Remembering How To Be

“Who’s my sire?” Terricola looked up at his carrier, kicking his small legs under his seat.

 

They were sat on the edge of the colony’s energon farm, watching his siblings work. His clutchmates were already back inside their habsuit, but he was happy to hang out outside for a little while longer. Megaceras and Pentodon, two of his younger half siblings, were on the other side of the field, sitting with their sire, Megawing. Most of the bots around were his siblings or his sibling’s sires. That’s why his carrier was the leader of the colony.

 

“Well, I’m not sure.” His carrier answered honestly. “I think he was a bot from another colony.”

 

“Oh,” Terricola nodded, “Is he Hypnorum and Monticola’s sire too?”

 

“Pfft, yes, they’re your clutchmates.” She laughed, “That means you have the same sire and carrier.”

 

“Oh.” Terrcola thought for a second. “If you don’t know where my sire is, does that mean I’ll never meet him?”

 

“Well, I wouldn’t say never,” She leaned down to kiss his helm, “maybe one day.”

 

 

*

 

“Terricola!” One of his siblings yelled at him from the edge of the field. “Get your clutch, she’s emerging!”

 

“Slag,” He hissed, dropping his tools where he was and apologizing to the bots around him for leaving early.

 

“Don’t even worry about it, bug,” The older bot pat his shoulders on his way out, “Just go help your carrier!”

 

He ran away, deeper into the fields until he found Monticola, packing energon to be refined. He looked happy enough to be working away, energon dust scattered around his servos and front plating. He barely looked up when Terricola came over, at least, until he noticed how heavily he was venting.

 

“Cola-?”

 

“She’s emerging!”

 

Monticola dropped what he was doing and came with him to find Hypnorum.

 

They searched the fields and the storage buildings before looking through Hypnorum’s usual haunts. The sparkling nursery, the new arrivals tents, Tearaway’s bar. They finally found her down at the docks, working on her beat up secondhand ship.

 

“Hypnorum!” They both called for her, leaning down to see her peds sticking out from under her ship.

 

She rolled out, looking up at them. Her plating was covered in oil and metal shavings.

 

“What’s the matter with you two?”

 

“Carrier’s emerging and it’s our turn to help.” Cola huffed.

 

“Well slag, come on then!”

 

Hypnorum hopped out from under her ship and wiped roughly at her plating with a towel, barely getting the black staining off of her white servos. Together they ran across the colony, to the medbay where their carrier was laid out, mid emergence, cycling rapidly.

 

“You know, emergence is a miracle of life,” their carrier said, when they came into the room, cleaning themselves in the medbay sinks. “but it really doesn’t get easier.”

 

“That’s why you have a whole colony ready to help you, Grubwrangler.” The medic, Gearbox, said, patting her lightly on her extended midsection. “I think this is going to be a good emergence.”

 

“Here’s hoping,” Terricola whispered to his clutchmates, “That’s at least three in there.”

 

“I heard that Terri-AAUGH.” His carrier’s chastisement turned into a shout. “You three, get in here!”

 

And suddenly, all hands were on deck. Hypnorum got the easy job of holding their carrier’s hands while she squeezed and screamed, while Monticola and Terricola were on pupae catching duty.

 

There were five in all, not quite the record for their carrier’s largest clutches, but nothing to exvent at either. The pupae were smaller than typical, but that was to be expected with multiples, each coming out with a dark red-black colouring and the squishy, soft protomatter of newsparks who hadn’t developed their armour or helms yet, sparks on full display. Cute, but very scary to hold in your arms. Each pupae had a small set of antenae twitching gently as they looked around themselves with big orange eyes.

 

“Someone call in Treadlock, these are definitely his sparklings.” Gearbox said when it was all over.

 

“I’ve already chosen names.” Their carrier said, as if she hadn’t heard anything at all, pointing out the pupae as she spoke. “Insularis, Robusta, Silvai, Hystrix and Nobilis.”

 

“They’re nice names,” Terricola said, looking down at Hystrix and Silvai in his arms. “Fitting.”

 

Their carrier smiled at him, and promptly fell into recharge.

 

*

 

“Terri, please, just think this over!” His carrier called through his habsuit door.

 

“I have thought about it!” Terricola called back, shoving the last of his things into his subspace, “And I’m going.”

 

“You could just join the autobots, you don’t need to- to- do this to yourself!” She cried, tugging at his spark, “They’re warmongers! That’s all they are! Whats the difference between them and their enemies!?”

 

“I’m not just taking in propaganda! I know what they’ve done and what they want, but I can help make it better!” He insists, venting deeply before opening the door. “I can be better, the best even! Imagine it. Me, in the Elite Guard, on Cybertron. Making things better. Protecting people, being a hero.”

