Note: Hey folks! Back from San Francisco. My trip was nice but too short. Hoping to stay longer, next time around. All characters belong to Hasbro, other material and references are the property of their respective owners. Story is inspired by Massugnu Ni Ikou(Let's walk straight/Let's go straight ahead) season 2 episode: The Lost Shokkora-Chan and the Pound Puppies 2010 season 1 episode: Mutternal Instincts.
Anyway...on with the story!
It was raining in the town of Jasper, Nevada. The cloud cover made the sky dark when it was really three thirty in the afternoon. Raf had just got home from school and was folding up his umbrella.
He looked at the sky and groaned as the light rain quickly became a downpour.
"This rain is coming down in buckets."
Just as he was about to go in, Raf noticed something on the door step.
"Huh? What's this package doing here?"
He looked at the label and recognized the writing as Cybertronian.
"Better let the others see this." Raf said to himself.
Half an hour later...
"So let me get this straight, you found it by your front door?" Miko asked.
"Yeah, there's no return address either." Raf answered.
He was at Outpost one with Jack and Miko. After seeing the label on what looked like a large cardboard box, he decided to let the autobots take a look.
"That's just weird." said Bulkhead
"I'll say, especially since Raf didn't order anything." Arcee agreed.
"Well, we know the Decepticons didn't send it, otherwise we would have found a tracking device by now. " Ratchet pointed out, studying the box. He wiped off the mud on the side and read what was written on the side.
"This is Cybertronian, it's marked fragile."
Raf and the others looked puzzled.
"Meaning?" Smokescreen asked.
" There's something in here that could break easily...not sure what." said Ratchet.
Before he could open the box, Wheeljack walked in, soaked from being outside.
"Anybody wanna give me a hand out here? I'm knee deep in water."
He looked over at Smokescreen and Bumblebee.
"Thanks for volunteering."
"Wha...? But we didn't offer." Smokescreen sputtered.
"Exactly, c'mon you can use the exercise." Wheeljack said to him.
With Optimus and Ultra Magnus out of state in Maine, the team was short handed.
Bumblebee and Smokescreen groaned. Neither of them wanted to go outside.
A drop of water landed on Arcee's head. She shook herself for a minute.
"Looks like there's a leak in the roof."
"Oy... Well, it won't fix itself." said Ratchet.
"That's for sure." Bulkhead agreed.
"Kids, grab your rain coats, we might need some help up top."
All three of the young humans sighed. Grabbing their coats they followed Bulkhead and the others.
"Eh, don't mind me... I'll be here when you get back." said Arcee.
"Maybe now I can get some reading done."
Arcee was alerted by small scuffling noise.
"Or figure out what's in this box."
She opened it carefully and examined the contents.
"Hmm... Tablet, tarp...not a lot."
Just then, the tarp moved.
"What in the world?" Arcee wondered. She lifted the dark brown fabric and gasped at what she saw. Curled up in a ball was a sparkling.
"O...k, now I know why it was marked fragile." Arcee confessed, regarding a box.
She picked up a note that was at the bottom of the box and read it:
"My name is Crimson, please look after me."
Arcee glanced at the sparkling, she was mostly midnight blue with red markings on her wrists and ankles. Her metallic skin was a light shade and sterling silver.
"Well...I...uh...I get the name." said Arcee.
No sooner did she finish her sentence, Crimson yawned.
"Oh no," was all Arcee could say.
Crimson slowly opened her lapis blue eyes. The first thing she saw was Arcee. Yelping fearfully, she tried to hide under the tarp.
"Whoa! Relax, I won't hurt you." Arcee said to her.
She reached over and gently rubbed the sparkling's head. The little Cybertronian gradually stopped whimpering.
"See? That's it."
Crimson sniffed Arcee's hand, it only took a few seconds for her to imprint the older femme's scent. Arcee stared at each other for a moment. Neither of them sure how to react.
"Where did you come from?"
Arcee sighed as she sat back on a crate.
"Guess I'll never know...for now at least."
She heard Crimson yelp and looked up.
"What is it?"
Arcee saw the young female bot trying to climb out of the cardboard box.
"Oh, here let me help." She offered and picked up Crimson.
The tiny Cybertronian glanced at Arcee, both of them seemed more relaxed than they had been a few minutes ago.
"Hey," Arcee greeted her.
Crimson simply tilted her head.
"Pretty quiet aren't you?" Arcee asked.
