Burgertron dragged his old container behind him, the one he had woken up in when they first came alive, and one of the many possessions he was bringing to the Lost Bot’s hideout. Temporarily, he kept repeating to himself. This was only temporary, and once his Squad saw it was an accident and how fun he still was he would be a part of the Hunger Hubs again. Kickmee and Dimlit carried a few other of his possessions that didn’t fit into subspace, like his blast mask and a few more odds and ends.

The Lost Bots themselves still seemed in high spirits, like Dimlit whispering excitedly about watching the Shed Heads as they built a repair pipe and Kikmee excited for being able to play with the Jock Squad. Burgertron smiled, happy that these Bots had already found the crew they just needed to impress. He felt somewhat bad for them, becoming alive in the Lost and Found? Major setback for them becoming a part of the mall’s social ecosystem.

As they reached the Lost and Found, avoiding Dave with Burgertron’s expertise, they slid back into their temporary home.

Bonz-Eye greeted him, with Clogstopper nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Clogstopper?” He wondered aloud, as he and Bonz-eye were trying to maneuver his cardboard container into his selected cubby. She didn’t answer until they finally pulled it up the last half centimeter. As they vented hard, she said “Energon dispenser. Him and Dimlit know how it works, since it can get rain damage sometimes.” Burgertron groaned, but didn’t complain. It was true that the Costodial Crew and the Shed Heads maintained their dispensers, it made sense that those two would have a better idea of how it worked. “Could you show me? I’m running low.” He said, looking at a blinking notification from his small HUD warning of low fuel. She nodded, “Yeah, but let’s finish setting you up. Stay here.” She dropped down in one jump, and started bringing things up with a nimbleness he hadn’t seen from any other bot before. She was swift and precise, and soon crawled up to join him again.

They pushed and organized things to his liking right before Clogstopper yelled out “Energon is working again!”

Bonz-Eye looked up, “Here, I’ll show you our dispenser.” She said, dropping down and Burgertron soon followed. They had to go deeper into the Lost and Found, and around a corner, but sure enough there was a dispenser were Dimlit, Kickmee, and Clobstopper were refueling on some discarded non-sentient items. The dispenser itself was disguised as the shelf, with a panel that could flick up and reveal their Energon dispenser.

Burgertron happily took his share, a slightly bigger cube than the others, and sat down next to Kikmee. “All set up, so I should be good for the daytime.” He said, sipping down his energon. It tasted slightly citrusy, compared to the sweet soft-drink-like taste of the Hunger Hub’s energon.

Dimlit sipped his politely, while Kikmee was already done chugging it down. Bonz-Eye took her own cube, and Kikmee stretched with a groan. “Well, I think I’ll turn in early coach. Need my energy for tomorrow if it will be nearly as exciting as today was!” She said enthusiastically, practically vibrating as she went off to her nest.

Clobstopper yawned rudely, throwing his cube away as it disappeared. “I think I will to. Didn’t even know it was possible to be more tired than I usually am.” And he went off too, sluggishly and playing with some kind of puppet once he reached his nest.

Dimlit looked over to Burgertron, “So, how do you like your nest? If it isn’t full enough we can grab some things from here. There are so many little items and soft things left here!” He said, and Burgertron laughed. “No, I’m good for now. I mean, this isn’t going to be permanent so I’m not getting too comfortable.” He said, and Dimlit looked bashful. “Oh right, I keep forgetting that. I’m still getting used to the idea that there are more of us then in here.” He said, looking at the cracked hallway door. Bonz-eye grunted agreement, “I thought you were only telling tall tales about the outside, but even from my small glance I could see you were right.” She said.

Burgertron just laid back, placing his empty cube down. “Well, I’m sure the others will help you right away.” He said. “Most Squads place their nests in the same spot, or even share one. So getting used to it should be simple once we’re in our right places.” He said, casing Dimlit to flicker in surprise. “Re-Really? Some even share a nest?” He said, a light coming up in his eyes. “And, like, cuddle?” He said in an awed whisper, and Burgertron scoffed. “Well I don’t know, the Hunger Hubs didn’t do that. We just hid out in any cavity we wanted and hunkered down for the day. And most of the store Botbots hide in the shelves during the day so they won’t be spotted.”

Dimlit deflated. “Oh.” Burgertron felt a twinge of guilt that he shoved off, but added “Well, I’m sure they spend time together during twilight.” Dimlit perked up a little again, smiling. “I like that idea.” He smiled to himself, before the light of the door went out. That was the signal that Dave was leaving. They all sat up, and walked back to their nesting spots. Dimlit said a sweet “Night-Night!” As he settled into his nest and transformed into alt mode.

Bonz-Eye looked over at Burgertron, “Have a good Rest cycle, see you tomorrow.” She said before she jumped up to her nest, and Burgertron said “Have a good recharge!” as he did the same.

He settled into his nest, getting used to the odd location. He had trouble getting comfortable briefly, shuffling around in his burger carton. He looked out into the Lost and Found, trying to not focus on all the differences from his home.

The lost and found was very dark, and musky. It smelled of rainwater and lemon cleaner, and a thin layer of dust settled on everything. No one came to the lost and found often, Burgertron knew, but it was strangely lived in. Streaks in the dust from where they ran over it, the soft sound of venting from the other bots as they slipped into recharge, even the small smudges from their digits on the cubbies that held their nests and other lost items. The room likely held many stories before the lost bots were found, and Burgertron felt like he was even an outsider here. But he disregarded it. This was temporary, and he’d be home soon enough.

He was sure of it.