A Different Kind of Family Chapter 10
I do not own Transformers Animated or any of its characters or Transformers or any of its characters
*Blackarachnia is an Autobot and is fully Cybertronian while Powell is Professor Sumdac's brother
All was quiet at the Autobots' headquarters. The air was filled with tension and sorrow, the loss of a dear friend affected them all deeply. Everyone grieves in their own way; this was the case for the Autobots.
Optimus, he was the young and unofficial leader of his team. However, despite being unofficial and despite being kicked out of the Autobot Academy he still considered himself to be capable of so much more than what others thought. He took great pride in watching over every member of his team. He considered each and every one of them to be a crucial asset. And now he felt as if there was a hole in his team. He may have not known the professor for a long time but he left an impact on the Autobot leader. In all of his years of life he never met someone like Professor Sumdac; he wasn't used to people giving him chances especially people who didn't know him too well. Professor Sumdac had proved to be one of those people. He welcomed him and his team with open arms and he welcomed them into his home. He had done so much for them even though they were strangers. And now he couldn't help but feel as if he had failed his organic friend. He wasn't there to help him or protect him; he couldn't have done anything to chance the end results. He never felt so useless in his life before, he felt like a failure as both a leader and a friend.
Blackarachnia, once a young cadet who had big dreams of working alongside her mate in the Cybertron Elite Guard only to have those dreams dashed due to an unfortunate mistake that they couldn't avoid. She wasn't supposed to be the one who took responsibility but when she became Optimus's mate that meant that it was forever. When her mate took responsibility she followed his example, even if it meant losing everything she worked for. She followed Optimus and here they were now. She didn't regret her choice but it seemed like no matter where they went they couldn't catch a break. First, they had been betrayed by one they had called a friend. Second, they were attacked by Decepticons and their leader on their way to return the Allspark. Third, they were stuck on a foreign world with little to no way to get the Allspark to Cybertron. Fourth, they had just lost the first friend they had here on this foreign world. Fifth, they didn't know who would get custody of Sari or control of Sumdac Industries. Overall, it had been a difficult time. Her solstice in all of this was that Sari was in their care at the moment and that she still had her team and mate. She wondered just how long her solstice would last.
Ratchet, he had witnessed my deaths in his lifetime due to his profession as a doctor. However, no matter how many times he had seen it he would never get used to it. He would watch as the light drained from a bot's optics as they slowly dulled to a gray color. It never was easy and it never got easy as time passed. It was one of the main reasons why he decided to retire while he stood could. Believe it or not but he took comfort in being a part of small team, he didn't have the credentials he had before but he was fine with it. He also had Arcee to thank for that as well, she supported him in his decision to leave the war effort and retire early. Arcee had done the same; she now worked at one of the service desks at Cybertron. But this was the first time he had ever witnessed an organic dying, the effect was still the same though. And now he was left to witness the rest of his team grieving alongside him. Once again it was never easy.
Prowl, much like Ratchet he was used to seeing death but he was also used to seeing life as well. Back when he was still a troublemaker and back when he was willing to risk it all for the next thrill, that was when he learned more about the miracles and sorrows of life and death. His master, Yoketron, had taught him about the two concepts. He had seen protoforms, the new generation of life. And he had witnessed death when his beloved master was offlined twice. He had never cared about someone so much before and having to witness it not only once but twice only made the memory harder to bear. And now here he was in the same situation. He had seen both life and death, he saw an organic version of a protoform live the life given to her and then he had seen an organic version of an older bot offline before his time. To him both Yoketron and Professor Sumdac had their lives cut short and tragically.
Bulkhead, he originally started off as an energon farmer and led a relatively simple life before joining the new cadets at the Autobot Boot Camp. He may have been young and very inexperienced when it came to being on the battlefield but that didn't make him naïve. It didn't take a genius to know just how much it could hurt when you lost something very important. He had never really lost anything important in his life before, not even his expulsion from the boot camp affected him as much as this. He really felt like he found his place here on this strange world but now he felt like none of that mattered anymore. His first human friend, someone who shared his interests when it came to mechanics, was now gone. He had experienced his first disappointment in life, he always considered himself to be strong on the outside but not on the inside. But now he felt weak on both the outside and the inside.
