Chapter Co-Authored with Flyby Stardancer and Omicron the IceQueen

Added notes:

"Spoken human dialogue is like this."

"Spoken Cybertronian dialogue is like this."

::Internal Cybertronian dialogue is like this.::

This is the time scale for mechs [inspired by Ultra Rodimus Prine]:

nanoklik = 1/8 second

nano – two seconds

klik = 496 nanokliks/62 seconds

bream = 8 kliks/8.27 minutes

groon = 9 breem/1.24 hours

mega cycle – 2.5 hours

joor = 6 groon/7.44 hours

tak – 18 hours

shift – 3 days

orn = 42 joor/13.02 days

decacycle – 2 months

decaorn = 32 orns/1.14 years

metacycle = 8 decaorn/9.22 years

vorn = 9metacycles/72 decaorn/83 years

Autobot Pet

Rescue

Bluestreak pinged the door to Prowl's private residence. He knew he was always welcome over, and that Prowl enjoyed seeing him. His wings quivered, distressed by what he had seen that had driven him to come visit his mentor and brother.

There was a pause and then a return comm, ::The door's open now Bluestreak.:: Prowl's calm voice spoke through the line.

::Thank you, Prowl!:: Bluestreak said as he opened the door and entered. It wasn't hard to find Prowl, and when he did Bluestreak threw his arms around him. "Thank you for seeing me!"

Blue optics flickered, startled at first but Prowl shifted in his favorite chair, easing it back away from his personal desk here at home. His arms came up and wrapped around the slightly smaller mecha, "Bluestreak, is something wrong?" One white hand found and scratched at a spot he knew the younger mech liked to get him to calm down a little and smooth out the static feel in the energy field against Prowl's.

Bluestreak instantly relaxed from the touch, leaning closer to Prowl and started to purr like a youngling. "You know those humans that are starting to get imported in as pets? I saw one today, but he was in bad shape. He was skinnier than he should be and his owner wasn't taking care of him right and didn't even care that his human wasn't doing well."

"I have heard of them, though haven't seen one yet," Prowl admitted as he rubbed the spot some more, "Are they not very short lived? Perhaps the one you saw was just getting to the end of its life cycle?" he offered, just in case.

"There are other signs when they're getting towards the end of their lives, Prowl. This one was younger, and it was starving," Bluestreak's wings twitched, and he looked pleadingly at his brother. "Let me show you!" He pinged Prowl with image captures of the human he saw.

Prowl hummed as he examined the image, "That... is not in accordance to the pet laws we have with organics."

"Could you confiscate it, Prowl? Make sure it goes to a better home? I know you have the rank for it," Bluestreak pleaded.

"Who has this organic?" The mech asked, pausing the rubbing motions as Prowl's interest was caught. That and it was really hard for anyone to resist Bluestreak's field and pleading optics.

"His name is Greenblade," Bluestreak said, pinging Prowl with all the info he had on the Decepticon.

The older mech gave a soft growl of his engine, "I know of this mech."

"So you'll get him? Make sure the human is safe?" Bluestreak asked just to confirm, hopeful optics on Prowl.

"I can confiscate the organic only if there is a home to place it," Prowl warned, having a feeling but still had to be Unicron's bite, "If there isn't someone willing to care for it in recovery, or it will be put down."

"I'd be willing to take it in. You know I'd take good care for it, and do anything needed for it to recover," Bluestreak said earnestly.

"Do you have time for a pet?" Prowl asked, wanting Bluestreak to be sure before completely offering his spark to a pet. At the same time, it would be good for the younger mech's confidence if he did magnate to keep the organic alive and nurse it back to health.

"Yes, I have plenty of time and I have the funds for anything he needs, including medical care," Bluestreak reassured him.

The black and white mech regarded the younger mech, and then his energy field softened, "Alright than. If you would get up from sprawling over my front we can go now."

