"AAAACCHHHOOOOOO!" Sniffling, the human pulled out a tissue to get the snot from her nose.
Disgust crossed the face of the Autobot sitting only a few feet away, "That's gross. Stop doing that."
Shay didn't even bother to look up from the bonsai she was pruning. Even though the two of them insulted and bantered every time she came around, it had turned into an almost truce. Sunstreaker would nitpick or insult, the woman would snark back in return, and eventually they would get bored and move on to something else. Or one would successfully piss off the other. In her case she lost either way. If Shay did get really angry she would shoot him with a marble and then have to run before polishing and waxing him later. 'Stupid vain lamborghini' had become a common curse for her to mutter.
"Humans are gross." Sunstreaker apparently couldn't let this go, even though she'd been hacking and sneezing for two days now. With a sigh at the sweat trickling over her face, the female readjusted her sunglasses to block the mid-day's glare from above and hoped that by arguing with the bot he would loose interest in the topic and go back to whatever in the world he was sketching.
"It's not my fault I was born organic, metal head. I'll complain to whoever is in charge when I die."
"Metal head is better than sack of squish and fluids." An eye roll was her only response. Someone save her from bots with a superiority complex, she thought before pulling out the anodized aluminum wire to wrap around a few of the branches. For a brief moment she let her mind wander and contemplated who was worse: Sullen's antagonism and general pain-in-the-ass attitude or the mayhem and trouble of his red brother? Just a few days ago Sideswipe had stolen the poor juniper bonsai she'd just bought and hidden it for hours. Unholy terror that one was.
"Tin can."
His engine rumbled ominously. Blue eyes narrowed. Someone was snarly today, "Squishy tag-along!"
"Glitched creation of a trash compactor!" The female had made it painfully clear from the start that she wasn't putting up with any of their BS. Insults meant she spat back.
The stylus that had scritched across the flat screen of the data pad paused as he stared at her. A bird shrug with only half lifted shoulders as Shay kept her hands steady on her work. Finally the gold lambo huffed, "Where did you learn that?"
"You and Sideswipe were shouting at each other while wrestling yesterday."
Her head suddenly swung to the right when a twisting frustrated feeling on her insides proclaimed said bot's approach along the tree lined road that lead to the warehouse. No matter how many times they'd experimented, the results were always the same. Shay could feel them from within a five mile radius (roughly), even if they tried blocking their emotions. Yet the Twins couldn't reach her unless extremely close and actually reaching out. This fact annoyed the crimson hellion to no end. Sunstreaker himself seemed to just hate the fact that the little human could tell their emotions.
A faint engine growl that grew louder in the distance under clear skies. Giving another sneeze and brushing her braid back over her shoulder, the female remarked, "He should slow down. One of these days he's going to time it wrong and wreck."
"He knows what he's doing." Not bothered by the incoming monsoon of cheerful shenanigans, the bot carefully wrote the date on his data pad and saved the work before stretching. His shadow covered the grass and human where she was working. Shay lifted her sunglasses to glare and gestured at the potted plant. He was in her light. Studiously ignoring the stubborn woman, Sunstreaker pulled at a shoulder pad until the cables creaked from reaching their limit. Then he did the other one while the woman's eyes narrowed further at the blatant attempt to annoy her.
Bright cherry red streaked around the curve and zipped up the pavement. In a flash of brakes and twisting metal, the Cybertronian slid to a halt and flipped into the air over the edge of the black asphalt. Mid-flight, the newcomer finished his transformation to land perfectly on the grass. To the sudden silence after an orchestra of noise, Sideswipe bowed to his audience.
Shay snorted and slow clapped before stating blandly, "Bravo Sideswipe." His brother merely tossed his optics skyward to mimic a human eye roll.
"Why thank you milady. Doth her majesty still be troubled by a virus?" An old English accent rolled off his glossa as his twin swung at him with a heavy fist before stomping inside the open door of the building to put his drawing away. Shay sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Ever since last week when she'd caught them acting out Hamlet, Sides had taken to speaking to her like such at random times. Of course, the human had to point out that Cybertronian swears didn't belong in a sixteenth century play.
"What? What did I say wrong?" clueless, the frontliner turned to look down at her. She shook her head. Even a stranger could have picked up on the jealousy coming from Sunstreaker.
"You're supposed to greet him first Sideswipe."
A flicker in his optics "Oh." 'Finally he gets it,' she thinks. Striding towards their makeshift hideout, Sides poked his horned helm inside and called out in a cheerful and singsong manner, "Suuuunnnnyyyyyy! I wwwuuuuuuuvvvveeee yooouuuuu!" An empty paint can sailed past his carnelian frame to bang and clatter out onto the parking lot before stopping at the opposite side.
Amusement. Forgiveness.
