Owner of a Lonely Heart

Bemyne flew through time.

And space.

Across universes even.

He wasn’t aware of how he was doing it, or even why. He just knew he was flying through chronological events, around the multiverses and often in a random manor. He also realised that he had a skill. A skill to spot connection, where there was a hint he’d make it more. Two beings with a subtle and baseline interaction that gave an essence of a bonding beyond the statistically average every day interaction, he would react to. He would guide, coerce and cultivate in the hope that it would be more. Because Bemyne, by human terms, was a hopeless romantic. Or, as humans may describe him, a robotic Cupid. Y’see, there was a catch; it wasn’t just any beings in the universe he helped, oh no. It was specific beings. Mechanical forms with a unique ability to camouflage themselves. Bemyne, like the beings he helped, was a Transformer. He loved love, his energon pulsated stronger with the sense of it, and he travelled the multiverse of the Transformers timeline to find evidence of it that he could aid.

In fact, he was there at the beginning, the beginning of two important beings coming together. Truth be told, as he says he, “sorta nudged them”. Just a little. He was happy for that and his escapades meant that he connected many Transformers. But Bemyne never stayed around, he never rested in one place. With that constant moving and despite all the joy connecting Transformers gave him, there was a subtle yet growing ache deep within his own spark.

Bemyne was lonely.

——————

Three vehicles rushed across the metallic plains of Cybertron heading to the dock area. They were late for work. The three vehicles had a similar form, four-wheeled with an angled front cab and a flat rear section at the back of the cab that housed the back two wheels. The front vehicle was primarily red with blue on the rear protrusion. The middle was predominantly orange with a lighter blue on the protrusion. The rear vehicle was a mixture of grey and a dirty-green. His colour had a hint of age, like colours had worn over time, and he blended well with the dark depressing metallic of the dock area.

“Hey guys,” shouted the middle orange-blue vehicle as they sped along, “do you ever wonder why we have such similar forms? Do you think we came from the same mould? Pax, are you a long-lost cousin?”

The front vehicle Pax, or Orion Pax to give his full name, didn’t immediately respond. The rear vehicle, the aging Transformer Kup contributed instead. “Nah, don’t be crazy lad. I’m thousands of cycles older than you!”

The ‘lad’, Dion, laughed in response. “You old timer Kup, I often wonder where they’ve dug you from”.

Orion Pax smiled inwardly but deep down what Dion had asked bothered him. Because the form Orion had wasn’t really his true form. Orion was working the dock for a mission, to learn more about the current state of Cybertron. As a data-clark in the capital Iacon, he had seen information that had given him grave concern. The mining of energon, the power that all Transformers needed to exist, was hitting difficulties. The seams of energon were running low. The mines were being shut and the labourers were left with no fuel and nothing to do. Some were getting restless and there were rumours that trouble was brewing all over Cybertron. Transformers no longer blindly working just for energon, now questioning the situation and their rights.

Orion’s mentor at the data centre, Alpha Trion, had suggested he researched further by heading to the docks. Going straight to the mines could prove dangerous, but the docks may prove sufficient. Trion knew of Orion’s concern for the Transformers race and somehow seemed to see within him a bold and grand future that Trion often hinted to. Coming to the docks would be a useful experience, though his form needed to be altered to more accurately reflect the physiques the dock-workers had. This was no issue for a Transformer, although not common to do as it came with a huge cost and exertion of energon. Changing an outer form was like how other races change their outer appearance with carbon-based material layers. However, Orion felt guilt that the “clothing” he’d picked was resembling very closely to the form of Dion and Kup. Too closely, and the questions were quite pointed.

The three reached the docks and began their work of shipping energon. Huge machinery helped load and unload bulks of energon cubes from local ground-based shipping containers to larger Transformers that in their vehicle modes could fly to the furthest regions of Cybertron.

“Hey cousin!” Dion joked.

Orion smiled back and politely commented, “I’m not your cousin.”

“But don’t you think, what if we were? Do you ever wonder why some Transformers look alike?”

Orion just smiled but quietly felt sorry for the naivety of Dion. Orion had been exposed to so much more in his life since his spark became activated, or ‘alive’. There was such mystery in Transformers’ origins with varying stories circulating and believed about how each Transformer came into being, that one theory of split sparks creating two similar beings was known. Nothing had been proven and for now Orion was far too concerned with the state of the levels of energon to focus on it. Being at the docks was a good place to get a sense of feeling from the workers, and to the state of energon.

