Hi folks! Thanks for the reviews, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, one of the main reasons is because after three and a half years, my laptop's motherboard went out a month ago. For those that don't know, the motherboard is the central part of the computer and controls pretty much everything; once it goes out, that's it, the computer is toast. The repair shop I took my laptop to was able to save the hard drive in addition to some other parts. All my files including my stories are in one piece on an external hard drive. Once I get my replacement laptop I'll be able to install the software and such I had on my old one. In the meantime, I'll be using other devices to type and update my stories. At this point, it will be three weeks before my new laptop arrives just posting it out here for anyone reading this. Trust me, once I get it, I'll be back to writing, so please hang in there.
Anyway… for those that had some questions from the first chapter…read on for the explanation! Just a heads up, this chapter has been divided because the original length was too long. Another thing is this story was mostly inspired by the Pound Puppies (2010 remake) episode: Mutternal Instincts. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching the episode, it's pretty good. Just run a search for the episode on Google and click on the video link under the site daily motion (note in the video there's a phone ringing at one point, don't know how to explain that). There's some great moments in this chapter…basically what's in here is the end result of me getting ideas from Bambi, The Land Before Time, Scruffy, (It's on YouTube, great 1980s animated special) and the Animal planet series,
Too Cute!
So, uh…moving on…
After drying off from patching up the roof, the kids and other autobots were at a loss of what to do next. Miko was leaning over the left side of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. A minute later, she turned her attention towards Jack and the others.
"Can't believe it's still raining but at least we don't have school tomorrow."
Smokescreen frowned.
"You don't?" he asked.
"Nope, there's a flash flood warning so we have the day off until further notice." Jack explained.
"That's just great," Ratchet said in a sarcastic tone.
He was then alerted by the sound of footsteps. Arcee entered the room after drying herself off. As usual, the kids were on the couch, Ratchet was checking the computer monitors, typing on the keyboard once in a while; then there was Smokescreen, Wheeljack and Bumblebee, sitting around with nothing better to do. It took four large towels for Bulkhead to completely dry off the excess rain water.
"So did I miss anything?" Arcee asked.
"No, not really. Smokescreen nearly lost his footing up on the roof but aside from that…nothin'" said Wheeljack.
Ratchet looked away from the computer monitor, joining in the conversation.
"How 'bout you?"
"Well, for starters I…" Arcee was interrupted by a faint yelp.
"What was that?" Bulkhead asked, suddenly ending his conversation with Miko, Raf and Jack.
"What are you talking about?" Arcee replied, frowning at her teammate.
"That noise," Bulkhead answered.
Suddenly feeling nervous, Arcee shifted her weight to the left side of the crate she had sat down on.
"Uh…What noise?"
She then heard a cry coming from down the hallway. Arcee froze, she knew the only one making that noise had to be Crimson.
"Excuse me," said Bulkhead, before he left to investigate.
"Wait up!" Arcee called and went after him.
The other bots and humans just stared down the hallway, obviously confused. Ratchet then followed Arcee and Bulkhead. The olive green mech went in the direction of where the sound was coming from and stopped at Arcee's dorm room. He opened the door and looked around. It didn't take long for him to spot a pair of lapis blue eyes staring at him.
"Well, who are you?" he asked.
Crimson whined, no longer able to hide under snow leopard print blanket on Arcee's bed. Bulkhead gave her a friendly smile and rubbed her head. Crimson yelped in surprise but then started to purr.
"Uh, who's kid is this?" he wondered.
Moments later, Arcee rushed in nearly knocking Bulkhead over in the process. Ratchet followed her into the room shortly after.
"Are you ok?" she asked Crimson as she picked her up.
"Sorry I left you so long."
"Wait a second…" Bulkhead started to say.
"This sparkling is yours?!" Ratchet asked.
Bulkhead scratched his head, puzzled by this.
"That's weird, 'cause you didn't look pregnant."
"No, she's not mine… I found her." Arcee answered.
"Found who?" Smokescreen asked, he had gone to investigate with Wheeljack not far behind. His eyes widened when he saw Crimson in Arcee's arms.
"No way! You and Optimus had a sparkling?"
"No Smokescreen, she's not mine and Optimus isn't my mate." Said Arcee.
Crimson was fidgeting slightly, unsure of being around Smokescreen.
"If you actually stuck around during some of our conversations, you'd know my sister, Elita is his mate." Arcee explained.
"O…K," was all Smokescreen could say. It was true, he did have a habit of running out for a drive or spending time with the kids whenever Arcee and the other bots talked.
"Also, Optimus and Elita have a son, Rodimus and he's probably not that much older than you." Ratchet added.
"If that's true, how come he and his Mom aren't here?" Smokescreen asked.
"That's because her team stayed behind, there weren't a lot of rescue bots to help look for folks that went missing. So…" Bulkhead trailed off and lowered his head.
"We haven't heard from them in ages. A lot of our friends lost contact with us when we got separated."
He remembered when Cybertron had been evacuated after it had been declared uninhabitable, the only ones allowed to stay behind were search and rescue teams. Anyone else that wasn't on a team gathered whatever belongings they could and left. One by one, both Autobots and Decepticons eventually went their separate ways, Bulkhead had been part of one of the last groups to leave. Family, friends, co-workers and neighbors were soon gone. Smokescreen frowned, he had lost contact with some of the mechs and femmes he grew up with but hoped to find them again.
"I see…" he said.
"All right, what's all this racket?" Wheeljack asked as he walked in.
He then spotted Crimson who was staring at the other mechs, feeling both curious and afraid.
"What's with the kid?"
"That's what I'd like to know…where'd it come from?" Smokescreen asked.
Wheeljack looked at Smokescreen nervously.
"Well," he started to say, rubbing the back of his neck. Smokescreen then cut him off, holding both hands up.
"Never mind!" he shouted.
"Better question is how did it end up here?"
