Oh god! Has Spirit submitted her first Christmas fanfic?! Oh god, it's the apocalypse! Run for your lives!

Ahem... no, I haven't gone crazy. I was bored and, well, I thought I would submit something involving the season of giving. It's a two-shot story, so, I hope you like it. And before you ask, it's not canon to the Earthspark series, but it kind of is. Even though "Inherit" is mainly set in the middle of 2013 (May at the moment), you could consider it canon if you wanted to. However, you will understand the main reason as to why it's not fully connected to the series. It's just something that I thought I could give to my wonderful fans who have supported the Earthspark since the very beginning.

Thank you everyone who has been on Rodimus' journey. This... is my Christmas gift to you.

Rodimus felt his spark skip a beat with excitement as he brought in a massive package into his quarters. He'd been waiting for several months for this box to arrive ever since he had ordered it not too long ago. Now that he had it, he could finally set his plan into motion. A part of him wondered if the other Autobots had done the most special Earth tradition since their arrival on Earth. Probably not, but he didn't care. Nothing was more important than the happiness of his friends and adoptive family.

He set the box carefully down on the desk next to his large computer and carefully transformed his right hand into a blade. He gently dug the blade's tip into the sticky tape that held the box together and slid it through. Once he was done cutting it, he opened up the box and peered inside.

Yes, everything he needed to do the large part of his plan was there.

He nodded in satisfaction and closed the box again. He then opened a private com-link to his best friends. "Hey, Sides and Bee, you guys finished bringing it in yet?"

"Yeah, we have,"Bumblebee answered happily. "Wheeljack has just finished helping us set it into place."

"If you don't mind me asking," Sideswipe spoke up, "why are we doing this? I've never seen such a strange tradition before."

"Tracy and I never did this during the time we spent together," Rodimus answered. "But she taught me that before she was homeless, she and her family used to celebrate this every year. It's a special tradition called Christmas."

"Why call it that?" Sideswipe asked.

If Rodimus knew Sideswipe well enough, he would guess that he would be raising an optic ridge. He shook his head with amusement, laughing at the cluelessness of his mentor and good friend. Even though he was older and much more experienced than him, Sideswipe still had the processor of a youthful warrior.

"Sides, stop asking questions and look it up on Wikipedia," Wheeljack snapped. "It's what I would do if I'm curious about something regarding humans and their history."

Rodimus laughed again, smiling even though his friends couldn't see it. He honestly couldn't wait to show his friends the gifts he had got for them on the special day that was soon arriving in just two more days. He had asked Prowl permission if they could borrow the Recreation Room for the special occasion, and the black and white mech seemed happy to grant that request, hence the reason why the room was off-limits to everyone except those Rodimus entrusted with his surprise.

Besides, he wanted to surprise every Autobot in the entire base, including the Neutrals. And what better way to do it than to it the way almost every human does. It made him feel good to know that he was doing it to make everyone feel better and forget about the ongoing war just for one day.

"Rodimus, we're done with the tree," Bumblebee called, interrupting Rodimus' thoughts. "You going to bring the box over yet?"

"Sure, Bee," Rodimus chuckled. "I'll be right down there in a second."

Turning off the com-link, he picked up the massive box of goodies in his hands and (with a spring in his step) headed out his room, down the corridors towards the Recreation Room. He honestly couldn't wait to show Bumblebee and Sideswipe what he had in the box. He left the other box underneath his recharge berth which contained very special things back in his quarters for safekeeping. He didn't want the others to see what else he had been getting lately.

Why would he want to spoil the special surprise he had in mind for them anyway?

"Roddy, Roddy! Hey, Roddy!"

Rodimus halted in his tracks just in time to see little Tailgate looking up at him with big, wide optics. He mentally sighed with relief, grateful that the youngling had managed to speak up before he had trodden on him. His creators would probably kill him for accidentally stepping on their precious son.

"Escaped from the caretakers again, Tailgate?" Rodimus smiled, rubbing the youngling on the helm.

"I came looking for you," Tailgate giggled.

Rodimus rolled his optics as he glanced down upon his little friend. Every time he wandered through the corridors and hallways, Tailgate always seemed to be close behind him. He didn't understand why the youngling followed him around like a puppy, but from what he could guess, Tailgate had grown a strong attachment for him.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I was wondering where you were going with that box," Tailgate said, pointing at the large box in his hands and frowning slightly. "It does look a little heavy for you."

The young Prime flexed his muscle cables slightly. "Nah, this box doesn't weigh a thing," he smiled. "As for where I'm going with it... it's a surprise that I plan to reveal in two days time. That's why the Recreation Room is off-limits to nearly everyone who cannot keep a secret."

"But I can keep a secret, Roddy," Tailgate whined, his bottom lip forming into a pout. By Primus, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Why won't you tell me?"

Rodimus winced and tried to look away. He hated it when Tailgate gave him the look, the one look that would eventually get him to do what the youngling wanted. But, unfortunately, Rodimus was not going to fall for it again, even though Tailgate was like a little brother to him.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," he sighed, smiling sadly, "but I cannot tell you why, no matter how badly I want to. It's a surprise for everyone, including you. If I told you what's going on, then it would ruin the surprise. While I do trust you, I just can't exactly say for the sake of everyone."

