Skids! It was Skids!
At that moment he didn't care if this was a dream or some kind of hallucination. All that mattered was giving that son of a glitch a hug.
Swerve scrambled to get out of his seat. He managed to get halfway out before red hot pain lit up his abdomen. He inhaled a sharp gasp. Frag- that hurts!
Swerve cursed under his breath. He really didn't have time to deal with his broken frame. Not when his dead best friend was right there! Swerve grit his denta together as his pedes wobbled from the strain of his own weight.
Swerve failed to keep his balance. His optics widened as he felt the hoverchair, the thing anchoring him, started to slip from under his servo. He failed trying to save himself from meeting the floor.
Oh, scrap! His optics widened in realization. Veer! Swerve gave up on trying to catch himself and instead shielded his creation from the incoming impact. Her frame was more important!
"SWERVE!"
Somebody flew forward just in time to catch the bartender. Swerve clung onto their sold, warm frame as he desperately tried to stand up. He vented out in frustration as his pedes kept clumsily slipping underneath him.
Swerve was thankful when he was carefully lowered to his knees on the floor. His cheeks burned. He couldn't believe he just floundered like some kind of torque turtle flipped on its back.
That couldn't have been any more embarrassing. Swerve let out a little laugh to save face, though even to his own audio receptors it sounded forced. He opened his mouth to make a joke about it only to fall flat as a single servo was placed on his shoulder.
Two sunshine optics, filled with concern, laid on him. The room felt unreal at that moment. The best way he could describe it was like his frame was two steps to the left while the rest of him stayed in place. He was starting to doubt reality, yet he could very much feel that servo on his shoulder. This wasn't a dream. Skids was really kneeling in front of him.
Swerve threw his free arm around the stupid and brilliant theoretican. He willed his tears not to fall as two arms wrapped around him and squeezed.
He hugged as tight as he could out of fear Skids would vanish right there. He shook in place pleading for that not to happen. Please, let this be real. His spark couldn't take losing anymore.
He was sick of waking up to an empty room anytime he dreamt that his amica was still here. Countless times his processor convinced him that Skids was alive. He was just waiting in the bar- Ready to smile at Swerve for any lame joke he made with that famous bright smile, the one that could charm the spark out of the worst cybertronians; the same smile Swerve missed seeing around his bar! A smile void of pity. One that brightened up the room- A totally Skid's smile.
"I missed you."
The hug tightened, "I miss you too buddy!"
Hearing that voice again made his optics tear up. He blinked away any moisture threatening to fall. Swerve decided to smile instead. That's what his best friend deserved.
He would gladly stay like this forever. Swerve and Skids. Skids and Swerve together again. The quest adventuring duo ready to take on the universe!
An unhappy beep pulled them out of the moment. Skids released the bartender from the embrace to peer down at the source of the noise. Skid's mouth hung open in surprise.
Veer, who had been squashed between their two frames, had her face scrunched up in a way that threatened tears. Swerve immediately started to apologize and whisper reassuring words to her. He was grateful she was a forgiving bitlet. She settled back into his arms after a kiss to her cheek.
Once she calmed down Swerve began to inspect every inch of her frame for damages. No dents or scratches but still- Swerve felt awful.
Instant guilt filled up his spark. She could have gotten hurt. All because he was clumsy and impatient.
He nuzzled the top of her helm to reassure himself she was fine. They both were. Skids saved them.
Veer, ever the attention lover, soaked up the affection. She snuggled her carrier back completely unaware of the scare she just gave him. Swerve sighed in relief. She was okay.
Skids quietly helped the bartender back to his feet. Swerve was thankful since he doubted he could do it on his own. Once back in the hoverchair Swerve noticed Skids staring at him. Then at the bundle in his arms.
"Is… that your sparkling?"
Swerve froze. That's right- Skids wouldn't have known.
He tried to figure out what to say.
Yes, that's his creation. Her name is Veer. She's actually named after you since- Well, you were dead. Surprise! Welcome back to the land of the living buddy.
