The medbot watched in trepidation as the other mech puttered around the equipment with hardly concealed enthusiasm.
Shay was wary as well. She liked Wheeljack. He was a nice guy and fairly easy to befriend. The woman just had a healthy dose of caution for anything that got him excited. Beside her with arms crossed, Ratchet glowered.
"Well?"
"All set," the inventor replied with a distracted tone. He finished hooking up the monitors and turned back to them, "Just need to attach a sensor."
Ratchet rumbled moodily and looked down at Shay. "Here," He handed her a thin and flexible flat disc with a wire linked to it, "Attach that to your upper chest, it will stay. Yes, like that."
He nodded as the woman put a hand down her shirt to stick the sensor just a few inches below her collar bone. The wire was a bit bothersome sticking out of her clothes and trailing onto the table, but she wasn't going to risk messing with it. "What does this do?"
"Warns us if something goes wrong," Wheeljack tossed over his shoulder as he took the other end of the wire and fed it into a diagnostic scanner sitting on the shelving next to the berth. Diagrams showing heart rate and other medical necessities popped up on screen. Huffing at that unhelpful explanation, the CMO gestured at the machine.
"It monitors your vitals. It's just a precaution."
"Oh! And Perceptor and I added some fail safes to the energy wave coding in case the circuit-breaker doesn't do it's job and the sensory network cascades..."
Wheeljack trailed off as Ratchet leveled a look of unholy wrath upon him. Seething, the medic placed both servos on the medberth and leaned forward. "You and Perceptor were tinkering?"
"Nonononono!" The bot raised empty hands in innocence, audio finials flashing pale neon orange. "It was a problem we missed before, he just pointed it out! Look, see!" He pulled out a datapad and nervously gestured at what looked like complete gibberish to the human. Ratchet's optics narrowed before he nodded sharply.
"Good catch. Now why was Perceptor looking at these schematics?"
The relief that had started to flow over Wheeljack disappeared. He looked away and seemed to struggle with finding an answer, growing fidgety as the medic continued to stare with growing irritation, "Uuuhhhh... he was just... curious?" A hesitant response.
Ratchet sighed and gently whacked the Lancia in the shoulder plates with the datapad before handing it back. "I thought Perceptor had important official projects to be working on. He doesn't need to be helping with this. Honestly, it's like you lot do nothing but gossip and fiddle."
"It wasn't fiddling!" Wheeljack replied petulantly, relaxed now that he was no longer in the danger zone, "It was problem solving."
"Wonderful. Now finish with the monitor so we can get this over with."
Mimicking the human gesture of an eye roll, the shorter bot pushed a few buttons on the machine while Ratchet scanned her again. Shay, having watched the whole exchange, frowned. But it seemed like neither of them was worried so she would try to be calm as well. Still, apprehension knotted in her gut and pricked along her veins. It was bad timing that the Twins had patrol right now. Trying to keep her mind away from unpleasant thoughts and dark roads, Shay stated an observation aloud.
"Your temperament makes it less likely for people to come to you with small injuries. They don't have a choice about the larger ones." Unconsciously interweaving her fingers, the human waited for Ratchet's reaction with mild interest.
Surprisingly, he favored her with a look close to 'she finally gets it' and lifted the corners of his mouth, "Precisely. Maybe they'll actually stop and think before they rush into a fight because they won't want to come to me after."
Shay's brow knitted as the Lancia jumped in and asked cheekily, "And how is that working so far?"
"Dreadful." Arms crossed, Ratchet mock glared, "It only works on the sane. Unfortunately most of you lost your processors a long time ago." He turned away to grab a shiny cuff from the table behind them. Wheeljack leaned in close, audios lighting up rose pink and stage whispered.
"He just doesn't want anyone to think he cares. We all know it though."
"What was that?" Ratchet didn't turn around to see the innocent vibes the sports car was suddenly emanating.
"Nothing."
"That's what I thought." He turned just as Shay managed to hide a smile behind her mask. Ridiculous banter helped lighten the mood and some of the concern melted a little. Until it occurred to the woman that maybe they were doing it as a distraction to keep her from being scared. A glance at the untroubled but still tired look on the white and red mech's face pulled up doubt.
Okay, maybe not Ratchet. But the body language and teasing undertone from Wheeljack said he might be doing it on purpose.
"Now then," Holding out the little cuff, the medic made sure he had her attention. The metal seemed very small in his servo. Flattened wires slithered around on the inside metal of the cuff while the outer silver part remained unadorned. "Just slip this on your wrist and DO NOT take it off."
He got a serious nod as Shay reached out to pick up the device. If she put it on, it would appear to be only a band of plain metal against her arm. Inconspicuous jewelry that would hardly be noticed but would have constant contact with her skin. Clever. Both Wheeljack and Ratchet turned their optics to watch her as the human turned the curved metal over in her hands. Cautiously, Shay slid it onto her left wrist where it was less likely to get in the way. For a second, her breath caught, waiting.
She expected something. A tingling perhaps or maybe a strange feeling to show that it was working. Only the touch of lukewarm metal wrapped around her wrist showed that the cuff was still there.
Wheeljack glanced over at the monitor before giving a thumbs up, "Looks all clear to me."
"I don't feel any different." The woman mumbled in confusion, glancing down at her arm and then back up at them.
Ratchet went over to study the diagnostics himself, "You shouldn't. It has to work slowly." The woman pursed her lips in thought before letting out a tense breath. That hadn't been so bad after all. Lucky her. Although it still seemed a bit more anti-climatic than what she'd expected.
"Oh."
Both the human and the medic turned as 'Jack's optics dulled and flickered before returning to their normal state, "Authorities calling."
"What did you do? You've been in here for the last half hour." Ratchet groused, a hand gesture at the thankfully empty medbay.
A chuckle, "Nothing, nothing. Prime just wants me to come take a look at something. Are we all good or do you still need me here?" He looked back and forth between the two. Shay shrugged, a half lift of a shoulder. How was she supposed to know? The medic flapped a hand.
