A/N: I do not own TFA, its characters or the general idea of this fanfic. My 'brother' just threw this idea out while I was shifting through my work and waiting to be inspired to continue my other fics, or the half finished essay that's been waiting on my desk for the past hour. This is set Before Human Error. (According to him.) He said I could use the idea, as long as I finished it. As long as I get reviews, I can promise to try my hardest to update twice a week.
Also, I don't know much about TFA, which could lead to lingo-problems. Bear with me; give me help and I'll fix my mistakes. :)
Chapter One
Optimus stared out across the silver water, white flakes slowly swirling down from the grey-white sky as a cold wind blew. He sat by the peer, idling along the curb as darkness slowly gathered earlier than usual both due to the cold season and foul brewing weather. He was waiting for Sari and Bumblebee, who had gone for a 'snow day' in the near-by park. The three of them were going to meet with the others down town for a light show that Sari had been begging her father to go see. Her father, however, was a very busy man - even busier now that Winter was here and wrecking havoc on a lot of machinery that kept the city afloat.
It was suppose to be a surprise, but no one knew if Bee would be able to keep his mouth shut.
Tired and getting cold, Prime transformed into his primary form. His eyes caught the shine off the water and he stared out across it, wondering if he would ever stop questioning the past. It was offline and rusted, so he wasn't even sure why his mind kept drifting back in time. If he were a good comrade, if had listened to what his Spark had been telling him, he wouldn't have had to...
He shook his head with enough force to grind the circuits and spark plugs in his neck. His eyes drifted to the sky, the cold snow landing softly on his faceplate and melting because of his temperature. He needed to stop this, to stop kicking himself for what had happened all those Cycles ago. But, that incident had started it all, in a round about way. If he hadn't left his temporary leader at the hands of those Decpticons as he had been ordered to do, he wouldn't have done a similar action Cycles later with Elita. At the same time, though, he knew that if he hadn't saved Sentinel and himself, all four would be offline and the All Spark would have fallen into the evil hands of Megatron when he had arisen on Earth just...how did Sari put it?
Months, he thought. Months ago. That's when the circuits fried and the bolts loosened. Or, as the humans say, when all hell broke loose.
He was pulled from his dark musings by the sounds of tires crunching the thick blanket of snow that had piled up several inches during his wait, by the sound of a familiar horn blaring and shattering the quiet. He forced a smile that quickly turned real as he saw Sari bouncing excited in her seat. The window rolled down and she cried, "Bumblebee said you guys are giving me a surprise!"
He nodded, "That's right. We'd better get going, so we're not late."
She fist pumped, squealing in excitement as Bumblebee rolled the window back up. "I can't wait! Hey, Boss Bot, think we might be able to swing by and pick up some warm oil on the way?"
"Sure; why not?" Prime transformed back into his secondary half as the snow slowed to a stop. It would be clear skies for another two hours, before another snow storm was suppose to hit. They'd spend maybe an hour at the light show and then get Sari inside with a hot drink. Humans, as she had told them, got cold and weren't able to heat up the way they could.
On the way, as promised, they stopped by and grabbed some warm oil from a guy they knew. From what Kyle said, Ratchet, Prowl and Bulkhead had already stopped by, after helping clear up the mess of an accident in the underpass. Bumblebee wasted no time guzzling his drink, sighing in contentment as he placed the container on the ground, Sari sitting on his yellow shoulder. "That hit the spot!"
"It hit more than just one," Sari giggled.
At Bumblebee's confusion, Prime pointed to his chest plate. Bee's eyes followed, and he gave a sheepish smile. There was a rather large oil stain on him, dripping down his abdomen and quickly freezing. Kyle, having noticed, pulled out a hose and sprayed him.
"Gah!" Bee cried dramatically. "That's so cold!"
"Its the middle of Winter, Bee." Sari laughed harder as Bee tried to dance out of the cold spray, servo clamped firmly but gently on her legs to keep her from falling, only to be followed by a determined human.
Prime rolled his optics at the youngest bot's silly antics. He grabbed Bee by the shoulder and held him still, the younger bot squirming from the cold. Sari laughed, throwing her arms up to shield herself from getting wet. Prime also got sprayed but ignored it easily enough. Once that was done, they waved good bye to Kyle, who smiled and went back into the warmth of his shop.
They transformed and left, easily flowing with the movement of traffic. Within minutes, they were at Central Park, much to Sari's amazement and shock. She jumped out, barely giving Bee enough time to park, and looked around. People were milling around, sometimes in groups, a few loners and a lot of couples. Another light shower of snow came tumbling down from the sky, sticking in her red hair before slowly melting.
