I'm ALIVE! Watch me rise from my mountains of school work!

Ahem...(facepalm)

Sup ya'll!

While I've been away I have been doing tons of homework and preparations' for some assessments and whatnot so I apologise for that; if you wish to blame someone, blame the United Kingdom's Government! Any who, I have also recently watched Calamity Jane the musical, please don't ask me why because it's a looooong story. Surprisingly it is actually really good XD

SOOO in "today's issue" we elaborate on some of the events that have already occurred and you all get to meet a special someone

So sit back, relax and I really hope you enjoy chapter 3 of Doctor Daycare!

Ratchet's befuddled expression remained as his processor was teeming with questions he knew he would have difficulty answering. The chief medical officer of the Autobots' was definitely no stranger to having a 'bot slightly anxious when it came to a check-up but he wouldn't have expected Ultra Magnus to fall into that category. The new leader of the Autobots' was a figure of integrity and virtue, there was absolutely no doubt about that. But what Ratchet couldn't quite contemplate was that Ultra Magnus avoided his gaze when he answered him. Did that mean that he was...embarrassed? Ashamed even? It was hard for the old medical officer to swallow; but then again, Ultra Magnus may have had other reasons for his uneasiness.

"Ultra Magnus, this treatment does not require me to deactivate your pain receptors but if that is what you would like, I will deactivate them," Ratchet asked, trying to reassure his leader. "I can promise you now that you watching the procedure is making you think that it will be painful but if you look away I can guarantee you will only feel a minute sensation".

Ultra Magnus' helm slowly flicked around to gaze upon his medical officer glancing up at him from his kneeling position. A hesitant small smile found its way upon to the Commanders' lip components' as a sign of acknowledgement and gratitude.

"Now, may I continue sir?" Ratchet asked marginally returning his leaders' smile and trying to retain the positive mood between the two. Ultra Magnus thought for a moment about this; Ratchet tended to tell people how things were, regardless of what they wanted to hear. Did he really need his pain receptors deactivating? Was it really that necessary? He would have like to tell himself he didn't but the vexatious thought remained.

"Yes Doctor, you may continue...but before you do, I have concluded that it would be diplomatic of you to deactivate my pain receptors" Ultra Magnus replied hesitantly as Ratchet transformed his servo back from his welder and carefully began to deactivate his leader's pain receptors without reluctance. After a few moments of tweaking, Ratchet had finally deactivated Ultra Magnus's pain receptors and the Commander began to feel numbness glide across his frame at a quick yet steady pace.

The chief medical officer then gently tapped the larger Autobot's leg plating to ensure that his pain receptors had truly deactivated. Seeing that the Commander did not flinch, Ratchet continued his Medical endeavours by transforming his servo into a welder once again. When the welder made contact with the strip of metal, various bright sparks flew and danced in the air. As Ratchet worked he began to imagine what Ultra Magnus's laceration looked like now. It had been covered up now for what seemed like an eternity to both the Commander and the Medic.

...But whatever happened, deep down Ultra Magnus knew he was in safe and capable servos...

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Knock out was bored...

No, that was an utter and complete understatement of what Knock out was currently feeling.

Monitor duty was nearly as bad as receiving a fatal blow to his finish and paintjob; well no, nothing could beat that...He'd spent the majority of his assigned job filling his claws with a file he had found in Ratchet's tool box when no one was looking. He would've received a painful blow to the helm if he would've been caught by unwanted prying optics. If he continued to file his elongated digits anymore he would have no actual digits left; not a very good function for a medical officer.

During his duty, Knock out had actually worked, but only for about a joor and a half. He had categorized all of the reports typed in into the orbital cycle they were computed and who had typed them. He also regularly checked the computers, as instructed, to see the whereabouts of the acid rain storm, and to his dismay, it was drawing nearer quite significantly everytime he checked.

The only noises Knock out could hear were the slow scrapes of his file and the occasional beeps of the computers. Everything besides that was far too quiet and hushed to the former Decepticon's liking. He was used to loud screams and threats from his former master at Starscream for not performing a certain task to his "tastes" as it were. Of course, that little youngling's tale always ended the way it had done previously; with Starscream battered and broken upon his medical berth. Knock out didn't care though; the seeker was nothing but a skinny charlatan, a whiny one at that too. How he was able to put with him for so long was far beyond him.

