In which Alison has a private concert, laughs her ass off, and meets new bots


The rest of opening day went by smoothly, with the soldiers mingling with each other and even the 'Bots a little bit. Coppertone took Mom and Dad home that night, but Mikaela, Miles and I had another day off from school, which was occupied with finishing up paperwork for me, Mikaela helping Ratchet start his instruction of the medbay mechanics (officially the medical-mechanics), and Miles shadowing Epps.

I was actually nearing the end of the paperwork when Bee's holo popped into the office. "I request sanctuary," he said.

I raised my brow. "Why?"

"Ironhide is being very enthusiastic in showing the troops how to take down 'Cons. I'd rather sit out the abuse to my frame."

"You sure that's smart?" I asked, but motioned for him to take a seat. "I mean, won't that then be like feeling all that pain at once once you go back to your body?"

"I can still feel it a bit, but it's a little numb, and by the time I do go back, my self-repair will have taken care of most of it."

"Hmm." I smiled as I turned back to the report I was working on. "I gotta finish my work, but feel free to sit here 'til I am."

"Bet that's one thing you hadn't expected when you got dropped here." He flashed a grin.

"Not at all, now hush, I can't concentrate when you're talking."

I managed to finish the current report and was most of the way through the next one when my brain registered a new sound. Since the hatchlings were found, I had taken to wearing a comm link in my ear on base, and Jazz helped me link it to my computer's stereo system, so I could basically use it as a bluetooth. I had been listening to Pandora Radio on a low volume while working, and it took me a moment to realize I was hearing "I Wanna Love You" from both ears.

I looked over and saw Bee was tilting his chair back, hands behind his head and one ankle on his knee. His eyes were closed and he was softly singing the chorus alongside Akon.

"I see you winding and grinding up on the floor,
I know you see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know."

I stopped to listen to him, smiling. It was so sweet seeing him truly relaxed like this. Sure, he had fun with us hanging out and stuff, but there was always still an air of watchfulness, making sure Cade didn't pull anything, or looking out for 'Cons just in case. Now, he looked just like any teenager, listening to music. I almost didn't want to break the image. Almost.

"Have you hacked my music feed, Bee?" I asked when the song ended.

He jerked, and next thing I know, his chair clattered to the ground and he was sprawled out. "Ow…," he moaned.

"Oh, sorry, Bee." I ran around my desk and reached down to pull him up. "Didn't mean to spook yah."

"It's fine." He used me as leverage to get back to his feet. "And to answer your question, yeah. It wasn't too hard, since I'm already on the trusted network for the base. With enough effort a 'Con could do it, but they'd have to be on base, and probably in the room, plus get past all the firewalls Jazz has up."

"So you could get in there and mess with my reports?'

"I'd never do that, but yeah. Maybe pop in and type you up a quick note in Notepad but that'd be it."

"Something encouraging like 'keep it up, you're doing great'?"

"Yeah, something like that." He scratched at the back of his neck.

I smiled. "I'd like that." I then noticed I was still holding his other hand, and let go. "You have a good voice."

"Thanks. It's not as pretty as yours, but I'm not tone deaf at least." His eyes got a bit wistful. "I forgot I actually missed it until I could again."

"Did the Temple have anything like a boy's choir, like the Catholic Church does?" I sat back down and he righted his chair.

"Nah, it was more like a Southern Baptist choir in show, and a school club in function." Bee sat down. "I think I did about two groon of it, then decided it wasn't for me. I'll sing for myself, or maybe karaoke."

"We should do that sometime," I said. "The whole gang having a karaoke night."

He smiled. "I'd like that. Maybe we can duet."

"That'd be fun." I smiled back, then turned back to the computer. "I gotta finish, but feel free to keep singing, long as you don't get too loud."

"Sure thing." He waited till the next song came on, then went into the opening lines of "Hey There Delilah".

With Bee as musical accompaniment, I managed to finish my reports a bit before dinner, so Bee and I found Miles and Mikaela and hung out in his hanger until then. Afterwards, we went back home to Tranquility, and settled in for school and, for me, some actual time to relax.

