Slightly pointed black digits tapped against the desk in a staccato rhythm of thoughtfulness before the owner of those fingers spoke, "Hey Bee?"
"Sir?" The yellow and black minibot looked up from the report he was finishing and about to turn in.
"I've a mission for ya."
Curious blue optics widened as the bot tilted his helm, "Oh? What kind sir?"
"The unofficial kind."
A steady beat of ting after ting as the visored mech seemed to study the messy stack of datapads on his desk as if they held the answers to the universe. Although the other bot knew his thoughts were most likely somewhere far away and definitely scheming. Bumblebee's expression shifted into cheerfulness as the tiniest bit of sarcasm entered his tone, smile growing.
"My favorite then."
Unbeknownst to the mechs, somewhere quite a few miles away was someone else tapping their fingers. Although these were lightly bandaged and the pulse was one of slowing draining patience. Short and ragged fingernails clacked almost noiselessly against limestone as Shay sighed and looked around before slumping. Late. They were late, but then again it wasn't that much of a surprise. Sideswipe had said it would be difficult for them to sneak away at the right time.
Wind had started to pick up, dancing along the tall prairie-like grass and brushing back the long strands of dusty brown hair that peaked out from beneath her gray irish cap. One could see for miles on the rock outcropping she sat upon. A slight twisting on her insides and the woman stood as the sounds of engines and transformation reached her ears.
Turning, she watched silently as two distant figures swiftly headed toward her. Gold and red in the dim mid-day light, what appeared to be small quickly became giants in her view. They looked much better than they had a few days ago, broken and scorched plating hammered out and repainted. Shay had quickly learned how to use a welder at a very early hour in the morning and had burns on her fingers for the trouble. A crash course in Cybertronian anatomy wasn't something that one should learn when sleep deprived but there had been little choice. After all the serious things had been tended to, the Twins had made a quick trip to their medic with the excuse of a wrestling match gone out of hand. But nothing had been questioned and now they were alright. But only for today. Tomorrow would be different.
"Hi." A quiet murmur as they strode up the easy incline to sit next to her. Sunstreaker grumbled.
"Got here soon as we could." He glanced up at the darkening sky and the heavy mass of rainclouds gathering in the West. The human caught the object of his gaze and waved a hand to reassure him as his twin swung his legs over the drop.
"The storm hasn't passed yet- Sideswipe!" The red bot leaned over to blow a strong gust of air out of his vents and right at the woman, causing her hair to flare out like a lion's mane and hat to skitter into the green waves around them. "Damn it Sides! That is my favorite hat."
She snarled at her friend's chuckle and stomped over to retrieve the cap. A quick snap to free if of any unwanted passengers of the insect variety and then Shay yanked it back onto her head, rim tilted down to almost cover her eyes.
A chuff from the red bot, "I thought that was your only hat."
"Hence why it is my favorite."
Sunstreaker grew bored and scooped her up to deposit her back into her spot before leaning over to flick his brother on the helm. Rolling her eyes, Shay watched wave after wave of green blades rippling under darkening skies. A distant thunderclap.
Shivers as a chill breeze brushed against her skin and almost lifted the cap away again. The human stuffed it in the old worn pack at her feet and scooted closer to the carnelian hellion. A sigh rattled it's way out from under Sunny's hood, "You're too easy to rile up."
"And your brother is too easily amused." She replied as the lambo in question shrugged and gave an innocent grin as if to say 'who me?'. They watched the storm move closer. A strange look crossed the less cheerful bot's face. He nudged his brother through their bond. Sideswipe frowned in return before nodding. The woman sitting in the middle noticed the silent conversation but chose to ignore it, having found through experience that they would talk when they wanted to and not a moment sooner. Finally the carnelian pit-spawn tapped his foot against the dirt cliff side and spoke.
"So, Skyfire's taking us over with some others in a couple hours." Shay remained unmoving, already knowing this as they'd discussed it before, "And we'll be gone roughly two weeks. It depends really... Just regular stuff, ya know? Check out the area, scare off the cons, save the world in our spare time..."
A snort blew out of her nose as Sideswipe wiggled his optic ridges and Sullen huffed in mock indignation, "Are you saying we can't save the world?"
Mouth curling up slightly Shay replied, "I do believe you would be more likely to prank the entire continent." The red twin muttered a quiet 'true' as Sunstreaker continued, although more seriously this time.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"I usually don't." A dry reply. Light strands of hair whipped around her face as she turned back towards the sounds of thunder.
