< Transformers > You and Me...Plus Two?
Title: You and Me...Plus Two?
Chapter: 5/?
Authors: crazedwolf and cloud_sama
Rating: G
Series: Transformers (Mostly G1 based)
Characters: Wheeljack, Ratchet, OCs, Prowl, Jazz
Warnings: I guess OCs would be a warning..nothing else as of right now.
Summary: In which things get a bit more serious.
Author's Notes:
x_x Yeah..so..um...about those delays.....-hides-
Comments and critique are love! And we hope you enjoy!
Steam Rider let out a soft series of clicks as he and Velocity pushed the door that they had chosen to dart in shut, the black mechling blowing out a puff of steam as his nervousness began to show through. He knew they were going to be in a lot of trouble when Wheeljack and Ratchet found him and he hated to make them worry..but...Velocity was just so convincing and it was hard to say no!
Chirping softly he looked at his brother, the sparkling huddling closer to him as he peered at the door, as if waiting for Ratchet to burst through it.
Velocity, however, didn't seem to have consequences on his processor at all. The happy-go-lucky, mischevious little bot whistled confidently to his twin, pulling him close to his chest none too gently, since he didn't have much of a concept of force, a grin on his faceplate as he listened to the two bots dart past outside the door. The black mechling let out an indignant sort of sound as he was pulled close, steam billowing out of his face mask as he pressed his servos against his twin's chestplate and started to push--
"Can I help you two with something?" a smooth sounding voice asked but it caused Steamer to startle nonetheless, said sparkling jerking back as his visor-covered optics landed on the source of the voice. Velocity, in all of his confident glory, jumped about half his own height into the air and then cowered behind his brother, completely taken off guard by the evidence of other life forms in the room.
Optic ridge arching, Prowl glanced between them slightly before his optics narrowed a bit.
"Well?"
Wide optics stared at the logibot as he began to slowly creep out from behind Steam Rider. He let out a whistle of joy and a long stream of clicks after a moment, smiling brightly. A new face surely meant a new friend!
".............." Prowl, not well versed in the language of sparklings, gave Velocity a blank sort of look before he pushed his seat back, rising to his feet. Trying to move backwards, nudging his twin back as he did, Steam Rider stared at logibot like he was the scariest thing on the planet, letting out a series of squeaks as Prowl drew closer to them. The silver mechling's attention was briefly drawn to his sibling, but as Steam Rider tried to step back, he stepped out completely from behind him and allowed the smaller mechling to stand behind him. He was such a brave little thing, wasn't he? Or just naive.
"Let me guess, you are hiding?"
Velocity's bright smile turned into a grin when Prowl mentioned hiding, and he nodded and clicked a few times in response. As Prowl drew closer, however, his grin began to fade as he realized just how large the other bot was. Until then, he'd met the other Autobots of the base from the safety and height of another's arms, and the world didn't look so huge. But Prowl, at that moment, looked like a giant, and even defiant Velocity was forced to take a step back.
"At ease, little one. I am not going to hurt you," he said calmly, kneeling down a few feet from the pair, watching them with narrowed optics still. "We need to find your creators though."
Wait a minute, find their creators? No way! Their creators had to find them, and the little silver and white mech told all of this to the black and white mech in a series of sharp, unhappy clicks.
Who was more than happy to hide behind Velocity? Steam Rider, that's who. He pressed his faceplate against the other mechling's back, letting out shakey little chirp as Prowl spoke to them, too scared to even chance a look at the mech.
"Oh is that so?" the second in commander replied as Velocity clicked unhappily at him, having no idea what the sparkling had said but rolling with it all the same. "Unfortunately, what I say goes in this situation and I am going to find your creators. I am sure they are extremely worried about you." He gave the white mechling a firm stare before he rose up again, moving forward in order to scoop the pair up. As soon as Prowl's servo came anywhere near the pair though, Velocity swatted at it as hard as his little servo could hit, growling threateningly.
Well, he thought he was being threatening, at least.
Prowl pulled his servo back a touch, glancing at it then to Velocity again as if to say 'And you expected to do what?'. Realizing that his brother had just gotten them in even more trouble Steamer let out a low whine that turned into a sharp squeak as Prowl suddenly moved, scooping both sparklings up before either of them could react and straightening up, one under each arm.
"There. Was that so hard?"
Velocity let off a stream of reprimanding clicks and chirps, glaring in return at Prowl and squirming in his grasp, trying to get down by any means.
