When All Lights Go Out I (TFP)

Chapter 49

"Wait, you're leaving?!" Miko had overheard Wheeljack speak to Bulkhead and she was very surprised and upset as well that he would be leaving so soon. "Why?"

Wheeljack didn't want to upset the young humans, or the sparkling too much, but he needed to tell the truth. "Well..." He glanced up when Bulkhead began to say. "Because some bots never change."

Wheeljack smiled knowing that Bulkhead understood. Optimus himself accepted that Wheeljack had another path that he wanted to take. "Wheeljack, know that you always have a haven here. And I have no doubt that Azura will enjoy hearing about your space adventures when you return."

Azura nodded, even though she was still upset. Bulkhead walked closer and placed his arm around Wheeljack's shoulders. "Jackie never stays, but he always comes back." He glanced down at the sparkling who was not smiling. "You can have that confidence knowing that, Azura. He'll be back."

Azura understood, but she was upset still. "Okay...um..." She turned to look at Optimus. "I think I want to go to recharge now."

Optimus nodded and Wheeljack passed the sparkling to him. "I have no doubt you want more low-grade energon. I'll give you a bath first, and Wheeljack can tell you the story he promised to you before you recharge."

Azura nodded as she grabbed the Stitch toy and held it before gasping. "Oh! We also forgot to feed the fish!"

Optimus smiled at her as he turned to walk out of the lobby. "And we shall make sure that they do not go hungry." He looked at Wheeljack and gestured for him to follow. "Come, Wheeljack. You don't want to miss out telling your story."

The wrecker smiled and followed Optimus out of the lobby. He did not want to be the bearer of bad news, but he knew it was better than letting the kids wonder where he had run off to. He could see Azura holding the metal toy and she was staring at it. He did not know what was going through her head, but he had no doubt that she was just very sad that he had to go already. Wheeljack would come back, he knew it, but he wouldn't be able to tell her when.

Upon arriving in the nursery, Optimus walked over to the three fish tanks first and lowered Azura to the ground before he walked into the bathroom to get the bath ready for her. Wheeljack looked at the tanks curiously as he had not yet seen them. And he has not yet seen fish, so he was curious. He watched the small animals swim around in the tank and he was extremely curious as Azura fed the fish tiny flakes. And the fish seemed to go very nuts over the food with how quickly they went after it.

"These little creatures are very interesting." Azura nodded as she heard Wheeljack while she checked on the fish themselves. He turned his head as he had noticed the fourth tank and looked back at her. "Do you plan to use that other tank?"

"No, three is enough." Azura seemed happy with the tanks as she turned away from them and walked towards the bathroom. "But now is the time for a bath."

"You seem to have them regularly."

"Yeah...I don't need them now I don't have my outer...membrane...but I enjoy having a bath. It gets my mind ready for recharge." Azura began to yawn a little and she noticed she was starting to feel tired. "Hmm...I guess I am tired..."

Wheeljack chuckled softly as he followed her into the bathroom. He looked around curiously as he had not really seen one before. He firstly noticed the toilet and he couldn't help but think it was just weird that Azura needed to use one. The story Optimus had told him earlier about her made sense though. He looked at the raised tub in the middle of the room. He saw it was full with warm water with white bubbles. Azura let Optimus put the Stitch toy within his chassis before he placed her in the way.

The sparkling smiled once she was in the water and relaxed. "That feels nice...after exerting so much energy, there is nothing like a warm, bubble bath to soothe the soul."