Grimlock - Autobot, Father and Son

Author's Foreword:

I put quite a lot of effort into this one! I am quite proud of it actually! Prepare a box of tissues because you may be crying!

I was watching the G1 movie and just thinking about how it affected different characters, relations, so on and so forth and this came out!

Some of the flashbacks happen before the movie events, some during, most after, should be fairly easy to tell.

"Dinobots," Rodimus walked to the fish pond to give out orders to one of his most powerful teams, "I have an assignment for you. Um, where is Grimlock?"

"Swoop say Grimlock say be back later."

"Me, Sludge, say Grimlock gone long time."

"What, where could he be?!" That was astounding. The dinobots were rarely separated from their leader, which could only mean something was wrong. "Is he all right?"

"Grimlock king!"

"Grimlock leader!"

"Grimlock king leader!"

"Grimlock leader king!"

"Grrghghghrhrhrhgrgrhg!"

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Rrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!"

"Eeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa!"

"Uh-huh. I'm just gonna go look for him before this gets out of hand …"

"Here Grimmy Grimmy Grimmy, here Grimmy Grimmy Grimmy …"

The repairs after the dinobots had yet another rampage were finally complete. Granted, it took the Autobots a fair amount of time but they also managed to improve some of the other more damaged areas of the ship that needed attention. Now they had access through the cave, like a tunnel, where they discovered the dinosaur remains so it wasn't all bad- gave them extra storage space too. The never-changing problem though was to get the dinobots to behave.

"Ergh, freakin' hell! Where's that oversized tin scoundrel hidin' now?!"

"I knew we should have grabbed some fish …" Ratchet stepped into the damp space to help his friend.

It hurt Wheeljack a lot when Optimus told him to pull the plug; for cycles, the engineer couldn't calm down as he violently assisted in fixing up the ship, but in the end -seeing that he didn't have much choice but to obey his leader's orders- the car was forced to finally let it go. In secret, however, the creator continued to improve on the designs and come up with upgrades.

"Grimlock! I swear tah Cybertron if yer eatin' the ship again, I won' let you play with Huffer anymore!"

"Um, that would be a good thing! I have to put him back together every time that happens!"

Then one day, came the circumstances that forced Wheeljack to disobey a direct order to save his comrades from certain death, and thus, Swoop and Snarl came to be. Proving to be a powerful force that was instrumental in driving the Decepticons into fleeing, Prime's decision to allow the dinobots to stay made the Lancia Stratos' mechanical heart fill with joy. His sons were allowed to live: not as a failed experiment, locked away forever, but as fellow Autobots.

"Grimlock! Your brothers are all waiting for you! Grimlock!" Suddenly hearing a very, very quiet sound of rock crumbling, the engineer froze in place as he noticed a shadow of something huge creep up behind him, "Grimlo…"

"PAPA! MAMA!"

"GRIMLOCK! YOU ARE SQUISHING ME!"

"Grurgle …"

"Grimlock love papa and mama!"

"Can't … breathe …"

"Bluklrgghhhhhhh…"

"Papa! Mama! Hohohohoho …"

"Ultra Magnus! Do you know where Grimlock is?"

"He is not with the other dinobots?"

"No, they don't know where he is either."

"Hmm, that's strange."

"Did anything like this happen before?"

"No, not to my recollection."

"Any ideas? Guesses?"

"To be honest, this is news to me."

"You think that something is wrong?"

"Hm, well, I do have a guess but I don't want to voice it just yet. Let me come with you; there could be trouble."

"Why not?"

"If I am wrong, it could lead to some very unpleasant consequences, just trust me."

"All right. Let's go?"

"Yes."

"Wheeljack!"

"I'm sorry, 'k?"

"No! Sorry is not going to cut it this time!"

"So what if he ate yer desk …"

"I had battle plans! Accounts! Strategic maneuvers! Paperwork! Invaluable intelligence!"

"Come on, Prowl, I'm sure you made a digital copy of that stuff …"

"No, but it was next on my list!"

"Should've done it sooneh then!"

