Unbreakable Spirits (A "Transformers: Generation 1" Story)

[Philip Gipson]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This particular story is both inspired by Best Friends Day and takes place during the third season of the classic Transformers cartoon series. It focuses on the enduring friendship between Autobot Bumblebee and human Spike Witwicky, and how far both of them have come since the Optimus Prime-Megatron era of the Autobot-Decepticon war. Special thanks goes to Kenya Starflight and MadnessJones, whose own TF stories have been such a blast to read and have all too easily brought out the nostalgia in me.

TRANSFORMERS is a trademark of Hasbro under license from TakaraTomy.

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The year 2006. A time of change for all life in the universe. A time where everything and everyone must adapt to the changes surrounding them. For two individuals, it was exactly that. Bumblebee, espionage director for the Autobots, and Spike Witwicky, one of the Autobots' staunchest allies as well as Earth's ambassador to Cybertron, had been through so much together ever since the day Optimus Prime's Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons crash-landed on Earth back in 1984, into the volcano Mount St. Hilary in Portland, Oregon. The friendship between Bumblebee and Spike had grown steadily overtime even as Spike and his late father, Sparkplug, offered to assist the Autobots in defending Earth from the Decepticons. Yes, things were perilous, but Spike and Bumblebee could always count on each other to get through anything that came their way.

Currently Bumblebee was driving in his vehicle mode with Spike as the passenger. They both had so much on their minds lately that they needed to get away from Autobot City for a moment. They were deliberately silent the whole way. The Autobots and Decepticons had changed leaders a year prior, with Rodimus Prime and Galvatron commanding both sides. Things were indeed different since the days of Optimus Prime and Megatron, and Bumblebee and Spike were witnesses to the changes. The bond between them, however, was the same. In fact, every challenge that they'd ever faced only served to make that bond stronger. On this very day, they needed time away from the other Autobots to truly think about the 22 years that had transpired, and Rodimus Prime seemed generous enough to allow this.

They finally reached the location of the now-inactive space bridge that the Decepticons developed as a means to travel between Earth and Cybertron. Spike got out of Bumblebee, who shifted into robot mode. For the two of them the space bridge served as a reminder of most of the Autobots' troubles, but they had a special reason for coming here. They needed to get whatever it was they were feeling off their chests (chestplate in Bumblebee's case). So it was they sat on separate sides of the metallic purple construct and began their conversation.

"Time sure does fly by, doesn't it, Spike?" began Bumblebee. "So much sparkache from everybody involved in the Autobot-Decepticon war, and there's just no end to it. None of us has clean hands."

"I know exactly what you mean, Bumblebee," Spike agreed. "We've all lost and gained so much over the years. This not-so-one-sided war has changed us all in ways that we may never really comprehend or explain."

"And on top of us fighting the Decepticons, we have to deal with the Quintessons, the creators of all the Transformers," Bumblebee added with slight disgust. He was still adjusting to that particular realization like everyone else in his life. "It should be easy to, as you humans say, kill two birds with one stone."

"Unfortunately the Decepticons and the Quintessons combined won't be so easy to defeat," continued Spike. "Separately they're easy to face, but together...they make evil a hundred times more terrifying. And the Quintessons are the kings of manipulation."

"I suppose we should be lucky that the Quintessons aren't really fighters," surmised Bumblebee. "If they were, we'd all have a whole lot more to deal with - a literal fight for everybody's souls."

"Nobody even knows where Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge and the Sweeps came from," Spike said with puzzlement. "I mean, they literally just showed up out of nowhere just when we barely fought off Megatron. Are they even from Cybertron?"

"Knowing how unstable Galvatron is, he'd probably say that he and his bunch are from Cybertron," guessed Bumblebee. "They wear the Decepticon symbol, yes, but to contest them on where they come from would be a moot point. And then there's Unicron."

"Yes, I know," agreed Spike with a nod. "That mechanical monster had to show up just when we were in the middle of our war with the Decepticons. No one knows where he came from either."

Bumblebee concurred, "He was a threat to life in general from what we've learned. He didn't care who got in his way as long as he caused trouble. Thank goodness we had some help from the Junkions in taking him down. Without their help, I don't know how we would've made it."