"Shoo. We're done here."
Wheeljack waved at them, heading for the door when the woman spoke up, "Thank you."
He half turned to look over his shoulder and his helm flashed a sky blue color with a yellowish tinge. "Your welcome. Don't get sick or anything else unpleasant." She didn't need to see his full face to know the Autobot was smiling beneath the blast mask. 'Jack laughed at her salute before sweeping out of the room. Staring at the door thoughtfully, she was only mildly aware of Ratchet helping her detach the sensor from her skin.
"I may have a stupid question."
Ratchet snorted without humor, "I tend to get asked a lot of stupid questions." He carefully held her left wrist between two red fingers and prodded the bracelet with tweezers to make sure nothing was amiss. Taking his statement as a cue to continue, Shay finally glanced over at him.
"I noticed before that his audios change color but didn't pay it much mind. Do they alter with emotions?"
"Yes." He favored her with a sharp look, as if the human had been unexpectedly clever, "Cybertronians don't attach meaning or symbolism with color as much as humans, besides optic color for the war, mind you. It wouldn't matter much anyways. Wheeljack color coded them himself." Setting her arm down, Ratchet gave the hand scanner one more sweep before gesturing for her to stand.
She pulled worn and ratted tennis shoes on before doing so, "I would bet that has caused some confusion." Now that Shay was wearing the device, she could relax a little. A small smile came out.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Ratchet drawled absently. Putting the equipment and scanner away in the drawers beneath the berth, he continued in a distracted way. "It's usually quite easy but the different yellow and greens get confusing."
"Right then." Critical blue optics studied her up and down as if he could spot a threat lurking beneath skin and flesh, "Anything feel off? Pain, dizziness or headache?"
The woman shook her head. "No. None of that. I'm not nauseous either."
"Hrmph. In that case, you're all set for now. Don't take it off, it's waterproof so showers aren't an issue, and if something changes come find me. Especially if you feel any pain. Do not forget checkups thrice a day. Understand?"
Shay nodded as he helped her down to the floor, "I believe the Twins will be back from patrol and heading to the rec room for their rations soon. You three are planning to leave the Ark?" The medbot frowned and Shay grimaced but didn't turn her eyes away.
"We cleared it with Prowl. We're going to the beach since it is so warm out. You did tell me to relax." She turned up to him, hands on her hips. Authority wise, the ambulance could make her stay here, even though Prowl had readily agreed with the request for a half a day out. It had actually been suspiciously easy to get the Tactician to say yes. Shay had a funny feeling that only going outside for patrol close to base was driving the lambos crazy and they were stirring up trouble when no one was looking just for lack of anything else to do. Maybe they had cabin fever. Or it was payback. Hard to tell.
Ratchet grumbled moodily but relented, "Don't drown."
Giving him a dark look that was missed, Shay turned toward the door, "You are as bad as Wheeljack with the 'Don't get sick.'" It was a dry complaint with no real heat. She caught a yell as she stepped through the entrance.
"Don't get sick either!"
Growling, the woman rubbed her eyes and tried to resist the temptation to reply with something truly rude. The glint of the silvery metal on her arm caught her eye instead. Pausing for a second, Shay turned around to call back.
"Thank you Ratchet."
He paused, footsteps halting for a brief moment, before the bot stepped into his office and closed the door. No verbal response to Shay's gratitude but that was alright. The corners of her eyes tightening, she showed a sad smile to the empty air before leaving the medbay. There was a beach calling her name after all.
Well, it was more like Sideswipe was down the hall calling her name in that annoying sing-song manner but same difference.
The drive to the coast was fun. Going through town took a bit due to traffic and having to follow the speed limit but eventually they were out on the long winding back roads where there either wasn't a posted speed limit or the signs had long since been lost to the tangle growth of weeds on the wayside. Not having a chance to really run around for days left a lot of pent up energy that the lambos used to race each other. As soon as they got away from society, Sunstreaker let loose an engine roar and tore ahead. With a whoop, his brother chased after. In Sideswipe's driver seat, Shay yelled encouragement and warning whenever a sharp curve was spotted ahead.
They undoubtedly already knew every single crack in these roads and having far better eye-sight, could see the U-turns before her. But it was still fun and the woman couldn't help the laughter and yelps when they drifted into slides before straightening. When she was driving, she followed the law to the letter. But if the lambos were giving her a ride, Shay just sat back to enjoy it.
Too bad they didn't have far to go. All too soon the mechs let up on the gas to glide down the asphalt. A light tap on the brakes as the streaks of gold and red cut between some large boulders and turned onto a dirt path. Through Sideswipe's radio Sunstreaker's voice could be heard muttering about grit in his undercarriage.
"Hold on," Her ride gave a cheerfully late warning as Shay's head nearly bumped into his ceiling. "It's a little rough."
"I noticed." It was a good thing the human was wearing a seat belt.
Thankfully, the path opened up after a minute. Rock walls folded away to reveal a glittering stretch of sand. Pale brown interwove with strands of darker brown and a few layers of dulled yellow that covered the ground in ribbons. Beyond that... water.
Water as far as she could see and most likely as far as the Twins could see as well.
Dark blue with a greenish tinge in the waves stretched on and on and on. Bleached crests were visible in the roiling mass farther out but movement slowed nearer to the beach where the liquid slid up to dampen the ground in lazy movements. A light wind tugged at her unbound hair and brought a sting of salt and water into her nostrils. It was like nothing she'd ever seen. Without even realizing it, the woman had gotten out and was standing barefoot in the hot sand. She didn't even turn her head when the bots transformed. Sunstreaker pulled out a datapad to snap a picture for later while the carnelian and black giant standing over her laughed.
"You really haven't seen the ocean before."
She muttered 'no' and shook her head dumbly. The horizon seemed to melt into that infinitely tiny line way out there. It just stretched on forever. Before, the biggest mass of water she'd seen was lakes where the shore was still visible on the other side. This completely outclassed them. A feeling of being very very small eased up but it was not uncomfortable. Just a fact of life.
