Well, here's the next installment of DT :D This one went a little slower than we thought it would. And frag it all, I have no inspiration for Feelings! Last Arc too and then the story is over... Some ideas thrown my way would be welcomed.
Also, ART. We would LOVE art for this or for Of Lambos and Seekers located on my lovely co-author's, Daerynys Starcatcher, profile. We would really love to see the twins new forms as described here :) No pressure. But we really would love it
Disclaimer: Not ours but I really want some baby Twins.
Enjoy ~
"Sunny, I'm bored."
Sunstreaker made a noise of agreement. It had been joors since Skywarp and Starscream had left for their shifts, Thundercracker working quietly at the terminal. The Twins were supposed to be taking a nap, but neither could fall into recharge. They didn't need it in all honesty. They hadn't burned off enough energy and now were talking to each other in whispers. They were slowly coming to adore their guardians. Skywarp was funny and he liked playing with them when he was here, but he'd had to leave a lot lately. Starscream got angry quick, but he sang to them when it was quiet at night and they couldn't sleep. Thundercracker was a little boring, but he was strong and he waxed them and made sure they had interesting things to learn to read.
Even so. They were bored. They hadn't seen the outside of their quarters in vorns it seemed to their small CPUs and when they did it was always to go down the same stretch of hall to Soundwave's quarters which, while the Twins and the other cassettes were there, was quickly losing its marvel. Afterall, Soundwave wasn't always there to teach Sideswipe the lyraharp and Sunstreaker had just about run out of games to play on their teevee.
"Whining is unbecoming." Thundercracker noted. "I am fairly sure I could give you extra lessons...Sunstreaker, your word recognition is lacking, and Sideswipe, your penamanship leaves much to be desired."
"My what?" Sides asked.
"Writing." TC explained. "You need to practice it."
"But that makes me ti-" Sideswipe's mouth closed with an audible snap, and Thundercracker smiled. Sunny just shook his head in disgust. Dumbaft.
"Skywarp cannot take two tired younglings flying, you know." TC noted, almost nonchalantly.
Both twins sat up at that, wide optic'd and said in complete and excited unison, "We get to fly?"
Thundercracker's smile widened. "Yes. You may get to fly. If you behave. If you consume your energon and your supplements without complaint. If you do your lessons. And then if Skywarp still wishes to. Then you will get to fly." Thundercracker said, nodding.
The twin halfers sported identical wide grins. "Wanna go up!" Sunstreaker cried, uncharacteristically exuberant.
"I want to do loops!" Sideswipe countered.
"I want you to lie quietly for the remainder of your nap time." TC said quelling.
"But what if we're asleep when Sky gets here and we can't fly anymore! He's been saying we can go since forever! I wanna go soon! I wanna go now!" Sideswipe jumped off the berth in his excitement and ran around the room with his arms spread wide and making jet sounds.
Sunstreaker laughed and watched his twin, legs swinging off the edge of the berth.
Thundercracker made a sharp clicking noise in his vocalizer, one that the twins may be finally recognizing. Starscream had started using Seeker cant with the twins, on the premise that they should recall it from their sparkling days, and two, it was a form off communication not widely known on the Nemesis. This particular series meant 'cease and desist'.
Sideswipe stopped dead, his head tilted as he picked out the individual sounds. Well, he was better at it; the musician's audials. Sunny just sat there laughing at his twin.
The door slid open, and the twins looked at it expectantly. Starscream, back from his shift, looking irritated as he usually did after spending time with the other 'Cons.
Sideswipe deflated just a bit. "Awww,'s not Sky."
Starscream raised an orbital ridge, looking from each twin to Thundercracker and back. "Is there a reason you are not in recharge."
"We're bored." Sideswipe was quick to answer. Sunstreaker nodded in agreement. "And not tired and Sky's going to take us flying!"
"Sky isn't taking you anywhere unless you learn to listen to what your caretakers tell you." Thundercracker reminded them for the fourth time in the last breem.
Starscream cracked a tiny smile but nodded in agreement. "I won't let him, and Skywarp listens to me as well."
"Like frag I do." Sky said as he walking into their room, smelling of the outer hull...seawater and slime. "Want a hug, Sunny?" He grinned.
Sunstreaker's face scrunched in what could only be disgust. "After you clean." He said, which in itself was a great improvement. Up until a few cycles ago, he's only let Sideswipe and occasionally Starscream hug him.
"Aw, Sunny. Sunny doesn't looove me." Skywarp said, sticking his glossa out at the golden twin. Sideswipe gave Sunny a mock-furious look and hugged Skywarp tightly, getting that gross slime...and smell...all over him.
"Racks!" Both TC and Star said it in unison, pointing at the green-streaked youngling.
"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!"
Skywarp turned his head just slightly, winking at Starscream. "I got him. C'mon, Siders. Will you wash if I warp you?"
Sideswipe nodded, optics wide. Sunstreaker's mouth fell open, and suddenly Skywarp felt a small presence hugging his right leg.
"Me too?" Sunny asked softly.
You could practically see Skywarp's face smile brighten up the room as the dark Seeker resisted the urge to 'awww' loudly. He reached down and scooped the youngling up, looking quite proud as he promptly disappeared, once more followed by squealing excitement from the washroom.
Thundercracker shook his helm, giving their nap up as a lost cause.
While Skywarp literally disappeared with the now-smelly twins, Starscream looked at Thundercracker. He laid a datapad in front of his blue trinemate, and the image on it was certainly not what TC expected.
"Upgrades?" he asked Starscream. His trineleader nodded absently.
"It's close enough to time, and I can give them defensive capability if I do it, and enhance certain of their natural strengths in the process."
"You know how to upgrade sparklings?" Thundercracker hadn't guessed this.