Starscream was undeniably a royal pain in the aft, with the entire drivel that came out of his mouth components. He strutted about as if he had run the place for primus's sake! What Knock out would've done to slice off that silver glossa of his; a mech like Starscream who didn't know how to use his glossa properly definitely didn't deserve it. Starscream was a vindictive, vicious and vile excuse of a mech who was the biggest failure in Decepticon history. The silver Seeker could quite easily pass for a femme any old orbital cycle with all of his bitching.

Now that it crossed the former Decepticon medic's processor, Starscream had appeared to have vanished into thin air. After Megatron had informed him that the Decepticon's were no more, Starscream undoubtedly went to seize Megatron's throne for himself. Honestly, if Starscream hadn't gone to Darkmount then it would seriously shock Knock out. He could imagine the Seeker sprawled out upon Megatron's former throne. It made him shudder strongly at the thought. Starscream couldn't lead fragging glitched antriods to a picnic let alone run the remainder of the Decepticons that could be bothered to fight another five hundred centuries of war. Besides, Medical officers' were lucky if they managed to get out of a battle unscathed so in essence, both Knock out and Ratchet were actually relative valuable. If Starscream was plotting to start up a war and demand Cybertron for himself, he would need a Medical officer. The lanky Seeker would more than likely contact Knock out for his assistance via his comm. link.

...Yes, Starscream did possess Knock out's comm. link...

Ha! If Starscream was stupid enough to attempt that, he would need more than a petty drone to protect him.

A loud scrape brought the cherry red mech to his senses as he quickly discovered the elongated talon he had been filing looked very, very mangled. A frown rapidly formed upon his faceplates as a peeved grunt rippled out of his vocalizer.

"Great," He thought to himself "Just peachy; I look like a fragged up frizz-rat now!"

"You had better be working Knock out or I'll be forced to pound you back to the rust age," A feminine voice startled the cherry red mech from his mental ranting and he shrieked unmechly in surprise, dropping the file in progress. He swiftly whizzed around to meet the piercing optics of Arcee glaring up at him with her famous fiery and intimidating gaze. Her blue and pink optics slowly glided downwards towards the file which she almost instantly recognised and sighed clearly angered at the vain doctor. "I guess stealing someone else's belongings is more your forte than what you're supposed to be doing. Monitor duty isn't all that bad you know but you actually have to look and pay your full attention the screens". Her tone softened as her optics fell back upon his faceplates, a small smile upon her lip components.

...nice smile for such a reserved femme; time to charm it up once more Knock out...

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a wonderful smile?" Knock out smirked, a servo making its way to his hip plating. Judging by Arcee's reaction and expression, it was blatantly clear that nobody had ever said it or not in a long time. Her optics were wide in shock though Knock out couldn't quite comprehend why; surely she knew his character and personality by now, things like this definitely shouldn't be a surprise.

...And yet to her it was...

"I can see no one has told you that you have a beautiful smile in quite some time, die Meize" Knock out's smirk grew wider as Arcee's shocked expression turned into somewhat of a sad, ashamed expression. It was evident to the former Decepticon medical officer that the last person to have told her what he had was a certain deceased partner of hers. Drones were like a gossip super-highway during Knock out's time aboard the Nemesis. Most of their social gossips regarding the Autobots were indeed relatively accurate and Knock out questioned them sometimes regarding their "stories" about a certain "sweet rims". Allegedly, one of the drones most commonly known as J3553 or "Jesse" had knocked out the "Big Rig" with a tree that he tore from the ground. Knock out didn't believe it at first but another drone known as 3R1C or "Eric" confirmed it.

"Yes...it's been a while," Arcee replied awkwardly, avoiding his gaze. "So, where is the current location of the storm? You did at least do that didn't you, Knock out?"

"Well mein Schatz," Knock out purred. "The last time I checked the rain storm was heading towards Polyhex; I presume it will be raining there soon if not now".

