Chapter 1
Soundwave ran through the thick, tangled undergrowth towards the warehouse where his spark mate lay. Upon reaching the door, he threw it open, and ran to his femme's side. She looked up at him, pain clouding her optics, and tried to smile, but it took too much effort and she gave up. Soundwave began to prepare for their sparkling's arrival, opening windows to cool the hot room down, and looking about to find a cloth with which to wipe off the sparkling when it came. He quickly located a closet full of towel, grabbed a few and ran back to his mate. He was excited for his first sparkling, but worried for his mate, Windfall, a fragile femme, not cut out for so much strain. On top of that, they weren't in a proper facility for a femme to give birth, but there was nothing they could do about that. It broke Soundwave's heart that he couldn't give his mate the best.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Windfall lay still, breathing hard, and Soundwave lovingly cradled the little sparkling in his arms. He passed the sparkling to his mate, who smiled as she saw his sleeping face, peaceful and unaware of everything that had just happened. Soundwave noticed how weak Windfall looked, and realized that even though the strain was over for her, the danger of death still lingered. The little mech had been a huge drain on her energy, and Soundwave knew she was fighting to stay alive.
"He's b-beautiful, Soundwave." Windfall's soft voice jerked her mate out of his grim thoughts.
"Just like you," Soundwave replied. "Look," he said as the sparkling woke up, "he has your optics. What should we name him?" They both looked at the sparkling who cooed happily and lifted his tiny servos up to his father, revealing a slightly transparent panel on his chest. The light from his spark cast a soft glow out of this panel, and his parents noticed that his spark was a deeper reddish-orange than most.
"Firespark," Windfall whispered, and Soundwave nodded. That would be a good name for the little grey and blue mech.
"Here," Soundwave said, "let me hold Firespark. You get some rest."
"Okay. You get some rest too, S-Soundwave," Windfall replied. She turned over on her side on her makeshift bed and promptly slipped into recharge mode.
Soundwave stared down at Firespark, who was again in recharge mode. He squirmed a little when Soundwave set him down on his own little cushion on the floor, but did not wake up. Soundwave looked over at his mate, sleeping peacefully, and thought of how beautiful she looked, with the moonlight streaming through the open window to rest on her, making her shine like some ethereal creature. He stroked he arm, letting his fingers pass over the fire-engine red Autobot symbol on her powder blue arm. He glanced down at the deep purple Decepticon symbol on his own chest and sighed. Being on opposite sides of a war made marriage tough. They had to meet in secret, couldn't be seen together, and had real problems if they came across each other in battle. Soundwave sighed again and settled back onto his own bed. His head filled with worried thoughts, he slipped into recharge mode.
The next morning, Soundwave woke up to the harsh Cybertronian sun in his optics. He looked around himself and saw Windfall, still asleep, and Firespark, sitting next to her with his servo in his mouth. Upon seeing that his father was awake, Firespark squealed and stretched his wet servo towards his dad. Soundwave grinned and scooped up his son, tickling him. Firespark giggled and squirmed. Soundwave realized that he and Firespark had been making a lot of noise, so he looked over at Windfall, and what he saw made his energon run cold.
"No!" Soundwave set Firespark back down on the ground and ran over to his mate, fearing the worst. What he thought he had seen proved to be accurate: Windfall wasn't breathing. "Wind! No! NO!" He stumbled into the wall, tears streaming down his face, and slammed a fist into the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. "Why? Why, Primus, why?" This behavior scared Firespark, who began to cry as well. Soundwave stopped yelling and picked Firespark up once more. "Oh, Firespark, I'm sorry. Please stop crying, daddy's okay, see?" He faked a smile and Firespark quieted down, still sniffling. "What am I gonna do with you?" Soundwave asked, and he meant it. The answer came like a homing missile; there was no avoiding it. He would have to give Firespark to the Autobots. He could have taken Firespark back to the Decepticon base to raise him, except there was one hitch in that plan, Firespark's optics were like his mother's: blue.