In my boredom, I decided to write out the semi-extensive headcanon I have for Ambulon. It's more so just to get it out of my head than necessarily share with people, so feel free to skip. I did think about writing a fanfic, but it's a lot of energy and I need it for other stuff.
During the time of MO, where there is no Decepticon or Autobot, society has been cleaved in half. Those who live wealthy and secure, and those who keep Cybertron running, forced to work and live in unstable conditions.
Ambulon is one of the aforementioned Cybertronians. Soon off the assembly line, he was down in the mines, but not to, well, mine. Ambulon was programmed with medical knowledge and skill, and it was his duty to tend to the injured as a field medic, so to speak. So he spent most of his time underground, monitoring activity, and tending to anyone who was injured or ill. This happened quite often given how unstable the mines were, as well as all the chemicals and dirt clogging their systems. So there was always work to be done.
When the gladiatorial fights begun, there were very few medics willing to step in and patch up the gladiators. Since it was outlawed, most physicians refused to help. However, with the life of a field medic paying so very little, Ambulon took up the offer, spending his off time patching up gladiators for a small fee. It got him a few costumers, one which was probably Megatron at some point in time.
Ambulon also believed the caste system was unjust and biased. That Cybertron's society was full of hypocrisy, double standards, and oppression. His people were treated like grunts, lesser beings, seen as filthy miners only good for hard labor. This infuriated him, and subconsciously, he chose to help fix gladiators because he knew it was illegal, and he also understood fighting was a way to get out all the pent up aggression and rage the underclass harbored.
When the war broke out, Ambulon sided with the Decepticons, because at the time, the Decepticons were about revolution, tearing down the corrupted society, rebuilding a new, brighter future with equality for all. It hadn't been a very easy decision, but Ambulon believed that the Decepticons were in the right. That while violence didn't seem to be the answer, diplomacy apparently wasn't working well, either.
Ambulon served as an emergency field medic. On the battlefield, he tended to the wounded; either gave them quick patch ups or helped them back to camp for recuperation. He found himself moving from various camps, one after the other, until he was assigned to a small camp of Decepticon soldiers out in the middle of the deserted Warrens.
It was actually a dig site for more energon, and Ambulon felt cheated, as if he had been thrust back into the mines. Nonetheless, he was the team's only medic, so he stayed. Plus it was a direct order from the higher-ups. For some years, Ambulon worked at the camp. It was heavily guarded, and there were barely any outside intrusions. Ambulon actually didn't have much work to do, so helped out mining energon crystals.
Despite the fact nothing seemed to happen, the camp leader noticed Ambulon's work and skills, and one day, out of the blue, the medic was called to his quarters. The leader explained that a small Decepticon bio-engineering and weapons' group was looking for young, bright candidates for their next project. Ambulon fit the profile for the role of L01 - he had agility, grace, and the perfect build.
Ambulon was happy to take up the offer and leave the mines. He found himself in Tarn at the science facility. He was informed he would be assigned to a group that would form his team in the future. The engineers and scientists explained they would be fitted with weapons specifically designed for them. Though a bit shady and quiet about the details, Ambulon believed what they were doing was just and would help end the war.
Ambulon found his new teammates:
Fistcrunch - A01 - A bulky, but strong Decepticon; though a little dimwitted, he was especially strong, and had a fist that could pack quite the punch.
Sluggrr - A02 - A tall, finely built mech, he was a wannabe gangster, very enthusiastic about fighting.
Sparkattack - CH0 - A bright, eager to serve Decepticon with a vast imagination and energetic spirit.
Curbstomp - L02 - Ambulon related the most to this teammate. They shared an almost similar mold, as well as the same agility and grace when in battle.
Motormind - BH0 - A shy mech, he mostly kept to himself, but he was highly intelligent and always the one the teammates went to for advice.
Ambulon spent a good deal of time at the new camp, getting to know his teammates. He found he got along well with all of them, though Motormind was still hesitant to socialize. They trained vigorously, and underwent daily tests and check-ups. Ambulon had it pretty easy, in fact, and had almost forgotten about the war outside the facility.
A week before the group would be fitted with their new weapons, Ambulon noticed Motormind acting very strange and paranoid. On the day of the test, one by one the mechs were called in for surgery - when prompted what for, the scientists explained new mods and weapons.
Ambulon was about to go in for surgery when suddenly Motormind broke into the room. Delirious and afraid, Motormind tried to explain the entire experiment was a "lie" and "trap" and what they were doing to the others was completely wrong and horrible. In his panic, he wasn't making much sense, but before he could help Ambulon escape, he was gunned down by guards. Needless to say, Ambulon was horrified.
Demanding what was going on, Ambulon was forced off to surgery, but given no answers. When he was taken into the operation room, much to his horror, he saw what happened to his teammates. Sparkattack, Fistcrunch, Sluggrr, and Curbstomp had been propped up onto operation tables, completely torn apart and left wide open, connected to various machines by wires and cords. They looked ghastly and on the verge of death.
