The Diego Diaries: Interlude 1 (671)
-0-Playing nearby
That was when Swan leaned down and picked up Grimlock. His grip was gentle but firm. He brought the Dinobot up to his face and smiled. Looking at Xantium, he laughed. "He's cute!"
"Me, Grimlock is not cute!" the big mech protested.
"He, Grimlock is not cute," Slag agreed.
Grimlock looked down and frowned. "Me, Grimlock slag you, Slag."
"You, Grimlock can try," Slag said with a frown of his own. It was then that he shot fire upward at his leader. That was when Swan who was startled dropped Grimlock from nearly 700 feet in the air. It was at that moment that the fire reached Swan's servo flickering around his little (big) hand for a nanosecond. As Grimlock fell sensors shot out, enormously powerful sensors. They found their target, then their target vanished. Xantium who had reached downward for Slag to frag his aft paused, Dinobot in grip. "Where did the kid go?"
Kappa and Zeta who stood looked in the direction of the city formers. "I think Swan got recalled," she said as she looked at the two Dinobots in Xantium's servos. "Naughty Dinobots. I think it would be a good idea to take them to the Mare and run their behinds off, Zee."
Xantium who was giving both his own frown nodded. "I think so too."
Zeta who was altogether the most dignified and proper of all the Supremes looked at the Dinobots. "That was not a very nice thing to do, Slag. That was a child."
"SLAG NOT CARE! SLAG NOT CARE ONE BIT!" the bot raged impotently, firmly in the grasp of his nemesis, Xantium.
"That's alright. I do," Xantium said with a grin. "Time to go play, boys," he said as he stashed them both inside his carry hold. They would continue their argument inside that vast space but the moment the fire came out Xantium would zap them with electricity. The last thing Zee needed at the moment was heart burn. As he moved to transform, Zeta and Kappa walked to Hex and Hydrax to commiserate on their infant and the vagaries of life as seen on Mars.
-0-Home later that same orn
"ATAR! I CAME HOME AND YOU WEREN'T HERE!" Sunspot said as he stood in the middle of the living room watching his genitors enter with a box filled with food. "I WAITED FOR YOU TO COME!"
Ratchet and Ironhide paused, then looked down at the tense little mech staring up at them. "Sunbeam, you are supposed to go to the store today. You know we trust you to walk there with Spot and be fine."
"I WAITED FOR YOU! I MISSED YOU BOTH!" he said with intensity.
Ironhide scooped him up cradling him against his shoulder. "We missed you too."
"Are you alright? Has something happened to bother you?" Ratchet asked with concern.
"NO. I JUST MISSED YOU BOTH!" he said hugging Ironhide's neck more tightly.
"We missed you too, spud," Ironhide said.
Sunspot looked at both of them. "Will you stay home now?"
"For now, sure. I think we're in good shape," Ratchet said with a grin.
"I'M SO GLAD! I MISSED YOU!" he said hugging Ironhide's neck once more.
"Well, why don't you help us get dinner ready," Ratchet said as he patted Sunspot's wings.
"I CAN HELP!" Sunny said with a brilliant smile. Spot who was sitting beside him smiled too. For a dog.
"We haven't had an orn where you didn't help," Ratchet said with a grin.
They worked companionably getting dinner together, then Ironhide left to get the remaining infants from elsewhere. Setting plates and stuff on the table, Sunspot meticulously detailed the days they were gone so they would be 'caught up on 'the news'. Ratchet listened with a grin on his face to all of it.
-0-In the prison
Motormaster stood by the bars staring at Trannis. "How did you get nailed, fragger?"
"What's it to you, fragger?" Trannis asked from his perch on the berth that he would sleep on for the known future. The small shelter that was his 'house' was open on one side. The lockup was not designed to be comfortable. It wasn't.
"I just want to hear how you fragged up. It makes me smile," Motormaster said.
"Where's Breakdown?" Trannis asked. "I see the others but that one's missing. Where is he? Dead?"
"He wishes," Dead End said from his berth bench in his pen. "Breakdown lives in the city. He's free."
"Why not you?" Trannis asked.
"We came here to surrender and Prime threw us in the prison. Half the mechs here get day privileges but we don't. Prime is a fragger," Motormaster said, warming up to the moment. "Breakdown is a slagger. He hasn't come one time to visit us here."
"Can you blame him? Why would he?" Trannis said as he walked to his own berth to sit.
"I can blame anyone for anything that I want. Breakdown is going to get a beating like he never had when I get out of here," Motormaster said with venom.
"How do you expect to manage that? This is at least a level two prison," Trannis said looking around himself.
"We will get out," Motormaster said with conviction.
Trannis glanced at Dead End. That mech looked at him, then shrugged. "We're never getting out of here. Ever."
Motormaster went back to looking for rocks once again.
-0-At the house in the clouds
They hip hopped into the apartment, then paused staring at Ratchet with giant optics and startled expressions. "ADA!"
"Orion."
"YOU COMED! YOU HERE WITH ME AND HER!" Orion looked at Hero who was smiling a giant smile of her own. "YOU COMED TO ME AND HER AND HIM!" he said pointing to Praxus. The trio converged on Ratchet and when the kissing and hugging subsided all three were sitting on his lap. "ADA COMED!" Orion said as he grinned up at Ironhide.
"Ada comed," Ironhide replied with a grin. Prowler was in the crook of his arm. He looked at Ratchet, then grinned. "A!"
"Oh-oh," Sunspot said with a grin as he leaned against Ratchet. "Mr. Herling will grab him if he knows Prowler can talk."
