So here's a little bit of everything thrown together. I'm evil, I know. It's kind of a filler chapter that also explains what my friends and I know about Cybertronian pregnancies...(once again, I've thrown everything I've read/researched together...so I really don't own the explanation.)
It's a filler chapter, so it might be a bit slow.
Thanks to:
aerilynblack - Here's the update.
Lunar Mist - Yup yup! She's pregnant. lol when Hide stops glitching he'll be so happy.
GaarasMyBoyzz - lol I hope you guys were ok. We were for the most part =) school's opening for a regulard day tomorrow.
BumbleBee's Angel - ...lol she's having twins.
Wicken25 - right so I sent you that message, but I like your idea =3
Truckinggirl 1109 - lol I'm working on it. I gotta finish my crap ass load of homework, first.
Transformersprincess - lol! And drag Sam along is what he did.
bee-roxs98 - Yup yup! He's so happy, but then he also has to go back to guarding Sam until the Summer, which Sam spends at Diego Garcia.
Shadow 1n2 - lol yup. She's preggo and I know what you mean about school. Three days and I'm already swamped. I'm a Junior so I don't have any freshman in my classes so that's a relief...plus the campus is so huge, it doesn't matter...but it's a bitch having to walk like 20 minutes just to get to class from my car. (designated parking areas) W00t for the story. Send it to me when you can =3
Jasha Maroi - Ne, I apologize again. I'll put up a warning when I come to that chapter during my revisions. I'm glad you still like the story!
Autobotbee117 - lol I'm glad you like the story so much.
FoxyAlterEgos - lol! Well my sister and I talk about Prowl/Jazz pairings (I'm not into reading or writing slashfics, though) and Prowl is the more maternal bot. XD
freeprincess - Aah yes, I do see your point. By the time they're born, though, Silvershot will be able to do some stuff on his own. He'll also begin his weapons training too (Ironhide lol).
warriorkat21 - lol! I know right. Its all Sam's fault. =D I figured Chromia would be that blunt.
gemava - Well, I see what you're going with here. I can't really do that with the twins, though, but if Ari has another one furthur down the line (I have something planned during the third movie - maybe) then I'll use this idea.
LittleMissDreamer7 - lol she's having twins!
thablueGRRL - lol I'm glad you approve so much!
StingraysandLambos - Ah, yeah, I know what you're talkng about. Oh, well, if you want you can e-mail me or something. At least then we can have convos and you don't have to worry about when we reply. *shrug* Thanks for your review, though! =)
shippolove844 - She's pregnant, thats whats wrong.
The Result of Squffie - lol yeah, thats what I mean. Hm...a digital watch, huh? That's an interesting idea. Well, for when one of them is actually born.
fanmanbookman - haha you shall see.
Chapter Fifty Two
The Little Ones
Sam gaped as he registered Bumblebee's words. His sister was in trouble? What happened to her? Wasn't she at the base?
"What?" he gasped as Bumblebee's optics dimmed. They brightened again and he whined, clutching at his chest plating.
"I have to go to her, Sam. Chromia just sent me a message telling me to hurry up and get to Diego Garcia. This is serious." The words tumbled out of the scout's mouth in a jumble of words. He stood and transformed, activating his holoform and pushing Sam into his interior.
"Whoa, Bee, what are you doing?" the brunette boy exclaimed as the seatbelt wrapped around him, tightening almost unbearably. Bumblebee was accidentally taking his emotions out on his charge.
Bumblebee to Autobot Base. He opened an emergency communications link with the base as he roughly backed out of the driveway.
"Lennox here, Bumblebee. You need to get here quick. I've never seen Chromia so upset before." The soldier said with a worried tone. This only served to make Bumblebee even more worried. He could feel Ariastra's shock and lethargic feelings through their bond, but she was not responding to his queries through their bond.
What has happened? Bumblebee questioned through the link as he sped through the roads. Sam was shouting at him, but the scout just hacked into the traffic lights to make sure they stayed green.
"We don't know yet. Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet are in a meeting with the big shots and they can't be disturbed. Chromia sent everyone that mass emergency message and Ironhide is getting restless. He wants to go to Ari, but he can't until the meeting is over. Same with Ratchet."
