Disclaimer: I own nothing... if I had then Prowl wouldn't have died in the original movie and Jazz wouldn't have died in the new ones... and the Twins would still be Sunstreaker and Sideswipe...
The royal castle of Praxus was a wondrous place to grow up. Everything shone and glittered in the loveliest way. It was like a fairy tale castle with delicate molding, gilded walls, and priceless artifacts that only served to make the setting more surreal. It was now the middle of the night and to the little ten-vorn-old sparkling running around the castle, everything was gigantic and more than a bit scary, especially when he was alone like right now. He was lost in the castle again, something that was altogether too easy for him.
After what felt like hours of running, he was so exhausted that he simply had to sit. But when he sat he was overcome with fear because he was afraid that no one would find him, which of course would be impossible, but all logic had fled his scared and tired little mind. So he simply sat there and cried, hoping beyond hope that someone would come and find him. He had had another vicious nightmare, a premonition though he did not yet know it. He dreamed of evil red-eyed monsters destroying his home, setting everything on fire, and killing everyone. He dreamed of seeing his friends and family lying about, their optics devoid of light and sparks forever dead. He dreamed of being the only survivor and being left alone in a dark castle full of dead bodies.
"Blue? What's wrong baby?" Bluestreak immediately recognized the voice and looked up to see his oldest brother, Blackside, standing in front of him. His brother immediately reached down to pick up Bluestreak when he noticed the tear tracks running down his face. Bluestreak immediately cuddled up to his chest, always feeling safe when his brother was around. The 21-vorn-old just held him closer and made comforting noises into his audio receptors until the younger mech had calmed down enough to speak.
"What's wrong with Sprout?" Their other brothers then suddenly appeared flanking them. The twins, Stormrunner and Sunburst, were notorious for being able to sneak up on anyone, even those who knew them well.
"He had another nightmare." Blackside glanced up at the 18-vorn-old twins.
"It… It was horrible!" Bluestreak told his brothers all about what was in his dream. They comforted him until he was calm again then Blackside carried him back to their adjoining quarters. All four of the brothers had bedrooms that opened onto one common room, though Stormrunner and Sunburst usually shared one or the others room. On nights when Bluestreak had a nightmare, they usually all ended up sprawled on Blackside's bed, with Bluestreak tucked securely in the middle. It was no different on this night.
"What did you dream this time Sprout?" Stormrunner stopped wrestling with Sunburst long enough to ask the question on everyone's mind.
"It wasn't a dream Stormy. It was a nightmare! I saw these big horrible monsters with glowing red eyes and they were attacking the castle and there were dead mechs and femmes everywhere. I was running around but everywhere there were dead bodies and I looked at the faces and they were all people I knew. I saw the guards, the maids, the cooks, my teachers, and my friends. But the worst part was I saw Mommy and Daddy in the throne room and they weren't dead yet but then the biggest monster came in and I had to watch and I couldn't find you anywhere and it was so scary!" The last part was said in a near wail as Bluestreak remembered the vivid images he had seen in his sleep. Blackside pulled him in close to his chest and just held him, comforting the sparkling.
"Its okay Blue. We're all here with you and Mommy and Daddy are sleeping in their room safe and sound. The guards are watching over us and besides, why would the monsters attack us? We have nothing they want. Our city is full of beautiful crystal gardens. Besides, we'll protect you baby."
"Of course." "You bet." Came the simultaneous cries from the twins who were still fighting for the best spot on the bed. It was a routine they went through every time this happened. Bluestreak started giggling at the twin's antics and soon enough fell asleep. The memory of his nightmare had been pushed away in favor of watching his brothers. However, Blackside clearly remembered every detail and resolved to speak to his parents in the morning. He turned the remaining lights off, as Stormrunner and Sunburst finally finished their brawl and claimed their spots on the bed. Soon enough, the room was filled with the sounds of soft breathing and occasional snores, quickly silenced by a hand, foot, or pillow.
When their parents, Queen Silvershimmer and King Stormlight, came in to see why their sons had not shown up at the breakfast table, they were hard pressed not to burst out laughing at the sight before them. Bluestreak was happily curled up in the center of the bed, securely wrapped in Blackside's arms. Stormrunner and Sunburst were lying across the end of the bed, though Stormrunner looked about to fall off. Sure enough, one twitch of Sunburst's foot sent his twin off the end, abruptly waking the poor mech.
"Fragging glitch-head." Came the moan from the floor. Stormrunner got up and smacked his twin on the helm. "You woke me up so there's no point in letting you sleep." Sunburst just grumbled and closed his optics again. "Oh no you don't. Its time to get up now."
