Hi all, Anyway… as promised, here's the next update…this one basically shows what certain characters' lives were like before…well…read on to find out…
Just some of the cast the characters would be voiced by if they were in the series.
Lightbright-voiced by: Christy Carlson Romano
Sparkplug-voiced by: Gary Cole
Dash-voiced by: Kim Rhodes
Twirl-voiced by: Lynn Ferguson
Inferno-voiced by: Christopher McDonald
Firestar-voiced by: Sandra Bullock
Leader-1-voiced by: Laurence Fishburne
Glyph-voiced by: Kirsten Storms
Chromia-voiced by: Tisha Campbell Martin
Flashpoint-voiced by: Tia Mowry
The group of friends eagerly waited to hear Arcee's story and also had a few questions. As always, Miko was the first to speak up.
"So, if you weren't always a Rescue mutt then what kind of job did you have before that?" she asked.
"Well, I…was a race track champion, ran on the circuit for a year…I was quite the runner." Arcee explained. She smiled at the thought of it.
"So, if you were that good, why'd you stop?" Jack asked, frowning at her.
Arcee stopped smiling and lowered her head, looking embarrassed.
"I…well…there was an incident that happened on the track during the semi-finals, I was hurt so bad I couldn't compete in the last race. Even after my injuries healed, there was no way I could show my face at the track again so…I took up an early retirement." She explained.
"What did you end up doing after that?" Raf asked.
"Well, I applied for a job as a teacher at the Crystal City Academy… they accepted me and by then, my racing days became history…" Arcee replied.
"You? A school teacher? That would explain why you're so good with kids." Smokescreen joked.
"Quiet you," Ratchet barked.
"Sorry!" Smokescreen yelped, lowering his ears and tail.
"Anyway…I taught at the Academy for about two years…my current students were going to graduate in another five months, things were going well but it changed one afternoon during a field trip…" Arcee continued.
"What happened?" Smokescreen asked. His curiosity seemed to be getting the better of him.
"If you stay quiet long enough, you just might find out." Said Ratchet. It was obvious he didn't appreciate Smokescreen interrupting Arcee.
"Now where was I?" she wondered.
"Your job as a school teacher." Raf answered.
"Thanks…it was a pretty normal day, as usual; a few of my students were late and like anyone running behind, they all had a reason for it…" Arcee explained.
Flashback begins…
(For this part of the story, I recommend listening to A Legend Begins by Audio Machine and The Forest by James Horner)
It was a cool Spring morning as the sun rose in the Western Hemisphere of Canis-tron. The sky gradually went from blue-black to a lighter almost pastel shade. While the landscape in the Northern region consisted of woodlands and open plains, the more Metropolitan areas were large cities much like New York and Los Angeles.
The sound of barking could be heard in the background. The residents looked similar to normal dogs but they were anything but typical, to say the least. One pup, a light gray and white female Italian greyhound barked loudly as she ran along the pavement.
"Coming through! In a hurry," she said.
A male Vizsla yelped in surprise as he got out of the way.
"Sorry about that," the mini sight hound apologized.
She stopped when she reached a rectangular shaped building in what looked like a suburb.
"Made it," she sighed.
The female hound yapped loudly until a window on the second floor opened. A silver and white Borzoi stuck his head out and looked down.
Blurr, come 'on!" the other dog called.
"I'll meet you at the field later, Lightbright." He replied.
She nodded and left after Blurr shut the window. After running for some time, Lightbright decided to walk the rest of the way. Her fur was mostly light gray with patches of white on her snout, underbelly, legs, neck and the tip of her tail. She also wore a pastel blue collar, with a matching canine vest and metallic bands around the ankles of all four legs. Her tag resembled a glow stick and lit up if she entered a dark room. Lightbright stopped at a nearby tree, and proceeded to climb onto one of the low hanging branches. Moments later, she was near the top and sighed at the view of Crystal City just past a nearby field. It was a large metropolitan area, resembling San Francisco with its tall buildings, hills; two bridges that connected the city to land that had been divided by the harbor running through and around it.
"Lightbright," a voice called.
Her ears perked up recognizing it and she started to climb down the tree. On the ground was a male Italian greyhound. His coat was a darker shade of gray with white markings. Around his neck was a dark brown collar with a gold circular tag hanging from it.
"When are you going to come when you're called?" he wondered.
"Lightbright."
He yelped in surprise when something nipped his tail.
"There you are," the Italian greyhound, Sparkplug said, turning around.
"I'll have you know when I was a pup I couldn't wait to get to Perceptor's class." He told Lightbright.
"I know, Dad." She replied and followed him. Because they both took the same route, it wasn't uncommon for Sparkplug to walk his daughter to school before heading off to his job as a mechanic in the city. Her mother, however worked at a grooming salon in a different part of Crystal city.
"At least he's taught you to behave, now if only you'd stop climbing trees." Said Sparkplug.
"See ya after school, love you." Lightbright replied and nuzzled his cheek.
"You too," Sparkplug said as she ran off. His copper brown eyes watching her until she was no longer in sight.
Meanwhile, Lightbright wasn't the only one running behind.
"Brother, hurry up. We are going to be late." Jetstorm barked. The young tricolored Basenji stood in the doorway of the room he and his twin sibling shared.
"Coming!" Jetfire replied.
Back at Blurr's house, he was out the door and made an attempt to leave but there was someone holding him back.
"Now hold still, Blurr." I'm almost done." Said Dash.
The female black and white Borzoi slipped a sky blue collar over Blurr's head.
"Mom, I'm going to be late. Arcee has a surprise for the class today." He explained.
Dash licked the top of his head, smoothing out a small patch of fur that was sticking up. Blurr's coat was mostly white with patches of silver on his back, tail and face. Hanging from his collar was a stainless steel tag in the shape of a lightning bolt.
"There," she announced.
As soon as she finished her sentence, Blurr pulled away and started to leave.
"Wait, don't I get a kiss goodbye?" she asked.
"No time, I'll kiss you later." Blurr answered before he took off running as fast as he could.
Being late for school was just one of Jetstorm's problems, he yelped in surprise when he came downstairs and noticed his food bowl was empty and Jetfire was nowhere in sight.
