Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to the Transformers franchise…I just own Jaime and the laptop that I used to type this up on.
Thank you so much to all the readers who have favorited, alerted or reviewed my story! You motivate me to keep going! :D
"Cybertronian"
As the girl gazed up into Sunstreaker's icy blue optics, she realized that she may have made a serious mistake. Yes a very paramount miscalculation.
She had never told the mech who she was.
At the time she'd been hesitant because he was a prisoner. She hadn't thought it wise to divulge any kind of sensitive information to him—not that she doubted his willpower to hold secrets or anything—while he was being tortured. And she could tell, as he glared down at her, that she was most definitely not what he had been expecting. And that made her wonder what exactly he had been expecting. Was he disappointed to learn that the being he had gotten to know over the past year was a measly little human?
Optimus chose this moment to step forward.
"Welcome to Earth" he greeted. "You will need to download its languages to communicate to the humans. The humans you shall be meeting will primarily speak and understand English. We must also find you an earth vehicle for you to use as your alt-form, since our presence is not well known…"
"Who is the femmeling?" asked the mech Jaime did not know. Optimus glanced back and waved Jazz forward. The silver saboteur approached the group, allowing the unnamed mech—and the brooding Sunstreaker—a closer view of a nervous Jaime.
"Jaime," the Prime glanced at the girl and gestured to the arrivals. "I would like to introduce you to Mirage and Sunstreaker."
"A pleasure to meet you, bambina," (1) Mirage nods, his voice was smooth as velvet. He reminded Jaime as one of those well-to-do gentlemen one would find at a charity ball. He stood like one, she realized, that's what she had noticed. He had the presence of a noble. Jaime wondered if his elite posture was from a strict upbringing, or his own prideful ego. She hoped it was the former. Nonetheless, she knew his type. First impressions were important.
"And to you, signor," (2) she flashed a smile and gave a quick curtsy like her mother had drilled into her. Approval alighted in his optics, pleased by her curtsy no doubt.
"Lei sa Italiano?" (3) he asked, his helm tilting curiously. Jaime's mind stalled for a moment.
"Er…I understand it some…phrases and words. I'm not as good at speaking it," she admitted shyly. She could tell she had his full attention now. Dang, now she'd have to explain. The other bots were regarding her curiously now as well, even Jazz. That's right, she'd never mentioned this to Jazz before had she? "My mom used to speak it some. You see, my grandma—my mom's mom—she came over to America from Italy. My mom used to say that I should know at least some Italian since it's kind of in my blood."
"Ah," he nodded, a smile finally appeared on his face, "she sounds like una donna molto intelligente." (4)
"Sì," (5) Jaime's smile became a tad strained and she blinked a few times, glancing away. She was, she wanted to add, but she didn't. She dared a glance at Sunstreaker. The frowning mech was scrutinizing her with a not so nice expression. Jaime resisted the urge to gulp. Yup. There was no doubt about it. He was pissed.
The girl waited a few seconds, giving Sunstreaker a chance to acknowledge her. The mech remained in his aloof position, arms crossed and gaze focused to the side. The girl felt her palms begin to sweat as she—once again—quelled her rising anxiety. This wasn't going as she had hoped. Here was the presence that she had grown close to—become friends with. She had hoped it would be a happy and exciting meeting, like two pen pals meeting for the first time.
Well, maybe happy wasn't exactly the right word. From the few times that Sideswipe had mentioned his twin in passing and the stories Jazz had told her, Jaime had received the impression that the twin was not a social butterfly by any means. Few considered him a friend, and there were even fewer that he considered friends. Still, she had hoped with the connection that they had made…
"Hi," she finally spoke, her voice low and soft. A few seconds passed. Then his optics slid over to her position. Jaime remained still as his critical gaze swept over. As quick as it started, the examination stopped. He growled and looked away once more. His stance seemed to become even more agitated.
She could feel it. With the mech standing so closed to her, she could feel the warring of his emotions. It was so overwhelming that her breathing became slightly ragged. She was so used to the onslaught of his emotions being much more muted due to the enormous distance between them.
Without even thinking, she reached out to settle the turbulent storm, if only to steady herself in the sea of emotions. Sunstreaker's frame reeled back as if he had been burned. The smile that had been plastered on Sideswipe's face plates slowly began to fade away.
"Sunny…" he frowned at his brother, unhappy that his twin was taking such a strong disliking to his new best friend on Earth.
"Jaime has a special ability" Optimus spoke, addressing both Sunstreaker and Mirage, correctly guessing the reason for his reaction. "She has the ability to form and develop bonds as we are, only this ability extends to any Cybertronian she meets. This trait is unique to her and cannot be found in any other human beings"
Surprise washed over Mirage's face and he gazed at her with great interest. Prowl, who had been silent so far, had been watching Sunstreaker very closely. He noted that the volatile twin did not show any surprise at the Prime's words. Interesting. He would have to investigate that later.
