When All Lights Go Out I (TFP)

Chapter 39

Optimus walked into the lobby with Jack beside him. He still cradled Azura in his arm. She had finished feeding from Optimus, and Optimus felt that it was time to tell the children the full story about how Azura came into existence. Azura was very nervous about it as she did not know how the kids were going to react to her being created from evil intentions. She knew that Jack probably would be okay about it, she wasn't sure about Miko and Raf. They were caught off guard by the admission she is Optimus's daughter, while Jack had noticed that it was possible.

Miko was watching from the platform with a curious expression. She had no frown on her face to show that she could be annoyed, and that was perfectly fine. Raf was sitting on Bee's shoulder as Optimus entered the room. Bee's coverings have been fully repaired at this time, so has Bulkhead's, while Ratchet still needed to repair his own. But at the moment, Bulkhead and Arcee were repairing a few fallen things in the lobby while Ratchet assisted, so they were busy.

"I have to say, I almost expected to see you still looked human when Optimus brought you out," Miko commented gently as she looked at Azura. Azura turned her head away from Miko and the girl saw that the sparkling was acting shy. "And I can see what you mean by the fact she's still an infant, but it is still strange. At least she is okay."

"Just don't be mad at her, Miko," Jack said gently as he walked up the stairs. "None of that is Azura's fault. She obviously never knew about her identity until three years ago. Imagine how you would feel if you thought you were one thing your whole life, only for it to crumble down."

"It would be traumatizing," Raf said gently as he remained seated on Bee's shoulder. "I am not sure anyone can really handle that kind of truth." He looked at Azura as the girl remained facing Optimus's chassis and the boy smiled. "I have to say, she's kind of cute."

Optimus smiled gently at the boy. "She is. I agree she is very cute." Azura glanced up at Optimus with a slight frown as he looked at her. "I know you may not agree, but that is how I feel about you. And when the base is properly repaired, we can start designing the new coverings for you."

Miko widened her eyes in surprise and stared at Optimus. "So without your armor, you look like what Azura looks like?"

Optimus nodded. "We are not born with these coverings, Miko. Our protoform skeleton covers out vital systems, but it is far weaker than the armor you see us wearing. But as sparklings grow very fast within the first years of their birth, we put the first coverings onto the sparklings when they reach a certain age. Azura is past that age, but she had the thin membrane covering her body and giving her a human appearance. And the coverings would have tore off the membrane and cause extreme discomfort for her."

"Ooh, I see..." Miko looked at Azura curiously and chuckled softly. "In a way, this is what you're telling me, is that she is going to be naked until she gets new coverings."

Azura grimaced and curled her body slightly as she overheard the girl talking. Jack shook his head in disbelief. "I guess it is one way to look at it Miko, but I really think it isn't that bad. But..." He looked at Optimus curiously. "She didn't have an actual covering around her chest and stomach, did she?"

"No. Unfortunately...because Azura did not develop properly within a gestational chamber, she is missing some things." The kids were shocked to hear this and Optimus took a deep intake. "Now that you know that Azura is my daughter, her...her creation was unfortunately something that the decepticons were experimenting with. Something that took the lives of numerous bots and new sparks alike."

"Are new sparks like what we would embryos?" Rafael asked curiously, looking at Bumblebee. "It's basically the very start of development of any offspring."