 

“But… you’re my bitlet.” His carrier looked down at him, moving forward to hold onto his shoulders. “You’ll always be my little bit. I love you and I don’t want to see you hurt.” He reached out for his servos, bringing them up between them. “They’re already changing you. You’ve never onlined your weapons systems before.”

 

“They’re not gonna take a pacifist into the Elite Guard,” He shrugged.

 

“Then that’s their problem, not yours.”

 

“Carrier.” He looked up at her, “I’m not like Monticola, I can’t stay in this colony my whole fuction. I’m joining the Elite Guard.”

 

*

 

“I am so Elite Guard material,” He said, looking up at Ultra Magnus, the Ultra Magnus’ face on the bulletin.

 

“In your dreams, sub compact,” He heard a voice from behind him, oddly familiar, “You won’t even meet the height requirement.”

 

He turns to snark right back, only for the familiar voice to be attatched to a familiar face.

 

“wel- Chrysis?” He stepped closer to the other bot. “Holy Well, Carrier didn’t say someone else was joining up! Where’s Chrysura?”

 

Chysis, part of a two bot clutch emerged just a few stellar cycles before him! His own half sibling, right there at bootcamp with him. He rushed over to hug him, but was stopped dead by a stinger in front of his face, just like his own.

 

“Slaggit, Terricola.” He hissed, “No previous designations at bootcamp. Are you really that excited to get kicked out?”

 

“Oh come on, Chryssy,” He teased, holding his arm and lowering it away from his face. “At least tell me how you convinced carrier to let you go, it took me a decacycle just to calm her down after I unlocked my weapons systems!”

 

“yeah, well, you wasted that decacycle,” Chrysis pulled fully away. “You think I asked to enlist? What are you, a neophyte? You won’t last a cycle here.”

 

“Hey, we came from the same colony and you’re not exactly a luxury shuttle yourself!”

 

“It’s not where you’re from, stupid. It’s who you know.”

 

“Well, who exactly should I know?”

 

“Not you.”

 

*

 

Chrysis was smooth and assured in front of their commanding officer, Terricola made a fool of himself. Chrysis made friends and laughed with them in the canteen, Terricola got stuck with another energon farmer. Chrysis was basically assured to make the Elite Guard, Terricola was lucky to have made it that far. Chrysis became Wasp, Terricola became Bumblebee.

 

Wasp started acting suspicious, Bumblebee found a Decepticon spy.

 

Wasp got found with a Decepticon communicator, Bumblebee was on his way into the Elite Guard.

 

Wasp got arrested, Bumblebee gave up the Elite Guard to save his friend.

 

And now, Bumblebee is a spacebridge repair bot.

 

*

 

“Where were you forged, kid?” The medic on the repair crew asked him during their down time, a couple cubes of energon sitting between them.

 

“Oh, I wasn’t forged,” Bumblebee said without really thinking about it. He’d been idly engaging and unengaging his weapons systems since he’d sat down, bored out of his mind.

 

“Emerged, then.” The medic waved a hand like it doesn’t matter either way.

 

“Oh uh,” Bumblebee stopped for a second, actually thinking about the answer. “I’m not sure. A colony just outside of the commonwealth, but not quite to the empire. I took the shuttle in from Talos IV.”

 

“Talos IV? That’s a neutral planet, isn’t it?” The medic says it with a sneer, a tone that catches Bumblebee fully off guard.

 

“Yeah? So what?”

 

“So, it’s a damn shame if a bot like you comes from a bunch of NAILs.” He says the word like it’s a curse. “We didn’t fight those Decepticon bastards for Cybertron’s freedom just so a bunch of hippy civilians could spit on everything we sacrificed.”

 

For once, bumblebee didn’t have anything to say. He finished his energon and went to his berth, passing by the weird, quiet cyberninja on his way. Who knows what that bot’s thinking?

 

*

 

Earth is a whole new planet to get lost on. He thought exploring space while repairing space bridges was cool, but this was like going to Cybertron for the first time only better. A whole new world with new people and species and cultures and they all thought he was a hero. It was everything he ever dreamed of being.

 

He even got to fight Decepticons! Real life Decepticons that were just as nasty as most of the Autobots propaganda said! It was terrifying, but so thrilling. Once he found the time (if he ever found the time), he would love to tell his clutchmates just how far he’d come, how he wasn’t an elite guard bootcamp failure of a repair bridge technician. He was a hero on another planet, saving the native species on the daily from the wicked ‘cons.

 

“what’s Cybertron like?” Sari asked him for the eleventh time this week.

 

He doesn't have much experience on Cybertron, not like the rest of the crew do, but he makes something up anyway. Tells her about the gleaming cities, the bustling streets, the giant halls the Autobot council sits in and the massive libraries he’s never seen. He doesn’t tell her about any of the old, empty gladiatorial rings rotting in far off cities, or the charred remains of Vos and Kaon. He doesn’t tell her about the anti-decepticon propaganda that lines the streets or the Syk sellers in half the alley ways.

