Nighthawk snuck onto the Nemesis with a basket in her servo. A purple and black sparkling cooed up at her and seemed entertained watching her sneak around. "Hush, little one. You do not want to wake anyone, do you?"

The sparkling seemed to understand as she settled down and closed her purple optics. Nighthawk smiled down at the little sparkling and she thought she was safe until she slammed into a silver mech. "Hey, watch it!" She looked up and saw her leader staring down at her. "Lord Megatron... I did not see you there. My apologies."

"What is in the basket, Nighthawk?"

She slowly looked down at her precious cargo. "A sparkling, master."

Megatron's optics widened and he examined the sparkling closely. "I did not know one of the mechs here fancied you or that you permitted them to breed with you."

"It is yours, master." Nighthawk took the sparkling out and thrusted it into his servos. She bit her lip as the little femme woke up and blinked up at the large silver mech.

Megatron frowned down at the sparkling as she erupted into tears. "She does not seem to like me very much."

"She's just cranky, that's all."

"How come I never noticed you carrying, Nighthawk? I don't recall you being round or even remotely carrying."

Nighthawk shrugged. "I did not even know myself until I went to patrol and I could not move. I gave birth by the stream to twins. One of them died, though. She was too weak for this world. I had to terminate her."

Megatron grinned. "Looks as though you have learned, Nighthawk. I will let you recover from your birth. Congratulations on the sparkling. She looks just like you."

Silverwing walked into the base, cradling a tiny blue sparkling that shivered and shook. "Ratchet! I have an emergency!" He took the sparkling to the medic, letting the older mech take the sparkling.

"Where did you find a newborn?"

"In the woods. She was so weak that her cries could barely be heard. The mother ran off and I couldn't leave the sparkling to chase her." Silverwing watched the sparkling cry under the medic's servos.

"She's just weak. Probably had a twin. Look how small she is. She had to have had competition. Most likely a mechling." Ratchet let the femme sparkling suck on his digit. "Get her a bottle for the premature sparklings in that cupboard."

Silverwing walked to the cupboard of sparkling supplies, selecting a small bottle. "I feel like I'm going to break this thing." He filled it with warm Energon and handed it to Ratchet.

The medic fed her, cradling her in one servo. "I haven't done this since Optimus was orphaned." He watched the sparkling's optics dim. "Tastes good, doesn't it, sweetspark?" He pulled the bottle away from the sparkling and let the femme sleep in his servo. "Take her to Optimus."

The silver Seeker carried the sparkling to his leader's office where the younger blue and red mech spent most of his time. The young Prime had been named as their leader before he had reached five thousand years old, while the oldest and most ideal mech for leader was a couple hundred million years old, and that was Alpha Trion. "Prime, I have something to show you." He revealed the sparkling in his arms. "I found her in the woods by the Decepticon border. She's tiny. Ratchet thinks she might have had a twin, but I only found her."

Optimus Prime looked up from his data pad and teased the sparkling out of the Seeker's arms. "She is small. I would keep her in the medic's care. We do not want her sick. Our supplies are too precious to waste."

Silverwing saw, once again, what war did to mechs and femmes: It made them hard and practical. Optimus was hardly mature, but he was the mech his team went to with their problems. He remembered when Optimus had been Orion Pax, a carefree mechling with bright optics and a question for everything. Silverwing had been the mech that Orion had pestered the most until Ratchet became their medic, then Ratchet and Orion became best friends. That was about the time that Orion had discovered Megatronus...

Nighthawk woke up, her sparkling pressed against her chest as Megatron stared down at them. "Good morning, my love." She purred as the silver mech's claw went across her jaw. "I see you had a good night's recharge."

"I was mostly watching you two recharge. The little one is remarkably peaceful for a newborn."

"She always has been," she whispered as she stroked her daughter's helm. "She never really kicked. That was her sister..." She choked at the thought of the tiny sparkling and she remembered it's fate. "Too bad she was weak. She would have been a fair warrior."

"The weak must be weeded out, Nighthawk. Remember that."

They were interrupted by the sparkling sneezing and rolling onto her back. "Ma?"

Nighthawk pulled the sparkling close to let her nurse. "What are we going to call her, my love?" She stroked the sparkling's cheek as she nursed.

"I will think on that. Rest, Nighthawk. I will return to you. I expect you to recover swiftly so you can return to your duties. We must rid this planet of the weak."

Nighthawk nodded, her optics glittering at the prospect of killing again. "Nurse quickly, little one, so I may escape this room. And grow into a fine femme."