"Wait! Polyhex?! Knock out, you do realise that Smokescreen and Bumblebee may be there! It was in their patrol route! Why didn't you tell anyone?!" Arcee practically roared at the red grounder who leapt slightly from her bizarre outburst. He had learned from his early years that you should never, ever annoy or aggravate a femme because the results could be quite disturbing for a victim of a femme's rampage. Just as Knock out was about to snap back at her, she violently pushed past him and brought up the map of the acid rain storm and surprisingly, Knock out's observations were indeed correct. But that only made the azure femme even more angered. Swiftly, she attempted to comm. Bumblebee and fidgeted anxiously as she did so. What if he didn't reply? What if they were both in danger?! Finally, Arcee patched her side of the up and began her attempt to reach them, though she feared that static may corrupt it at any moment due to the storm being near their current, possible location.

:Bumblebee, this is Arcee from Autobot outpost omega two, do you copy, over:

Static.

:Bumblebee do you read? This is Arcee at Autobot outpost omega two, do you copy, over?:

Static.

:For Primus sake 'Bee, please! Do you copy?!:

In a flurry of a panic she attempted to make contact with Smokescreen but only received the same results, much to her growing frustration. While Arcee continued to panic, Knock out watched her with his famous smirk sliding onto his lip components in a devious manner. Autobots and their strong concerns for others always seemed to baffle him. Why would you go and risk your functioning for another when the escape for you is easier? Knock out wasn't a ghoul in the slightest but seeing Arcee panic was quite a strange yet appealing sight for him. The way her frame moved in swift fluid movements as her trepidation escalated marginally was very, very...

:Smokescreen! Do you copy?! ARGH! You talk enough in the base you manifold mouth and now you decide to start a vow of silence!:

"Arcee! What is the meaning of this?!" A booming voice caught both Knock out and Arcee by surprise as they turned around to see none other than Ultra Magnus standing at the mouth of the corridor with an evident angered expression upon his faceplates. Ratchet, who had surprisingly not intervened, stood behind the wounded Commander but wore an unreadable expression as his optics focused on the cherry red mech and the azure femme.

"My apologies sir, Smokescreen and Bumblebee are not responding to their comm. and I believe they may very well be in the acid rain storm's course. Knock out here was too busy filing his claws to even consider alerting either of them". Arcee replied standing straight to attention as she informed the Commander on the current situation. Knock out almost immediately snapped his helm around to face her when she told the large mech of his "filing session". So what if he decided to file his talons?! Was it really that much of a concern when he had actually worked during his assigned task?!

"An acid rain storm?!" Ultra Magnus raised his voice in shock. "Are you certain?"

Arcee nodded, glaring out of the corner of her vigilant optics at the still gaping mech to her left. He deserved every last punishment that Ultra Magnus was more than likely to bestow upon him. Knock out was more than stupid for allowing Smokescreen and Bumblebee to go further into their patrol unaware of the acid rain storm possibly being extremely close to them. If she had it her way, the former Decepticon medical officer wouldn't be anywhere near here! Instead he would be smelting in some smelting pit at the ruins of Darkmount.

"Yes Commander we are certain of it. It is believed that it first formed in the south of Stanix but I was unaware that its course was to pass over Polyhex. If I was however aware of its current course, I would not have allowed either of the two mechs to go on their routine patrol. We apologise for not informing you sooner Ultra Magnus, sir..." Ratchet spoke up moving to stand next to the larger mech who flicked his gaze downcast towards his chief medical officer. At least someone had the decency to explain things properly...

Ultra Magnus sighed, clearly taken back by what he had just been told. His piercing gaze gradually moved from the old medi-bot to the main and central computer screen which had an image of Bumblebee and Smokescreen with two "error-disrupted connection" symbols next to their names. It definitely was not a good sign. He shouldn't be panicking over mechs not responding to their when the Great War had finally drawn to a conclusion; neither of them should. That's when he noticed Knock out, who was now glaring daggers at Arcee in a menacing manner while she merely watched her Commander, intrigued by what he would do to handle this problem and bring both mechs "home" safely.

"Knock out?" The tall Commander queried. "Is it true that you were cognizant of the acid rain storm that neither of you bothered to inform me about? Do you not comprehend the scope of this?! I think you really need to consider who you really are and where you really belong, Soldier! This is not a game and it has never been one so start treating this as life rather than a festivity! You pride yourself in your appearance yet you have not changed in the slightest! If you have aligned yourself with us, then you will act like an Autobot rather than some contemptuous bit-brain! Your attitude towards others is disgusting especially the way you spoke to Ratchet last night! In essence, if your temperament does not change soon, I will personally and permanently exclude you from the Autobot cause! Do I make myself clear Soldier?!"