"Don't tell him," Ironhide said as he settled the baby in the now historic bouncing chair that everyone thus far but Orion had used in their tender years.
"Will we get a new one if Prowler goes to school?" Sunspot asked sweetly.
Ratchet snorted. "No."
"Yes," Ironhide said with a grin. "We need a football team."
"We need therapy," Ratchet said with a grin of his own. "Anyone hungry?"
It was unanimous so they settled around the table to eat. The Cybertronian version of spaghetti O's and 'French bread' was served along with some snack 'cheese sticks' that were famous on Cybertron for finicky children rounding out the meal. It was a long convoluted catch up of events and feelings among the short set:
"Ada? I missed you. I got a boo-boo on my finger," Hero said holding up a digit.
"What happened?" Ratchet said inspecting it thoroughly before kissing it.
Hero paused, smiling like the sun, then continued. "I hit it with a hammer."
"What were you building, Hero?" Sunspot asked politely because he was nothing if not polite.
"I was making a bird house," Hero said.
"We don't have birds here," Ironhide the Obvious replied.
"In my playhouse, I have a birdie. Two birdies," Hero replied. Everyone paused to compute, then remembered that Hero had a tiny hummingbird and a tiny cardinal dollie, each of them part of the beautiful doll house that Sunstreaker had made for her when he had them made for his daughters.
"Oh." -everyone
"ADA!"
"What, Orion?"
"I played good. I was good," Orion said in complete sentences.
Insert applause and pats here.
He grinned brilliantly. "I fighted Han. Lo-Lo gotted scared. I cried."
They looked at him, then Hero and Sunspot. Praxus was too busy trying to pile spaghetti O's on his spoon to assist with the clarity issue.
"He got in trouble when Han dumped a bucket of sand on his helm," Sunspot said remembering the conversation with Mr. Roto when he went to the schools with Grandada Ravel and Grandatar Tie Down to get the little ones. "He was playing with Miss Leonora and it was a mistake."
"It was?" Ironhide asked. Everyone looked at Orion who paused a spoon to his mouth. He grinned brilliantly.
Ratchet snorted. "I take that as a yes."
Sunspot chuckled. "He's so cute." He looked at Ironhide. "Miss Leonora was in the sandbox playing. Han dumped sand on Orion and they chased. She was rescued by Mr. Roto."
Everyone looked at Orion again. He smiled brilliantly with a mouth filled with spaghetti O's.
Insert gagging sounds here.
"He wore my tu-tu," Hero said. "He had my hat and necklace with the flowers. He was so cute. You were cute, Orion," she said looking at her brother with smile.
He paused a glass to his mouth and grinned. Nothing fell out. It was a win-win for everyone. "I like Ho-Ho's dress."
Ironhide grinned. "Trendsetting are you?"
Orion looked at him a moment, then smiled. "I LOVE HERO!"
Insert general agreement here.
"I wonder if his get up got onto film?" Ratchet asked. He grinned. "There's going to be a rush on mental health on Earth if they filmed him. I rather like his get ups. Remember the cowboy period?"
Ironhide snorted. "Little mech's gun holster kept slipping around to the front of his belly."
Ratchet laughed. "I have the pictures to embarrass him when he's older to prove it."
They sat bantering, hearing the news as they ate dinner. After dessert, they were off. Retiring to the chairs in the living room, Ratchet and Ironhide relaxed. "This is the life."
"It is," Ironhide replied. "About that new youngling..."
"I'm glad you're planning ahead, Only One. Mighty nice of you to volunteer," Ratchet replied.
"There you go again hallucinating," Ironhide said with a grin. He glanced at the counter where the can of frosting sat. "I think I'm going to try out frosting. That can says its lemon frosting. What's lemon?"
Ratchet scanned the internet. "A fruit flavor. How bad can that be?"
Ironhide nodded, then rose walking to the counter. He opened the can, then sniffed. "It smells good. I hear you spread it on things."
"Cakes and cupcakes and such," Ratchet said buzzing through the internet again. "What are you going to frost?"
Ironhide reached down to his cupboard, rummaged a bit, then pulled out a half filled jar. "This," he said holding up a jar that said 'dill pickles'.
Ratchet scanned again. "I don't think you frost dill pickles, Ironhide."
"You can frost anything, Ratchet. I, Ironhide, gourmet destroyer of worlds speaketh."
"You speaketh?" Ratchet asked with a grin.
"I speaketh. Since I already speaketh, I guess you might say I spoketh," he said drawing out a big fine specimen of a kosher dill pickle. Retrieving a knife, he slathered it with rich white lemon flavored frosting. Turning, holding it up, he grinned. "This is a work of art. It is poetry. I, Ironhide sayeth this is so-eth."
Ratchet guffawed, then grinned. "Eat-eth it and telleth me what give-eth, taste wise."
He grinned, then nodded. "I shall-eth." Then he took a big bite. He chewed it a couple of times, then leaned over the sink. Spitting it out, he bellowed. Turning, holding a half buttered pickle, he gasped, then bellowed again.
"What is happening-eth? Dideth you screwest up, Only One-eth?" Ratchet asked without a hint of pity.
Ironhide hacked and gulped, actual tears filling his optics. Coughing and hacking some more, he turned to Ratchet. "You are a slagger-eth."
Ratchet bellowed too ... with laughter. The dill pickle went into the garbage chute. A plate of cookies and a beer took its place and the Maestro of Mayhem, the Bringer of Doom settled down beside his smirking Only One.
All in all, it was great to be home again.
-0-TBC April 2, 2014 edited 4-15-14