Transformers - Thoughts of the Future

Ironhide opened an empty hanger, "Hurry Prime, Arcee, Hot Rod, the storm is about to hit."

Arcee raced in and transformed, "Ugh! I hate it when Energon freezes over. I don't know how humans handle this weather. They don't have internal heaters."

Optimus transformed after entering, "Indeed, it is quite the miracle, how humans survived for so long considering how harsh their home planet is."

Ironhide grumbled, "Understatement of the megavorn. I prefer Cybertron to this cold planet even though it's barren and not habitable now."

Hot Rod helped Ironhide close the door, "Awww, don't be like that. The summers are awesome you know?"

Arcee teased, "I understand Ironhide, but Tailgate mentioned this planet grows on you. So I wonder."

Optimus chuckled as Ironhide grunted an answer back at her, he had noticed ever since Arcee had reunited with her brother, she had become more open. The femme when told Tailgate was coming to meet them had been very reluctant to actually meet her younger sibling. She feared what he might have thought of her, now that she was broken in so many ways by Shockwave. She had refused to look up when Tailgate and Cyclonus arrived only to jolt in surprise when her younger sibling hugged her. The human kids seeing it had decided it was an intimate moment between siblings and they should have some privacy.

Optimus remembered he and his soldiers had agreed with the children's idea and left Arcee and Tailgate to catch up. When they appeared outside to join them both were radiating love, happiness and relief. Arcee over the next few days had relaxed to the point she called Cyclonus another sibling for her to protect now. Cyclonus had spluttered saying, he was older than them and it was his job to protect them as a warrior only for Arcee to accept the challenge. Optimus had read about the magic of Christmas bringing family together, a children's fairytale but he could not help but believe it.

Optimus, "Let us rest for now. Once the storm subside, we will move again."

Arcee nodded, "Yes, I am thankful Cyclonus gave us a list of places we can take shelter in away from human sight."

Ironhide grunted sitting down next to his leader, "I swear snow storms are one of the worst things on this planet. I can't get a hold of any channels up here."

Optimus, "Up here, there aren't many human settlements either, my old friend. So it is no surprise there are less channels or rather no internet available here."

Hot Rod mused looking outside, "I guess, we wait. Good thing, Tailgate sent me copies of his favorite books. Though fantasy stories are a strange concept they are interesting to read about."

Optimus turned to the young Captain, "Could you send me a copy, please? The fantasy tales humans come up with are fascinating."

As the three Autobots and Lost Light Captain made themselves as comfortable as they could be, Barricade, Knockout and Breakdown were heading towards a Southern state at top speed. Where the three of them hopefully did not have to worry about the pit spawned snow. It had taken the three Cons by shock when the small, white, cold flakes had started to fall from the sky. When the snow fall started, they had been fascinated by it till they started to check out what it meant only to find a storm warning. Barricade had been skeptical at first thinking they could handle a snow storm, just look at how tiny and light it was.

He swallowed his words soon enough when his Energon lines started to freeze up making it difficult to move. Knockout had cursed up a storm realizing they would be in a lot of trouble if they didn't find shelter and had looked around frantically. He had ordered Breakdown to grab Barricade when he found a building that was not in use and the three had booked it there. Barricade had grumbled under his breath about how Earth had crazy weather for such a backwater planet and other such unsavoury comments. No wonder other species avoided this planet, it was like a silent torture chamber waiting to awaken.

Knockout, "There it is. The next country."

Breakdown, "Soundwave won't be pleased we didn't complete the mission."

Knockout, "We can complete pit, if we all freeze like Popsicles as the humans say."

Barricade, "He would not care."

Knockout, "No he won't. But if you don't tell him I won't. He ain't Megatron anyway."

Breakdown drawled, "No, just twice as terrifying."

Knockout rolled his optics as they avoided the custom police and entered the new country far away from the freezing North. Hopefully, Soundwave would not contact them so soon, missions are impossible if the planet itself is working against you. Knockout however could not bring himself to hate the planet, he quiet liked the many items that are available for the vehicles on the planet. The others could call him vain all they want but when you are born into the Gamma sector you end up learning to appreciate the small things in life.

Barricade, "There should be less storms this side. Even if there are, it would not be snow storms."

Breakdown, "No, we would have to deal with tornadoes? What in pits name is this?"

Knockout checked what his Conjunx was checking out, 'How the frag are humans even alive?'

Barricade shook his helm, "Let's just finish our mission and get out of this planet. I really doubt any sane Cybertronian would wish to stay here."

