TFP Pre War AU

TFP Pre War AU

D-16 offlines quietly in the mines (likely a staged cave in to get rid of some of the more rebellious mechs) and somehow starts watching over Cybertron as a ghost.

(He was simply too angry to die.)

Later, Orion Pax semi-aligned himself with Senator-turned-Gladiator Shockwave.

Orion digs a bit too deep into the Senate's affairs and gets assassinated.

Plot reasons, Orion ends up as a ghost, too.

(Spite. The answer is spite.)

Blah blah blah- Orion and D-16 meet, and Orion gets D-16 to give himself a name. They end up with Megatronus because the miner respects the original Megatronus Prime for some reason?????

(Maybe it was Orion that came up with it?????)

Megatronus has mostly been watching over the mines and the Pits of Kaon since he died.

(Cuz he wants to look after His People.)

Orion, sensing the kindred spirit of rebellion and justice, proposes that they get resurrected and fix Cybertron.

Megan, skeptically: No one has ever come back from the dead. Once your spark is extinguished, there is nothing to be done!

Orion Pax, literally raised by one of the Thirteen: We are already breaking the afterlife, Megatronus. And just because it has never been done before, does not mean that it is impossible. Just highly unlikely.

Also Orion Pax: I just really want to go on a super cool history quest and start a rebellion and we're already ghosts Megatronus so something is clearly going on here, maybe it's destiny, who cares just let me have this.

They go on Danny Phantom/Indiana Jones/National Treasure/Star Trek type misadventures (with a bit of ghostly screwing around on the way) and somehow get resurrected (with a few frame changes).

There are two ways this could end.

this damn text post meme is like Optimus Prime, you think it’s dead and then BAM resurrection #357. back from the dead again bitches

YET ANOTHER MEGOP AU/crossover

AU where Megatron and Optimus of TFA and Prime swap minds

So TFA Megatron and Optimus are in their prime counterparts’ bodies and vice versa

TFA Optimus suddenly being leader of all autobots in a way higher stakes game and is so confused

Optimus: What do you mean me and Megatrons history? He doesn’t even remember my name!

Ratchet:…I don’t think i’ve heard Megatron speak without him mentioning you

Optimus:…What?

TFA Megatron also being very confused and very interested in this rivalry but also

Megatron: HA no Magnus, no council only the little prime oh this will be easy

Soundwave:…

Breakdown:…

Knockout:…who are you and what did you do with Megatron

BUT THE REVERSE

Prime Megatrons eye twitching at the shenanigans of Blitzwing and Lugnut and OH GREAT Starscreams immortal and WHY THE FUCK ISN’T OPITMUS IN CHARGE OF THE AUTOBOTS….and then he sees his Optimus in TFA Optimus body and is just ‘…I take it back this is the greatest day of my life’

He’s also loving seeing Optimus getting so annoyed with the Autobot high command and the Magnus and Sentinel…because Prime Optimus is having to deal with no-one but his team taking him seriously or listening to him and he is so done.

Sentinel: Please what does a repairbot like you know about the Decepticons

Optimus*I have literally fought Megatron for longer than you’ve been alive*:….

Megatron watching this ‘Oh primus Optimus is going to kill him this is amazing…I love this Universe’

Megatron is having the time of his life teasing is Optimus and flirting and everyone else is so confused.

@batghostgirlfan

Hey! :)

What would it be like, to have a do-over of certain events knowing what you know now?

Not your whole life. Just from a certain point, just a few days even. What would you do?

(In defense of something I’m about to do, @roseofmyeye asked for it.)

…

…

…

Bulkhead woke up the day Cliffjumper died.

It was like a weird dream, sitting up in his berth back at Autobot Outpost Omega one in a body that was younger and more intact then the one he had fallen into stasis in. He always kept up with his maintenance, but time took its toll on him just as it took its tole on all things and some parts just couldn't be replaced... and he was so very tired.

He remembered how, before he'd gone into stasis that previous night, he'd been out with the team from his reality—just spending time together.

Like the good ol’ days.

They were all still around, though much older and far more tired—and Ratchet's ever-sharp hearing was finally starting to go, so Bumblebee patiently repeated everything for the medic. Wheeljack and Magnus were talking about how Strongarm had just become the second-in-command of the Elite Guard after Bumblebee stepped down to run for the council, and Smokescreen was very excited to have the second-gen Wrecker for a partner. She would've been there, but Grimlock and Sideswipe had taken her out to celebrate on their own.

Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus were smiling, but they looked just as tired as Bulkhead felt.

They'd never fully recovered after the kids from the other universe started to pass away.

They had been "ready”, but that didn't make it hurt any less. There was no ready, not for that.

Not for Professor Sumdac. Not for Fowler and June. Not for Jack, and Raf. Not for Miko.

Bulkhead never cried, and he cried himself silly that day and nearly every day for a decade after.

Wheeljack made sure she had her swords with her when the humans laid her in the ground. He joked that it was just in case Unicron tried anything and Earth needed its best defender—but he couldn’t laugh, barely even smiled. She had passed the Apex Armor on to a student before she went.

That girl built Unit E into something bigger and more extraordinary than anyone ever imagined, standing as Earth's chiefest protector and the trainer of new agents. There were statues of Miko Nakadai, who started fighting for two worlds when she was only sixteen and never stopped.

A long time passed after that "goodbye”. Then, in the other reality... time caught up.

That old doc-‘bot went first, old age—then it was Professor Arcee, and later Omega Supreme.

They were the eldest of that little group from the alternate reality, and it broke Wheeljack's spark—especially that other Ratchet. Seaspray wrapped an arm around him as they watched the burial.

His passing hadn't been too long ago, but it had felt... timely, somehow. He closed his optics after one last bark of laughter, and he was gone—one with the Allspark.

He went out surrounded by his family, in broad daylight, telling his tales and jokes. Death took him as he had lived at his best.

It was the kindest way in which a Wrecker had ever passed, and he'd earned it.

A long time passed, and things were okay—but the aging showed and everyone just knew it.

And one morning, Prowl couldn't find Jazz at the fortress—not until he went to the chamber of the Allspark, and found his friend meditating.

He did not realize that the colors had faded until he got close.

Their students said that they’d heard a pained scream—then Prowl made the announcement, perfectly calm.

A million years later, Prowl knocked on that once-young Optimus's door and the former leader let him in. They spent the night catching up, and Prowl stayed. Optimus found him in the morning, peaceful and holding an old picture to his chest.

It was a long, long time before it happened again. Everyone else on the team was so much younger.

Sentinel went next. He got between that other Optimus and an assassin, and bought a crucial few minutes. His last moments were spent with his servo around his best friend's, asking once more for forgiveness that was granted long ago.

Optimus lived for several million more years, then Wheeljack and Magnus got a call one day and they rushed over. They got to be there with him.

The young Bulkhead came next. His sight had been going with his age, so Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus were around often—taking him places and describing what they saw to the artist that looked old enough to be their caregiver rather than vice-versa. They were there for him, too.

Blurr's spark gave out. It came as a surprise for everyone, and it killed them to bury him. He hated small spaces. So, Wheeljack had a different idea—and dust was scattered through the stars, so that he could travel and observe forever. Bumblebee, Sari, and the Jettwins—old as they were—smiled, saying that the agent who had ran across the universe in mere days had become stardust.

The Jettwins went within hours of each other.

They liked to think Jetfire waited for Jetstorm before he entered the Allspark, so that they were never truly apart. If that was possible, it was so.

After Bumblebee passed away, old age and with what was left of his family all around him, Sari left that universe behind. There were descendants of the other team members, but they had their own lives and she could come when they needed her—as would Wheeljack and Magnus. But Sari still had some years left in her, and she stayed with her caregivers for them—perched on shoulders more often than not, getting older. She was the most-recent loss, and Wheeljack practically flew to take her back through that portal so that she passed in the right universe and went to her Well.

Bulkhead didn't know how Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus had the strength for it, loving those kids and knowing they'd watch them live to death.

But they smiled when they spoke of them.

There was no ready, but there were no regrets.

Bulkhead couldn't say the same thing.

Reaching the end of his life, all he could think about was what he had done wrong with the kids he was supposed to watch over. He filled Miko's head with tales of glory in war, stories that he forged by ignoring the suffering of the people he loved because he couldn't accept their mortality.

Wheeljack bore the brunt of that, and he'd long forgiven Bulkhead—but the green Wrecker would never forgive himself for what he had done, and how he had reacted when held accountable.

So, when he woke up the day Cliffjumper died, it felt like a dream—and he treated it as such.

He just casually walked out as everyone prepared to leave, said his greetings to too-young faces, then just tagged along with Cliff for the Pit of it.

He had missed his friend, a Wrecker in spirit.

And when the Nemesis arrived, he got Cliff clear of the blast and helped him hold the 'Cons off until help arrived—and they all managed to get home alive, though they were still battered and Cliff needed some patching. Bulkhead assumed that he would wake up some time after that.

But he didn't.

