Chapter Summary: It's been six years since Slipstream and Jetstorm joined the Knights and they're determined to help Wing and Drift save their war-torn world.
"Well, I've been afraid of changin' 'cause I built my life around you, but time makes you bolder, children get older and I'm getting older too..." -Landslide by Dixie Chicks
There wasn't a whole lot that could throw Drift, once known as a fierce killer and loyal Decepticon under the alias Deadlock, for a loop. Growing up an orphan in one of the harshest places in the world, becoming an extremist soldier and then turning into a wandering ronin delivering aid in a war-torn world had a way of showing you everything, good, bad and ugly. She had seen huge-scale slave rings spanning most of the continent and involving some very powerful people, warlords who got it in their heads that they were saviors of people and put them under their "utopias", human beings sold to be breeders or experiments for doctors with moral compasses that didn't point north (Ratchet had worked herself into quite the fury over that particular adventure) and a civil war that still raged, six and a half years later. She had been shot, stabbed, choked, tortured, starved, drugged, infected with deadly illnesses and suffered plenty more.
Long story short, Drift was a jaded woman.
It never ceased to amuse her whenever neutrals that she and Wing helped warned her of the dangers they were facing, or fretted over the great strength of their enemies. And to them, to people who lived quiet lives and raised families without ever raising a gun or losing everything they owned, they were powerful and untouchable. But to her, they were insects, easily swept away in the gales of a storm or crushed under the heel of a boot. She was the one the innocents and slavers alike should fear.
Wing had a way of balancing that ferocity out, with her infectious smile and boundless energy. Most people they met didn't believe she was an accomplished warrior nearly as they watched her play with children or squeal over little things like ice cream, but it was an advantage she frequently used to gain the upper hand. That perky, happy woman wasn't present at the moment as she listened to the mayor and his advisors describe the situation, her eyebrows furrowed as she nodded and asked questions.
The current situation wasn't the worst they had ever been in, but the numerous concourses of their enemies warranted more help than just the two of them. A local warlord, most likely a defector from the war, wanted to claim the surrounding area and her people under her protection. Protection that just happened to include a heavy tax and giving her absolute power over their lives. The village didn't have enough of a defense to keep them out, just a small guard to keep public menaces under control and give the people a sense of protection.
"What's the verdict?" She asked Wing once they left the mayor's house, keeping her voice low so they wouldn't be overheard by people bustling to and fro.
"We can possibly do it, but it would be difficult. Blackarachnia doesn't sound like she's a very strong warlord, at least not like some of the others we've met." She murmured back. "She just happens to outnumber us, and even though you and I are pretty good, we're not that good."
"What are you talking about? Of course we're that good. Are you getting slow in your old age?" Drift teased, grinning at her companion. "I think I'm starting to see some white in all that red hair of yours and I don't think that's from a dye job."
"That's rich, coming from you and your hair that turned white when you was a teenager." Wing retorted with a laugh, running her fingers through said hair for emphasis. The white had long ago faded out of her hair, leaving a blazing red behind. "So that leaves us with the option of risking it and fighting them head on, or holding back and trying to defend the city. Neither option sounds really good to me."
"Risky either way." Drift agreed. Fortifying themselves in the city might be safer in the beginning, but they would also be locking themselves in. "Would it be worth it to contact Ratchet or Rodimus, see if either of them would be able to send some help? Help even the odds?" Even though she wasn't eager to work with Autobot soldiers, they needed all the help they could get and she trusted those two.
"We might as well try, but I don't know if they'll be able to get anyone here in time." Wing pointed out. "It's just you and me."
"Those are pretty good odds." Drift said. "I'll bet money on us any day. We haven't got this far just to let some renegade soldier on a power trip stop us now."
Wing grinned, stopping to reach out and press her palm against her lover's face. "You and your confidence," she said with a mock sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I know exactly what you can do with me and my confidence." Drift assured her, pulling Wing to her to plant a kiss on those delightful lips.
