In which Alison becomes a mom


I couldn't make my face react to my emotions, with the AllSpark currently in control, but if I could, I'm certain it would look something like Optimus's right now, stunned shock.

"H-Hatchlings, my lady?" he asked.

"~Yes, the last of my children. Created during the Battle of Mission City, though not intentionally.~" As She spoke, images flipped past my mind's eye. Me running down the street, a car coming right at me, dodging left only to run right into the hood of the Escalade, crashing to the sidewalk, the pulse of AllSpark energy, the screams behind me as I took off again and a vending machine, an X-box, and the Escalade came to life.

"That-That was a month ago!" I managed to break through and say. "How can we be certain they're still alive?"

"~Hatchlings are sturdier than you would think,~" the AllSpark said, taking over again. "~As well, their instinct is to hide until a suitable mentor appears, so they have kept out of the humans' sight.~"

"Slag, real hatchlings?" Barricade asked and I/She looked up at him. "How do you expect to find them?"

"~In the first vorn of life, I hold a close bond to my children,~" She said. "~I am able to track them across Cybertron and get a general mood of their situation. As well, I used more power than usual in creating these four and as such can sense them very easily.~"

"We have to tell the others," Optimus said. "We must bring them back to base before they get hurt."

"Let's go," I said, pulling the AllSpark back enough that I had bodily control and ran to Optimus's cab.

"I'll just find myself a nice garage to lay low in," Barricade said, transforming behind us. As Optimus and I pulled out and turned towards base, I saw him turn the other way in the rearview.

On the way to base, Optimus called everyone for an emergency meeting, and we all met up in HQ.

"What's going on, Prime?" Will asked when we pulled in.

"Big news," I said as I hopped out of Optimus and headed for the stairs, but apparently he thought it easier to just lift me to the catwalk.

"Alison asked me to go to town with her because she wanted me to negotiate a truce between us and Barricade, who has apparently been in Tranquility since Mission City."

"What!?" Ironhide roared, and looked two steps away from heading for the door.

"You can't attack him!" I called out. "He has not harmed anyone since Miles found him, not that he really could cause he was stuck in alt mode with a busted t-cog, and he swore on the AllSpark to abide by the terms of the truce Optimus laid out." I pulled the notebook from my bag and passed it to Ella. "Everything they agreed to, signed and dated. Optimus can confirm."

Ella opened the book and looked it over, reading it quite quickly. "It's short, but tight. Barricade can cause no harm to Autobot or human, if he follows it."

Jazz blinked his holo in behind her and looked at the treaty. "He has to, if he used the proper swear, else the AllSpark has the right to snuff his spark then and there. What's this Protector business though?"

"Long story, but that's not the only big news," I said, and the AllSpark stepped forward again.

"~The urgent matter at hand is the fact my last four children are hiding in Mission City, and they need to be brought here, to live safely with their Mother.~"

"Hatchlings!" was the resounding cry from the bots, loud enough to make the humans cover their ears. "Hatchlings have been missing for a month, and you never informed us of it?" Ratchet elaborated.

"~They have been perfectly safe, Ratchet,~" She said, "~And I knew, upon having the hatchlings here, there was very little chance any of you would have listened to Barricade or agreed to treat with him.~"

"She has a point," Coppertone said.

"So what do we do?" Miles asked. "We got to get them back here, but are you guys even allowed to leave the area?"

"Officially, not until the official opening of COTA, unless in the case of an emergency," Optimus said. "This counts as one."

"We will need to call General Moreshower," Lindsey said. "In the least he can retroactively vet this mission."

"How will we get the hatchlings home?" Mikaela asked. "How big are they anyway?"

"One is an Xbox, one a vending machine, and the other two are an Escalade and their steering wheel," I said.

"They won't be able to do a full transformation this young," Ratchet said. "But we still have the trailer we transported Bumblebee and Coppertone in, so we can use that."

