Author's Notes: When I started writing TF fanfictions I was sure I'd never write a Dinobot-focused fanfic. The Dinobots are good characters, but for whatever reason it took me a long time to get into their headspace. Now I have an interesting idea for a story though, and I think I'm finally ready. This first chapter was a lot of fun to write, though purposefully getting grammar wrong is kind of strange to me. I'm usually such a grammar monitor ^_^'

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this Dinobot fanfic, and if you do want to see this story continue please favorite, follow, and/or review :)

Chapter 1

Identity Crisis

The Autobot ship, the Ark, was a ship of contrasts. It was state of the art technology, but it was over 4 million years old. It was made of forged steel and alien alloys, yet was fused to the volcanic rock that had grown around it on planet earth. The interior of the Ark was mostly bright and was colored in a warm orange, all except for one place; the Dinobots' lair.

The Dinobots lived in a room that was carved out of Mount St. Hilary; the fossils of their organic ancestors still buried beyond the charred rock walls. They mostly kept away from the other Autobots. The Dinobots were strong, fearsome, and inexperienced in the ways of the world. Their closest loyalties were not with the Autobot cause or even the other Autobots, but rather the brotherly bond they shared with each other.

The Dinobots were wrestling with each other in their robot modes just like they had seen on TV. Slag was tackling Swoop, and Snarl was locked in playful combat with Sludge. Slag breathed fire on Swoop, and Swoop squawked in irritation.

"No fair! Fire against the rules!" Swoop complained.

"You Slag play by rules!" Grimlock ordered as he surveyed their fighting, "Me Grimlock supposed to get you in fighting shape, so you fight fair!"

Grimlock was a stern but fair leader to his Dino-brothers. He was the strongest and the most power hungry, but what really made the other Dinobots respect him was the simple fact that he would kill or die for any one of them and they knew it.

"Me Slag want to fight with everything Slag got! Swoop is just robot chicken!" Slag argued.

"Me Sludge like Robot Chicken," Sludge commented dimly.

Slag was the most aggressive Dinobot, even more so than Grimlock, and that made him a valuable asset to the team. Swoop wasn't strong, but he made up for it with his sensitivity, his ability to negotiate, and his thirst for knowledge. Sludge, while kind and loyal, was also the most moronic of the five. Sludge was easily fooled and took a long time to make decisions if left to his own devices.

Since Sludge wasn't fighting anymore but rather watching the others argue, Snarl had to quit attacking his brother. He transformed into his stegosaurus mode and curled up in the corner to watch the argument along with Sludge.

"You Slag apologize to him Swoop!" Grimlock ordered sternly.

"Me Slag never apologize!" Slag argued, "Me Slag am strongest! Me Slag win fight fair and square!"

"Oh? So you Slag am strongest?" Grimlock asked challengingly, "Me Grimlock doubt that very much."

Suddenly out of nowhere Grimlock tackled Slag, and Slag used his claws to slash at Grimlock, but to no avail. Grimlock transformed into T-Rex mode, and Slag transformed into triceratops mode. They rammed into each other and struggled for dominance, but it didn't take long for Grimlock to topple the haughty Dinobot with his brute strength and then hold him in place with his sharp teeth placed on Slag's head shield. Slag yielded, and Grimlock stared down at him with smug satisfaction.

"Me Slag...am sorry to Swoop," Slag reluctantly apologized, "Me no use fire no more. Rematch?"

"Me Swoop can't fight right now," Swoop declined, "Me Swoop have to be in medbay in 20 minutes. Him Ratchet teaching me Swoop anomaly."

"What am anomaly?" Grimlock asked curiously.

"It am the study of body parts, I think," Swoop shrugged with his wings, "Me Swoop not know yet, but me will know soon. Me have to get ready. See you fellas."

With those words Swoop gathered up some toy medical supplies from under his berth and stored them in his subspace. Ratchet didn't trust him with real tools yet, so Swoop had to use plastic models Wheeljack made for him. Wheeljack had wanted to make the models look realistic, but Swoop wanted pretty plastic colors like the ones in the commercials that aired between cartoons, so he ended up with very fake looking doctor toys.