The park had a stone wall on its perimeter with iron gates with fancy designs. Currently, the gates were propped open with a police man standing at attention, watching for pick pockets and giving directions to an occasional person. Most everyone wore wide grins, eyes alight with anticipation. The crowd was heading inside as the bots transformed, much to the surprise of the people, who then cheered and clapped.
Prime gave an acknowledging nod, hoping not to stir up a scene. Bee raised his hands high into the air, grinning from - as Sari would put it - ear to ear. After some autographs and pictures, there was a voice, obviously on a loudspeaker of sorts, saying over the crowd's low rumble, "Welcome, welcome! Come right on in! The show starts in twenty minutes! Please feel free to find seats, or get snacks from the vendors!"
Suddenly bursting with excitement, Sari jumped high in the air, grabbing Bee's arm and trying her hardest to drag him along, "Come on, come on, come on! If we don't hurry, we wont get a good seat!"
He chuckled, picking her up, "It's fine, Sari. Prowl, Ratchet and Bulkhead came here early. They have seats saved for us!"
As she stood on his hand, her smile somehow grew wider - and for a moment Prime wondered if she would somehow rip her delicate outer shell that she called skin. She did a little dance on his hand, "Oh, man I can't wait! This is gonna be awesome! Last year's show was epic!"
Suddenly as excited as her, Bee shouted, his hand catching the older bot's, "So what are we waiting for? Come on, Optimus!"
Without a word or warning, Bee started to literally half drag, half lead the leader through the crowd. The people parted almost instantly, watching in awe as they stepped over the wall and into the park. The park itself was over ten acres large, but they easily found the others idling by a rather large ground of people with children. Little kids took turns sitting on Prowl, with parents hovering to make sure they didn't fall, and pictures were being taken.
As they approached, the last of the crowd broke away, leaving the friends alone in their own little section. Bumblebee let Sari down and he transformed into his secondary vehicle, as did Prime. Being as big as they were, they knew it was the right thing to try to take up as little space as possible, to allow others to watch the show too. Night had all but fallen, the last bit of grey light slowly dimming as darkness closed in.
Sari danced around, packing snow balls and throwing them at near by kids. She started a snowball fight almost instantly that was an all out, every person for themselves. The bots chuckled as she got hit with one from behind, sending slush down the back of her coat. She jerked, crying out and failing her arms, "Cold! Cold! COLD! THAT'S REALLY, REALLY COLD!"
A moment later, the voice from earlier, though sounding louder now that they were inside, announced with excitement, "Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Tonight's show will begin in five minutes!"
Sari wrapped her arms around herself, shaking slightly and grumbling as the other kids disappeared into the crowd, looking for family and friends. Prime popped open his door, having let his heater run on low until the fight began. It was then he turned it on high, because he knew she was going to get cold and wet. She climbed in, saying, "As soon as the lights come on, I'll get back out to see them up close."
"Are you sure?" Prime asked. "I could just drive you around."
"No, I'm sure." She snuggled up by the heating ducts as she wiggled out of her coat. Melted ice dripped on his seats as she shook it out. "Bee grabbed me an extra coat, and I still have my hat. I'll just put my gloves into your glove compartment so they dry quicker."
"Wait," Prowl said over their link. "You mean to say that Bumblebee actually thought ahead for once?"
"For once?" Bee cried in outrage. "What do you mean, 'for once'? I do think ahead a lot of the time!"
"Name one other instance." Prowl dared, smugness deep in his vocalizer.
"Uh...uh...well, there...uh...was...uhmmm..." Bee blundered, clearly trying- and failing miserably - to come up with another time, when the day finally gave way to darkness and stars, the moon peaking over the distant horizon. The lights flickered before staying on and all conversation stopped, as though there was a gunman and they were in a bank.
"Whoa!" Sari pressed herself against the window and Bumblebee pulled out her coat, still in his secondary form. He handed it over as she climbed out. Quickly zipping up and pulling her hat lower, she wandered to the front of the group, boots crunching the snow. Her eyes were huge, mouth hanging open.
Around them, strung up high in the trees and wrapped around a rather large pine, hanging from the street lights and path lights, were bulbs - bulbs of every color. The lights reflected on the snow and water from the fountain, glowing warmly in the cold. Snow began falling a little thicker than before, and conversation slowly picked up as people began moving, to explore and take more pictures. Holiday music began playing on the speakers.
Then, from above, came a deafening noise and blinding blood red light.
Everyone scattered, screaming in fear and nearly trampling each other and Sari. Bee scooped her as they transformed back to their primary forms, cradling her close to his Spark. Prime and the others evacuated the area as quickly as they could, but there were hundreds of humans, all screaming and rushing towards the various exits. Children began crying, shouts for loved ones filled the air. Bumblebee and Sari watched in awe and fear as another explosion erupted high above their heads, before something fell from the blast, heading straight for them.