Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Robby hated school.

The kids in Witwicky were dumb. Bruno and Mischa had seemed cool at first, but after Stevie, Robby knew what to look for. All of them were weird about Transformers.

He told Dot so.

“It’s complicated,” Dot said. “Just because they’re not ready to meet all your siblings doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy hanging out with them.”

“My friends in Philly would be cool with Transformers,” Robby grumbled as he dried a plate and put it away.

Dot stopped washing the dishes to raise an eyebrow at him. “ Sure. Just like Stevie.”

Robby crossed his arms. “He said he was sorry.”

Dot softened. “I know he did. And it was a good apology.”

“Besides,” Robby said a little louder than he meant to. “I brought it up with my other friends in Philly. I know which ones are chill about Transformers.”

“That’s nice?” Dot said.

“And I’m turning fourteen next month,” Robby continued. “And since I don’t have any friends in Witwicky, Stevie offered to throw me a party-”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“You are not going to Philadelphia. Not after last time, which, by the way, you are still grounded for.”

“But we saved Bee!”

Dot sighed. “I am not having this discussion again.”

Nightshade popped their face in front of the kitchen window. “What if just Robby went to Philadelphia?”

“First of all,” Dot stuck her head out the window to see all the Terrans and Mo gathered around. “What have I told you about eavesdropping? Secondly, what mother in her right mind would let her Transformer children visit the home of Bot Brawl?”

“But we busted Bot Brawl!” Hashtag whined.

“You destroyed a location,” Dot said. “And the people running it got away. And no, just because Mandroid is dead doesn’t mean so is Bot Brawl.”

“We’d be careful,” Nightshade promised. “Besides, we are no longer discussing us all going, merely Robby.”

“Philly is too dangerous for any of my children,” Dot said. “I’m sorry, kiddos.”

There was a chorus of sad “awwws!” as the Terrans and Mo walked away. Dot turned to look at Robby, who was glaring daggers at her.

“Don’t you dare say what you’re thinking,” Dot told him. “I will not risk Nightshade hearing you.”

Robby unclenched his fists. “It’s not their fault people are stupid. I just…I just really wanted to see my friends.”

Dot dried her hands and pulled Robby into a hug, resting her chin on his head. “I know, baby. I know.”

Robby trudged down into the dugout, plopping into a beanbag.

“I thought for certain Mother would be behind our plan,” Nightshade said. “Our research was quite extensive.”

“It’s not fair,” Robby sniffed.

“Agreed,” Nightshade said.

“Which is why we’re going to do something about it,” Twitch said.

“I call it,” Hashtag said, fanning her hands for effect. “Operation: Late Night.”

The Malto kids were gathered around the air hockey table. Hashtag was leaned over it, her arms spread out as far as they went, hands splayed out on the table. She had a conspiratorial look on her face, but the smallness of the table compared to her ruined the look.

“So we’re going to sneak out,” she said. “Two weeks after Robby’s birthday, so it looks like we’ve given up. Step One: Sneak past Bee.”

“We Terrans do not need sleep, unlike Cybertronians,” Nightshade said. “Bumblebee puts it off as much as he can, but I believe I can discover when and how often he sleeps. We can make our plans around that.”

“We can also run him ragged in the days leading up to our trip,” Thrash said. “Get him extra tired.”

“And we can work on our stealth training,” Twitch said.

“I’m going to ask Elita-One and Grimlock about how we can make sure not to wake up Bumblebee,” Jawbreaker said with pride. “I’m going to say we feel really bad about waking him up while we’re playing.”

“And you can use my phone to organize the party,” Mo said triumphantly.

“You know we’re so grounded if we get caught, right?” Robby said.

“No pain, no gain,” Hashtag said.

“Anything for you, big bro,” Thrash added. “Besides, it is unfair.”

Robby smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

Nightshade clapped their hands together. “Excellent! We will reconvene in two weeks.”

Bumblebee surveyed the pasture with pride. No Terrans or humans in sight! They really were improving.

“Stealth training?” Alex asked as he walked up to Bumblebee.

“Yep.”

“They’ve certainly been taking training more seriously,” Alex said.

“Dying will do that to you.”

Alex looked up at Bee reproachfully. 

Bee winced. “Right. Nightshade.”

Of course, they had to scan the earth animal with the best hearing. At least Nightshade wasn’t prone to gossip like a certain G.H.O.S.T. van Bee knew.

“Hopefully, they’re too busy being quiet to be listening,” Alex said. “Robby wanted to go to Philadelphia for his birthday.”

“Isn’t that next week?”

Alex nodded.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Bee said.

“Dot told him no,” Alex said. “But that might not stop him.”

“Ah,” Bee said. “That would explain the extra dedication to stealth training. I’ll keep a close eye on the Terrans.”

“Thank you, Bumblebee. Tell Breakdown I’m sorry you had to reschedule your race.”

Bee waved dismissively. “It’s no big deal. He’ll understand.” Bee blinked. “Actually, he might be too understanding.”

“Oh?”

“Sneaking out to hang out with your friends is exactly the kind of rule-breaking he’d get behind. What are the odds I could accidentally lock the dugout down for ten hours again?”

Alex patted Bumblebee on the leg. “Good thing Breakdown doesn’t know where the farm is. Good luck with the kids, and thank you again.”

Bumblebee watched Alex walk back into the house before letting out a groan. “I really wish the Terrans slept.”

Thrash watched Bumblebee head in the direction of where Nightshade was hiding. “Hey, Mo?”

Mo looked down at Thrash from the tree she was hiding in. “Yeah?”

“How are we going to meet without Bumblebee getting suspicious?”

Mo rubbed her chin. “We could tell him we’re planning a birthday surprise for Robby?”

“He’s going to think we’re sneaking out.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She thought for a moment. “You know how sometimes Bee goes for a drive by himself?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember what Mom told us he was doing?”

“Getting some ‘Me Time.’”

“Yep. And Robby usually goes to his room for Me Time when he says I’ve been pestering him.” Mo frowned. “Which I’m not. He’s just grumpy.”

“Are you suggesting we pester Bee into going for a drive?” Thrash said.

“It’s not pestering!” Mo said.

“Then what is it?”

Mo thought hard. “Well…usually when I spend a lot of time with Robby, like a lot , he gets huffy.”

“So the Jawbreaker Treatment.”

Mo blinked. “The what?”

“It’s something I heard Breakdown telling Bee. Something like Jawbreaker following him around like a lost duckling and asking a bajillion questions. Oh, and staring.”

“He better not be making fun of Jawbreaker…” Mo said, glaring.

“Nah,” Thrash said, chuckling. “Bee teased Breakdown about it. Maybe it’s like you and Robby? You’re not doing anything wrong, but it’s too much of a good thing? Like candy.”

Mo nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll ask Robby what he thinks.”

Mo pulled out her phone and started typing.

“Robby says he thinks it’s a good idea,” she said after a few minutes. “He says someone should always be talking to Bee. Someone should ask him to do something with them whenever he sits down. 

“He also says we have to be careful to make sure it’s all stuff we actually want to do with him and talk about. Otherwise, we will be pests, and we’ll get in trouble.“ 

There was a pause. “Also, Hashtag says, ‘Kill him with kindness. Nice.’ She’s going to tell the others the plan.”

Thrash grinned. “I mean, Bee’s always wanting us to pay attention to him.”

“Good work, Maltos,” Bee said as he walked up and down in front of the line of kids. “That’s your best work yet.”

Robby rubbed his sore knees. He’d been in that log for two hours. Hashtag was still picking soggy leaves out of her joints. She’d been hiding in the pond the log was next to.

As always, Twitch was the last to be found. Bee had had the whole team out looking for her, and it had taken them an hour to find her. Still, Robby could feel she was upset and disappointed through his Cybersleeve.

“What did I do wrong?” Twitch demanded.

“Nothing!” Bumblebee said. “You did everything right. Next time, you can try moving hiding spots-”

“That was allowed?” Twitch said. 

“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Bee said.

Twitch clenched her fist and stared at the ground, a flash of anger and disappointment flaring through the bond.

“But you can do everything right,” Bumblebee continued. “And still get caught.”

Mo’s stomach growled.

“And it’s lunchtime for the humans,” Bee said.

“I’m hungry too!” Hashtag said.

“Huh?” Bumblebee said. “Really?”

“Not really,” Hashtag said. “But it would be a good idea for us to fuel too. Top off the tank, ya know.”

“You don’t have to come with us, Bee,” Thrash said. “I’m sure the Dweller is gone.”

Bumblebee winced. “If anyone gets eaten by a Dweller, Megatron will personally disassemble me.”

“Can we come?” Mo said. “Lunch will just be a minute. Please?”

“Sure,” Bee said.

“And we could play music on the hike!” Hashtag said. “I can test out my speakers and lay down the sickest beats on the Internet.”

“Maybe not,” Bumblebee said. “We’re in hiding, remember?”

“But hikers play music all the time,” Jawbreaker said. “And it’s not like we could really hide if anyone spotted us.”

“Which isn’t a problem because nobody ever goes over there anyway!” Thrash hurriedly added.

“So, can we play music?” Hashtag asked.

“We merely wish to extract some pleasure from the menial task,” Nightshade said.

“Let me ask Dot,” Bee said.

Hashtag and Jawbreaker fistpumped. Robby and Mo headed to the kitchen, Bee behind them. Hopefully, Hashtag was filling the other siblings in on the plan. Robby knew that lots of loud kids and music tended to make Mom crave Me Time. Hopefully, Bee was the same.

“Bumblebee?”

“Yes, Mo?”

“What did you mean when you told Twitch you can do everything right and still get caught?” Mo asked.

“Sometimes the odds just aren’t in your favor,” Bee said.

“What does that mean?” Mo said as she opened the refrigerator. 

Bee sat down by the window. “It’s something Jazz would say. Sometimes, something happens that you couldn’t have prepared for, and it messes everything up. Or there really wasn’t a way for you to get out of the mess in the first place.

“Like today. With Twitch staying in her hiding space and us systematically combing the farm, there was no way she wouldn’t get found. It went quicker because you could use your Cybersleeve to help. And even then, you missed her several times. She did really well, but she was always going to be found.”

“Do you mean Jazz from the Transformers comics?” Robby asked.

Bumblebee nodded. Robby didn’t really know what to ask next. Who knew being a pest was so hard? Mo made it look so easy.

“Was Jazz a Hunger Games fan?” Mo asked.

“Huh?” Bee said.

“You know,” Mo said. “‘May the odds ever be in your favor.’”

“Oh,” Bee said. “Nah. It’s just that Prowl, our tactician, was really into calculating the odds of things. It was his job to come up with plans with the highest likelihood of working. But sometimes those plans would fail, or more people than expected would get hurt. When that happens, people look for someone to blame, and Prowl wasn’t exactly likable.

“Jazz was a people person, and he’d be the guy to smooth over hurt feelings. He’d say, ‘Sometimes the odds just aren’t in your favor.’ Because even if a plan has a high likelihood of working, there’s still a small chance it could go to Unicron in a smelter.”

Robby didn’t know what Unicron was, but he got the picture.

Bumblebee smiled sadly, eyes unfocused. “He’d also say that whenever we had to rescue him from the Decepticons. He was the best we had, but even he got caught. He’d say it with a smile and a shrug like it was no big deal, never mind he was slagged to the Pit and back…”

Bumblebee sighed deeply. He gave them a sheepish grin. “Your mom would kick my butt if she heard me using such language, so uh, don’t go repeating that.”

Robby rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. It can’t be worse than what we hear in school.”

“Still,” Bumblebee said. “If Jawbreaker says a Cybertronian swear, Elita will have my rear axle. You’re supposed to learn those from Arcee.”

“Where is Jazz?” Robby asked. “He sounds cool.”

Bumblebee opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it and swallowed. He stared at the ground. “He died.”

“Oh,” Robby said.

“Did Mom know him?” Mo asked.

Bee shook his head. “He never did get to meet Dot. They used to crack jokes over the comms sometimes. He always said he was going to show her that jazz wasn’t just elevator music.”

“How’d he die?” Mo asked.

“Mo!” Robby hissed.

Bee waved his hand dismissively. “No, no, it’s okay. Jazz would want to be talked about. We’re…we’re supposed to tell stories about the dead.”

“It doesn’t make it any easier,” Dot said from the kitchen doorway, making both the kids jump.

To the kids, she said, “Jazz bled out during the final battle of the War in the woods next to the Memorial.”

“Hashtag wants to play her music on the hike to the Cave,” Bumblebee said.

“That should be safe enough,” Dot said. “Go have some fun.” She grinned. “Make her play some jazz.”

Bumblebee chuckled. “I’ve still got some of his playlists. Maybe the kids will have better taste than you.”

Dot threw her hands up. “Just because Jazz and I disagreed about heavy metal doesn’t mean I have poor taste.”

Bumblebee didn’t end up sharing Jazz’s playlist.

He didn’t think he could take it if the kids complained about any of the songs. And kids should be allowed to complain about music without having to worry about their mentor’s feelings. So they listened to whatever Hashtag pulled up on the Internet.

The music wasn’t bad. It was just loud. The kids were loud. Jawbreaker and Thrash were especially loud and offkey. But they were having fun. Laughter rang through the trees, and Bee could imagine Jazz joining in.

