So, hello everyone! I'm pleased with how this chapter turned out! The beginning I orginally did not plan on having but it somehow forced its way into the story haha. I thought it'd be sweet. I think a lot of you will enjoy it~
Lots of the twins being themselves and Bolt is growing up! There are some special bots arriving on Earth in the next few chapters, can you guess who? Yes, this story is starting to go a bit AU, I know but that's the point!
Some Jazz/Prowl moments in here I believe~
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, it belongs to HasTak. I own Aquafire, her late trine, Skyblitz, Wildfire, and Lightning Bolt.
Remember to review! I love all of you who have reviewed so far! It makes my day that much brighter!
Aquafire blinked as she looked around, slight fear clenching at her spark when she saw... well, nothing. Everything seemed to hold a strange, ethereal white glow to it, which was somewhat comforting to the femme. It was... peaceful.
"Aquafire..." The Seeker's spark froze when she heard her name being called, almost whispered, with a strange echo to it. "Turn around." Unable to fight off her curiosity, she turned around and nearly fainted.
"Steel Wing! Storm Ridge!" She launched herself at her lost trine mates. The two mech's chuckled and held her close, nuzzling, comforting. "Oh Primus! Do you know how happy I am right now?"
"We can guess," Steel Wing grinned.
"Where am I? What's going on?" Happiness aside, she was still very confused.
"You are in a sort of limbo." A soft mech voice answered. Aquafire slowly turned around and was met with two smiling mech's.
"Papa... Sire..." Her optics widened as she moved towards them and then collapsed in Skyblitz's arms.
"My darling Aquafire," Skyblitz cooed softly. He stroked her helm gently, smiling at her as he held her close. "Oh how I've missed you. You've grown into such a lovely femme!"
"Bet you have mech's falling helm over pede's for you." Wildfire teased his one and only creation.
"Not so much anymore," She actually blushed. "So... what is this place?"
"As I said, you are in a sort of limbo," Skyblitz hummed. "A place between being online and offline."
"Does... does this mean I'm... dead?" Her spark clenched in fear. What about Bolt? He needed her still!
"No, sweetspark, you're not, thank Primus," Wildfire vented heavily.
"That little brat still needs you," Steel Wing snorted. Storm Ridge jabbed him in the side hard for this comment.
"You still have many things left to do," Skyblitz smiled.
"What... do you mean?" She tilted her helm, confused.
"You'll find out in time," Storm Ridge smiled softly. "Now do us a favor. Stop trying to get yourself slagged!" Aquafire cracked a smile then.
"I'll see what I can do." She hugged her Carrier then, nuzzling close to his warm chassis. She moved to her Sire and did the same thing, whining when he placed a kiss on her helm.
"You'll always be my little one, no matter how big you get." He murmured lovingly. Aquafire ducked away and stared at Steel Wing before she launched herself at him, knocking him over in a hug.
"Do you yield?" She smirked down at him.
"Let me think about that... No!" He flipped them and held her tightly, nuzzling against her throat with a loud and very lazy purr. He soon helped her up and watched as she moved to hug Storm Ridge. The two embraced and murmured softly, words of encouragement and love.
"I miss you all so much," She whispered.
"We'll always be with you, Aquafire," Storm Ridge brushed a kiss over her lip components and smiled. "Always in your spark. We love you."
"I love you all as well." She stepped back with a sad smile. "I... I'm sorry... If it weren't for me... you'd all still be online."
"No, Aquafire," Skyblitz shook his helm. "Do not blame yourself, sweetspark, it was not your fault. Cruel as it might be, this was what was fated for us by Primus. Let go of the pain, let go of the past and move on."
"It hurts too much..." Storm Ridge gently wrapped his arms around her, chirping quietly to sooth her.
"I know it does but do not lay the blame on yourself. You have to move forward, there is so much more you still need to experience and see. You have your whole life ahead of you yet," Skyblitz smiled.
"Instead of remembering the bad times, remember the good ones," Steel Wing rumbled out.
"Focus on the future, not the past," Wildfire added softly. "Focus on that youngling you have, he needs you more than anything."
"It won't heal the empty space in your spark but you'll have other chances," Storm Ridge murmured. "What Shockwave did to you was horrible but please, don't linger on it. For my sake." He moved and kissed her gently. "Move on, it will make us all very happy."
"I... will try," She breathed out, clinging to her former lover and trine mate. "For all of you, I will try."