Ratchet looked over at Arcee, who wasn't quite sure how explain how Crimson ended up in her room without anyone noticing. She knew she'd have to say something but hadn't quite figured it out yet.
"Something you'd like to tell us?" Ratchet asked.
Arcee grinned nervously, this scene couldn't get any more awkward than it already was.
"Ok, you are probably going to laugh at this one…I found her in that box Raf brought here." Arcee explained.
Bulkhead raised an eyebrow, he was just as confused as the others.
"Really?"
Arcee nodded, it was the best way she could think of to explain how Crimson got there.
"Well, now we know why that box was marked fragile." Said Ratchet.
"Let me take a look at her,"
Crimson whimpered as Ratchet approached and Arcee handed her over to him. It was hard enough for her that she had been left all alone now she was being held by another autobot she just met.
"Her?" Smokescreen asked, tilting his head.
"Yes, it's a girl." Arcee answered.
Crimson whined loudly, she didn't like Ratchet examining her one bit.
"It's ok, Crimson." Arcee said softly, assuring the newborn sparkling that everything was all right.
"You named her?" Bulkhead asked.
"Nope, that's what was on the note in the box, I guess her parents dropped her off." Arcee explained.
Ratchet continued to examine Crimson, checking her eyes, limbs and everything else. Though to find out her weight he would have to use the scale in the medical bay. It took some doing but he managed to pry her mouth open using his thumb and index finger. The interior was dark pink, with no dental plates. It would be several months before Crimson started teething. She stuck out her small blue-black tongue, after Ratchet finished checking her mouth. A short scan showed her body temperature was a normal 103.8.
"She's very young, probably two days old. Now, I'm not a pediatrician but she seems healthy and from the looks of it, her mother more than likely had her before her estimated due date." Said Ratchet.
He noticed that Crimson was slightly smaller than a full term sparkling and was rather slim. After struggling in Ratchet's arms, she stopped and looked at him.
"What?" he asked, staring back at her.
Crimson cooed and smiled, a moment ago she had been nervous now she was relaxed. Arcee couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"I think she likes you," she told Ratchet.
Ratchet glanced at Crimson who was still watching him. The orange and white scoffed and looked away.
"Sure," he muttered.
"No, I mean it." Said Arcee.
Crimson tried to curl up in Ratchet's arms, purring softly. She felt warm and safe while he held her. It wasn't long before Bulkhead and the guys took notice.
"Aww,"
Ratchet gave them a firm look, which made the trio flinch and back up.
"Here," he said, handing Crimson back to Arcee.
"She really likes you, 'Cee." Bulkhead pointed out, seeing Crimson was extremely calm.
"I noticed... probably because I've been watching her." Said Arcee as she looked at the sparkling in question.
"Let me guess, you were the first thing she saw when you opened that box." Ratchet concluded.
"Right," Arcee replied.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Smokescreen asked.
"Well, considering Crimson has obviously been away from her parents for…who knows how long, it looks like Arcee's maternal instincts have kicked in." Ratchet answered.
"Meaning?" Smokescreen continued.
Ratchet felt like slapping himself but held back from doing so.
"It's not uncommon for a femme to care for a sparkling that isn't hers." He said.
"Didn't you learn anything in social studies or biology, kid?" Wheeljack asked.
Smokescreen simply shrugged his shoulders with an 'I don't know' expression. It was plain as day that he didn't know much about how the maternal bond between a mother and her offspring worked. Crimson yelped playfully at Bulkhead, she was gradually getting used to the rest of the team.
"Was there anything else in the box besides Crimson?" Ratchet asked after a minute.
"Just a tarp, the note I mentioned and a tablet. I'll show you," Arcee offered and went ahead of the others.
As they walked down the hallway, Smokescreen looked at Crimson for a few minutes before he spoke.
"Any clue how we're gonna explain this to Optimus or Ultra Magnus?"
"It would have to be when he's in a good mood." Arcee answered.
"Yeah, a really good mood. Magnus can have a short temper at times but I think Optimus will understand why you've taken care of Crimson." said Bulkhead.
A moment later, they were all back in the main room.
"Where you been?" Jack asked as the bots sat down.
"Yeah, you guys took off and..." Miko stopped short when she saw a small blue and red femme next to Arcee.
"Whoa! Who's that?"
"This is Crimson," Arcee replied.
She turned around noticing the sparkling trying to hide.
"They're not going to hurt you, girl." Arcee assured her.
Crimson stuck her head out from behind her caretaker and squeaked curiously at Miko and the others.
"Aw," was all the exchange student could say. She went to get a closer look which made Crimson yelp and duck behind Arcee.
"What'd I do?" Miko asked, feeling that she did something wrong.
"Nothing, Miko...she's never seen humans before, Crimson's a sparkling." Arcee answered.
Jack frowned.
"Which is?"
"A really young Cybertronian." Bulkhead replied.
"Right, like how cats have kittens, dogs have puppies...you humans have...well, you get the idea." said Arcee.
"Where did she come from?" Raf asked as he adjusted his glasses.
"Yeah, I don't remember you saying you were a Mom, Arcee." said Jack.
"I'm not, Crimson was in that box," Arcee explained, pointing at it with her thumb.
Miko was rather skeptical.
"Seriously?"
Arcee nodded.
Crimson poked her head out from her hiding place and looked at the kids before she hid a second time.
Arcee gently rubbed her head.
"She's shy,"
"Is it ok, if we...?" Raf started to ask.
"Sure, she can't see very well so you'll have to get close." Arcee answered.
As the young humans approached, Crimson glanced at Arcee, feeling apprehensive about the whole thing.
"It's all right," the cobalt blue femme told her.
"Yeah, c'mon you can trust us." said Miko.
Crimson sniffed the kids, letting out a puzzled squeak.
Jack, Miko and Raf couldn't help but laugh.