Crimson looked around the main room, her eyes were now adjusted to the lights on the ceiling. Arcee couldn't help but laugh. Like most sparklings, young humans and animals, Crimson was naturally curious.
"Wha...?" Arcee sputtered.
She was totally off guard when Crimson grabbed her index finger.
The sparkling purred happily.
"Uh...I...aww."
Arcee was known for keeping herself together but it was obvious Crimson was making her go soft. The small femme curled up near her chest, listening to Arcee's spark beat.
She yelped and started shaking at hearing the sound of thunder from outside.
"It's ok, I'm here." Arcee assured her.
Crimson looked up at the cobalt blue female. When she blinked, Arcee did the same. Letting out a loud sigh, it was obvious Crimson had been on her own for quite some time. Now that Arcee was able to get a better look, she estimated that Crimson was only two days old. It was extremely rare for sparklings that young to be separated from their mothers. Apparently, Crimson had been left in a box for a reason.
'I can't believe I'm saying this but...' Arcee snapped out of her thought and looked Crimson in the eye.
"I'll take care of you." She promised.
Crimson smiled for the first time. She no longer felt fearful of where she was.
"What now?" Arcee asked herself.
Although she had been a school teacher before, her students had been in Jack and Miko's age group. Arcee knew next to nothing about sparklings, especially newborns. With the rest of the team up on the roof, there was only one thing she could do...
Sometime later, Arcee was in her room, reading from what looked like a Cybertronian version of an iPad. She was on her bed with Crimson sleeping next to her. The two day old sparkling yelped and her limbs twitched. Arcee gently patted her back, calming her down.
Arcee smiled at Crimson, she suddenly felt warm and affectionate.
"I might as well learn how to take care of you."
Crimson let out a muffled squeak. She was completely unaware that Arcee was talking to her. The cobalt blue autobot went back to reading her tablet. She was currently doing research on how to care for a sparkling.
"Ok, easy enough."
Arcee's jaw dropped when she read the next page of the eBook. She glanced at Crimson for a minute then her tablet.
"Well, I'm not lactating, so that's out." She said with a sigh.
Arcee found out that female Cybertronians had a few things in common with mammals, one of them being that both Autobots and Decepticons have raised sparklings that were unrelated to them. Femmes would even begin to lactate if they had a false pregnancy or cared for a sparkling after a certain amount of time. Arcee felt uneasy at the thought of something like that. She was glad to find out there was another way. The other option was that sparklings could be given a milk replacement powder mixed with oil or water. The only catch was Crimson would have to be fed every two hours. Said female sparkling opened her eyes, looking at her caretaker.
"Hi girl," Arcee said with a smile.
Crimson squeaked and smiled back. As Arcee rubbed her head, she purred, much like a kitten.
"Not ready to wake up yet?" Arcee asked noticing Crimson had started to close her eyes.
The blue and red female yawned.
"That answers my question." said Arcee.
"The others will be surprised to see you. "
Arcee paused, realizing what she said.
"Wait, I can't tell them yet ..not until I figure out a way to explain...but how?"
Crimson glanced at Arcee and moved closer to her.
"Shouldn't be too hard, I mean after all it's not like if they opened the box, they wouldn't have seen you anyway." Arcee concluded.
She then felt a small pain.
"Ouch!"
Looking down she saw Crimson's mouth pressed against her left chest plate. The sparkling whined, giving Arcee a look that tugged at the adult femme's heart strings. Arcee was about to yell a moment ago but didn't.
"Sorry,"
She watched Crimson suckle on her fingers. It was obvious the little one wanted to be fed.
"Poor thing,"
"Stay here, I'll be right back." said Arcee. She got up and stepped out of the room. While walking down the hall towards the medical bay, she thought about the promise she made to Crimson earlier.
"Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew." She said to herself.
Later...
"Hope Ratchet doesn't mind if I barrow this."
She went back to her dorm room, holding a jar and an eyedropper.
"I'm back."
Crimson whimpered, trying to get Arcee's attention.
"Hey, relax."
She placed the eyedropper in the jar, filling the glass tube with a champagne colored liquid. Crimson quickly latched on to the end of the eyedropper. Within seconds, she swallowed the liquid as Arcee squeezed the rubber cap on the eyedropper.
"Take it easy, I'm not going anywhere." Arcee assured Crimson.
