Spiritimus Prime: I am so sorry I have been gone for so long, but my Word Document is being an asshole and requires a lot of reintallation because everything has become unavailable. It's still under serious attention, but I'm doing my best to try and get it working again. By Friday this week, I should have the next chapter to Guardian Angel up. I cannot promise anything because of my new job and a life that is just coming around the bend, but I will promise you one thing though: I will finish these stories I'm working on!

Now go an enjoy this cute little chapter I had in mind for Sentinel and Sanctus.

Chapter 3:

Good Morning Sunshine

Several weeks after the events of the introduction to Sentinel’s most trusted Autobot warriors and his brother’s family, Sentinel found himself becoming busier by the day. The coming of his newborn son had brought Transformers from all over Iacon City in the hopes of seeing the promised ‘Saviour’ from the Covenant of Primus and the eldest Prime was finding it difficult to control them and push them back to prevent his family from feeling so crowded. Unfortunately, some of them stayed at the front of the Prime Mansion and made a lot of racket. This made it impossible for Orion, Magnus, and their creators to even get a decent recharge and Sentinel always found himself tired whenever he arrived at his work.

Now, he was beginning to fall behind on his reports and the Council was starting to get annoyed. If they didn’t see any improvement by next week, then they would be happy to strip Sentinel of his rank and give it to Maximus instead. Sentinel did not want to lose the very thing he and twin brother shared, but the final word always was the Elders’.

Finally, Sanctus had had enough.

“That’s it,” Sentinel’s beloved bondmate growled as she got up from the recharge berth she and Sentinel shared, “I’ve had enough of this. You should send them away, Sentinel. This has been going on for five weeks now and both Magnus and Orion aren’t getting enough sleep. Neither are you, and the Council is wondering why you are falling behind on your work when Maximus is starting to go above you.”

Sentinel could only emit a groan of exhaustion and agreement. “I agree, love,” he said sombrely, “but I really don’t have the Spark to do that. Some of them are homeless and have nowhere else to go. They are hoping to see Orion because of the spoken prophecy, but none of them have seen him yet and they will not leave until they do. You haven’t even been to Ratchet’s yet to get a check-up since last time. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw him?”

The femme regarded her mate and growled in a low tone that caused him to jerk back a bit. She may be considered to be his mate and knew her better than he knew himself, but there were times when she could be unpredictable and often snapped at Sentinel whenever she got the chance to try.

“Last time was five weeks ago,” she snapped coldly as she walked out the room.

As quick as lightning, Sentinel was up on his feet and he bolted out the room in a desperate attempt to stop Sanctus from doing something horrible. He knew she really wouldn’t do something like that, but knowing that she was tired and grumpy, anything could possibly happen all at once.

He finally caught up with her before she could open up the front door. The lights were not on, so everything was all quiet for the both of us. Much to Sentinel’s surprise, she tried to get her arm out of his gentle grip, but his hold of her became a little tighter as she fought to get away. Her growls deepened as she turned to glare up at the mech that was her bondmate. The glares were like ice and Sentinel felt a pang of fear pulsing through his Spark. Was it his or was it her fear he was feeling through the bond that they shared?

“Sentinel, let go of me,” she growled dangerously.

The Prime shook his head slowly as he gently pulled Sanctus towards his chest, embracing her as warmly as he could. He even rested his head on top of her forehead as he cupped her head and rubbed the back of it as slowly as he could, trying to be as reassuring as he possibly could, hoping to calm her down a bit so that she could listen.

Much to Sentinel’s surprise, Sanctus did manage to calm down enough to let the feeling of fear subside. The only thing that Sentinel could feel was annoyance and slight embarrassment for being so upset over nothing. It was no surprise that she was still annoyed, but at least she was calm enough to hear him out.

“If I show them Orion tomorrow morning and ask them to promise us to leave us in peace, will you promise to go get a check up from Ratchet?”

Sanctus blinked her optics in confusion at his request. She was caught completely off guard by it and she wasn’t hoping that he would ask such a favour. If she agreed to it, then maybe the homeless mechs and femmes would leave them in peace for the time being. However, that didn’t mean that they would keep their promise. If they didn’t keep their promise, then neither would she.

“Alright, Sentinel,” she finally said in defeat. “But if they don’t leave, then you know what will happen.”

Sentinel nodded his appreciation as he thought over something else carefully. If Sanctus actually agreed with this, then he doubted it would ever happen again. There were times when he rarely got what he wanted, but he hoped that Sanctus was in the mood to hear him out about it.