Finally, face still turned toward the foam-capped waves, Shay mumbled, "It reminds me of the sky a little. It's so big and ….. just goes on."
"The sand is irritating."
Shay looked away from the oscillating expanse and tilted her head at the vain mech. He was staring moodily at the dunes. "You didn't want to come?"
Sunstreaker glanced over and surprisingly, smiled. It lit up his face, chasing away the shadows in the corners. She'd had no idea he could radiate joy like that. "Have you ever seen the sun on water in early morning or evening?" A negative head shake.
"It's worth it. We'll see the sunset later."
"Milady!" Sideswipe bowed as the woman frowned at him. She thought he'd forgotten that old English teasing. "Welcome to Autobot Beach! Best spot to see the Pacific Ocean on the west coast! Except for down in Mexico because they have palm trees." He spread his arms with a flourish like a circus master showing off the main act before winking at her.
An eye roll. "Autobot Beach, huh? I wasn't aware you guys had your own beach."
"Well Windcharger found it. It was Windcharger, right?" Sides looked over at his twin for confirmation and got a nod. "So he found it and the rest of us come here all the time."
"Hound set up a hologram projector that hides the path so we can relax by ourselves when we're here." Sunny added, already walking toward a flat spot where large amounts of crab grass were encroached on the sand's territory. Sideswipe nodded and strolled back through the rock cliffs.
"Better go do that. Be right back."
Shay waved and turned back to the water. She really wanted to go down there. The water wasn't moving very fast and the waves seemed gentle. No big crashes or anything. But not knowing how to swim made her cautious.
Instead, the human called over to Sunstreaker, "Are there shells around here?"
"Yes." He paused as he sat down, leaning back to lie on the grass. "Some of the others come searching but Beachcomber makes sure most get put back. Something about homes for some sort of animal." The bot shut off his optics and Shay was reluctant to bother him again. To judge by the lazy feelings coming off, Sunny was enjoying the heat.
Allowing her shoulders to loosen, she tried to relax as well. Sunlight scorched her skin, as much as it could since she remained in a loose tee-shirt and shorts made from cut-off jeans. Listening to the far cries and screeches of sea gulls, Shay learned that walking across the dunes was proving to be difficult. The sand wasn't burning her feet but remained uncomfortably warm. It was best to move quickly.
Stopping in a tiny bit of shade cast by a small hill, she scoured for shells. Remembering that they needed to stay at the beach, Shay merely memorized the shapes and patterns of the tiny structures before setting them back. Tiny homes indeed.
Sideswipe came back and pulled a shovel out, going down near the water. "Hey! Bring me any cool stones and shells!" He called out a request. "I'm gonna put them on my awesome sand castle."
Giving a thumbs up, Shay smiled and continued walking. Only to scowl at a crushed can that caught her attention as she strolled near Sunny. It was sticking halfway out of the dirt and shining innocently among the sand grains. Shay picked up the trash with a sigh. Not thinking about it, she spoke aloud.
"Humans are reckless and strange creatures, too foolish for our own good..." She looked up to see Sunstreaker open one optic to stare at her in puzzlement. "Yes, I am including myself in that."
A snort, "I'd hope so. Give it to Sides, he can use it."
She didn't know why the red mech would want a dented can with the other acquisitions but if Sunstreaker said he would, she'd go with it. Besides the one piece of litter, the beach was mercilessly free of any other trash. Bits of drift wood, dried kelp and sea-smoothed stones were the only debris to be seen. It was nice.
"Treasure!" Sideswipe cried happily when Shay climbed down to the shoreline to show him what she'd found.
The sand was cooler here, still slightly damp just under the top layer. "You are such a child."
"Always babe, always."
He winked and spread the finds out so they could examine them. The bot did indeed have a use for the tin can. Squishing it into a metal disc, he placed it carefully into the lower part of the tower that stood as high as her head. He seemed quite happy with the plunder.
Up went the walls, wet sand smoothed and packed tight until the sloppy castle came up to the frontliner's shoulder when he sat on his knees. Shay arranged flatter stones in an up-down pattern on the outside as Sides showed her how to put windows in without causing cracks.
It was asymmetrical with one side sloping a tiny bit and sea shells patted in helter-skelter. She was fairly certain she didn't want to know where he procured the little red flag that was stuck in the wall. Scooping a chunk of sand from the top, Sideswipe smoothed out the area.
"There, you can sit on top." Immediately shaking her head at his infectious grin, Shay backed away a step.
"Nope. No way. I am not sitting on that."
"But it has a seat. It can hold you." He tried to reason with the smile widening as her disagreement became apparent.
"No." Chuckling, he let the subject drop.
The sand castle did not look good at all but Shay still liked it, even if she didn't trust it enough to actually stand or sit on it. There was still character in there. At least Sideswipe seemed to agree.
Sunstreaker did not. The sunbathing frontliner came over, grumbled something offensive about their tower, and sat down a few feet way. "That is not how you make a sand castle. This is how you do it. There has to be more water."
"I suppose you can do everything better then?" Sideswipe huffed as his twin started to make his own structure. Not looking up, Sunny replied with flat sarcasm.
"Everything except being a moron. You do that excellently."
Scooping up a handful of damp sand, Mischief hurled it at the gold one with unerring accuracy. The fine dirt smacked him in the face. Sunstreaker squawked an offended 'Hey!' and leaped up to tackle his twin. In seconds, both sandcastles were flattened and the two bots were wrestling. Moving back out of the way, the human snickered in amusement and muttered 'brothers' under her breath. Water crashed gently behind her, only a foot or two away. Hesitantly, she dipped her toes in.
And jumped back instantly. The water was cold.
Managing to pin the yellow lambo down, Sideswipe crowed victory until Sunstreaker rolled and tossed him off. Shay cheered him on. The red lambo dodged a grab and then pouted at her. "Whose side are you on?"
