Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Moving Day
The Autobots were busy on the Ark as they prepared to move most of their equipment to the new location of Autobot City. Sparkplug, Spike, and Carly were all busy happily helping their friends to load their stuff onto the transport trucks that were going to the new location. Things were hectic and tiring, but no one was complaining.
"Wait, you mean it’s actually an Autobot?" Spike asked Ratchet.
"Yep. His name's Metroplex. He's one of the living cities," Ratchet explained, "There used to be dozens of them, but Metroplex is the only one left. The rest were killed off long ago. Now he's going to help us here on earth."
"But why did you move him from Cybertron?" Carly asked.
"Well, to tell the truth, things are getting pretty serious back home," Ratchet said solemnly, "Megatron has moved most of his vital forces back to Cybertron, and they're not fooling around anymore. We have to do whatever it takes to protect not only our planet, but also the allied planets that have helped us over the years. That includes earth. Many of us will have to return to Cybertron, but we're also sending some of our best troops to protect earth. Ultra Magnus will be their commander."
"Oh yeah?" Spike asked, "What's he like? Is he nice?"
"Nice enough, but very single-minded," Ratchet explained, "Think of Prowl, but with more of a military background."
"But you're all soldiers," Carly pointed out, "How could he have more of a military background than Prowl?"
"Because Ultra Magnus was a soldier before the war broke out," Ratchet answered, "He was entrusted with Cybertron's welfare while Optimus Prime was gone. The only one left on Cybertron that outranks Ultra Magnus is Elita One, but she is from a different unit altogether. Now, the new recruits will feel a little out of place at first, so I want you to make them feel welcome."
"Sure thing, Ratchet!" Spike said confidently.
Ratchet smiled and hefted a box full of medical equipment. Together they loaded Optimus Prime's cargo hold with boxes, equipment, and machines that would be needed for acclimating Metroplex to earth's atmosphere. It was going to be a difficult adjustment for the new Autobots, but the humans were determined to be there for them. After all, the Autobots had been there for earth all these years, and had always kept their human allies safe.
Sparkplug, meanwhile, was trying to keep his grandson Daniel from getting stepped on by some unwary Autobot. Daniel had just turned 3 years old, and he was as curious as any child is at that age. At first Sparkplug tried to get some work done while babysitting his grandson, but soon enough he was chasing the toddler around and trying to warn the Autobots nearby that he was there. It was chaos!
Daniel ran past Jazz and down the hallway, and Sparkplug apologized to the black and white Autobot as he ran down the hall to chase after his wayward grandson. The two ran down first one hall and then another. Before long Sparkplug, despite living aboard the Ark for almost 20 years, was starting to feel lost. He had never gone down these corridors because this was where the Autobots kept their radioactive equipment and toxic substances.
Uh oh…
Daniel was running down what the humans affectionately refer to as Death Valley. Sparkplug picked up his pace and ran after the little boy. Before long Daniel had to stop when he came to a dead end that had a single giant orange door at the end. The door was marked with Cybertronian symbols and didn't slide open when Daniel got near it; meaning it was locked.
Sparkplug grabbed the toddler before Daniel could run away again. They had to get out of here before their bodies were poisoned with something!
As Sparkplug turned to leave, he heard a noise coming from inside the door. It was low pitched, and sounded like a mechanical growl. It could've been a generator, but Sparkplug was sure it sounded like a Cybertronian. A shadow loomed over them, and Sparkplug was startled for a split-second until he realized it was just Jazz.
"Hey, guys!" Jazz said amiably as he strode over to where the humans were standing at the door, "You doin' alright?"
"Yeah, just had to get Daniel," Sparkplug smiled, relieved, "We better get out of here and get Ratchet to check us out. I don't want Daniel getting cancer or something."
"Good idea. I'll walk you back," Jazz offered with a friendly grin of his own.
Just as they were almost out of range, Sparkplug heard a loud noise coming from down the hallway that sounded like a roar! It was from the direction of that large door. Was it an animal? A machine? He didn't know why, but Sparkplug felt a chill run down his spine as he left. Whatever that noise was, it didn't sound happy…
The next day Sparkplug found himself helping Wheeljack move boxes of inventions and failed projects. Spike and little Daniel came back as well, but they were on the other side of the Ark. Sparkplug was tired, but he felt accomplished after everything they had done over the past week.
"Hey Wheeljack, what does this device do?" Sparkplug asked as he hefted a large orange device; clearly made using spare parts and plating from the ship.