"They let you keep that?" Mikaela asked, but the bots were already moving, Ratchet heading for medbay, Optimus and Jazz to the console with Lindsey to call Moreshower. Will, Ironhide, Epps, Burke and Coppertone were discussing something, probably possible tactics in case we ran into hostiles, then I was distracted as Ella motioned for me, Mikaela, Bee and Miles to join her on the other side of the mezzanine.

"So," she said when we got together, crossing her arms while still holding the notebook with the truce agreement. "The three of you have known the location of an enemy combatant for a month now, and did not tell anyone about it?"

"Barricade would not hurt us," I quickly said - probably too quickly, from the way Ella's brow raised. "Besides his injuries making it near impossible, he was under orders from Megatron to ensure I came to no harm. That's what the Protector business was about."

"And you trust the words of Megatron? Or did you take Barricade's words at face value?"

"He played me the message," Bee quickly said. "It was real, not a bunch of clips put together. And declaring a Protector is serious business. It basically puts Barricade as first in line to defend Alison and the AllSpark from a threat."

"Even before you?" Mikaela asked. "But the AllSpark made you Alison's guardian."

"Guardians were the AllSpark's direct protectors and servants, Protectors were city and temple guards," I said. "Think Buckingham Palace guard verses the Queen of England's personal security team, staff and advisors mashed together."

"The last Protectors died in the Battle of Simfur," Bee said. "They charged the 'Cons as a distraction while the AllSpark was snuck out of the city. I mean, Barricade is definitely not my first choice, but that he is one makes me hopeful for the future."

Then I remembered something. "Optimus said the highest ranking Guardian was known as the Knight-Commander. Maybe we can add that to your title."

"Oh, Primus no!" Bee shook his head violently. "I'm no leader, I'm just a very good scout. When the AllSpark appoints another Guardian or a Priest, they can have it."

The AllSpark chuckled in my head, but didn't come forth to make a comment.

"We're getting off topic here," Ella said. "Despite what you believed or what was said to convince you, the fact remains that you failed to inform us of the location of a very dangerous enemy combatant, for over a month. That cannot go unreprimanded."

A part of me wanted to inject the fact I was Ella's boss, but another part informed me that just made me sound like an immature Draco Malfoy. So I just sighed, as did the others as we realized we were not getting out of this.

"Alright, what's our punishment?" Miles asked.

"I'll think of more appropriate ones to add later, and Bumblebee falls under Optimus's command, but for now…." Ella gave us a smile that looked pleasant, but still felt sharp, like a pretty knife. "An extra hour of PT for the next month should do."

Oh God, she was going to kill us. Or, more accurately, Will, Epps and Burke were, 'cause I just knew who was going to be made to do it with us.

Ella gave a self satisfied nod at our horrified expressions. "Now, it looks like we've gotten through to Moreshower, so let's see about bringing these babies home."

It took about a half-hour to get everything arranged, but eventually we did, and were all set to go. Optimus, Ratchet and Bee were selected for the away team, while Ironhide grumbled about being left behind and Jazz and Copper took it in stride. The Bots left behind were going to fix up one of the hangers to be more hatchling appropriate while we were gone. Because of how far it was to Mission City, Moreshower was going to send one of the cargo planes and crew that were supposed to show up at COTA's muster, and just let them settle into base early once our mission was complete. I, obviously, had to go to make sure we found them, and Ratchet requested Mikaela come as well, as her smaller hands would help in case any of the hatchlings had gotten hurt.

It was another hour and a half before the plane arrived (lunch passed while we were waiting), and the COTA members came out, some on foot, some in a pair of jeeps. Leading the pack, to my surprise, was Simmons.

"Hey, Simmons," I said, waving to him. "Didn't expect you to be here."

"I've been waiting for the call at Nellis," he explained. "Most of us here are S7, the ones of us who made the job our lives. Coming now means we're earning our living wage."

