This is a birthday gift for:
Happy birthday and I hope you've a wonderful day!! 🎉🥳
ELENAVICTORIAOJEDIS
raven121_u
It's a short story type of thing. I have several parts I'll publish over the course of this week.
Warnings: Cybertronian swearing & bit of violence
Part 1. The disappearance
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((Rubypearl's P.O.V))
The last time I saw my twin sister, she called me a 'pathetic liar' and punched me. The astonishment of it still lingered through my body. I could barely even recall what the argument was about, but I had no idea what Raven was thinking at that last moment. We share a bond. Something so unique and unbreakable. Something people are jealous of, and only a handful of mechs and femmes share it. It provided me to feel her and sometimes even get to know what she was thinking. Only if she opened up her bond for me entirely.
I am thinking of that mid-June summer last year when we were standing right here, in this very hangar. Angled towards each other. Nasty words were exchanged. The assertions even made the terror twins cringe in horror. I regret it. Every single word I had yelled. I wish Ironhide had separated us sooner. That way, no one would've heard our awful argument. Why if it's such a big argument can't I even recall what it was about? Almost like it's just a stupid detail no one cares about. I care. My chest tightens and I reach for my head. I lean against the wall to pull myself together. Clear my head of that weird flash that hit me out of nowhere. Raven is running from someone. Being chased through the rain and swallowed up by the dark. I shake off the terror that clutched onto my tank. Or at least, I tried.
I snapped back at the sound of muffled footsteps in the distance. Humans? No, the footsteps are too heavy to be human. I turned my head. It's Sideswipe. 'Hey, sweetspark... you're okay?' His smile faded a little and he transformed. Sideswipe perches beside me on the bench and offered me a piece of a candy bar he had in his pocket. The molten chocolate of the candy bar felt like sticky slime. The flavor, however, was still the same. 'Thanks...' I mumbled, staring at my alt-mode. I popped Sideswipe's offering in my mouth. 'I wasn't sure if you would show up for our debriefing,' Sideswipe said, staring at something I couldn't see. I hadn't seen her much since my sister's disappearance. It just didn't feel the same. Incomplete. Empty. 'Me neither...' was my slow response, staring at a human holding a clipboard. The argument he had with his fellow teammate was heated, but nothing compared with the eruption I had with Raven six months ago.
'Still nothing?' Sideswipe asked quietly. I shook my head, I couldn't choke out her name. I hadn't told him about the flashes I was having. I hadn't told anyone about it honestly. Sideswipe nudged me, gaining my attention again. His sweetness is as familiar as the summer sun and sound sounds that echo through the base. I am glad Sideswipe spotted me first.
'How's Sunstreaker holding up?'
After awaiting his response and not receiving one, I turned my head. He fiddled with the empty wrap of the candy bar in his hands. 'He's not the same ya know...' The words were laced with sadness. I think a part of Sunstreaker got lost too the day Raven disappeared. We all have been childhood friends. The four of us. Precisely as it should. Two pairs of twins, but we were all inseparable. I think deep down, Sunstreaker has always blamed me for Raven's disappearances. He's so obsessed with it that anyone barely sees him anymore. 'Well... he's in a dark place. He has changed...' Sideswipe bit down on his lip, but so hard I was scared it would draw blood. Sunstreaker has never been known as a mech that expresses his feelings well or likes to share them. He always keeps it to himself but occasionally, he would tell Sideswipe about it. I guess Sunstreaker hasn't done that yet, which was worrying.
'He's out again, looking for her,' Sideswipe added. We all searched for her. Mirage works his aft off, but no luck so far. I knew for sure Raven wasn't dead, but I also know Raven would never just take off without telling anyone about it. It's like these scary cold cases some humans have to deal with. A person goes missing and decades later, they hear gruesome stories about what happened. It's probably unlikely a human got her though. It's just not possible for a human to pull something like that off, right? Sunstreaker has told me some scary stories, but it was just a tale to scare us. No one ever took Sunstreaker's stories seriously. At least not these tales.
I am never able to read off his face whether he's telling the truth or not. Even after all those years. I guess Psychopaths are just really good at keeping their emotions to themselves. 'Psychopath' is the unspoken word here. None of us mention it. Sideswipe gets pissed and Sunstreaker doesn't want people to call him a psychopath, but we all know he is. It's like a curse word for their audio.