"Sorry!" Jaime quickly apologized.
"Stop that you stupid squishy!" he hissed at her, clutching at his spark, and violently breaking off the connection. Jaime was unable to completely hide her grimace at the sudden shielding of his spark. The girl set a calming hand on Jazz's thumb. Although his outward appearance hadn't changed in the slightest, she could sense his growing agitation at Sunstreaker. Her thumb rubbed calming circles on the metal. Easy, she thought.
"The correct term" a very stiff Ratchet corrected, giving Sunstreaker an unimpressed look, "is human"
"Whatever" Sunstreaker grumbled, but he was staring at Jaime again hostility partially replaced with confusion. "What's wrong with her arm? he asked no one in particular. His words—not necessarily meant to be hurtful—were like a punch to the gut. Jaime—her patience already wearing thin—did not appreciate being talked about like she wasn't there. She also didn't like the way that he was analyzing her stump with an unreadable expression.
"It's missing, obviously. What's wrong with your face?" she snapped. Jaime knew she was going to pay for that comment. She couldn't just say something like that to Sunny without him retaliating in some way. But it was well worth the surprised expression on his face. His shock didn't last long though. His first reaction was to snap his helm in Optimus' direction.
"I thought you said humans only comprehend and speak English?" he seethed, obviously unhappy that was not the case and that he had, apparently, been fooled.
"Yes, however, Jaime is a special case. She is the only human who has the ability to understand Cybertronian" the Autobot leader was quick to explain and perhaps placate the hotheaded golden warrior.
"How interessante," (6) Mirage mused. He faced the girl. "Why do your people speak so many languages? Would it not make communication so much simpler if you all spoke the same language?"
"Um," Jaime blinked. Such an explanation would require a history lesson, going into the different human civilizations and such. "Well…" Jaime pondered if there was a way to condense thousands of years into less than ten minutes.
"Perhaps we can save this discussion for another time?" Prowl intervened.
"Yes," Optimus agreed. "We must return to base. However, you two must first scan an Earth vehicle." Neither Sunstreaker nor Mirage looked pleased with the idea, but didn't say anything. "Transform and roll out."
Sunstreaker's POV
A squishy. A tiny pathetic organic. Sunstreaker was a mech that was rarely taken by surprise. So how had this happened? How had he been tricked by this lower life form? When Sunstreaker had first felt the tug, he'd assumed it was his brother. After being separated from his twin longer than ever before, he'd been ecstatic at his brother's touch. Not that he'd ever verbally admit it. But as time passed, he'd noticed discrepancies.
This entity was not his brother. Sideswipe felt different. This…thing…was something else. But how was that even possible? Sideswipe was the only one he should have a bond with. The only two other Cybertronians he could possibly have a bond with were his creators. But they were offline, had been for a long time. This presence he had come to know had this heavy aura that he couldn't help but feel drawn to. Normally the mech was wary of strangers. But this presence wasn't a stranger, not really. He felt like he could trust this entity because he, somehow, knew it. They'd met before.
Towards the end of this captivity, he'd formed a theory of the entity's identity, no matter how unbelievable it seemed. This presence was the Allspark! It explained that awe inspiring aura he felt whenever its presence trickled over the bond. It explained why he shared a bond with another besides Sideswipe. It explained how it knew things he did not, events happening on another planet that had he had never heard of.
He had been taken prisoner by the Decepticons. Mirage had escaped capture, but Sunstreaker knew he had trailed the Cons. The spy was either on board searching for the frontline warrior to bust him out, or a way to get reinforcements.
Sunstreaker hadn't been overly concerned when he was taken prisoner. It was a bit embarrassing really to be taken down so easily. Although, granted—in his defense—he had been outnumbered ten to one. And though he was an exceptional fighter in his own right, he and his brother were a team. The reason they were so feared on the battlefield was their exceptional teamwork, their ability to seamlessly collaborate attacks without speaking. They were double the threat together than they were separated. So when he had been faced with the overwhelming odds, his goal hadn't been to escape, he knew that was a lost cause. His objective had been to take out as many Cons as possible.
Sunstreaker was no stranger to torture. Because of that, and other past experiences, the mech had a very high pain tolerance. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken into account exactly who would be on the Decepticon ship. He remembered repressing a shudder upon seeing Shockwave. It was no secret that the Con was one twisted fragger. The former scientist was well known throughout the Autobot ranks because of his reputation for experimentation.
He didn't know what the slagger had done exactly, but Sunstreaker knew Shockwave was to blame for his sudden inability to feel his twin. Shockwave had—somehow—managed to block the twin bond. Sunstreaker remembered the sheer desperation he'd felt upon waking and feeling the void where his twin's presence belonged. He hadn't been able to feel Sideswipe—at all. Not even the muted feeling caused by great distances. It was as if his twin had vanished. Sunstreaker had feared that something had happened to his brother. Had he offlined?
