Surprise (part one)
"Autobots! Roll out!" called Optimus. Elita nodded and ran through the groundbridge along with everyone else. Raf had detected possible Decepticon activity nearby. Nobody was taking any chances. Not since she had been freed ten months ago. She shuddered at the very memory of captivity. Optimus pulled up next to her. Elita resisted the urge to grab his hand. They were at war, after all, and even though they were spark mates now, they couldn't risk any affection in front of the 'cons. Even though Megatron already knew about their relationship, he couldn't know that they were sparkmates. Arcee and Bumblebee stepped through first, followed by Bulkhead, Elita, and then Optimus.
"Look! There's some 'cons at two o clock!" said Bulkhead, pointing at a spot not far from where they were standing.
"Tight formation," ordered Optimus, transforming into his truck mode.
The rest of the team followed suit. Going full throttle, they accelerated towards the unsuspecting Veicons, who didn't notice until it was too late. Elita slammed into one of them head on, but it didn't die yet. It fired some shots at her, but she easily dodged them. Honestly, Megatron's minions were almost boring these days. Elita easily dispatched the Veicon and turned around to find another one. That's when the dizziness hit her. She staggered around, trying to stop the world from spinning so fast. Did one of the shots hit her vitals? No, she would have felt it. Something hard slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground. A veicon sat on top of her, gun aimed at her spark. It was so blurry, she could only see the barrel. Her head was pounding. One coherent thought formed in her head: "I am not going to be killed by one pathetic Veicon," she thought to herself. There was a flash of red, and the Veicon was pulled off her.
Optimus' voice rang out. "Elita, are you okay?" he asked.
She tried to move her lips to speak, but she just couldn't form any words. The world started to go dark. Was she dying?!
"Ratchet! We need a groundbridge!" Arcee shouted.
That was the last thing Elita heard before she succumbed to unconsciousness.
Elita awoke with a start. She was laying on a pallet in the medbay, and it was dead silent, save for Ratchet fiddling with some equipment.
"What happened? Where are the others?" she asked, her voice raspy.
Ratchet turned. "They're still fighting. And to answer your question, you fainted," he replied.
Elita's optics widened. "Fainted? Why did I faint?" she asked, frustration edging into her voice. Of all the stupid reasons to get carted off the battlefield! She mentally noted to apologize to everyone later when they got back. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit her and she had to lay back down.
Ratchet sighed. "You fainted because... Because you are going to be a mother."
Elita froze. "Are you sure?" she asked.
Ratchet nodded. "I'm positive," he assured, holding up a scanner.
"Congratulations!" squealed Miko and Raf, jumping up and down like maniacs.
Jack smiled. "What names do you have picked out?" he asked.
A thousand different emotions flooded through her head. The first one was shock. It made ice flood her veins, making her stay in place. But joy, pure, unbridled joy overrode the shock. Within a few months, she would be holding a little girl or boy. And Optimus-he would be such a great father.
"Do you know what gender my sparkling is?" Elita breathed, finally sitting up.
Ratchet shrugged. "I don't know. It's too early to tell what gender they are," he said.
Everyone froze. "They?" asked Raf.
"I'm having twins?!" Elita cried. This day was getting crazier by the second, but yet, it was incredibly happy. She could imagine her Sparklings growing up with the Autobots, maybe fighting Decepticons when they got older... Elita gasped. Megatron's face flashed in her mind.
Jack stepped forward. "Elita, are you all right?" he asked.
"How could I have been so stupid?!" Elita cried, mostly to herself, "It's too dangerous to start a family in a war with the Decepticons!"
Miko sat down on the cot next to her. "Don't worry, Elita, they'll be fine! What would the 'cons want with some random Sparklings anyway?" she assured.
Elita turned around sharply to face Miko. "You don't know what Megatron has done to 'random Sparklings'. And those weren't even mine!" she spat, her optics blazing like a blue fire.
Miko backed away. Elita knew that humans didn't always understand the things that Autobots did, but that proved to be too much of a problem sometimes. Optimus said not to be angry at humans for what they didn't understand, but sometimes, it was hard not to.
Raf looked down. "What did Megatron do to Sparklings?" he inquired worriedly.