"Mom, someone finished off breakfast." He said.
Sitting not far away was another basenji, she was tricolored much like Jetstorm and was currently reading from an iPad like tablet.
"Well, you'll just have to get up earlier, Jetfire." Said Twirl, not taking her bright yellow eyes off the tablet.
"I'm not Jetfire, I'm Jetstorm… Jetstorm." The young dog explained.
"No, you couldn't be Jetstorm, he always leaves first to get to class." Twirl replied.
Jetstorm froze, realizing what time it was.
"Class?!"
He then bolted outside, hoping to catch up with his brother who had obviously left without him.
Sometime later, Lightbright was sitting in the middle a large field, surrounded by wild flowers in various colors. She exhaled loudly, which sounded more like a sigh of frustration.
"Hi Lightbright." Said a voice.
The female sight hound's ears stood up.
"Hi Blurr." She greeted him.
"Where's the twins?"
The silver and white Borzoi shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't know, they didn't answer their comm links."
Lightbright groaned.
"At this rate we'll be sitting in detention."
She stood up and started to walk ahead of Blurr.
"C'mon."
Meanwhile…
"Will you hurry up already?" Hotshot called.
The black and gray Catahoula leopard dog was losing his patience.
"Keep your fur on, I'm coming." Was the reply he got from Rodimus, a young tricolor Tibetan Mastiff/Lurcher mix.
The other dog approached his friend who was waiting on the street corner. Not far from them was another dog, a female resembling a blue belton English setter.
"Guys, come' on." She barked.
The female yelped when she almost bumped into another dog.
"Watch it." Said Bulkhead.
"Yeah, construction site is no place for a pup like you." Scrapper pointed out.
"Thanks for the tip," the setter, Flashpoint said to the orange and white Brittany spaniel.
She shook the dust out of her long silky fur before continuing on her way.
"Get the lead out, fellas." Said Wheeljack, who was standing on a wooden crate.
"What he said, we got work to do." Mixmaster agreed.
The dark tan and black Bloodhound's paws were covered in a mixture of dirt and sand.
"Noted." Said Bulkhead.
While he enjoyed his job as a construction worker, the gray and white malamute wasn't too keen about replacing some of the city's old water pipes.
"You get to school, 'kay, Flashpoint?" said Scrapper.
"I will," she said with a smile before continuing on her way.
Scrapper lived not far from Flashpoint and knew her parents. He often looked out for her as if she was related to him. The Brittany spaniel chuckled.
"Kids,"
"Whoa!" he yelped when a bag of cement fell over, the contents spilled and landed on his head.
"Sorry!" Hotshot shouted.
"Now if only there was something we could do about that one." Said Scrapper.
Bulkhead couldn't help but laugh at the look on his coworker's face which was covered in cement powder.
"Might want to wash that off before you get back to work." He suggested.
A short time later, the small group of friends reached the school. A dark gray and white Alaskan Klee Kai sat on the steps of the red brick building.
"There you are! Guess what? I get to on the trip with ya, but you probably forgot all about it. Now we might not leave, sheesh! What took you guys so long?" she asked.
"My Dad," said Lightbright.
"My Mom." Blurr answered.
"No breakfast." Was Jetstorm's reply.
The Klee Kai, Glyph, offered Jetstorm a rawhide stick she removed from a compartment in the band on her right front leg.
"Here, take this."
"Thanks." Said Jetstorm, who wolfed down the dried up meat.
"'Bout time you got here." Said a Red and white Irish setter who was sitting near the door.
Glyph's ears were now flat against her head.
"Shut it, Sideswipe. You were late too." She pointed out.
"But not like them." Was his reply.
Glyph let out a warning growl but was interrupted by Jetfire.
"Uh, should we get going?" the red and white Basenji asked.
"Yeah," Glyph sighed.
As she entered the school, she turned around to face her classmates.
"If Perceptor asks, it's not my fault you're late."
"I'm sure he'll..."
Lightbright suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Understand…"
"Going somewhere?" Perceptor asked.
Lightbright froze and tucked her tail between her legs at seeing the chalk white Standard Poodle standing there. He was a much older Canis-tronian and had been one of the best scientists in the city. Back in the day, Perceptor was also professor who taught at one of the local colleges. Wheeljack was one of his last students before he retired. However, after six months he came out of retirement mostly from being bored with it. Rather than going back to his old job, he took up being the principal of the Crystal City academy. It might not have been anything to write home about but he did enjoy being out of the house nonetheless.
"Perceptor, we are…"
"Late, third time this month…I'm afraid." He said.
Lightbright and the others simply lowered their heads.
"Sorry," they all said simultaneously.
"I'll let it go just this once. Now, run along, Arcee has been waiting for you." Perceptor told them and stood aside.
All nine pups, didn't need to be told twice as they quickly headed off to their classroom.
"Morning," Arcee greeted them as they entered.
After saying hello, they all took their place on the other side of the room. Arcee sat back on her haunches, her rusty red and white fur bristled.
"All right, what's the excuse this time?" she asked and waited for her students to reply.
After hearing their explanations, her ears twitched.
"Just don't let it happen again."
Arcee glanced at the clock on the wall, it was now nine-thirty.
"Might as well cancel the trip." She said.
"Oh, come 'on." Lightbright begged.
"Please?" said Flashpoint.
"We've been waiting all week for this," Jetstorm confessed.
"Yeah," Jetfire agreed.
"I finally got my parents to give me the ok to go." Said Glyph.
Arcee let out a loud sigh, knowing the class wasn't going to give up.
"Ok." She replied and stood up.
"Single file,"
As she walked out of the classroom, the other dogs followed her before exiting the school.
Perceptor was already outside.
"Step lightly, young bloods." He said. As they got further away, Blurr noticed Glyph was about to make a right turn.
"Whoa!" he shouted.
"Wait, Glyph!" Jetfire called.
"Not that way," Lightbright said and darted out in front of her.
"That area is off limits," Perceptor explained.
"Why?" Glyph asked.
"That is not our lesson for today…" Perceptor answered.