Starscream flashed Thundercracker a Look. "I went to the Science Academy. They do teach basic anatomy, including the skills necessary to do this. I may need some material to follow, and designs, and the base parts...but yes, I can do this. I should do this. It is not safe for them as they are."
"I know that but..." Thundercracker sighed. "What kind of defensive capabilities are we talking? Something similar to the Stunticon's force shields?"
Starscream frowned and shook his helm. "The amount of energon it would take to fuel that could not be provided, nor would it be very healthy for either of them as active as they are..."
"In short, the energy required for a continuous effect such as the Stunticons' forcefields would be prohibitive in terms of not only fuel consumption, but possibly development as well. they would become dependent upon it in many ways, and the constant drain on their systems could be detrimental to several systems, not just defensive. I was thinking of using some Earth metals for their plating, alloyed with the standard Cybertronian alloys. Ceramics, while heavy, are effective against heat...and were never developed on Cybertron due to the lack of rare elements in our planetary crust." Starscream continued, fully in Science-Bot mode.
Thundercracker paused for a moment to allow himself to process that. Star had always been head and shoulders above him in these matters, but he was sure that he understood most of it. "You want to make them different from what they ended up being?"
"A little, yes. Sideswipe had a jetpack...I plan to integrate thrusters, much like many Decepticons have. It's a simple enough alteration. Sunstreaker, though... I am not certain he is suited for personal flight."
"Not suited for... Starscream, he is as much half Seeker as Sideswipe is!" Thundercracker said sharply. "He will have as much a need for the sky as his brother. If you take that away, how do you think he will feel?"
Starscream looked sharly at Thundercracker. "He is prone to flashbacks, which could be fatal if it happened to him in the air! I will...ask him." Star's voice softened. "Ask him if he's ever been in the sky, and see how he reacts, becaore I make that final decision." TC's words had hit him rather hard. He couldn't fathon being flightless, and...the blue Seeker was right.
"'M I clean yet?" Sideswipe whined, despite the dark smudges clear on his face.
"No." Sunny pointed out, quite happy to stay under the hot spray with a bottle of cleanser with his name on it.
Skywarp flicked his wings at the two, showing cleansing fluid and water on the twins to the tune of dual shrieks of laughter. "Hurry uuuuppp and I'll warp us back for evening ration! But sshh, don't tell TC. Then I'll be in trouble. You don't want Skywarp to get a spanking, do you?"
Sideswipe looked at the seeker with wide optics. "They can't do that!" He said with conviction. "Yer too big now!"
Sunstreaker rolled his optics, looking over his frame again. He still like taking baths with Thundercracker or Starscream. They waxed him when it was all done. But the disgusting green and blackish stuff was gone and he was only too happy to just stand there.
"Can't waste water, Sunny." Skywarp grinned, sticking his glossa out in an imitation of Sunstreaker when he did it as an answer.
Sunny frowned but stepped out of the spray, hurrying for a cloth so he wouldn't get water spots on his plating. Skywarp wiped down Sides' dirty face, much to the little red halfer's dismay, but very soon they were holding hands, VOIPing into the main room with only a bit of water puddling onto the carpet beneath their feet.
Starscream eyed the mess, and looked at Skywarp. "Really. You couldn't dry them first?"
"I dried myself." Sunstreaker said with authority.
"So you did." Star said with a grin. "More sense than your twin and the purple glitch with wings, for sure."
"Not a glitch, aft-face!" Skywarp retorted, and Sideswipe giggled madly.
TC rolled his optics. "CHILDREN. All four of you. Stop it." The Seekers gave TC a dirty look, but everyone sat down for rations.
Starscream turned to Sunny. "Ever been flying, Sunstreaker?"
Sunstreaker's optics lit up and Sideswipe'd did too. "Yeah! It was so cool! You could see everything and kali always made sure to 'splain the rules when were in the sky! Even though don't got wings!"
"Don't have, Sunstreaker." Thundercracker corrected gently. "We don't have wings. Not we don't got."
"I thought it wasn't lesson time anymore." Sideswipe made a face.
"Rules for the sky?" Skywarp wondered aloud.
Starscream wondered what those were too, so he sat and listened, beginning to reconsider things. He'd worried that Sunstreaker might associate the sky, flying with something negative, and as such it could trigger a panic attack in midair. If he associated it with positive things, then perhaps...
"Yes, Sunstreaker, tell us what the rules for the sky are." He began tapping on his datapad, coming up with rough designs for two younglings' upgrades. Thundercracker came over with the cubes on a tray, and everyone began to sip.
Sunstreaker was grinning from audio to audio, one of those happy ones that said he wasn't pretending to be happy. "Like makin' sure that all yer systems are workin' good!"
"Or checkin' the winds and makin' sure somethin' isn't too strong!" Sideswipe interjected.
"And always have a flyin' buddy until yer big enough to fly yourself!" They chimed together.
"But most of all, make sure that someone always knows where you are, cause Cybertron's winds are unpredictable." Sunstreaker finished with a wise air about him.
"Kali always told us this even though we can't fly 'cause we always went flyin' with him." Sideswipe said. "Because we were the only ones with a flyin' kali in the area!"
Sunstreaker made a face. "Nu-uh. There were other flyers! Kali was just prettiest."
Starscream and Skywarp both smiled. Star gave TC a knowing glance; he'd made his decision.
"Hey, have you ever been told it's time to uprgade your frames?" Starscream had no idea if they even knew what this was or not, or how long it'd been since they'd been with their creator. According to records, they'd disappeared off the radar almost as if they'd never existed. A youngling who failed to upgrade, though...it stunted them more than physically, and Starscream idly wondered how they'd managed in their before lives, alone in Kaon.
Thundercracker finished his energon and rose. "It is time for my shift now...behave, you two."