"OFF TO THE BRIG!"

"Wheeljack, sir!"

"What did Grimlock do this time?"

"He crushed my vials with the prototype corrostop!"

"I'm sorry, all righ'? I'll let you use the matteh replicateh …"

"Then he hung me on a cliff for a whole cycle!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Then he used me for target practice!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Then he took crayons and drew all over my books!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Then he ate the samples of cosmic rust!"

"I'm sorry … wait … hm, maybe that's why he had indigestion this morning …"

"Then he threw up on me!"

"Percepteh, I am sorry, 'k? I will make it up to you … somehow …"

"Wheeljack!"

"What is it, Tracks?"

"Grimlock put a hole in my wall!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Everybody could see what I was doing there!"

"It neveh came to ya to coveh the hole?"

"I didn't even know about it until Prowl stepped in to confiscate my collection of, um, figurines!"

"Uh-huh, ya, figurines …"

"Shut up! Grimlock made a hole in my wall! Go fix it!"

"Ask Grapple …"

"We don't talk."

"Why not?"

"That's none of your business …"

"Called him some other name in berth?"

"Sh-shut up! Go fix it!"

"Urgh, fine."

"And compensate me for new figurines!"

"No."

"Why the slag not?!"

"Because it wasn't Grimlock who took away your 'figurines'."

"Yeah, well, you are a rainbow head!"

"Oh, I'm hurt, couldn' come up with anythin' betteh? Guess yer processeh was finally fragged out …"

"That is it! I am telling Prowl!"

"… aft …"

"Wheeljack!"

"I'm sorry fer whateveh it is that Grimlock did this time …"

"No, you are holding up the line …"

"I'm sorry."

"Wheeljack! The dinobots interrupted the recruits training!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Wheeljack! Swoop scared a whole village on his patrol and now we got 143 people reported missing!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Wheeljack! Slag melted down my laboratory and is now swimming in there!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Wheeljack! Snarl beat up Tracks!"

"I'm not sorry …"

"Wheeljack! Sludge stomped all over my flower bed! It took me years to grow all those flowers!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Wheeljack! Grimlock got drunk and went on a balloon popping rampage in New York City during the parade and fell asleep in the zoo!"

"I'm sorry …"

"Hey, Kup, do you know where Grimlock is?"

"What? He is not with the dinobots?"

"No, we can't find him anywhere, we thought he would be with you but doesn't look like it."

"Something must be wrong."

"We are thinking so too."

"I will come with you."

"Grimlock, Swoop, Slag, Snarl, Sludge!"

"Papa!"

"Papa!"

"Papa!"

"Papa!"

"Papa!"

"Don't papa me! What did I tell yeh 'bout makin' trouble?"

"Not get caught."

"And?"

"Use memory wipe stick on others if caught."

"That's right! Are you guys even trying to do any of those things?!"

"Sorry papa …"

"You guys …" Wheeljack looked into their optics, their beautiful blue, cutest optics in existence. No, he couldn't stay mad at them, not even for the shortest moment. Sighing, the engineer spread out his arms. "Papa loves yeh more than anythin'."

"Papa!" All five dinobots didn't hesitate to give their creator the biggest, warmest hug.

He didn't care how much trouble they caused, he didn't give a crap if the whole Ark was pissed at him and his beloved children, there was no force in the universe that would ever stop him from loving his kids.

"Grimlock didn't respond to his personal communicator."

"I got nothing over the intercom."

"I asked everyone on the base; nobody knows where he is."

"Should we organize a search party?"

"Not yet, I will ask the Aerialbots and Sky Lynx to look for him. If he is going to be on the surface, they will definitely spot him."

"Hm, Autobot City, huh?"

"Yes."

"Well, I gotta say, the idea's pretty good. The Ark's kinda fallin' apart."

"So far I have assigned Grapple and Perceptor in on this project …"

"Count me in, Optimus."

"Rodimus, this is Silverbolt; respond."

"Rodimus here: report."

"No sign of Grimlock anywhere. What are your orders?"