Swerve instead blurted out, "Maybe."
He cringed. Maybe? Like Veer could be mistaken for anything else.
"Nah, Veer is actually a scraplet colony we decided to keep," Whirl chimed in.
"Whirl, don't call her a scraplet colony!" Swerve huffed out.
The helicopter wasn't done showing his aft. He slung an arm around Skid's shoulder, taking time to admire some of the pink confetti stuck in his seams, and pulled Skids close. He leaned over to his audio receptor.
"Finnnnne, the real secret is she's a clone of Blurr we created thanks to an engex mishap!" Whirl corrected.
That- was closer to the truth than Swerve felt comfortable admitting. His cheeks heated. He gave the ex-wrecker a warning glare, as if to tell him he'd be kicked off the sparkling sitting schedule if he kept it up. Whirl must have got the message because he crossed his servos like a bitlet who just got put in time out.
He felt a little bad. Only a little bit. Swerve knew that Whirl was just acting out because he was happy to see Skids. They all were. He just wished the ex-wrecker found a better outlet for it instead of being the drama.
"She does look a lot like Blurr.." Skids agreed.
Swerve bit the inside of his cheek. Yeah, she does. Everybody knew it. But, Swerve didn't want to confirm anything. Last thing they needed was to become the focus of the Lost Light's rumor mill again!
Maybe when they were in a more private setting Swerve could tell him the truth. It would be nice to share that secret with someone he really trusted. Skids would understand.
"Her name is Veer!" he blurted out to distract from that comment. "She's my creation- um. I'm sorry there's so much to go over. How are you here?"
That was the thing- his mind couldn't over the fact he was here. Like- really there! Asking about his creation. As if he hadn't been offline. Like he didn't sacrifice his life to save them. Swerve had seen his grey frame himself. But, here he was! Just standing there like nothing happened!
Swerve still wasn't convinced this wasn't a dream.
"That's a long and complicated story buddy. I can say the same to you and the rest of the crew. From my perspective- This ship is packed full of ghosts," Skids admitted with this pained look in his optics.
"That's why we came to get you. Everyone is gathering at the communication hub so both crews can compare notes. Be prepared to see a lot more friends we said goodbye to. There's a lot of ghosts," Rodimus added.
Skids nodded in agreement. "Yeah…And, I know plenty that are going to be excited to see you buddy."
That gave Swerve pause. He couldn't imagine a lot of bots happy to see him walking around. Swerve knew he wasn't to everyone's personal taste. He was loud, annoying, and sometimes a down right problem if bored.
Yet, the glint in Skid's optics told the truth. Swerve titled his helm trying to think of anyone that would want to see him… It was already a short list- shorter considering the Lost Light's mortality rate.
Unless… Rodimus did mention seeing old friends. Swerve visor brightens at that thought. Skid's was proof enough that something whacky was going on. Dead best friends don't just reappear out of nowhere…Right? Swerve could feel his spark flutter at the possibilities. Though he tried to squash it down so he wouldn't be disappointed. Skids' appearance was already a miracle. That sort of thing doesn't happen twice. Plus, The ship Skids was on was the Vis Vitalis. It could be Firestar's crew.
That still left him with questions. Swerve doubted he made an impression on anyone during Thunderclash's funeral party. Well, a good one at least. Swerve chewed the bottom of his lip as he tried to figure this out.
"Wow- okay. Getting night of the living dead vibes up in here- I'm assuming they all are normal and not the zombie eat your brain type of undead friends?" Swerve asked unsure.
They'd already dealt with an army of spark eaters. He didn't think punching them in the face could fix a zombie infection like it did with the previously mentioned army. Plus, he didn't want to punch Skids. Zombie or not.
"No, we aren't coming to get you Barbara. We all are fine like you are buddy," Skids said then paused to take in Swerve's ragged frame, "Well, almost. Won't lie- you're looking a bit rough. You alright?"
Was he alright? Skids was the one who's supposed to be dead! And this lovable idiot was asking about him!
