Unwanted

.: Chapter 02 :.

AN: [crawls out of hiding and glances around] Ahaha... hello my dear readers, I'm finally back from my terribly long absence from the world of fanfic... and what's this? I've even go an update for you all~ So please no pitchforks and angry mods out for my blood, if you'd please.

But before we get to the next instalment of Unwanted, I really would like to thank you all for the wonderful and kind reviews I have received. They really made me smile and I'm so glad you enjoyed this fic and felt it worth continuing- even if that continuation is extremely late... -.-' But it's here now and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.

And yeah, this is unedited so please excuse my awful grammar, I also haven't written anything in a long while so I'm probably very rusty... I apologise.

So, with all that said... I give you chapter two of Unwanted~

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

...

When the twins finally awoke from their recharge the next orn; idly noting that it was far earlier than what was considered normal for them, they soon came to the realisation that their early rise was caused because of a strange feeling of dread sitting in the pit of their tanks.

A feeling, which seemed to be screaming out to them from the depths of their very sparks, warning them in the only way it could that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

This of course confused and unsettled the younglings immensely. Neither of the two could think of anything that could possibly have caused such a strong feeling, nor could they place why this disconcerting feeling had been the reason that they would both suddenly wake from recharge a full three joors earlier than their usual routine.

It could not have been the result of a prank gone awry or their negligence in covering their tracks from stealing the last of the energon goodies, nor had they forgotten to place their mech creators paint cans back where they had found them, having used the paints to draw on their unsuspecting little brother. They were both far too skilled in the art of covering their tracks and laying the blame onto others to be caught for such trivial things.

So if it was not the result of bad planning or forgetfulness... what was it?

The two younglings shared a glance; twin pairs of baby-blue optics staring confused into their mirror image, searching and seeking for the answer to their silent question, each wanting to know what this feeling was and why it was there.

Lying atop their berth, still curled in a tangle of red and gold limbs, the two younglings conversed silently; speaking along the sibling bond they shared so as not to disturb the other occupants of their home, a rather thoughtful act considering just who they were.

:: What is this? ::

The little red mechling blinked at his brother. Sideswipe's mental voice was unusually quiet and tinged with the feeling of uncertainty the likes of which he had never felt before. He vented quietly and shifted ever so slightly atop the berth, one tiny black servo coming up to rest against the cherry red metal of his chassis. He could feel the beat of his young spark beneath the warm metal, strong and steady, yet now there was also the underlying feeling of impending unease and confused restlessness that clenched at his spark like claws, sending it twisting and churning with the unfamiliar feeling.

:: I don't know. ::

Was the only response he received from his elder brother, who looked far more at ease in the unknown situation they had found themselves in.

Feeling across the bond he could feel Sunstreaker's own confusion and the steadily growing annoyance at the disconcerting feeling. This also told Sideswipe that his brother was not as calm as he would have liked either of them to believe. Neither of the two knew what was happening to them, nothing like this had ever happened before so they had no way of knowing just what had caused this new and unsolved mystery in their sparks.

Sideswipe shifted, feeling slightly nervous over the fact his brother did not have the answers they needed. It was not common for either twin to ever feel like this; nervous or uneasy. They were the bold and outgoing pair in the family, they dived helm first into trouble like it was the most natural thing in the world, and for them it was. But these new feeling of uncertainty and foreboding were not something they were used to feeling, they were not used to feeling weak and timid like little Red-Alert.

But now, now they were at a loss– they had no answer or any indication of why this feeling had appeared. It was an unknown factor to their once simple young lives, and that scared them. It made them feel as small as they truly were compared to the rest of the world, not big and tough like they wanted to believe... and for the very first time in their lives, they came to the conclusion that this was possibly just a fraction of what their youngest may have felt every orn since his creation.

It was a strange and unsettling realisation for the both of them; to know this was how little Red-Alert felt every waking moment of his life.

How had he managed to live like this? They didn't know. But perhaps he wasn't as weak as they had once thought him to be, living with such feelings raging inside of himself, it was really no wonder he acted the way he did and both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe felt the touch of guilt for ever thinking their youngest was anything but strong.

Maybe it wasn't the same kind of strength they both shared, but their brother had a different type of strength– even if Red-Alert was a bit too timid and physically weaker than most, he was still strong in his own way, and they could understand that much.

Sideswipe sat up. :: He isn't really weak... is he? ::

Sunstreaker glanced to his brother and shook his helm. :: No, not like we used to think. He has his strengths, like we have ours. ::

:: How did we never see this before? :: Sideswipe felt his spark lurch with guilt; how much pain had they knowingly and unknowingly caused their youngest with their careless actions and spiteful words? He didn't want to think about it.

Following his brother's lead Sunstreaker sat up, an arm wrapped around his twins shoulder-bolts in an affectionate show of comfort. :: Because we didn't want to. :: He replied solemnly, feeling just as guilty as his red counterpart over their treatment of little Red-Alert.

