Author's Notes: This is a chapter I've had planned for a while. This is basically the end of Bitten's story arc, though she might be mentioned again every now and then. Also, this chapter has a lot of fluff thanks to Phobia. Then again, what did you expect? Phobia is pretty much fluff personified. After this more of the story will be dedicated to Soundwave's sparklings and their time among the new (and not improved) Decepticons. Thank you for continuing to read this fic. Please review :)
Chapter 26
Homecoming
Video Error, Freezeframe, and Solarflare spent their time in the cave playing, drinking refined energon, and getting to know Joey and Stranglor. Soundwave's sparklings were surprised to learn Bitten's symbiotes were, biologically, only 2 vorns old; the same age as Solarflare and Freezeframe. Joey was outgoing and loved to play, while Stranglor was a more serious minded and cautious mechling. The five of them quickly became friends.
Bitten, meanwhile, rarely spoke to any of them. When she wasn't refining energon for the sparklings she would just stand and stare at them, or sit and stare at them, or lay down and stare up at the cave ceiling. Video Error was especially creeped out by this behavior, since Bitten didn't even speak to her own sparklings very often. She just stared.
Finally, Bitten had announced to them that they would leave the cave in 4 joors to go back to the Decepticons. The sparklings were so happy that they celebrated by playing tag and then chugging the energon like they were adults drinking high grade. Even Crazy Error had fun when he started throwing rocks into the lake and then chasing after them like a dog playing fetch with itself. It was a happy evening filled with promise, but that did make the sparklings curious about something...
"Bitten," Solarflare addressed the femme for the first time since they first met, "Are you going to join us and serve Galvatron? You are a Predacon after all."
"I am not a...Predacon," Bitten corrected her.
"Yes you are, you said so," Freezeframe argued, though his voice remained impassive.
"No, I said my late bondmate was a Predacon," Bitten explained, "My subspecies is called Maximal. They do not exist yet. You see, in the future a faction will be more than a mere alliance. Predacon and Maximal are both races of Cybertronian. The allegiance can change, but the body cannot. If one is built as a Maximal, then one will always look like a Maximal. The same is true of Predacons. I was not always a Maximal though. I used to be a simple carrier. I could not survive that way though, so I had to choose a side and allow them to rebuild me. The experience was...difficult on me."
"Are the Maximals nice?" Video Error, in his Normal mode, asked.
"They are, for the most part," Bitten replied with a face that indicated there was more to the story.
"You're thinking about Rattrap, aren't you?" Joey snickered, "He was, is, um, will be a Maximal, and he was also a certified jerk. He could trace his ancestry all the way back to the Ark. Apparently he was related to a mech named Huffer."
Bitten sighed, the first hint of emotion they had seen from her in over an orn, and went back to the energon refinery machine to collect more sparkling grade for the others.
"So what did you do with the Maximals?" Solarflare asked excitedly, "Did you spy for them? Were you a saboteur? A communications officer? A frontliner? A scout? A grunt? A medic? A scientist? A-"
"Stop!" Freezeframe exclaimed, "Give her time to answer."
"I was a...veterinarian," Bitten replied placidly.
"What's that mean?" Solarflare asked obliviously.
"In order to prevent the timeline from being corrupted too badly, animals that were damaged in battle needed to be repaired. That was my job," Bitten explained, "I was not willing to fight the Predacons, and my team understood. They didn't always like my decision, but I knew they would not kill me for it. I loved my work, especially getting to spend all day with animals. I have always preferred the company of animals to Cybertronians. It's just...easier."
"Carrier, the timeline is already changed. Why can't we join Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe?" Joey asked pleadingly, "I wanna be a Decepticon!"
"No, you don't," Bitten replied flatly, "Never choose a faction if you can help it. You will only get hurt. We are going back where we belong."
"The moon again?" Stranglor whined, "But there's nobody there!"
"No, we are going back where we belong," Bitten replied vaguely, "Just trust me. Sparklings, walk with me. We are leaving now. Joey, grab the energon."
"Yes, Carrier," Joey replied; disappointed.
"Do you hate Decepticons?" Freezeframe asked, "Is that why you won't join us?"
"No. I don't hate anyone. I tried hating once, but it was a waste of time and a drain on my system," Bitten replied matter-of-factly.
