Elsewhere, Slugbug was spoiling his mate with all kinds of attention. Striker purred practically as Slugbug spoiled him. And right now, Slugbug was spoiling his mate with a hot oil massage. "Oh love...this feels so good"
Slugbug made sure to loosen most of his mate's joints. 'Glad you are enjoying it love' Slugbug stated.
"What brought all this on my love, I'm not complaining mind you"
'Because I want to give you more attention, as those little ones seem to spark healthy' Slugbug stated. Striker nodded and just melted under his mates administrations. Slugbug rubbed everywhere, wanting to make sure his mate was nice and relaxed. Striker relaxed and felt weightless. Slugbug smiled, as he knew his mate was truly happy and content. Striker was actually about to doze off in the hot oil. Slugbug encouraged it. It didn't take much longer and soon drifted off completely. Slugbug smiled, content. Striker had no idea how long he was out.
Slugbug watched as his mate slowly got up again. "Mmm...How long was I out?"
"5 hours love" Slugbug stated.
Striker nodded. "Any energon love?"
Slugbug held up a cube and then pointed to several more. "I am thinking you are quite hungry my dear" Slugbug stated, doing whatever he could to help his mate without asking for anything in return. After all, that was part of love.
"Thank you" Striker said and drank most of them. Slugbug smiled as his mate seemed to be doing much better. Slugbug ran and grabbed some polish he had kept for a special occasion like this and while Striker was still waking up and stretching, Slugbug put this special polish on his mate, which made his mate shine like he was made of brand new metal. Slugbug could only hope seeing the shine and such would make striker feel better.
"What are you up to Bug?" Striker asked.
"I just wanted you to feel better and I wanted to show you how much I loved you, my mate' Slugbug stated honestly.
"I love you to bug" Striker said and kissed his mate. Then he caught sight of himself all shiny and was startled.
"Something wrong love?" bug asked.
"I...I'm shiny" He said it having been an extremely long time since he had been shiny.
"Yes you are love. I used a special polish I had been saving for a special occasion' Slugbug stated.
"I haven't been shiny in a very long time"
"Are you mad that you are shiny, love?" Slugbug asked, hoping it was not the case.
"No...It's just surprising is all love"
Bug smiled. "I am glad you like it, love." Striker kissed Bug softly. Bug kissed his mate back and hugged his mate as well, happy that his mate was happy. Striker rested in Bugs arms.
Elsewhere, Silverstar was holding her mate close to her as she slept. Rumble just dozed as Silverstar held him, he didn't mind really as long as his mate was happy and comfortable. Silver purred in contentment as she held her mate close to her. Rumble smiled and gently kissed Silver. Silver woke at the feel of that kiss. She was happy to have her mate near her, and kissed him in return.
"How are you feeling" Rumble asked.
"better now that those two aren't trying to tear us apart' Silver stated.
Rumble nodded in agreement. "Do you need anything?" Silver took her warm tongue and ran it up and down Rumble's body. There was only one reason she did that, and Rumble knew it – she wanted to interface. Rumble moaned softly. "How do you want it my love?"
'my aft, baby" Silver stated, her aft longing to be taken.
"Then position yourself love." Silver moved to her hands and knees, though she made sure she was low enough that they both would be comfortable for this. Rumble took his time gently preparing her aft, wanting her ready. Silver moaned deep, loving moans as she felt the pleasure of her aft being taken care of. When Rumble thought she was ready he slid into Silvers aft. Silver squeaked a bit, but soon felt back into her deep moans. She was enjoying this, and hoped Rumble was as well. Rumble smiled and kept his thrusts gently and deep. One thing that Rumble didn't expect was Silver, who he thought was reaching for her own valve to help him, reached his valve and began teasing him as he took her.
Rumble made a sound of surprise as he felt her fingers teasing his valve. Silver could feel his valve warm and wet to her touch and she continued to use her soft, supple fingers to tease her mate as he took her aft. "S...silver" Rumble panted as he thrust and the fingers teased him.
'Yes, love….ugh" Silver responded between moans and groans of pleasure.
"So...d...different..." Rumble managed.
"Good….ngh…good different…or ungh…bad different' Silver stated, keeping up her strokes as she enjoyed her mate's thrusts.
Rumble moaned thrusting. "Odd..." That wasn't what Silver had wanted to hear and so she stopped, fearing her mate hated what she was doing anyway.
Rumble slowed down. "Silver..."
"Yes…' Silver responded.
"It just feels different, I've never felt it before"
"But I stopped because I didn't think you had liked it" silver admitted, considering she had asked if it felt good or bad different and he had answered odd.
"It doesn't feel bad just odd"
'But that makes me think you hated it" silver admitted.
"Continue love." Tentatively, Silver reached back and started again, using techniques she used on her own valve to overload hard. Soon enough Rumble overloaded and his valve clenched around Silver's fingers. Silver overloaded as well, though much quieter than her mate. Rumble panted and kissed Silver.
"Was that good for you, love?" Silver asked holding her mate as he cooled down. Rumble nodded. 'Good, I am glad you enjoyed it" Starlight stated.
"What brought that on?"
'Brought what on?" Silver asked, not sure exactly what he was referring to.
"Playing with my valve, you've never done that before."
"Just wanted to try something new" silver stated. Rumble nodded and kissed Silver "Did you enjoy it? Cause if you didn't, I won't do it again" silver stated.
"It was just different, it wasn't bad I just have never experienced anything like it before"
'Would you like me to keep it in our repertoire or just delete it from my memory?' Silver asked.
"Let's hold onto it for now." Silver smiled and nuzzled her mate. Rumble nuzzled back and rested.
Elsewhere, Frenzy was enjoying his two new mates who he had wanted so long and now were finally his. "So who's ready to play" Frenzy asked Bomber and Nosecone. Neither responded, as neither really wanted to play. Both would have rather been anywhere but here, but they had little choice now. "Alright what's bothering you two?"
'We still don't really want to be here" stated Bomber.
That hurt Frenzy hearing that, he had two choices he could either yell and hurt them or he could choose to let them go. "Fine then go"
"We can't, we have nowhere else to go" Nosecone stated. "Maybe what we need is more time with you, getting to know you, as you always seemed like such a little annoyance, but now that we are bonded, we sense there is more to you." Bomber nodded in agreement.
"That was because I was a sparkling, a child" Frenzy said. "What do you want to know?"
'We want to know more about what it means to be a cassette and how that affects you and our relationship with you" Nosecone stated, surprising Frenzy.
"There are times I have to go back into my spot in mom's chest, if I get to stressed out or upset or just need his love surrounding me. I don't get any bigger than this, there will be times I need help." Both nodded, trying to understand, and Frenzy could see it in their optics, they really were trying. Frenzy commed his mom and asked him to come. Soundwave soon came and began helping Frenzy answer questions from his new mates.
"Is it possible that we will spark cassettes? And if so, how would we be able to best care for them?" Nosecone asked, as if sensing something.
"Statement, may have to alter one of you to have a tape deck" Soundwave said.
"Please, alter me" Nosecone stated, knowing full well that Bomber would never ever want his form changed.
"Statement I will check with medics and see when this would be best to do"
'Thank you, Soundwave" Nosecone stated, obviously taking this better than Bomber. Soundwave nodded and once there were no more questions he left.
Frenzy looked to his mates. "Now?"
"Take me, sir" Nosecone stated, trying not to reveal his own hard spike as well as his own dripping valve.
"Frenzy" He corrected. "I want you to be honest with me and open okay."
"Yes Frenzy" Nosecone stated, opening his groin plating, revealing a stiff, throbbing spike and a dripping valve. 'I need you so bad." Frenzy kissed Nosecone before playing with his valve.
