Sparkling Troubles

Chapter 1

EDIT: Please note that this was written around two years ago. My writing has since changed (for the better)! Please try out the rest of the story! ...If all else fails, skip to the last chapter. :-)

THIS FIC TAKES PLACE AFTER 'DEADLOCK'

Time:

Solar cycle: 500 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 6 earth months)

Stellar cycle: 1,000 earth years (Mental aging equivalent: 1 earth year)

Talking:

"Regular talking"

Thoughts

: Comm link :

Chapter: 1

Word Count: 1,015

Main Character(s): Bumblebee, Smokescreen

Warning(s): None

Universe: Prime

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or anything to do with it. Though I wish I did.

Claimer: I own this fic. No one is allowed to use it.

PLEASE COMMENT AND VOTE AND I'LL UPDATE SOONER!

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Run. Dodge. Kick Decepticon tailpipe! Bumblebee and Smokescreen ran through the raging battlefield, using the standard kicks to defeat their foes. They lurked in the 'Con shadows, waiting until they had enough 'Cons in one place to shoot. After finishing yet another round, Smokescreen sighed.

"How come we have to do this boring stuff while the others get to actually fight?" He whined, gesturing toward the battle scene in the center of the war field, where Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, and Optimus Prime were fighting Starscream and Shockwave. Bumblebee followed Smokescreen's sigh and shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe 'cuz we're kids?"

"Ugh, I guess." They ran through a cave and, once again, found a large pack of Vehicons. They hid behind a large boulder and waited for them to come closer. Suddenly a large explosion was heard. Bumblebee whipped his helm around to look and saw that where Smokescreen was so recently sitting, was a large smoking crater. He sensed a different presence and turned to it.

Soundwave was standing behind him with his thin arm pointed toward the crater. How on Cybertron did he manage to escape the Shadow Zone? There was some sort of gun in his hand. The arm suddenly shot toward Bee and hovered in the air in front of his face. Slowly, the faceless helm turned to face him.

The last thing that Bumblebee saw before the world went black was the reflection of his own large, innocent eyes, begging for another few seconds of life.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Decepticons retreat!" Starscream bellowed through the war cries to the soldiers. Soundwave had flown up to him, transformed, and showed him a gun. After the entire armada had left, Arcee sighed.

"Well, that was odd." Bulkhead stated obviously. Optimus nodded.

"Indeed."

"But where are Bee and Smokescreen?" Arcee asked, confused. "Wouldn't they notice the entire Decepticon army just taking off like that?"

"I'll comm him." Bulkhead offered as he raised his hand to his audio receptor.

: Bee? You there? :

: bzzzzzzzzzzt :

Static was his only answer.

"Huh... no answer!" Bulkhead exclaimed, re-trying to reach the scout. Again, just static.

"Try Smokescreen," Optimus suggested. Bulkhead did so, and got the same answer: none.

"Nothin'!" He yelled, surprised. The others had become more than slightly worried in the time that it took Bulkhead to try and communicate with the younglings. In fact, they were especially worried due to the fact that the two were still younglings.

"Split and search!" Optimus shouted, though still in his commanding tone. They split to look for their missing comrades as the sun began its slow descent beyond the horizon.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After earth hours of searching, they still hadn't found anything. They were currently in a large cave, the sun almost completing its disappearance into the grassy hills beyond.

They were walking out when Arcee suddenly froze.

"What is it, Arcee?" Optimus asked.

"I.. I just... there was a... signal, like distress, but... but... ARGH!" she screamed, furious at her inability to process words. A small noise came from the back of the cave. Arcee looked up at her leader, then ran toward the sound. The mechs heard her gasp loudly. They ran back, expecting to see a Decepticon trap, but instead seeing something very different. They stood, panic-stricken, as they stared at the scene before them. Neither could speak.

Arcee was sitting on the ground. In her arms, she held Bumblebee and Smokescreen. But... they were small. Bumblebee and Smokescreen had been changed into sparklings.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"How in SPARK'S NAME did you manage to CHANGE them into SPARKLINGS?!" Ratchet bellowed at his teammates. Arcee sighed in annoyance.

"Like we said, we don't know! We found them like this!"

Ratchet had spent the entire night examining the unconscious sparklings, and had come up with no rational explanation.

The older 'bots stood in a circle in one of the Med-Bay's corners, talking about how the incident could have happened. There was a small scraping noise from the berths. Everybot turned their head. Smokescreen had sat up and was staring at them. Moments later, the mechling was raising his arms out toward Arcee. The femme rushed over and swept him into her arms, rocking him. He made the Cybertronian version of a giggle. This told her he was about a solar cycle old, as younger sparklings could not. As she cooed, the other autobots were watching in awe. Well, except for Ratchet. He was nodding his head in a knowing matter; he, too, felt a strange attachment to the sparklings.

"Uh, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked tentatively. "Why is that stone-cold femme getting all gushy with Smokescreen?"

"Yeah. And with Smokescreen?" Wheeljack added incredulously.

Ratchet sighed at their 'lack of sparkling knowledge'. "Some Cybertronians display vestigial traits believed to be an evolutionary remnant of what used to be a 'caretaker mode' that every one of our kind had."

"Oh." Bulkhead responded intelligently.

Meanwhile, Smokescreen had fallen into recharge in Arcee's arms. Ratchet walked over and, seeing him asleep, walked to his storage closet. Moments later, he was pulling a large sparkling-berth across the Med-Bay floor. Arcee gently laid Smokescreen in it. Sighing, she turned back toward the other members of her team.

"Well, that was interes-" Arcee was cut off as Bulkhead pointed to Bumblebee, whose optics were turning on. Due to his unique optic-style, he had to completely shut them off in order to recharge, and he never blinked. Arcee once again hurried over to him and cradled him. His optics were still extremely blue, but they were also extremely watery. She analyzed that he was even younger than Smokescreen, because the latter's eyes were normal. However, as she gently called his name, he didn't make a move to answer. Not even in sparkling-chatter.

"Bee?" She asked again. Once again, his optics didn't move in the sign that he had heard her speaking.

"Ratchet?" She called over the medic. He looked at her, slightly worried.

"What is it?"

Arcee pointed to Bumblebee, who was still staring at the same spot in the Med-Bay. "He's not answering. Not even acknowledging me."

Ratchet performed a scan on the scout's helm and frowned. Grabbing Bumblebee, he hurried over to another berth and placed stasis ports on the tiny bot's chassis.

"He's deaf!"