"Check again; if you find nothing, return to base for stand-by. Confirm."

"Scan surface of Cybertorn for dinobot commander Grimlock, if nothing found, return to base for stand-by."

"Execute orders."

"Executing orders. Aerialbots, move out!"

"How're we gonna get all the materials 'n' tools? Humans can provide us with only so much."

"We are retreating from Cybertron."

"Oh, ok. Wait, what?!"

"Our defenses on Cybertron are failing. With the space bridge technology in the Decepticons' hands we …"

"Ergh, I'm hopin' yeh know what yeh doin', Prime."

"We still have the moonbases. We will be preparing for an assault to retake Cybertron there and for that we will need to clear out the warehouses there."

"Ah, I see."

"Two shuttles will be coming, they should arrive within ten cycles."

"I will get the dinobots to help unload."

"Just make sure they don't eat anything …"

"This is Sky Lynx."

"Report."

"Unfortunately, I found nothing."

"Scan the planet surface again."

"My equipment is state of the art …"

"Sky Lynx, check the planet surface again."

"Fine!"

"His personality circuits are most certainly not state of the art …"

"I heard that!"

"Wheeljack."

"Ultra Magnus."

"How have you been, old friend?"

"Not half bad! You? I see yeh've been promoted to Commander. I guess congratulations 're in ordeh?"

"I guess."

"Well, if it makes yeh feel any betteh, I'm feeling pretty safe with yeh bein' in charge."

"Oh, thanks."

"There is no sign of Grimlock anywhere on the surface."

"Then he must be somewhere underground."

"What?! What would Grimlock do underground?!"

"Hey, Ultra Magnus."

"Yes, Kup?"

"You think Grimlock wants to …"

"It's possible. I certainly hope that it's not true though …"

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Rodimus! This is Springer."

"What?"

"Someone broke into Vector Sigma's chamber!"

"What?! We will be right there!"

"The Autobot City's complete."

"Great work, Autobots! Now we can focus on arming ourselves to take back Cybertron."

"Yes!"

"Hooray!"

"Woooo!"

"Yeah!"

The vault's doors were broken to bits, the protective barriers installed around the seemingly omnipotent computer in case of a cave-in to protect it, were ripped apart by something really angry; yet Vector Sigma itself was half-banged into the wall, surprisingly with not a single scratch on it.

"What the frag happened here?!"

"Sir," Perceptor stepped away from Computron, entering some information into a data pad, "Preliminary analysis confirms that someone broke into the chamber …"

"Perceptor, I can see that! Tell me who did this! Was it Grimlock?"

"Well, judging from the structural damage caused to the seals and the fact that the barriers were quite literally obliterated, it creates marginal probabilities to assume that …"

"Perceptor! We don't have all day!"

"Oh, right, yes, the possibility that it is Grimlock is very high."

"Eh, I would have tah say it is higher than very high. Look at what he did to Vector Sigma, kid. How many 'bots ya know that can do that?"

"Hm, indeed."

"Why would Grimlock do something like this?! Ultra Magnus! Kup! What are your theories?"

"Wheeljack and Ratchet …"

"Optimus! What's goin' on?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I am talkin' about you reassignin' the dinobots to one of the moonbases!"

"Yes, we will need every muscle we can possibly get to retake Cybertron."

"Uh-huh …"

"I understand your concern for their safety, but I assure you I will do all in my power to have no casualties what so ever …"

"Optimus."

"Yes?"

"If there's a single chip on their armeh, I sweah I'll stop being careful …"

"Wait, the past millions of years you were careful?!"

"Yeh."

"… ho, scrap …"

"Are you for real?!"

"Well, it's a theory."

"But that's impossible!"

"I don't think logic is Grimlock's companion …"

"Ergh, kheh, fraggin' Decepticons!"

Wheeljack crawled over to the battle station, grunting and moaning from pain as he loaded the cannon again and shot the pellet into the general direction of their enemies.

There was nobody else left. In all his life, the Lancia Stratos never felt so hopeless.