"Good," Steel Wing smirked. "Now stop getting into trouble, we aren't always going to be there to save your aft."
"My darling Aquafire, it is time for you to wake up," Skyblitz smiled at her. "You have bots waiting for you and a very excited youngling."
"Will... I see you again?" She was hesitant and even a little panicked when the ethereal forms began to fade away.
"Just look into your spark," Storm Ridge smiled as they faded out of sight. Everything suddenly plunged into darkness, taking Aquafire with it.
-X-X-X-
Aquafire slowly onlined her optics and sighed in relief when she wasn't assaulted by intense flashes of pain and warnings across her HUD. A bright light flooded into her optic sensors as she onlined them fully and winced from the brightness of it. A figure suddenly appeared, blocking out most of the light, and a wrench suddenly collided with her helm, tearing a yelp from her vocals.
"That's for worrying us all to death, femme," The voice grunted.
"Nice to see you too, Ratchet," She grumbled in greeting. The medic began running a few initial scans on her slowly onlining systems and ran a few tests to ensure his repairs had worked; not that he doubted they would but it was a measure he always took.
"Any pain?" He asked, poking and prodding along her wings and chassis.
"Just a little in my wings," She winced. She turned her helm and gaped at how shredded her wings were.
"It'll take quite some time before your wings fully heal," He told her softly. The femme groaned when she caught the meaning behind it. She would be grounded until they were fully healed, something that was certain to drive her stir crazy. "You took quite a beating, Aquafire, its a miracle you survived."
"I have what the humans call guardian angels," She chuckled weakly. "Always saving my aft..." Ratchet didn't question her on this as he knew it would merely stir old memories.
"Want to tell me why you took on Starscream of all bots?" Ratchet asked. Aquafire looked at him with rage flaring in her optics and he actually took a step back. "We'll talk about it when you're ready," He cleared his throat.
"How long have I been out?" She sat up with the medics help.
"A month and two days," Aquafire was stunned by this.
"Did I... miss Bolt's...?" She felt her spark clench when he nodded.
"He was adamant about you seeing him but we promised that you would the moment you woke up." Ratchet told her, continuing to examine her frame. "He'll be here shortly with Prowl."
"How is he?" She asked softly.
"He's doing well, though he just wants to see you," Ratchet monitored her carefully. "He came in to see you a few days ago so he'll be happy to know you're awake." Aquafire nodded and looked around. She caught sight of two very familiar frames and barely had time to react as they rushed into the room, right towards her. She scrambled to back up, forgetting she was on a berth, and let out a squawk as she fell and landed on the floor in a very ungraceful way. She blinked her optics up at two smiling faces and scowled at them just before Ratchet slammed a wrench into both their helms, cursing and yelling at them for startling his patient. The medic helped her back onto the berth and checked her over to ensure she hadn't reopened any of the temporary welds he'd put in place before he turned to glare at the twins.
"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe," She acknowledged them softly. She was still fairly upset with them though this apparently didn't stop the Lamborghini's from nearly launching themselves at her and getting right within hitting range. "What are you two doing here? And why was I nearly flattened? Seriously, if Ratchet hadn't taken my weapons offline," She glared at the smug looking medic. "I'd have fired at you two."
"We heard talking and wanted to see if you were really up," Sideswipe chirped happily. Aquafire took a moment to study the twins and noticed that they looked like they could use a good wash. She was amazed that Sunstreaker wasn't complaining about how filthy he was and how dull his armor looked.
"You two look like scrap," She told them. "When is the last time you mechs actually saw a washrack?"
"Before we rescued Bolt," Sunstreaker shrugged. "When we saw you, we thought you'd gotten into a fight with Devastator or Megatron himself."
"Close enough," She grunted, not really wanting to relay the real reason behind her nearly healed injuries. "Why haven't you two gone to the washracks in all this time?"
"These two stubborn slaggers have been your acting guards for the last few weeks," Ratchet informed her with a scowl. "When they weren't here watching you or guarding the door to this room, they were in the rec room stirring up trouble."
"We didn't start it," Sunstreaker snapped irritably. Aquafire gave the twins a curious glance though it became obvious that they were not going to elaborate on what Ratchet was telling her. A sly smile tugged at the femme's lip components and her optics flashed as she eyed the twins.
"Were you two perhaps worried about me?" She purred out, startling the frontliners.
"Nah, we knew you'd be fine," Said Sideswipe in a nonchalant manner. Aquafire only chuckled at this and shook her helm.