"Thank you, Prowl!" Bluestreak immediately stood up, wings fluttering with excitement. "You know I can't stand to see any living creature in such a state."

Prowl shook his head, he knew that all too well, even in the war there had been little turbo foxes showing up here and there. The mech finished what he was doing, saving files before rising up, "Would Greenblade likely be at his home now, and the pet?" It would be just better all-around to take the abused pet and send it off with Bluestreak and order the mech back after.

Bluestreak nodded. "He should be. He's usually either at work or home."

"Then lead the way," Prowl said, sending a signal to open the main door, at the same time a head poked in. He blinked, "Jazz?"

"Hey Prowl- oh, hi Blue!" the master of spies grinned.

"Hi Jazz!" Blue greeted enthusiastically, wings waving. "We were about to go rescue a human!"

"A what?" Jazz's visor flashed in a blink, he stepped back and instead of invading Prowl's apartment again- not that he didn't almost live in there anyways- and fell into step with the other two mechs. He brushed his shoulder against Bluestreak's in greeting, energy field warm.

"A human! You know, those organics that are being sold as pets? I saw one that wasn't being taken care of and told Prowl so that he can be confiscated and given to someone who will take care of him." Bluestreak returned the bump, as comfortable around the spy as he was Prowl.

"I heard about a new organic pet trade starting," Jazz allowed, "But I thought it was mostly in the old cons side of things."

"Odd," Prowl arched an optic ridge, it wasn't uncommon for one 'side' to try and profit from the other.

"Yeah, I've seen more 'Cons with them," Bluestreak agreed. "Mirage has some, did you hear? Only his are aquatic, so they have to stay at his ship with him, Hound, and 'Breaker. Apparently one is the youngling of one of the others he has!"

"Aw," Jazz grinned, tossing an arm over Bluestreak's shoulders, finding a good scritching spot while doing so. "Must be pretty lil' things if he likes them. Unless Hound got 'em for Mirage." He had no trouble leaning on the younger mech and walking at the same time, or helping Bluestreak to walk without weaving either

Bluestreak leaned into the contact, wings fluttering happily at the touch. "No, Hound said Mirage just up and messaged them one day saying that he had some and was setting up a tank. But he did say that they're very pretty. Very colorful, and they even glow in the dark! And the carrier will sing to her sparkling, too."

Jazz chuckled, "Might have to swing by some time."

"Have you seen them Bluestreak?" Prowl asked, looking at the younger mech. "Or held any of these humans."

"Hound let me have a quick peak at them once, but I didn't get to hold any of theirs. There are other mechs that I meet through my job though that have humans, and I've held them. They were much better cared for, very healthy," Bluestreak replied.

"Sounds like this might be a good intervention." Jazz noted as they started to near the building where the issues in question lived. "You have a care file? I hear organics in general are sometimes tricky, and you know they don't run off of energon."

"Yeah, I've looked into how to care for a human before. And first thing I'm going to do is get him some organic food and other things he'll need. He's a basic human, and those are the easiest to care for when they're healthy. Once he's had an orn or two to settle and eat and clean up, I'll take him to Hound so that he can take a look at the human," Bluestreak babbled.

"Sounds like you have been thinking hard on this," Prowl noted, and he sounded...impressed!

"You know I like taking good care of pets," Bluestreak said, proud of himself.

"So much so we had three litters of foxes on the Ark once," Prowl reminded, pausing just outside of the building that the con lived in. "Bluestreak, wait out here for now."

"Okay," Bluestreak said obediently, stopping where he was, wings fluttering with anxious excitement.

Jazz scratched Bluestreak between the wing panels as he stepped away to move inside with Prowl. "Be back, Blue!"

"Bluestreak," Prowl's voice had a note of annoyance some breams later as he came back out, but it wasn't aimed at the younger mech as he emerged again not long later. He held out a rather small tank out to the younger mech. But it had no human inside, just a few things, some not looking clean and what might have been a food cube, yet an odd color compared to anything Blue streak had seen yet. "You should subspace this to look over later."