She held her close in effort to make the process easier. Looking around in the medical bay, Arcee had found a few medical supplies for sparklings, including a can of milk replacement powder. Crimson finished what was in the eyedropper and gave Arcee an odd look.
"What?" The autobot femme asked, raising an eyebrow.
Crimson just stared at the jar, not making a sound.
"O...k." said Arcee, realizing Crimson was waiting for a refill.
Twenty minutes later...
Crimson stopped and loosened her grip on the eyedropper. Arcee saw the jar was half empty.
"Sheesh! How long were you in that box?" She wondered.
Crimson just rubbed her eyes, feeling tired. It was clear as day by the amount she drank that she was starving.
"Never mind," Arcee sighed, shaking her head.
She picked up Crimson and held her at eye level.
"You've been on your own for a long time, huh?"
Crimson sniffled, tears building up in her rather expressive blue eyes. Arcee couldn't help but feel sorry for the young bot. She was left alone, more than likely by her parents. Sparklings, newborns in particular were totally dependent on their mothers. Crimson was no different.
"Well, not anymore. Like I said I'll look after you."
Arcee put Crimson down, feeling her body heat made the small female relax.
"Now I just need to figure this out."
Stroking Crimson's forehead, Arcee watched as she curled up in a ball next to her. The female autobot caught herself purring.
"What's wrong with me?! I..."
Arcee groaned when she figured out what it was.
"Maternal instincts." She muttered.
It made sense why all of a sudden she was acting so different. Talking to Crimson and watching her did make Arcee smile. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Eh, what can I do?"
Crimson let out a few squeaks as if she was trying to talk.
"Aw."
Arcee watched as the newborn Cybertronian went to sleep.
"Might as well get back to reading."
Arcee grabbed her tablet off the night stand next to her bed and picked up where she had left off.
It was still raining outside and showed no sign of letting up.
She checked on Crimson now and then. The sparkling in question was out cold.
"I probably remind you of your mother."
Crimson's eye lids moved slightly.
"You're so sweet." said Arcee who nuzzled her.
Crimson began yelping in her sleep, her arms and legs also twitched. Arcee snickered, trying not to laugh.
"She's dreaming."
Crimson stopped within seconds. Arcee yawned, feeling somewhat drowsy. Putting her tablet aside, she dosed off.
A short time later, she woke up.
"Huh? Must've nodded off,"
Arcee looked at Crimson, making sure she was fine. Sure enough, the blue and red female was still there. Resting quietly next to her.
"At least you're all right, and it looks like the guys are..."
Just then, Bulkhead's voice rang out.
"Arcee, where'd you go?"
She groaned as soon as she heard him.
"They're back," she muttered.
Glancing at Crimson then the door, Arcee knew she had to leave or else the others would go looking for her.
"Wait here, Crimson." She whispered.
After covering her up with a blanket and making sure she would be all right, Arcee left.
"Phew! That was close." Arcee said with a sigh as she closed the door behind her.
Once she got back to the main room, Arcee noticed Bulkhead and the rest of the group standing there, all of them soaking wet from the rain.
"How'd it go?" She asked.
Ratchet spit out a mouthful of water before he spoke.
"Just...Great."
"You look like wet dogs." said Arcee, trying hard not to laugh.
"That about sums it up. The roof's fixed but we all got soaked, except for the kids." Bulkhead explained.
"And that's why I don't leave without an umbrella on a day like this." Said Miko as she took off her jacket and folded up her umbrella.
"Excuse me," Ratchet said.
Arcee's eyes bucked at seeing what he was about to do right then.
"Ratchet, wait! Don't!"
The orange and white bot shook himself, splashing excess rain water on Arcee.
"What were you saying?" He asked, once he was done.
Looking forward he saw a now completely drenched Arcee. Ratchet chuckled nervously.
"Sorry." He apologized.
Arcee didn't reply and shook the rain water off, letting out a small growl at the same time.
Bulkhead bit his bottom lip as she walked by. Arcee went from being dry to looking like a wet dog in less than four seconds. No one wanted to admit that it was...well...funny.
"Wow, you look like a hot mess." He joked.
Arcee turned around and gave him a look that clearly meant that nobody say anything. She then walked away to find a towel and dry herself off.
Bulkhead, Ratchet and the others looked at one another.
"Was it something I said?"
MORE TO COME...
And that's all for now. I'll be working on my other stories and will update this one after I get the others squared away. If anyone has any questions or suggestions about where to go next with this story, please let me know.
Ciao for now!