Hi everyone! Quick intro, quick summary, a story based on the origins of my OC Caspian. Things start on a very fluffy note, but angst is sure to follow in the next Chapt. (If you haven't already read my main story MERCY, feel free to check it out to get a better idea about what's going on.)

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any stocks, trades, or licensing from the Transformers franchise. All rights are reserved for HASBRO entertainment.

MERCY

ORIGINS

Part 1

Mining is a horrible, dank, and exhausting job, and most drones have no choice but to work in horrid conditions. Cave-ins, gas pockets, long, long, long work hours on very little fuel sources (which was ironic considering the substances that needed to be excavated from the deep shafts was a primary fuel source) are only a gross handful of things that can go wrong below a planets crust. Explosions in the Energon mines happened on a daily basis, and every day more and more Cybertronians were destroyed mining for the fuel that kept them alive. Fuel that they most likely would never be able to use for themselves. It is a horrendous existence, but only if you were manufactured as a drone. Not even as a Miner drone, but any drone that was dubbed inefficient for anything more than grunt labor. This just so happened to be the fate of many of the subgroup of drones recently created by Shockwave colorfully named the Mid-digits.

A large group of Vehicons and Eradicons designed by the cruel scientist as stealth troops. Using smaller materials to create shorter and slimmer soldiers that could infiltrate the most secure of facilities by squeezing down maintenance shafts or slipping past unchecked choke points. It was a rather ingenious idea, but it wasn't Megatron's idea. Therefore, if the order to send these troops into battle didn't exist, then they would need to be put to other uses. Such as assisting in the last existing energon mines still functioning near Shockwave's hideouts. Despite their size difference, the Mid-digits were still battle efficient, which meant they were designed to be much stronger than the average Miner drone. Their help was very appreciated by the hard workers of the energon mines. Eradicons could detect changes in air density, and Vehicons could feel the shifting of metal and earth shift around them. This made cave-ins and gas pockets less frequent, and the job became much easier. One Mid-digit Vehicon in particular actually enjoyed working in the mines. Vehicon drone CA-593-R, or Casper to most, got a grand feeling of fulfillment from his work. Everyday, he took pride in what he did and looked forward to helping his Miner brothers, so he could go back to recharge with a sense of accomplishment.

Today he did the same thing he did every day for the past four centuries. He got up from recharge early in the morning, drank his daily rations, woke up his brothers scheduled to work, studied the newly renovated maps of tunnels in the mines, then immediately set out with his group. He would work all day and sometimes through the night, or until the Miners begged him to go back to his quarters so he could rest. It wasn't the most perfect or glamorous of existences, but Casper was without a doubt content with his life and could live the rest of his function without any major changes. Until the end of this particular workday when he returned home to his station. A large group of drones had collected themselves in a large cluster around a table. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen talking in hushed tones and gently nudging one another to get closer to the center or look over someone's shoulders.

"What is going on here?" Casper asked cheerily through his curiosity. As he tried to step forward one of his brothers quickly stopped him.

"Wait a minute Cass." He didn't yell, but the look alike grounder expressed himself excitedly. "You should wash before coming into the other room. Peter brought home a surprise."

"The one Eradicon that Shockwave still converses with and only drops by when he wants something?" Casper was aware that Peter was sitting in the center of the small gaggle of cooing troops but gave no mind to whether the flyer could hear him or not. It's not that he didn't like Peter, he just didn't converse with him as much as the others. Understandable, since the Eradicon lived in a separate housing from the others. He never flaunted himself as something more special than the others, but because Shockwave took favoritism to him (for some reason), he was often gifted with separate treatment. It didn't merit bitterness from anyone because if he could spare it, he would share his fortune, however small it was. But Peter was often teased in good humor for the attention he got from their creator.

On the other hand, Casper did have a small resentment for Peter. The little grounder just didn't like how the flyer carried on when there was so much work to be done. There was plenty of work to do outside the mines as there was inside. Casper didn't hate Peter at all, but he did think he was a little lazy.

