Back To You

Chapter 13: Cycles

"Hey, Heatwave!" A young man, seemingly in his early twenties, appeared on the screen, sporting a brown shirt, brown sherpa-lined jacket, and his usual friendly smile.

"Hey, Cody." Heatwave left the papers he was filing and focused on the youngest Burns.

"Did the recruits arrive yet?" Cody asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah. All four of them." He nodded.

"Great! How are they settling in?"

"Pretty good. They're going over those videos you made about Earth and Humans. They seem pretty excited for classes to start tomorrow."

"That's good." Cody nodded. "What about you?"

Heatwave shrugged. "I'm not sure what to expect. Never been a teacher before, at least not in a professional setting."

"First-day jitters, huh?" Cody lightly teased. "Relax, you'll do great!"

Heatwave smiled and nodded a thank you. He really needed to hear that.

"Wish I could've been there to welcome them, but there have been nonstop calls all week." Cody sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Heatwave shook his helm. Griffin Rock rarely went a day without any emergencies. It was hard to keep up, and more so since some of the others were still operating in other parts of the globe; Cheif, Chase, Kade, and Cody never seemed to get a break.

"Anyway, I can't wait to meet them!" The young man's excitement was almost childlike and gave off a wave of nostalgia that comforted the firebot.

"I'm sure they'll be just as excited to meet you," Heatwave answered. Cody's grin somehow widened even more, and the firebot had to smile. No matter how many years went by, Cody was still Cody.

"Well, I have a few things I need to take care of." He motioned to the abandoned papers on his desk; Cody understood and nodded.

"Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow." The blond waved at the screen and promptly ended the call. Heatwave went back to work, sorting through each recruit's paperwork. It was the last thing he needed to do before the first day of classes tomorrow, and he took a second just to let everything soak in.

After nearly a decade of preparation, the Rescue Bots Academy was finally opening to its first class. He wouldn't lie to himself and say that the past few years were easy because they weren't.

Between the finalization of the Scrubber Initiative, Optimus being away for a while, and coping with Quickshadow's disappearance, the opening of the Academy was constantly being delayed by one conflict or another.

About a year after Quickshadow left, the Scrubber Initiative project was a third of the way done. Around that same time, Optimus, who they hadn't seen in person since he split them into smaller teams, made contact with an urgency that had something to do with the Vern Device. He was strangely reserved about the details, more so than usual, but they didn't question his motives.

The Prime then left for Cybertron again, and they didn't see him for another 6 years. By the time he returned, the Scrubber Project was finished and had already significantly reduced the planet's pollution levels. With no other pending projects, the Rescue Bots shifted their focus to the Academy, and with Optimus around, things began to run smoothly again. They devised a curriculum and completed their teacher training; then, from there, they defined a date for the grand opening.

The Academy was slowly coming together, and he couldn't be more pleased with all the hard work that went into building and setting it up.

'..hopefully, someday, we'll find some recruits worthy of its use.' Quickshadow's voice spontaneously manifested in his mind, and he unwillingly recalled the unveiling of the Training Center 10 years ago.