A wave of different emotions hit him all at once. He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of his throat. Was it from the movie reference or the absurdity of it all? Swerve wasn't sure.
His chassis felt warm from the way his spark thudded against his casing. At the same time he felt like a fragile cube that was about to shatter. Skids had remembered movie night! Not just any movie night-That was the last film they watched together before the mutiny.
Part of him was elated. He never thought he'd hear Skids play along with him again! Conversations had felt a lot more lonely since his departure. It was like an important piece was missing.
Swerve covered his mouth to hide the way his lower lip wobbled. He refused to cry. Not when this was a happy moment. He just wasn't expecting that hearing Skid's worried voice to affect him so badly. He didn't think he'd ever hear it again.
Primus, he missed Skids.
Swerve swallowed back the sorrow. He didn't want to be sad right now. He just wanted to be in the moment.
"I um-" his voice cracked for a second.
Swerve cleared his intake, "Sorry, vocalizer glitched. This? It's fine- I'm fine!"
Skids didn't look convinced. His amica gestured to the healing weld marks, calling Swerve out on his boldface lie. Swerve forced an uneasy grin.
"It looks worse than it actually is. Ratchet is just being over dramatic-"
"We both know Ratchet isn't the type to be over dramatic. Swerve, stop trying to downplay this. Please- I just… want to make sure you're okay," Skids urged.
There was something in Skids' voice that caught Swerve off guard. It was…sort of desperate? Like he needed to know that he was fine. Swerve opened his mouth to pacify his worries but nothing came out.
Rodimus, not having any of it, decided to butt in before Swerve could reassure his amica. "Swerve here, is on berth/hoverchair rest till his welds heal. He'll be fine if he follows Ratty's advice."
Skids didn't look satisfied with that answer. His brows knit together as he studied Swerve up and down. Skids optics lingered on Veer's swaddled form. Swerve could almost see the cogs moving in Skids processor.
Yep, nope. Time to downplay this before Skids gets all mother hen on his aft. He already had the rest of the Lost Light doing it; he didn't want his long lost amica to focus on that when they should be celebrating!
"Rodimus is telling the truth. It looks worse than it feels- It's not even from anything epic. Promise. No shootouts or stabbings. Just from little Veer here. Don't let her fool you. There's a reason she's one of the co-captains. See, she may have gotten inspired by Tokyo Drift- She decided to bust some moves on her way out. Veer thought she was Han when in reality she was more like Sean at the beginning of the movie. She scraped a few things. It happens! Really it was my fault for rewatching that movie so much when carrying. It's okay though! Look at her cute face- One day she'll master drifting!"
"Did you just compare a gestational wall punctured to... fast and furious?" Tailgate asked.
Swerve cringed on the inside. Well, thanks Tailgate. There goes his attempt at downplaying his injuries. He was hoping Skids wouldn't pick up on it if he stayed vague. Maybe he could still salvage this.
Swerve forced a grin."Maybe, okay yeah. But in my defense it's a great movie. Plus, you're telling me my daughter wouldn't attempt drifting?"
"She's a bit too young for that but maybe after a upgrade or two I can give her lessons," Skids said as he gently bumped his fist against Swerve's armor.
His visor brightened at the offer. It was silly- really silly. But hearing that- it made him happy. It meant Skids planned on sticking around long term. It made this feel more real.
"Yeah… I'll hold you to it, Skids," Swerve smiled at him. "It's only right someone cool teach her,"
Rodimus huffed, "The coolest mech is right here."
"Veer? Yep, you're right. She is the coolest captain," Skids said with a smirk.
Rodimus reeled back surprise from the clap back but recovered quickly with his own grin. "Okay, well played. Veer is the coolest. We all pale in comparison to that stylish blue gumball!"
Skids laughed, "Blue gumball?"
Rodimus perked up with pride. "Yeah! Cuz she looks like a cute little energon goodie. Isn't that right Veer?"
