Chapter 3: Lessons in Humility
Sideswipe was on his way to the Academy in his vehicle mode. He was going to start his first day of training and by the time he got to the Academy, he met Strongarm again as she seemed to have been waiting for the newbie to arrive.
"Well, look who it is: Sideswipe. Former delinquent who broke Optimus Prime's statue while resisting arrest and now a newbie at the Academy" Strongarm teased.
Sideswipe was annoyed, "Please don't, I just had a long recharge and I had to get over my stress with...never mind," he said. Strongarm replied "Well, what are you waiting for in your vehicle mode? Let's hop to it!" She said.
Sideswipe sighed and he transformed back into his robot mode before he and Strongarm make their way to the training room where Kup is expecting them and Prowl especially since he was expecting both Strongarm and Sideswipe to arrive and show up on time with Sideswipe so that he could talk to them a little about something.
"There you two are!" Prowl said to Sideswipe and Strongarm. Strongarm saluted the Protectobot. "Cadet Strongarm reporting for duty!" She said.
"No need to salute me, cadet. I was hoping that you two might show up on time so that I can..." Prowl said before Sideswipe interrupted "Hey, do you guys have any Energon snacks? I'm starving!" Sideswipe rudely asked.
"Sideswipe! Show some respect!" Strongarm scolded Sideswipe. Sideswipe scoffed "Sorry, Strongarm," He said.
"Alright, cut it out, both of you!" Prowl told the bickering young bots. Sideswipe and Strongarm flinched at the tone of the officer's strict voice and they apologized for their misbehavior "Sorry, sir."
Prowl cleared his throat before he began to speak to the two newbies "Alright, here's the thing. If you're gonna train in the Academy and learn to become true Autobots, there is a lesson that I would like you two to learn about" Prowl said.
"And what lesson would that be, officer?" Sideswipe asked.
Prowl made eye contact with Sideswipe and Strongarm before he answered "Humility."
"What?" Sideswipe said. "You heard me. Both of you need to learn how to put others before you. You need to learn to become less selfish. Because when it comes to being an Autobot, you have to have a bit of humility within you, Sideswipe. Strongarm, I want you to learn about humility and how you can learn how to engage in a real battle without being selfish and without thinking so highly of yourself" Prowl explained to the newbies.
"What are your terms of us learning how to be unselfish?" Strongarm asked.
"Strongarm? If you learn to put others first before you, especially when trying to arrest a runaway car..." Prowl turned to Sideswipe, "No offense...then I will let your father know of how well you've been developing. If you don't learn the basic skills of humility and become less selfish, then you'll get lower grades in your training." The Autobot police officer looked to Sideswipe "And Sideswipe...If you are willing to learn how to be a selfless Autobot, then you will get great results." Prowl said.
"Really?" Sideswipe asked suspiciously. "Really" Prowl replied. "What are you two standing around here for? Go! You'll miss class!" He told the two young bots "Yes sir!" Strongarm and before she hurried to class. "Awww! Do I really have to?" Sideswipe asked Prowl in a whiny tone.
"Don't give me that attitude, kid. Now get to class! Your classmates will be waiting for you" Prowl told Sideswipe.
Sideswipe followed Strongarm over to class as much as he would like to strangle her after causing him to break Optimus Prime's memorial statue, Sideswipe knows that he can't hit a girl even if she is a cop. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I should listen and learn if it means something like becoming a true Autobot" Sideswipe thought.
Knock Out is on a date with his wife, Arcee. Their twin sons, Rotorcharge and Trailfire went to Earth and played with their stepfather, Breakdown. Knock Out thinks back when he first met Arcee on Earth when he was a Decepticon and when Breakdown was still alive.
(Flashback)
"Got anything, Breakdown?" Knock Out asked his partner through the com as he walks through the forest. They had picked up on an Autobot life signal that they are now investigating. They figured if they could find this Autobot and bring it to Starscream as a captive then they would be rewarded or maybe get a higher rank.
"No, nothing yet" Breakdown replied "Well, this Autobot has to be around here somewhere, it couldn't just vanish" Knock Out retorted. "We'll find it," Breakdown said in an optimistic tone before he cut off the com.
Knock Out rolled his optics "Have to be so optimistic?" he thought. Knock Out keeps walking until a noise catches his audio receptors and made him stop, he looks in the direction where the noise came from before walking that way. He gets closer as the noise gets louder, it sounded like something is moving around in the water. He soon reaches to a stream where he sees a blue femme sitting in the water washing her armor, she's mumbling something but he can't make it out of what she's saying. He just stands there and watches her "She's so beautiful" Knock Out thought.
A minute later the femme stands up and gets out of the stream "That feels much better" she said as she starts heading into the woods.
After she took two steps, Knock Out moved toward her "Hello!" he said. The femme stops and looks at him "Who are you?" she asked as her optics widen "How long have been standing there? Were you watching!?"