Bomber just watched, as Nosecone was gently and tenderly fragged. Bomber just wasn't comfortable with all this, and though he was hard and dripping as well, he couldn't bring himself to do what Nosecone was doing – submit completely to this small bot.
After Frenzy brought Nosecone over he looked at Bomber. "Would you like your need take care of?" Bomber didn't respond.
"He's a huge stubborn aft. You want anything from him, you don't ask, you tell him. Command him, after all, I know that is his biggest fetish, and he won't be able to resist you" Nosecone stated, knowing his friend too well. Bomber growled as Nosecone had promised never to reveal that.
Frenzy sighed. "On your back and spread." Bomber moaned, and as much as he wanted to resist, he couldn't, and soon he was laying on his back, on the floor and his groin plating was straining to not only hold his spike in but hold all the lubricant in as well. Frenzy looked at Nosecone and Nosecone nodded. Frenzy was glad to have Nosecone pretty much on his side. "Open and relax" He said before he worked Bombers valve. Bomber did as commanded, and was soon moaning and groaning in pleasure. Nosecone watched. He wanted to join in, but he knew this time was for Bomber and Frenzy only. Frenzy made sure Bomber received pleasure wanting him to enjoy.
Nosecone watched, and it took all his will power not to join the two as Frenzy took Bomber. "You can join too Nosecone." Nosecone was over as soon as he heard he had permission and he took Bomber's stiff spike into his mouth as he spiked Bomber's mouth with his own spike. Frenzy smiled watching the show. Between Frenzy and Nosecone, Bomber didn't last very long before he overloaded.
"There did you enjoy that?"
"I did" stated Nosecone while Bomber merely nodded, too proud as of yet to admit he was defeated.
Frenzy rubbed Bombers face. "I wish you could accept this"
"Give him time, Frenzy" Nosecone stated, revealing more about his close friend, "He just doesn't warm up to bots real fast. It took me years to get to be his close friend."
Frenzy nodded. "You two can do whatever"
After Frenzy left, yet unaware he could still hear them, Nosecone began to ask his close friend questions. "He loves us, why can't you accept that? He has never treated us poorly and he has always treated us with respect, unlike some other bots around here" Nosecone told his friend.
"You ever think I might not want to be bonded?"
"I don't think that's the real reason, as you told me time and time again you would have loved to have been bonded to Silverstar" Nosecone reminded his friend.
"Yeah to a femme"
"But she was already bonded and wanted nothing to do with you, nor did any femme that we've ever met" Nosecone stated.
"I don't like being bonded to a mech"
'I don't think it's the mech part that's bothering you; I think it is the fact that he is smaller than you are. You always had a problem appropriately dealing with bots who were made smaller than you. I can't tell you the number of times I had to go talk with Slugbug because you pissed him off" Nosecone stated, shocking Bomber.
"What?" Bomber asked.
"Slugbug is normally pretty easy going, but you always made fun of his size, just like with any bot who was smaller than you. I learned pretty quickly that when Slugbug's optics go from yellow to blue, something is gonna happen, and I didn't want anything to happen to you because of your ignorance. You're fortunate Slugbug liked me, or you would have been in deep shit, as Slugbug is a portal for Primus" Nosecone stated.
"He's...oh slag..."
"He doesn't tell that to everybody for darn good reason, but I wanted to let you know, as you often misjudge those who are smaller than you. And Slugbug is also the son of Optimus and Mirage and brother to the Prime. See how much you never learn when you never give a bot a chance?" Nosecone asked.
"Its how I am and you know it"
"But I think you need to learn to stop judging other bots" Nosecone stated, "now open up for me"
"What for?" Bomber asked suspiciously.
"Cause I'm gonna take ya" Nosecone stated, rubbing Bomber's sensitive groin plating. 'Open" Nosecone said in as commanding as a voice as he could muster, which sent shivers down Bomber's spinal unit. Bomber couldn't stop the moan that escaped his lips.
"You just want to be taken, don't you, you pleasure bot?" Nosecone stated, making sure to hit the most sensitive areas on his friend, just like he had done many times before. Frenzy had unknowingly come back into the room to watch the interaction, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the quieter of the two was actually the more dominant of the two. Bomber just moaned and writhed. It didn't take long for Nosecone to get Bomber soaking wet and soon Nosecone's thick spike was buried deep in Bomber's sensitive valve while Nosecone used a toy to enter Bomber's extremely sensitive aft port. "Feel good, pleasure bot?" Nosecone asked, hitting all the right spots, unaware he was being studied.
"Yes!" Bomber choked out as his valve and aft were taken.
"I think we should teach this to Frenzy, so he can enjoy you, as I do, don't you?" Nosecone asked, still hitting all the right places, making Bomber putty in his hands. Bomber moaned and groaned.
Frenzy watched, studying exactly what Nosecone did, and was fascinated. And since both bots' optics were closed, Frenzy slowly approached Bomber's audios. "So this turns you on, huh Pleasure bot?" Frenzy whispered into Bomber's audios as Nosecone kept up his part. Bomber was startled and online his optics.
But as Bomber looked around, all he could see was Nosecone pleasure him, as Frenzy had reverted to his tape form, and in realizing his mistake, Frenzy altered his voice to sound like Nosecone's voice. "Yeah, gonna take you, turn you into such a pleasure bot" Frenzy stated in Nosecone's voice as Nosecone's mouth opened in a moan of pleasure, fooling Bomber.
"Yessss...please..."
"Give yourself to me for now, and promise you will give yourself completely to Frenzy and I will let you overload" Nosecone stated as he thrust in further and further, hitting all sorts of sensitive nodes. Bomber whimpered at Nosecones words.
Nosecone knew how to get exactly what he wanted out of Bomber, but he rarely if ever used it. But this called for more "help' and so Nosecone not only thrust deep into Bomber and used the toy deep on his aft, but also Nosecone stroked Bomber's slick, throbbing spike just the way he knew Bomber liked. 'My pleasurebot, Frenzy won't hurt you. He will bring you pleasure just like I do. Please, agree to give in to him and I will let you have a major overload" Nosecone stated, hoping to help Bomber get closer to accepting Frenzy as their mate. A little ways back from the action, Frenzy was stroking his spike, completely turned on by the hot scene. He would have to reward Nosecone later. Bomber whimpered he wanted overload but he wasn't sure if he wanted to give in or not.
"And if you….ugh….ngh….don't want to completely…mmm…give in….at least…ooo…at least give him a chance" Nosecone stated, reducing the requirement, knowing he didn't want to push Bomber too far.
"Chance..." Bomber finally managed.
Nosecone smiled, as that was a huge breakthrough. "Alright, my little pleasure bot, overload, and remember, you promised to give Frenzy a chance" Nosecone stated. Frenzy looked at Nosecone and noticed the smile and gathered that to get "a chance" was a big breakthrough. Bomber overloaded with a cry trembling. Nosecone soon followed, and once he had overloaded, he held Bomber gently in his arms, to calm the bot down. Frenzy, still unseen, was learning more than he ever thought he would. And now he knew how best to work with Bomber, as well as Nosecone.
Soon enough, Bomber fell asleep and Frenzy walked up to Nosecone. "Did you learn from that, Frenzy?" Nosecone asked, not bothering to look up.
"I did" Frenzy said and kissed Nosecone. "You did a good job"
"I didn't want to push him too far' Nosecone stated, enjoying the kiss.
"What happens if he gets pushed too far?"