“Come lads, “ said Kup placing two reassuring arms around Orion and Dion, “we’ve got work to do.”

——————

The docks were a terrible experience. Erial hated the work but knew she had to try for the energon it awarded. She toiled, expensing crucial energon that she needed to replace, just to enable the replenishment of more energon. In some ways it seemed ironic, in others just profoundly stupid. Plus, the energon was getting lower. She could clearly see that from the daily volumes of cubes. She’d been labouring at the docks for many cycles and she had never seen it as low. Something was distinctly wrong with the energon situation on Cybertron.

In the distance she could see a group of three Transformers, fellow dock-workers. One of the three had given her some curiosity. He was relatively new to the docks and was quiet, unassuming, focusing on his day-to-day tasks. Though, in the short time he’d been working there, she’d gotten to know a little about this being from others and from what she’d heard this Transformer shared her opinions, and that potential connection gave her a certain feeling of hope- to know that she wasn’t alone with her concerns gave her some comfort. She wanted to know this ‘bot more. But how to get opportunity to speak with him?

Dion and Kup moved on to a different section to start working the machinery for loading some containers with energon. Orion Pax continued in his area. Suddenly and inexplicably a few bars connecting the two distinct work sections collapsed. Metal cascaded down throwing Orion Pax off his feet, showering him with machinery.

Erial rushed over, concerned for the welfare of her other colleagues that were working in the other area. She found the mysterious bot lying on the floor with some distress in their visual plate.

Orion came to and noticed a pink and white coloured worker whom he realised had a designation slightly different to his own. Some had called it a gender, though why a race of autonomous mechanical beings needed gender, he could not understand.

“Lie still you’re seriously damaged” Erial said to Pax. His left arm and his right leg had been severed and sparks were emitting from the joints. She started to remove some of the bars from his torso. Despite his injuries, Orion managed a smile. “It looks worse than it is.”

“Don’t be a hero,” Erial replied, unimpressed.

“Let me reroute some circuits to stop the joints sparking,” replied Orion. He managed his internal circuitry and cut off power to the regions where his limbs had severed. Having recently changed his outer form, he’d been trained to reroute pathways to prevent significant overload of energon on his circuits. He watched the gender different bot lifting the machinery off him. “You have some strength”. Erial wasn’t impressed with his flattery. “I’ve been a dock-worker for many cycles,” she replied, “we’re required to be strong, remember? ”

“Actually, I’m not really a dock-worker. I’m a data-clark from Iacon, this is a, ah, ‘workplace experience.’ ” Orion chose his words carefully. It wasn’t a secret that he wasn’t local to the docks, plus he didn’t hide that he had come from Iacon, though his real purpose for his ‘workplace experience’ would have to remain secret. For now.

“Well data-clark from Iacon, you got yourself into a bit of a mess. What happened?”

“I’m Orion. Orion Pax. I don’t know, my friends had just left when suddenly everything collapsed.”

“Well Orion Orion Pax, you’re lucky Erial was nearby”.

Orion smiled at the joke on his name, then groaned as the pain of one of the bars being removed hit some of his internal sensory systems.

“I’ve heard about you,” added Erial. “Asking about the energon. Questioning the point of our efforts. That’s dangerous talk in the docks, nobody challenges the status quo. ‘Accidents’ can happen.”

Orion noted Erial’s implication that the collapse of the machinery may have been deliberate. Though, he was curious. “Toiling to ship energon so we can receive energon. It seems a bit of a conflict. Plus it’s enforced labour,” he probed.

“For some of us it’s all we have to be able to earn energon. Not all of us are data-clarks on work experience. I guess when you’re done you can go back to your nice cosy data-clarking, meanwhile we’ll still be here shipping you and your friends some energon”.

“I thought that was dangerous talk here in the docks?” he suggested with a smirk.

“Hmm.” Erial replied. “And you might want to reroute your circuitry around your mouth, you’ve got a faulty smirk on it”. Erial said it bluntly, but then added a slight smile. Orion smiled back.

In the distance, high in the gantry of the docks, Bemyne also smiled. It was quite a risk to arrange for the machinery to collapse on Orion Pax. However, he felt it was worth it to arrange their connection. They had a significant future together. He’d been there at the beginning. He was proud to have been so.