Elita took a deep breath to steady herself. As painful as this was, they needed to understand this. "As you know now, my crew and I were being held prisoner on the Nemisis and were being killed off one by one. What I didn't tell you is that my third-in-command, Marrok, was trying to keep his Sparklings alive. His sparkmate was dead, and they were all he had left. There were three of them, two boys and a girl. Not triplets-they were about five, three, and one in human years when we were captured. He successfully hid all three of them for several months, but that didn't last. One night, during a surprise inspection, Megatron found them and took them to the torture room. Marrok tried bargaining with him to please, take him instead, but that didn't work. Megatron decided to take him and me in there as well, so that he might get info out of us while experimenting on the Sparklings. It took two days to finish them off. It was horrible. Marrok kept yelling out their names the whole time, and Megatron got annoyed and ripped out his vocal cords after a day and a half to shut him up. But he still kept making noise. I will probably have the words 'Windseeker', 'Zora', and 'Cloud' in my head for as long as I live. And..." she choked, "with my Sparklings, it would be worse because Megatron would have even more leverage on Optimus. If he got his hands on them-" Elita couldn't finish. But the silence did it for her. She stalked past her shocked companions and turned on the groundbridge. "I'm going for a drive. Don't tell Optimus a thing," she ordered. Elita drove through the groundbridge, leaving herself alone with her thoughts.
"Should we go after her?" asked Jack, staring at the groundbridge.
Ratchet shut it off. "No. Elita just wants to be alone," he said.
Miko frowned. "I just feel bad. I mean, this was a happy moment until the Decepticon issue," she said, resting her chin on her hand. It was probably her fault that Elita stormed out like that, but then again, nobody expected her to do that. Unpredictable!
Raf sighed. "What should we do?" he asked.
Miko stood up. "I vote we end the war so Elita won't have to worry about the 'cons!" she declared.
Ratchet scoffed. "Yeah, that's not happening anytime soon," he grumbled.
"Ratchet! Bridge us home!" commanded Arcee through the communicator. Bumblebee protested something with a series of fast beeps.
Arcee sighed. "Fine. Ratchet, PLEASE bridge us home," she amended.
Miko giggled. If Angela were here, she would probably make some sort of comment about how cute Bumblebee and Arcee were together. And Abby would elbow her in the ribs and everyone would laugh. Oh, but if Abby and Angela were there, maybe they would have convinced Elita to stay. Great, now she made herself sad.
Ratchet pulled the lever, and the Autobots ran back in the base.
"Where's Elita?" asked Optimus, glancing at the empty cot in the medbay.
"She, uh, went for a drive," answered Jack.
"Where?" prompted Bulkhead.
Miko shrugged. "Somewhere, I guess," she said.
Bumblebee walked up to the computer and pointed to a spot on the map. There was a dot on the map labeled Elita, traveling at a steady pace. It was getting farther and farther away from the base, and closer and closer to-.
"No," mumbled Optimus. "Oh Primus, Elita, please turn around."
Miko gasped. Elita was heading straight towards an energon mine. Straight towards Megatron.
Elita drove and drove, trying to keep her thoughts from getting too out of the horrid memories filled her mind anyway. Images of Marrok's demise flashed into her head. Images of those poor Sparklings as they were tortured. Windseeker, who knew what Megatron was going to do to him and begged him not to. Zora, who screamed for her older brother for hours after he was killed. And the youngest, Cloud, too little to understand the fate that awaited him. Static filled her ears. Her communicator must have hit a rough patch. She sighed. Then, she heard a drilling sound coming from nearby. Miners. Elita transformed into her regular form and dove behind a large rock.
"Well, have you found anything?" demanded a familiar voice. Elita shivered. It was Megatron. By then, it was too late to keep driving. Her best bet was to stay put and hope they didn't find her. Then, the outside of the mine became quiet. She exhaled. Now she could leave. Elita noticed a trail of energon leading into the mine. If she set it on fire somehow, maybe it would kill Megatron. Optimus' voice rang in her head, saying "It wouldn't be right to kill him like this." But Elita shook that thought away. This was for the safety of her children. Surely, her sparkmate would understand. Taking a deep breath, Elita stepped back several steps and took aim. Something hard clamped her arm.
"Crawling back to me? I must say, I'm surprised," drawled Megatron.
Elita wrenched her arm out of his grip. "I'll only crawl back to you when I'm about to finish you off," she hissed.
"That's a pity. We're missing you back at the Nemesis," he taunted.
