Standing Ground
Here's a sequel Jo asked for in regards to Pursuit meeting the twins again after the events ending in the death of Cirrus-5. Gotta run to work so not writing up a bit lead-in to it. So without further ado, here it is!
She was always torn between asking about the twins and truly not wanting to know. It had been a solar cycle since she’d seen them last. Finding time to visit when her mate and his creator weren’t around was more difficult than she thought, and the best way to get in touch with the pair of sparklings was through Triage, the sister. Each time she asked, the news alternated between good and bad, but she wasn’t pleased by the downward turn things were taking.
They weren’t her sparklings; she didn’t create them and nor was she responsible for them. It wasn’t in her nature, however, to let any young one suffer, and she wanted to know they were alright. Leave it alone, her mate had said. They were being raised and trained to be the best; it all had to be done for their own good. Every hardship now would avoid future pain and perhaps even save their lives.
“Slag that,” she muttered, making her way back to the small apartment in Iacon’s Mid-town.
Her doorwings were a little sore from being so tense, but she couldn’t help it. Whatever had happened recently had been bad enough to worry even Flattop, and while he didn’t come out and say it, she knew that a line had been crossed. She needed to know the two young ones were alright, training be damned.
There were no lights coming from the windows, though she’d been assured that the twins were home even if their creator was not. He rarely took them out into public without good reason. Too unpredictable still. Still not entirely obedient.
Pursuit swiped her mate’s stolen id card against the keypad which let her in without any trouble. Hopefully she’d be able to return it before he got back from work. If not, well, she had her ways of buttering him up. He might have been an Intelligence officer, but he was no match against feminine wiles; a well-known fact that had gotten him in plenty of trouble in the past and one that she hoped to use to her advantage.
The apartment was as she remembered it; clean to the point of sterility with so few possessions around, it almost looked uninhabited. Here was a mech who truly seemed to have no attachment of any kind. If it weren’t for his iron control of his four creations, she didn’t know if he’d really have any purpose left in the world.
“Sideswipe?” she called out softly, seeing no light from any of the rooms. “Sunstreaker?”
Truth be told, she was a little nervous seeing them again. She knew only parts of what had happened to them recently. Neither Flattop nor Triage had come out and said it, but she knew there was death now. Something irreversible that threatened to break them in the exact way that Triggerpinch wanted, and therefore something she couldn’t stand to let happen.
“Is anyone there?”
There was a movement to her right that caught her off guard and nearly made her cry out. She didn’t know how they’d managed to sneak up behind her, but before she could react, Pursuit found herself flanked by two young mechs, one red and one yellow. Their optics were cool and narrow at her, probably not even recognizing who she was. At least she hoped they didn’t; she didn’t want to think of the alternative.
“It’s me,” she said, firmly but not without a small waver to her voice. They’d startled her as she’s sure she’d startled them. “Pursuit. You remember me, don’t you?”
They didn’t answer. The darkness of the apartment made the cold optics glow in an unnatural light. A wild fire of blue. What little light there was played off the red and yellow plating in small frames; her only hint at which brother she was looking at.
“You shouldn’t be here,” said Sideswipe, in a voice much deeper and darker than she remembered. His brother remained silent.
“I wanted to come,” she replied quietly, watching them as they watched her. “I heard you were in trouble.”
They didn’t speak, but Sunstreaker tilted his head curiously. A motion she did not find comforting. Why didn’t they turn on the lights? Where were the sparklings she’d once soothed to sleep with a fairytale? What had happened to transform them so severely? Even just standing there in shadow, at a safe enough distance where she could summon her rifle if need be, Pursuit felt exposed and vulnerable. Even the thought that she was considering her rifle was unsettling. They were children!
“You should go,” Sunstreaker decided finally. “You don’t belong here.”
“What happened?” she asked steady. “What did he do to you?”
Sideswipe moved first, striding toward her at a rate too fast and too self-assured for her to be comfortable. She stepped back but didn’t draw her weapon yet, wanting to see what he would do first. As she did so, she knew it was the wrong move to make. His optics glinted in a way that reminded her of the way the Decepticon Seekers did before they ripped off her doorwings.
“Did he send you?” His voice was that deep kind again that she didn’t like. “You another lesson for us?”