“Can I also ask a small favour?” he asked as he leaned forward until his lips were just inches away from her face. As he looked deeply into her optics, he sensed her Spark flutter in excitement as he leaned forward. She probably sensed his thoughts on what he had in mind. “Would it be alright if I brought Orion to work tomorrow? I’m sure it would be an excellent idea if he is to learn to become a Prime and get to know what I and Maximus do all day.”

“Well...” Sanctus looked a little unsure. Was it a good idea to start teaching Orion so soon about everything? If so, he may grow up to be a bit of a handful who will struggle to learn everything all at once. “I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it. It just seems a bit too soon just to be teaching him about becoming a Prime. If we do that, then he won’t have a sparklinghood left in him. Would you want that for our little Orion Pax?”

Sentinel shook his head, but his smile still remained on his face, as if he knew that she’ll change her mind in a matter of seconds. “No,” he said, “but it will only be for the day. I just want to take him out. He hasn’t been able to see the world since he got home from the hospital. Magnus has been a little busy with youngling school, so Orion hasn’t had anyone to play with him. Surely he’s lonely while you rest up and I’m at work.”

“I always ask Astraea to come by to visit,” Sanctus replied.

The Prime only shook his head in disbelief. He knew his femme was lying about Astraea coming over. His sister-in-law was always up in Iacon helping Maximus with his work in order to move things along. He had known so because Maximus knew he could never keep any secrets from his brother. Still, why couldn’t Sanctus see that it was only for the day? Maybe once a week wouldn’t hurt as well?

“Come on, love?” he cooed as he nuzzled his nose into her neck gently. “Just once a week and I promise to never bother you about it again. If you don’t agree, then I won’t do you that favour I promised you.”

“Alright, Sentinel,” Sanctus finally agreed, “you can take Orion to work tomorrow. But promise me that you’ll look after him. If what the Covenant of Primus said was true, then its best that we be careful on what we do with our son.”

Sentinel beamed and he happily kissed his bondmate firmly on the lips in gratitude. “Thank you, love,” he said gratefully, “you won’t regret it at all.”

“Just remember your promise,” Sanctus reminded him.

“Of course not,” Sentinel replied as he gently took her hand and began to lead her back to their room and back into bed. “Now, we should get some sleep while we can. I’m sure that we’ll all need our strength for tomorrow.”

Sanctus nodded in agreement as she felt Sentinel’s warm love drifting through their bond. She embraced it lovingly and kissed him on the lips, sending a small wave of electricity through it. However, he was forced to let go of her because they soon realised they had arrived at their recharge berth. Sentinel watched as Sanctus climbed in. He covered her up with the covers and climbed in right behind her.

“Let’s just hope that Orion will be well-behaved tomorrow, eh?” she sniggered.

Sentinel couldn’t help but lift an optic ridge in puzzlement. Truth be told, he hadn’t thought about what Orion may pull while he was with his father. However, if he was lucky, Orion may behave and earn his father a couple of good reputation points. Then again maybe not. Anything was possible and Maximus may try to blackmail him with the idea.

“Max,” Sentinel called through their brotherly link, “are you awake or are you asleep?”

At first Sentinel got no response from his brother. He had hoped that he was still asleep and didn’t have to worry about anything. Unfortunately, the answer came a lot quicker than he had predicted, but the last time he had done this was only during an emergency. This wasn’t an emergency for the poor Prime Brothers.

“Yeah,” Maximus groaned in response, “I am now thanks to your disturbance. This had better be important for your sake...”

Sentinel laughed through their link and shook his head as he snuggled up against Sanctus to offer her his bodily warmth. He felt her move and turn towards his chest, burying her face into his protoform. “It’s half important, unfortunately for you,” he replied.

“What do you mean?” Maximus asked. “If it’s not so important, why are you contacting me? We made a deal that we would only do this if it is an emergency. If this isn’t, then I’m going back to sleep.”

“I am bringing Orion Pax to work tomorrow,” Sentinel replied. “That is why I should let you know.”

“Oh great,” Maximus grumbled. “Sparklingsitting duty anyone?”

Sentinel ignored his brother’s mocking attitude. He decided to cut straight to the point before Maximus got really bored and fell asleep right before he could say anything. It had happened before, only the other way around, and it hadn’t been very pretty with the reaction from Maximus he had gotten. Still, best to do what you thought was right.

“I thought it would be a good idea to show him of what I can do and plus give Sanctus a break. We haven’t been recharging very well because of our guests that are hanging around the front of the Prime Mansion. I made her deal and I’m going to keep my end of the bargain if she promised to keep hers. Go see Ratchet and that is that.”