She laughed, "Both. Watch the leg." She tried to warn as Sunny lashed out with a kick that clipped his brother in the shoulder. They went down in a tangle of limbs. Metal clanged and scraped as Sunstreaker got the other one in a headlock. He snarled at her, optic ridges down and glaring. "Pick a side!"
"Make me!"
Her laughter died as the Twins froze. Optics flickered briefly before the bots untangled and stood, shifting into defensive positions. Their faces turned to the sky. Shay slowly edged closer to the nearest bot, Sunstreaker, and looked up as well. To the north, tiny specks were visible but not close enough to be defined.
"D-cons spotted flying over. Coneheads, Thundercracker, and Skywarp." Sideswipe murmured by way of explanation, staring warily as the specks grew bigger. They didn't seem to be heading for the Autobots, only flying by at an incredibly fast rate towards the open ocean. Distant plane engines and turbines buzzed just above the sound of moving water. "Maybe we should move closer to the cliffs."
Agreeing, Sunstreaker sidled across the dunes toward the rocks, Shay at his heels. They didn't run. Running showed you were prey.
By now, the human's eyes could pick out individual shapes. Five jets in a hexagon position. All dark colors but it was impossible to tell what those colors were. And then the one on the front left disappeared. Shay blinked in confusion, wondering what the heck just happened.
"Ah sla-," Sideswipe didn't get to finish.
A sharp crack.
Rushing air. Huge, purple, and black right next to her. Dejavu. That looked familiar. How did something get so close without her noticing?
Hard and pointed metal constricted her ribcage and yanked, bare feet leaving the ground. Colors blurred. Her head buzzed and there wasn't enough time to even shout. Another strange clap of what may have been thunder but was much too high pitched.
No time to question what was going on either, before it let go and she fell.
Air rushed up, pushing her limbs behind her. A brief glimpse of land some distance away as everything spun around and around. Dark swells below. Or were they above? The watery mass seemed to reach out to swallow her, although logically Shay knew that she had to be the one moving. Her mouth clamped shut a second before she reached the ocean.
Crash.
Pain.
Cold.
Shock hit. Her mind stopped telling her to do something. Shay felt gravity pulling her downward, arms lifting above her head as she sank.
On instinct, eyes opened. It stung, but numbness made her unresponsive to the mild pain. Sight showed darkness.
Murky blue as far as she could see. The upper part of her vision was lighter, and if she lifted her head she would've seen the sun. But Shay's body wasn't reacting to the signals her brain sent out.
Watery darkness that went on forever. There was nothing to see. Heavy and cold empty space without end. The whole world had become nothing more than a vast and watery void. The woman drifted down, farther into the murk.
Her body started to scream for the need of air. Too late the human remembered she couldn't breath underwater.
Burning pain stabbed into nostrils and down her esophagus when she tried to draw in oxygen. Shock wearing off, her limbs thrashed. Arms flailed while legs kicked but Shay wasn't getting any higher. Her lungs tried to hack out the water that had gotten in but to do so would just bring in more ocean. Panic. She was drowning.
'I don't want to die.'
A quiet and distant thought from the small part of her mind that was hanging back. It watched the scene with weary sadness. No help from there.
A muffled 'whumph' from above. Currents and displaced water shoved her farther down as something big landed in the ocean. The large mass blocked out the sunlit rays for a second and then sank. Down, to her level and then just past. Dulling eyes stared uncomprehending at the blurred shape in the abyss.
CALM
The wave of forced emotion washed through her without resistance, stilling her body as a black hand reached out. Fingers grasped snugly against her middle. Pulling her close, the giant surged upward.
Lungs burned, grasping for air when there was none available. Her mouth was going to open without any control soon, body taking over what her mind said was a bad idea. Lack of oxygen had the edges of the human's vision turning dark. Weight pressed own on them both as they struggled against liquid resistance. They breached surface just as Shay tried to breath again.
Gasping in water and air, the woman choked and coughed. Wet hacking noises almost but not quite drowning out the sound of waves below. Tear streaming down her face, she turned enough to see Sideswipe's blurry form cradling her to his chest. They hovered several feet above even the highest swells with his jet pack giving off a steady hum in the background.
"Shay?! You're okay, right?" A weak nod as the human tried to answer but only managed to spit out more seawater. "Hold tight."
Large servos shifted her so she stayed vertical as he angled toward the beach. Still trying to catch her breath, Shay hid her face in his armor. The shivering started almost immediately. Sides slowed and landed gently in a crouch a good distance from the water. As soon as she was set on the ground, the human turned away and puked.
Worry. Anger. Concern. Furyfuryfury...
Water came out. And some more. As she hacked, a hand soothingly rubbed her back. Another splash burbled past her lips to stain the sand. It just made her salt-sore throat all the worse.
Internally, the human snarled. How much water could one body hold?!
When it seemed like she'd finally finished, Sunstreaker looked at the spot were she'd purged with disgust. His voice dipped into a low note with ill-concealed anger. "That is gross."
No warning and he carefully picked her up to move to a cleaner spot higher up the beach. The bot pulled out a towel and let her wrap up her soaked self. Even then, she couldn't stop shivering and tears still slid out of pink eyes. Shay rubbed them and her vision cleared slightly but the sting hurt.
Sideswipe stayed down where he was. Continuing to stare out at the horizon, he hadn't acknowledged Sunstreaker or Shay moving. After a moment of wrestling the seething emotions down to something manageable, the frontliner slowly stood before coming over. Salt was drying on his armor and it made joints creak just slightly as he sat down next to her.
Exhausted and cold, Shay showed no reaction other than to nod at him. Her body felt like it weighed too much and any other movement for the moment was more than she could handle. The wet denim of her shorts stuck uncomfortably to her skin while the tee-shirt showed exactly how skinny she really was. It was cold and wet and absolutely miserable. Silence stole over the three of them while water droplets dripped off plating and sopping hair to patter onto dry sand. Sunstreaker sat down as well and started dragging his servos through the ground, furrowing miniature trenches.
Looking over at the red bot, she could see rage swirling within the indigo depths of his optics. When she tried to turn to Sunny, the lambo jerked away and stood. It was too bad a large rock was close by. With a vicious kick, it was sent flying in the direction of the water that had almost killed her.