As he watched his teammates discuss the return of the Decepticons, he felt a wave of something wash over him—realization mixed with dread.

This was specific, way too specific.

What kind of dream was this?

Unless...

Bulkhead transformed and drove off, his mind racing as he ignored the worried calls of his team.

This was not happening. It couldn't be.

And yet, it was.

Bulkhead was living a good chunk of his life over again, and he'd already changed something big.

He saved Cliffjumper, which meant a lot.

No Zombie Cliff, but no Ratchet analyzing the Dark Energon so he and Optimus could learn the 'Cons plan—and also no Arcee racing off, which meant no Jack and Raf, which meant no Miko.

So... Bulkhead might've done A Bad, because he was panicked and he couldn't lose those kids.

He went to Jasper, and he drove around until a pair of Cons started following him, and he... "accidentally" got a drive-through employee involved before crashing down in front of a twelve year-old playing in a drain. He got grounded to the base because of that, but he had no regrets when Arcee and Bumblebee brought three kids to the base the next day and a familiar girl ran up to start shouting excitedly about how big he was.

It had been millions of years since Bulkhead had last seen Miko Nakadai, and she was just as he remembered her. When he could get away, he cried. If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake.

With Cliffjumper still around, Arcee was far more invested in the kids—less closed-off and pained—and Bulkhead snorted at the idea of the polar-opposite partners co-parenting Jack with June.

However, he saw a very distinct problem: the team did not know about the Dark Energon.

There was a zombie army waiting to happen on both Earth and Cybertron, and Bulkhead knew that something had to give at some point. So, as terrible as it was... he let Fowler storm off so that he would be captured by the Cons, so that the rescue that followed would lead to discoveries.

Since Prime and Ratchet were around, the kids did not go—so Bulkhead made sure that he “saw” the schematics for the space-bridge and a giant purple crystal, tipping Prime off to King ‘Con's plan. One close encounter and decimated army of the undead later, Cliff took a hit for Arcee in space—but he laughed off her worries once they made it home, an explosion on their tails.

Everyone came home alive.

And Bulkhead went to his room that night, took out a data-pad, and started to make a list. He had a lot of things remember, to take care of.

He had to get it right, to bring them all home alive and safe. He wouldn't waste this chance.

He made sure Ratchet and the kids cooperated with their school projects. He couldn't really save Skyquake, but he could get Miko that A.

He made sure that frozen pod was left where it belonged in the Arctic. Ratchet scanned it after the Wrecker had indicated a bad feeling, and they dropped it into the ocean just to ensure that the Cons would never find the scraplet trap.

That spared the whole team, and the ground-bridge—which meant they weren't late to save Wheeljack.

Wheeljack.

Bulkhead was anxious the whole night, waiting for his friend to reach Earth. He knew that this was crucial, that he absolutely had to get it right. He caused so much pain, the last time around.

He could do better.

He could be better.

He could set a better example for Miko, and do the Wreckers proud by protecting their youngest surviving member like they were always supposed to. Wheeljack was his responsibility, and he failed.

Not again.

Not his best friend.

So, Bulkhead came charging out of that bridge and put himself between the Cons and a mildly injured but real ‘Jackie. “Get away from him!”

Starscream was furious.

Bulkhead couldn't care less.

The team chased the 'Cons off, including their little duplicate. Bulkhead hoped that him living to tell his tale wouldn't have any consequences.

But he still didn't care. He turned back as his old partner cringed and gripped his side, optics wide.

He did it. Wheeljack hadn't been captured.

He protected his partner.

“Agh.” The smaller mech looked up at him wearily, an optic-brow raised. “Bulkhead?” His optics lit up, and he smiled. “Heh. Bulkhead!”

He looked so young. How had Bulkhead ever believed that Wheeljack was immortal?

“Heh.” Bulkhead found himself smiling back in spite of himself. “Hey, ‘Jackie... Hang on.” The green mech quickly made his way over to the smaller mech, and he supported his wounded friend. “I gotcha, buddy. You're okay.”

‘You'll be okay. I promise.’

…

Wheeljack was annoyed when Bulkhead made him sit down for Ratchet's examination, but the green mech was adamant. Wheeljack had been on his own for far too long, and who knew what kinds of old injuries he was packing? He was the closest thing the Wreckers ever had to a medic of their own, and he was an engineer.

Once Ratchet righted a few things, patched up his new injuries, and cleared him, Bulkhead chose to bring Wheeljack on a tour of the base to help his friend get some space from the crowd. He knew the smaller mech had to be overwhelmed by the sudden change, and he couldn't believe how he'd missed the signs last time.

Wheeljack visibly relaxed a bit once they left the main room, his optics closing as his winglets gave an unconscious bob Bulkhead would have missed unless he had been looking for it, then he looked at Bulkhead with a raised optic-brow.

“What's the look?”

“It's just really good to see ya,” Bulkhead said after a pause. “But I'm kinda worried.”

Wheeljack blinked. “What? Why?”

“How long were you stuck in that can, ‘Jackie—all by yourself?” Bulkhead asked, and his old friend tensed again. “I, um... I heard that you and Ultra Magnus had a fallin' out, and you went solo. No one really heard much from you, after that. There were just whispers, folks claimin' you were runnin' sabotage ops on your own. Then, the planet went dark-…” The green mech saw Wheeljack’s clear bewilderment and raised his shoulders. “Heh. I guess I got a little softened-up, here on Earth. I'm lookin' after another kid, and she really reminds me of one I used to know... and I don't like the idea of either of you bein' on your own like that.” He frowned. “I wish I'd known how bad things had gotten before you felt like you had to go. When Ultra Magnus sent the report in-” Wheeljack looked away and crossed his arms, and it put a pang in Bulkhead's spark. “He was worried sick.”

“What?” Wheeljack looked at him, his optics narrowed. “Tch. You're jokin’.”

“I've got it right here.” Bulkhead took out his data-pad, quickly hiding his notes and bringing up what he needed. “Optimus keeps real good records. It's the archivist in him.” He offered the pad to Wheeljack. “I know Magnus had a stick up his aft, but... just read it. He asked Optimus to take you in if you ever showed up.” Wheeljack took the data-pad and looked down at it, his optics wide. “He didn't want you to be by yourself either. And he spoke highly of you. Optimus recognized your name right away... ‘Jackie?”

“I-…” The smaller mech was at a loss as he read the message over, then his face fell. “All these years, I figured ol' Shoulder Pads hated me."

“Nah.” Bulkhead shook his head. “I didn't know him too well before he went to the Wreckers, but he didn't seem the type. A little wilder than Prime, which I figured'd make him a good fit, but he cared too much about the Wreckers to hate 'em, let alone someone who cares like you.” Wheeljack looked at him, surprised, and Bulkhead nodded. “‘Cause that's what always made you the best of us, ‘Jackie. Yeah, you were smart and you were fast and you did a whole lot of damage... but for our youngest, smallest ‘bot... you had the biggest spark of anyone I ever met. And while a lot's changed since back then, that sure hasn't.”

Wheeljack raised an optic-brow, frowning. “Uh, Bulkhead? No offense, but it kinda sounds like you're rehearsin' my eulogy. What gives?”

Before Bulkhead could respond, they were interrupted. “Hey, Bulkhead!” Miko ran down the hallway and rested her hands on her hips. “Why'd you run off? I thought we were gonna party!”

“Yeah, um...” Bulkhead cringed, turning back and getting down on one knee to face the girl. “Hey, Miko. I think that -maybe- we should tone it down, just for tonight. Do you mind?”

Miko frowned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just- Heh. You know I can worry too much about you punks.” Bulkhead tried his best to make it sound natural so that Wheeljack wouldn't start to suspect an imposter. Wouldn't that be a sick twist? “I just wanna make sure he's settlin' in okay. He was in that ship for a while. Too much too soon could overwhelm him.”

“Hey,” Wheeljack complained, but Bulkhead could tell that his spark wasn’t in it.

“Oh.” Miko blinked, then she nodded. “Yeah, fair.” She held a hand up to indicate a secretive remark, but she made it no secret. “And between us, he seems a little~ introverted.”

Bulkhead chuckled. “Oh, yeah.”

“Still right here.” Wheeljack deadpanned.

“Heh.” Bulkhead held a servo out, letting Miko hop on, then he stood and turned to his friend. “Hey, ‘Jackie—this is Miko Nakadai. I'm her guardian.” He looked down at the girl proudly. “And she could wreck with the best of 'em.”

“Hiya!” Miko waved. “So, you're a pilot?”

“Yep.” Wheeljack nodded. “At least, I hope I still am. I gotta dig the Jackhammer outta the sand.”

Bulkhead looked down at his friend with a grin “Wheeljack’s the best pilot the Wreckers ever had. And he was the fastest, stealthiest, smartest-”

“Bulkhead.” Wheeljack raised his shoulders, exasperated—maybe even embarrassed.