Snarl lazily watched as Swoop left. He was happy for his brother's ambitions. Maybe with Swoop being the smartest, Slag doing the most fighting, and Grimlock being the best leader the other Autobots would finally respect them. Snarl never admitted this out loud, but he really did want to be a part of the rest of the team. The Dinobots deserved more than just being reserve fighters. Maybe someday Optimus Prime would accept them as equals.

"Hey Snarl," Sludge poked one of Snarl's back plates as he called out to him, "Me Sludge need to know where basketball court is."

"It outside," Snarl replied matter-of-factly; wondering how Sludge could forget the location of something so close by, "Why you Sludge need to know?"

"Me Sludge invited to join Track's team," Sludge announced with barely restrained pride, "They say me Sludge am tall and have thick helm, so me perfect for being basketball player. Me am going to win for team!"

"That great, Sludge," Snarl replied patiently without getting up from his spot in the corner, "You am using talents wisely. Autobots respect winners."

"What you Snarl going to do today?" Sludge asked with a simple smile on his face plate.

"Me Snarl not know. Maybe recharge some more," Snarl shrugged his front feet from where they were folded under his chin, "You Sludge have great time."

"Me will!" Sludge declared cheerfully, "Me Sludge bring back the ball. Bye, Snarl."

"Bye," Snarl called out as Sludge exited the lair.

Snarl looked at Grimlock and Slag as they continued to spar. They trained hard and they played hard, and sometimes Snarl had trouble telling which was which. He was pleased with the progress his brothers were making. Each one was using their gifts to improve their lives, and it seemed like things could really change for the misunderstood creatures.

That was when Snarl suddenly came to a realization he'd never had before. Every Dinobot had something special about them that made them who they were. Grimlock had a strategic processor and the strongest body. It made him perfectly qualified to lead the Dinobots. Slag was tough and fiery; the best at kicking Decepticon can. Swoop was intellectual and had a strong sense of empathy. Sludge was dense both physically and mentally, and was also a friendly mech that others didn't mind hanging out with.

But what was Snarl?

Snarl thought about this, but he couldn't come up with an answer. He couldn't lead others like Grimlock. He couldn't scare others the way Slag could. He couldn't heal others or talk to people the way Swoop could. He couldn't even retreat into his own ignorance like Sludge. Snarl and Swoop were built together, and now Snarl began to wonder if Wheeljack spent more time building Swoop than him.

Who was he? What was Snarl's purpose in life? He couldn't figure it out, so he decided to ask the one mech he knew would know the answer.

"Hey, Grimlock!" Snarl hollered, and Grimlock and Slag stopped attacking each other while in the most ridiculous positions imaginable, "Grimlock, what am Snarl's purpose in life?"

Grimlock spat Slag's pede out of his mouth and stood up to fully face the young stegosaurus.

"You Snarl's purpose am to beat up Decepticons," Grimlock replied as if it should be obvious.

"Me Snarl know that, but what make me Snarl special?" Snarl rephrased the question, "You all am special in some way, but how am me Snarl different from other Dinobots?"

"Hm...Me Grimlock not know," Grimlock shrugged after a moment to think about it.

Snarl hung his helm dejectedly. This was not the answer he wanted, and it was confirming his suspicions that he was just an extra Dinobot in case Wheeljack lost one.

"Hey, me Slag know what am special about you Snarl!" Slag exclaimed excitedly, "You Snarl have tail spikes. Tail spikes am special."

"But you Slag have helm spikes," Snarl pointed out, "Spikes am not special. Even him human have name Spike. Spikes am everywhere."

"Oh," Slag deflated after realizing he didn't have the answer, "This am hard question. Maybe ask him Wheeljack."

"Okay. Me go ask him Wheeljack," Snarl replied dutifully as he slowly turned to go.

Grimlock and Slag watched Snarl leave for a moment, and then went straight back to pretending to try to kill each other. Snarl looked back at the fighting with a sad expression before the sliding door closed behind him. Snarl transformed into his robot mode and walked down the bright hallways that practically hurt his optics after spending days in his dark little corner of the world. He wanted so badly to go back to his blissful ignorance, and he hoped that Wheeljack could placate his curiosity and cure his identity crisis.