Knockout and Breakdown looked at each other and had to agree with their friend on that account. As fascinating Earth was, the storms would be a major deterrent for most Cybertronians, only the most ambitious or crazy ones would want to be here. He was not going to even touch the researchers and scientist who would love to pick and prod the planet and her inhabitants. Knockout shivered thinking about Shockwave who had shown a lot of interest on visiting the planet, the red Mech gave a silent prayer.

Jazz was enjoying his time on the quaint little planet with it's quaint weather, movies and people, 'Oh! Prowl would love this movies.'

Ratchet, "Mystery movie again, Jazz?"

Jazz, "What can I say? The twist and turns are fascinating and.... "

Ratchet looked up from his data pad, "What is the matter?"

Jazz, "I suppose it makes me think and look back at some of my own cases with a different perspective."

Ratchet hummed, "Yes, I think I understand what you mean. Many human programs that I watched encourage critical thinking. It is very enjoyable and fascinating."

Jazz looked outside, "I could do without the crazy weather however. I don't know how they deal with it."

Ratchet, "As Optimus says, they are more than meets the optics. I do worry about them though, despite all the precautions they have humans are... Well humans are not as protected as us."

Tailgate piped up, "Do not fret, they have been living on this planet for a long time. They will be fine."

Bumblebee greeted the kids outside, -Hello ~ How was school?-

Raph, "Hey Bee, it was good I guess."

Sam nodded, "No crazy people with guns."

Bumblebee tensed, -I promise to keep you safe.-

Raph smiled, "I know you will. We trust you."

Bumblebee felt happy to be trusted and they fell into their regular routine with Sam pretending to drive for sake of cover and Raph chatting up a storm. The last few weeks Bee had noticed Miles was the most open among the three boys, though Raph came in close but Sam... Sam was very hard to read, his eyes held secrets and sometimes when he thought no one was watching him, Sam would get a look on his face plates that Bee could not place his servo on. He had poured it out to Raph who had shrugged and said that's how Sam always had been for as long as he could remember.

Cliffjumper had noticed it too but Miles told him not to worry too much as Witwickies were known to hold secrets. They were keeping the bots a secret from the whole planet to begin with so they should not be surprised if Sam had more. It made sense but Bumblebee was very curious about his charge and worried those secrets may be dangerous. He truly hoped they were not dangerous for Sam's sake but he was a Guardian now, it is his job to keep his charge safe. Cyclonus who Hot Rod had left in charge of Vivian had advised him to be patient and willing to listen, then the kids would go to him on their own record.

Well, Raph had approached Bumblebee to talk about many things, Bee would not deny that, but Sam had not. Instead he had seen the teen watch them with a happy smile and move on giving them privacy. While Bee did appreciate the sentiment and privacy he would like to be a good Guardian to Sam too so why won't he say anything? Cliffjumper was very amused by his friend, he joked he sounded like an overprotective Carrier only to get the stink eye as humans say. Bee had taken to talking with Judy about it and she was not worried as long as Sam was unhurt by the secrets.

Miss Witwicky adviced Bumblebee to read Archiebald's diaries if he wanted to know about what Sam was thinking. She reckoned most of the secrets he was worried about had something to do with those journals Sam spent a lot of his time on. When Bumblebee requested to look at the journals Sam agreed but only if he made sure they were not destroyed, it was all he had left of his late grandfather. His charge was such a soft hearted being, Bee hoped he never changed his nature or personality for anyone. The books were a little worrying however, the language Archibald Witwicky had used was the language of the Primes.

Bumblebee, -Need to get to base. Time for new mission.-

Raph, "Another mission? Be safe."

Sam pat his hood, "Come back to us in one piece okay big guy?"

Bee, -Always ~-

Sam, "We will probably finish our exams by then too."

Sam though was thinking about the future he had come from, the two different endings that had occurred. Transformers Prime or as it had come to be called the Aligned continuity had a much better future than Transformers Bayverse. Sam could admit he did not know everything, some of his memories were spotty now but he does remember that Bayverse collapsed. He did not want that type of ending for his new friends but most importantly he knew it was a bunch of gun trotting humans who killed Sam originally. It was not even a Decepticon who did the job, sweet sanity, how embarrassing!

Sam stretched his arms, "Raph, call Miles and if Cliffjumper is there him too. We need to talk about a few things."

Raph, "Sure."

Miles joined them after a while, "What's up Sam? Problem with the subject?"

Sam, "My studies are fine, it's something else."

Cliffjumper nodded, "Say, Jazz is joining us in place of Bee, hope you don't mind kids."

