No one aboard the Nemesis, aside from Dreadwing of course, could ever fathom that Skyquake had the mental capacity to think anything beautiful. He was sure there were a few who doubted the green brute even knew what 'beauty' meant. He knew he wasn't the most intelligent on board, but he was a great deal more intelligent than he was given credit for. Yes, he was the perceived muscle on board, and unlike his identical twin, he wasn't an openly intelligent high-ranking officer. Dreadwing was the First Lieutenant of the Decepticons, outranked only by Lord Megatron himself. That post demanded intellectual credit regardless of who held it. Skyquake didn't get that kind of credit from the other Decepticons. Since he'd been reinstated into the Decepticon ranks, Megatron had been rather reluctant to put him into the battlefield. Dreadwing could have been a factor in that, being as protective as he was, but Skyquake couldn't be sure.
His twin was the perfect soldier and Skyquake was a victim of his own emotions. He understood his extended periods of inactivity. He'd been killed in battle for being reckless after all. Memories of the past few months filled his processor as a heavy exvent left the green Seeker. He knew more than he did before, but details of the resurrection itself were still way beyond his comprehension; everyone's comprehension; it had something to do with alternate dimensions, dark energon, and gods. If there was one mech that knew what had happened, it was Soundwave. Too bad he wasn't exactly the chatty type, so Skyquake would never know whether the Communications Chief was holding out on him or not.
Skyquake, despite his constant musings of irritation, didn't care about any of them or his activity. As long as he had his twin by his side, the rest of them could go to Pit. And when Dreadwing wasn't there, he occupied himself with the Eradicon computer network. He hadn't sympathized with the sentient drones and often took part in terrorizing them for sport. But now that he faced the same ridicule, being the loafing zombie who got killed by crashing mid-transformation, which was a humiliating manner of being offlined, he often found himself holding long, casual conversation with the Eradicon ranks. They were an interesting bunch, and he regretted not being able to allow himself to get attached to any of them, as the nature of their purpose meant many of them never made it back to the ship after battle. Like Skyquake, despite popular belief, they were intelligent. The Eradicons had connected their sector of the ship with Earth Internet. Skyquake was shocked to find this out; he was one of the few non-drones to know about this. Soundwave knew; then again, he knew everything. He saw what the Eradicons were doing but saw no malicious intent in the games and human social networking sites they entertained themselves with and allowed them to continue without alerting Megatron. Skyquake had since seen Soundwave clicking around in the network, for once taking leisure in something. Sure, the Eradicons were cannon fodder by strict purpose, but they assisted the Decepticon cause much more than by averting fire in the battlefield.
He hardly saw them as living shields anymore. They had interesting conversation. One thing that usually came up in conversation, Skyquake found brutally surprising, was a fascination with names. More than once he'd held conversation where he was asked what it was like to have a name and not a code. He also saw, many times, Eradicons on the Earth networks with pages filled with popular Earth names spanning forever it appeared. They called each other by names they chose for themselves as well; Bob, Steve, Carl, Michael, Barry, Fred…Odd sounding names, but Skyquake couldn't help but crack a smile when he saw the Eradicons calling each other by these titles.
Skyquake, to an extent knew how they felt. His name was hardly common knowledge around the Nemesis. They knew his reputation and that he was Commander Dreadwing's twin. Though, being a twin meant having your name confused. He'd even been mistaken for Dreadwing by the medic, Knock Out, and once Megatron even had slipped up and mixed them up in the dark corridors of the Nemesis.
They'd been standing next to each other during a pre-mission roll-call, having some mild conversation through their spark bond.
::How's your day going, Skyke?:: It was nothing unusual that they used their childhood nicknames within the bond. Their split-spark bond was a place for unrestricted affection; it was the only connection they had in front of others where they could be brothers. And with Dreadwing's new post, finding time to spend quality time alone was a rare, very rare, occasion. Dreadwing had spent the day overseeing progress in the energon mines.
::It's been fine. I was…researching.:: He'd been watching Earth pilots maneuver their jets in artful displays at events called air shows on an Internet channel called Youtube. ::I missed you.:: He purred through the bond, standing at attention, like his brother. To anyone outside observing the twins, the Seekers were completely stone-silent.
::I know, I'm sorry. Megatron's been insatiable lately.:: The Decepticon leader was announcing the plan; one Dreadwing already knew and had briefed Skyquake on a short time before they were summoned on the bridge. It was a simple energon retrieval mission.
Skyquake's amusement showed through their bond as he continued his motionless, expressionless act of paying attention to Megatron's speech.
::I know. I'm proud of you Drwing.:: He mused softly, almost smiling. His affections for his twin swelled through their bond. Out of the corner of his optic he saw Dreadwing's wings shift as he no doubt felt Skyquake in his side of their shared spark.