Filled with rage, Elita fired upon Megatron, who easily dodged her shots.
"Really? Firing upon me? Elita-one, you must have a death wish," Megatron laughed. He roundhouse kicked at Elita, who dodged it by mere inches. She absolutely had to dodge everything that he threw at her. If anything hit her spark, it would spell disaster for the Sparklings. Elita threw punch after punch, trying to get Megatron off his guard, but his defense was just as good as his offense. She couldn't get a good hit in, but then again, neither could he. Elita aimed a kick at Megatron. Too late, she realized that she'd left an opening. Megatron grabbed her leg and slammed her to the ground. Thankfully, she landed on her back. Elita rocked back and launched herself at Megatron, using her momentum. He buckled back, falling down to the ground. She dug her foot into his chest and aimed her gun at his spark. Now, she would end this once and for al-
BAM! Elita was knocked to the side. She whirled around. Breakdown had completely blindsided her. She stood up quickly. Now, she was outnumbered and outgunned. Both Megatron and Breakdown charged her. Elita had no other option but to fight. She charged back at them, vowing to end the Decepticon menace. But she was no match for both of them working together. Within minutes, Breakdown had her arms pinned.
Megatron laughed. "I applaud your effort, Elita-one, but unfortunately, you were no match for the mighty Decepticons," he taunted, putting his blaster on her spark. She tried to shake out of Breakdown's grip, but he was way too strong. It was all she could do to keep from crying. Looks like Megatron would kill her Sparklings after all.
At the last second, Megatron shifted his gun to the side and fired. The shot went wide, to another intended target.
"Well, if it isn't Optimus Prime," smirked Megatron. Elita turned her head as much as she could. There stood her sparkmate, next to a smoking crater where Megatron's shot had hit.
"Megatron, let Elita go. We both know what the real fight is," Optimus commanded.
"That is correct," agreed Megatron, gesturing for Breakdown to move farther away. Breakdown nodded and dragged Elita nearer to the mine. She noticed that there was massive puddles of energon not five feet from her. If she could set it on fire, it would trigger an explosion that would injure both Breakdown and herself. But that was her only chance of escaping. Meanwhile, Optimus and Megatron were in a deadlock. Neither of them seemed to be getting the upper hand. Elita summoned all the courage she had and lifted her gun as much as she could without Breakdown noticing. Luckily, he was focusing more on the fight then he was on her. She took aim and fired.
BOOM!
The mine wall exploded, sending Elita and Breakdown flying in different directions. She stood up quickly and ran towards Optimus and Megatron, who were both distracted by the blast. Elita, for once, blindsided Megatron with a kick to the head. Optimus took the opportunity to slam him to the ground, knocking him out. Elita aimed her gun at Megatron's spark, but Optimus shook his head. He knew her too well. And she knew him too well. Elita lowered her gun and followed him back to the base.
"Are you all right?" asked Optimus worriedly as soon as they got back to base.
Elita sighed. "Physically? Yes," she answered.
Optimus grabbed her hand with both of his. "What else is bothering you?" he asked softly.
She looked into his optics. The rest of the world seemed to melt inside of them.
"Optimus, I can't believe this, but... We're going to be parents," she said finally.
There was a loud crash. Bulkhead tripped over some of Ratchet's equipment in shock. Bumblebee had passed out, falling into Arcee's arms.
Optimus picked up Elita and spun her around happily. "That's wonderful! You're going to be such an amazing mother!" he cried.
Elita smiled in spite of herself. "Twins," she muttered sheepishly.
Another thump. Bulkhead passed out.
Optimus hugged her to his chest. "I could never have imagined anything better," he whispered.
"I'm happy about it too, but it's too dangerous to have kids with Megatron around. I'm already a liability to you, imagine what would happen if Megatron got his hands on our Sparklings," she said worriedly.
Optimus squeezed her hands. "Megatron will never get ahold of them so long as I am alive," he vowed. Elita nodded, reassured. She realized that her Sparklings were as safe as they could be with her and Optimus. And that was all that mattered.
Surprise (part two)
2 months later...
Elita sighed. Two more weeks. At least, that's what Ratchet believed.
Two more weeks, and the sparklings would arrive. She sighed. June had thrown her a baby shower, which she'd found quite enjoyable, but she wished that Angela and Abby could have joined as well. Elita walked into the trophy room and stared at the teleporter, one of the only things that Abby and Angela had left behind. The other was a pair of sunglasses.