Tailgate hung his head low, but he nodded in understanding. "I understand, Roddy," he said.

Ugh, Rodimus wished that he could tell his little friend what he was planning, but he couldn't. He also hated the fact that he might have upset him. He closed his optics for a moment and got down on one knee to get on even grounds with Tailgate. He reached into the box, searching for a particular item that he needed. Once he had found what he was looking for, he pulled it out and handed it over to the youngling.

"Here, I want you to hold onto this for me until the day comes," he told him.

Tailgate blinked and carefully took the item into his hand. It was a glass ball of water, filled with white things that reminded him of snow he often saw falling outside the base. In the middle of the glass ball was a little cottage and a human in a red and white fur coat with a white beard.

He looked up at Rodimus in puzzlement. "What is it?" he asked.

"Shake it," Rodimus simply answered.

Tailgate did so and the white things that hung at the bottom of the ball were scattered everywhere inside and then they gently fell back onto the bottom. His optics became wide with wonder and astonishment. Now it was definitely like falling snow on a winter day!

He let off a youngling giggle. "Thanks, Roddy," he squeaked as he ran forward, embracing his friend around the waist. "I promise to take good care of it until then."

Rodimus just laughed and gently turned Tailgate around. "Go on now back to the playroom where it's safe," he gently chided. "Your caretakers will have a fit when they find out you got away again."

"Ok," Tailgate said, although it seemed like he wasn't paying much attention since he was too busy shaking the snow globe. Rodimus gave him a light nudge on the back to encourage him. The youngling snapped out of his daze and quickly rushed off before he was missed.

Rodimus smiled fondly, watching the little mech be on his way. He didn't know why Tailgate made him feel at peace, but a nagging feeling at the back of his processor and deep within his spark made him rethink about it. Why did younglings always make him think twice? He hadn't really thought about it much lately, but it seemed like it was growing steadily whenever he watched Tailgate play with the other younglings.

Whatever that feeling was, it wasn't very important. He would think about it some other time, right now he had a surprise to prepare for the Autobots.

"Where the frag are you, Rodimus?" Sideswipe growled through his com-link.

"I'm coming, Sides," Rodimus hissed back as he continued his trek down the corridors. "I just got a little sidetracked, that's all."

"Tailgate again?" Bumblebee teased.

"Yeah," Rodimus sighed. "He always has a knack for following me ever since we first met in the brig all those months ago."

There was a gentle chuckle from the yellow warrior. Rodimus felt inclined to ask what was so funny, but he held himself back as he reached his destination.

It was just like how Rodimus left it earlier. Many of the colourful Christmas decorations were being hung up on the ceiling and walls; tinsel and ornaments covered nearly the entire area with a variety of different colours from gold, green, silver, red, blue, and even white. So colourful was the room that it made Rodimus smile with pride.

On the far side of the room in the left corner, Bumblebee and Sideswipe stood in front of a fairly large pine tree that balanced on a stand. There was no sign of Wheeljack, but Rodimus guessed that the scientist had left not too long ago to get back to work. But on the right side of the room, Mirage and Jolt were helping to put up the last of the decorations on the wall.

Rodimus didn't know what compelled him to ask Mirage and Jolt to help him out with the surprise, but he somehow managed to talk them into keeping a secret from everyone else and help put up the lovely decorations. Mirage was still a little bit uneasy when Rodimus asked him for the favour (the young Prime still couldn't figure out why), but he was happy to help out. Jolt, the usually quiet and hyperactive Autobot, obviously couldn't pass up an opportunity in wanting to help out, considering how he liked learning more about earthling customs.

Rodimus knew he could trust these Autobots to keep this secret from everyone else, even though he didn't know much about them. All he knew was that this surprise was going to be well worth it when Christmas Day arrived.

Just the mere thought of seeing everyone's faces when they come to the Recreation Room made Rodimus' insides tingle all over.

He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Bumblebee waving him over until the last second. Shaking his head again, he bolted straight to his friends.

"The order came through?" Bumblebee asked, optics wide at the large box in his arms.

"Yup," Rodimus answered as he placed the box on the floor in front of their pedes. "It wasn't too heavy, but it was a bit of a struggle carrying it up here."

He opened the box's lid, revealing the contents inside. Both Sideswipe and Bumblebee ogled at the beautiful Christmas tree decorations and other contents inside. They had never seen anything like it before, for they were much more different compared to the ones.

Rodimus bent down and picked up the first of the decorations: a handful of ornaments.

"These always have to on first before we start putting on the tinsel and lights," he said seriously. "I don't think humans will be impressed if you didn't do it correctly."

"I'm not going to ask why," Sideswipe sighed, picking up some ornaments as well.

"We'd better get started, guys," Bumblebee told them. "We're running out of time, and it took us an entire week just to put up the decorations on the walls and ceiling. The other Autobots are going crazy and asking questions in regards to why the Rec. Room is off-limits to everyone."