Mirage's arm was blown off; the engineer had repaired it but then one of Starscream's null rays hit the former noble and his servo exploded, taking half of his face, the remaining debris scratching his processor. The mech ended up dying from the agonizing overload to his circuits.

"Fraggin' Starscream!"

Hoist was crushed by part of the wall falling on him; his hand sticking out, desperately grabbing the air for any hope of survival but that shortly stopped. Wheeljack and Grapple had tried digging him out but it was too late.

"I'm sorry, Hoist."

Grapple couldn't stop cursing himself for making such a "shameful and pathetic" structure and volunteered to get reinforcements. The poor architect never returned.

"If it wasn' fer yer skills, we'd all be dead by now."

Bluestreak was probably the luckiest out of all of them; his head was blown clean off.

"At least he didn' suffeh …"

Windcharger just died in his hands. A pack of live grenades was dropped in by one of the constructicons. Even with his amazing acceleration, the minibot couldn't get away in time; the blast wave threw him all the way to the other end of the station. Wheeljack did all he could but the only thing he could do was to comfort his dying comrade – there was too much shrapnel for him to remove.

"Slag it! Slag it! Slag it! Slag it!"

The engineer wasn't even supposed to be here. Just a few cycles ago Optimus reassigned him to one of the moonbases to help out weapon productions; that shuttle was supposed to pick him up and bring the white mech to his children. It seemed though that Life had other plans.

Now -coughing up liquids, four holes in his chest, armor bent all over, parts and bits breaking off with every movement he made; coolant running down his cheeks like rivers, not so much from the physical pain as from the possibility that he will never get to see his sons again- Wheeljack was the last one alive.

"BRING IT ON YEH FRAGGERS! THIS IS FER MY FRIENDS! AAAAAAHHH!"

His frenzy didn't last long – Megatron ordered to blast the whole area and surely, one of the bomb shells hit Wheeljack.

Desperately trying to stay online, he was convulsing on the cold floor among his comrades.

"Oh dear lord! Wheeljack!," Arcee ran into the room and rested the engineer's head on her lap, "Tell me what to do, I will fix you …"

"Too, grergghhh, late fer me, nnghhh, eeegh …"

"Don't say that! Don't you dare say that!"

"D-d-dinobots …"

"What?"

"Tell Ratchet teh, ngrrraaa, take good, nghhaaaooo, care of them …"

"Wheeljack!"

"And the dinobots, khe, I love them."

"Oh..." She didn't know what to do. She couldn't tell the dying father that the medic, the only other parent the dinobots would ever have, was dead. She just couldn't. "Y-yes, I will tell them …"

"Th, khergh, thanks. Slag, Snarl, Swoop, Sludge …," a final shiver ran through his body as a multitude of explosions followed throughout his construct, forever offlining the infamous engineer, "… Grimlock …"

"Technobots! Where did we store the remains of the anti-electron generators?"

"Rodimus! This is Sideswipe."

"This is Rodimus, report."

"Somebody broke into the warehouses and, um, tried eating the remains of the anti-electron generators."

"That's Grimlock! Can you track him?"

"No, he left no tracks to follow."

"Where the frag is he?!"

"What are your orders?"

"Mobilize everyone we can to find Grimlock but leave the rest of the dinobots out of this."

"Understood."

Grimlock loved fighting. The feeling, the rush he got from pounding in the face of yet another Decepticon, ripping them to shreds and grinding them into metallic dust, was a thrill that he adored every minute of. So when a call for reinforcements came from Earth, Optimus immediately mobilized his team to aid Autobot City.

"Dinobots see papa too!"

When they arrived, however, there was no time for family reunions; he immediately set out to battle. Getting kicked by Devestator only enraged the commander but the giant combiner was gone when he returned to give it a good offlining.

"Grimlock want to see papa and mama!"

It was a slaughter; dozens of dead Autobot corpses -mutilated, burned, destroyed, devastated, even blown to bits- were making a dreadful carpet on the ground.

"Grimlock! I need you on the front lines!"