Of course, as Autobot allies, life can only slow down so much before something kicks it into gear again. And this time, it happened as Miles, Mikaela and I were sitting outside to eat lunch the Thursday before Thanksgiving break. We were just discussing our holiday plans (Mikaela would be joining my family for the Witwicky Clan Thanksgiving, while Miles would have his own reunion in Tranquility) when Bee's holoform ran into the courtyard, spotted us and ran over. "Guys! Guys!" He had the biggest grin on his face. "Mom's coming!"

The three of us blinked for a minute, then Mikaela asked, "What?"

"Elita! We just got a call from her and her team. They heard Optimus's signal and are on their way here."

"Elita?" I started smiling too. "Bee, that's great!" I jumped up and gave him a big hug.

"Who's all coming?" Miles asked.

"Elita and her sisters, Arcee and Chromia, and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, the Terror Twins."

"Oh no," Mikaela said. "Ratchet's wrenches are going to finally be used."

"When will they get here?" I asked.

"Sometime tomorrow, depending on how fast they can get through the asteroid belt. The direction they're coming from happens to have a thick cluster in the way."

"Oh this is going to be great!" I said. "I bet Optimus is super happy."

"And Ironhide," Bee shook his head. "Let's just say I'm glad I'm in the other hanger with Copper and the hatchlings."

"Mental image!" Miles called out, covering his eyes and we all laughed.

After that news, it was almost torture to sit through class the next day. We'd already skipped so much school, we couldn't take the day off to wait at base. I kept sneaking glances at my phone for a message from Bee saying they had arrived. But there had been nothing, so the second the bell rang, the three of us ran out the building to head to base.

We didn't even make it all the way there before Optimus gave us a call on Bee's comms. ::Bumblebee, head directly to the landing zone coordinates. Elita and her team will be landing within the next hour.::

"Will do, Optimus," Bee said.

::And with that, I am hiding until you convince that crazy blue femme to stay away from me,:: Barricade said, passing us and speeding away for town.

"He, Chromia and 'Hide do not get along, do they?" Mikaela asked.

"He killed their cyberhound and he's terrified of retribution," Bee said in mock seriousness, which caused me to burst out laughing, the mental image of Ironhide pulling a John Wick on the Decepticons too amusing to pass up.

The landing zone was a piece of desert about five miles east of the base, so we were the last to arrive. Optimus, Ratchet and Ironhide were already in mech mode, watching the sky, while Will, a couple soldiers, and a couple medical-mechanics waited by their jeeps. Bee let us out, then transformed as well.

"You made it," Ratchet acknowledged, as Bee lifted me up to his shoulder.

"What their ETA?" I asked.

"Another twenty to thirty minutes, we're guessing."

"Excited for Sides and Sunny, Ratchet?" Bee asked.

"I'd wrench you, but I'm saving it for after they get here,"

"Aww, I thought you loved me, Ratchet." Bee gave a cheeky grin that set Ratchet grumbling about insolent younglings.

It was not long at all after this that we spotted five fireballs dropping out of the sky. "It's them," Optimus said, and I swear I saw his optics brighten as a small smile started to cross his face.

I couldn't help but whisper to Bee, "If I hadn't guessed they were bonded, I would now. OP looks like Cupid shot him in the face."

Bee gave a small snicker as Ratchet warned, "Be ready to move quickly if you see one coming your way. Their descents are mostly uncontrolled, so they can't avoid you if you're in their path."

I tightened my grip on Bee's shoulder, just in case we needed to move. Luckily, the meteors shot over us, almost in formation, and landed a little less than a half mile away.

"Autobots, move!" Optimus called out, leading the charge to the craters. When we got there, the newcomers were just shifting into their protoforms.

"Aahh, yes!" one shouted in cybertronian, practically leaping out of the trench he had dug in his landing. "Movement! I can feel my pedes again!" That had to be Sideswipe.

"Great," the other mech nearby - Sunstreaker - said. "Then you can help us get out of these holes!"