By the time they pulled into the barn, it was getting dark. Robby and Mo went inside the house, and Bumblebee began the nightly task of ensuring the Terrans were occupied for the next eight hours. Mo and Robby needed their sleep, and if the Terrans got too many extreme emotions, the feedback would wake them up. Bumblebee had to keep the kids calm.

Nightshade was easy enough. No science experiments, but they could read books, and Earth had lots of those. Still, Bee did a doubletake when he saw Nightshade holding a weathered datapad.

“Whatcha reading?” Thrash asked before Bee could.

“A medical textbook,” Nightshade explained. “I expressed an interest in medicine, and Megatron loaned it to me.”

“You’ve seen Megatron?” Twitch asked, shooting up from the couch and zooming over to hover by Nightshade. “When?”

“I have not seen Megatron,” Nightshade clarified. “I expressed an interest in medicine to Mom, which she passed on. Megatron sent the datapad with Agent Schloder.”

Twitch’s shoulders sagged, and she dipped down so her toes almost touched the ground. “Oh.”

Bee watched her fly over to the couch and fall into it with a plop.

“Hey, Bee!” Hashtag called out. “Come play Smashbros with us!”

“No Smashbros!” Bee said, hurrying over to snatch gigantic game controllers from Terran hands. “Robby and Mo need to sleep, and I know at least two of you get way too worked up over that game.” He looked pointedly at Hashtag and Thrash.

“We could play Mafia,” Thrash offered.

Hashtag opened her mouth, but Bee quickly interjected.

“No, Hashtag, you can’t be narrator.”

Hashtag pouted. “Why not?”

“Because last time you scared Jawbreaker so badly he woke the whole house,” Nightshade said without looking up from their datapad. “Though I did appreciate how you managed to weave so many similarities to the Alyssa Bustamante case into the narrative.”

“You mean that was based off of a true story?” Jawbreaker gasped.

“Yeah!” Hashtag said, leaning forward. “So there was this girl-”

“No true crime podcasts after dark!” Bumblebee said. “Everyone close your eyes…”

Three hours later, the kids had moved on from Mafia to One Night Ultimate Werewolf, and with an app safely narrating, Bee was finally able to slip away. He had some books of his own he wanted to read. He’d just nestled into the crook of the couch with one when Twitch walked up to him.

“Can I do some more training with you?” she asked.

“You already did a lot of training today,” Bumblebee said. “We can do more tomorrow.”

Twitch rubbed her arms and glanced off to the side. “Please?”

Alarm bells were going off in the back of Bee’s mind. Something was up. “Can you tell me why you want to train more?”

“I’m feeling…restless,” Twitch said after a moment.

Bumblebee had had cases of the late-night jitters before. Usually, there was a reason behind them. But there was no impending threat or post-adrenaline crash that he knew of.

Bumblebee stood. “Sure.”

Together, they walked outside into the cool night air.

“What kind of training do you want to do?” Bee asked.

“Defense,” Twitch said.

“Self-defense?”

“No…like defending other people. Protecting them.”

Bee pursed his lips. “Um, I don’t think I really know drills for that. You kind of just attack the people attacking your friends. Or distract them. Or…”

“Throw yourself over them,” Twitch said, her gaze glassy.

The alarm bells turned into klaxons. Bee had no clue what happened on top of the spire between the oldest Terrans and Mandroid. Bumblebee was Mr. Positivity. His role in keeping up morale was to be cheerful. Jazz could be mistaken for Mr. Positivity, but you knew he could be serious if you came to him with bad scrap. Jazz always knew what to say.

Bee was no Jazz.

But maybe he could channel his mentor well enough to help his own charges.

Jazz never pushed. So Bee wasn’t going to.

“Okay. Attack me.”

Twitch snapped out of her daze. “What?”

“Attack me. If you want to protect others, you’re going to have to fight people a lot bigger than me. Show me how you’d do that.”

Twitch took a step back, her golden optics turning a shade brighter. “I don’t want to.”

Bumblebee spread his arms. “Come on; hit me.”

Twitch took another step back, her rotors powering up. “Bumblebee, I don’t want to.”

Bumblebee blinked. This wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Normally, Jazz would assure someone they wouldn’t hurt him, they’d throw themselves at him, Jazz would dodge everything, and then he’d start correcting their form once they’d spent some of their excess energy. Then, they’d talk about what was bothering the bot.

“Earth to Bee,” imaginary Jazz said. “She’s not a soldier.”

That was right. Twitch didn’t even spar with her siblings, not really. Every time she’d physically fought a real person, it had been because of something bad.

Bee was so stupid.

He lowered his arms. “Okay. I might know some drills you can run with your sword, or we can do target practice.”

Twitch shook her head. “No, no, I want to do something.”

Aka, she wanted to fight something.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. He grabbed a long metal rod from behind the barn and returned to the field.

“You’re just going to focus on blocking my strikes, okay?” Bee told Twitch.

She nodded, pulling out her own swords. Bumblebee swung slowly at first, aiming for her left side. Twitch blocked it with vicious speed and enough force to make Bee’s hand sting. The pole was awkward to hold and made for a poor sword, but Bee made do and slowly increased his speed as he moved through the drills he’d watched other Autobots do.

Twitch continued to meet each stroke of his makeshift blade with all her strength and speed. Her face bent into the concentration of battle, and there was fire in her eyes. Bumblebee moved as fast as he dared. They didn’t stop until Twitch cleaved the metal pole in two, her swords stuck in the dirt. 

She froze for a moment, panting, looking agitated enough that Bee had to wonder if Mo and Robby were actually getting any sleep.

“Again,” she said.

“You won,” Bumblebee said.

“But I didn’t beat you,” Twitch said. “I just hit your ‘sword’ a bunch.” She yanked her swords out of the ground and threw them down. “None of this would help me protect anyone in a real fight.”

“You’re still learning,” Bumblebee said. “You’re not ready to beat anyone yet-”

“But I have to!” Twitch shouted. She gestured to the road leading out of the farm. “There are people I have to fight out there! I have to be able to protect my family!”

“But you don’t have to do it alone,” Bumblebee tried to soothe.

Twitch rolled her eyes. “I know that. I wasn’t alone when we were fighting Mandroid, but that didn’t stop everyone from dying, did it?”

“That wasn’t your fault-”

“I know that!” Twitch shouted. “And everyone is fine. But what if it wasn’t? Maybe the odds were against me, but I want to make my odds better.” 

Twitch went ramrod straight. “Frick,” she muttered. She closed her eyes and took big breaths, unclenching her hands.

“Robby and Mo?” Bumblebee asked.

“Everyone, actually,” Twitch said. A tear slipped down her cheek. “Must be nice to have an emotion to yourself,” she muttered.

Bumblebee sat down next to her. “You should talk to Breakdown about that. Robby and Mo going back to sleep?”

“No.”

“I’ll let Dot know you need some alone time right now.” Bee pulled up Dot’s number on his HUD and sent her a text.

“That must have been scary when we died,” Bee said. “I can’t imagine what it felt like with the bond you share.”

“Mo and Robby are fine,” Twitch said, sitting down and hugging her knees. “I checked. It was all so fast for them. And it’s fine.”

“Wanting to be better prepared and wanting to do something is a normal reaction to something scary like that,” Bumblebee said.

“But everything was fine,” Twitch said. “I shouldn’t be so…so…”

“Bothered?”

“Yeah,” Twitch said. “And it’s not like what happened to Hashtag. I just feel so jittery all the time, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“You felt a lot of awful, intense feelings, and then you had nothing to do with them afterward,” Bumblebee said. “It’s a good problem to have, getting everyone you love back. But those leftover feelings are still a problem. I should know.”

Twitch looked up from her knees at him.

Bumblebee nodded sagely. “During the war, there was a period of time when it looked like the Autobots were going to lose. We were fighting a good fight because it was the right thing to do. One day, I was on my way back from scouting. The base had just barely come into sight when it got nuked from above.

“Everyone I loved was in that base. I thought all the remaining Autobots were in that base. I was alone, the last Autobot. I think you know exactly how that felt.”

Twitch nodded.

“I kept driving toward the base,” Bumblebee continued. “I just didn’t know what else to do. It was awful. Five minutes later, Jazz was pulling up beside me, relieved I hadn’t been caught in the blast, talking about how they hadn’t had time to warn me and that everyone was okay.

“I was relieved. Thrilled even. But I was still jittery for weeks afterward. All those awful feelings and nothing to do with them.”

“So what did you do?” Twitch asked.

“Jazz helped me. We acknowledged that it was scary, and he kept me busy. Mostly, we talked.”

“About what?”

“Well,” Bee said, trying to reason through why what Jazz did had worked. “All those awful emotions need an out. Talking is a good out. Gets it off your chest so you don’t feel so jittery.”

“The bond was so quiet,” Twitch whispered, opening up far faster than Bee expected. “I’ve never not been able to feel something from Thrash before. This is going to sound awful, but the scariest part was being without him. Forever.”

Twitch uncurled just enough to look at her hands. “I don’t want that to ever happen again. I want to do something about it.”

“But nothing feels like it’s enough,” Bumblebee said.

“Yeah. I feel all spinny inside.”

“I know. I dealt with it by sparring.”

“What’s that?”

“Like when you wrestle with Thrash. I wrestled with my friends, reminding myself they were there and replacing all that nervous energy with something fun. Laughter was the best remedy. Being a pest was a great way to get rid of the jitters.”

Twitch laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Bumblebee asked with a smile.

“Nothing,” Twitch said, smiling. “Can we stay out here for a bit?”

“Yeah,” Bee said, feeling just a tad bit proud of himself as Twitch leaned against him.

Emotional support was exhausting. Jazz had made it look not easy, but not so tiring.

When dawn rolled around and Dot got up with the sun, Bee was ready for a break.

“I’m going for a drive,” he told her. And if he took a nap under a tree, that was his business.

“Sitch report first, soldier,” Dot said, hands on her hips, still in her robe.

“Ever had a good scare where you thought you lost a comrade?” Bumblebee asked.

Dot nodded.

“Twitch had a good scare. We talked out the jitters.”

Dot rubbed her face. “She shouldn’t ‘have a good scare.’ She’s a kid.”

Bee shrugged and turned to go before stopping and turning back.

“Hey, Dot?”

“Yes, Bee?”

“You’re doing a good job.”

Dot’s eyes glistened as she smiled. “Thanks, Bee.”

Bee nodded, transformed, and sped off.

Twitch watched him speed past her and purposely blared excitement and impatience through the bond. She felt surprise and annoyance from Robby and Mo and grinned as she heard them hit the floor with a squawk. 

She flew up to Robby’s room, and before he could say anything, she whispered, “Meeting time!”

She then hurried off to gather the others.

Robby and Mo looked like fuel-deprived Terrans when they trudged into the dugout.

“Bumblebee recharges on Tuesdays from two a.m. to five a.m.,” Nightshade reported.

“Philly’s half an hour away,” Robby said. “That’s not very long.”

“Better than nothing,” Hashtag pointed out.

“That means our friends will have to sneak out, too,” Mo said.

“Meet at the skatepark?” Twitch suggested.

Robby nodded. “So, how are we sneaking out?”

“Elita says Bee has proximity sensors active when he sleeps,” Jawbreaker said eagerly. “They make a two-foot circle around him. If something enters the circle, he’ll wake up. Also, sudden loud noises will wake him up, but constant loud noise won’t.”

“We’ll walk to the road,” Twitch said. “That way, we don’t accidentally wake Mom and Dad up.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Robby said. He yawned. “Imma gonna go back to bed.”

Robby’s birthday came and went. It wasn’t bad as far as birthdays went. Breakdown and Bee took Robby racing, and Breakdown let Robby “drive.” He got some new video games. 

Optimus and Arcee came. The other Autobots couldn’t make it. Megatron didn’t come despite the fact Robby had made it very clear he really wanted him to come. Agent Schloder dropped off a laser tag game Wheeljack had tweaked so the whole family could play. Agent Schloder gave Robby twenty bucks and a “Get Out of G.H.O.S.T free card,” which was actually pretty funny.

Bee made the Terrans run drills all night. The fact Arcee and Optimus ran the drills with them only made it slightly better.

The next two weeks seemed to drag by. The only highlight was that Twitch had taken to roughhousing with the other Terrans. It was pretty fun to watch Thrash cry uncle. Jawbreaker liked to romp around in dinomode like a bull, Twitch holding tight to his neck, laughing. And even if Robby had to peer around corners to avoid being jump-scared, it was good. It seemed like a weight he hadn’t noticed before was lifting off his little sister.

When the second Tuesday finally rolled around, Robby found it hard to sleep. He slept in his clothes with his shoes on. Twitch woke him through the bond at two fifteen with a sharp spike of nervous excitement. He rolled out of bed and crept to the window.

“Twitch?”

The drone rose to meet him. “Climb on!”

Robby held on as the rest of the Malto kids crept across the yard. Hashtag jumped when Fluffy Ears mooed loudly behind her.

“Shh!” she scolded the cow.

“This is so exciting!” Jawbreaker gushed.

“Shh!” Twitch scolded.

They waited until they’d crossed the property line before Hashtag and Thrash transformed. Mo climbed into the sidecar. Nightshade hooked their talons into Jawbreaker’s back kibble.

“I can run!” Jawbreaker insisted.

“A Stygimoloch could not meet the speed limit,” Nightshade said as they lifted Jawbreaker into the air. “And neither can you.”