"Fine! But later Grimlock come see papa and mama!"

"Where the frag is the slagging bozo?!"

They searched for cycles, yet they couldn't find him anywhere. It was like he had become a ghost, chasing something he can never get; unable to rest because of things keeping him from staying sane.

"Aren't you gonna tell them?"

"How can I tell them something like this?!"

"If you are not going to do it, then I will."

"No! Don't do it yet!"

"Why not? Don't you think the dinobots deserve to know that their …"

"Sh! They will hear you!"

"All right, that's it, I am telling them …"

"Springer! No! You can't!"

"Why not?"

"Look around us! Don't you think there was more than enough destruction for one day?!"

"The dinobots will find out …"

"Dinobots find out what?"

"Grimlock! Um …"

"Find out that we are planning on building another fishing pond for your efforts!

"Grimlock not care!"

"Wha…"

"What?"

"Where papa and mama?"

"Oh …"

"Well, Ratchet is, um …"

"Wheeljack and Ratchet are retrieving supplies from the humans, they should be back by tomorrow."

"What …"

"All right, Grimlock wait. Grimlock go help Blaster carry heavy stuff."

"I hope you are happy, I had to lie to a perfectly innocent Autobot."

"Springer, why did you do it?!"

"Tell him or I will do it. End of discussion."

"I am picking up a faint signal!" Blaster suddenly stopped and transformed.

"Perhaps he is somewhere isolated?"

"That is a good guess, but where exactly? We got a lot of places like that; almost all of the underground is isolated."

"Then we will look through them all. I cannot allow him to damage any more property."

Even with Unicron destroyed and Cybertron retaken, there was still some very bitter things that had to be done. For one, burying the dead.

Arcee was helping out First Aid with the bodies, piecing them together as much as possible and cleaning them. As honorable of a job it was, it still invited pain, an aura of death.

"Hey, guys," Springer walked in, carrying a tray of energon cubes, "Thought I would drop by and bring you something to snack on."

"That is very kind of you, sir, thank you."

"Thanks, Springer. We were about to take a break."

"So, Ratchet and Wheeljack are left, huh?" The green mech put the tray down on the desk and came up to the only two uncovered bodies.

"Yes, unfortunately, sir."

"Hey, Arcee?"

"Yes?"

"How did the dinobots react?"

"Oh, um, I haven't told them yet …"

"It has been months and you still haven't told them?! How did you keep it from them for so long?!"

"Wheeljack and Ratchet were ordered to stay on Earth and help rebuild and Rodimus already assigned them here …"

"Excuse me, sir, tell the dinobots what?"

"I, um, have been having trouble, um, bringing the news to the dinobots that, um, Wheeljack and Ratchet are …"

"MAMA?! PAPA?!"

All three turned their heads to the door, only to see Grimlock standing in the doorway; looking at the two lifeless bodies with confusion, that slowly began turning into bitter, endless, horrifying anguish. "M-m-mama … p-papa …"

"… dead …"

For a few astroseconds they all stood in the most dreadful silence as the son discovered that he, along with his brothers, became orphans.

"Gr-Grimlock no understand …"

"I am sorry, Grimlock, I was supposed to tell you …"

"Grimlock no understand …" The commander began noticeable shivering, voice breaking.

"Wheeljack and Ratchet died. Ratchet in the shuttle that left for Autobot City …"

"… no …" He made a small step towards the operating tables.

"… and Wheeljack died in my hands …"

"… n-n-no …" His visor slowly gradually began leaking coolant.

"The last thing he said was that he loved you …"

"P-papa … mama …" With each meter Grimlock crossed, it was harder and harder for him to stay on his feet.

"I am sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"M-m-m… p-p-paaa…" The dinobot leader finally collapsed on his knees, grabbed both of his parents' hands and buried his face into them, his quiet sobs and quick intakes breaking the dead air.

"Grimlock," Arcee came from behind the Autobot and gently hugged him, "I am sorry."

"Mama … papa …"

It was a frightening thing, to see the seemingly indestructible, all-mighty dinobot commander, that was feared even by Megatron himself, break down like this.