The Commander's outburst shocked Ratchet and Arcee for it was a thing that he rarely demonstrated in front of others. Every point he made, he stepped or more appropriately put hobbled closer to the cherry red mech to punctuate his words so they sank into Knock out's processor. But as for Knock out, he was practically leaking litres of transmission fluid; his vermilion optics were wide with fear, his trembling mouth agape and his pedes slowly backing himself up trying to keep as far away from the considerably taller Commander as physically possible. It reminded him of bad experiences with not completing a certain task to Megatron's likings; how the brute of a mech would storm towards him in a threatening manner, his ruby and white disked optics practically ablaze with utter rage. All of a sudden, Knock out's back hit the computer's keypad edge as he knew that he could no longer run away as the towering angered figure of Ultra Magnus was still lumbering towards him. His fear seemed to go unseen by the Commander; he had no intention of harming the smaller mech but merely teaching him a little lesson by a certain disciplinary strategy. He was drawing closer, closer, closer...

:A-arcee? Arcee do y-you copy? Over:

The voice was full of static but was easily recognisable and unmistakable; Bumblebee. The speed of which the azure femme and the red and white mech shoved past Ultra Magnus and Knock out was marginally unbelievable but the Commander and the assistant medical officer said not a word.

:Bumblebee?! Bumblebee are you and Smokescreen alright?:

:Arcee...are f-fine...what's...problem?:

:Bumblebee you need to get out of there now! The storm, it's heading your way! Give us the coordinates of your current position and we'll get you out of there a.s.a.p.:

:Calm down...763,901...the coordinates?:

:Bumblebee this is Ratchet, we are sending a groundbridge to 763,901 stand by:

Ratchet moved towards the groundbridge controls and typed in the given coordinates and after a few moments, the swirling vortex was activated. Arcee stepped past her fellow mechs' and stood the closet to the groundbridge, anxiously waiting for her "younger brother" figures to arrive. She had learnt that growing too attached to certain mechs and femmes wasn't a good idea; for her anyways. Being robbed of two partners by two former Decepticon Commanding Officers was an extremely hurtful topic for her to express let alone have next to her name. But Bumblebee and Smokescreen, she was attached to them differently. As a matter of fact, everyone in her team was all attached to her; as a family. Optimus had said that; that he saw his army, his team stranded on Earth as a family rather than troops. Honestly, they were always a family and deep down they all knew and still know it today.

The chief medical officer turned around from his position at the groundbridge controls and awaited the audible footfalls of the two youngest of their team to saunter through. The bizarre humming of the vortex was indeed a strange and peculiar sound but he would not be satisfied until he clearly heard their pedes scampering through. Then, finally he would be at ease, as he presumed the rest of the team would be...well the majority. Ultra Magnus carefully moved himself to stand next to Ratchet, leaving Knock out still as close to the computer keypad as one could get. The cherry red mech had no doubt in his processor that the Commander would speak to him later on; much to his growing discomfort. Knock out was seriously beginning to question his place on this team. What had motivated him to join the cause? Or was it just his fear driving him forward? Whatever it had been, he needed to find out soon. Only then would he know if he belonged here or in some scrap yard.

When the swirling vortex had finally opened, Smokescreen darted through without any hesitation whatsoever, leaving Bumblebee alone listening to eccentric whirring of the groundbridge portal. He was well aware that the acid rain storm was extremely close to his current location; the Urbana could feel it in the ever so slightly cooling air, but his curiosity seemed to have chained him in place. The retching sound, why did it suddenly matter and stop him in his tracks? Why should Bumblebee even care?

They had definitely heard the retching, Smokescreen and him, so was the disgusting odour linked to the discomforting sound somehow? But then if the vile stench had absolutely nothing to do with the retching, what had caused it? The young warrior's processor was teeming with questions, question he subconsciously knew the majority would go unanswered. His main question however was, who? Who was the one behind the repulsive spewing sounds? Was it an Autobot who had somehow ended up stranded upon Cybertron when everyone else had fled? Or was it a Decepticon who was unaware that the Great War for Cybertron was finally concluded?

"The war is over," Bumblebee told himself quietly. "...I shouldn't care about this, for all I know it could very well be a trap to lure me away from my current position".