Bulkhead waved a servo. “I'm just sayin'! Come on, I can talk you up a little.” He nudged the smaller mech gently, which seemed to surprise Wheeljack more than it should have. “Especially to send Ratchet into a tailspin. Wait ‘til he realizes he's no longer the only doc round here.” He looked down at Miko again. “‘Jackie was the youngest scientist ever hired at Kimia. He designed half of the gear that Ratchet's tried to replicate here.”

“Whoa.” Miko looked impressed. “He out-docs the doc-'bot? Sick!”

“I’m not all that,” Wheeljack tried, then he noticed a set of cables on the wall behind Bulkhead that had been fixed with duct-tape. “Yeah, no—wow. You're in trouble.”

“Oh, that's nothin’,” Bulkhead insisted. “Last week, we nearly brought a frozen scraplet trap back to base.” Wheeljack looked back at him, his optics wide. “Yeah.”

“Is that bad?” Miko asked worriedly.

“Bad?” Wheeljack looked down at her. “If those little buggers had even started to get out, gettin' them back into the deep freeze could've cost someone a servo.”

“Which we will avoid!” Bulkhead insisted on instinct. “At all costs.”

“… I'm bein' serious, now. You okay?” Wheeljack asked, an optic-brow raised. “I know 'bots change and it's been a minute since we saw each other last, but you're actin' a little... funky.” He raised his servos. “Could be my bad.”

“I'm fine.” Bulkhead assured him quickly. He felt a little bad, since he was -well- obviously lying and even gaslighting his best friend—but what was he supposed to say? “I just-... I'm overwhelmed, I guess.” He frowned. “And l've had too much time to think about my mistakes.”

“Hm.” Wheeljack smiled. It was tired, but it was so genuine that it hurt. “Hey—I know you, Bulk. You always did the best you could."

'No, I didn't,’ Bulkhead thought as he gazed at that smile. 'But I will, now.’

…

…

The next morning, Bulkhead found Wheeljack sitting on top of the mesa and gazing out over the desert. His optics were wide and shining, and there was a little smile on his face—his first day on Earth, and he wanted to explore it all.

“So, what's the plan?” Bulkhead asked as he walked over and sat beside his old friend.

Wheeljack glanced at him, confused. “Hm?”

“Heh.” Bulkhead shook his head. “I’d like you to stay here, ‘Jackie. I really would.” He looked at the smaller mech knowingly. “But... I know that might not be what you wanna do.

Wheeljack blinked. "And... that's okay?"

“Yeah.” Bulkhead nodded. “I, uh... I don't know how it feels, havin' to get away. Not like you do.” He isolated himself during his recovery and ran solo missions, but Wheeljack's introversion and need to cool down? He couldn't relate. “I don't like bein' alone, personally—and I know you don't like it either... but I know you need your space, and that this—bein’ here—is a lot comin' atcha real fast.” He snorted. “And... that you probably aren't too comfortable takin' orders from Prime, even if Ultra Magnus wasn't as bad as he seemed.” He saw Wheeljack look away. “… I follow him ‘cause I think it's the right thing to do, and I trust him. But if you don't yet, l'm not gonna try to force you to or hold you down. You gotta do things your own way, ‘Jackie—not his way, not mine.” Wheeljack looked at him, stunned, and Bulkhead smiled. “And I know you'll do good, no matter what.”

Wheeljack had that 'deer in headlights' look that used to make Sari giggle.

Would make her giggle.

Sari Sumdac was -maybe- five years-old, in another reality. So alive…

“… Bulkhead-”

“So, if you need to go and get some space—literally, or if you just wanna drive around for a little while... I can give you a crash course on traffic laws—not literally, of course,” Bulkhead went on, and the smaller mech huffed out a laugh that would've been nice if it wasn't so stressed and disbelieving. “… And you can take your time, ‘Jackie. We'll still be here when you get back.” The green mech raised an optic-brow, hoping his casual mask held. “So, what's the plan?”

“… Hm.” Wheeljack looked out over the desert and sighed. “I dunno.” He turned his gaze up, to the sky. “I do kinda wanna go and see what else is out there. See if anyone else from the old crew made it, y'know?” He sighed softly. “… But you do seem to be in a bit of a bind, here. And Wreckers don't leave each other in the scrap."

“No, they don't,” Bulkhead agreed, and Wheeljack glanced at him. “We'll be okay.”

“You tryna get rid of me?”

“No, no.” Bulkhead quickly raised his servos in surrender. “I just-…. I don't wanna be the reason why you're makin' yourself miserable. Not again.” He saw Wheeljack's face drop into confusion and a bit of hurt, and he sighed again. as he lowered his servos. “Look, I know you don't wanna say it—so, I will... Wheeljack, I know I messed-up.”

“Bulkhead-"”

“I was supposed to look after you, and I didn't,” Bulkhead said bluntly. “And you ended-up lookin' after everyone. Then, I walked away.” He saw his friend's frame tense. "I know Springer, Seaspray, and the rest were there for you and that Magnus seemed to try. But-”

“Hey.” Wheeljack suddenly raised a servo, his optics narrowing as something flashed in them. “… Before Kimia, all I was... was a survivor, Bulk. Everyone else in the unit was either in labor or a gladiator. They struggled every day, but I was the scrappy one. I was the one who could adapt to any situation to survive. So, I don't mind that I did—and that I adapted to save as many as I could, until-” His servo dropped, and he averted his gaze. "You're not the only one who walked away.”

“Yeah. I know I wasn't.” Bulkhead nodded. “But you never should've had to, even though you were the one with every right.” He saw his friend's fists clench. “It wasn't your fault, ‘Jackie. We put too much on you. You were just a kid.”

“You're actin' weird again,” Wheeljack muttered, closing his optics as his shoulders raised.

“Hm. I guess I am, in your eyes,” Bulkhead said quietly. “… How long has it been since anyone treated you like a person instead of a legend?” Wheeljack's optics snapped open. “I reckon Magnus was the last one, or maybe Seaspray.”

Wheeljack looked at him, that strange look in his optics again. “Alright, knock it off. I-”

“I’m sorry, 'Jackie,” Bulkhead told him outright. "For... everythin’.” Wheeljack stopped and just looked at him. “It wasn't right. And I am so, so sorry.” As much as he wanted to, Bulkhead did not look away from Wheeljack or that strange gaze—not even when he realized that it was a burning anger that was barely being restrained under a thin film of hurt. “I'm gonna try to be better. Whether or not you acknowledge it, I don't care.... I know what I did wrong, and I need to start doing right by you. So, I will.”

Wheeljack stood, turned, and walked away without another word.

Bulkhead let him go.

…

Ratchet was working on Wheeljack’s ship, after the rest of the team had returned from the desert and pulled it from the sand.

When he heard the someone approach and saw the spacecraft’s owner, the medic was armed and ready to complain about the damage and the sand, but he stopped when he noticed the look on the white Wrecker’s face.

"Wheeljack? Is something the matter?"

"Hm.” Wheeljack shook his head. “I dunno.” He looked around, frowning as he seemed to study Ratchet’s setup, then he blinked as he noticed a medical device Bulkhead had broken a few weeks previous in a fit of frustration. Ratchet just hadn’t gotten around to disposing if it, yet. “May I?"

"I don't see what you could do,” the medic said as Wheeljack picked the device up to examine it. “It's as good as-” He blinked as the white Wrecker sat down at his workbench, and he watched as the other mech got to work. “Wheeljack?”

In a few moments, the device looked as good as new—and Wheeljack glanced at Ratchet as he offered it to him. “Here. Give it a try.”

“Oh.” Ratchet took it into his servos, at a loss—then he activated it, and his optics widened as it lit up and whirred to life. “Thank you, Wheeljack.”

"No problem.” Wheeljack stood. “I needed a good distraction.” Ratchet just looked at him, and the white Wrecker sighed. “You gotta become a lot of things durin' wartime. I assume you know that as well as I do, Doc.” He looked at Ratchet, and he shrugged. “The Wreckers, they-… They tended to need brute force more than brains, so I stowed the techno-babble.” He looked at his ship, and he smiled. “Heh. I guess that’s why I put my all into this old wreck. Guess it was an outlet.”

“I’ve noticed the modifications,” Ratchet said, nodding. “I didn’t realize-… It’s masterful work.”

“Hm.” Wheeljack glanced at him and nodded. “Thanks.” He looked away again. “… I guess that's what's throwin' me off so much. Bulkhead never cared about any of this stuff, about-” The white Wrecker made a vague gesture, at a loss—then, he let his servo drop again. “… Now, he does?”

“He does?” Ratchet asked, perplexed. He had noticed that, in recent weeks, Bulkhead had been less prone to his usual destruction of property. “Well… people can change, I suppose.”

“Yeah, but when did he change?” Wheeljack asked with a hint of irritation, leaning against the workbench and crossing his arms as he kept his optics on the floor. “Personally, I'm itchin' for a time-stamp on all his big revelations.”