"And now Unicron's head is serving as Cybertron's moon...well, if you could call it a moon," Spike stated with a bit of sarcasm. "I actually liked the two moons that Cybertron used to have before Unicron devoured them. They made it a little easier for the Autobots to stay in contact with each other."

Bumblebee dreaded what he was about to say next, his faceplate focused on the ground before him. He needed an astro-minute to pull himself together. Spike looked at his longtime friend and waited for him to speak up. They understood one another more than anything, even though they weren't psychics.

Finally the yellow Autobot spoke up, facing Spike directly. "I'm still sad that some of the Autobots that I looked up to are gone...even Optimus Prime and Prowl." He and Spike weren't really present when Optimus, Prowl, and some of the other Autobots under Optimus's command were obliterated by Megatron and the Decepticons, but the news they got from Blaster following the Autobot City attack seriously rattled them. Losing Optimus and Prowl especially had left a whole in Bumblebee's spark that he would never be able to fill.

Spike responded, "They understood the risks involved, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less." He himself was now facing the ground with clenched fists and continued, "When I lost my dad to cancer, I wanted to close myself off from everything and everyone. I just...I wanted to hate the world so much for taking him away from me. He was my biggest idol. We stood by each other the way parents and their children should." Tears were forming in his eyes when he spoke of that very day of his father's death. It was never the Transformers' war that took Sparkplug away, but nature itself.

Sparkplug meant a lot to the Autobots, even Bumblebee. One time when the Transformers first arrived in 1984, he and Sparkplug planted a bomb within the ruby crystal mines of the Asian country of Burma to bury the Decepticons, and although that ploy backfired, the Autobot-human duo survived. Bumblebee smiled at that memory. He wasn't as close with Sparkplug as he was with Spike, but the late older Witwicky was an Autobot ally all the same.

"Your father left behind a legacy that lasts to this day, Spike," said Bumblebee with determination. "You married the girl of your dreams and gave birth to an incredible child. Sparkplug is watching over us and the others in that great big junkyard in the sky." The Autobot, of course, was referring to Heaven, the place where all good human beings went when their time was up.

Spike wiped away his tears with his left glove. His voice filled with emotion, he replied to Bumblebee with a slight smile, "I'm always grateful for what I have. Every second of every day, when I'm on the battlefield, I think of my friends and family. I'm especially grateful that you and the other Autobots are around to defend the innocent."

Bumblebee responded with pride, "Same here, old friend. It really is amazing how far Autobot and human relations have come over your Earth years. Sure, some humans are distrustful of anything beyond their understanding, but I'd like to think that the Autobots have earned the respect of this entire planet."

"The Decepticons and Quintessons are still out there, no doubt plotting against the Autobots and humans and working with or against each other," said a worried Spike. "Galvatron and his troops reside on Chaar while the Quints don't have a planet to reside on after they sacrificed Quintessa."

"Lucky for us," added Bumblebee, "the Autobots are split between Earth and Cybertron. We have to keep each other informed on everything that's going on...even if it involves the Quintessons and Decepticons."

The big question that had been on Spike's mind since the Unicron incident was gnawing at him, so he decided to ask it to Bumblebee. "How do you honestly feel about Rodimus Prime being the Autobots' leader, Bumblebee? I know that he hasn't been the leader for very long, but I wanted to ask anyway."

Bumblebee had the exact same thought about Rodimus Prime. The espionage director was one of the original Autobots under Optimus Prime's command, and not only was Optimus a leader and mentor - Bumblebee had considered him a friend. Rodimus was a different story. Bumblebee understood that Rodimus's leadership style was much different from Optimus's, and that Rodimus tended to sometimes rush headlong into danger without thinking things through. But that didn't mean that Bumblebee resented Rodimus.

The yellow Autobot finally responded to Spike, "I genuinely feel that Rodimus Prime has as much to learn as anybody. He may be the leader of the Autobots now, but even he needs to know when to ask for help. True leadership involves sacrificing one's own desires for the greater good. I believe in Rodimus, and that he'll make his own mark as a leader."

