Nexus. Near the sign. Meeting new friends.
It had happened again.
Solarflare turned a slow circle to take in her surroundings, her wings and crest both showing her alarm and surprise at having passed between two trees and suddenly found herself in what looked almost like a busy city square.
Except the sky looked funny... if it was a sky. And that looked a lot like a giant black anthropomorphic unicorn with silver dragon wings flying up there with the neon... jellyfish...?
She stared for a moment, then looked down as something bumped into her leg and watched as a small green Andalite chased a panicked pack of Teletubbies off between the buildings.
"This is your first time in the Nexus, isn't it?" asked a quiet male voice as she gazed bemusedly after the live plushie rout.
"Uh... yeah." She turned her attention toward the owner of the voice and saw a ten foot tall mech who closely resembled Hot Rod sitting on a couch and cuddling two six foot tall sparklets as three more youngbots scrapped happily beside them. "Nexus?"
"Nexus between realities," he explained, offering her a calm and kindly smile that was nothing like Hot Rod's had been. "You can meet people from any time and any place. Including, possibly, other versions of yourself." He looked down as one of the little femmes who was leaning on him shifted and gave the tall bird-winged femme a suspicious and wary look, then turned his attention back to her himself. "I'm Blazer, bridge to the family of Rodimus Prime. This is Oriana 2 and Nova, and these little mechs are Chase, Starforge, and Windstripe."
Four sets of little blue optics, and one set of green looked up at her, and she felt her mouth twitching as she was reminded of her own sparklets. The green optics belonged to Windstripe, who was fluffy with adorable white and black striped fur and who sported a pair of brown feathered wings that were still splayed out from his tussle with his friends.
"Nova?" she said, settling down to sit on her heels so that she could see the babies more closely. "I met a Nova the other day. She...." She paused as Chase and Windstripe moved and she got a good look at Starforge. "...Reminded me of a friend. But not as much as you do, Starforge."
"Ah look like mah daddy," said the little mech shyly, his slow and easy Texas drawl making Solarflare's optics widen. "Do ya got a Ironhide where you live?"
"We... did," she said slowly, not wanting to speak of war and death to the sparklet.
"He's daid, ain't he?" said Nova, nodding. "So's Daddy."
"I'm sorry," said Solarflare, blinking.
"He died a long time ago," said Starforge, wriggling so that he could sit up. "Twenty five vorns! But then he came back ta help Mama take care 'a us."
"Okay," said Solarflare. "Now I'm confused. You guys are twenty five vorns old?"
"Nope," said Nova. "We ain't even an Earth year yet. Aunty Pansy made us from a recordin' 'a Mama 'n Daddy's spark codes. She didn' know Daddy'd come back."
"He's a ghost," said Oriana 2 quietly. "Just like Grandpa Ratchet, except that he's not an Allspark Messenger."
"Allspark Messenger." Solarflare blinked at the flood of information and wondered again what the Ratchet she knew had been doing for all those years he was gone.
"Yup!" said Chase, grinning. "He works with Bumblebee! And Spike!"
"Spike's not a Messenger, Chase." Oriana 2 reached over to poke her little green brother. "Primus just let him come back to visit so he could see you."
"Spike's in the Well of All Sparks?" Solarflare wondered if he'd gotten stuck when they turned him into a Transformer that time.
"Not the human Spike," explained Blazer as he gently rubbed Nova's back. "This Spike was Rodimus and Panacea's second sparklet. Oriana 2 and Chase's older brother, and Ratchet and Optimus Prima's grandson."
Flare's crest stood straight up. "Optimus... Prima. You guys had a female Optimus? Uh...."
A small form suddenly climbed into her lap and snuggled, purring, and she looked down at Windstripe, noting just how soft that fuzzy fur really was. "So... whose baby are you?"
"My Mama and Dad're scouts. They're Airazor and Tigatron," said the little guy proudly. "They can combine into Tigerhawk!"
"Wow, that's amazing." Solarflare rubbed his back with her fingers, feeling a little glad that she had never heard his creators' names before. "I bet they must have some really interesting adventures."
"Uh huh. But we can't talk about 'em in the Nexus." The sparklet transformed into a fuzzy white tiger cub with brown hawk wings, and then curled up in such a way as to give Solarflare's fingers free access to his back.
She scritched gently at the base of the little wings, then looked at Oriana 2 as the little femme made a polite throat clearing sound.
"Do you have sparklets?" asked the buffy coloured sparklet, picking up a pink furby that had been tucked beside her and sitting it on her lap without taking her quizzical optics off Solarflare.
"I do," said the winged femme, smiling. "A little mech, and a little femme. The mech is older."
"What're their names?" Starforge wanted to know.
"The mech is Spectrum, and the femme is Illusion."
"Do they have a Dad?" inquired Chase, absently glomping onto his sister as his bright optics fixed on Solarflare's face.
"Oh wait." Oriana 2 remembered herself. "You probably want to go home, instead of telling stories. Blazer can help you with that."
Solarflare chuckled and smoothed the fur on Windstripe's head. "I've got a couple hours to spare before anyone starts looking for me. And yes, Spectrum and Illusion have a dad. His name is Mirage."
"Mirage? Ooooo! That's why they have names like that. Cool!" Chase bounced without letting go his sister, which made Oriana 2 carefully catch her furby and then hug him with one arm.
"Oh... we don't know your name yet," said the buffy sparklet, looking up with chagrin.
Solarflare smiled at the little one's manners and self possession. "I'm Solarflare."
"Will you tell us about your kids?" asked Chase hopefully as Starforge nodded his support of the request.
"Sure, I will." The grey and white femme chuckled and settled down to do so. The next couple hours were spent pleasantly in the company of the sparklets and their guardian, and then she was helped home, where she had a story for her own sparklets and their father.
