Author's Note: This story was originally written by Autobot Chromia. She gave it to Nikki2010, who in turn has given it to me, and has remained as my Beta for the story. The outline has changed significantly, but those who read Autobot Chromia's original story will still recognize elements from it.
Chapter One
"Where is she!?" The doors to the Iacon General Emergency Room burst open. A nurse swung round, his optics wide. "Sir, please - "
Demon ignored him, the sounds of frantic families crying and screaming filled his audials, but he paid them no heed. He ran through the ER, his optics franticly searching for her.
"Clouddust!"
Dropping his tray at the loud bellow, the head nurse spun to intercept the other mech, "This is a hospital!" He barked at him taking hold of the distraught mech's arms, "You must return to the waiting room!" Keeping his optics on him, he shouted, "Security!"
The black Praxian twisted and with surprising strength flung the nurse off him, pinning him, his armor scraping painfully on the wall as he stared in shock into the red optics burning through him as the other leaned close to hiss malevolently into his audio, "Where is she?" His fingers slowly tightening on the other's throat.
Choking and scrabbling desperately at the hands holding him the nurse felt his optics dimming. "I don't.. Don't know… " he gasped as he fell into a disorganized heap on the floor of the emergency ward, clutching his throat as he gasped for air. He watched through optics that slowly dimmed to black as the black pedes ran off down the hall.
No… he reached after the fearless red and black femme as she ran past him, as one of the emergency room medics knelt beside him before it all went completely black….
Demon shuddered as he left the green and white nurse to gasp on the floor behind him… The cryptic message he had received a bare twenty breems ago ricocheted in his helm…
'Accident on intersection 548: Clouddust taken to Iacon General Hospital. Critical.'
"Sir? Sir!" the sharp voice of yet another nurse snapped, her soft pede steps darting after him. "Sir, you can't go in there! Security!" She cried, skittering around the corner.
Demon ignored her, as he had disregarded the others, sprinting through the maze of hallways, glancing into every cubicle. Where are you? The bright fluorescent lights pierced his optics; the cacophony of sounds maddening. His vents heaved, his intakes burned.
He had to find Clouddust. He had to find his mate. He slid to a halt at the end of the corridor. Where are you? He ran a hand over his helm, doorwings spread wide and jerking slightly as he realized she was here too.
He spun around, optics narrowing as he focused on the black and red femme. "Where is she?!" he snarled, stalking closer, his armor flaring and door wings flaring as he loomed over her.
She marched towards him unconcerned about her personal safety, even as he growled a clear warning at her. A deep scowl marring her faceplates, "Surgery. Room 005. Demon, you can't…" she rolled her optics in frustration and huffed as the upset agent ran off down the brightly lit hallway and proceeded to follow him at a more sedate pace, waving the security mechs off as they ran up with weapons drawn.
"I'll deal of him," She growled, pinging her identification to the head of security.
Demon ignored her and the commotion he left behind as he bolted towards the room.
003…004…005!
Demon flung the door of the operating room open, ignoring it as it hit the wall, denting it from the force of his entry. A nurse yelped and dropped his tool as the door ricocheted closed behind the intruder.
The world stopped as chaos greeted his optics. Five mechs hovering about a table, yelling at each other, demanding tools, glancing at beeping, screaming monitors… His spark stopped beating as he stood, frozen in time.
An orange-painted medic glanced up quickly at the intrusion and spotted him where he stood frozen in the doorway, burning red optics staring at the scene.
"What's he doing here? Nurse, get him out!" the head medic barked, his hands still buried in the open chest plates of the delicate femme's crushed frame.
As if spurred back to life by his words, Demon launched forward. "Clouddust!" He cried at the greying form of his mate, one hand desperately stretched out to touch her one last time.
Strong arms grabbed him from behind, he twisted, but as if the arms expected it, they held tight and pulled him out.
"Sparkling extracted!" He saw a small form, limbs dangling lifelessly down, taken from his mate's darkening sparkchamber, quickly brought to be held close to the orange-mech's chassis... The medics finally forced him out into the hallway, the door slamming shut in front of his stunned optics and the sound of the lock clicking echoing in his audios. Venting heavily, he slowly backed away from the closed door.