———————

The little blue and pink robot continued on his journey through the Transformers multiverse. Despite his bold colour scheme and his alt-form being one of a chocolate box from the planet Earth, for which he had zero understanding for any of that, he had a skill to remain unseen where he appeared. It wasn’t any other form of camouflage, just an ability to exist at the corner of a visual sensor, of a perception.

He put great effort into helping and connecting Arcee. Though what he ultimately achieved, he wasn’t quite sure.

He gave some time for Rewind. Firstly with Dominus Ambus…

…then with Chromedome.

Whilst on the Lost Light, he checked in on Cyclonus and Tailgate.

He travelled back in time to primordial Earth for Airrazor and Tigertron.

He enjoyed flying through space (as a chocolate box!)….

…for Cosmos and Blast-Off.

Yet, the ache in his spark was still there. Plus it was growing.

—————

The party was loud and various robots were simply going wild. There were dozens of small Transformers on a dance-floor, with many more around the sides drinking energon. The Music Mob were there, it was their party after all, though they had to refrain from trying to make the music themselves. The sound came from two large speakers stood to one side of a dance-floor, though strangely the speakers were different; one was metallic, one had a wooden surround, yet the sound from them both was equally loud. Between the two speakers stood a bipedal robot, just about one meter in height, blue and silver coloured with silver arms and what looked like a complex sound mechanism in blue for his hat. He was dancing very energetically.

“Don’t forget, if you have a request, just come riiiiiggght over and I’ll BANG it out” he said, though his voice echoed from the two speakers.

Bemyne was amongst the partying throng. Parties were always a good place to spot connection. Plus he just wanted to have some fun himself. He noticed the DJ and was curious about his form. Something was familiar. He plucked up the courage and went over to make a request.

“Do you know ‘Dare to be Stupid’ ?” Bemyne nervously asked.

The DJ paused for thought then responded, “it’s on terrestrial BBC iplayer under the Whoniverse, or on DisneyPlus under the Doctor Who Collection”

“Sorry, w-what?!?”stuttered Bemyne perplexed.

Just then, the wooden speaker leaped and changed into a robotic form. His upper speaker now acting like a singular eye like a cyclops and a mouth had appeared just below.

“Heeey! Sometimes, you really need to shout ‘hey DJ’,” he commented to Bemyne, “like this”.

“Heeeey DJ!” the speaker shouted, “play Al Yankovic ‘Dare to be Stupid’”

The DJ raised an eyebrow at the clarity of the request. “ ‘Weird Al Yankovic’s Dare to be stupid’ coming up”.

The speaker robot changed back into a speaker, the music played, then the DJ turned to Bemyne. “Sorry, sometimes I don’t always get the clarity of the request. Good choice by the way!”

“Thanks,” replied Bemyne. “I’m Bemyne. You look familiar, have we met?”

“Songwave. By the looks of it, we might have the same mold, or origin. We look alike!”

Pulsation systems in Bemyne’s internal processes started to increase. Here was someone that looked like him, but wasn’t him, nor - he knew- was part of his spark line. He needed to know more.

“You play music. I search love for people. Do you know any music about love?”

Songwave rolled his eyes as he searched through a database of a near infinite number of songs.

But he found one.

For Bemyne.

Dedicated to my valentine, my wonderful wife Susannah.

Story number three! Already! The third prequel for my planned “The Alternates” storyline. And there’s one or two little threads starting to build, if I may note.

As much as I loved the idea of a Christmas Tree Transformer being their equivalent of Santa Claus, I also love the idea of a Transformers Cupid in Bemyne. Passing through the Transformers multiverse, connecting ‘bots’ together seemed a beautiful character profile. With the added edge of being lonely.

I’m indebted to the TF Wiki website for maintaining the detailed profiles of the BotBots. Including the little joke about Doctor Who (check Songwave’s profile). Additionally this time, to having a thorough list of Transformers that have been in relationships, of which I’ve picked some of the most well known ones.

The ‘cousins’ line is a tip of the hat to the wonderful TV show “The Bear” which I’ve just finished watching.

All characters are Hasbro’s / Takara Tomy’s Transformers Franchise. All text and images my own. AI technology has been used to create image backgrounds.

‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ is obviously a lyric from the song of the same name by Yes.