"Easy there," Prowl said with a sort of warning tone, frowning as he adjusted his hold on Velocity while Steam Rider, too scared to do anything, just kept blowing out smoke. It was perfect timing on Prowl's part, moving the sparklings away from the door, as it opened not seconds after Velocity started clicking and chirping, Jazz peering in at the odd noise, though he'd been about to enter anyhow.
"Well what do we have here?" he asked curiously, slipping in and looking at the two.
His optics snapped over to Jazz as the other bot entered, a frustrated sort of look creeping onto his faceplate.
"What do they look like?" he drawled before half glaring. "A little help?"
"That one looks like he's on fire," Jazz pointed to Steam Rider in mild alarm, peering close and using his olfactory sensors to try to detect an electrical fire. But sensing none, only steam, he frowned and took a very wiggle Velocity from Prowl's servos. "Hey there, lil' one. Just chill," he purred.
What another new voice? Was Velocity interested? Oh, very much so!
Once he was free of one of the occupants of his hold, Prowl took ahold of Steam Rider in both servos, looking down at the little bot who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown.
"Come now, there is no reason to act like that," he scolded gently which made the sparkling chirp weakling, a quivering, sad sort of sound that even made Prowl's spark soften.....a little bit. "We need to find their creators," he said in Jazz's direction while he cradled Steam Rider against his chestplate (only to keep the little thing calm of course. No other reason) stroking his helm lightly. Jazz let out a soft snort and rolled his optics behind his visor.
"Oh Prowl," he mused, but never finished the sentence, instead looking down to Velocity, who seemed to be happy as long as he was talking. "Hey there, that's your bro, right? Mind giving him the update that we're cool mechs and he can relax?" he asked the silver and white mechling. Velocity pondered this, then looked over at Steam Rider. He made grabby servos for his brother and whistled softly, trying to reassure the trembling mechling in the other adult's arms. Hearing his brother, Steam Rider hesitantly glanced over, letting out a low whistle in response as his trembling continued, said sound quickly followed by a broken set of chirps.
"......One would think that I was punishing him," Prowl drawled, shaking his processor a bit as he moved over to Jazz so the sparklings could be closer. "As I said, we need to find their creators. I have a feeling these ran off when they were not supposed too."
"I have a feeling I know who they belong to," Jazz smirked slightly, reaching over to gently stroke the crest of Steam Rider's helm with his free servo while balancing Velocity in the other while he tried to latch on to his twin. The sudden attention he was getting made Steamer shrink back a bit, cooing faintly in a confused sort of way as he turned his processor towards Velocity, looking for reassurance or something. Velocity nuzzled against his brother and purred in his own, unsteady way, trying to get his sibling to calm down. The world was a fun place, not scary.
"Oh?" Prowl asked, optic ridge arching. "Care to clue me in?"
"Where would two sparklings suddenly come from without anyone knowing someone was carrying a spark before hand?" Jazz asked, trying to get Prowl to the answer as he withdrew from the black and brown mechling, sensing he was making him more nervous than anything.
For a moment the logibot said nothing, staring at Jazz with a hard to read expression on his face. All at once though that changed as his optics narrowed and he rolled them, Prowl resisted the urge to reach up and rub the bridge of his nose.
"Wheeljack," he said low in his vocal processor, heaving a sigh as Steam Rider squeaked and pressed closer to Velocity, burying his face against his twin's chestplate.
“Bingo," Jazz confirmed in a sing-song voice. "Here, they're more comfortable together. Let me?" he offered, holding out a servo so he could take Steam Rider from Prowl, since neither really seemed like they wanted to let the other go anyway.
Truth be told, Velocity would probably do alright on his own, but for as long as he knew his twin was scared, he would stay with him. It seemed sibling bonds grew early in Cybertronians. Or at least Cybertronians Wheeljack created. ... correctly.
Prowl seemed to snap out of his thoughts and nodded some, gently turning Steam Rider over to Jazz. The little bot let out a frightened chirp until he realized that he was closer to his brother, said chirp turning into a squeak as he practically glued himself to the white sparkling. Jazz watched the pair in his arms as Velocity scooted close and wrapped his little arms around his brother protectively. His usual confident smirk melted into a soft smile for just a moment, then his attention was turned back to Prowl and it disappeared without a trace.
"...Odd little things," Prowl murmured, shaking his processor some as he folded his arms over his chestplate. "We need to find Wheeljack. I am interested to hear his reasoning behind this particular experiment."