"Come on, sir," First Aid brought a chair and with the help from the other two mechs, they sat the T-rex down, "I will bring you some energon."

"Grimlock!"

"Where Grimlock?"

"Grimlock come fish!"

"Me, Swoop say he went that way."

"Oh, frag …" Arcee facepalmed, "What are we going to do?!"

"Dinobots," the commander suddenly rose from his chair and quickly ran to the door, closing it behind him, "Let's go fish."

"Snarl like fishing!"

"Sludge like fishy too!"

"Swoop say fish!"

"Me, Slag say get cesium baloney!"

"This is too sad," the Toyota Town Ace softly said, bowing his head.

"Smooth," Springer turned to Arcee with a hint of irritation, "Real smooth. Are you all right?"

"I, I, I …"

"Sit down; have some energon. I will see if I can get Smokescreen to talk to him. Weird though, that he didn't tell the rest of the dinobots."

"He is looking out for the only family he has left I would assume, sir."

"Ergh, figures …"

"Sir, we have searched through over eighty-three percent of all accessible areas- he is nowhere to be found!"

"Keep looking. If we have to, we will look in the inaccessible areas."

"… but sir …"

"Grimlock is a comrade, we never leave our comrades in trouble or grief, we are always there for them! Got it, Perceptor? Or did all the time you spend with Wheeljack and Ratchet teach you nothing?"

"I am sorry, sir, you are right; we shall keep looking."

"How does he do that?!"

"His emotional circuitry was probably overloaded."

"It has been months!"

"What can I tell you, Springer. The mind does everything it can to preserve itself: be it by erasing information, drowning out whole personality traits, locking up memories... Whatever it takes."

"So, this is normal? It can't be!"

"Springer, as a psychologist, there is nothing I can do. As a friend, there is nothing I can do, there is nothing that anyone can do at this point in time. At the very least, I do not recommend it."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, his mind could have locked up those memories somewhere, his circuitry could still be recovering, or it could be that Grimlock's processor was unable to grasp the fact that his parents are dead. It could be a whole multitude of things."

"So what do we do?"

"Like I said, there is nothing we can do. He won't talk until he is ready."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"Give it time. Once he is ready, he will talk … or go on a rampage. One or the other."

"That's … comforting?"

"You are telling me that Grimlock still didn't tell the others?"

"Yes."

"How did they not find out? I am pretty sure they were there during the burial ceremonies."

"Grimlock ordered them to clear out debris. They weren't there for the part where they honored Wheeljack and Ratchet."

"Ah, I see."

"Should we tell Slag, Snarl, Sludge and Swoop?"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"They look up to Grimlock, if we were to say anything, it would only upset them and he may not be able to control the dinobots."

"So, wait until he is ready?"

"Yes, once he is ready, he will talk."

"How is it possible that Grimlock, the biggest, loudest transformer I have ever seen …"

"What about Brawl?"

"… Tracks …"

"Sorry."

"… the loudest transformer I have ever fought side by side with just randomly disappear without as much as making a peep?!"

"Oh, dear …"

"What is it this time, Perceptor?"

"I believe I know where he is."

"You said we checked everywhere."

"Everywhere that we could reach at this point in time, however there is one place that still belonged to Ratchet and Wheeljack …"

"What do you mean, kid?"

"Wheeljack's lab."

He never ran away, he never surrendered; whatever the Decepticons threw at him, he would just obliterate it and them, with the assistance of his brothers.

He was running. He was running in a way that he never thought was possible. Two of the pillars his whole world was standing on, gone, just like that; no hello, no goodbye, just poof into thin air. The commander understood why everybody else kept it from him but it didn't help. It still happened; his parents still died.

It was a torture -every astrosecond, every single fragging minute of his life- ever since he saw the two corpses. It was hell; each moment marked with an unbelievable amount of pain, overwhelming agitation, unbearable sorrow.