Apparently he disagreed, deep sky optics narrowing as his mouth became a thin line. Sunstreaker's armor shifted to flare out just slightly before settling and they fell silent. In the stifling humid air a zing of electricity danced out of the roiling gray mass that had taken on a greenish tint. An accompanying crack followed soon after as the indescribable scent of rain brushed over them gently. Flashes of pale purple illuminated the towering cloud columns in quick bursts. Distantly, a rippling sheet of water fell like a curtain to cover the earth. Flattening the grasses below, the oncoming storm roared out mother nature's cry and the echoing booms bound from the edges of the plain.
"You'll be okay without us." Sideswipe phrased it like a statement, optics trained above, "Two weeks is a lot longer than a few days..."
Shay responded as if it had been a question, "I'll survive. It can't be worse than several months."
"Famous last words."
She rolled her eyes at the golden lambo's statement before scooting closer to the edge and dropping jean-clad legs over to swing next to theirs, "I'll keep my head down, stay out of trouble, and most likely hole up at the warehouse. Being around others will just make me miserable anyways."
A frustrated puff vented from the red bot on her right. Sideswipe looked at his twin with a frown but the barest rise of Sunny's shoulder pads in a shrug was the only response. He didn't have an answer or solution. Cerulean optics closed and his brother followed suit.
Barely there sprinkles of water peppered their outer armor as wind whipped her hair back in strong gusts. The giant on her left unshuttered his optics to watch the atmosphere's unusual coloring and vented a pleased sigh. Shay wasn't sure which one of them did it first but one wall dropped, an ocean of feelings sweeping through her followed closely by a second. Her heart jumped a beat at the unexpected emotions but settled again quickly while she watched the electrical currents shatter down from above.
Warmth. Awe. Worry.
The human pushed her own self out to them. If they were dropping their guards then so would she.
Fragile Hope. Happy. Worry... It will be okay? Guilt. Sorrysorrysorry.
Swirling rampant emotions collided and tangled around each other.
Forgiveness. Hope. We'll be alright.
It wasn't words, not defined enough. Just emotions and vague ideas brushing against one another like clouds billowing out. Sideswipe titled his helm and laughed along with the thunder. The feeling echoed in his twin and through the female, held just behind her teeth and coming out of her lips as a breathless chuckle. 'What a pretty storm.' she thought. Or maybe it was the Autobots. Perhaps it was all of them.
Fun. Nice. Warmth. Joyjoyjoy. Happy
For a few moments it was hard to tell which thought belonged to whom, edges of self-awareness blurring, pale optics and eyes studying the oncoming weather with fascination. Lost in the twisting sensations that lit up her insides, Shay forgot she was Shay. The female just was. Enough of a distinctive presence and a vague feeling entwining with that which was Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, Sullen and Mischief.
Other
That feeling was most definitely originating from Sullen, although it was copied by his brother. She responded through whatever strangeness that bound her to them, a chiming sound to their tolling call. Adrift in the pulsating mass, Shay felt very distant from her body. Streaks of bright light, wind and water in the air rebounding off her skin, musky and wet earth smells all as if they were happening to someone else. Rumbles above, in harmony with the steady hum sounding from within the two people next to her.
Finally, the storm started to move away. The twins pulled back, walls forming again to block enough so as to limit their influence on her own emotions. Shay sighed and shook at the chill air that hadn't been noticed until now. Softly glowing eyes blinked up at them as the woman shakily stood and pulled her hat back onto her frizzing hair. The three stayed at the edge of the thunderstorm and rock cliff for a moment more before standing. Joints creaked and tires spun lazily as Sideswipe picked her up.
Too content to really protest, Shay mumbled, "I feel like we're on borrowed time."
"Don't worry. We'll deal with it, little by little." Her ride reassured her in twin speak. The human glanced at Sunstreaker with a look that said 'keep your idiot twin alive'. Giving a huff in return, the golden frontliner rattled his armor to get off the gathering water droplets and rumbled quietly.
"We'll all be fine."
"Dang..." Sideswipe murmured, "That tree's wider than one of us!"
He stared in childlike awe at the massive trunk of the mahogany, branches reaching so far above any of their helms. Is this what humans felt like when under trees, so tiny? Shrilling whoops tempered with watery clatters sounded from the canopy.
Brawn put his servos on his hips and puffed up, "I bet I could climb it."
"NO!"
A resounding negative from Hound and Beachcomber who were examining the tropical plant life. The jeep almost blended into the greenery around him but the stern look he sent was easy to see. "We must be very careful not to damage any of the native life. All the species here depend on one another."