“Typical,” Maximus sighed. “Always sealing deals with your femme. I only make deals with Astraea when it really calls for it. This is not one of them.”

“Should I blackmail you then?”

“You wouldn’t?!”

“I can and I will.” Sentinel couldn’t help but smirk at the look of horror that was on Maximus’ face. He didn’t see it really; he actually sensed it with his sense of touch. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Alright, fine, brother. He can come, but I am not sparklingsitting for you.”

“Thank you.”

Maximus was quick to disconnect from their link. This made it a sheer sign that their discussion was over for the time being until further notice. Sentinel was glad that he had warned his brother, otherwise he may have a fit about having sparkling at work when they should be with their mothers getting proper care, not learning already.

Let’s just hope that things will go well tomorrow, Sentinel thought as he settled down beside Sanctus and cradled her precious form closer to his own in the hopes of keeping her warm and taking his mind off of the discussion he had just had with his brother. He just hoped that nothing would go terribly wrong.

When Sentinel opened his optics the next morning, he discovered that Sanctus was not lying beside him like she normally was. It was always him that woke up early to give her a quick good morning kiss before checking up on the little ones and then leaving for the rest of the day. He knew it annoyed Sanctus a little bit, but he did warn her about the consequences when a femme bonded to a Prime. Everything was promising, but a little too promising sometimes.

Slowly, Sentinel stood up and stretched his muscle cables to regain the loss of conscious he had lost in them. Shaking his head and yawning a bit, he rubbed his optics and headed towards the shower that was next door to his and Sanctus’ room. The shower was not up in the room just to keep the young ones from waking up, but to also allow the two to spend their quality time together alone. It happened, but not often enough.

He turned on the water and he felt the cool substance gently wash away all the exhaustion and thoughts he had experienced last night. He knew he shouldn’t be worrying a lot, but he couldn’t help himself. He even actually failed to remove some of his armour to allow some of the liquid to sink into his frame.

“How long have you been in there for?”

Sentinel yelped in surprise as he whirled towards the intruder to prepare to defend himself. But, much to his shock, there was no need for such hastiness. He took a deep breath when he saw Sanctus standing in the middle of the bathroom and tried to relax his overheated systems.

“Did I scare you?” Sanctus asked softly as she approached her mate and gently cradled his head in one of her hands, pulling him towards her and looking into his bright gold optics. “If I did, then I apologise for sneaking up on you. You were so deep in thought. What were you thinking about?”

Sentinel couldn’t help but muster up a shrug. “Lots of things,” he admitted. “Some are just random stuff; others are just thoughts of the future.”

“You’re still worried about that?” Sanctus lifted an optic ridge as she tilted her head to one side. “Come on, Sentinel, don’t let those thoughts drag you off your job. You have to focus on what’s really important here.”

Sentinel sighed and nodded as he turned the water off. He did want to start getting comfortable with Sanctus, but there were other matters to attend to now. He glanced around as he stepped out of the shower, lifting an optic ridge a bit before looking at Sanctus. “Where is he?” he asked.

“Orion’s downstairs eating his breakfast,” Sanctus answered. “I already have yours ready.”

Smiling, Sentinel took a step forward and embraced his beloved, kissing her deeply like he did last night, but he was forced to let go and he led her back downstairs where their excited newborn son was happily playing with his food. He appeared to be very content and enjoying his little game a lot.

“Good morning, my little hunter,” Sentinel greeted as he approached Orion and kissed him on the forehead. “How are you this morning?” He was then greeted by a giggle and a small kiss from the sparkling on his cheek. Sentinel couldn’t help but smile at his son. Yes, he would make a fine Prime one day when the time came for him to step up and embrace his destiny. He just hoped that he would one day be able to see it for himself.

Sentinel’s attention was soon diverted when he spotted his firstborn son, Magnus, watching from afar. The blue and white mech almost had an unreadable face, as if he was thinking about all the attention that his little brother was getting and not him. It was as if he appeared to be jealous and a little bit forgotten by his creators.

“You’re up a little early, Magnus,” Sentinel said to Magnus. “Are you excited about going back to youngling school?”

Magnus didn’t reply right away, as if he was trying to decide on how he was going to answer the question or maybe he was too caught up in his thoughts to even notice what his father was saying to him. Still, he was a little annoyed that Orion Pax was getting more attention than he was. There was something about the way he was getting treated by their father and mother that reminded Magnus about the way he had been treated before Orion came into the family.

Is Paxie the new future Prime now? Magnus thought to himself. He didn’t understand what was going, but the attention that his little brother was getting nearly proved his thoughts directly. However, he decided to keep it to himself for the time being. I’ll find out eventually.