The bot cackled at his twin's reaction and then plopped down on the ground next to her. With a wary look, she shielded her tree before continuing to gently pull and push the branches in the right directions. His lips turned down in a pout, "You didn't answer my question."
Giving an involuntary cough, a scowl danced across her face. She changed the subject because she did not wanting to discuss her cold, "I'm the same as yesterday. And NOT dying. I'll assume nothing different happened on your drive?"
"Yeah," The pout deepened into a frown, "I don't like it."
Shay glanced up at the giant seated next to her and gave a helpless look as if to ask what she could do about it. The Twins couldn't easily get to her emotions and the woman couldn't stop getting theirs. Add on the fact that she would start to get sick within a few days of not being around them, and you had problems. The female was dead set on not letting that bone-chilling apathy have even a crack to grow in. Truthfully, she was afraid that if it started to come back then it wouldn't just be uncaring towards the people around her. What if it grew to the point that she was the one hurting others without thought or conscious? There had to be a way to fix this mess.
"I know you don't like it. I don't either. But at least I can usually tell what is mine and not mine. As long as I don't start acting on your impulses, I believe the general populace is safe from another menace." He snickered and tugged at her braid until Shay slapped his servo away. Waving the tiny shears threateningly the woman grumbled, "I was serious. Sunstreaker!"
The call gained silence but they could hear the quieter of the two frontliners coming, "Your brother is going to lose his servo if he touches my tree again."
"Like that would stop him." A gruff reply as the bot joined them outside and leaned back against an oak.
Sideswipe waved a hand in the air to make a point, "But they need names. There's two, so you can name them after us." A lark twittered and flitted past the bot's helm, startling him. His twin vented in annoyance.
"I refuse to have a plant named after me."
"And it's my tree Sideswipe. One tree with split trunks. This bonsai doesn't need a name, just a bigger pot." Shay muttered the last part and cut the last line of wire, checking things over to look for anything missed. Finally the red lambo stopped glaring at the offending avian and rested his chin in a palm, defeat written on his face.
"Okay okay. Anyways, we're seeing fireworks tonight. Prowl's still set on us going to Peru for a couple weeks 'cause the cons were spotted over there." Anxiety welled in the woman who wrapped up her supplies on the ground. Being away from the twins for long periods of time was not fun, they'd learned. Sideswipe noted the bad feelings and tried to rub her back reassuringly with a finger but she swatted his hand away again, face titled down so no one could see her expression.
The gold sport scar nodded, "But she's riding with you. I'm not having snot and other things sprayed on my insides."
"Um, excuse me? Who said I wanted to see fireworks? Do I get a say in whether I'm going?"
Mischief chirped a reply, "Nope."
"I'm sick. Staying out at night is going to make it worse." The woman stated dryly while picking her boots up from the grass to put them back on. A humongous grin split the more troublesome pit-spawn's faceplates.
"Aww, don't worry Shay. We'll make sure you stay warm. Besides, if you do get worse we'll take you to Ratchet."
Shock
Sunstreaker's helm whiplashed around, no longer staring idly at the scenery while they talked. Sapphire optics shifted into a paler shade of light cerulean, "What!? I thought you didn't want the others..."
"We're no closer to figuring this out." His twin shrugged red shoulder pads while Shay looked back and forth between the two, "Maybe the Doc can help. What else are we going to do now?" They stared at each other with disgruntlement stamped on their silvery faces. Rough hands ghosting around the edge of the ceramic dish, Shay herself didn't speak up to voice her opinion. It wasn't in her nature to tell personal things to strangers or show weakness. But the Twins knew the other Ark inhabitants better than she. If Sideswipe and Sunstreaker thought they could be trusted, then the woman would go along with it. She didn't know how to fix this and she was tired of an aching chest every other week when the Twins were busy on missions or fighting Decepticons.
Sunstreaker nodded and that was apparently all that was being said on the matter. Standing, Shay carried her tree back to it's spot just outside the smaller non-accessible human door. Another trip and the woman was putting the spool of aluminum back into her backpack, "Are the fireworks late at night? I do have work tomorrow."
That got her some funny looks. Sideswipe flopped back onto the lawn and groaned while his brother half glared, "Workaholic. You're going to make yourself worse."
"Suuuuuunnnnyyyyy! Don't talk like that! You sound like the medic."
A snarl given to his twin, "I do not!"
The human rolled her eyes and called out, "You didn't answer my question."
"It's not too late," Sideswipe huffed but didn't get up, "Why do you have to?" "Someone just likes working. Pain in the aft." the other bot tagged on.
Shay planted her hands on her hips while still holding the shears, "It's just a small cold and humans have to eat. Arrogant prick." She tossed at Sunstreaker.
"Suicidal moron."