The twins nodded distractedly as Skywarp peered over Starscream's shoulder, looking at his design. "Thrusters!" he said happily.
As soon as Thundercracker had left and Skywarp had purloined the designs off of Starscream, the tricolored Seeker found himself with a lap full of babbling and excited younglings.
"You mean it, Star! We really get to upgrade?" Sunstreaker asked, open amazement and hope in his face. "We don't hafta stay short forever and ever?"
"I want to be red still!" sideswipe declared firmly. "I want to be red and black, maybe some orange and green! No orange and purple!"
"Can't do that!" Sunstreaker gave his twin a gimlet optic. "Would look like colors purged all over you!"
Sideswipe shrugged, not really caring how he looked as long as he could be taller.
"Red and black with white for you." Starscream told Sideswipe. "Gold and black for you, Sunstreaker. Unless you wish another accent, like pea green?" he teased.
Sunny gave Starscream a look that promised pain. "Noooooooooooooooooo! Green is YUCKY and I hate it. Black is okay. It looks good with gold. You mean we're gonna get wings?"
"No. No wings. Thrusters in your heels, sort of like mine. You'll need wider shoulder plating for stabilization, and you won't go far because you are /far/ too young to be traversing the skies, but...you will get off the ground without assistance. /If/ you follow your Kali's rules." This was siad very firmly; those rules were pretty much the same as what Starscream himself had been taught when he was young.
"And you will be a little taller. Not as tall as us, but tall enough to get out of a room by yourself. No more standing on your twin's shoulders, Sideswipe." Starscream laughed.
"When ya gonna do it, Star?" Skywarp asked.
"I have to assemble the materials. An orn, perhaps. And the procedure will take most of a day to complete, and Hook's cooperation...I need medbay." He didn't want to explain the medical intricacies in front of the twins, or the extremely rare possibility of them rejecting the new form. It was essentially a spark chamber transplant, and it would be stupid not to have support on hand in case of emergencies.
The twins looked at each other in absolute excitement and then broke into loud squeals before hugging Starscream at the same time.
It would take most of the evening and even sometime after Thundercracker returned, to calm them down enough for recharge.
The days passed and things continued in this new and odd routine the Seeker's lives had fallen into. Starscream worked on the frames in his lab, adding little things here and there that added to aesthetics or mirrored a Seeker's own preferences. When it came to Sunstreaker's helm, he debated keeping the helm fins, something he'd honestly always considered ridiculous, but in the end opted for a more refined version.
The Twins continued their studies and grew in leaps and bounds, slmost entirely caught up with their age group now. They no longer cut words off or said things incorrectly, beside the occasional slip from Sideswipe who seemed to be leaning more for the Kaon accent they had adopted in their young years of life. Sunstreaker was more open, more willing to seek one of his caretakers out when he sought comfort or had a bad memory purge during the nighcycle. His fear of the dark had, unfortunately, not alleviated any and he wasn't talking about why it scared him so much.
The first major setback came when the Seekers were needed for an energon raid and Thundercracker had come back slagged to the pit, with Starscream shortly following courtesy of Megatron. The days without all three of their caretakers seemed to seriously unnerve the twins and when both returned, tired, but repaired, it had taken joors to get either of their charges to let go. Even for something as simple as refueling.
Finally, the day came that Starscream finished the frames and he was quite proud of the results.
The twins were watching some human children's show on TV that included three huge-eyed little girls who kicked more aft than the Stunticons, or so Skywarp described it. At least, Sideswipe was. Sunstreaker was drawing on yet another upgraded datapad, a reward from Thundercracker for getting all one hundred of his words correct: spelling, syntax, and lettering. It had been an accomplishment for Sunny, who had a difficult time with words.
He waved the pad at Starscream as he entered. "Star, look!"
Starscream dutifully looked at the datapad, finding a very detailed picture of both twins standing side by side next to the wall in their quarters. "I drew it so that you would have it to remember what we look like after we get upgrades." Sunny said solemnly.
Starscream felt an unfamiliar wave of something wash over his spark at that.
"Speaking of that...I think we're ready to do just that. Want to see?"
Sideswipe immediately switched off the TV and bounced. "Yes, yes, yes!" Sunstreaker, being only slightly more reserved, just nodded hard enough that he was likely to strain a hinge in his neck. "Please?" they said in unison.
Stronger mechs than Starscream had been brought low by the pleas of twins.
They went, each holding one of Starscream's hands.
By this point in time, most mechs hardly spared the Twins a glance. A few mechs had tried to mess with the mechlings even after the incident with the Combaticons. Each had learned their lesson. Painfully. Even so, the Twins were still not allowed out of quarters on their own, especially if Vortex was around. Starscream's lab was always a treat for them, considering that Sideswipe had problems with keeping his hands off of things he SHOULDN'T touch. It was like the little mech was drawn to dangerous things.
As soon as the doors cycled open and their hands were released, they rushed for their respective frames, going by coloring. Sideswipe squealed with excitement and Sunstreaker practically radiated joy as each looked at the finish products after climbing up stools to view them.
Sideswipe's soon to be new frame was a deep crimson with black accents that included his shoulders, forearms, hands, thighs, waist and pedes. His helm was the same black, more rounded than his previous adult frame, but Starscream had grown so found of the little audial horns, he just couldn't find it to get rid of them for something else. The little faceplates were a pearlescent white. The same white could be found on his upper arms, his pelvic plating and the thruster mods that he was openly appraising.
Sunstreaker was carefully going over every inch of his own new frame. His plating was mostly a honey gold, his own waist white as well as his thighs. His own thrusters were black as well as his forearms, helm and pelvic plating. His hands were the same golden hue as the majority of his chassis as well as his upper arms. His faceplates were the same as his brother's, Sunstreaker's helm a tad more angular to keep the helm fins on either side of his face in balance. They were smaller, more resembling a Seeker's helm vents rather than the wider flared ones previously, but they worked the same way and added to the exotic design. The slats were golden as well.