"Now come along, we have much to see."
Glyph looked over at the wire fence which had a large sign that had Keep Out printed in bold orange letters. Why no one was allowed there was beyond her, but her friends obviously knew something and Glyph made sure to ask them about it after school. As they walked along a dirt path, one student in the group seemed to be bored.
"As you can see, this trail has been used through the ages…Canis-tronians have traveled for years…"
Perceptor was interrupted by a loud yawn. He cleared his throat which quickly got Sideswipe's attention.
"So, what's next?" Lightbright asked.
Arcee smiled.
"Glad you asked. Look down there."
She pointed her left paw towards a clearing at the bottom of the hill.
The pups did as they were told and looked. All of them gasped at what they saw.
"I know them, that's Inferno and Firestar!" said Lightbright.
"They're the leaders of the Crystal City Rescue Mutts." Blurr added.
"Yep," was Arcee's reply. She stepped over near the edge of the hill and barked loudly.
The noise got the attention of a female long haired Dalmatian/English Pointer mix.
"Arcee, you made it." Said Firestar.
She walked up the hill, closely followed by Inferno.
"Sorry, we're late." Arcee apologized.
"It's all right," Firestar assured her.
"We can go ahead and start the tour."
Flashpoint tilted her head at this.
"Tour? I don't get it."
"That's the surprise. I set this up with Firestar and Inferno so you can find out more about the rescue mutts." Arcee explained.
All nine pups stood there, with their mouths hanging open.
"No way!" said Jetfire.
"Cool!" Sideswipe barked.
"We'll start with a history lesson." Said Inferno.
"Seriously?" Sideswipe asked.
"Hey, got to begin somewhere, Sideswipe." Inferno pointed out.
"As you all know the Rescue Mutts have a long history of helping other Canis-tronians in need." Firestar explained.
"My Dad was a Rescue mutt," said Glyph.
"So was my Grandma," Blurr added.
Firestar's ears perked up slightly.
"That's interesting, I'm sure you two have heard a lot of stories."
"Uh-huh," said Glyph.
"We certainly have," Blurr piped up.
Firestar's tail wagged. If there was one thing about her job she enjoyed it was the young dogs that she had met over time and Arcee's class was no exception.
"Let's get going then." She said, leading them into the firehouse.
"Did you kids know that Rescue mutts didn't always have the name we have now?" Firestar asked.
"Ya didn't?" Sideswipe asked, tilting his head.
"Nope, the original team were called Go-Mutts." Inferno answered.
"I remember them, we did a report on them for history class a month ago." Said Blurr.
"Then you know their names, correct?" Firestar asked.
"Aero's the leader," Lightbright answered.
"Right," Firestar said with a nod. She then turned her attention to the rest of the class.
"Can anyone name the others?"
"Speed-mutt." Jetfire answered.
"Correct, anyone else?" said Firestar.
"Strong-mutt," was Glyph's reply.
"That's three, there's two more." Inferno pointed out.
"Beast-mutt," said Hotshot.
"I know the last one…uh…I got it…Chaser." Sideswipe answered.
"Buzzer," his classmates said in unison.
Inferno smiled. "Good try, Sideswipe."
"I was so close!" the young setter groaned.
"Anyhow…" Firestar started to say.
"The Go-Mutts were originally Leader-1's idea. Though Canis-tron wasn't the only place where they did search and rescue work."
"Where else did they go?" Flashpoint asked.
"Earth," Inferno answered.
The pups froze, looking at the Dalmatian in shock.
"Get out!" said Sideswipe.
"Seriously?" Lightbright asked.
Inferno nodded.
"Oh yeah…and they had some pretty great adventures…"
(Slight change in lyrics just so it fits the story, based on the theme song from the Transformers: Go-bots animated series and toy line)
Sent to Earth from a world far away, Go-mutts, will save the day!
Go! Go, Go-mutts. Go, go, go… Go-mutts!
A canine is what you see, but that's not all that it can be.
Go, Go, Go-mutts.
Aero-mutt, Beast-mutt and Speed-mutt, go! They only change when you say so!
Go! Go, Go-mutts!
When danger strikes, they rearrange.
One! Two! Three! Got the power to change!
Go! Go! Go-mutts!
Canis-tron- 10 years earlier…
An adult male dog, half Arctic wolf, half Dalmatian looked at the crowd of Canis-tronians that were sitting near the stage. Among them were pups, adults and seniors, many of them from the cities and small towns in and around Iacon and Kaon. The wolf dog's teammates included a black and tan Afghan hound, dark brown Chow-Chow, white and black Arctic fox and a Liver and white English Springer Spaniel. The wolf dog smiled, wagging his tail.
"Whenever there is trouble, we'll be there." Said Aero-Mutt.
The crowd cheered and howled loudly. Just then, a solid black Tibetan Mastiff approached, Aero-Mutt.
"You've done a great job, Aero." He told him.
"Thank you, Leader…but I couldn't have done it without my team…" Aero-Mutt replied.
Leader-1 nodded in agreement.
"Aero, come 'on…they're presenting the hero awards…we're next!" Buzzer called.
"I'll be there in a minute." Aero replied.
"Aero-Mutt…" Leader-1 started to say.
"Yes?" the Dalmatian mix asked.
"Promise me one thing…don't ever change." said Leader-1.
Aero-Mutt smiled and wagged his tail.
"I won't and I can promise you that." He said before going off to join Buzzer and the rest of his team.
Back to the present…
"Wow, that was awesome!" said Sideswipe.
"Yes, it was…I was there when the Go-Mutts received their hero awards." Perceptor announced.
"Get out of here, that was years ago…" Glyph said in disbelief.
"True, but I was young like you once…" Perceptor pointed out.
"So…what happened to the Go-Mutts after that?" Blurr asked.
"Well…they continued doing rescue work but then Aero-Mutt realized that sooner or later he and his team would have to retire but before they did, they helped form other Go-Mutt rescue teams." Inferno answered.
"His daughter, Airreon was the first female Go-Mutt, eventually the term Go-Mutt was replaced with Rescue Mutt." Firestar added.