Who would read the dinobots their bedtime stories? Who would tuck them all in and give them good-recharge kisses? Who would play with them by gluing some fish to Huffer and letting them chase the minibot? Who would be there to hug them when they felt lonely? Who would teach them about life? About the world around them? Who would be fixing their booboos and be there for them whenever?

An idea struck Grimlock. If there was nobody to do any of those things …

"… then Grimlock get someone!"

A long time ago, he heard stories that Vector Sigma, some computer thing, gave personalities, healed and even revived fallen transformers. That was his first stop. Quickly making his way to the vault, it came as a huge annoyance for the dinobot to see all the seals in place for keeping 'bots out. In a moment of pure, uncontrollable rage, he annihilated the doors and made quick work of the protective barriers.

"Grimlock say computer bring back mama and papa!" Unfortunately, the machine remained unresponsive to his plea. Anger building up again to a whole new level, the T-rex grabbed the sphere and smashed it into the wall. "BRING BACK MAMA AND PAPA!"

Unable to restrain yet another wave of rage, he turned into raw fury itself. Bashing the computer in a series of merciless strikes, screaming off the top of his air pumps to revive his parents, finally he fell down, bawling like a little baby.

"No! This not over! Stupid machine! I go bite other machine!"

Kicking Vector Sigma for the last time, the dinobot ran to one of the warehouses where they stored the remains of the anti-electron generators.

"If Grimlock bite anti-thingy again, Grimlock get brain and bring mama and papa back!" But that proved to be fruitless. He didn't get smarter like before, only more desperate. "GRIMLOCK HATE YOU!"

Rampaging aimlessly on the surface of Cybertron, he suddenly found himself on an empty street. Lost, cold, hungry and emotionally dying, he walked to the closest door and opened it.

"Whoa!" Suddenly, a strong set of lights blinded him. Vision quickly coming back to the T-rex, he saw tables and desks filled with all kinds of junk, very much like …

"Papa lab!" From a random surge of happiness and a newfound hope, the commander began smelling every object he came across. "Papa! Papa smell! Papa! Mama smell too!"

The room was spinning around him as his ecstatic thrill increased, urged on by the odor of his deceased parents, causing the dinobot to start laughing and rolling in all the stuff that was there. But soon, too soon, the feeling faded and Grimlock began to cry again.

"Grimlock want papa and mama! Mama! Papa! Mama! Papa!" His only answer was the howling wind of the cold planet. Lying, weeping over his loss, still calling for his caretakers with a faint, squeaky voice, eventually he became full of resolve. "Grimlock make mama and papa come back! Grimlock make mama and papa!"

The commander grabbed some tools and began putting something together.

"There it is, Wheeljack's old workshop."

"Are you sure he is in there?"

"Well, there is only one way to find out. If he is not in there, then we are in real big trouble."

"All right, open the gate." They were expecting to see the dinobot, that much was true, but there was nothing that could have ever prepared them for the sight they saw.

"What the …"

"Amazing …"

"This is sad on so many levels …"

" I think I am going to cry and have nightmares …"

There he was, Grimlock -the esteemed dinobot commander, instilling fear into everyone, foes and allies alike- on the floor, crying in his sleep, head buried into the chests of two dolls shaped like Wheeljack and Ratchet.

Epilogue

"Are you sure you are ready?"

"Grimlock ready."

"Wait, before you go, I just want you to know that, um, well, dad, we may not say it a lot, we may not show it a lot, but me, Strafe, Afterburner, Lightspeed and Nosecone love you and are there for you if you ever need anything."

"Dude, that was beautiful."

"Shut up, crybaby."

"I am not crying, you are!"

"Grimlock thank Technobots."

"We are not Technobots to you! We are your sons!"

"Yeah!"

"What he said!"

"Indeed!"

"Yahoo!"

"So, dad, you go there and tell your brothers the truth, they deserve to know it."

"Yes, Grimlock go tell."

The five dicolored Autobots watched their beloved creator walk up to their uncles.

"Dinobots, Grimlock has to say something …"

Author's Notes:

I re-read this just now ... manly tears were shed ...

Well, I hope you liked!

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