The Diego Diaries: Down Time (280) edited for boo boos
-0-In the school
Orion beat on Han for a moment, then stepped back watching the little bot swim in aspic. Han floundered, his backside stinging from the blows. He had sand in every part of his body including his mouth. That was the worst part, the sand in his mouth. He hated that. Pausing, he looked up at Orion who was standing uncertainly, his servos poised with their spoons. "You fall."
Han looked at him spitting out sand. He frowned. "Orion boo!"
They both paused considering what the new word meant and both failed. To Orion, it sounded like a threat. To Han, it sounded like swearing. "BOO!" he said 'swearing' at his nemesis.
Orion blinked, his tiny processor going through the possibilities. It sounded like swearing to him too. "Han bad! Han say boo!" Then he began to pound on Han again.
Olo paused her cookie in front of her mouth and glanced anxiously over her shoulder. No one was paying attention. So she handed her cookie to Mimi and clambered over the wall. Walking unsteadily across the sand, she paused beside Orion. Looking at Han floundering, she turned to Orion. "O. No."
Orion paused, then looked at the sparkling white little femme with the delicate wings who was a good friend of his and sometimes dancing partner. "Olo!" he smiled brilliantly.
Neo glanced their way and smiled. "All is good over there. I think I will help you, my darling El, to move over here." With that, she began to gather the tiny femme to move to where the sun would warm her body and help her protoform to grow.
Olo looked at Han, then reached down and grabbed his arm. Tugging, she tried to pull him up. Orion who stood watching put his spoons down and leaned into the task. If Olo wanted him up, he, Orion would help. They tugged and tugged, then Han was up.
Han sputtered for a moment, then looked at both of them. Reaching out, he slapped Orion on the nose. Orion blinked and sputtered himself. Then he slapped Han on the nose too. Olo who stood surprised looked at Han. "No."
Han looked at her, then Orion. "Bad, O."
Olo looked at him, then Orion. "No."
They both paused, then looked at each other. Han pushed Orion hard but he had been planted firmly in the sand. He wavered, then pushed Han himself. That bot fell over and landed on the former castle. He lay akimbo for a moment, then thrashed to get up.
Orion watching turned and looked at his bucket. It still had sand so he took it and poured it over the top of Han. Then he began to bury the little mech in the sand with his spoons.
-0-At the hospital
Ratchet stood to one side as the plastic surgeons began to remove the masks that had hidden the genitors of Optimus Prime from discovery since the Fall. Dozens of images supplied by the family had been studied with parts fabricated and armored to replace that which had covered their familiar features for so long.
Out in the waiting room, Optimus and Prowl sat chatting with the ten Elite Guards who had been their protectors, friends and guardians for all the long years of their ordeal. They themselves were immaculate in appearance and as expectant as Prime. They had come to love the two self effacing gentle individuals and had as much emotional investment in their recovery as the family.
Ironhide stood in the doorway, a wary optic on Prowl. That bot sat next to Optimus on the couch listening as they whiled away the hours.
So far so good.
-0-At the school
Han rolled over and clambered out of the sand trap turning to cast a vicious optic at Orion. Orion looked at his peds and planted them carefully like his atar, his little spoons coming up before him like fists. Olo who was alarmed patted at both of them as Mimi stood holding both their cookies, a solemn look on her face. "No. No no," Olo said mimicking her genitors who were exceedingly careful with her dainty self. "No, Olo. No no," was a common comment gently delivered at her home.
Orion looked at her and paused a moment putting down his spoons. He turned taking her servo and walked to the edge of the sandbox with her in tow. Walking her there through the sludge of sand, he helped her climb out. As that happened Han went for a spoon. He got one and was going for the other when Orion turned. Orion lunged for the one remaining. They stared at each other, both armed with a plastic spoon and a menacing optic. They then commenced to swing on each other with all their might.
Han fell down and Orion ended up stumbling. He faced backwards from Han when he finally steadied and paused looking around for him. Olo and Mimi just glanced at each other solemnly.