“You can outrun, but you can’t outdrive,” Thrash said.

Mo giggled. “That’s not how that saying goes.”

They kept to the backroads, sticking to the same route they’d taken on their first clandestine trip to Philadelphia. They didn’t see any cars, and the night was cold. Thrash’s sidecar hummed with warmth, and Mo slumped as far down into it as she could to avoid the chill. The vibrations of Thrash’s engine were soothing, and it was two a.m. in the morning. 

It should come as no surprise that Mo fell asleep.

They were five minutes from the outskirts of Philadelphia when Nightshade called out “Car!”

Like a well-oiled machine, the Malto Bots cleared off the road. Hashtag hopped over the guardrail and crouched on the other side of the cliff. Nightshade flew off into the trees on the other side, dropping Jawbreaker behind a large bush before landing on a branch. Twitch flew behind a tree, hovering by the ground so Robby could hop off before transforming. Robby ran behind the tree next to her.

Thrash got off the road much less gracefully. Sidecar full of sleeping human, he panicked. He didn’t know how to transform with Mo inside him. What if he hurt her!

So he pulled over onto the side of the road instead. He didn’t turn off his engine. He didn’t turn off his lights. He sat there waiting for the car to pass.

And nearly jumped into a transformation sequence when the lights and sirens started.

Mo bolted upright, nearly smacking her head on the rim of the sidecar.

“Sh- Crap,” she hissed.

Looking on, Robby felt all the blood leave his body. The mirth he felt from the Terrans did nothing to help.

“Mom is going to kill me,” he said.

Twitch glanced at him, her confusion echoing Thrash’s.

Thrash was so confused. He wasn’t doing anything illegal. You couldn’t break any traffic laws if you weren’t driving.

Mo gave him a tightlipped look, and Thrash felt the beginnings of panic swirling in his spark. The emotions he was getting from Mo and Robby were confusing and definitely negative. His engine gave tiny revs as his spark spun faster. It wasn’t funny, Hashtag!

After a couple of seconds, the sirens turned off, but the lights kept flashing. Mo squeezed her knees together as the car door opened and closed. An officer with gray hair and a mustache walked up on Thrash’s left side.

“Hi there,” he said.

“Hi,” Mo squeaked.

“You’re not in trouble,” the officer said.

Liar, Mo thought grimly. You don’t get pulled over if you’re not in trouble!

I was going the speed limit, right? Thrash thought.

The police officer tilted his head like he was listening to something. He smiled.

“Well, you are in trouble,” the police officer amended. “But how much depends on you.” He frowned. “You doing okay?”

Mo nodded. “Uh-huh. You just scared the crap out of us. Uh, sir.”

Robby face palmed. “Us”? Really Mo?

“How long have you been here?” the officer asked Mo.

Crap. Mo didn’t know.

“Not very long,” Mo hedged. “Sir.”

Thrash resisted the urge to sink into his wheel wells. He felt like he was being watched, and it wasn’t by the officer.

“It’s a little early to be out for a drive,” the officer observed. “Aren’t you cold?”

Mo stopped rubbing her arms. “It’s not that cold,” she lied through her chattering teeth.

The officer nodded with a disbelieving hum. He took off his jacket and handed it to her. 

The officer pulled out a notepad and pen. “Where are you off to?”

“A birthday party.”

“Must be pretty far away if you’re leaving this early.”

Mo shrugged.

“Who’s with you?”

Mo froze. Did he know about Thrash?

“What do you mean?” Mo asked slowly.

The officer stepped back and put his hands on his hips. “It’s a very nice motorcycle,” he said. “But it looks a little big for you to drive.”

Thrash swore whoever was staring at him was glaring now, too. It was creepy. Was there someone else inside the cop car?

“Oh, right,” Mo said, looking everywhere except at the officer.

“So, how’d you get out here?” the officer asked.

“My brother drove me,” Mo said. It wasn’t a lie.

“Really?” the officer said. “Where is he?”

“Peeing.”

Hashtag nearly snorted. This was going to make an epic Tumblr post.

“I see,” the officer said, rubbing his mustache in an attempt to hide a grin.

He looked toward the woods, and Robby ducked more fully behind his tree.  Jawbreaker hit the floor, shaking his bush. Nightshade held very, very still, counting on the darkness to cover them.

“I’ll just wait until your brother gets back,” the officer said.

Mo nodded tightly. She gripped the side of her seat. They waited. And they waited.

Thrash was pretty sure the cop car was staring at him.

“He’s sure taking a long time for a quick pee,” the officer said after fifteen minutes.

“Well…you did scare the crap out of us,” Mo said.

The officer chuckled. Robby could hear Dot’s lecture already.

You lied to the police?!

The wait stretched on. Robby received a concerned text from Stevie. He told him they were running late. He did not mention that Thrash had been pulled over.

Robby was seriously considering coming out and saying he was the driver. He quickly googled how illegal it was to drive without a license. It looked like he just wouldn’t be able to get his license for even longer. Which would suck. The real question was which option would get him in more trouble: claiming to be the driver or letting Mo and Thrash figure it out?

“So…” the officer said. “Where did you get it?”

“Get what?” Mo asked.

“Like I said before,” the officer said. “It’s an awfully nice motorcycle. And it just happens to match the description of one stolen this morning. Along with a missing purple van, green owl, and dinosaur. You seen any of those?”

Double crap. Was the officer secretly part of G.H.O.S.T?

“No, sir!” Mo said.

“You sure? Because the suspects are two kids, Robby… and the mastermind behind it all…Mo Malto.”

“No, sir!” Mo repeated.

“You sure?” the officer said. “Their mom called real worried.”

Mo nodded vigorously. 

The officer sighed. “I tried to give you a chance. Chase, they’re all yours.”

The officer turned to his patrol car, and Mo turned around, too. The patrol car began to shift. Suddenly, a giant Transformer was looming over her, yellow eyes glowing in the night.

He held out his hand and boomed, “License and registration, please.”

Beneath Mo, Thrash started to shake.

“He’s G.H.O.S.T!” Jawbreaker shouted.

Hashtag pulled herself up and over the guardrail in a flying kick aimed at the new Transformer. She missed and went skidding across the asphalt on her aft, sending up sparks. Nightshade flew out, talons aimed for optics, while Jawbreaker charged out from behind his bush in dinomode.

“Now, hold on a second!” the officer said while trying to get in between the charging dinosaur and the strange Transformer. “We’re not with G.H.O.S.T.”

Having had enough, Thrash drove off with a squeal of burning rubber.

Nightshade shrieked as the strange Transformer grabbed both their talons in one hand.

“Cease and desist!” the strange Transformer said. “Attacking an officer of the law is a felony.”

“Let them go, or I’ll shoot!”

Everyone turned to see Twitch standing in the middle of the road, blaster charged and aimed at the strange Transformer. Everyone froze.

“Um, guys?” Robby said. “That’s not a G.H.O.S.T badge.”

The strange Transformer let go of Nightshade. “Of course not. I’m a Rescue Bot. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Twitch lowered her blaster. It was true. G.H.O.S.T badges didn’t come in red and yellow, and the shape was all wrong, too.

The officer pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can someone please call the motorcycle back?”

Robby pulled out his phone, and the officer turned to the others. 

“I’m Chief Burns, and this is my partner Chase,” the officer explained. “We’re Dot and Alex’s friends. They called us when they realized you were missing. I would have cut right to the chase, but your mom wanted me to rake you over the coals. She wanted to see how you’d handle it and show you how dangerous it could have been if I didn’t already know about the Terrans.

“Here, I’ll give your mom a call.” The officer put his phone to his ear. “Hi Dot, this is Charlie. Your kids are fine. Mhm. Everything’s fine. They got a bit spooked. I think I’m losing my touch. Yep. Yeah, Chase is with me. Permission to drive them home? Wonderful. No, no, Bee doesn’t need to come out here. Tell him to go back to sleep if he can. Would you like to talk to them? Alright, here ya go.”

Chief Burns held out his phone.

“Kids,” Dot said. “I want you on your best behavior for Chief Burns and Chase. We are having a serious talk when you get home.”

Chief Burns talked on the phone for a few more minutes. While he talked, Thrash and Mo returned. Thrash hid behind Hashtag, peeking out at Chase.

Chief Burns hung up the phone.

“I didn’t think you looked that scary,” he told Chase with a chuckle.

“Sorry about that,” Twitch said, transforming away her blaster and scuffing the ground with her foot. “We panicked.”

“I was hoping seeing me transform would be helpful,” Chase said. “Help prove that you could trust us and be honest.”

“I believe that the panic in the bond may have led to a feedback loop,” Nightshade said. “Which led us all to become unnecessarily stressed and caused Jawbreaker to mistake your badge.”

“And that is information you shouldn’t be sharing with strangers,” Chief Burns said. “Teenagers tend to panic at two a.m. And I was giving you a bit of a hard time. Chase, mind transforming? I think Mo and Robby will be a lot warmer in your cab.”

The drive back to the farm was quiet. Robby and Mo sat huddled in the back of the police cruiser, staring at the scratches on Hashtag’s rear fender. Robby texted Stevie to let him know the party was off and he’d tell him more later if he ever got his phone back.

Chief Burns glanced at them in his rearview mirror.

“I know it doesn’t look it now,” he said. “But this is the best-case scenario.”

“I just wanted to see my friends,” Robby said. He pulled up his knees and hugged them.

“I understand,” Chief Burns said. “But your parents have good reason not to want you in Philadelphia right now.

“You did alright. Next time, an underage driver and sneaking out is better than revealing your motorcycle is a Transformer.”

Chase pulled into the driveway, and the officer opened the door for the two kids. Dot and Alex were waiting for them. So was Bumblebee.

He looked really tired.

The kids all hung their heads.

“I think it goes without saying that you’re grounded,” Alex said. “And that what you did was really dangerous.”

“I think I’d be more forgiving if this was spur of the moment,” Dot said. “I could blame the fact Robby’s a teenager and the fact his brain is busted. But this was planned, premeditated.”

Twitch stepped forward. “We just wanted to do something nice for Robby. It’s not fair that he doesn’t get to hang out with his friends because of us.”

“I said no!” Dot said. “I told you it was dangerous.”

“Which is why we were careful!” Twitch said.

“You got pulled over by the cops!” Dot fired back. Alex took her arm, and she took a deep breath. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

The human kids headed to the house and the Terrans to the barn until it was just Twitch standing there, eyes downcast.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“You didn’t plan this by yourself,” Dot said. “Twitch, honey, look at me.”

Twitch did.

“I love you,” Dot said.

Twitch nodded, throat tight, before heading into the barn.

Chase stepped forward and put a hand on Bumblebee’s shoulder.

“I’ll keep watch,” Chase said.

Bee nodded and headed into the barn.

“I’ll show you the guest room,” Alex told Chief Burns.

Chase and Dot continued to watch the barn door.

“This reminds me of a clandestine trip Frankie and Cody took to the mainland,” Chase said. “In which they were apprehended by you and Megatron.”

Dot laughed. “Did they do as much planning?”

“I believe so. It was their version of a Senior prank.”

Dot wiped her eyes. “Thanks, that helped. See you in the morning, Chase.”

Chapter Text

Secure in the knowledge Chase was keeping watch, Bumblebee turned off his alarms and slept as long as he liked. Everything was quiet in the dugout when he awoke. His chronometer informed him it was late enough that the human kids would be at school and their parents at work. He transformed out of alt mode with a stretch and a yawn.

Bumblebee walked out of the barn, marveling at the silence. He couldn’t see the Terrans. No sign of Chase either. But he did see a familiar orange and white heloformer.

“Blades?” Bee asked.

Blades turned around, beaming. He threw his arms wide open. “Bee!”

“Blades!” Bee cried, mirroring the action.

“Bee!”

“Blades!”

“Bee!”

“Blades!”

The two ran toward each other, colliding in a hug. Bee squeezed Blades tightly, burying his face in his friend’s shoulder.

“I missed you,” Bee said, closing his eyes.

Blades brought up a hand to rub his back. “Me too. Me too.”

Bee pulled back to look at Blades. “What are you doing here?”

“Dot invited us!”

“‘Us’?”

“Yeah! Me, Boulder, Chase, Chief Burns, and Dani. Dani’s making the Terrans do chores.” Blades frowned. “I feel so bad for them. I mean, I totally understand why they’re in trouble, but it must be so hard for them. I can’t imagine if Cody had to keep us a secret from Frankie any longer than he did.”

Bee smiled. Same old Blades.

“I heard Chase scared the scrap out of them,” Blades said.

“Really?” Bee asked.

Blades nodded emphatically. “Oh, yes. They thought he was with G.H.O.S.T and attacked him.” Blades’ optics went wide. “Maybe don’t tell Dot that? They’re already in enough trouble as is.”

Bumblebee chuckled. “As long as nobody got hurt.”

“Well,” Blades said. “Hashtag does have some scrapes on her bumper. But I do have a salve for that! But enough about that. How have you been?”

Bumblebee groaned.

“That bad, huh?”

Bumblebee nodded, finally ending the hug. “Has Optimus filled you in on anything?”

“Optimus? Not really. Megatron, yes. Mandroid killed everyone, but we fixed it. I’m so glad Dani and I weren’t flying when that happened. It’s bad enough that I made her cry! Oh, and Dot filled us in on the Terrans this morning.”