"And Aero's famous quote which was the Go-Mutt catchphrase was changed to…" Inferno stopped short.
"Whenever there is an emergency, there are Rescue Mutts." Firestar and Inferno said at the same time.
"Did you meet the Go-Mutts?" Jetfire asked.
"Yeah, did you?" said Jetstorm.
Both of them looking with curiosity.
"We did, that was before they retired." Inferno replied.
"They were very nice…Aero-Mutt is actually my distant cousin. He was the one who encouraged me to become part of a rescue team." Firestar explained.
"Arcee, how come you didn't join the Rescue mutts?" Blurr asked.
The female lurcher in question was stunned at her student's question.
"Me? Oh no…I doubt I'd make the cut." She told him.
"I've seen you on the racing circuit, you got the right stuff." Said Firestar.
"Not helping, Firestar." Arcee barked.
Their conversation was cut short when a liver spotted Dalmatian entered the firehouse. He seemed to be about Arcee's age and from the looks of it, wasn't too interested in talking.
"Back so soon, Heatwave?" Firestar asked.
"Shutting off a broken water pipe doesn't take long." He answered in a dull tone.
"I was hoping to see some action…for once."
Firestar smiled at him.
"You will…eventually."
Heatwave groaned, ever since he had been training with Inferno and Firestar, the young adult dog had hardly left the firehouse other than to take on small jobs. He looked over at Arcee, noticing the group of students with her.
"Oh, sorry didn't know she was here."
"It's fine…nice to see you again, Heatwave." Said Arcee.
"Likewise," he replied in a rather stiff tone.
All three fire dogs had a distinct appearance… Firestar was a long haired Dalmatian mixed with an English pointer. Her spots were mostly black but she had a few tan ones mixed in. She also had black floppy ears and crystal blue eyes. Her collar was two toned, consisting of bell pepper red and bright orange with a golden star shaped tag. Inferno's spots were more gray in tone, also known to some as 'blue'. His left ear was blue while the other was white. Inferno's eyes were a darker shade of blue. Around his neck was a tomato red collar and gold hydrant shaped I.D. tag. Heatwave had liver spots and yellow eyes, while his ears were the same color as his spots, there were a few patches of white mixed in. His collar was dark red and the hydrant tag that hung from it was bronze. Heatwave looked over at Lightbright and the others.
"See you, Pups." He said before leaving the room.
"You'll have to excuse Heatwave," said Firestar.
"What's eatin' him?" Sideswipe asked.
"Sideswipe, that is none of your business!" Perceptor barked, his fur slightly standing on end.
"It's fine, Perceptor." Firestar assured him.
"Heatwave's just…feeling left out, he hasn't been on any of the major rescue jobs like me and Inferno."
"Why is that?" Rodimus asked.
"Is he not good enough or something?" Glyph chimed in.
"No, no…he's great, one of the best that we've trained in a long time but…" Firestar stopped short.
"He lacks experience, Heatwave might have graduated with high marks but he still has a lot to learn." Inferno pointed out.
"Oh…well, I'd like to be a rescue mutt too." Flashpoint admitted.
"Pfft…dream on, Flashpoint." Said Sideswipe.
"Now hold on a moment, if that's what she wants to do…I say go for it." Firestar encouraged.
"Really?" Flashpoint asked.
"Sure, come back here when you graduate." Firestar replied.
Flashpoint's tail wagged.
"I will," she promised.
Looking away Flashpoint noticed something on a nearby wall.
"Guys, look at this."
Sideswipe and the other pups went over to the wall and were shocked at what they saw.
"It's a picture of the Go-Mutts." Said Lightbright.
"In color." Said Blurr.
"You're right, a friend of ours who works in the records department at the library had it restored." Firestar explained.
In the photo were all five Go-Mutts. Aero was in the center, Buzzer, Strong-Mutt were on the left and Speed-Mutt and Beast-Mutt were on right. Lightbright quickly noticed something about the photo.
"Check it out! Heatwave looks just like Aero-Mutt."
Firestar looked at the photo closely, despite being half wolf, Aero had most of the features of a Dalmatian. His markings were almost identical to Heatwave accept for the fact that Aero-Mutt's spots were black and his eyes were blue. His tag was a copper colored star.
"You're right, he does." Firestar admitted.
Buzzer was white with patches of brown fur, his red eyes did make him stand out but his cheerful Springer spaniel face showed otherwise. His collar was emerald green, the tag was gold and had a wasp graved on the front. Strong-Mutt was a dark chocolate colored Chow-Chow with bright blue eyes. His collar was lemon yellow with a bronze bone shaped tag. Speed-Mutt was a black and tan Afghan hound with yellow eyes and a bright red collar with a tag that resembled a silver hubcap. Last in the group was Beast-Mutt, his fur was mostly snow white with the exception of his charcoal black legs and paws. His collar was turquoise blue, his tag was circular with a paw print engraved on the front. He also had expressive ice blue eyes.
"All Right, I think for now we'll take a break." She said.
Meanwhile across town…
"Ok, we just gotta drop this off then we're done." Said Mixmaster.
The dark tan and black Bloodhound was talking with the Bernese Mountain Dog next to him. Both were strapped in to tough leather harnesses and currently pulling a large cart with a steel barrel tied to the back.
"Good," the other dog sighed.
"Thanks for helpin' out, Boulder." Mixmaster said as they started to make their way up a small incline in the dirt road. In the process the cables holding the barrel snapped.
"Watch out!" Boulder barked, he and Mixmaster quickly detached from their harnesses. The barrel fell over with a loud 'thud'.
Boulder gasped and quickly inspected the barrel, hopping no oil had leaked out.
"Well, it could be worse." He said.
Just then, both dogs yelped at the sound of thunder which was quickly followed by a flash of lightning. Boulder sniffed the air, noticing something was different about it.
"Smell that?" he asked.
Mixmaster sniffed for a moment and picked up a rather familiar scent.
"Yeah, smells like wood burnin'."
The two Canis-tronians froze and turned around. In the field across from them, an old tree was engulfed in flames. It was obvious by the large split in the center that it had been struck by lightning.
"Fire!" they both yelled.