The sparkling giggled and purred at her mother, reaching up with tiny talons. "Ah!" She giggled hysterically.

"That will be the sound the Autobots make, not you."

When the sparkling had finished drinking, Nighthawk laid the femme down on her pillow and retreated to the woods. She waited impatiently, pacing until she spotted an Insecticon dipping its head to rub against its mate. She flinched when she felt a servo on her hip and she spun around. "Glad you're here."

Silverwing watched Ratchet care for the sparkling as he smiled. The whole team was gathered around her, peering down at the tiny femme that giggled and reached for Optimus. "Looks like she has a favorite."

Optimus stood several steps away. "She should not favor me. I have done nothing for her. Ratchet cares for her all day and through the night. I have only fed her once when Ratchet had to recharge."

Ratchet chuckled and propped the femme up in the Prime's arms. She squealed in delight and grabbed his digit, forcing it into her mouth. The team 'aww'ed and laughed at the pair.

"She thanks you for that," Ratchet laughed as the sparkling chewed on his digit. "She says 'Thank you so much, Prime'."

Bulkhead chuckled and rubbed her helm fondly. "I'm pretty sure she's thinking about how delicious Optimus tastes."

"Cannibal," someone coughed and the whole room burst into laughter. Even Optimus cracked out a smile and the sparkling joined in a little too late, but that started another uproar simply at the look of joy on her little face.

When she yawned, Ratchet cut the fun short as he took her and bundled her into a blanket. "Bed time now. Prime, could you take her? I have to get some recharge. She should nap peacefully with a full belly."

Optimus nodded once, accepting the little bundle as he walked slowly to his quarters. He never knew he stomped until he saw her helm rock against his chest as she snored quietly. He began to tip-toe, hushing her squeaks and murmurs. He ignored the muffled chuckles of his team as he slowly settled in his chair at his desk. "Sleep well, little one," he whispered.

"She's asleep, Prime," a mech said. Optimus recognized the teasing voice as Wheeljack. "She can't hear you."

"She hears everything," the Prime retorted.

The sparkling's mouth tipped up into a smile as she snuggled deeper into his arms and Optimus watched her instead of reading the reports, like he should.

Silverwing slowly walked backwards, nodding slowly to himself as he then left the base on patrol.

Nighthawk sat on her berth, watching the sparkling roll around on her pillow. Her wings fluttered in impatience. The sparkling was growing every day, but still was unable to care or fend for itself. She sighed heavily, ignoring the sparklings pleading to be held. "No. You have to grow up so I can go back to my duties."

She flinched when the door opened and Megatron walked in. "You are yelling at your sparkling to grow up? She is a couple weeks old. She is in no way in control of her growth rate." He chuckled when his mate growled. "I know you want to get out of here, so I'm coming to relieve you from your mother-" He could not finish for she had jumped up and bolted out of the room, squealing delight as she transformed. "Duties..."

She spun through the air as a jet, spiralling and flipping through clouds. Then she spotted a familiar paint job and she landed, skipping to the mech as he waited for her. "Hello, my love." She kissed his cheek and his low voice purred into her audio, causing her to smile.

"Hello to you, too. How is the femme?"

"Never growing. It was all I could do to get out."

"You left her unattended?"

Nighthawk shrugged indifferently. "She's fine. What is she going to do? Roll off the fluffy pillow? She's not going anywhere."

The mech grunted, turning away. "Your other daughter is well."

She stopped twirling and looked at him, her optics darkening as her wings arched up over her helm in a mixture of shock, anger, and relief. "Oh."

Optimus held the sparkling as she bounced on his knee, her squeals of delight attracting the team to "aww" and watch the pair. She climbed down from his knee and hugged the leg of the nearest warrior, who was Ultra Magnus. The mech flinched at the display of affection and he gently teased her off and hooked her arms around Bulkhead's ankle.

"No hugs for...me..." He coughed, uncomfortable as the sparkling pouted and wrapped her arms back around his leg. "No hugs..."

Wheeljack clapped his back. "Oh, come on, Uncle Magnus! She loves you!"

"Yes, that is indeed something to be afraid of," he said as he dettached her once again, but she clung to him like glue. "No. Bad sparkling."

Optimus took her, letting her arms wrap around his neck. "She is learning. I will inform her you do not appreciate public displays of affection."

"Yes, you will train her to behave like the young femme she is."

Wheeljack yawned and collapsed into Bulkhead. "Yawn! Let her romp and be herself. She'll only be this cute for a couple more weeks. Then she'll be needy and obnoxious."