"Hey, why so glum?!" Miko beamed, opening the trophy room door.
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a little trapped," Elita admitted, putting the sunglasses back in the shelf.
Ratchet had ordered her to stay in the base until the sparklings arrived. She didn't like being away from combat for so long, but being in a confined space for two months was worse. It reminded her too much of prison.
"Well, how about we go for a drive?" Miko suggested.
Elita sighed. Ratchet was busy elsewhere in the base and the rest of the team was scouting for energon. A task that Optimus grew increasingly concerned about, since the sparklings needed more. Jack and Raf were at home.
"I don't know. I'm not sure Ratchet would approve..." Elita said warily.
Miko huffed. "Who cares about Ratchet?!" she griped. She must've seen the look on Elita's face, because she backtracked. "Then, do you at least want to go on the roof? You look like you could use some fresh air." Miko added hastily.
Elita smiled. That would be perfect! She would still be at the base, but she'd getting fresh air!
"That would be great, Miko," she said gratefully.
The view was amazing on the roof. Elita could see many miles of desert, as well as the endless blue sky. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.
"So, have you thought of names yet?" Miko asked.
Elita placed her hands on her chest, feeling the Sparklings' spark beat along with her own.
"Optimus and I have discussed it and we agreed that if one of them was a girl then we would like Arielle," she said, closing her eyes a moment, letting the bittersweet memories overtake her.
Miko smiled. "I like it. What about a boy name? As much as I would like another two girls around, there is a possibility that one or both would be boys," she said.
Elita laughed. "We agreed on Orion," she said. Miko smiled. "I like that one too. But what happens if both are the same gender? You wouldn't name both of them Arielle or Orion, right?" she questioned.
Elita shook her head. "No, that would be too confusing," she smiled.
Miko's smile fell. Elita knew something was seriously bothering her, since Miko was always smiling. "Are you homesick again?" she asked, kneeling down to her human friend's level.
Miko shook her head. "No. I just wish Abby and Angela were here. I know they only stuck around for less than a day and I don't know them very well, but I just miss them in a weird way," she explained.
Elita nodded in understanding. She knew the feeling. But then again, being imprisoned with someone in a hopeless situation caused a lot of bonding.
"Would you like to know how I met them?" she asked.
Miko nodded excitedly.
"When I met the two of them for the first time, they had just outdistanced Megatron and Starscream and were trying to plan an escape. I told them to get out as quickly as they could. Angela seemed to recognize me, and to this day, I don't know how. The 'cons caught up to them and they got thrown in my cell. That night, I think the shock of the situation had caught up to them. Angela was pacing like a madman, and Abby was just rocking back in forth in a ball. After a while, I asked them how they'd came to be there, just to make conversation. But it actually improved their morale. We just told each other stories until we fell asleep ," Elita recalled.
"What kind of stories?" Miko asked.
"Well, Abby told me about her family, how she used to sneak into her school library when she was little, and the time when she'd accidentally set popcorn on fire. Angela told me about her parents, when her sister was born, how she accidentally won a relay race, and how she met Abby. I told them about my sister, how I met Optimus, and Cybertronian legends. What did you think when we showed up at the base?" Elita inquired.
"When you showed up at the base, I was pretty excited. Of course, I was excited to see a new bot, but I was even more excited to see two humans. From another world!" Miko exclaimed.
Elita laughed. "Yes, the whole thing was electric. Short, and yet so memorable," she agreed. Just then, the sky seemed to waver before her. She blinked, trying to regain her focus. Then, her spark started pounding. Hard. And it felt like it was ripping open, too. Elita gasped for breath, trying to say something to Miko, to alert her, but she collapsed.
"What's wrong?!" Miko cried desperately, pulling out her phone. Elita managed to get half a sentence out through the pain.
"It's the sparklings...they're-AHHHH!" she screamed, clawing at her spark. More pain exploded in her chest, and everything went dark.
Miko watched in horror as Elita went unconscious. But her body was still twitching like crazy. She punched the "call" button, thankful that she had all the bots on speed dial. Especially the medic.
"RATCHET! I NEED YOU ON DECK! I MEAN NOW! WE'VE GOT A CODE RED! CODE RED!" Miko cried.