"On the contrary my dear Casper, I have something for you and your housing unit." The higher ranked flyer stood. Casper took note of how slowly Peter approached him while his back was turned. There must have been something delicate in the flyer's arms for him to act so cautious. Maybe it was something good, but either way, Casper wouldn't know until he finished washing the dirt off his front first.

"Can I eat it?" He joked as he splashed solution over his arms. The dirt and grime swirled in the sink below him and he smiled under his mask as he listened to his friends chuckle around him. He had no idea there was a chance they weren't laughing at his sarcasm, but as he started to dry his frame with a cloth, he turned on his pedes to face Peter with glee. The moment the two drones came face to face with each other, Casper nearly jumped out of his armor. "What the bleeding Pit is that?!"

"Well, it's something you can't eat." Peter smirked under his battle visor at the grounder's reaction. As he walked closer, he rocked his arm struts gently from side to side and lightly bounced on his heels. In one servo he held an Energon administration canister with a short tubing attached to its base. What was so alarming to Casper was the tiny little creature attached to the opposite end of the tubing. Whatever it was, it definitely had a face as its teeny mouth latched to the rubber nozzle that replaced where the needle would be. It made odd smacking sounds as it drank down what appeared to be low grade in the canister and cooed upon every sway. Casper fully backed away into the counter behind him when the strange little thing revealed it had more little parts. A small servo reached up blindly to grasp at the tubing, but only took hold of air as three very petite digits closed into a small fist. It looked like a drone in so many ways, but it was rounded and just so, so small, and for some reason it intimidated the Vehicon.

"A lot of your friends had the same reaction." The Eradicon whispered in a shallow sweet tone. "I assure you Casper, there's nothing to be afraid of… Have you ever heard of Sparklings?"

"Nope." That wasn't an answer to the question. It was a full on statement. He was not going to accept this, because he knew what Peter was going to ask. There was no way he was going to accept this lying down, so he slipped away from the edge of the counter and dashed out of the room. Maybe if he pretended, he didn't see what he just saw it would go away and never interrupt the balance he worked so hard to keep in his life. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Not happening. Take it back."

"I can't take him back, I'm under orders." This reaction puzzled Peter, but unbounded he attempted to follow the short grounder out of the kitchen. "Anyone want to hold the Sparkling for me?"

A handful of drones shied away, but another handful eagerly raised their servos. Quickly but carefully, the higher ranked Eradicon guided one of the excited troops to a chair and placed the Sparkling in his wing struts. "Now watch his helm. And when he finishes that canister call for me and I'll be back to help him pass exhaust."

"Not! Happening!" Clearly Casper could still hear everyone in the opposite room, and the topic of passing exhaust was not very appealing at all.

"This isn't just going to disappear, Casper." Peter ran right into the living area, following his irritated friend on a huff. "I'm on strict orders to find a subgroup to help take care of the Sparkling."

"Well then find another group! Because I straight up refuse!" The Vehicon nearly through his battle visor at the other drone and growled before sitting in his favorite chair. As far as he was concerned the issue was over and this conversation was done, which only made him angrier that Peter just wouldn't take the hint and just drop it. Casper's life was hard, but he loved it. He loved just the way it was, and he was not ready to change it. This was going to bring a big change; a drastic change that he was not prepared for at all. Worst of all, this was being presented to him without a choice in mind. If he didn't try to fight this, then Peter could just leave the little scrap ball there and he would have no other option then to care for it. "It's not happening! Not HAPPENING!"

"Oh please Casper! Reconsider!" A Miner drone ran into the room excitedly and knelt beside the group lead. "I was scared at first to, but when I got closer and saw him reaching for us, I knew right away he belonged here. He needs to be loved as much as we deserved to be loved in this world. He is a gift not a curse, and I promise to help care for him devotedly. Please Lead Casper… Please?!"

"Stop getting your hopes up Mic." He knew the Miner wasn't trying to get on his nerves, but Casper still boasted with exasperation. "It. Is. Not. Going. To happen!"

"Wow!" A collection of excited gasps and cheerful awes echoed over to the living quarters. "Lead Casper! Come look at this!"