“He? You mean Triggerpinch?” She lifted her chin slightly in defiance. “He doesn’t know I’m here. I came to see you.”
“He sent her as a gift,” Sunstreaker said, stepping forward as well, and she refused the urge to back off again. “That’s all she really ever was. The lessons were just bonus.”
“What are you talking about?” One of Pursuit’s doorwings twitched to relieve some nervous tension. “Who is she?”
“Was,” Sideswipe corrected, dark optics glinting again. “We killed her.”
“Tore her apart,” Sunstreaker added. “She ran.”
“She was afraid.”
“Are you afraid?”
Pursuit twitched a wing again and stood up straighter, starting to figure out what this was about. If she was right, then what had been done to these sparklings was beyond imagining. It was surprising that they weren’t in worse shape than they were. She couldn’t calm them as one might a spooked sparkling. They were running on pure instinct now, and if she did not snap them out of it, they could very well lash out at anything or anyone to keep themselves safe. Including her.
“Sideswipe,” she suddenly and directly as she could. His head snapped up, taken off guard for the moment. “Turn on the lights already. I can’t see a thing.”
There was a pause, and she feared he had gone back into his mental shell. Then the lights flicked on, activated by whichever twin was close enough to the switch. Pursuit’s optics dimmed and flickered at the sudden assault of light on her sensitive systems.
It was just the distraction that allowed the twins to descend upon her.
“You too?” Sunstreaker hissed, herding her unwillingly into the center of the room. “Why’d he send you too?”
“No one sent me,” she denied, not liking the large mech pushing her around. His brother was no help either, closing in on the other side.
“She didn’t think so either,” he said.
“Who was she?” she asked, hoping the nonsense she felt didn’t show. Either one of the brothers could do her serious harm. But then, she remembered, so could she once her rifle was summoned from subspace. A route she didn’t want to go down with them.
They didn’t answer her, but she was able to catch a flash of…something across their young faces.
“She was no one,” Sunstreaker replied woodenly, and she knew he was lying. Small lavender scratches adorned their bodies, still fresh from whatever horror they’d been subject to. Their first kill, she surmised. And by looking at their faces, it wasn’t just this mysterious femme who’d died that day. Her sweet sparklings had been murdered too.
“She was someone,” Pursuit insisted, twisting around to back away slowly, wanting to see both of them at once. The glint in their optics grew again, causing her to freeze. Retreat was only setting them off. “Whatever he made you do…”
“It’s our nature,” Sideswipe said, fingers twitching as he watched her. “He didn’t make us do anything.”
“Came so easy,” agreed his brother.
“Then why does it hurt you so much?” she asked, knowing that it did.
Angered by her words, the twins charged. It was then that she finally summoned her rifle and held it steady at her shoulder, aimed directly at Sunstreaker’s head. Her doorwings drew up tight, and her body stiffened. She didn’t want to hurt the sparklings, but she would not allow them to hurt her either. This madness had to stop!
The click of Pursuit’s rifle against the yellow twin’s beautifully crafted helm made both mechs pause. By the look on Sideswipe’s face, the gray and black femme would be dead already if it weren’t for the rifle’s position. She’d threatened the person most dear to him, and that was unforgiveable.
“Don’t make me!” she snapped. “Primus, don’t make me, because I will.”
“You’re afraid?” Sideswipe growled dangerously, lowering his head just a little to eye her properly.
“Only because you are,” she replied. “But you’re not the ones I’m afraid of.”
“We’re not afraid,” Sunstreaker snarled, and she knew he’d attack too if it weren’t for the rifle. “We could tear you apart.”
“You could,” she admitted, and then narrowed her optics. “But you won’t. You don’t want to hurt me any more than I want to hurt you.”
In a moment of insanity, she lowered her weapon and faced them full on. This was enough to give them pause. She took this movement of uncertainty and ran with it, wings flicking to release their tension. Sideswipe tracked the movement as he had before; a glance she had not missed.
“You’re afraid,” she insisted gently. “But you don’t have to be. You won’t hurt me.” She could only hope that was true.
“She ran,” Sideswipe said again, and the pain returned to his optics.