"Hold on, Miko, I'll be right there! CALL OPTIMUS!" ordered Ratchet over the phone. She hung up quickly, wondering if it would be faster to text all the bots in a groupchat. But then again, they may not be able to get text messages. Taking a deep breath, she called Optimus.
"Optimus! Elita's going into labor!" cried Miko.
Optimus gasped. "Is she okay?" he choked.
Just then, Elita woke woke with a jolt. "Oh, Primus, get them ou-AUGH!" she screamed.
"Uh, I think so? Ratchet said he's on his way," Miko replied, knowing that Optimus could hear Elita's screams through the phone. It was weird hearing Optimus like that. She'd grown used to him being the stoic, yet kind leader, and it was disarming to see him act otherwise.
"Tell her I'm on my way!" shouted Optimus. Miko made her way over to the suffering Autobot.
"Elita? Optimus is on his way," she reported.
Elita's optics widened. "Optimus?" she whispered. Miko nodded. The trapdoor to the roof was thrown open with a loud crash. Ratchet clawed towards the two of them, panting.
"There-you-are," he gasped. Miko opened her mouth to apologize, but Ratchet grabbed Elita and climbed back down. Elita had stopped screaming, but she was now hyperventilating. Miko followed them down. She knew that this would take a while. It would be one heck of a ride.
Within two hours, everyone was back at the base. Optimus had arrived two minutes after Ratchet did, and Miko hadn't seen him since. Almost every ally of the Autobots was there. Even June, Fowler and Wheeljack showed up. But all they could do was wait outside the medbay, listlessly waiting for a sign.
"So how do you think they are doing?" Raf asked for the millionth time.
"It's hard to tell, I'm no expert." Arcee said, sounding like she was going to lose patience with him.
"I bet the doc is pretty upset that he didn't get the date right." Wheeljack remarked, making the kids snicker a little bit.
"Well, I don't think that Ratchet is obsessing about the due date now. He's helping Elita," said Bulkhead.
"Hey, Bee, what's the tally?" asked Miko, gesturing to the ever-increasing betting pool. Everyone had placed a bet on what combination of gender the Sparklings would be. Bumblebee tapped the board. The "both boy" and "both girl" option was in a deadlock. However, the "boy and girl" option was not forgotten.
Just then, Ratchet stepped out of the medbay, smiling. Everyone stood up.
"It was a success both sparklings are alive and well," he reported.
"What gender are they?" Jack asked.
"Both, one girl and one boy." Ratchet said.
"HA! You owe me five!" cried Wheeljack triumphantly, punching Bulkhead on the shoulder. Miko and the others followed Ratchet into the medical wing. Elita sat there with two Sparklings in recharge while Optimus sat next to her. His smile never faltered.
"Awww, they're so cute!" Miko gushed, taking a quick picture. The one on the left was red and white, and the one on the right was blue and pink. She thought that the left sparkling looked more like Optimus, while the one on the right looked more like Elita. But what really took her breath away was how tiny they were.
"Reminds of you when you were born." June teased, nudging her son a bit.
"How precious!" cried Fowler.
Miko turned. "Agent Fowler, are you crying?" she asked, holding back laughter.
"What? No," he said in denial, but Miko was pretty sure she saw him wipe his eyes. She had a strange feeling that someone, somewhere was watching this moment. But it was a wonderful feeling.
Meanwhile, at Abby's house in the regular world
Angela gasped and stood up suddenly from the couch. She had a good feeling about something, but she just couldn't tell what it was. The effect caused Abby to get up as well.
"Whoa, what is it?" Abby asked.
"My Optilita sense is going off," Angela said, grabbing her phone and swiping through it.
"Um, say that again." Abby said, confused.
"It's a shipper sense. I feel it when a fanfic is being updated, or when something happens in canon," Angela explained.
She sighed in frustration.
"Nothing. I was sure I felt it!" she whined.
Abby put her hand on Angela's shoulder. "I'm sure you did. You should trust your instincts, they can alert you to a situation faster than any of the five senses," she said knowingly.
Angela looked at her friend. "What do you think it is?" she asked curiously.
Abby shook her head. "I don't know. But my instincts say it's good," she said.
Angela nodded. "Mine too."
She could only wonder about what had caused her to sense that. But, it would only be a matter of time.