The sparklings left the cave with their fur-covered guide. They were a little less afraid of Bitten, but they still weren't sure if they could trust her. They knew they would miss Joey and Stranglor though, since the Decepticon army didn't really have sparklings left to speak of. It was just another sad fact they would have to get used to.
The war with Unicron had been hard won, and there were many casualties on Cybertron as well as the moon bases. In fact, the moon bases had been eaten! Rodimus Prime was the freshly appointed leader of his world, and he was not prepared for everything that entailed. He was just grateful Ultra Magnus was with him helping him along.
Rodimus wanted to hurry up and finish his appointments. He was going to lunch in Iacon with Ultra Magnus and Springer, and felt he could really use the break between paperwork, diplomacy meetings, and reassigning Autobots to various tasks that needed completion.
There was a knock on the door and Rodimus sighed before opening it. Inferno was standing at the door with a determined look on his face plate. That look rarely spelled good news for the new Prime. He didn't know Inferno very well, but he did remember from his service record that he was assigned to surveillance and fire rescue.
"Rodimus, I hope this ain't a bad time," Inferno greeted him politely but sat down anyway; indicating he didn't really care if it was a bad time or not, "I need to talk to you about something important."
"I'm all audials," Rodimus replied as he set aside a data pad, "What's on your processor?"
"Hot Rod, uh, I mean Rodimus, I hate to do this to you, but I'm announcing my retirement," Inferno told him resolutely, "I'm taking my pension and moving away from Cybertron."
"I see," Rodimis replied; keeping a neutral expression, "Would you mind telling me why?"
"Well sir, my best friend Red Alert died during the attack on Autobot City," Inferno explained, "And he left behind a young sparkling. Not even 2 vorns old yet. She doesn't have anyone else, so I have to take her in. I don't think my job is safe enough to guarantee I'd get to come home every orn, and she needs stability. She also needs to live someplace safe, and I don't think Cybertron is a safe place to raise a sparkling. So, I'm taking what I've earned and moving to Kloryll Colony. I won't even be the only Autobot there. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe live there too, and the colony is growing every orn."
"Of course it's growing," Rodimus replied sardonically, "Now that the war's over everybody is retiring. Nobody wants to live on Cybertron anymore. We need mechs like you to help us make this planet a thriving and beautiful place to live again."
"I'm sorry, but my mind's made up," Inferno reiterated stubbornly, "Phobia deserves better than living in fear and wondering if her guardian is coming home at night. She's taking Red's death real hard. She needs me, and I wanna be there for her. I hope things go well for Cybertron, but my home ain't on a planet; it's in my spark with that little femmeling."
"Fine," Rodimus conceded, and then transferred Inferno's money to his account, "I guess I would feel the same way. Personally I don't envy you. I love kids, but I don't think I'd be a very good dad."
"Neither would I," Inferno replied with a wan smile, "But I'm not her dad; I'm her uncle. I love Phobia, but I could never take Red's place. Thanks for your support, sir. I know you've got a big role to fill, and you're replacing a beloved mech, but I think you can do it."
"No, I can't," Rodimus shook his helm, "I can't replace Optimus Prime any more than you can replace Red Alert. All I can do is take this one orn at a time."
"Ain't it the truth," Inferno drawled as he shook his helm sympathetically.
The two mechs parted on good terms, and then Inferno went out into the waiting room where Phobia was still sitting in her chair and kicking her legs back and forth because they didn't touch the ground.
"How'd it go, Uncle Inferno?" Phobia asked as she looked up at him.
"Just fine, sparklet," Inferno replied with a warm smile, "I'm officially retired. We can go to Kloryll Colony and enjoy the rest of our lives. You excited, sweet spark?"
"Um, I guess," Phobia replied hesitantly, "I've been doing a lot of thinking while you were making business with Rodimus Prime, and I know what I want to do when I upgrade."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Inferno asked as he bent down to look her in the optic.
"I want to open up my very own foundling home," Phobia declared, "A good one. A place where sparklings could be happy and safe. A place where caretakers will work with parents to find their perfect sparkling. It wouldn't be like the yucky place where I came from. I could use my life to help people instead of making more war."
"You know something sparklet? That's a good idea," Inferno replied, "In fact, why wait? We could open one right now on Kloryll Colony! I've got the money, and we've got the time. We could work together to help rescue dozens of poor displaced sparklings!"