“We're in dire circumstances here, Wheeljack. He wasn’t joking when he said you could help us to even the odds,” Ratchet noted as he moved to stand beside the new arrival. “You’re right. In times of war, we must become a lot of things—but while the Wreckers needed a warrior, perhaps Bulkhead understands that we could use you here just as much as in battle… as I am starting to.” He saw Wheeljack shift uncomfortably. “You're not certain if you want to stay, are you?”

“Bein' solo's no fun, but l'm not sure if I wanna give up my freedom yet,” Wheeljack confessed.

"You're not a prisoner if you stay on Earth,” the medic assured him. “You would be surprised by how much Optimus permits. Honestly, Arcee and I are the strict ones, most of the time… This is not your typical war unit. You can be yourself, in this place. As long as you keep the secret and prove dependable, that's all that matters.”

Wheeljack looked at Ratchet, still hesitant. “I'm also wonderin' if I can find others out there, other Wreckers. If Bulkhead’s alive, then-…”

“Then other friends may be, as well,” Ratchet conceded. “You’re right, and you could go—and the search for refugees, it’s an admirable calling suited to your talent and your personality.” He was honest. “But you also could do what we've done: stay in place, and let them find you.” The medic gave a small smile. “We've already doubled our Wrecker population that way.”

"Haha.” Wheeljack rolled his optics, then he grew genuine. “Heh.” His face fell again. “Hm."

Ratchet frowned. “Wheeljack?"

"… I don’t know why it’s botherin’ me so much,” the white Wrecker admitted. “I mean, I should be happy—but… I guess I’m overthinkin’. Seaspray, Springer, Moonracer even—they used to tease me all the time, spendin’ too long in my head. But…” He went quiet, then he raised an optic-brow. “You ever get a real nasty dent, and walk around with it all day before someone sat you down and popped it out?” Ratchet slowly nodded. “On that day, after it… did you ever wonder how long it had been since that person had noticed the dent? How long they just watched you walk around with it, 'til it was convenient enough for them to help out?” He sighed. “I know people have their own problems, but...” He shrugged his shoulders. “I'd really just like that time-stamp, Doc."

"Hm.” Ratchet’s expression softened. “I think l'm beginning to understand. You want to know if the change you’re noticing in Bulkhead occurred in your absence, or if he was previously aware of what troubled you and ignored it.”

“Bulkhead’s a great fighter—but he’s never liked confrontation close to home, ‘specially when he could be in the wrong,” Wheeljack stated. “I know ‘im. Unless he’s in one of those moods where he’s real upset and could lash out, he’ll brush things off—try to keep the peace. Directly talkin’ about an issue, admittin’ he was wrong—it ain’t like him.” He closed his optics. “He’s my best friend, I’ve always known that about him. This is just-…”

“A lot to take in,” Ratchet concluded, and his new companion nodded. “I must confess, Bulkhead has been acting rather... strange, recently. Under Optimus's advisement, we've been attempting to play it off and hope that he eventually tells us what is wrong—but… his best friend would obviously be unnerved.” Wheeljack opened his optics. “Perhaps, if you stay here on Earth, you could help us unravel this mystery."

“It could be nothin',” Wheeljack reasoned. “'Bots do change. And I-… I don't wanna hurt him.”

"But maybe he is in need of our help,” Ratchet argued. “Just not talking about the real issue.”

Wheeljack’s optics narrowed. “… Hm.”

…

When Bulkhead came down from the top of the mesa, the last thing he expected to see was his best friend in a full-on discussion with Optimus.

In his previous life, the two of them had never been real close before Wheeljack went to the other reality. Apparently, he’d been stowing a lot of guilt over the Prime’s death—blaming himself, since Unicron had shot him out of the sky.

It made no sense, since… to stop Unicron… the big guy needed somewhere to put him. It was always going to end that way, with Prime taking the Allspark into the Matrix then taking the leap.

But ‘Jackie took it harder than anyone knew.

Seeing them young again and talking together, whatever they were talking about, made Bulkhead pause to just… watch. It all seemed so surreal.

He wondered how he could warn Wheeljack about Dreadwing, before he left—the proximity grenade on Seaspray’s ship. There had to be a way…

“Bulkhead.” Optimus noticed him, and Wheeljack turned around. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no!” Bulkhead shook his head. “Just… a lot on my mind, I guess.”

Optimus frowned. “You could talk to us about it, if it is troubling you so-”

“I’m fine,” Bulkhead said quickly. “Really, boss.”

Optimus didn’t seem convinced, but the big guy didn’t push it. Bulkhead hated himself for how he used to think of the Prime as almost-emotionless, when he felt so much.

“I was just speaking to Wheeljack about… what the future entails,” Optimus said—and Pit, he was always a garbage liar.

“Oh, uh-” Bulkhead walked over. “And what did you come up with?”

“… I'm stayin' on Earth,” Wheeljack said, and the green mech looked at him in disbelief. “For now, at least.”

“Really?”

"Yeah.” Wheeljack crossed his arms and nodded. “I-… I think I'II give it a chance."

Bulkhead blinked, then he gave a small smile and nodded. “Heh. Okay, ‘Jackie.”

A part of Bulkhead was dreading this.

With Wheeljack staying, his ability to know what would come next was definitely compromised.

‘The Butterfly Effect’, Wheeljack called it.

Well, frag the butterflies.

Bulkhead would make this work.

…

…

Wheeljack used his ship to transport the DNGS through the Earth's atmosphere. MECH lost their prize, and never caught sight of Cybertronians.

Wheeljack’s presence made the encounter with Breakdown interesting. Instead of immediately attacking, Breakdown hesitated—and it was the same story at the museum, when Wheeljack was Optimus's backup. Breakdown, for his betrayal, always had his much more obvious soft spots.

Bulkhead did suggest that Wheeljack go along with Arcee and Jack instead of Cliffjumper since ‘Jackie was the better scout, which was a risk—but Bulkhead knew what they were up against, and he wasn’t about to put Cliff against that with Arcee right there. They’d lost him once. The three scouts came home scathed, but with their blades dripping with Energon. Jack sat on Wheeljack's shoulder, and the white mech supported Arcee—who looked haunted, but also satisfied.

Cliffjumper ran forward to help her and Jack, his optics wide as he took both of them and rushed them to Ratchet with a worry he reserved for his partner and their shared human charge.

Bulkhead accompanied Optimus and Ratchet to the Plague Ship and held an arm out to stop them from even entering, wondering why he even had to be there to do that in the first place. Seriously-

Meanwhile, Wheeljack took the Jackhammer and dropped bombs on the vulnerable Nemesis and sent it dropping out of the sky. The other Wrecker was entirely unapologetic when he was scolded for acting without orders, and Bulkhead couldn't stop laughing because of course, ‘Jackie would.

Megatron didn't wake up, though the team still had to save a polar ice cap. Bumblebee remained his cheery, near-innocent self without a warlord’s manipulation weighing upon him. Skyquake did not rise, and the Shadowzone went undiscovered.

MECH did not even know Breakdown and Arcee existed, let alone try to capture and dissect them—but then, Cliffjumper went and fucked-up.

June arrived at base not long after.

Wasn’t the same without her.

At least Breakdown was the only competition for the polarity gauntlet, which made it almost too easy when Arcee and Bulkhead worked together.

There was no incident in the mines because -well- it seemed Megatron was still down for the count.

Bulkhead made sure that himself and Wheeljack “accidentally” stumbled across the Harbinger halves on patrol. Wheeljack seemed suspicious of something—what, Bulkhead couldn't be sure.

The white mech just examined the ship’s systems while Bulkhead retrieved the Immobilizer and the space-bridge remote, figuring it was one less thing to worry about. Then, he discovered a stash of protoforms—and he and ‘Jackie moved those back to the base as well, because why not?

Wheeljack snatched the data-cylinder and Miko, and got them both to safety—though it got him a saw cutting halfway through one of his winglets. Bulkhead was halfway-sure he heard Breakdown complain "Knocky!" across the battlefield.

Miko got a stern talking-to, and Ratchet got a complete Synth-En formula... and Bulkhead fraggin' WATCHED the doc-‘bot. There were several standoffs where the green mech made direct optic-contact while setting a canister of Energon down, daring the medic to refuse his rations in a crowded room. Ratchet might have looked impressed if he wasn't embarrassed.

But there was nothing Bulkhead could do to stop the aligning of the planets, and Unicron waking.

He could, however, perform a necessary evil and break the exit door to ensure that Bumblebee and Raf couldn't leave the base when they wanted to.

Megatron was still out, last Bulkhead knew—but no one hurt those kids on his watch.

Since they weren’t hurt, Optimus kept his cool and didn’t chase anyone down to that volcano—which was okay, since Ratchet was able to track it down anyway and they kept up with the threat.

June also didn’t pull the kids away from the base. She was wary, obviously—but since they hadn’t been placed in direct danger, she must’ve figured it was better to stay where she was informed.