He wanted to leave, he wanted to leave right then and there but he couldn't. His benevolent side was holding him back, much to his dismay. His CPU had appeared to have lost complete control over his movement and actions. Why him? Why now of all times did his legs and stabilizing servos refuse to function?! A sudden darkening shadow of the ever-nearing acid rain storm cloud cast itself over Bumblebee and the surrounding area like a constricting blanket of uncertainty.

"A-autobot!"

Bumblebee's spark froze in his chassis as an abnormal sensation glided through his circuits. A gruff voice had shouted him, beckoned him. It was a cross between a plea for help and a domineering order. It appeared distant but Bumblebee had a feeling it wouldn't stay distant. Without warning, Bumblebee's pedes darted forward as he sprinted through the vortex, hoping that what he had heard was nothing more than a tease.

...Bumblebee of course was very wrong...

As the groundbridge closed, a hulky darkened shadow moved from the corner of a mangled building, sharp digits grasping onto it as if its existence depended upon it. Glowing optics shone brightly from the darkness as the horrible retching sound emitted from its vocalizer. It collapsed onto its servos and knees on the arenose ground as its abdomen began palpitating, a sure if not obvious sign that the beast was about to purge its tanks. And purge its tanks it did, the undigested energon pooled out of its mouth components, leaving small rivulets of the vile smelling substance to swim down its chinplate. Now as its energy was more or less completely drained, the afflicted beast fell into the puddle beneath it of its own undigested energon. The beast's frame convulsed and almost writhed as its searing pain continued. The stench of the undigested energon was enough to make anyone purge their tanks but the beast had nothing left to purge. If Bumblebee was to have stayed a little while longer he would've definitely heard the retching again and smelted the vile stench once more, but maybe if he had heard this one word in the tone it was voiced, he would've stayed.

"Help"

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After what had occurred at the Well of Allsparks, all around the surrounding area was relatively quiet and hushed. The Nemesis was still present, due to the fact that the Autobot's didn't have the current resources to move the colossal warship and it had sustained quite a fair bit of damage to one of its large engines. Originally, Bulkhead and the remaining Decepticon troopers were supposed to go to its crash-site and at least try to repair the damaged engine enough to get it out of the open, though that would've taken orbital cycles. However, the vast majority of the titanic ships' systems were still intact, even after the heavy crash landing it had sustained. Ratchet could connect into the ship's mainframe with just a few keys being pressed from the Autobots' new base, which he was very proud of.

The former Decepticon warship had lifted quite a few plates off of Cybertron's metal surface. Now, the once orderly plates were lying erected and battered in multiple directions, and ultimately keeping the ship from falling into the Well. When the whistling winds glided across the flat strip of land, the former Decepticon warship would allow itself to creak in the form of a sigh. But when the winds ceased, the surrounding area fell into an eerie silence.

...Until...

Glowing turquoise round balls of wonder flickered online with a satisfying whirr; a small curious squeak closely followed. From under the darkness of the mangled plating neighbouring the Nemesis, a tiny creature was awakening from its power-down; the creature lay still, unsure as to whether it was safe to move. A series of clicks and beeps emitted next that sounded a lot like a tired sigh. The small being was all alone and had not seen anyone throughout its extremely short functioning. Did the others look like it did? Were there even any others? From the creature's perspective, Cybertron looked quite dull and morbid, not that it could seem a great deal from its dark refuge. It didn't have a reassuring aura about it that a youngling like itself needed. But how did it get here? If it had crawled into its shelter, it certainly didn't remember. In fact, the tiny creature didn't remember...anything. A sparklings memory was relatively poor but that was to be expected for they were still growing.

Curiosity for what lay beyond the creature's hideaway overwhelmed it and the small being clumsily attempted to move to the mouth of its refuge. It was the first time that it could thankfully remember of it trying to move around. But to the youngling's annoyance, moving around was a lot easier thought or said than actually done. Its first endeavour was a complete failure which resulted in the creature falling flat on its faceplates; the second and third endeavours drew up similar results. A shrill squeal of distress bubbled out of the tiny creature's mouth components as it tried for the fourth time to move towards the mouth of its hideaway, but to little avail. This was definitely a slow going process...