Musing over the fuming riot of emotions, the woman studied the now empty sky. The jets were long gone. A deep breath and then she started swearing.
Acidic derogatory remarks on one's parentage, along with plain cuss words and threats on a particular Con's person got louder and louder until Shay was yelling at the atmosphere. Who cared if her throat felt like it was on fire? Verbally shredding someone's name was more important right then. When she ran out of words in English, the woman spat out the few she knew in German before switching to Twinspeak for some more colorful and creative remarks. She couldn't say everything she wanted. Some really high keens and whistles as well as subsonic rumbles were just not possible to create with a human throat.
But she got the point across. Partway through, Sunstreaker sat back down and tossed in a few of his own scathing insults. They started to take turns. Sideswipe leaned forward on his knees and made a choking noise.
It changed to shaking and laughter. Shay's vitriolic rant stopped as she turned to glare at him. The human quietly asked a question in a terrifyingly calm tone.
"Are you laughing at me?"
Giggling, the mech sat up to look at her with a rictus grin, "N-no. Just imagining Skywarp's face if he heard you calling him a 'hyper active sugar-rushed hamster with wings'. I'm gonna kill him the next time I see him."
He flopped backward and started to cackle, arms wrapped around his middle as he shook. Sunstreaker vented angry amusement, their furious and worried emotions bleeding away. Neither of the lambos was going to let things go but it could be saved for later. Still mutilating the beach, the tawny mech glanced at her.
"Not bad. We'll teach you some better curses though..." He trailed off before gently poking the sides of the towel as his brother tried to laugh away the anger. "Are you really okay? Organics are fragile."
Shay grumbled, still shivering a tiny bit. "I'm breathing. Why didn't he kill me since he had the chance?"
Chuckles slowing and fading, Sideswipe gasped out, "It's Skywarp." He stated as if that explained everything. "Who knows, the seekers are completely crazy. Especially that one."
"It could have been boredom that brought him down here. Or he did it to get at us." Sunstreaker stated, armor flared out more so than normal. "You're lucky he wasn't actually trying to kill you. He won't get another chance."
A small grin as she rubbed the metal band on her wrist. Even with the dip in the ocean, the cuff was warm. It was a good thing it was waterproof. Looking up at the two bots, Shay rubbed her arms.
"Thank you."
Sunstreaker merely nodded in response, still mildly tense while Sides smiled in return. "You're still alive. Let's keep it that way, shall we? Wanna go see the tidal pools?"
The mech was right. There was no point in letting the Decepticons ruin their break to the beach. They still had the rest of the day for exploring and fun. Why should they waste it sulking? Besides, the Twins would keep her from falling in.
"Alright."
Hours later in the evening, the tree climbed up the rock cliffs and sat to watch the sun sink into the horizon. The red-orange-pinks of the clouds reflected in the water, mirroring the sunset. It was hard to see where the ocean ended and sky began. Waves turned to liquid fire, radiance dancing in the crests.
Despite almost drowning, it was completely worth it.
"This is terribly catastrophically genius!" Wheeljack exclaimed, pointing to the information on the screen. Despite the serious nature of their subject, the inventor was excited.
Unamused, Prowl put his hands on his hips. "I only approve of genius when it is not terrible. Are you certain it is catastrophic?"
"Well... that might be a mild exaggeration." The Lancia thought about it for a moment, audios flashing a dark navy blue, "But yeah, it's actually kinda bad."
Jazz strolled into the lab with Blaster right behind him. Giving a weary grin, the mech hopped up onto an empty spot on a work table. "How bad we talkin'? The 'we're low on energon' kind or the ' Dinobot's are rampagin'/ we're slagged' kind of bad? 'Cause I really wanna grab some recharge righta 'bout now."
"Um... closer to the latter, I think."
Blaster groaned at that admission as Prowl gave Jazz a look. One raised optic ridge was answered by a pout as sad as drooping sunflowers. The porsche finally shrugged and muttered, "Aw come on man, Ahm tired."
The sight of Prime and Ironhide halted what could have been the start of a good-natured argument. Perceptor, over by one of the Teletran terminals, looked up from the scientific gibberish and turned to Red Alert next to him. "Are we all here then?"
"Yes," Optimus answered as Red nodded, "Jazz, Blaster; I am glad you and the others are back safe. I trust the information you sent ahead was important?"
"You betcha Boss mech." Grabbing an empty stool, Blaster flopped into it. If they were in Wheeljack's half of the laboratory, there would've been many fidgeting and standing people trying to stay as far away as possible from any projects. As it were, that terrifying cluttered space was partially visible several yards away behind blast doors that marked his area from the other scientist's. But since they were not over there and Perceptor was very good about keeping dangerous things put away, the bots could relax without fear of detonating anything.
Prime looked at Wheeljack and Perceptor, "And what have you found?"
"Right, so like I was telling Prowl: really bad but complete genius." The red and green striped mech pulled up schematics and what looked to be chemical equations on screen. "Some of it is just the Constructicon's generator."
Perceptor jumped into the conversation, "A brilliant design by the way. Even Hoist and Grapple agree with that. Incredibly efficient but the machine is still only a high-energy wave coded generator."
"Mirage got some data files." Jazz tapped his hip thoughtfully, "They didn't look anything like that generator."
"Yeah, that's the problem part." 'Jack sighed as the microscope-former enlarged one particular equation.
"Those are Starscream's notes. Although they are incomplete, we have been able to infer what they are alluding too." Waving for the others to gather closer, Perceptor flipped through image captures of the same silvery mist the special ops mechs had seen. Blaster rolled his stool over, peering at the picture as everyone else leaned closer. Except Jazz. He stayed on the table, already knowing what the toxin looked like. The mech favored the terminal with a nasty look before smoothing his features. Perceptor continued, "This 'toxin' isn't really a toxin, although an apt name for something so deadly. I believed it to be an air-borne virus as first but I have found my initial hypothesis incorrect."
