TFP: Alone

Chapter 31: Movie Time

Smokescreen's P.O.V.

I was on break, chatting with some of my cadets when Jolt walked in, looking tired as ever.

"You need look like you need some sleep." I say.

"I haven't recharged in days..." He sighed, plopping down on a storage crate next to me, a half-full cube of energon in his servo.

"I can't take a day off though." He huffed.

"Any progress?" I ask. The others lean in, interested.

"So far, there have been two recoveries. They were in young Bots who were healthy when they contracted it and they also had special care from some of the staff, being that they were family. It seems that the only cure is time and to make sure they are well fed. We don't have the resources to do this with everyone though. It's run its course in about five days. However, it's a roll of the dice whether the Bot will live or not. Only two out of the thousand that have contracted it.... I just feel like I could be doing more for these people." He said, rubbing a tired hand over his face.

"You're doing everything you can." I place a firm hand on his shoulder.

Legacy's P.O.V.

I thrust an empty energon cube into Sideswipe's fumbling hands and he purged the contents of his tanks into it. It was energon, but it was discolored into an almost green substance. I gagged looking at it and I turn away. He let out a groan and Sunstreaker removed the cube from his servos.

Sideswipe was getting worse. He had been here for a few days under mine and Sunstreaker's care. Rust spots had popped up all over his frame, particularly his face, he had started purging just now, he has been blind and deaf since he arrived, and I also knew he was in pain, because Sunstreaker would wince or grimace every once in awhile, feeling everything through the bond.

"I'll get some more cubes." I say, standing up. Once I was on the other side of the door, closing it behind me. I let out a breath. Sides wasn't gonna make it. He was purging all his energon. I remove the mask and goggles, making my way to the galley.

I picked up the scanner and made sure that I wasn't leaving any traces of the virus out here. I snagged some energon for all three of us before I headed back to the bedroom. I found Sunstreaker sitting on the ground, leaning on the berth asleep. I sigh, deciding not to wake them. I look at the cube of puke and huff, not wanting to leave it in here.

Holding my breath, I pick up the cube, holding it far away from my body. I tip toe out of the room and I go into the washroom, next to by bedroom. I go to the drain in the middle of the floor and I dump Sideswipe's barf out of the corner of the cube and into the drain. I adjust my footing slightly, but I lose my balance when I step in a puddle of water. I dropped the cube and fell down, a speck of the energon flicking into my optic.

"Ugh!" I groan, wiping my optic. My optic was unprotected! I forgot to put the goggles back on. I start to breathe rapidly and I smash my digit to bring tears to my eyes, hopefully washing the virus out.

"Legacy? I heard you-What are you doing?" Sunstreaker asked looking at me oddly. I bet it was quite a scene. There was puke in the floor, me smashing my own finger, crying, etc.

I explain to him what happened and he grabbed the scanner, scanning me. Green.

"I guess it worked." He said skeptically.

"Thank God." I say.

"What?" He turned to me.

"Thank Primus." I corrected myself. I would forget that I converted upon arrival on Cybertron. It was a bad habit. I had to watch that I didn't say that in front of the wrong Bot. He gave me an odd look before he headed back into the berthroom.

I followed him after I washed all the vomit down the drain and sanitized it. I put on the gear and I went in. Sides was awake. I could tell by his cooling fans. They roared when he was awake. The entire room was filled with the humming noise.

After a minute or so, I have an idea and decide it put it past Sunstreaker.

"Hey, do you wanna go in the lounge and watch a movie?" I ask.

"A what?! And I can't leave my brother alone in here." He growled.

"Well, Sides might like it too. He'll be able to watch it through your eyes instead of sitting here in silence. And a movie.... they're kinda like reports, but they're actually fun to watch." I say. He seemed to be mulling it over. Maybe even talking to Sides.

"Alright." He finally said. I got up and made my way to the lounge, Sunsteaker following close behind me.

"They're from Earth so, I'll put subtitles so you know what they're saying." I say, more to myself than him, setting up the TV and datapad.

"So, do you wanna watch and action, adventure, comedy, romance..." I suggest.

"Action, wait no, comedy. Sides wants to here a joke." Sunstreaker said.

"Why not both? It's about aliens." I joke. I kinda think of everyone as an alien even though it's actually me that's the alien. It was mind boggling.

I started Men in Black and it earned a few laughs out of Sunstreaker. I heard Sides laughing a little too. It was a nice change. I got up and brought us a couple energon cubes to sip on in the middle of the move. It seemed to soon when the end credits started rolling.

"That was pretty cool." Sunstreaker said. "I never thought Earth had anything like that..." He hummed. I giggled, earning a scowl from the yellow twin.

"It doesn't. This was just fiction." I explain.

"Then why do you watch it?" He questioned.

"Because they're entertaining. " I shrug, leaning into the couch. We sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Sunstreaker broke the silence.

"Why did you let us in here? I'm grateful. But, there's nothing in it for you. And you've helped us before. I don't understand how someone can be so giving. Of their fuel and their home..." He trailed off.

"Well, you guys don't have that. I was raised to be the kind of person I am. My carrier didn't have the greatest upbringing, she hardly talked about it. But, she said that that was the kind of person her brother was, despite it all, and she told us to strive to be like him." I explained. The one time that Mom talked to us about Andrew, it caused her to break down in tears. She never got the chance to grieve when she was working with Silas. We only heard about that from Dad.

"So he's dead. Your carrier's brother." I nod. "What happened to him?" Sunstreaker inquired.

"He was killed before my Carrier and Sire ever got together." I answer.

"What about your carrier?" He pried.

"Still on Earth. I hope at least. We haven't heard from her in a long time." I sigh. "What about your creators?" I change the subject.

"We're from The Well. During the Revival." He said simply. I nod my understanding. "Kup was the closest thing we had to a Sire." Sunstreaker says emotionless.

You could easily tell he was suffering from stress. His optics were dim, he hasn't mentioned his paint one time since he's been here, and he wasn't his normal cocky self. Not that I would be if I were in his position.