Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro
Warnings: Minor angst, OC death mentioned, alternate universe.
Notes: Inspired by #2 (mostly b,d, and e) of a post at the Bunny Farm (community. livejournal. com/ tf_bunny_farm/ 154459. html - remember to remove the spaces!). Some minor elements of seeker-cant that may appear are the brainchildren of Sanjuno Shori Niko.
Additional notes appear at the end.
Gone.
There was such a finality to that one simple word, paired with one name that meant so very much to him. One simple name that meant the world to him. One short sentence that left him shattered:
Solarwind's gone.
He had ordered everyone out of the room the moment the news had been delivered, sinking down into the chair behind his desk once they had complied with his command. The only thought going through his processor was that his dear mate, with her laughing crimson optics and Unicron-may-care attitude, had been cut down by the enemy in the prime of her life. That he would never again watch her as she returned from a blitz, wings twitching in patterns he still could not comprehend and engines humming as she 'spoke' the Vosian language with her trine-mates.
A faint sound drew him from his thoughts, and Megatron automatically moved to the corner of the room where it had originated from. He peered down into the small pen where the twins had been curled up in recharge, only now the younger of the pair - the one with Solarwind's darker facial colouring - was beginning to online. As usually happened, his fussing was drawing the older twin - this one sharing his mother-creator's purple framework - to awareness as well, and it wouldn't be long before they were both demanding attention.
The silver mech shook his head slightly. Not only was his mate destroyed, she would never be able to watch their seekerlets grow up. Megatron reached into the pen to pick up first one twin then the other, settling them both easily into the crook of one arm. Two sets of tiny optics slowly flickered online, the younger twin chirping and clicking away almost instantly upon catching sight of his father-creator. His older-by-microns sibling yawned widely, still not fully online but not willing to drop back into recharge.
A faint smile touched his mouth plating and he made his way back to the desk, sinking into his chair once more and settling the twins more comfortably against him. As Starscream continued to click away enthusiastically at him, Megatron opened a private comm link to his current right-hand mech: "Soundwave."
"Sir?" came the immediate reply.
"I am going to need your assistance for the foreseeable future," Megatron said, choosing his words carefully. A thrum of amusement and sadness flitted through him for a moment as Skywarp finally came fully online and began chirping to his twin. The seekerlets were still too young to speak Cybertronian Proper, let alone the simple-yet-complicated thrums of seeker-cant, and Solarwind would never again be there to help build the basic framework for the twins to learn either language.
"As you command, mighty Megatron." From the underlying harmonics in the communication expert's voice, it was clear that Soundwave knew exactly what his leader was asking for assistance with. Soundwave really was the best mech to turn to in this situation; he had been single-handedly raising six sparklings - the eldest of which had just upgraded to a youngling frame - since before the rebellion had become a full-out war.
"Excellent." He paused to listen to his sparklings' trills and faint engine revs before adding almost as an afterthought, "And see if there are any seekers with sparklings or younglings of their own in the ranks."
After all, it would be best for a seeker to teach the twins their mother's native language, especially if there was a peer close to their age learning it as well.
End Note: Seriously, this is staying a one-shot if I have my way. And if you missed it, I'm alluding to Thundercracker also being somewhat young as well; his creators will eventually aide in mentoring the Screamer/Warp combo pack.