"Okay," Bluestreak said, subspacing the cube as told. "And the human?"

"Right here," Jazz hummed softly as he came out after Prowl, gently holding a smaller brown-black box, the lid had vents in it. "'ere ya go Blue, but be gentle. I wouldn't open it until you're back home, an' keep things dark for the little thing. It's pretty scared."

"Okay," Bluestreak said, the nervous-excited waving of his wings belying the gentleness in his hands as he took the box from Jazz. "I'll make sure he's well taken care of. Dark, quiet, and some good food and liquids for him to drink. And make sure he gets clean, too."

Jazz smiled, "Good, he looks like he needs it, an' I don't know anything about these little pets." When the vibrations Jazz was putting out left the box, there was a small shifting and what might be a whine inside.

Bluestreak hummed a soothing note, peeking a bit into one of the slits. "Thank you, both of you. I'll make sure you don't regret it!"

"Voice down," Prowl calmly reminded, turning Bluestreak around and pushed at his back.

"Okay," Bluestreak said, quieter, and hummed again to try to calm the human in the box he was holding. He started towards the closest store that had human supplies that was also in the direction he needed to go to get home.

Bluestreak settled on the floor of his apartment, next to the storage closet in his berth room. He had the lights dimmed somewhat, and everything that his new human would need in the closet. A waste unit, a container of drinking liquid, new covering cloths, and padding and cloths that would be his pet's recharge berth. Bluestreak had some new food in his subspace, and had the sink ready to draw water to give his new pet a bath if he could get his human to let him pick him up. Now all that was left was to open the travelling cube with the human.

Bluestreak vented to steady himself, then unsealed the cube. He slowly tilted it, allowing the human to crawl out on his own.

There was a startled squawk almost, and the human slid out more than anything. The little organic was trembling from fear, or shivering from being too cold, or even both. Its soft hide was dirty and darkly colored, and even being curled up on the ground in front of the much bigger Bluestreak's, the Autobot could see many parts of the support structure- the 'bones' through the human's hide.

The little head ducked, posturing seeming to be beyond submissive, bare shoulders tensed.

"Hey, it's okay," Bluestreak said in his best soothing-the-wild-creature voice, and unsuspected one of the packets of food. He placed the hand with it on the floor, palm up, and slowly scooted it closer so that the human could see the offered food.

The human flinched at his hand, and peeked up, but didn't move from his spot. As the kliks passed it was more than just fear but the human may not have enough energy to move or climb up to the mech's hand. Bluestreak reached a bit further, then slowly tilted his hand so that the food would slide within grabbing distance for the human. He wanted to be so careful, not wanting to startle or further distress the human in his care.

"It's okay. It's good, fresh food," he cooed soothingly to the human. "If you're okay after eating that, then we'll go get you cleaned up."

Finally, small eyes tilted up, a strange but pretty brown shade, and his gaze flicked to the food cube. He reached out to grab it, though not moving really too fast it was to the organic right now. The cube vanished with starved bites, as if trying to get the food down as fast as possible before it was taken away.

"Will you let me pick you up?" Bluestreak asked quietly, as his other hand came around to try to cup the human onto his hand. He paused at any sign that the human potentially wouldn't want to be picked up.

The human male shivered, but moved to sit on the edge of Bluestreak's palm, letting the mech pick him up.

"There. See? That's not so bad," Bluestreak said soothingly, carrying him over to the sink in his energon prep area. He gently filled the sink to about the human's chest-height in basic solvent that was just under the human's body temperature, putting some of the cleansing fluid in so that could bubble up.

The human clung to Bluestreak's hand, small arms wrapping around his thumb and eyed the water, then the hand he was on. It wasn't exactly the liquid he was wary of, but the organic's own lack of strength.