"Alright, don't blow a fuse, Sunny." Sideswipe went to his brother, while Ironhide, Optimus and Ratchet went to help the three femmes, I presumed Chromia, Elita and Arcee respectively. Once they were all out, I could see their definite resemblance to their movie counterparts, even without their plating colors. However, Elita and Chromia were much taller than Arcee, and didn't seem to have two-wheeler frames. Sideswipe likewise didn't have his wheel pedes, though I assume that will come once he scans his alt mode. I wonder if he'll go red like G1, or silver like the movies had it.

Optimus was smiling and holding Elita's servos in his, even after she steadied herself. "Elita. It is good to see you again."

Elita gave him a small smile back, though she drew her servos away. "You as well, Optimus." She looked over the group of us. "Jazz and Coppertone remained at your base?"

"Yes. We have had no Decepticon activity since Megatron left, but we must be cautious." Optimus said. "Let's change to the local language, for the benefit of our allies."

Elita and her team stilled for a moment as, I assume, they assimilated a datapacket to their language center. Elita spoke a little hesitantly, "Is this right?"

"Yes, that is," Will said, stepping forward. "Major Will Lennox, ma'am. I lead the military branch of the Cyber-Organic Treaty Association."

Elita nodded down to him. "Good to meet you, Major." She motioned for the rest of her team to come closer. "My sisters, Chromia and Arcee, and frontline specialists Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."

"AKA, the Terror Twins, and Ratchet's worst nightmare," Bee said, instantly drawing attention our way.

"Bee! You can talk again!" Sideswipe said excitedly.

"Yup! It's not the only new thing either." Bee ruffled his plating a bit with pride. "You're looking at an official Guardian of the AllSpark now."

"Seriously?" Arcee asked, looking around. "Then where is She?"

The AllSpark come forth and made us stand, using Bee's helm for balance. "~I am here, Arcee. It is good to see you again, my granddaughters and sons.~" She smiled at them all, and I could feel the truth and joy in that statement.

"Sweet Solus," Chromia said, her servo moving up to tap her chest three times in a line. "But, how, my lady?"

"~During the battle after I was found, Alison was left with a choice to save or destroy me. She took me into her own body, and is now my Bearer. My power is hers and her body is my vessel until her last day.~" She stepped back then, and I came forth.

"Hello," I said. "I'm Alison Witwicky, Bearer of the AllSpark and Director of COTA."

"Whoa," Sideswipe said.

"There has to be more to the story than just that," Sunstreaker said.

"They can explain it while I examine you," Ratchet said.

"Aww, do you have ta, Hatchet?" Sideswipe asked. Not two seconds later, a wrench connected with his forehead and he fell back into Sunstreaker's arms. Sunstreaker looked at his twin a moment, then dropped him to the ground.

"Wow, new record," Arcee said, then stepped forward. "I'll save you the trouble, Ratchet. Everyone's fine, nothing a good wash won't take care of, except I got hit pretty hard by a meteor a while back, and I can feel the gears in my right leg grinding together."

"Alright, sit here. Medics, come assist."

"Yes, sir." Mikaela ran over to one of the trailer beds, where Ratchet instructed Arcee to sit, and started teaching her and the other two medical-mechanics what would be needed to fix the problem. Meanwhile, we explained the events of Mission City and just before to the team. When we were done, all three femmes made that same three chest taps gesture Chromia had before, Sideswipe was gobsmacked, and even Sunstreaker looked surprised, which for the stoic mech was a lot.

Elita crossed her arms across her chest, almost like an X, except she turned her servos to make a circle together, and bowed slightly to me. "Thank you, Alison Witwicky. Your bravery and selflessness is without bounds. The mantle of Bearer is a heavy one, and that you took it in such a way creates a debt I am unsure we can truly repay." Her tone implied this was not just a simple thanks.

My first instinct was to say it wasn't a big deal, but it kinda was, so I skipped that argument. "I did what I would hope anyone would do in that situation. And I know exactly how you can repay me; put your best effort to push for the end of the War."

"You think we haven't been?" Sunstreaker asked.

"Alison means 'within the next decade'," Bee said, shrugging slightly. "Never say she's not an optimist."

"Barely an eighth of a vorn?" Chromia asked. "We've had battles last that long. I think that's pushing optimism in the direction of naivety."