"We gotta tell someone." Said Boulder.
After leaving the cart and barrel in a secure spot near the river, both dogs ran off to get help. As they did so, the fire spread from the tree and went across the field, burning everything in its path. Birds and other wildlife quickly left the area. Among them were the Dino-mutts, a wild pack of Canis-tronians. The leader was Grimlock, an African Wild dog. Sludge was a Maned wolf, Slug was a Bat eared fox, Swoop was a Dingo and Snarl was a Raccoon dog. All five started running the moment they saw the smoke. Grimlock's barks echoed loudly as they got further from the field.
Back at the firehouse…
"So, your brother goes to a private school?" Lightbright asked.
"Yep," was Sideswipe's reply.
The group of friends were currently sitting on the grass, mostly talking.
"But why him and not you?" Blurr asked, tilting his head.
"Well, my folks can't afford to pay for both of us. Plus, I apparently didn't have the grades to qualify." Sideswipe explained.
"Oh," was all Blurr could say.
"Besides, I'd rather not go to a private school with a bunch of pedigree punks. They're too stuck up. Those fancy mutts in Iacon think they're better than working class dogs like us." Said Sideswipe. His fur stood up as he spoke.
"Hey! I went to a private school, it's not that bad." Glyph insisted, her tail twitched slightly.
"Pfft, whatever…" Sideswipe scoffed and shook his semi long fur.
"Ya know, we're gonna have to figure out what jobs to apply for after graduation." Blurr pointed out.
Sideswipe stopped rolling in the grass and looked up.
"That internship thing? You still thinkin' about it?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah." Lightbright answered in a slightly dull tone.
Instead of going to college like humans, after graduating school, young Canis-tronians took up an internship for a certain occupation for six months or more. Once they finished, he or she had the option of staying on the job or trying something else. Tired of being on his back, Sideswipe flipped himself over.
"And you've all made up your minds?"
Lightbright simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Not yet." She replied.
"Nope," said Hotshot.
"My Dad thinks I should take up Perceptor's offer at the City library." Said Glyph.
Sideswipe frowned.
"You mean that old building next door to the history museum? Boring!"
"Swipe, c'mon." Rodimus protested.
"Yeah, that sounds cool… think about it." Flashpoint added.
Sideswipe considered it, working at the library would allow one to access all sorts of information and the museum housed many documents and other things in its archives and exhibits that were on display.
"I guess… my Dad wants me to work with him at one of the construction sites, but you know my Mom."
Lightbright and the others groaned.
"Don't remind us." Said Flashpoint, remembering just how overbearing Sideswipe's mother really was.
"My Mom's the same way, after I won that race three months ago, it changed." Blurr explained.
"Like…?" Jetfire asked.
"How?" Jetstorm finished.
The two brothers had a habit of finishing each other's sentences.
"Well, I get to help out at the track," Blurr answered.
Lightbright's tail wagged.
"Cool! Hey, maybe later we can go to the clubhouse and…" she stopped short when she heard a loud noise.
All nine pups were quickly alerted by an alarm.
Inferno darted out of the firehouse and ran over to the patch of grass where Firestar, Arcee and Perceptor had been sitting.
"Firestar, we got a four alarm fire uptown." He explained.
This instantly put the Dalmatian/Pointer mix on alert.
"Noted," she then glanced at Arcee and Perceptor.
"Sorry to cut it short,"
The trio had been having a conversation which Inferno had clearly interrupted.
"I understand." Said Arcee.
Inferno looked towards a nearby tree and saw a liver spotted Dalmatian sleeping under it.
"Heatwave, you wanted to see some action, now's your chance."
Heatwave's ears moved forward, an excited expression on his face.
"Finally!" he said and quickly stood up and followed Inferno.
"Rescue mutts let's…" he stopped short.
"Roll to the rescue!" Firestar and Inferno said at the same time.
And with that, all three spotted dogs activated their vests and bands, then left. Arcee's students watched as they made their exit.
"Whoa,"
"Come 'on, Pups, field trip's over." The female Lurcher announced.
All of them groaned in disappointment.
"Not to worry, we'll come back…soon enough." Perceptor assured them.
Later that day…
"I just got word from Inferno, that fire up North is spreading, they're telling everyone in that area to leave until the blaze is out." Perceptor explained.
"I see," said Arcee.
She glanced at her students, they had returned to the school some time ago and were now sitting in the classroom.
"Well, Pups looks like you'll be leaving early." She announced.
"Why?" Sideswipe asked.
"Yeah, how come?" Lightbright wondered.
"If the fire continues to spread, we'll have to close the school. It's better if you all go home." Perceptor explained.
"'Kay," was all Flashpoint could say.
"Come 'on, kids." Said Arcee, she then got up from her desk; as she did so, Flashpoint and her classmates went to follow their teacher.
Perceptor looked out a nearby window, in the distance he could see a cloud of smoke where the fire was burning. Inferno, Firestar and Heatwave were doing the best they could but the blaze had gotten so large that rescue teams from the nearby towns had gone to help.
Perceptor snapped out of his thought when he heard Flashpoint bark.
Without a word, he left the classroom and followed her.
The next day, Crystal City academy had been allowed to open, despite the wild fire that was only twenty percent contained from what Inferno's recent report had said, it was still outside of city limits. Currently, the pups were in the middle of recess. All of them were out on school yard, playing fetch.
"Ready?" Blurr asked.
"Ready!" Lightbright and Jetfire barked.
"Comin' at 'cha!" said Blurr who pressed down on a wooden board that was sitting on a small rock. The set up looked almost like a small see-saw. Within seconds the bright blue frisbee was launched into the air. The sound of barking could be heard as the young dogs chased the disc across the yard.
"I got it!" said Jetstorm.
"No brother, I got it." Jetfire barked.
The two stooped in their tracks when the frisbee went over the fence.
"And…there it goes," Jetfire sighed.
"Relax guys, I'll just go over the fence and get it," Glyph offered.
Sideswipe's eyes bucked.
"No!" he shouted.
All the other pups began to yell and bark as they ran over to the fence.
Glyph yelped in surprise as they approached her.