“Shouldn't be hard to find them. Open the door?" He requested, and once Prowl did so, he stepped out into the hallway and looked around. "Hey Wheeljack, we found your newest projects!" he shouted to no one, waiting for the inventor to pop out of the woodwork. The logibot slipped out behind him, arms once more folding over his chestplate as he frowned a bit.
"Jazz I really do not think--"
"Steam Rider! Velocity!"
Faster than Prowl thought was possible, Wheeljack was attached to Jazz or, to better describe it, attached to the two sparklings in said bot's arms. Jazz was only a tad surprised by how fast Wheeljack had reached him, and he gave Prowl a look that clearly read as 'I told you so'.
"Don't do that to me ya' here???" he cooed, nuzzling the two as he scooped them up and held them close. Squealing in joy at the site of his creator, Velocity let go of Steam Rider in favor of reaching out and latching onto Wheeljack; It seemed the mechling had completely forgotten that he had been hiding from the inventor. Ratchet wasn't far behind, though his expression was less than pleased as he watched the reunion for a moment with servos folded over his chest. His attention then turned to Prowl and Jazz.
"Thanks for finding them," he said curtly, trying to hide his temper.
"No prob," Jazz grinned coolly, handing the little ones over to Wheeljack. "Now do you mind explaining them?"
Steam Rider was just as happy as his brother was though even more so when he heard Ratchet's voice, peeking over Wheeljack's shoulder and letting out a faint click, reaching for the CMO despite how angry he looked. Noting the look his was receiving from the little steam-bot, Ratchet heaved a sigh through his vents and moved to pluck Steam Rider from Wheeljack's arms to cradle him close.
"Yes, an explanation would be wonderful," Prowl added a bit dryly, glancing from Wheeljack to Ratchet and back again, an optic ridge arching.
"Ah...well...I made them," the inventor mumbled, stepping backwards a bit, closer to Ratchet. "That's the short story version at least."
"We made them," he corrected the inventor as he shot glares to the two commanders. If either of them made any comment about his soft spot for the sparklings, there was more than like a wrench hiding somewhere on his person that wast just itching to hit them.
"Well, that's a good start, but I'm afraid we're gonna need the full story," Jazz frowned just slightly, though the sight of the two with the sparklings was really quite adorable, in a fear for you life kind of way.
"I figured," Wheeljack said with a weak sort of flicker to his fins before he himself sighed, optics falling to rest on Velocity. "I was experimentin' with different ways to create sparklin's. I wanted to see if it was possible to create one without it havin' to be housed inside a bot. And then, in lil' Steamer's case..he..well he doesn't have a real spark." Hearing his name the little bot curled up against Ratchet's spark case let out a soft coo, something that made even Prowl's usually stoic features soften just a tiny, tiny bit.
"What do you mean 'doesn't have a real spark'?" he questioned, gaze leaving Steam Rider to land on the mechling's creator. "How can he not have a real spark?"
"You've seen the steam he puffs out, right? He has a complex thermo-hydraulic system in his chassis rather than a normal energy core spark like you and I have," Ratchet explained, keeping it as simple as he possibly could. Jazz seemed a little put aback by the concept, giving Steam Rider a peculiar look.
"That's... inventive..."
"He is merely a robot then, not actually a bot?"
"No! He's a bot, just like the rest of us!" Wheeljack interjected fiercely, something that startled Prowl, the logibot blinking as his arms dropped to his sides.
"Easy, Wheeljack, I did not--"
"I know exactly what ya' meant and ya' need to get those thoughts outta your processor right now," the inventor said sharply, almost in a huff as Steam Rider tried to bury himself against Ratchet's spark case. The C.M.O. pulled Steam Rider just a bit close and help his arms in such a way that they formed a wall that the little sparkling could hide behind should he choose, something that the mechling took full advantage of. Velocity had been startled by his creator's outburst and whimpered softly, curling up into a little ball in the inventor's arms, hiding his face from all the others, obviously scared of what was going to happen next.
Prowl sighed, expression relaxing a bit.
"I meant no harm. I apologize, I was not thinking before I spoke."
"It's a complex situation. We'll have to watch his progression carefully, but if anyone could've blurred the line, it's Wheeljack," he said, trying to appease both sides.
Although on second thought, he wondered if he'd just made it worse.