I need emergency airlift to Diego Garcia. The scout all but demanded. Lennox's reply was almost immediate.
"Airlift was already sent. ETA one hour – we sent our fastest transport plane." The Major replied as Bumblebee's engines roared in desperation. One hour wasn't fast enough. He had to get to his bonded's side now. He had a feeling deep within his spark that he was needed for something very important. Her spark was calling out to him and he needed to end the strain on it.
Copy that. Bumblebee out. He said and sped up. Sam's nails were digging into his leather but the yellow and black mech didn't care. Bumblebee could take a little pain if it meant getting to the designated airlift coordinates. He revved his engine and sped up as fast as he could, carefully weaving in and out of the traffic.
He just hoped that Ariastra could hold on for him.
Meanwhile, Sideswipe was barreling down the hallways of Diego Garcia, Ariastra nestled to his chassis. He almost kicked the door to the Medical Bay down in his haste to get her to a bed. Chromia and Sunstreaker were close behind them.
"Where's Hatchet?" the golden warrior growled as Ariastra curled into a ball with her hands over her chassis.
"In a meeting with the human governments." Sideswipe said with a frown as Chromia placed one of her hands on her daughter's overheating forehead.
"We need Bumblebee." Chromia said in a soft voice. She gently stroked the black and red femme's door wings and that seemed to calm her down slightly.
"What's going on with her?" the crimson warrior said as he came to kneel in front of his friend's face. Her optics were flickering and she seemed to not know he was there.
"I'm not sure. I think she's in the budding process." She said absently. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were shocked.
"She's carrying?" the golden warrior questioned as he felt his protective instincts flare up. He had a soft spot for sparklings and femmes. But the two together and he was twice as protective.
"Not yet. Ratchet will be able to explain better, but he's stuck in that damn meeting!" she vented, "Wait, where's Jolt?" she looked around, but didn't see the mech.
"I'll go see if he's recharging in his quarters." Sunstreaker said with a wicked tone. He hurriedly left the Medical Bay and the other two were left to help calm the black and red femme down.
"Ari, dearspark?" the femme weapon specialist cooed to the femme. Sideswipe found this slightly awkward. He had never seen Chromia act this way before. Suddenly, they heard several footsteps outside the Medical Bay and Jazz, Skids, and Mudflap poked their heads in the door.
"Yo, what up wid th' lil femme?" Skids questioned, but with one look from Chromia, the crimson warrior had ushered them out the door. Jazz send the two a concerned glance, but didn't stick around. He chose to settle down outside the Medical Bay along with Sideswipe. The femmes, of course, were allowed in the Medical Bay to help with the black and red femme's condition.
"I've gone through this before." Flare-Up said with a sad voice. Chromia remembered when her sister was carrying, but she had lost the sparkling in the war. It was hard for her, but she was able to recover. She had never recovered fully, but the bond she had with her sisters helped her greatly.
"She needs Bumblebee to help stabilize the sparks. If he doesn't get here soon, she'll miscarry." The purple femme said in a sad tone. It was then that the thundering of footsteps echoed in the hall once again. Sunstreaker was back with Jolt, literally pushing the blue assistant medic through the doors.
"I-I've never had to deal with this before." He stuttered, bringing up his hands, "It's been so long since anyone's seen a sparkling…Ratchet hasn't given me any data on it!" he exclaimed in a nervous manner.
"Well, you have to do something!" the femmes exclaimed in worried twitters. Elita had been through enough.
"I'm going to get Ratchet. I don't care if the humans are angry. There are lives in danger!" she hissed, "I doubt the Allspark could bring Ariastra back if she died during a miscarriage. It is a natural process, after all." She said in a definite tone. Chromia nodded, going back to stroking her daughter's head.
"I'll see what I can do about stabilizing her spark. Perhaps I can reroute the Allspark energy to help." He said in a soft tone, transforming his fingers.
Meanwhile, in the Main Hanger, Ironhide couldn't sit still. He had been becoming increasingly impatient with this meeting. He wanted nothing more than to storm out of the meeting and get his large metal aft over to the Medical Bay, but he couldn't. He was one of three Autobots, plus little Silvershot, representing his kind.
Scratch that. Prowl had taken Silvershot with him after he had delivered the data pads to Optimus. He must have not been paying attention.