"Luckily he has Kup, Ultra Magnus, Blurr, Springer, and Arcee to back him up 100%," Spike added. "Without them, there's just no telling what Rodimus'll do if his power's unchecked. I can't imagine what he's constantly going through, though I do understand the burden of leadership. Governing two worlds is a strong task for somebody like me even."

"You've proven your worth to the Autobot cause many times over, Spike," beamed Bumblebee. "And it's not just you - your wife Carly, your son Daniel, and Chip Chase contribute to the cause in their own ways."

"Chip Chase," Spike mused with a smile, "my other longtime best friend. It's hard to believe that he's working with NASA to ensure humanity still has a future. Being around the Autobots sure played a part in that. I'm happy for him, Bumblebee."

"Same here," agreed Bumblebee. "He still manages to find time to contact the Autobots whenever he needs any help on something special. We can always count on him."

Spike and Bumblebee found their minds wandering to the friendship that Spike's son Daniel had with the young Autobot called Wheelie. It was different from Spike and Bumblebee's in that Daniel and Wheelie were true kindred spirits. Wheelie had been on Quintessa for most of his life when he was taken in by Hot Rod, Kup, and the Dinobots after the incidents with the Quintessons and eventually Unicron. Things for Wheelie changed even further when he and Daniel met up. They tended to run into trouble, but their friendship was never truly affected.

"I'm pretty happy that Daniel and Wheelie found one another," commented Spike with pride. "It reminds me of the good old days when things were less complicated."

Bumblebee chuckled, "Well, if you can call Wheelie's rhyming or Blurr's fast talking less complicated." He found his mind wandering to when he and a skeleton crew of Autobots led by Optimus Prime had to track down and stop an energy being that Megatron inadvertently created called Kremzeek. It was a pretty exhaustive feat, but in the end that Autobot crew succeeded. And since Kremzeek was pure energy, it could only be dispersed, not destroyed. Bumblebee, of course, had told Spike all about that adventure since the latter wasn't around at the time. Kremzeek was intended to short out all the Autobots on Earth while Megatron plotted to drain the planet of its energy, which had been the original goal of the former Decepticon leader.

Spike found his own mind wandering to the Cybertonium situation. Except for the Dinobots, Autobot and Decepticon alike depended on the crystalline element to keep their bodies functioning lest they break down from the element's depletion. Grimlock and his crew, having grown tired of being commanded by Optimus Prime, had defected from the Autobots, but it was bad timing for them, as Spike and Carly convinced them to help out their fellow Autobots. The seven of them ventured to Cybertron (they had to get past Devastator first) to get the Cybertonium the other Autobots needed. They had to go up against Decepticon Shockwave and his sentinels to accomplish their mission, but in the end they prevailed, and Spike and Carly were promoted to honorary Autobots by Optimus, something the two humans had treasured and would continue to treasure for a long time.

Bumblebee and Spike continued to talk about events they'd been through that led to where they were now. Despite having less time for each other because of Autobot forces being split between Earth and Cybertron, the two old friends were forever connected in spirit. They did the right thing in wanting to get away from everything for this day. It was a literal breath of fresh air for them. With a shared weight lifted off of their shoulders, they could now function better as individuals and as friends.

"This really felt good, Spike," stated Bumblebee with admiration. "We both needed it. The time to reaffirm who we are and where we stand."

Spike replied, "I couldn't agree with you more about that, 'Bee. All this craziness would be strong enough to break anyone. But not us. I know that our friendship will continue to thrive."

The two old friends got off of the space bridge and prepared to head back home. There was no telling when Rodimus Prime would be able to put them on assignment. They looked and smiled at each other with renewed determination.

"To new adventures, old friend?" proclaimed Bumblebee.

"To new adventures, old friend," responded Spike. And with that Bumblebee shifted back to vehicle mode, Spike getting inside of him. The Autobot immediately drove himself and Spike back to headquarters to await whatever missions lay ahead of them. Together or separately, they would always make sure that their bond wouldn't be disrupted. That was a promise they made to themselves silently.

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Did anyone catch the slight reference to Bumblebee's tech spec I made during his and Spike's conversation? Tech specs are basically short biographies on who a Transformer is, a practice that's been in use since the original TF toy line's debut 40 years ago. I feel very blessed to've completed this story just in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise itself.