Siren, as soon as she felt the moon on her sleek armor, she started to call up to Optimus. She had the entire deck mapped. His quarters were right above her.

Optimus heard her calls and he sat up, running down to the belly of the ship. His optics widened when he saw her and he lifted her out of the crate. He nearly dropped her.

Swimmers had soft, elastic armor that felt like velvet. Siren had once had that kind of armor. Once. Now it was dry, flaking, and slightly sticky. She needed the sea.

He carried her to the deck and laid her in the lifeboat. He hopped in after her, cut the ropes (he had more pressing matters to tend to rather than how he would get back up), and they splashed down. He then lowered her into the sea water, stroking her tail as she sighed and cooed.

"Optimus," she whispered. "Kip..." She cried and clung to the side of the boat, watching the Prime. "Taken!"

Optimus' optics widened and his Energon turned to ice. Kip was taken? Surely, not by his own crew, but... He chanced a look up and saw two pairs of ice-blue optics watching him before they vanished. Then the anchor was lifted. Optimus watched his ship sail on by him.

He groaned and covered his face with his servos. "I should have been more careful!"

Siren hauled herself into the boat. Her armor was soft again. Optimus could tell when she crawled into his lap and rested her helm on his chest. He stroked it gently. "Save Kip?"

Optimus glanced back at his ship. "Well, I cannot very well hop onto my ship and leave you behind now can I?"

She squealed and dove back into the water. "KIP!"

Optimus rowed after her, laughing as she played in the wake of the tiny boat. He ducked his helm when she performed for him: jumping right over him from one side of the boat and landing in the water on the other side.

"That was amazing," he said to her when she surfaced, poking her helm out and giggling like a sparkling.

"Kip! Kip! Kip!"

And then there was a flash of silver and red as Warcry threw himself at Siren.

"I okay! I okay," she squealed as her pod leader looked her over and stroked her face.

Then Warcry turned to Optimus with wide optics. He had been gripping a spear, but in his shock at seeing Siren, he had dropped it. Battlesong was behind him, her own optics wide.

Siren clung to the boat again. "Thought you took me, but now know not true." She reached for his servo. "We save Kip now?"

Optimus nodded and he looked at Warcry, who snapped out of his daze and he drug Siren behind him. He made chirring sounds as he swam around to face Optimus, climbing up into the boat.

"He say he sorry," Siren translated. "He want help save Kip!"

Optimus nodded again and he had Siren translate the plan.

ooo

Dragonwing elbowed his brother. "There's another one." The moon was beginning to give the sky back to the sun, and the crew would be waking up and heading back to the market to sell the fish, ship parts, and the "gems" the two brothers found in the sea.

It was a beautiful shade of pink, like the sky as the sun rose. It swam right up to the ship and leaped out of the water within reach. Daggertooth scanned it.

"Female."

"Drop the net."

At first, the swimmer didn't seem to notice. She swam around, under, and right over the net instead of getting interested in the clingy material. When she finally touched it, it stuck to her armor. She squealed and twisted around, sobbing just as the yellow one had with the baby. Dragonwing hauled the net up and quickly transferred the slippery beast into a crate, pouring fresh water over her.

"Calm down now," he said. "Water makes you calm. Why are you not calm?"

She twisted in the crate as if the water was burning her, and in a way it was. The fresh water cleansed her armor of the slippery wetness that made her feel like velvet. She whimpered up at them, then the lid was placed on her crate.

While they lifted the crate and set her in the belly of the ship, Petal wrapped her claws around the tracer Optimus had given her, and she sighed in relief. It was blinking steadily, just as the Prime had promised her.

The ship was docked quickly and she was lifted (along with Seaweed, an elder that was still holding on and a baby they called Newt) and set down where she only assumed was the market Optimus told her about.

The lid was taken off her crate and she was dumped into a murky pool with Newt and Seaweed. There were other swimmers, red ones, blue ones, silver ones, even a glittery-purple femme with triplets clinging to her back and chest, but Petal was only interested in a small orange blob she saw huddled in the back. She wrapped her arms around Kip, then clicked the only button on the tracer.

She stroked the sparkling's helm, smiling when he clung to her the way he had to Siren.

Buyers came and went, interested in the femmes and not the mechs. They would reach in and stroke tails, helms, and would sometimes receive a not-so-friendly nip, but in the end, no one was bought.

Dragonwing looked down at the pool at the swimmers as they laid in the shallow water. "Just cover the pool up and leave them there. Ratchet wants to leave immediately to try and find Optimus."

Daggertooth snickered and covered the pool. "Too bad he's probably been attacked and killed."

When they left, Optimus stepped out of the alley and looked at the pool. He ripped back the tarp and saw the dozen swimmers. They were sticky as well, and needed the sea badly. He growled and laid the tarp out on the hot sandy path. "Petal, can you get them out?"

Petal looked at the black tarp and whined, but nodded. She hauled herself out of the pool and set Kip on the tarp, giving him a shove. He slid across then laid there while Optimus cupped his servos and poured water on the tarp. Then he scooped Kip up and set him in the sea.