His worries had eventually been put to rest when—after one exceedingly long torture session—he'd met the mysterious presence. After finally realizing that it wasn't his brother, it had felt Sunstreaker's desire to know about his brother's well-being and told him stories of Sideswipe's activities on a distant planet. Never had he been so relieved to hear of the pranks and trouble his brother was causing.
Later, Mirage had been able to slip in to check his condition and inform Sunstreaker of possible escape plans. There were no nearby Autobot ships that he could detect. They'd have to slip out alone. It was before their planned break out when it happened. The presence—the Allspark—was in pain. Something had hurt it and it was crying out desperately for help. He'd reached out and snatched it from its throes and reassured the entity that it was not alone. It was at that moment that he'd made a snap decision. Slag the escape plan. He could not wait any longer. Someone had dared hurt the Allspark, the Allspark! The one he'd confided in. The one who had given him respite between torture sessions. Just because he could take it didn't mean it was enjoyable by any means. The one who had given him hope in his darkest hour. Someone had wronged his sole comforter in this pit forsaken place, and they would pay.
Mirage hadn't been pleased with the abrupt change of plans. But thanks to their element of surprise—not to mention Sunstreaker's driving fury—they'd made a clean escape and were headed towards this strange new planet…Earth.
When they had landed, the golden frontline warrior hadn't been too pleased with his surroundings. What was this brown stuff that stuck to his pedes? And there was so much…green. Not to mention most of their surroundings were disgustingly fragile, not even a fraction as durable as Cybertron. But he had bared it without complaint…well…not too many…
The envoy of Autobots had been expected. What Sunstreaker hadn't expected was their strange choice of alt forms. Once he'd accessed the World Wide Web that Mirage had been so intrigued by, he'd realized it was to blend in with the local inhabitants' vehicles. The automobiles were operated by humans, filthy smelly organic creatures. The more he researched them on the internet, the more he was repulsed. And back to the matter at hand. To top it all off, the presence that he had come to know and trust was one of this planet's disgustingly pathetic squishies.
He had let himself be vulnerable to an organic. An ORANIC! He'd put his trust and shown weakness to a tiny creature that didn't even reach his knee joint. Sunstreaker was unable to completely repress a heavy sigh as he and the envoy of Autobots drove to the checkpoint where they would be picked up by some human carrier. He and Mirage had found and scanned new alt forms. Mirage had chosen a red Ferrari 458 Italia. Sunstreaker had—after many objections to subjecting himself to using a human made machine as his alt mode—settled on a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo. Sideswipe had decided to update his alt form as well when a red Lamborghini Reventon passed by.
He refrained from complaining when he saw the pathetic carrier they were expected to ride in to the base…aloud. Sideswipe was faring the sea of Sunstreaker's high running emotions quite well. Sideswipe, meanwhile, was trying to come up with a plan to make Sunny warm up to Jaime. They were pranking partners! They, the Bubble Wrap Gang, had garnered quite the reputation on base. And he would be seeing the girl a lot on base. He was doing it for his brother's own good. That's what he kept telling himself.
Translations (taken from the internet. If they are incorrect please let me know)
(1) Bambina—little girl
(2) Signor—Mister
(3) Lei sa italiano—You know Italian
(4) Una donna molto intelligente—a very intelligent woman
(5) Sì—Yes (Don't know if this one is really necessary, but you never know…)
(6) Interessante—Interesting
emo steve: Haha, don't you just hate those unsavory cliff hangers? Thanks for the review!
Guest: Er…about that…Better late than never eh?
Guest: Sorry to keep you waiting for so long :)
Guest: Well he's definitely not gonna be BFFs with Jaime anytime soon. But the focus will be on our little Sunflower of Doom for the next few chapters.
Lexibob1: Oh yea, the epicness that everyone has been waiting for. A Nerf War. That would be utter mayhem…brilliant! Have they not had a paintball fight yet? Any who, been wanting to do something like that for a while, either as a filler or a one-shot.
hellhound: Finally getting around to that now.
007: Aw thanks! :D
Guest: Of course! I never really stopped writing. Just didn't update for awhile…
Author's Note: Yea so...hey guys! I know it's been...awhile. But I'm back! Literally. I was out of the country actually. Any one of you guys ever been to Ireland? Awesome country...anyways. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, namely: Sunny. Ugh, he is so hard to write. I spent so much time on this chapter because I didn't want him to seem like a one-sided character. Not to mention that channeling Sunstreaker as I write for his character can be kinda depressing since I'm kinda, ya know, bashing my own species...Jeez, the things you'll do as a writer...I was so happy to read all your reviews! A lot of people thought that Mirage was Hound. No, Hound's not here yet...but I think he and Jaime would get along great...So, I guess I'll stop rambling so you can leave a review! Go on, ya know ya wanna! :D