Unicron was rising, and Bulkhead didn’t let his boss go anywhere by himself. When the Chaos Bringer appeared to confront and taunt Optimus, Bulkhead was delighted to put a wrecking-ball through his stony face before the others showed up to help. It still wasn’t enough to protect the Prime from getting trapped—and Bulkhead just panicked, ‘cause Megatron wasn’t there to-

Blast! Blast! Blast! Blast!

Speak of the devil.

The enormous copies of Unicron crumbled, and a familiar aircraft flew overhead before landing and transforming. A clawed servo was offered to Optimus, who hesitantly reached to take it.

Megatron had been reawakened by Unicron’s rising, and his best guess was that it was due to the Dark Energon in his system. However, the Chaos Bringer wanted nothing to do with the warlord and everything to do with destroying the Earth—so, there King ‘Con was: offering help.

And frag, Bulkhead didn’t know the coordinates—and how would he ever explain it, if he did? They needed Megatron to take them to the core.

Bulkhead knew it would make him sick, he knew. What he didn’t expect was Wheeljack grabbing his servo and guiding him through Unicron, not letting him anywhere near those nasty ledges.

Bulkhead would never know why he was the one who got sick while the other ‘bots held strong.

Maybe it was because Bumblebee and Arcee—small as they were—had both been exposed to Dark Energon before, and Optimus was a Prime.

That didn’t explain ‘Jackie, though.

Bulkhead wouldn’t have been surprised if it was sheer willpower holding his friend steady.

Unicron was defeated, and Megatron took Orion Pax back to the Nemesis. Bulkhead hadn’t known how to stop it… but this time, when Jack went to Cybertron, he and Arcee had a chauffeur.

They bridged the Jackhammer to Cybertron after taking the space-bridge—and then, when Orion Pax was about to get diced, Megatron was hit by a starship that came blasting full-speed out of the space-bridge. Wheeljack was far too pleased with himself even as Ratchet yelled at him while Jack restored Optimus, and they all bridged home.

Wheeljack had some scraplet bite-marks on his armor, explained that he and Vector Sigma would have been toast if Jack hadn’t diverted their attention to an Insecticon. He frowned at the boy as he explained that, like he had failed somehow.

The more Bulkhead thought about it, relatively, Wheeljack would’ve been just a little older than Jack when the war started. He’d accomplished so much for his age in spite of all the obstacles he’d had to overcome, only for a bright future to be swallowed by all of that conflict and killing…

He used to judge Wheeljack, when he’d come back from that other universe and insisted that he wouldn’t kill anymore unless he absolutely had to. He thought Wheeljack had gone soft, but he was wrong. Wheeljack was stronger than ever.

MECH didn’t come for Bumblebee—and even if they had, Bulkhead didn’t let the kid out of his sight. The only thing he felt bad about was that Ratchet wouldn’t get the little boost he got when he’d repaired Bumblebee’s T-Cog, but that could wait for the Cybermatter. With Bumblebee and Wheeljack both there, the Autobots managed to secure the Forge of Solus Prime in one go.

Bulkhead found himself smiling at that hammer all the time, remembering the one who held it: how kind he was as he opened up to his family, how happy he made ‘Jackie, their army of kids… Wheeljack really had no idea how lucky he was.

Not yet, at least.

Dreadwing still came to Earth to learn the fate of Skyquake, and he was still being chased.

When that video feed started and Bulkhead saw that Star Hammer, he knew what happened.

If Seaspray would’ve found that proximity bomb in their past life, he never would’ve let it slide.

His ship was off-limits, except to ‘Jackie.

The Autobots bridged out as Fowler managed to break up the battle (with the usual fireworks and snappy remarks), and—after Dreadwing got away—Seaspray turned around and blinked as he saw two fellow Wreckers standing before him.

“Seaspray?” Wheeljack asked, stunned.

Seaspray just looked at him, then he huffed. “You left, you no-good little fragger.” He marched over and looked down at Wheeljack, then he slowly smiled. “You always were fragged in the head.”

“Heh.” Wheeljack smiled. “Don’t I know it?”

Seaspray clapped him on the shoulder, then he looked at Bulkhead and nodded. “Don’t think you get off easy. You started it, fraggin’ deserter.”

“I went to reinforce the Autobot leader.”

“Sellout.”

“Barnacle Butt.”

“… Remember what I did to that combiner at Tyger Pax?” Seaspray raised an optic-brow.

“I wasn’t there, ‘Spray,” Bulkhead said slowly.

Seaspray smirked. “I can offer a demonstration.”

Wheeljack’s optics went wide. “Hey, let’s not-”

Optimus cut in, welcoming Seaspray to Earth and trying to get some control over the situation.

The Wrecker elder ultimately decided to stick around on Earth but not at the base—he was a traveler, after all, and remarked he had no anchor.

He told Wheeljack to come, and Bulkhead really expected his best friend to agree to go. He knew how much Seaspray meant to Wheeljack, and how hard the team’s structure was on the mech.

He was still an introvert, still slow to trust, still not a fan of authority (even if he had warmed up to Optimus after seeing what life was like without him during the Orion Pax incident). It was a perfect opportunity to Wheeljack to get away without isolating himself, it just made sense.

But Wheeljack turned him down.

He stayed.

And Bulkhead knew something was wrong.

Without Airachnid, Starscream had not left the Decepticons—lingering even in the face of the warlord’s wrath over his treasonous behavior. Because of Starscream’s presence, he and Dreadwing were made to share power—which Starscream loathed, and he took it out on his subordinates: Vehicons, Knockout, Breakdown.

As unsettling as that was because Bulkhead had gotten to really know some of the Vehicons while Knockout became family, he couldn’t ignore one upside. Breakdown managed to go unscathed without MECH and Airachnid’s attacks.

He would never forgive Breakdown for betraying the Wreckers, but… knowing how much Knockout missed him, seeing Wildbreak grow up without his second caregiver… he was relieved.

Without Airachnid, the Insecticon Hive also went undiscovered. No bugs, no Hardshell.

No Nemesis Prime. If MECH was catching on to anything, they were still too far behind.

Bulkhead brought Wheeljack along to his little adventure aboard the Nemesis, and he physically brought the ship down while Wheeljack allowed the mad scientist in him to pay a visit so that he could give the ship’s systems a little Hell and even snag the Iacon Database. Bulkhead hadn’t even thought about that, but there ‘Jackie was.

Never did get a full explanation of the multiple Starscreams, but they totally killed one of ‘em.

That was a clone, right?

Bulkhead knew that, if he mentioned that the Nemesis was down, the ‘Bots would go after it with the spark extractor and be caught in the immobilizing beam—so, he convinced Wheeljack to keep quiet. The gang from the other reality had always been disturbed by the idea of the weapon, how would they feel if Wheeljack actually used it? He had the best arm, it would’ve been him.

Instead, he distracted them by having Wheeljack give them the Iacon Database so that Optimus could let out his inner archivist and go nuts.

And he waited for the Nemesis to appear on the monitors and behave erratically, and then the kids suggested making contact and they saw the frozen ‘Cons. They had to stop the ship from wiping out cities to reach relics, so the kids and Fowler were sent to shut it down—and since they didn’t alert the ship by trying to download the Iscon Database, they were in and out while Optimus was deciding coordinates. Miko even snapped pictures of the ones the Nemesis had decoded, so the Autobots were ready to move.

But Bulkhead had a problem.

Four sets of coordinates. Eight Autobots, after Seaspray had been called in.

Who was he going to ask to come with him on a mission he knew could very well still end with him getting blasted in the back?

Hardshell should still be in stasis, but Bulkhead couldn’t shake the fear. In his dreams, he saw a marked Insecticon snarling.

Arcee and Cliffjumper went to New York. Miko and Jack went with them. That left Bumblebee to go with Optimus to the Arctic.

Bulkhead knew he would never forgive himself if ‘Jackie had to watch him get shot or -worse- took his place, so he asked Seaspray to back him up while Wheeljack still went with Ratchet. At least he knew how that was going to end.

He and Seaspray went out with Fowler eventually joining them over the comms, and they found the Tox-En canister quickly in the Mariner. The two Wreckers rigged a trap in the container while they brought the Tox-En onto the ship, then they easily dropped it into the volcano from above.

Easy as that. No wounds.

Seaspray even shot a fleet of Eradicons out of the sky, and Bulkhead felt an old weight lift off of him as he realized that Hardshell wasn’t there.

He would never be shot, Miko wouldn’t kill the bug, Wheeljack wouldn’t be isolated.

He had fixed it.

They returned to the base with Bulkhead still riding the high of euphoria, beyond excited to not have to go through that intense physical therapy again and feel that intense chronic pain late in life that Ratchet felt so guilty about. When Smokey finally showed, he’d have a warm welcome from the green Wrecker—not that cold, cruel opening as Bulkhead took his frustration out on the kid.

Things were actually getting better.

Arcee, Cliff, and the teens returned with the Phase Shifter. Bumblebee managed to snag the Apex Armor while Optimus and Dreadwing were arguing honor and morals. That was a win!

Still no sign of Starscream…

That was a clone, right?

