DISCLAIMER: Transformers isn't mine, Mystique and Zenith are.

Yeah, so I was going through all of my stories, and this update happened. In the middle of the night. I REGRET NOTHING. (Except leaving this story for what, over a year? Yeah. Sorry about that.)

Warnings for this chapter: Mostly angst, with a bit of blood and shock. Nothing particularly graphic.

Peripheral Vision

Chapter 13

Mirage skidded and tripped over rocks, trying to keep up with the taller Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Prowl had taken the lead, while Mystique was barely a few steps behind Mirage, watching for any sign of pursuit. It was odd to know exactly what his twin was doing without having to ask. Some part of his processor still hadn't fully registered everything yet.

My twin. My sister.

Alive.

I still have a twin.

Yes, that was definitely going to take some getting used to. But even after all those millennia closed, their bond worked without any effort on his part. He could sense every movement his sister made, even though he couldn't see her at all – she'd switched on her cloaking generator out of habit, just after leaving the cave. She was having no trouble with the rough ground. She'd crossed it in the dark hundreds of times.

Which made it a shock to both of them when she abruptly stumbled and almost fell to her knees.

"Ow!" Mirage instinctively yelped in pain before realizing it wasn't his and spinning around to help his sister. "Tika? Are you okay? What happened?"

"…Tripped." Mystique shook her head in confusion and accepted his hand up. "I – I must be tired. That doesn't usually happen. Come on, hurry. The clan won't follow us too far past their borders, so we're probably clear now, but…" She pulled on his arm, urgency transferring across the bond as they started running again. "I don't know. Zenith is dead, and that might..." Mirage almost jumped at the sudden surge of horror, before realizing it wasn't his. Mystique's hand on his started shaking, and she stumbled again, gasping for air.

"He…he's dead. Zenith is dead."

"Yeah. Yeah, he is. It's okay. You're safe from him now." Mirage almost tripped when Mystique stopped abruptly, her panic rushing across the bond. "Tika, it's okay. Hey. Calm down. He's gone."

Sideswipe turned around, followed by his twin and Prowl, and took a few steps back toward them. "Guys? What's wrong?"

Mystique shook her head again, dazedly. "I killed him. I killed Zenith. How…how could I?"

Even with the feelings from the bond, Mirage wasn't sure he understood. Her thoughts were scattered, but from what he could piece together, she viewed Zenith as….a father? Really?

"Whoa." Sunstreaker interrupted the silent exchange by taking a step closer and staring at Mystique. "Um, did you know you're bleeding? Because it looks really bad."

"Not mine," Mystique muttered, paying very little attention to the other three Autobots. Her spark-sense was retreating from the bond, her hands shaking and voice quivering. "It's – it's his. I don't…"

Sideswipe's optics widened in alarm as he followed his brother's gaze. "Holy frag. Mystique, that wasn't there before. Mirage? Come on, guys, seriously…"

Mirage shook off the effects of his sister's confusion and glanced down at the energon streaks across her abdominal plating. Sudden fear jolted through him – his own, this time – when he realized that there was energon running down her leg from her hip joint, enough to drip onto the ground. "Tika! What happened?"

He must have finally gotten through, because she looked down and brushed a hand across her side in bewilderment. "I – I – oh." She pulled her energon-streaked hand back, revealing what looked like a flat metal plate extending a few centimeters out from her side. "Of course. Of course he had a knife. Never forget a backup weapon." Intense green optics faded to a lighter color and flickered slightly. "Oh…" She took a step or two away from Mirage, stumbling and gasping. "Ow…"

Pain stabbed across the bond, almost drawing another yelp from Mirage, seconds before Mystique's optics went offline and she collapsed. The bond slammed shut, and Mirage found himself on his knees with black spots flickering in front of his optics.

"Tika? Tika!" Mirage fought against the sudden cold emptiness in his spark and almost collapsed reaching for his sister. No! No, not again! I can't do this again! You have to be okay! His voice shook and cracked in pain and fear. "Mystique!"

"Out of the way, Mirage!" Prowl pushed him a few inches back, kneeling beside Mystique's crumpled form and studying the injury clinically. "She's bleeding out. Running with that injury…Primus knows how much damage it did. Sideswipe, do we have comms back?"

The red Autobot took a second before replying nervously. "Yes, mostly. There's still a lot of static. Can't guarantee the whole message will get through. Is she…"

"Get Ratchet out here, now," Prowl ordered. "Sunstreaker, help Mirage. I'll take Mystique. Let's move!"

"No. No!" Mirage struggled to hold on to his sister as the gold twin pulled him back. His vision was blurring, spark throbbing in pain. "No! She's – you can't – she's not – don't! Leave her – "

Sunstreaker was being surprisingly gentle, for him, but the larger warrior still had no difficulty picking Mirage up with one hand under each arm and hauling him to his feet. "Mirage. Hey! Mirage! Listen to me!" A light slap to the side of Mirage's face jolted him back to reality for a second, to see that Sunstreaker was holding him up and shaking him in an effort to get his attention. "Mirage! Focus, okay? I know. I get it. I do. But you have to stay awake. You hear me? Focus!"

Mirage shook his head and struggled to reorient himself. Sideswipe was on his other side, helping to keep him upright. "T-Tika…" He allowed the twins to pull him back in the direction they'd all been running in the first place, but his legs weren't really cooperating. Nothing was. "Where – "

"Prowl's got her," Sideswipe told him, tone probably meant to be reassuring. It didn't particularly work. "She'll be okay. Ratchet's on his way. She'll be fine."

Maybe it was the increasing sense of his spark being ripped in half, but Mirage didn't believe a word of it.