"Five more minutes Stormy." Stormrunner gave up with a soft growl and flopped dramatically against the end of the bed. His efforts did wake up the other two occupants of the bed who blinked about sleepily for a moment until the last remnants of sleep faded away. Bluestreak was the first to notice his parents standing in the doorway.
"Mommy! Daddy!" he quickly hopped off the bed and ran to where his mother was crouched with open arms. He jumped into her embrace and she lifted him onto her hip.
"And how is my big sparkling doing this morning?"
"I had another nightmare last night but 'Side, Stormy, and Sunny made it all better." All three of the brothers groaned good-naturedly at the childish nicknames Bluestreak had stuck them with but dutifully rose to kiss their mother and exchange good-mornings. Stormlight sent a look to his first-born, who simply shook his head, mouthing "later".
"Well boys, breakfast was served quite some time ago but if you hurry Cook might have kept it warm for you." This sent Stormrunner and Sunburst barreling out into the halls, heading for the private dining hall. "Stormrunner! Sunburst! Take Bluestreak with you and wash him up first."
"Yes mom." "Sure thing."
Blackside stayed behind, walking at a much more leisurely pace with his parents.
"So what's all this about a nightmare son?" Stormlight got right down to business, now that Bluestreak was occupied.
"He dreamed that red-eyed monsters attacked the city and killed everyone. I told him they would never come here because we have nothing they want but I'm not so sure. Blue's dreams have often turned out to be real more often than I like and we do have rather large un-mined stores of power crystals in the city, carved to look like gardens."
"Yes, well I suppose we should set up some more guards but if Bluestreak's description is accurate, his 'monsters' may very well be those Decepticons that are trying to take over Cybertron. If it is, then no number of guards will be able to stop them. Even the Autobots are having problems, already they have had to retreat from a number of outlying cities and fortresses. This may be one nightmare we cannot wake up from."
"Perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement with them? Surely we can give them the power crystals if that is the way to save the lives of all our people?" Just then, the three arrived at the doors to the dining hall and they could here the sounds of Blue and the twins inside.
"Well lets put this out of our minds for now and enjoy a nice breakfast." Silvershimmer led the way into the room, planting a kiss on a protesting Bluestreak before moving to her seat at the foot of table. Stormlight headed to the head with Blackside sitting directly to his right and Bluestreak next to him. Stormrunner and Sunburst sat on the other side of the table. The rest of the meal was spent happily, exchanging jokes and teasing insults.
Afterwards, Silvershimmer and Stormlight headed off to the throne room to take council about Bluestreak's prophetic dreams. Blackside delivered Bluestreak to his tutor, then dragged the protesting twins to their teacher before heading off to his own lessons. The rest of the morning was spent in the classrooms, with a small break for lunch. The four were then required to come to the throne room to observe the functioning of the kingdom they would one day help rule.
A few hours there was a commotion in the outer receiving hall and the guards escorted in a severely injured mech. He was covered in burns, cuts, and gashes. A trail of energon drips followed him down the long hall to stand in front of the thrones.
"My lords, the report from the outer wall."
"Proceed Captain Highside." Highside was the Captain of the Palace Guards, in charge of all defensive measures of the city. He was an old friend of King Stormlight; they had attended the military academy together that was mandatory for all Praxian males.
"The full Decepticon force is at our gates, led by Lord Megatron himself. Already they have breached the outer walls and were well on their way to getting through the inner defenses when I left. There are none here who can stand up to their power. I have come to evacuate you from the palace. Now we must hurry, there is little time left."
"No Highside, I refuse to leave when my people have no escape. I will stay and try to reason with the Decepticons. Perhaps they will just take our crystals and leave our people alone."
"My lord! You cannot stay it is not safe here! The Decepticons will be upon us at any moment." Just then the sounds of gunshots and the screams of terrified mechs and femmes could be heard from outside the palace doors. Stormlight turned to his family.
"Silvershimmer, take Bluestreak and hide. If this doesn't work, I don't want you anywhere near here."
"No Stormlight, I refuse to leave your side. As your Queen and your wife it is my duty to stay at your side through thick and thin, for better or worse."
"Silvershimmer… please…"
"Now my Bluestreak go run and hide. Be good and stay safe. I love you so very much. We will come find you when all of this is over." With that, Silvershimmer lifted Bluestreak into her arms and gave him one last hug and kiss before placing him on the floor and giving him a push towards the side door. "Now go, hurry, and don't look back." Thumps could now be heard against the heavy oak doors. Blackside, Stormrunner, and Sunburst ran to help the guards hold the door shut.
Bluestreak ran through the doors but could not bring himself to leave. He quietly crept up into the secret room that he and his brothers had discovered. It wasn't even a proper room, just a small crawl space between two walls. They had made a small hole in the one wall so that they could watch what was going on in the throne room. From there, Bluestreak watched the following events unfold.