Silence fell over the group for a moment, outside of the murmurings of the sparklings, before Prowl shifted a bit, nodding slightly to Ratchet.
"I suppose you are right though I still...great care still needs to be taken with them, though I doubt I have to tell you that," he explained and it was clear that he was not completely comfortable with the situation but he didn't want to Wheeljack to do anything rash either. "Who else knows?"
"The twins, Mirage, Hound, Bee, Chromia, Ironhide..."
"Prime does not know yet?” Prowl said with a slight narrowing of his optics.
".....No."
"So... you didn't have anyone's permission to go through with this?" Jazz asked hesitantly. He had no idea what the repercussions for something like this could even be. It wasn't honestly a situation any of them ever really thought about. The Dinobots had been unintelligent, but permission had been issued for them, and when they had been decommissioned for a time, no one had really seen them as bots, so feelings weren't taken into account.
But sparklings? It hardly seemed fair to do anything to them, and who had the spark to take them away from their creators?
"We were going to see him, before these two took off," Ratchet interjected, trying to alleviate the tension just a bit. Wheeljack had gotten extremely quiet when Jazz had spoken up, his fins dimmed to practically nothing as he hunched his shoulders a bit, moving back even closer to Ratchet. The last thing he wanted was for the sparklings to get taken away. He wasn't sure what he would do if Prime ordered that.
"I see," the logibot replied to the CMO, glancing at Jazz for a moment before looking back at the group before them. "Last I knew he was in his quarters avoiding me so he did not have to work on anything. I have no doubts he can still be found there."
"We'll accompany you," Jazz offered in a friendly manner, but in actuality, he and Prowl were probably going to have to be present anyhow, since they were third and second in command. He motioned for them to follow, casting a quick glance at Prowl before heading down the hall. Saying nothing more, the logibot turned and followed as the other mech led the way, knowing the inventor and CMO would come along at their own pace.
Ratchet nodded, though he didn't move just yet and his attention turned to Wheeljack briefly, scanning the Inventor's face to make certain he was alright.
"It'll be fine," he murmured reassuringly, taking a step closer and lingering a moment before following after Jazz.
"....I hope you're right, Ratch'," Wheeljack murmured, heaving a sigh as he started after the group, lifting his free servo to stroke Velocity's helm. "..I really hope so."
Chapter: 5/?
Authors: crazedwolf and cloud_sama
Rating: G
Series: Transformers (Mostly G1 based)
Characters: Wheeljack, Ratchet, OCs, Prowl, Jazz
Warnings: I guess OCs would be a warning..nothing else as of right now.
Summary: In which things get a bit more serious.
Author's Notes:
x_x Yeah..so..um...about those delays.....-hides-
Comments and critique are love! And we hope you enjoy!
Steam Rider let out a soft series of clicks as he and Velocity pushed the door that they had chosen to dart in shut, the black mechling blowing out a puff of steam as his nervousness began to show through. He knew they were going to be in a lot of trouble when Wheeljack and Ratchet found him and he hated to make them worry..but...Velocity was just so convincing and it was hard to say no!
Chirping softly he looked at his brother, the sparkling huddling closer to him as he peered at the door, as if waiting for Ratchet to burst through it.
Velocity, however, didn't seem to have consequences on his processor at all. The happy-go-lucky, mischevious little bot whistled confidently to his twin, pulling him close to his chest none too gently, since he didn't have much of a concept of force, a grin on his faceplate as he listened to the two bots dart past outside the door. The black mechling let out an indignant sort of sound as he was pulled close, steam billowing out of his face mask as he pressed his servos against his twin's chestplate and started to push--
"Can I help you two with something?" a smooth sounding voice asked but it caused Steamer to startle nonetheless, said sparkling jerking back as his visor-covered optics landed on the source of the voice. Velocity, in all of his confident glory, jumped about half his own height into the air and then cowered behind his brother, completely taken off guard by the evidence of other life forms in the room.
Optic ridge arching, Prowl glanced between them slightly before his optics narrowed a bit.
"Well?"
Wide optics stared at the logibot as he began to slowly creep out from behind Steam Rider. He let out a whistle of joy and a long stream of clicks after a moment, smiling brightly. A new face surely meant a new friend!