"It's not alive, is it?" Jazz tried to joke but his unease was apparent.
Red Alert jerked and shrieked, "What?! Alive?!" Visions of the lethal mist slithering through the Arks vents and destroying the Autobots with no way to stop it plagued the security director. It was ten times worse if the horrendous thing was alive! Ironhide lay a hand on a his shoulder pad.
"Easy Red. Ahm sure it ain' alive."
"No no!" Wheeljack shook his helm rapidly, waving his hands back and forth, "It's definitely not alive."
A collective sigh of relief went out as Perceptor tried to explain. "It is merely a semi-gaseous compilation of a chemical mixture. The generator acts as a catalyst to charge the compound and make it unstable. The chemical mist is released and it moves toward anything that gives off the right energy wave-lengths to make it stable again. That just happens to be spark energy."
Blank stares. The maroon and teal bot smiled gently, used to having to simplify things, "It is a compound mist that seeks out spark energy to make itself stable. Nothing more than a dangerous chemical reaction."
"Yeah, so scientifically it's genius, but for us it's pretty bad." Sliding a bench out from under the console, Wheeljack sat down as well. "My only question is where he got all the orpiment."
"Orpiment? I am not familiar with that term." Prowl stated.
Percy brought up another image, this one of a cluster of golden-orange crystals, "A semi-precious mineral that when melted down makes this 'toxin' stable enough to last longer than a few seconds. Without it, the chemical reaction wouldn't occur at all. And I as well am wondering how he managed to acquire the large amount required for this formula."
"Hrmm," A rumble from Ironhide as he crossed his arms, "Weren't they diggin' holes in Peru?"
"Is orpiment found in that county?" Optimus inquired. Quickly searching through the web, Wheeljack nodded.
Jazz clapped his servos together and smiled, "Okay, one mystery solved. We know why they were in Peru. Next mystery to solve- how the slaggin' Pit do we handle this?"
Twitching nervously, Red Alert piped up, "We don't have any way to keep that 'toxin' from snuffing our sparks! Our armor can't clamp down entirely to seal out gasses because we'll overheat."
Rubbing his forehelm, the Autobot leader sighed. "We know. Perceptor, Wheeljack; do either of you have a way to counteract this mist?"
Shuffling feet and Wheeljack rubbed the back of his helm, "Uhm, not quite. It might take us awhile. But right now, best option is looking for a way to defuse and break down it's molecular structure. Can we have permission to bring Skyfire in on this?"
"Oh yes. His expertise would definitely be useful." Perceptor chimed in, looking hopefully at the officers.
"Permission granted."
The inventor beamed and then seemed to remember something, "Oh! And there is one more thing. The molecular density and mass of the toxin make it pretty heavy. It shouldn't be able to rise more than several inches off the ground."
"Thank you." Prime nodded as Perceptor turned to Wheeljack with a question.
"Where is Skyfire?"
'Jack snapped his fingers and stood, "Front yard garden."
While those two stepped out to go find their comrade, Optimus looked down at Prowl confused. "Why is it called the front yard if we don't even have a backyard? Shouldn't it just be 'the yard'?"
"Don't ask." Prowl muttered, trying to ignore the snickering that came from Blaster and Jazz as his battle computer ran through scenarios. He raised his voice to a normal level. "We are at a tactical disadvantage with mostly ground forces. But that can be worked around."
That did not pacify Red Alert at all. If anything the whole conversation had him tenser than a wet cat, "But how do we keep that stuff out while they work on a counter-measure? I can lock the vents but self-sustained atmosphere can only last so long since half the ship in now mountain rock. And no one would be able to get in or out." No matter how good a reason was given, no one ever let him fully lock down the Ark. Even though everyone was safer that way.
"We'll blast that there generator as soon as it gets near ahr base." Transformation cogs whirling, Ironhide brandished his hydrocannons to make a point. Optimus gave him a look, very similar to the one Prowl had mastered, and the big guns went away.
"They would need to leave their hideout first," Jazz mused, "Ah've had Cosmos watchin' since we left it but no one's gone out yet."
A drooped door-wing flick came from the Praxian, "The likelihood of an underground exit is ninety-three point four percent. And the Constructicons can most likely disassemble the generator to move it more easily."
"Ah know," Jazz grumbled, still unhappy about not leaving any lasting damage on it.
"Why not send the Aerials?" Blaster asked, spinning back and forth slowly on his stool. The Prime nodded thoughtfully. It was a good idea. Fliers could get off the ground quickly if faced with the 'toxin' and Cosmos wouldn't be the only one watching the area. Prowl brought up another point.
"Even if the likelihood of the laboratory being abandoned is high, we must still check just to be certain."
Optimus agreed, "It is settled then. Ironhide and Prowl, pull together a team to investigate the lab. We'll leave in an hour. Send the Aerialbots as backup right away. Blaster and Jazz, why don't the two of you get some recharge? Make sure Bumblebee and Mirage do as well. You are all off shift." The visored TIC gave a lazy two-fingered salute before hopping down and dramatically flopping against Blaster. Grunting at the sudden weight, the cassette carrier chuckled and pulled them both up.
"Come on mech, lets go round 'em up."
As everyone filed out of the lab, Red Alert fell into step with Optimus, "I don't like this."
"Neither do I, but there is little we can do at the moment except prepare and hope we're ready," admitted the blue and red bot.
The calm reply was met with a scowl. Anything that threatened the safety of the Ark's residents put the security mech's circuits in a twist. He gave off a low rumble and flattened his armor. "I'm going to inform Ratchet of this. He needs to know what is going on."
Prime smiled, although it couldn't be seen, and tilted his helm down at the shorter mech as they moved through the halls. "I would appreciate that. Thanks."
Nodding and stalking away, Red Alert muttered to himself, "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."
Two days and the device was starting to do it's job. As soon as Shay admitted she was feeling off, the Twins rushed her to the medbay.