Crimson purred happily as Miko rubbed her head.
"She sounds like my cats."
The trio was taken aback by how soft Crimson's armor was. Unlike adults, sparklings started out with armor that was soft but gradually became harder as they got older.
"How come she can't see well? Is something wrong?" Raf asked.
"No, Raf; she's just a newborn that's all." said Arcee.
"Right, sparklings can only see things up to five feet away for the first two weeks. They're also colorblind, but after that it'll clear up and she'll be able to see in color but..." Ratchet stopped short.
"For now, she mostly recognizes everyone by scent and voice." Arcee finished.
"Oh," was the reply from all three kids.
"She is nice though" Miko said with a smile.
"Hey!" Miko yelled when she felt Crimson pull her ponytail.
"That's another thing, sparklings are curious...about everything around them." Bulkhead pointed out.
"I see," said Miko as she yanked her ponytail out of Crimson's mouth.
Like human infants and puppies, sparklings had a habit of using their mouths to explore, if it wasn't something they liked, he or she would spit it out.
Miko took her ponytail and rang out the saliva like coolant that was dripping from it. While she liked hanging out with the autobots, this was too much.
"Not cool!" she said.
Crimson simply blinked and nuzzled Miko, catching the girl off guard.
"What the…?"
Raf grinned.
"She likes us."
He scratched Crimson behind her left audio receptor. This made the little female smile and was no different than scratching a dog's ears.
"Ok, so how'd Crimson end up in that box? Last time I checked, bots weren't available on mail order." Said Miko.
"Don't know," Smokescreen replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Maybe someone left her there." Raf suggested.
"Yeah, but who?" Jack wondered.
"Probably her parents. Crimson is just two days old, normally she'd be with her mother but...since she isn't..." Arcee trailed off as she watched the blue and red sparkling who seemed fascinated by Raf's glasses.
"I've been looking after her." Arcee finished.
"You?" Smokescreen said with a laugh.
"You find something funny about that?" Arcee asked as she folded her arms in front of her chest.
"Uh, yeah...you aren't exactly the motherly type."
"I'm aware of that but…" Arcee stopped short when Crimson whined, wanting to be picked up.
"How can you say no to a face like this?" she asked, holding the little sparkling out to Smokescreen.
"You made your point," he said in a dull tone.
Crimson blinked twice, rather confused by Smokescreen's tone.
Arcee nuzzled her cheek affectionately. Crimson let out a small yawn, mostly from feeling somewhat bored. She allowed herself to relax, resting her head on Arcee's chest.
"Is she always like that?" Wheeljack asked, he had seen quite a few sparklings before but none as mild tempered as Crimson.
"For the most part," was Arcee's reply.
"Aren't you?"
Crimson looked at the adult femme and tilted her head in response. Everyone laughed, for a bot that couldn't talk just yet Crimson did get her point across using facial expressions. They all stopped when they heard the sound of two large engines which seemed to be coming from the tunnel.
"Sounds like Boss-bot and Magnus are back." Said Bulkhead.
Arcee swallowed hard and put Crimson down, next to Jack and the others.
"Stay here," she said.
Moments later, two familiar blue and red big rig trucks drove up one a Peterbilt 379 and the other a Kenworth.
"Welcome back" Wheeljack greeted them before Optimus and Ultra Magnus switched from their alt-modes.
"So, how was Maine?" Bulkhead asked.
"Cold, and don't get me started on the fog." Ultra Magnus replied in a rather frank tone before shaking the rain water off his denim blue armor.
Optimus gave him an odd look, while Ultra Magnus took his job seriously, there were times where he did exaggerate. He too shook himself and spoke.
"Excuse Ultra Magnus, the fog wasn't that thick."
The two of them had returned from assisting the rescue bots in Maine prepare for a super storm that was due to make landfall later that week.
"We've had a long day," said Optimus.
"Anything happen while we were gone?"
"Actually, there was…" Ratchet stopped short when Crimson started yelping.
Optimus quickly spotted the sparkling and raised an eyebrow.
Arcee whimpered softly and tried to walk out, hoping nobody would see her but it was too late.
"Arcee,"
The femme gulped.
"What is this?" Optimus asked.
"Looks like a sparkling to me," said Ultra Magnus, he went up to Crimson to get a better look. His voice and massive size was intimidating to her. Crimson whined fearfully and hid behind Jack, Miko and Raf.
Optimus and Ultra Magnus looked at each other, then at the rest of the team.
"Care to explain?" Magnus asked.
Arcee looked at Ratchet and the others nervously, all of them nervous about giving an explanation.
Moments later…
"I'll admit that is rather strange...now, the question is what do we do with…this?" Ultra Magnus asked as he pointed at Crimson.
The group had just finished telling him and Optimus what happened while the two were gone earlier that afternoon.
"Well, Arcee's been taking care of her, I suppose the rest of us could help out." Said Bulkhead.
Ultra Magnus looked skeptical.
"You?" he sputtered and scoffed at Bulkhead's reply.
"You can't even watch a hamster."
"Hey, it wasn't that bad. We found him before Jack and Miko had to take him back to school." Smokescreen pointed out.
About a month ago, Jack and Miko were given the job of looking after their classroom's pet hamster for the weekend. During that time, he got out of his cage and was missing for several hours until they found him in one of the storage bins where Ratchet kept some of his tools. Ultra Magnus wasn't easily convinced.
"That's my point if you can't keep up with a rodent, what makes you think you can look after a sparkling?" he asked.
Wheeljack stepped in, like the others he obviously wasn't keen on what Ultra Magnus said.
"We keep an eye on the humans just fine…sure, there's been a few…slip ups, but we can handle it." Wheeljack insisted.
Optimus looked at Crimson then at Arcee.
"Arcee…"
"I don't mind, really. She won't be a problem." The blue femme told him.
"All right, then." Said Optimus.