Drift bit down a curse as a hail of bullets rained over their heads, ducking behind her rock just in time. A second or two later and she probably would have lost an eye. She could easily imagine the chewing out Ratchet would give her if that happened, especially losing it to a group of Blackarachnia's soldiers they had been tracking.
Wing was equally as trapped behind a rock nearby, her swords useless from so far back. Her expression was tight and frustrated as she tried to figure out a way to their attackers without getting caught in a hail of bullets.
"C'mon out and play with the big girls!" One of the attackers, a mountain of a woman with a machine gun half the size of Drift in her hands, bellowed as she gleefully unleashed a hail of bullets against the rocks. Her other companions joined in, their laughter ringing with the sound of the bullets.
Just wait until we can play, then we'll see who's laughing. Drift promised silently, catching sight of a scrawny man and landing a clean shot on his torso. He fell out of sight with a howl. A renewed wave of bullets shot after Drift, but it was worth landing the shot. Served the idiot right.
A flash of movement from Wing's area caught Drift's attention. She locked eyes with her companion, the faintest flickers and movements relaying her thoughts to Drift. A plan of attack; a distraction to give her time to go the long way around and get at them from the back.
Drift nodded back, pulling out her other gun as they waited for a pause in the gunfire Drift could use. It came a few moments later, a pause just long enough for them to take advantage of.
Go.
Exhaling, Drift pushed herself over her rocky cover, ready to put bullets in the soldiers or at the very least force them to focus on her or take cover.
But there were no soldiers. Where the battalion of six had been, discarded guns and weapons remained, along with a dusty imprint of their shoes.
What the-?
Wing halted with her motions, catching Drift's confusion. Cautiously, she pushed herself above her cover, eyes widening when she noticed the absence of their attackers. She glanced back at Drift, eyebrows furrowed, her mouth opening-
-when a muffled shout caught their attention. Tensing, the two pressed forward, cautiously watching for any sudden movements but spotting none.
"…p-please don't kill me! I don't want to die!"
One of the soldiers was speaking, whimpering and begging for her life. Someone else spoke, an unfamiliar voice.
"Relax, we're not going to kill you. It's against our moral code." The statement was joined by another, spoken by a new person.
"We're just gonna put you to sleep for awhile. You might have a nasty headache when you wake up, but I'm sure you can handle it. Sleep tight!"
The last part was punctuated with the whump of something solid connecting with a skull. The whimpering soldier fell silent, as did the two other speakers.
Both women halted, pressing themselves against the rock and flicking a glance at each other. New attackers, and ones who had caught the battalion by surprise. Attackers skilled enough to creep up unnoticed and not get hurt at close range. Attackers who also didn't kill, at least according to them.
They so didn't need this.
"Your hair's redder than I remember it being." The voices were suddenly much closer, almost right next to them. Years of reflexes that had kept her alive kicked into action and within a moment, Drift had the barrel of her guns against the newcomers' foreheads, not aware of who she was looking at in the rush of reflexes. Despite having guns leveled against them, the newcomers were calm, blue eyes staring into Drift's mismatched ones. "Hello to you too, Drift."
Wait, she knew those voices…
Wing was a hair faster than Drift, gasping in delight as she sheathed her swords and reaching for the newcomers eagerly. "Slipstream?! Jetstorm?!"
The two girls, now mature women, smiled in unison. Black and red armor with white and gold accents protected their bodies from the elements and attacks, though on what skin was visible, there were collections of scars. Their hair was longer than it had been before; Jetstorm's reached past her shoulder blades and was bound in a tight braid, while Slipstream's ran down past her chin and sported two small braids near her ears, remarkable similar to someone else's hairstyle. Bound on either side of their hips were an assortment of weapons, among other things needed to survive in the No Man's Land.
"Hey Wing, long time no see!" The black haired woman eagerly embraced Wing along with her sister. "Last time we saw you, you still had white in your hair!"