Sideswipe hoisted himself up. 'Shall we?' I nodded slowly and followed him. 'Before we get caught by Prowl...' he flashed me a smile, a fake one. The joke was to cheer him up instead of me. I know how worried he is about Sunstreaker. Probably just as worried as I am about Raven.
'Where are we going?' I question, pushing away the negative thoughts. 'Oh, I thought maybe we can just hang out...' he shrugged his broad shoulder nonchalantly. Sideswipe has always had something charming and sexy, yet mischievous. I think he invented that word. I always like to call him Mr. Mischief. So did my sister. I feel a sudden ache inside of me again that feels big enough to fall into. Sideswipe wrapped his arm around my shoulder, squeezing a little as if he could read my mind.
'You know what... why don't we watch a movie?'
I opened my mouth to reply, but we were cut off by Ironhide behind us. 'Sideswipe... Primus, I can snap your neck right now.' The mech swiftly turned. Almost like he was trying to make a pirouette. 'I know that you don't like it right now... but it's for her–' Ironhide cut him off. I had no idea what Mr. Mischief had been up to, but Ironhide didn't look happy. 'I don't care for who you're doing it. Even if it's Primus himself I would still yell at you! Get on your damn patrol and if you see your brother scavenging the highway, take him back to base. He's ghosting our phone calls.'
'Alright...' Sideswipe waved his hand before turning towards me. 'I gotta find my own twin... but I will catch up with you as soon as I come back, promise.' He leaned in and pressed a kiss on my cheek before storming off like the devil was chasing him.
'How are you holding up?'
'I am fine.'
'Are you sure about that, kid?'
'Yeah, I am fine.'
Ironhide didn't seem to fully believe me but accepted my answer. 'You weren't there this morning though,' he said as he walked off. He stopped momentarily. 'Oh... I was–' I cut myself off. I have been everywhere. Places my sister liked to go to. I checked them every day to see if she went back to one of them. It's unhealthy. That's how Ratchet described it when he figured it out last week. 'It's okay to feel hope, but don't torture yourself every day by doing this,' He had said, jabbing his finger at me like a sire would do at their sparkling after doing something bad. 'Just driving...' I finished. Ironhide only nodded before walking off. It's not a lie, but not the complete truth either.
I stood there, alone in the hangar, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Maybe get some recharge. I haven't had much in the last few weeks. It was tearing me up inside. If Prowl figures out I have been driving in that 'zombie' state, he will prohibit me from leaving the base, and probably force me to get some recharge.
Frag.
I can't have Prowl figuring it out. It was as if it was really hitting me by now. I deactivated my holoform and decided to get some recharge. Everyone was busy anyway and I doubted people needed me. I fell into a restless slumber. I kept having the same dream. Raven was running from someone or something. I could feel her panic and that intense fear that would even frighten me from here. The scene, however, was unclear to me, nor was the person chasing her.
I jolted awake as two powerful engines rolled into the base. The twins are back. I transformed, watching the terror twins do the same. Sunstreaker had that permanent scowl on his face. He looked terrible. I hadn't seen him for quite a while. His frame was dirty, dented, and scratched, he had a nasty wound on the left fin aside from his helmet. Watching him touching it made me believe it was really bucking him. It looked infected to me. 'Sunstreaker...' The silvery twin wheeled after me, but let his twin go as he got a middle finger. 'Love you too,' Sideswipe yelled sarcastically after him. 'Not much luck either, huh?' Sideswipe turned his helmet and shook his head. 'No, I found him somewhere in a wooded area... miles away from the base. Stupid mech... he shouldn't be leaving without me. I don't trust him... how stupid sounds that.'
'Shall I try to talk to him?' There was a hesitation. 'He's a little bit drunk... I don't think that would be a good idea.' I raised an optic ridge. 'Drunk?' Sideswipe shrugged. 'He started drinking highgrade after she disappeared.' Sideswipe avoided my sister's name just as much as I was. Pronouncing her name was like a stab right in the spark. 'Right...' I wanted to talk to Sunstreaker. He was close to my sister and I know that they have shared a kiss or two, but that was pretty much it. Or at least, that's what Sideswipe and I know.
Mirage came up to us, and he obviously noticed the commotion. I stopped asking him if he figured something out because one, he was trying his best, and two, the answers were always the same. 'He's not really in a good mood, huh?' Sideswipe shook his head. 'No, not really...' he mumbled. I excused myself to let the mechs talk and strolled after Sunstreaker. I believed he and my sister had some sort of connection. Raven knew Sunstreaker probably much better than I do. She always had an obsession with him.