"I suppose I should thank you both for sticking around and waiting for me to recover," She canted her head to the side. "Though as for the fights, I will have to ask later what those were about."
"Now that you've seen she's alright, you two can leave and wash up," Ratchet snapped. "Go!" The twins hurried away then. "Prowl will be by soon to get you and Optimus will want to speak with you later on. I want you in here tomorrow for a check up and after that, I'll need you to come in once a week so I can ensure you're healing properly. No high-grade for a while, strictly mid-grade and an occasional cube of medical grade to help the healing process. I don't want you on your pede's so much, so remain in your berth or sitting down as much as possible."
"Is that all?" Aquafire was already hating the orders and she wasn't even out of Ratchet's care yet.
"No interfacing," The femme winced and nodded.
"Understood," She muttered. Her slight anger melted away the moment a very excited voice called her name.
"Mama!" Bolt shot into the med bay and was held back from leaping at her by Ratchet. Aquafire was somewhat stunned by his appearance. He was taller, though he probably didn't even reach Prowl's chestplates, and he was a bit bulkier than she remembered seeing him. He still held his black and white color scheme and those blue markings that ran along his frame. His doorwings were a bit bigger as well and were fluttering happily behind him as he smiled at her brightly. In a way, he reminded her of a mini, hyperactive version of Prowl.
That thought of course, had her snickering to herself quietly.
Ratchet let the mech go and he rushed up, hugging his mother as tight as he dared.
"I was so scared," He chirred softly, nuzzling against her throat. "We didn't know when you were going to wake up."
"Oh sweetspark," She held him as close as she could while sitting on the medical berth and showered his helm with kisses, which of course earning a squeak from the Praxian. "I know you were scared and I'm sorry I worried you so much. I'm sorry I missed your upgrade. I bet you were a brave mech, right?" He nodded and smiled.
"Uncle Prowl and Jazz were with me," He looked back at the older Praxian, who seemed far more relaxed than Aquafire was used to. "I got to do a lot of things while I stayed with him."
"It's hard to say no to him," He shrugged. "After you speak with Optimus, Jazz and I want to talk with you."
"Alright," She nodded. Bolt let his mother go and helped her stand up with Ratchet before she left with her son and Prowl. "So, what did you do while I was away?"
"I helped uncle Prowl and Jazz a lot," He let out a giggle then. "I got to see him chew out Optimus Prime because he didn't turn in a report on time," His optics were large with amusement as he said this.
"Its a shame I missed it," She smirked.
"Sunny and Sides were in the brig a few times but didn't stay long," Bolt continued on.
"Why's that?" She looked to Prowl for the answer.
"A few of our men decided to voice their opinions on you and were unfortunately within hearing range of the twins," He told her. Aquafire nodded slowly and decided that she would have to reconsidered her grudge against them. She leaned against Bolt after a while, feeling a bit weak and gave him a small smile when he whined worriedly.
"I'll be alright," She assured him. "Why don't you go with Prowl so I can go talk with Optimus."
"Kay," He nodded and left with Prowl as they went their separate ways. Aquafire took a deep breath before she knocked on Prime's office door and walked in as it opened.
"Aquafire," She could tell from his optics that he was smiling behind that battle mask of his. "It is good to see you up and about at last."
"I could say it feels great but I can't," She chuckled, sinking into a chair gratefully.
"I'm certain Ratchet has you under strict orders by now," The great mech chuckled when he saw her scowl. "He can be overbearing at times but he knows whats best," He leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk then. "Aquafire, why did you engage Starscream on your own like that?"
"It's a very personal matter," She grimaced. "I'd rather not talk about it. He and I have... a bit of history together, and not the good kind either."
"That is understandable," He nodded. "I know you will tell us when the time is right. Have you always been at such odds with each other?"
"Yes, unfortunately," She snorted. "We never did like each other, he always had an issue with me."
"I see," Optimus rumbled softly, optics flashing with slight worry. "Thank you, Aquafire," He leaned back again. "I can give you light monitor duty and file work for the time being until Ratchet has cleared you to return to active duty, if that is alright with you of course."
"That will have to do," She sighed. "Thank you, Optimus, for listening," She stood up with a slight wince and left. The Matrix-bearer pinched the bridge of his nasal-ridge and sighed to himself. He would have to update Elita on Aquafire's condition soon. Now that Aquafire was out of stasis, Elita would be eager to hear how she was doing. Speaking of the femmes... Optimus was currently debating with his officers and Elita on whether or not the femmes should come to Earth. So far, most were in favor of having the femmes come, though they still needed to discuss how many would need to be left behind in order to continue fighting against Shockwave. Elita was supposed to supply him with a list soon so that they could finish up with their plans and get the femmes to Earth so hopefully when he contacted her later, she would have the list for him.