"He'll go crazy. I accidentally did it once, and it took the medic and I damn near a fortnight to get him back to functioning at a normal level. The best way to work is slowly increase toward the goal. It took me a year to get him to this far to where I can get away with calling him my 'little pleasure bot'" Nosecone stated, "but it was a huge breakthrough to just give you a chance, so working him to get submissive to you probably will take less time, as long as I can help."
"I welcome the help, I just want him to accept this and be happy"
"Give him time and we will be able to help him accept this and be happy" Nosecone stated, "after all part of this is punishment, but part of this is because the punisher knew that you would treat us well."
"I've always wanted the two of you" Frenzy said.
"Mirage must have known, as he had us reprogrammed slightly and then sent to you" Nosecone stated, happy about all that had happened despite the reprogramming.
"Mirage is like a second mom to me" Frenzy said. "And it was mom that reprogrammed you" he said referring to Soundwave.
Nosecone gently set the sleeping Bomber down. 'Is it possible to put a cassette deck inside me, I just feel like that some of the ones I am sparked with are going to be cassettes. And maybe it would give you a second area to be, in case your mom is unavailable' Nosecone stated, nuzzling his smaller, more dominant mate.
"I'm sure if it is possible, mom would know" Frenzy said nuzzling back.
Elsewhere, Soundwave went to dash, as this was not a medical issue but a rebuild issue, and very few knew more about that than Dash. "What brings you to me, sir?" Dash asked, still referring to the bots older than him by sir or ma'am unless they said otherwise.
"Statement I will need assistance" Soundwave said and told what was going on.
'I am willing to help, sir, just let me know when you and Nosecone are ready, and I will be there" Dash stated, making Soundwave smile beneath his mask. He smiled not only because of Frenzy being happy and Nosecone being willing to do this, but it also meant that Frenzy would have a secondary place to recharge as a cassette if he needed it. Soundwave wondered if Starlight would be willing to do the same, but for now he concentrated on Nosecone.
"You will need scans of my chamber and I will find when it is safe to do so"
'I understand" Stated dash, not used to having a prototype to work with.
"Statement it will have to be just right but I know you will do it well''
'Thank you" Stated dash humbly, slightly amazed that Soundwave praised him so. Soundwave had him take multiple scans of him in robot and alt mode so Dash would know what he had to do. Dash scanned and easily obtained all the data he needed including how to help hide the tape deck areas, now the only thing he needed to scan was Nosecone and figure out just where was the best place for the deck and how was the best way to hide it on the aerial type bot.
Soundwave commed Frenzy and told him to send Nosecone to them. Frenzy did as asked, and soon Nosecone was in Dash's "repair and remodeling" studio. He was a little nervous, but Dash's down to earth personality and warmth calmed the bot quite a bit.
"Statement Dash will add the tape deck but must scan you" Soundwave said.
Nosecone nodded and then stood still as Dash scanned him. Dash was friendly and kept the bot relaxed as he scanned it. Dash knew this would be a bit trickier, but he had figured out in his processor how to add the deck without unbalancing the aerial bot, and sent his processor blue prints to Soundwave. And while Dash awaited Soundwave's opinion, Dash made casual conversation with Nosecone. Soundwave made a couple minor adjustments before sending the plans back.
Dash received the revived plans and agreed. He had just one last thing to ask. 'Are you doing this of your own freewill?" dash asked
"Yes, it was my idea as I have a feeling I carry cassettes"
Dash nodded, as it made it easier for him if the bot had chosen the remodeling. "So when shall we get started" Dash asked Soundwave.
"Statement one moment" He said and commed Ratchet to come. Ratchet soon came and Soundwave explained the situation to him. Ratchet nodded and scanned Nosecone. "It's alright to do it now"
And so while Ratchet monitored Nosecone and his developing sparklings, Soundwave and dash worked quickly yet carefully to install the deck that Nosecone had wanted. Soundwave instead of speaking pulsed into dash minor little adjustments to make. Once in a while, Dash would have to pulse back, as wiring was a bit different as well as other structures, in an aerial bot, but between the two of them, they soon remodeled Nosecone. Dash had to make him more of a cargo plane to fit the tape deck, but he didn't think Nosecone would mind. Soundwave did his own scans and nodded his approval.
Ratchet did the final scans, and noted that Dash had made sure to protect the sparkling development chamber as well as other structures, and gave his own approval before waking Nosecone up.
Nosecone was a little groggy as he onlined. "Is it done...?"
"It is. I had to change your structure a bit and reinforce some areas. You are no longer a light flyer, but a cargo jet. I hope you don't mind, as it was the only way we could safely get the tape deck into your systems without affecting you being able to fly" dash stated, hoping Nosecone wasn't mad.
Nosecone shook his head. "No that's fine." Dash smiled as he and Ratchet as well as Soundwave got the bot to his feet. It took a minute for Nosecone to find his new center of gravity, as he was heavier than before, but once he found it, he was happy, and after profusely thanking Ratchet, Dash, and Soundwave, he headed back to his mates.
'Frenzy?" Nosecone called, his voice just slightly deeper than it had been.
Frenzy looked up from the datapad he had been looking at. "Nosecone..."
"Frenzy, my love, your mom and Dash helped me. Look, look at me now" And with that Nosecone opened up his chest and revealed a large tape deck that could hold a dozen cassettes. "I now have a tape deck, you can come to me if you want to."
Frenzy found himself smiling. "Well a test run wouldn't hurt"
"Frenzy return' Nosecone found himself saying. Frenzy transformed and went into the newly finished tape deck. Frenzy found it felt just like his mom's deck. "They were based off Soundwave's tape decks" Nosecone stated, making Frenzy feel even warmer and cozier inside. Frenzy pulsed love. Nosecone felt all warm and happy inside. He wanted his mate to stay in there a bit longer, but he also wanted his mate to take his newly remodeled systems for a spin, and so he wasn't sure what message to send back to his mate, and so accidentally sent both. Frenzy smiled and pulsed to just simply tell him to eject, when he was ready of course.
Nosecone's hormones soon got the best of him, and he reluctantly told his mate to "eject" and opened the deck area to allow his mate out. Frenzy ejected and smiled at his mate. Nosecone was too in heat to say much other than, "please….take me"
"Lay down love and I'll take care of you." Nosecone did as asked, not wanting Frenzy to deny him. "I won't deny you" Frenzy said as he made love to Nosecone. Nosecone smiled, as he was truly happy that Frenzy wanted him.
Elsewhere Soundwave approached Silverstar, figuring he would speak to her about a tape deck. Silverstar was enjoying herself by pleasuring herself, when Soundwave let himself in. Soundwave averted his optics, as she overloaded and then damn near screamed when she noticed she had an audience. "What the hell do you think you are doing, you pervert?" Silverstar asked, her mind open to Soundwave, if he wanted to use it.
"Statement, I'm sorry I came to speak to you''
Silver calmed down when she realized who it was. She was afraid it had been another bot, as it seemed like so many bots wanted her. 'I'm sorry, mom, there's just so many bots out there than want me, and I want none of them. The only bot I ever want is Rumble" Silverstar stated.
"Statement I will improve your security"
'Thank you. Now what did you want to talk about?" Silverstar asked, as Soundwave rarely came by unless asked. Soundwave sat down and explained about what Nosecone had just done and wondered if she would be interested in doing the same. It didn't take Silverstar any time to say that she was more than willing, as she was tired of Rumble constantly being gone for time on end as well as several of the sparklings were cassettes, and silver never seemed able to calm them. Soundwave took her with him to Dash and explained they needed to do the same procedure again.