-0-At the surgery
They worked gently taking away parts that were designed to make them nondescript. Replacing them with the original armor plating, Prime's genitors began to emerge from their exile. Kestrel had most of the looks that Optimus had inherited in his protoform. His colors came from his atar, Tagg. That handsome bot was red and blue with bits of white here and there.
Kestrel was mostly blue with red highlights here and there. He was vivid in his colors which reflected the effort and expense his genitors had expended on his protoform. For a low cast mech, he had a very good one. Tagg's was handsome and durable but the original colors weren't as vivid. Both families were as destitute as everyone else at their level but Kes's family had scrimped long and hard before he was even considered as a possibility.
Their armor was waxed with a textural salve, a thick oily conditioner that was rubbed on until it no longer was absorbed. This armor in its state took a lot of it before they achieved balance. It would texturize and strengthen the plating, restoring it to a healthy condition once again. It would be better and stronger than it had at any time in their lives. Because it was, the protoform underneath it with the liquid metallic substances that formed in layers over their internal skeleton would be strengthened and balanced as well. All the aches and pains, the ill feelings of distress and the damage caused by protoform wasting would begin to turn around and find the path to resolution.
All that would be missing was a detailing of the surface colors and designs which would adhere to the armor plating like steel. Even a scratch would be rebuffed when the process was complete.
Ratchet watched and saw handsome mechs re-emerge. He turned and walked to the door pausing to look outside. Everyone silenced and looked at him. He smiled. "All is going very well. What handsome mechs your genitors are, Optimus. They look and are doing very very well."
Optimus looked intensely relieved and the Elite Guards beamed. Ratchet turned and went inside as Prowl rose and turned to the door. "Fork over the sparkling, Ironhide," he said with a relieved expression on his face. "That's an order."
Ironhide's smile 86'ed itself and he begrudgingly pulled Prowler out of his carry hold. He was wearing his brand new stuff just picked up that morning from The Sparkling Store on their way to the conference meeting. He had a black Holstein cow print on his cap and booties. His little sweater had the same only in tan. His blanket was white with a big cow smiling and 'MOO!' printed in black letters on the middle of it.
Prowl took the baby and grinned. "Well, if you aren't the cutest little buckaroo in the room."
After the reference was referenced, everyone smiled. Prowl turned and sat holding him so Optimus could see. "What a cute little baby you are," Prime said grinning at his partner's namesake. He looked up at Ironhide who was sulking at the door. "You have another one inside your carry hold, grabby. Why not bring her out too?"
"Prowl is greedy," Ironhide said smiling in spite of himself. He reached in and pulled Hero out setting her on her peds. She wore her Little Blue Dog kit and held the same plushie by an ear. She looked at everyone and smiled. Toddling forward in her hat and sweater, dragging her little dollie behind her, she headed for anyone who would hold her.
Her atar looked at her efforts like she had just invented the cure for cosmic rust.
-0-At the school
Orion stumbled around trying to find Han who had managed to move forward. He had Orion's bucket in servo and with herculean effort plopped it on Orion's helm. Picking up the spoon he had held before falling on his face, he began to hit the bucket hard. Orion stumbled forward bumping Han who fell down and as he staggered trying to get the bucket off, he fell over the edge of the sand box and landed in a pile.
For a moment, the two femmes just stared with incredulity that such things could happen in a civilized world. Then they put their cookies down and walked forward. Olo gripped the bucket and Mimi gripped one of Orion's tiny peds. They both pulled.
Hard.
-0-A bit later in the surgery
Optimus looked at the face of his atar and felt emotions flooding him. This was the face he had loved, the face who had loved him. Sitting up nearby, Prowl's arm around him, Kestrel sat looking at the armor that had been so damaged and now glistened a healthy strong shade of gray. "This is so wonderful."
Ratchet nodded and held out a mirror. Kestrel looked at him, then took it taking a big breath before looking. The face looking back was a memory from long ago. It was handsome and wise. It was good and gentle. The face staring back in the mirror was a face that had accepted its lot in life, worked hard without complaint and did without so his son and bond could have what they needed. Kestrel was kind and shy. That mech was once more evident now. He looked at his servos and the rest of himself, restored again to what and who he once was. It was almost an out of protoform experience.