"Alright alright. No climbing trees. Yeesh." The yellow and grass colored mini-bot sighed, putting his hands up in surrender.
Heavy drips knocked against leaves above their helms and rain started to pour down on them. Sunstreaker growled in vexation and stomped forward through ferns and giant palms, the scent of wet earth and rot rising with every step. Looping whistles mocked all around them as they struggled farther in. Only Hound's footsteps were near silent as they moved through the bracken.
Sunstreaker was not a happy camper. The vain bot disliked the repeated rain showers and hadn't stopped complaining about what the excessive humidity and high temperatures were doing to his paint job. His twin hummed in agreement as they skirted a small stream and trundled along slowly, but found amusement in the fact that the snark and growls were only half sparked. Sunny might have hated exploring the outdoors, but the alien flora was interesting. And their optics could catch the sight of bright flowers and feathered avians above. Sideswipe couldn't hold back his grin when a particular blue and white orchid stole his brother's attention.
Sharp twitterings and chirps contested with distant caws and a repetitive woodpecker drilling that was starting to make Brawn antsy. None of the bots had realized just how loud the jungle was. At the very least, the two nature lovers were having fun. Beachcomber mimicked the birdsong and a few jewel speckled macaws looped down to twirl around them before disappearing into the leaves. Bugs far larger than they were used to kept scuttling across their path along with nearly invisible brown toads. Hound himself hadn't stopped smiling since Skyfire had dropped them off. Taking in the musky and sharp floral scents, the tracker tried to look at everything at once. Sideswipe as well found it a very interesting place, listening to all the calls that sounded like nothing ever heard on Cybertron. He murmured aloud although only his brother heard.
"It's like we're explorers..." Deep cackles made the group jump and peer hesitantly into the gloom. Only the jeep remained unfazed with Beachcomber relaxing soon after. Slowly the rain petered out.
Tangled vines caught against their metal armor and hindered their progress as the giants continued on. By the time mid-day had come and gone, their pace had slowed to a crawl due to the green bot stopping to look at every interesting thing. Finally Sunstreaker crossed his arms and snapped, "How much farther do we have to go? We've been walking all day."
"Not much farther, man. The natives said two days walk and we're making good progress." A soothing reply from the beach buggy as he checked the map he'd sketched out and his internal compass. Dealing with the native humans had been an experience, to say the least. They had been very wary of the alien's presence and had wanted them gone (along with the Decepticons) as soon as possible.
Thorned plants caught on the red frontliner's horned helm and wreathed his face as he struggled to detangle himself, "I don't get why all the way out here," He huffed, finally getting free, "I mean, it's so hard to get to."
Their heavy footsteps cracked dead wood and soft leaves underneath as Brawn answered, "Well maybe that's the point. If we can't get to them, we can't stop them."
"Yeah but they've got to be having trouble getting out here to." Interred the blue and white beach buggy, "There aren't any natural resources to make energon either."
"Could be solar panels."
Sunstreaker gave his brother a withering glare, "Solar panels. With all this rain?!"
"There is much more sunlight to be found on the plains or coast. But there's also more people," Hound pointed out thoughtfully, more focused on their surroundings and not the conversation.
Beachcomber paused to check the map and compass again, "We should be real close to where they were spotted."
Rumbling angrily at the mud started to work it's way into his ankle joints, Sunstreaker shoved past his brother and ignored the protest. Sighing, Sides followed after. Their navigator watched the Twins warily and tried to keep the frustration at bay.
"It really shouldn't take that lon-... oh." He jolted to a stop as his feet nearly slid into a tread track marking the ground before them.
The others grew silent as Hound crouched to study broken fronds trampled down without a care. Pulling out their blasters, Brawn and the Twins cautiously studied the shadows as if a con would jump out at any second. A piercing shriek farther in the gloom made them all twitch, the mini-bot's armor flaring aggressively. With a nod, the almost invisible tracker gestured which way to go. Carefully and as quietly as they could manage, the group followed Hound's light tread until bright rays pierced the air ahead. Stopping at the edge, just in the shadows, blue optics paled at what lay before them.
"Oh no..." Hound breathed in horror.
What should have been old forest trees and flourishing growth was now shredded earth, wood splinters piercing out from the mud. Half a football field's length of destruction, as if a tornado had touched down, stuck out like a sore thumb. In the middle a gaping pit spiraled down several yards before leveling off, only deep enough to come up to their hip joints. Tire tracks and treads smeared the barren ground.