Dash was extremely careful, as femmes had some structures mechs didn't have, and he worked around them with the help of Soundwave and Ratchet again. Silverstar soon woke and found her body curvier and well rounded. She knew she was a bit bigger, but she actually looked skinner than she did before, thanks to how Dash had carefully remodeled her. Soundwave helped her home and gathered Rumble and the cassette little ones.
Silverstar was a little nervous, and she hoped her deck that held 8 was enough. "Rumble, babies, return" and no sooner had Silver said it, her five cassttelings and Rumble transformed and soon settled in her tape deck. The babies calmed and she enjoyed feeling her mate close to her. Rumble pulsed love to her. Soundwave smiled and got to work on the security.
Elsewhere Mirage was walking alone outside of the base. It was during the daytime hours, and so Mirage thought he would be safe, and continued his walk. As Mirage walked he thought he heard something, it was sparkling squeaks. Mirage quickly followed where his audios were leading him, hoping this was a sparkling he was rescuing and not a trap. It wasn't a trap; wrapped in a tattered blanket was a tiny, tiny seekerling. Mirage scooped the little one up. It was obvious the little one had been abandoned, but right now who wasn't so much of a concern as the fact that this little seekerling mech needed help and the mother part of Mirage wasn't going to let this little one out of his sight. The tiny seekerling squeaked and clicked, he was hungry and cold.
Mirage pulled out some sparkling approved energon and drew the little one close to him. And with a bottle, Mirage fed the tiny seekerling. The seekerling started sucking straight away on the bottle. 'Oh you poor thing, you must be starving and lonely. Come with me, I will take care of you" Mirage stated, walking off with the tiny seekerling, never seeing the mother's dead body next to it. The seekerling squeaked and curled into the warmth. Mirage knew the first place he needed to take this bot, and slowly headed into the med bay, hoping that Ratchet wasn't there, as Mirage didn't really care for Ratchet, as a medic.
Urgent Care was the medic on duty Ratchet just having gotten off 20 minutes before. 'Urgent, I need you to check over this tiny little seekerling mech I found. He was on his own, wrapped in a blanket just outside the base, and I need to have him get a full work up" Mirage stated.
"Sure" Urgent said and started scanning. "Well he was sparked early, it's why he's so tiny. He needs more energon but other than that he seems to be okay"
Mirage nodded and was going to ask if he should leave the little one in the med bay when both he and Urgent found that the little seekerling was clinging tightly to Mirage. "I guess he doesn't want to leave me" Mirage stated.
"He's okay to go with you, since he's not wanting to let go"
Mirage smiled. "I think I will name you Sunbolt" but the little seekerling didn't like that name and made it known. "Ok, ok. How about Snowseeker?" The little Orange, green, and black seekerling smiled and cooed, liking that name better. "Snowseeker it is" Mirage said.
"Just keep an optic on him and any problems bring him in straight away" Urgent said.
"Will do" Mirage stated, as he headed out. He hoped his mates would accept the newest bundle of joy. The moment of truth came when Mirage walked into his quarters and both Mirage and Pincer were there.
Optimus tilted his head in surprise seeing the seekerling in his mate's arms. "Are we sparksitting?"
"No, beloved, we are adopting an abandoned seekerling" Mirage stated, hoping his mates would support him, as the little seekerling didn't want to let Mirage go.
Optimus came over to look at the little one. "Tiny little thing"
Snowseeker squeaked as he saw the big bot. Mirage soon soothed the little one though. "Urgent said he was sparked early, but other than needing more energon, he is safe to be at home with us" Mirage stated, hoping that Optimus would not make him take the little one back to the med bay and leave him. Optimus held his arms out for the seekerling. Snowseeker was nervous, but with gentle encouragement from Mirage, Snowseeker crawled to Optimus's hands and curled up in the warmth. "His name is Snowseeker" Mirage stated, remaining in sight for the little one.
"Welcome home Snowseeker" Optimus said. "Let's get you a nice warm blanket." Snowseeker clicked and cooed as Optimus held him and put a soft blanket around him.
"There we go, we need to keep you warm till you get bigger" Optimus said gently rubbing the little seekerlings face.
"So, can we keep him?" Mirage asked, hoping that Optimus and Pincer would say yes.
"We can keep him" Optimus said. Mirage was relieved and happy.
"He is cute" Pincer said. Snowseeker blew a raspberry at Pincer, a sign of love from the tiny seekerling. Pincer smiled. Snowseeker soon fell asleep, glad to have found a family.
"We need to get a berth set up for him" Optimus said. "You just found him you said?"
"Yes, I was walking around the outside of the base, and I heard tiny cries. I found him wrapped in a tattered old blanket' Mirage stated before showing his mates the blanket. Optimus wanted to see where this little one was found. "I can take you to the spot if you want me to." Optimus nodded and they got the little one settled and with pincer watching the sparklings Optimus followed his mate. Mirage led his mate to the spot, and this time saw the dead mother creator lying next to where Mirage had found the tiny seekerling. It looked like she had sparked but then never really regained consciousness.
''Come we'll see she's entombed" Optimus said. Mirage nodded as well, carrying the deceased seeker to the where they needed to take her on the base. Optimus saw her entombed appropriately.
As she was entombed, a small metal box seemed to fall out of her. Mirage and Optimus didn't know what it was, but not willing to throw it out, they kept it – unaware that when Snowseeker came of age, it would let him and only him know of his creators, one of whom had starved to death to make sure he survived. "We'll take it home with us" Mirage nodded and once they got home, they put the box in a safe place, and enjoyed the fact that all their little ones were asleep.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, while Chance was guarding Keeper, he felt pain inside of him. But having felt pain before, he ignored it, and kept ignoring it until Keeper himself noticed that Chance was dripping oil, as if his oil had broken. "Chance I'm taking you to the med bay."
"Why is that sir?" Chance asked, a grimace of pain on his face as he tried to keep face in front of his Prime.
"I believe your sparking, if we cannot make it, I will comm a medic to come to us." Chance nodded in defeat. He didn't want to show his Prime that he was weak, but right now he had no choice, as the pain was getting to him. He moaned slightly in pain, which Keeper knew instantly that the bot was in a lot of pain, as Chance never said anything or made any note of pain unless it was more than he could bear.
"It's alright Chance you never have to hide anything from me" Keeper said and got Chance to the med bay. Windrider was there and saw that Chance was coming in. Windrider knew of Chance's strange anatomy, though it surprised Keeper that the medic put Chance on his stomach to spark the sparklings.
"You're doing just fine Chance" Windrider said and commed the others mates. Sunny got to the med bay first, just as Chance was trying to "spark' the first sparkling. Sunny rushed over and encouraged chance. Keeper watched as Sunny gently encouraged the bot while waiting for Rave and Sides to get to the med bay. Keeper called on Blueflair to cover for Chance, and once Blueflair learned why, he was more than happy to cover that day.
"You're doing good love, push. Rave and Sides will be here soon." Chance "sparked" another sparkling just before Rave arrived. The two femmes looked much like sunny and sides with a hint of chance thrown in, but now the painful ones were to come, as the three that were left were mech seekerlings, and they had inherited Chance's size.
"That's it love breathe, you can do it" Rave encouraged. Chance was pushing again, and instead of sparking, he released an exhaust fume. He was embarrassed as hell, but kept going as he felt the next sparkling move.
"We've all done it love that's alright keep pushing" Sides said. Chance let out a yell, deep and loud. This sparking was painful, and once the little one was out, everyone could see why, as this one was a good sized seekerling, and unfortunately for Chance, it was only the first of three mech seekerlings he was going to spark. Rave, sides and sunny encouraged their mate to keep it up they were so proud of him.