"Until we can find out more about where Crimson from, she's staying with us."
Ultra Magnus froze, his mouth was hanging open. Did he hear what he thought he heard?
"Are you serious?!"
"I wouldn't allow them to do this if I didn't think they could handle it." Said Optimus.
"If you say so," Ultra Magnus muttered and walked away.
He passed by Crimson who yelped when she saw him.
"I still believe you're making a mistake." said Ultra Magnus.
Arcee narrowed her sky blue eyes and went up to him, she was just inches away from his face.
"Look, Magnus I promised Crimson I'd take care of her and that's what I'm going to do...and if you don't like it, then keep your opinion to yourself!" Arcee growled.
She picked up Crimson and went back over to Jack, Miko and Raf.
Ultra Magnus stood there in shock, he had never had anyone speak to him that way accept for Discharge, a female rescue bot he had met once. He turned towards Optimus, who was rather surprised.
"Are you just going to let her get away with that?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"For now," Optimus replied.
Ultra Magnus snorted and walked away.
"What's up with you?" Bulkhead asked.
"Me? I could ask you the same thing, why do you all want to help that runt so badly?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"Because it's the right thing, that's why." Said Ratchet.
"And don't ever call her a runt again!"
The next day…
Ratchet was by his computer examining the iPad like tablet that had been in Crimson's box. He paused when he heard footsteps approaching. Moments later, Arcee walked up holding the blue and red femme.
"Oh, it's you." The orange and white mech said in a dull tone.
Crimson squeaked and smiled at him.
"How'd she do on her first night?" Ratchet asked.
"Fine…though it took half an hour before she felt relaxed enough to fall asleep." Arcee replied.
"Can you believe Ultra Magnus? Referring to Crimson like she's some…object."
"I know and on top of that, he called her a runt." Ratchet confessed.
"Well, I don't care what he thinks of her, she needs our help." Said Arcee.
Ratchet nodded.
"Let me see her for a moment,"
"Why?" Arcee asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ultra Magnus insisted I run a test on Crimson, to make sure she's not a Decepticon or at least half of one." Ratchet explained.
"What? That's ridiculous." Arcee replied.
"That's what I told him," said Ratchet.
He then took Crimson from Arcee and placed her on his desk. Taking a cotton swab and dipping it into some oil, Ratchet held it up to Crimson's mouth. She sniffed it and licked the tip.
"That's all I needed. Be right back." Said Ratchet who left the room, heading towards the medical bay.
Later…
"Well, she's definitely not a Decepticon…" Ratchet announced.
It only took him a few minutes to get the results from what was obviously a DNA test.
"She's…not?" Ultra Magnus asked.
Ratchet shook his head.
"Nope, she's all bot."
Ultra Magnus looked over at Crimson who was with the kids.
"Hmph!" he scoffed and headed for the entrance, a second later he switched to his alt mode and drove off.
It took a while but Ratchet managed to get the tablet working, what he saw on it shocked him.
"Get over here, quick!" he shouted.
"What is it?" Bulkhead asked.
"I think…these are Crimson's parents." Ratchet said.
He turned the tablet around allowing everyone to see it.
Both humans and autobots were stunned.
"You're right!" Arcee exclaimed.
On the tablet's screen was a photo of two Cybertronians, the femme was crimson red with carrot orange markings on her forehead and wrists. She also crystal blue eyes. The mech was brick red with charcoal black markings around his face and the top of his head as well as his wrists. His eyes were lapis blue just like Crimson. The sparkling in question was sitting between the two bots who were smiling in the photo.
"I know those two anywhere, that's Firestar and Inferno." Said Bulkhead.
"And…who were they?" Jack asked.
"They're friends of ours, they were the heads of the rescue team in Crystal city." Bulkhead explained.
"Both of them stayed behind to help out since rescue bots were few and far between." Ratchet added.
Crimson stared at the photo for a long time as if she was in deep thought.
"You think she remembers them?" Miko asked, looking at Arcee, Jack and Raf.
Crimson whimpered, placing her left hand on the screen.
"I'd say so." Said Raf.
As Ratchet went through the documents on the tablet; he came across information on Crimson's birth. Included was the day she was born, her weight and other details. Arcee read a journal entry that was written by Firestar:
Inferno and I came here after we had been told that Optimus and several other autobots had relocated to this galaxy. After months of traveling, we haven't made contact with anyone to confirm if this was true or just a rumor.
Since then, we recently became the parents of a sparkling we've named Crimson. Everything was fine up until two days ago when we were nearly spotted by humans hiking in the woods. To keep from getting caught, we had to leave our shuttle and head for the nearest town.
By the time you read this, we will be long gone, whoever finds this box please look after our daughter Crimson, we will come back for her once all this has blown over.
There was a moment of silence before Bulkhead sniffled.
"Wow, that's the saddest story I've ever heard."
Wheeljack wiped his eyes, which made Smokescreen frown.
"Dude, are you crying?"
"No!" Wheeljack snapped.
Bumblebee lowered his head and sighed.
He and Wheeljack didn't want to admit that they could relate to Crimson missing her parents, having lost theirs when they were young.
Bulkhead glanced at Crimson and rubbed her head.
"Poor kid,"
"I wonder what happened?" said Raf.
Flashback begins…
"Firestar, come 'on we gotta go!" said Inferno.
He stood near the firehouse that had once been the place where he worked. The building was now empty and the windows had been broken. After a large fire had broke out in a nearby oil refinery, most of downtown Crystal City had burned down. Many of the surrounding buildings were damaged and needed repairs in the worst way.
"Are you sure about this?" the red and orange femme asked.
"It's better than nothing." Inferno replied.
"Yeah…but… I'm nervous, Inferno." Firestar confessed.
"I know… so am I, still… what have we got to lose?" Inferno asked.
Firestar sighed.
"You got a point," she said.
"C'mon, let's moving." Inferno told her.