".............." Prowl, not well versed in the language of sparklings, gave Velocity a blank sort of look before he pushed his seat back, rising to his feet. Trying to move backwards, nudging his twin back as he did, Steam Rider stared at logibot like he was the scariest thing on the planet, letting out a series of squeaks as Prowl drew closer to them. The silver mechling's attention was briefly drawn to his sibling, but as Steam Rider tried to step back, he stepped out completely from behind him and allowed the smaller mechling to stand behind him. He was such a brave little thing, wasn't he? Or just naive.
"Let me guess, you are hiding?"
Velocity's bright smile turned into a grin when Prowl mentioned hiding, and he nodded and clicked a few times in response. As Prowl drew closer, however, his grin began to fade as he realized just how large the other bot was. Until then, he'd met the other Autobots of the base from the safety and height of another's arms, and the world didn't look so huge. But Prowl, at that moment, looked like a giant, and even defiant Velocity was forced to take a step back.
"At ease, little one. I am not going to hurt you," he said calmly, kneeling down a few feet from the pair, watching them with narrowed optics still. "We need to find your creators though."
Wait a minute, find their creators? No way! Their creators had to find them, and the little silver and white mech told all of this to the black and white mech in a series of sharp, unhappy clicks.
Who was more than happy to hide behind Velocity? Steam Rider, that's who. He pressed his faceplate against the other mechling's back, letting out shakey little chirp as Prowl spoke to them, too scared to even chance a look at the mech.
"Oh is that so?" the second in commander replied as Velocity clicked unhappily at him, having no idea what the sparkling had said but rolling with it all the same. "Unfortunately, what I say goes in this situation and I am going to find your creators. I am sure they are extremely worried about you." He gave the white mechling a firm stare before he rose up again, moving forward in order to scoop the pair up. As soon as Prowl's servo came anywhere near the pair though, Velocity swatted at it as hard as his little servo could hit, growling threateningly.
Well, he thought he was being threatening, at least.
Prowl pulled his servo back a touch, glancing at it then to Velocity again as if to say 'And you expected to do what?'. Realizing that his brother had just gotten them in even more trouble Steamer let out a low whine that turned into a sharp squeak as Prowl suddenly moved, scooping both sparklings up before either of them could react and straightening up, one under each arm.
"There. Was that so hard?"
Velocity let off a stream of reprimanding clicks and chirps, glaring in return at Prowl and squirming in his grasp, trying to get down by any means.
"Easy there," Prowl said with a sort of warning tone, frowning as he adjusted his hold on Velocity while Steam Rider, too scared to do anything, just kept blowing out smoke. It was perfect timing on Prowl's part, moving the sparklings away from the door, as it opened not seconds after Velocity started clicking and chirping, Jazz peering in at the odd noise, though he'd been about to enter anyhow.
"Well what do we have here?" he asked curiously, slipping in and looking at the two.
His optics snapped over to Jazz as the other bot entered, a frustrated sort of look creeping onto his faceplate.
"What do they look like?" he drawled before half glaring. "A little help?"
"That one looks like he's on fire," Jazz pointed to Steam Rider in mild alarm, peering close and using his olfactory sensors to try to detect an electrical fire. But sensing none, only steam, he frowned and took a very wiggle Velocity from Prowl's servos. "Hey there, lil' one. Just chill," he purred.
What another new voice? Was Velocity interested? Oh, very much so!
Once he was free of one of the occupants of his hold, Prowl took ahold of Steam Rider in both servos, looking down at the little bot who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown.
"Come now, there is no reason to act like that," he scolded gently which made the sparkling chirp weakling, a quivering, sad sort of sound that even made Prowl's spark soften.....a little bit. "We need to find their creators," he said in Jazz's direction while he cradled Steam Rider against his chestplate (only to keep the little thing calm of course. No other reason) stroking his helm lightly. Jazz let out a soft snort and rolled his optics behind his visor.
"Oh Prowl," he mused, but never finished the sentence, instead looking down to Velocity, who seemed to be happy as long as he was talking. "Hey there, that's your bro, right? Mind giving him the update that we're cool mechs and he can relax?" he asked the silver and white mechling. Velocity pondered this, then looked over at Steam Rider. He made grabby servos for his brother and whistled softly, trying to reassure the trembling mechling in the other adult's arms. Hearing his brother, Steam Rider hesitantly glanced over, letting out a low whistle in response as his trembling continued, said sound quickly followed by a broken set of chirps.
"......One would think that I was punishing him," Prowl drawled, shaking his processor a bit as he moved over to Jazz so the sparklings could be closer. "As I said, we need to find their creators. I have a feeling these ran off when they were not supposed too."