Keeper merely watched, learning just how strong of a pain threshold his guard had as not even Keeper had sparked sparklings that big and he knew it hurt, badly. Chance pushed hard and the next seekerling came shooting out on an exhaust fume. "Maybe we can call that one windbreaker" Sunny laughed, trying to break the somber mood. They did chuckle a little bit, even chance with the pain he was in.
Finally, it was down to the last sparkling, though none of them knew, and no one was able to look into his chamber as they developed. And this seekerling was the biggest of all, built much more like Chance than any of the previous seekerlings. This one hurt like hell, and Chance shed a few tears as this last, stubborn-afted seekerling was finally heading down the sparking canal. And once the large one was out, chance passed out, due to sheer exhaustion and pain. Windrider acted quickly and gave chance pain meds and energon drip. "The sparklings are fine"
"Are there anymore sparklings left?" rave asked, concerned.
Windrider did a scan that could be considered unconventional, he eased a scanner into Chances aft. "Nope that was the last one"
Rave was relieved, and he went up to keeper. "Thank you' the old seeker stated before returning to his mates. Keeper stayed for a few more minutes before leaving. Rave and the others stayed with chance and examined the new sparklings. Keeper, after leaving, commed his father as he figured Optimus and Mirage would want to know.
Optimus didn't answer for several minutes. "Yes?"
'Sorry to interrupt, dad, but I thought you'd like to know that Chance sparked 5 healthy sparklings" Keeper stated.
"That's good to hear son, do you have a minute to stop by"
'I can stop by now if I wouldn't be interrupting anything" Keeper stated.
"It's fine now" Optimus said.
'On my way. Peacekeeper out" Keeper stated, heading to his parents quarters. It didn't take him long to get there, and soon he was knocking on the door.
Mirage answered. 'So nice to see you, son, please come in" Mirage stated before hugging the larger bot.
Keeper hugged back. "Hi mom"
Mirage smiled. "Don't get to see you and your twin as much as I used to" Mirage stated, unaware as to why Keeper had stopped by.
"Sorry about that mom, any idea why dad said for me to come by?"
"Nope, I didn't realize he had asked you to stop by. Let's go ask him" Mirage stated, walking with his arm around his son's waist. 'Beloved, is there a reason you called keeper here?"
"Figured I'd let him see our new little one" Optimus said.
Mirage nodded and went to get little Snowseeker, who almost fit in the palms of Keeper and Optimus's larger hands. "I found this little one. We found his dead mother later, and so we adopted him" Mirage explained.
"He's so tiny" Keeper said.
Snowseeker woke when he heard the new voice. He was shy and a bit afraid, but thanks to love form Mirage, Snowseeker crawled into Keeper's warm hands and began blowing raspberries at the bot. "that's 'I love you' in sparkling talk' Mirage stated.
Keeper smiled. "I love you to little one, I'm you very big brother." The tiny seekerling seemed to sense a kinship and curled up in Keeper's hands, cooing and clicking at the large gentle bot. Keeper held the seekerling close. "What's his name?"
"Snowseeker' Mirage stated, causing the seekerling to perk up upon hearing his name.
"Well Snowseeker, I'm Peacekeeper but I'll be Keeper to you." The tiny seekerling looked up at the kind gentle giant and cooed happily. Keeper smiled.
Mirage soon took the seekerling back, knowing that they had taken too much of keeper's time, and Mirage slowly walked off, unseen tears in his optics as he sometimes wished he saw his older sparklings more often. "Mom wait, would you like to go for a drive?"
Mirage put Snowseeker down, dried his few tears, then turned around. "Do you even have time for that?" Mirage asked, having gotten so used to Optimus and his ways as a Prime, that he just assumed his son, who was much like Optimus, was the same way.
"I can make the time for you, mom"
'If I'm not too much of a bother, I would love to go for a ride with you, as I hardly ever see you anymore' Mirage stated.
"You got it mom and I can get Flasher too." Mirage's face lit up like Keeper hadn't seen in a while. It was only now that Keeper realized just how much his mother missed him. Keeper commed his brother before they stole their mom. Mirage felt dwarfed, as both Keeper and Flasher stood much taller than he did.
Flasher smiled and got on his knees. "Better mom?"
"I still can't believe my first two little sparklings are so grown up" Mirage stated as he finally had another chance to 'fawn" over them.
"We'll always be your little sparklings"
'I just wish I could see you two more often, but we all have such busy lives. Let's go for a drive" Mirage stated.
"You got it mom" they said and transformed. Mirage drove in between his sons. He didn't know it, but they were very protective of him, though he soon was going to find out.
Both sons though enjoying their time with mom kept their sensors up. From seemingly out of nowhere, a bot emerged. He was pissed at Optimus and Mirage, and spotted Mirage in between two other vehicles, unaware these bots were Mirage's very protective sons. Keeper and Flasher transformed at once and Flasher got his mother behind him while keeper stood in front of them.
Mirage didn't see the bot, but even if he had, he didn't even know the bot. "Get out of my way, that ho bot's not worth protecting" the strange, envious bot shouted, determined to get to Mirage one way or another
"We beg to differ" Keeper said in full prime mode.
'and why the hell should I care what you think or do" the angry bot asked, still focused on getting to Mirage.
"I am Peacekeeper Prime and this is my mother"
"Oooh, didn't know ho bot had bastard sparklings' the bot stated, not realizing that he had just unleashed Flasher and Keeper's rage.
"How dare you, we are not bastards our parents are happily mated and if you insist on continuing to speak you will regret it."
"You glitches honestly think I believe a word you tell me" the envious bot stated, not knowing it would be one of the last things he would ever say.
"Can't say he wasn't warned" Flasher said and as one the brothers moved. Keeper moved in and Flasher continued to guard his mother, not wanting Mirage to see what was going to happen. Mirage didn't know it, but he was putting off scared vibes, and Flasher held his mother while Keeper took care of the envious bot. Keeper finished the bot off quickly while Flasher soothed their mother and blocked his view.
'I'm sorry' Mirage stated to his son, thinking this was his fault, when he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
"This is not your fault" Flasher soothed. "So no apology." Mirage snuggled into his son, neither son aware that this reminded Mirage of the times he was captured and raped by cons years ago.
Flasher held his mama. "Need you mama." That alone was enough to snap Mirage out of his stupor and hug his son, thankfully. Flasher purred while Keeper finished up.
'Mama's back, baby, thank you' Mirage stated, happy to hear Flasher purr just like he used to after Mirage would find him hidden. Flasher nuzzled and Keeper came over.
"Thank you, keeper, for keeping me safe' Mirage stated, as he hadn't really ever been the same since he had lost Optimus before the bot came back.
"Always mama" Keeper said and hugged his mother.
"I was glad you two made time for your old fart of a mother' Mirage stated.
"We'll always make time for you, mama." Mirage smiled and hugged both his sons, glad that he finally got a chance to spend time with them. They hugged him back and picked him up.
And soon they were headed back home. "I hope we can make this a bit more of a regular occurrence' Mirage stated.
"You got it mom"
Elsewhere, Bee was in a bit of a funk, as Dive was out and Ratchet was busy. The sparklings were elsewhere, but that still didn't help. Bee cleaned up and that didn't help him any, he sighed there was always a walk or drive. Blackhawk, having just gotten off work, went to see his mother, hoping to cheer the bot up, as he had noticed his mother's funk lately. "Hawk? This is a surprise" Bee said opening the door and seeing his son.
"well, I've noticed you've been in a bit of a rut, and I hoped that spending some time with you would help you feel better' Hawk stated.
"I'd like that son." Hawk spent time with his mother, just talking until Dive finally came home.
"Thank you, son" Bee said.