Then, the ground-bridge opened and Ratchet was helping Wheeljack through the portal as the white Wrecker gripped his audial sensors. Bulkhead remembered how, in later years, the effects of not having them repaired caught up with his friend and the repairs had been all the harder on him.

He and Seaspray made Wheeljack sit down and hold still while Ratchet took care of it right away.

He could remember the words of that the old doc-‘bot from the other reality when this had happened Bulkhead’s first time around, and he repeated a few of them. They were effective even coming from Bulkhead, which was a surprise.

That other Ratchet knew Wheeljack better than most, in a way only Seaspray’d ever known him.

An escape pod came crashing down to Earth, and Bulkhead found that he was the only one who was able to trust Smokescreen right away. That made the kid cling to him, with all of that excitement and enthusiasm and “I studied every Wrecker battle at Iacon”. He was like Miko, in a way—and he’d been through so much and nothing at all at the same time in a way that made Bulkhead’s spark squeeze in his chest because… he realized… Smokescreen was also like Wheeljack, when they first met and the younger ‘bot started to -well- suppress Kimia and force himself out of his shell.

All shining optics and enthusiasm, because—by some kind or cruel act of Primus—life hadn’t broken him yet. He had struggled and suffered, but Wheeljack was still very much a kid who just wanted to help people when they’d first met.

How had Bulkhead let those kids grow up so fast?

Starscream—‘Con backup or no ‘Con backup—never showed up to claim the Red Energon, so the ‘bots got it without issue.

That was a clone, right?

No MECH, no dead Breakdown, no CYLAS. Bulkhead wondered if Silas was on the conspiracy websites full of dancing monkeys and shaking his head, having totally missed the big picture.

Optimus retrieved the Star Saber—and with the Forge in Autobot custody, Megatron had no Dark Star Saber. The hunt for the Omega Keys began, and the Autobots managed to retrieve two—and Starscream couldn’t snag the third since he had no Red Energon and Bulkhead didn’t let him get the drop on Smokescreen.

Actually, Bulkhead hadn’t seen Starscream at all since the Nemesis incident.

That was a clone, right?

Bulkhead shrugged it off. Since Starscream was not an independent entity as he was in the last life, he probably missed things because he didn’t have the same desperation.

He was totally alive!

Right?

Without that failure, Smokescreen was still at the base when Optimus finally decided the last data entry—and after a quick extraction with the help of the Phase Shifter, the ‘bots had all four Omega Keys and the Forge was building a space-bridge to Cybertron. The ‘Cons were none the wiser about the purpose of the Keys.

Bulkhead felt uneasy. This felt too easy.

He couldn’t have changed that much, could he?

Then, he remembered the ‘Cons trump card—and the team was astounded as the green mech insisted that he stay behind with Ratchet rather than go and see Cybertron revived. Bulkhead put his foot down, though—and when the kids left school that day, they all had a ride home with Bulkhead through the ground-bridge—and a bewildered Ratchet watched as Bulkhead called up Fowler with a warning: the ‘Cons knew the location of the Autobot base, and an attack would be coming. They needed to move out, quickly.

The other ‘bots had taken most of the relics. Bulkhead moved what was left, the Energon supply, the kids, and anything Ratchet hadn’t bolted down through the bridge to Hangar E. He left the space-bridge remote there, told June where to go and told her to get there fast.

Ratchet was frustrated, but Bulkhead insisted that they were in trouble. The other ‘bots reported over the comms that reconstruction of Cybertron had begun, that Primus was alive, and Bulkhead felt another pit form in his fuel tanks. It was Primus coming back that woke Unicron.

All the Chaos Bringer needed was a host body to inhabit, and it would all come crashing down.

That was a clone, right?

The ‘Cons apparently confronted the ‘Bots on Cybertron after picking up the energy surge from the Omega Lock—but between the two Wrecker-flown Star Hammers and the Star Saber, the ship was brought down. The relics decimated the ‘Con forces, and Bulkhead felt gutted by the idea that the last stand was being made without him.

Had he made the wrong decision, staying back just in case the ‘Cons tried anything funny with the kids and the base? He should’ve known they would prioritize Cybertron over Earth…

Apparently, Wheeljack shot Megatron in the face with the Immobilizer mid-monologue. Dreadwing was mad—but apparently, he would’ve been more mad if Knockout and Breakdown hadn’t let slip what had become of Skyquake’s body and how Megatron had kept Starscream around anyway.

Turns out, Starscream was alive and had been in critical condition—and Dreadwing, being a rare ‘Con of honor, saw fit to check on him while his recovery was being overseen by the Nemesis’s greatest gossips. He was furious, but unable to act because he wouldn’t slay an injured ‘bot—and his complaints to Megatron were brushed aside.

He wasn’t an Autobot, but he was done with the ‘Cons—and he told Optimus that while he would not join him, he would not stand in the way of Cybertron’s restoration and would consider peace if the Decepticons who stood down were treated fairly and Megatron was given a more honorable prison than his own body. When Knockout and Breakdown agreed with him, the Vehicons did.

Starscream was mortified and Soundwave seemed quietly furious, but the two of them were outnumbered and outgunned—so Soundwave bridged the two of them and Megatron’s frozen form away. That just made Dreadwing angrier, decrying the two of them for turning their backs and endangering Megatron’s health; he was mad at his leader, but didn’t think he deserved that.

So, Cybertron was being restored and the armies had stood down—with Optimus promising to help Dreadwing locate Megatron and unfreeze him so that he could be treated fairly following what was looking to be the end of the war, and Dreadwing telling the Prime that he would order a cease-fire across Decepticon channels and assist in the subduing of any who would break the peace as long as they were also treated fairly afterwards.

It was tense, but it was an end that came with far less bloodshed than the first time around—and Bulkhead learned he was right to move the kids and Ratchet, as a familiar drone circled over Jasper and flew out to the mesa in an eerie message. Ratchet watched the security footage in disbelief, realizing the danger they’d been in.

He looked at Bulkhead, his optics wide, but kept his mouth shut. Bulkhead was grateful for that.

Wheeljack repaired the Nemesis’s systems to help track down Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave. With Soundwave’s bridging ability, they could have been anywhere—but apparently, someone else had found the trio first.

Shockwave was waiting at the entrance to his lab when Optimus and Dreadwing arrived together, a Predacon standing at his back. The two leaders explained the situation and that all they wanted was to unfreeze Megatron and bring him back for his trial. Shockwave asked how they intended to uphold such a plan logically, as the war was not over. There was a chorus of shrieks as a swarm of Insecticons scurried out of the lab, located by Shockwave’s trackers and set free from their stasis on Earth, and Starscream laughed as he watched Optimus and Dreadwing flee.

Surprisingly, the alliance between the Autobots and Dreadwing’s forces remained. Dreadwing knew that Megatron would never forgive any of them for parleying and there had been clear intent for both he and Optimus to be wiped out, so they agreed to work together in order to stop the rogue ‘Cons and their beast army.

Wheeljack repaired the Nemesis with the help of the Vehicons, led by Breakdown—and the war on a renewed Cybertron began once more.

Ratchet stayed behind on Earth to act as a medic in reserve should anything happen to Knockout, who overnight became the most-protected ‘bot on Cybertron (not that he complained), and to watch over the ‘Bots’ human allies. Bulkhead went to join the others on Cybertron as they clashed with the Insecticons while dodging blasts of dragon-fire from Predaking’s maw.

The thing was, Bulkhead knew Predaking. He knew what the guy was like, how he thought. It was always a tense relationship, but Predaking had been cooperative and even cordial.

And he was intelligent.

So, one day, Bulkhead went out by himself—a data-pad in his compartment, and a stupid idea in his head. He had to try, at the very least.

As expected, he found himself face-to-face with a snarling dragon before long—and he took a sharp vent, a habit he’d picked up in another life.

“… Predacon,” he said slowly, and the dragon did not respond with anything but more growls and snarls. “That’s what you are. You’re a Predacon, cloned from the bones of-… Of your family.” That made the beast pause. “There were lots who came before you—ancient Predacons, and the first set of clones Shockwave made.” He held up the data-pad, showing a picture, then he set it down on the ground and slid it over to the beast. Predaking caught it with the tip of a claw, gentle and looking at the picture closely. “Now, it’s just you… and they’re not treatin’ you good, are they? They’re treatin’ you like an animal they can just abuse, ‘specially Starscream. Ain’t that right?” The dragon looked up at him, and Bulkhead frowned. “They’re wrong. You’re smart, maybe even smarter than them—and you’re learnin’. I bet you could even learn to transform, and tell ‘em so. I bet you’re more like us than anyone knows.” He watched the Predacon stand up straight and gaze at him intently. “I’m Bulkhead. I’m an Autobot, a Wrecker. What about you? Who are you?”

Metal shifted, and a massive mech looked down at Bulkhead with a frown. “I… do not… know.”

Bulkhead gave a small smile. “… How about we try ‘Predaking’, far from the last of your kind?”

The Predacon blinked, then he smiled back.