"Well," Sideswipe's previously cheerful mood disappearing in the wake of frontliner readiness, "Now we got proof they're here."
Six days later and they hadn't caught the slagging glitch-rats. They'd roamed practically a third of the never-ending fragging jungle (or at least it felt like that much) and their rations were getting low. Moods soured with every destroyed patch of land they came across, which was a total of nine by now. Brawn glared at the waterfall to the left as they stopped for a two minute break.
"Are you sure you know where we are? I swear I've seen that pool before."
Beachcomber sighed, having grown progressively quieter as they found more damage to the jungle, "Yes, I know where we are."
"It's time to send that report. Why don't we take a break?" Hound butted in before an argument could start. No one had any protests, so with relieved sighs they settled down on whatever was available. The mini-bot ignored the foot long millipede crawling across his lower legs while he sat on a rotted log. They'd long since gotten used to the creepy creatures and strange plant life. Even Sunstreaker had grown bored of complaining about the mud and water. The shorter blue and white naturalist went over to silently examine the semi-aquatic fauna while Hound pulled out a data pad to clean up their log. As the others flopped onto the forest floor to rest squeaking joints, the twins traded a glance and moved a little farther from the others.
Squishing themselves up against a thick clustering of what the nature bots called 'Brazil nut trees' they stretched their legs and shifted a bit. Why Brazil when they were in Peru? Sides had wondered. Humans had a strange way of naming things in his opinion. Sunstreaker pulled out a cord from his wrist and connected it to his twin while Sides opened a comm link channel. Static made both of them wince until he tuned it a little. Finally a ring.
'Ha! Take that human tech! My comm systems work even out in the jungle.' A smug crow until Sunny flicked his helm and then shooed a spiny rat away from getting to close. Both of them heard another ring and then someone on the other end pick up.
"Whatever it is, no." A low and rough voice snarled in exasperation.
A pout slid across his faceplates as Sideswipe answered through the comm and not aloud, "Hi honey, I love you too."
Choking noises and sputtering on the other end before Shay groaned, "Oh god shut up. Sideswipe, ever say that to me again and I'll slash your tires while you recharge."
"Awww, you miss us."
"No. Just your brother." The woman snipped back. Sunstreaker broke in using his link to the identical lambo, dry sarcasm masking any amusement he felt toward her comeback, "That was a really nice hello."
"Sorry. Thought you were Cassidy." Static breathed through the line as it was shifted. Optic ridges lowered in confusion as the Autobots traded confused and blank looks, but the human picked up on the silence and continued, "A friend from North Carolina. She wants me to move back."
"NO."
Simultaneous retorts. Even though the other Autobots couldn't hear the conversations they glanced over when the Twin's frames moved and hunched slightly. Beachcomber and Brawn shrugged, guessing the Twins were conversing with each other. Over the line, Shay rapidly agreed.
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere and I told her that, don't worry. What's the jungle like?"
Sideswipe grinned ferally, although he didn't miss the obvious topic change. After musing for a moment for where to start he replied, "There are giant rats, insects, carnivorous plants and spiders the size of your head. They're aggressive too. Keep hissing at me and stuff."
"Oh definitely." Shay agreed, tone showing how much she believed it.
A hard puff of mock indignation, "It's true! Tell her Sunny!"
"The spiders don't like Sides." Sunstreaker stated in a bored fashion.
"Yep! And there's these fishy-creatures that Hound says are river dolphin but they look weird and have lots of really sharp teeth. Everything here is weird and looks funny or is poisonous or giant. This place is crazy. Your planet is crazy!" The bot finished his rant.
Quiet breathless chuckles, "That I can believe. There is a lot of biodiversity in the jungle. Sunstreaker, anything interesting? Have you guys gotten hurt?"
The bots fidgeted as they caught the worry in her tone. Their human usually wasn't that obvious in showing she cared. Shrugging at his brother, Sunny grumbled bluntly, "We're fine. Except for my paint. It's in terrible condition, it's raining all the time, the humidity is awful and there is MUD all over me." He paused before admitting off-handedly, "It's very colorful here."
"I'll help you repaint when you get back," relief colored her tone and Sideswipe nodded at the golden bot's inquiring look. Something was definitely off here.
"Shay..." Mischief started carefully as a light sprinkle came down from above, "How sick are you?"
Silence before a flat monotone, "As I expected. It's alright."
"Quite lying." Sunstreaker growled through the line. His twin tensed and started to pick at the bright orange trumpet-like flowers that hung down, ignoring the look the short blue Autobot was giving him from across their temporary camp. Indecipherable muttering from the human before she growled.