"Possibly, but we'll never know unless we try," I said.

"You're done," Ratchet announced, stepping back from Arcee with Mikaela on his servo. "I suggest we get back to base so I can run deep scans on all of you, then you can rest for the evening."

"Please tell me we have individual quarters here," Arcee said, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. "If I never have to bunk with any of them again, it will be too soon."

"Now is that anyway to talk to your elders?" Elita asked, but the corners of her mouth quirked up a bit.

"When they're my sisters, yes."

"We'll give you the single in Bee and Coppertone's hanger," I said. "Though it might not be as peaceful as you think, with the hatchlings next door."

That perked all the newcomers up. "Hatchlings!?" There was almost a sparkle in Chromia's optics as she came closer. "Did you say there were hatchlings here?"

I nodded. "Four, all created during Mission City. They'll be excited to meet you I'm sure. They love meeting new people."

"Let's get going, and you can see them sooner," Ironhide said, though the look he gave me said he'd be getting back at me for something, though I wasn't sure what.

The sisters all sat on one flatbed, while the twins took up the other, and once they were covered with tarps to avoid attention, we headed back to base. When we pulled in, Copper and Jazz were waiting by HQ, as well as the families and most of COTA who weren't currently on duty. Meghan especially looked fit to burst over the new aliens, barely held in place by her mother and Monique.

"Wow, there sure are a lot of you little guys." Sideswipe said, hopping off the flatbed.

"They can pack a punch," Coppertone said, walking up and placing her hands on her hips. "So, have you guys been behaving yourselves?"

"And what if we haven't?" Sunstreaker asked. "Gonna throw us in the brig?"

"Aww, and I left my cuffs on Cybertron." She smiled and grabbed the two into a hug. "Missed you guys."

"Missed you too, Copper." Sideswipe said, then pushed her off him. "Primus, your name's a pun now!"

"Mmmhmm. I'm winning by default now."

Off to the side, a similar greeting was happening between Jazz and the rest of the new arrivals. "You femmes are in for a treat," Jazz said. "Things have been pretty calm after Mission City, so this is almost a vacation."

"After years hurtling through space, a vacation sounds like just the thing," Elita said with a smile.

"Indeed it does," Optimus said, then turned to the assembled people. "COTA, I would like to introduce Commander Elita One, leader of Squad One, a member of the Autobot High Command, and my consort. Her sisters, weapons specialist Chromia, and frontliner-medic Arcee. And frontliners Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."

The crowd murmured a little then Meghan finally broke from her captors and raced over, Lizzie on her heels. "You're married to Optimus?" She asked from next to Elita's pedes, her head all the way back as she stared up. "How long have you been married? Do you have any kids?"

"Meghan!" Lizzie scolded, taking her daughter's hand. "I'm sorry, she's very curious about you all."

Elita smiled. "It's quite alright." She knelt down to be closer to them. "Yes, Optimus and I are married. We have been for close to nine thousand years now. We don't have any sparklings yet, but we're hopeful for the future, when the War is over."

"Cool!" Meghan grinned widely and did a little dance. "Maybe you can help Alison and Coppertone with the hatchlings. You could adopt one! But not X-Cat, she's Shaleeka's. And Rascal's mine."

"Maybe. Optimus and I will have to see." Elita stood up, looking to Optimus. "I would like to debrief as soon as possible. Perhaps we could release my team to the wash racks?"

"Of course. Coppertone, if you could escort them?" Optimus turned to the frontliner, who nodded.

"Follow me," she said, heading that way with Arcee, Chromia and the twins in tow as the crowd started to disperse.

The rest of OP's team headed into HQ, along with COTA Command, Mikaela and Miles. Once we were gathered, and introductions were made, Elita started her report.

"We left the Ark shortly before its crash landing, and were in communication with them for a time before we lost the signal. We encountered a few 'Con teams, as well as found a planet with many large and easily accessible metal deposits. We had just returned to the Ark with the report and leaving again when we picked up both the AllSpark's signal and that of Prowl's team."

"Prowler?" Jazz asked excitedly, and I had a feeling I just learned who his husband was. "How is he?"