The medics said everything was good. Tiredness was normal since her body was changing. And there was no pain. She swore up and down to them that there were no headaches and numbness. Her temperature wasn't fluctuating and there were no signs that her internals were shutting down. It was working.
But when they were by themselves and Sideswipe pressed for exactly how she was feeling, Shay described it as the sensation of unraveling. It only made the frontliners uneasy.
"Heads Up!"
A bellow down the hall had everyone pressing to the walls as Powerglide zipped by. While he flew past in his altmode, a small red porsche zipped around the curve spewing curses. Cliffjumper transformed to pull out a very large gun and fired it at the retreating plane. "Get back here you cowardly two-timing glitch!"
"I told you I didn't do it!" The minibot yelled back, neatly spinning to dodge the friendly fire.
His wings nearly scraped the wall and Sunstreaker cursed loudly as he was forced to duck. Very glad she was small and near the floor, Shay stayed flat against the wall and watched as the two red bots continued down the corridor. There was only a second of silence as Beachcomber, Groove and the Twins traded looks before sirens echoed down the hall. Following the rampaging minibots, Prowl burst around the corner and drove past. An alert came over the speakers.
'Powerglide and Cliffjumper. Desist immediately. No altmodes in the halls. Cliffjumper, you are not allowed to shoot comrades.'
"Isn't Prowl breaking his own rules by driving down the halls?" Groove questioned mildly, a quirk on his lips. Sideswipe sighed in exaggerated sorrow, a hand over his spark.
"Unfortunately he's allowed if he's chasing criminals and rule breakers."
Shay looked up at him, "Like you?"
Everyone else laughed and moved on as if nothing had happened. Sideswipe chuckled before they continued away from the rec room. The human seemed to mull over something before speaking again. "Is it just me or has everyone been a little...ummm." She trailed off when she couldn't find the right word.
"Twitchy?" Sideswipe asked, taking care to make sure no one else was running down the halls at them. Not everyone looked before they drove and it would not be good for the woman to be run over. "Climbing the walls?"
"More insane than usual." A hum from Sunstreaker.
She nodded and waved as Rewind and Eject passed by, "Yes. No one seems to have any patience lately."
Venting a frustrated sigh, Sunstreaker scooped her up and out of the way as a herd of eager Dinobots ran past as well. Whether they were running because they wanted to see what all the excitement was about or whether they were doing it for the hell of it was impossible to tell. At least Swoop called out an 'excuse me!' as they went past. The bot carrying her explained, "The Decepticons apparently have some sort of nasty weapon that the nerds are trying to do something about."
That made sense. Shay had wondered why she hadn't seen Wheeljack around lately. The human stayed quiet as Sideswipe picked up where his brother had stopped. "And the Cons are really quiet. They haven't attacked any power plants or anything else in nearly a week. So everybody's on edge."
Calm. Don't worry.
He send over a reassurance as Shay's mouth turned down in a frown but the emotions didn't seem to affect her. Normally the human at least looked over at them and smiled a little when they purposefully sent her things. Now she didn't even a blink. Confused, Sideswipe tried again with more push.
Nothing happened. Shay was still looking down the hall and apparently lost in thought.
Irked and more than a little concerned, the lambo tried again with a massive push and not a little bit of desperation. Sunstreaker jerked, obviously having felt the heavy rush of emotions. Finally, Shay looked over at him but instead of a smile the human seemed confused.
"Sideswipe? Was that you?"
The feeling of wrongness plagued him even worse as he faked a crooked grin, "Yeah. I tried more than once. Did you get that?" Cool attitude. No internal freaking out. Nothing to see here folks.
A slightly guilty wince. It wouldn't have been noticed if they hadn't paid attention to her eyes. Their human rarely ever grimaced, but the corners of her eyes tightened with different moods. She offered a water smile as an apology. "Sorry Sides. I wasn't paying attention."
Nothing more was said as they continued walking but Sunstreaker caught his twin's optic and they shared an anxious glance. Even if she had been inattentive, Shay should still have been able to pick up on their emotions. Especially since they were right next to each other. Sunny was carrying her for Primus sake! Ahead, the hallway split in two. One led to the Autobot quarters and the other short hall to the human guest rooms.
"Need for Speed? You can pick the tracks." Sideswipe wheedled, tossing in the puppy optics for good measure. Video games and food had quickly become bargaining materials for them. Although the woman always preferred the latter. With the shaking of her head, the frontliner could feel his and his twin's hope sinking.
"I'm really tired." Lips thinned as Sunstreaker looked away and Sides couldn't hide the disappointment fast enough, "I'm sorry. Really guys..."
"Get some sleep."
Sunny set her down with a push toward where they could see her door. Easily seeing they were still not happy, the human set a hand on Sideswipe's leg. "Tomorrow," she promised.
"Tomorrow. Night Shay." Sideswipe smiled and ruffled her hair as she said 'Good Night' back and turned toward her room. As soon as the small door closed, his smile dropped.
He was not happy at all.
Ignoring the inquiring ping from his twin through their bond, he stalked off. Normally, it was Sunstreaker who stomped through the halls. Not this time.
The few bots who were about moved out of the way quickly, unused to seeing the social frontliner in such a bad mood. An expression as dark as thunderstorms had everyone keeping their optics down and sticking to the edges of the corridor. Sunstreaker trailed behind silently. Entering their own quarters, Sideswipe snarled and yanked the bedding from his berth. They weren't necessary for Cybertronians but they were soft and the bots liked them. Pillows and sheer metal-fiber blankets were kicked into the corner, soon followed by the large cushions from the couch.
When he started taking the padding from the upper bunk, Sunstreaker growled a warning. He did not like people touching his stuff. Armor flared in response, but otherwise the red mech ignored him and hurled everything into a pile.
Falling down onto it, Sideswipe pressed his face into the pillow and screamed.
Fabric muffled the roar but the pain was still easy to hear. The frontliner was furious and anguished and they could do nothing. He didn't move when his brother set a thermal blanket across his backplates and lay down as well.