Both frames had yellow hued optics.
"Wooooow!" Sideswipe said, almost bouncing in his seat.
Sunstreaker's face looked like it was about to crack. "'M gonna be even more beautiful!" he yelled. "You did this, Star?"
Starscream nodded, feeling warm inside, and suddenly not caring if anyone knew it. He'd worked very hard on these, as hard as if they were his own younglings...which, he realized, he thought of them as just that. His. "I had some help from Skywarp and TC, and even Hook helped a little..." Sunstreaker frowned at that name. "But yes, I did most of it."
Sunstreaker ran and hugged both of Starscream's legs, clinging tightly. "Thank you. Love you! Love you so much!"
Starscream didn't know what to say to that.
Sideswipe poked at the frame, noting that it didn't move, not really noticing his twin or the stunned Seeker in the middle of the room. He did relent, however, when Starscream declared that it was time to move the frames. Medbay wasn't a place he liked, because he found Hook and Mixmaster to be creepy for the most part. Hook was here now, watching the scene of giggling younglings and practically bursting with pride Seeker with unreadable optics.
"Are they ready for the procedure, Commander?" he asked coldly. This display of emotion was, perhaps, enlightening, but not necessary in Hook's opinion.
Longhaul, who had also decided to come in for the event looked practically giddy himself. Now THIS was a mech the Twins had taken a liking too, having met him on a trip to check their systems a few cycles back. They waved and he beamed, waving a little back. Mismaster snorted in amusement, rolling his optics at his gestaltmate.
As soon as the frames were situated on the berths chosen for them, Starscream lifted each twin to lie beside either frame. Sunstreaker looked up at him curiously. "What do we do now, Star?"
"I need you to recharge for me, boys." Starscream said as Hook began to attatch various cables from one frame to the next. "Can you do that for me?"
"But we're not tired." Sideswipe said, confused.
"Perhaps, youngling. But when you wake up, you'll be in your new frame." He told them, watching Hook insert energon drips with a keen awareness should the medic try something funny.
"Just like that?" Sunstreaker asked.
"Just like that."
Both of them nodded and quickly shut off their optics as Hook initiated medical recharge.
Once the twins were finally out, Hook gave Starscream a dubious glare. "You certainly went to a lot of trouble for a pair of Autobots."
Starscream flicked his wings angrily, double-checking connections and assuring that the medical support systems were up and running. He didn't trust Hook any farther than Hook could fly on his own. "In case you haven't noticed, Hook, they are not, in fact, Autobots. They are younglings under my care and tutelage, learning the skills required to be assets to the Decepticon Empire."
The frames, however, had no symbols at all. Starscream had done that on purpose. One was not just given the Decepticon insignia. It was a choice. Not much of one, in certain cases, and undeniably a painful one if one took the full oath, but it was still a choice, not something to be branded (quite literally) upon younglings barely old enough to think for themselves.
Hook responded with both an optic roll and a "Yes, Commander." Before returning to his work.
His trinemates were absent for this procedure, mostly because they would only get in the way. Neither of them knew a thing about spark transfer, and even Starscream required Hook's assistance to be sure that it was done correctly. He knew that Hook's perfectionist nature would prohibit any funny business...that, and the threats that had been made against his person should anything go wrong.
The twins lay next to their new frames, cables hooked where they should be. Starscream nodded at Hook, who in turn instructed Mixmaster and Long Haul to assist, checking dials and reciting the various numerical values that ran across the screen on the life support units.
"Initiate transfer on subject 1a." Hook said.
"His designation is Sideswipe." Starscream hissed, and Hook ignored him, flipping the switches on the machines.
Starscream watched as the Sideswipe's chestplates opened, revealing the small, pulsing blue-white spark within it's chamber. As it rotated and spun, one small spark scar could be seen. Starscream frowned at it.
"What is that." He demanded, not asked.
Hook took a glance at it. "Relax, Air Commander. It is normal for split-spark twins to have such a mark at this age. It is merely the indication of where the spark split into two. It will fade with time."
How interesting. Starscream had to shake the thought away. Now was not a time to get distracted with science.
Starscream noted it for future reference and watched the transfer, which went as smoothly as he'd expected. Hook gently moved the small chamber, still attached, into the larger frame, attaching the lines one by one to the larger spark chamber within the new frame. The pulsating light looked tiny in the larger space.
Hook could feel the question coming, and so he said shortly, "The old chamber will be integrated into the new, and no, Long Haul, sparks will not "rattle around", no matter the size discrepancy."
Long Haul's mouth closed, for that was the question he had been within nanoseconds of uttering. Sometimes a gestalt link was a pain in the aft.
The final cable came loose from Sideswipe's old frame, and his spark flared just a bit. Starscream bit his lip as the old form began to fade in coloring, becoming less vibrant even as he watched. He...didn't like seeing that. Not at all. It bothered him to the extent that he had to look away, but yet he could still see it in his meta. He swallowed hard, and looked at the new frame...which had begun to power up, its own muted shades getting brighter with the signs of life.
Starscream let out a vent of relief, and banished the look of worry that had surely been plastered across his face. Sideswipe was okay.
Long Haul and Mixmaster began the final bits of integration, while Hook checked Sunstreaker over for any anomalies. His spark had stuttered just a bit when Sideswipe had been transferred, but Hook remarked that that was likely because of their link.
They began to repeat the process of the little golden twin, Starscream's favorite...the one he was beginning to think of as his own creation, even if only in his own mind.
His wings stiffened as Hook started up the process with Sunstreaker, and Starscream really had to look away when the little frame began to bleed to grey. He couldn't see that, but when he glanced back, the process was done and Sunstreaker's spark was seemingly content in the newer, bigger frame.