He was immediately wrapped in his sire's arms. Warcry nuzzled the little sparkling fondly, handing him off to Siren, who cried out in joy.

Newt was lowered down next, and though Warcry didn't recognize her, he handed her to Battlesong. Seaweed was next, then the glittery femme called Midnight with her three sparklings, Dawn, Dusk, and Night, all named by Optimus. Petal was last, lowered carefully into Warcry's arms.

Optimus froze when he heard Dragonwing and he went to dive into the water to follow the pod, but someone grabbed his ankle and drug him back.

"Dragon! He let them all escape!"

Dragonwing grabbed Optimus by the helm. "Now, now, my Prime. I thought you were better than this. Is one swimmer not worth your crew?"

"You had a dozen dying swimmers." Optimus shoved the brothers back, growling. "I told you they were sentient. I told you they needed our respect, and as you agree, you are catching them and selling them!"

"Don't sound so surprised, Prime," Daggertooth laughed. "We are pirates, born and raised. You can't breed it out of us."

Optimus bared his denta in a warning, hearing Warcry calling for the Prime. He looked back just as Dragonwing's arm went back and his digits curled into a fist.

And then there was Siren, leaping out of the water and smacking into Dragonwing. Battlesong was out of the water next and she slammed into Daggertooth. The force of the swimmers (for they were pure muscle) knocked both mechs onto their backs and into unconsciousness. Optimus helped the two femmes slither snakelike back into the sea. Then he dove in after them.

The water, which was crystal clear looking down, was cloudy to his optics. He couldn't focus right, and he wished he had the swimmer's optics. They could see clearly both in and out of the water. While he swam after them, Siren slipped under Optimus on his left and Petal on his right. They swam like that, lifting Optimus out of the water every so often so he could cycle an intake.

Optimus' ship was still docked, and Optimus tried climbing up into it, but he'd slip back into the water every time.

Warcry gave a signal and Siren and Petal got under him and propelled the Prime into the air and into Ratchet's waiting servos.

The medic hauled him onto the deck. "Where were you?"

"Dragonwing and Daggertooth made sure I could not return to you guys," Optimus grunted. "I went onto the lifeboat to return Siren to the sea and they hauled aft out of there."

"Why was Siren even on the ship?"

"They were catching the swimmers and then selling them at the market."

Ratchet's optics widened. "We've got to-"

"No need. The swimmers and I took care of them."

Ratchet raised an optic ridge but said nothing. Then he nodded slowly and helped the Prime stand. "So, now what?"

"Well, Daggertooth and Dragonwing were left on the ground in the market. We need to find a new market, but we must keep the swimmers close to their home."

"There's another market not too far from our usual one. We've gone there once, but we found better deals at the usual market."

"Then we will have to get used to the deals at the new one, because we are not going to go back to that one until we are sure Dragonwing and Daggertooth are either behind bars or on another's crew."

Ratchet nodded and went about directing the ship to go to their usual salvaging spot. Optimus looked over the side and down at the water. Kip and Siren were swimming close by before the yellow femme breached the water and threw Kip up into the air and into Optimus' reach.

Optimus snatched the sparkling and smiled, holding him up. "It is good to see you again, little one..."

He let the crew see the sparkling and he laughed when Kip hugged Prowl's neck and squeezed tight.

"Optimus, get it off of me, please," the mech gasped. "He's slippery and wet and cold and-"

Kip detached and clung instead to Optimus, nuzzling the Prime. Siren made a soft sound, clinging to the side of the ship as she waited for her sparkling. Optimus helped Kip cling to her back before she dropped back into the water.

Optimus pointed out each swimmer by name, smiling when a small crowd of mechs followed him around. They were interested as well, furiously memorizing the scars and injuries.

Warcry propelled himself into the air in front of Optimus, winking at him.

The Prime pushed the small group of mechs interested into the remaining lifeboat just in time.

Battlesong rose to the surface, showing signs of carrying as she spun along after the ship. Warcry held onto his mate, nuzzling her and stroking her helm and back while they swam together, then they dove under the ship. Optimus reached in and scooped up the Millie's newborns, chuckling at them.

Powerglide took one. "Sentient?"

"And in need of our respect and awareness," Optimus said as he lowered the newborns into the water. "They are much like us, fragile, in need of a home, and constantly on the search for one, but now we are a family."

With that, Optimus dove into the water, followed quickly by the rest of the crew.

Warcry looked at Battlesong and rolled his optics. His mate tapped his servos in a scolding way and grinned at him. He chirred and followed her to the Prime and the crew.

Ratchet, on the deck, was laughing at the others as they floundered around. "I found some land-walkers wanting to be swimmers!"

His laughter continued until Siren leaped up and grabbed his face, pulling him into the water.

Then it was Optimus' turn to laugh and he hugged his shivering friend close. "Welcome to the family," he said.