"Skyquake!-" Dreadwing never got to respond. Megatron's claw was pointing at the blue twin, and immediately the look in Megatron's optics read error and adjusted his point to direct at the true Skyquake. Irritation flared in Skyquake's spark and Dreadwing had pressed against it, past it, to soothe his brother. Skyquake's wings, which had hiked up in immediate reaction to the elementary mistake, relaxed.
"Skyquake, you are to stay behind with Soundwave for communications support. Dreadwing, you'll be flying with me and we will be accompanied by Eradicons Bunker 7 through 13." The twins replied in a united, "Yes my Lord" and stood at ease when moved past in Megatron's list of orders-to-bark.
Dreadwing's calm energy had flowed over Skyquake's spark and the green Seeker allowed himself to relax. The familiar gesture was one Dreadwing had offered since before Skyquake could remember. If it weren't for Dreadwing, Skyquake would have been dead three times over since his initial revival. Skyquake let his own interests cloud his judgments; he rushed into battles he had no chance of winning, he picked fights that he was unprepared to fight, he got himself hurt for the benefit of Dreadwing; he often expressed how he'd take a shot for Dreadwing with no thought. And he had many times. On the flip side, Dreadwing had done the same thing, risking life and limb for his twin. It was Dreadwing's doing that Skyquake was even alive now.
The green Seeker looked up when he heard jet engines whirring and whining. According to the planet's clock, it was just past five in the afternoon. The jet engines cut and he was left in silence again.
Skyquake's resurrection was shrouded in questions with no answers. He'd been killed by the Autobot Bumblebee, he knew that much. But then there were these fragments of rage and a primal instinct to kill. There were flashes of purple and red, a power that fought to control him, but was failing because of a desperation that called out through the stars for his twin. He knew these fragments were most likely results of the infusion with dark energon the previous Commander, Starscream, had cursed his body with. Soundwave had informed him, via recordings of a late Cliffjumper's reaction to the dark substance. However, not even Soundwave had evidence that could explain his return to sentience. Knock Out had suggested it had something to do with the hybrid energon he had pumping through his veins; a ratio of four parts regular grade to one part dark. While that may have been the case, that same arrangement had left Skyquake with a disintegrating consciousness. He developed flashes of rage and attacked offenders at the slightest offense. Even Dreadwing had been the subject of his anger. His other half had nearly left his life forever after a fight he'd picked. That had been a terrible mess…
The hybrid energon, while not only making him more volatile, also seemed to have been progressively and effectively blocking off their spark bond. Only on Skyquake's end it seemed, as Dreadwing showed no awareness about it. They had finally gotten some down time and were spending it, lying on Dreadwing's berth in their shared quarters. Skyquake was leaning on his twin, Dreadwing's arm draped over his green brother's shoulders. His bond had, that morning, been completely closed.
Skyquake was a protective twin, and this protectiveness easily blossomed into jealousy and paranoia when he was left in the dark about what his twin had been doing. This was not a problem they normally encountered, with their twin bond but it was when things started to get complicated; dark energon, demons and gods…And with long hours away from each other during their shifts, paired with the new unions Dreadwing must have forged when Skyquake had been dead, the green twin grew terrified that his brother had been in the process of replacing him. He wouldn't be able to sense a lie should Dreadwing actually have something to hide from Skyquake in conversation, and that only added to his fear. All he had was his brother…
"Drwing…You…Do you…still love me?" Skyquake had spoken after a long silence. When Dreadwing didn't respond, he thought, and was somewhat relieved to think, that Dreadwing had fallen asleep. When he turned to check, he was met with two wide red optics as Dreadwing peered at him.
"What? Of course I do Skyke. What kind of question is that?" Dreadwing was looking for some hint of the joke, but Skyquake turned back, trying to tap into their bond to no avail.
"…You and Megatron seem…close. Closer than before." Skyquake had noticed more laughs shared between the warlord and his brother. And it wasn't odd that Dreadwing would alert Skyquake to being late returning back to the Nemesis under orders from Megatron. Despite Megatron's vastly more volatile disposition, and increased cruelty, Dreadwing was still his SIC.
And after Starscream, a fellow Seeker, Skyquake was suspicious of the treatment Dreadwing was receiving…or giving, as would be the case.
"I have…more responsibilities now." That pause made Skyquake's spark, his half spark, jump.
Panic rose in his chest. Skyquake knew the dark energon was messing with his head, along with the bond. His being alive was killing the one thing he held dear in his last life.
Something…Someone, he never wanted to lose.
It was because of his irrational actions and getting himself killed.
…. I'm losing you, my brother.
And it's my fault.
I can't stop you replacing me.
"Dreadwing…please don't lie to me." Skyquake moved off of his brother's lap, glaring at the audacity of his twin.
"Skyquake, what-"
"You're replacing me!" Dreadwing only stared at Skyquake's frantic face, optics darting across his twin's features searching, accusing. The blue Seeker reached out with his spark, to show Skyquake his words were all too true… but…- Dreadwing's energon ran cold. Skyquake was locking him out of the bond. At least, he thought it was Skyquake. He knew about the dark energon…that had to be the culprit behind the sudden mood change.