"Kestrel."
He looked up and flinched. Tagg was looking at him, the mech he had met and loved, the mech who had done his best to protect him all the long exile and who he had tried to protect. He was standing with his son, their son, their wonderful son. Tagg was handsome again. He was beautiful. He was the mech he had met at the plant who loved books and his family. He was the mech who ate shit and worked for stupid people because he had a son and bond to support. He had always done his job, teaching their boy their shared values of obligation to others and basic decency. They had together created a son worthy of the Matrix and now he was back.
Kestrel got to his peds and with a wary Prowl by his side walked to Tagg who rose himself unsteadily. He embraced his bond, holding him tightly, then he looked at Tagg's face. "You are so handsome. You are yourself."
"You are too, Kes," Tagg said hugging Kestrel tightly. "I love you, Kes. I'm so happy to see you again. You were beautiful no matter what happened. You were always you. I just missed your beautiful face, that's all."
Kestrel nodded. "I know, Tagg," he managed.
Optimus didn't dare speak at all. None of them did.
-0-At the rumble in the sandbox
Orion managed to get on his peds and clamber back inside. He looked around and picked up a fistful of sand. He threw it at Han but it fizzled out before it reached him. Han watched it fall to the ground and laughed. "O, bad!"
Orion then decided to head butt Han. He had seen Sunspot do it in jest with Sideswipe. Sideswipe had fallen over in a faint when Sunny did it. He would do it too. He then commenced to chase Han around the sandbox nodding his helm toward Han each time he managed to get close to him. He never connected but he tried.
Mimi and Olo looked at them, then turned running as fast as their tiny selves could go to where Mr. Roto was chatting with an aide about a class later on that afternoon. They stopped and looked up, way up at him. He paused and looked down grinning. "Hello, ladies. What can I do for you?"
They looked at each other, then both pointed toward the sandbox. "O! Han! Bad. No no!" they both said mostly at the same time.
Roto stepped out and looked as Neo rose from where El was laying on her little chair. They both paused to watch.
Orion was chasing Han, his helm bouncing forward in some sparkling attempt to headbutt. Han who was running ahead of Orion because he was looking where he was going would pause and hit him with a spoon. Orion would stop when he did and glare at the little bot comically. Then they would continue.
Roto looked at Neo who looked at Roto as both looked down at the femmes. They all looked at each other. Then Roto grinned and hoofed it to the sandbox pausing at the side with a stern expression. Two hoodlums in a tizzy paused and looked up at him, fake smiles breaking out on their faces at the same time. Quashing an intense urge to laugh until he died, Roto took the spoon away. "You two are the biggest pair of clowns going. I would paddle you both but I think you would like it." He reached in and glommed them both.
Setting the Chairs of Doom in the corner, Neo watched with a barely suppressed grin as they were hauled over and plunked down on their seats. Both of them looked up as Roto set the timer, a severe expression on his face that he didn't feel. "Bad mechs. You sit here until the timer goes off and I come get you. Understand?"
Both little mechs, their chins quivering nodded. Neo and Roto walked to the couch nearby to sit with an upset Mimi and Olo. Orion and Han looked at each other and on cue, they both began to spit at each other. They would do their time out in another corner but their wild aft excursion into hoodlum land would be passed around in the staff room with great hilarity.
-0-TBC
04-21-13
NOTE: I re-watched the same seggie in Dark of the Moon and find the terrain of Cybertron as imagined by Bay fascinating but beyond me to do in story form without it turning out to be very dark. It really is alien. I like the TF: Prime, G1-G2, novels for their original tone/= and look and how it applies to my stuff. I might try and imagine a story eventually with that kind of grittiness but not now. It will harm this one and the other. By the way, that story will come slower because it will remain second to this one. I hope to post on the same schedule but it will be hard to do some days. :D
A factoid that might make you smile. Frank Welker aka Megatron who is considered the best voice actor alive makes Bumblebee's voice. He says words in the pattern needed and they apply the sound effects over it to make Bee's speech. Ah-sooome. :D :D :D :D