The Seeker vented air quietly as both sets of chestplates closed.
"There, the process is done." Hook said, going over the scans that had been running since the process had started. It had taken hardly any time at all.
"When can they leave?" Starscream asked/demanded.
"As soon as they wake from medical stasis and when I am certain that everything works properly." Hook said patiently. "For all you know you miswired their systems."
Starscream glared. "I did no such thing..."
Sideswipe moaned softly on his berth, moving a bit jerkily, and Starscream immediately forgot what he was complaining about. He rushed to the youngling's side, and was only a little bit hurt when the first coherent sound from Sideswipe's new vocalizer was , "Sky?"
Starscream swallowed his jealousy and commed his trinemate.
/Sideswipe is asking for you./
/Star, I can't-/
/You can, I'm ordering you to medbay. Rank has its privileges./
/Whatever keeps my aft out of the fire. Be right there!/
And he was. Skywarp arrived less than a minute later, to the chorus of Hook complaining that Skywarp was /not/ to be using his warp gate in medbay. Skywarp ignored the Constructicon and sat next to Sides' bedside, grinning.
"Lookin' good, kid. How do you feel?"
"Sleepy." The youngling's vocals were less highpitched than they had been in the smaller frame, the new one having more range of sound. Sideswipe rubbed at his optics before he stopped to stare at his hands and a huge grin spread across his face. "Look! I'm bigger now!"
"Sure are!" Skywarp's grin was just as wide.
Then Sunstreaker began to stir and Starscream reached for the smaller hand. "Sunstreaker, how are you feeling?"
"Mmmf." The golden youngling had always been harder to get up than Sideswipe. " 'M I big'r yet?" He mumbled.
"Yes Sunny, you're bigger now." Starscream resisted the urge to chuckle. Not here in front of the Constructicons.
"Good. Tired, Star. Can we go home." Sunny looked up, and the golden gaze wasn't really any different from the blue from before- it was obvious to Starscream that who lay behind the lenses was the same.
"Can you walk?" Starscream asked softly. It wouldn't do to have the Constructicons see too much, but a certain amount of care was necessary now, at least.
"I- don't know? Feels weird." Sunstreaker said, smiling. He tried to sit up, wobbled, almost fell backward, and then righted himself with Starscream's help.
Over on Sideswipe's berth, Skywarp had already picked Sides up and was carrying him. "He works." Skywarp said flatly. "We're leaving."
"The normal way, if you please." Hook said, snorting. If the twins glitched after they left medbay, it was no longer his concern or his problem, so he let them leave.
"Think I don't know not to 'port someone who just went through spark surgery? Hook, frag off." Skywarp said, stalking out with Sides in his arms.
"Say, I'm bigger now, that means I can say-"
"No, Sunstreaker, you may not." Starscream said, helping the golden twin off the berth. Something told him that he would consider it to be highly demoralizing to be carried out like a sparkling. Sunny wobbled some more, but managed to stay upright, walking slowly next to Starscream, holding his hand for balance (so he claimed).
They left medbay, and the hall was empty. Star looked down at Sunstreaker.
"Can I carry you now?" Sunny smiled slowly and nodded gratefully, holding his arms up.
Starscream hoisted the bigger frame, marveling at the wave of something akin to regret that passed through him. He was happy for Sunstreaker and Sideswipe now that they had their first upgrade, and he was excited for them, but somehow he already missed the tinier frame that needed to be cradled rather than just held.
He followed Skywarp and Sideswipe, listening to the twins babble at each other all the way to their quarters.
Once inside, the Twins were all over the room, measuring themselves against everything. Most notably they continued to drift back towards the berths, chairs and the keypad to the door. They could now see (even if just barely) over the edge of their berths and the chairs were easier to get in. They were also level with the keypad, and if they reached up, they could press on it. Luckily the door had an automatic lock and neither Twin knew the code to unlock it.
"You two look great!" Skywarp said, taking an image capture of them both. "I think, after rations...it's time to take two mechlings for a flight. Not on your own, yet- we'll need to work on that later...but in my altmode." Skywarp glanced at Starscream, who nodded. They'd done exceedingly well with their schooling, and things on the war front had been reasonably quiet. As long as Skywarp kept to sparsely-populated areas, it would be more than safe for them to fly with him.
The twins froze and broke into identical grins. "Yay!" Sideswipe said. "How much longer till-"
Thundercracker came into the room, nearly tripping over Sunstreaker, who'd been standing near the doorway. A soft smile touched his lips. "Sunstreaker. I see that you've grown some."
"Yes Thunder, I have, me an' Sides both. We're bigger now!" he said proudly. "Um...Thunder...is it time for rations yet?"
"Yes." TC said. The cubes he brought this time were a bit larger than before- the new frames required more energy to power, and the twins clambered up into the chairs...still too short to reach the table. Skywarp laughed loudly and sat them in their customary spots on the table, where they exhibited the best table manners they ever had since they'd come to the Nemesis. After everyone was done, Sideswipe looked at Skywarp expectantly. "Now, Sky?"
"Now." he agreed, holding out his arms for twins.
The Twins were quick to scramble into Skywarp's arms, identical smiles etched over their faces in excitement. With a cheery 'ta' at both of his trinemates, Skywarp left the room, Thundercracker's optic roll and Starscream's fond 'glitch' following him out. Skywarp hoisted either twin onto his shoulders, both hanging onto his shoulder vents for balance as their caretaker strode down the hall, chestplates puffed proudly.
It didn't take long for them to reach the bridge and Skywarp sent a request ping to have the tower raised. It was done quickly, and soon enough Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were staring into Earth's sky for the first coherent time. Both stared in awe.
"Where are Cybertron are we, Sky?" The golden yellow mech asked as Skywarp set him and his brother down gently so he could transform into his F15 altmode.