"Vain glitch." She stomped into the building and started to rummage through the video game pyramid that was starting to lean over. Boys couldn't keep things clean to save their lives. The bots flopped onto the couch while Shay valiantly tried to fix the mess. Sunny leaned over to pluck one of the plastic cases from her hands.
"Con bait."
"Pit spawn."
"Most awesome Autobot warrior ever." Sunstreaker and Shay gave Sideswipe a look with narrowed eyes and optics as he grabbed a large controller and leaned back lazily, "What? As long as we're describing ourselves."
The other two just shook their heads and the woman settled back against the foot of the couch to watch their game. Soon enough taunts and exclamations filled the warehouse as Sunny and Sides tried to beat each other's kill scores on Halo. The warm wind that blew in from outside the open cargo doors made Shay sleepy. 'I better enjoy this while it lasts,' she thought, 'Those couple of weeks without them is going to be hell'. Smiling lightly at the excited and competitive emotions sliding from the Autobots, she drifted.
Hours later that same sun induced warmth flashed and glinted in evening rays. Weaving through traffic, the show-offs blasted 'Highway to Hell' at top volume with their windows down as they headed out of town towards what Sunstreaker promised was the best spot to watch the fireworks. Shay laughed and sang along to the the lyrics before turning her face next to the window and closing her eyes. She loved the feeling of wind. Her ride wiggled a bit in elation at making her laugh (no easy feat) and sped up.
Soon enough they were out of traffic and farther out near a tree and grass ridden plot of land that centered a brick building with a low wall surrounding the front and sides. The sign proclaimed it to be a restaurant although it appeared deserted. A padlock held the gate closed.
"Oh no. We are not breaking in there... Guys!" Shay yelped as Sideswipe transformed and held her in his servo. Carrying the startled human, he climbed over the wall after his brother. She hissed at them, "This is not legal!"
"Quit whining." the amber lambo snorted.
His twin tried to reassure her as he set her down on the cobblestone, "This place is only open in summer. It's empty for another few weeks. And the fireworks will be right over there." The carnelian bot pointed to a nearby treeline as fading slivers of golden orange started to slip away behind distant hills and sparse buildings in the west. She just sighed and threw her hands up. No sense in arguing with them.
Studying the structure, the human found they were in a large open courtyard that easily held both the bots with room to run around. Tables and chairs were stacked neatly and covered with a heavy waterproof sheet under several awnings while tall shade umbrellas stood in their posts around the square. Niches in the walls were empty and hollow. Perhaps it looked cheerfully relaxing when cleaned up, but right now the entire place just seemed dull and old with a few sprouts of crab grass trying to eat their way along the wall.
"But why did we have to come here?"
Grinning proudly, Sideswipe pulled out several boxes from his subspace to display them with a pleased but devilish expression, "Firecrackers!"
Oh brother.
"We're far enough out that no one will bother us. And if you sit on the roof you'll have a good seat for the show." Sunstreaker added in idly as he tried to snag a few red strands of explosives from the other bot and missed as Sideswipe danced back. The shadows lengthened slowly and darted across the ground as the sun sank lower.
"Nooooooo Miiiiiiiinnnnneeee! Get your own!"
With a foot the red Autobot nudged an unopened box towards his brother. Giving up on taking his twin's, the gold one grabbed some and started to unwinding a reel. Shay just shook her head and sat down to watch. 'Boys.' she thought with amusement, 'Always wanting cool toys to play with.'
Out loud the woman muttered, "You guys are such kids."
"We're older than humanity," Sullen retorted and then the brothers proceeded to set off their firecrackers with some sort of lighter. Pops and crackles sounded as the explosives flared brightly in the evening and lit up glimmering rays on the darkening carnelian and golden armor. Shay lurched a little and leaned away but the frontliners just whooped and proceeded to run around waving the fiery strings. Laughs and shouts of excitement made Shay smile, watching them act silly in the twilight. And then a sneeze.
"Dangit." she muttered before fetching a tissue from her pocket to blow her nose. Peering up again revealed Mischief standing over her with a smile true to his name and an unlit strand of miniature explosives.
"Want to try, milady?"
A rapid head shake, "Noooooo thank you. I would like to keep my hand." Another series of crackles as Sunny lit a new batch and flung them into the sky that was rapidly drawing towards navy blue. The sparking flares whirled up into the darkness, spitting and flashing the whole way. Sideswipe shoved some sparklers into her hands. Chill air brushed against her face as he moved, bringing with it the faintest pungent tang of burning things.
"Sides... What am I supposed to do with these?" The woman blinked up at him and gripped the metal sticks hesitantly.
The bot stared owlishly, "Are you telling me you've never played with sparklers?"
Pursed lips as the crickets joined the bullfrogs in harmony and even Sunstreaker paused to gawk at her. "Of course I have, but I was a kid."
"Light them and run around, moron." Sunny butted in before climbing over the wall to the lawn on the other side where there was more room.
