#jack look! its from MEGATRON

[beastwars-transformers]

i need drawing skills or $1000 dollars to pay some artist to recreate the hotel mario intro but with jack and arcee

[nonsscrapheap]

TFP: Universal Observations

AND THUS WE RETURN! you are not ready for this reaction, i wasn't. kind of, this premise has been on my mind for a while.

i'll be adding in the word count now! 4.1k words!

time for the revelations of the very vague polls! or at least one of them!

Optimus and Megatron Working Together (Wholesome) is... Actor Au.

WARNING! LONG POST!

ACT 1: Show Acting - I -

[ ----- TP : UO ----- ]

[ ENTER KEYWORD TO START UNIVERSAL OBSERVATION ]

Omega Outpost One

"Key word?" Ratchet hears Rafael murmur as he and the humans gathered together by Optimus' side.

The Prime still looked downcast, the look of horror on the mech's faceplate was something Ratchet never wanted to see ever again. He'd seen it before of course, each time was just as terrible as the last but there was just something even worse, knowing why Optimus had looked so horrified in the first place.

It wasn't everyday that you watched another version of yourself perform a horrible act that had taken a friend from you. That Optimus Prime, Evil Optimus Prime, was no Prime that Ratchet would ever have followed and Optimus needed to get it in his helm that despite looking similar to the mech on the screen aside from the obvious differentials, Optimus himself would never enforce Empurata on anybot. Not even the Decepticons. 

Then again, Ratchet could sympathize with Optimus' feelings on the matter. Although his own counterpart hadn't exactly done anything on screen aside from attacking Other Knock Out, the implications of his words and actions alone… It disturbed him to no end. 

The knowledge that in another world, an alternate version of oneself could be so different from you… It's a lot to take in. 

Another thing that was a lot to take in, was the existence and the function of the sphere. 

As far as Ratchet has come to realize and gather from what's obviously been shown, the sphere was nothing more than an observation device. A very powerful one, capable of showing alternate worlds and cataloging them for repeated use. 

If the sphere fell on Decepticon servos, Ratchet feared just what the Decepticons would see and how it would work in their favor. So despite its mysterious appearance, it was a blessing to have it show up in their base, but Ratchet still needed to know just where it came from and how it got into their storage without any of them knowing. 

It couldn't have been the humans, Fowler already had a catalogue of their Cybertronian tech and items since he was their liaison. The children obviously couldn't have been the culprit, seeing as they had no idea what it was…

But they were connected to it now. They were in control of the sphere, not completely though. 

"Okay so, remember how Miko said something about shatter and glass? That's what triggered the whole thing in the first place! So we just um, need to say words and see if it triggers something else?" Rafael exclaimed with shaky confidence, unsure about his own suggestion but it was solid in theory.

"Uh, Monkey? Apocalypse? Music!" Miko shouted, trying Raf's idea. 

.: Cybertron. Iacon? Racing! :. Bumblebee bleeped in offering as well.

"Uh… if that's the case, then it would have already taken in anything that we were saying by now." Jack said with a frown, watching the younger boy give a look of thought. 

"Honestly, I don't know if we should keep messing with it." Arcee admitted, looking at the sphere with obvious distrust and lingering unease. "Sure, the only function we've seen so far is what, looking into alternate worlds where the Decepticons are good while we're…" She couldn't finish, glancing at the still silent Optimus who grimaced at the reminder. "We should probably just- put it back into storage." 

"Aww, c'mon Arcee!" Miko exclaimed, hands on her hips. "Sure, the first world we saw wasn't- wasn't that good but like- this is an opportunity to see alternate worlds! Who doesn't want to see stuff like that?!" 

"I'm actually with Miko a bit here Arcee, this is- it's pretty cool. The world it showed us wasn't that peachy but like. Wasn't it really weird to see the cons acting like the good guys?" Jack laughed a bit awkwardly, and he had a point. It had been really strange to see the Decepticons act like—

[ KEY WORDS ; SHOW ACTING ]

They all glanced over to the screen in shock as it accepted two random words from what Jack had been saying. "Just what is with its intuitive parameters?!" Ratchet growled out, unable to make sense as to how exactly the sphere was parsing through speech to gain the 'key words'- Bumblebee and Miko had been suggesting things off the bat but it was Jack that triggered its function this time?! 

("It seems the Autobots have finally chosen something." Starscream muttered in disdain, eyeing the key words and wondering just what was going to be shown this time. Megatron said nothing, his optics narrowed and frame tense.)

[ The screen flared before catchy music played, the words 'TERRAN-TRON LIVE' plastering itself over the screen and then disappearing. A large femme was sitting on a couch with a human woman sitting beside them on a platform built onto the couch. "Good evening everyone! Welcome back to Terran-Tron Live! Your late night show interviewing celebrity guests and more. I'm Polly." The human exclaimed, wearing a suit and waving at the camera.

The femme smiled with her, waving as well. "And I'm Caster, and we're here tonight with some very special guests!" ]

All optics and eyes blinked at the sudden showing of two people, a Cybertronian femme and a human woman, that they knew nothing about. "What in the…" Bulkhead trailed off, confused as to why they were watching what seemed to be a late night talk show.

"A human and a Cybertronian? On television? Live?" Ratchet muttered, the implications of that was... Pretty positive, actually.

Optimus, though still a bit downtrodden, couldn't help but perk slightly and look at the screen with intrigued optics. 

Miko was practically jumping in place with excitement, "Oh! Since this is a talk show with both Cybertronians and humans then humanity must like, know about you guys now! You're famous heroes!" 

.: I guess? I don't think I'd like to be on tv though. :. Bumblebee said nervously, a bit self-conscious over his voice box. Millions of people, humans and maybe Cybertronians listening to him beeping? Half the audience wouldn't know what he was saying! He huffed when Raf patted his helm in comfort, the little human giving him reassurances that he appreciated.

("What exactly is this?" Megatron deadpanned, unimpressed by the showing so far. 'Terran-Tron Live', a cybertronian and a human working together like this? Reminds him far too much of the Autobots, not to mention the fact they were working with humans of all species…)

[ "Humans and Cybertronians, give it up for- the cast of Transformers: Prime!" Polly exclaimed, gesturing to somewhere and the screen changes to show four bots on a large couch. Two mechs and two femmes, on another platform close to the couch, there were three humans sitting on a smaller couch like Polly. All of them waved at the camera and audience, smiling. ]

Jaws were dropped at the sight of Optimus, Megatron, Arcee and Arachnid sitting on one gigantic, Cybertronian-sized couch while nearby, Jack, Miko and Raf sat on a smaller couch on screen. 

( "WHAT?!" )

Optimus' backstruts straightened at the sight of him and Megatron on screen, sitting close together in such an amicable setting- things were obviously different though. For one, Other Optimus looked more like Orion Pax instead of Optimus Prime. His frame was more civilian-like, but a bit bulkier than the data clerk had been and his colors were red and violet with silver instead of his own colors. Other Optimus was sitting back against the couch with his legs spread slightly, arm hanging on the back of the couch and had an amused smirk on his faceplate. He seemed so young compared to Optimus.

Other Megatron was so much more different, gone were the spikes that were the kibble for the warlord. Instead, standard kibble with a shinier silver plating. Gone were the scars and scuffs that Megatron wore with ease, and his optics weren't red nor were they blue. They were a honey-like gold instead, pairing well with the polite smile on the mech's derma. He too, seemed so much younger than he or even Megatron, his frame less bulky as well- not warforged, that much was obvious but still slightly bigger than Other Optimus. 

Other Arcee looked the most similar, but the sharp edges of her frame and armor were softened and instead of a mostly blue finish, there were sections of magenta and pink that decorated her plating.

Other Arachnid didn't look nearly as menacing as the Aracnhid they knew of, but nor did she look as gentle as the 'Shattered Glass' Arachnid they just saw. Her edges were softer, her extra legs were nowhere to be seen and the sheer fact she was just sitting there besides Arcee? Absolutely mindboggling. 

The children looked quite different as well! Jack's hair was a bit longer, and he was dressed in a more formal suit. Raf's usually untamable locks were brushed down, also in a formal suit, and Miko— they had all gotten so used to the girl's wildness, to Miko's signature pink-coloring on her head that seeing her hair curled and completely black actually made most of them do a double-take. Especially since Other Miko was dressed in a dress-suit combo in soft colors. 

[ "Go on guys, introduce yourselves to the lovely audience!" Caster encouraged, and the camera's changed focus accordingly. 

"Hey there everyone, I'm Orion Nox, I play Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots in Transformers: Prime." Orion said with a salute and a grin aimed at the camera. 

"Hello, I am Dion, I play Lord Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons in Transformers: Prime." Dion greeted with a smiling nod. 

"Hi there, I'm Cycla, I play Arcee, warrior-scout of the Autobots." Cycla winked at the camera with her arms crossed as she leaned back against the couch. 

"I am Venami, I play Arachnid, spider-bot Decepticon defector at your service." Venami said with a slight nod, chuckling when Dion playfully called out 'Traitor!' to her. 

"Hi! I'm Rumi Atsuhashi, I play Miko Nakadai, Bulkhead's human charge." Rumi said, waving excitedly at the camera.

"Antonio Garcias, I play Rafael Esquivel, Bumblebee's human charge!" Antonio chirped , seeming to be just as, if not MORE excited than Rumi. 

"I'm Jackson Darby, I play Jack Darby, Arcee's human charge. Yes that's my real name, no I didn't get it changed at any point of my life. I have always been, Jackson Darby. The only difference between me and Jack Darby is that I prefer to go by Jackson instead of Jack." Jackson said with a crooked smile, exasperated but amused, laughter was heard from his cast members, the hosts and and the audience. 

With each introduction, there was a brief clip from the show that showed them acting in Transformers: Prime as their respective characters. ]

"OUR LIFE IS A TV SHOW?!" Miko screamed loud and clear, eyes bugged out of her head as she saw herself- or well, her actor?? On screen? "OH MY GOD!" 

"I-I need to sit down." Arcee said, feeling more than a bit nauseous- not by the whole 'in another world our life is a tv show' thing though it was part of it, but by the sight of her and Arachnid- doppelganger actors be damned - just… sitting there. On the couch, not trying to maul each other to death. 

Even weirder; Optimus and Megatron were sitting on the same couch, looking much younger and different, very different in Megatron's case. Or, Dion? What the frag even is this world. 

The fact there were clips, clips of moments that had happened that showed besides each one… 

( Arachnid had no words, she simply left. Or tried to, but Soundwave wouldn't let her leave. All the other Decepticons, even Megatron, were trying to process what they were seeing. However, the warlord did give Arachnid a glare, remembering how her counterpart introduced herself. She grimaced, but said nothing. )

[ "Unfortunately we could only invite a few cast members here, some had conflicting schedules or other things to do and we only had a limited amount of room on set. Even with mass displacement, we'd get a crowd here going." Caster explained to the audience and onlookers, she turned to look at the actors. "Thank you once again for joining us here, it's a pleasure to meet you and an honor to have you guys on the show!" 

"Thank you for having us Caster, it's a pleasure to be here." Dion replied with a respectful nod.

"I've always wanted to be on a late night talk show- especially Terran-Tron Live! You guys are the best human-cybertronian night show hosts out there!" Antonio gushed, practically bouncing in place. 

Polly laughed, winking at Antonio, "The very first in fact, well, not really me but my ma. Bless her soul. She established the show almost forty years ago after the Cybertronian and Earth alliance. My ma wanted to host a show with a cybertronian the moment it was possible."

"And here I enter the scene." Caster preened, servos framing her faceplate before she waved her servo. "But enough about that, let's talk about you! And YOUR show- Transformers: Prime!" 

A picture was shown on a floating screen, of Optimus and Megatron posed for battle with several other bots in the background. Transformers: Prime was in blocky text above. "It's you!" 

"It's us." Both Orion and Dion chorused with amusement, glancing at each other. "Look, you can even see Cycla and Venami in the background." Orion called out, pointing to where Arcee and Arachnid were in the picture. 

Cycla laughed and pointed as well, "And if you squint really hard, you can even see the kids hiding behind that boulder in the corner." The picture zooms in to see Raf, Miko and Jack hiding behind a boulder with Jack holding Miko back from leaving the boulder. 

Antonio giggled wildly while Rumi and Jackson grinned. ]

Despite the boggling situation, a few of the team and even the humans couldn't help but snort at the sight of the bit with the humans- it was so like Miko to try and leave the boulder, and of course Jack was holding her back. 

Optimus in the meanwhile, couldn't get his optics off of Megatron and himself on the screen. Or rather, Orion and Dion. They looked so at ease with each other, sitting side-by-side with no care in the world aside from being interviewed. 

Seeing the Other Megatron had been surreal enough, that mech reminded him too much of the old Megatronus that Optimus still secretly craved to see once more. But this? This made his spark ache as it reminded him of the good times Orion Pax and Megatronus had together as close friends. Yes their frames were different, their names and even their mannerisms but the fact they 'played' Optimus and Megatron and looked incredibly liked them…

Not every world has us as enemies, old friend. Optimus thinks to himself in private, feeling incredibly emotional for reasons he cannot, would not, explain. A sense of aching relief yet bitter longing and resignation settled in his frame that he kept to himself. Struggled to keep from showing on his faceplate.

No one but Ratchet would be able to spot it, and luckily for the Prime, his medic was preoccupied with gawking at the screen.

( On a warship miles away, a warlord is assaulted with unwanted memories at the sight of Orion Nox. His thought process similar yet different, tinged with anger and contempt that hid the nostalgia and other emotions that he deemed unimportant and frivolous. )

[ "Question for the bots here- we've got two of the most infamous rivals in the show sitting right here. And both pairs have had histories in working together, tell me, is there an actual rivalry here in real life, like in the show?" Polly asked, peering at the Cybertronians sitting on the gigantic couch.