“They don’t sleep.”

“Like, at all?”

Bee nodded gravely.

“You poor dear!”

“And they’ve also got this bond thingy, so if I don’t keep them calm, they’ll wake up Mo and Robby. Oh, and apparently, the bond is causing other issues. Twitch said something the other day about wanting to have an emotion to herself.”

Blades frowned, golden optics full of sympathy. “I wish I could help, but bonds aren’t really my specialty.”

“Yeah, I know. I need to get them to talk to Breakdown. But you know…the Stunticons aren’t exactly a good example of handling that sort of thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Terrans turned out to be a gestalt, but I’m praying to Primus they aren’t. What I wouldn’t give for a Protectobot.”

Blades wrung his hands. “I wish I could help…”

“Blades,” Bumblebee said. “You have no idea how grateful I am to see you. I’ve had like zero adult interaction outside of missions.”

“Oh, come on,” Blades said. “You have Dot and Alex-”

“Yeah, but they’re not my friend.”

“Aw!” Blades said. “Come here!” He pulled Bee into another hug and Bee relaxed into it.

“But Alex is pretty cool,” Blades said after a moment.

“Yeah, he is,” Bee admitted. “Even Schloder is growing on me.” Bee grinned. “But you’re still my favorite number one fan.”

Blades blushed, ducking his head. He pulled back and poked Bee in the chest. “You were telling me about you!”

Bee sat down on a log, Blades joining him. “You hear about Bot Brawl?”

Blades nodded. “We know all about Bot Brawl.”

“Then you know about the mind control.”

Blades nodded again.

“Mandroid got Hashtag with it.”

Blades gasped.

“And then he got every Transformer wearing a G.H.O.S.T badge.”

“No!”

“Yes. The kids and I had quite the fight on our hands. We got some help from the Decepticons, which was great. But Megatron nearly torched Twitch and hasn’t seen her since. She misses him. Combine that with the fact it looked like she was the sole Transformer survivor for a minute…Some real Doctor Morocco level crap.”

Blades wiped his eyes furiously. “I don't think Morocco was that bad.”

“I think you’re selling yourself short. He’s closer to Mandroid than anything I’ve dealt with. The brainwashing was gone by the time I joined the war. Also, um, I think how Cody and Frankie handled him is what we want for the kids? Like, they’re involved. We can’t stop that. But they aren’t fighting per se? But, um, I don’t know what that would look like?”

Blades rocked back on his log. “Jeez. I don’t even know what that would look like. I think that’s for Chief and Dot to talk about.”

“But I’m supposed to train the kids…”

Blades patted Bumblebee on the shoulder. “All you can do is your best. …I know we’re talking about you and the kids, but how’s Megatron?”

Bee clasped his hands together and leaned forward. “I don’t know. Not good. Twitch is his favorite, and he’s hers. I haven’t seen him since the fight. I think -no, I know- he’s avoiding the kids.”

“Sounds like Boulder and I need to have a talk with him.”

“Hey, Blades?”

“Yeah?”

“What was Chase doing in Philadelphia?”

Blades straightened. “So, command has some theories about that big green light thingy. I’m not allowed to share what theories, but if they’re true, Bot Brawl is even more of a problem than before. Heatwave’s been entered into it by Kade, who’s undercover as a Bot hater. Chase is working hard to crack the case and shut it down for good, and Boulder and I are on standby to treat the injured.”

Bumblebee jumped to his feet. “I can help!”

Blades pulled him back down. “You already did. Your report was invaluable. But this is what Chase and Heatwave do. Plus, this is a bipartisan mission. Any bad blood, no matter how deserved, could be disastrous.”

“So I guess that explains where Chase is. So, um, who’s watching the kids?”

“Dani and Boulder. Dot left quite the list of chores.”

Bumblebee chuckled. “I’m sure she did. How long are they grounded for?”

“Something about proving they can be responsible, but probably not before the Bot Brawl investigation is over. We’re not exactly keeping that a secret from them, btw.”

“Gotcha.” Bumblebee eyed the empty barn. “So, do you want to watch Cupcake Wars?”

Blades beamed.

Dani was mean.

Hashtag gagged as she used a pitchfork to pick up yet another cow patty.

“Why are we doing this?” Nightshade asked. “Don’t cow patties decompose?”

“They do,” Boulder said.

“But you clearly have too much time on your hands,” Dani said. “So you need more chores. You missed one, Hashtag.”

“This is so gross!” Hashtag said.

“Maybe you’ll think twice before sneaking out,” Dani said.

“They did think twice,” Boulder said. “That’s the problem.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Thrash grumbled for the umpteenth time.

“Until you do, we need to keep an eye on you,” Boulder said.

“I’m all for sneaking out to hang with friends,” Dani said. “Just not in a city that hates your guts.”

“The whole city does not hate us,” Nightshade pointed out. “I would argue the majority of them do not.”

“Yeah,” Dani said. “But the ones who do would love an encore performance from you in Bot Brawl.”

Twitch poked another cow patty. “You sure Mom wanted us to do this?”

Dani nodded. “It takes military genius to come up with punishments this creative.”

“I’m sure Dorothy wouldn’t mind if they took a break,” Boulder said.

“Please!” the Terrans begged.

“Fine,” Dani huffed, though she was smiling a little.

Boulder gathered the kids up in a circle and had them sit down. “Your mom says you aren’t allowed to be on your devices. But we can do some art,” -Thrash groaned loudly- “or I could teach you to play Rescue Ball.”

Hashtag fell back in the grass. “I don’t want to get up,” she moaned.

Boulder smiled. “I thought that might be the case. I could tell you stories.”

There was a chorus of “oohs!”

Boulder launched into a tale of flying lobsters. Twitch and Jawbreaker thought it was pretty fun. Nightshade nearly derailed the story several times, trying to learn more about floatium. 

“Why couldn’t Heatwave ask the kids to wash their hands before climbing on him?” Jawbreaker asked.

“I guess I forgot to mention this,” Boulder said. “But we were pretending to be robots.”

Thrash tilted his head. “Aren’t we robots?”

“That’s a question Blades could answer better,” Boulder said. “But we were pretending to be robots that weren’t alive.”

“Why?” Twitch asked.

“We were robots in disguise,” Boulder explained. “The war had come to Earth, but it was small enough that most people didn’t know about it yet.”

“You were hiding,” Twitch said. “Like us. But why?”

Boulder sighed heavily and sat down. “Optimus wasn’t sure if the humans would let us stay on Earth. If the governments of Earth asked us to go, we would. The people in charge knew the Decepticons were here to stay, and they needed the Autobots to fight them. But if the rest of the world learned about us back then, they might have put a lot of pressure on their leaders to make us leave. We are kind of scary, and the Decepticons are really good at hiding until it’s too late.”

“If it was so important to stay hidden,” Nightshade asked. “Why would you risk your cover over lobsters?”

“Because we Rescue Bots had a different mission,” Boulder explained. “Learn from the humans, serve, and protect. Live in their world and earn their respect.”

Thrash sat up. “So you didn’t even fight?”

“That’s right,” Boulder said. “My teammates and I are Rescue Bots, not soldiers.”

“Lame,” Thrash said.

“Break time’s over!” Dani shouted. “Chop, chop!”

By the time Mo and Robby got home, Twitch felt like she was low on cave water but not. It wasn’t fun.

“Can we be done?” Jawbreaker asked. “Mo and Robby are home.”

“And they’ve got their own list of chores to do inside the house,” Boulder said. “And homework.”

It wasn’t until Dot returned that the Terrans were freed.

“Come on,” Dot said. “You can hang out with the adults.”

Bee stepped out of the barn, an orange and white bot with rotors and a big belly beside him.

“Maltobots,” Bee said, gesturing to the bot. “This is my friend Blades.”

Blades waved. “Hi!”

Alex pulled up and parked, followed by Chase and Chief Burns. The adult humans started cooking in the kitchen while Blades and Bee pulled up a log to sit on.

“How’s the investigation going, Chase?” Bee asked.

“What investigation?” Twitch whispered.

“Chase, Chief Burns, Kade, and Heatwave are busting Bot Brawl,” Nightshade said.

“Maybe they should have some real warriors doing that,” Thrash muttered.

“We are making progress,” Chase said. He looked at Jawbreaker, who was staring up at him sweetly. “Yes?” he asked Jawbreaker.

Jawbreaker continued smiling sweetly.

“Do you have a question?” Chase tried again.

“Not yet,” Jawbreaker said cheerfully.

The other adults chuckled.

“So Mom knows you,” Hashtag said to Chief Burns and Chase. “How did you guys meet?”

Chief Burns chuckled. “A lot like how I met you. Cody, my youngest son, and his best friend Frankie decided to sneak off to mainland Maine to buy supplies for their senior prank. They ran into Dot and Megatron.”

“Ugh,” Dot said, sneering. “It was awful. The war had barely ended, and Megatron was still new to working with instead of against us. It’s not like the big guy can hide in a parking lot. We were flying between locations, and I had to use the bathroom. We landed in a parking lot, and I swear I was only gone a second. But by the time I came out, a crowd had gathered. And they were pissed.”

“We were stuck,” Dot explained. “The crowd had pressed so close that Megatron couldn’t transform and take off without hurting somebody. They were throwing stuff, shouting, the works. And this teenage boy charges out of the Walmart and called them on their bullcrap. Talked them down and got them to disperse. Cody introduced himself and Frankie and asked if we were okay as if he wasn’t talking to Megatron himself.”

“Okay,” Thrash said. “But that doesn’t explain how you met Chase or Chief Burns.”

“You can call me Chief,” Chief Burns said.

Dot rolled her eyes. “We met them because after Optimus found out what happened, he got an idea.”

“Come on, Dot, it was a good idea,” Chief Burns said. “You’re far too hard on the man.”

“Optimus believed Megatron’s community service would be best served on Griffin Rock,” Chase explained. “Where we live. Needless to say, it was not a smooth transition.”

Alex laughed, handing Chief a root beer. “Oh boy! Huxley wouldn’t give us a moment’s peace. Always trying to ‘interview’ Megatron with the rudest of questions.”

“It’s a miracle he didn’t try to squish the man,” Dot said, leaning on the counter. “Especially back then.”

“I think Kade and Heatwave would have liked to murder him,” Dani said. She thought for a moment. “They might have wanted to do the same to Huxley by the end, too.”

“Like you were much better,” Chief said.

“He was scary,” Blades admitted. “He made me nervous, especially when we flew together. Dani didn’t like that at all. ”

“Graham was also very subdued in his presence in the beginning,” Chase said. “Cody was kind and worked hard to include Megatron, but he was preoccupied.”

“And going through testosterone poisoning,” Chief muttered into his root beer.

“I myself was unsure how to proceed,” Chase said.

“It was kind of a mess,” Dot agreed.

“Megatron will never admit it,” Alex said conspiratorially. “But he was lonely. Especially when your mom had to leave the island.”

“What changed?” Robby asked, peering his head down the stairs.

“Just Boulder being Boulder,” Blades said.

“I just did what anyone would do!” Boulder protested.

“Given everyone was treating him like a ticking bomb,” Dot said. “You didn’t do just what anyone would do.”

“What did you do?” Mo asked, joining her brother as they entered the kitchen.

“I just treated him like a normal person,” Boulder said. “Asked if he had any favorite books and if he’d tried painting. We liked the same poetry, so we shared Earth poems. I tried to teach him painting.”

“Almost as bad as Chase’s cooking,” Dani whispered to Hashtag.

“Stuff like that,” Boulder finished.

“You also listened,” Dot said.

“I did do that,” Boulder said.

“Listened to what?” Jawbreaker asked.

“War is hard,” Dot said. “And folks like Megatron have more regrets than most. Sometimes, it helps to talk about it. And Boulder never judged.”

“Being with Boulder made it easier to be with Megatron,” Blades said. “Let me relax and be myself. And then one day, I found I didn’t feel nervous around Megatron anymore, and I got to be his friend too.”

“We all did,” Dani said.

“Kade took the longest,” Chief said. “Heatwave came in close second. It helped a lot when he realized he could get a willing sparring partner out of the deal.”

“Even Mrs. Neederlander came around,” Blades said.

“She actually took a shine to Megatron a lot faster than most of the townsfolk,” Chief said.

“How is Mrs. Neederlander?” Bumblebee asked.

“Still going strong,” Chief said.

“And so is Mr. Pettypaws,” Bladed grumbles. “I swear that cat’s half flerken.”

“Griffin Rock was good for us,” Dot said. “When I got back to the island, I needed a break. Megatron learned how to handle angry, hurt people, and remembered how to care about them. And in return, they came to care for him.”

“He still sends poems to the Griffin Rock poetry club,” Boulder said. “Sometimes he sends his own.”

“Megatron writes poetry?” Thrash asked.

“Yep,” Dani said. “And if you call it lame, he’ll lecture you for hours.”

After dinner, Dot flagged Blades down.

“Would you mind looking the Terrans over?” Dot asked. “I know you don’t really do checkups, but you’re the only medic around, and I sure don’t know what I’m looking for.”

“I can do that,” Blades said. “First thing tomorrow. And if you ever have any questions, I’ll do my best to help.”

“What’s a checkup?” Nightshade asked Mo.

“It’s where you go to the doctor and get shots,” Mo said.