"Don't call me a moron."
"Then stop acting like an idiot." he retorted.
She looked back and forth before taking a regular gas station lighter that was offered from the carnelian twin. Hesitantly she burned the top of her sparklers. Once hissing sparks, the female stood there uncertainly until Sideswipe made a grab for her with his huge servos. Shay dodged with a yelp and started running.
"What the hell?! What happened to the rules you idiot!? No picking me up without permission!" Bolting between his legs, the woman ran around the stacked and covered benches. Continuing to race around in circles while still carrying the burning sticks, her snarls turned into chuckles and then laughter as she evaded clumsy snatches. He was going easy and she knew it, but that was alright. Eventually she waved the sparklers in loops and whirls as she eluded Sideswipe.
And then the last sparkler died down, "Nuts." 'What kind of sparklers where these?' she wondered. When she was younger you were lucky if they lasted even a full minute where these had lasted five or six.
The sigh turned into a surprised 'eeep!' as the Autobot scooped her up and deposited the human on the other side of the wall with Sunstreaker. "Don't worry! I got a ton of these." Sideswipe exclaimed before handing her more.
"Dare I ask who was stupid enough to give or sell these to you?" Dry sarcasm.
Sunny snorted, his plating now appearing burnt copper in the half light, "No."
And then he lunged for her. Spitting out some words about certain bots parentage, Shay dashed around and used the more cheerful twin as a shield so the other couldn't catch her. He was most definitely not going as easy as Sideswipe had been. Dodging footsteps, giant hands, and lightly quivering ground; the three played a strange game of 'everyone for themselves' tag until Sunny lit more firecrackers. The brothers started tossing the explosives back and forth like dodge ball while Shay sat down to catch a breather. A cough came out as she panted. It was probably not a good idea to do this running around when she had a cold. Breathing in the cold night air, she smiled at the stars appearing above. It was fully dark now.
"BOOOM."
Distant cracks accompanied by a loud rumble had Shay jerking around in surprise. The Twins froze, firecrackers dropped as they half raised their blasters drawn from subspace. A burst of red light showered in the sky. Sideswipe relaxed and snickered, "Fireworks are starting."
This time she kept watch of him so it wasn't a shock when he carefully picked her up and set her on the copper shingled roof. Leather boots slid a little until she found a good position that kept her level with the Twin's helms. The brothers leaned back against the brick and faced Northwest as another rocket whistled through the pitch sky to break into a pink and emerald green flower like explosion. They watched in silence even when Shay started to shiver from the cold. She refused to complain and ruin it but the red twin handed her a wool blanket anyways. Even the native wildlife grew quiet as the colors lit up the sky.
Riots of blues and greens; crimson red and pinks of fuchsia and rose draped the starry tapestry while fireflies started their own show near the ground. Piercing cries signaled more explosives launched as pops and tinny booms shot through the night. Smoke tinged the clean air in a haze that hovered just over the treeline. Within seconds, plumes of falling stars and lone shots colored the black. A square, island blue circles, burgundy fading to magenta explosions. Shay whistled quietly at the display as the last few streaks of light ended their burning journey and fell back to earth as blackened ash.
They waited a moment more and when none came, the woman murmured quietly, "That was beautiful."
"Haha!" Sideswipe laughed and smiled at her, denta flashing in the dark, "Just wait till the fourth of July! Wheeljack's gonna help with those!"
At the woman's confused look Sunstreaker shrugged by way of explanation, "He's good with explosives. Those will be much better."
"Did you guys have fireworks on Cybertron?" A slow question. The Twins were a bit odd when talking about their home planet. Half the time they avoided the subject like the plague and then later they would go and boast about all the wonderful things that used to be there. Things that didn't exist on Earth and might never come to be here. Understanding kept her from asking about the planet too often. Memories hurt.
Sideswipe answered softly, "Nah. Explosions were never really considered art. The idea of making them different colors... You humans are creative." A nod of agreement from his twin which surprised her.
A brief respite to sit in the night and listen to cricket chirps before Mischief shoved the conversation in a new direction, "Who wants to use the rest of the firecrackers?"
But the smile and question died on his lips as plating and cables froze. Shay felt dread starting to rise as Sunstreaker stilled as well. The human desperately wanted to ask what was going on but had enough sense to stay quiet. As the bullfrogs and night bugs continued their singing, a distant sound of turbines and engines joined in.
Unease turned into an frown upon her face as she looked up confused. Who would fly right after fireworks had been set off? An internal thought before the Twins moved. In one sweep, Sunny had snatched her from the roof and pushed her through the restaurant doors that his brother had broken the handles off of. Tension, alarm, and something akin to excitement but not joyful, skittered from them to her. Sideswipe shoved the wood and glass paneled entrance way closed.
"Guys?!"