It was then that an unspoken agreement passed between the two brothers as they shared a meaningful look– one that vowed there and then that from this point on they would be kinder to their youngest; they would no longer tease and torment him like they had in the past, they would respect his privacy and protect him from harm, anything to help ease the horrible thoughts raging within his mind.

Nodding once to each other the two slid silently from their berth; landing with practiced ease onto the hard flooring of their room. They padded across the room, the feeling of unease still churning their tanks as they crept closer to where their youngest recharged. They shared one last glance before Sunstreaker gently shoved his brother forward, motioning to the red twin to wake their youngest.

Shooting his brother a dirty look Sideswipe stepped forward, "Hey, Red. Wake up." he called out gently, knowing the little mechling was a light recharger– he had caught them many times in the process of sneaking out.

There was no reply.

Calling out again Sideswipe waited for the telltale sounds that their youngest was awake; searching the darkness for the glowing blue hue of their little brothers optics or the sound of gears shifting as he onlined. One second turned into three and still there was no reply, no glow from onlining optics or the hum of his systems as various subroutines came online– there was not even the blue sparks that sometimes danced across little helm horns when he was surprised.

There was only silence.

Sharing a look the twins wondered if maybe their little red and white brother was ignoring them, not that they could really blame him if that was the case. They were all well aware now, how cruel they had been to him.

The silence stretched on, and with it the uneasy feeling in their sparks began to grow stronger with every passing moment. They felt it then; something wasn't right, and that something had to do with their little brother.

Having had enough of the darkness Sunstreaker turned, muttering unintelligibly under his breath as he strode across the room; reaching up onto the tips of his peds in order to flick the light switch situated to the left of the door.

With the room now brightened they turned back to Red-Alert's berth, expecting to see their youngest glaring moodily at them for the rude awakening. Instead of being met by the grumpy faceplate of their youngest, the sight before their very optics made their fuel pumps skip a beat and their tanks churn in shock.

The berth was empty.

Sideswipe let out a strangled keen, lunging onto the empty berth and patting it down like he expected Red-Alert to suddenly materialize in front of him, though it was clear that the young mechling was not going to yell "Surprise!" and appear out of thin air to laugh at their expense– he was far too kind-sparked for that anyway.

It was official; Red-Alert was gone.

The twins were thrown into a state of shock. Where had Red disappeared too? Was he still in the house, possibly with their creators, or had he gone somewhere– though the latter was unlikely seeing as he rarely left the house anyway and thinking about it he also disliked recharging anywhere but their room.

"Where is he?" Sideswipe asked, turning to his twin as he jumped from the berth.

Sunstreaker appeared calm, but his tense frame spoke volumes; he was just as worried for their youngest. He watched Sideswipe and sent a dirty look to his twin when he was asked of their brother's location. "How would I know, I was recharging same as you." He shot back, arms folding over his chassis.

Sideswipe sank to the floor looking dazed, his optics wide and glassy as he stared at his brother in unrestrained shock. Sunstreaker faired a little better, he at least still held onto some sense of reality instead of falling into a daze like his twin. He was tense, his frame almost humming with pent up energy as his mind whirled, going over possibilities that would explain why and where their younger brother had ran off too.

"What should we do?" the red youngling finally asked.

Sunstreaker shrugged, "We look for him, duh."

It seemed like the only logical option they had, for they could not just leave their brother wherever he was, it was their job to look after him and make sure he was safe– not that they had been doing a good job before this but still, better late than never.

With a nod of agreement the two left their room, heading straight for their creator's and boldly waking them up by yelling into their audios that Red-Alert was missing. It didn't take long for their mech and femme creators to online and search the entire house, turning furniture upside down in their hurry.

While this went on the twins sat to the side, heads bent together as they communed across their bond. They talked over where Red-Alert could have gone too, why he had left –though the reason was probably because they were always tormenting him– and how they could find him.

Surprisingly it was Sideswipe who finally came up with a solution as to how to find their lost little brother. When he mentioned his plan to Sunstreaker the golden twin couldn't help but smile at the idea, it was so simple that he wondered why he had not thought of it himself.

The idea was simple; reach across their sibling bond and find Red-Alert.

And so for the first time in a very, very long time, both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe opened their bond with their youngest in hopes of reaching and finding him– if only to apologise for their stupidity and negligence.

They only hoped that Red-Alert could still hear them.

...

...

So, that was chapter two... I can't say I'm fully pleased with it– the ending was rushed and I wasn't sure what I was aiming for with it. Obviously, its left open for maybe one more chapter, I have a small idea already gnawing at me for that but we'll see if you want me to continue or not.

The twins finally realise Red isn't such a weakling, seeing as he's still sane after all the mental trauma they've put him through I'd say it's a step in the right direction eh?

Well, leave your thoughts and feel free to yell at me for taking so long... over a year now! Oh gosh... I am bad aren't I?

R&R

Babybee17