"Not on Cybertron, guys. This mudball is called Earth, why I don't know...weird name with weird natives." Skywarp said cheerfully, transforming into his altform. His cockpit popped open. /Slag, no ladders. I ain't a human jet! Uh...Um. Well then. You got thrusters. You gotta use 'em. Think real hard about your feet, and you should find a subroutine- a program- in your head that tells you what to do. VERY VERY SLOWLY raise yourself off the ground, and no funny business or Star will spank me./ He commed back, hoping that this worked.
Sideswipe concentrated, and sure enough, there was something extra that hadn't been there before. He activated it, and suddenly jumped up five feet. It surprised him so much that he accidentally cut power, tripping to land in a heap.
Sunny giggled. "Way to go, Grace."
"Slag off, Sunbeam." Sideswipe said cheerfully, trying again.
Sunstreaker scowled. "Not Sunbeam."
Sideswipe wasn't listening, concentrating on his feet again and very, very slowly, just as Sky had said, rose from the ground and guided himself through the air to Skywarp's open cockpit. He wobbled the entire way, but he looked so proud of himself that not even Sunstreaker commented on it.
"Come on, Sunny!" Sideswipe said enthusiastically, bouncing in one of the seats inside of Skywarp's cockpit. "It's so cool up here! There's a lot of buttons!"
"Yes, and don't you press on any of them squirt." Skywarp said seriously.
Sunstreaker looked less sure now that it was his turn. He had found the program as soon as Skywarp had pointed out how to and now he hesitated on activating it. He didn't want to look like a messup if he couldn't get it right.
::It's okay, Sunny.:: Sunstreaker startled slightly, surprised by how clear the special talk sounded.
::I know!:: He sent petulantly, once more surprised by how easy it had been to send it back.
Sideswipe positively beamed.
Sunstreaker wobbled more than his twin had, at first, but quickly caught the trick of it- it was like balancing upside down on your hands- once you actually did it, it was easy afterward. He moved slowly, though, enjoying the feeling of being free from the ground, before latching onto Skywarp's wing and pulling up.
"OUCH!" Skywarp said through the speakers. "Wings are sensitive!"
"Sorry, Sky." Sunny said, looking at his hands. "Didn't mean to."
"I know, I know. Now. Strap in. Normally I wouldn't care, but. Just do it." He waited until the twins acquiesced to his demand, figuring out the complex webbing that would keep them in their seats. It actually fit them, being that Skywarp's internal space was modeled after a human craft, and they really were not much larger than adult humans.
"Okay, guys. Copilot Sideswipe, Copilot Sunstreaker- am I green to go?"
The twins looked at each other blankly. "Uhhh..." Sides said.
"Maybe?" Sunny squeaked.
Skywarp snorted and powered his engines up, the roar making it difficult to hear until he shut the glass overhead.
"Hang on tight; this is gonna be a hell of a ride." Skywarp took off from the Nemesis tower, flying at a truly disgusting rate of speed already.
The twins shrieked in excitement and elation as they felt Skywarp lift into the air. It was amazing. They couldn't remember ever going this fast before! As soon as Skywarp evened out and had slowed down a bit, they sat back, breathless and giggling.
"Fun?" Skywarp asked, the smile evident in his voice.
"Slag yeah!" Sideswipe whooped. The twins cursed only with Sideswipe now, seeing as the elder mech let them.
"Hold on for a bit, we're going around...and around and around." With that, Skywarp executed a triple-loop, sending the twins upside down and back again. They giggled loudly, happier than they'd been in a very long time.
"Do it again!" Sunny squealed.
Skywarp just laughed and did a double loop and flew straight up, higher than they'd likely ever been.
"Oooh, feel dizzy, Sky!" Sides said, and Skywarp dropped down to a more reasonable altitude.
/I spy with my little eye./ Smokescreen said over the comm, teasing Bluestreak. They were on patrol together, somewhat far away from the Ark but this area had been /too/ quiet for quite some time.
/Spy what? You don't have eyes, you have optics. Only humans have-/ Smokescreen interrupted.
/Skywarp. Right above us. I suggest you shoot first, ask questions later- where he is, the other two usually aren't far behind./
He didn't know how wrong he was.
Bluestreak and Smokescreen both transformed, sliding to a stop as Bluestreak unsubspaced his rifle and took aim in one smooth movement. A bit of time passed before he made a small frustrated noise and lowered his weapon. "He's too far out of range. Especially with all those loops he's doing. you know, I wonder why he's doing that, it doesn't look very healthy, but then again -"
"Powerglide's in the area, Prowl says." Smokescreen interjected. "Give me a few moments and we'll have backup... kinda."
Bluestreak, normally one of the kindest mechs, very carefully did not snort. "Okay I'll comm him or do you want to comm him and let him know he's got the chance to blast a Seeker out of the sky since obviously I can't get up there to do it for him, even though I am a far better shot, I wouldn't say it that way normally but I /am/ the highest ranked onboard-"
"Blue."
"Yes?"
"He's already up there." Smokescreen pointed Powerglide out to the other Praxian and they watched intently.
"Frag, frag, frag, frag, frag." Skywarp cursed, his sensors pinging him times three. "We have company, guys."
"Company? Nobody's here but us!" Sideswipe pointed out.
"On my tailfins, Siders- Autoscum." Skywarp said, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to talk abotu this with them.
"No! They'll hurt you!" Sideswipe said. "What can we do to help?"
"Just stay down and keep quiet- I'm gonna try to keep them off me." What Skywarp didn't say is that their presence virtually guaranteed that he couldn't use his warp gate more than once- the power required to move three was just too much.