"Already? But isn't that kind of fast?" Phobia asked cautiously.
"Are you kidding? It's millions of years slower than it should've been!" Inferno cried out joyfully as he picked up Phobia and hugged her, "Just think sparklet, we could change hundreds of lives for the better!"
It was impulsive, something Phobia wasn't used to seeing when she lived with her father, but Inferno wasn't like Red Alert. When he saw someone in need he never gave a second thought (or even a first thought) to helping them out.
"Uncle Inferno? Can I name it?" Phobia asked, "The foundling home, I mean. Can I name it, please?"
"Of course, sweet spark. It was your idea!" Inferno chuckled, "What do you wanna call it?"
"Um..." Phobia whispered names as if trying them out before she finally said, "I wanna call it the Red Honey Byte Foundling Home. It's named after my daddy, Honey Venom, and Terrabyte."
"That's a great idea, sparklet," Inferno replied warmly, "If I might make a suggestion though, the Red Honey Byte Memorial Foundling Home."
"Neat!" Phobia exclaimed as she reached up to hug Inferno's face, but then her optics went wide with embarrassment as she said, "Uh-oh, my suckers are stuck to your face. Um, as long as they're there anyway, can I feed?"
"Okay..." Inferno replied nervously, "Just don't leave a scar, sparklet."
Phobia giggled and Inferno laughed as they made their way out of the new Prime's HQ. Inferno turned into a fire truck, Phobia turned into a hearse, and they drove away talking all about their great new idea to help orphans on Kloryll Colony.
Soundwave could sense the spark bond even before he saw them. Since the defeat of Unicron by the Autobots, the Decepticons had been living on Charr. Cyclonus was their official leader now, but he had gone off to search for Galvatron; leaving the rest of the Decepticons to starve and fight among themselves. So, in reality, there was no leader and barely a faction left.
Without energon it seemed that those banished to Charr were just going to fade away into oblivion. Soundwave knew for this reason that he was right to send his sparklings away to live with Squalor on that distant moon. If only he had sent his other cassettes away. He feared for their lives, as it seemed that the remaining Decepticons were ready to destroy each other for a chance at energon.
Now though, Soundwave could sense it. His sparklings were returning to him, to this accursed ball of battered rock. Soundwave was beside himself with grief and worry. Why would Squalor bring back his sparklings? Why would he doom them to die with their father? Was there a chance Soundwave could convince him to take them back?
A small silver ship, shaped like a floating CD, docked on Charr. The other Decepticons eyed it hungrily; hoping it contained energon for them. Soundwave shooed them away; knowing it was Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe.
The ship opened, and his sparklings ran out and immediately grabbed onto his leg for comfort. He sent waves of support through the bond as well as an unspoken question that they already knew he would ask. They all three looked up at him, their visors filled with longing and hope, and he ran his hands along the tops of their helms to soothe them.
The Decepticons watched as a small white femme exited the ship holding a stack of energon cubes of various grades. Motormaster was the first one to step in front of her.
"Alright sweet spark, give me them energon cubes!" Motormaster demanded.
"These are for Soundwave," Bitten replied; seemingly unconcerned by Motormaster's presence, "They are...A debt."
"Explanation: required," Soundwave replied; his monotone voice barely giving a hint to the extent of his confusion.
"I killed Squalor. I'm not sorry," Bitten replied flatly, "However, I have inconvenienced you. For that, I am sorry. These cubes are of a very low grade; suitable for sparklings. Take them now so I can leave debt free."
"Hold it!" Motormaster boomed as he grabbed Bitten by the arm, "I want energon! If you don't give it to me I'll take it from your fuel lines!"
Bitten's eyes widened at the threat, but a split second later they narrowed in concentration. She let out a high-pitched squealing bark that broke Motormaster's optics, and once he let go she ran back to her ship and left as quickly as she came. Motormaster was left rubbing his sore face plate, and Soundwave was left to care for his sparklings on a desolate planet with only a few stacks of energon to feed his entire family.
Of course, Bitten knew that Galvatron would be back in two earth days, and that then the factional crusade would begin anew. Soundwave, however, believed that cold-sparked femme had doomed them all to slowly perish.
Phobia finally told Inferno about the newsparks she had been keeping for Honey Venom, and how Q-Boom had her own stash that she and Cosmos were caring for. He now understood why a foundling home was so important to Phobia. She knew that soon enough there would be new orphans.