"I have a feeling I know who they belong to," Jazz smirked slightly, reaching over to gently stroke the crest of Steam Rider's helm with his free servo while balancing Velocity in the other while he tried to latch on to his twin. The sudden attention he was getting made Steamer shrink back a bit, cooing faintly in a confused sort of way as he turned his processor towards Velocity, looking for reassurance or something. Velocity nuzzled against his brother and purred in his own, unsteady way, trying to get his sibling to calm down. The world was a fun place, not scary.
"Oh?" Prowl asked, optic ridge arching. "Care to clue me in?"
"Where would two sparklings suddenly come from without anyone knowing someone was carrying a spark before hand?" Jazz asked, trying to get Prowl to the answer as he withdrew from the black and brown mechling, sensing he was making him more nervous than anything.
For a moment the logibot said nothing, staring at Jazz with a hard to read expression on his face. All at once though that changed as his optics narrowed and he rolled them, Prowl resisted the urge to reach up and rub the bridge of his nose.
"Wheeljack," he said low in his vocal processor, heaving a sigh as Steam Rider squeaked and pressed closer to Velocity, burying his face against his twin's chestplate.
“Bingo," Jazz confirmed in a sing-song voice. "Here, they're more comfortable together. Let me?" he offered, holding out a servo so he could take Steam Rider from Prowl, since neither really seemed like they wanted to let the other go anyway.
Truth be told, Velocity would probably do alright on his own, but for as long as he knew his twin was scared, he would stay with him. It seemed sibling bonds grew early in Cybertronians. Or at least Cybertronians Wheeljack created. ... correctly.
Prowl seemed to snap out of his thoughts and nodded some, gently turning Steam Rider over to Jazz. The little bot let out a frightened chirp until he realized that he was closer to his brother, said chirp turning into a squeak as he practically glued himself to the white sparkling. Jazz watched the pair in his arms as Velocity scooted close and wrapped his little arms around his brother protectively. His usual confident smirk melted into a soft smile for just a moment, then his attention was turned back to Prowl and it disappeared without a trace.
"...Odd little things," Prowl murmured, shaking his processor some as he folded his arms over his chestplate. "We need to find Wheeljack. I am interested to hear his reasoning behind this particular experiment."
“Shouldn't be hard to find them. Open the door?" He requested, and once Prowl did so, he stepped out into the hallway and looked around. "Hey Wheeljack, we found your newest projects!" he shouted to no one, waiting for the inventor to pop out of the woodwork. The logibot slipped out behind him, arms once more folding over his chestplate as he frowned a bit.
"Jazz I really do not think--"
"Steam Rider! Velocity!"
Faster than Prowl thought was possible, Wheeljack was attached to Jazz or, to better describe it, attached to the two sparklings in said bot's arms. Jazz was only a tad surprised by how fast Wheeljack had reached him, and he gave Prowl a look that clearly read as 'I told you so'.
"Don't do that to me ya' here???" he cooed, nuzzling the two as he scooped them up and held them close. Squealing in joy at the site of his creator, Velocity let go of Steam Rider in favor of reaching out and latching onto Wheeljack; It seemed the mechling had completely forgotten that he had been hiding from the inventor. Ratchet wasn't far behind, though his expression was less than pleased as he watched the reunion for a moment with servos folded over his chest. His attention then turned to Prowl and Jazz.
"Thanks for finding them," he said curtly, trying to hide his temper.
"No prob," Jazz grinned coolly, handing the little ones over to Wheeljack. "Now do you mind explaining them?"
Steam Rider was just as happy as his brother was though even more so when he heard Ratchet's voice, peeking over Wheeljack's shoulder and letting out a faint click, reaching for the CMO despite how angry he looked. Noting the look his was receiving from the little steam-bot, Ratchet heaved a sigh through his vents and moved to pluck Steam Rider from Wheeljack's arms to cradle him close.
"Yes, an explanation would be wonderful," Prowl added a bit dryly, glancing from Wheeljack to Ratchet and back again, an optic ridge arching.
"Ah...well...I made them," the inventor mumbled, stepping backwards a bit, closer to Ratchet. "That's the short story version at least."
"We made them," he corrected the inventor as he shot glares to the two commanders. If either of them made any comment about his soft spot for the sparklings, there was more than like a wrench hiding somewhere on his person that wast just itching to hit them.