"Stay in there. Don't come out till we say!" Sides called and then moved away. Without his imposing form just in sight, the woman felt vulnerable and quickly moved through the cobwebbed dining area to the kitchen farther back.
Like a cavern yawning open to swallow her, it was nearly pitch black save for the tiniest bit of reflective light seeping in through the locked windows to glance off dust laden work-spaces and sinks. She set the blanket on one of the counters and held very still to listen. Outside was near silent until a sound echoed. 'What was that?'
Another indistinguishable noise, and then a crash. Shouts and tiny shocks of ground quakes as something big and heavy hit the building. Her heart sped up in fear. Shay hadn't brought her slingshot, not having a reason too. And now she was regretting it. Not that glass balls could do anything but annoy whatever was out there. The dishrack by one of the sinks shook and fell to the linoleum floor with a loud clatter as another tremor reverberated. Frantically yanking open cabinets, Shay snarled at the anger starting to tinge her view. She needed a weapon, no matter how ineffective. Anything was better than nothing.
'Where, where, WHERE?!' Desperately peering into the cupboards, the human finally opened one to find a gleaming row of knives sitting so perfectly and neatly placed. She reached to grab one of the bigger blades but paused when a shadow flickered across the floor. Something was behind-
Glass shattered inward and she screamed in sheer panic as an onyx servo reached in through the window to grasp her tightly around the middle. For half a second her mind saw the color and shouted 'Sideswipe!' while the rest of her screeched 'Not Sideswipe!' Sunstreaker had yellow servos like his armor. His brother had black, but those digits ended in almost rounded tips, not razor sharp points that pricked her skin like these ones. And the plating armor was all wrong.
It dragged her out through the hole, past broken glass and shattered brick until the woman was once more outside under the night sky. Only this time, in the hands of a Decepticon.
Sharp metal restricting her lungs made it hard to breath. An unfamiliar dark face smiled triumphantly down at her with a maniacal sharp grin and glittery red optics. That smile screamed 'predator!', all claws and teeth with the expression that reminded one of hyenas circling around a kill. Shay coughed but didn't bother to struggle uselessly. Instead, the woman swung her head wildly, looking for her twins.
The combatants paused when the dark purple and black seeker held up his prize, "Look what I found!" A skrittish voice called out. Strangely, it didn't hold the malice she had expected, only victorious glee. Still, the female shuddered as her eyes locked on the lamborghinis.
Sunstreaker was only an arm's length away from another con, appearing navy blue and a monochrome shade. Perhaps gray? It was probably lighter but color was hard to determine in the dark. Red striping gleamed in the soft light although the form distorted where one of his wings had been torn, bent at a sharp angle. Star shine, a few errant flames, and the glow of pale cerulean and crimson optics was the only light to see by. The golden frontliner was settled into a fighting position facing the right half of the winged Cybertronian with servos up and ready to pummel, body held at a loose and almost lazy stance. Flecks of glittery pink liquid splashed here and there on his frame only added to the painful looking dent that deformed the right side of his hood. Lips were curled up as he bared his denta.
His brother held a blaster level to the con while ignoring his own scratches and dents leaking fluid. The jet held a thin but long gun to Sideswipe, similar to a pistol with an extended barrel. She noted with trepidation that Sideswipe was grinning ferally. All of them had their engines revving in anger.
She needed to remember that the Twins were Autobot warriors, ones that could tear someone apart with ease given the chance. It kept slipping from her mind that they were friends, but not tame ones. Mountain lions that hunted prey, not lackadaisy house cat. No matter how often they acted like it. Optics shifted away from the standoff as her captor shouted, felines baring their teeth at the hyena's cackle. Scorching blue light turned a near bright white in the depths of their eyes.
Rage. Possessive. Back off.
Anger coursed through her veins to war with adrenaline, terror, and the rising thoughts that she was going to be in pain soon. More so than the aching around her middle. She better not get any more cracked ribs, damnit. Sunstreaker bared his denta and hissed with a furious engine roar, his brother doing the same and Shay clenched her hands. These cons were threatening the twins.
Flickers of violence and red edged around her vision. Stupid glitches were pissing her off. She wanted to tear them apart... 'Wait,' the woman told herself, 'Why am I so angry...? I'm supposed to be scared.' The line had blurred between what was the human's emotions and the feelings pouring out of the bots. Internally she chanted to herself that she was not angry, breath coming out heavy and rasping. No, not at all angry, a little human couldn't do anything. Staying calm was best. The fact that a weapon was being pointed toward hers didn't help. Threats. They were threats. Shay had to make sure no one threatened...
"Hey! That's ours!" Sideswipe snarled and pulled back just a little from the bluish flier.