"Get away from there!" Blurr exclaimed.
"Are you nuts?!" Flashpoint asked.
"Yeah," said Jetfire.
"Forget the disc, Glyph." Said Sideswipe.
"It's gone," Blurr told her.
"History," said Jetstorm.
Glyph frowned.
"I don't understand, I can just hop over and get it."
"Not that simple," said Sideswipe.
"If you knew what was over that fence, you wouldn't go near it." Lightbright told her.
Glyph tilted her head.
"How come?"
The other pups looked at each other, then at Glyph.
"The Decepticons,"
"Who or what are Decepticons?" Glyph asked.
The miniature sled dog waited for her friends to reply. They all stared in shock at Glyph.
"What?" Sideswipe asked.
Hotshot frowned.
"Wait, you haven't heard of them?"
"What about Megatron?" Rodimus asked.
"Who's that?" Glyph asked.
"Oh, you don't know." Blurr concluded.
"Know what?" Glyph continued.
Seeing how the conversation wasn't really going anywhere, Lightbright decided to try something else.
"Ok, go over there, look through that hole and be quiet." Said the Italian greyhound who pointed over to the other end of the school yard.
"Why, what's back there?" Glyph asked.
"Just do it," Lightbright answered.
"'Kay," Glyph sighed.
She walked over to the fence and looked through a knot hole in the wood. On a patch of dried up grass in a vacant lot a few feet away was the frisbee she and her friends had been playing with earlier. Just then a dark gray wolf like paw suddenly stepped on the frisbee. A loud snarl was heard as it was dragged away by a large canine on the other side.
Glyph yelped in fear at what she saw and backed away from the fence. She looked at her classmates, her tail was tucked between her legs.
"S-something got the disc, what was that thing?" she asked nervously.
"A Decepticon," Blurr answered.
"Which goes back to my original question, who or what are they?" Glyph asked.
"They're Canis-tronians but…" Blurr stopped short.
"They're different…unlike us, they're feral….more wild than an Auto-dog." Sideswipe explained.
"They have big teeth and sharp claws." Hotshot added.
"Their leader is Megatron," Rodimus pointed out.
"He's this huge mastiff, a Tosa." Lightbright explained.
Flashpoint flinched slightly at the mention of Megatron.
"He's not nice…" she said.
"None of the 'cons are." Sideswipe added.
"Actually…our mother…" Jetfire started to say.
"Is one," Jetstorm admitted.
"They're right, she's not like the others." Blurr agreed.
"True, but didn't Megatron kick her out of his pack?" Sideswipe asked, looking rather puzzled.
"She left," Jetfire answered.
"Yeah, the other 'cons don't like her and she didn't like the way they did things." Jetstorm finished.
"Oh," was Sideswipe's reply.
"Anyway… the fence is there because it goes into the Decepticon's territory." Lightbright explained.
"So…" Glyph started.
"That's why nobody's allowed over there." Blurr finished.
"Before you moved here, the fence wasn't there." Rodimus confessed.
Glyph's family had moved to Crystal City from one of the smaller towns around forty miles away. She had only been attending the academy for two weeks and didn't know that much about the city or anything else that had been going on.
"The 'Cons were in the city a lot." Hotshot added.
"Why?" Glyph asked.
Blurr scratched his right ear before he spoke.
"It's the drought,"
"Yeah," said Jetfire.
"They have no water." Jetstorm added.
"So they came here," Sideswipe finished.
"But they were nice about it at first." Flashpoint explained.
"Yes, but…Ultra Magnus, he…it's a long story." said Lightbright.
"My brother, Sunstreaker was there in Iacon, he told me the main stuff." Sideswipe admitted.
"So did Bumblebee." Rodimus pointed out.
Glyph's ears perked up slightly.
"Who's Bumblebee?"
"He's another pup we know, goes to the same school as my brother." Sideswipe explained.
The red and white Irish setter sat back on his haunches and continued on.
"Anyway…"
Four months earlier…
"A bunch of dogs came to town, Bee saw 'em…. Word got around pretty fast about the whole thing."
(For this part of the story, I recommend listening to "Gathering of the Clans" by Audiomachine while reading, like A Legend Begins and The Forest, it's also on YouTube.)
The sound of barking could be heard down Main Street in Iacon. The noise got the attention of several bystanders, Heatwave was fixing a leak from a nearby hydrant when he saw four dogs run by him.
"Look at that."
Another dog, a young fawn brindle and white Border collie who looked to be no more than two months old was watching as well.
"Whoa! It's them." He said.
The four canines came to a stop outside a large brick building. One of them, a female looked around noticing a few Canis-tronians standing there, watching them.
"Quite a crowd, didn't expect this." She said to the black and tan Tibetan Mastiff standing next to her.
The dog, Elita-One, was a black and white lurcher.
Unlike her sister Arcee who resembled more of an Ibizan hound, Elita looked more like a Border collie than anything else. She wore a dark pink collar with a white gold tag in the shape of the letter E. Her ears perked up at the sound of a small but excited yap.
"Hey!" Bumblebee barked.
"Beat it, Kid," said a milk chocolate brown Newfoundland.
"Relax, High-Tide, I know this pup." Said the dog, Elita had been talking to a moment ago.
"All right," High-Tide sighed. He then looked at Bumblebee who was somewhat shook up.
"Sorry, Young blood," he apologized before backing away.
Bumblebee yapped once more, trying to get the Tibetan mastiff's attention.
"Bumblebee!" Chromia exclaimed as she ran up to him.
Like Elita, she resembled a Border collie but had bluish gray fur with darker patches and white markings. In kennel club terms, her coloring was blue merle. Her collar was pastel blue with a chrome shaped 'C' shaped tag.
"I apologize, I was watching him and two seconds later…" Chromia was cut off.
"It's quite all right, Chromia." The Tibetan Mastiff, Optimus assured her.
He then turned his attention to the young pup in front of him.
"Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked.
Bumblebee looked at him nervously, while he had no fear of being around him, Optimus massive size was pretty intimidating. Bumblebee tucked his tail between his legs and lowered his ears.
"I was…just on my way there." Was his reply.