“Shots?” Nightshade asked, alarmed.

“Yeah, with a needle,” Mo said.

“Do they hurt?” Jawbreaker asked.

Mo nodded gravely. “A lot. And your arm hurts even more the next day.”

Jawbreaker gulped.

“Why do you ask?” Mo asked.

“Mom has asked Blades to give us one,” Nightshade said.

Mo patted them on the arm. “It’s okay if you cry. Robby does.”

A spike of fear and dread shot through the bond, and the other Matlo kids came hurrying over.

“What’s wrong?” Twitch asked, already reaching for her swords.

“Blades is going to give us shots !” Jawbreaker said.

“What?” Twitch said.

“Blades is going to give the Terrans a checkup,” Mo said.

“Then why did Jawbreaker say he was going to shoot us?” Hashtag said.

Robby nodded. “Shots are where the doctor sticks you with a needle.”

“Do they hurt?” Thrash asked.

“They’re awful, ” Robby said. “But they’re supposed to keep you from getting sick, so you have to get them.”

“Do they really make you cry?” Jawbreaker asked.

Robby looked away, blushing.

“Is there no way to get out of it?” Thrash asked.

“Don’t go to the doctor?” Robby said.

Thrash grinned. “That can be arranged.”

“So!” Blades said, clapping his hands together. “I’m going to be hanging out with you guys tonight.”

The Terrans shared uncomfortable looks. Thrash, Twitch, and Hashtag got up and headed to different corners of the dugout.

“Sorry,” Twitch said. “I got to go, uh, train and stuff.”

“Same!” Hashtag said.

“Ditto,” Thrash said.

“Oh,” Blades said, rotors sagging. “Okay.” He turned back to Nightshade and Jawbreaker. “What do you-”

Nightshade stood. “Apologies, but I have sensitive experiments to attend to. I do believe I will be busy until tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s fine,” Blades said. He knew how science was. “Next time!”

Nightshade waved dismissively.

Blades turned back to Jawbreaker, who was looking everywhere except at him.

“You don’t have to hang out with me if you don’t want to,” Blades said.

“Thank you!” Jawbreaker said as he scrambled away.

Blades settled into a giant beanbag chair. With the others in recharge, it was going to be a very long, lonely night.

The Terrans all left the dugout as one. According to Blades’ chronometer, it was about the time most humans woke up. He got to work setting up his “office” in the dugout, pulling out the tools he’d need for the checkup. And then he waited. And waited. And waited.

Nightshade wasn’t even tending their experiments. Maybe they’d gotten done early?

Bee poked his head into the dugout. “Hey, Blades, whatcha doing?”

“Waiting for the Terrans,” Blades said. “I’m supposed to be giving them checkups.”

Bee frowned. “Dot told them to come down for those after breakfast. It’s been hours.”

Blades shrugged.

“Is everything okay?” Bee asked.

Blades sighed. “I don’t think the Terrans like me.”

“Oh?”

“They couldn’t get away from me fast enough last night.”

Bee’s frown deepened. “Hold on a sec.”

A few minutes later, Bee marched the Terrans into the dugout. “Anyone want to tell me why you’ve been avoiding Blades?”

“We didn’t want to get shot!” Jawbreak blurted out.

Bee rolled his eyes. “A checkup is nothing to be scared of. Watch, I’ll get one right now.”

“Um,” Blades said. “You sure Bee? Patient doctor confidentiality-”

“Anything you have to say to me, the Terrans can hear.”

“Are you sure?” Blades said. “ Anything?”

Bee nodded.

“Okay,” Blades said. He patted a cleared workbench, and Bee hopped on.

Blades hooked up several monitors. “So these are to make sure Bee’s spark is healthy and to make sure all his fuel, coolant, and oil lines have the right pressure.”

Bee held out his wrist, and Blades unspooled a cable and plugged into the offered port. 

“We don’t get our vaccines through shots,” Bee explained. “We download them. Blades is sending me the updated vaccines now. He’s also getting diagnostics from my frame to make sure I’m healthy.”

Blades pursed his lips and unplugged. “And now I’m going to check you over physically.”

Blades pushed aside Bumblebee’s shoulder armor. “It’s chafing.”

Bee stiffened.

“We can continue this in private,” Blades said.

“No,”  Bee said, his voice higher than normal.

“Why is his armor chafing?” Jawbreaker asked.

Blades held up a finger for the kids to wait and came around to face Bee. “Is it a personal choice now or still part of…you know what?”

Bee shrugged. “I mean, G.H.O.S.T knows about me now, so I’m not sure?”

Blades nodded. “Okay. I have something that can help with the chafing, but it will be a chronic problem. I can get it down to a mild irritation.”

“For now, that would be great,” Bee said. “And I’ll think about it.”

“What’s going on?” Hashtag asked.

“What do you guys know about alt modes?” Blades asked.

“They are a form of self-expression,” Nightshade said. “They should feel true to you.”

“That’s true,” Blades said. “It is considered a part of you, but how much so depends on the bot. What do you know about Bumblebee’s alt mode?”

“That he picked the wrong one the first time,” Hashtag said.

Bumblebee scratched his arm. “It wasn’t wrong.”

“I don’t have to-” Blades began.

“It’s okay,” Bee said. He looked at the kids. “Before the war, alt modes were kind of a tricky subject. Some pretty powerful people had some really strong opinions on them and made it everyone else’s problem.

“Anyway, after the final battle, I went to Griffin Rock. Immediately. It’s why G.H.O.S.T thought I went awol. G.H.O.S.T didn’t know about the Rescue Bots, only Optimus, me, the people of Griffin Rock, and those who the Rescue Bots had rescued over the years. We wanted to keep it that way.

“When I came back, I had to go into hiding. My old alt mode was too recognizable. So, I’ve been switching it up. Which didn’t feel great.”

“Physically,” Blades said. “Individual bots can only scan certain kinds of things. Megatron can only scan helicopters. He is physically incapable of transforming into something like a car. Bee can only scan cars—ideally, ones around the same size as his old earth alt mode. But he can push it and scan something like his current alt mode.”

“So why don’t you just go back to your old alt mode?” Jawbreaker asked.

“Well,” Blades said. “Sometimes, when you have one alt mode for so long, it would feel even more off not to have it anymore. I didn’t want to be a helicopter since I’m scared of heights. But that was the only alt I could take while we were in disguise on Griffin Rock. Technically, I could change it now. But it wouldn’t feel right anymore.”

“So what are you going to do?” Hashtag asked Bee.

“That’s a really personal question,” Blades said. “That’s entirely up to Bumblebee and not really any of your business. The important thing is whatever Bee chooses is the right thing for him.”

The Terrans nodded.

“We’d still love you if you were a worm,” Hashtag said.

Bumblebee and Blades laughed.

 “I know that meme,” Blades said. “Now, Bee, ready for your shot?”

Bee held out his arm, and Blades pulled out a needle, shifting some armor aside. He stuck Bee, and then the syringe filled with purple liquid. He pulled the needle out.

“Did that hurt?” Blades asked.

Bee tilted his head. “Why would that hurt? I don’t have any pain sensors there.”

The Terrans let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Now I’m going to test this to make sure Bumblebee is getting all the nutrients he needs,” Blades said. “I’ll be right back.”

Blades moved farther into the dugout, and the Terrans turned their attention to Bee.

“Why did you go to Griffin Rock?” Hashtag asked.

“Well,” Bee said. “The final battle was really shi- crappy. I lost a lot of my friends. It didn’t really feel like a win, and I couldn’t stand the thought of pretending to be happy. Everyone was dealing with their own stuff and…”

Bee subconsciously hugged himself and Blades came back over, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I really needed a friend,” Bumblebee said. “Someone I didn’t need to hold it together around. Someone who wouldn’t tell me to look on the bright side. Someone to be sad with me. And Blades was that friend. I knew I could count on him.”

There was silence as Blades finished his work, and Bumblebee hopped off the workbench.

“Thrash,” Bee said. “You’re next.”

Everything went fine until Thrash got his “shot.” Blades stared at the contents in the syringe, blinking.

“Bumblebee.”

“Yeah?”

“This isn’t Energon.”

“Oh, right,” Bee scratched the back of his head. “It’s magic cave water.”

“What?”

“Why do you like them?” Thrash asked Dot. The family was taking care of the cows before dinner.

“Who?” Dot asked.

“The Rescue Bots,” Thrash said. “They’re so lame! ”

“Lame how?” Dot asked, leaning on her pitchfork.

“They’re just…boring,” Thrash said. “Like Blades and Boulder aren’t even helping bust the Bot Brawl. Chase isn’t even fighting. I heard him telling Dad he was writing emails and posting flyers! They don’t even have any cool stories.”

“Do you all feel this way?” Alex asked.

The other kids nodded.

“They’re nice,” Twitch said. “But they’re also…normal? All the other bots we’ve met have cool, heroic stories.”

“I know for a fact the Rescue Bots have cool heroic stories, too,” Dot said. “But maybe you don’t pay enough attention because it doesn’t involve Transformers beating the daylights out of each other.”

“How about you ask Chase why he’s writing emails and posting flyers,” Alex said. “There’s more than one way to be a hero, you know.”

“I have observed that all heroes fight villains,” Nightshade said. “And flying lobsters do not count as villains.”

“Loneliness is a powerful enemy,” Alex said. “It has killed many people. It has driven others to abandon what they know to be right. Who helped defeat loneliness for Megatron?”

“Boulder,” Twitch said.

“Doesn’t that make Boulder a hero then?” Alex said.

Thrash rolled his eyes. “No. It makes him nice.”

Hashtag nodded. 

“I think Dad’s right,” Twitch said. “A few weeks ago, I was having a really hard time. I felt…awful all the time. It was horrible. I couldn’t fix it. I felt like I was going to explode.

“But Bumblebee talked to me. He helped me work through my feelings. And we still talk when it gets worse. It’s hard for both of us. But that first time, it kind of felt like Bee saved me. And saving people is heroic.”

Twitch looked at Dot. “Was it like that with Megatron and Boulder?”

Dot nodded. 

“I think Blades might have done the same thing for Bumblebee,” Nightshade mused.

“He very much did,” Dot said. “It’s hard to be there for people when they’re struggling, but it very much saves people.”

“No, no,” Hashtag said. “Heroes fight crime and kick butt. Like Mom, Megatron, Optimus, and the other Autobots! Isn’t Heatwave out there fighting right now?”

“I’m not saying fighting can’t be the heroic thing to do,” Dot said. “But it’s often not as clear cut as that.”

Alex put a hand on Dot’s shoulder. “Maybe the kids should ask the Rescue Bots how they came out of hiding after dinner.”

Dot nodded, crossing her arms. “Let’s hurry up and finish then.”

After dinner, while the bots and humans were all sitting outside, Twitch asked, “So when did you guys stop hiding?”

Boulder leaned back. “Well, Heatwave was always asking Optimus when we could stop pretending to be robots. But it wasn’t until Griffin Rock got teleported to the Arctic that he got the go-ahead.”

“Griffin Rock got teleported to the Arctic?” Nightshade asked.

“Reactaline and quantum crystals do not mix,” Blades said.

“We made a forcefield around the island and filled it with floatium and attached a rocket to the side of the island,” Chase said. “We flew the island back to its proper location. It was a messy operation with much damage but no lives lost.”

“That almost wasn’t the case,” Chief said. “We ran out of power an hour before reaching the States. The dome was failing, and we would have fallen to our deaths if the Rescue Bots hadn’t used their own Energon as an alternative power source.”

“They nearly died,” Dani said, leaning against Blades.

“Optimus’ ‘go-ahead’ was a mere formality,” Chase said. “We were too concerned with saving the island to worry about maintaining our cover.”

“A lot of townsfolk saw us talking to the bots and them talking back when they were hooked up to the forcefield generators,” Chief said. “Especially when they started to…fade. Rumors spread, and of course, it didn’t help the bots were out of commission for a while.”

“I think the rumors scared Heatwave,” Blades said. “It wasn’t until the Velgrox came and tried to kidnap people to use as snacks that he decided to reveal we, too, were aliens.”

“We had just finished saving the town yet again,” Chase said. “But still, we were worried how they would react.”

“Mrs. Neederlander told me later,” Boulder said. “That she’d seen us serving the community for so long that she couldn’t dream of sending us away.”

“Learn from the humans. Serve and protect,” Twitch said. “Live in their world. Earn their respect. Is it really that simple?”

“I wouldn’t call it simple,” Chase said. “It was and is quite difficult most days.”

“But yes,” Boulder said. “That’s how we avoided many of the issues the Autobots are experiencing now, even with the war erupteing shortly after our reveal.”

“It was the people of Griffin Rock who chose to keep us a secret after that,” Chase said. “Especially when they learned we were the last Rescue Bots.”

“Why were you the last?” Twitch asked.

The adults shared a look.

“We Rescue Bots are not warriors,” Chase said. “We are no respecter of persons regarding our work; we had no faction loyalties. The Decepticons did not like that. Our team was spared because we were trapped in stasis before coming to Earth.”

“The war hadn’t started yet, back then,” Blades said.

“Why didn’t you fight in the war?” Thrash asked. “Megatron says most of the Autobots weren’t soldiers before the war either, but they still fought.”

“And we honor them for their sacrifice,” Chase said. “But that is not how we chose to serve.”

Thrash stood up. “So you just sat back and did nothing?”