Shay growled and struggled to reign in the rising fury. Moving slowly, the jet stepped backwards around a wood bench that had caught fire and retreated to his teammate's side. The Twins edged haltingly forward but stopped when the purple jet squeezed and the human coughed in the smokey air.
"Really? Well, you should take better care of your pet Autobot." On went the childish voice of her captor. The woman hissed in rage and contemplated the best ways to kill the Decepticon. Ripping out the chest sounded nice. "I Am Not A Pet!"
And then she would have face palmed if her arms hadn't been pinned to her sides. How could she have said that out loud?! Stupid stupid stupid... 'Calm down!' a mental order that really didn't do anything.
"Yeah, she's our mascot!" Sideswipe added. Shay felt the itch to facepalm again. Mascot?! A quick look at the other twin only revealed intent and deadly focus on the jets.
Growls echoes from the amber Autobot at the same time that snarls curled from her lips and hands twitched in pent up anger, "Can't you go home, enjoy some energon and plotting. And then come back tomorrow to kill each other?!"
The jet who had remained silent until now gave her a bland look while still keeping his blaster trained on the Autobots. In a deeper timbre then his friend her remarked, "Scornful little thing, isn't it?"
That was it. She was tired, sick, and absolutely furious. 'How Dare They... Stupid Threats...' Deep rumbles resounded from her throat. It felt like her heart was too heavy and about to burst from the pressure. Threats, the stupid freaking jets were threats and they needed to die. She didn't care how as long as they were gone. Sideswipe's optics flickered towards her momentarily before returning to the enemy as he noted her emotions seeming to take on a more predatory tint. Her mind hazed.
"Scornful Little Thing Is Going To- Achoo Achoo!" Cutting off whatever she had been about to say, the woman sneezed. Twice. Right on the hand holding her.
Screeching in shock and disgust, the violet con flung her up into the air. The woman drew her limbs in on reflex and squeezed terrified eyes shut as wind rushed past her ears in a fearful pitch. For one second she seemed to pause suspended, a leaf held up by the air beneath it. And then the tumbling organic form crashed downward. Muffled shouts, a crash, noises that she'd never heard before. It didn't occur to Shay to wonder what it was. It didn't occur to her that she was about to die.
A cut off landing as the small body hit with a jarring 'thump'. Shock had taken over her mind but fled as conscious thoughts returned. Air wheezed out of her lungs until she gasped it back in and cracked open one pale eye. Dark coppery metal obscured her view until the bot twisted and slung her. Ground reached up to grab the female again as Shay skidded and rolled across the rock and pavement, stopping gently up against one of the courtyard walls. Sunstreaker glanced at her swiftly to note the human's condition before letting loose a bone-chilling war cry and leaping into the fray after his brother. Covering her ears with slightly bleeding hands did nothing to distill the effects of the deafening sound and the woman shivered at the primal tone that promised pain without mercy.
Stumbling up on shaking legs, she noted that she was most definitely bruised now but her head seemed clearer. Firmly resolving to ignore the rage spiraling in from the Twins, the woman hissed at the road rash across her arms and edged away from the fire sneaking it's way around the property. Heat made the torn layer of flesh sting as it brushed by. A tremor as one of the Decepticons crashed backward from Sideswipe's punch and nearly landed on her. Oh no, she was not getting stepped on and no cons were grabbing her again. Being a rag-doll once was enough.
Now playing a much more dangerous game of 'Don't get caught', Shay lunged away from the wrestling giants and tried extremely hard to avoid the footsteps that cracked the ground beneath in small craters. The smoke seemed to get thicker by the second and another itching cough had her cover her mouth as she took refuge behind a large chunk of brick wall, now shattered and free from the rest of it's battered body. Metal on shrieking metal crashes tore through the air as a dissonant hum filled the atmosphere around them and her captor disappeared in the blink of an eye. Only to reappear right behind the carnelian lambo with a knife hanging above his helm. The female's shout fell heavy from her lips as the blade swung and missed, Sideswipe whirling around to dodge and take a pot shot at the blue one. Her back ached, although she couldn't recall actually hurting it besides the fall and bruising. A hand covered her stinging nose even though she couldn't smell the toxic air. Flames found unused firecrackers at their feet and burst into flares of yellow light, loud pops and bangs adding to the din. Gray clogged clouds hung just above all their heads and the smoke seemed to reflect the muted and violent glow back down on all of them, a curtain cutting them off from the rest of the world. Or perhaps trapping them in there.
It was a murky battlefield and Shay was having trouble getting good oxygen into her lungs without hacking and coughing. She tried to move closer to the wall but the haze had worsened to the point that she could only tell where the Cybertronians were by the curses and blaster fire. In a sudden sweep, the golden frontliner brushed the air to the side as he crashed right past her crouched form and into the quieter jet. The sudden rush of a breeze cleared the smoke enough for her to see most of the courtyard for a few seconds.