"I certainly hope so." Said Elita, her whiskers twitched slightly.
While she was kind and caring, Elita was also an alpha female.
Bumblebee gulped nervously.
"Bye," he said before he bolted down the block, past Optimus and Elita.
Chromia looked at the two for a minute.
"See you," she said before going to catch up with Bumblebee.
"Well…come 'on, Elita." Said Optimus.
The black and white femme sighed as she followed her mate up the stairs.
Moments later, they entered the building. The interior wasn't much with its light gray walls, though the high ceiling and cream colored marble floor were the exceptions.
"Next case!" a voice shouted.
Brawn, dark fawn and white English bulldog spotted Optimus, Elita and High-Tide.
"Oh, you made it. I'll let 'em know you're here." He said before he trotted down the hallway.
"What could he want this time?" Elita wondered, looking over at a large Great Dane like dog that was a few feet away, talking to another canine that seemed to be part wolf.
Optimus shrugged his shoulders at Elita's question.
"Search me,"
He then spotted a dark gray Irish Wolfhound wearing a denim blue collar with a silver circular tag.
Ironhide, a rusty red and white English Coonhound walked passed Optimus and Elita as they entered another room.
"You're late," said Ironhide.
"Nice to see you too," The wolf dog, Starscream replied in a sarcastic tone.
Ironhide snorted, obviously annoyed.
The two stopped what they were doing when they heard a loud bark.
"Quiet!" said Ultra Magnus.
High-Tide, Ironhide and Brawn all got the hint and left Ultra Magnus' office.
Perceptor had arrived earlier and was waiting for the others to show up. Optimus glanced around the room for a moment.
"Sit," he said.
None of them had to be told twice, before they all quickly sat down.
"Exactly what is all this about?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"Megatron asked to speak with you." Optimus explained.
Ultra Magnus tilted his head briefly.
"Did he, now?"
The gray and brindle dog in question, spoke up.
"Yes, I sent a request a week ago and Starscream informed me that you had not replied."
Megatron was a Japanese mastiff, also called a Tosa Inu. The breed was well known for its large size, deep bark and strength. Tosas were the result of mixing the Shikokou from Japan with dogs from Europe including the Old English bulldog, English mastiff, and St. Bernard. Great Danes, German pointers and Bull terriers were also added to the mix.
"And what was the nature of your request?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"I'm sure you know that the current drought is one of the worst we've had in thirty years." Megatron answered.
"Yes, and your point?" Ultra Magnus replied.
"Our water supply is limited and Kaon being located in the south where the temperatures are higher isn't making it any better." Megatron continued.
Ultra Magnus tilted his head.
"So?"
Megatron flared his nostrils. His silver collar and steel tag glistened as he shuffled around in the spot where he sat.
"What I am saying is the residents in Kaon need help. We've had to dig underground to find water, none of us have seen rain in months." The mastiff answered.
"I see," said Ultra Magnus.
"And?" Megatron asked, tilting his head.
"You still have water in the old reservoir don't you?" Ultra Magnus replied.
"Yes," was Megatron's answer.
"There, problem solved." Ultra Magnus concluded.
"Ultra Magnus, you don't understand…" Megatron sputtered.
"Request for relief, denied." Said Ultra Magnus.
"But we've already had to stretch our water supply to make it last." Megatron explained.
"It's estimated we'll run out within the next two months!" Starscream added.
"Our water is low as well…you came here a month ago demanding the mining tunnels near the steel mill be inspected and repaired." Ultra Magnus pointed out.
"The tunnels were collapsing, we had five workers on sick leave because of it." Said Starscream.
"Unlike you, we break our backs, just to get by…we're not pedigrees with an Iacon address." Megatron pointed out.
Ultra Magnus' ears were now flat against his head.
"And I am fully aware of that."
"Then why don't you do something about it?" Starscream asked.
"I'm sorry…but…you're on your own." Ultra Magnus answered as he stood up.
Everyone else got up and started to leave.
Starscream nearly fell over, the Kai-Ken, Mackenzie valley wolf mix couldn't believe what he heard.
"That's it?!"
Megatron was just as shocked.
"That's all you have to say?"
"I'm done." Ultra Magnus said before slamming the door.
"Can you believe it?" Megatron asked, it was easy to see he was still in shock.
"He cannot do that," said Elita.
All of them were stunned by the decision. While Optimus was the leader, anything regarding their resources was handled by Ultra Magnus
"I will speak with him, there may be something I can do." Optimus offered.
"I certainly hope so, Magnus forgets we're working class hounds…not all of us are high class purebreds." Perceptor pointed out.
Much like a kennel club, Canis-tronians had two different genetic backgrounds, pedigree and working class. Pedigrees were much like show dogs while working class did the tasks their breeds were trained for. While those in that group did contain purebred dogs, mixed breeds were part of the category as well. Both Perceptor and Optimus had mixed heritages in the sense that their bloodlines were made up of both working class and pedigrees.
After a moment, Optimus left and went back into Ultra Magnus' office.
"Ultra Magnus," he said.
"Yes?" the gray Irish wolfhound replied, his back was currently facing Optimus as he stared out the window at the city skyline.
"I came to express my opinion on your decision." Optimus explained, stepping forward.
"And?" Ultra Magnus replied, turning around.
"I think you shouldn't do this, we have plenty of water we could help…" Optimus was cut off.
"I'm not changing my mind. That is final…I know you're Megatron's friend and you're doing this for him aren't you?" Ultra Magnus replied.
Optimus blinked.
"That and because many of my associates are working dogs. They need help."
"That's their problem, they can deal with it." Said Ultra Magnus.
"But…" Optimus started to say.
"I won't repeat myself!" Ultra Magnus barked.
Optimus clenched his teeth he then headed for the door. Before leaving he turned around and glanced at Ultra Magnus.
"I hope you're not making a mistake." He said before making his exit.
Meanwhile, Elita, Perceptor, Megatron and Starscream were standing in the hallway waiting.
"Well?" Megatron asked, once he saw Optimus.
"I tried," the black and tan dog replied, sounding disappointed.
"This is insane!" said Elita.