"Humans don't live long anyway Sides. It doesn't matter because she'll be gone before you know it." Sunstreaker murmured, staring at his brother's forlorn posture.
It wasn't taken so well, "Don't you CARE?!"
He immediately regretted it when Sunny flinched and stared back quietly. Apology flowing through the bond, Sideswipe hid his face in the blankets. Of course Sunstreaker cared. He cared and it hurt like the Pit but he wouldn't say it because they were frontliners. Warriors who mastered the art of letting things go because they went out into suicidal combat not expecting to come back. Sure, here on Earth things had cooled a bit. There just wasn't enough people for really big battles.
But it didn't erase the mentality. Frontliner's learned quickly not to hold onto things because sooner or later it got taken away or they themselves died. The only thing Sunstreaker would never let go of was his twin.
Tired cerulean optics shuttered before opening again. He leaned over and placed one gleaming yellow servo on his brother's shoulder, drawing him closer. Sideswipe limply leaned on the other mech and looked into empty space. Where all the certainties of the future floated in the dust-moat air.
Two hallways down, Shay rolled in her sleep and muttered nonsense. The woman suddenly jerked upright in startlement, choking on a sob as she took in her room and realized she'd only been dreaming. How long had she been out?
A glance at the cell phone showed only an hour had passed.
Sitting up, the young adult couldn't help but remember the terribly lonely feeling in her unconsciousness. It clung even as sleep tired feet clumsily scrambled out of bed and took her out the door. She ran down the hall, tugging at her nightshirt in worry. Over and over she told herself that they were alright, she would have known if something had happened. But that didn't stop Shay from going to check on them.
Quietly, she opened their door by jumping up to hit the keypad and brushed her tangled hair back to peer inside. Both the twins, fully alive and well were resting on a makeshift bed of pillows and thick blankets piled upon the floor by the wall. The light was now off and the room dark. Finally relaxing, the woman eased back to avoid waking them in the case that they were in recharge.
Someone else had other ideas, "Shay?" Sideswipe lifted his helm from his brother's chest to stare at her and she realized they'd been awake.
"Sorry sorry," Shay murmured, blue-gray eyes exhausted, "Just making sure you were okay, don't mean to bother, good night."
The woman prattled it off in a rush but the frontliner halted her, half standing with an outstretched arm, "Wait! You can come in." Her lips pursed in thought for a few precious seconds before she stalked barefoot across the cold metal floor to their fluffy mountain. The bot scooped her up easily and deposited her between himself and his brother, who was flopped over a particularly large silver colored pillow. Sunstreaker glanced at her with an odd look that she'd never seen on his face before. If Shay had seen it on anyone else she would have believed it to be sorrow, the old and tired expression of ancient stones and worn shores on mist-laden mornings.
"You guys are alright?" the woman whispered, not daring to disturb the quiet.
Sideswipe pulled her closer with a warm metal arm. "We're fine. Why are you upset Shay?"
A pause before she looked away from them and almost ashamedly admitted, "Just a nightmare. Nothing serious."
The three lay in silence for awhile, each to their own desperate thoughts before Sideswipe asked what got close to the root of the conversation, all in a simple sentence, "Do you think... do you think that maybe everybody goes to the Well of Allsparks? Not just Cybertronians?" Sunstreaker inhaled a sharp breath and winced, trying to find the right way to answer. Shay slumped, understanding what had caused her bad dreams. Pain, bitter joyful grief, and hundreds of lovely emotions cried out inside as she struggled not to let those flutterings bring tears to her eyes.
"Sides... I don't think that's how it works," The golden twin tried to put as delicately as he could. Only for his brother. He would only hesitate and worry like this over his words when it came to his brother.
A slim but work roughened hand slid over to grasp metal digits as they lay against the makeshift berth, "You know something? I never really cared for religion much. I figured I'd find out which one's right when I get there. But I'm promising you right now that I'll ask and bug and natter at whoever's in charge of human souls so that I can come visit you in the Well."
"You can be really annoying when you want to be," Sunstreaker admitted with half humor and half irritation, faint blue optics glowing softly in the dark.
She looked up at him in the dim light and glanced over at Sideswipe with crinkled eyes and a soft smile, "And would you guys bother Primus enough to convince him to let me come see you?"
"Of course!" the red bot jerked up to exclaim, slightly louder than their hushed tones. With an amused huff, the golden frontliner grumbled quietly, "If we can piss off everyone in this base, we can annoy a god too." The three chuckled quietly to themselves before Shay spoke again, relaxing back onto the soft cloth and feeling sleepy.
"And just think boys, you'll get to see all the people already there and we'll talk about all the stupid things you did in life." A laugh and snort from the two as the woman continued, "But I'll find you guys."
"In the next life, each and every single time? You'd have to be pretty stubborn to do that." whispered Sideswipe, scooting closer and wiggling down into the cushions and comforters. Shay couldn't see his face now, half buried in their pile.
The smile on her lips broadened, "Every single time. That's what family does."
A chuckle from Sideswipe, "We're a very weird family."
"Oh yes," the human agreed, "And that includes several other Autobots."
Her eyes drifted shut and then open as the carnelian bot pushed her closer to his twin before snuggling down right next to her, pulling them all together, "Would that mean we'd have to deal with Prowl in the next life too?"
"The medic would be the grandparent. Jazz is the awesome uncle. Ironhide is the scary uncle. Bumblebee and Blue are the younger brothers. Smokescreen is the relative whose not really related to you but teaches you poker." The golden bot stated lazily from his position.
"Yes Sides, and Ironhide would still shoot your afts when you act like idiots. Hey, would Optimus be the dad then?" Shay interrupted with her inquiry.
Sunstreaker lifted his helm, fins knocking a smaller pillow over, "Than whose the mom?"
Laughter and good natured arguments broke out as they discussed who would be who in their crazy non-traditional family. Until the Twin's voices and amusement faded into darkness and Shay's eyes flickered close in the unlit room. The woman fell into slumber with a promise on her mind and a smile on her lips. In the back of her mind, Shay could just barely hear wind and thunder in the distance.