I looked at the group, and found it a bit amusing; a group dedicated to hunting down cybertronians would now be working and fighting alongside them. Maybe even some close bonds and relationships could grow from this too.

One of the jeeps headed off to the barracks, carrying a bunch of duffel bags, while the other remained close. Optimus, Ratchet and Bee transformed and rolled onto the plane, where they denied being strapped down, as their maglocks would hold them might more securely. Mikaela and I were ushered on, strapped into our seats, given commlinks, then left to watch the final preparations. Another half hour, and we were able to take off.

The plane ride was short, but I was antsy. Despite the AllSpark's assurances, I was worried for the hatchlings I hoped beyond hope that they would be okay. Will, Simmons and the other humans didn't quite get it, since they'd only seen the hatchlings at Hoover, but they were babies. And babies are always vulnerable.

When we landed, Mikaela and I hopped into Bee and we led the way for our convoy (us, then Ratchet, a jeep of army guys, Optimus with his trailer, then the second jeep tailing us) into the city. I sat in the passenger's seat, in Bee and in my mind, as the AllSpark guided us to where the hatchlings had hidden. It was an old fenced in warehouse, about fifteen minutes from the airport, and not too far from where they were sparked. We were lucky, the place wasn't guarded, and we were able to roll right through the gates. Once we did so, the AllSpark, Mikaela and I stepped out of Bee, and we were soon joined by Optimus, Ratchet and Bee's holos, Simmons, and Will.

"So the little su- kids are in there?" Simmons asked, changing wording mid-sentence. Seemed he remembered the AllSpark's temper from the negotiations.

"~They are. I will draw them out, but they can not feel overcrowded,~" She said. "~Only Mikaela will accompany me inside, the rest of you ensure no one enters or leaves, by any entrance. Optimus, find the docking bay, and we will lead the hatchlings to you.~"

"Of course, my lady," Optimus nodded and his holo blinked out.

"We'll take care of the outside, you just find them so we can bring them home," Will said. "Your comms on?" We nodded and he and Simmons went to organize the troops.

"Be careful, guys," Bee cautioned us before dissipating his holo, leaving just me, the AllSpark and Mikaela standing there.

We went up to the doors and, after a small EMP to short out the lock and alarm, stepped inside. The warehouse was actually fairly well lit, and crowded with pallets of what looked like boxes of books and papers.

"So… How are we going to find them?" Mikaela asked, looking around as we walked a bit further in.

I could feel The AllSpark smile. "~I shall call them.~" She held our head high, and started to sing, an earth song, translated to cybertronian.

"Come little children
I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come little children
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows."

To say I was surprised was a bit of an understatement, even more so when the AllSpark drew me forward a bit, and the next verses were sung in duet (which is really weird, let me tell you).

"Follow, sweet children
I'll show thee the way
Through all the pain and the sorrows
Weep not poor children
For life is this way
Murdering beauty and passions

"Hush now, dear children
It must be this way
To weary of life and deceptions
Rest now, my children
For soon we'll away
Into the calm and the quiet."

As we reached the interlude of the song, we heard the sounds of something - or several somethings - mechanical heading our way. From around the corner of an aisle, a little face peeked out at us, then skittered into view. It was the X-Box, and upon seeing her - for the AllSpark said she was her - our EM flared with joy and affection, with little pulses of "come here" mixed in. She knelt and lowered our arm, a small globe of energon appearing in it, as further enticement.

"Come little children
I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come little children
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows."

When we finished, the AllSpark kept humming, as the X-box came closer. Behind her, another head stuck out from around the corner. A bright green, I knew this was the vending machine, the Dew-Bot, though I was not going to let that be his name.

~Unless he picks it for himself,~ The AllSpark said.

~That's different,~ I told her, then held the energon globe out to the X-box, who had come up to us. She dipped her helm to it and took a sip. Her optics, a vivid neon green, brightened and she turned her head to chirp at the Dew-Bot, a type of baby gibberish that seemed my ears couldn't understand, but I felt their meaning in my heart, a call that it was safe, and there was food. Is this what having a bond felt like?