When Sentinel saw that he wasn’t going to get a response from his firstborn son, he decided that he too would have his breakfast and then he would settle himself with discussing to Maximus about what they should do while Orion Pax was at work with them. He had a feeling the little tyke would enjoy his day with his uncle and father, he hadn’t seen him much during the past few weeks because of work and paying attention to what was going on around Iacon and dealing with the Council.

“You’re up a little late, brother,” Maximus’ voice called through their link. Sentinel sensed his brother’s irritation, but kept his comments to himself. Maximus could be a pain in the aft sometimes and it drove him nuts a little.

“I actually blame Sanctus for getting up first and not bothering to wake me up,” Sentinel replied a little coldly as he ate his breakfast. “She thought it would be funny to have a change of routine since I’m taking Orion to work today. I’m not impressed, but I’m amused.”

Maximus didn’t respond right away and Sentinel knew that he was in deep thought about their discussion from last night. Both brothers always took their time when it came to responding to one another. One must be careful when it came to replies, otherwise offence may lead to arguing. Still, Sentinel couldn’t help but smile in amusement at the sudden silence from his brother.

“What are you going to do about the mechs and femmes sitting outside your home?” Maximus finally asked. “You know they cannot stay on your grounds forever. I know that they want to see the promised ‘Saviour’, but why make a big deal out of it when we think that Orion is not the Chosen One? Surely the Covenant of Primus is wrong and that fussing over an ordinary sparkling is going to get us nowhere.”

“I’m going to show them Orion and then be on my way,” Sentinel replied. “If they want to see my son, then that is what I shall do. I do not have the Spark to send them off with nothing to hope for.”

“You and your stupid deals with your femme, Femme Magnet,” Maximus grumbled, but Sentinel sensed the humour in his brother’s tone. He knew when he was joking and when he wasn’t. “Just make sure you don’t drop Orion when they crowd you. It will be quite a handful for you and the kid. I also don’t want anything to happen to my nephew. You hear me, brother?”

And before Sentinel can even reply, Maximus had already closed off the link. However, he could still sense his brother’s feelings and he knew that he was both annoyed and irritated about something. As far as he knew, it was not just him that Maximus was negative towards. He may be having a discussion with someone and was getting annoyed as the time went by.

Shaking his head as he finished off his breakfast, Sentinel watched as Sanctus walked in and seated herself in front of Orion to help him finish off his food. He couldn’t help but admire his prized femme. To him, she was his pride and joy, and the reason for his living. Without her, he would’ve been a miserable mech and would have no one but Maximus to keep him online and from driving himself insane.

‘Is there something the matter?’ Sanctus asked over their bond, catching Sentinel completely off guard. ‘You seem a bit tense and just about to get up and go.’

Sentinel smiled warmly towards his bondmate as he stood up, approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. He gave it a reassuring squeeze and then kissed her on the cheek, ignoring Magnus’ screwed up face of disgust, as well as his comment about them being ‘yucky’.

‘I’m fine, Sanctus,’ Sentinel replied to his love. ‘I just had a quick discussion with Maximus. He’s a bit busy, but he doesn’t sound pleased with where the discussion between himself and someone else is going. He wants to get out and go to work as soon as possible. He feels like slag at the moment.’

‘He’ll get over it,’ Sanctus replied reassuringly. ‘You know how your brother works.’

The Prime kissed his beloved gently and decided to watch as Sanctus fed Orion the rest of his breakfast. He couldn’t wait to show off his son to the other Autobots that had not seen his son since he had shown Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Scavenger, and Maximus. That night had been very special, but today was going to be even better than several weeks ago was.

By the time Sanctus had finished feeding Orion Pax his bottle of Energon, she burped him and then handed him over to Sentinel before giving him a bag of his belongings that the father would need should the time come. However, Sentinel doubted he would be changing his son’s waste chamber any time soon. He commented on this, but Sanctus shook her head.

“Don’t count on it and try to get away with the idea,” she said. “I didn’t say yes for nothing. You’ve changed his waste chamber before, so you should know better than to make any excuses.” She then poked Sentinel in the chest cavity. “And if I find out that our son comes down with a system upset, consider yourself unfit to be a father. Are we clear, Sentinel Prime?”

Sentinel’s shoulders sagged mockingly. “Yes ma’am,” he said dully.

“Good,” said Sanctus as she nodded and motioned towards the door. “Now go and clear off the homeless by showing them the promised ‘Saviour’. I’ve got to take Magnus to youngling school in a cycle.”