Ironhide, Ratchet needs to get here soon. Ariastra's going through the budding process! She needs us. Chromia sent to him and he cycled his vents harshly. He stood up straighter and it was then that he knew what he had to do.
"Permission to speak." He gruffly said, interrupting one of the officials. Apparently, he had startled them all since it was the first time he had spoken through the entire meeting. All eyes and optics turned to him.
"Permission granted." The official who was interrupted said in a curious tone.
"My apologies, but I believe we have a medical emergency." It almost hurt Ironhide to speak in such a formal manner. Ratchet nodded his head sagely.
"I have also received the emergency transmission from Chromia." The medic said in a calm manner. A ripple of curious whispers echoed through the room, each of the different heads of countries wondering what the big emergency was. The President of the United States was the one to ask.
"What does this emergency consist of?" he questioned, voice echoing through the room. None of the heads of countries were allowed to view the Autobots directly, but their voices were quite clear.
"Ariastra, the human femme who is now the reincarnation of the Allspark, is going through a difficult and dangerous process for femmes." Ratchet started, "It is difficult to explain in human terms, but it is close to how humans conceive children."
"So you're saying she's pregnant?" one of the other officials questioned in a surprised tone.
"Not yet." He said in grave tone, "And she still may miscarry if I do not tend to her. I must request leave from the meeting."
"I must request leave as well." Ironhide grunted, daring the humans to complain "I have adopted her as my daughter, so I am directly involved in anything concerning her."
The humans were very confused. How could she not yet be pregnant and still miscarry? They did not understand the dynamics of Cybertronian pregnancies. It was then that the door slid open with a hiss and Elita came rushing through the door.
"Why are you still here, Ratchet? Ari collapsed! Something's wrong!" she exclaimed and several gasps were heard through the computers. Ratchet and Ironhide's optics widened and the two exited the hanger without any more excuses.
While they were making their way to the Medical Bay, Ariastra was curled up on the berth Sideswipe had deposited her on. Jolt had been trying to get her to unfold from her fetal position, but he had not been having much luck. The femmes had been doing all they could to calm her spark down. Chromia had been rubbing her wings while Flare-Up and Arcee used their vents to cool her overheated armor.
Ariastra's optics shuttered before they brightened and her head moved slightly. Chromia was by her side in an instant, rubbing her helm and cooing down at her.
"Where's Bumblebee?" she asked as her systems smoothed out from the rather violent attack.
"He should be here soon, dearspark." The femme weapon specialist said, silently vowing to tear off his interfacing rod if he didn't get there soon. Thundering footsteps echoed in the hallway and the door opened, only to have Jolt scamper away when Ratchet appeared. The medic scanned the curled form as thoroughly as possible. He cursed, startling the femmes.
"Anyone who is not Ironhide, Chromia, and Jolt will need to leave." He snapped, "Now!" he exclaimed. Flare-Up and Arcee left with worried twitters, joining the ever increasing line of bots outside of the Medical Bay. Both sets of twins looked up, as did Jazz and Prowl – who had just arrived with Silvershot. They zeroed in on the femmes with expectant faces, but they only shook their heads.
Optimus and Elita made their way down the corridor as well, stopping to settle themselves alongside the others.
"What happened to the meeting, Sir? Prowl asked.
"It has been postponed until further notice. Everyone was fairly understanding about the situation…except for a certain man named Theodore Galloway." Optimus rumbled in irritation.
"He had the nerve to complain about Ari. He accused us of trying to turn humans into Cybertronians." Elita hissed before crossing her arms and focusing on the door.
The inside of the Medical Bay was not as calm as the hallway. Ratchet kept a series of scans running as he used surprisingly gentle servos to uncurl her from her fetal position.
"I have to check your spark, Little Miss." He said, using her nickname to keep her calm. He was internally cursing the Decepticons. If they hadn't started showing up again, Bumblebee would have been here faster.
She looked up at him with blank optics before slowly unfurling from her fetal position. She let out a small whine as he brushed his hands against her sensitive chassis.
"I know." He murmured as Ironhide grasped Chromia's smaller hand. The two watched as he slowly flipped the latch that kept her chest plates open. Her spark fluttered as he managed to coax the spark chamber's protective plating open. Nestled against her spark was a smaller spark, not even a tenth of the size as the black and red femme's. She was nearing the last stage of the budding process.