Bulkhead never saw the two of them becoming friends, after everything that happened back on Earth—‘Jackie, Magnus, all of it. But in that moment, he saw just another kid who was quite literally made to grow up too fast… and he knew he could do better this time, for all of them.

The Autobots and aligned ‘Cons were stunned when Bulkhead returned with Predaking in-tow, but Bulkhead vouched for him. Surprisingly, the Predacon settled in easily once he got himself involved in one of Dreadwing and Optimus’s debates—serving as both a mediator as well as someone who could challenge both perspectives, as he was rational and lacked their politics.

Bulkhead laughed at the looks on their faces as a Predacon with a data-pad in his servo was able to critique and scold them with intelligent discourse.

The fighting on Cybertron and the repeated firing of the Omega Lock to repair old and new damage gained attention. A massive ship set down, and Bulkhead was beyond excited for this new arrival—both because he could help to further turn the tide and because he had been subtly getting ‘Jackie ready for this from Day One on Earth.

It was well-intentioned, okay? He missed his nieces and nephews from both realities, and the warm family they had.

“… Ultra Magnus,” Wheeljack greeted when he saw the massive mech, and Bulkhead just stood back to watch it happen.

“Wheeljack,” Ultra Magnus greeted, surprised, then he calmed. “It's... good to see you alive.”

“Yeah. You, too.” Wheeljack nodded, and the commander grew surprised again. “… Thank you, Magnus. For vouchin' for me, with Optimus.”

“Oh, um-” Ultra Magnus’s optics went wide at that, then he cleared his throat and stood up straighter. “Ahem… Y-Yes, of course.”

Wheeljack blinked. “Of course?”

Ultra Magnus just looked at the rogue Wrecker, then he slowly smiled. “... Of course.”

“Hm.” Wheeljack smiled back, crossing his arms.

And behind him, Bulkhead did a fist-pump. “Yes!”

With Predaking, Ultra Magnus, all those relics, and seasoned warriors mixed with the Vehicon army, the Insecticons were decimated and the lab was sieged. Shockwave eventually surrendered, as it was the “logical” thing to do—and the new set of Predacons he was cloning were retrieved, with responsibility given to Predaking.

Starscream fled before an impossible enemy, only to be chased down by twenty-seven Predacons.

Soundwave-…

Soundwave just stood there, placed between all of the aligned forces and Megatron’s body.

“… We seek not revenge, but justice,” Optimus told him, frowning. “Megatron will be set free from immobilization and treated fairly, as will you and Laserbeak.” He extended a servo. “You have the ability to end this, once and for all. Please, Soundwave: let our world usher in peace.”

The chief of security remained still and silent, and Dreadwing drew his heavy cannon. “The conflict has come to an end. Stand down, now.”

“Soundwave: superior.” The digitize voice silenced them all. “Dreadwing: inferior.”

Optimus noticed something amiss, and his optics narrowed before going wide. “Laserbeak.”

“What?” Dreadwing looked at the Prime in confusion, then back at Soundwave.

Laserbeak was-

“Look out!” Optimus suddenly shoved Dreadwing behind him and took five blasts to his chest.

The Prime dropped onto one knee as Laserbeak flew overhead, and Dreadwing looked at him in alarm before looking at Soundwave with a glare.

His heavy cannon opened fire before anyone else could even think of starting to shoot—and when the dust cleared, Soundwave was on the ground, and Laserbeak landed beside him and went still.

Dreadwing got down on one knee beside Optimus, his optics narrowed, then he looked back. “We need our medic! He’s wounded!”

Knockout came forward with Breakdown beside him, and it only occurred later that everyone should have been surprised.

Optimus took a hit for the standing Decepticon leader, and that leader did not even hesitate to get help for his former enemy.

No one protested.

No one doubted that Optimus should have saved Dreadwing, aside from Dreadwing. He scolded Optimus for taking those blasts.

No one questioned whether the Decepticons would use this as an opportunity to hurt Optimus, the trust was silent and instant.

Knockout made none of his usual quips as he worked, and no one even dared to suggest that Megatron be freed before he was contained.

And the end of the day, when physical wounds were mended and an unfrozen, angry warlord was awaiting trial in a cell, it finally sank in.

A Vehicon was holding Laserbeak in their lap when Smokescreen asked after the cassette, and the Vehicon answered without bitterness or distrust. Then, it clicked and they looked to each other in surprise before Smokescreen smiled and they continued on with their conversation.

Dreadwing watched from a doorway as Knockout gave Optimus strict instructions for his recovery, his arms crossed and a small smirk on his face as Optimus looked genuinely cowed by the crimson medic and Breakdown laughed at them all.

A common enemy had united them. The scars would linger, of course—some things are hard to forget, and even harder to forgive. Yet somehow, they were ready to move forward together.

And Bulkhead knew he’d changed too much.

But… he didn’t really care.

It was Dreadwing who flew Optimus out to Theta Scorpii, and they retrieved the Allspark together.

Bulkhead counted down the minutes to their return, hoping they’d do it and that he had done enough. Optimus would be okay, he’d make it…

Then, Starscream’s corpse—slain by Predacons, possessed by Unicron—rose to take Cybertron with an army of the undead. They had an army to fight back, but Bulkhead knew that there was only one way to contain the Chaos Bringer.

And for the second time, Bulkhead had to watch Optimus take the Allspark into his chest to trap Unicron and save Cybertron… and take that leap.

His one comfort was knowing that Optimus would be back, and that he would return to a Cybertron that was more unified than ever.

Ultra Magnus took over for Optimus afterwards, mentoring Bumblebee and Smokescreen, which Dreadwing seemed to accept. He and Bumblebee had always been a little tense since the former scout had dealt the killing blow to Skyquake, but Dreadwing had been surprised by Bumblebee’s youth and softened upon hearing his mangled-

Oh, frag—Bee’s voice!

“Hey, Bee!” Bulkhead greeted one day, walking up to the yellow ‘bot with something glowing behind his back. The young warrior turned to him. “… Thank me later, buddy.”

Bulkhead then held the canister of Cybermatter up and dumped it over Bumblebee’s head.

Ratchet was as delighted by the sound of the kid’s complaining as he was annoyed with the green Wrecker A) stealing some Cybermatter and B) thinking of using it for healing before he did.

‘Jackie thought it was hilarious, of course.

And yet…

Something had always been off, since the day Wheeljack had first come to Earth. He seemed guarded and wary some days, like he couldn’t fully trust anything Bulkhead was telling him.

That hurt.

But…

Bulkhead couldn’t bring himself to mind much.

He didn’t tell his war stories. ‘Jackie didn’t get captured even once while he was on Earth, let alone tortured or subjected to the patch. There was no second breaking of the band, or guilt over Magnus’s servo or being Optimus’s last pilot.

He might’ve done something wrong, damaged Wheeljack’s trust and their relationship, but the important thing was that Wheeljack was safe.

His whole team was safe, save Optimus—but he would be back. Arcee still had Cliffjumper, all of them did. Knockout had his conjunx, Wildbreak would have both caregivers growing up.

Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack were exchanging glances when they thought no one was looking. Strongarm would be born into a planet with a peace was built upon cooperation in dark times.

Bulkhead didn’t know if he’d done enough, and he couldn’t take credit for it all…

But he’d done alright.

…

…

He felt guilty about it.

He knew that, once Wheeljack fell through that portal, his best friend's fate would be out of his hands—and he'd go through a lot, in that other universe... but he had to meet his kids.

Bulkhead couldn't take that from him.

He wouldn't.

So, the day he knew the accident would happen, he made sure to make his last call and get in his secret 'goodbye’ before the ground shook—and by the time he and the others reached the lab, Wheeljack was gone. Bulkhead knew that he was alive, but it still put an ache in his spark.

It would be ten years before they saw Wheeliack again... but he needed this, more than the others would ever know. There were some things that Bulkhead knew he couldn't fix, but that little team in the other universe would manage it.

So, Bulkhead would wait.

And maybe sabotage a few efforts that could’ve found ‘Jackie early. Blasted ‘Con science-

Even amidst lingering tensions, Cybertron was rebuilt—and Optimus returned and found peace.

Finally, ten years later, a portal opened.

Bulkhead could’ve cried, seeing those kids and the Doc-‘Bot again after so many years—and seeing ‘Jackie looking even younger than before, his smile bright and chatter animated.

The green Wrecker hated that he had done too little too late to help Wheeljack embrace the scientist in him again. The distance and love from the other universe worked wonders, just as it had last time, and brought his best friend back—as he deserved to be, as he always should’ve been.

All that was left for Bulkhead to do was brace himself as ‘Jackie approached, and for him to finally do the most terrifying thing he could imagine: explain himself to his family.

“Bulkhead, look: I-...” Wheeljack was scared, just as he had been the last time around—even after both of the hugs he was given weren’t enough to make him cringe in pain, as one once was.

Bulkhead didn’t want him to be scared, anymore. “‘Jackie.” He smiled, trying to be encouraging. “You can tell me anythin'. It's okay.”