"You reluctant to go in? First let's get those coverings off of you," Bluestreak said, using one hand to gently remove the dirty rags that covered the human. Then he gently lowered his hand into the water, supporting the humans.

The human squirmed as Bluestreak did this, the motions a little protesting, but not vocally. Other than some very soft hisses when the bath liquid covered him the human stayed quiet, not at all 'chatty' like other pets Bluestreak had been allowed to hold or cuddle. The little male wasn't much bigger than a newly sparked youngling either, only the organic would stay this size.

Maybe that's why these pets were getting more popular enough to come to Autobot attentions as well.

Bluestreak took a small cloth and offered it to the human. "Will you wash yourself? Or do I need to wash you?" he asked the human, still using his soothing voice.

The human didn't seem to hear the mech, eyes closed and slowly- very slowly the tension was easing from its frame. He was enjoying the water, though stayed attached to Bluestreak's hand.

"Yeah, I bet the water feels good. It'll feel better once you're clean," Bluestreak said, taking the cloth and starting to gently run it over the human's back to start the process of getting him clean.

The organic seemed submissive to the mech's motions, but then it wasn't too surprising that he was, being in the Decepticon's abusive care for who knows how long. The human only hissed and twitched when the mech brushed over old, scabbed or a few new wounds. Mostly reddish scrapes and discolored patches.

Bluestreak offered the cloth again. "Do you want to start cleaning? Or have me clean you up all the way?" he said, though he knew the human couldn't understand him. "I just want to get you clean and fed and safe."

He was watched for almost a full klik before a hesitant hand reached out to take the cloth. The human didn't get off the metallic hand, since he didn't trust himself that much to not just sink in the semi-depth.

"...thank you..." the man whispered, though doubting if this weird blue-optic mech knew any human languages. Few of the red optic ones once leaving Earth did, or cared to know at all.

"There you go," Bluestreak said, smiling at the human. "Go on and get yourself clean, and then we'll get you rinsed off."

It wasn't a very speedy thing to do, and after the human was satisfied with its front and more sensitive areas, the organic did a controlled collapse on the gray-white palm. Going limp with energy spent already.

"Alright little guy, I'll just finish and get you rinsed off," Bluestreak said, carefully taking the cloth and finished washing the human. He then lifted the human out, drained the water from the sink, and set the solvent to a bare trickle to rinse the human off.

A faint mumble came from the mech's hand, quite possibly being an attempt at an organic purring. Maybe the human knew he was trying to help it!

Bluestreak certainly hoped so! Once the organic was rinsed off, the grey mech grabbed a drying cloth, wrapping the human in and carefully drying him off. "There, doesn't that feel better? I always feel much better after cleaning up in the washracks. All the dirt can be irritating."

No comment came from his new pet, but the organic was watching Bluestreak. Maybe it was listening to him now, still quiet tired and maybe stuffed full from that one food cube.

Bluestreak walked back into the berth room and to the closet. He knelt down again and pulled out some new coverings for the human. "Here we go, let's get you into something clean. Then I'll let you settle into your area, okay? I'll leave the door open so you can get in and out if you want, but you can have some undisturbed time in there to rest. You probably need some recharge pretty badly."

The human eyed the coverings, reaching for one, and managed to wiggle into the lower ones, the legs a little long but he didn't seem to mind that. After that though, the little pet flopped-collapsed back into Bluestreak's hands as he just seemed to crash into recharge right there. A likely combination of a long day (and captivity in that tiny cage of the Decepticon's), and seemingly to at least partly understand the organic was in a safer place.

"Aww," Bluestreak said, his voice even quieter. He gently settled the human onto his berth and pulled some of the berth coverings over him. He left another package of food beside the berth for when the human woke up, and gently backed away to let the human rest.

Reviews!

To Autobot Phoenix: We're glad you still like it!

To Autobot Slipstream: yes XD

To Rose Jennison: We have more than just the mermaids, though they will be a big part of the story, I think I can safely say that n.n