"No, I just arrived a minute ago. I was just walking by and I heard some noise so I came to check it out" Knock Out explained as he places his servo on his chest then does a slight bow "I'm Knock Out and you are?" Knock Out stated as he introduced himself to the femme.
But, the femme didn't answer as she replied "Leaving" she starts walking off. But, Knock Out stops her by grabbing her wrist. "Wait! I wasn't watching you or spying on you, honest! I wasn't" Knock Out reasoned her, so she doesn't get any idea why he saw her.
She turns to look at him again and studies him for a moment. The femme finds him handsome with that shiny red paint job and those beautiful red optics. Knock Out lets go of her wrist as she takes a step back "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Looking for a bot" Knock Out answered "Who?" she asked "a bot that I picked up on a life signal. I'm a medic" Knock Out explained.
"Well, the only bots I see are me and you" the femme stated. "You never know who could be out here. But, you haven't answered my question: what's your name?" Knock Out explained as he reminded her "Arcee" she answered on that last part.
"Arcee, what a lovely name. How long have you been on Earth?" Knock Out asked "A few years, you?" Arcee replied.
"Not too long" Knock Out retorted "You must be an expert on this planet then. Maybe you can tell me about it from your experiences as I'll share mine" Knock Out suggested "Maybe" Arcee replied.
"Anyway, I want to say something about you" Knock Out said as he is in his suave and smooth-talking demeanor "I don't want to brag or boast about you, but...I have never seen such a beautiful femme: with lovely curves, beautiful optics and your blue paint job shines beautiful in the moonlight" he explained with his honest compliments.
Arcee blushed by the red mech's compliments "You're quite a smooth talker and honest too" Arcee said "My mother taught me that when I meet femmes, I have to be polite, respectful, and honest to them" he explained as he smirked at Arcee's blushed face.
"Well, I don't get charmed easily, because the other mechs tried to charm me and I don't feel interested in them" Arcee explained.
"I guessed that makes me different from the other mechs you met" Knock Out chuckled at Arcee's explanation as she got a call on her com "I need to go," she said as she turns around to leave.
Knock Out catches a glimpse of the Autobot insignia on her winglet and he realized that she's the Autobot they had been tracking. But he couldn't bring himself to capture her or call Breakdown to come to get her. He didn't want to betray her trust after their conversation "Will I ever see you again?" he asked.
Arcee stops and turns "Only time will tell," she said as she transforms into her motorcycle mode and drove off.
"Knock Out." Knock Out jumped when he heard Breakdown's voice, he was so busy watching Arcee driving away he didn't hear Breakdown approaching him. "What are you doing, Knock Out?" Breakdown asked.
"What do you mean?" Knock Out asked, "You know she's an Autobot, right?" Breakdown stated specifically. "Yeah, I saw her insignia" Knock Out retorted. "Why didn't you capture her? What happened to capturing an Autobot and getting a reward or a higher rank?" Breakdown explained.
"I couldn't, Breakdown. There's just something inside of me that made me feel about her" Knock Out said "I know that Autobots and Decepticons are forbidden to fall in love with each other, but I couldn't help but a spark of connection"
Knock Out sees the jealous and concerned look on Breakdown's face "Don't be like that, Breakdown. I still love you, but that's not what you're all concerned about, right?" Knock Out stated.
"Nope" Breakdown replied "Starscream will kill you if he finds out about this" he explained "That's why we're not gonna tell him. It'll stay between you and me" Knock Out said.
Breakdown nodded with an agreement as they left. Knock Out knows when he and Arcee meet again, she'll discover that he is a Decepticon. But, he'll never forget his feelings for her.
(Flashback ends)
Knock Out got cut off by his thoughts when he heard Arcee calling out "Knock Out, are you okay?" Arcee asked "I'm fine. I was just thinking back on the night we met" he answered.
"That night? The night when we met for the first time?" she stated "Yep, that's the one" Knock Out retorted. "When I thought back about it, it gave me something that I lost a long time ago...humility."
"Really?" Arcee asked as she's surprised "Yeah, it began when Breakdown and I were looking for an Autobot that we detected. We thought about capturing the Autobot and delivering it to Starscream, hoping for a reward or a promotion. When I met you, I never knew you were an Autobot until I saw your insignia" Knock Out explained.
"If you realized that I'm the Autobot you had detected, why didn't you capture me when you had the chance?" Arcee asked.
"Because I didn't want to betray your trust after our conversation and I had begun to develop feelings for you. That's what causes me to put you before myself" Knock Out explained. Arcee smiled and put her servo on his "You had put others' needs before yours, I guess you're not so vain after all" Arcee said. "I believe you're right" Knock Out replied as they ordered their drinks.
Sideswipe and Strongarm were on the streets of Kaon, after Strongarm got a low grade on the humility test. Prowl decided to have Sideswipe to take her on a little field trip to show her humility since he got a good grade on the humility test.