"You're welcome" hawk stated, heading home to his mate and their little daughter, cherish.
Meanwhile, Passion and Groundrunner were enjoying each other's company, watching the sunset. Groundrunner held passion close to him. Passion rested her weight against her mate, happily carrying his sparklings. "You're beautiful" He told her.
Passion blushed. No matter how many times he told her, she just couldn't help but blush. "Thank you, my sweet' she said gently, as twilight approached.
"What would you like to do?"
'Shall we have our fun under the stars?" Passion asked, her hormones getting the better of her.
"Sounds wonderful" Groundrunner said. Passion smiled and began kissing her mate. Runner returned the kisses.
'Oh baby, I'm so wet for you' passion stated.
"Do you need it bad baby"
"Uh huh" Passion moaned.
"Where do you want me baby?"
Passion needed her mate in both places, but her valve needed the most first. "Take my valve first, baby, then my aft" passion purred.
"How is more comfortable for you love?"
"Any way but flat on my back' Passion responded.
"Let's get you on your side love." Passion nodded, and allowed her mate to position her. Runner carefully prepared his mate once she was on her side. Passion was quiet, but that just meant she was fully ready, as Passion was one of the few that instead of getting louder the more aroused she got, she got quieter the more aroused she got. Runner gently eased his spike into her valve from behind and held her close as he moved gently. Passion's faceplate was scrunched in pure ecstasy as her mate took her, a sign that he was doing the right thing.
Runner smiled and kept up the gentle pace. Passion could feel her mate was close and silently encouraged him. Runner was getting close but he wanted her to overload first. It didn't take long before Passion had her first of many overloads. Runner smiled then overloaded inside her. After feeling his hot lubricant, she wiggled her aft, her signal for her mate to take her in her aft port, which now was open and enticing Runner. Runner eased his spike out of her valve and into her aft. Passion squeaked ever so softly as he entered but that was it, as she silently enjoyed another overload as he slid in. Runner gently caressed her front as he moved just as gently in and out of her aft as he had with her valve. Passion was enjoying this, and soon overloaded yet again, and once more after that, hoping her mate would soon overload inside her. Runner soon overloaded a second time shooting his fluid into Passions aft. Passion silently overloaded once more, before just enjoying the time with her mate. Runner kissed her softly and cleaned them both up and just held her close.
It was a good thing both were quiet, as below, a guard of the base, smelling the scent of interfacing, became aroused, and let his stiff spike hang out as he fisted his spike, unaware he was being watched by the other guard. The other guard just watched fascinated yet shaking his head. It was a couple minutes later when the scent hit the second guard, who soon fell under the same spell as the first guard. The second guard looked at the first in a hungry manner.
"Oh…primus…n-n-need ta 'face" said the first guard, a single mech by the name of Dagger.
The second guard named Slice nodded in agreement. "Come here." Dagger, though bigger than Slice, found himself obeying this bot. "I want your valve then your aft"
"I-I …I am untouched…please be gentle" dagger announced before revealing his dripping valve and his aft port.
Slice nodded and did gently prepare Dagger. "I'm gonna spike you"
"take me…make me yours….put your sparklings in me' dagger stated, completely unaware of what he was saying as he just wanted to get spiked and overload.
Slice was taken aback by the sparklings comment as he had just planned on a good facing session as he didn't know Dagger all that well, not realizing he wouldn't have much of a choice. Slice still slid his spike into Dagger. Primus had planned to bring these two together, after the two had fought so long about who was a better guard, with Dagger being the one who brought on most of the bragging. Primus was going to be glad to hear the end of Dagger's bragging once he was Slice's submissive sparking mate. Slice started to move in and out but didn't feel right and went to pull out.
"Please, please….give me your spike. If you want me in another position tell me…I will happily comply' dagger stated, not wanting to lose the feeling of a hot spike pounding him.
Hearing that made Slice frown. "It's not you, I just don't feel right about this"
'I want this, this is my choice….please take me' dagger begged, his stiff spike sticking out from underneath him. Slice, still not feeling right, went back to thrusting planning on just letting the other overload then leave. But primus wasn't going to allow that, and soon, Slice was feeling more pleasure than he had ever felt before as he took Dagger. Dagger moaned in enjoyment as it happened. And though Slice normally would not have done this, Primus called his spark out to meet with dagger's spark. The two overloaded big time, with dagger and Slice now bonded and dagger sparked with Slice's sparklings.
Slice came back to his senses and couldn't figure out what was different then his processor figured it out and he pulled out of Dagger. You had to be slagging kidding. Dagger came back as well, unsure about what had happened, but he didn't feel like getting into a fight with slice. Instead, he worked with the bot as they both made sure the base stayed safe for their shift. That alone would have been enough to put Slice on edge and he didn't like the idea of being bonded, or of sparklings though he had nothing against sparklings.
Of course, Primus seemed to know that slice needed this, as Slice needed to work on his confidence, and if he did that, he would reach his goal of being the head of the guards instead of the lowly peon that guarded the front gate. Slice didn't like the clingier, for lack of a better word, Dagger and tried to avoid him the rest of the shift. Dagger didn't know why slice wanted to avoid him, but he did his best to go about his duties, hoping that come the end of shift, slice would talk to him.
Slice didn't want to acknowledge the bond that now existed between them, he didn't care how that might make him seem. Dagger didn't show it, but Slice's ignoring of the bond hurt him and hurt him deeply. He just wanted to be loved, but had never found the right bot until now. After the shift that didn't seem to want to end finally ended Slice went to get some energon. Dagger went to the med bay, wanting to get checked out and not wanting to be near Slice at the time being, as Slice was putting off a nasty vibe.
The medic on duty came over. "What can I help you with?"
'I think my systems are a bit screwed up, can I get them checked out?" dagger asked.
"Sure" The medic said and scanned Dagger. "Your very newly sparked" The medic said. Dagger swore like a sailbot, as that was the last thing he expected or wanted to hear. He would rather of heard he had incurable cosmic rust than hear he was sparked.
"I have to ask, is this sparkling unwanted?"
"The interfacing session wasn't even planned, genius. You figure it out" dagger stated, more emotional than usual.
The medic didn't respond to that. "So what do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I don't want ta kill it, but I just don't know what else to do. I am a guard for crying' out loud, how I am supposed to be able to raise a sparkling?" Dagger asked, his fear and anger going through the bond to Slice.
"That is up to you" the medic said. "It's your decision"
Slice sighed and took another swivel of high grade he didn't want this. Dagger staggered back to his room, and hid away, not looking forward to the next coming night when he would once again work with Slice.
'What's up, Slice?" Silverstar asked, a close friend of the bot. They both knew that they weren't meant for each other, but that didn't mean that they couldn't be friends. Rumble had even met slice, and the three had become good friends.
Slice sighed and told Silver what had happened. "And you know I can't stand him. I was getting ready to asked to be put on a different shift"
Silver listened. She knew there was little else she could do, but then she remembered something. "Go talk to Slugbug, he might be able to give you more answers' silver stated, trying to help her friend out.
"Slugbug? I guess if you think it will help" Slice said easing to his feet and hunted Slugbug down.
"I think he can help you, I don't know why or how, but he tends to be able to answer complicated questions" Silverstar stated. Slice had nodded before finally finding Slugbug.
"You seek answers, my friend, do you not?" Slugbug asked, startling Slice.
"Yes...but how did...?"
"I cannot reveal how I know, but I can help answer your questions, so ask away" Slugbug stated, his connection with Primus strong but not overwhelming, as Primus had not taken over Slugbug's body and systems.
"Why was I suddenly bonded to Dagger?"