He didn't waste time. He ordered supplies from Cybertron, and enlisted Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to help him build the large facility required to house two dozen sparklings. They would expand soon, he told Phobia, but for now this was all the land they could afford.
Ultra Magnus, Arcee, The Protectobots, and Bumblebee soon came to help with construction. Inferno's new neighbors on Kloryll Colony also insisted on helping. It was truly a labor of love. It had only been 10 orns since the idea was conceived, and the building was already halfway finished.
"I can't believe this monstrosity is going to be right across the street from us," Sunstreaker complained, "Soon it's going to be filled with a bunch of screaming little brats."
"I know, isn't it great?" Sideswipe replied with a goofy grin, "Soon this place with be a prankster's paradise! Just think of all the naughty kids running around gluing shock buzzers to chairs and writing curse words on the walls. It's a dream come true!"
Even though Inferno worried about Phobia working in Kloryll's cold atmosphere, she was insistent that she wanted to help. So, every orn she would wake up early, gather energon, and bring it out to the work crews. Ultra Magnus even taught her how to properly work a rivet gun. She found that she liked the stability and calm that Ultra Magnus personified. She hoped she could be that calm and collected someday. She didn't like that for most of her life she had been a scaredy rat (or whatever they were called), and that when she tried to be strong she wasn't. Yes, she would learn how to be calm and strong from the brave adults all around her. She wouldn't give up.
On this orn the crews were working on wiring so the building could have electricity and heat. The work was going steadily and everyone seemed to enjoy each other's company. That was interrupted when Bumblebee shouted "Hey guys, what's that up in the sky?"
Everyone looked, and they saw a ship. That wasn't unusual. Ships came and went from Kloryll Colony all the time. What made this ship suspicious was the shape: a disk. The Autobot spy stationed on Charr told them about a strange femme that killed Squalor and injured Motormaster. They ran her face through Teletran 2 and figured out it was the same femme that contacted Ultra Magnus before the attack on Autobot City. Her name was Bitten, and she was considered unarmed yet dangerous.
"Should we fire on that ship?" Streetwise asked Ultra Magnus.
"Perhaps," Ultra Magnus said guardedly; still looking up at the ship.
"No!" Sunstreaker suddenly screamed, "Don't fire!"
"Sunny, have you lost your mind?" Sideswipe asked, "You heard the reports. That femme is a Bot killer! Some even think she might've worked for Unicron!"
Sunstreaker wasn't listening anymore. He was carefully watching the ship to see where it would land; his hand clutched to his chassis as if he were having a spark attack. Ultra Magnus tried to step in front of Sunstreaker to ask if he was alright, but Sunstreaker pushed Ultra Magnus out of the way and started running toward the ship! Everyone else was curious as to what the golden frontliner would do, so they ran behind him.
Sunstreaker ran with all his might to the ship; his spark aching in a way he hadn't felt in years. The door opened, and the furry femme stood in its doorway with an impassive look on her face plate. That impassive look quickly changed to surprise when she saw how close Sunstreaker was to her ship.
The Autobots watched as Sunstreaker grabbed the femme. They at first thought he was trying to subdue her, but then they quickly realized he was actually hugging her! They didn't know what was going on, and they feared the femme was using some sort of processor-control on him.
Sunstreaker continued to hold her, as if letting go would make her disappear, and for one of the only times in his life coolant ran down his optics as he cried tears of joy. The femme didn't move at first, but then slowly put her arms around Sunstreaker as well.
"Terrabyte..." Sunstreaker whispered into her shoulder as he clutched her tighter, "I'm so sorry. Terrabyte..."
"You're not even going to ask about the ears, are you?" Bitten asked drolly, "I missed you...Sunstreaker."
Sunstreaker finally pulled away and wiped the fluid from his optics. He looked at her, really looked, for the first time since she landed.
"You're a couple feet taller," Sunstreaker remarked, "Also, you look like a rabbit."
"Actually, I transform into a kangaroo," Terrabyte explained, "It's a long story. I'll tell you later. Would you like to meet your...grand-creations?"
Sunstreaker was speechless. He had no idea how this happened. His daughter wasn't dead, she was an adult that turned into an animal, and she had sparklings of her own. It was a lot to take in. He didn't know quite what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Slag yes, I do," Sunstreaker replied with a wide smirk.