“… Why do you keep sayin' that?” Wheeljack asked quietly, in a complete change of the old script. Bulkhead knew that was a possibility, after everything he’d done. “Ever since I arrived on Earth, you’ve been tellin’ me-… But I know that that’s not ‘right, ‘cause it wasn’t-” He paused and took a deep vent. “It wasn't… And I’ve spent so much time wonderin’ if you actually realized what was wrong while I was gone, or if you knew what I was dealin’ with all the time and only changed your mind about me when it was convenient.” He closed his optics. “It-… It doesn’t make sense to me. Make it make sense to me, Bulk.”

“Hm.” Bulkhead’s face fell. “… Okay, ‘Jackie. I’m gonna do my best.” He took a deep vent. “… You’re right. I didn’t realize it in the time before you came to Earth, ‘Jackie. I spent eons tellin’ myself that you’d ditched the nerdy science stuff to become the Wrecker whose stories I loved to give a positive spin to just so I could tell Miko how great the war was, and that that’s who you were.”

Wheeljack opened his optics and looked up at the green mech, his expression grim.

Bulkhead didn’t stop, though—even if he had rewritten his old life, he needed to hold himself accountable in this one. “And when… reality… up and slapped me in the face, and I had to confront how much you were really strugglin’ and that a lot in our relationship hadn’t been okay… I couldn’t face it. No, I-… I wouldn’t face it. And I ignored it, ‘cause I told myself that the problem would go away eventually and then I’d have my best friend back—just as I remembered him, never changin’.” He shook his head. “That was wrong. I was wrong… You never existed as I had you in my head, ‘Jackie—that was me, not knowin’ how to handle everythin’ we’d gone through and puttin’ all of the pressure on you to maintain the image that we hadn’t survived the Pit, we’d conquered it.” He took a sharp vent. “I promised myself—the day I met that scared, scrappy lil’ Kimia scientist who wouldn’t stop shakin’—that I’d always look after you. And I made that same promise to Springer, to Seaspray, to you… and I broke it. I did damage in a way that just doesn’t go away and hurt you, then I left, and then I hurt you again and I didn’t know what to do. And I know that I’ve said it to you before and that it’s still too little too late, but… I’m so sorry, Jackie, for everythin’.”

By the look on his face, Wheeljack didn’t know how to respond. He looked away, and sighed.

“So, you- You knew, on Cybertron?”

“No,” Bulkhead replied.

Wheeljack looked at him, his optics narrowing. “But you just told me-”

“I didn’t realize it until… way too long after you told me yourself… my first time ‘round,” Bulkhead said, and Wheeljack blinked. “… I guess you're not the only one who fell into another life, ‘Jackie.” It was time. “I'm livin' mine over again.”

Wheeljack blinked again. “What?”

“I went to the Well, old as slag... Then, I woke up,” Bulkhewd explained awkwardly. “And it was the day Cliff- Well, Cliff didn't have the best endin' the first time round.”

The crimson mech tilted his head. “Wait, what?”

“But I stopped it,” Bulkhead went on. “I stopped a lot of things.” He took a deep vent. “And I couldn't fix everythin' that went wrong between us, but... I tried to stop hurtin' you as well as I could.” He looked away, ashamed. “We fell out, the first time ‘round. I couldn't get my head out of my aft…” He looked at Wheeljack again. “But I tried to do right by you, this time. I really did.”

Wheeljack just looked at him. “… You're fried.”

“No, no.” Bulkhead held his servos up, then he groaned as he rested one of those servos on his head, trying to think. “Uh... I can prove it.” He pointed at Wheeljack. “You told me all about your time over there, last time. I know it was probably a little different, ‘cause-” He gestured. “But I’m willin' to bet that enough was the same. Ask me somethin' | shouldn't know.”

“Uh...” Wheeljack raised an optic-brow, giving an awkward grin. “Seriously?”

Bulkhead nodded. “Yeah, go for it.”

Wheeljack hesitated. “There, uh… There was this supervillain-type guy made of sludge-”

“Acid,” Bulkhead corrected the Wrecker in white. “And he called himself 'Meltdown'.”

Wheeljack’s optics went wide, then he looked back at the gang from the other reality. “… Yeah, we're in the wrong universe-”

“Wheeljack.” Bulkhead rested his servos on the other mech’s shoulders, and Wheeljack looked up at him. “I'm serious. That's why l've been actin' so weird. I knew everythin' you're about to tell me. I know… And I'm sorry, ‘Jackie. I'm so, so sorry.” The smaller Wrecker was still at a loss. “You're my best friend, ‘Jackie—my brother, and I let you down.” Bulkhead shook his head. “But you could never let me down. You could never disappoint me.” He sighed. “But you should hate me, for what I did and… everythin' I undid.”

It was quiet for a long moment.

No one knew what to do or say.

Then… Wheeljack raised an optic-brow. “… Wow, Bulk. Cliff's standin' right there.”

And Bulkhead deadpanned. “‘Jackie.”

“Heh.” Wheeljack smiled, reaching up to grip one of the green mech’s wrists. “Couldn't resist.”

Bulkhead blinked, then he smiled back.

It wasn’t forgiveness or a quick acceptance of the apologies, not a promise or an act. ‘Jackie knew Bulkhead would see right through that.

But… it was genuine, and it was his best friend.

They had a lot to work through, but Bulkhead found himself believing it would be okay.

“Seriously, though: I died?!” Cliffjumper asked, his optics wide. “How did I die?!”

“You're better off not knowin’, buddy,” Bulkhead assured him, and Arcee stepped closer to her partner with a protective glare. “The only one who went out worse was Breakdown.”

The former ‘Cons in the room blinked, then Breakdown looked down in alarm as Knockout handed Wildbreak to him and rested his servos on his hips. “Alright, that’s it! Explain, NOW!”

“Uh, heh…” Bulkhead smiled awkwardly as everyone looked at him pointedly. “Okay, so… I’ve tried to break the habit of tellin’ war stories—but if this is the last one I ever tell, okay.” He paused, thinking, then he looked up and shrugged. “My first time around, I-… I guess it all really began when we were all out for patrol, and Cliff came across a huge untapped Energon supply. What happened that day set off a chain of events that led to us savin’ the universe, so… we’re gonna have a lot to talk about when I start explainin’ how we got here. I’m both proud and not proud of it.”

“This is gonna be good,” Sari decided.

Wheeljack snorted, then smiled. “Heh. Probably.”

Bulkhead was so relieved to finally get the story out that he nearly forgot that there were just some things they were better off not knowing.

Luckily, he caught himself.

Whew.

reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something

Another quick MegOp AU thing...

I promise to actually be quick this time.

So obviously we're in a tentative peace arrangement. Megatron has been named Lord High Protector, mostly to give his co-ruling with Optimus some legitimacy. But aside from the council meetings they're on, they hardly see each other.

Which is fine by Megatron. He's got a lot to do handling incoming Decepticons and ensuring the people's rights are established and maintained to provide equal opportunities. Possibly even reparations, but he's still working on that front.

Basically he's been so busy with his own stuff that he hasn't paid much thought to whatever Optimus has going on, up until the attack. See, apparently someone has it out for the Prime, and decided to attempt to assassinate him.

Not that Megatron can entirely blame them-- he can only stand Optimus' pontificating for only so long himself-- but he shows up to the emergency security meeting early just to assure the Autobots that it wasn't an attack coordinated by him or the Decepticons. Primus knows how quickly Prowl can jump to conclusions, and Megatron won't stand to see what meager progress they've made stripped away.

Fortunately, Ultra Magnus is leading this meeting, imbuing some reason in the room. Ultra agrees that it wasn't a coordinated attack, that it was an independent party, possibly a neutral. Either way, it's a mystery. But Optimus is assuring that he's fine, so Megatron prepares to leave soon...

... but Ultra Magnus stops him to ask where he's going.

Megatron explains that things seem in servo-- Optimus is still outfitted with his war plating, and thus can obviously take a hit; the attackers were clearly unsuccessful, and there seems to be an agreement that the perps were not under his control-- what needs is there that he stays?

Ultra Magnus then counters with his own explanation-- during emergencies such as this, wherein a Prime's life is directly threatened, it's customary that the Protector, well... protects them.

Optimus again waves off concerns, agreeing with Megatron that he's fine, that he'll be fine, everything is fine. But the Autobots are adamant-- for the next decacycle, Lord Megatron will have to play personal bodyguard to one Optimus Prime.

And Megatron is pissed.

Basically cue a bunch of stuff happening wherein Megatron becomes intimately aware of just how much Optimus is doing for this new world, how much their ideas still align in many ways, and how exhausting it is to be Prime. And Optimus can see firsthand that Megatron is really trying for this peace. Can also have them get injured and help the other in the crisis. Really this is just an excuse for Megs to catch feelings on the job, and to occasionally have his judgement clouded or have him overreact to something due to Optimus being involved. And pleeeease have someone like Starscream call him out on it, publicly lmaooooo