"Brother, you are not thinking clearly. Listen to me, please. I am not replacing you." He put his hands on Skyquake's trembling shoulders. "You are my brother and we will get through this, just like how we got through everything before." He tried to reassure him by nudging their helms together; a gesture from their sparklinghood. Skyquake pulled away with a snarl; there was a purple vapor rising from Skyquake's armor and when Dreadwing looked away from the gaseous tendrils snaking through the air, he saw the mutated optics of his brother, locked on his own. Purple, and twisted in pain, like the snarl that curled his lip over his denta.
"Skyquake! Calm down!" Dreadwing jumped off of the berth, staring in horror.
"You're lying to me Dreadwing. You're not my brother anymore…that bond died with me, didn't it? To you, at least…" His voice was a bestial growl before he unleashed a roar; one like the resurrected Cliffjumper's in Soundwave's surveillance records.
Then Skyquake was gone. Out of the door to their quarters and by the time Dreadwing could look after Skyquake, probably halfway to his original gravesite; a place Skyquake often visited.
Skyquake's mind had been clouded by the dark energon . It was taking his body over and had been ever since he opened his optics after being restored by the overwhelming favors the universe held to the green Seeker. And…as fate would have it, those favors continued.
He'd been followed by Dreadwing, and yes, threatened with restraints as Skyquake's state left him as a threat to the Decepticon cause; he was violent and could be a source of information for the Autobots. His spite could have potentially loosened his tongue, for all Dreadwing knew. Being out in the open, alone…Dreadwing wasn't going to allow his brother to stay out there. Dreadwing asked Skyquake to come with him, to just at least be back on the Nemesis, but he refused. Instead, Skyquake opened fire on him.
Everything happened so fast.
Skyquake hardly remembered what happened next, and Dreadwing was thankful for that…
The dark energon in Skyquake subsided in shock as Skyquake realized what he'd just done and Dreadwing took advantage of that to take his stasis cuffs out of his subspace and bind Skyquake. When his brother resisted, Dreadwing had no other choice but to knock his twin into unconsciousness. He bashed the green Seeker's helm into the rocky terrain until his CPU went into shut-down.
The off-purple energon spilled from the back of Skyquake's helm. Dreadwing, inadvertently, had just freed Skyquake's mind of the horrible substance.
Dark energon was strange, and over time, Dreadwing and Skyquake had made a list of some of its attributes in hope of maybe finding a cure for Skyquake's failing sanity.
It was invasive, and was the pure opposite of the blue energon; anti-energon.
It caused aggressive behavior and fatigue.
It was regenerative and had the capability to raise the dead.
Its rate of osmosis was instantaneous.
Energon and dark energon attracted each other like magnets.
The final two were what perplexed Dreadwing the most and also, were what he suspected Skyquake's return could be charged with. It was the second to last alone that made Dreadwing do one of the stupidest, impulsive things he'd ever done. After seeing the purple pooling under Skyquake's helm, Dreadwing had a stroke of insanity, and genius.
He cut into his own energon line, severing a vein in the crook of his elbow joint, and Skyquake's. He had fused their lines, exposing the dark energon into himself and effectively halving Skyquake's concentration of the volatile substance in half. He pulled in half of the energon and when the levels plateaued, he separated their lines again, only to have a tidal wave of emotion hit his spark moments later; their bond was replenishing itself now with no wall to separate them. He barely had time to seal Skyquake's vein before the green Seeker awoke, shocked to receive a greeting through a bond he thought he lost. Memories of the prior ten minutes trickled back into his head and he had thrown himself into Dreadwing's arms, clinging to his twin's comforting frame.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...Drwing...I love you..." Skyquake shook, coolant leaking from his optics. Dreadwing only replied with gentle caresses over Skyquake's frantic spark, hushing the green twin softly when sobs erupted from him.
"Skyke, I love you." The words were so strong through the bond that Skyquake shuddered at the emotion behind them. It was the truth he had been too blind to see.
Later...Dreadwing told Skyquake what he wanted to know about how he'd been...treated.
And they carried on like nothing had changed.
They had each other, afterall. Nothing had changed.
Skyquake smiled to himself, looking on as six shapes lifted into the sky over the horizon, the rich blue color of the object catching the early evening orange sun.
He'd seen these pilots on the Eradicon network a few days after Dreadwing had risked his life to save his. The golden and royal blue jets reminded him of Dreadwing...And it was only too fitting that the name of this group was the Blue Angels...
Angels, who watch over and protect.
Who love unconditionally and would give their life for those they love.
Who could carry those who need it and pick them up when they fall.
One of which Skyquake held dear in his spark and loved with all of his being.
Dreadwing.
He was his Blue Angel.