Hello, folks! I recommend that you read my other story, Scars of Time, before reading this (although it isn't required).
013.03.41 (one cycle after ejection of AllSpark; nine cycles until Great Exodus)
"Ampoule, disengage and return to Kaon immediately!"
Starscream's shrill voice echoed in Ampoule's helm annoyingly, but she followed his orders and pulled away from her battle with the Autobot grunts.
"They were nearly dead, you know," she huffed into her comm link as she transformed and drove away. They were no match for her speed, being mere four-wheelers. Slow four-wheelers at that.
"Megatron needs you to investigate Praxus," Starscream continued. Ampoule skidded to a stop and transformed, her red optics widening.
"Why in the Pit would he want me to do that?" she yelled into the comm. "That rust-infected city has been destroyed for vorns!"
"Scouts have recently reported Autobot activity in the area, shortly before going off the grid. We've lost about seven bots."
"And you want me to go in there?" Ampoule said, narrowing her optics.
"Soundwave is currently busy and you are the closest bot in the area. Just do a quick drive through. Try not to stay too long."
Ampoule sighed, then nodded her helm. "Fine, but if I die, it's your fault."
As the chrome-plated femme cruised through the old city, she heard multiple noises. Scrapes, clangs, and buzzes echoed in the ghost town.
Why did I have to be sent to such a creepy place? she thought in annoyance. She finally transformed and began to walk the rest of the distance. Suddenly, something tackled her from behind.
Ampoule whirled around and shot whatever had been trying to injure her, and it fell to the ground. She crouched down to get a better look.
"Scraplet!" she yelped, stumbling to her pedes and backing away. She began to hear a strange buzzing sound, and when she turned her helm in the direction of the noise she saw a swarm of scraplets heading straight for her!
Ampoule shouted in surprise and transformed, speeding down the old street as fast as she could go. The scraplets followed close behind, jaws opening and revealing a nice array of sharp denta.
The two-wheeler made a sharp turn and screeched into a tunnel. She sped up even faster, as the tunnel angled downward, and barely escaped the scraplets. When she reached a large, slightly open door, she transformed. Casting one last glance behind her, she slipped through and closed it with a quiet clang.
Ampoule had only taken one step when something grabbed her pede. Still a bit jumpy, she grunted and scrambled backwards, hitting her helm on a low-hanging beam in the process. As she rubbed her helm, she glanced down at the floor, where a tiny faceplate looked back at her.
A sparkling? How is that possible?
It only looked to be two or three orns old, so it must have hatched shortly before the uprising. The sparkling cooed, reaching a servo out to grab at her pede, but Ampoule yanked it back, still regarding the bundle warily. It could be an Autobot trick.
Cautiously, Ampoule bent down and held out her servos. The sparkling eagerly crawled to her and put its servos around her neck cables in an embrace. She stood up, holding the young Cybertronian, and began rubbing its back plating comfortingly.
The sparkling (a mech) had large yellow optics and silver and gold plating. Two winglets were flattened to his back plating and a pair of tiny wheels were hooked into his pedes. His helm was sleek and streamlined, and his limbs were long and slender. He was built for speed.
Much to her chagrin, Ampoule felt herself falling for the little sparkling.
"Ampoule, what is your status?"
This caused her to jump. The mechling began to tremble, his optics shutting in fear, and Ampoule hissed into her comm.
"Shut up, Starscream!"
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine! I'll be out of the city in a few kliks, I promise. And…I found something."
"What?"
"It would be better if you saw for yourself."
Despite what the Autobots may have made them out to be, not all Decepticons weren't Sparkless sadists looking for a fight. Some of them were, but that was hardly a suitable representation for the entire army.
This was very evident when Ampoule entered Kolkular, Kaon with the sparkling, whom she had dubbed Vortac. Mechs and femmes alike followed her to the council room, all of them astonished at seeing a sparkling. It was a beacon of hope in the darkness. Starscream was surprised as well, as Ampoule inferred by his red optics widening considerably when the she entered the room.
"And you found this in Praxus of all places?" he asked uncertainly. The two-wheeler nodded, then set Vortac on the floor. He immediately crawled over to Starscream, then looked up at him with wide optics. The commander frowned, then glared at Ampoule.
"This poses problems. Megatron has been notified of the issue, and-"
"What?" Ampoule asked, her optics narrowing. "Do you have any idea what Megatron will do? He might kill him, or turn him into some kind of super soldier! Or he could-"
"I assure you, Ampoule, I have no intention of doing that."
Ampoule froze mid-sentence, her jaw hanging open, but she quickly snapped it shut and straightened as her leader entered the room, his optics cool and his posture relaxed.
"S-sir, I didn't mean any disrespect…"
"Of course not," the much larger mech growled. "That would be treason."
Ampoule chuckled nervously, bowing her helm and looking at the gladiator out of the top of her optics.
"I will not kill the sparkling, nor will I turn it into a 'super soldier.' As you well know, the AllSpark has been stolen by the Autobots," Megatron hissed, addressing both Starscream and Ampoule, "therefore, any sign of new life is a welcome one. We will do everything in our power to keep the sparkling alive. Starscream, tell Soundwave to send troops to Praxus immediately to exterminate the scraplets and investigate the area. In fact," he said, tilting his helm in thought, "send scouts to all of our controlled cities. I believe that we did not search thoroughly enough for survivors."
"Sir, if I may ask," Ampoule began, and her lord nodded to her. "Who will supervise the sparkling? We don't exactly have any caretakers in our ranks."
"That is where you come in," Megatron said, raising his optic ridges. Ampoule sputtered, her optics darting around the room.
"M-my liege?"
"You will watch the sparkling. And if something happens to him," the silver mech said, his voice deepening and becoming more sinister (if possible), "it will be you who pays the price."
AN: I know it's short, but it was a good place to leave off. For those of you who have read Tales of Youth, Ampoule is the femme that Whiplash meets in the middle of the night cycle in the first chapter.