"Oh, you two ain't goin' nowhere!" said a voice.
"Not them again," Inferno groaned.
"Oil-Slick, back off."
"We just want to leave," said Firestar.
"Why is that?" Oil-Slick asked.
Inferno pinched the space between his eyes.
"Oh for…look around, the city is deserted! There's nothin' left here."
"Ya think I don't know that?!" the black and olive green mech exclaimed.
"I've been waiting to get off this rock for weeks! But no…my boss insists I stay at least another month."
"Well, right now we're leaving…sorry." Said Firestar.
"Not as sorry as you're gonna be," a red snow crab like mech, Clampdown told her.
"Sic'em!"
A dinobot resembling a Velociraptor, snarled and came forward. The mech was charcoal black and platinum with bright red eyes. The bot, Reptron had once been part of Grimlock's group but was kicked out due to his temperament problem and complaints from several Autobots and a few Decepticons. Firestar yelped and backed up, before Reptron could do anything else, two silhouettes ran by, one emerald green and the other sky blue.
"You two get goin'!" said Grimlock.
"We've got this," Blurr assured them.
Both Inferno and Firestar didn't have to think twice before running off.
"Why you…" Oil-Slick growled.
"Hold it!" Blurr shouted.
"What for?" Reptron asked.
"You guys got insurance, right?" Blurr replied.
Oil-Slick, Clampdown and Reptron looked at each other then back at the two mechs in front of them. All three were dumbfounded by the young bot's question.
"Uh, sure, why?" Clampdown asked.
He was instantly on alert when he heard Blurr cracking his knuckles.
"Trust me, you're gonna need it when we get through with you." Grimlock answered.
He and Blurr smiled at the trio.
All three 'cons grinned nervously before they took off. Both Grimlock and Blurr watched the trio make their exit before they busted out laughing.
"I'm crazy, ain't I?" Grimlock asked.
"You said it," Blurr replied.
Later…
"Phew! That was close, Blurr and Grimlock really saved our skins back there." Said Inferno.
Firestar nodded.
"That they did,"
Their shuttle had taken off some time ago, all they had was a few of their belongings, some supplies and each other. Firestar looked out a nearby window, she could see the skyline of Crystal City. As the sun rose on the east end, the city's skyscraper's glistened in the day light.
"Oh, Inferno can you believe it? We're finally free from Oil-Slick."
"Yes," he sighed and nuzzled Firestar.
The Decepticon had been following them for almost a week, before that, there were several bots that had been reported as missing. Among them were Discharge, Sunstreaker, Flashpoint and dozens of others. Firestar and Inferno had heard that Oil-Slick might have been behind it but anyone that had gone after him to confirm if it was true never came back.
"What now?" Firestar asked.
Inferno glanced out the window not sure of what to do next.
"I have no idea…" he said.
Firestar shook her head and looked back towards Crystal City which was off in the distance.
"Look, I don't know what we'll find out there but it's gotta better than this." Said Inferno.
"I hope you're right," Firestar said as she nuzzled her mate.
"C'mon, I'm always right," Inferno insisted.
Firestar looked out the window once more, the shuttle was getting further and further away from their hometown.
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
Several months later…
Firestar yawned as she woke up and stretched her limbs.
"Sheesh!"
It didn't take long for her to notice Inferno wasn't in the room. The red and orange femme shook herself before she got up to look for him.
"There you are, when did you get up?" she asked, once she found him at the shuttle's control panel.
"About half an hour ago." Was the reply Firestar got back.
She and Inferno had been in power-down mode for a while, it was similar to certain mammals who went into hibernation for months at time. Currently, Inferno was studying a map that had been sent to the shuttle's GPS system.
"Where'd that come from?" Firestar asked.
"It's a map…to a place called… Earth…this has to be where Optimus Prime and his team relocated to." Inferno concluded.
"So it's true!" Firestar exclaimed.
Months ago, they had heard about Optimus Prime's team relocating to Earth, a map had been sent out to those that had evacuated. To keep the Decepticons from finding out, the directions were only given to groups that had been told to leave Cybertron. In Firestar and Inferno's case, they stayed behind and would have to wait until the map was sent to their shuttle's computer. Sure enough, when Inferno woke up and checked, said directions had been forwarded and downloaded to the GPS.
"Now we just have to get there…" said Inferno.
Firestar groaned, pressing her right hand against her eyes.
"Oh, swell…"
Several weeks later…
Inferno checked the map for the umpteenth time and nearly fell over when he realized they were only a few light years away from Earth, their shuttle had entered the Milky Way galaxy not too long ago but they still were a good distance away from being home free.
"Oh yeah, now we're talkin'!" he said with a smile.
Inferno looked over at his mate and noticed she had been quiet all day.
"You all right?"
"I'm fine…" she tried to stand up but quickly sat back down, feeling weak. She swallowed hard and was shaking slightly.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Inferno asked.
Firestar didn't say anything.
"Come 'on, let's get you some place to rest."
He helped Firestar up and took her back to their room. Firestar stretched out on the bed, still weak and exhausted.
"I don't know what's come over me, Inferno. I feel so…I don't know." Said Firestar.
"You take it easy, Firestar…we're ok here." Inferno assured her.
Four days later, the two rescue bots got the surprise of their lives.
"Wow, somebody's feeling better." Said Inferno noticing Firestar was on her feet and looking like her old self.
"Yeah," she said.
"I know it's been tough bein' cooped up in this tin can but it won't last long." Inferno told her.
"Phew! Good thing the three of us won't be stuck here." Said Firestar.
"What the…? Firestar there's only two of…" Inferno froze and thought about what she told him. Did he hear right? Three?
"Back up…wait a minute…are you saying that…you're…?"
Firestar looked at him sheepishly. Next thing she knew Inferno was hugging her. She twitched when she heard a faint snapping noise.