"Eager for a drink of high grade, are they?" Rodimus teased.

Bumblebee laughed, "Maybe."

Rodimus snickered and Sideswipe emitted a rare, quiet chuckle. It had been a long while since the three of them had spent time together, even though their other member wasn't around at the moment. But it felt good to at least have a bit of fun while working on their surprise, even though it had been Rodimus' idea. It was not often that the Autobots celebrated a human custom together, but having something creative to do was perhaps one of the best jobs they had ever done.

Over the last half hour, Rodimus, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe decorated the pine tree with ornaments, tinsel, and lights. Rodimus had to stand slightly on Bumblebee's shoulders in order to place the last, most precious decoration on the tree (much to Bumblebee's embarrassment): the white, winged angel.

Sideswipe still didn't understand the concept of putting an angel on top of a tree, even though he had googled the information on the World Wide Web according to Wheeljack's orders. Rodimus and Bumblebee tried to explain it to him, but he merely dismissed it, claiming that the humans had the strangest customs in the entire galaxy.

Once Rodimus had placed the angel on top of the tree and he leapt off of Bumblebee's back, all three mechs stood back to admire their work.

From the snow-white angel down to the tiniest red ornament, the pine tree looked beautiful. Everything on it sparkled and glistened in the light of the room, making it look more like it was born to be this way.

"Better switch on the lights just to make sure that they're working properly," Rodimus smiled. "I don't want a single light missing its glow."

"You got them off of eBay didn't you, Rodimus?" Bumblebee asked as he bent down behind the tree where the switch for the lights was. He fiddled with the switch a couple of times before he flicked it on.

"We'll see if some of them don't work," the young Prime answered, dodging the question.

Sideswipe merely rolled his optics as Bumblebee appeared from behind the tree and stood on Rodimus' left. Mirage and Jolt, who had just finished with the last of the decorations, approached to see the little light show. Blue, red, green, yellow, and pink glowed beautifully amongst the tinsel and ornaments, and then they performed a dance of colours that illuminated all five mechs' optics, jumping from one colour to the next with precision and wonderful timing.

"That's perfect," Rodimus smiled fondly. "Switch it off, Bee, we've done everything we can for the surprise."

Bumblebee complied and turned off the switch at the power point. Jolt looked a little bit disappointed, but Mirage reassured that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day they will get to see them again.

Rodimus looked over to his best friends, smiling fondly at them. "Remember to put your gifts to everyone underneath the tree on Christmas Eve – which is tomorrow night," he told them.

"Gotcha, Rodimus," all four mechs answered at once.

Nodding with satisfaction, Rodimus then began to usher the group out of the Recreation Room, their job finally complete. Once the last of them were out, he commanded the lights to switch off and closed the door, locking it with a key code that only he and the group knew about.

Rodimus felt his insides squirm with even more excitement, his spark racing uncontrollably. He didn't know why he was so excited, but maybe it was because this event was actually for Arcee. The femme had taken a great deal of interest in human celebrations and tradition almost as much as Jolt. Even though she might know that Christmas was only two more recharges away, she had no idea that this was specially done for her.

The mere thought of the look on her face certainly would be amazing to see.

"What time is it, Rodimus?" Jolt asked quietly from behind him.

He checked his chronometer. "It's the usual time," he joked until he saw the serious look on the bright blue mech's facial features. "Right, uh, it's 10:30PM EST."

"Then we better go get some recharge," Mirage put in. "We want to make sure that we are well rested before we're ready for the big night."

"Agreed," Bumblebee nodded, stretching his arms slightly. "I'll see you guys tomorrow night."

He then turned and headed towards his quarters. Sideswipe merely inclined his head that he was going to do the same, following after Bumblebee.

Rodimus watched his guardians go, feeling slightly tired himself. He bid Mirage and Jolt goodnight before he too made his way to his quarters. Mirage wished him well, and Jolt waved. Rodimus was too tired to really pay much attention to them, but he just smiled and quickly disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him.

Without thinking, he collapsed on his berth and didn't bother to cover himself up in his thermal blanket. As he lay on his front, his processor pondered on the gifts he had got for his friends. Each one was packed away safely inside the box underneath his recharge berth for the special day that was soon arriving. And on Christmas Eve, it would then be time for him to put his gifts underneath the lovely pine tree they had set up.

However, none of these gifts were more special than the one he had planned for Arcee.

Thinking about his present for the byzantine femme just made him feel strange. He didn't know why, but the femme just had a unique way of making him feel better and truly happy without even realising it. He hoped that she liked his gift, and that she would treasure it forever.

Smiling to himself, Rodimus turned on his recharge systems and his optics dimmed into warm, blissful darkness that involved peaceful dreams.

We're going to skip ahead to two days later on the morning of Christmas in the next chapter. However, I want the second part to show up on the night of Christmas Eve. Please be patient with me, as I want this two-shot to be a story to remember. Again, thank you everyone for supporting the Earthspark series. I could never have done this without your love, understanding, and friendship.