Sam, "Nah, it's cool, we need to talk to Optimus about this later but till then you can be our sounding board."

Jazz was staring, "Did you find out something kids? Bee was in a hurry when he called Ratchet and asked me to take over."

Sam, "No, nothing new. It's just, can you promise us something? It is very important."

Jazz tilted his helm, "Let's hear it first."

Sam, "No matter what happens, no matter what the politicians say. Can you promise to never share your weaponry or any sort of advanced tech with any single country alone?"

Jazz was looking at Sam with a calculating look, "That can be done. Is there a reason why?"

Raph had a wry smile, "Jazz, we know you have seen the police reports on us. I am also sure our parents talked to you about it too."

Miles nodded muttering, "Yeah, the last thing I need is nightmares of gun crazy idiots using alien guns and shooting in schools."

Cliffjumper tensed, "That won't happen. I promise you that will not happen."

Jazz, "Cliff wait."

Cliffjumper, "No, Jazz, you were not there. I will not allow anyone to use Autobot weaponry against our charges. Bumblebee and I had feared for the worst when we heard the gunshots. I refuse to give those fools any chance to shoot at my kids with our own weapons."

Jazz lifted his servos, "I get it, I get it. Look, this is just in case we end up being exposed, am I right?"

Sam nodded, "Yes, I know it may not happen but just in case it does."

Jazz, "Alright, I will talk to Optimus about it."

Raph was surprised, "You will?"

Jazz nodded, "Yeah, I will, this is something we always debated over whenever we met other sentient species."

Miles perked up, "You met other aliens? What are they like?"

Sam, 'Well there are other worries too but one thing at a time I guess. Do I have to die though? Through death Sam proved he was worthy of the Matrix but would it even work for me? Something to deal with in the future.'

Jazz and Cliffjumper shared an amused EM field as they started to tell them about the other alien species they ran into. Sam was the most curious of them all asking them to see a hologram of those aliens, that is if they had them. Bee on the other hand was showing Ratchet the copies he made of Archiebald's journal getting a curious and worried look as the medic called Optimus. The Prime was surprised when he was told of the language and wondered what it meant for them. At the moment they were close to their target area and would be investigating it.

Optimus, :Just keep them safe Bee. I will address this once we return.:

Bee, :Understood boss, I will do my best, though I think Sam is hiding more than we know.:

Optimus paused for a bit, :You suspect he might know the language of the Primes?:

Bee, :No, it is something else.:

Ironhide muttered beside Optimus, "That child was difficult to get a reading on. Perhaps the Allspark did something?"

Optimus hummed, :Bumblebee, just watch over them for now. I am sure Sam will approach us with this himself if it is dangerous.:

Bumblebee, :Judy told me the same thing.:

Optimus was amused, :Listen to her, she is his Carrier. We are close to our target location. Optimus out.:

Arcee, "Sir? What does this mean?"

Optimus, "I wish, I could answer Arcee. For now we focus on our mission."

Ironhide, "Do you really think Sam will approach us with whatever he knows?"

Optimus, "I hope so, I have a feeling Sam is not aware of it. He is probably not even aware if it is important or not."

Hot Rod, "You know, he is just a teen and I have watched him since he was born?"

Arcee, "True, he is basically a sparkling who just entered younglinghood."

Ironhide, "The beauty of innocence. We are here Prime. We need to move fast though, another blizzard in bound in thirty Earth minutes."

Optimus nodded and scanned the area getting readings for crates which confused them first. Arcee went to check it out only to end up shocked by what was inside the crates abandoned in the middle of nowhere. The crates held Energon which had been frozen over due to the cold temperatures though they did not find anything else. Hot Rod, Ironhide and Optimus shared a look wondering exactly who had Megatron and if they even knew what they were getting into. Ironhide muttered he would get the trailer and they could load the Energon on it to take back to base.

Arcee, "There are two types in here. Regular and.... Ohhhh! Wheeljack is going to love this a lot. Hyper fuel."

Hot Rod spluttered, "What? How?"

Optimus while happy with the find was very concerned too, "Sam warned us we may not find the Allspark or Megatron here. I can only pray whoever has them are alive."

Ironhide, "Got the trailer Prime, and don't worry considering the fact the cons went after Sam before. They obviously are alive and not with the Cons."

Arcee, "Guess, we return for now."

Optimus nodded and they started the long trek back to base, their new home. That was a nice thought, wasn't it? They have not had a home to return to ever since they abandoned Cybertron, Optimus hoped they could one day return to their home planet. Young Raphael even showed a lot of curiosity and desire to visit their planet one day in the future. Even young Bee looked excited at the prospect of showing their home planet to their charges and he mentioned sleep overs? In Optimus's opinion human offsprings were not much different from Cybertronian sparklings if you ignore the origin.