"Uh, you hear that? That's my spine." She said in a raspy voice.
"Sorry, this is great news!" Inferno told her.
He then noticed his mate wasn't smiling.
"What is it, Firestar?"
"I don't know…we're a long way from home and…" She stopped short and looked away.
"I'm not really sure I can love this sparkling."
Inferno's smile turned into a frown. He went up to Firestar, pressing his cheek against hers. The two of them sat there, for a while.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Four months later…
Firestar was in the last month of her pregnancy, much to Inferno's surprise and disappointment her feelings towards their unborn offspring didn't change much. Even when the sparkling started to kick during the second month, she ignored it. Shortly after that, an ultrasound showed the little one was a female. After all that, Firestar had no interest whatsoever in the tiny creature that was growing inside of her. Several times Inferno had asked her about picking out names and the answer was always the same…
"We've got to name her something…what about…?"
Inferno was cut off.
"Forget it!" Firestar growled.
"You know she can hear us, right?" Inferno reminded her.
"So what?" Firestar scoffed.
"Maybe you should try talking to her," Inferno suggested.
"What?" Firestar answered with a fake laugh.
"That's ridiculous!"
Inferno rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, can't say I didn't try." He muttered.
Later on, Firestar was laying down, being pregnant she slept more than usual. Just then, she realized something, the sparkling wasn't moving! She turned over onto her back, feeling a little concerned.
"You ok in there, girl?" she asked.
Firestar stared at her distended stomach for a minute before she felt and saw some movement. For the first time since she found out she was pregnant, the red and orange autobot smiled. She stroked her mid-section, feeling her daughter's movement.
"I'm…sorry about what I said," she apologized.
Firestar purred softly for a few seconds.
"Now if I could just figure out what to call you." She sighed.
One week later, after traveling for so long, Inferno and Firestar's shuttle had finally arrived at its stop.
"Firestar, wake up we're here!" he shouted.
Said femme woke up, rubbing her eyes.
"Already?" she asked.
Looking out the window next to their bed, Firestar's jaw dropped at the site. The planet just outside was mostly dark blue, the continents on it were a mix of grass green and clay brown. The northern and southern ends were covered with large patches of ice. White clouds covered the planet giving it a marbled appearance. Within moments, the shuttle landed in a redwood forest. Sometime later, two figures stepped outside. Inferno and Firestar looked around, both of them picked up the sound of birds singing. The air smelled like rain, dirt and pine trees.
"Well…this is it." Said Inferno, looking at the blue sky above them.
"So, this is where Aero-bot's team came ages ago." Firestar concluded.
"Yep, the history museum back home had nothin' on this." Inferno admitted.
Aero-bot was the leader of a group called the Go-bots. They were the founders of what would later become the Rescue bots. They had many adventures over the years, one of them included being the first Cybertronians to visit Earth. Firestar and Aero-bot were cousins, but were eight generations apart. She and Inferno had met Aero-bot once, hearing of his adventures inspired her to become a Rescue bot at a young age, during that time she had met Inferno, the duo became friends and later mates once they reached adulthood.
"What are we waiting for? Let's take a look around."
"Inferno we just got here…if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna go lay down…I'm feeling kind of tired." Said Firestar, she was about to go back indoors but collapsed on the way.
"Firestar!" Inferno shouted.
A short time later, she woke up in their room on the shuttle.
"Wha…what happened?" she sputtered.
"You fell over, that's what." Inferno explained.
Firestar yelped when she felt a cramp in her midsection.
"Inferno, I…don't think I can travel for a while." She said.
"How come?" the red mech asked.
"I probably have a couple of weeks before our daughter gets here…if we left to find Optimus and the others that came here…the sparkling could be born too soon." Firestar answered.
Inferno nodded, he understood completely, the last thing he wanted was for their offspring to be born premature.
"I understand…it can wait, besides…I doubt there's anyone for miles around."
Inferno yelled in fear when he heard something near the window, he looked up and saw a gray fox squirrel eating a blackberry.
Firestar couldn't help but snicker. If there was one thing she needed right now, it was a good laugh.
1 week later…
4:30am…
Inferno sat up on the right side of the bed. Because Firestar wasn't able to leave the shuttle, he stayed to keep an eye on her. She spent most of the day in bed, hardly getting up. He was eager to see more than just the same stretch of forest outside their door. The brick red and black mech was getting restless. By the same token, he was excited and nervous that Firestar's estimated due date was soon. Although they were both rescue bots and knew some basic first aid, birth was a different story. Because they had no way of contacting Flashpoint, First Aid or anyone else they knew in the medical field; Inferno and Firestar were entirely on their own. In an effort to get over his boredom, Inferno decided to go out.
"Hey, you awake?" he asked.
Firestar turned over to face him, not exactly easy with her stomach being pronounced.
"I am now," she replied in a drowsy tone and rubbed her eyes.
"What is it?"
"Listen, I'm going out for a while…you get some rest…I'll be back later." Inferno explained.
"'Kay," said Firestar, she nuzzled his cheek before he got up and left.
Shortly after that Firestar closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
1 hour later…
It was still dark outside and another hour before the sun would be up. Although Firestar was a heavy sleeper, this time was different. She opened one eye and saw Inferno was still gone. After a few seconds, Firestar was about to doze off when she felt a sharp pain in her lower back.
"What the…?" she wondered.
The femme felt more pain and realized it wasn't going away. She was having contractions!
"No, can't be!" Firestar said to herself.
She began to pant and despite the state she was in, Firestar cracked a brief smile.
"It's you isn't it?" she wondered, looking at her stomach and felt her sparkling move slightly.
"Thought so."
Firestar shouted as her contractions continued. After a few minutes of trying to get comfortable, she found that laying on her left side helped. Though she had made an attempt to call Inferno on his comm link, all Firestar got was static. The female rescue bot waited as she went into labor.