“She was afraid of you,” Pursuit reasoned. “I’m not. I’m afraid of what that monster has done to you. I won’t run.” She didn’t either. She stood her ground, rifle down at her side but no longer a threat to either brother.
“What we did…” Sideswipe started before the femme interrupted.
“Wasn’t your fault.”
“You don’t even know what happened.”
“I don’t have to, I know you both. You’re not the type to go hurting innocent people. It was his fault. He did this to you.” Carefully, she held out her hands to them. Haltingly, brokenly, they took what was offered. She drew the pair close, trying to soothe them the best way she could, though she knew it was inadequate. She couldn’t heal them like this. This would only offer a scab over the wound caused by their first kill, and it hadn’t time to heal. Their creator would rip it off time and time again, and give them new wounds. Twist them and torture them until they were precisely the creatures he wanted.
“We still did it,” Sunstreaker said quietly, letting the femme rub his helm gently. Her touch didn’t hurt. He didn’t have to fear her.
“I know,” she said, and she wished she knew how to make it go away. The thought of anyone this young having to face what they had… to imagine her own sparkling in this situation… it angered and saddened her. It was worse that she could do nothing about it except this small part. If she could take them, she would, but it was impossible.
It was growing late by that time, and the engineer figured she had to leave before their creator came home. If he found her with the twins, it would only cause more trouble than they needed right now.
“Will you come back?” Sideswipe asked morosely, a little more like the child she’d first met a few months ago.
“Of course,” she promised, hoping that she could. “Take care of each other.”
They nodded and let her go. As she returned to the door, she felt a light tug on a doorwing causing her to turn around. “Yes?”
Sideswipe shifted on his feet a little. “We…didn’t want to hurt you. We didn’t want to hurt her either.”
“I know you didn’t,” she said and offered him one last hug. “If you want to make it up to her…I think you should remember how awful it felt, ok?”
“Why?” Sunstreaker asked.
“So that it doesn’t happen again. Whatever he makes you do, remember how awful it feels. Never enjoy it.” Her voice was gentle but firm and serious.
They both nodded quietly, trying to understand what it meant. She turned and walked out the door, waiting until the door shut behind her before breaking out into a run. She needed her mate to hold her for a while tonight after what she’d seen today.
She was always torn between asking about the twins and truly not wanting to know. It had been a solar cycle since she’d seen them last. Finding time to visit when her mate and his creator weren’t around was more difficult than she thought, and the best way to get in touch with the pair of sparklings was through Triage, the sister. Each time she asked, the news alternated between good and bad, but she wasn’t pleased by the downward turn things were taking.
They weren’t her sparklings; she didn’t create them and nor was she responsible for them. It wasn’t in her nature, however, to let any young one suffer, and she wanted to know they were alright. Leave it alone, her mate had said. They were being raised and trained to be the best; it all had to be done for their own good. Every hardship now would avoid future pain and perhaps even save their lives.
“Slag that,” she muttered, making her way back to the small apartment in Iacon’s Mid-town.
Her doorwings were a little sore from being so tense, but she couldn’t help it. Whatever had happened recently had been bad enough to worry even Flattop, and while he didn’t come out and say it, she knew that a line had been crossed. She needed to know the two young ones were alright, training be damned.
There were no lights coming from the windows, though she’d been assured that the twins were home even if their creator was not. He rarely took them out into public without good reason. Too unpredictable still. Still not entirely obedient.
Pursuit swiped her mate’s stolen id card against the keypad which let her in without any trouble. Hopefully she’d be able to return it before he got back from work. If not, well, she had her ways of buttering him up. He might have been an Intelligence officer, but he was no match against feminine wiles; a well-known fact that had gotten him in plenty of trouble in the past and one that she hoped to use to her advantage.
The apartment was as she remembered it; clean to the point of sterility with so few possessions around, it almost looked uninhabited. Here was a mech who truly seemed to have no attachment of any kind. If it weren’t for his iron control of his four creations, she didn’t know if he’d really have any purpose left in the world.
“Sideswipe?” she called out softly, seeing no light from any of the rooms. “Sunstreaker?”