Peter was back in the kitchen before the other two, fearing that something might have happened when he left the Sparkling alone with the inexperienced troops. He eased on a long sigh, appeased to see everything was still in place. Casper was right behind the flyer and his reaction was less mollified as he glanced down again at the little abomination. This time its optics were wide open, and the lead Vehicon had to admit That even he found them to be rather striking. They were round and bright with multiple colors. Rare. Very rare amongst both Spark born Cybertronians or manufactured. Red, yellow, and green rings circled under tired and heavy optical shutters, melting every cold spark glancing down at them.

"Oh my…!" The Miner behind him gently murmured behind his digits. "His optics are beautiful…! Have you ever seen such pretty colors?"

"Um…" Casper's faceplate lightly flushed. Even he had become transfixed by such rare and tantalizing eyes, but he was very stubborn and wasn't going to fall for the bitty thing's charm as easily as his brethren. "S-Stop getting so attached… Peter is not leaving it here."

"But…" Another drone tried to speak up, but quickly he was rebuffed by his leader.

"No." Unfortunately for the lone mask-less Vehicon, his stand off was the start of a chain reaction and everyone around the table tried to get there opinion out.

"But…" Said two Eradicons to the left of the table.

"No."

"But…!" A Vehicon stood eagerly to the right.

"No."

"But… But!" A handful of Miners chirped in the background and bounced on there pedes. "But please…!"

"No! Everyone stop getting attached! Because it is not staying here—!"

"But we love him." Finally the drone still holding the Sparkling was able to speak up. "We want him to stay brother… Please. We will take care of him. Very good care of him. Please…?"

"Errrrr…!" Casper growled and pouted into his crossed arm struts. He was now pinned, because when it really came down to it, the lead drone really didn't have the confidence to strait up tell his group no. He turned around to face Peter once more, his face drawing on his exhaustion of this whole fiasco. "We are drones for Primus sake. We don't even know the first thing about raising Sparklings."

"Shockwave's exact words were to, take care of it… And you know what that actually means." Peter's words softened the lead drone's irritation, and the tension in his shoulder struts relaxed so he could listen further to the flyer's explanation. "I quickly searched for whatever source material I could find on Sparklings and how to care for them when their Bearer's cannot. You're group is the most caring and hardworking team around this area. I have full confidence you are all the best choice to help protect this lost little spark."

Peter couldn't stop smiling as he watched everyone gathered around the table. Everyone was fussing and cooing around the fresh life with such a natural sense of safeguarding. "If it can help, I will stay here for the first year and show you everything I have downloaded to my processor. What do you say?"

Casper sighed heavily and glanced back at his crew; a hint of guilt glittering in his yellow irises. Every single one of them worked so hard for him, and seldomly complained when often times they had good reason too. They deserved a reward; really anything they desired. His tired and frustrated optics slowly darted around the room and he noted every scar on their metal armor, every improperly healed fracture from the lack of medical knowledge, and the very few that had lost limbs in accidents but still went out to risk their functions. Not just for Shockwave, or for the war effort, but for him. Because his group respected him and trusted him with their functions every day. So if they could sacrifice so much for him for something so pointless as mining fuel they can never use, then make a few sacrifices himself and find a way to adjust to a life change.

"If you see fit to care for all of its needs and not let it affect our work… Then the little beast can stay."

"Woo-hoo!" A collection of troops cheered, some even hugging, or taking their masks off to kiss their partners to celebrate. The Eradicon holding the Sparkling nearly cried and carefully squeezed his wing strut to hold the tiny life close to his chassis. "We will take great care of him Casper! We promise! And we won't let it interfere with our duties whatsoever! For his sake, never!"

Peter laughed as he moved closer to the grounder who was still fuming in his sulking. They were very close once upon a time and he tempted fate by placing his servos amiably around Casper's arms and whispered into his audios.

"You're such a softy."

"I will end you."