Sideswipe with his gun firing at a rapidly vanishing and reappearing violet monstrosity, burgundy eyes staring psychotically through fire and shadows. A large wound decorated the blood-colored plating on the Autobot's back. Tongues of flame licked up the brick to grasp at wood poles and trellises, searching for anything burnable. Ashes rained down as the blue-ish flier managed to bash Sunstreaker in the knee with a pistol and then blast the left shoulder joint using the guns on his arms. Twinges ran across her shoulder and left knee as the woman's eyes caught sight of what she hadn't been able to see before: a hole in the wall.
The falling gray residue dusted her hair and shoulders as Shay scrambled up and toward the exit. Howls and smashing sounds filled the night as the haze rushed back in, peppered by red glows. Boots thunked and banged on stone as the woman heaved herself up over a loose chunk and over clattering loose shards. Bright sparks danced and winked above before disappearing. She had wanted to see fire tonight but not this kind.
"Autobot Scum!" A shriek to her right and she spun to see a giant shadow in the smoke, far too close to her.
For a second, Shay had the insane thought that it was a dream. The woman had certainly dreamed scarier things. The Twins had never gotten hurt and put in a spark container, she hadn't traveled half-way across the country by herself and avoided Decepticons, she hadn't made a really stupid choice and fled, the Twins never forgave her. She wasn't in a scene from nightmare. None of it was real.
But one of the figures in the smoke screamed in pain and crashed down, only a couple yards away and the clay and sediment mixture cracked around the human, tiny pebbles showering her skin. Shay snapped out of it with a snarl and shoved away the rogue emotions of fury. Now was not the time for stupid things. 'Wake up!' the female berated herself and jumped down to land on all fours in the grass. Lungs heaved and ached from all the day's abuse as she stumbled and half ran for a copse of trees standing tall by the road. Skittering to their trunks, her hands shook as she knelt down in the dark. Looking back showed heavy smoke rising in plumes and humongous shadows moving here and there from within. It seemed to be a gate from hell that had opened and spat out demons to fight each other.
Her breath rasped quietly as flickers of pain tiptoed up her chest and right arm. Aggressive and sharp thoughts started to fill her head again as she thought about going back in. Her bots were in danger...
No, no. That would only cause more trouble. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe could take care of themselves. They knew much more about fighting than she. Little humans couldn't really do anything but get in the way.
Anger. Exhilaration.
Oh joy, the twins liked to fight. Why wasn't she surprised?
After a moment or two of waiting and watching the scene with rising dread, the commotion died down. Worry turned to fear when it fell silent, but all the human could feel from the Twins was irritation and oddly, satisfaction. The twisting sounds of transformation that was like nothing else heard on this planet echoed and two jets shot out of the dark cloud to disappear above into darkness. One with a mangled wing and wobbly course. A dark red titan leaped out next with his lighter colored twin on his heels. For one second, Shay had the crazy thought that they were the cons, even though the jets had left. The female was going to blame all of tonight's crazy ideas on shock.
No, the snarling and dangerous looking frontliners weren't cons, they were her bots. A heavy sigh left her body and muscle tension relaxed as both looked over at her and stalked closer. On shaky limbs, Shay stood.
"Hi Shay, you're eyes are really pale." Sideswipe sounded normal, as if they were discussing the weather. Was that a good or bad thing? She licked her lips and tasted ash, bitter.
A huff from her, "So are both of yours. You guys are a mess by the way. And I already know I am too."
Dents and scratches marred what had been glossy and smooth only an hour ago, a fuzzy gray layer coating them from top to bottom with splotches of sludgy energon here and there. Shorn wires and a couple dripping tubes poked out of a hole in Sunstreaker's shoulder like a doll that someone had hacked at with scissors. His twin absently rubbed at the softly glowing light pink liquid dripping down just under his right audio horn while speaking to her. Fresh wounds bled shallowly from his chest and Sunstreaker's right leg.
"Good job getting outta there. It's hard to fight when you gotta watch civilians." An easy grin spread as he crouched to check her over and Sunstreaker added on, "But you still took your time about it."
Her frown turned deepened into the scores of her face as she ran deft fingers over Sideswipe's armor, taking in all the busted bits of metal and cracked glass on his front stained with ashes and Cybertronian blood. Swiftly, she focused on the other one, studying all the damage whilst trying to determine how serious it was. Sunstreaker's knee looked bad and yet he was still walking on it. At least it all appeared to be there, save for a hole in the growly bot's shoulder. But nothing looked shredded. That was good. "How badly are you injured? Did you win?" Coughs interrupted the latter part of her statement as she bent over and tried to catch her breath.
"We did of course!"
"It was a draw." The normally yellow Autobot corrected with a growl of annoyance, "We're too close to our base. They knew the others would show up soon."