Powerglide came up fast, his lasers firing with uncommon precision. Skywarp wheeled in the air, causing his passengers to grip tightly to the arms of their chairs. Skywarp squealed over the speakers. "That's ME you're clawing, but...it's okay. Hold on little guys!"
He executed a dive maneuver that the flying mini should /not/ have been able to track, let alone follow...and Powerglide pulled through it, coming up on Skywarp's tail for a powerful, definitive missile strike directly into Skywarp's main engine assembly. Sparks flew from the boards near where Sunstreaker sat, and he screamed in fear, looking around for comfort.
"Sky! Sky! You okay? Talk to me, Sky! Skywarp! Starscream, help!" he cried, not thinking.
Skywarp couldn't even spare the few seconds needed to calm the little halfer; he was trying with all he was not to spiral down into a crash that could deactivate them all.
"Got him!" Bluestreak crowed as he watched Skywarp go down completely, even if his flight seemed to be geared toward taking most of the impact himself, which was quite odd.
Smokescreen's grin brightened, and he clapped the gunner on the shoulder before his helm tilted slightly to the side, indicating a mech recieving a comm. His faceplates looked distinctly ill as he reobserved the smoking trail that a triumphant looking Powerglide was looping around. It led to a small mountain range, ending about halfway up a mountain, most likely where Skywarp had ultimately crashed. "Did - uh... Did anybody bother to scan for more contacts?"
Bluestreak looked at Smokescreen, confused. "No, I didn't get any Decepticon contacts other than Skywarp's so that must mean that he was out on his own, which is really wierd now that I think about it, why?"
"Prowl had Teletraan scan for more contacts in case of a trap. There were two." At Bluestreak's confused look he continued, still looking decidedly ill. "Inside skywarp."
The implications hit Bluestreak like a ton of steel and he dropped his rifle like it burned him. "What are the chances that it was Frenzy and Rumble?"
"Don't know." Smokescreen said. "We need to find out, though." They both rushed to the crash site, where Powerglide was standing, looking triumphant.
"I got him! I got him! Fragging Seeker deserved it, did you see that /shot/-"
"Move aside, Powerglide." Bluestreak said in what had to be his shortest sentence ever. The minijet moved, and Blue walked over to the obviously injured, smoking heap of Seeker that lay insensate against a tree. He'd definitely hurt himself in the landing far more than one might expect, and Bluestreak felt vaguely ill at the implication. The glass covering his cockpit was cracked. Smokescreen overrode the safeties and it flew back with a hiss, revealing the inside- black smoke poured out, the scent of scorched wiring and burned rubbed very evident. Once everything cleared, Bluestreak began a soft litany of curses.
"What? What's in there?" Smokescreen demanded to know, even though he had a fair idea anyway.
"Twins-" Blue said, diving in to retrieve them.
Skywarp couldn't move, could barely think. He remembered the ground coming up at him far too quickly, and remembered his passengers above all else...and so he took the brunt of it, plowing nose-first into the ground, ultimately ending up against a gigantic tree. He /hurt/ fundamentally, and when he heard voices surround him, he felt true fear wash over him. "No!" he tried to say, but all that came from his speakers was static. He tried desperately to comm Starscream, anyone that could help him, but his comm systems were just as slagged as the rest of him. Powerglide, that fragging minibot. He was going to tear his wings off!
The twins were unconscious as Bluestreak lifted them out, one by one. Smokescreen eyed their forms with some confusion- they looked fundamentally different, and he wasn't sure why. He glared at Powerglide as he commed Ratchet for an emergency medical transport, and a security team to take Skywarp into custody. It felt wrong, somehow, to leave him here when he'd obviously tried to protect the twins in the crash.
"Ratchet's going to have our skidplates." Smokescreen's voice was filled with dread as he watched Bluestreak carefully hold the Twins against him, the awe and wonder on his face evident despite the worry that was there as well.
"Why do they look different?"
"I don't know Blue... I really don't, but those fragging Seeker's better not have done anything to them or so help me Primus...!"
Sunstreaker moved a little, then, in Bluestreak's embrace. "Nnn...kali?" His optics unshuttered for just an instant, revealing brilliant gold.
Smokescreen's own optics narrowed at that. "They changed their frames, that's what they did. Probably encoded them with Decepticon-"
He was interrupted by the sound of loud shuttle engines from above- Skyfire was landing, and as soon as he did, Ratchet and First Aid emerged, both carrying medkits. Ratchet took one look at the scene and glared at the three who were on patrol.
"Who did this?"
Bluestreak and Powerglide both raised their hands sheepishly.
He called for the security team to secure Skywarp afre he made sure that the Seeker was stable for transport, and then took both twins away from Bluestreak as the gunner just stared, wide-opticked.
"That Seeker was protecting them, you know." He said vehemently.
Ratchet stared at the gunner seriously before saying, "I know." And turning to enter Skyfire, unconscious twins in his arms.
Ratchet stood in his office, arms folded in front of him. He held a datapad in hand that displayed the readings of the three mechs currently laid out on the berths, one of whom was in solitary lockdown. Powerglide stood before him with a shocked expression on his face.
"The frag. Look in that room over there and tell me what you see." Ratchet's finger stabbed toward the unconscious twins.
"Uhm. I think those are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, but I'm not su-"
"By Primus, you just might have a working processor yet! Yes, that's exactly who they are. And what was known about them, before you decided to pull your little stunt?" Pale blue flashed against white plating; Ratchet was torqued, and it was obvious.
"Um...the Seekers had taken them?" he guessed. He'd done good! He shot down one of the fragging command trine and captured him even! What the frag was the medic on about?
"Yes. The Seekers had taken them... AFTER Wheeljack's fragging machine when and REVERSED THEIR AGING PROCESS!"
Powerglide flinched as the medic's voice rose. This did not bode good things.
