Chapter Two – Sparkfire

Bumblebee fluttered open his wide baby blue optics with a soft twitter from his throat, finding himself on his back in his metal crib. The bot's eyes scanned around the darkened bedroom and he gulped when he noticed his parents' berth empty, his fear of being alone making his little frame shiver. He hopped himself up onto his feet, tiny hands gripping the crib's rail as he leaned forward.

His chin trembled, blue optics shimmering. "M-Mmm…"

He looked to the door, finding it closed only half way, a golden ray of light spilling through the opening. Bumblebee tried to lift a small foot onto the rail, but only sent himself back on his aft in a tiny grunt. He whimpered.

"M-Mommy…!"

He heard no one. Maybe he wasn't crying loud enough. But, before he could try again, voices, familiar voices, started conversing just outside his bedroom. The bot jumped up again, clutching the rail as his little antennae perked up.

"Jaryn, Bumblebee will find out eventually," came a femme's voice. "We can't hold this away from him."

"If we tell him…" his father sighed, not knowing how to continue. "…If we tell Bumblebee, imagine what it would do to him. Losing his brother…"

The bot froze, and he surely thought his spark did too. His vision blurred, pale blue tears trickling from wide optics onto delicately curved cheekplates. He blinked at them, but didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Losing a brother…"

On the verge of sobbing, he looked to the berth that was fixed beside his parents', the one that hadn't been used to such a while, the one…that belonged to his brother.

"Losing his brother…" those words echoed again.

"N-No…" the bot whined. "…No!"

He clearly understood what those words meant.

Bumblebee whimpered, suddenly grasping the rail even tighter. He fell on his bottom, pushing his knees to his chest and burying his tiny head in his yellow hands. His entire frame shook and his little spark wrenched, twisted and squirmed horribly inside him, making him sob uncontrollably in a fit of sorrow.

It only worsened when he heard him mother crying, heard her sniffles and groans as if she were in pain. The bot opened his optics, looking through tear-blurred vision at two shadows on the wall. The mech, his father, held Lexine close, swaying her. She shook.

"I-I hate this war," she sputtered out, words muffled into Jaryn's chest. "…Hate it."

Jaryn shook his head, stroking her back lightly. "In time, it will," he whispered.

"He was so innocent. My baby…He didn't deserve to die that way."

"No Autobot deserves such a thing."

Bumblebee buried his little face again, shivering. He tried to force himself to believe that what he was hearing wasn't real, that this was a bad dream he'd wake up from to the security of his mother's arms, to the warm blue optics of his brother. He felt the tears drop off his chin, and he smeared them, fighting the urge to wail out. But, he couldn't. He threw his little head back and screamed.

"No!!"

Instantly, the door swung open, his father quickly striding over to the crying bot. He lifted the mechling from his crib and cradled him at his spark, hoping its warm thrums would comfort the shivering sparkling. Bumblebee snuggled instinctively into his father's chest, choked sobs hiccupping out of his mouth.

"Son, what's the matter?" cooed the mech, swaying the bot against him. "Somethin' scare you?"

Bumblebee whirred shakily and pointed a little finger to his brother's berth. Jaryn didn't need his son to go any further, his own optics widening. He looked to his femme as she slowly entered the room, shaking his head slowly.

"Lexine…"

She blinked at him, wiping the tears from her pale cheekplates. "What's wrong?"

Bumblebee nuzzled his head into Jaryn's spark, shutting his optics.

The mech frowned and slowly gazed down at the mechling. "He knows."

Lexine made a face. "Knows what?"

Jaryn only tilted his head towards the empty berth of their other son. Lexine's optics widened, a shaky breath rushing through her vents.

"N-No, he…" she paused, looking at her son. "He heard us…?"

Bumblebee's optic lids lifted, revealing bright sky blue behind layers of tears. The bot nodded, tiny hands clutching his father's chest.

"…H-He's gone," he stuttered, sobs returning. "M-Mommy, why?"

The femme shook her head at him, lifting her hand to stroke his tiny frame.

"Baby, shh. Don't say that."

"M-Mommy, why?! Why did the bad people hurt him?!"

She stared, watching her baby bot fall into tears, burry his little head in his father's chest. Jaryn shook his head, covering the mechling's head with a massive palm, using his thumb to stroke the back of it. He leaned down, softly pressing his lips against the sparkling's head.

"Quiet, Bumblebee," he whispered, deep blue optics drooping.