"Fine. I feel like shit. My chest constantly hurts and sometimes feels like someone's pushing icy needles through it. Trying to convince myself to eat is an uphill battle, my body won't let me sleep for more than a few hours, and when I do sleep I dream I can't find you and then flip out because I think you're dead. And when I wake up there's a hole in something or I'm standing in the middle of a mess because apparently I went on a minor rampage. And don't worry because I'll have it all fixed and cleaned up before you get back. Add on the pain fits every other few days, which by the way do not help me get sleep. So other than that, I'm just peachy." The last word an acidic hiss dripping frustration.
Sideswipe replied first to the sudden silence, "Well, that sounds fun. Guess we'll need to Shay-proof all the really breakable stuff when we get back." Sunny pinched the bridge of his noseplating and sent dark and irritated thoughts to his twin. Surprising both of them however, the female laughed.
A bitter cackle on the edge of hysteria did not make them feel any better, "Ooohhh damn." More loopy giggled, "Damn, I need more sleep."
"You are in the warehouse, right?" Sunstreaker's tone brooked no argument and plainly stated that she had better be there or else. No excuse would be good enough if she wasn't.
"Yes. Nowhere else to be and not motivated enough to go anywhere."
Hound finished typing and stood to stretch, the shorter bots standing in his wake. Sideswipe looked over and rapidly spoke through the comm link, "Just tough it out as best you can. We'll hopefully be back at the end of the week."
More static as the human on the other end moved a bit, "Stay safe. I mean it boys. You get hurt and I'll kick your afts later."
"As if glitch mouse." The yellow lambo snarked, "Hold on till we get back."
He disconnected from his twin and stowed the cable as they stood to brush off the damp leaves trying to stick to their arms. Muttering and weary sighs at the trek ahead came from the group while they waited for Hound to send the file. Doing so, the tracker swiftly tucked the glass and metal device away and they all looked at Beachcomber.
Calm blue optics turned to the bot with the map, "Which way now?"
Silently slinking through the door, a shadow tiptoed lightly across dusty orange metal. Keeping his arrival a surprise, the mech came up right behind the officer in the chair. One black servo reached out to grab the other's shoulder pad-
"Stop that." A doorwing twitch.
Frag. He said it out loud just to show how upset he was at being caught, "Frag Prowler. Ya couldn' a let meh sneak up on yah just once?"
Raising an unamused optic ridge, Prowl turned his helm slightly to keep the saboteur in his sight. Jazz sighed and placed two datapads on the desk before flopping on the guest chair. It was always the doorwings. Flittery little sensor covered appendages got him every time. Every. Single. Time.
The Praxian picked up the reports and started to read the top one, "Thank you Jazz."
"Yeah, yeah." The black and white shrugged off the smooth toned gratitude, "Bots down in Peru aren't getting' anywhere."
"Hmmm."
No opinion to that information one way or the other. However, a tiny smirk made it's way across the visored mech's faceplates and didn't remain unnoticed by the tactician. Prowl gave him a look but didn't ask. After a moment of staring, Jazz stuck out his glossa.
"They might not be findin' much but back here ah mighta found somethin'". Smugness growing along with the smile, he gestured toward the second pad lying dark upon the desk. Giving a suspicious glance, The SIC turned it on and curiously glanced it over. When finished he set it back down and studied the lazily settled spy with a frown.
"You are sure this building belongs to the Twins?"
"Yep. Betcha it's probably a high-grade distillery again." Nonchalant boredom tipped with amusement at the courage of troublemakers.
Prowl looked away from the glinting visor to study the report again before sighing, doorwings starting to droop, "Since they are not here, now would be an opportune time to assess the building in the case that otherwise they would hide anything incriminating before we got there. If they wanted a place outside of the Ark, they should have brought it to an officer's attention. Thank you Jazz."
"Not a problem Prowler. OP gave the go ahead for that paintball game next week by the way." The Datsun made a face and Jazz continued, "Anythin' else?"
"If you could just send Bluestreak in here, that would be most helpful please."
Prowl had already turned back to the precarious but neat stacks of work on his desk so Jazz merely nodded and waltzed himself out. None one was about to notice the slight toothy grin that flashed across his face before returning to a regular smile. One part accomplished, now on to the next...