She was gone... With a roar of pain he spun and punched the wall behind him hard enough to leave a dent. He leaned against it, vents stuttering. It had to be a bad memory flux. Maybe he was being tortured….or his processor was being manipulated. Yes. Yes. This wasn't real. He wiped a hand down his face.
Leaning against the nearby wall, Flamewar crossed her arms, a disapproving frown marring her beautiful faceplates as she watched the black mech through her cold optics.
Optics shuttering, Demon slumped against the cool wall, the bright lights of the hospital burning his optics. Remembering the last time he saw her… The fight they had…. Yelling at her... you knew what I was when we got together... What is different now? Her sharp reply ringing in his audios then and now, "I'm having a sparkling, Barricade! That changes everything!" Her optics had flashed dangerously, proud doorwings snapping high to frame her helm in her increasing agitation...
"What are you thinking, Demon?" Flamewar's voice cut through his last memory of her.
Snapping his optics online, he spun to face the red and black femme, snarling, fists clenched.
"Excuse me," the orange medic interjected, breaking their tense glares with the fearlessness of all senior medics. "The sparkling is functioning, with assistance." he calmly informed them, his field reaching out in a failed attempt to comfort the distraught sire.
"I can't… I can't take care of him." As the Agent slowly shook his helm backing away from him, from his sympathetic field... "I can't... " Venting heavily, he growled, clamping his armor, his door wings flicked sharply before settling high to frame his blazing optics. "Take him off the ventilator. If he terminates, then it wasn't meant to be." He paused, venting. "If he functions, then take care of him." he ordered his handler, his as fists relaxed and clenched unnoticed at his sides.
Gently placing his hand on the Agent's shoulder he squeezed it reassuringly.. "Sir…" He protested gently. Primus, field agents. He's in no state to be making decisions like this. He gave the agent's handler a questioning look.
"No… I can't." Demon spun on his heel and rushed out, leaving his mate's empty frame and her beloved creation to the care of others. He couldn't…not right now…not with what he was. :Her family will take him. Her brother, Sliverstreak. In Praxus. Take care of it, Flamewar. I have a job to do.: He ordered as he sent her the comm codes. He never looked back.
Venting tiredly the orange medic shot Flamewar a questioning look. "What should I do?" He queried softly, optics following the sire as he fled the hall.
"Do as he says." She snapped. "Take it off life support and Comm me with a status report." Spinning on her heel, she stalked after her agent with a faint frown on her faceplates, raising a hand to her helm as a comm filtered through.
"Very well," muttered the doctor with darkening optics as he watched the two leave, unaware of the sire's silent order to the uncaring femme.
A young pink and white femme clutched her armload of laundry tighter to her frame, unseen and unremarked on just around the corner from the family and the head medic. Trembling, chewing her lower lip, as she inched down the cold hall after the medic. She watched him enter a private room not far away.
Slowly she returned to her assigned task, carefully replenishing each room with soft clothes and checking on the patients in each one. Several joors later she slipped from the last room and saw the senior medic rush out of the room the sparkling was in, his hand to his helm as he answered a frantic comm from his staff, another life desperately needing his attention.
Angelbane's light armor clamped as she slipped into the sparkling's room, quiet as a shadow and looked down at him, risking a single shaking digit to stroke his tiny forehelm. He was such a cute little thing. "How could anyone want to get rid of you?" She cooed to the helpless newspark, who recharged on peacefully, unaware of the fate decided by his surviving creator.
Gently she stroked the tiny helm, her optics hardening with resolve. "I won't let them hurt you."
Carefully she reached down and plucked the fragile frame up, bundling some soft clothes tightly around him. If any mech ever found out she did this…She ruthlessly stomped the thought down. She was in this field to save lives and that was what she was doing.
"Shu,shu" she cooed as she pressed him to her chest. "Don't you worry, my little sweetling. Angelbane's going to take care of you." Nervously she looked around, and scooted away quickly down the hallway, dodging other mechanisms as they went about their business.