Bumblebee, the youngest of the team and the least likely have seen such tragedies or know loss. But that was not the case. The young bot had been through a lot in his life but never anything like sure. Ever since he could remember he was always the unwanted one. He had always been looked down upon because of his size, abilities or personality. He didn't know what gave him such labels but he could never get rid of them no matter how hard he tried or how hard he worked. Everyone was wrong. He knew loss, because the one time in his life where he finally had a chance to prove himself was taken away from him. He lost his position in the boot camp because of one mistake. He thought that he was through with loss but now he had experienced this. He lost the first friend he had here on this new planet. Yes, Professor Sumdac wasn't the first human he met but he still left an impact on him. He was the reason why he still had his first human friend in his life. He just hoped that he wasn't about to lose her too.
Sari, a young baby who had experienced the loss of not only one parent but two parents. Life was unfair to her and she hadn't done anything to deserve it. She would never remember her parents' faces, she would never get to feel their gentle touches or see their smiles and she would never get to be with them as she grew up. And the saddest part about this whole situation was that she was unaware of this. She still wore a smile on her face as she was with her friends and she still continued to giggle and play. She didn't know that she was now officially an orphan and that her custody was at stake. Sari had experienced her first losses in life and yet she wouldn't even realize this until she got older. And now there was a chance that she could go to the wrong person for the rest of her life.
Right now the Autobots were all doing their own thing but there was an obvious lack of motivation. Optimus and Blackarachnia were sitting on the couch of the living room just staring at the television. There wasn't anything playing on the screen since it wasn't turned on, it was just blank. It looked like they were staring off into space; the spark was gone in their optics. The same could be said for the rest of the Autobots.
Ratchet was messing around with some of the medical equipment he had, he would put them in their assigned places only to take them out and place them back again. He didn't even have the spark to call Arcee at the moment. He knew that he wouldn't be able to say the right words when it came to this situation.
Prowl was in his room meditating, or at least trying to mediate. It felt as if something was blocking him from achieving true inner peace. He just couldn't believe that he had seen another life end right before it had just begun.
Bulkhead was in his room as well, he was using some tools to draw on the ground. When he got to Earth he took up some of their activities and art was one of them. It helped channel his inner emotions and it helped him feel in balance with himself. But right now it didn't really seem to work as he wasn't drawing anything in particular. He was just doodling; he was trying to let his sadness out.
Bumblebee was pacing around the hall and at times he would go into his room just to come back out and walk around the hall again. He was known for not being able to keep still and this was no exception. It was like he was trying to walk off his inner turmoil but it wasn't working. He just wandered around lost in endless thought and worry.
And last but not least Sari was in Optimus and Blackarachnia's room at the moment, she was sleeping peacefully. Everyone envied the little organic, not only did she not know what was happening but she also didn't know the sorrow that consumed her life. She just slept with a peaceful look on her face. Once they got back to their base Blackarachnia lulled Sari to sleep just so everyone could have their time to mourn and for Sari to get the rest she needed. Sari had been sleeping for a while now but none of the Autobots had the spark to awake that peaceful sleeping face. Bumblebee would pass the room she was in every once and a while as he paced. He would look to see that there was no change in her position or her expression. She just slept peacefully, oblivious to the world. Finally after a while of doing nothing but pacing he let out a sigh. He knew that he was getting nowhere by doing this, it felt like he was just walking around the subject rather than confronting it. To him it was no different than running away. He slowly turned around and looked at the room Sari was currently sleeping in. With another sigh he walked to the room and slowly and hesitantly entered. He looked to see Sari in her little bed. Ever since Sari came into picture they took the liberty of making their home feel like her home. They set up a small place for her in Optimus and Blackarachnia's room; it was easier for them to respond to her needs if she was sleeping in the same room as them.
He walked over to Sari's crib and he looked inside. He couldn't help but smile a little as he watched her sleep. Her little hands were relaxed and on her chest, her small body was covered in the blanket and her beautiful maroon eyes were covered by her eyelids. Her little eyelashes fluttered a little as she dreamt. Bumblebee was about to touch her when he realized that he wasn't in the right form to do so. He quickly changed into his holoform. With his human hand he reached out and caressed Sari's red hair. Sari stirred a little but she didn't wake up. He then moved to one of her hands and took it into his own. He noticed how small the hand was compared to his own, even in his holoform it still looked so tiny. As he held the hand he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pride. He wondered if Professor Sumdac had noticed this before his death, he wondered if this was how he felt when Sari was first born. But now he would never that pride again… because he was gone. And Sari was still here. Alone.