The mech was moving slowly, almost as if he was just lost. 'Sunstreaker...' he either didn't hear or ignored me. I tapped on his shoulder, hoping I would startle him, and just out of a sudden, as if it was Megatron, he smashed me against the wall. With so much force it almost knocked me out. 'Sunstreaker!' I shrieked. It had no use, however...
He uncovered a sword and stabbed me. Energon oozed from the wound in my leg, nearly completely cutting it off. He had never done this before. He never lashed out at me like this. 'It's your fault, glitch!' I flinched. 'You stupid piece of metal!' he hissed. I backed off, raising my servos in peace. My spark was beating like crazy. 'Sunstreaker...' I tried to find the right words, but my processors weren't working. 'Why didn't you give her space?' he snapped. I frowned, trying to recall what he was talking about, and then I knew. As if I was hit by a sledgehammer. Raven wanted space. She thought I was digging into her life as if I was trying to keep her all for myself. Something Sunstreaker would do sometimes with Sideswipe. I never did that to my sister. She wouldn't even allow me. The psychopath Sunstreaker is, I know that he's good at manipulating, but he wouldn't manipulate her, right? Why would he do that? We have been befriended for so long. We know each other quite well... Why would Sunstreaker do such a thing? There's no motive. I pushed away the idea. I am being ridiculous.
'She was the one lying to me, Sunstreaker... I confronted her with that. She said she was hanging out with Jazz, but when Jazz got back and I asked her where my sister was, he said he hadn't seen her since that morning. I don't know where she had been and she was being mysterious about it. Of course, I wanted to know... wouldn't you want to know if it was Sideswipe?' A silence fell. A tense one. Sunstreaker narrowed his eyes at me like a predator ready to strike. He gave me that look he sometimes gives Decepticons before murdering them. Or I would rather say... slaughter them. He's a dangerous, unpredictable mech.
Sunstreaker's sword slipped back into his arm and he prompted off like he owned the place. He startled a few poor souls and disappeared into his dormitory. My optics traveled towards my leg. It was bleeding excessively and hurt like hell. Before I was about to comm Ratchet, my chest tightened. I felt her fear. That intense fear. The scenes flashed through my head, and I was barely able to see what was going on. It's always the same thing. The darkness, the woods, the rain, the fear, and the chaser, but who was chasing her?
'Ruby!'
My name was yelled and I snapped back in an instant. The fear I had felt from her side faded into the background and I met Jolt's bright blue optics. 'You need to come with me, right now.' He helped me back up on my feet. Jolt isn't the tallest and he seemed to struggle a little to help me find balance. We moved slowly towards the medbay, which was only two minutes of walking... without being injured. He sat me down. With a grunt, I lay down and vented heavily,– staring at the gray ceiling. 'You're losing a lot of Energon so I am going to call Ratchet and give you an Energon infusion.' I barely noticed what he was saying or doing. I just felt numb.
'Ruby, what happened to you?' Ratchet laid his servo on my help in a comforting manner. 'He blames me... it's my fault she's missing. I never should've said what I said–' he cut me off. 'This is not your fault, Ruby. She will come back, I am sure of that,' he stated. He turned away and I was knocked out. When I woke up, my leg was fixed, or almost fixed and it was nighttime by now. On my left, I saw a shape. Just for a moment, I hoped it was my sister. Maybe she got back or it had been one bad dream, but it was Sideswipe. Leaning against the wall, recharging I guess. I never understand how he's able to sleep in this position. He's always able to sleep in the most awkward positions.
'Sideswipe?'
His frame jolted and his systems rebooted. He wanted to make his way over to me but forgot to unlock his knees and fell face-first onto the ground. I looked over the edge of the medical bed and carefully got up. 'Are you okay?' I grabbed his arm. He had a few dents here and there but seemed okay. 'Ugh...' was all I got as he sat on the edge of the medical berth. 'I told you not to go after Sunstreaker...' he scolded, rubbing his helmet. 'Sorry... I hadn't seen him in so long and–' I cut myself off. 'I just miss her so much...' Sideswipe wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his frame. 'Me too... we all miss her,' he mumbled. It was nice to feel his warm frame against mine. Especially now everything is so messed up. 'Don't blame Sunny... please don't be mad at him.' I didn't reply. It sounded to me like he was begging me. Our friendship was shattering without Raven and it was all my fault. I had caused this mess, but why did she lie to me in the first place? I couldn't wrap my head around that. It was so out of character. My sister had been hiding something from me.
To be continued...