Ironhide grumbled as it started to snow again and rushed to find the shelter that was marked on Cyclonus's map. Ironhide owed that Mech a nice hot cube for giving him the map with the many warehouse shelters that were not used by humans. Optimus looked at the trailer and then looked at the blizzard that had picked up covering everything in pure white. He had mixed feelings about this planet, on one hand they made wonderful friends with the Witwickies and met old friends they thought lost. On the other hand, the weather was not exactly welcoming and Optimus feared he brought their unforgiving war to a planet that did nothing to warrant it.

Ironhide, "You are over thinking again."

Optimus, "Just some stray thoughts."

Arcee, "I wonder how the humans managed to create Energon. Do you think Megatron.... "

Optimus, "No, I don't think Megatron would ever share his secrets with anyone, least of all humans. I believe it is the work of the Allspark not humans."

Hot Rod, "It makes more sense. The humans probably did not know what to do with it and locked it away."

Arcee thought about it then nodded in agreement, 'At least we don't have to worry about our secrets being leaked.'

The return to the base was spent speeding across the highway and taking shelter inside the abandoned shelters. When they returned Ratchet and Cyclonus were the most ecstatic by their find and he went off to collect his crew mates. Nautica was not pleased to be woken up from her recharge but her mood improved on seeing the reason why. Ultra Magnus was the most pleased to see Optimus on Earth though he was troubled by the news.

Ultra Magnus, "I am sorry Optimus. I should have been there with you."

Optimus, "No brother. If you had been there, I fear you would have been forced to choose a side between me and Megatron. I would not have wanted that for you."

Ultra Magnus nodded, "True, the fact that you and Megatron are now enemies is difficult to accept even now."

Bumblebee, :Sir, these are copies of the journals Sam's grandfather left him.:

Optimus went through some, "Primus, one of the Knightships is on this planet. But it does not say which one, nor does it say where it is located."

Ultra Magnus, "Brother, why don't you leave the Knightship to us? It was our mission originally. The only reason we stalled was because the Energon was running low. Now however, we can search for it, right Captain?"

Optimus, "Very well, just be careful brother, I would not know what to do if I lost you."

Ultra Magnus smiled playfully, "Good thing I'm a neutral then."

Optimus laughed agreeing getting startled looks from the other bots, they had not heard their Prime laugh out loud. There were quiet chuckles and amused smiles before but none of them had seen him laugh outright. Ratchet did a long time ago on Cybertron, but that was before Magnus had left on the Lost Light to hopefully find the Knights. Ironhide was very pleased to see his Prime happy again and decided he could deal with the cold weather if it meant Optimus could be happy. The Mech always put other's happiness first, ignoring his own which frustrated the weapons specialist.

Ultra Magnus, "Hot Rod, we should talk with the rest of the crew and see what they want to do moving ahead."

Hot Rod muttered, "Yes, especially with the war going on. I hope things don't become dire."

Cyclonus, "I think I would like to keep the fact Tailgate and I are on planet Earth a secret. I do not need him to worry about a summons and I know Starscream will try."

Optimus nodded feeling relieved inside, "Of course, none of us will mention you. You were not part of the war when it started and won't be so unless you explicitly say so."

Cyclonus released a sigh, "Thank you Prime, we appreciate it. You see, I suspect Tailgate might be carrying but he has not mentioned anything plus Earth does not have the required items."

Optimus's optics widened, "Truly? Allspark bless us."

Nautica's voice came, "What do you mean you are expecting? Why didn't you tell me?"

Cyclonus looked at her with a deer caught in headlights expression and tried to explain that were not sure. The young medic however did not allow him to explain and dragged him off to find Tailgate to everyone's amusement and excitement. Tailgate was flustered when Nautica demanded to know why he did not tell anyone he was possibly carrying. Arcee was looking at her sibling with happiness at the thought of a young spark joining them then becoming worried because they were still in the middle of the war.

Hot Rod, "Welp, that's a good reason to not take part in a war."

Ultra Magnus sighed, "Have more tact Captain."

Hot Rod, "I'm not wrong though."

Optimus, "I promise you all, we will return to our home planet. We will revive it and we will raise our future sparklings there together."

Bumblebee, -Hear! Hear!-

[A. N.: Take care of yourselves everyone.

Aligned sure is long and I'm basing Hot Rod's crew on Lost Light comics with a few differences here and there.]