A few months went by without incident and every drone kept their promise and took turns to take care of the Sparkling. No one had thought of a name for him yet because no one could agree on one, so in the meantime everyone just called him the baby, or sometimes others would ironically call him the bitty monster. Casper was just fine with the arrangement everyone planned out for the baby's care, and even the lead drone would step in every now and then to help. However, whenever it was his turn, he never really held the Sparkling for too long. He would feed it with long tubing on his feeding canister so he wouldn't have to cradle it in his arms. The Vehicon was never the squeamish type, so he didn't have an issue with cleaning the baby's exhaust port when needed, so the extent of their physical contact was him lifting the little beast up from under his arms. Casper would clean its paneling, then either put it back in the makeshift crib or hand it over to the next drone that wanted to play with the baby.

The lead drone of this small mining group was expecting things to be easy, but the difficulties of caring for such a vulnerable being was not as strenuous as he first thought. Not when there were plenty of other drones willing to help. The only thing that was starting to really bother Casper was how quickly the bitty monster was starting to grow. Almost a year later and it was starting to become mobile and verbal, and whatever chance it had, it would follow Casper around like a shadow on all fours.

"No baby! You can't follow me!" Casper never fully understood why it never bothered listening to him and constantly disobeyed his orders. He always thought processors and CPUs were instantly developed, and this bitty monster proved him wrong. "I am going to the mines to work! You stay here with Peter and... Do whatever it is babies do!"

"Meh! Meh-meh!" The sparkling mumbled, still too young to fully formulate words, but it didn't stop him from trying as he crawled over towards his bitter caretaker. "Bbbbbb-ra-ra! Bbbbb-ra!"

"Go away now! Shoo! Shoo!" Raising his servos, the short Vehicon shook them in the air, but the tiny thing was undeterred as it seemed to mimic Casper's movements. It smiled and giggled almost sweetly with his teeny fingers wiggling in front of his face. However, the Vehicon was not finding the humor in its teasing.

"Peter! It's mocking me now!"

"Get a grip Casper." Peter stepped between him and the Sparkling. The flyer didn't intend to sound snippy, but he was really getting tired of Casper's attitude towards a little Sparkling that couldn't and wasn't defending himself. The flyer picked up the sweet child and nuzzled his helm against his forehelm. The Sparkling giggled and nuzzled his giant friend back while making happy mumbling sounds. "And I know we haven't agreed on a name for him yet, but you can stop calling him it. He is a functioning Cybertronian like the rest of us, but because he's a spark born his development is going to be a little slower than ours. You're going to have to show him a little more patients."

"I don't have time for patients!" Casper grumbled while he reached for his equipment by the door. His crew had already left without him, meaning he was running late, and he hated when he was running late. Peter curled one of his servos behind the Sparkling's helm defensively. The higher official's caring nature reflecting his protective benevolence.

"You're going to have to find away to make time, since my time here is almost up." He bounced on his heels when the baby began to fuss from the lack of attention and stepped closer to the grounder to emphasize his point. "When I'm gone you really need to pick up the slack. You are going to have to actually hold him. Comfort him when he's upset or scared."

Casper just didn't want to even look at the bitty monster right now. It wasn't the Sparkling's fault he was in a bad mood right now, but he wasn't doing much to brighten his spirits. The lead drone was just about to storm out the door but was stopped by a small warm spot on his arm. Peter got close enough for the baby to touch him, and the most odd thing happened. Casper felt calmer and at ease, like a wave of heat fluttering over his metal.

"Sss-ss-ssss." The Sparkling fumbled on his words and seemed to try articulating them, but nothing came of it just yet. "Aaaaahh-ah… Aaaahh-ah-ssss… Ah?"

"K-keep practicing kid…" The grounder also fumbled, feeling flustered from his unusual reaction. "I have to go now… Everyone will be home by days end."

"Including you, Casper." The flyer addressed his dramatic friend with sternness once again. He found it necessary since Casper had a bad habit of working later then he should. Not that he was trying to shirk his responsibilities at the homestead, but because he worked constantly to the point of collapse. "It is your turn to help watch the baby while the other workers get to recharge, and some of the couples get to have some R&R together."

"I know." The Vehicon growled quietly. "I'll be home on time. Just make sure… He is in recharge by the time I get back, so I can nap."