Veer made a happy sound hearing her name. Swerve chuckled knowing she was completely clueless on what was happening. She just liked being included.
Swerve nuzzled the top of her helm earning a happy coo. He grinned like a damn fool when he made optic contact with Skids. He was staring in awe. Already his amica seemed intrigued by her.
"Hey Veer," Swerve whispered down to her. "I'd like you to meet your Uncle Skids. He's gonna teach you to drift one day."
Skids beamed hearing that. He stepped forward, once Swerve signaled to him it was okay, and grabbed ahold of her tiny fist. He then very carefully shook it.
"It's nice to meet you, Veer. I'm Skids- your carrier's best friend. Wow, that's crazy to say. And you're just so tiny- Is she a minibot too?"
Swerve nodded to confirm as his creation happily took a hold of Skid's digits. Veer kicked out her feet and waved around her free servo. Somebody was definitely excited to meet Skids.
Rodimus patted the theoretican's shoulder. "Feel honored dude. She only does that to bots she really likes."
"Oh- I definitely feel honored right now!"
Veer must have liked his energy because a big happy smile bloomed across her face. She babbled nonsense at them with a happy bounce. Her affectionate demeanor rubbed off of them. Skids happily laughed at her adorable face. The theoretican then grinned at Swerve.
"She's just like you- Look at the smile! That's all you buddy."
It is? He really took her in. Veer had these pronounced dimples on her cheeks anytime she smiled. Her optics shone with the same joy she felt in her spark. She was just brilliant.
Swerve flushed. He sat up a little straighter as a wave of pride hit him. Veer, sweet precious Veer, was like him? It made his spark swell.
Plenty of crew members had compared her to a certain blue racer. He couldn't blame them really. Veer took a lot of her looks from her sire. Honestly, Swerve had trouble seeing much of himself in her. He stayed up countless nights wondering how in the pit did he create someone so perfect?
Count on Skids to find something they had in common. Swerve was glad. Sometimes he forgot they shared coding. He mostly only saw Blurr in her.
Swerve cleared his intake. "Sorry guys, we all got distracted by cute sparkling time. We should probably head to the communication deck, like you mentioned, Rodimus?"
Skids pouted a little. "Does that mean she has to let go?"
"Sadly, yes. But! I promise you can hold her after we get everything sorted."
Skids optics crinkle with warmth, "You'd let me hold her?"
"Skids…Of course I would. You're my amica- You get Veer dibs anytime you want."
"Hey, that's not fair. There's a schedule for a reason!" Rodimus pointed out.
"A schedule that you wanted replaced with a dibs first rule. The irony isn't lost on us captain." Cyclonus said with his iconic frown.
"He has a point," Tailgate added.
"Plus, my sparkling my rules. You'll still get time with her. Just- Skids has a lot of catching up to do." Swerve said as he gently unwrapped Veer's servo from his amica's digit.
Veer made a noise of complaint. She never liked being forced to let go of any bot she claimed as one of her favorites. Swerve distracted her by exchanging Skids digit with a bottle.
At first she moved her mouth away since Skids was more interesting than fuel. She fussed against the nozzle for only a moment before giving in. Swerve laughed hearing her make a disgruntled beep.
"Yes, yes. Carrier is so mean for making you refuel."
"Wow- she already has such a big personality," Skids remarked
"Yeah, she does. You'll see how demanding she is later, don't let her cuteness fool you. Now, let's go. If we're lucky she'll fall asleep on the way there."
"Sounds good buddy,"
The group made their way out of the nursery. Skids walked beside the hoverchair the entire time. It was quiet. The only sound was their footsteps against the floor. Swerve shifted in his seat to help distract himself from it.
No one knew what to say. Not that he could blame them. This situation was strange. More than once he had to reassure himself that his amica was real and not some kind of weird shared hallucination created from their collective grief. Stranger things had happened.
The awkwardness between the group was starting to make him nervous. He wanted more than anything to fill the empty air with some kind of noise. A cough or even a lame joke would do. He hated when things were all silent. It felt very unsettling.