"You didn't answer my first question...!" Shay was cut off as Sideswipe carefully examined her arms and then stood, "Time to go girl. I hear sirens."
The woman didn't hear anything but suddenly Sunstreaker lifted her before she could protest and transformed. In the blink of an eye, a gold hand let go and she landed with an 'oomph' in the passenger seat. Surprised, the human stared at the dashboard and then slowly put on the seat belt as the lamborghini spun his tires and took off after the red hellion. In seconds they were speeding and bounding down the empty road to leave the flaming partially destroyed structure behind. This was odd. It was the first time he'd given her a ride. As the night whipped by in a blur of cracked headlights, her ride turned the heat on. Shay hadn't even realized she was shivering. Still in shock maybe? How did one determine if one was in shock? She didn't know.
He grumbled, "The only reason I'm doing this is because Sides is hurt more and you're not straining those injuries."
"Glad to know you love me buttercup." Mischief's voice came out of Sunstreaker's speakers. The angrier bot roared his engine, although the human thought she heard a painful ting in there. A heavy wriggly feeling started low in her stomach. "You didn't tell me how bad it is." The woman stated.
"It only looks bad." Sideswipe replied easily, "We'll bang out the dents. And if worse comes to worse we'll just say we were wrestling and it got out of hand again."
"Again?"
"Uh..."
Shay chewed her lip and kept an eye out for other traffic on the winding road, "Why did they attack, those two jets?"
A snarling rev thundered out from beneath Sunstreaker's hood in an answer, "They were bored."
"Probably Skywarp. Thundercracker doesn't usually cause that much trouble." His twin argued.
"Usually. Never can tell with cons."
They slowed and pulled over as a firetruck blared close by. In the dim lighting, Shay could see the dents on Sideswipe's back end as he idles just in front of them. Seconds passed and the emergency vehicle zipped by whirring at deafening levels the whole time. And then they were driving again, albeit much slower than usual. She felt really bad about the restaurant but places could be rebuilt, people couldn't. Not completely. "I'm helping patch you both up when we get to your warehouse."
"You don't know how to-"
"Don't Care!" The woman snarled, baring flat teeth and reacting on residual violence that still whispered at the edges of her mind, "You'll show me. I'll help. NO ARGUMENTS."
Silence before Sunstreaker once again broke it up, although quieter this time and more sulkish, "I told you you're con bait."
"And I said that you are a pain in the ass. Nobody's perfect." Sideswipe brayed laughter through his twin's speakers at her retort. Ahead, his back wheels slid a little on the road and out of shape frame bounced. A involuntary yawn as she paused before adding, "Thank you for catching me."
He didn't answer but she didn't expect him to. Crawling back to the safe house seemed to take forever as they avoided the more traveled main road through town and skirted the business district to pass under lamplights through quiet slumbering neighborhoods and small roads. Her head leaned against the window and Sunstreaker complained that she had who-knows-what-all in her hair and she owed him a wash. After a snappish agreement to mention it later, they fell quiet and just about reached the almost hidden little path that lead to safety. Before they turned onto there though, Sideswipe murmured something through Sunstreaker.
"You were really angry."
A tired and dazed blink from the human, "Hhmm?"
"When Skywarp had you. You've never felt like that before, except..." The grumpier twin picked up where Sideswipe left off, "Except for when we were in the spark container. You were furious."
"Oh," She sighed and closed drooping eyes. Her chest, back, and shoulder still hurt, although the leg wasn't too bad. Must have been from being squeezed and falling, "Some people tried to take you. I lost my temper."
"But we made you angry this time." Sideswipe led them up the pavement to the cargo doors and turned off his headlights, but didn't transform. His brother remained still as Shay looked out the window at the red sports car and then at Sunstreaker's dash.
Shay rubbed her face, "You started it. But those cons threatening you made it worse. And then you made it worse. It wasn't all your fault. You couldn't help that I would feel your anger."
Her ride vented and then opened the passenger door to let her out, cricket symphonies washing across her ears and calming her, "We need to fix this. I don't want to have to fight and worry about what emotions you're getting from us at the same time. It's too dangerous." Sunstreaker slowly transformed, metal creaking as he stood and helped Sideswipe to stand.
A mutter from the human as they opened the door and flicked on the lights. Her pupils shrunk at the suddenly blinding glare, "It seems to be the worst when I think you're being threatened."
"We're talking to the others." Sideswipe scrounged around the holding shelves for supplies, clumsy fingers knocking unimportant things out of the way, "I can't think of anything else to do."
Sunstreaker looked over at his brother with pinched expression and very old optics, "We'll talk to the others. After we get back from our mission." He stated with finality.
Music: Halou- Honeythief
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Sorry Skywarp, she wasn't trying to sneeze on you. Maybe Shay is allergic to Decepticons?
And holy Primus, this is my biggest chapter yet!