"The three of you-" He wheeled around to stab a finger at both Bluestreak and Smokescreen who flinched as well. "Should have checked for more than one life source! For one, if it had been a trap all three of you would have been slagged anyways! Second, THIS could have been avoided! You're lucky they came out with minimal damage or I would have personally scrapped you!"
"Are they okay, Ratchet?" Bluestreak asked quietly, not daring to say anything more.
Ratchet glared. "They should be. BUT. All three of you should learn to PAY ATTENTION before you shoot. Yes, we're at war. Yes, Skywarp is normally not one to frag around with. However, Seekers do not harm younglings unless they are very, very depraved. If you have investigated, and noted two other spark signatures, especially unfamiliar ones, then you may not have put the twins in danger at all."
The two Praxians looked ashamed; Powerglide was still mystified. "But I brought down a Seeker." he insisted.
Ratchet ignored that. "That same Seeker is requiring several joor of MY time to keep him sound, because I have questions that he needs to answer, and I'm not getting them as long as he's a heap of scrap metal on a berth."
Two alarms went off simultaneously and Ratchet's helm whipped to look through the window of his office into the medical bay. He stood, leaving the other mechs to trail after him. Sideswipe was stirring, shifting restlessly on the oversized berth while Sunstreaker was doing the same on the one right next to his brother.
"Sunny...?" The little voice was enough to melt even Ratchet's spark (though he'd never admit it) and golden optics flickered on, unfocused before shuttering several times.
Sunstreaker flickered his optics. The first thing he noticed is that it smelled funny in here, kind of like Hook's medbay, and he didn't want to be in Hook's medbay again. It was way too bright, though, and Sideswipe was all the way over there on the other berth. Star never put them on different berths; but maybe now that they were bigger, it was different. His vision focused a little more, and he saw Sideswipe on a very weird-looking medical berth...not one they were used to at all. His optics flew open, wide in apprehension and a bit of fear.
"Sunny!" Sideswipe tried to sit up and he feel sick inside, like his tanks were going to roll everywhere. "Sky! Sky, where are you?" he called, looking around for the Seeker. He couldn't see him, and this was NOT the medbay he knew. He didn't know where he was, and there was Sunny over there...he rose shakily from his berth and fell, shaking his head. He stood up and slowly made his way to his twin's side, where he held on, twin pairs of bright gold staring at everything around. He could feel Sunstreaker's panic over their link, and it was scaring him. It was scaring him badly.
As one their optics fell on the other mechs in the room and Sunstreaker was quick to roll off the berth (with a smaller distance to the ground than their own berths) so he could stand with his brother, faceplates screwed up into an angry snarl. "Go away slagfaces!" He shouted, startling the three mechs. How could such language come out of a youngling?
"Sunstreaker, I know you're confused right now..." Ratchet began.
"How do you know my name?" The golden halfer demanded, glaring at the white and red medic with suspicious narrowed optics. "Where's Sky! You took him, give him back!"
Ratchet really wasn't sure what to say to that. The twins looked... Different was the best way to explain it. They'd been upgraded, and by all appearances, upgraded by someone who knew what they were doing as well. He wondered idly who had that particular skill on the Nemesis before taking several small steps forward, deciding to try and approach the less volatile of the two.
"Sideswipe?" he asked softly.
"Fragoff, groundpounder." Sides had heard Skywarp say this numerous times, and it was obvious that the red and white mech was no flier. Powerglide heard this and let out a choked laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. "I want Sky! Where's my Sky? Frag you all, give him back!"
Sunstreaker's golden optics seemed to shine, though whether it was in bravado or near-tears Ratchet had no idea. "I'll slag you if you hurt him. Fraggin' Autobots are MEAN!" And that's when Sunny broke down in front of the entire medbay, shaking against his twin.
All four mechs reeled back, sure as frag not expecting that!
Sideswipe held his twin to his side, glaring through his own gathering tears. "Give him back, give him back, give him back!" He shouted.
"The frag is going on in here?"
Everyone turned to the door as Air Raid walked in, covering his audials, Fireflight following meekly behind him, seemingly using his brother as a shield. His left wing flap was twisted up, indicating he was the reason for their sudden appearance.
Sideswipe looked sharply at Air Raid. He looked...like a Seeker. Maybe he could trust /him/. So did the other one, but...not really? He jumped off the berth and grabbed Air Raid's hand.
"Gotta help us, they're keepin' Sky from us, and where's Star? Sunny needs him, Sunny's gonna freak real soon, an' Star can help him...you're a Seeker right? You can help?" Sideswipe's optics searched Air Raid's face for any sign of aid.
"I - wha?" Air Raid stared wide optic'd down at the little mechling, completely thrown for a loop. "Look, kid, I don't know who you're talkin' about, but I sure as slag ain't no See-"
"BABIES!"
Air Raid's helm whipped incredulously to stare at his brother as Fireflight scooped up the small Sideswipe who kinda-but-not-really looked like Sideswipe.
Sunstreaker saw this weird red and white jet who was NOT Starscream picking Sideswipe up and he wailed even LOUDER, his little form shaking so much that the berth he leaned against also shook. His intakes were harsh, and he was trying to speak...but nothing intelligible came out.
Ratchet knew he had to intervene. "Flight. FLIGHT. Good intentions and all, but you're scaring him. Give him to me." Ratchet held out his arms for Sideswipe, and the Phantom looked dumbfounded, but lifted the mechling over. Sideswipe kicked his legs out, thrashing.
"NONONONONONONONO!"
In the isolation room, guarded by Beachcomber, Skywarp briefly came online. He could hear crying...little ones crying, and he tried to get off the berth. he couldn't move. His motor relays would not listen, and he blearily looked up...and saw Autobot orange. He felt something unfamiliar in his spark, and that feeling as despair. His little ones were in the hands of the enemy, and so was he.
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