Orion laughed, "Not really, at least for Dion and I- we've worked together before in other projects and sure we've been casted as rivals as some but honestly we're pretty chill." He glanced over to Cycla and Venami, "Now Cycla and Venami on the other hand—" 

Cycla reached over Dion to smack Orion's knee, only to gasp in betrayal when Dion spoke up with an amused expression. "Oh there's definitely a rivalry going on between them. Not as bad as in the show but, they've been competing against each other for roles in other projects. I distinctly recall Venami being quite peeved when Cycla was chosen instead of her for one project." 

"Dion!" Venami exclaimed with annoyance, glaring at the silver mech who burst out laughing alongside Orion. ]

Was it incredibly petty to feel pleased that another version of herself, even as a bizarre actor in a bizarre world, managed to one-up the alternate version of the Con that killed one of her old partners? Probably, yet it didn't stop Arcee at all from feeling just the tiniest bit smug. She couldn't help it.

Just like how Optimus couldn't help but feel warm at how close Orion Nox was with Dion, and at the fact they've worked together before. Or at the fact, while still rivals, 'Cycla' and 'Venami' weren't fighting each other as Autobot and Decepticon. It seemed like neither faction existed aside from within the show. 

( A spider bot while not really impressed, couldn't help but be annoyed at her counterpart's failure of gaining whatever role it was that the other femme managed to get. A warlord stews in unsettling silence. )

[ "Question for the kids! How's it feel to work alongside your Cybertronian co-actors? Must be pretty exciting huh? Are you as close to them as you are in the show?" Caster asked, leaning forward to address the small beings who beamed at her and the camera. 

"It's been great!" Antonio gushed, "They've been so kind to Jackson, Rumi and I and the other humans on set too! They're really careful in making sure we're okay." 

Rumi nodded in agreement, smiling happily, "I'll admit, I was nervous at first since this is the first time I've um, I've worked with Cybertronians who are really, really big most of the time but it's been fun! I'd like to say we're as close to the bots on set as we are in the show?" She gave the metal giants a shy smile and they all grinned back at her with affirming nods. 

"Not just the 'Autobots' either, the 'Decepticons' are pretty great too." Jackson laughed, "My favorite Con is Pulsebeat, aka Soundwave in the show- they and their cassette Glider, aka Laserbeak, like to pick us up and hoard us sometimes because I think we remind them of minicons and cassettes. It's really funny." 

Dion laughed, "And here I thought I was your favorite Con Jackson!" He said playfully while pressing a servo against his chestplate in faux offense. 

Jackson looked back at him, "You thought wrong! I mean- just look at them!" Jackson gestured to the screen as it suddenly showed Soundwave, or Pulsebeat? Without their visor on, grinning widely as they cradled a laughing Jackson, a giggling Rumi in his servos while Antonio beaming as he hung upside down from a cable claw. Their bird-cassette was perched atop Pulsebeat's helm. Another picture showed Pulsebeat mass displaced, but still big enough to carry all three children on his frame while they all sat on Glider who was in the air. ]

.: I don't think I will ever get used to 'nice' cons. :. Bee beeped, both somewhat awed yet perturbed at the sight of the relaxed and joking 'Megatron' and the pictures of 'Soundwave' playing with the human kids. Not to mention the sight of Soundwave's face- or rather, Pulsebeat? It looked extremely similar to the 'Shattered Glass' faceplate that Soundwave had but at least… at least this time, it was happy and not… The yellow muscle car bot shuddered, shaking his helm and focusing back on the screen.

"You and me both, Bee." Bulkhead muttered in agreement, optics squinting. "And I don't think I'll get used to shy Miko." He added in with some mirth, it was bizarre to see the girl smiling shyly at the bots (two of which were Cons but they kind of weren't because they were actors??) and not being as energetic as his charge.

"I know right?! Still, she must have some Wrecker in her to play me!" Miko exclaimed, looking up at Rumi with determined and curious eyes. 

Raf looked over to Jack, still on Bee's shoulder. "Soundwave? Really?" There wasn't any judgement, just genuine curiosity.

Jack still felt the need to throw his hands into the air, "Don't ask me! Apparently other me likes Soundwave! Pulsebeat? This is just- too weird." Not to mention the casual banter that other Megatron, or uh, Dion? Had with Jackson. Jackson who was him, who still had his name but went by Jackson instead of Jack. 

How come Raf and Miko had other names while Jack was still just, Jackson Darby? Unbelievable.

( An ex-gladiator and now communications officer stayed silent, as always, but there was a relaxed air around him now. The warlord notices, does not comment, just stares at the screen with growing displeasure. )

[ "Question for everyone! Was the season one finale surprising to find out, film, just- anything? I understand that Transformers: Prime was an original scripted show without being based on anything aside from the old Autobot-Decepticon civil war on Cybertron eons ago but fictitiously set on Earth." Polly questioned, leaning in with interest as the bots and humans glanced at each other.

"Oh definitely! The show's original writer, Rung, a great guy, surprised us halfway through the season's filming to reveal to us all dramatically of what the season's ending was and I just- I couldn't believe it." Orion said, actually sitting up straight as his co-actors nodded in agreement. 

Cycla snickered, "Yeah! We're all just sitting there, reading the script, baffled with how our show's first season ends. Which really shouldn't have been THAT much of a surprise I guess? When you start off the season killing off Cliffjumper- Revmaul, Cliff's actor, would NOT stop sending me jokes about his character's death by the way so screw you Rev, stop that - and THEN revive him as a zombie bot—"

"Terrorcon." Venami interrupted, Cycla rolled her optics but continued.

"Terrorcon, and then the Dark Energon kind of persists throughout the season… Naturally I guess, it all leads to the natural conclusion?" ]

"Season finale?" Ratchet murmured, optics hardening as he immediately realized the implications of what was going to happen. If 'Transformers: Prime' was a show about their current life then… "Optimus." He said sharply, gaining the attention of the Prime who seemed to realize the exact same thing. 

"I know, old friend. Autobots, pay attention. We may be learning important information pertaining to our future." Optimus instructed with a hard look on his faceplate, his frame tense as he readied himself as to whatever was going to be revealed. A part of him was slightly interested at the fact that apparently in that world, while the Autobots and Decepticon war had existed, it had obviously ended long ago. Long before Cybertron made contact with Earth, long enough that someone, this Rung person- a Cybertronian perhaps? Had made a fictitious retelling of it, was interesting…

The fact that retelling was apparently all about their lives on Earth was encroaching somewhat dangerous yet hopefully helpful territory. 

His Autobot team tensed, and even the humans watched closely with somewhat anxious eyes. Especially when Cycla mentioned Cliffjumper, Arcee hissed between gritted denta, feeling conflicted at the grief as well as unwanted jealousy and unfairness at the fact that Cliffjumper over there was alive. An actor who's character had died. But for Arcee, Cliffjumper was truly gone… His corpse, desecrated and turned into a monster… 

Her servos curled into fists, clenching tightly.

There was a sense of tension in the air.

( The same could be said for the Decepticons on The Nemesis. The warlord quirking a ridged brow in obvious interest. )

Just what was the natural conclusion?

[ "The natural conclusion of Unicron, The Unmaker, Cybertron's version of Satan- being Earth itself. Or at least the core." Caster finished with a slight laugh, sounding somewhat but only a little bit hysterical. 

"Cybertron's Satan is the Earth's core, yeah." Jackson nodded with his fellow humans, "No one was expecting that." ]

No one was expecting that indeed.

Chaos came to the Cybertronians of both Omega Outpost One and The Nemesis.

[ ----- TP : UO -----]

WAHAHAHAHA i spoil tfp season 1 to early tfp season 1. what a way to go. hehehehe, i wonder how that'll all go- but at any rate! i hope you guys enjoyed!

brief ocs of Caster, femme show host along with her human co-host polly! fun fact; polly is the daughter of Caster's original co-host who started Terran-Tron Live!

the actor's names were somewhat random- orion nox and dion are a nod to another fic of mine, called Twice The Primes where there are two sets of Optimus and Megatron, kind of. The other set of Optimus and Megatron, O-14 and D-16 were recently, officially redesignated as Orion Nox and Dion, so i decided to do the same here for the actor au.

cycla is just, motorcycle, i couldnt think of anything else for arcee. venami, just- venom, spider's venom but anami.

pulsebeat and glider- on the spot alternative names for soundwave that wasnt just... soundblaster and something else- i wanted to give him another name for his actor.

rumi astuhashi and antonio garcias- just random names and i just thought itd be extremely funny if jack was still jack darby but he goes by jackson. it'll get funnier when it's revealed that orion nox has to play orion pax in season 2 XD like human like prime hm?? hahahahaha

and yes, rung is the show's writer ;)

but yeah, this is the Wholesome Optimus and Megatron working together choice of the poll! they get to be co-actors with all the kids :D

what's the Serious version? we'll get there eventually! whenever that's picked out anyway. i don't know how many segments i'm planning to do for the actor au, at least three??? but yeah, this is... this gonna fun

i hope you guys enjoyed!

[PREV][START][NEXT]

[in1-nutshell]

One more before I forget... a delinquent senior in high school Buddy who secretly has a heart of gold, who would defend the kids. They have the mentality of 'You mess with them, you mess with me.' However, it's mostly Jack's and maybe Raf's(?) bullies. And would go against Megatron with only a spiked bat for the kids and for team Prime too. For this scenario, I'd imagine while defending one of the kids against their bullies. They get into a really serious fight with them and practically send the bully to the hospital. So how would the tfp team Prime react to learning this on the drive from school to the base?

Buddy is ready to attack anything that looks at the kids the wrong way.

Hope you enjoy!

Human Buddy protecting the Kids from bullies with Bulkhead, Ultra Magnus, and Bumblebee

SFW, Platonic, Mentions of injury and fights (nothing detailed), Human reader

TFP

Buddy looked like a heartless person.

They had a resting scowl on their face.

But they were one of the sweetest people the kids and Bots knew.

When Buddy found out that the kids went to the same school, Buddy made sure to look out for them.

They insisted on walking each one of them to class.

Jack coming out of class looking both ways in the hallway.

“Hmm—”--Jack

Buddy tapping his shoulder.

“Ready?”--Buddy

“Ack!”--Jack

Miko coming out of her class, sticking close to the wall.

No Buddy in sight.

Buddy looking over her shoulder.

“Who you looking for?”--Buddy

“AHH! How are you so quiet? And how did you even get here so fast? Isn’t your class on the other side of the school?”--Miko

“I have long legs.”--Buddy

Raf coming out of his class.

Buddy waiting for him by the wall.

“You ready for that test?”--Buddy

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”--Raf

Buddy just wanted to look after their friends, especially since they knew there were some awful people in the school.

The day of the incident was one to remember.

Vince had come up with the dumbest stunt yet.

After school Vince and some of his goons had managed to corner Jack.

“Hey Darby.”--Vince

“Vince? What—what are you doing with your… friends?”--Jack

The group slowly formed a semi-circle around Jack and Vince.

“What happened at lunch? You trying to start something? Huh, Dirt bag?”--Vince

“No—I mean—why would I? You tripped over your own foot—”--Jack

Vince punches Jack in the stomach causing him to fall on his knees wheezing.

“Don’t lie to me Darby! You stuck out your foot and made me trip!”--Vince

“I –wheeze—didn’t—”--Jack

Vince kicked him in the gut again.

“HEY!”--Buddy

The group looking at Buddy, Miko, and Raf behind them.

Buddy walking forward with Miko and Raf trailing behind them.

Buddy is standing between Jack and Vince, while Raf is helping Jack up and Miko is eyeing everyone around them.

“I’m only going to tell you this one-time Vince. Back. Off. Don’t come near my friends or me ever. Got that?”--Buddy

“Please. You think that this is going to work? Just come here and talk. I think its time to finally teach these losers a lesson, right fellas?”--Vince

One of the boy’s grabs Raf by the back of the shirt while another two grab Miko.

The ones who grabbed Miko threw her to the ground and started a few kicks to her sides.

Raf has just held tightly by his wrist trying to surpass the little cries from the pain.

Jack tries to help but gets slugged across the face.

“Guys! Vince, let them--”--Buddy

Vince spits in Buddy’s face as one of his goon’s slams Buddy in the back with a baseball bat, making them fall to the floor.

“Buddy!”—Jack, Miko, and Raf

Buddy shakingly got up with a large cut on their forehead and looked at the offender dead in the eyes with their split knuckles.

The goon tried to hit them again, but this time Buddy managed to grab the bat, twisted it from his hold making him let go.

Now Buddy had the bat and they saw red.

Maybe it was because of the blood slowly dribbling down or it was the pure anger they felt.

Buddy was delivering blows to all of them like they were candy on Halloween.

Did they see a tooth fly?

Yes.

Did they care?

No.

The group eventually had enough and ran away.

Buddy was mostly dizzy from the punches and kicks.

Jack, with his slightly bruised face, helped Buddy sit down.

Miko with a busted lip and split knuckles sat down next to Buddy making sure they didn’t close their eyes.

Raf, with some bruising around his wrists, managed to produce some tissues for them.

Buddy with a smile on their beaten face.

One hand still gripping the bat.

“That… that was something.”--Buddy

“We should call the hos—”--Jack

“No hospital.”--Buddy

“What?”--Jack

“Are you insane?! You look like you got beaten up by a monster truck! You need help! We all need some help!”—Miko

“Miko, we can get in trouble with the cops, which leads to them snooping around which can be bad for the bot’s cover. We can’t go.”--Buddy

“As much as I hate it, Buddy’s got a point. None of us need cops on us. How else are our guardians going to get us? We can’t keep asking Fowler for favors like this.”—Jack

“Finally, someone is making…”—Buddy

Buddy shaking their head a bit, blinking hard.

“Buddy?”--Raf

“Head hurts a lot… Maybe having your Mom look at this thick skull isn’t a bad idea…”--Buddy

“You look really bad.”--Raf

“It looks worse than what it is—hold up—okay we’re good.”--Buddy

“What was that?”--Miko

“The world was spinning for a second, but we’re good now.”—Buddy

“Felt that. Literally.”--Miko

“…”—Jack and Raf

“Now to the million dollar question.”--Buddy

“What is that?”--Jack

“How are we going to explain this to the bots?”--Buddy

“…”--Everyone

“Welp… I guess house arrest it is. Good thing I have some Uno cards with me.”--Buddy

Bulkhead

Bulkhead was sent to go get the kids after a rather late mission.