'Because, Primus has plans for you and Dagger. Dagger has been arrogant far too long, and primus knows you are sick of being a lowly Peon guard. Through this bond, Primus wants to teach you both love as well as he wants you to gain enough confidence, as he has wonderful plans for you, once you achieve the confidence you need – he wants to make you Head of the base Guards, but right now, you lack the confidence to take on such a role, but he will help you, and part of that is providing a mate who will help you and give you sparklings' Slugbug stated.
"I don't want either" Slice said.
'It's not that you don't want them, my friend, it's that you are scared about having a mate and sparklings. I can see it in your spark. You fear the unknown. But rest assured, you are in good hands, and Primus will help you and guide you in your endeavors" Slugbug stated.
"Why can't he leave me alone?"
"Because, my son, I see that you are not happy in your spark" came the word directly from primus. Slugbug's body had been taken over, but Primus hid it well so that Slice wouldn't be able to know Slugbug's real secret. 'I know you aren't happy with where you are at, as I can see it in your spark."
"So I'm given a mate and sparkling I don't want?"
"You may say you don't want them, but deep in your spark, I know you have been longing for Dagger for a long time, ever since he saved you that one night, you just have been denying your feelings as he is a coworker that you always work with. The only difference now is that instead of being his supportive mate, he is going to be yours, my son. And it is through your bond to him that you will build enough confidence to achieve your lifelong dream of being Head of the base Guards here at the base of the Prime. Right now, Peacekeeper can't see you in that role, but once you start moving up, he will take note' Primus stated.
"Then what I feel is so deep that I cannot feel it, as I cannot stand Dagger and haven't even thought of him that way"
Primus smiled, and opened the deepest part of Slice's spark, the part that only Primus ever got to see, and the feelings from there were overwhelming to the young guard. "This is the part I see" Primus stated. Slice staggered only the wall keeping him upright.
Primus soon closed it for the most part, though allowed for the love and need of Dagger to flow through. The emotional onslaught soon calmed down, and Slice was able to stand on his own. Primus watched knowing it would take Slice a bit to recover from the powerful spark release. Slice wouldn't even look him in the eye, it was all too much.
By the time Slice fully recovered, Primus was gone, and all that was left was the small mech he had started talking to in the first place. 'Are you ok, my friend?" Slugbug asked, holding the larger bot up. Slice shook his head.
Slugbug grew a slight bit, just big enough to hold and comfort the distraught bot. Slugbug wasn't worried, as his mate knew his secret and knew this was part of what Slugbug did. And with gentle, comforting warmth, Slugbug worked on soothing the bot. Slice cried and cried not wanting what had been dealt to him but couldn't change it. Slugbug tried to comfort the bot as much as possible, but there was only so much Slugbug could do, as he couldn't make slice accept what had happened. Only Slice could make the choice to accept what had been given to him. Only slice wasn't accepting of it.
Elsewhere, dagger woke, feeling the shaky fear across the bond, and without thinking about it, pulsed a calm pulse across it, hoping to calm whatever was shaking in the bond. That made slice cry even more, he just wanted to curl up and hide. Upset at being unable to sleep due to Slice being afraid, dagger went looking for the bot, hoping that once they got together again, maybe things would calm down. Slice tried to pull away from Slugbug to leave but he fell as he was drained.
Dagger found the two, and Slugbug gently handed the weakened Slice over to dagger who quickly took the smaller bot back to his quarters and began to feed him energon and talk to him gently. Slice weakly struggled. Dagger couldn't exactly understand why he cared for this bot so much right now, but he knew that if Slice went, he went as well, as they were now bonded, and with a little one on the way, Dagger didn't want to go just yet. And so, instead of intimidating Slice to keep the bot away, dagger began to lovingly care for the bot, fixing old wounds and feeding energon to the bot. 'I used to be a medic, Slice, but after getting into a fight with Ratchet, I was demoted to guard. I was angry, and took it out on the world, including you" dagger revealed, startling Slice. Slice wasn't ready to talk so he just listened.
"I'm a washed up, has-been' dagger continued, 'and I was jealous of you. You were so young, so full of life. You deserved better than to be stuck at the lowliest guard position."
Slice looked away, this bot, this mech he couldn't stand was now his bonded. Granted he was learning new information but still everything he had learned ended up going over the bond. The conversation he had had with Slugbug/Primus. Dagger was learning about what Primus had told his mate. And the older bot knew well enough that if Primus had made this decision, there was little he could do or say about it. 'Slice, I know this must be hard for you, as you probably weren't prepared to bond, especially to an old fart like me, but if Primus wants to make you head of the base guards here at the base of the Prime, then who I am to argue, and I will help you in any way I can' Dagger stated, as he gently washed Slice's dirty frame, not as foreplay but to clean the bot off.
"I don't care how old you are...I never even thought of you that way...not until...not until Primus did something..." Slice finally said.
'Primus has ways of making us see the error of our ways' dagger added, trying to comfort Slice.
"He opened something ...I didn't even know was there in my spark..."
'Sparks are amazing, so small, and yet we barely understand them. they are much deeper than we realize, as we often hide our deepest feelings deep within our sparks, where only Primus can see them" dagger stated, not knowing that he was telling Slice what the bot needed to hear to explain what he had felt.
"I never wanted..." Slice said not really wanting to insult Dagger.
"Slice, we are in a bond, I can feel your distaste for me flowing through the bond, so if you are going to say something, just get it off your chest' dagger stated, shocking Slice.
Once he got over the shock he spoke. "I never wanted you in any way, I cannot stand you and I was about to request I be put on a different shift." Slice said. "I never wanted a mate or sparklings but according to Primus I do"
"And to be honest, Slice, I was trying to drive you off. I wanted better for you. You're so young, you deserve more than just one of the hardest and least rewarding jobs at the base. I was punished and this is where I deserved to be. You aren't the first young one I've driven off and you wouldn't have been the last. I do it because I know they deserve better. Although I must say, you have put up the greatest challenge and lasted longer than all of the other ones, who asked to transfer to different bases. One is a guard manager on earth and the other is an assistant at the base of the Silver desert" Dagger revealed.
"So what do we do?"
"We make do with the chance that we have been given" Dagger spoke, wise words he had heard once before.
"I don't know if I can love you appropriately"
"Love is more than a feeling, young one, it is work and it is about trust and loyalty as well as honesty. We have already started on that path, we have been honest with one another and I think, given time, our love will grow. And I will support you as you go forth and make something of yourself, as I am too old and too disliked by Ratchet to go very far on my own' dagger stated. Slice just sighed a part of him knew dagger was right.
'and I think once we have sparklings, you will see things slightly differently than you do now" dagger stated, sadness in his voice as he thought of his brother who was killed in the war along with all the brother's sparklings and mate. Slice wasn't so sure but said nothing.
Elsewhere, word had gotten to Ratchet that the old medic he had made sure was never a medic again came in and was found to be sparked. Urgent had told Ratchet, not knowing the history between the two. Urgent was just trying to promote continuity of care. Ratchet was not a happy mech. And while Dagger was trying to convince Slice to enjoy being mates, Dagger had no idea a pissed off Ratchet was looking for him. Slice was slowly feeling better. And it was just as Slice was accepting the bond, that Ratchet finally found that no good excuse for a mech and broke down the door. Dagger was in shock as Ratchet charged him and pinned him to the wall by his throat, right in front of slice.
Slice reacted on instinct and was yanking Ratchet away from Dagger. Dagger fell to the floor, unconscious from Ratchet's attack, and this pissed Slice off. Slice threw Ratchet across the room. "How dare you!"