With a sigh, Optimus began looking over datapads to bide his time until he needed to contact his bondmate.
-X-X-X-
When Aquafire arrived in Prowl's office, she found that Bolt was gone though she was quickly informed that he was with Bumblebee, learning the basics of how to be a scout.
"I hope he wasn't too much trouble for you both," She murmured looking at the two mechs.
"Nah, he was great," Jazz smiled. "Smart lil' thing though."
"What Jazz means to say is that Bolt has what it takes to join the Special Ops as well as the makings of a great tactician," Prowl's doorwings twitched as he spoke. "True he has had no formal training as of yet but he has proven more than once that he is skilled in information gathering."
"Perhaps he just asked Teletraan 1?" Aquafire shifted a little.
"No, and there was no signs of unauthorized file access either," The femme was pleasantly surprised by the news.
"Is there another reason you wanted to speak with me?" She canted her head to the side.
"Now tha' he upgraded ta his third frame, meh an' Prowler wanna start trainin' him," Jazz spoke this time. "Teach him wha' we know, ya dig?"
"I see no problem with that," She hummed softly. "I just need to be sure that you won't send him on any missions until he's ready."
"Wouldn't dream o' it," Jazz assured. Aquafire nodded and sighed, relieved that her son would be in good hands during his training.
"If that is all, then I will be going," She stood up carefully. "Ratchet will have my aft if I don't get some rest soon. If Bolt comes back, tell him I'm in our quarters," The two nodded and watched as she left. Jazz sat on the edge of his mates desk and smirked at him, visor glinting.
"Jazz," Prowl looked at him, frowning. "For the last time, no."
"Aww, c'mon, Prowler!" He whined softly. "Ya can't tell meh ya didn't enjoy havin' Bolt around tha' whole time."
"No, I cannot," He sighed.
"Hasn't tha' changed yer mind jus' a lil?" He smiled hopefully. Early on in their relationship, they'd spoken of starting a family but that was before the war went into full swing and before the attacks on the Youth Sectors. That was what ultimately drove the pair to put the idea of sparklings into the far back of their processors.
Since coming to Earth, Jazz had begun pestering Prowl about having a sparkling again but the SIC thought it was illogical for them to try since they were still in the middle of a war. So the idea was once again shelved for another time but when Aquafire arrived with Bolt, it brought up a feeling of longing in the two mechs. Prowl and Jazz had helped in raising Bluestreak but the fact remained that he was Prowl's younger brother and not their own sparkling.
Prowl let himself sigh as he reached out and grabbed his bondmates hand, lacing their fingers together.
"Perhaps it has," He murmured. "Having Bolt around has been a very... fun experience. I've almost forgotten what it's like to have a sparkling or a youngling underfoot. We haven't had one since Bumblebee and Bluestreak."
"Th' other mech's 'ave been talkin' bout th' possibility o' more, love," Jazz gave his hand a squeeze and pulled it up to kiss his knuckle joints. "Havin' Bolt around has made a lot o' us happy an' hopeful fer th' next generation. Even th' Dinobots love him!" Prowl broke into a soft smile then. The first time they'd introduced Bolt to the Dinobots, he'd been very curious and had started firing off questions about them which Wheeljack happily answered. Grimlock had been the first to approach the youngling, sniffing and nuzzling him as he inspected the small creature. The Dinobots were used to the small stature of the humans so seeing a Cybertronian smaller than the minibots had intrigued them. Once they'd finished inspecting him, they'd happily and fiercely declared that they would protect the youngling and play with him when he was bored, though the thought of the Dinobots playing with the youngling had frightened quite a few bots.
"I... shall think about it," Prowl finally conceded much to his mate's delight.
"Ah knew ya'd come around," He smiled and leaned down to capture the SIC's lips in a loving kiss. Prowl kissed back with a barely hidden smile and released his mates hand as the saboteur stood up. "Catch ya later," He gave a little salute and sauntered off, humming an upbeat tune. Prowl shook his helm and got back to work. This was going to be an interesting week indeed.