Solarflare turned a slow circle to take in her surroundings, her wings and crest both showing her alarm and surprise at having passed between two trees and suddenly found herself in what looked almost like a busy city square.
Except the sky looked funny... if it was a sky. And that looked a lot like a giant black anthropomorphic unicorn with silver dragon wings flying up there with the neon... jellyfish...?
She stared for a moment, then looked down as something bumped into her leg and watched as a small green Andalite chased a panicked pack of Teletubbies off between the buildings.
"This is your first time in the Nexus, isn't it?" asked a quiet male voice as she gazed bemusedly after the live plushie rout.
"Uh... yeah." She turned her attention toward the owner of the voice and saw a ten foot tall mech who closely resembled Hot Rod sitting on a couch and cuddling two six foot tall sparklets as three more youngbots scrapped happily beside them. "Nexus?"
"Nexus between realities," he explained, offering her a calm and kindly smile that was nothing like Hot Rod's had been. "You can meet people from any time and any place. Including, possibly, other versions of yourself." He looked down as one of the little femmes who was leaning on him shifted and gave the tall bird-winged femme a suspicious and wary look, then turned his attention back to her himself. "I'm Blazer, bridge to the family of Rodimus Prime. This is Oriana 2 and Nova, and these little mechs are Chase, Starforge, and Windstripe."
Four sets of little blue optics, and one set of green looked up at her, and she felt her mouth twitching as she was reminded of her own sparklets. The green optics belonged to Windstripe, who was fluffy with adorable white and black striped fur and who sported a pair of brown feathered wings that were still splayed out from his tussle with his friends.
"Nova?" she said, settling down to sit on her heels so that she could see the babies more closely. "I met a Nova the other day. She...." She paused as Chase and Windstripe moved and she got a good look at Starforge. "...Reminded me of a friend. But not as much as you do, Starforge."
"Ah look like mah daddy," said the little mech shyly, his slow and easy Texas drawl making Solarflare's optics widen. "Do ya got a Ironhide where you live?"
"We... did," she said slowly, not wanting to speak of war and death to the sparklet.
"He's daid, ain't he?" said Nova, nodding. "So's Daddy."
"I'm sorry," said Solarflare, blinking.
"He died a long time ago," said Starforge, wriggling so that he could sit up. "Twenty five vorns! But then he came back ta help Mama take care 'a us."
"Okay," said Solarflare. "Now I'm confused. You guys are twenty five vorns old?"
"Nope," said Nova. "We ain't even an Earth year yet. Aunty Pansy made us from a recordin' 'a Mama 'n Daddy's spark codes. She didn' know Daddy'd come back."
"He's a ghost," said Oriana 2 quietly. "Just like Grandpa Ratchet, except that he's not an Allspark Messenger."
"Allspark Messenger." Solarflare blinked at the flood of information and wondered again what the Ratchet she knew had been doing for all those years he was gone.
"Yup!" said Chase, grinning. "He works with Bumblebee! And Spike!"
"Spike's not a Messenger, Chase." Oriana 2 reached over to poke her little green brother. "Primus just let him come back to visit so he could see you."
"Spike's in the Well of All Sparks?" Solarflare wondered if he'd gotten stuck when they turned him into a Transformer that time.
"Not the human Spike," explained Blazer as he gently rubbed Nova's back. "This Spike was Rodimus and Panacea's second sparklet. Oriana 2 and Chase's older brother, and Ratchet and Optimus Prima's grandson."
Flare's crest stood straight up. "Optimus... Prima. You guys had a female Optimus? Uh...."
A small form suddenly climbed into her lap and snuggled, purring, and she looked down at Windstripe, noting just how soft that fuzzy fur really was. "So... whose baby are you?"
"My Mama and Dad're scouts. They're Airazor and Tigatron," said the little guy proudly. "They can combine into Tigerhawk!"
"Wow, that's amazing." Solarflare rubbed his back with her fingers, feeling a little glad that she had never heard his creators' names before. "I bet they must have some really interesting adventures."
"Uh huh. But we can't talk about 'em in the Nexus." The sparklet transformed into a fuzzy white tiger cub with brown hawk wings, and then curled up in such a way as to give Solarflare's fingers free access to his back.
She scritched gently at the base of the little wings, then looked at Oriana 2 as the little femme made a polite throat clearing sound.
"Do you have sparklets?" asked the buffy coloured sparklet, picking up a pink furby that had been tucked beside her and sitting it on her lap without taking her quizzical optics off Solarflare.
"I do," said the winged femme, smiling. "A little mech, and a little femme. The mech is older."
"What're their names?" Starforge wanted to know.
"The mech is Spectrum, and the femme is Illusion."
"Do they have a Dad?" inquired Chase, absently glomping onto his sister as his bright optics fixed on Solarflare's face.
"Oh wait." Oriana 2 remembered herself. "You probably want to go home, instead of telling stories. Blazer can help you with that."
Solarflare chuckled and smoothed the fur on Windstripe's head. "I've got a couple hours to spare before anyone starts looking for me. And yes, Spectrum and Illusion have a dad. His name is Mirage."
"Mirage? Ooooo! That's why they have names like that. Cool!" Chase bounced without letting go his sister, which made Oriana 2 carefully catch her furby and then hug him with one arm.
"Oh... we don't know your name yet," said the buffy sparklet, looking up with chagrin.
Solarflare smiled at the little one's manners and self possession. "I'm Solarflare."
"Will you tell us about your kids?" asked Chase hopefully as Starforge nodded his support of the request.
"Sure, I will." The grey and white femme chuckled and settled down to do so. The next couple hours were spent pleasantly in the company of the sparklets and their guardian, and then she was helped home, where she had a story for her own sparklets and their father.