Truth be told, she was a little nervous seeing them again. She knew only parts of what had happened to them recently. Neither Flattop nor Triage had come out and said it, but she knew there was death now. Something irreversible that threatened to break them in the exact way that Triggerpinch wanted, and therefore something she couldn’t stand to let happen.
“Is anyone there?”
There was a movement to her right that caught her off guard and nearly made her cry out. She didn’t know how they’d managed to sneak up behind her, but before she could react, Pursuit found herself flanked by two young mechs, one red and one yellow. Their optics were cool and narrow at her, probably not even recognizing who she was. At least she hoped they didn’t; she didn’t want to think of the alternative.
“It’s me,” she said, firmly but not without a small waver to her voice. They’d startled her as she’s sure she’d startled them. “Pursuit. You remember me, don’t you?”
They didn’t answer. The darkness of the apartment made the cold optics glow in an unnatural light. A wild fire of blue. What little light there was played off the red and yellow plating in small frames; her only hint at which brother she was looking at.
“You shouldn’t be here,” said Sideswipe, in a voice much deeper and darker than she remembered. His brother remained silent.
“I wanted to come,” she replied quietly, watching them as they watched her. “I heard you were in trouble.”
They didn’t speak, but Sunstreaker tilted his head curiously. A motion she did not find comforting. Why didn’t they turn on the lights? Where were the sparklings she’d once soothed to sleep with a fairytale? What had happened to transform them so severely? Even just standing there in shadow, at a safe enough distance where she could summon her rifle if need be, Pursuit felt exposed and vulnerable. Even the thought that she was considering her rifle was unsettling. They were children!
“You should go,” Sunstreaker decided finally. “You don’t belong here.”
“What happened?” she asked steady. “What did he do to you?”
Sideswipe moved first, striding toward her at a rate too fast and too self-assured for her to be comfortable. She stepped back but didn’t draw her weapon yet, wanting to see what he would do first. As she did so, she knew it was the wrong move to make. His optics glinted in a way that reminded her of the way the Decepticon Seekers did before they ripped off her doorwings.
“Did he send you?” His voice was that deep kind again that she didn’t like. “You another lesson for us?”
“He? You mean Triggerpinch?” She lifted her chin slightly in defiance. “He doesn’t know I’m here. I came to see you.”
“He sent her as a gift,” Sunstreaker said, stepping forward as well, and she refused the urge to back off again. “That’s all she really ever was. The lessons were just bonus.”
“What are you talking about?” One of Pursuit’s doorwings twitched to relieve some nervous tension. “Who is she?”
“Was,” Sideswipe corrected, dark optics glinting again. “We killed her.”
“Tore her apart,” Sunstreaker added. “She ran.”
“She was afraid.”
“Are you afraid?”
Pursuit twitched a wing again and stood up straighter, starting to figure out what this was about. If she was right, then what had been done to these sparklings was beyond imagining. It was surprising that they weren’t in worse shape than they were. She couldn’t calm them as one might a spooked sparkling. They were running on pure instinct now, and if she did not snap them out of it, they could very well lash out at anything or anyone to keep themselves safe. Including her.
“Sideswipe,” she suddenly and directly as she could. His head snapped up, taken off guard for the moment. “Turn on the lights already. I can’t see a thing.”
There was a pause, and she feared he had gone back into his mental shell. Then the lights flicked on, activated by whichever twin was close enough to the switch. Pursuit’s optics dimmed and flickered at the sudden assault of light on her sensitive systems.
It was just the distraction that allowed the twins to descend upon her.
“You too?” Sunstreaker hissed, herding her unwillingly into the center of the room. “Why’d he send you too?”
“No one sent me,” she denied, not liking the large mech pushing her around. His brother was no help either, closing in on the other side.
“She didn’t think so either,” he said.
“Who was she?” she asked, hoping the nonsense she felt didn’t show. Either one of the brothers could do her serious harm. But then, she remembered, so could she once her rifle was summoned from subspace. A route she didn’t want to go down with them.
They didn’t answer her, but she was able to catch a flash of…something across their young faces.
“She was no one,” Sunstreaker replied woodenly, and she knew he was lying. Small lavender scratches adorned their bodies, still fresh from whatever horror they’d been subject to. Their first kill, she surmised. And by looking at their faces, it wasn’t just this mysterious femme who’d died that day. Her sweet sparklings had been murdered too.