 

He tells her about his memories sneaking out of bootcamp with Longarm, seeing the sights and wandering the streets like he dreamed of when he was younger.

 

He told her all the good things about Cybertron, just like she showed him all the good things on earth.

 

*

 

“So, uh…” Bumblebee said, trying to lighten the mood, “you come here often?”

 

“Do I often get myself trapped under piles of rubble with annoying little Autobot bugs?” Blitzwing looked down at him, optic narrowing. “No, I can’t say I do.”

 

they’re stuck under a good couple tons of rubble, a cave in from a high speed chase through an unstable tunnel in some mountain they thought might be holding the Decepticon base. Blitzwing’s frame is the only thing holding up the ceiling of the used-to-be-a-cave and stopping bee from being crushed.

 

“yeah, well, I don’t make a habit of getting stuck underground with ‘cons either,” He huffs. He’s been stuck under rubble on the energon farm before, albeit not nearly this much, and made it out just fine. He had Hypnorum with him to help dig, though. And he wasn’t stuck with an enemy at the time. So maybe it really wasn't the same, but a mech could hope. If he could just find some opening or something…

 

“And the name’s Bumblebee, Blitzbrain.”

 

“Bumblebee? As in the earth insect?” Blitzwing frowned. “You are not disproving my point.”

 

“It wasn’t- that is… It was my military designation.” He says ignoring the part where the name itself was an insult. He’d never tell that to an enemy.

 

“You, in the military?” The Decepticon visibly sizes him up. “I can’t see it.”

 

“Well that's on you, huh.” Bee said. “Because I was in the military. Took me two stellarcycles to make it through mandatory entrance training, then another two in elite guard bootcamp.”

 

“Oh, what a stunning military history.” Blitzwing said, mockingly. “So why aren’t you with the elite guard now?”

 

“I… I gave it up. What do you care?”

 

“I don’t.”

 

“Well what about you, Bigshot? Who are you to make fun?” Bumblebee grumbled.

 

Blitzwing looked at him, frankly, like he was an idiot.

 

“I’ve been an active member of the Decepticon army for millions of stellarcycles. Forgive me if I don’t put much weight behind your four stellarcycle service during peacetime.”

 

And if that didn’t dampen an already bad mood. A bad mood, sure, but Bumblebee wasn’t just stuck with Blitzwing, Blitzwing was stuck with bumblebee. And there wasn’t much to do other than talk.

 

“So. Blitzwing. Is that your military designation?” He asked without really thinking about it.

 

“Are you going to talk through this whole ordeal?” Blitzwing asked right back.

 

“Nothing better to do, so….”

 

A long, suffering exvent.

 

“It is. My original designation was Blitzwehren.” He said finally.

 

“Oh, uh, cool.” Bumblebee nodded as much as he could in the tight space. “Mine’s Terricola.”

 

*

 

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Bumblebee laughed painfully.

 

Above him, Blitzwing was standing impossibly tall compared to Bee’s place laid out and frozen on the ground. Professor Princess had figured out how to reverse engineer their stasis cuffs and was halfway across the city by now, stolen toys in hand.

 

“I must say, you make a tempting view,” Icy raised a brow before his face switched to Random, “What I could do with a frozen Autobot!”

 

“Yeah, don’t sound too excited about it,” Bumblebee rolled his eyes. “mind giving me a hand?”

 

He didn’t really expect any help, to be honest. A blaster to the face, a kick down the street, something like that. Something petty and mean and alltogether Decepticon to do to a tied up enemy. He really didn’t expect it when Blitzwing leaned down and pinched the cuffs between his fingers, smashing them with surprisingly little force.

 

It took him a second, but Bumblebee sat up, rubbing his wrists. Blitzwing… helped him.

 

“Huh. Thanks, blitzie.”

 

“I’d hate to see you taken down by a mere human child,” Icy said. Then Hothead, “Don’t mention it. Ever.”

 

“I’m just saying, surprised you didn’t take the opportunity to just… y’know.”

 

“You are annoying, I’ll give you that,” blitzwing said, “But we don’t have specific standing orders to kill you. It would be a waste of my time.”

 

“What, seriously?” Bee frowned. “But we kick your afts, like, weekly.”

 

“And yet you haven’t put any meaningful dents in any of Lord Megatron’s plans.”

 

“Well, I mean- That is… huh.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Well, slag. That doesn’t make me feel great.” Bumblebee said. “well, either way, thanks. Guess I owe you a barrel of oil or something.”

 

“I may just take you up on that.” Random said. “Terricola.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Bumblebee would have stung him for using his old designation, but Blitzwing was already up in the air by the time he got to his feet.

 

“What an aft…”

 

well, he was still an enemy and an asshole, but maybe Blitzwing wasn’t so bad.