Not half an hour later, a gray Datsun headed across the nearby town, muttering nervously to himself the whole way, "It's just checking it out. And Prowl ordered me too, so they won't be too mad. Unless it's high-grade again 'cause then Prowl will shut it down and they'll probably be upset..." The younger bot wove through evening traffic. It was rather uneventful save for when he stopped for a turtle and the people behind got impatient. Finally finding the right road, the silver car nearly missed the hidden drive and screeched to a halt before reversing to pull up the pavement.
Around the bend showed a large off-white building next to a small parking lot with a green pickup parked there. Bluestreak hummed in thought. On one servo, that could mean it was the wrong address because why else would there be a normal vehicle here? Or Prowl had the wrong information. But Prowl was never wrong, the younger Praxian having complete faith in the officer. And big cargo doors tipped the scales in favor of the Twins (or at least a Cybertronian) coming and going from the building.
After a short puff of vented air, Bluestreak started toward the doors but froze as a quiet sound grew in volume and pitch by the second. A low keen swiftly howled up into a painful shriek. Electricity crackled along his lines as the Datsun jolted at the scream. He ripped the thin metal door open with his fists and lunged inside.
Big furniture. Big objects just the right size for a bot. Weapons, video games, and paint. This place definitely belonged to the Twins.
All noticed and ignored in a split second as the chevroned mech rapidly looked around for the source of the noise. He found it near the back and to the left where there lay a mattress with several plain blankets on top, neatly folded. Curled up on the floor only a few feet from there a human whined and whimpered.
"Whoa! Hey! Calm down what's wrong!? Are you hurt? I mean obviously you must be because you were screaming and you don't look so good..."
He trailed off uncertain on what to do. The human was female, short and appearing so very thin at the moment. White knuckled hands clutched her arms while fingernails dug in hard enough to draw blood. Wearing only old jeans and a loose dark tee-shirt, the bot could easily note her whole body shaking. Ragged gasps heaved in and out of her chest, lank and long gray-brown hair quivering with each tiny movement. Her scream had cut out as soon as she'd realized someone was there.
'She looks familiar,' Blue thought distantly, more focused on trying to find the source of the pain. And then the human turned her face up. Tear stains, exhausted pain-dulled expression. And very pale eyes.
.
.
.
"RAAAATTTTCCCHHHEETTTTTTT!"
The medic lurched from his seated position in the medbay and hurried toward the door, throwing it open seconds after the cry. That had been Bluestreak's distinctive pitch, but not the 'Someone said something and upset me' cry. Or even the 'I did something stupid and hurt myself a little' whine. No, that was a full out panic of 'I'm dying/someone's dying/we have a real emergency' wail.
Spark pulsing in tension, the med bot looked down the hall to see the Datsun zipping as fast as his engine would allow. Brakes drew up smoke as he screeched to a halt and stood, shoving his arms out to push something at the red and white mech.
"Ratchet-Ratchet-you-have-to-help-I-don't-know-what-to-do-how-to-fix-humans-please-fix-her-help-and-she-was-screaming-she's-hurt-and-I-panicked-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-help-because-I-can't-" A barely understandable spew of frantic words poured from the younger bot's vocalizer. All the medic caught was 'Screaming. Hurt. Fix. Please.' In stunned silence he stared down at the limp body cradled in Bluestreak's arms. He'd expected the Praxian to be hurt.
Not a familiar yet unconscious human.
Brawl was pretty sure he hated the rainforest. All the slagging trees were making him angry and the tank wasn't happy with the mission to begin with. At least it had stopped raining. If he saw one more gray cloud today, he was gonna punch something. Dirt coated treads whirled in irritation at the con's shoulders.
"Hey! You're supposed to be helping." A dark gray and dusty blue body poked it's way out of the pit they'd been digging. Brawl paused in moving crates and snarled but his visored teammate wasn't looking at him. The burgundy optic band was focused instead on the last Combaticon assigned to their mission.
Swindle turned away from the strange seed pods he'd been palming, "I am helping, just taking a short break." The higher pitched tone grated on Brawl's audio receptors. It there was one thing that pissed him off about the shortest Combaticon, it was his sleazy voice. And the fact that he wasn't helping.
His own southern drawl bellowed out, "Get Your Aft In Gear! We gotta find all those slaggin' crystals!"
The con jumped and gave the green and gray tank a cagey glance before sighing and jumping back down to pull out loose chips with Vortex. Brawl hefted another crate full of dirt-covered crystals out of the hole to drop with a loud 'thunk' onto the growing stack. Sun rays danced on the shards, amber yellow and gold peaking out of the flat planes. Starscream had called them 'Orpiment' or something. Whatever it was, apparently it was important because Megatron had sent them out to dig up a bunch. Brawl didn't really care. Not even the fact that it was poisonous to humans really cheered him. They were just stupid crystals after all.