Since he had the most space to have all the kids ride comfortably, he went ahead.

He knew that it was late, so he went slightly above the speed limit.

The first thing he saw was the kids sitting and huddling close together.

This sent warning flags to his mind.

The kids didn’t huddle this close to each other unless something happened, or it was cold, and it wasn’t cold.

He nearly blows his cover when he sees the bruises and blood.

“Miko?! Buddy?! Jack?! Raf?! What in the name of—”Bulkhead

“Shh! Bulkhead someone might hear you!”--Miko

“But what happened?!”--Bulkhead

Jack and Raf helped Buddy into the back seat.

“Shouldn’t you guys go to a hospital?”--Bulkhead

“And…And risk your cover being blown? I don’t… don’t think so big guy.”--Buddy

“But—”--Bulkhead

“Everything we need is at the base in the med kits.”--Buddy

“And my Mom should be at the base by now.”--Jack

“How do you know this?”--Bulkhead

“…She left with Fowler…”--Jack

“If my chest wasn’t hurting too much, I would be laughing so hard right now…”--Buddy

Concerning car noises intensifies by a tenfold.

“Bulk, you okay—Woah!”--Miko

Bulkhead starts speeding to the base well above the speed limit because screw the law the kids are hurt bad.

Bulkhead comms in the base to get the med bay and the human med kits ready. When he is asked further, he just tells them that everyone isn’t looking too good right now.

Was his message cryptic and most likely sent panic to everyone listening?

Yes.

Did he care at the moment?

Not entirely, especially as he is splitting his attention between the injured kids and the road ahead of them.

When Bulkhead gets to the base, he is almost yelling for someone, anyone to help the kids out of the car.

Blame the yelling on the panic, Buddy and Miko looked like they were going to fall asleep.

There is a lot of audial gasps when the kids are taken out of him.

So far none of the kids have said anything. The beatings and adrenaline were wearing off and no one had the energy right now to recall all the events.

Buddy still hasn’t let go of the bat.

Since Raf and Jack were the two that were the least injured they had the task of telling them what happened.

Bulkhead had never had the sudden urge to squash a human than in that moment.

A little while later…

Jack, Miko and Raf are sleeping in their respective med slabs.

Buddy is awake shuffling some Uno cards the best they can with their bandaged hands.

Bulkhead comes into the med bay as quietly as he can.

“Buddy?”--Bulkhead

“Hmm? Oh Bulkhead.”--Buddy

Bulkhead walking a little bit closer to the group.

“How you holding up?”--Bulkhead

“Eh… Got a big pounding in my head and some bandages, but other wise good. You should have seen the other guys.”—Buddy

“Yeah… Raf said they ran away after you went ‘whack a mole’ on them.”--Bulkhead

“Ha! That’s one way to put it.”--Buddy

“Hehe… Thank you.”--Bulkhead

“Thank you?”--Buddy

“For protecting them.”--Bulkhead

“Bulkhead… they got hurt. I didn’t protect them…If I had tried—”--Buddy

“I’m going to stop you right there.”--Bulkhead

“Huh?”--Buddy

“From what Jack and Raf told us, you did everything possible to try and protect them. You went to fight for your friends. I could mistake you for potential Wrecker material.”--Bulkhead

“Ha… don’t let Ratchet hear you say that now.”--Buddy

“Yeah… but my point still stands. You’re a good kid Buddy and you protecting them just proves it even more.”--Bulkhead

Buddy trying to hold in some tears.

“Do you need Ratchet? Does something hurt?”--Bulkhead

“No—I mean I don’t feel good—but… just thanks… I needed to hear that.”--Buddy

Bulkhead gently stroking Buddy’s cheek from the tears.

“No problem, Buddy. Sleep, will ya? You’ll end up looking like those ‘raccoons’ if you don’t.”--Bulkhead

Buddy nods letting their eyes shut softly.

Ultra Magnus

Magnus is one of the bots helping get everyone out of Bulkhead.

He is the one who gets Buddy out.

In all his years holding injured soldiers, his servos shook more holding Buddy’s beaten body.

They were holding a bat in one of their hands.

“Bulkhead! What—”--Magnus

Buddy gently patted his digit.

“Hey Mags… how’s it going?”--Buddy

“Ratchet!”--Magnus

Buddy trying to soothe Magnus.

“It’s okay Mags… everything’s okay.”--Buddy

Concern truck noises intensifies.

Magnus quickly passed Buddy to Ratchet and June.

Jack and Raf retold the whole story.

Magnus was furious at the dirty fighting.

He goes off to the supplies closet to reorganize it, something to keep his mind off of the incident for a bit.

At least till he cools down.

Afterwards, Magnus is hypervigilant of the children after they are all patched up.

Magnus sits on a crate by Buddy’s side as they retell a bit of the story to him.

His servos clench hearing the boy who nearly decked them with a baseball bat.

“I don’t even know where that thing came from. It was like it came out of nowhere.”--Buddy

“Hmm…”--Magnus

Magnus is glaring with hatred at the bat.

Buddy takes notice and gently pats Magnus’s digit in reassurance.

Magnus and Buddy give each other a smile of understanding before Buddy tries to explain the game of Uno to him.

Bumblebee

Bumblebee feels the world stops the second Bulkhead is telling them to get the kids out.

He rushes over to get Raf out, gently cradling him in his servos.

“Beep bep bop?! (Raf what happened?!)--Bumblebee

Bumblebee gently turned Raf’s wrist to see more of the injury.

Immediately stops after hearing Raf take a sharp intake.

A quick little flashback to when Raf had gotten exposed to dark energon.

“Beep! Beep! Beep! (Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!)”--Bumblebee

“Its okay Bee, it just stings a bit.”--Raf

Bumblebee cradles him a bit closer.

Concern Beeping noises intensifies.

Bumblebee feels his spark drop seeing the rest come out of the car, especially Buddy holding on to a bat.

He is slightly hovering by the med bay with the other listening to the story.

He had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting the meathead once and that was enough for him.

He wants justice for the kids.

For Buddy.

He doesn’t leave the kids out of his sight for a while.

Ratchet walking into the med bay.

Bumblebee sitting on a corner of Buddy’s med slab, watching intensely at the human’s sleep.

Ratchet comes over gently placing a servo on his shoulder.

“They’re safe now Bumblebee.”--Ratchet

“Boop bop… bep beep boop bep bop? (I know… but it doesn’t hurt to have an extra set of optics watching them?).”--Bumblebee

“It doesn’t but you need to recharge.”--Ratchet

“Beep—(But--)”--Bumblebee

“They’ll still be here when you wake up. I will personally let you know when they wake up, as long as you go recharge.”--Ratchet

Bumblebee taking one last look at the kids, whispering a gentle ‘Thank you” towards Buddy, and leaves to recharge.

[yayasvalveplay]

Oppy breeding anon for more Hive Queen Optimus.

Wheeljack learns about the hive and Optimus being their queen and goes “oh hell no” and keeps himself away from base. He does not trust the Insecticons one bit and he has his ship so he has an excuse to not go into base. As for Smokescreen, he’s very confused about the concept of a hive Queen since he’s only ever really seen them as “mindless”, but kinda has to accept it because he at least they follow Optimus and not Megatron.

I suspect the bitty will emerge around the time they retrieve the second Omega Key from the coordinates Optimus decoded and the hive panics a bit since they have no idea what to do about a sparkling not emerging as a egg and also THEIR QUEEN IS IN PAIN!!! They definitely drag Ratchet over since their queen said that the medic can help! Ratchet is at first very disgruntled since he was looking over whichever Autobot went on the mission to the second key, but goes into medic mode once he realizes oh Primus Optimus is in emergence.

The bitty comes out and the Insecticons are very OwO at seeing a live-born sparkling for the first time, but end up letting Ratchet and Optimus handle the sparkling. It very much looks like a mix of Optimus and Megatron, but there’s a weird bit of Insecticon in it from when the bitty adsorbed a few Insecticon eggs from when they bred him.

Now imagine this new bitty drinking from Oppy’s tit as the Insecticons start breeding their queen again and other Insecticons take care of the eggs that are just now hatching.

Wheeljack is safe from the mandatory cleaning. I cab see thar the first time he was in the base he got 'attacked' by the insecticons. Because man living out in the woods have made him dirty, and the insecticoms don't do dirty. Especially around there queen.

That was the cleanest Wheeljack has ever felt and now he's even more scared ox them. Thus he runs to his ship any moment he can get and nor be apart of the base.

Smokescreen isn't lucky. He is being followed and put into mandatory sleep schedules.

I do think sometime in season 3( I hope that second omega key is in season 3) op does give birth to the bitty. And yes i will say that the bitty does get a bit insecticon cna. Wouldn't it be so fun if they were a triple changer?

A bit unrelated to this ask. But I've been thinking about it at work. But like the human kids are always being watched by the insecticons. There sparklings. Just imagine if tfa had mass shifting and three insecticons mass shift to be like small lizard size. So they can fit in the kids bags.

I feel like Mikos insecticon would be rocking some paint and stickers. Rafs insecticon would have on different patterns of paint that looks like symbols, maybe its autobot glyphs. While Jack's insecticon is hospital color theory.

[that-one-weeb-but-it-transformer]

Your Optimus' Older sister, and he's always looked up to you even as a Prime headcannons

When Optimus was "born" you were still young, you could remember holding him

Basically you guys were inseparable since you were young

You helped him get through his schooling and a job at the archives actually

You were kinda like that embarssing mom, especially infront of Femmes you caught him glancing often

"Ooo is that your little-" "no! No! No!"

In an honest respect you both have each others back, you've been there for every big ceremony he's been apart of.

He told you about becoming a prime first

You were more than proud of him.

And even as a Prime he really still found you a roll model

Always looking up to you like he did when you were both younger, either it be in battle or in simply speaking.

Its unfortunate but you both broke apart with the wars final days

He to earth and you, well he didnt know exactly what had happened to you

He hadnt forgot about you, but pushed you to the back of his mind.

Maybe he hoped you'd find your way to him like all those times you did when he got lost as a youngling, telling him it'd be okay as he cried scared he had lost you forever

"I always come back. Don't I Orion?"

What a way to run back into each other, back on earth that is

Everyones shocked to be honest.

They had never known Optimus had a sister, none the less one so different from him.

Also. He showing a happy emotion? Its a good day

"Still light as ever I see!"

Not you picking him up in a hug, basically embarssing him.

The bots were glad to have another well rounded fighter

And Miko was just glad to meet another kick ass bot

"Optimus has a sister? And that sister is you?"

"Bam! Right on the dot! Me and ol Blue and Red here! Together again! Huh?"

Despite your outgoingness you do keep silent, they've realized Optimus started doing your little finger on the chin thing as you think

"I didn't think Femmes could be so tall."

"You're just mad because she's taller than you, Jackie."

Tall femme supremacy

"So! What did you do on Cybertron?" Miko asked happily.

"Do?" Y/n questioned hands on her hips, "what do you mean do?"

"I bet you were a Wrecker like Bulkhead and Wheeljack! Are you a prime?"

"Oh my occupation!" Y/n smiled as she thought, finger holding her chin in thought, "well i did a number of things, anything to get some energon on the table."

"I thought you and Orion lived in Iacon." Raffle spoke.

Y/n nodded, "We did. Didn't mean it was easy. I did do a number of things Im not proud of Anything for my little brother." Y/n answered with a smile.

"I was more than happy to ruin my own reputation and life to get him where he needed to be." Y/n spoke.

"Wow." Jack responded, "I'd wish I had siblings like you."

Y/n smiled with a nod, "never break up a set. I use to tell him that all the time."

Megatron? Terrified of you

Mostly because you've been able to kick his aft more than once in his life time

Picking up your injured brother

Protecting your injured brother

Taking the shot for your injured brother

Ratchet came out of base to even get Optimus immediate medical attention, but you snapped back and wouldn't let anyone touch him as you held him close

Ratchet knew you before hand so it was a bit helpful that he knew all the things you been through.

Arcee argues with you for it

"You could of gotten Optimus Killed!' She shouted at Y/n, pointing a demanding digit at Arcee.

"I know what Im doing. Back off!" Y/n demanded, "and don't point at me."

She slapped Arcee's servo away.

"You shouldn't even be here! You're a liability! You don't help in anyway and disrespectful Optimus!"

"Disrespect? I'd kill myself before I ever disrespected my little brother-"

"Thats just it! He's a leader not your little brother! Not no more! He thinks your embarrassing!"

"Oh please." Y/n spoke

"You're just dead weight-"

"Thats enough!" Ratchet demanded pulling the two apart.

"If Orion thinks Im such of a dead weight. He can tell me. And I'll leave." Y/n spoke, "and I won't come back."

"His name is Optimus." Arcee argued.

"And thats where you miss." Y/n defended, "This isnt just a discussion about war. This'll be a discuss about family."

You ended up leaving after dicussing it with Optimus

"But Y/n I don't understand why you are leaving"

You didnt tell him what had happen.

"It's just best for the team. If you need me, Im a comn link away."

It's almost like a big sister going off to college, but instead of coming back after 4 years, you won't come back at all

Kinda just fell off the face of the earth again :(

He never did comn you, and you never did come back.

He felt as if he's disappointed you in some way

That could be the only reason you left in such a way

Sure though, he'd find you again on the feild.

In a cave specifically, slumped against a wall, sword at your side, dead cons around you.

Sure, you did defeat all the cons, evident by the slashed chasis, decapitications, and sliced off body parts.

Turns out just one too many injuries got you this time around.

How his spark ached seeing you in such a stature

Never to see you alive again, never able to repay such a debt he had as you being his big sister

It's even more unfortunate that he never learns of why you truly left

[idlepollingofcybertron]

Humanity Workshop

So I am outlining the humans to develop them a bit for this continuity. I figure while voting for a lot works some things just need to be done in the backburner.