Prime rolled his optics and set her in her designated box on his desk, setting a blanket on her shoulders as she giggled and chirped like a Predacon. Playing along, he purred and petted her helm, making her squeal in delight. The team left him to play with the sparkling until she fell asleep curled around his servo. Optimus slowly teased her off and laid her on his berth, hesitantly kissing her forehelm.

As he turned away to go back into his office, he heard the femme sit up. He tipped his helm her direction.

"I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too," he whispered.

Nighthawk looked down at her daughter, Nightshade. "I am leaving you, little one. There can no longer be me." She kissed her helm, stroking her cheek. "But I will always be there for you. Remember that. I love you, Nightshade."

She left her young daughter, who was nearly full grown, as she walked to the MedBay. "Knockout, I am ready."

The red mech looked up from a syringe and, after laying her down, he injected her slowly. He watched her optics slowly close and he motioned for his partner, Breakdown, to lift her body. "Goodbye, Nighthawk. See you soon."

He took pictures of her, adding a fatal-looking wound over her spark and a large amount of Energon. "Warrior Nighthawk. Died in the MedBay after a gruesome ambush directed by Seeker Silverwing. May she rust in peace."

Megatron walked to his mate's quarters, seeing Nightshade recharging peacefully, but no Nighthawk. He woke his daughter. "Where is your mother?"

She woke slowly, blinking blurry optics as she yawned and chirped. "Huh...?"

"Where is your mother?" He started to get a little worried. It was so unlike Nighthawk to disappear and not tell Nightshade. "Where is she?"

"Patrolling again, maybe. I don't know. Ask Knockout. I heard her talking to him. Maybe he knows for sure." She yawned loudly and shook herself. "I'm exhausted..."

He saw an Energon cube tipped over and he picked it up. "You fell asleep drinking your ration again, did you not?" He sighed when she stared dumbly at the cube. "You must recharge more."

"I am," she promised. "I swear to Unicron I am."

Megatron nodded, rolling his optics. "Mm-hmm. You are like your mother." He tapped the cube thoughtfully as he walked out. He saw Knockout covering a familiar body in the MedBay and his spark stopped. "Nighthawk!?"

That caused his daughter to start and jump up. "Mama?"

He ran to the femme, shaking his helm when Knockout looked at the family sadly. "What happened!?"

The medic gave an answer. One clear answer that shook the family to its knees. "Autobots happened."

Nightshade wailed.

Optimus watched the nearly full grown femme rest in his berth. They did not have the time to give her an extra berth, so she recharged in different berths. Mainly she went to Optimus', which surprised the mech but he welcomed her anyway. He had watched her grow under his and Ratchet's care, though he was puzzled over her origin. Silverwing had said he had found her in the forest by the Decepticon border, and from the details he gave the Prime, he knew where he was talking about. But in order for the Seeker to find the orphan, he would have had to trespass. Something does not add up.

The femme woke up, yawning and stretching as she saw Optimus watching her. "Hello, Optimus Prime." She purred and bounced into his lap, rewarding him with a kiss to his cheek. "Recharge well?"

"Yes." He set her uncermoniously back on the berth. "Stay," he said sternly, but she hopped to her pedes anyway and he sighed. "Can you not follow orders?"

"Nope," she giggled. She pushed past him and into Ratchet, purring. "Hi, Papa." She kissed his cheek. "Primey loves me."

Optimus watched them, remembering that she knows no other parent. To her, Ratchet is her father and he does not seem to be bothered by her calling him that. In fact, it seems he encourages it.

"Hello, my little sweetspark. Recharge well with Optimus?" He winked back at the Prime and Optimus paused for a moment in surprise.

"We are not mates."

Both of their shoulders drop and they sighed in unison.

"Come on, Prime. What's wrong with Crystal?"

The femme, Crystal, watched his face. Optimus knew she loved him, but he also knew that if he showed affection to the Decepticons, they would catch on and use that against him.

"I cannot love her."

Ratchet's helm shook in a sad way.

Crystal cried.

Nightshade sat alone in her quarters, holding herself as she felt her spark go cold and dark, not trusting anyone after she learned her mother died due to an Autobot ambush. She shuddered at the thought of the Autobots. They will pay, she thought. They will pay indeed. She stood, growling lowly as she walked out and shouldered past her father. "Out of my way!" She turned her helm to see his expression, and in doing so, she smacked into his second-in-command. "Watch it!"