Orion gave a few warbles that sounded like he was saying goodbye to his mother, knowing that he was going out with his father for the day. He then waved a hand towards Sanctus and tugged at Sentinel’s left earfin, causing his father to gasp in surprise because of how sensitive they were towards touch. Orion giggled again and tried to make another grab for it, but his father stopped him dead in his tracks. He didn’t understand what he said, but the firm tone and the gentle grip from his father’s hand on his tiny one caused him to instantly stop. Somehow, he didn’t think that spending the day with his father wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“Come along, Orion, my son,” said Sentinel. “Let’s go out and see your uncle up at the Autobot base. I’m sure he may have brought the twins along to see you as well.” He knew that he had generally unsettled his son with his firm voice and with his grip on Orion’s hand to prevent him from touching his earfin, but he had to teach the sparkling that there was the right way and the wrong way. However, he was a gentle father, and he had no intention of upsetting his youngest son at all. “Tell you what, Orion, how about I will get you something on the way home from work. How does that sound to you?”

Orion’s golden optics brightened happily at the mention of his father’s promise. So his father wasn’t angry with him anymore. That meant he was ok and that he wasn’t in trouble anymore. He leaned forward and gave his massive father a big slobbery kiss on the nose, his clicks and squeaks of appreciation echoing his father’s audio receptors.

“However,” said Sentinel, his tone serious, “you must promise me to be on your best behaviour. This little something I intend to get you must be earned, not taken to fit your own accords.”

Still not understanding a word his father was saying, Orion just nuzzled his father. This was good enough for Sentinel to know that Orion promised he would do his best. He couldn’t expect anything else from his beautiful son. He had a wonderful family and a beautiful wife to care for, as well as the people of Cybertron that he had sworn to protect with his very life.

Waving goodbye to Sanctus and Magnus, Sentinel turned and walked out the room. He closed the door behind him and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw some of the homeless mechs and femmes lifting their heads and gazing at the small form that was cradled in his arms like a precious cargo.

Sentinel watched carefully as they approached and crowded around him to get a better look at Orion. They cooed and gently rubbed his cheeks with their fingers. They all took it in turns asking the Prime questions about how old he was, when he would be ready to become their Prime, and wondering if the Covenant of Primus was right or not. Sentinel answered as honestly and as truthfully as he could. He didn’t want to lie to them and try to bring their hopes up too high or if he even wanted to share his doubts about the foretold prophecy.

When they were done seeing Orion, who had admired the attention he just got from the unusual visitors, they backed away and Sentinel decided that it was time to hold his end of the bargain he had made with Sanctus. I’m going to regret this, he thought to himself. “Now that you have seen my newborn son,” he said out loud so that they could hear him, “I would like you to leave. We know you require things, but it is becoming too much for all of us. We are not getting enough sleep nor are we working as hard as we normally do. I’ll speak to the Council of the Elders to see if they can help you. By a few days, I should have news for you. Please return to where you had come from until then.”

The homeless mechs and femmes turned to each other and then whispered amongst themselves for a moment. Finally, a red and yellow mech stepped forward and eyed Sentinel carefully, as if he was trying to decide on whether or not he was telling the truth and that they should believe him or if it was a trick.

Finally, he stepped back, whispered to the mechs and femmes, and then glanced over at Sentinel, his blue optics were soft but they were as cold as stone. “Very well, Sentinel Prime,” he said. “If what you said is true, then we shall be back within that time period. By then, we expect a positive answer.”

Without further ordeal, the mechs and femmes turned to leave, their dented and scratched bodies brushing against one another, but neither of them complained about their personal space being invaded by the other nor did they say a word to express their emotions. It was as if the sighting of Orion had given them hope for their futures.

Sentinel shook his head once again and he gazed down at Orion, who glanced up at him curiously. “I suppose we should get going then, huh?” he asked, but he seemed to be talking more to himself than to his son.

Orion shrugged and began to suck this thumb. The trek to the middle of Iacon wasn’t far, but he knew that he was going to have one very interesting day. He just hoped that there was going to be other sparklings to play with so that he wouldn’t have to listen all day or watch and observe at the same time.

Only one way to find out, and that was to see the Autobot base for himself.

Spiritimus Prime: Coming up next, Orion gets to spend a day with his daddy at the Autobot Base. What's going to happen? What kind of mischief will our favourite sparkling cause? Only one way to find out, and that is to stay tuned. XD I really hope you're enjoy this because I know I am. The next chapter is actually going to be a two-parter. So brace yourselves for an impact when I return. :O