"Oh that?" Wheeljack said as he examined the device closer, "That's just a prototype for a teleportation device. I never was able to solve the time/space discrepancy issue. Oh, well. I guess it's not a big deal."
Sparkplug gently placed the device in a protective casing before loading it up on the dolly. He was about to follow Wheeljack out the door when Spike rushed in with Bumblebee looking frantic and darting his eyes from one place to another as if to search for something.
"Hey, Spike. What's wrong, son?" Sparkplug asked.
"It's Daniel. I can't find him anywhere!" Spike replied worriedly, "I've asked several Autobots, and nobody has seen him!"
"We checked the rec room, Teletraan 1, all the offices on C deck, and even all personal quarters that weren't locked," Bumblebee added.
"Alright son, I'll help you look," Sparkplug promised Spike.
"I'll help, too. This stuff can wait for a little while," Wheeljack likewise offered.
"Alright then, let's go," Spike nodded curtly as he took off to continue his search.
Sparkplug had been searching for Daniel for almost an hour without success. He used his cell phone to keep in contact with Spike, but neither human had seen the toddler. They knew there was all sorts of stuff the boy could get into and get hurt by. Sharp objects, giant careless robot feet, electrical sockets, etc.
They had systematically searched the Ark and most of the areas shown on the map. Sparkplug was getting desperate to find his grandson, and he remembered that the day before Daniel ran into the Death Valley hallway. He hoped he was wrong, but there was a good chance the little one could've run into that hallway again and got hurt by something toxic.
Sparkplug had to cross the other side of the Ark and go down three elevator floors to get to the correct hallway. Just like last time, there was nobody there. The hall was dimly lit due to its limited use, and other than the thrum of generators it was eerily quiet. Sparkplug looked down at the floor, and he saw a trail of orange cracker crumbs. Daniel had been eating peanut butter crackers, so this was likely where he went. Sighing with resignation, Sparkplug traveled on to the end of the hallway.
He expected to see the locked door and Daniel playing or sleeping, but he was in for a shock. The door wasn't locked, but it was only open a crack; barely enough to admit one small human. Sparkplug was really worried now, because that room was likely where the radioactive materials were kept, and Daniel could already have passed out or become disfigured from the exposure. Sparkplug didn't have proper safety gear, but it didn't matter in that moment. He had to get to his grandson!
It was a tight squeeze, and Sparkplug's generous girth wasn't helping matters, but he somehow managed to push himself through the narrow opening. He noticed that while the outer halls were dimly lit, this room was totally pitch dark except for the light escaping through the crack in the door.
He could barely make out Daniel. The little boy was sitting on the floor chattering away and looking up at something. Sparkplug looked up too, and that's when he saw it...red optics.
There was a pair of red optics staring back at them! He tried to see more, and could barely make out the fact that the mech was in a sitting position like Daniel. It was almost as tall as Prime even though it was sitting down! This thing had to be huge!
Sparkplug looked around nervously, and saw a spot on the wall that was slightly lit up by the hallway light. There was dried energon on the wall, and it spelled out something in Cybertronian characters. There were scratches on the wall and the floor, and even exposed circuitry in the walls!
"Daniel!" Sparkplug shouted for his grandson; afraid the Decepticon would hurt him.
"Hi, Grandpa!" Daniel greeted him; blissfully ignorant of the danger.
Sparkplug ran for the boy, but stopped when the mech growled at him fiercely. He froze, and looked up at the glowing red optics. Were the Decepticons trying to steal something in this room? Did he catch the guy in the act? Was this actually a secret brig? Was it one of Wheeljack's inventions and it just looked like a Decepticon? Sparkplug didn't know what was going on, but he knew he and Daniel were in grave danger.
The mech growled once more, and Sparkplug slowly inched his way closer to the place where Daniel was standing; right near the mech's leg.
"Now listen, I don't want any trouble…" Sparkplug spoke cautiously, "I just want my grandson back, and I promise I'll leave you alone. Just don't hurt the boy, okay?"
The mech watched him move closer to Daniel, but didn't seem inclined to make a move beyond that. Sparkplug was almost to Daniel, but then suddenly, the mech reached a clawed metal hand out and grabbed Sparkplug!
Sparkplug felt the air venting from the mech's body as he was pulled closer to it! He could see the sharp teeth, felt the pressure being applied to his body as it squeezed, and saw the crazed look in the Decepticon's red optics! He was trapped, and he was doomed!