“If Decepticons attacked Griffin Rock,” Blades said. “We would have fought them off. Every time.”

“We offered to leave,” Boulder said. “To protect them.”

“But you didn’t fight!” Thrash said.

“And thank goodness for that,” Dot said. “If they had, Starscream and the other Decepticons wouldn’t be willing to work with them to take down Bot Brawl.”

“Rescue Bots serve and protect,” Alex said. “No matter who you are. That’s why they’re able to help now. Both sides trust them to do the right thing.”

“Not all heroes pick up guns and go to war,” Dot said. “Rescue Bots are emergency responders. They handle the everyday villains and tragedies. It’s a hard job.”

Dot’s hand rested on her amputated leg. “I have friends who met the Rescue Bots, who were pulled from the rubble we humans would have had no chance of lifting in time. Megatron would have killed the Rescue Bots if he knew about them, but they regularly risked their lives to look for survivors on battlefields and repair damaged cities.

“And -Boulder, Blades, I hope I’m not oversharing- but I have other friends who’ve called Blades or Boulder in the middle of the night when the world seemed too dark. Bumblebee and Megatron aren’t the only ones who would call them heroes for their kindness.”

Blades blushed. “Heroes is a bit much.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Dani said, punching him lightly.

Twitch thought carefully. “Mom, what’s the difference between fighting when you need to and being a soldier?”

“When you’re a soldier,” Dot said. “You go out and find things that need fighting. Fighting when needed means stepping in when you see trouble at home.”

“Like Cody!” Blades said. “He was a kid, so he wasn’t supposed to be doing rescues. He helped coordinate us. But if he was the only one who could step in, he would, like when he and Frankie found evidence Doctor Morocco was evil.”

“While you guys are still kids,” Dot said. “I want you to fight only when you have to and find other ways to be heroes, okay?”

Thrash folded his arms and tapped his foot. “But everyone else is fighting.”

“I think Stevie showed you why that can’t be the answer to everything,” Dot said. “Fighting always leads to hurt feelings, which usually leads to more fighting.”

“For example,” Chase said. “There is a reason we have not barged into Bot Brawl, guns blazing.”

Chase tapped his forearm, and a hologram sprung up. It showed a setup similar to the last Bot Brawl location.

“The fights are weakening the ceiling above,” Chase explained. “As long as they are happening, there is a risk of collapse. If we cause the collapse during a rescue, the citizens will only remember the damage and not our reasons. My flyers bring attention to the danger they are in with simple things they can do to help us deal with the threat, such as reporting sightings of those advertising Bot Brawl. Boulder and Graham have been working to find a way to reinforce the ceiling from above so that everyone is protected when we do make our move. 

“And I have been emailing all the city council members so they are aware of the dangers. Some of them have been quite helpful, publicly decrying Bot Brawl. Others have been pestered into assisting. But in the end, this should result in a clean win that does not leave the population complaining about wrecked trains and burnt buildings.”

“Chase has found every possible rule, law, policy, and city ordinance the people running Bot Brawl have broken,” Chief said. “The fines are staggering. We’re going to beat them by making Bot Brawl unprofitable. And we’re getting close.”

“And this stuff works?” Thrash asked.

The adults all nodded.

Thrash still looked skeptical. He crossed his arms and sat back down. “I still think it’s lame.”

Twitch knew her brother was calling the Rescue Bots lame, and the adults knew it. Dot and Bee both opened their mouths to say something, but Chase interrupted them.

“You are entitled to your opinion. You are certainly not alone in it. But the facts remain true. It is true that the life of a warrior often seems more glorious, and it is noble and needed. But I know that what we Rescue Bots do is just as needed.” 

He looked meaningfully at Dot. “Heatwave was of the same mind as Thrash for many years. He wished to fight beside Optimus and was frustrated that Optimus would not endorse such a course of action. It took many different and confidential experiences for him to change his mind. Lectures were ineffectual.”

“I didn’t know that,” Bee said.

Blades groaned. “Heatwave’s a great leader, but ‘This wouldn’t happen if I were on Optimus’ team’ is not a nice thing to hear.”

The conversation moved on, and soon, Mo and Robby had to go back inside.

“Ugh,” Hashtag said. “Now we get to be bored for eight hours.”

“Why don’t you play a game while Mo and Robby get ready for bed?” Boulder said. “Something like tag so you don’t have so much pent-up energy.”

“Can we play it by the cave?” Nightshade asked. “I wanted to get some samples for Blades to study.”

“Mo and Robby still have homework,” Dot said. “So I think you have enough time for that.”

The Terrans scampered off. Dani looked around at the adult bots. 

“So, which one of you is going to be the adult?”

“I can,” Bee said, standing. “Kade’s supposed to check in soon, right? I’d hate for any of you to miss that.”

Boulder nodded. “Thanks, Bee.”

Tag started instantly, and it was only through Nightshade’s herding that the Terrans were running vaguely toward the cave. Peals and shrieks of laughter filled the air. It made Bee’s spark hurt that he had to worry about humans hearing them. Maybe they should take the kids to Griffin Rock. Let them play in a town that wouldn’t care if they had tires or rotors.

“We are never going to make it to the cave at this rate,” Nightshade grumbled as they flew next to Bee.

“Blades doesn’t really need a sample,” Bee said. “And your siblings are having fun. Why don’t you join them?”

“It’s only fun when Twitch is It,” Nightshade said.

Flightframe. Right.

“And I suppose staying on the ground isn’t an option,” Bee said.

“If I have to limit myself,” Nightshade said. “The game loses its appeal. May I go home?”

“Sure,” Bee said. “Be careful! And stay hidden.” They weren’t far from the farm anyway.

Thrash was It. Chasing Jawbreaker was hard, what with his speed and the way he ducked and weaved through trees and bushes in dinomode, taking turns far sharper than Thrash could. Still, chasing him made for a good distraction.

Twitch was hovering close to the ground, the sun haloing her, giggling as she watched the chase. Thrash saw his chance. He turned from his pursuit of Jawbreaker and tackled his sister.

Right off a cliff.

Chapter Text

Thrash found himself wedged at an awkward angle between the walls of a ravine. His left arm felt like it was on fire, and the bond exploded with panic. He screamed.

Someone else was screaming, too, and it took him a moment to realize, through the pain, that someone was beneath him. Twitch was tangled up with him, her face just inches from the stream. Their combined weight was resting on her rotor wells, which were caught on the uneven surfaces of the rock walls.

“Mom!” Thrash screamed.

“Dad!” Twitch sobbed.

Thrash saw Bee high above him, peering over the ledge.

“Bee!” Thrash sobbed.

“Bee?” Twitch said. “Bee!” she began to thrash. “Help!”

Bee got down on his stomach and reached as far down into the ravine as he could. It was nowhere near close enough. He got back onto his hands and knees.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised. “I’m going to go get help.”

“Don’t go!” Thrash begged. “Please, don’t go.”

“I have to,” Bee said.

Thrash watched Bee go through tears. He could hear Twitch crying. A few minutes later, Thrash caught sight of Nightshade overhead.

The owl dived down into the ravine, but it became too narrow for them a dozen feet from Thrash and Twitch. It didn’t stop Nightshade from trying, again and again, the rocks scraping their belly. Jawbreaker and Hashtag came, too, but they couldn’t help either.

The bond swirled with panic. It made Thrash’s chest feel like it was going to explode. He couldn’t tell where his own panic ended and his siblings’ began. But inexplicably, some of it calmed.

Thrash could pick out voices.

He heard Bumblebee say, “I don’t know what to do!”

Three faces peered over the ravine. 

“Remain calm,” Chase called down.

Great. The Rescue Bots.

Twitch must have felt his derisiveness. 

“Look,” Twitch said. “Three big, strong heroes who specialize in rescues and treating injuries that our big, strong warrior didn’t know what to do about. Maybe they’re not so lame after all, huh?”

Thrash didn’t like the smugness in her tone. “They haven’t rescued us yet.”

Their shared panic surged again. Thrash missed Twitch’s smugness.

“I’m going to set up a pulley system,” Boulder said. “It will allow us a much more controlled pull than Blades pulling them from the air. We don’t know if they’ve gotten caught on anything. Chase, Bumblebee, bring me the beams from behind the barn.”

“On it!” Bee said, and Thrash could hear two engines racing off.

“Dani,” Blades said. “I still have your repel kit and extra rope in my cockpit. Can you repel down and create a harness for the kids? You can also help them if they get caught on anything.”

“Sure thing,” Dani said.

A few minutes later, a rope came falling toward them, and soon Dani was climbing down.

“They’re not bleeding!” she called up.

“Double check,” Blades said. “They don’t have Energon, so their blood might not glow.”

“I don’t think I’m bleeding,” Twitch said.

Blades hummed. “You might not notice due to the shock. Dani, make the harness. Let me know if you notice anything leaking.”

Dani reached the bottom of the ravine. “Might be hard to tell with all the water. Twitch is on the bottom. Thrash is on top. I’ll make a harness for him first.”

Dani wrapped rope over and around various parts of Thrash several times. Soon, he felt a tugging sensation, and he began to rise. Dani shoved various bits of him off rocks they got caught on and helped get his arm untangled from Twitch. That hurt enough to make him scream again.

Blades and Boulder helped him up out of the ravine and lay him on a gurney. Dot and Alex rushed to his side. 

“You’re going to be okay,” Alex promised. He hugged Thrash’s uninjured hand.

“Blades will make sure of it,” Dot swore, glancing back at the cliff.

Twitch was pulled up next. There was a lot more screaming. She was laid on a gurney, and Chase and Blades picked it up. Boulder and Bee carried Thrash’s, and together, the group walked home.

Thrash and Twitch were carried into the dugout. Blades worked on Twitch first, setting her right leg and left rotor well in a cast. He gave her something for the pain and turned to Dot.

“No walking or flying until those heal,” Blades said. “They’re clean brakes. I’ll prescribe some supplements to speed healing. I’ll leave some pain medication, but today and tomorrow should be the worst of it.”

“How long until she’s healed?” Dot asked.

“Five weeks.” Blades turned to Twitch. “I’m going to look over Thrash, and then I’ll treat the rest of your dents and scrapes. Boulder will get some warm compresses for your strained cables.”

Blades moved to examine Thrash. “Let me see your arm,” he said softly, taking it gently. “Definitely broken,” Blades said as he set it in a metal cast. “Three weeks for you. I’ll give you something for the pain. But besides the arm, it’s just some bruises.”

Blades put a data chip in the port on Thrash’s wrist, and the pain faded.

“Thank you,” Thrash said.

“You’re welcome!”

“No, thank you,” Thrash said. “That was…”

“Scary?” Blades said. “I bet! And you’re welcome. Rescue work is what we do, but most of the time, it is pretty boring. I definitely think Bumblebee is way cooler than me. And don’t let the accident scare you. Kids are supposed to get into accidents! It’s part of growing up.”

Behind them, Twitch whimpered.

“Is she going to be okay?” Thrash asked.

“She’s going to be hurting for a while,” Blades said. “But nothing serious.”

“Do you have crutches or something for her?” Hashtag asked. “So she can still get around?”

“Not on me, no,” Blades said. “But I think Optimus can arrange for me to take her to the old G.H.O.S.T base to look for some. We can have Wheeljack try to build her some, but it will be hard to make some that don’t jostle her rotor well. For now, she’ll have to be carried.”

Boulder helped Thrash stand up.

“Can you play video games one-handed?” Thrash asked.

“Not well,” Blades replied while putting away his supplies. “Nightshade, come here please. Let me treat those scratches.”

“How about we try something different tonight?” Boulder said.

“We can’t sleep,” Twitch said. “Bee already tried.”

“That’s true,” Boulder said. “You’re more energy efficient than we are. But it’s good to be still sometimes.”

“Helps you heal,” Blades said. “Inside and out.”

Chase and Bee nodded, gathering some pillows and leaning against the couch.

“Everyone get comfortable,” Boulder said. “We’re going to do some meditation tonight.”

“Like the Avatar state!” Hashtag said.

Bumblebee chuckled. “Sure, like the Avatar state.” 

Boulder picked up Twitch and held her so she could lean against his chest, rotors to the room. Took a little rearranging to get her leg situated. Thrash flopped against Hashtag on the couch. Jawbreaker curled up in beastmode in a nest of blankets. Nightshade sat on the floor, scratches shining with freshly applied salve, watching the adults intently.

“Are you staying?” Twitch asked Dot and Alex.

“As long as we can,” Dot said. 

She climbed on top of Boulder’s shoulder to be closer to Twitch. A few minutes later, Alex came in with Mo and Robby, dragging sleeping bags behind them. Alex settled in next to Thrash. Mo leaned against Nightshade and Robby found a spot next to Boulder.

“Close your eyes,” Boulder said. “Focus on the rotation of your spark. How does it feel? How does it sound? Focus on how it expands and contracts as it spins.”

“It’s okay if your mind wanders,” Chase said. “Gently bring back your focus.”

“Why are we doing this?” Thrash said, trying hard not to complain.

“To calm the bond so Mo and Robby can sleep,” Blades said.

Mo and Robby did look upset. Honestly, all the kids kind of did.

“Oh,” Thrash said. Yeah, he could give this a try.

His spark felt warm. It made a steady fwoom as it contracted. The rhythm of it was soothing, the endless whiz of it spinning with regular fwooms predictable and grounding…

How long were they doing this for?