Wing laughed, the sound ringing through the air. "I haven't had white in my hair for years now! Look at you two, you're so big!"
"It's been awhile." Slipstream said with a smile. It certainly had been; the last time they had seen Wing and Drift was when they were fourteen and preparing to start more advanced knight training. Quite a bit had changed since then. "It's so good to see you again."
"We came to see if you guys needed any help. Apparently, you need all the help you can get if you can't even handle these guys." Jetstorm gestured to their attackers not far from them, all knocked out. She smirked openly at the two older women, a playful sparkle in her eyes.
"Hush you," Drift retorted, the words lacking any real heat as she holstered her guns and pulled the women into a fierce hug. "I can still beat you."
"I'd like to see you try." Jetstorm taunted playfully, earning a light shove from Drift.
"What are you doing out here?" Wing asked, beaming like the Festival of Light had come early. She eagerly grasped their hands, squeezing them. "I thought you were training with Axe and the others back at the city still!"
The twins shared a grin, glancing at each other. "Not anymore. We became full-fledged knights a few months ago." Slipstream explained, shifting her shoulders to display the hilt of a Great Sword strapped to her back. Her twin did the same.
"We had to work ridiculously hard to get inducted early, but it was worth it." Jetstorm added.
Wing gasped, beaming proudly as she admired their weapons and heaped congratulations out like a proud mother. Drift let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Playing with the big girls now." She said as she eyed the swords.
"Dai Atlas wanted us to wait until we were 'old enough' to handle the Passing Trials." Slipstream said. Drift rolled her eyes at the mention of the head of Crystal City but miraculously kept her mouth shut. "But we eventually got her to agree to the idea, especially after we proved ourselves worthy. Axe and some of the others supported us. We would have called you back for the ceremony, but we wanted to come find you and couldn't wait."
The two older women frowned in confusion. "Us?" Drift asked. "You didn't have to come find us; you could've just sent a message and we would've come back to the city." Wing nodded her agreement.
"We didn't want you to come back to the city; we wanted to come out here and find you because we wanted to join you guys. We want to help you protect people." Jetstorm countered, looking determined. "We didn't want to sit in the city when people out here need our help."
Drift's features became thoughtful. It made sense to her.
"But it's dangerous out here!" Wing protested, looking worried at the idea of the twins joining them in such a harsh lifestyle. "You'd be safer in the city!"
"Wing, we're not kids anymore." Slipstream reminded her. "We're fully trained knights, with Great Swords of our own. Do you think Axe would have let us out of the city if we weren't competent enough to defend ourselves and others?"
"Besides, we wouldn't have even survived if hadn't been for you two. We want to do the same for others." Jetstorm said, firm and unmovable in her decision.
"But-!" A calloused hand grasped Wing's shoulder, cutting her off.
"They're right, you know." Drift said. Her voice was quiet but firm. "They're knights and they're strong enough to handle it out here. They've made their decision."
"If it makes you feel any better, we got sidetracked helping people when we were looking for you. We couldn't always do much, but we did vanquish some crazy vigilantes, save some women from being sold and dethrone a few robber barons." Jetstorm added helpfully.
Drift raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly. "Not too bad of a resume."
"But…" Wing protested again, weaker than before but still just as worried. They were so young, so important to her…
"With you two, we'll be fine." Slipstream assured her, squeezing one of her hands. Wing hesitated, searching the twins' eyes in worry before glancing at Drift, who nodded her agreement. Three against one.
She sighed heavily in defeat. A wise knight knew when it was time to stop fighting. "Alright, I agree." she said softly.
The battle won, Jetstorm relaxed and grinned at them like the cat who ate the canary. "I like these odds. The four of us, kicking ass and taking names all in the name of justice and truth. Now, what's this we've been hearing about a warlord…?"
I am always down for the twins and the ronin having crazy adventures together and saving the day! I drew some artwork and posted it on my old blog, so I might go digging through my old archives and post it again.