It was raining acid that night, when the Nemesis docked in Kaon. The war was still pretty young, though one couldn't tell that by the list of the dead. Both sides suffered heavily from the dwindling supply of everything ranging from medical supplies to Energon goodies.
This night in particular was different. Megatron could tell this the instant he walked off the Nemesis to survey the Vehicons as they loaded supplies, of what little was available. Across the warehouse, a few Autobots were scrounging along with the ferals, and instead of shooting them, Megatron laughed quietly. Yes, both sides were feeling the ache of few supplies.
When the Vehicons finished loading all of three crates, stuffed full of random garbage the scouts put together that "could be useful in the future", Megatron turned to board, but something made him stop.
A slight rustle could be heard from the empty crates and garbage strewn around, but when the warlord turned to look, there were no Autobots. Deciding to investigate, he waved on the Vehicons and went into the warehouse, looking into every crate and box until he found it.
The sparkling was small with big optics. His armor was scuffed and ruined, as though he had been kicked around, thrown down streets, and sat through years of acid rain. It was a little mechling, and when he saw Megatron, he reached up, begging.
Megatron's spark ached. He was torn. He couldn't take the sparkling in. It would be another mouth to feed and years before it could do anything for Megatron. But he also couldn't leave it here. It was a baby, just a tiny baby. It would freeze at night and the baby was most likely damp from the rain before the acid and it would be a frozen lump by morning. But the lack of supplies and knowledge of sparkling care made Megatron turn around and walk away.
He darted through the rain, hissing in pain when the acid dripped down his back and into his seams. Upon arriving, drones patted him down, but they stopped when they saw a little mechling toddle through the rain after him, his optics hardened, his armor fizzing, his paint streaming down his frame. He only started crying when he stepped in a puddle and stayed there, the clear puddle turning a sickly orange color.
The drones, as dumb as they can be, felt empathy and darted out into the rain with a towel, wrapping the little sparkling into the towel, suddenly a thought coming to both of them and they looked up at Megatron.
Now that two cons and an unidentified sparling were out there, in danger, Megatron had no choice. He waved them in and the drones ran in and set the sparkling down, checking him over and chittering softly at the wounds the little mechling had obtained by the acid rain.
"Take him to the wash racks. I will find Knock Out."
ooo
Knock Out cleaned the mechling up as good as he possibly could and even did a little bit of repainting of him, turning him a burnt orange instead of rotten green. Megatron watched it all from the doorway of the wash racks, the drones pressed up behind him. The sight of a sparkling brought them incurable hope, and such a large amount of it.
"Well, I did all I could. He looks better, don't you think? I gave him a bath, so he should be good. I'll drop off some blankets and stuff for you to take care of him."
"Can't you take care of him?" Megatron hated the idea of having to take care of a sparkling, a whiny little brat. He already had Starscream, the number one brat.
"No. I don't have the time, or I would. I need you to for me, okay? I'll answer all your questions, but I'm late for a surgery already as it is."
"Very well." And with that, Megatron obtained a sparkling.
ooo
Megatron led the sparkling into his throne room where Starscream stood at the right of the throne. When the Seeker saw the sparkling, he sneered.
"Another one?" He sat on the arm of the throne. "I thought I was your last take-in."
"This is just temporary." Megatron sat on the throne and watched the sparkling run up to climb into his lap, the sparkling grunting at the effort, but finally managing it, leaving Megatron confused and kind of disgusted. "Get down."
And the tone of Megatron's voice, the sparkling froze, then slid backwards before sitting between his pedes.
"Oh, not so friendly. Come on, Megatron. Where's that sweet spark of yours?"
"Dead in its chamber."
"Aww," Starscream sighed, scooting closer and practically in his lap. "He looks sad.."
"He's a sparkling."
No sooner had he said those words, the sparkling at his pedes starting to cry, hot tears coursing down his cheeks. Megatron snatched him off the floor and turned him around and around, looking for injury, but as soon as the warlord set him in his lap, the sparkling stopped crying and was staring up at him. Megatron sighed.
"He likes you," Starscream observed. He started to smile at the warlord. "You have a little friend."
The sparkling nuzzled up to Megatron's stomach, but the mech wouldn't have it. He shoved him at Starscream. "Here. Tell me what to name him."
The Seeker held him, turning him over and over in his servos before shrugging. "You should name him something strong, something scary, you know, to strike fear into sparks. Like Deathbringer, or Rustreign or something. Go with his color."
Megatron sighed as he watched the sparkling squirm in his SIC's grip, then he smiled. "Felix."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to call him Felix."
The Seeker raised an optic ridge at him. "Seriously?"
"I think it's cute."
"Cute?"
"Fitting, I mean."
Starscream shook his helm in disbelief. "Okay. Take Felix."
Megatron sighed as the Seeker left him and he watched the sparkling get comfy in his lap, falling alseep quickly and soundly, to the disbelief of Megatron. Had this sparkling never had a sound recharge? Then he thought not. Outside in the warzone, it was a hard life. There were few neutrals still alive, and any sparklings were becoming feral due to carriers and/or sires being robbed from them, allowing already-feral bots to take in sparklings alongside their litters. Ferals were pests and got into everything. Was this Felix feral as well? Megatron didn't think so. The mechling walked on his pedes and didn't use his servos in the process as well. He also didn't growl and hiss and grunt, suggesting he knew very few words or not at all.
While Megatron was thinking, Felix moved closer and started to let loose a loud purr that vibrated his whole body. Megatron yelped, unsure what was happening until the sparkling woke up partially and mewed pitifully.
The warlord scooped the sparkling up and dumped him unceremoniously on a stack of pillows on the floor by Megatron's berth. The sparkling fell asleep soundly, even more soundly than he had in Megatron's lap.
Finding he needed to clear his helm, Megatron took a walk around the warship, spying Starscream in Shockwave's lab, the one-opticed mech lecturing the youngest Seeker in Megatron's command, but the little femme was always glancing over at Starscream, who was experimenting with acids and bases and metal. Drones and Eradicons walked around, aimlessly and slowly due to the small rations of Energon. They needed to find more Energon and fast...
When Megatron returned to his berth, exhausted, he was startled to find the sparkling had somehow managed to climb into his berth and was snoozing spread-eagle on his pillow. The mech sighed and laid down on the berth, moving the pillow away from him, keeping a sizable distance between him and the sparkling.
But somehow, during the middle of the night, the sparkling rolled into the warlord's belly and slept there for the remainder of the night.