"Hey! Angelbane!" She cringed at the shout, holding the still recharging newspark close to her chest. She chanced a quick look down, making sure the sparkling's face was covered…. She was just carrying some soiled clothes after all ….
"I'm sorry, Featherlight, I can't stay and chat. I have to finish…" she trailed off, still inching her way down the hall, optics lowered so the other couldn't see them… Oh, please.. Primus...
"It's ok, Angelbane. Just wanted to tell you a few of us are meeting after shift at the bar…" the mauve femme smiled gently at her shy colleague.
"I have to meet my brother," she whispered nervously. "Maybe next time?"
"Sure, next time." Smiling at her, the other femme trotted off, processor already focusing on her next task.
Ducking her helm, she slipped from the hospital and swiftly transformed, placing the sparkling in her carryhold. He whined unhappily in her cab, cold and hungry and tired of being disturbed from his recharge.
"Shu, it won't be long now." She whispered to him as she maneuvered skillfully through the city streets. "I know a place where they'll take you, no questions asked. You'll be safe there, I promise."
The petite white and pink femme drove for quite a while before she reached the orphanage. It was in a small community outside of Iacon. Transforming, she carried the tiny bundle inside the building.
Flora stared at the nervous little femme carrying a newly separated sparkling from behind her desk. "Do you need help?" she asked briskly as she rose to her pedes with a slight frown.
"Yes," Anglebane whispered. "I can't keep 'im. Please, help 'im."
"Fill this out," The dark green femme scooped up a datapad and thrust it at the shaking femme with the sparkling.
Angelbane stared at the datapad in confusion, holding it limply in one hand as she clutched the whimpering bundle close to her spark.
"It's a surrender of custody," snapped Flora, tapping her pede while glaring at the femme before her.
"Oh, ok." Angelbane thrust the sparkling at Flora and quickly filled out the form. She gave the little bundle one last glance before dropping the datapad on the desk and fleeing.
Cycling her optics, the older femme scooped up the datapad in disgust, it wasn't even properly filled out, "I'm going to have to finish it." huffing, she carried the sparkling into a back room and set him down in an empty crib, scuttling away before returning with some sparkling grade energon. "Who knows when you last ate, if she even bothered to feed you." she vented, aspirated, frowning down at the little form struggling weakly to feed himself.
"Too young for a sparkling, your carrier was." She told him, as she lifted the tiny form, assisting him as he fueled. She studied the tiny form curled in her arms. "Aren't you a cute little thing. I'll get you taken care of." She ran her hand down his back, studying the little wing nubs. "One way or another, we'll take care of you."
She put the sparkling into a nearby crib and moved away as he settled into a nap, to file what little information the femme had left. She already knew it was worthless to try to contact her to finish filling out the forms, she'd just have to do it herself. Shaking her helm as she filled out the fields she'd left blank...These youngsters, they get into trouble, they need more help then just surrendering their sparklings. But there is nothing out there to help them….
Her harsh faceplates softened into a slight smile. "Humph. She gave you a name, at least, Prowl. It's more than what a lot of them give their sparklings."
With a deep scowl the doctor frantically activated the comm link :Agent Flamewar?:
:What is the status on the sparkling, Doctor?:
He pinched his olfactory before venting deeply. :He's gone.:
:Terminated?:
:No. Missing.: He paused to gather his thoughts. :We looked every where for him. Security has no idea how this could have happened. We will contact the Enforcers immediately. :
There was a heavy pause before she spoke again. :No. Who ever took it wants it. Good enough.:
Momentarily stunned silent at her calloused disregard, he made no move as the line was cut. Growling, he glared at the security director standing in front of his desk. "Never again. Whatever you need to do, do it. This will never happen again. I will not "lose" another sparkling. "
Slowly the medic sunk back in his chair, and buried his face in his hands. This mess will haunt me forever.
Rolling his shoulders, Demon arrogantly flexed his doorwings as he stalked down the hallway, cold red optics flicking from side to side as he scanned his surroundings. He callously pushed all thoughts of his mate… oh Clouddust… to the back of his processor as he smirked at the approaching mech and his burden.
"Demon," Lockdown greeted him with a bloodthirsty smile as he joined him, "It has been a while."