"What now?" Perceptor asked.
"That I don't know." Optimus answered.
High-Tide, Brawn and Ironhide were already outside waiting for their friends. They were all walking down the stairs when they saw Ultra Magnus leaving.
"Oy," Elita groaned as she looked at him.
The tall sight hound didn't make eye contact with them at all.
"This isn't over, Magnus! This is far from over!" Megatron barked.
He then walked away with Starscream trotting alongside him trying to keep up.
"So, how will we get water now?" he asked.
"Steal it," Megatron answered.
"But isn't that illegal?" Starscream continued.
Megatron's fur stood on end.
"You don't put much thought into anything you say. Do you, Starscream?" he asked.
The wolf dog in question raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that?"
Megatron groaned, how he and Starscream remained friends, let alone worked together was beyond him.
"Just forget it," he said and went ahead of the wolf dog who decided not to say anything else.
"So much for that," said Elita as she watched the two dogs leave.
Optimus' ears drooped.
"This… could get ugly."
"Wait, you don't think Megatron would do something crazy, do you?" Perceptor asked.
Back to the present…
"So, what did Megatron do?" Glyph asked.
"Well, he…" Sideswipe stopped short when the bell rang.
"I'll tell you later,"
Glyph quickly got up to follow him.
"When?"
"After school."
"Yeah, later." Said Flashpoint.
Glyph stood there thinking about what her friends had told her.
"Wonder what happened?" she asked herself.
"C'mon, let's go!" Flashpoint barked.
And with that she and her classmates went back to class. One thing was for sure, it had been an interesting afternoon.
MORE TO COME…
And that's it for chapter one. Thanks for waiting. Now… on to references, Arcee's job as a school teacher is based on her backstory in Transformers Animated. Wheeljack also worked with Perceptor in G1. High-Tide is one of the new characters that was recently introduced in season three of Rescue bots. Brawn, Rodimus, Elita-One, Perceptor, Blurr, Hotshot, Flashpoint, Glyph, Scrapper, Mixmaster and Lightbright are also from Transformers Animated. Firestar, Twirl and Inferno are from the G1 series. Sparkplug's name comes from the Rescue bots book series, though in the story, he's a Dalmatian. As for the cast, Christy Carlson Romano is known for playing Ren Stevens on the Disney sitcom Even Stevens and the animated series Kim Possible, her co-stars Shia Lebeauf and Will Fredle later became part of the Transformers cast playing Sam Whitwicky and Bumblebee. Gary Cole did the voices of James Timothy Possible in Kim Possible and Slick in the 2010 remake of Pound Puppies. Kirsten Storms is best known for her role as Zenon in a series of Disney channel movies as well as Bonnie Rockwaller in Kim Possible. Lynn Ferguson is the sister of Craig Ferguson, she played Mac, a white leghorn hen in the stop motion animated film, Chicken Run. Kim Rhodes is best known for her role as Carey Martin in the Disney sitcom, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The Go-bots were originally owned by Bandai and were released around the same time as Transformers. While both the toy lines and characters were similar, Transformers was more successful than Go-Bots. In the early 1990s, when Hasbro bought Bandai, they acquired a few of the Go-bot characters, in 2002 a line of action figures called Transformers: Go-bots was released. Each toy came with a VHS tape of the animated adaption of Transformers Go-bots. The mini-series consisted of Four episodes with Aero-bot, Speed-bot, Beast-bot, Strong-bot and Buzzer-bot as the main characters.
Christopher McDonald has done the voices of Shego's brother, Hego in season two of Kim Possible and Superman's father, Jor-El in Superman the animated series. Laurence Fishburne is a well-known actor, one of his roles was in the movie, Akeelah and the Bee. Tisha Campbell Martin did the voice of Sledge in Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco and Jay in the sitcom My Wife and Kids. Tia Mowry, sister of Tamera Mowry is known for being one of the stars of the sitcom Sister, Sister and Instant Mom. Quotes and other references used in this story are from, Hounded, Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco. Kim Possible episodes: Tick-tick-tick and Return to Wannaweep. 101 Dalmatians: The series, Beethoven's 3rd, Hey Arnold episode: Buses, Bikes and Subways. Pound Puppies 2010 episodes: Hot Dawg and Super-secret pup club. Once upon a Forest, The Sandlot and The Sandlot 2.
For those unfamiliar with the breeds mentioned in this chapter: Italian greyhound, Standard poodle, Lurcher, Red & White Irish setter, Catahoula leopard dog, Alaskan Klee Kai, English Spring spaniel, Irish wolfhound, Kai-Ken, Japanese Mastiff/Tosa Inu,
Tibetan Mastiff, English setter, Bloodhound, Arctic fox, Brittany spaniel, Chow-Chow, Afghan hound, Bat eared fox, Dingo, Maned wolf, African wild dog, Raccoon dog, Mackenzie valley wolf, English bulldog, Coonhound, Border collie, Borzoi, English setter, Basenji, Artic wolf and Bernese Mountain dog, I suggest looking them on Google to get a better idea of their appearance.
Songs and musical tracks in this story can be found on YouTube using these links.
A legend begins- Audiomachine
watch?v=-4v76qTXOVY
The Forest-James Horner
watch?v=HOMOXsBBIvY
Transformers Go-bots opening theme
watch?v=dHvBr0F9YUk
Gathering of the Clans-Audiomachine
watch?v=sFOMbXAbvlA
Anyway… chapter 2 is in the works, will try to get it up next weekend. It was raining out so I spent part of my afternoon with a cup of coffee from Starbucks while wrapping up this chapter. If anyone is looking for something to do next Saturday, run a search on Google for Free comic book day. It's held every year on the first Saturday in May. Publishers such as DC comics, Marvel and many others publish special edition issues for this event. Some comic book shops even have guests such as celebrities, artists and such sign autographs. To find a participating store go to comic shop locator and type in your zip code. I highly recommend going early as comics are on a first come, first served bases and certain issues tend to go faster than others.
If there's a delay in my next update, more than likely I'll be out getting free comic books or checking out the exhibit on the history of Chocolate at the local museum.
So, stay tuned…