His eyes narrowed at that thought and he shook his head in order to get rid of it. That wasn't true! Even if Sari didn't have her parents anymore that didn't mean she was alone. She had the Autobots, the Witwicky couple and him. He would always be by her side no matter what; he would watch her grow in the place of Professor Sumdac and Sarina. He wasn't going to let someone like Powell take the small organic away from him or his friends. As far as he was concerned Powell didn't have any rights to Sari. He never cared about her before and he knew that wouldn't change no matter what. He wanted to keep Sari in his life… forever.
He leaned closer to the sleeping baby and thought about what he had been afraid of doing for a while now. For a long while he had been afraid of actually holding Sari. But now felt different, this didn't feel like the other times. He reached out to Sari using his holoform's hands; there was a moment of hesitation though. But then he remembered what he had promised to himself. He said that he would take Professor Sumdac and Sarina's places for Sari; he would do the things that they couldn't. With that in mind he carefully and slowly took Sari into his holoform's arms. Once he had a secure hold on her he brought her close to his chest. As he did so Sari started to stir some more as she could now hear the familiar sound of a heart beating or in this case a spark beating. Bumblebee kept himself as calm as possible as he positioned Sari in the right area. He had seen how the others held her whenever they held her and he mimicked what they did. As he held her he felt something very new. He felt complete. It was as if this was the right thing to do. He couldn't believe this is what he had been missing out on for the time he was afraid to hold her. This entire time he had been worried about hurting her in some way or doing something wrong. But now he didn't feel any of those things. He chuckled a little.
"I now know why everyone wanted to hold you when they could," he commented. "This feels right."
Bumblebee never held a small life in his arms before. Not even on his home planet had he done something like this. He found it ironic that the first time he did was on a foreign planet with an organic. Sari began to stir some more before finally opening her maroon colored eyes, the same eyes she shared with her mother. And speaking of which, Optimus had taken the picture of Professor Sumdac and his pregnant wife and stored it away in their room. He wanted to make sure nothing happened to it while Sari slept. But now she was awake and she stared at the person who was holding her. She looked into the eyes of Bumblebee's holoform and gave him a big smile. She recognized the person as one of her friends and she was happy to be in his comforting arms. Bumblebee smiled back at her and he leaned his face over Sari's small head. He felt the softness of Sari's hair touch his chin.
"Don't worry Sari," he said. "No matter what happens I will never leave your side. I always be there for you, in times where you need me and in times where you don't need me. I will be there you for because that's what your father wanted. And I know that's what your mother would have wanted too. This I promise you."
Sari cooed in response as she reached for Bumblebee's face. She gave him another smile as he hugged her close to himself.
The Autobots were brought back to reality once they heard a small noise emit from Optimus and Blackarachnia's shared room. It sounded like giggling; this surprised them all since Sari was supposed to be sleeping. They quickly stopped what they were doing and headed for the room. What they stumbled upon made them stop in their tracks for a second. But then smiles spread across their faceplates as they witnessed Bumblebee finally holding Sari in his holoform. Sari was giggling as Bumblebee held her high up before taking her back into his warm embrace. He finally noticed that his teammates were watching him and Sari. He smiled at them before looking down at Sari in his arms.
"It's going to be alright," he stated firmly. "I don't know how but I will be. I just know it."
As much as their situation looked bleak Bumblebee felt that way. He may have been young and naïve but he knew that one way or another that they would make it through this. After all they had been through a lot for a rookie team and yet here they were. They may have not been perfect and he knew that their problems were far from over, but somehow he felt like they would conquer this challenge and come out stronger than did before. He had faith in that and he hoped that the professor and his wife were watching over them for the future.
The Autobots just stood there for a while, they just watched as Bumblebee continued to hold onto Sari. It was truly a sight to behold. After a while they switched into their own holoforms and they walked over to their fellow teammate and little human friend. They gathered around them and admired the little one. When they looked at Sari they weren't just looking at the future, they were looking at the last gift Professor Sumdac and Sarina left behind. It was a gift that they intended to take care of just as they had promised the professor not too long ago. They hoped that there would be more moments like this in the future.
There would soon be problems, they knew that. But somehow it didn't look so scary anymore.
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