"Back off, youngling, this has nothing to do with you" Ratchet said, unknowingly pissing off Slice more. Yes, he didn't like when Dagger egged him on, but he hated it when anyone called him a youngling, as he was a full-fledged adult, he just happened to look very young. "And I am going to take you down for raping an underage bot" Ratchet stated as he headed for Dagger's motionless body again. Dagger was still on line, but he was deep in stasis lock.
"I'm an adult you slagging medic and Dagger is my mate" Slice snapped. Ratchet was shocked. He hadn't realized Dagger now had a mate. Ratchet reeled when he remembered that Urgent had said Dagger was the sparked bot.
"You make one move towards him you're gonna get slagged"
Now Ratchet was caught in between two conflicting feelings. He was still pissed that due to something Dagger had supposedly done, he had almost lost Bee and Dive during the war, but he also, as a medic, had an obligation to check on a sparked bot who needed attention. And Dagger needed medical attention, badly. He commed a medical emergency in.
Slice was still pissed when Windrider arrived to take a look at Dagger. Windrider didn't know the history between his son and the bot either, but the old medic could see that this had been done in a fit of rage. Slice told the old medic what he hadn't wanted to hear – his own son attacked this bot, a former medic, out of the blue. Ratchet left and took himself off duty until further notice.
Word eventually got back to keeper, who wanted to know more about what had caused the altercation, but neither Slice nor Bee and Dive had any idea. The only two who knew weren't available to ask, as Ratchet had gone off the base for a while and dagger was still deep in stasis lock. Bee and Dive wanted to go after Ratchet.
"All I know, Prime sir," started Slice, "Is that Dagger had been a medic, but had something happened, and Ratchet kicked Dagger out of being a medic during the war and made sure that Dagger was never a medic again. The Prime even approved the change. Maybe if you could find the former Prime, sir, he might know more" Slice revealed, from what Dagger had told him. Keeper nodded and went to talk to his father.
Slice headed to the med bay to be with Dagger while Keeper went to talk to his father, who was home alone, as Pincer and Mirage had taken the sparklings elsewhere, including the newest one, little Snowseeker. Keeper knocked and Optimus let him in.
"Hi son, what brings you by today?" Optimus asked, curious.
"Dad there was an incident"
"That is your area son, as it is getting close to when you will be on your own as Prime" Optimus stated, not realizing that keeper had come not to determine a punishment but to find out why something had happened.
"Dad what happened is this" Keeper said and told his dad why he had come. Optimus frowned deeply, as he didn't realize that Ratchet was still bitter about the whole thing.
"I see, I didn't realize Ratchet was affected by it still."
'What happened?" Keeper asked.
Optimus sighed, and told what he knew. "During the war, Ratchet, Dive and Bee were all in a battle and all got injured. Dagger was the medic on duty, as First Aid hadn't yet become a medic in his own right yet. Dagger quickly worked to save all three, and saved Ratchet first. Dagger had been going on 48 hours without recharge he later told me when he finally got to Bee and Dive. Ratchet, now fully aware tried to take over, not letting Dagger do his job. Something happened, and Ratchet had to scramble to save his mates' lives. I don't know the complete circumstances, but Ratchet was irate and supposedly after doing a thorough investigation, he found Dagger to be incompetent as a medic, though I was never able to find the reports. I had no choice but to remove Dagger from the med bay and use him elsewhere, if nothing more than to keep the two from fighting again" Optimus stated, revealing all he knew.
"What do I do dad this is...I mean Ratchet flat out attacked"
"I would wait to do anything until you can talk to Dagger alone and without prejudice' Optimus stated. 'And as for Ratchet, give him some time and space, as I am sure he knows what he did is wrong. That doesn't mean don't punish him, it means give him some time before you decide on what his punishment should be." Keeper nodded and went to the med bay.
Slice was right by Dagger's side. Dagger was slowly waking, but he was still weak. Keeper was surprised, as Dagger was bigger than Ratchet, but then Ratchet was a medic and knew how to take someone twice his own size down. Slice only gave Keeper a brief look.
"I am sorry to hear about the attack on your mate, Slice. Rest assured that I am doing everything in my power to investigate this attack fully and intend to punish those responsible" keeper stated.
Slice nodded. "Yes sir." Dagger onlined his optics only to see his mate and the Prime talking about something. He couldn't speak at the moment as he had a tube down his throat, but he could sense that this chat was a good thing. "I want justice for Dagger."
"And I will do my best to honor that request, Slice" Keeper stated before studying Slice. Something about this bot was catching Keeper's attention, but he said nothing about it yet. Slice looked at Dagger and found him awake and rubbed his face gently.
Dagger smiled, unable to speak as of yet. But Slice could sense the fear. 'don't worry, love, the sparklings are safe" slice stated as he patted dagger's abdomen. That made Keeper's helm spin, as Ratchet had not only attacked unprovoked, he had attacked a sparked bot. This was making things more complicated, yet clearer for Keeper. "Try and rest" Slice said.
Keeper, seeing that all seemed to be well, left. He had a plan. And Part one was naming a new CMO and removing the title from Ratchet, as Keeper knew that would be the best punishment for Ratchet, as it meant it was no longer his med bay nor was he the one in charge of setting the schedule. Keeper called upon Windrider to come to his office, as he needed to talk to the bot.
"What can I do for you Prime?" Windrider asked.
'Something has recently come to my attention, and I am in need of a new CMO, as I had to demote the former CMO due to a horrendous act that he had perpetrated. Would you be willing to be our new CMO?" Keeper asked, shocking Windrider, as never in his life did he think he would ever get to be a CMO.
"What...Prime" Windrider said then something registered in his processor, he would be taking his sons place and that as being Ratchets father didn't set well with him.
"Windrider, Ratchet, unprovoked, attacked a spark bot. I need a bot to take his place as CMO, as Ratchet needs to be punished for his betrayal to the medical community. I am not removing him as a medic, as I have seen what it has done to my brother, Kryptonight, who is still fighting for his life after being withheld from practicing. I also want to bring an old medic back into the med bay after I uncovered a conspiracy against him, also done by Ratchet, during the war, and I need him to train with an experienced medic once he recovers from his attack" Keeper stated, providing the documentation that Keeper had found that Ratchet had fabricated against Dagger to get the bot kicked out of the med bay.
Windrider sighed and nodded reluctantly.
"This is the only way that Ratchet will learn. It is not to say that he can't become CMO again, it is saying that as of right now and until he can prove he is worthy of the title again, you will be the CMO" keeper stated, which made Windrider a little more accepting as Keeper stated that Ratchet would be able to get his title back at some point, once he proved his worth. Windrider nodded.
What they didn't know is once Ratchet got word of the demotion he told his mates and they came to a decision together. They would all go away for a time, away from this base, away from Cybertron to one of the other bases and take their sparklings with them. Wingspan asked for a leave of absence and told his mate he was going with to continue teaching Jazzmin and would return soon. Optimus heard about the decision that was passed, and as hard as it was to make and accept, Optimus agreed with the punishment once he saw all the evidence that keeper had. Keeper was worried sick that he had made the wrong decision, as not only had Ratchet and his mate's left the base, wingspan had gone on a leave of absence. Optimus tried to assure his son that this was a difficult situation and all they could do was wait and see.
Windrider was sad to see his son leave for a while, but Ratchet explained that it had very little to do with the demotion. Windrider realized that on top of the demotion, Ratchet was punishing himself by removing himself and his family out of the base of the Prime for a time, the exception being his grown adult offspring who were old enough to decide on their own whether or not to stay, and all of them did, too plugged into the base to up and leave.
Ratchet and his mates got settled in with their sparklings at the time they didn't realize they would be staying as long as they would end up doing.