Specifically thinking of Isaac and Sari Sumdac currently, though the others are on the table.

Like with Isaac having a Mumbai accent specifically per TF Wiki, which per Wikipedia has an older Jewish community, and Sari also being named Sari, which can derive from Sarah. I am thinking making them Jewish and Isaac have moved to Michigan when he was younger. I'd need to more research but brief look over says it would fit.

Also Isaac is clearly still an inventor and genius, but without the Megatron corpse to work off of. What if the project that ends up connecting humanity to Cybertron is a joint project between him, with him as development lead, and Astoria, who inherited her father's company, and is just investing? Ties into the bigger issue of why humanity is in space, but I'll be tying that up with some of the major plot choice polls I'll be doing.

Also, and hear me out, I know its a bit of a crackship but...June/Isaac with seventeen year old Jack suddenly getting a very excited seven year old stepsister?

I'll reblog this with updates as I plan more.

[maiselyormaiforshort]

Facts in my Tfp prime au called "Secretly Frenemies"

•the jasper trio got hit with the fanfiction canon divergence and instantly got a growth spurt, RazorEzquivel(Raf) height reaches to megs shoulder,CrimSonJaeger(Jack) is 4 centimetres taller than meg,Microzus(Miko) is 2 centimetres taller Crimson but its hard to tell

•Microzus gets mistaken for a mech Alot because in this au her build is more Mech like so people mostly assume she's A mech instead of a femme,they wouldn't really care if they knew tho because screw gender rules

•RazorEzquivel's design is very similar to G1 SoundWave minus the face plate and speakers

•Microzus wears the Cybertronion equivalent of makeup to look more mature except she's terrible at it(smudged lipstick,smudged eyeliner,I think that's all she would wear,of course knockout can't bare to see this and helps her do it)

•Micro and Crimson are friends with benefits

•they play out an event that would make a big impact,Razor's left eye has been malfunctioning so he needs to get it surgically removed,Microzus suggests she "punches" it Infront of the whole battlefield dramatically,she would then "banish" him from the decepticons,Crimson plays along because he could really use some help with coding,Razor plays along becuz hes tired of starscreams bs,after the event Crimson lets Razor "join" the autobots,Ratchet notices Razors eye malfunction and starts yapping bout it(similar to how someone would point out something obvious)

•Crimson would randomly drop lore,he would say sht like"yknow,before my name was CrimSonJaeger",he would then proceed to show the autobots pictures of the trio before the war while yapping,1 of them includes MicDrop hugging CrackerJack while HackRate sits on her shoukders,most of the pictures are the old trio just being happy,Optimus feels pity for Crimson and proceeds to tell him about his backstory with Megatron,Crimson is like:oh sht i guess I'm a fraud now,Ops is glad he can relate with someone

•Microzus's colours are more purpleish and very dark pink because she wants to be respected seen as mature and thinks the pink makes her look unprofessional childish (ignore how this is out of character,she would totally not gaf and be bright pink)

•the cybertronion population is still good in this au because I love it when there are lots of characters,this translates to cliffjumper,breakdown,anyone else that dies in the series,doesn't die

•im not sure if I want this au to take place on earth or cybertron but I think it would make more sense on cybertron because humans don't play a big part in this au

•tge au ends when Cybertron is almost in shambles leading to Both decepticons and autobots having nothing else to fight for,in an effort to make things better again Microzus and Crimson both agree to stop the war that they have been playing with.

•the trio can only bite their tongue knowing all the lives that were sacrificed are probably rolling in their graves because their sacrifices were useless

•they make a cybertronion equivalent of declaration of independence stuff,the war is over, cybertron is currently being restored,the autobots and decepticons who loved mechs/femmes on rival sides are now Conjuixes and they all live happily ever after

[lifetimeshipper]

No End In Sight

Chapter 21

~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone stood by and watched as Ratchet worked on Bumblebee. He was able to keep him stable, but he had to put him into stasis so his body could try to repair itself. Ratchet put him on machines to help him stay functioning while both he and Bee's body worked to repair the wound.

"He's lucky. There is only minimal damage to the bottom part of his spark chamber. There is nothing to impact the spark itself, but the damage is so great that it could cause a complete system shutdown," Ratchet informs them as he continues to work.

"What are his chances of survival?" Raf asked.

"As you humans would put it, slim to none. He has a minimal chance of surviving this. But I will do everything in my power to keep him functioning."

Optimus clenched his servos as frustration started setting in. Megatron has been beating him at every turn. First, he's taken Arcee and used her against them; now his scout is at Primus' door. He's now two soldiers down, and he doesn't know how they will be able to handle another attack from the Decepticons. He turns to the nearest wall and punches it before closing his optics to try and calm himself down.

"Easy, boss," Bulkhead says, trying to calm him down while June and the kids look at him in surprise, they have never seen him lose it before. They didn't think he could lose it.

"Calm down, Optimus, the last thing we need right now is you losing it," Ratchet says as he looks up at Optimus for a brief moment. "Don't let Megatron get to you, it's what he wants. He's trying to get under your metal," he says before going back to his work.

"I know, Ratchet. I know," Optimus says as he continues calming himself down. "I need to go for a drive. Call me if anything comes up." He transforms and drives out of the base.

"Do you think it's safe for him to be out there alone?" Bulkhead asks Ratchet.

"No, but he needs the space to clear his processor."

"I didn't think he could get that upset," Miko says as her mind still processes if she actually saw Optimus act like that.

"Even a Prime can get frustrated and upset at times," Ratchet states. "This whole situation is just really getting to him." He places a temporary patch over the wound to cover it up so nothing can interfere with its repairing process and checks the monitors to make sure everything is running well. "Arcee is being held by the Decepticons, Megatron is toying with us, and now Bumblebee is badly injured. That's a lot for any leader to have to deal with."