The curious thing about said smaller spark was the fact that it seemed like it was starting to split down the middle. It was still attached to Ari's spark, which meant it was still safe, but if Bumblebee didn't get here soon…the little spark would fail to stabilize and it would die. This also caused a great deal of stress on Ariastra's spark. If the sparkling died, she would most likely follow.
"Jolt, be prepared for anything that could happen." Ratchet said as he kept a monitor on Ariastra's spark. She looked up at Chromia and Ironhide and managed to smile. She was very weak since the sparklings were drawing on her energy. Ironhide leaned down and grasped one of her hands in his other massive one, giving her a reassuring smile.
"You are strong, Little One." He rumbled, "Everything will be alright."
The next moment the Medical Bay doors slammed open. Ratchet turned to yell at whoever entered, but vented hard when he realized that it was Bumblebee. Sam, looking a little worse for wear, was riding on his shoulder. Bumblebee gently reached up and handed him to Ratchet as he went to his bonded, staring down at the sparkling that was nestled against her spark.
"She is in the last stage of the budding process. You need to reach out to her, now, Bumblebee." Ratchet ordered. The yellow and black mech was shocked as he stared down at what he and Ariastra had created.
"A sparkling." He whispered as Ariastra's spark chamber and chassis slid closed. She reached up with her other hand towards her bonded and her optics brightened as he slid onto the berth next to her. He slowly and gently wrapped himself around her, door wings standing at attention in a protective manner as their chest plates touched.
"I don't understand what's going on. What's happening?" Sam huffed out as his hands flew through his hair.
"Jolt, would you please take Sam and explain the sparking and carrying process to Sam?" Ratchet said as he continued to run scans over the bonded pair. Ariastra's spark had started to stabilize from the support and energy that Bumblebee was sending her through their bond. Their close contact was calming the sparkling and she was very near the final stage in the gestation period.
"Right." Jolt said, picking Sam up and moving towards the corner of the room. "You are aware that Ariastra and Bumblebee have been interfacing, right?" at Sam's disgusted nod he continued, "Well, each time a pair interface, the extra energy surrounds the carrier's spark. A carrier can be either a mech or a femme, but femmes have a higher capacity to carry sparklings." He stopped to make sure that Sam was absorbing the information.
"So Ari's a carrier because she's a femme." Sam slowly said, nodding.
"Right. When the extra energy surrounds the spark, the spark starts to pulse faster as it absorbs it. Most would think that it gives the carrier extra energy, but this is not so. It is actually forming a spark within the spark, which grows off of the carrier's spark. This process is called 'budding.' This process is what causes the weakness in the carrier. It can range from anywhere from a couple of Earth days to an Earth month. It is extremely important for the carrier's bonded to be with them at the end of this process to help stabilize the sparks of their bonded and of the sparkling."
"Bee was with me at home…" Sam swallowed thickly.
"He was. Because of that fact, Ariastra collapsed. He did not know – actually, nobody knew – of her condition. We were too busy dealing with the human government." Jolt said softly, "When the sparks stabilize, they are pushed into the carrier's spark chamber. It is filled with the rest of the excess energy from the interfacing. This gestation period lasts for an average of two Earth years." He explained.
The two looked back over to Ariastra and Bumblebee. The black and red femme had fallen into and Ratchet was nodding with a more relaxed look. Bumblebee let out a cooing noise and nuzzled his face into her neck cables.
Bumblebee turned to Ironhide and Chromia.
"Congrats you two. Although it is too early to tell the gender of the sparklings, I can say that Ariastra has completed the budding process. I want to keep her here for the next couple of days just in case her spark starts to spike again.
Ironhide's optics widened considerably.
"Sparklings?" he vented hard.
"Well, yes. It also explains why she was having such drastic symptoms." Ratchet said with a smile. "Ariastra is carrying twins."
A large bang echoed through the Medical Bay and through the corridor outside, startling all of the bots and humans waiting.
"What could that have possibly been?" Sideswipe questioned, shuttering his optics.
"I have an idea." Sunstreaker smirked, chuckling to himself. "I bet the big lugnut glitched."