Stupid crystals that Swindle kept trying to stash on his person. Vortex leaned over and whacked his teammate on the helm with his rotors. Clutching his helm in fake hurt, the off-road vehicle whined.
"Awww come on! He doesn't need all of these. And I could get some real good cash for 'em."
Vortex sighed, undoubtedly rolling his optics behind a crimson visor. Whatever reply the helicopter had was left unsaid as three shorter cons leaped out of the trees and dashed towards them. Brawl straightened, interest sparking in his own optic band.
"Hey hey, we have bots incoming." The leader of the camera-cons, Viewfinder, explained. The maroon lackey on his right spoke up, "Yeah, looks like they finally caught up."
"So we're fighting them right?" the last one, Spyglass looked to the larger cons. While not as small as cassettes, the diminutive spies were still quite short compared to the other Decepticons.
Swindle made a face, "We could set a trap..." Violet optics behind translucent glass studied the jungle with hesitance. Fighting was not one of the things he did for fun. It was much better to trick people into buying things from him.
"No time for that," Viewfinder replied lightly, "Besides, Brawl can't be quiet to save his life. He'd give us away."
Said tank whirled on the spymaster, "WHAT Did Yah Say?!"
"Case to point." Snickered Spectro, crossing dark arms over his chipped armor. Rage kindled in Brawl's faceplates, fists clenching and plating noisily flaring out with a scritching noise.
The camera-con leader continued as if his subordinate hadn't spoken, "Of course, the bots are only a few minutes away. I do believe it would be easier to attack them now while they don't know we're here."
With a furious roar the tank transformed and sped at the shorter Cybertronians. They dodged and he zoomed past to crash through trees and underbrush. A horrendous ruckus went up in his wake as smaller trees fell and the tank's treads kicked up debris. Vortex strode across the new clearing, neatly smacking Viewfinder as he went past.
"Hey!" The three exclaimed although only Viewfinder had been hit. Vortex transformed and waited patiently as Swindle stowed the crates in the helicopter's cargo hold. Quickly finishing, the yellow and purple con transformed to zoom after Brawl. The last Combaticon snarled his aerial engine before jumping back to root mode and heading into the forest.
"Stop doing that," Vortex rumbled, "Or I'll give you a fun ride on the way back to base."
Nearby, Brawn paused and looked at Beachcomber inquiringly, "Are there elephants in this jungle?" Thunderous sounds and snapping tree branches echoed in front of the group.
"That's not an elephant. I hear an engine!" Sunstreaker yanked his gun from subspace and aimed ahead, but never managed to fire. Snarling, a tank leaped out of the jungle growth and transformed mid-air. In a blur of olive green metal and a burning crimson visor, Brawl crashed into the tawny frontliner and sent the bot flying back to land against the tough trunk of a canopy tree. The wood groaned and cracked while lights flashed through Sunny's optics.
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Pain. Anger. Surprise.
Washed out eyes shot open to glare furiously at the figures above. A piercing howl of rage spilled out. Distant shouting through static-laden thoughts.
"Get me a sedative! She's -"
Struggling to move, get up, fight. Need to fight. Threat. Danger. Anger anger anger.
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A strong punch to the faceplates had the con spinning as Sideswipe got between him and his brother. Scrambling up, Sunstreaker lunged into the fight. A savage smile slipped across his lips to match his twin's. The two tag-teamed Brawl as around them more joined the battle. Blasts of pale light scorched past their plating from Swindle, the con sniping at the Autobots from his position by a thick compilation of trees. The mini Autobot hefted up a fallen log, twice the size of himself, and swung it like a baseball bat just at the moment Vortex joined the fight. The blow crashed into the gray con's left side and sent decaying wood chips into the air. Turning, the helicopter blasted at Brawn but missed as Hound pushed himself forward to smash into Vortex's firing arm and throw the shot off.
"Slagging Cons!" Sunstreaker yelled, slashing across Brawl's chest with a knife.
It barely scratched the plating, armor proving too tough. An energon shot could have done more damage but they were in too close of quarters to really use their blasters well. Only a few feet away the three mini-cons ganged up on Beachcomber, trying to tackle the dune buggy to the ground. With swift footwork and quick maneuvering he managed to spin and kick the red and black Spectro across the battlefield.