He cracked open one eye and saw Chase watching him. The Rescue Bot raised an optical ridge, and Thrash sheepishly closed his eye and focused on his spark again.

“You’re all doing very good,” Boulder said. “Be calm, be present.”

It was kind of nice. The world faded away, and it was just Thrash and his spark spinning endlessly…

“Alright,” Boulder said. “Come back to us. Open your eyes.”

Thrash did and was surprised to find it was morning. Mom and Dad were already gone, and Mo and Robby were just starting to wake up. Chase wasn’t there, but that was normal. He usually left pretty early in the morning.

“You guys did really well!” Blades beamed. Bumblebee was slumped against him, dead to the world, mouth open slightly. Hashtag giggled and took a picture.

“How do you feel?” Boulder asked.

“Better,” Twitch said. “Calm. And…energized?”

The other Terrans nodded.

“Good!” Blades said. “I can send you some links so you can do it yourselves. Now, Optimus is coming to drive Twitch to the base. We’re going to make his trailer nice and comfy for her. Me and Boulder will be going with her. We have to talk with some mechs there.”

Optimus rolled into the farm a half hour later.

“How’s Dot?” Optimus asked as the Terrans, Bee, and the Rescue Bots made his trailer very comfy and secure.

“She said she wishes she could wait for you,” Boulder said.

“Oh, that’s sweet of her!”

Boulder and Blades did not mention the many threats Dot wished she had been in person to make.

“Chase says the investigation is wrapping up nicely,” Boulder said as he drove beside the Prime toward the base.

“Yes, we’ll be making our move any day now,” Optimus said. “I’m sorry Twitch got hurt, but it is convenient you were already coming to the base today.”

“Why were they already coming?” Twitch asked from inside the trailer.

“So Blades can set up a med bay,” Optimus said.

“A lot of the mechs aren’t going to want to stay there for very long,” Blades piped in from above. “So I have to make quick repairs so they are safe to move and won’t be in any danger while they wait for me to get to them later. I’ll be traveling back and forth to finish repairs on everyone.”

“Why wouldn’t they just stay together until you fix them?” Twitch asked.

“Autobots and Decepticons don’t trust each other that much yet,” Boulder said. “We’ll talk to some mechs today and ensure the plan hasn’t changed.”

“Will…will Megatron be there?” Twitch asked.

“If you’re not comfortable seeing him-” Optimus began.

“No!” Twitch said. “I…I miss him.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Boulder promised.

Soon, they were at the base, and Boulder took Twitch from the trailer, carrying her inside. Wheeljack met them a few hallways in.

“Aw, mech, that looks like it hurts,” Wheeljack said.

“We fell off our fist cliff,” Blades explained. “She got wedged in a ravine.”

Wheeljack nodded sagely. “I remember when I first drove off a cliff. Crumpled my whole front half. It wasn’t that bad, but I was convinced I was dying. I was hysterical; Ratch’ wasn’t impressed.”

“I was tackled,” Twitch said.

“Didn’t ‘Lita tackle you off a cliff?” Wheeljack asked Optimus.

Optimus nodded. “She takes Lob Ball very seriously.”

“Why don’t you tell Twitch about it?” Blades suggested as Boulder handed Twitch to the Prime. “You and Wheeljack go look for some crutches. We’ll go talk to mechs.”

Optimus caught on quickly and winked at them, he and Wheeljack moving briskly toward the lab.

Boulder turned to Blades. “Think Megatron’s in the training room?”

Blades turned somber. “No. He’s not angry at anyone but himself. He’ll be moping.”

“And avoiding Starscream,” Boulder said. “But Starscream won’t let him out of his sights. His old room, probably. The one with the two-way mirror. Think we can get away with making it opaque?”

“Us?” Blades said. “No. But Elita might.” He pinched his nasal ridge. “I’m mad at him too. Kids don’t get this sort of thing. They always think it’s their fault when people leave. He’s a big mech, but this is important!”

Boulder put a hand on his shoulder. “He’ll listen. He might yell, though.”

“I hope he does,” Blades admitted. “I’ll hate it, but…I don’t want the fire to go out.”

Boulder smiled. “Heatwave will be back soon. He’ll get Megatron roaring again. Good-naturedly even!”

“Not if we don’t fix a certain something,” Blades pointed out, waggling a finger, all serious. The helicopter sighed. “No point waiting. Let’s go.”

Megatron was indeed in his old room. It was more of a glorified cell. It looked cozy enough, but it was on the floor, with several walkways above it where even a Transformer could look down on the great Decepticon leader. Which was what Starscream was currently doing.

He was pacing back and forth on the walkway, optics never leaving Megatron. At least the two-way mirror was gone. But it was clear the Seeker’s presence was grating on Megatron.

Boulder could imagine how Megatron ended up back in his old room. The base didn’t exactly have rooms for the Decepticons who were helping with the rescue efforts. Starscream would have fussed about the cells, and well, if he had to stay in them, so did Megatron.

Starscream stopped pacing when he spotted Boulder and Blades.

“Ah, gentlemechs,” he said. “What brings you here?”

“We are setting up the med bay,” Boulder said. “We wanted to make sure the plans for treatment and the locations mecha are being moved to after hasn’t changed.”

“Of course not,” Starscream said. “We have the utmost respect for your integrity.” His gaze flicked to Blades. “And you’re sure our other project can wait?”

Blades’ gaze softened. “I really appreciate how patient you’ve been, Starscream. But if our theory is indeed correct, and your friend survived the initial couple of weeks after the pulse, the cold will have put him into a proper stasis. He’ll hold steady for years. We won’t stop looking once everyone from Bot Brawl is in the clear.”

Starscream nodded, smiling. “Thank you.” He glanced down at Megatron, smirking. “Here to see the Slagmaker? I’m afraid he’s not as impressive as he used to be.”

Blades flared his rotors. “I think he’s far more impressive than he’s ever been, Starscream.”

Starscream startled. “You know him?”

“He’s my friend ,” Blades said.

“Our friend,” Boulder said.

Starscream gave a surprised laugh. Megatron’s gaze flicked up at him, glaring. He smirked as Starscream froze. There was no winning move here. Implying the thought of Megatron mingling with Rescue Bots was outlandish would insult the capability of his only true support. It would imply that the Rescue Bots’ strength, ability to defend others and themselves, or their judgment of character were flawed: things Starscream was currently relying on.

Starscream coughed. “How fortunate for him.” He turned back to Megatron, leering. “Still, moping is hardly befitting behavior for a Decepticon.”

“No, it isn’t,” Blades agreed, and Megatron gaped at him.

“Remorse has its place,” Boulder added. “But self-pity doesn’t help anyone.”

Megatron reared back in his chair, fire raging in his optics. A grin split Starscream’s face, and his wings perked up. He leaned forward as Blades and Boulder made their way to Megatron.

Blades stood in front of Megatron, just outside of the open cell. He planted his hands on his hips.

“You’re being lamesauce,” Blades said.

Starscream positively crowed.

“Twitch misses you,” Boulder said.

That doused the flames. Megatron looked away. Blades pursed his lips.

“All the kids miss you,” Boulder added.

“She wants to see you,” Blades pressed.

“She is a child,” Megatron said. “She does not know what is good for her.”

Starscream wished he had some energon goodies. The old slagger had a point.

“Yeah, but her mom has a pretty good idea what is,” Blades said. “And I know Dot has been telling you to come home since day one.”

Megatron stood. “You told me not to repeat my mistakes-”

“Yeah, and not make stupid new ones!” Blades said. “You also have to take responsibility for what you did and do better. Which means actually doing something, Megatron. Not sitting in your room and moping. You. Are. Being. Lamesauce.”

Skywarp is going to be mad she missed this, Starscream thought.

“Alright, medic,” Megatron growled. “Tell me how I’m going to fix nearly killing her and her brother!”

Starscream yelped as someone pinched his wing. He turned to see Elita-One.

“What was that for?” he said.

“You’ve seen enough,” Elita said.

“But it’s just getting juicy!” Starscream said.

Elita crossed her arms. “Scram, Screamer. You wanna mess this up for Hashtag?”

Starscream turned away. “She’d be better off without him,” he muttered.

“Many people would say the same about you,” Elita said. “Let’s go.”

Starscream went with great reluctance and grumbling.

Down below, Blades softened.

“Megatron,” he said. “That wasn’t your fault.”

Megatron’s engine growled.

“Twitch knows that,” Blades pressed. “Just like she knows the fight in Philadelphia wasn’t Hashtag’s fault. And Optimus and the others fought Jawbreaker, Hashtag, and Nightshade, and the kids are happy to see them.”

Megatron wouldn’t meet his gaze. “She was scared of me.”

“She was scared, yes,” Boulder agreed. “But not of you. Of what Mandroid was making you do. She was scared of dying and scared of losing you.

“If you wouldn’t blame anyone else, why blame yourself?”

“Because no one else came close to killing a child!” Megatron snarled. “She didn’t stare down their fusion canon!”

Blades wiped his eyes. “There was a time you wouldn’t have cared if a kid was scared of you,” he said with a smile.

Megatron stuttered, anger replaced with shock.

“And that’s how we know you’d never intentionally hurt Twitch,” Blades continued. 

“She needs you,” Boulder said. “Losing everyone like that, no matter how briefly, shook her. She gets to see her parents and siblings every day. Gets to see they’re not gone. But you…”

“Don’t let Mandroid take her grandpa from her,” Blades pleaded.

“Megatron?”

Megatron looked up to see Twitch watching him from Optimus’ arms. There were tears in her optics. She was hurt, but Dot had texted him she’d fallen last night. She looked so…small. Vulnerable. Sad.

But also hopeful.

“Megatron?” she asked again.

He couldn’t meet her eyes.

She gasped sharply, a precursor to tears he knew. He turned away.

“Megatron!” she cried in unison with the Rescue Bots.

A comm opened from Starscream, full of dangerously snarling Seeker.

“Don’t you dare turn your back on her like you turned on us.”

Megatron straightened. He turned to face Twitch. He couldn’t look at her. Not yet.

“Little bird, I am so sorry-”

Megatron could practically hear the eye roll. “Look up, idiot,” Starscream said.

Twitch was holding out her arms to him.

He quickly crossed the distance to take her in his arms. He held her close, cradling her right over his spark. She clung to him.

Blades and Optimus exchanged fist bumps.

“Maybe next time, wait until he’s agreed to see her,” Blades scolded quietly. “Dot doesn’t like it when you traumatize her kids.”

Optimus stiffened. “Was it that bad?” he whispered badly.

“It would have been if he’d walked away,” Boulder said. “But we forgive you.”

“The Matrix…” Optimus said.

Blades brightened. “Oh, well, that certainly does help. Won’t save you from Dot, though.”

Megatron carried Twitch to the common room, laying down on the couch, leaning against the arm.

“Dear one…” he began.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Twitch said. “Please, Megatron, I missed you!”

“And I you, little bird.” He brought up a hand and gently rested it on her back. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Twitch pressed in even closer. “I know. Please come home.”

Megatron rubbed his thumb up and down soothingly. “Once I’ve helped Heatwave free our comrades, I will come visit. I promise.”

“Don’t go,” Twitch said. “Can we just be still?”

Megatron nodded, throat tight. Twitch meditated to the sound of his spark, being still, being present. She heard all the sounds of him being alive and found peace in them. He was still here. Mandroid hadn’t taken him. She rested there, eyes closed, safe.

Megatron fell into recharge with her on his chest.

No one was allowed to disturb them. Blades had never looked scarier. Even Skywarp wasn’t going to risk it. But Dot did get some good pictures when she came to deliver the good news.

“We’re taking down Bot Brawl tonight.”

Chapter Text

There would be no meditating tonight.

Bumblebee had more energy than the Terrans. He was pacing up and down the driveway. Dot sat up with him. The Rescue Bots were all gone, off doing their jobs. Bee had been kindly reminded his job was babysitting.

Well, not babysitting.

“Optimus trusts you to care for the Terrans’ spark and frame,” Blades had told him after dropping off Twitch. “He trusts you to keep secrets. He trusts you to be their hero first and his soldier second. Congrats on the promotion!”

It had helped. But it also made being a mentor a lot more scary. Hopefully there’d be time to talk to Chief after the mission.

Which brought him right back to worrying.

The Terrans watched him pace. Twitch had already filled them in on her adventure, Megatron turning away forgotten in her joy that he was coming back to them. The only bummer was still no crutches.

Mo and Robby were supposed to be asleep, but they were watching Bee too from their bedroom windows.

It was two a.m. when Nightshade's sensors picked up two Cybertronians walking toward the farm.

Heatwave looked like slag Unicron ate for breakfast. He was more gray than red, and he was limping. But he was grinning like he won the Cybertronian Grand Prix. But it was the mech who had his arm slung over Heatwave’s shoulder, limping along just as badly, that had Bee’s attention.

“Jazz?”

“Heya, Bee! Long time no see.” Jazz was grinning. He was leaking Energon, his white more of a dirty gray smeared with paint transfers. But his visor was blue, not mangled beyond use like when he died.

And Jazz was dead. Bee checked. He was almost there for it. (How he wished he’d been there for it.)

Jazz frowned. “You alright, mech?”

“Are you real?”

Jazz laughed, not unkindly. “Come over and see fer yourself!”