Jack and Raf look down, they hate to think of what their guardians are going through. Especially Jack, he doesn't even want to think of what the Decepticons might be doing to Arcee right now. Miko pulls them both into a hug to comfort them. She's happy nothing has happened to her guardian, but she's also dreading that something might happen to him at some point. After all, it's just him, Optimus, and Ratchet right now.

~~~~~~~~~~

Arcee wakes up with a terrible helmache, she places a servo on her helm as she tries to recall what happened. It doesn't take too long for her to remember everything. Soundwave slammed her against the cave wall before electrocuting her into unconsciousness. Damn that mech! She can't believe she let her guard down and opened up to him, he probably told Megatron everything she told him. And they kissed! She scolded herself for being so stupid as she scanned her body for any internal injuries, but she didn't find any, thankfully.

She sits up and stretches, that's when she realizes that she's not chained down. She can tell that she's in the brig, but she's not chained. Is this Soundwave's doing? No, he wouldn't leave her unchained. But it had to have been, none of the others would have left her unchained. But why would he?

She hears the door open, she looks up to see the very mech she was just thinking of walking in. The door closes behind him as he looks at her, "Were you the one that left me unchained?" He nodded. "Why?"

"Because... I couldn--"

Arcee glared at him, "Don't use the fake voices, use your real one!"

Soundwave looked at her for a second, he'd never had a bot demand that he use his real voice. Not even Megatron demanded that. He should ignore it and keep using his fake voices, but something inside him demands that he please her. "Because I couldn't bring myself to chain you up," he says in his real voice. "I felt bad enough for hurting you and then putting you in the brig, I couldn't chain you up as well."

"You couldn't bring yourself to chain me up?" Arcee asks as she glares at him. She stands up but has to lean against the wall as pain shoots through her body; she moved too fast. Soundwave had to restrain himself from reaching out to her. "You couldn't chain me up, but you could attack me, throwing me against the wall and electrocuting me until I was unconscious!"

Soundwave narrowed his optics, "Don't forget you attacked me first!"

Arcee stayed silent as she thought back; she did attack him first. He was just defending himself. Why does she even care so much that he hurt her like that? They're enemies, they're supposed to hurt each other.

"Arcee."

She hears him whispering near her audio receptor, and she finally notices that he's standing right in front of her. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even realize that he had moved closer to her. She watches him as he places one servo on the wall while he brings his other servo up to his visor to remove it. She didn't even take notice until now that his visor had been fixed.

He removes his visor, and she's met with the same beautiful purple optics she saw in the cave. She's once again entranced by them. Curse this mech. She feels his lips brush against hers as he gradually kisses her.

He looks at her to see if she will refuse him, but she does nothing to stop him, so he kisses her more until it becomes as heated and passionate as it was before. Arcee closes her optics as she melts into the kiss. How does he keep making her like this?

The door opens and Soundwave quickly moves away from Arcee as he puts his visor back on. The two look towards the door to see Megatron and Knock Out walk in. Soundwave was able to hide his blush behind his visor, but Arcee wasn't so lucky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1

Next Chapter

[witchofthesouls]

I have this image of Jack standing next to Arcee as June introduces her new boyfriend, the Titan (insert name here). Jack was already mortified when he learned his mom was a robo-fucker. This is a humongous mech who turns into a space ship and a city. A cybertronian sized city! The teen is floping down on the base couch having a full on nervous breakdown trying to push away all questions he realy doesn't want to think about, let alone get the answers too.

Meanwhile you have the Autobots marveling over June becomeing the first new cityspeaker since before the war. Also just the Quintessions being active is Alarming™️.

Who knows what our unhinged Titan friend is going to do when he learns human lives are so short especially if he's got a personality that's part Ratchet's and part Optimus.

Jack is having a breakdown for entirely different reasons because the Cybertronian gods did a coin toss to see if June will have Megatron and his child at Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays or if she will plan Megatron's demise. They'll either get along like dynamite in a mine, someone will end up dead, or both.

He has no idea how it will turn out, but when his mom has a Project. It's hers.

And I meant it's June that has a personality between Ratchet and Orion Pax. Like every good hospital worker with shitty administration, she's very much a person who has Malicious Compliance embedded in her bones with the addition of spite, energy drinks, and hidden contraband somewhere you wouldn't expect under a serene smile and a spine of steel.

If you are her people, then she'll mother-hen the shit out of you. She's intense and she knows that. June has gotten better over the years in that aspect, but should a friend or family need help, she's there.

20/10 will drive you to your surgery at 4 am as a designated driver, terrify your shitty apartment managers into compliance, or help plan a massive heist to take back all the money your cheating lover has stolen over the years for their side piece(s). She's built on solid alibis and documentation, documentation, and oh documentation.

She made a nest of giant pillows in the garage for Arcee, and even partitioned it out to give the femme the privacy to be rest in her root-mode when June needs to use the clicker. And Jack uncovered the plans to target Airachnid, and he has no idea how to feel about it because he can tell that his mom is heavily utilizing the medical commentary from Ratchet, the details of the 'bots' exploits that Miko manages to wheedle out, and his own experiences with 'bot-eating parasites...

The unhinged Titan has found a match, but it's not romantic. Oh no, June Darby now has a life-long project to spruce it up. And said Titan is not only over the moon that its new favorite person with similar levels of devotion, but has a lineage with a son that looks so much like her. It was once a major research facility that dealt with xenobiology. It's not above looking into ways to expand their lifespans. Anything for their favorite. Anything. Even if it must lure the resident scientists to its bosom and trap them to make use of its repository of accumulated data.

[searchingforatrail]

WIP Shades of Me Chapter 2: In which Megatron does Jack a favor. Summary:

There are many different shades of Optimus Prime. And at some point in their complicated history, Megatron had become familiar with them all. The data droid, the Prime, the fearless, Autobot leader? He had grown accustomed to his former rival's varied existence. But Optimus Prime, the bot who decided to insert himself into the lives of three human children and their families? The mech who has devoted himself to the lives of humans? This is new. -- (Optimus "adopts" Miko, Raf, and Jack. Megatron becomes an unwilling secondary-creator)

(TW: mention of drug use amongst teenagers, nothing serious)

In Jack’s defense, today had been a very bad day. He had failed a science exam he’d actually studied for, had left his wallet at home so had no lunch, had been harassed by drive through customers again, and had gotten passed up on another “mission” Fowler had assigned the team on (all thanks to Arcee, actually. According to Wheelkack, she had “mother henned” very badly, apparently.). So now he was alone without Raf and Miko for a good week and a half. 

He had made it a point to block them both on social media for that time too. 

So who could blame him for partaking in the #1  run-of-the-mill illegal activity for America’s youth at the time? Besides, it wasn’t like it was meth. It was just weed.  And at least he actually got along with Vince this time. Sure it took twenty dollars and sworn secrecy, but they’d managed to speak for five minutes without cursing the shit of each other. So he considered that a win. 

He planned to spend the rest of the day, alone, stoned out of his mind.

He nestled himself in between a stack of empty energon crates, making certain that the base was completely empty before he lit his joint. At least in the base robots couldn’t smell the scent of weed. Parents on the other hand could.  And he wanted to be as far away from his mother as possible. 

Jack stayed by himself for a good while, letting the smoke work its magic. 

“I was not aware that humans needed to inhale gas to survive.” 

Looming above him, peering into the open space amongst the tower of metal cubes like a scientist looking at a lab sample, was Megatron. Jack nearly choked. For two reasons–one, being caught high as a kite, by Megatron of all beings, was not how Jack wanted to spend his evening. At all. He was already pissed off. No need to add fear to his growing list of emotional grievances. 

Two–where Megatron was, Optimus was sure to follow. Megatron did not casually associate with humans for no reason, and avoided The Base alone at all cost. His appearance, from what Jack could tell, was relaxed, and he had no Decepticon guard accompanying. So that meant Optimus was close by. 

Great. Optimus knew enough about humans to know high schoolers shouldn’t be smoking. And Ratchet would know enough to know they shouldn’t be smoking weed. He could already see it–the ridiculous butterfly effect of Optimus telling Ratchet, who would tell Fowler, who would tell his mom. 

He swallowed dryly. The anxiety overriding the calming effects of his joint. That was frustrating. 

“Um.. Is Opti–”

[notgonnaedit]

Given to Fly

One Shall Rise, Part 1

Summary: Martha "Marty" Thorne was a basic teenager, a little antisocial maybe. But her life changed the day she met the Autobots and joined them in their fight.

Pairing: Optimius x Teen!OFC (Platonic)

Chapter summary: A discovery rattles the team.

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, Marty's worried, Mama June, (If I miss a tag LMK)

Updates are sporadic. If you want to be tagged LMK

@dreamsight73

Master list

"What's going on?"

Marty barely registered June's question. She was too busy focusing on the fact that Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee just ran through the ground bridge, panicking and with Optimus leaning on them.

"Easy, Optimus," Ratchet instructed. "From the looks of things, you've been exposed to a massive amount of Dark Energon."

The Prime's gaze found Raf sitting on the cot. "I am not the only one."

Marty watched with worried eyes, following them as Optimus sat on the medical berth. He looked down at the injured boy, offering a small smile.

Raf returned it. "Hey."

June glared up at the Prime. "He's lucky to be alive."

Optimus smile changed to an ashamed frown. Marty looked up at her guardian, searching for any injuries. When she didn't find anything, the brunette sighed and slumped against his foot. "Megatron found more of the dark stuff?"

"A volcano full," Arcee answered.

Bulkhead nodded. "The question is, ‘how’?"

"No," Ratchet corrected. "The question is, ‘what?’ As in, ‘what in the world is the blood of Unicron doing here on Earth’?"

"The 'Cons killed a Unicorn?" Miko asked innocently.

This earned her blank stares from the Autobots and a facepalm from Marty. 

"White horse with a horn on its head?" The rocker asked. "Prances around all sparkly?"

"Unicron–" Ratchet pronounced, "an ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter which we call Dark Energon, as legend would have it."

June held her elbow in one hand. "So, you're saying this Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?"

"Boogeyman?" The medic repeated.

"Make-believe creepy guy who hides in your closet," Miko offered.

Ratchet shook his head. "No, Nurse Darby. Unicron is very real – was," he corrected. "That is, well, I do believe he once existed. I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which harmed Raf."

June raised her hands in a no good signal. "I've heard enough." She grabbed the rail on the cot and started to wheel it away. "Jack, please, help me get Raf into the car."

Jack blinked in surprise. "Mom, I thought he was doing better."

Bee buzzed anxiously and confused.

"Raf needs to be examined by real doctors, and Raf's family needs to know what's happened," June stated. "His real family."

"Mom, Raf's family can't protect him, not like they can," Jack told her.

"June–" Optimus stood up shakily, prompting Marty to move, but linger as if she could help him."–it deeply grieves me that I have failed. But I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends or any human ever again."

June's shoulders slumped. "Optimus, they're children. They do not belong in your world. They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples. Not their own survival!"

"Miss Darby," Marty started, "Dark Energon is pouring out of the earth. It doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours."

But she didn't waiver. "You're coming with me, all four of you, and they will not be coming back."

Instead of protesting or evening trying to meet a middle ground, Optimus merely said, "I understand."

"That's it??" Marty ran up to her guardian, craning her neck to look up at him. "After all we've been through together? ‘See ya’? What about our freedom to choose?"

"That may fly on their planet but not here on Earth," June said as she helped Raf get into her car. She looked at the teens, her mother's glare showing. "Get in."

"Do you really expect me to ride in a non-transforming vehicle?" Miko scoffed.

"Miko, I'm serious."

"You're not my mother."

"Miko," Bulkhead urged.

His ward glared up at him. "Neither are you!"

June looked at Marty, then sighed, "I'm not even gonna try with you." She turned to her son. "Well, I am your mother. Let's go, Jack."

The raven haired boy glanced back at Arcee. She had her arms folded loosely. "She is your mom."

Jack turned back to his mother, blue eyes determined. "I'm staying. I'm sorry."

Surprise over took June's expression, but she quickly replaced it with sternmes. She closed Raf's door and got in the driver's side, starting her car.

"Ratchet, activate the ground bridge," Optimus said.

"No, thank you," June snapped before pulling out.

From the rear window, Raf could be seen watching them as they drove away. Bumblebee followed for a few steps, his door wings sagging.

But there was no time to feel the weight of what just happened, as Fowler's voice broke through the silence. "Prime, do you copy?"

"I hear you, Agent Fowler," Optimus answered.

"Been watching the news? Mother nature's got a twitch in her britches."

"We know about the volcano," the Prime told him.

Marty ran up the stairs and turned on the TV to see what he was talking about.

"And the quakes? Seven major tumblers of the exact same magnitude at the exact same time as a volcanic eruption All over the globe on different tectonic plates, In theory, unrelated, if they hadn't happened–" 

"–at the exact same time," Ratchet finished.

"Check it out," Marty said, remote in hand. "More good news."

The TV portrayed images of natural disasters all over the world as a newscaster's voice carried over it. "Freak storms unlike any the region has seen. Tsunamis threaten the Canadian coast while lightning storms pummel the Gobi desert. Meanwhile, electromagnetic anomalies plague urban power grids. These abnormal global phenomena are leaving most to wonder why now and what next."

"Don't tell me your 'Cons have built a weather machine," Fowler huffed.

"One that powerful?" Ratchet asked. "Highly unlikely."

Optimus furrowed his brow. "I do not believe the appearance of Dark Energon at this point in time to be coincidental."

Bee buzzed aggressively before transforming and driving out.

"Uh, what was that?" Jack asked.

"Bee said he's going to get Raf," Arcee translated.

                          )()()()()(

It wasn't long before Bee rolled back into base, Raf and June in tow. The boy stepped out and gave a half smile. "Uh, we're back."

"And we are glad," Ratchet told him.

Jack ran up to his mother as Bee transformed. "Are you all right?"

"I will be." June frowned. "Jack–"

"Mom, I–"

"I know. Me too." She pulled him into a hug. "But you're grounded till you're 30."

Jack looked at her in disbelief when he pulled away.

"25," the nurse conceded.

Marty would have been amused at the scene, but the impending doom playing on the TV took her attention.

"World leaders are classifying these bizarre weather patterns as a global emergency," the newscaster said.

"Global?" June asked as she ran up the stairs.

"And scientists believe the phenomena to be somehow related to the current planetary alignment."

The lift door opened and out walked Agent Fowler. "What have you learned, Prime? And you better not blow smoke up my oven." He froze when he saw a certain nurse, probably regretting his choice of words. "Ms. Darby. What a nice surprise."

June smirked. "Special Agent Fowler."

Marty found herself smirking as well.

"We have learned this–" Ratchet started, eyes on the screen. "–as with the so-called magma from the volcano, these earthquakes originated far below the Earth's crust, from the very center of the Earth's core, in fact."

"Quakes don't start there. Do they?" Fowler asked.

"Tiny tremors rising and failing in a consistent pattern, almost like..." Ratchet trailed off as he looked at the data points. His eyes widened. "By the Allspark! If I convert these data points to audio files...'

"What? What is it?" Fowler demanded.

"Well, listen." Ratchet's voice was soft.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

The worry crease in Marty's brow became deeper. "A Cybertronian heartbeat?"

"How is that possible?" June asked, rubbing her arms. "A heart pumps blood. There's nothing inside the earth to pump except–"

Raf sat up. "–Blood of Unicron."

"Okay, hold on." Miko held her hands on in a time out motion. "You mean something's living down there inside our planet??"

"I fear that the Earth's very core is not comprised of magma as your science has suggested, but of Dark Energon," Optimus said.

"And if we're hearing a spark," Ratchet added, "then Unicron is the rising darkness that the prophecy foretold."

"So, how do we stop this thing from rising?" Fowler asked.