It was apparently was enough to draw out not only him, but also the other two hatchlings, who stepped into the aisle. The AllSpark smiled, and started a new song, this one an ancient cybertronian one about a carrier's love for their sparklings. This, along with all the positivity we were throwing into our EM field and the bond, encouraged them to come closer, and the AllSpark shaped the energon in our hand into a small cube, which she handed to the X-box. (She had explained to me that the cube was formed by effectively turning some of the energon, mixed with particles in the air, into glass. A little complicated, but cool.) She then formed a cube for the Dew-Bot, who was fairly small for a bot, only about nine feet tall. Minibot, more or less.

Behind him came the Escalade, and on his head sat his steering wheel. I was unsure how his steering wheel became a separate bot, but at least it was just him. The Escalade was maybe the size of Jazz, if not slightly shorter. The AllSpark offered them energon and they took it and fueled up.

"~My children,~" the AllSpark said in cybertronian, smiling at the four. "~We are your Mothers, and this is Mikaela, who is our friend.~" She motioned to Mikaela, who looked surprised, but smiled and gave a small wave to the hatchlings.

The steering wheel tilted his head, then did a surprising thing by jumping off the Escalade, towards Mikaela. To her credit, she didn't flinch, instead reaching out to catch him, and I thought it lucky she was wearing her leather jacket today. "Hey now, don't hurt yourself," she chided, but still smiled.

::Are the hatchlings healthy?:: Ratchet asked over the comms.

"~Perfectly,~" the AllSpark said. "~We'll bring them to Optimus in a few minutes.~"

::The docking bays are on the south-west corner of the building,:: Optimus said.

"~Thank you.~" The AllSpark turned her attention back to the hatchlings, who had finished their cubes and were watching us. "~Come along. We're going to go somewhere nice, where there are others like you, who will take good care of you.~"

The hatchlings looked between themselves, as if discussing something amongst themselves. Then the X-box stepped closer to us, bumping our hand. This smile was my own as I scooped her up into my arms.

"~Come along, dears,~" the AllSpark said, and we headed towards where Optimus was waiting. She sang again, though it was more a nonsense humming tune, and I could hear and feel the hatchlings singing along. I could feel their joy in my heart, and that in turn made me happy too.

It took us several minutes to travel across the building and as we got closer, I saw a woman - one of the new arrivals - standing at the entrance of the docking bay. The hatchlings paused a moment, uncertainty coming across the bonds, quickly soothed by myself and the AllSpark. "~She is a friend too. You are safe.~"

The woman must have noticed the hatchlings hesitate as she gave a gentle smile which was reflected in her green eyes. "Hey there. Guessing you found everyone?" She kept her voice soft through it carried through the warehouse. She looked young, maybe late-twenties though her Asian-American features made it hard to pin down exactly how old, with black hair pulled into a tight bun to keep it out of her face. I figured she was sent in since she probably appeared the least threatening of the soldiers.

"Yup, just these four," Mikaela said as the AllSpark and I kept humming.

She nodded towards one of the furthest dock doors. "Trailer's this way." She led us with long strides towards the door in question. The dock door itself was already open with Optimus's trailer backed in. She knelt down and fiddled with the latch of the trailer's door. "There we go." She raised the door and then took a few steps off to the side to give plenty of space for us to pass. A glance inside showed several couch cushions and pillows making something I could only call a nest, while LED lanterns were hung up to give light along with a portable fan.

"The fan should keep it from getting too stuffy in here and there is a cooler with water and a few snacks for the trip," the soldier explained. "Hopefully won't be too bumpy, but there are some tie down straps just in case."

"Thanks," I said, stepping forth long enough to say before the AllSpark started humming again and walked into the trailer. Mikaela and the other hatchlings followed suit, the Escalade having to duck a little to get in, and the woman stepped up to the door again. She watched us all settle down on the various cushions and easily reached up to grab the door strap.