"Above of all the bots go I with, it had to be you?" Strongarm complained "Don't be like that, you're just jealous because I had a good grade on the humility test and you're just too stubborn to admit it" Sideswipe said.
"Jealous? I'm jealous? Excuse me, have we met? I'm a cadet, a cop that every world sees in: here to protect and serve the people, fight criminals and bring them to justice" Strongarm confessed as Sideswipe crossed his arms and let Strongarm continue her confession "Even if I got a low grade on some test or make some mistakes and got fixed by some miracle, I would ace that test and who's gonna believe me? You? Of course not 'cause of your criminal records" Strongarm stated as she finished her confession.
Sideswipe smirks at her as he uncrossed his arms and he turned on his holoscreen "Is that so?" he stated as he reads the notes on his holoscreen "The police code for robbery is 2-1-1" he said as Strongarm became shocked.
"Since when did you know about police codes?" she asked "I found a police textbook one year ago before I met you and I decided to read it" Sideswipe answered.
"A police cadet and a delinquent punk are not so different," he said as he turned off his holoscreen "Maybe they'll believe you, maybe they won't. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, don't do it for them, do it for you. This is a chance to write your own story and live in your own world" Sideswipe explained while motivating her as Strongarm understands.
"Come on, what else do you get to lose?" Sideswipe asked, "I don't know my dignity?" Strongarm answered. Sideswipe smirks at her and raises his optic brow "Yeah...well, that ship has already been sailed" he said referring to the Optimus statue incident as he walked off and Strongarm sighed when he brought that up.
They heard a voice shout, "Come back here!" they saw a mech that is 14 human years old and he is holding two Energon cubes. "That guy is stealing Energon, let's stop him," Strongarm said as she was about to chase him, but Sideswipe stopped her "Wait, Strongarm! Let's follow him, but don't engage," Sideswipe said.
"Why?" Strongarm asked "Because this is your chance to learn about humility" Sideswipe answered "Okay" Strongarm replied as they followed the teen being careful to not be seen by him.
They followed him all the way to an old warehouse as they see the teen handing the two Energon to a mech and femme "Here you go Mom and you too, Dad" he said.
"Victor, you how I feel about stealing?" the femme said to the young mech, who is Victor "Me too, Arlene," the mech said agreeing with the femme, who is Arlene "I know and I don't like it, but we have to survive," Victor said.
"Are those family members homeless?" Strongarm asked "Yes, Joseph and his family lost their home during a fire accident. After the fire was put out they didn't have enough money to buy a new house, so they have been struggling to survive" Sideswipe explained.
"Joseph is trying to find a new job 'cause he lost his old one. His wife, Arlene is an elementary school teacher, she works for the kindergarten. Their oldest son, Victor is a sophomore high school student and their youngest daughter, Georgia is a kindergartener. She's not old enough to take care of herself."
"I guess things are not what they seem," Strongarm said "Yeah if you look closer you could realize that there is more than meets the eye" Sideswipe stated.
Sideswipe and Strongarm brought out Energon snacks that Prowl gave them as they approached the homeless family "Hey" Sideswipe called in a gentle voice as they turned their attention "Here...take it, you need this more than I do" Sideswipe said as he handed the Energon snacks to Victor "Thanks" Victor said "You're welcome" Sideswipe said.
Georgia approaches Strongarm as the police cadet kneels down to her level. Georgia seemed hesitant to accept the snacks from her. "It's okay, little one. You can have them" Strongarm said in a reassuring voice.
Georgia had her confidence as she takes the Energon snacks from Strongarm "What do you say, sweetie?" Arlene asked "Thank you," she said "You're welcome" Strongarm replied, "Thank you for your generosity," Joseph said to the young Autobots "You're welcome, sir," Strongarm said, "Call me Joseph, young femme," Joseph said as he holds her servos "You're such a good femme," he said as Strongarm became flustered by the homeless mech compliment.
Sideswipe and Strongarm leave the old warehouse as Strongarm's body tingled and her door wings are flapping "What's going on with me? Why I'm acting this way?" Strongarm exclaimed. Sideswipe chuckled "That's your first sign of real goodness. I have been through that experience when I saved the old blind mech" Sideswipe explained.
"Really?" Strongarm said "Really, really" Sideswipe retorted as he sent something through Strongarm "What is it that you sent me?" she asked "A footage of you in your first act of selflessness, Prowl told me to record it and show it to him" Sideswipe explained.
"I bet your dad will be very proud of you," Sideswipe said as Strongarm let out a small smile "Believe it or not, I'm rooting for you, cadet" he exclaimed "After you redo your test, you need to get enough sleep for tomorrow," Sideswipe said, "What's going on for tomorrow?" Strongarm asked "We are going on a field trip and it's...Earth" Sideswipe answered.