Bee unfroze at that, slinging Jazz’s other arm over his shoulder and helping him to the barn. His HUD informed him he was starting to overheat, and he could feel tears prickling in the corners of his optics.

“Bit overwhelmin’, yeah?” Jazz said.

Bee nodded, throat too tight for words. He wanted to hug Jazz, press helms together, do something to comfort and be comforted. But Jazz was a mess, and Bee didn’t think he could take it if he caused the Porsche any pain tonight.

Jazz’s energy was lagging. His head was sagging, and he stumbled a few times.

“Kids,” Bee said. “Can you make a real comfy spot for Jazz and Heatwave tonight?”

The Terrans, minus Twitch, scrambled into action, disappearing into the dugout. It was a testament to how tired Heatwave and Jazz were that they just now noticed them.

“Aren’t they cute!” Jazz gushed.

Twitch blushed. “Are you two okay?” she asked.

“We’ll be fine,” Heatwave said.

“Why are you here?” Bumblebee blurted out. “Shouldn’t Blades be fixing you up?”

“He will be later,” Jazz said. “Op said you were here and well…” Jazz’s voice broke. “I missed you.” Jazz forced cheer back into his voice. “And I have to convince Dot that jazz is cool!”

Bumblebee stopped and turned to face Jazz.

“Jazz,” he said. “It’s okay if you’re not okay.”

Heatwave’s engine purred as he nodded his agreement, rubbing Jazz’s back.

Jazz’s shoulders sagged, but his smile was genuine. “Ditto, Bee.”

“Jazz, I’m serious,” Bee said.

Jazz ducked his head. “I know, Bee. I know. Just…old habits.”

“Which is why Optimus sent you to the farm,” Heatwave said as they started moving toward the barn again. “Nothing like a bunch of kids being disappointed in you to make you take care of yourself.”

Jazz groaned. “I ain't a basketcase.”

“No, you aren’t,” Dot said, leaving the house and hurrying over. Bee noted she hadn’t changed out of her work clothes. “You’ve just had to worry about everyone else for too long. Let’s get you inside. Twitch, we’ll be right back for you, honey.”

The Terrans had built quite the nest for them. Bee helped Heatwave and Jazz ease into it before bringing Twitch inside. Then he slipped in next to Jazz. 

The reality of it hit him. He curled up on his side and let the tears fall. He gently took Jazz’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

“I missed you,” he told Jazz.

“Me too,” Jazz said. “I didn’t mean to leave you all-”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Bee-”

“Please, Jazz. Just let us take care of you.”

Jazz craned his neck. “Where’s Dot?”

“Sitting in front of the barn with a rifle in her hands,” Bee said. “Now relax.”

Jawbreaker peered over them nervously. “Do you want snuggles?” he asked. “Snuggles always make me feel better.”

“Sure, kiddo,” Jazz said. “That’s very sweet of you.”

“Good idea,” Bee said. “Maltobots, cuddle pile!”

The kids piled in carefully. Soon, their warmth was seeping into Bee’s plating. 

“Mission’s over, you two,” Heatwave whispered. “Me and Dot will keep an eye on things. Time to let go.”

With one more peek to ensure the kids had their optics closed, Bee gently took Jazz into his arms and cried.

Jazz began to shake, and Bee felt something drip onto his armor. Jazz grabbed onto the top of Bee’s chestplating for dear life, and pulled in close. Bee gently rubbed his back.

“You’re back,” Bee choked out.

“I’m back,” Jazz said with equal disbelief. “I’m back.”

The two soldiers held each other, old friends reunited and cried their grief and joy until they fell asleep.

As soon as he was certain nothing short of Unicron would wake them, Heatwave said, “None of you are asleep.”

“Thank you for bringing Jazz home,” Twitch said.

“Eh, it was nothing,” Heatwave said. “Just doing my job.”

“Did you kick aft and take names?” Thrash asked.

Heatwave laughed. “Not really. It was more sparring than anything. Had to make it look good, but I didn’t want to hurt anybody.”

“But you could have,” Thrash said.

“Maybe,” Heatwave said.

“Why was Bee so surprised to see Jazz?” Twitch asked.

“Because he was dead not that long ago,” Heatwave said. “But this big wave of green light healed him and brought him back. We think it brought all of our dead back. Too bad he woke up in the G.H.O.S.T morgue and got knocked right out and thrown into Bot Brawl.”

“Did they mind control him?” Hashtag asked.

“No,” Heatwave said. “They only had so many of those badges, so they stuck them on the real heavy hitters. Used those bots to keep us from escaping. Boulder, Wheeljack, and Shockwave had to build a device to turn the badges off.”

“Was it hard coordinating the escape?” Nightshade asked.

“It was hard keeping everyone alive,” Heatwave said. “Jazz was awesome, but most Decepticons thought they’d rather die than trust him. Getting everyone to work together was the hardest part. Cliffjumper kept trying to pick fights with the Decepticons, and he wasn’t the only Autobot looking for a reason to kill. Not that the Decepticons were being saints either.”

“Did it help that you were not a part of either side?” Nightshade asked.

“Eh,” Heatwave said. “It helped that I hadn’t fought in the war, so I hadn’t killed anyone’s friends. So the Decepticons didn’t hate me. But I had had all my friends killed and gotten over it so I could help other Autobots deal with being in the same room as the guy who killed their pals.”

“Who killed your friends?” Hashtag asked. “Oh, right. Megatron. Yeah, I can see how that would have been useful.”

“I did think I was going to be doing a lot more fighting,” Heatwave said. “But a lot of it was the emotional stuff, and the first aid Blades taught us.”

Thrash sighed. “I guess Mom is right. Being a hero is more about being kind than fighting.”

“But sometimes knowing how to fight helps,” Twitch said.

Heatwave turned to look at Jazz. “Sometimes being a hero is fighting. Takes a really big spark to survive what being a soldier does to you. Your mom, Bee, Jazz, Optimus, they’re all heroes too.”

“But maybe that’s not the kind of hero we need to be,” Hashtag said.

Heatwave smiled. “Yeah.”

“Hey, my mechs, could I get a medic?” Jazz said over the comms.

“Don’t you have the Allspark?” someone asked.

“Passed it off to Bee,” Jazz said. “Can’t exactly run with no legs.”

Dot winced as she continued to make her way to the Spacebridge.

“The Allspark takes priority,” the same stuffy someone repeated.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jazz said. “I know that. Just, if somebody could come patch me up, I’d be real appreciative.”

Jazz’s voice sounded tight. Dot didn’t have time to worry about it. She’d been spotted by Frenzy. A dozen minutes later, Frenzy was unconscious and sparking, and Dot was moving forward with a limp.

“ETA on that medic?” Jazz commed.

“This line is for coordinating ground forces,” someone scolded. “Try the medical line.”

“I did,” Jazz said. “Nobody picked up.”

Dot watched as the Spacebrdige winked out of existence. The ground shook, and a shockwave swept her off her feet. Her comm died with a crackle. She got up and started running toward the explosion.

She ran maybe a dozen yards when she heard the voice.

“MAYDAY!”

It wasn’t wise to shout your distress like that in an active battle, so they must have been desperate.

“MEDIC!”

The voice was coming ahead of her. It didn’t sound that far off. Dot changed course to head toward it. The voice kept calling mayday.

As Dot drew closer, the voice became louder than any human could produce. But if the voice belonged to a Transformer, and they were shouting at full volume, she was still a far way off.

“ANYONE OUT THERE?”

Dot’s stomach did a flip. That sounded like Jazz.

“HELLO? ANYBOT OUT THERE?” Jazz’s voice was crackling.

“Coming!” Dot shouted. “Hold on, soldier.”

“Medic!” Jazz was still shouting, but it was quieter, his voice getting weaker.

Dot pushed herself harder. “Keep talking!” she shouted.

The silence seemed to last forever.

“Mayday!” Jazz said, and Dot quickly readjusted course.

They continued their twisted game of Marco Polo, Jazz’s voice growing weaker each time. At last, Dot caught sight of spilt Energon and followed it.

She found Jazz leaning against a tree. His legs were gone mid thigh, steadily gushing Energon. His fingers twitched helplessly at his sides. The sides of his head were leaking and his visor was completely destroyed.

“Please,” he said. “Come on, guys. Don’t leave me.”

“I’m here!” Dot shouted.

Jazz didn’t react.

Dot ran to his side, desperately trying to tie off Energon lines like Ratchet showed her. Her hands kept slipping.

“Hang on, Jazz,” Dot said. “I’m here. You’re going to be alright.”

Jazz’s voice hitched. “Please…somebody find me. I don’t wanna die. Come on…”

“Jazz,” Dot said. “Can you hear me?”

No response.

Jazz’s plating was turning gray. Dot had seen enough Transformers die to know the signs. She couldn’t do enough and she wouldn’t be able to find someone who could in time.

Sometimes, all you could do was be there for someone.

Dot scaled Jazz’s frame until she was close enough to touch his face. She placed a hand on each cheek. Jazz didn’t react to her touch, just kept up his frantic rambling for help. He was probably too far gone and in too much pain to feel anything else.

Dot cried as she hugged him as best she could. He was deaf and blind; the comms had been his only way of communication and those were gone now too.

“You should have told us you were dying,” Dot said. Selfless to the end.

Jazz was in full panic now. He was speaking in Cybertronian, but Dot understood the tone well enough. She stayed as his voice died and his frame went fully gray. She stayed until Bumblebee showed up.

He burst into the small clearing. “Jazz, I’m back!”

Dot looked up at him, and Bee froze.

It took Bee a few minutes to stagger to the tree. Jazz’s face was frozen in terror. With shaking hands, Bee rearranged it to look more peaceful.

It felt wrong. But Dot knew Jazz wouldn’t want others seeing him like this. Bad enough that his death was going to lower morale. It was better for the others to think he’d been at peace.

Bee held out a hand and helped Dot down, and for the first time, she feared he would drop her. She hugged Bee’s leg.

Giant tears fell around her.

“Did we win?” she asked.

“The Allspark is gone…But we didn’t lose.”

Returning to the Allspark was the bots’ version of heaven. With it gone…

“You shouldn’t be alone,” Dot said. “You got someone you can be with?”

Bee laughed harshly. “Yeah. Jazz.”

“The others-?”

“We just lost the Allspark,” Bee said. “We just lost Jazz. I can’t- they need…”

“You need support, too,” Dot insisted. “Promise me you’ll find someone to be with you tonight. You need a friend.”

Bee fell to his knees. “I can’t do this. If I’d been faster, given the Allspark to someone else-”

“Stop it,” Dot ordered. “Bee, you need to go. Send Optimus.”

Bee nodded. “I’ll set a beacon. Tell Optimus I’m going to Griffin Rock. I…I need…”

“Go,” Dot said. “Come back when you’re ready.”

Dot woke up.

She’d been having that dream more often. The Battle of the Spacebridge had nearly destroyed the Autobots. Earth was saved, yes. But the Transformers had lost everything. They didn’t even know if their afterlife still existed, making mourning their many dead even harder.

No one but Bee and Dot knew Jazz hadn’t died at peace. Sitting through the eulogy where Optimus said Jazz had been at peace, she felt like such a liar.

And now Jazz was back.

Dot got dressed and headed outside. She found Jazz leaning against the barn, basking in the sun. She headed toward him, pausing to give Alex a kiss as he stood guard.

“Hey,” she said.

Jazz’s visor flicked on. “Nice to meet you, Dot.”

“You doing okay?”

“Hmmm, doing better. Real cute kids you got.”

“Thank you.”

“Heatwave says the war’s over.”

“It is.”

“Lots of folks say it sure doesn’t look that way, with Bot Brawl and all.” Jazz turned his head to look at her better, and Dot took in his many injuries. “I might have heard from Screamer there’s still some fighting goin on. Fighting your kids keep getting caught in. That’s got to be rough.”

Dot sat down next to Jazz. “They’re too young to be soldiers.”

“They aren’t,” Jazz said. “I know it doesn’t look that way. It feels like you went through the Pit just for them to go through it again. But the healing arc is always full of trials. The hurt’s supposed to be over, but scrap still keeps happening. When we give up on it getting better, that’s when the war starts again.”

“I know it’s getting better,” Dot said. “But G.H.O.S.T, Mandroid, those things aren’t supposed to happen to kids.”

Someone laughed, and Dot turned to see Heatwave leaning against the barn.

He held up his hands. “Wasn’t eavesdropping. But alien invasions, nearly being melted by lava, being held hostage so a guy can hunt dinosaurs, and nearly dying in the Arctic are also things that aren’t supposed to happen to kids. But they do, and Cody and Frankie turned out fine.”

Dot smiled. “I suppose they did.”

“Skywarp saved my life yesterday,” Jazz said. “If that ain't proof things are changing, I don’t know what is.

“Awful things happen, Dot. But it’s not war. Your kids are going to grow up to be heroes. But they get to choose what kind.”

Dot watched as Hashtag emerged from the barn, blankets piled high in her arms. Nightshade was carrying Twitch, who was, in turn, carrying pillows. Thrash also had pillows in his good arm, and Jawbreaker was bringing out Bee’s crate of Energon patches. 

It was a sight that filled her with love and hope. She smiled as Twitch caught sight of them and waved.

“They’ll be heroes as long as they are kind,” Dot said with pride.