"He'll be down by then, and I'll have his new formula mixed up for you—."

The doors slammed on his face before he noticed the lead drone was gone. Lucky for Peter, the bitty monster had his back.

"Thbbt!"

"Ha! You tell him, my little mech."

It was late when the group of drones returned to their living quarters. It was a very long and surprisingly eventful day. On the bright side, enough work had been done that Casper's group could have almost a week off. Unfortunately, for the lead drone, he would be spending it looking after the little devil. Peter assured Casper earlier that day he would be there to help when needed, but he wasn't going to coddle his teammate either.

Things were tame at first. The Sparkling was asleep for a while, but when he woke up, he sat in his makeshift playpen and played with homemade toys like a good boy. When he was hungry Casper even fed it the canister of low grade Peter prepared. Then he checked the baby's rear panel to see if it needed to be cleaned. Anything beyond that, the mid-digit didn't do much else, even when the Sparkling tried reaching for him.

"Meh-meh…" The tiny grounder mumbled. "Ssss-mmm… Meh?"

"Hush you." The taller grounder wiggled his finger at him. "Just play with your toys and wait for your other brothers to show up."

Casper walked over to his favorite chair and sat down to read his datapad in what little piece he had left. It was his normal routine with the bitty monster and generally it was quiet for the rest of their time together. But nearly a couple of hours later, the bitty monster began to make odd noises.

"Uh… Uhn… Ugh...!"

"Uh-oh..." Casper thought out loud, wondering if he did something to hurt it. "What...? What are you doing? Why are you making that noise?"

Carefully he lifted the little beast under its wheel bearings and picked him up with an arm's length between them. The Sparkling continued to make the odd noises and reached out for Casper; wiggling his itty-bitty digits for something from the adult drone, Casper just couldn't figure out what. When the little thing started to cry, the Vehicon panicked.

"Ah! Uh! Oh! Peter?! Peter?! The baby is leaking!"

"What?" Peter heard the commotion in the other room and when he walked in to check on his friend, he nearly laughed at the sight in front of him. Poor Casper, so confused.

"Stop snickering!" The panic stricken drone whimpered. "I need help! What do I do?! What do I do?!"

"Well for one thing, stop holding him like he's a live grenade." Peter finally took pity on his comrade and properly took hold of the Sparkling. He bounced the youngling gently in his arms and tried to sooth him with hushing sounds, but the poor little thing continued to cry.

"Did you feed him?" Peter asked while he gently blew exhaust over the Sparkling's faceplate, trying to distract him for just a brief moment.

"That's the first thing I did." Casper crooned as he rolled his optics.

"Did you clean his rear panel?"

"It was clean the last time I checked, and that wasn't that long ago."

It was a mystery to both of them now, since even Peter's knowledge was limited, but it didn't remain unsolved for long.

"Cass-Cass...!" The little thing muttered through hitched vocals and shocking his caretaker's. "Cass-Cass...! Ba... Bbbbb-Cass-Cass...!"

"Dear Primus…" The flyer gaped beneath his mask. "His first word… I think I figured out why he's fussing so much." Peter walked over to Casper and gently handed him the Sparkling. Some resistance was expected from his friend but was amazed when he received none. Casper practically scooped the youngling into his arms; dumbfounded by the strange feeling brewing in his tanks.

Once he was able to finally hug the Vehicon he wanted to be close too for weeks, the Sparkling instantly calmed down and nuzzled his face further into Casper's neckcables. Peter watched them both in awe, smiling receptor to receptor.

"You know... We haven't given this little guy a designation yet." He curled his digits over Casper's shoulder and squeezed it tenderly. "Since he has taken such a liking to you, we should name him after you... How does Caspian sound? Or Vehicon Drone CA-591-AN?"

"Sounds like you've been holding onto that thought since he got here." Casper smiled, but never looked away from the now sleeping babe in the crook of his arm strut. "But... It seems to suit him..."

"If you say so... Cass-Cass."

"Up yours, Pee-Pee."

"Ha!"

-END-