Maybe instead of crawling, shuffling would be more effective. The youngling chirped in glee as it slowly but steadily rose to its paws; it felt strange to stand, and now everything had a different aura and colour about it. The looming shadows of the outside world did not feel as threatening as they had done before. But now it came to the ultimate test. With no one present to aid the tiny creature in its attempts to move around, the youngling's only companions were its instincts. Carefully, the sparkling slid one of its front paws gradually in front of itself. Seeing this technique did not involve getting hurt, the tiny being slid one of its back paws forward at a similar speed as it had done with its front paw. Yet again, no injuries befell upon the youngling and the creature let out a symphony of happy chitters and chirps; but this little mission was far from over; two mere steps or "slides" were a clear achievement but not really noteworthy.

Once again, the sparkling slid its paw so it was level with its other front paw. Finally, it moved its last paw so it was level with its other back paw. One whole cycle had been completed and the youngling threw its helm back and howled in delight from its success. The small creature was that much closer to the outside world!

One paw...another paw...then another...and finally the last paw. This second cycle was marginally quicker than the first which brought a bizarre wave of happiness upon the youngling. Such a sensation in fact that the incredibly elated sparkling fell upon its aft with a loud BUMP! The small creature was quite taken back by this and let out a confused click. Maybe the little being had been a bit overeager? Or maybe overconfident was a better description? However, the set back did not seem to bother the youngling in the slightest and the creature cautiously rose to its paws once more.

It did not waste any time and repeated its odd walk cycle, if you could even call it that. Paw after paw slid across the shadowy surface of its hideaway until one of its paws landed upon something rather strange. It glistened on the surrounding land as if it had been sprinkled with millions upon millions of jewels.

...Light...

To the average person, light was but an extension of the passing of the days but to this youngling, it was the most magnificent thing it had ever witnessed. Not that it had witnessed a great deal...It now made the sparkling feel as if wherever there was this peculiar phenomenon known as "light", there was automatically protection and safety. The little creature was ecstatic with its find and squeaked in joy. Now, the sparkling's hideaway looked quite...dangerous?

Dark places were cold, so did that mean they were dangerous? The heat radiating from this light source did not feel dangerous in the slightest, so did that mean that wherever there was light, there was warmth and safety? The creature unhurriedly glanced behind itself with a shaky yet curious beep. Maybe it was time to investigate this peculiar terrain, the emerging shadows of the tiny being's refuge seemed to be shooing the youngling out. Though, the little creature was still unsure; all it had ever known was its hideaway, now its confidence began to dwindle. But the light was so mesmerizing and comforting to the sparkling's frame. However, what would the tiny creature choose: Light? Or darkness? Warmth? Or cold? The youngling's helm flicked between its lair and the outside world. Such a difficult decision; trading all it had ever known for something it was completely oblivious about.

Letting a chirp that sounded like a sad sigh escape its lip components, the youngling slid a shaky front paw in front of itself and cautiously proceeded out into the unknown; out into the light. Its other paws gradually followed the first and finally its full frame was out in the open as the sun's rays tickled its entire body for the very first time. The creature slowly gazed back at its refuge, its expression and body language evidently showing that the youngling was wary. It now appeared even more frightening and even darker; though that wasn't physically possible. The youngling allowed a shudder to dance up and down its spinal strut. The sparkling then moved its helm and focused its turquoise optics forward. Where could the tiny being travel to? Would it even return from its miniature exploration? The small creature was unsure...

Taking a deep breath, the tiny being gradually and clumsily began to shuffle away from its refuge, though it had no destination in its petite processor to go to. It didn't know what planet it was located upon let alone the city-state! The plates keeping the Nemesis in its stable position had formed a treacherous maze of charred strips of chrome and metal that looked rather spooky to such a young being. A sparkling of this age certainly did not belong here. The tiny creature was ignorant at best, associating the sun's light and heat as automatic and guaranteed safety...We all are a tad naive and gullible when we are young though; for then we learn about the countless lies and deceptions that revolve around us as a never ending race.

A large plate creaked loudly and the small creature whimpered slightly trying not to fall and injure itself from the sudden shock. It was extremely hard for it to not whimper considering how tall and wide some of the plates really were. Feeling that much taller in its hideaway was great but now everything was glaring down at the youngling, it was unnerving and alarming. It was definitely an unwelcoming experience for the new comer. The small being began to shuffle a little quicker as the rest of the plates snickered in glee. They'd scared a little lone sparkling and were not finished yet. But they were not the ones who would be finishing the job so to speak; something completely different was gliding into view, something much, much larger; more demoralizing.