Optimus shook his head. "That, I am afraid, was not foretold."

"How can something be in our Earth's core and be alive?" June questioned.

The Prime hummed. "Such a thing is not unprecedented. Before the beginning, there was Primus, and there was Unicron. One, the incarnation of creation the other of destruction. For aeons, Primus and Unicron battled the balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the 13 – the original Primes who preceded me – was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out.  Primus became one with the very core of our planet, creating life through the Well of Allsparks, while Unicron was never to be heard from again until now."

Marty furrowed her brow, her mind whirring with how Unicron could be in the Earth.

"Maybe we can find the hole this Uber-'Con left when he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives," Fowler suggested aggressively.

"First of all: that would cause massive problems," Marty said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "And second: I don't think Unicron came to Earth. With his mass, he could probably create his own gravitational field. Random asteroids probably got caught in his field and formed Earth around him."

Marty stopped once she realized what this meant. "That means Unicron is Earth's core. And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment."

Miko elbowed her lightly, whispering, "You gotta let me copy off you for physics class."

"Okay, well, what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion-year nap?" Jack asked.

Miko nodded. "Yeah, does he stretch and kapow! Earth poufs to dust?"

Marty looked at Optimus, searching for an answer in his expression. But all she found was uncertainty.

"You don't know, do you?" She asked.

The Prime looked away, seemingly ashamed that his ward was correct. "My guess is that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it," he said. "Nonetheless, we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it."

"Optimus, what are we going to do?" Ratchet asked.

The Prime's expression changed to when he was going to say something serious –more serious than usual.

"With Unicron's awakening immenint, the only logical course of action would be for me to scout an area with heavy quakes."

Marty stared up at him. "Optimus, you can't be serious. Going in alone to fight a god?? At least take Arcee or Bulkhead!" Her voice held more emotion than she anticipated.

Optimus looked at her and his expression softened. "I am the last of the Primes, therefore the only one who can stand a chance against Unicron." His tone said there was no arguing with him, but that he understood her worry.

"Your concern is warranted, Little One," he continued, "But trust that I will return unharmed."

                    )()()()()(

"Ratchet, this epicenter is consistent with the findings of the others," Optimus said through the comms. "Its terrain is rich in ore."

"So, what does that tell us?" Fowler asked.

"It follows that the natural metals in your Earth would be extensions of Unicron," Ratchet explained. "His limbs, if you will."

"So, he did have his morning stretch," June figured, "which is why these quakes happened."

Marty's worry crease was a crevice at this point. It didn't help when the computer system beeped, taunting her.

"Optimus, I'm detecting a swell in Unicron's spark activity," Ratchet warned.

Marty moved to the rail. "Optimus, you need to get out of there."

"Rest assured, Martha," was his reply. "I will proceed with vigilance."

Previous

Next

[lets-try-some-writing]

In the grim dark archives what would happen if the kids died? Whether it was by the autobots or some outside threat. I vaguely remember you posting something a little more in depth regarding the kids but heaven forbid I can ever find anything with Tumblr’s horrible searching system. So correct me if I’m wrong

But I remember you said Optimus specifically needed Raf for something. So if he dies we might have an issue

But Jack and Miko are solely there to keep their respective bots occupied. So if those two died would they just replace them with kids who looked similar enough and prayed the bots didnt notice?

The Grim Dark Archives: Transcript #003 Hypothetical

[Transcript taken [Redacted: Sensitive data] from [REDACTED] after concerns regarding the children were raised by personnel and the higher ups. I decided to ask [REDACTED] a few questions about a hypothetical where the children perished.

It was mostly for my own sake, so I decided to keep it all as a transcript. The higher ups don't read transcripts as often since they technically aren't official.

Transcript begins.]

══════════════════

Agent Witwicky: The children... what would happen if they died? [REDACTED]: Rafael won't die. Prime won't allow it. He's going to join the Archive soon enough. The Archive protects its own. Agent Witwicky: Then the other two. What about them? [REDACTED]: Let's not get it twisted. Miko will die. She's with Bulkhead. He will kill her eventually, probably in a fit of boredom. Jack will likely expire at some point too. Arcee doesn't know how to care for squishies like you lot. Agent Witwicky: Answer the question. [REDACTED]: Dang, harsh crowd here tonight. [REDACTED]: Miko will get replaced. Simple as that. It isn't hard to find a rambunctious kid on this planet of yours, especially since your culture is swimming in media that paints alien lifeforms in a positive happy go lucky light. Agent Witwicky: So Bulkhead doesn't care about her? [REDACTED]: I wouldn't say that. To him, I can only assume he views her like how you humans may see a pet goldfish. He will take care of her, but when she expires, he will get rid of her and move on quickly. Agent Witwicky: How long do you think she has until she... expires? [REDACTED]: Hard to tell. Wreckers take pets a lot. Some care for them properly, others don't. I didn't exactly take the time to get to know the Wrecker units since I valued life. Agent Witwicky: Right... and Jack? [REDACTED]: If he dies and Arcee fails to bond to another human, Arcee will likely be executed shortly after the boy's death. Prime keeps Arcee around simply because she's vicious and because it invokes fear in the enemy. Agent Witwicky: He isn't concerned about eliminating a threat then. [REDACTED]: Exactly. I think there is a core element most miss when it comes to Prime. Everything he does is two sided. Agent Witwicky: That's not surprising. [REDACTED]: No its not. But what I mean by that is, well, he's not the mech I knew. When he joined the Archive, he was still a mech that I could recognize. Now though? It's like someone else is walking in his frame, and that person thinks this whole war is FUN. Agent Witwicky: Can you confirm that? [REDACTED]: No. I have my theories, but they aren't relevant right now. For the time being, just know that when those two kids expire, Prime will find replacements for them or for Arcee.

══════════════════

[Transcript ends.

The more I hear about the Autobots, the more my childhood dream of being friends with aliens dies. Prime is terrifying and I haven't even met him in person before. I don't think I want to. If he is as [REDACTED] says, then we are better off hoping that this Megatron character kills him soon.

Agent Witwicky signing off.

Recording end.]

[nonsscrapheap]

TFP: Universal Observations

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE! HAVE A NEW CHAPTER AND THE ENDING OF PART 1 OF ACT 1! i already know the results of the poll so i'm already planning ahead the next au ;)

in the meanwhile, say goodbye to rung! we'll see him again at some point.

hehe

ACT I: Show Acting - III -

[ ----- TP : UO ----- ]

Omega Outpost One

[ "Such hostility and confusion I sense, it has been quite a while since this thing operated on its own…" The mysteirous mech said, tapping the screen. "Curious."

Clearing his throat, the mech gave a gentle smile, "Settle down you all, I mean no harm. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I can't. Your relays are incomplete, damaged. I can't do anything in your world, nor can you do anything in mine. My name is Rung, it is a pleasure to meet you all… Somewhat." ]

Raf was glad to be on the ground again- he wasn't afraid of heights, but constantly moving between Bee's shoulder and hands was getting tiresome- he couldn't really blame him though, his alternate- or well, future? Self? Nearly died! Like actually nearly died.

He knew that missions with the bots were dangerous, he sometimes still had nightmares of the first time he, Miko and Jack got on the Nemesis to save Agent Fowler. The loud noises, the violence, almost getting squashed by giant metal bodies falling down with explosions and blaster-fire in the background…

Yet he couldn't exactly find it in himself to regret being with the Autobots. Being allies with them, being friends. He had friends of his own, not his sibling's friends, or family friends. Sure they're not his age, Bumblebee being nowhere near his age, but they were still his closest and dearest friends.

He didn't even mind that he was sometimes babied or treated the youngest- he was the youngest of them so it wasn't exactly wrong…

But he just knows that after this, after watching his possible death of the future, even if the source was from another universe from a fictional show that depicted their universe's future (that was both still weird and cool, but his actor seemed nice at least? Antonio was a nice name, the cons weren't really cons there so that was nice too), they were going to be a little bit more protective than usual.

Thankfully though, something else was taking up their attention now; someone from the otherside was talking to them. Through the orb! And there was another orb there too! Is that how they're talking to them? Through that? There were more of them out there?

Raf peered at the screen in the air, Miko and Jack's hands were on his shoulders as the three of them were being guarded by the Autobots, the cybertronians forming a protective wall in front of them.

Optimus shared a look with the other bots, discomfort and suspicion on their faces. "... Greetings Rung, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots." 

( "I am Lord Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons. Explain yourself, 'Rung'!" )

[ Rung stayed silent for a moment, tilting his helm before sighing. "Your relays are definitely damaged, I cannot hear anything if you're speaking to me right now, nor can I see you. The output is doing fine, but any input isn't possible for the moment." ]

"Wait, so lanky there can't hear us?" Miko immediately asked and didn't even bother waiting for a reply, "Hello?! Dude! Orange with goggles, can you really not hear us?!" She shouted, going as far as to weave herself through the Autobot's legs to stand before them beneath the floating screen.

"Miko!" Multiple voices exclaimed, exasperated.

Miko didn't even bother squirming when Bulkhead gently grabbed her and deposited her back with Jack and Raf behind them. Pouting and thoughtful. 

"What relays? Must be internal, which is just fantastic considering we have no idea how to open the spheres and look in them." Ratchet muttered, glaring at the orb with heated eyes. 

( A series of voices were stitched together, "Relays- possibly internal-unable-to open." "Find a way to open it then!" )

[ "Your relays should be able to be fixed on their own, they're capable of self-repairing. Though it will take time." Rung spoke to them, "Perhaps you've already tried to open the spheres, you'll find it near impossible to do such a thing. They're pretty much indestructible." 

The mech sat back against his chair, legs crossed and hands on his lap. "I'm assuming that you're new users of it. That you've managed to stumble upon- well, there's no real name for them but we've been calling them 'Observers' considering their purpose. My assumptions are entirely based on the fact you've not known how to respond to me whatsoever." ]

"By the sound of it there's more of these things around." Bulkhead muttered, reaching out to poke the gold and silver sphere only to be halted by Optimus. 

"Indeed." The Autobot Leader nodded, looking between the sphere and screen with caution. 

Raf frowned, muttering to himself. "'We'?" Jack looked over to him with confusion and he spoke a little louder, gaining the bot's attention. "He said 'we', so there's- there's like, other people like him. Other people who have a sphere or, uh, 'Observer' and know what it can do… I just wish we could respond and like, actually ask questions."

.: Well, we'll be able to eventually. Right? He said the internal relays will repair themselves and we'll uh, be able to do that. :. Bee beeped out, most of the tension finally slipping out of his body and stance. He was still protective though, it showed in his wings. They were still up and straight and he was keeping close to Raf more than usual.

[ Rung stayed silent for a moment, before humming. "I have no doubt that you have a lot of questions, some I may have the answer to. Let's get the basics out of the way, shall we? No, I do not know where these Observers came from, nor do I know of their creator or creation. They simply just… appear, out in the universes. I do not know if they're in every universe, but I do know their purpose; it's to, as we've named them, 'observe'." ]

Ratchet was typing rapidly into the base's console, "Observe what though." Jack asked aloud, and was startled when Rung answered his question- a coincidence considering he was explaining what these… Observers were.

[ "As to what they observe- anything, everything, they're particularly biased to whoever finds them. They show their users what they've observed- never in their current universe, but in others. Again, I don't know how it works, nor do I know the exact specifics but that's just how these Observers are." Rung said, patting the orb that sat nearby on his shelf.

"Their purpose is to observe, or rather, have people observe through them. Observe into other universes. Admittedly this is hypothetical, even after all this time, we're still learning quite a lot with these things. But this hypothesis has been mostly supported by the fact that if there's an Observer around, then soon it'll attach itself to users and show them universes based on what they want." ]

"Yes, yes, but how? Miko and Bumblebee were prattling words earlier on when it asked for keywords but it was Jack's words that it clung on to instead which gave us this universe instead!" Ratchet said aloud, making Raf nod, it had been weird.

Was it because Miko had accidentally activated it earlier by saying the words 'shatter' and 'glass'? Raf tried to think on why that was, what happened- what lead to the sphere's activation…

"Guys, guys!" He exclaimed, interrupting conversations going on- he hated being rude but, this was important! "I'm pretty sure that the 'users' that Rung is talking about is Miko, Jack and I- we were touching the Observer when Miko accidentally activated it saying a passcode remember? She said, 'boring' which apparently was a passcode, which activated the artifact and since we were touching the Observer— "

"It accepted us as its users?" Jack finished incredulously, though as he said it he seemed to believe it. "That… makes sense, Miko said 'shatter' and 'glass' afterwards which triggered it to look into that universe where the Cons and Bots morality were all, uh-"

Miko was quick to help him out. "Swapped? Switched? Completely on the flipside?"

"So the sphere's connected to the kids, great." Arcee drawled with great sarcasm.

.: Is there a way to transfer uh, user-ship? Or maybe just- get the orb to see us as users as well? :. Bee questioned.

Optimus sighed, "A good question, Bumblebee, one that I wish we could as to Rung." He said, nodding over to the orange mech who was still speaking. The mech had managed to go off course, mumbling to himself while typing into a datapad.

[ "-m rambling. Pardon, it's just been a while since I've had a guest with the orb.,, Where was I? Ah yes, the basics." Rung nodded to himself, smiling at the screen. "You might be asking by now how exactly to work the Observers, how to control it… I'm sorry to say that I cannot help you with that." ]

"What?" "What do you mean you can't help us with that?!"

( "Useless mech!" A seeker sneered, "What even is his alt? None of his kibble makes sense!" )

[ "You see, although they all look extremely similar, each Observer have unique controls. Mine, for example, activates when I offer it a model of something. It searches the universes for its replica or something similar to it and shows me the universe. Another Observer that I know of, is controlled solely through wordless song. It seems that each Observer is one of a kind in terms of controls and they adapt to the user. So whatever advice I can offer you to control your observer would be mostly useless." ]

"Who the frag decided to make all powerful observation devices like that?!" Ratchet hissed with great annoyance, glaring at the Observer once more. Bulkhead gave a sympathetic pat to the incensed medic.

( A warlord expresses similarly, snarling at the Observer with offended optics. A visored mech plays an old clip of a certain cycloptic mech saying the phrase, "It is completely illogical." )

"Wordless song? Like what, one guy is just screaming or playing guitar to control his orb-thingy?" Miko deadpanned, Raf thought it over and snorted, holding back a laugh at the image of someone trying to control the Observer through guitar. He gives up holding back when he spots Bee playing an imaginary guitar.

"I guess we're lucky aren't we?" Jack piped up, smiling crookedly at an unimpressed Arcee and a stoic-faced Optimus. "All we have to do is like, say Key Words and that's it."

"It is thankfully convenient." Optimus murmured with an agreeing nod.

[ Rung gave them a hapless smile, "You will have to learn how to navigate your Observer on your own. Although, the only commonality between all Observers is that every one has a 'Universal Library'. Every Universe you look into will be recorded and saved into the Observer's storage, you can even revisit any universe previously viewed using the Universal Library." ]

"Didn't that thing say something about an error in its universal library?" Arcee muttered in thought.

"Yeah… Yeah! It- slag, it said something about losing it didn't it?" Bulkhead said with a grimace as he realized what that meant. "Guess we can't look at any other universe that it had before, we're starting off fresh."

Raf frowned, "There's gotta be a way to restore the lost data. Maybe there's a hidden back-up on it?"

"One could only hope." Ratchet grumbled.