"Everyone settled in?" she asked. At our nod, she gave a smile. "See you all base-side." She pulled the door shut and we could hear the rattle of the latch it clicked into place. A minute later, the trailer jolted a little, and started moving.

The hatchlings looked around nervously, but I held out a placating hand. "Hey, hey, it's okay," I told them, then had a sudden thought for the AllSpark. ~Can the hatchlings understand English?~

~They will soon.~

I didn't understand what that meant, but She then put our hands on the X-box, and a small pulse went from them into her. She jumped a little, chirring in surprise. The AllSpark sent comforting waves to her, running our hand over her back. "~It's alright, sweetspark,~" She soothed.

The X-box turned to look up at us and then chittered, then settled. The AllSpark looked to Mikaela and the steering wheel and held a hand out. "~Bring him here please.~"

Mikaela looked down at the little mecha settled in her lap, then scooted over to she was within reach. The same pulse was sent to him, and he jumped a lot more, only kept from leaving Mikaela's lap by the AllSpark's hold, and even then he was able to swipe and cut through Mikaela's pants.

"You okay?" I asked her, unable to see if the mechling had broken through skin.

She nodded. "Just got cloth." She started petting the mechling and he started to calm down.

The AllSpark then motioned for Dew Bot and the Escalade to lean in a little closer, and repeated the process. This time, when they jumped, they rocked the trailer a bit, and Optimus called us.

::Are you alright in there?::

"~We're fine Optimus,~" The AllSpark said. "~Just making sure the hatchlings will understand us even when speaking English.~

::Understood, my lady. We'll be getting on the place shortly::

"~Understood Optimus,~" the AllSpark said, and She cut the call.

"So… what now?" Mikaela asked.

The AllSpark smirked. "~Now you get to help babysit, while I rest.~" And with that, she retreated, and I suddenly felt super tired, slumping down and hanging my head for a minute.

"You okay?" Mikaela asked, scooting a bit closer so our thighs pressed against each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her. "I just might need to take a nap when we get back to base."

"So, what should we do?" She looked the hatchlings, as if they would have a clue, but they just tilted their helms, like they were trying to process something.

An idea popped into my head. "How about a story? I know a few good ones."

I ended up telling the hatchlings the story of the Unification, from the end of the Era of the Primes to the construction of Simfur. The hatchlings were suitable enthralled by it, and Mikaela also got invested, clapping along with the hatchlings at the end. And so distracted the hatchlings were, they barely noticed the transfer from road to plane to air. It was only as we landed that they reacted, looking around like they were going to be attacked by something.

"It's okay, it's okay, easy," I said, petting the Xbox and projecting calm over my EM field and the bond I could still feel, though it was much weaker than when the AllSpark was active. "We just landed the plane. In a few minutes, we'll get out and visit with the doctor, then we'll get you settled in your new home."

Mikaela and I stood up as the door opened. The X-box stayed in my arms, but the steering wheel sprang away from Mikaela and climbed back up to the Escalade's head. Mikaela put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Oh, I see how it is." There was a smile on her lips though, so she obviously didn't mind.

I smiled too, and walked towards the door. "Come on, sweetlings. It's not far." The Escalade looked nervous, so I took a page from the AllSpark's book and started singing sweet nonsense to encourage him.

Ratchet waited for us at the bottom of the ramp, his back doors open and his holo standing there. "Come on, you two in here. I can start examining this one as we head over."

"Here, you hold her." I passed the X-Box to Mikaela, who sat on a gurney that looked like it had been liberated from the infirmary. I then grabbed a handhold by the door and looked out at the hatchlings. "It's alright, come on." I held a hand out and Dew-Bot actually took it, right as Ratchet started to move.