An aluminous light leapt into the sky with a group of midnight clouds in tow. Then there came the thunder...It roared ferociously throughout the sky as the now deeply concerned sparkling flicked it helm rapidly towards the sky, a mixture of trepidation and curiosity bubbled within the youngling. What was happening? Why was it happening? The tiny creature could feel the thunder still vibrating in the ground through its paws even though the noise had ceased.

"Chirp?" It questioned, stopping its movements all together. Before the sparkling could question the strange phenomenon further, a titanic bolt of bright white lightning illuminated the sky as the tiny being watched the sun being eaten away by the dark clouds. The youngling allowed a cry to slither out between its lip components. By now, the small creature was visibly shaking after the disappearance of the light and heat source as it saw the sky to transform into a jet black blanket of horror. Everything was turning into an eerie darkness, the shadows that loomed over the sparkling a short while ago were vastly and swiftly expanding while merging with one another to make one colossal cloud.

The little creature began to hesitantly back away from the storm until its aft bumped up against a twisted and curved plate, causing the being to yelp wildly in surprise. Despite its sudden surprise however, the youngling did not move away from the plate and stayed as close to it as physically possible, trembling. As the storm drew rapidly nearer, the thunder almost instantly occurred after the lightning. Maybe the big wide world wasn't as friendly and convenient as the creature had first anticipated. It only took a matter of kliks before what seemed like the entire Hydrax Plateau was covered under the black clouds; much to the youngling's dismay.

...Then...

Tip...tap...tippty-tap...tap...tip...tap...

Another strange phenomenon was underway; an odd substance was falling...from the sky?! A red watery substance which made a "tap" or "tip" sound when it collided with the chrome and metal surfaces of the Hydrax Plateau. It was quite extraordinary to watch the liquid bounce and splatter upon the ground, the youngling was quite enthralled. That was of course until a droplet of the liquid spattered upon its helm. The coolness of it sent a shiver coursing through the tiny beings' frame. The sparkling moved its helm from its upright position so now its helm was facing forward. The droplet of liquid stopped descending down towards the back of the youngling's helm, and started trickling forwards towards its faceplates. The bead of liquid dribbled down in between the small creature's aqua marine optics as the sparkling crossed its optics to view it.

"Grrr beep? Whirr cheap cheap, chirp" It mumbled in fascination. The being's audio receptors heard the "tapping" and "tipping" noise increase marginally as other beads of the bizarre liquid started to splash upon the youngling's tiny frame. Its attention snapped back to the acid rain currently falling faster from the sky, the youngling completed forgetting about the bead of liquid between its optics. To the sparkling's annoyance its turquoise optics were dully throbbing from being fixed in an awkward position, though it did not know the reason for its pain.

The small creature could feel the liquid gliding down its frame and to the youngling, it felt extremely alien and outlandish. Yet again, the tiny being became curious as to what was happening and why was it occurring. It had never seen this peculiar spectacle before from the "safety" of its refuge, though even if it had occurred before the youngling would more than likely not remember.

The small creature flicked it helm around gradually to observe the droplets of acid rain splatter and gather upon it back. The smallest and simplest of things seemed to easily entice the youngling, causing it to fall into a trance. Rain to you and me of any kind is just another point to the list of life's bothers, but to this sparkling it was so much more. It was in its nature to be very curious about things; simple things that we don't give a second thought about. As the beads of liquid continued to swim down the tiny being's plating, a strange sensation rippled through its body.

Maybe it was more of an irritation? Or a bizarre itchy feeling? But whatever it was, the small creature was indecisive about it. It made multiple shivers gallop up and down its spinal strut. The youngling couldn't decide if it liked the feeling or one hundred percent loathed it. This was yet another tricky decision...The tiny being shifted fumblingly on its paws attempting to decide while being careful not to slip and fall. Did it welcome the sensation? Should it welcome this bizarre spectacle? It wasn't causing it any harm (yet) so surely that was a good thing, right? If things like the rain were bad then they would hurt the small creature surely. So, if the weird feeling didn't hurt then it was good...hopefully?