“She was someone,” Pursuit insisted, twisting around to back away slowly, wanting to see both of them at once. The glint in their optics grew again, causing her to freeze. Retreat was only setting them off. “Whatever he made you do…”
“It’s our nature,” Sideswipe said, fingers twitching as he watched her. “He didn’t make us do anything.”
“Came so easy,” agreed his brother.
“Then why does it hurt you so much?” she asked, knowing that it did.
Angered by her words, the twins charged. It was then that she finally summoned her rifle and held it steady at her shoulder, aimed directly at Sunstreaker’s head. Her doorwings drew up tight, and her body stiffened. She didn’t want to hurt the sparklings, but she would not allow them to hurt her either. This madness had to stop!
The click of Pursuit’s rifle against the yellow twin’s beautifully crafted helm made both mechs pause. By the look on Sideswipe’s face, the gray and black femme would be dead already if it weren’t for the rifle’s position. She’d threatened the person most dear to him, and that was unforgiveable.
“Don’t make me!” she snapped. “Primus, don’t make me, because I will.”
“You’re afraid?” Sideswipe growled dangerously, lowering his head just a little to eye her properly.
“Only because you are,” she replied. “But you’re not the ones I’m afraid of.”
“We’re not afraid,” Sunstreaker snarled, and she knew he’d attack too if it weren’t for the rifle. “We could tear you apart.”
“You could,” she admitted, and then narrowed her optics. “But you won’t. You don’t want to hurt me any more than I want to hurt you.”
In a moment of insanity, she lowered her weapon and faced them full on. This was enough to give them pause. She took this movement of uncertainty and ran with it, wings flicking to release their tension. Sideswipe tracked the movement as he had before; a glance she had not missed.
“You’re afraid,” she insisted gently. “But you don’t have to be. You won’t hurt me.” She could only hope that was true.
“She ran,” Sideswipe said again, and the pain returned to his optics.
“She was afraid of you,” Pursuit reasoned. “I’m not. I’m afraid of what that monster has done to you. I won’t run.” She didn’t either. She stood her ground, rifle down at her side but no longer a threat to either brother.
“What we did…” Sideswipe started before the femme interrupted.
“Wasn’t your fault.”
“You don’t even know what happened.”
“I don’t have to, I know you both. You’re not the type to go hurting innocent people. It was his fault. He did this to you.” Carefully, she held out her hands to them. Haltingly, brokenly, they took what was offered. She drew the pair close, trying to soothe them the best way she could, though she knew it was inadequate. She couldn’t heal them like this. This would only offer a scab over the wound caused by their first kill, and it hadn’t time to heal. Their creator would rip it off time and time again, and give them new wounds. Twist them and torture them until they were precisely the creatures he wanted.
“We still did it,” Sunstreaker said quietly, letting the femme rub his helm gently. Her touch didn’t hurt. He didn’t have to fear her.
“I know,” she said, and she wished she knew how to make it go away. The thought of anyone this young having to face what they had… to imagine her own sparkling in this situation… it angered and saddened her. It was worse that she could do nothing about it except this small part. If she could take them, she would, but it was impossible.
It was growing late by that time, and the engineer figured she had to leave before their creator came home. If he found her with the twins, it would only cause more trouble than they needed right now.
“Will you come back?” Sideswipe asked morosely, a little more like the child she’d first met a few months ago.
“Of course,” she promised, hoping that she could. “Take care of each other.”
They nodded and let her go. As she returned to the door, she felt a light tug on a doorwing causing her to turn around. “Yes?”
Sideswipe shifted on his feet a little. “We…didn’t want to hurt you. We didn’t want to hurt her either.”
“I know you didn’t,” she said and offered him one last hug. “If you want to make it up to her…I think you should remember how awful it felt, ok?”
“Why?” Sunstreaker asked.
“So that it doesn’t happen again. Whatever he makes you do, remember how awful it feels. Never enjoy it.” Her voice was gentle but firm and serious.
They both nodded quietly, trying to understand what it meant. She turned and walked out the door, waiting until the door shut behind her before breaking out into a run. She needed her mate to hold her for a while tonight after what she’d seen today.