It was then explained that the group would be refitted with special weapons by becoming the weapons. They were to be part of the first Cybertronian made gestalts. Gestalts were more so born naturally than they were built. According to the scientists, they had attempted this once before in the past, but none of the subjects made it out alive, due to the extensive amount of refitting and reformatting, which included major surgery on their t-cog as well as CPUs so they could merge into one hivemind in their gestalt form.
Ambulon was utterly disgusted; he believed Decepticons were better than this, to use their own people for experiments, to lie and withhold information was not their way. Nonetheless, the scientists were positive Ambulon and his crew would survive - they did express pity they'd have to replace the gestalt's head/brain unit, which was to be Motormind. Motormind found out the true nature of their plans that week before surgery, but was too afraid to say anything.
Despite struggling, Ambulon was pinned down and prepped for surgery. Before he blacked out, Curbstomp had turned to him and weakly pleaded for help. Ambulon heard his spark flat lining before he fell unconscious.
Much to his surprise, Ambulon survived the reformatting, given new components as well as undergoing massive surgeries to his system. However, only he and Sparkattack made it out alive; Sparkattack was very weak and currently in stasis, but Ambulon survived because the scientists decided to only work on him little by little instead of all at once.
Ambulon was placed in a holding cell, where he would recuperate and then be taken into surgery for the final touch-up: CPU modifications. He'd been informed candidates for new teammates were commissioned and on their way. Ambulon refused to let it end like this, and, playing weak/ill, tricked the scientists into tending to him, thinking he was no threat. Ambulon managed to escape, killing his way out, but not before finding Sparkattack. Though he wished he could save his friend, there was no other way; putting him out of his misery with a quick, painless shot to the head, Ambulon hightailed it out of the facility, supporting a few minor injuries but otherwise unharmed.
Ambulon spent the next few years wandering Cybertron, trying to undo the damage their experiment caused him. Before, Ambulon had the ability to transform into a usual vehicle alt mode, but after the surgery to his t-cog, he could only transform into the left leg unit of his failed gestalt team. Ambulon attempted to scan other vehicles and modes, but his t-cog was unable to process the information. He didn't know if this was intentional or if future surgeries would have made it possible for him to assume two alt modes.
Nonetheless, Ambulon became reclusive and hid away in the ruins of most of Cybertron's great cities. He long since left the Decepticons, refusing to align himself with them any longer. But he was hesitant on joining the Autobots, and even more hesitant in fighting at all.
For a while, Ambulon lived a relatively cautious life in the ruins. He caught news that he was listed as a traitor and gone AWOL, but no one seemed to know where he was hiding.
Ambulon had been out looking for supplies when he found himself suddenly in the middle of an ambush attack. Shot down from the skies, an Autobot cargo ship crashed nearby, followed by a group of Decepticons. Ambulon tried to escape, but wound up having to fight his way out. He suffered a blast to the chest, knocking him over and in and out of consciousness. Ambulon believed it was the end for him.
When Ambulon next opened his eyes, he was in an Autobot medical facility. The blast to his chest had been repaired. Shocked, before he could plan any escape, he was confronted by a rather stone-faced, but well mannered Autobot medic. The Autobot introduced himself as Pharma, and said he had been the one to patch Ambulon up. The Autobots survived the battle, and when they noticed Ambulon was still alive, brought him back to their base for repairs. This was even more surprising, since Ambulon didn't think the Autobots would even care.
Pharma confesses he does not usually deal with Decepticons, even former ones, but he could not let Ambulon die. (Plus his colleagues would have intervened if he did.) Ambulon met one of Pharma's nurses - an old friend and fellow medic, he told Pharma he knew about Ambulon and once worked with him in the mines, that he had great medical skills.
With nowhere to go, and to repay the favor, Ambulon spent his time at the Autobot camp helping repair soldiers. Though his skills were a bit rusty, the others were welcome for his help. Pharma was apprehensive at first, but did recognize Ambulon's abilities and potential. He asked his colleagues to help train the former Decepticon.
When it came for the camp to move on, Pharma took only some of his staff with him to the Delphi station on Messatine. Ambulon was one of these medics, though he believed he had been chosen not necessarily for only his skills, but Pharma was short staffed anyway. Needed all the help he could get. So Ambulon went with him.
At the time, Ambulon had not bothered to mess with his paint job, spending all his time in the camp working on emergencies, never going on the field. However, he had switched his optics from red to yellow. When he left for Delphi, he felt it would be a truly fresh start on a new world. So he painted himself; didn't do a very good job, and found he was too busy to keep reapplying coats during his work at the facility.
Ambulon confronted Pharma and explained what happened to him in Tarn. He had told no one of what he'd gone through, and explained his t-cog was damaged, which is why he never transformed. Pharma explained that it was possible he could replace his t-cog, transplant a new one, but with Ambulon's circuitry/system scrambled from the incomplete experiment, chances are they would never find the proper t-cog. So, for now, Ambulon would have to hold out.
Though disappointed, Ambulon understood. He chose to leave the past behind him and focus on his new life. It would remain rather uneventful for a while...