6:30am…
Firestar panted heavily, she was exhausted from pushing. Unlike humans who had sweat glandes on their entire bodies, Cybertronians only had them on hands and feet. Right now, Firestar was dripping with sweat like coolant. She wanted it to be over with already and was yelping loudly. Fifteen minutes later, the pain was gone; Firestar then felt something warm next to her.
Pulling back the blanket that covered her up, she saw what looked like an amniotic sac laying there at her feet. She had done it, she gave birth all by herself, with no one around and without any pain medication. Firestar snapped out of being in shock when it moved. Acting quickly, she picked up the sac and grabbed a razor blade out of the first aid kit she kept near her nightstand. Firestar carefully cut open the sac and pulled out the tiny sparkling inside. As soon as she felt cold air on her metallic skin, the newborn whimpered before letting out a cry. After two hours of pushing, the tiny Cybertronian came into the world. Using the supplies from the kit, Firestar managed to clean up her daughter. The little female yelped after the umbilical cord had been tied off and cut. Firestar then wrapped her up in a cream colored towel and held her. She was still shocked that the newborn she was holding was her daughter. The little one was mostly midnight blue though the markings on her wrists and ankles were crimson red just like her mother. Her eyes were still closed and probably wouldn't open until later. As her mother's body heat warmed her up, the sparkling's cries were reduced to whimpering. Firestar watched as the newborn slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times and saw her mother for the very first time.
Letting out a series of squeaks, she made eye contact with the adult female.
"You're the most wonderful little thing I've ever seen… how could I ever think I wouldn't love you?" Firestar said to her.
She brought the newborn closer to her and nuzzled the little one's cheek. Firestar looked out the window, the glass was covered in rain drops from last night's storm. She watched the sunrise, purring happily.
Later...
Firestar sighed and sat back, she glanced at the blue and red sparkling who was now an hour old.
"That's my girl," said Firestar as her newborn daughter suckled.
She smiled for a minute, even though she was worn out.
"I hope Inferno comes back soon...won't he be surprised to see you."
Firestar continued to watch her daughter as she nursed, then it hit her…she and Inferno still hadn't named her yet!
"What am I going to call you, anyway?"
Firestar laid there trying to think of a good name.
'Blaze?' she thought then shook her head.
'Sunset?'
Firestar shook her head once more.
"No, that wouldn't work."
She snapped out of her train of thought, when her daughter had stopped suckling and yawned. Firestar then took a minute to lower the left side of her chest plate. She noticed the young female had settled down quite a bit. Taking a look at her, Firestar noticed the resemblance. Aside from the midnight blue coloring, her daughter's markings were the exact same shade of red as hers. Because her cousin Aero-bot as well as a few other relatives were various shades of blue, she assumed that her daughter's coloring was hereditary.
Firestar sighed, coming up with a name was harder than she thought.
"What am I going to call you?"
"Let's see…you're crimson just like me and…" Firestar paused and got an idea.
"That's it! I'll call you Crimson."
Firestar grinned as Crimson wrapped her tiny left hand around her index finger.
"Yeah, I'm your Mom."
For the first time in her life, Crimson purred. Firestar kissed her on the forehead and nuzzled Crimson affectionately.
"Welcome to the world."
Sometime later that morning, Inferno returned to the landing site. His tires were covered in mud from driving on the forest trails which were soaked with rain. Switching to bot-mode he stood outside the shuttle and shook himself before going in.
"Firestar, I'm back," he said.
Inferno noticed she didn't reply.
"Where'd you go?"
"Back here," a female voice called.
Inferno then went towards their room, which was in the back end of the shuttle. As a precaution, Firestar had made sure to get rid of any evidence that she had given birth. It would take a few days for her to fully recover. At the moment, she was sore and exhausted from the whole episode.
"Sorry I was out so long, you wouldn't believe the size of this forest…there's a town not far from here, took me an hour to find my way back…kept passing the same tree and…" Inferno stopped short when he noticed Firestar holding something.
"Is that?"
Firestar nodded.
"This is our daughter, Crimson."
Inferno grinned and walked over to his mate.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, she came early but aside from that, she's ok." Firestar replied.
"Sorry that I wasn't here, I shouldn't have left…" Inferno apologized.
"How could I have been so stupid?!"
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself…none of that matters now, the important thing is Crimson and I are just fine." Said Firestar.
"Finally came up with a name after all this time, huh?" Inferno asked.
"Yes…wasn't easy though." Firestar answered.
"But worth it." Said Inferno.
"Think so? You like it?" Firestar asked.
Inferno nodded, he then focused his attention on the sparkling in his mate's arms. Crimson looked at her mother then Inferno.
"That's your Sire," Firestar told her.
Inferno gently picked up his daughter, Crimson however wasn't sure about it and let out a small cry.
"Ohh, what'd I do now?" Inferno groaned, thinking that he did something wrong.
"Nothing, she just needs to get used to you." Said Firestar.
Crimson was shaking slightly and trying to get out of her sire's grip, she made her point about not liking being taken from her mother.
"Hey, calm down…I'm right here," Firestar assured her.
The small femme settled down as soon as her mother placed a hand on her forehead. Crimson then looked at Inferno once more.
"That's better…relax girl." He said.
Crimson blinked before she sniffed him and touched his face. Inferno couldn't help but nuzzle her, making his daughter yelp happily. After a few minutes, Inferno handed Crimson back to Firestar.
"She's got your eyes,"
"You're right but…she looks a lot like you, 'Star." Inferno pointed out, calling his mate by one of her nicknames.
It was true, their daughter had the same lapis blue eye color like her sire.
Crimson yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Somebody's had a long day," said Inferno.
"Yeah, she has." Firestar agreed.
"I meant both of you." Inferno explained.
"Point taken," said Firestar.
She allowed herself to relax; Crimson curled up next to her mother and was asleep within seconds. Firestar wasn't far behind.