That was when the youngling spotted yet another aberrant anomaly. After abandoning its decision making, the tiny being had refocused its attention back in front of itself and that's when the small creature spotted it. A phenomenal crimson pool of some kind that when the rain touched it, it rippled into giant ring like shapes. If sparklings possessed the ability to voice their thoughts and feelings, then more than likely this one would have said something along the lines of "fascinating" or quite simply "WOW!"

Or maybe if the youngling was able to speak, it would find that it was completely and utterly lost for words. Its aqua marine optics looked quite literally ready to pop out from their sockets. The tiny being's mouth components were hanging open relatively wide as well; this sparkling was definitely dumbstruck. All of a sudden, as if a magical force had found its way into its equilibrium sensors, the youngling, quite rapidly stumbled forward. Despite the many times it fell down, the peculiar force never ceased and continued to harshly push it forwards.

The force was adrenaline; adrenaline, curiosity and excitement all combined together to create the strong force pushing the small creature along. And as soon as the sudden force had appeared, it swiftly diminished and then ceased which in turn left the tiny being shakily standing at the edge of the ruby pool. What wonders and mysteries lay within the rippling pool? What would the sparkling behold? Dipping it helm in uneasiness, the small being slowly and cautiously shuffled ahead. Was the crimson pool a symbol of something good, reassuring? Or would there be horrible and revolting things that lay in the ruby puddle? It didn't know...

As the youngling cautiously glanced into the crimson puddle, its turquoise optics widened in fear as a terrified mewl slipped in between its partially open lip components. Staring back at the sparkling through the reddened reflection with equal shock clearly evident was...a monster; though the small creature did not have the slightest clue what was glaring back at it. It wanted to run away and cower in fear but for some abnormal reason, it was as if the tiny being's paws were welded to the ground.

"G-grrr?" It growled the youngling's voice shaky and full of terror. The sparkling's roar; it had a strange feeling it would go unanswered.

...The tiny being was very wrong...

...And this is indeed where everything would start to go downhill for the small creature...

A long deafening BANG of thunder rumbled through the sky and startled the sparkling with ease. It let out an audio receptor piercing howl as it fumbled to stay upright. As a result of the youngling's stumbling, it slipped and skidded on the slippery chrome and metal surface and fell faceplates first into the acid rain puddle. Its first reaction was complete surprise until an excruciating pain struck its left optic. The youngling rolled around in the acid rain puddle shrieking and growling in an energon-curdling manner. The acid rain from the puddle had splashed into its left optic glass and was now gradually and agonizingly melting it away. The sparkling's struggle consisted of thrashing and screeching, yet no one came to the small creature's aid. No one was in close proximity...

By now, the exposure of it tiny frame in the acid rain puddle was taking effect and the poor being's plating felt as if it was on fire and literally being burnt alive. It continued to thrash and kick and scream into the storm but its desperate cries and pleas for help fell on deaf audio receptors. Its left optic glass by now was more or less entirely melted away as the youngling was growing tired rapidly from its continuous struggle.

A few kliks later, the small creature was lying eerily still and did not seem to be fighting the painfully encounter it was currently enduring. The sparkling's intakes were scarily sharp and swift and its frame would convulse harshly every half a nanoklik. This once chirpy and inquisitive youngling now lay helpless, in absolute agony and on the brink of offlining. Lengthy exposure to acid rain was bad enough for a fully grown Cybertronian but for a sparkling! Who could imagine that horror with a gleeful expression?! Younglings were meant to be in a safe nurturing environment where they can be closely monitored. If this terrible devastating weather was to continue or no found the tiny being in time, the ultimate deed would more than likely be committed.

Golden sparks escaped its injured frame and optic as the world around the small creature began to grow darker. It tried to remain awake and not to fall into a forced power-down but that was easier said than done. A strong wave of regret washed over the youngling as it immediately regretted leaving its refuge. What did the tiny being think it would gain from such an exploration?

"Beep b-beep..." Was its own answer as the youngling was continuously pelted with acid rain droplets, each one hurting more than the previous.

...Then the world fell into complete darkness...

...All hope of survival had suddenly changed...or had it?

Please do NOT kill me! I have been overly busy this past month and a bit what with all these damn assessments to see my progress! You think a 13 year old would get a break once in a while but that's my youth side talking! I apologise for my late updating and I will try to get chapter 4 up quickly but until that day...

(epic bow) "till all are one"

BYE!

~shadybabe101