"Why!" the bot wailed out again.

The mechling shivered, peeking out an optic to the empty berth of his brother. His chin trembled whilst his mind played a trick on him, making him see that young mech was laying there. His electric blue optics flared at Bumblebee, a friendly smile curving his metal lips. His body's framework, burly from yellow and black armor, fitted him perfectly, displaying a shoulder cannon very well. The mech waved at Bumblebee and in a blink of an optic, he was gone.

Bumblebee wailed again, muffling his cries into his father's chest. Again, gentle fingers brushed along his frame, fondling with his delicate wires. He turned his head to see the mirage disappear, waving a little yellow hand at it.

"…B-Bye, brother…"

// 3; \\

Flashback to Battle, Same One Displayed on Holoscreen

1349 Hours

Sparkfire crouched low behind the shrubbery, breaths in and out of his vents coming sharp and fast like the beats of his spark. Blue optics scanned the battlefield on high alert, examining any little thing until it was identified, processed, and stored in his mind. A team of mechs snuck through wet grass, cannons ready, weapons drawn.

"Are they gone yet?" whispered one. "They still there?"

"Shhh. What if they are?"

"Primus, don't they ever quit?"

"Everyone quiet," Sparkfire ordered. "Listen…"

All was silent, except for the heavy rain that fell from the blue-black Cybertronian sky and pounded against their armor. A cannon hummed, catching everyone's attention. Optics turned to one mech, younger than them all, his faceplate bright in shock.

"Drone!" he shouted, pointing ahead of him.

The soldiers turned and only hesitated for a mere astrosecond before plasma shot out of their cannons, bullets spitting out of guns, heated lasers flashing. Sure enough, a mighty Decepticon drone stood before them all, red hot optics flaring.

Sparkfire waved a hand, signaling for the group to split up. He departed from them all, firing twice from each shoulder cannon at one of the bulky drones. It shrieked and aimed for him with one arm cannon.

"Autobot scum," he spat. Plasma soared through the distance that separated Sparkfire and the drone, and impacted the young mech's chest. Sparkfire clutched the wound, stumbling back a step. He couldn't back out now, so he aimed, trying to see through drone through blurring vision. He heard the drone roar in pain, then another sound as plasma soared again.

[ Boom Plasma impacted him again and he stumbled to the side, shutting his optics in his dismay. He regained only some of his strength, groaning as hot plasma scorched through the metal protecting his spark, burning through. Sparkfire ignored it, aimed again, but was cut short when a massive claw clutched his shoulder, forcing him around.

Big blue optics stared into heated red, a Decepticon's, and Sparkfire didn't think twice as he fired repeatedly until the drone bellowed. It managed to wrap a claw around his throat, grasping, making air intake vents shut unexpectedly. The drone laughed, then shoved him against a tree. Sparkfire fired again and again, but the beast kept coming as if he weren't firing at all.

It aimed at him with two arm cannons now, each one humming loudly to life. They moved in front of his faceplate, spilling warm gold light onto him. Sparkfire gulped, he stopped firing…

"Any last words?" the drone teased him in a hiss.

Sparkfire's optics narrowed. "Do what you want with me," he said lowly.

He screamed when hot plasma burned into his chassis again, snaking its way through his circuitry and wiring until it reached his spark, making his entire frame jolt and twitch. His optics shut and he leaned back to release another cry, but his voice modulators crackled dead, his processor malfunctioning.

"Pathetic youngling…"

The drone's words made him shiver as he fell to his side, feeling energon trickle from his open wound. He felt lost in nothingness, felt his mind slipping away until he couldn't grasp it.

[ Thud, thud, thud The drone moved closer. A cannon hummed in his receptor, then drew quieter as it shifted to his chest again, to the spark that barely pulsed.

"N-No…" he managed to groan.

He knew what was coming.

[ Fwoom! Plasma impacted his spark and he screamed, hoarsely, with the little modulators his had left.

"Sparkfire!" a mech shouted his name.

Blue optics fluttered open, flickering, gazing up into the blue-black sky. Rain smudged his energon from his chest, revealing a fading spark. He groaned, his world blacking out around him.

"Sparkfire…!"

His name echoed. That mech's voice rang in his mind.

At his last drop of consciousness, he saw his mother, Lexine, his father, Jaryn, and precious baby brother, the newborn, the innocent little bot…Bumblebee.

"Sparkfire…"