[ Rung seemed to pause, shoulders tensing up before slumping down. "There is much I'd like to speak with you, however I am a busy mech unfortunately. I have obligations that I cannot put aside, so I will have to cut this short. My last couple of advices to you…" He trailed then smiles, "The Observer isn't sentient, but it does have its bias and tastes. Despite its namesake and purpose, a more accurate purpose to it is that it's a story teller. It likes to present the universes it observes akin to shows on media. Especially when it shows past information that might confuse the user- you might have seen a moment like it before. A flashback sequence perhaps?" ]

Give me your fa—

"Ah, so that's what that was." Miko said aloud, sounding nonchalant but Raf could spy her hands clenching by her sides. "I was wondering what that was about."

"Guess the Observer's a theatre kid." Jack joked to them both, making them grin and snicker slightly.

[ Rung paused again, his smile slipping before he reached up to take off his goggles, primal blue optics glowing bright through the screen. ]

Raf's breath hitched, and he knows he isn't the only one.

There is something unnerving about Rung's eyes.

Something that makes Raf thing he can see them through the screen.

He'd almost forgotten the feeling, with how soft-spoken and unassuming the mech had been. But when he first looked right at the screen, it really felt like Rung could see them with that unsettling gaze of his.

It makes Bee tense again, standing defensively before him, Miko and Jack again alongside the others. Optimus at the very front, a complicated expression that was mostly caution and something confusing.

( On a far away warship, blasters were aimed at the screen once more on pure instinct. It's unnerving annoying, the feeling of those optics on them... )

[ "You will see many things." Rung starts out softly, smiling once more, wane and quiet. "You will see beautiful sights, emotional moments and witness things that will change your perspectives forever. You might even learn information that might be important or pertinent, something that could help your own universe somehow…"

His optics hardened and his smile turns into a stern frown, a warning finger points at them through the screen. "But in the same vein, you will learn horrible secrets, witness personal nightmares and agonizing moments, you might view others in ways you never thought you would. You must understand that the Observer peers into countless of universes that each have their own differences. Similarities may come often, but one universe's information may not work for your own. Please… Please… keep that in mind when you see what else is out there."

"Some universes will give you hope, some, despair. An ally in your world may be an enemy in another and likewise the same can be said reversed. Your counterpart may end up doing acts you despise or are horrified by, keep in mind that they are not truly you. Their actions and words are their own, as are yours. Whatever you see through the Observer's showings…" ]

Raf didn't move an inch from behind Bee as Rung reached out to press a hand against his orb- his Observer. What he was saying, he said with clear experience. He sounded tired, sad, but somehow reassuring.

[ "Be mindful. And be careful." Rung used his other servo to put his glasses back on. He was smiling again, reassuring, calm and apologetic.

"When your relays are fully repaired, and you have more questions and I am not as busy, feel free to revisit this universe and contact me. I hope your experience with the Observer will be a positive one… but be prepared for that to change at any moment. You never know what kind of universe you will stumble upon. Goodbye." ]

Abruptly, the screen turned black but even after it did, the Autobots were still tense. It wasn't until the screen changed did they begin to relax once more.

[ UNIVERSAL OBSERVATION CEASED DUE TO OTHER UNIT'S INTERFERENCE.UNIVERSE AVAILABLE FOR PURVIEW WITHIN UNIVERSE LIBRARYUNIVERSE DATA AVAILABLE FOR CURRENT CONTINUITY: TWO (2)- SHATTERED GLASS (JM-DESIGN) [AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING]- SHOW ACTING (RU-DESIGN) [UNAVAILABLE FOR VIEWING]SEARCH FOR NEW UNIVERSAL OBSERVATION? ACCEPT / DECLINE ]

"Decline." Raf immediately said, they… they needed a moment.

[ UNIVERSAL OBVERSATION DECLINEDSTANDBY MODE ACTIVATEAWAITING FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ]

( It went unsaid, and would never be pointed out aloud but even the Cons were relieved to see that Standby Mode had been activated. )

"I think we need a moment to uh, process everything." Jack groaned, rubbing his hands against his face. "Figure things out."

Miko, though, was quick to recover from whatever that was from Rung and was already bouncing in place. "What else is there to figure out? We got a thing that let's us see into other universes! We just watched ourselves being like- actors on a late night talk show! And we saw a bit of our future!"

"A future where Raf got shot at by Megatron and nearly died." Arcee deadpanned with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes trained on the girl. Miko faltered, but only for a moment.

She shook her head, looking angry and determined. "Which now we know! And we won't let it happen to Raf! We'll be prepared! No one's going to touch Raf, certainly not that buckethead robot!"

Bulkhead made a strangled, garbled noise, coughing to quickly clear his throat. "Well- Miko's right." He was quick to continue so he wouldn't interrupted, seeing both Bee's and Arcee's expressions. "We won't let anything happen to Raf. To any of the kids. We know a little bit of what's coming, we can prevent it from happening."

Raf reached out to touch Bee's leg, smiling up to his best friend reassuringly when he let out a distressed beep- it was just noise, no words. "It's gonna be okay Bee."

"We promised to keep you children safe when we took you in our protection." Optimus said gravely, eyes dim and sorrowful. "It pains me to know that in another future, regardless of where we've seen it from, you were put in such danger Rafael. I'm sorry."

"Like Miko said, it hasn't happened yet. And it won't happen now that we know." Raf replied firmly towards him, smiling brightly at the stoic but kind and gentle leader.

"By the way, are we just going to ignore the fact that the Earth's core is apparently Cybertron's satan? Uh, Unicron, right?" Miko couldn't help but blurt out, glancing around.

At the reminder, all the bots present cringed and had various different expressions on their faces. "i'd… rather let that be a subject of discussion for another time." Ratchet replied stiffly, the mumbling agreements he got from Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee reinforced the idea. Optimus said nothing but his expression had only darkened slightly before settling back to somber. "In any case, what's more important right now is figuring out how to actually control this- Observer. Rafael, if you could assist me?"

.

..

…

Good news; they've managed to figure out the general controls of the Observer and gained a little bit more information about them.

Bad news; any more information they want to know? Currently locked because it turns out, it wasn't just the relays inside the sphere that were damaged. A lot of the Observer was damaged.

"Despite what it looks like, this thing is severely busted inside." Raf explained to his friends who needed a short and simple, understandable answer. Miko's eyes had started to glaze over when Ratchet mentioned 'interdimensional quantumatic technofocus' and other big, literally alien words because apparently the human language didn't have the right vocabulary and words for them. "Like, outside, it looks fine and it's almost my size right? But inside, it's the size of the Nemesis ship twice over and nearly all of its machinery is damaged."

.: Seriously? :. Bee gawped, echoing Jack's words who was struggling to imagine it in his head.

"It'd say it's a miracle it's functioning as it is, however we've discovered that although we cannot open the sphere without the proper tools lest we risk tearing apart the fabric of reality," Ratchet drawled as he tapped his finger alongside his datapad, "Rung was correct in that the Observer is self-repairing. Given time, it will fully fix itself back to top shape. The only problem is…"

Raf winced, finishing Ratchet's words with his own. "It needs to be gathering universal data to do that, and to do that, we need to watch more universes."

"Wait, seriously?" Even Miko was surprised to hear that. "Dude, what the scrap? What about like, powering it? Does it also self-power itself or something?"

"Yes, actually." Ratchet nodded, though he didn't look too pleased, he also seemed begrudgingly impressed. Like it was entirely against his will to be impressed but he had no choice but to be. "Whatever idiot created this tech was also genius enough that the power it draws runs parallel in observing other universes and repairing whatever damages it sustains- don't ask me how. I don't know, nor do I wish to know at this point. In any case, if we want this thing repaired, we need to use it… Optimus?"

They all turned to the Autobot Leader, the Prime looking troubled as he gazed at the motionless floating screen that came from the gold and silver sphere.

"… Do we use it?" Bulkhead asked after a moment of hesitance, "It gave us kinda valuable information."

"We could learn stuff from other universes." Raf piped in, already onboard with the idea. Too intrigued with the artifact to stop now.

"It wouldn't necessarily be good information, could be useless or just… really, really bad." Arcee cautioned, not really liking the idea.

"We can handle it! We're just watching stuff anyway, we could also drop out of whatever bad universe we're watching and watch something better!" Miko insisted, rocking on her heels with an excited grin.

"… Optimus?" Jack questioned, wanting to hear from the big bot himself.

Optimus Prime took in a soft vent, optics dimming for a moment before glowing bright once more. "Although there are understandable concerns about the Observer and the contents it might show, I do believe this is a unique opportunity that we must take advantage of. However should any of us be uncomfortable with the contents of what we see, we can stop and from there, it will depends on what you want. Either request to look at something else, or to be excluded until further notice. Is that agreed?"

Nod and noises of confirmation reassured him, and he nodded back. Privately, he wonders just how he was going to explain this to Agent Fowler before shaking his helm. "Alright, then, let us continue and observe something. Raf?"

"Got it! Universal Observation; Activate!"

[ UNIVERSAL OBSERVATION ACTIVATEDENTER KEY WORD TO START UNIVERSAL OBSERVATION ]

( "Autobots: have - decided to - continue." A racer groaned in relief after trying to make sense about whatever the pit they'd been seeing on the screen for the last few kliks alongside Starscream, the only other con who could try to make sense of the scientific and engineering information that had been shown. "Finally! Wonder what's going to happen now?"

"We shall see." A warlord rumbled almost impatiently as they all watched the screen. )

[ ——- TFP : UO ——- ]

the next AU is...

THE MECHA AU!

I'M HYPED FOR THIS ONE FOLKS! GOT BIG PLANS FOR IT! also i did say that the next au is going to be longer parts right? YEAH THIS'LL BE MORE PARTS! i don't know exactly how many, we might even take a break from it halfway and do another au before finishing it SO THIS'LL BE GREAT!

anyway, rung is being very mysterious for... reasons.

little bit more lore about the spheres/orbs- now named Observers! hope you guys enjoyed! no promises as to when the next chapter is gonna come out, might take a break for a while- or maybe after i post the next chapter of Mecha AU.

we'll see!

[PREV]

[START]

[NEXT]

[in1-nutshell]

Hey it's me again sorry if I'm overwhelming you with my multiple asks what could you do more old Predacon buddy with maybe just hanging out with the kids and stuff along with they're adopted son aka preking (I hope I'm saying his name right) Just some wholesome fluff and possibly make sure ratchet actually recharges and doesn't stay up all night working including the Optimus and the others old Predacon buddy has those sweet old Southern Grandpa vibes or you could do some old Predacon buddy interacting with Megatron during his glory days or something similar to that whatever you choose I'm not really picky also Make sure not to overwork yourself and make sure to hydrate every now and then and eat something at least healthy =]

They are back!

Caution: Grandparent vibes nearby

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon slice of life

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronain reader

TFP

It had been a rather busy month on base.

After the latest Decepticon mining activity, all the Autobots were on edge and running around like crazy.

Buddy mainly took care of the humans while everyone was busy on base. They swear if they didn’t have such an eye sore of an alt mode, they would pick up the kids instead of having to remind some of them to do it themselves.

Buddy lumbering around the console behind Bulkhead.

“Bulkhead? What are you still doing here?”--Buddy

“What do you mean?”--Bulkhead

“Bulkhead why isn’t Miko here? Is she sick?”--Buddy

“She at school today.”--Bulkhead

“Bulkhead its Saturday. Miko doesn’t have school.”--Buddy

“…”--Bulkhead

Bulkhead transforms quickly and drives out.

Buddy shaking their helm at Ratchet.

“Kids these days.”--Buddy

“You said it.”--Ratchet

“You count too Ratchet.”--Buddy

Ratchet raises an optic at Buddy and vents a bit.

“You may be old by these young bots but don’t forget I’m the eldest here.”--Buddy

“Yet you try to do things a young bot would. It’s not good for your joints.”--Ratchet

Buddy gentle flicks Ratchet in the back of the helm with their tail.

“My frame allows some extra movement.”--Buddy

Buddy stretches their arm.

SQUEAK!

“…”—Buddy and Ratchet

“…Buddy—”--Ratchet

“Not a word Ratchet. Not. A. Word.”--Buddy

Buddy knew that entertaining the kids with stories was only going to go so far. Especially when their guardians could stay with each of the children for long.

It was frankly getting on Buddy’s nerves.

It finally reached their limit when Movie Night came around.

The kids had gotten permission to spend the night at the base.

The original plan was to have a movie night with everyone.

Just some quality time with one another catching up on everything.

But it looked like most of them had forgotten about it.

Buddy didn’t like this. At. All.

And their spark broke a little seeing their disappointed faces.

Buddy looking down at the kids.

“Kids meet me at the exit with the gear.”--Buddy

“The gear?”--Jack

“Yes, you which one I’m talking about. Meet me over by the exit, we’ll have that Movie Night when we are done with it.”--Buddy

Once the kids came with the gear, Buddy knelt and had them climb on using their magnetic seatbelts.

These were almost light the Earth car seats but they were specially designed to be placed on Buddy via magnets.

Nothing was going to peel them away from Buddy until the end of any trip.

As soon as everyone was ready Buddy shot upwards.

Did they scare the kids a bit?

Yes, but it was worth it.

Buddy flying through the night sky.

“You seem pretty fast for an old timer.”--Miko

Buddy huffs a bit.

“This old timer still has a few tricks up their metaphoric sleeve.”--Buddy

“Buddy.”--Jack

“But you shouldn’t fly too fast, you can pull something.”--Raf

“Buddy.”--Jack

“Oh, my sweet Rafael, I’m spry for my age.”--Buddy

“Buddy!”--Jack

“Yes Jack?”--Buddy

Jack points forwards.

“Predaking!”--Jack

Buddy wasn’t too bothered by the sight of Predaking.

But they might have forgotten how the kids didn’t know the other predacon like they had.

Soon the two Predacon’s were flapping their wings circling each other.

The clouds around them slowly formed around them.

Through a series of clicks and roars the two talked.

‘Buddy.’--Predaking

‘Predaking, how are you? It’s been too long.’--Buddy

‘Fine Buddy. How are you faring with the enemy.’--Predaking

Buddy huffing.

‘They are not the enemy of mine, Predaking. I’ve told you before.’--Buddy

Predaking’s turn to huff.

‘There’s a reason you wanted to talk isn’t there?’--Buddy

‘…You know me too well.’--Predaking

‘I would be an awful ‘grandparent’, as the humans say. At least that’s how I remember the saying.’--Buddy

Predaking huffs.

‘I have been considering… leaving the Decepticons.’--Predaking

Buddy raising their optics.

‘You have?’--Buddy

‘Yes.’--Predaking

‘I can put a good word in with the Auto—’--Buddy

‘No. At least… not now…’--Predaking

Buddy nods.

‘You still need time. I understand. Just let me know, okay?’--Buddy

Predaking nods and flies the other way.

Buddy huffs a bit.

“What.”--Jack

“Was.”--Raf

“That!”--Miko

“Oh yeah I forgot you don’t understand the clicks yet.”--Buddy

“Yet?”—Raf

“I will teach you three one day.”—Buddy

“Sick.”—Miko

“What did he want?”--Jack

“He just wanted to talk, nothing more.”--Buddy

They continued their flight before it was time to go back to base.

As Buddy touched down, they could see some of the Autobots come out of the base to see what was going on.

Buddy simply walked inside with the kids still on their back.

Buddy kneeling down so the kids could get down and take the gear off.

“Where were you four?”--Arcee

“Flying around Arcee. It can get stuffy in here.”--Buddy

“You know that someone could have spotted you?”--Arcee

“I am fully aware of that Arcee. I think with one of the largest alt modes here, I’d keep that in mind.”—Buddy

“Then why—"--Arcee

Buddy stands back up to full height.

“I do believe that there was a ‘Movie Night’ that you all needed to attend.”—Buddy

Buddy stretches a bit.

POP!

SQUEAK!

PANG!

“…”—Everyone

“…I’m old, okay. Haven’t you all heard of joints popping?”--Buddy

“Yes, but not like that.”--Bulkhead

Buddy lays down near the projector.

The kids follow with their blankets and pillows.

“Beep boop bop bep? (Do you need to see Ratchet?)”--Bumblebee

“I’m fine. Now let’s watch the movie the children have chosen.”—Buddy

Team Prime give Buddy a side eye, but ultimately gives in.

The Autobots crowd around the projector to watch the movie into the late hours of the night.

Buddy looks around, just happy to have a family together.

[nonameshotgun]

Mini werckers shenanigans