That might be from his trauma with the DJD. His first encounter with them rendered him mute for weeks. That time in his life made him appreciate every little noise. He couldn't talk. He couldn't babble the sickening feeling away. Swerve was stuck with only the horrors he witnessed and the fear they would reappear. The only thing that helped was putting on reruns of races on the tv. He recalled getting many complaints about it being on full blast.
At the time, Swerve hadn't felt bad about it. Sound helped distract the processor from those less savory thoughts. Shout out to the first time Blurr won the Ibex Cup. That was the broadcast that he played the most. The crowd's cheering drowned everything out.
Swerve, unable to stand in anymore, sighed loudly. He glanced down at his creation. Veer stared back up, optics half lidded, and her mouth struggling to keep nursing on the bottle. Swerve mouth twitched into a smile. She was fighting nap time so hard right now. Cute little thing always wanted to keep going.
He bet she got that from her sire. Or maybe it was just a speedster thing. Swerve wasn't sure.
Swerve wiped some fuel from the corner of her mouth. Veer blinked a few times before her optics shut completely. Swerve relaxed once he heard the soft snoring of her vents.
Once again Veer saved the day from his own crippling anxiety. He focused on that precious sound. It helped him feel grounded. Everything about her did. The heavy warmth of her frame in his arms, the creation bond buzzing within his spark, and the feeling of face pressed against his chassis all helped make this moment feel real.
"She's so lovely- Buddy, I just can't believe you have a sparkling," Skids whispered.
"Me too," Swerve admitted with a flush to his cheeks. "You missed her grand entrance, Skids. I had no idea she even existed till she decided to meet everyone right there in my bar,"
Skids steps slowed. "Wait- Are you saying…?"
"That Swerve showed off his tunnel of love right in the bar? Ha! Yeah, he did!" Whirl chimed in.
Swerve rolled his optics behind his visor. He was already used to those jokes. Plus, he knew Whirl didn't mean anything behind it. The helicopter was one of the first bots to visit him afterwards. Whirl had a habit of trying to hide how he really felt with pointless jabs.
"Yeah, it was a big dramatic show- But hey! I got a cute sparkling out of it so it wasn't too bad."
Just a little traumatizing. Swerve was still beyond thankful Blue stepped in before anything could happen. Though Skids didn't need to know that.
Skids looked like he wanted to say something but was stopped by the sound of a door opening in front of their group. Swerve couldn't contain his loud gasp. His visor must be glitching- Right there, standing in a group, were a sea of lost familiar faces.
The one that stood out the most was a hulking tan frame. Swerve gripped the arm rest again as he resisted the urge to jump up. He was transfixed by the colorful murals on the mech's plating- He thought they were lost forever.
"T-ten? Is that you?"
The peaceful giant turned when he heard his name. Swerve could see his face lit up- Sort of. He lacked a lot of features like Whirl does. Still, Swerve could tell he was excited. He watched as the big lug grinned, stood on the tip of his pedes, and threw open his arms to the air and waved.
"TEN!"
That got the attention of the rest of the bots in the room. Swerve jaw dropped taking in the group. There was Pipes! Trailbreaker?! Ambulon! And fragging Ravage?!
Even the orange bot was here! The one with glasses! Ring? No! Rang-.. Wait, no! RUNG! That was his name. Rung was here.
It blew his processor-All bots that died during their quest were right there! Alive and well. Swerve was now convinced this was a dream.
Rodimus gently nudged the bartender, "We warned you about the ghosts buddy."
They did- but Swerve wasn't sure there was any amount of warning that could prepare him for this.
"Okay, please someone explain what's going on before I glitch!" Swerve begged.
Brainstorm, who was examining their formerly deceased friends with the help of Perceptor and Ratchet, perked up. He made his way to the control center with his wings eagerly bouncing. He punched in a few things causing the screen to come to life.
"About that, now that I've confirmed their identities to be correct I can present to you all my running theory!"
