl nod in thought at this.
"He just found out yesterday about his brother and I. I think, perhaps, some of that anger was still present at the time his brother was hurt. Who better to take out that anger on than his enemy?"
"Prowl, I have to ask you something and I need an honest answer." I did not want to have to ask him this, but I didn't really have a choice. "Can you let him go? Can you put away your feelings and walk away?"
"No," he answered honestly and without hesitation, "but I will if I have to in order to save him or his brother." At that point I knew something Prowl had not yet admitted. Prowl loved the yellow mech almost as much as he had once loved Jazz.
Ratchet's POVIt had taken me almost seven hours, but I'd managed to save Sunstreaker; again. His spark was intact, barely, and I'd replaced both chest panels, cracked glass, and I'd replaced his left leg again from the knee down. He'd lost a lot of energon so I had left him on full support until his energon readings were back up to normal. I figured that'd be sometime tomorrow.
I ran a scan on his twin to find Sideswipe in full recharge but I noticed that some of his cpu functions were different. I compared them to the ones taken before the accident and afterwards and I smiled a little. Something that happened today had caused Sideswipe's memory banks to react and it looked as if some of his higher cpu functions had come back online in full force. This was good news indeed. Perhaps he would be back to normal before long after all.
I turned to find Prowl still sitting in the infirmary, waiting, and in a light recharge. I had half a mind to let him continue sleeping but I knew he'd want an update. After all, he'd been waiting for all this time. I walked over to him and sat next to him where I knew Prime had been waiting until two hours ago when I'd sent him to recharge. I placed a hand on Prowl's leg and waited for him to come back online.
"How are they?" he asked somewhat groggily.
"They'll live. I've kept Sunny on full support for right now, until his readings all come back to normal. I don't want to take any chances. Sides is okay too. As a matter of fact, some of his higher cpu functions have started to come back online again."
"Does that mean he is getting better?" Prowl asked softly, hope lingering in his optics.
"Yes, it means exactly that. We might have him back before too long now." Prowl smiled softly and nodded, leaning back in the chair.
"Sunstreaker will be happy to have him back," he whispered softly.
"You need to rest, Prowl. It's been a long day for everyone. I promise I will contact you if there is any change, bad or good." Prowl nodded and slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I'll give you a few minutes alone." I turned and walked towards the other side of the room, far enough away for some semblance of privacy, but close enough that I could still hear what was being said.
Prowl had walked over to the gurney where Sideswipe lay and I watched him briefly touch the mech with his fingertips, brushing them across Sideswipe's forehead gently. He whispered something I couldn't understand, then kissed him on the forehead and walked over to Sunstreaker. He bent down, kissed Sunstreaker on the mouth gently then stood back up.
"Love you," I heard him whisper and for a moment I was shocked. He hadn't said those words out loud to anyone since Jazz's death. I didn't know what to think. He brushed a hand across the yellow mech's face then turned and walked out of the infirmary. I watched him go, then dimmed the lights and moved into the smaller room next door and lay back on my own bunk hoping for just a couple of hours of recharge before anything else happened.
Sideswipe POVI felt Prowl's fingers brush across my forehead and I had to fight with myself not to open my eyes and look up at him. The touch was so soft and gentle and I was surprised. But then he whispered 'I may not be your brother, but I will care for you just as he does if you'll let me' and I couldn't have talked if I'd wanted to. I was shocked to say the least. After my attack on him yesterday I'd have thought he'd want nothing to do with me…
Then I heard him whisper, "Love you" to Sunny and I fought to keep the tears from my optics. I had images, memories if you will, of standing next to Sunny as the sun was setting behind what had once been our headquarters on Cybertron as we attended the bonding ceremony for Prowl and Jazz. It's the only other time I've ever heard those words from our sub-commander. As I felt myself drift into unconsciousness once more, I remembered exactly what I had with Sunstreaker, why I loved him and I knew I'd do whatever it took to keep all of us together some way or another…
TBC…. Sorry it's taken so long. Busy week at work and home, but here's chapter 5 so please remember to read and review. Thanks!