Past broken trees and trampled earth the con flew before landing in a skidding slide by Brawl. Hissing in contempt, he struggled to stand and almost got crushed. Barely dodging the humongous footsteps of those on his own side, the short con rolled.
Unfortunately for Spectro, the mini Autobot had noticed him. With an iron grip, Brawn plucked him up and hurled the camera-con at Vortex. Getting a face full of pissed off metal was not what the helicopter was expecting, shock sputtering out of his vocals as he stumbled back.
Spectro yelped ,"Stop throwing me!"
A shriek as Spyglass shot Beachcomber's leg in retaliation for his fellow combiner being kicked. The blue and white bot crashed down and scrambled to aim his blaster before he himself got shot, several blasts from Swindle coming precariously close. Sideswipe noticed and quickly made optic contact with his twin who nodded. With a blast towards Swindle's sniping spot, Sideswipe dashed around the twisting and moving bodies to aid his downed comrade.
Leaving Sunstreaker to handle Brawl. Baring his denta, the frontliner circled the engine-roaring tank and then they crashed together, servos locked in a strength competition. Furiously blue optics glared at a glinting scarlet visor. Feet sliding back by inches, the bot snarled.
Pulling back before shoving forward again, this time for an uppercut and crushing wires in Brawl's wrist. Howling in fury, the tank dodged a kick and swung his arm to deliver a lethal blow to the bot's chest. Cracks splinted in the glass, his metal frame dented inward. Sunstreaker gave a roar of his own while several blasts zipped by his helm and pushed forward. One of Swindle's shots peppered Brawl's right shoulder plating.
The tank crouched and shifted the barrel of his cannon to aim at the lamborghini, "COME ON AUTOBOT! BRING IT!"
Optics widened as Sunstreaker barely dodged in time to avoid heavy artillery fire in the faceplates. The blast smashed the ground at the center of their battlefield with a boom and sent massive clods of dirt and damp wood flying out in all directions. Brawn was too close to the detonation and crashed back from the explosive force. Hound turned his helm away from his enemy for only a second to check on the minibot.
Enough time for Vortex to take advantage and shoot him at almost point blank range in the abdominal region. Pink and blue fluids sprayed out and sparking wires flew from the hole. Drips of liquids spilled from the Autobot's lips.
Shock flashed across the silvery faceplates before gray servos crunched into that softer metal and Hound dropped unconscious. Grabbing him, Vortex transformed and started his rotors, sending a heavy wind out around him.
The three parts of Reflector leaped away from tormenting Sideswipe and Beachcomber with minor wounds to scramble into Vortex. Loud exclamations burst through the air as the Autobots raced after to get Hound, now lying in the helicopter's hold. A spray of sharp blasts cut them off as Swindle bolted from his position to lunge inside the air craft that was steadily rising. At the same time, Sunstreaker tore into his opponent, stabbing at unprotected spots between heavy plating. Grunting at the pain, the tank landed a punch to the frontliner's right side. A glancing blow that hardly slowed the frontliner as the bot twisted around the con's defenses to ripped a huge chunk along Brawl's arm out. He pounded hit after hit at the masked con's face, forcing the tank back. Chips of metal broke off and ended up underfoot as the con turned on the defensive.
Giving no warning this time, Brawl swiveled his cannon and fired three rapid shots that quaked the ground, halting the lambo in his tracks and sending the other bots skidding back away from the blasts. Through the smoke and dirt clouded air that concealed movement for only seconds, the tank raced toward Vortex. He came in on Swindle's heels and the three short cons gave cover fire as the Autobots recovered.
Vortex quickly lifted off and within seconds hovered above the tree tops, sending branched to crash down on the other Cybertronians. Swiftly disappearing upward, the Autobots fired back in desperation. Beachcomber managed a lucky shot at Swindle, causing the Combaticon to cry out before Vortex's doors slammed shut.
And then they were too high and quickly becoming a speck above. Vents puffing hard and engines still whining from overuse, the Autobots stared disbelievingly at where their enemy had disappeared into the vast blue atmosphere.
Black servos clenched into fists and smashed heavily against one of the giant trees as Sideswipe growled, "They. Have. Hound." Another punch to dent the bark. Another.
"We're calling Skyfire." Sunstreaker barked at the other two, lips curling up over slightly fanged denta and vengeance sparking in pale optics, "We're heading back to base."
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*fist pumps* I finished it before the end of the month, so I'm still on track for at least one chapter a month! Take that school work! *falls over from sleep deprivation* And enjoy the cliffhanger :D