looking over to the left looking at the new lamp there caretaker had just bought, ultra Magnus walked (more like waddle) over to the lamp to get a better view of it. tilting his head he looked at the lamp from all different sides and angles, looking at how the colours shifted with him as he moved. He smiled up at the lamp with amazement and awe at the unique lamp and its colours, though his smile didn’t last long as he heard the cooing and beeping of one of the sparklings that he was forced to play with. Looking over at where he heard the beeping and cooing he spotted wheeljack dragging a stool his way, ultra Magnus panicked as he watch wheeljack move closer and closer to the lamp with the stool, beeping and honking in alarm he tried to tell wheeljack to stop pushing the stool, only for his beeps and honking to get ignored, wheeljack looked at ultra Magnus and chirped giving him a big grin and he finally got the stool over to the table that held the lamp. Ultra Magnus frowned as he saw wheeljack reach out to the lamp, ultra Magnus moved forward and grabbed wheeljack in a hug like way around wheeljacks waist and pulled him back making them both fall on there aft’s. Letting out a whine wheeljack turned around and pushed ultra Magnus away, ultra Magnus let out a honk in anger as wheel jack pushed him. Ultra Magnus stood up and pushed wheeljack back, wheeljack stumbled back and beeped in shock, in only a few seconds wheeljack had tackled ultra Magnus to the ground and went to go slap him, ultra Magnus beeped in shock as his back hit the ground letting out a wail in pain. Ultra Magnus and wheeljack had kept on fighting mostly beeps and honks to what people assume are insults to each others energon line, with one final push in anger wheeljack had shoved ultra Magnus towards the stool making him fall into the table making the lamp fall to the ground and shatter. Both stood in place from the frightening sound, ultra Magnus looked behind him and saw the broken lamp, standing there in shock and sadness he didn’t notice wheeljack transforming and driving away. The sounds of footsteps fast approaching him made him snap out of it as he looked around looking for a place to hide, transforming and driving out of the living room he drove straight into his caretakers foot making the caretaker wince in pain, as the caretaker bent down to pick up ultra Magnus he couldn’t help but start beeping, honking and chirping in sadness and sorrow. Even though he technically didn’t break it he still felt responsible that it had broken. The caretaker looked into the room and saw the broken lamp “ultra Magnus did you do this?” The care giver said walking into the room while holding a weeping Magnus, putting ultra Magnus down the caretaker bent down in front of the small sparkling looking disappointed “I’m not mad just disappointed, I thought you would be the last sparkling I would have to put with the wreckers”. With that said ultra Magnus looked down beeping in sadness, he couldn’t meet the caretakers gaze as he watched them stand up to go clean the broken lamp that he thought was really pretty. Walking over to a chair ultra Magnus pulled it out and pushed it into a corner, then he climbed up onto the chair and sat facing the corner in shame and just waiting to be forgiven by the caretaker.

Time skip to the next day

Walking into the daycare ultra Magnus stood next to Optimus chirping and cooing at in happiness with each other, the caretaker walked in and settled everyone into there respected groups with the wreckers at one table and the sneakers at another, with the main on in the middle being the nerd table (named by the wreckers as that table holds Optimus, ratchet, ultra Magnus, starscream, megatron and shockwave) as everyone took there seats the caretaker walked over to the nerd table and picked up ultra Magnus and but him over at the wreckers table which held wheeljack, bulkhead, breakdown, dreadwing and skyquake. The caretaker sat ultra Magnus down and patted him on the helm only to then walk away to get class started, ultra Magnus sat in shock and looked at the other sparklings around the table. He locked eyes with wheeljack and started angry crying, he looked down at the table and put his head on the table still facing the caretaker as they spoke about the lesson there were gonna learn today.

Bouns:

Time skip to recess

Ultra Magnus went to Optimus optics still filled with coolent from the shear anger he felt, as he reached Optimus, Optimus turned to look and ultra Magnus with a comforting gaze. Optimus opened his arms offering ultra Magnus a hug, Magnus took the offer and put his cheek onto Optimus’s shoulder as he let the rest of the coolent fall, Optimus cooed and beeped at him trying to cheer him up. From a far the caretaker watched as Optimus cheered up ultra Magnus assuming the the beeps and coos were him telling ultra Magnus that he could be like a leader to the wreckers, but that’s only a guess seeing as how after the last chirp ultra Magnus’s pulled away from Optimus with a smile and walked off with what seemed to be determination. (Though he didn’t get very far as the only one who would fully listen to him was bulkhead, dreadwind and skyquake listened but didn’t fully respect him, and then there’s wheeljack. I think we can all guess how that went.)

[melishade]

faça uma cena onde o megatron conversa com a gabi e o falco faz um tempinho q eles mal conversaram dps da putaria toda

Translation: do a scene where megatron talks to gabi and falco it's been a while since they barely talked after all the bullshit

Attack on Prime The Future Anthology: Long Overdue

Main Story

Thanksgiving

Snowball Fight (Rematch)

Christmas

Pieck noticed it.

She was always observant. Always looking at the details in everything that she does, and using her intellect to deduce if it was a threat or not. It's what made her the Cart Titan in the first place. She was able to be patient and think ahead to get everything right.

So she was the first to notice how dejected Colt, Falco, and Gabi were whenever they spotted Megatron during those relief projects.

Megatron, or Matthew, looked significantly different. Not just physically, but emotionally too. He still made jab. Made snide remarks, but...he looked happier. He was showing more sincerity. It was as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Even though the Autobots stared at him in disbelief, suspicion, and even hatred, Megatron paid no mind. He looked at peace, which was something she never thought she'd see.

However, Colt and Falco spared glances at Megatron, in both human and titan form, like they were expecting something from him. They expected him to come up to them and talk to them, but that never happened. She noticed the way Megatron would spare quick glances their way, but nothing else.

Despite Megatron's change in attitude, he was still good at hiding his emotions. Colt and Falco were clearly not, as their moods have turned a little sour. Gabi constantly glanced over at Megatron when he wasn't looking, and her face was a mixture of resentment and shame. The Autobots and their human compatriots: Jack, Miko, and Rafael, were good at lifting their spirits, but Pieck believed that this needed to be resolved.

And unfortunately, she had to be the one to initiate it.

========

"You need to talk to them," a familiar voice ordered.

Megatron paused in his task and looked down to see Pieck staring up at his titan form with no fear in her eyes. She leaned against her cane, waiting for him to speak.

"Talk to who?" Megatron demanded.

"Colt, Falco, and Gabi," Pieck clarified.

Megatron couldn't help but grow rigid at that. "There's nothing to talk about."

Pieck grimaced. "Megatron, I think that they are owed some kind of explanation after everything they've been through."

"Tell me Pieck, what am I supposed to say?" Megatron challenged, "I was doing my job as a double agent. And unlike Reiner I was doing my job to not become attached."

Pieck scoffed at that. "Then what was that rampage that you had in Marley when Udo was killed? Or you going out of your way to cure Colt? Or saving Willy Tybur of all people? I’d say that’s a strong attachment there.”

“You’re not usually this animated,” Megatron remarked.

“Because you’ve actively been avoiding Gabi, Falco, and Colt and they deserve an answer Megatron,” Pieck declared.

“I wasn’t avoiding them by choice,” Megatron reminded, “In case you’ve forgotten, I was put on house arrest.”

“But you still didn’t talk to them after they let you go,” Pieck reminded, “You don’t mind being around humans. Hanji crawls all over you and you just let them. What is it with those three that you can’t talk to them?”

Megatron was quiet for a moment before he vented in defeat. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ve been told you have a way with words which is why you called yourself a Decepticon,” Pieck stated in annoyance.

“Pieck, my actions in Marley set a few things in motion,” Megatron explained, “I worked with Zeke to gather intelligence for Paradis. I manipulated Annie into switching sides and also blackmailed her. My...my fear of the Colossal Titan having dark energon in its system is what led to Udo's death."

Pieck raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The attack on the military compound wasn't your fault-!"

"Once I had become aware that the ritual didn't get rid of the dark energon, I forced Zeke to come up with a solution to eliminate the Colossal permanently," Megatron explained, "He was the one that fed the information to the Middle Eastern Alliance and pinned it on that other commander."

Pieck's mouth slowly closed at that.

"I might have helped save humanity in the end, but that doesn't change the fact that there are deaths on my servos," Megatron declared, "There's not much for me to say."

Pieck sighed at that. "Weren't you willing to apologize to those you have wronged before jumping into battle?"

"The end of the world makes one do irrational things," Megatron retorted.

"Are you expecting forgiveness?" Pieck asked.

"Never," Megatron replied.

"Megatron, Colt still defended you. Even after you engaged in the fight in Liberio," Pieck informed, "He believed in you, and he still does. Falco was in a coma and is still wanting answers from you. Gabi is clearly angry with you."

"I chewed her out in her prison cell for her reckless decision for jumping onto Wheeljack's ship," Megatron informed.

"My point is that this isn't for you. It's for them," Pieck proclaimed, "They need closure, after everything."

Megatron thought it over before sighing in defeat. "Fine. How do you propose I go about it?"

"With force. That is your specialty after all," Pieck grinned.

=====

"Hey, Miko, can you teach me how to box?" Gabi had asked the agent.

"Sure!" Miko exclaimed with excitement as she stopped her strikes against Jack.

"But you guys aren't soldiers anymore. Why would you still want to learn how to fight?" Jack asked in confusion, "Wouldn't it just be better to learn something else? You can choose who you want to be."

"Jack's right," Colt agreed.

"I just...think it looks cool," Gabi admitted sheepishly, "And I've seen some of the sports channels! Boxing is a sport!"

"Oh, someone wants to be an MMA fighter!" Miko grinned.

"So, when did you guys actually join the military?" Falco couldn't help but ask.

"Eighteen, officially," Jack replied as Miko went back to punching Jack's hands, "But we were involved with the Autobots a few years prior. But that was more unofficial work."

"But you helped save your planet from...Megatron." Colt's mouth formed a thin line at that.

"We were still teens getting illegally involved with the government," Jack explained, wincing when Miko's hits connected a little too hard, "We got rewarded in the end. My mom and I don't want to struggle financially anymore, Raf's in one of the top schools in the nation."

"And I get to be a super spy!" Miko exclaimed before slumping over in defeat, "Who still has to work towards becoming a U.S. citizen."

"Yeah, sorry Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship," Jack apologized.

"It's fine. At least my parents are happy that I have a stable career," Miko reassured before glancing behind Jack. Colt, Gabi, and Falco noticed the way her mouth turned upright into a grimace. They followed where her gaze went, and grew tense when they saw Pieck walking up to them with Megatron's holoform right behind her.

"Hello, Jack. Hello, Miko." Pieck waved to the two agents, "Could you give us all a moment?"

"You sure about that?" Miko glared at Megatron.

"Megatron's a big softie now. We'll be fine," Pieck reassured with a smile, causing Megatron to snap his head towards her and glare.

"Okayyyy," Jack drawled out in suspicion, "If he tries anything, scream."

"We'll be fine!" Pieck called out as Jack pulled Miko away and the two rounded the corner of one of the newly built houses. She didn't hear footsteps anymore, and assumed that they either left, or were spying on them just incase.

"What are you doing here?" Gabi demanded.

"I just figured that it would be a good time for all of us to talk," Pieck declared, "We never really got that proper conversation after all."

"We don't need to talk." Gabi crossed her arms and turned her back in a huff.

"Gabi-!"

"He lied to us! For four years!" Gabi pointed at Megatron.

"And Reiner Braun lied to the 104th for five. Let's not jump on any high horses," Megatron shot back.

Gabi huffed in response.

"Did you...did you spy on us, infiltrate us, because you had no choice?" Falco asked.

Megatron sighed in defeat. "I had the choice. I was pestered by the military of Paradis to do the job, but I had a choice to say no. But I decided to do so."

"Why?" Falco couldn't help but ask, "Why did you decide to do it?"

Megatron remembered the conversation he heard the teens of the 104th had that night and their mixed feelings regarding Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. "Because this world made me regain some sympathy."

"That sympathy ran dry when you helped with the attack on Liberio!" Gabi yelled.

"Gabi, you heard the Survey Corps! Eren put them all in a compromising position!" Colt reminded.

"I don't care! You were still involved!" Gabi snapped.

"This is clearly a deeper problem," Megatron proclaimed, "And one that I'm not equipped for."

"Wait-!"

"Fine! Go!" Gabi yelled at him, "Run away! Leave without any explanation! Just like Reiner and everyone else!"

"And there it is," Megatron stated, "You're because I'm here, but a good portion of the people you care about are not."

Gabi bit her lip and looked down in shame. "Why do you get to be here and they're not? You tried to destroy the world, the whole universe, and you're still alive. Reiner was trying to save humanity and he's gone. Udo and Zofia didn't even deserve to die. And we're certain our families are dead. So why is it that you get to live? The cruel, heartless, lying, Decepticon?"

Pieck felt the tension in the air and she was certain it could be cut with a knife. She could see the pain on Colt and Falco's faces at Gabi's words, and she even caught of glance of Jack and Miko still spying from around the corner. Pieck felt like she needed to speak up, and was about to, until-!

"I'm sorry that I didn't protect Reiner," Megatron apologized.

Gabi blinked in surprise. "What?"

Pieck saw Jack having to cover Miko's mouth before she could scream.

"Your cousin was going through a lot of pain. He felt guilty for the actions that he committed on Paradis, realizing that he was lied to, but too afraid to really change anything. In reality, he wanted to die because the pain of the actions that he had committed were too much," Megatron explained, "I did feel a kinship with him. I was the only person on this planet who would ever come close to understanding him. And he was the one who ultimately helped fix a mistake that I had made years ago when I shot the Colossal Titan with dark energon. Reiner helped save the universe, and he died because I let my guard down for a moment."

Gabi spared a quick glance to Megatron, and saw a flicker of remorse. "What about Udo and Zofia?"

"Zofia's death was an accident. I had no part in it, but I am upset that she had perished during the Liberio fight," Megatron continued, "As for Udo, I fully accept responsibility for his death."

"Udo did because of the Middle Eastern attack," Colt insisted, "That had nothing to do with-!"

"I had told Zeke Jaeger to find a way to eliminate Porco because of the dark energon in his body," Megatron explained, "Zeke was the one who made contact with the Middle Eastern Alliance, which caused the attack in the first place. Udo's death is on my hands. And I can't take that back."

"...oh," Falco was at a loss for words.

Colt bit the inside of his cheek before taking a deep breath. "Do you care for us? All those actions that you've done: getting us food, the funeral for Bertholdt, treating us as children instead of devils, saving my life from a virus when it would have been better to let me die. I need to know if all of those actions were because you genuinely cared about us. In some way, shape, or form, did you care about us?"

Falco and Gabi looked at him expectantly. Even Pieck was curious about Megatron's answer. Just moments ago, he was trying to dodge the question, and now...

"...I did," Megatron confessed.

"You did?" Colt couldn't help but smile.

"Your situation...reminded me of my old life long ago. I suppose I felt sympathy for all of you, being in that situation," Megatron explained, "But I still had a mission I needed to complete. And I've already done enough at that point to stop all of it because I felt sympathy for you. War is war, and you all know that very well."

Megatron turned his attention to Pieck. "I have nothing more to say."

"Quite callous of you," Pieck remarked.

"I'm not going to waste any more time on apologies and forgiveness," Megatron declared before turning to the three, "I've said my peace. Hopefully, you can accept it."

"Thank you!" Colt suddenly blurted out.

"What?" Megatron spoke in confusion.

"Thank you," Colt said, "For saving my life."

"...sure," Megatron muttered before walking away.

"...I don't feel satisfied," Gabi confessed, "I looked up to him, and..."

"I'm sure the Survey Corps looked up to Reiner before he betrayed them," Pieck insisted, "And things aren't exactly comfortable with Annie just yet. But...I hope this does bring you some closure."

"It does," Colt declared.

"But...things are never going to be the same," Falco added.

"That's completely fine!" Miko grabbed Falco and lifted him up, "You don't need to think about Buckethead anymore!"

"Isn't he staying on the planet?" Jack challenged.

"We'll ignore that for now!" Miko yelled at him, "C'mon, let's teach you how to box!"

"Yes!" Gabi's mood shifted into delight as she followed Miko. Meanwhile, Pieck looked back at Megatron, now in his bipedal mode once more, speaking with Optimus about certain matters that didn't concern her. She didn't need the closure or the reasoning from him. She already got her answers from Primus himself. Colt, Gabi, and Falco never knew, and will never know what happened in the Paths. So this was the closure that they needed.