Wheeljack was wiping the black soot off his armor after another experiment had blown up in his face. The lab looked like a war zone, and he sighed as he realized it would be hours of cleanup again. He loved working on projects, but he hated the cleanup that always came afterward.

The door opened, and Wheeljack saw that it was Snarl coming in to see him. He was happy his creation was there, but was surprised to see him alone. Snarl almost never travelled without another Dinobot by his side, and he rarely spoke to anyone that wasn't a Dinobot; not even Wheeljack.

"Hey Snarl! What can I do for you?" Wheeljack asked chipperly as he set aside his cleaning rag and gave the Dinobot his full attention.

"Wheeljack, what make me Snarl special?" Snarl asked without preamble.

"Special? Well, Dinobots have artificial sparks which are made using a complex array of metals and electricity combined with the partial CNA of a donor, in this case myself. I've considered making Dinobots featuring the CNA of other crew members, but Ratchet thinks that's not a good idea. I guess I agree. After all, you're all we need, so why bother making more?"

"Uh..." Snarl knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he didn't know how to begin rephrasing his question. He knew Dinobots in general were special, but he wanted to know what made him different from other Dinobots.

"Hey Snarl, could I ask a favor?" Wheeljack asked nicely, "I need some help cleaning up the lab. Could you give me a hand?"

"Uh...okay," Snarl nodded compliantly; having trouble keeping up with how fast the other Autobot talked.

Together they picked up the garbage, put away Wheeljack's salvageable supplies, and wiped away the dirt and the grit. Snarl was starting to remember why he didn't normally come in here by himself. He didn't mind cleaning, but Wheeljack spoke so quickly that it was hard to keep up. Snarl, like most of the Dinobots, had trouble with understanding quick speech and complicated words. Wheeljack was a genius and had a very cluttered mind. That made him talk quickly and constantly shift focus from one subject to another.

Thinking about this brought Snarl back to why he was there in the first place. One of the things that made Wheeljack special was his inventive processor and willingness to try anything no matter how insane it sounded. Snarl however still didn't know what made him special, and the burning desire for a place in his society was starting to drive him to distraction.

"Wheeljack?" Snarl spoke up as Wheeljack wiped down his servos with another cleaning cloth, "What am Snarl's purpose?"

"You were designed to stop the Decepticons from destroying us and those we care about," Wheeljack replied placidly; oblivious to his creation's inner turmoil, "You and Swoop were also designed as reserves in case something happened to Grimlock, Slag and Sludge. Hm, maybe more Dinobots would be a good thing. Nah, I'd never get Prime to agree to that. So Snarl, would you like some energon goodies before you go? I have a whole drawer full of them."

"No thank you," Snarl replied politely, "Me Snarl need to leave now. Hope next invention doesn't explode."

"Thank you, Snarl," Wheeljack replied warmly, "Goodbye! Drop by anytime."

Snarl left the lab feeling just as empty as when he left. He knew his creator meant well, but the answers he was receiving to his question hurt him more than helped. He was invented as a weapon with no regard to his own happiness or personality. They didn't care if he was fast or strong or smart. They only cared that he was there in case the good Dinobots couldn't help them. Snarl was just an afterthought.

No, Snarl would not accept that. There had to be something about him that was worth being built for. Something about him was special, he just knew it. The problem was no one else seemed to know what that something was. He had to figure it out, and it seemed he was on his own.

When Snarl went back into the lair he saw that Grimlock and Slag had left. He was alone in the dark cave with his thoughts, and at that moment that was not a place where he wanted to be. He wished he could be anywhere else in that moment. Maybe someplace with sun and humans...

Wait, maybe the question couldn't be answered by a who. Maybe it had to be answered by a where. Maybe he would find his answers somewhere besides the Ark. Maybe this place was holding him back, and his true potential laid beyond the lair and the Ark and the basketball court. Maybe his destiny was out there somewhere.

Making up his processor, Snarl found a stylus and a data pad from Swoop's things and began to scribble a letter to his brothers. He was going on a journey to find himself and he didn't want them to follow him or worry. He would find his special skills out there in the big green world.