"He and his team are doing well. They had some injuries, Bluestreak and Crosscut got separated and attacked at one point, and they were returning them to the Ark for repairs. When I informed him of the signal, he sent First Aid and Road Rage to escort Bluestreak and Crosscut, and turned to bring his team here as well. Your call to meet solidified our direction, and he should be arriving within an orn or two."

"Who is Prowl, and who are the members of his team?" Lindsey asked.

"Prowl is our chief tactician," Optimus said. "The mechs he is sending to the Ark are Bluestreak, a sniper, his medic First Aid, and Crosscut and Road Rage, two ground troops. If he has suffered no other casualties, that would leave him Wheeljack, our chief scientist, and communications officer Jolt."

"He also has a pair of frontliner twins, Skids and Mudflap," Elita said. "They were liberated from a Decepticon scientist's experiments."

"Are all twins frontliners?" Ella asked.

"Nah, we just got lucky," Jazz said.

"So two weeks to a month, we're tripling the amount of 'Bots on the planet," Miles said. "Let's hope the 'Cons don't get the same idea."

"I think we can handle an increase of two to four 'Cons, Miles," Bee said.

"I thought you said all of Starscream's team were neutralized or fled," Elita said.

"All but two," I explained. "Scorponok has not been seen since he attacked Will's team, and we can't move against him until he does something. Barricade escaped Mission City, and was given orders to act as my Protector. Recently, he swore a vow to that effect in front of Optimus, and the AllSpark accepted it. He, effectively, is a neutral now."

Elita gave Optimus a glance that said she'd be discussing something with him later, but nodded at my explanation. "I assume he's close by then?"

"Part of our truce is he must be in the same town that Alison is, either the one just outside the base, or Alison's hometown of Tranquility."

"I see." She shifted her weight to one side, propping a servo on a hip. "I'll inform Chromia to leave him alone. You do know Prowl will have something to say about this."

"Then he can say it to Barricade, hopefully." And okay, there was some history there, but now was not the time to dig into it, and I got a pulse from the AllSpark saying she wasn't telling. If it was really important, I would learn it later.

The rest of the briefing was just informing Elita of the course of events since Mission City, as well as our future plans, which consisted of "Train until the 'Cons make a move, and take care of it." After that was done, Optimus took Elita to tour the base, and we all disbursed to various places for work or otherwise.


AN: And here we have the first new bots to show up. Now this isn't gonna be like G1, where new bots show up every week, but eventually there will be a sizable amount of them. So what'd you think of Bee's singing? What about Squad One? Excited for Prowl and the others? Let me know in the reviews!

Holoavatar FCs
Elita One - Angelina Jolie
Chromia - Michelle Rodriguez
Arcee - Erin Naas (the model for the movie holo)
Sideswipe & Sunstreaker - Manpei & Shinpei Takagi

Guest Review Replies

None this week, y'all were really quiet.

Guest 1 (CH 15): this is one of the few things I look forward to in the week, so thank you!
Well I'm glad to be a bright spot in your life!

Gerard DuGalle (CH 15): About gifts: Ironhide. Ironhide never changes. On guest reviews: well, to be honest, some chapters did not offer significant differences from the original, which would affect the plot. Unlike mending the Barricade t-cog, for example. So the lack of discussion is not surprising. Waiting for the chapters on the arrival of the Autobots. Sentinel may have to change color. I'm not sure if the red-black Rosenbauer Panther is allowed in the movie universe.
Yup, he never does.
And I suppose so? I mean ch 14 is original content, but things mentioned here will play out in later chapters, and Asami is fairly important to the story. It just kinda bummed me out, like people are only here for the rewritten stuff and nothing of the new content. Barricade's T-Cog was repaired in the original AllSpark, it just happened offscreen, as opposed to on screen here.
In regard to Sentinel, it is true that his movie alt was specifically painted for him, but I won't be giving him a repaint. Partly this is because of [spoiler reasons] they could have such a vehicle ready for him to scan, and partly because I follow the HC the bots have special paint that could change at any time, and the first arrival bots just happened to like the colors of the cars they scanned.

Guest 2 (CH 15): A pleasure to read as always.
Thank you!

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