"Well, that's a good start, but I'm afraid we're gonna need the full story," Jazz frowned just slightly, though the sight of the two with the sparklings was really quite adorable, in a fear for you life kind of way.
"I figured," Wheeljack said with a weak sort of flicker to his fins before he himself sighed, optics falling to rest on Velocity. "I was experimentin' with different ways to create sparklin's. I wanted to see if it was possible to create one without it havin' to be housed inside a bot. And then, in lil' Steamer's case..he..well he doesn't have a real spark." Hearing his name the little bot curled up against Ratchet's spark case let out a soft coo, something that made even Prowl's usually stoic features soften just a tiny, tiny bit.
"What do you mean 'doesn't have a real spark'?" he questioned, gaze leaving Steam Rider to land on the mechling's creator. "How can he not have a real spark?"
"You've seen the steam he puffs out, right? He has a complex thermo-hydraulic system in his chassis rather than a normal energy core spark like you and I have," Ratchet explained, keeping it as simple as he possibly could. Jazz seemed a little put aback by the concept, giving Steam Rider a peculiar look.
"That's... inventive..."
"He is merely a robot then, not actually a bot?"
"No! He's a bot, just like the rest of us!" Wheeljack interjected fiercely, something that startled Prowl, the logibot blinking as his arms dropped to his sides.
"Easy, Wheeljack, I did not--"
"I know exactly what ya' meant and ya' need to get those thoughts outta your processor right now," the inventor said sharply, almost in a huff as Steam Rider tried to bury himself against Ratchet's spark case. The C.M.O. pulled Steam Rider just a bit close and help his arms in such a way that they formed a wall that the little sparkling could hide behind should he choose, something that the mechling took full advantage of. Velocity had been startled by his creator's outburst and whimpered softly, curling up into a little ball in the inventor's arms, hiding his face from all the others, obviously scared of what was going to happen next.
Prowl sighed, expression relaxing a bit.
"I meant no harm. I apologize, I was not thinking before I spoke."
"It's a complex situation. We'll have to watch his progression carefully, but if anyone could've blurred the line, it's Wheeljack," he said, trying to appease both sides.
Although on second thought, he wondered if he'd just made it worse.
Silence fell over the group for a moment, outside of the murmurings of the sparklings, before Prowl shifted a bit, nodding slightly to Ratchet.
"I suppose you are right though I still...great care still needs to be taken with them, though I doubt I have to tell you that," he explained and it was clear that he was not completely comfortable with the situation but he didn't want to Wheeljack to do anything rash either. "Who else knows?"
"The twins, Mirage, Hound, Bee, Chromia, Ironhide..."
"Prime does not know yet?” Prowl said with a slight narrowing of his optics.
".....No."
"So... you didn't have anyone's permission to go through with this?" Jazz asked hesitantly. He had no idea what the repercussions for something like this could even be. It wasn't honestly a situation any of them ever really thought about. The Dinobots had been unintelligent, but permission had been issued for them, and when they had been decommissioned for a time, no one had really seen them as bots, so feelings weren't taken into account.
But sparklings? It hardly seemed fair to do anything to them, and who had the spark to take them away from their creators?
"We were going to see him, before these two took off," Ratchet interjected, trying to alleviate the tension just a bit. Wheeljack had gotten extremely quiet when Jazz had spoken up, his fins dimmed to practically nothing as he hunched his shoulders a bit, moving back even closer to Ratchet. The last thing he wanted was for the sparklings to get taken away. He wasn't sure what he would do if Prime ordered that.
"I see," the logibot replied to the CMO, glancing at Jazz for a moment before looking back at the group before them. "Last I knew he was in his quarters avoiding me so he did not have to work on anything. I have no doubts he can still be found there."
"We'll accompany you," Jazz offered in a friendly manner, but in actuality, he and Prowl were probably going to have to be present anyhow, since they were third and second in command. He motioned for them to follow, casting a quick glance at Prowl before heading down the hall. Saying nothing more, the logibot turned and followed as the other mech led the way, knowing the inventor and CMO would come along at their own pace.
Ratchet nodded, though he didn't move just yet and his attention turned to Wheeljack briefly, scanning the Inventor's face to make certain he was alright.
"It'll be fine," he murmured reassuringly, taking a step closer and lingering a moment before following after Jazz.
"....I hope you're right, Ratch'," Wheeljack murmured, heaving a sigh as he started after the group, lifting his free servo to stroke Velocity's helm. "..I really hope so."