"'Star, you're awfully quiet…" Inferno said after a moment of silence.
He turned around and saw that she had dosed off. Inferno chuckled and shook his head.
"Eh, never mind."
Two days later…
Inferno was once again up early, he watched his mate and daughter who were both in a deep sleep. Although it only been a couple days since Crimson was born, Firestar had taken motherhood much easier than Inferno thought. While both parents looked after their offspring, femmes did most of the work. Firestar was no exception, she fed Crimson, kept her warm and pretty much took care of anything else she needed. It wasn't long until the two day old sparkling opened her eyes. She stretched her limbs and nuzzled Firestar.
The older femme slowly got up, opening one eye she saw a small blue and red figure staring back at her. Firestar laughed before opening her left eye.
"Hi Crimson," she greeted her.
"What? No hello for Dad?" Inferno asked.
Crimson looked over at him and cooed.
"Now that's more like it," said Inferno.
He then noticed Crimson looking outside the window, tilting her head as she watched a sparrow fly by.
Both Firestar and Inferno smiled, getting an idea. A short time later they walked out of the shuttle, Crimson blinked her eyes a few times, trying to get used to the daylight outside. Once she did, the first things she noticed was the blue sky and several redwood trees.
"This is our new home," said Firestar.
She put Crimson on the ground, allowing her to explore. The outside world was different. There were new sights, sounds and various scents; it was a far cry from what she had been used to. Having spent the first four months of her life in the womb, all Crimson knew was her parents' voices, Firestar's warmth and spark-beat. Despite being in a small dark space, she did see some light that occasionally came in from outside. She squeaked curiously at the patch of moss under her fingertips which felt cool and soft. Next thing she spotted was a butterfly. It was a tiger swallowtail, bright yellow with black tiger like stripes on his wings. Firestar and Inferno sat on a log nearby watching their daughter.
Crimson smiled when the butterfly landed in front of her. She sat there observing him as he flapped his wings. Yelping playfully she tried to catch him but he took off. Crimson whined as he flew away and out of sight.
"I could do this all day." Said Firestar.
"Oh yeah, sure." Inferno agreed.
"Any word?" Firestar asked.
Her mate let out a heavy sigh.
"No, I think we're the only ones out here. The town not far from here has plenty of telecommunication systems we could use to try and locate other bots but…there's too many humans. If anyone sees us…we're toast." Said Inferno.
His audio receptors then picked up a sound off in the distance.
"Stay here," he said and went on ahead.
Inferno walked along a tree lined path until he reached an old bridge that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Sniffing the air, he picked up a familiar scent…burnt rubber. He went across the bridge which led into a canyon, in the sand was a series of tire tracks. Inferno recognized them immediately, the tracks had been left by Vehicons however the scent and tracks didn't seem fresh, an indication that the group was long gone. Feeling relieved, Inferno went back to the shuttle. As he walked back, he couldn't figure out what made the sound he had heard, if it wasn't vehicons than what was it? Just then, a voice rang out.
"Get the lead out, Cade… I want to get to the lodge before it starts raining."
Inferno nearly jumped out of his metallic skin when he realized what the source of the noise had been…humans!
"I'm walkin' as fast as I can, Denny!" said another voice.
Inferno then realized they were heading his way, he quickly hid behind a large pine tree to avoid being seen. Looking around the corner, he saw four humans with backpacks walking through the woods.
"Are we there yet?" one of the humans, Russell asked.
"Almost," was his Dad's reply.
"Uh, no offense Mr. Clay, but that's what you said twenty minutes ago." Tessa pointed out.
"And an hour ago when we were at the waterfall…" Cade added.
"Relax, I'm sure the lodge is just around the corner…" Denny assured them.
"Sure… This is what we get for going on a five mile hike in the middle of nowhere," Cade complained.
It was true all four had been invited by Ronald Whitwicky to spend a week in Jasper. Denny, Cade and Ronald were longtime friends. Almost every year, they went on a trip with their families. This time however, it was Ronald's turn to choose where to go next and a small town in northern Nevada was the last place anyone expected him to pick.
"If we had just stayed on the trail instead of taking what you called 'the scenic route' none of this would have happened!" said Cade.
"Hey, those trails are about as boring as day old oatmeal and you know it." Denny insisted.
"Let's just go," Cade scoffed.
Denny sighed, there was no way he could ever stay mad at a friend like Cade.
"Fine…but when we get back, you can tell Ron what took us so long."
Inferno let out a sigh of relief that they were heading the opposite direction, he was about to go on his way when a twig snapped on his left foot. Without a second thought, he darted behind another tree.
"Did you see that?" Cade asked.
Denny scratched his head.
"See what?"
"There's something behind that tree," Cade answered as he pointed towards the west end of the forest.
"Dad, it was probably just a deer." Said Tessa.
"No way, this is too big to be a deer…" Cade insisted.
"Maybe it was a bear." Denny suggested.
Cade froze, his right eye twitched.
"Bear?"
Denny felt like kicking himself.
"Oh yeah…I forgot, you have a fear of bears."
"And I have every right to…bears are vicious animals!" said Cade.
Denny rolled his eyes.
"So this is the end result of a bad experience you had when we saw the pandas during a field trip to the zoo in 3rd grade."
Russell raised an eyebrow and looked at Tessa.
"Pandas?" he asked.
"Long story…I'll explain later." Tessa offered.
"Could be worse, could've been a skunk." Denny pointed out.
"Uh…Dad…" Russell sputtered.
"Yes?" Denny replied.
"Turn around," said Russell.
Denny looked over his shoulder and sure enough walking by was a female spotted skunk.
"Nobody move…"
'Now's my chance,' thought Inferno and made his exit.
Denny and the others were so focused on not getting sprayed by the skunk that none of them noticed the large robot in the background.
MORE TO COME...
For the second of this chapter...stay tuned.