AN: When I wrote this, I hadn't seen "The Return of Optimus Prime" in about twenty years, so please forgive the slight futzing around with the timeline.

Grownups

By The Lady Razorsharp

August, 2005

A bright yellow New Beetle turned onto the long drive that led up to an iron security gate. One of the Beetle's tinted windows slid down to allow a thirty-something man to reach out and touch a button on a small call box.

"Yes?" said a pleasant, if slightly tinny, female voice.

The man leaned out the window, the sun painting vivid highlights in his copper hair. "Spike Witwicky to see Mr. Chase."

"Of course. Go right in."

The gate buzzed, and slowly swung open. The VW purred through the open gate, and Spike sat back against the upholstery, arms crossed over his chest and his dark brown eyes focused unseeing on the Autobot symbol on the steering wheel.

"Been a long time," said a youngish voice, in time with a bright blue LED on the dashboard.

"Yeah, Bumble--I mean, Goldbug." One corner of Spike's mouth curled upward in a self-depreciating smile. "Sorry, buddy. Guess old habits die hard."

The LED blipped as Goldbug chuckled. "No worries. We've all changed a lot."

Spike surveyed the smooth expanse of green lawn and the well-tended garden that surrounded the huge house in the distance. "I haven't seen Chip in...I don't know how long. He got married before Carly and I did, and that was, what, '91? We saw him just after Daniel was born, and that was '95..." He shook his head in amazement. "Wow. Ten years. Sure goes fast."

"The day Daniel was born--now that's a day I'll never forget," Goldbug remarked, a grin evident in his voice. "I remember going to Chip's wedding. Prime gave a toast--"

The Autobot fell silent as the name of their leader and friend lay heavy in the air. Daniel and HotRod--Rodimus--had told them about Prime's death a few days after their rescue from Unicron.

"Yeah," Spike murmured, as Goldbug smoothly braked to a stop in front of the house. "I remember."

Spike climbed out of the coupe, and the door shut by itself. Then the little car twisted and folded outward until the shiny black-and-gold form of Goldbug was standing beside Spike, who at 6'2" was a mere six inches shorter than the Autobot.

Spike rang the bell, and a grey-haired woman in a housekeeper's uniform opened the door. "Mr. Witwicky?" she asked.

"And my friend Goldbug," Spike said by way of introduction, as Goldbug nodded and smiled politely. "Is it okay if he comes in?"

"How about if I come out?" said a voice, and Chip Chase rolled up to the door, his face wreathed in smiles. His hair, nearly the same shade of russet as Spike's, was beginning to gray at the temples, and he sported a goatee and sleek bifocals, but his eyes were just as blue as they had been when he was a whiz kid of seventeen. "Thank you, Mrs. Wilson," he said to the housekeeper, and she nodded and went back into the house.

Chip pushed a button on the arm of his wheelchair, and a ramp slowly extended from the porch down to the drive. "Man, it's good to see you guys," he said.

"Been a long time," Spike said, extending his hand.

Laughing, Chip brushed Spike's hand away. "Now you know that's not going to do it," he said. "Come here."

Spike laughed and bent down to capture Chip in a brotherly hug. "I should know better."

Chip clapped Spike on the shoulder as the latter stood. "Yes, you should." He glanced up at the Autobot standing a few feet away, his brow wrinkled in thought. "I know you," he mused.

The Autobot smiled. "Give ya three guesses, and the first two don't count."

The blue eyes widened. "Bumblebee? Is that really you?" Chip wheeled closer to inspect the Autobot. "Wow, talk about your upgrades!"

Goldbug grinned. "And how. I even got a new name--Goldbug."

Chip laughed. "It fits. You look great."

"So do you, Chip," Spike interjected. "I suppose being the head of a multi-billion dollar software company suits you right down to the ground."

"It's a living," Chip shrugged, a smile playing about his mouth. "Renee's going to be furious that you stopped by when she wasn't home. She'll insist that you all come for dinner to make up for it."

"I think we can work something out. I'll tell Carly and Daniel; they'll be glad to see both of you."

"Speaking of Daniel," Chip said as they moved along the smooth asphalt drive, "how old is he now?"

"He's ten."

Chip grimaced. "Oh, Spike, don't even say things like that. Makes me feel old."

"You should hear him," said Spike. "'But Daaaaad, I'm not much younger than you were when you went to Cybertron by yourself!'"

"He's right," Goldbug remarked. "Remember when we went to get the cosmotron for Prime in Wheeljack's workshop? And the acid rain..." he trailed off, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Spike patted Goldbug's arm. "It's okay."

Chip frowned and wheeled between his two friends. "All right, spill it. Something's going on." When no one answered, he softened his voice. "What is it?"

They all stopped in their tracks. Goldbug turned to Chip, methanol pooling in his optics. "You heard about the attack on Autobot City?"

"Yeah, who hasn't? But the security must be really tight; nothing's getting through--not email, news reports, weather...Even phone and short-wave to Metroplex is out." Chip sighed. "Believe me, I tried to raise someone, but all I got was static." He glanced from Goldbug's face to Spike's. "What happened?"

"We were on Moon Base 2," Spike began. "This huge monster called Unicron tore it apart, but we were small enough to survive. Jazz and Cliffjumper were on Moon Base 1; Cliffjumper is okay, but Jazz is still in a coma. Perceptor's hoping for the best but preparing for the worst."

"Optimus sent a shuttle to Earth to get some energon cubes for the base on Cybertron," Goldbug continued. "Megatron...well, he attacked the shuttle." Tears began to spill down his faceplate. "He killed everyone aboard and then used it to get through the defense net."

"Oh, God," Chip breathed. "Who was on the shuttle?"

"Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet, and Brawn--as far as we can figure, they were the first casualties that day." Goldbug sighed. "Arcee found Windcharger...and Wheeljack. They died in the initial assault wave."

Chip closed his eyes. "Wheeljack..."

Spike stepped forward and sunk down on his haunches to Chip's eye level. "There's more. Megatron and Optimus fought at Metroplex. We heard that Starscream practically had to scrape what was left of Megs off the ground, but he and some of the other Decepticons got away."

There was a long silence before Chip raised his gaze to Spike's. "And Optimus Prime?"

"He's dead, Chip," said Goldbug softly. "He died of his injuries in the battle with Megatron."

Chip didn't say anything, and Spike and Goldbug exchanged an uncertain glance. Spike gently laid his hand on Chip's shoulder.

"Hey. You okay?"

The wheelchair-bound computer whiz looked up into his friend's face, huge tears in his sapphire eyes. "Yeah," he lied. "I'm fine."

"We just thought it would be better to tell you in person, before this gets all over the news," Spike explained. "We all loved Prime...Daniel is just beside himself."

"I'm sure." Chip sighed. "I guess we really are grownups now, if all of our childhood heroes are dead."

--End--