-X-X-X-
"Good luck and do as Jazz tells you," Aquafire smiled at Bolt. It was his first day of real training and he was quite excited, if not a little nervous. He was training with Jazz on the basics of being in the special ops and the saboteur was expecting great things from the young mech.
"See you tonight," He smiled. Aquafire gave him one last hug before she walked off.
"You should go relax." The femme was slightly startled when Prowl finally spoke. She'd almost forgotten he was with her.
"That sounds like a good idea," She hummed. "You should as well, you're just as nervous as I am right now." Prowl only scowled at her before he walked off back to his office.
Aquafire headed for the rec room, hoping to relax and take the edge off of the ache in her chassis. As she was walking, she couldn't help but notice two very annoying forms that seemed to be shadowing her the entire time. With a sigh, she stopped walking and spoke out loud to them. "Stop hiding, I know you're there," She snapped. "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe." She turned in time to see the two bots slip out of a nearby hall, one wearing a look of irritation while the other was obviously amused, if not a little disappointed that they'd been caught. "Why do you two insist on following me around? It's been over a week since I woke up from being in stasis, you two don't need to act as my guards anymore."
"You still aren't fully recovered," Sideswipe pointed out as he and his brother made their way towards her. "Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble."
"I am not a sparkling, Sideswipe!" She snapped with a growl, narrowing her optics at him. "I do not need a sparkling-sitter. I am a fully grown femme who is quite capable of defending herself."
"Not in your current condition you're not," Sunstreaker frowned. Aquafire's wings twitched in annoyance but this one simple move caused a flash of pain to roll over her. "Exactly what I mean."
"Don't fight us on this," Sideswipe chirped, a smile on his face. The twins grabbed an arm each and practically dragged her the rest of the way to the rec room. They sat her down at the nearest table and hurried off to get some energon for her and themselves.
"Fragging glitches." She grumbled and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for them to return.
"You should know by now that they don't give up very easily." A very amused Bumblebee walked up to her table then, a smirk curling his lip components.
"I know but it doesn't mean I have to like it," She grumbled. Bumblebee only smiled and walked off, shooting a look at the twins as they returned.
"A cube of mid-grade for the femme," The cube was placed in front of her. "And two cubes of high-grade for us."
"I should hit you for teasing me with something you know I can't yet have." She glowered at the twins, frowning when they only grinned. The three drank in silence, though Sideswipe did at times attempt to ease the tension surrounding them with jokes and offhanded remarks. "Touch me again and your servo is going to be mine for good."
"You are no fun," Sideswipe huffed, pouting in a sparkling-like manner.
"Can't you be a normal femme for once?" Sunstreaker grumbled, obviously upset over something that completely escaped the Seeker.
"That would ruin my image as one of the badaft's around here," She snickered softly. "So no, I cannot be a normal femme. In fact, 'normal' does not register in my processor anymore."
"Do we have to teach you how to be normal?" Sideswipe got that look in his optics then.
"You don't have to teach me anything," She frowned.
"Obviously we do," Sunstreaker raised an optic ridge at her. "You don't act like a femme, you don't accept any attention from mech's, Pit, if anything, you hate attention."
"In case you haven't realized it, I am not a normal femme, never have been," She frowned. "I'm not built like one of the femme's you two are probably used to. I'm a Seeker, a warrior, not a pleasurebot or a dancer."
"Even our femmes know how to relax and let themselves be pampered by a mech." Sideswipe hummed, scooting closer to the blue Seeker.
"Sorry, but I don't go for groundpounders who have previously tried to knock me out of the air," She sneered at them, though the bite behind her words wasn't there. "Ratchet has told me I am not allowed to interface until I'm healed anyway," Sideswipe groaned and Sunstreaker twitched, a sign of annoyance. "Even if I could, I sure as Pit wouldn't share a berth with either of you."
"We may change your mind yet," Sideswipe recovered quickly and grinned at her.
"Doubtful," She took a sip of her energon then. "And if you two slaggers keep stalking me, I'm going to have a nice talk with Prowl and Ironhide." The Lamborghini's both paused at this. If she told either one, they were slagged.
"You win this time," Sideswipe grumbled. Aquafire smirked in satisfaction and finished off her energon.
"Well, since we've gotten this settled, I should be going." She finished off her energon and stood with a slight wince. "I don't feel like having Ratchet lecture me again and my berth is calling my name. See ya." With that, she sauntered off, barely casting the twins a second glance. The two Lamborghini's looked at each other and silently agreed that Aquafire was going to be taught a lesson in how to relax and enjoy life.