The hatchlings came right along to the infirmary, and behave quite well when Ratchet examined them. The only one who was fussy was the steering wheel, but he soothed as I held and petted him. Once the exams were done, we took them over to the Autobots' hangers. It was decided to put the hatchlings in the same building as Coppertone and Bumblebee, so they would be supervised, but not in the way. Miles, Epps, Optimus, Coppertone and Bee were there at the moment.

"So, what are we gonna call them?" Miles asked as we watched the hatchlings run around exploring the room. "I mean, they need names, right?"

"How do you guys name your kids?" Mikaela asked.

"A couple different ways," Ratchet said. "Sometimes the AllSpark will directly name a newspark, but most hatchlings were given a number and not named properly until either they were adopted by a mentor, or they develop their own personality. Some even name themselves."

"Sparklings are generally named based on impressions they give their creators over the creation bond before emergence," Coppertone said. "I was named cause I was apparently always bright and cheerful, but gold and yellow were 'too much'."

"Well, these guys have plenty of personality, I think," I said, looking over at them. The steering wheel was intently curious, skittering around this way and that, looking and poking at everything, while the Escalade followed behind, looking a little nervous but curious. Two names hit me for them. "How about Rascal for the steering wheel, and Escapade for the Escalade?"

"The wheel looks like a rascal," Epps said. "Why Escapade though?'

"Look at how he trails behind his brother. You can't tell me that doesn't look something like an eighties kids' movie, where you always had the one kid who was scared, but went along and had a good time anyway."

"She's right, it does," Bee said.

"How about Dispensor for the vending machine?" Miles offered while he was watching said mech. "A bit on the nose, but it fits, don't you think." He glanced over at me.

"Sounds good. And now the X-box."

"X-Cat," Mikaela said confidently. When I looked at her, she pointed, and we saw the little femmling had sat in a patch of sunlight, and appeared to be dozing.

"Yes, X-Cat it is."

The comms went off suddenly (I had forgotten I hadn't taken it out yet), and Ella came across. ::Optimus, I know there is a lot of excitement today, but Alison does need to get to work on paperwork today. Please bring her to her office, carrying her if need be.::

Shit, the paperwork she had mentioned that morning. I had completely forgotten about it. I sighed and responded myself. "I'll be right there, Ella. I wouldn't say no to a ride though."

"I got you, Alison." Bee held his servo down for me to climb on.

Ella and I worked on the paperwork for the next several hours, not even breaking for dinner (she had someone bring us food). She had been right though, there was plenty of logistics stuff that needed approval and review, especially since we had a lot more COTA members on base than were supposed to be here. It was eleven when she finally let me go, and she cheerfully reminded me that Miles, Mikaela and I had to get up an hour earlier for PT. With the very emotional and draining day I had, I collapsed on my bed and was out like a light.


AN: So, hatchlings. I'll admit, I kinda threw these in initially, but over the course of writing, I've gotten quite attached to the little guys (and yes, there will be plenty more of them in the future). Whatcha think of them? Do the names fit? How about the teens' punishment? Anything else stand out? Let me know in the reviews!

Guest Review Replies

Gerard DuGalle (CH 12): Does Bay's canon have information on when KSI was founded? It would be nice to find Joshua Joyce early and carry out educational work with him. You know, helping friendly cybertronians with repairs and other things; don't melt into a living metal (transformum). By the way, can Allsparks give to KSI prototypes their own sparks?
According to the TFWiki, KSI was founded by Joshua Joyce when he was a kid, so it's around. Theoretically, the AllSpark could give the KSI prototypes their own sparks. However, Alison is actively trying to avoid the future where those prototypes even exist, and since she never actually saw AOE before The Jump, she only knows of them melting down the Autobots, which means she won't let them within ten miles of her 'Bots is she can help it.

Side note, am I the only one who thinks "Transformium" was a weak ass name for the Cybertronian's base metal? Fitting, maybe, but I would have gone with "Cybertronium" personally.

I'll see you all next week, same 'Bot Time, same 'Bot Channel!