On the screen a title displayed 'Jumping Universe's for dummies! What you need to know by Brainstorm'. The slideshow even had pictures. Swerve had to admit he was a little impressed.
"..Brainstorm, how did you find the time to make a powerpoint presentation?" Ultra Magnus asked, genuinely surprised.
"Had this baby ready to go in case I was right- and I was. In your face Percy~" The blue jet teased.
"I never said your theory was incorrect. If you recall I stated that we should run more test before jumping to a half cocked concl-"
"Yeah, yeah, tests and science. Doesn't matter. Our theory is right. Now, if everyone would please look at the screen I'll gladly explain"
Swerve craned his neck to see two images of the Lost Light on the screen. One of them was labeled A and the other B. He could already tell this was going to give him a helm ache.
"Okay, everyone. My crew is Lost Light A. The other one, the one that's from this universe is Lost Light B. Now, in theory, they should be exactly the same. Same bots, same fuel, and even the same quantum engine. However! That is an issue. We've learned the hard way what happens when one universe has two of the same ship. We all go poof! Bye-bye. It's not good. In order to prevent that from happening me, Nautica, and Percy came up with an idea. We'd just jump to a universe where we don't exist. Simple, right?"
Brainstorm paused so the words could sink in. Swerve frowned. That didn't make sense- Skids clearly recognized him.
"Welll… We couldn't just jump to any universe either. We needed one with energon of course. Slowly starving to death didn't sound fun. That limited our options quite a bit. So what universe fits our criteria? Turns out a lot of places don't. You see, friends and colleagues, here, and now- We're standing here because in Universe B, we all died."
..Died? Swerve felt his stomach drop. That couldn't be true, right? He tries to look to Skids for confirmation but he looked away.
Brainstorm continued. "It appears our quantum drive picked this universe so we could easily just- slip in. It found a solution to our fading problem all on its own. It's beyond fascinating. I mean- what could be a better solution? Replace our already dead selves! Like Rewind did- er sorry for bringing that up. It's just the best example…What's more interesting is that bots that died in Universe A are very much alive! The possibilities of this discovery are endless! "
Swerve swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "We died?"
Skids put his servo on the bartender's shoulder and squeezed. The theoretican didn't say anything, but there was this protectiveness flowing in his field. It wrapped tightly around Swerve. It was like he was swearing their safety.
Skids frowned at the co-captain then glanced at the remaining of his crew. His shoulders sag from an invisible weight he'd been carrying.
"Yeah, Getaway led a mutiny. The bots here are the ones that managed to escape. But the rest… " Skids didn't finish.
Swerve could guess what happened to them. If Skids didn't force himself to remember grindcore then there was no way they could have fought off the DJD. Swerve shivered at the thought.
Rodimus crossed his arms with a scowl. "Of course that glitch would- wait, is he still alive? Because I'd gladly teach him a lesson again!"
"He's already been handled- It's why we approached your ship. We thought that we were boarding ours. We were supposed to meet up with some friends… Then discuss what to do with him," Skids admitted. "I should contact them and let them know what's going on."
Rodimus nodded towards their communication equipment, "Feel free to help yourself. Though I got to ask- how did you mistake the two ships? I mean- no offense but didn't your friends give you their location?"
Skids sighed as he approached the console, "They did- but our navigation equipment has been on the fritz. We docked solely based on sight. It isn't like we expected a second Lost Light."
"Guessing your engine didn't glitch out during take off," Rodimus muttered.
Swerve moved his hoverchair closer to Skids. He wasn't quite ready to leave his amicas side yet. Not when this still felt so unreal. He'd catch up with the others later.
"So who are your friends? If you don't mind me asking." Swerve inquired as he watched Skids punch in some numbers.
The theoretican gave him a small smile. "I'll never mind you buddy. Always feel free to ask way."
Swerve smiled back. "Thanks Skids. Now, who beat up Getaway for us?"
"Hm, oh. Well just-" Skids glanced down at Veer with a mischievous grin. "The Wreckers."